Chapter 20 Nyx
NYX
The walls wouldn't give.
I slammed my shoulder against the metal again, felt the impact reverberate through bone and muscle. The structure shuddered but held. My wings scraped against the ceiling, unable to fully extend in this cramped space.
"Nyx, stop." Lexa's hand found my arm. "You're going to hurt yourself."
I pulled back, breathing hard. My throat still burned from dehydration, each breath scraping through damaged tissue.
Outside, the sounds of battle intensified. Screams cut through the air, sharp and terrified. The distinctive shriek of firebirds hunting. Weapons firing in rapid succession, the unfamiliar crack of human technology mixing with more primitive sounds.
People were dying.
And I was trapped in this box.
I circled the small office, searching for weaknesses. The walls were solid. The door was barred from the outside, no mechanism on this side to force it open. Even the desk was bolted to the floor, useless as a battering ram.
My claws scraped against metal, leaving shallow grooves that did nothing.
Lexa moved to the far corner, running her hands along the seams where different sections joined. Her expression was focused, analytical. Looking for the structural weakness that would give us an opening.
"We’re getting the fuck out of here," she muttered.
Another scream, closer this time. The sound of something heavy hitting the ground, followed by the wet crunch of impact.
The firebirds were everywhere.
A massive impact shook the entire structure. The ceiling buckled inward with a screech of tortured metal. Dust and debris rained down, forcing me to shield my eyes.
Lexa stumbled, caught herself against the desk. "What the hell?"
The roof groaned. Metal bent at the wrong angles. Through the growing gap, I caught a glimpse of crimson feathers and massive talons gripping the edge of the torn ceiling.
The creature's weight was too much for the already damaged structure. The ceiling collapsed further, opening a jagged hole directly above us. The bird shrieked, startled by the sudden instability beneath its feet. Its wings flared, catching air.
It launched itself skyward, leaving the damaged roof behind.
"Go!" Lexa was already moving, scrambling onto the desk. She jumped, caught the edge of the torn metal, and pulled herself up with impressive strength.
I followed, my wings giving me the advantage of height. The metal edges were sharp, cutting into my palms as I hauled myself through the opening. I ignored the pain, focused on getting out, getting to safety.
Getting my mate to safety.
The roof was unstable, sections tilting at dangerous angles. I grabbed Lexa's arm as she found her footing, steadied her as the metal shifted beneath us.
The settlement spread out below, a chaotic mess of burning structures and panicked humans. Firebirds wheeled overhead, at least a dozen of them.
Bodies littered the ground. Some moving, some not.
The main fighting was concentrated to the north, where I could see humans with those blaster weapons forming defensive lines. They were holding, barely, but the birds kept coming.
"We need to move," Lexa said. Her hand found mine, squeezed once. "This is our chance. We can slip away while they're distracted."
She was right. The chaos provided perfect cover for escape. We could make it to the edge of the settlement, disappear into the desert before anyone noticed we were gone.
No one would stop us. No one would think to try.
A scream cut through the air from the east side of the camp. High and terrified, the sound of someone who knew they were about to die.
My body turned toward it before my mind caught up. Every instinct I'd honed over forty years of warrior training pulled me in that direction.
"Nyx?" Lexa's voice held a question.
I looked at her. Saw the same conflict playing across her face that was tearing through my chest. The tactical part of her brain was screaming to run, to take the opportunity we'd been given. But the warrior in her recognized that scream for what it was.
A call for help.
"We have to help them," I said.
The words came out rough, my throat protesting. But they were true. These humans might have locked us up, might have called me a monster, might have threatened to kill me. But they were still people fighting for their lives against a threat I knew how to handle.
I was a warrior of Scalvaris. A member of the Blade Council. I'd spent my entire life protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.
I couldn't walk away.
Lexa stared at me for a long moment. Then her expression shifted, something fierce and determined settling into her features.
"Damn it." She checked her knife, made sure it was secure in its sheath. "Let's go."
We jumped from the roof together. I caught her mid-fall, my wings spreading to slow our descent. We hit the ground running, heading east toward the sounds of combat.
The eastern section of the settlement was less defended. Most of the humans with weapons had concentrated to the north, leaving this area vulnerable. Three firebirds circled overhead, picking off targets with brutal efficiency.
A woman ran between buildings. A firebird dove, talons extended.
I was faster.
I hit the bird mid-dive, my claws sinking into its throat. The momentum carried us both into the side of a building. Metal crumpled under the impact. The bird thrashed, trying to get its beak around to my face.
I twisted, used my weight to pin it against the wall. My fangs found its neck, tore through feather and muscle. Hot blood filled my mouth; it tasted like ash and fury.
The bird went limp.
I dropped it, turned to find Lexa already engaged with another. She moved like water, flowing around the creature's attacks. Her knife flashed, found the soft tissue under its wing joint. The bird screamed, tried to take flight with one wing useless.
Lexa didn't give it the chance. She was on it before it could recover, driving her blade into its eye socket. The creature collapsed, twitching.
