Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (50 page)

differently, but that doesn’t make you any less of a warrior,” he said before turning and

surveying the battle scene.

His comment meant more to her than he’d ever know.

“There they are.”

Both turned in time to see a large man point at them and at least ten Gothman

focused their attention on them. Gilroy fired both eliminators simultaneously and body

parts flew everywhere. Blood sprayed and Meah could taste and smell the bile stench as

it hit her in the face.

A large man, at least twice her size, leaped through the air with a warrior’s scream

and landed directly on Gilroy. The two men rolled before she got a shot in and killed

the man. She then felt large hands lift her off the ground and the next thing she knew

she was being thrown through the air. The ground came up hard against her front side

and all air left her lungs while an incredible pain shot from her collarbone down to her

hipbones and then attacked her knees. She howled from the intensity of it and struggled

to roll over.

Gliders began landing and she recognized some of her warriors as they began one–

on-one combat with the Gothman on the ground. Her vision blurred but she forced

herself to her hands and knees. A large foot appeared out of nowhere and kicked her

hard in the midsection and she flew through the air again, this time landing on her

shoulder blade and rump. Every inch of her was racked in pain.

“Crator, please, guide my small body through this. I am in your hands,” she

whispered out loud.

Blood dripped across her face and blinded her. She jumped when something wet

slapped across her eyes and cleared her vision. Through blurred vision saw a large dog

panting very close to her face.

“Dog-woman,” she whispered and used the animal to pull herself to her feet.

“Secure this area.” An authoritative voice bellowed as black boots marched past

her.

Meah could hardly walk but noticed the large dog walked next to her, bumping

into her every now and then when she began to stumble. Her laser felt incredibly heavy

in her hand, and everything seemed surreal as her vision continued to blur.

“Contact your people.”

Meah looked up and struggled to focus as she stared at a tall man she’d never seen

before. He had golden-red hair that fell straight to his shoulders. The man wore black

leather pants like a Runner but had a loose untucked pullover shirt on and a black gun

holster strapped across his chest. He surveyed the area while two of his men held

Gilroy at gunpoint.

Meah studied Gilroy only for a moment and her heart went out to the true warrior.

His face was smeared with blood and dirt and one of his eyes was swollen shut. He

appeared to have a broken arm by the way it hung oddly at his side. But he held his

head high and his expression was blank. Inky black hair soaked with blood and sweat

made him appear more dangerous than he possibly was at the moment. Two men, not

quite as tall as he was, held lasers on him and watched him warily.

It was when the man issuing orders turned to face her that she gasped. The man

didn’t seem to notice her but looked over her at the surrounding battle scene, but she

still noticed his eyes. One of them was an intense green. The shade was so bright it

seemed to leap out and take in every detail on the field. His other eye was a pale blue,

so pale in fact that it gave the illusion he only had one eye. The man looked up at the

sky and a small smile crossed his face.

“I will secure vengeance for you today, my love,” she heard him whisper as clearly

as if he had whispered in her ear.

Laser fire caused her to jump and she groaned loudly from the pain. It dawned on

her that Gilroy wasn’t the only one with broken bones. The large dog pushed up against

her leg, and she knew she was protected. The man with different-colored eyes

continued to bark orders into his comm as he issued orders to several different armies

in different locations.

Could this be the man who was in charge of all the armies? There was certainly an

air of command about him. And why could she hear him so clearly? He didn’t speak

loudly and he was a good fifteen feet away from her.

“It’s Roman.”

Meah turned at the sound of the familiar voice and rejoiced at the sight of Ana and

Andru walking toward her. Andru gestured with his arm and at least thirty Gothman

soldiers, all wearing the Bryon crest around their arms, quickly moved in a circle to

surround Roman and his soldiers.

“It’s over,” Andru shouted at Roman. Meah then wondered if she could trust her

vision. Andru’s hair was coal-black. “You and your false Gothman and she-witches will

not see the day out. Your path will not take you to Crator today.”

“Don’t talk to me of false gods, Gothman!” Roman spat at Andru and seemed

indifferent to the many men who now held weapons on him.

More gliders landed and Meah blinked twice to make sure her eyes didn’t deceive

her. Lord Darius moved through the piles of dead men and she-witches and stopped

not ten feet away from his son.

“This truly will be a day of glory. You’ve come to me as I’ve planned.” Roman

sounded truly insane as he looked from Lord Darius to Andru. “The house of Bryon

will fall today.”

