9. Warlock Assassins
9
Warlock Assassins
Ki’REMI
T he Sableman engaged his noids and moved like a cyclone.
Speed was his meta power, as was his ability to project two, sometimes even three, facsimiles of himself, confusing the enemy as to the location of his true self in their field of vision.
With every strike, shot, and calculated pivot executed with surgical precision, his body reacted before thought could catch up.
However, the obsidian warriors weren’t just strong but lightning fast.
His nanoids swept them, and the data he got back had him arching his brows under his visor.
Fokk , their weapons were ancient, over millions of years old.
Their armor, too, was archaic yet impervious to the energy rounds he sent their way.
Hell, their age didn’t make them any less effective.
His replicant abilities were his only advantage.
He used them to the max, peeling off numerous versions of himself in battle until surrounded by a small squad of his holo-cloned self.
He ducked, narrowly avoiding a vicious downward strike from one of the celestial beings.
The force of it split the jungle floor where he stood a second before.
The ground trembled beneath his boots as he twisted up, slammed his rifle’s reinforced stock into the enemy’s throat, and spun to unload two rounds into its core.
Nothing.
The warrior did not flinch, its molten-gold eyes fixing on him in eerie silence.
Fokkin’ hell.
It moved faster than anything of its size should, lunging at him with unnatural speed. Ki’Remi rolled out of the way, switching to his combat blade, guessing it was the only weapon with enough density and ferocity to penetrate their armor.
He came up behind the enemy, his energized dagger flashing.
It slid between the armor’s plates at the base of the neck.
The combatant jerked, stiffened, and then collapsed with a heavy thud.
Ki’Remi huffed in relief.
He’d worked out their weakness.
No time to gloat. A second ancient combatant was already on him.
A vicious fist slammed into his ribs, sending him airborne.
He crashed against the wreckage of the downed med cruiser, metal screeching beneath the impact.
His vision blurred.
His HUD screamed critical damage warnings across his neural node.
He fought through the pain, staggered to his feet, and braced for the next attack.
Then, everything changed.
A golden blast of raw power split the battlefield.
Ki’Remi’s head snapped toward the source.
Issa.
His eyes widened in pure disbelief.
She stood in the clearing, her forearm plating and gloves discarded.
‘Are you fokkin insane?’ he bellowed. ‘Armour, Elaris! Without it, you’re exposing yourself!’
She wasn’t listening.
Heck, he hitched a breath, eyes on her unbelieving.
Staring as her bare hands crackled with white-gold force, and lightning veins of celestial fire ran up her arms. The air around her resonated with sheer, volatile force.
Her golden, green astral eyes locked onto the advancing warriors, and obliteration followed with a flick of her fingers.
Energy lanced from her palms, arcing in a lightning streak to rip through the enemy forces as if made of paper. Their obsidian armor melted on impact, and their cosmic cores shattered in bursts of dying light.
Ki’Remi froze, still attempting to process the scene with horror and a fascination that knotted in his gut.
Another warrior lunged for him, their blade cutting through the air.
He ducked, countered, and drove his combat knife through their side. The bastard scarcely reacted.
He twisted his laser sword and slid it under the enemy’s chin.
This time, he lucked out, and his attacker slumped to the ground.
It wasn’t blood that leaked out from the wound, twas gold motes of dust.
They floated into the atmosphere and danced as if alive and sentient from their fallen body.
He stared at it and blinked, his mind trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
None of it computed.
He sent a command to his noids. Figure this shit out .
A cloud of his nanoids lifted off his frame and mingled with the gilded specks.
For a second, he got a trace of ancient voices.
A chorus from an antediluvian age so old yet of such beauty it soaked into his bones, songs in a dialect so ethereal he jerked from their gut punch.
Without warning, his noids were shredded, torn apart, and cast aside by the gold dust, which floated up and disappeared.
He jolted and risked a glance at Issa.
She wasn’t stopping.
Her power flared with wild force as she eviscerated two more alien warriors.
Ki’Remi caught her gaze flick upward to the adversarial gunship still hovering as its rail guns turned towards him.
‘ Fokk .’
Ki’Remi didn’t think twice and gritted, ‘Elaris! Take that ship out, now!’
She narrowed her eyes on it as her hands lifted toward the heavens.
The energy building at her fingertips wasn’t just any weaponry but annihilation.
A single massive golden bolt roared skyward.
The enemy vessel detonated.
A blinding explosion ripped through the sky, shattering the behemoth into a cascade of burning debris.