"Behind you!" someone shouted.
I spun. A third bird was diving straight at me, beak open in a shriek that promised violence.
I met it head-on. Grabbed its neck as it tried to barrel into me, used its own momentum to slam it into the ground. The impact cracked the packed earth. I didn't let go, just kept twisting until I felt bone snap.
Silence.
I straightened, breathing hard. Blood covered my hands, my chest, dripped from my fangs. My wings mantled, instinct making me look bigger, more threatening.
Around us, humans stared. A dozen of them or more. Some were holding makeshift weapons. Others were empty-handed, clearly non-combatants who'd been caught in the open when the attack started.
They were all looking at me like they couldn't quite believe what they'd just seen.
One of them spoke, and after a moment, Lexa nodded. “There are more setting shit on fire. We need to move,” she told me.
I could smell the smoke now, acrid and thick. Hear the crackle of flames eating through whatever materials these structures were made of.
Lexa and I ran.
The fires were worse than I'd expected. Entire sections of the settlement were burning, flames climbing walls and jumping between buildings. Humans were fighting the blazes with water and sand, trying to contain the damage.
The firebirds were making it impossible.
They dove and struck, scattering the firefighting efforts. Forcing people to choose between putting out flames and defending themselves. It was a brutal tactic, one designed to maximize chaos and destruction.
One of the birds spotted us. It banked hard, changed trajectory to come straight at Lexa.
I put myself between them.
The bird hit me like a battering ram. Talons raked across my chest, found the gaps between my scales. Pain exploded through my torso, but I didn't let go. I wrapped my arms around its body, pinned its wings.
It thrashed, trying to get its beak to my throat. I tucked my chin, protected the vulnerable arteries. Its beak scraped across my shoulder instead, tore through scale and into muscle.
Lexa was there. Her knife found the base of the bird's skull, drove in with surgical precision. The creature went rigid, then limp.
I dropped it, pressed my hand to the wound on my shoulder. Blood welled between my fingers, hot and slick.
"How bad?" Lexa's hands were already checking the injury, her touch gentle despite the urgency.
"I'm fine." I wasn't, but we didn't have time for field medicine. Two more birds were still out there.
We found them together, harrying a group of humans who were trying to evacuate children from a burning structure. The birds were working as a team, one diving while the other circled high to strike anyone who tried to run.
Lexa pointed to the higher one. "I'll draw it down. You take the other."
She didn't wait for confirmation, just ran into the open. Waved her arms, made herself a target. "Hey! Over here, you ugly bastard!"
The bird took the bait. It folded its wings, dove straight at her.
I charged the lower one. It saw me coming, tried to adjust its attack pattern. Too slow. I caught it mid-turn, my claws finding purchase in its chest. We went down together, rolling across the ground in a tangle of wings and limbs.
The bird got its beak around, caught my forearm. The serrated edges cut deep, scraped against bone. I roared, more rage than pain, and drove my other hand into its throat. Squeezed until cartilage collapsed.
It died choking on its own blood.
I looked up in time to see Lexa finish her opponent. She'd somehow gotten on its back, was riding it like some kind of deranged woman. Her knife flashed once, twice, three times. The bird's flight pattern stuttered, became erratic.
They hit the ground hard. Lexa rolled clear, came up in a crouch with her knife ready.
The bird didn't get up.
For a moment, everything was quiet. Just the crackle of flames and the ragged sound of breathing. Mine, Lexa's, the humans scattered around us.
Then footsteps. Running, organized, purposeful.
Settlement security descended on us from three directions. At least a dozen of them, all armed with those blaster weapons. The barrels tracked our movements, fingers on triggers.
We were surrounded.
I moved closer to Lexa, my tail finding her ankle. If they were going to kill us, they'd have to go through me first.
One of the security team stepped forward. The same guard who'd tried to grab Lexa earlier, his wrist still bandaged from where my claws had punctured skin. He said something and jabbed his weapon at us.
"What the hell are you doing?" a new voice demanded, rough with smoke inhalation, Lexa offered quiet translation for me. The man pushed through the security line, put himself between us and the weapons. "They defended us and killed those birds when they could have done nothing."
"They're dangerous," the guard said. "Captain's orders are to secure them."
"Secure them?" The burned man gestured at the dead firebirds scattered around us. "They just fought off half a dozen of those things while you were busy ignoring us."
More voices joined in, Lexa translating each one for me. The humans we'd protected, stepping forward one by one. Forming a loose barrier between us and security.
"That one put himself between me and a bird. Took the hit meant for me."
"They could have escaped. They chose to help."
The security team still looked ready to fire.
Footsteps approached from behind the security line. The crowd parted, making way.
Runa appeared, her expression unreadable. She took in the scene with a single sweep of her eyes. The dead firebirds. The humans defending us. The blood covering both me and Lexa.
Her gaze settled on me. I held it, refused to look away.
She studied me for a long moment. Then her attention shifted to Lexa.
"I think," Lexa said, her voice carrying across the sudden quiet, "it's time we talked again. Without the weapons."