Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(40)
“Is she excited to go to war?” I asked incredulously. I understood Rilleen were powerful, violent predators. I had seen her and her companions tear apart an entire swarm of giant insects and even eat them. But armored humans with pulse rifles were something else altogether.
“She always craves battle. But I fear even the Rilleen may be no match for their weapons.” Dekkir sounded grim. “Today, the riders hold the walls while the Rilleen attack on their own. We will direct them from the walls.”
“But they’ll be slaughtered.”
“Yes. But this is what they are born and bred for. This is what they live for. Battle and protecting their home.”
Dammit, that’s no fairer than sending heavily armed teenagers. I hugged the beast around the neck suddenly. “Please don’t die, Keer.”
Keer just crooned and licked my cheek before moving to the edge of the outer wall with the others. Her tail lashed with excitement.
Dekkir slipped an arm around me gently. “I will guide her. But I will need your help anticipating any who might aim at her. Without a seer, she has no chance of dodging those weapons.”
I closed my eyes. Tabirus. Where are you? Please, you said you’d do something. There are still dozens of them and they’re all armored, and they’ll fire as soon as they are in range. Please—
His voice came to my head grimly. I’m on my way. Just hold the wall until I get there. I had to take a little something out of mothballs for this particular battle, and it took me some time.
I took a deep, shivery breath and looked up at Dekkir. “Tabirus is on his way. He says he has a surprise for our enemies. All we have to do is hold the wall until he gets here.”
The heavy thud of a pulse rifle sounded, and a bolt of light slammed against the fort’s outer wall. Dekkir turned and whistled to the other riders, and suddenly, dozens of Rilleen bounded into the air.
I closed my eyes, focusing past Dekkir’s mind and the warriors’ minds, past the wildly delighted Rilleen, down onto the plain, where the human soldiers saw the Rilleen rise and started taking aim. I sensed a finger tightening on a trigger and gunsights locking on Keer. There—dodge! Dodge now!
I felt Dekkir’s mental command, and Keer swooped sideways, a sizzling beam of light darting past her. Around her, other Rilleen were doing the same—but one didn’t dodge in time and dissolved in blinding light and a final shriek. The rest continued circling down toward the soldiers, dodging fire, a few dying on the way. My head pounded as I struggled to anticipate each shot.
“I’m not sure I can focus much longer.” I gasped, exhaustion clawing at my mind. I was proud of how far I had come with my new powers, but I knew my limits. I didn’t want to fail him at a crucial moment.
“You can do this, my darling. Keep trying!” Dekkir’s voice was firm and brooked no refusal. I felt his strength add to my own again and reached out to the minds of the humans. Keer wheeled, dodged—and tore the head off one of the soldiers as she swept past, helmet and all.
The battle raged for minutes as we helped the Rilleen dodge and strike between the beams. Cheers rose from the walls as the line stopped advancing—but the humans fought back doggedly, holding their ground. I did my best not to involve myself emotionally in the chaos below—but sometimes the human I was “watching” would die suddenly, and I would get that same cold, panicky feeling of being pulled down after him. When that happened, Dekkir would reach a hand out and lay it firm on my shoulder, and my mind would settle again.
I closed my eyes and focused again and felt something on the edge of my consciousness, a powerful soul—Tabirus, flying high. I expected for a moment that when I opened my eyes, I would see him on the back of a Rilleen. Instead, I saw the silver, vane-winged airship from my visions of ancient Lyra.
It extended two glittering prongs toward the line of armored men, and I heard a low thump as something shimmering and colorless rolled through the air toward the enemy line. It detonated when it hit, sending twenty of them scattering in pieces.
I stared. Dekkir slipped an arm around me, staring upward as well, but his face was grim.
“What is that?” I breathed.
“Forbidden technology,” he rumbled gravely. “A device so ancient it should have fallen to pieces by now, save for its accursed brilliance of design.”
I stared at him a moment as he scowled, then nodded slowly. Lyran technological excesses had led them to ravage this world. Of course he would be wary of something like that ‘brought out of mothballs.’
But profane or not, the airship did the job and, with a few more shots, broke the human line and sent them fleeing toward the pitiless jungle. I knew they would not survive there; the others would pick them off now that the concussive wave from even glancing blows from the ship’s fore weapon had shattered their power armor. The airship soared overhead as the Rilleen turned back toward the wall, and the cheer that went up from the assembled warriors boomed like thunder.
Tabirus had the good grace to abandon the airship before walking in through the gates of Highfort. He was met with fanfare . . . until the cheers died out, as everyone realized they were looking at a man who was neither human nor modern Lyran.
Helmet under his arm, the figure who strode toward us in the silver jumpsuit of his human disguise had close-cropped white-blond hair . . . and the golden eyes of a Lyran. He smiled around at the assembled court, Dorin, willowy Neyilla, Dekkir, and myself and then walked up to the high chieftain and bowed. “Tabirus, at your service.”