The force sent shockwaves crashing through the jungle, setting the treetops ablaze.
Ki’Remi had seconds to react, with the wreckage falling straight for them.
He surged forward, tackling Issa to the ground.
His metanoid shield snapped to life just as a rain of molten steel and shattered plating slammed down.
The impact was deafening.
The energy barrier held, the rubble bouncing off in a shower of sparks and twisted metal. Smoke and flame choked the air.
Beneath him, Issa exhaled.
He realized his full weight was bracing over her, their bodies locked together.
Her chest rose and fell against him, her breath fanning his collar.
Smoke and her unique scent filled his lungs.
Ki’Remi clenched his jaw hard. His pulse pounded from the fight, from the rush, from her .
The wreckage settled.
The jungle crackled with distant fires.
She lifted her head, meeting his gaze.
‘You care to explain -.’
His voice was a lethal snarl.
She interjected with a huff, pushing him off her with a shake of her head.
‘We have bigger problems, Sable,’ she murmured, brushing dirt from her cheek. ‘Let’s first secure the crew.’
Ki’Remi seethed as he rose off her and let her roll away from him.
For now.
ISSA
Issa strode through the dense underbrush, her pulse still unsteady from what she’d just revealed.
Too soon. Too damn premature.
Fokk, fokk, fokk!
She thought she had more time to finish her mission, to keep her celestial nature buried beneath the layers of humanity crafted with meticulous care.
However, now her secret was in the open, and Ki’Remi was the first soul in all Pegasi to bear witness to it.
Worse was that the Sacra High Ssigis, dispatched by Ssigisard, the death-wielding god of war, had found her.
After all these years.
She shuddered, reliving the fight.
She’d recognized some faces among the astral hunters of Sacra she’d just obliterated.
Sorin, Seyrith, and even Ysaelis.
Accompanied by a host of new warriors she had never seen that had descended upon her like the wrath of the heavens.
Their obsidian armor and supernova eyes were searing reminders of the past she’d tried to outrun.
Though she sent up a Sacran prayer for their souls that she had taken, she had no regrets, for they had been out to hunt her, perhaps to the death.
How many more would come?
How long until her sins caught up to her and engulfed her?
Issa forced herself to focus on the present, then sighed as she attempted to ignore the bristling man by her side, and his scorching silver eyes filled with suspicion.
She put one foot before the other as the jungle around them pulsed with life.
The canopy stretched impossibly high, thick, gnarled trunks twisting into the sky. Their massive violet leaves filtered the dying radiance into scattered beams of deep indigo.
Bioluminescent vines encircled the bark, pulsing with soft blue light, illuminating the path in eerie, shifting glows.
The flora here was alive in ways that defied normal biology.
Luminescent spores drifted through the air, compact floating orbs that reacted to movement and altered color when they detected a foreign entity.
The distant howl of a predator rumbled through the jungle, echoing against the towering trees.
Small, sleek creatures with emerald-hued fur and six legs darted between the undergrowth, their luminous eyes flashing as they slunk into the shadows.
Through it all, she sensed Ki’Remi’s gaze sweeping the terrain, an ever-watchful presence that flickered in the periphery of her senses.
Always vigilant. Always calculating.
The man was freakin’ intense as the scorch of his stare bored into her back.
She fought not to sweat under his glare’s heavy, unwavering heat.
He wanted answers, and given his ruthless, relentless spirit, he would get them.
Just not now.
So far, the thick jungle had dampened any radio signals, but now static buzzed through their helmets out of the blue.
Issa glanced at Ki’Remi and found his eyes on her. ‘Got that?’
She nodded.
‘Juno, you read me?’ Ki’Remi rasped.
‘Sir, I do.’
‘Status?’
The medic’s voice was taut with tension. ‘Klash is still down, but I’m worried about Bear. I can’t stem his bleeding.’
‘Coming.’
He and Issa took off in a jog toward the location, flashing on their HUDs.
Issa let Ki’Remi lead, his meta-powered limbs surging ahead.
She picked up her pace to keep up with him, pushing through a cluster of dense, vine-laden trees until the glow of emergency field med-lights flickered through the thick vegetation.
To where their crew mates were pressed into a tight bunch in a small clearing.
Zera was sitting up in her chair, looking on with concern; Klash lay unconscious in his hover seat alongside her as the rest of the team huddled around a prone silhouette.
Bear .
Juno knelt beside him, trying and failing to halt the flow of black-crimson blood seeping through Bear’s armor.
The pair came to a stop.
