Saint (Gateway Series Book 2) (15 page)

He felt a headache starting to form as he struggled to get out of the awkward conversation. “Yes, but…it’s complicated.”

“You need to understand, Ty,” said Mori. “You may hesitate if you face her—and I guess, well I am trying, to understand that—but we won’t. We can’t; she is too good.”

“I understand. I just hope if we meet, I will have the chance to talk—”

“To talk?” shot back Mori, almost yelling before she took a moment to calm herself. “You know her better than any of us but ask yourself this: will she give you the chance? Is that in the Red Wolf’s nature?”

Stone’s head was now throbbing. “I think…I hope she will.” He exhaled. “I don’t know.”

“Well you had better figure it out, Ty,” stated Mori matter-of-factly. “The rest of us already know the answer.”

“I don’t want you to doubt me,” he said as he raised his hand to her cheek.

“I have no doubt you want to do what is right, Magakisca,” she said, using his Akota name. “But you may have to do what is necessary.”

“I will, Ino’ka. I know it,” he replied, lying to himself.

“Good,” answered Mori as she gave him a quick, gentle kiss before lying next to him. “Now let’s get some sleep.”

As Stone placed his head onto the ground, he looked toward Mori.

She looked back into his eyes. “I won’t let her hurt you.”

Chapter 11

By the time the first sun had risen, Stone, Mori, Thay, and Henry had made their way to the outskirts of a long-abandoned city. Standing on the roof of a six-story building, Stone and Thay scanned the horizon for signs of the enemy, whether the Saint’s Crucesignatis Army, the Triad, or Humani. For miles, Stone could see abandoned buildings, elevated walkways, and streets degraded by time and overtaken by nature. Tall grass grew defiantly from any crack in the concrete. Ivy and other vines had also begun to envelop the standing structures as the environment slowly reclaimed what humans had once arrogantly thought of as their own.

“This place is dead,” declared Thay. “Not a single unit. I’m surprised nobody is fighting over it.”

“Probably the radiation,” said Stone as he pulled up the counter on his data screen. “0.1 milliSieverts per hour,” he read.

“Not too bad for a few hours,” replied Thay.

“But explains why the city is abandoned. Must have taken a ton of fallout or had a power plant accident during the First Terill…I mean, early on in the war. Guessing that’s why Mori picked this spot.”

“Either way, it’s a shame,” said Thay.

“Everything look good up top?” came Mori’s voice through the comms circuit.

“Good so far,” replied Stone. “How are you guys doing?”

“We’ve rigged the stairs at the entryway and we’ll set up on the second floor in case anyone decides to pay us a visit before Orion gets here.”

“Stone,” interjected Thay as he pointed toward the ground below. “We’ve got movement.”

Stone peered over the short wall on the roof. He saw a figure rush across a street a few hundred meters away. It was a Humani marine. The single marine was followed by a squad. Looking toward his left, Stone saw another squad taking up positions along an abandoned subway station.

“Mori,” said Stone into the circuit. “We’ve got Humani marines to the west and south.”

“Roger,” she replied. “We’ll have a welcome for them down here.”

“Let’s greet ’em,” said Thay as he rested his rifle on the wall and took careful aim.

Stone took aim as well, sighting in on the corner of a building he knew provided cover for at least four marines.

Thay pulled the trigger and the quiet, abandoned city erupted in gunfire.

***

Over the muffled crack of gunfire from outside, Mori heard the rumbling of footsteps coming up the stairs. Looking toward the video on her data screen she saw the images from the camera she had set up earlier; turning the corner from the first floor was a Humani marine, then another, and another.

“Hit it,” ordered Mori and Henry activated the explosives in the stairwell.

The building rocked and the force of the blast rattled Mori’s bones, but she quickly recovered. Pulling up the screen again, she saw a disorganized pile of wood, brick, and the wrecked bodies of four Humani marines. Before the smoke and dust cleared, however, Mori saw three more marines rush over their fallen comrades.

The metallic burst from Henry’s rifle let Mori know the enemy had reached their floor. She repositioned herself on the opposite side of the door from Henry and turned to fire down the entryway. As she did, she felt the whiz of a round simultaneously followed with the explosive sound of the marine’s rifle as he fired. Mori spun back to cover the wall and looked across to Henry, who was holding his rifle into the doorway and firing.

Mori grabbed a grenade from her vest. She raised the metal canister to her face and pulled the pin.

