Chapter 17
Ducking to avoid a low branch, Connor kicked Rogue faster. The black hindquarters of the lieutenant’s horse flashed into view as they began to catch up to their quarry. Deep black, with the faintest sheen of purple.
His mind insisted his instincts weren’t wrong. He knew that horse.
Ereven screeched at their prey, flying close enough to aggravate the soldier and horse.
The man nearly fell, swearing loudly as he raced through the night.
Thundering hooves got louder as he and Rogue got closer.
They were darting through the dark forest at a dangerous speed, given the unfamiliar territory.
How was he going to stop them without risking Opal?
Keeping his gaze honed on the horse ahead of them, he let Rogue choose his path through the trees. A swatch of moonlight glinted brightly as they entered a semi-clear area, flashing a familiar shade of lustrous purple as it hit the horse’s black coat.
Elation sparked as the chase shifted into his favor. His lightning team partner’s horse, Midnight, ran in front of him. He didn’t know how that was possible, but he was grateful.
Pushing Rogue into a burst of reserve speed, they came even with the ones they hunted.
“Vetech, Midnight! Vetech!” he yelled.
The horse he’d helped train slammed to a halt and reared at his command. The man cursed sharply from the doubly jarring movement and fell hard. Connor took a second to verify that Opal was alive and clinging to Midnight before leaping off Rogue to tackle his prey.
A foot collided with his ribs as he landed, shoving him back and away. Uninjured, Connor jumped up and pulled his spare knife as he blocked the upward movement of his opponent. Twisting to protect his injured side, the man jolted sideways towards the horses.
With a roar of anger, Conner brought the full force of his blade down, slamming the hilt into the space where the neck and shoulder met. Grunting in pain, the man fell to his knees. Connor kicked him in his injured side, forcing him all the way to the ground.
“Stay down!” Connor commanded, pressing the point of his blade to the man’s neck.
His vicious, winged partner dove to assist, staying on the opposite side as they threatened their enemy with knife and claw. A moment of worry over Opal witnessing more brutality made him pause.
Reining in his desire to end the man, Connor fought the river of avenging energy running through him. Dipping into the cold pool at his core iced his emotions to a sharp point.
The brief second of delay gave time for something to spark in his memory.
Fractured images of two men beneath a tree, one a known comrade, the other a stranger.
This stranger. With so much of his mind jumbled loose, old memories were constantly flickering alive.
He pressed the blade tighter while he shoved the memory back, but the damage was done.
“I know you,” Connor said.
“Unlikely.” The tone was deep and gravelly. Old scarring along his throat indicated that maybe a previous injury had damaged his voice.
Connor’s mind insisted it was familiar, but did it really matter? “You’re involved in the death of my team, or you wouldn’t have one of our horses.”
“Traded for them. Nothing more.” The man sucked in air.
Cold rage fueled Connor as he pulled the knife back and punched the man hard. Bone cracked as the man cursed, blood trickling down his face.
“Try again. You abducted and traumatized my girls. You deserve to die for that alone.”
Ember dug her claws deep into the man’s shoulder with an angry screech. The man gave a hoarse yell and jerked. Breath rasping in audible pain, the man’s chest heaved.
“Those mercenaries weren’t ours. They just sold us the girls, a few horses, and some gear. That’s it. Happens all the time.”
That rang true. Still, it didn’t explain why he recognized the man. His mind was still trying to place the other lightning warrior in the memory fragment. Let alone this man.
Movement had Connor tensing as Midnight closed in next to them and slowly kneeled on the ground, low enough let to Opal slip off his back.
Connor blinked in surprise, the realization that Opal was just a little too good at mellowing giant, fierce warhorses striking him.
Horse magic. He should have realized it before.
Connor tightened his hold against the lieutenant—Devryn, he recalled from their collective observations at the fortress—to prevent escape as he shifted his attention to Opal.
She’d seen him kill already, but he hated to do it again.
If he used the knife, she’d end up covered in blood from where she stood.
“Opal—” He started to tell her to back away.
“Don’t hurt him.” Opal’s blunt, assertive gaze met his pleadingly.
Zevat. There was no way she was leaving the clearing on her own.
“He’s like Rogue. He’s only mean when other people are around.”
Her defense of the man shifted from dislike of violence in Connor’s mind to something very specific. Devryn cursed beneath the point of Connor’s knife.
