Chapter 28
Myrum
Myrum woke up with an Ossiso supporting him on either side while rushing down a hall. Amina was in front of them, talking quietly to Gis as they walked so fast they were almost running.
Myrum pulled out of the Ossisos’ grip and reached for Amina. Without the support, his legs weren’t able to keep him standing. He went to his knees with a loud thud that didn’t hurt at all.
That was strange.
Amina turned around with a gasp. “Myrum!” She looked at the Ossisos who’d been holding him. “What happened?”
“He jerked away from us,” one of them said, grabbing hold under his arm. He rattled with annoyance and tried to pull away.
“Myrum, easy there,” Amina said, crouching down in front of him. “We’re among friends.”
An Ossiso he recognized as Gilush, the medic, took a knee next to Amina. “The counteragent I gave him must be working.”
“Counteragent?” Myrum asked, blinking hard to make the faces in front of him stop wavering.
“Lorse drugged you,” Amina explained. He focused solely on her. It was easier with one person.
Should he be more alarmed by that information? All he could summon was vague annoyance. He was much more concerned with getting to his feet.
“Need to leave,” he said.
Amina gave a nervous laugh. “That’s what we were trying to do before you got all feisty. Gilush and Sar are going to help you stand and walk, okay? No more falling down.”
This time when hands grabbed under his arms, he didn’t fight them. Everything went crooked when they lifted him to his feet, but the hallway and everyone righted themselves quickly.
After a few steps, he was even able to move his legs correctly without dragging them at all. It felt like a huge accomplishment.
Gis and Amina went back to talking as they walked. He concentrated on staying behind Amina, which helped keep his brain from feeling like it was sloshing around in his head. The focus was so complete, when she came to a stop, halting everyone else, he didn’t understand why until he heard Lorse.
“I expect bad behavior from the human, but Gis? You came with high recommendations. Gilush and Sar, how could you betray me like this? Especially you, Sar. I sent most of your family to the white planet for disobedience, but I spared you. This is poor repayment.”
Myrum looked up to find Lorse and three of his security staff standing in front of an old, battered shuttle. That’s right, there had been a plan. They were going to board a shuttle and meet with Helmen.
But why was Lorse here? That wasn’t part of the plan.
“Wrong,” Myrum said. “Wrong place.”
“I know, my soul’s match,” Lorse said. “You’re in the wrong place. You should still be sitting at the banquet table or relaxing in my bed. Don’t worry, I’ll fix that. Although it seems we won't have staff for a while.”
“We can hold them in subfloor storage until they can be collected by the authorities,” one of the guards said. “If they don’t survive down there, then the cold will preserve the bodies for shipping.”
“Where is Ifor? She wouldn’t have left her station,” Ilmed asked. “What did you do to her?”
“She’s, um,” Sar said, her voice shaking. “She had to, uh, use the elimination room.”
Even Myrum heard the lie in her voice. When he looked over at Sar, he noticed the rest of the outpost staff huddled together with Isal, watching them.
“You’re all going to the white planet,” Lorse said, running his gaze over the rest of the staff then back to Sar. “This is going to be so very inconvenient for me.”
Gis spoke up quickly, pulling Lorse’s attention away from the quaking staff.
“Sir, I think there’s been a horrible misunderstanding.
I know this isn’t protocol, but you must let us return this Talin to his ship.
He doesn’t want to stay, and we are only trying to save you from an interspecies political incident. ”
“Of course he wants to stay with me,” Lorse snapped. “We are soul matched and formally bound. He can never leave me.”
“Almost none of the normal ceremonies were done,” Gis said. “You never gave him any lineage documents or letter of family acceptance from your parents.”
“He’s Talin, not Ossiso,” Lorse said. “That means I don’t have to do any of those things.”
Gis opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off when Lorse made a loud, aggravated sound.
“Why am I justifying myself to you? You’re obviously an Annexer who was looking for an excuse to turn all my staff against me. I was going to send you off to be tried and executed, but I don’t think I’ll bother. You’re too dangerous to remain alive.”
Myrum stood tall, relieved to find the room remained steady around him. It was easier to think, and it was time for him to try to talk Lorse down.
“I’d leave now,” Myrum said. His words didn’t sound quite right, but it was the best he could do. “I speak with family and clan. Then back here. We be together.”
Lorse gave him a surprised look. “You’re talking. I must not have given you enough.”
Myrum ignored the reference to drugging him. He pointed to all the staff around him. “Want them. Gift. I want gift of them. All them. For trip. Gift like Gis.”
He felt proud of himself; he’d asked Lorse to let them all leave together.
“I’m so saddened that you let all of them influence you,” Lorse said. “It must be the drugs. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
In a single, fast move, Lorse grabbed Amina by the arm and dragged her away from everyone else. “You’re covered in blood! Are you the reason Ifor isn’t here? Soulless beast! I’m sure all of this is your fault.”
