Survive Book Five (EBOOK)

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Krey

“Krono, we are too late.” Adrix stared at the dead Korceans that littered the ship floor. “The Ugomians will have killed the female like they killed the Korceans.”

“We do not know that,” I said as we walked deeper into the Korcean ship. “She may have hidden.”

“She is still here on the ship.” Laos showed me the screen of his tracker. I could see the little female’s tracking chip beeping bright red against the screen.

“That does not mean she is alive,” Adrix said. “The human officials will be even angrier with King Quill if their mediator is dead.”

“It is not our king’s fault the Korceans kidnapped her.” Hendren used his sword to prod at the body of a Korcean slumped over in the corridor. “They should be happy that we are even attempting to rescue her. Only frodens looking for a quick death come to the Ugomia planet.”

I grinned at Hendren. “Since when have you ever shied away from a fight, Hendren? Even with the Ugomians?”

“I am not shying away,” Hendren said. “I am being realistic about our chances. Based on the tracks outside, we will be outnumbered if the Ugomian war party returns.”

I tightened my grip on my sword as the familiar bloodlust ticked through my veins. “Let them come.”

“Krono,” Laos said, “you would get us all killed to satisfy your urge to fight.”

“We are the King’s Guard,” I said. “Our purpose is to fight, or have you forgotten that?”

“Our purpose is to protect the king,” Adrix said. “Not look for a kidnapped female who is likely already dead.”

“She could still be alive,” I said.

Adrix rolled his eyes but stayed silent. I was stubborn for no reason. I knew as well as Adrix did that the odds of the little female being alive were slim. The chip we followed would lead to a body as dead as that of the Korceans. The Ugomians had no use for humans and, like most of the planets in our solar system, considered them primitive and useless. They would have killed her without a second thought.

My stomach clenched. Females were precious, and even though this particular female was not here to breed with us, her death was still a tragedy. I hated the thought of any female human suffering or dying, not when they and they alone were responsible for keeping my people from going extinct.

“That room up ahead to the left,” Laos said before looking at the tracker screen. “The little female’s body is in there.”

I bit back my retort that she may still be alive and hastened my steps toward the room. The sooner we retrieved the female’s body and got off the planet, the better. Adrix and I stopped in front of the door. I held my sword in a tight but comfortable grip and nodded to Adrix as Hendren and Laos got into position behind us.

Adrix pressed the button, and the door slid open with a quiet hum. We stepped inside quickly, my gaze scanning the left side of the room as Adrix scanned the right. We were in one of the Korcean’s private sleeping chambers, and while there was a dead Korcean draped across the bed, there was no sign of the human.

I studied the two doors in the room. One was open, and I could see part of a sink, but the other door was closed tight. Without speaking, I pointed to the bathroom. Adrix nodded and moved toward it. He’d taken only a few steps when the dead Korcean jumped up from the bed, holding his daggers and the front of his chest covered in drying orange blood. Korceans typically carried four sharp daggers called ranberds, one for each of their hands, but this one had only three. But even missing a blade and injured, his fighting skills and desperation made him a threat. With a scream of rage, he rushed toward Adrix.

Adrix blocked two of the Korcean’s thrusts, bellowing out a curse when the third dagger slipped past his sword and sliced across his hip. The Korcean repeatedly screamed, slashing and cutting at Adrix with the speed of a detzi. I ran forward and cut off one of the Korcean’s arms, my sword carving through his thin grey flesh like it was paper. The Korcean screamed and whirled to face me as bright orange blood spewed from his missing limb. He thrust both daggers at me, but I dodged them easily before thrusting my sword into his midsection. He dropped the daggers as I pushed up close, sliding my sword deeper into his guts. His three remaining hands clutched weakly at my arms, and his milky white eyes studied me in disbelief. He shuddered once before dying.

I pulled my sword free, and the Korcean collapsed on the floor. Before I could speak to Adrix, there was a muffled thump behind the closed door. His hand clamped across his hip, Adrix started forward.

I shook my head and pointed to Laos and Hendren. Adrix scowled, and I put my finger across my lips when he started to speak. With another scowl, he joined the others, allowing Hendren to examine his bleeding hip as Laos joined me.

“Do you believe it is the human?” Laos spoke barely above a whisper.

“Doubtful.” I kept my voice as hushed as his.

There was a chance it was the little human hiding behind the door, but I resisted calling out to her. Most likely, she was already dead in the bathroom, and what waited for us was another Korcean, this one with all four of its daggers. Laos stood beside the door and reached for the handle while I stood in front.

I raised my sword and nodded to Laos. He opened the door, and I stared at the clothes hanging down and the two bare and very human legs behind them. The little human wore no shoes, and I studied her bare feet with their bright red toenails. I lowered my sword, grinning at Laos as relief washed over me.

“It is the -”

The feral scream of fear and fury echoed out from the closet before the human hurtled out from behind the clothes and threw herself at me. Burning pain erupted in my belly, and the little female stared at me. As warmth coated my midsection, I studied her pale face and the swelling and heavy black bruising that had forced one of her eyes completely shut. She had a cut across her forehead, and blood soaked her left sleeve from her shoulder to her wrist. The arm itself hung uselessly at her side. Her one eye, the colour as bright blue as my own, widened in shock, and she stumbled back from me, her pink lips trembling as her gaze dropped to my belly.

I followed her gaze, staring at the Korcean’s missing dagger embedded in my stomach before looking at the woman again.

Her body shaking wildly and her face as pale as a kadamel’s coat, she stared at me as two soft words slipped past her trembling lips. “Oh, fuck.”