‘Here now. Sit rep,’ growled Ki’Remi.
He dropped to Bear’s side to examine the fallen man, putting a hand out for the med wand in Juno’s hand.
He waved the handheld, multi-functional device, scanning for a quick and comprehensive medical diagnosis.
Issa narrowed her gaze on the abnormal wound.
The round that struck him wasn’t just lethal.
It was unnatural, coursing with energy from the enemy’s weapons designed to cause maximum damage.
His dark veins, visible beneath his thick skin, pulsed with a glowing viscosity.
It was as if a foreign agent were eating at the cells and caught in a vicious battle for life.
That’s because there was a callous power at work.
Issa’s heart clenched, recognizing the injury.
He was going to bleed out, no matter what.
‘Damn,’ Ki’Remi muttered. ‘The med wand is struggling for a diagnosis. We need to cauterize or—’
Issa sighed and stepped forward.
‘Cauterization won’t cut it.’
Ki’Remi’s head snapped toward her. ‘Elaris, what in -?’
She was oblivious to him.
Dropping to her knees, she placed both hands over Bear’s wound and closed her eyes.
The glow started slow, a soft, golden pulse spreading from her fingertips, her light seeping into his torn flesh.
Ki’Remi tensed beside her.
She detected the sudden snap of his metanoids trying to scan the process, attempting to decode whatever the fokk she was doing.
Nada, Sable. Not this time.
The second his noids made contact with her palms, they retracted, repelled.
The force around her shimmered, an unseen barrier of celestial origin blocking his invasive tech.
She locked eyes with him. Challenging him and daring him to try again.
His silver gaze darkened.
His jaw ticked. ‘More voodoo?’
His intonation was timbred, unreadable.
She smirked. ‘Still think it is?’
Ki’Remi said nothing, but she sensed the tension radiating off him in waves.
His fists flexed at his sides, and his entire body wound tight as a compressed coil.
Finally, after a prolonged, seething moment, he exhaled, his voice cutting through the thick, humid air.
‘’Tis not voodoo, but it’s not anything I’ve seen before.’
Her smirk widened. ‘ Nada , you have not. The question is, Sable, are you open to more than just old facts, hard science, and equations? Or will you let your logic blind you?’
He stared at her for so long, with such intensity, that she almost regretted provoking him.
Almost.
Bear’s breathing evened out.
The energy receded from Issa’s hands, leaving behind unmarred skin, no sign of injury, no indication he had ever been dying at all.
Juno exhaled in shock, reaching out to touch Bear’s side, only to find it smooth and completely whole.
Bear’s eyes cracked open, his chest heaving as he returned to awareness.
‘What the fokkin ’ hell?’
His deep voice was raspy, thick with confusion.
‘You’re welcome, sweetheart,’ Issa murmured, patting his massive shoulder.
Bear groaned, rubbing his cranium. ‘Damn. Thought I was done for.’
‘Almost,’ Ki’Remi muttered, his attention still glued to Issa.
Too many questions. Too much scrutiny. When would it end?
She rose to her feet and turned away before he read the weariness on her face.
Klash was still out cold, slumped in his floating chair.
She sighed, touched his forehead, and did it again.
Another glow. Another surge of energy.
The pilot’s eyes eased open a moment later, blinking with grogginess. ‘Hell. That’s a headache.’
Ki’Remi clenched his jaw so hard she thought she might hear his teeth crack.
She dusted off her hands. ‘Satisfied, Commander Sable?’
His eyes were murderous.
‘ Nada .’
A small, dark laugh left her lips.
‘Not surprised.’
Issa swiveled to tag Juno’s shocked expression.
‘What the hell was that?’ the paramedic breathed.
Issa hesitated, wondering whether to send a memory nudge.
That’s when she sensed a cloud of metanoids blanket the medics and pilot, and without warning, Juno’s face shifted and relaxed, and her eyes canted away from Issa.
Issa stared at the medic and then turned to Riva, Zera, Bear, and Klash, whose gazes were also dilated.
The surgeon shifted to Ki’Remi to find his eyes glowing at her. ‘They don’t get anything from you until I do.’
‘A mind wipe?’
He arched a brow and quirked his lip. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’
Emotion arced between them as their eyes locked, and they swayed toward each other, a feral, wild, repelling yet attracting magnetic instance.
A voice interrupted the moment.
Juno was shaking her head, running hands over her face, confused. ‘Did we crash land?’
Issa gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. ‘We did; the hot touchdown shook your memories. Klash even got a concussion, but we’re all good now.’