He shook her, and Myrum's brain shifted. Instead of the oddly numb and confused feelings he’d been experiencing, hot rage filled him.
No one touched Amina like that.
Amina
When Lorse grabbed her, Amina didn’t hesitate to unsheathe her claws and sink them into his arm. There was no way she was letting him hurt her again.
Lorse cried out in pain at the same time Myrum’s roars and rattle filled the room. She was too busy tangling with Lorse to see what was going on, but she heard the sounds of violent fighting.
Letting go with his injured arm, Lorse grabbed her around the throat with his other hand.
“How dare you!” he screamed in her face, squeezing and shaking her.
She tried to claw at the arm holding her, but the earlier fight with Ifor had injured something in her back. She couldn’t lift her arms up past her sternum. She’d told Gilush it was fine and they could deal with it later.
“I’m going to enjoy watching you die,” he snarled, his face close to hers as he tightened his hold on her throat. She couldn't suck in any air. Her throat burned, and her vision started to darken around the edges.
Was this how she died?
“Things like you should never be allowed among the civilized,” he hissed. “Vile, nasty creature!”
Amina felt something move in her robe. Ruby! She hoped the little lizard would survive this.
Instead of moving down the robe and across the floor to safety, Ruby scrambled up and jumped onto the arm holding Amina’s throat.
“What is this thing?” Lorse cried out, letting go of her throat to shake Ruby off. Amina sucked in air while the lizard held on tight. Her stumpy, fat tail thumped against Lorse’s arm with every violent swing.
Lorse slapped his other hand down on Ruby with a loud clap.
“Ruby!” Amina cried, her voice coming out in a croak. She expected to see blood and guts seep out from under Lorse’s hand, but instead dozens of thin spikes appeared through the back of the Ossiso’s hand.
Was this some kind of Ossiso defense mechanism she didn’t know about?
Lorse’s eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. He lifted his hand to reveal an uninjured Ruby stuck to his palm with all the spikes protruding out of her back.
Amina could’ve sworn the lizard had a triumphant look on her normally sleepy face. Unsure what to do, Amina remained still and watched as Lorse’s mouth opened in a silent scream. His eyes rolled back, and he fell sideways.
Kneeling down, she found Ruby still stuck to Lorse’s hand. He landed with the arm at an odd angle, so Ruby was on her side with her little legs flailing in the air. The moment Amina put her hand under Ruby the spikes disappeared and Ruby dropped onto her palm.
“If I promise to feed you only the best bugs ever, will you promise never to spike me?” she murmured, tucking Ruby against her chest. “Does Myrum know you can do that?”
Ruby’s answer was to let out a sigh and snuggle close. She knew the lizard was smarter than everyone thought, and it turned out she also had sharp secrets, just like Amina.
Looking down at Lorse, she took in his still form and unfocused, open eyes.
“You look very dead,” she said, her voice a painful whisper. “Taken out by a tiny lizard. I guess you got the end you deserved because I bet you didn’t think she had a soul either.”
A violent roar pulled her attention away from the dead Ossiso. She looked up in time to watch another Ossiso die.
Myrum literally pulled Isal’s head from her body with a deafening rattle. Blood sprayed from the neck as he tossed the fresh corpse away. It hit a wall and fell bonelessly to the floor.
Shaking the head still in hands by the mane, Myrum tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and roared. Blood splattered all over several of the staff who were cowering nearby.
Intimidated, Amina took a step back and tripped over Lorse’s dead body. Her surprised gasp hurt her throat as much as landing on her ass.
She managed to keep Ruby safely sheltered against her chest, unconcerned about the poisoned spikes that killed Lorse. If the lizard was going to hurt her over a little jostling, she would’ve done it by now.
Something impacted a wall, making the Ossisos let out little startled cries, then Myrum was crouched in front of her on all fours, purring loudly.
Myrum pointed to her face and arms. “Blood.”
She looked down. Her hands and arms were covered in blood, probably from clawing first the guard then Lorse.
“It’s not my blood.” She grimaced at the sound of her voice; it sounded as painful as it felt to talk.
“Voice bad,” he grunted and dropped his eyes to her throat. There must’ve been marks there because he growled then turned around, picked up Lorse’s body, and tossed it.
Amina watched it land in a pile of other bodies and a few miscellaneous pieces. Well, at least she didn’t have to look at Lorse any longer.
When Myrum turned back, she held out a hand. “Help me up.”
He ignored her hand and reached down to hook his hands under her arms and lift her easily to her feet.
Once she was standing, he held out his arms, inviting her to hug him. Keeping Ruby tucked against her chest, she pressed close against him, uncaring about the blood all over both of them.
When warriors went into battle, blood was inevitable.