“Frag out!” she yelled and tossed the grenade into the entryway.

“Cover!” Mori heard one of the marines yell.

The blast was close and both Henry and Mori curled themselves into a ball as the blast tore through the entryway and blew debris into the room in which they were taking cover. Mori saw Henry turn to cover the entry only to be tackled and knocked to the ground. She raised her rifle to fire at the attacker but glimpsed a flash of metal to her right.

She had just enough time to position her rifle to block the sword from slicing through her. Across from her was a Humani soldier, her bold red hair tied into a ponytail. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. It was Martin, or Red Wolf, as the Terillians knew her.

“Finally, got you,” Martin smiled as she sent Mori reeling backward with a front kick to her chest.

Rolling backward, Mori quickly rose to her knees and brought her rifle to bear. She felt the rifle recoil then a jolt as Martin kicked the rifle from her hands. Mori swiftly rolled to her right, pulled her sword from its sheath, and jumped to her feet as she saw Martin standing as well. Her first shot had torn into Martin’s thigh, leaving a small chunk of flesh missing. Mori looked into her opponent’s eyes. Martin glared back, her jaw tight; everything about her radiated hatred. Looking over Martin’s shoulder, Mori saw Henry and Tacitus locked in combat.

***

“They’re in the building,” shouted Stone as he felt the rumble from the tripwire set off by Mori and Henry.

“Mori and Henry will keep them busy,” replied Thay.

Stone fired another burst from his rifle and a marine rushing toward an adjacent building fell.

“If they get into that building across the street, we’re screwed,” shouted Thay over the sounds of battle.

Rounds impacted against the short wall in front of Stone, causing him to turn his head away from the flying debris. Quickly collecting himself, he reached for another magazine. As he did, a small electrical charge rushed through his body as the magazine contacted the rifle. Looking upward he saw a line of bright blue light streak across the sky above them.

“What the hell is that?” asked Thay.

“I don’t—”

Stone was interrupted by an ear-piercing metallic screech. Blue light radiated across the sky, drawing streaks of light and shooting jagged, brilliant lines of light in all directions. Stone’s body tingled as an explosion of blue light momentarily blinded him and the roar of thrusters from a ship drowned out the sound of automatic weapons.

***

“Holy shit, that worked!” declared Orion as she brought
Hydra
to a hover near Stone’s position.

“I told you it would,” replied Rickover.

“So I guess a jump at atmo is just more than theoretically possible,” said Orion as she activated the intercom. “We’re here. Magnus and Katalya, go get ’em.”

***

Stone couldn’t believe his eyes.
Hydra
had appeared out of nowhere. He had never heard of a ship performing a jump into an atmosphere before. He looked toward Thay, who had a puzzled look on his face that Stone knew no doubt mirrored his own.

“Did they just—”

“I think so,” answered Stone.

Stone and Thay turned away from the force of
Hydra
’s thrusters as the ship hovered a few meters above them. Stone put his hand in front of his face to shield his eyes from the whirlwind of debris as he looked toward
Hydra
. Through the cloud of debris and dust, he saw an access hatch open and a rope drop. Katalya and Magnus quickly appeared at the hatch and slid down the rope onto the roof.

“Where’s Ino’ka?” yelled Katalya, worriedly asking for her sister.

“On the second floor,” replied Thay.

Katalya immediately turned and rushed toward the stairway, followed by the other three.

***

Martin lunged toward Mori. In a series of moves and countermoves, Martin advanced and attacked as Mori parried each move but gave up ground until she felt her back hit the opposite wall. Mori saw the enraged focus in Martin’s eyes as the Humani thrust her sword at her. She again blocked the thrust and forced Martin’s sword away from her body. Pressing downward on Martin’s sword, Mori quickly swung her torso upward and crashed her elbow into Martin’s left temple. Martin let out a grunt but recovered, and Mori felt the impact of Martin’s shoulder into her chest and then the sudden stop as she was slammed against the wall again. Before she could recover, Mori’s body slid down the wall to the floor as Martin swept her leg.

Mori hit the ground and instantly kicked Martin just above her right knee causing her attacker to fall as well. Pushing her body forward as Martin fell to her knees, Mori hurled herself over Martin’s shoulder. As she passed over, Mori locked her arms around Martin’s neck. Now positioned behind and above Martin, she leaned forward and pressed hard against Martin’s neck to stop the flow of oxygen. She could feel Martin’s body tighten in resistance.