‘The ship?’ Bear asked, incredulous.
‘Gone.’
‘Were we hit?’ Juno went on.
‘Something like that.’
Issa huffed in shock as Ki’Remi murmured to the disoriented crew and Zera.
His metanoids had changed their recollection of events.
Fascinating.
‘We have to move,’ Bear growled, scanning the area, ‘and get this young woman back to her people.’
‘Indeed,’ Ki’Remi said, ‘but first, I must send a distress signal. We need a pickup very soon.’
He sliced eyes at his colleague. ‘In case any hostile types show up.’
Ki’Remi narrowed eyes on her.
Issa didn’t care.
She had far more significant problems than his skepticism.
The Sacra High Ssigis had found her.
Unfriendly was not even close to what they were capable of.
She’d defeated them this time, but there’d only been one ship.
She’d have no hope of facing and surviving a fleet of Ssigisan’s Warlocks, the Silent Assassins of the Sedevan Order.
Neither did she have a snowball’s chance in hell against the Saatifa, the guardian warriors of the Divine Immortal Deity, Sulfiqar.
Ki’REMI
A little ways from the group and out of earshot, Ki’Remi crouched and angled his backpack to the front, laying it on the ground.
From within, he withdrew a holo-emitter.
The damaged unit was twisted, and its internal components were fried from a wild round.
He sucked his teeth and exhaled through his nose.
Activating his metanoids, he sent a pulse through his neural node, commanding them to disperse.
A metallic shimmer flowed from his fingers into the broken device as the nanobots merged with its circuits, re-configuring the data pathways and rewriting the failing code.
The device whirred to life seconds later, the transmitter glowing a cobalt blue.
Ki’Remi’s lips curled.
The holo-screen flared to life, static crackling before the feed locked onto its target.
Admiral Rhye’s face materialized, his eyes flashing as he assessed the transmission.
‘Sable. You took your time patching in.’
Ki’Remi’s expression remained unreadable. ‘We went down, crash-landed on the surface. The cruiser has been reduced to burning wreckage, shattered by the debris of a now destroyed enemy vessel.’
The senior soldier’s stance shifted to high alert. ‘The hell?’
‘Short of it is that we encountered hostiles on the descent. An advanced, stealth-capable force in an unknown origin ship, equipped with heavy artillery.’
Ki’Remi’s voice was flat, but his eyes burned with intensity. ‘Not Allorian.’
Admiral Rhye’s cybernetic eye flickered as he processed the information. ‘Confirmed?’
Ki’Remi’s jaw tightened and exhaled. ‘ Naam .’
‘Threat still out there?’
‘Neutralized, for now, sir, and no other similar ship in orbit. But, if they return, I have the ultimate weapon of war with me.’
‘Explain?’
‘My fellow surgeon happens to be a kickass soldier. Did you know anything about that when you hired her?’
The admiral arched his brows and shook his head. ‘Elaris? Nada , first I’ve heard of it.’
‘Keep it to yourself. She’s an anomaly I did not expect to deal with. I can’t figure her out. Each time I try to burrow under her freakin’ skin, I find more layers underneath.’
The Admiral snorted. ‘I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.’
Ki’Remi lowered his voice. ‘I also think Elaris knows who those kinais are.’
Rhye’s expression went cold. ‘Does she now? You’ll need to keep a close eye on her but do nothing rash until she’s back onboard.’
‘On it.’
The Admiral bent forward, studying Ki’Remi’s surroundings onscreen. ‘What’s your status?’
‘Zera will be with her people soon.’
The Admiral studied him for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
Then, with a slow nod, he murmured. ‘We’ll be at your coordinates in twelve hours.’
Ki’Remi gave an abrupt raise of his chin. ‘Acknowledged.’
‘One more thing, Sable -.’
Ki’Remi arched a brow.
The Admiral leaned closer, voice lower. ‘Monitor Elaris. If this attack is linked to her, I want answers.’
The Rider’s hands curled into fists.
So did he.
The transmission cut out.
The emitter dimmed, its power cycling down.
Ki’Remi stood, his back straightening, his metanoids retracting from the apparatus and returning to his bloodstream.
He prowled to the group whose eyes canted to him.
‘Done. We’ll be lifted off in less than a day. Zera, do you know where we are?’
The girl leaned forward in her hover-bed and dipped her head. ‘We’re due East of the village. Close to our rice and wheat fields. I’ll show you where from here.’
Ki’Remi jerked his chin in assent. ‘ Sawa . Lead the way.’