The man’s laugh made him sound more insane than the crazed gaze he offered

them. Suddenly the dog-woman pushed hard against her and Meah looked down

quickly. It was a large dog’s face that looked up at her but the dog-woman’s voice came

through clearly.

“Quickly, child, save your claim.” The dog pushed her hard and continued to push

until Meah understood her instructions.

Roman raised his laser toward Andru. “I found Lara’s body after you desecrated

and tortured her until she died. I heard her screams in my dreams. Today, her soul shall

rest, for I will destroy you. I only regret I don’t have time to issue the same death that

you gave my mate.”

“She was anybody’s mate and you’ll be with her shortly.” Andru didn’t flinch at the

laser pointed at his heart.

“Contact your armies.” Lord Darius spoke as calmly as if he’d just joined a social

gathering. “You’re defeated, you are. Verify it for yourself, I say. You were a fool to

think you could take on our people and turn them against us.”

Meah moved the entire time Lord Darius spoke. The next minute seemed to take an

hour. She saw Roman raise his large gun toward Andru. At the same time, Ana pulled

her laser and dived to the side, aiming directly at the potent green eye. Meah moved

faster than she thought her broken body could master. She kept her eye on Roman’s

finger as it tensed on the trigger. From behind him, a bloody Gilroy screamed and

slammed one of his captors so hard in the face that the man flew backwards taking out

several other men behind him.

Roman ignored the instant distraction and instead pulled the trigger and the loud

gun let out an explosion and a flash of sparks as it released its bullet. Meah dived

through the air directly into the path between the bullet and Andru. She heard a scream

from directly behind her and simultaneously slammed to the ground. For Meah, the

entire world went black.

* * * * *

“What is our status?” Lord Darius accepted the mug of coffee from Fulga then

walked over and ran his palm down the back of Tara’s head. She leaned into his hand

but continued to stare out the bright window. Her expression was solemn.

Ana stood silently behind Andru and stared compassionately at her mama. For

some odd reason, at that moment she wanted to crawl onto her mama’s lap and seek

comfort there. She didn’t, though. She stood behind Andru and clasped her hands

tightly in front of her so she wouldn’t reach out to touch her brother.

“We lost over five hundred warriors at the last count,” Andru responded, then

feeling his sister’s pain, he stepped back and gently rubbed her elbow. She didn’t look

up at him but he felt the intensity of her emotions calm drastically.

“And Gilroy?” Tara asked as she continued to stare out the window. She looked

tired, Andru thought, and older. “How is he coming along?”

“It’s hard to keep him in the house,” Ana spoke up, forcing cheer in her voice. “He

limps, and even though Dr. Digo assures him that will pass, it’s making him incredibly

grouchy.”

“And our armies?” Tara turned her gaze to her daughter and Ana felt drawn to the

glassy blue eyes. Her mama hadn’t been sleeping well. Who could blame her? The

Runner nation came closer to being brought down than ever before. And Gothman right

along with it. It would take a while for the shock to wear off.

“I’ve reassembled the troops and we started maneuvers this morning. Overall, we

lost seven hundred warriors from five different clans.” Ana pulled a disc from her

pocket. “Here’s a full report.”

After walking over to Tara, Ana edged to the kitchen door. It was hard not to stop

and go to her mama. She focused her thoughts on hugging her and didn’t look at her

brother.

“I’m going to check in on Gilroy then head back to the clan site,” Ana mumbled and

her mama nodded.

Ana didn’t breathe until she was on her glider and airborne. Good, he didn’t follow

her. Her brother didn’t suspect anything. Suddenly, she felt angry. She’d gone to see

Meah this morning at the hospital in such a good mood. But why did Meah have to tell

her she was going to run? Ana didn’t want this burden. Meah insisted on her silence so

she could have a running start. Both of them knew Andru would go after her in a

heartbeat, even if she had lost the baby. It was a matter of pride. But that wasn’t enough

for Meah. She wanted love.

Ana spent a lot of time with Darien and visited Meah in the mornings. The woman

was recovering quickly although she tired easily. Over a week passed before Meah told

Ana it was time to put her plan into action.

“I’m going to my clan site today,” Meah told her after the doctor had left and they

were alone. She’d been allowed to return to her trailer and Dr. Digo stopped in to see

her each day. “The doctor won’t stop by again until tomorrow morning and no one will

think it odd if I’m here all day.”

“Why are you doing this, Meah?” Ana asked as she put two cups of coffee on the

table and then picked Darien up out of his carrier. “What makes you so sure I won’t run

and tell Andru?”