Opal reached out to stroke the horse beside her. “And Midnight likes him.”
Rogue’s angry huff accentuated her statement as Midnight rose from the ground and walked over to give his longtime partner a vocal greeting and a rub on the shoulder.
Ryan would go ballistic when he heard that his horse had decided to befriend their enemy.
Connor’s chest tightened with the need to make decisions quickly, before things got out of hand.
“Opal, go with Midnight or back up. Now.”
She obeyed, backing up several steps. At least she was out of the man’s reach. He turned back to Devryn.
“Tell me why I recognize you.”
Anger spilled from the man’s eyes, but Connor was known for his patience in waiting out enemies. He stared the man down.
“Samir,” the man eventually spat the name at him.
“No.” Connor really didn’t like that idea as information clicked into place.
Samir had been captain of one of the other Lightning Teams in Connor’s division. The kind that dealt in intel and secrets. Until his entire team had been killed in action.
“Then kill me. Samir and I will have a good laugh at your ignorance when we meet again.”
Connor’s mind finally released the full memory he’d been struggling with.
They’d had a joint mission with Team Obsidian.
Connor and Ryan had been early to the rendezvous point, and he’d had to shadow them so as not to disturb the meeting Samir was having.
This man—Devryn—had been going over some type of intel with Samir.
His mind produced the symbols he’d been seeing in his fevered dreams. Whether there was a connection or not, there was one thing he knew for sure: Devryn had been a lightning team informant.
“Zevat,” Connor cursed.
“Agreed.”
“Why didn’t you continue?” Team Obsidian’s assignments were all handed over. Their official contacts and informants would have been as well.
“And get attacked by a nest of vipers? I don’t think so. Besides, Samir and I had a private arrangement. It wasn’t official.”
The word settled like a stone in Connor’s gut. Ember grumbled beside him. “Vipers?”
“That’s what killed Samir’s team. Yours too, I imagine.”
The ringing clash of metal sounded in the depths of his mind, preceding the flash of an unwanted memory.
Stabbing his opponent deep, Connor followed up with a powerful kick to dislodge the man from his blade.
He dropped to the ground, still gasping as his wounds bled his lifeforce at a quick rate.
Assessing that the man was dying rapidly and wouldn’t be rising, he kicked the man’s sword out of reach and knelt over his body.
A quick search revealed a few weapons he didn’t want and a medallion.
He closed his eyes as he squeezed the medallion in his fist. His team had been set upon by the most notorious group of mercenaries in existence.
The pain radiating from the back of his head expanded to the point he felt blackness invading the edges of his mind.
Footsteps sounded nearby, and he knew by instinct it wasn’t the gait of one of his comrades.
Silencing his groan at the need to battle yet another assassin, Connor shoved the viper medallion in his pocket. If they were following him, they weren’t after his teammates or the girls. Turning, he headed further up the mountain trail.
“There is only one way you could know what happened,” Connor insisted. Only the lead viper held the medallion, and he’d taken it off the man when they’d been alone in the woods.
“I’m not one of those zevving assassins!” the man cursed, causing the blade to nick deeper into his skin. “They sold us the girls. No need to disguise themselves—they are mercenaries in truth. Although not infallible if you’re still alive.”
Opal made a distressed sound that made them both pause.
Devryn let his head drop back in a semblance of defeat. “I was supposed to meet with Samir that day. Witnessed the tail end of it. Too late to help.”
Two Lightning Teams, both ambushed by mercenary vipers. His gut churned. Coming to a decision, he slowly removed his blade and sat back on his heels. “What intel were you there to give Samir?”
“Our goals were similar. To get information on the research labs that so many mages disappear into, never to return. One of our leads panned out. I’d confirmed it, but… it was too late. The traitor must have realized we were onto her.”
“Who?”
“Samir’s commanding officer. Mekray, I think, was the name.”
Connor jerked, the force of shock snapping through his body as Alison’s image flashed in his mind. “No way.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t believe it was possible that one of their leaders might have betrayed them. But his commanding officer was one of the most dedicated officers he’d ever met. He owed his career to her. More than that.
“Samir had the same reaction initially. Didn’t believe it. Demanded I confirm it because there was no way I could be right. But I was.”
“You saw her?”