A searing pain suddenly shot through Mori’s forearm as Martin sank a knife deep into her flesh. The pain pulsated through her arm and down her spine as Martin, using the knife for leverage, twisted Mori’s arm away from her neck. Mori growled against the pain while she struggled to keep her chokehold locked in place. But Martin was too strong and the pain too intense. Letting out a long groan of pain and frustration, Mori felt her grip release and Martin spin free. Her moan transitioned to a shriek as Martin violently pulled the blade from her arm.

There was no time to focus on the pain as she looked up to see Martin thrust the knife toward her throat. Just as the blade was about to find its mark, Mori redirected her attacker’s thrust and spun around behind Martin again in an attempt to lock her right arm around her attacker’s neck. She strained hard, pushing downward with all of her strength but she could feel her body start to give way as Martin pushed upward. Mori’s jaw clenched tight and she could feel her muscles constrict almost to the point of tearing as she tried to control Martin.

But it wasn’t enough.

Slowly, helplessly, Mori felt Martin raise her torso and then, in one powerful thrust, rise to her feet with Mori still locked around her neck. Before she could react, Mori felt a second of weightlessness and then the helplessness of falling as Martin fell backwards, driving Mori’s back into the floor. The air rushed from Mori’s lungs as Martin landed on top of her.

Almost instantly, Mori felt the concussion of Martin’s fist against her face but kept her focus. Blocking Martin’s next punch, Mori wrapped her legs around Martin’s arm and arched her body to extend her opponent’s arm to the breaking point. Both groaned as Martin struggled against the agonizing stretching of her ligaments and Mori pulled on her enemy’s arm with all of her strength.

Mori felt a sudden release and heard a loud grunt from her opponent as Martin’s elbow snapped.

Martin let out a murmured curse but the dislocated elbow also allowed her to reposition and swing her leg toward Mori’s head. A jolt rocked her head and her vision started to tunnel as Martin’s boot slammed into her temple. Releasing her grip on Martin’s arm, she rolled to her right and attempted to stand. Before she could, Martin was on her. The air left Mori’s lungs again as Martin powerfully lifted her off the ground and slammed her against the wall.

“Terillian bitch!” cursed Martin.

Mori let out a moan as her ribs again slammed against a hard surface of the wall again. She struggled to free her arms from Martin’s lock as she was repetitively slammed against the wall. The back of her head throbbed and her back and ribs exploded with sharp bolts of pain with every impact but she could not break free.

Using the only weapon available to her, Mori leaned her head forward and bit deeply into Martin’s neck. As she bit down hard, she sensed the bitter taste of Martin’s sweat and blood and her mouth filled with a chunk of her attacker’s flesh. Martin growled and Mori felt herself go airborne as she was flung across the floor by the stronger opponent.

Hitting the floor, Mori rolled and quickly regained her footing. As Martin rushed toward her, Mori glanced beyond her attacker and saw Tacitus knock Henry to the floor with a blow to his knee. Her attention quickly returned to Martin as a powerful kick landed against the inside of Mori’s leg and brought her to her knees. Hitting the ground, Mori instantly raised her arms to block a knee coming at her face. Pain shot through her already injured and bleeding forearm as she deflected the blow, but Martin quickly recovered and Mori felt Martin’s boot crashing into the side of her head before she could react. Dazed, Mori fell to the ground and was hurriedly attempting to pull herself to her knees, when she felt Martin’s arms locked around her neck and head from behind.

Mori’s head grew heavy and the periphery of her vision grew cloudy as Martin placed all of her weight into locking the hold in place. As she struggled against the powerful hold of Martin, Mori glanced up toward Tacitus and Henry, engaged in their own death match near a window at the opposite side of the room. She let out a grunt of frustration as she saw Tacitus open a large gash in Henry’s chest with a lightning-quick slash of his sword.

Mori wasn’t doing much better. She felt herself quickly weakening as Martin slowly worked to lock in her chokehold. Fading, Mori frantically groped for the combat knife in her vest. As she fumbled for her weapon, she watched through her tunneling vision as Tacitus pivoted and dove his sword deep into Henry’s abdomen.

Finally finding her knife, Mori grasped the handle and pulled the blade from her vest. Struggling to remain conscious, she repositioned the grip for maximum force, and with all of her remaining strength thrust the knife into Martin’s upper leg until she felt the blade deflect off the bone. Mori heard Martin moan loudly and sucked in a deep breath of air as Martin released her hold.