Destiny's Blood by Marie Bilodeau (best authors to read .TXT) 📗

been compromised. It meant that the hull was at its weakest here and with fuel no longer running to the engine, the chances of an unplanned explosion were limited.

“I never thought I’d shoot my own ship,” he muttered. Forgive me.

He fired his two rockets. They impacted near the engine, the ship lurching at the new explosion. The metal ripped and shrieked, and the engine was pulled half out of its joints, revealing a hole big enough for the shuttle to fly through.

Ardin slowly brought the shuttle out, careful to pay attention to the Destiny’s lurching movements. Dark space surrounded them and he allowed himself a deep breath. He leaned back onto his seat. Layela squeezed his arm gently, and he covered her hand with his, glad he wasn’t alone. He wondered if that was the only way they would ever connect. By seeing each other’s homes and dreams being destroyed.

He didn’t dare turn back for one final look, keeping the memory of his home intact. The Destiny was quiet behind them.

As quiet as a graveyard.

CHAPTER 31

The elevator doors hissed open on the bridge of the Victory. Bright lights and the faint scent of lemon assaulted Avienne’s senses. She couldn’t hear the engines’ hum, and wondered if Destiny had once been this quiet.

The panels reflected the light, in a similar configuration to Destiny’s, except this one was cleaner and not worn away by years of use and poor repair jobs. Avienne’s stomach lurched with regret — regret at Destiny’s slow and long deterioration, and regret that she had never taken the time to treat her better. She let the regret wash over her and slip away, to leave behind only the slow numbing knowledge of loss. She did not fight it, but she did not let it encompass her, either.

“Captain Zortan Mistolta,” Gobran Kipso greeted them, ignoring Malavant’s redheaded child.

“Captain Kipso,” Zortan acknowledged the man with a nod. His dark eyes locked with Kipso’s, and neither man backed down or turned away. Avienne gave a low whistle. It took guts or stupidity to face down Zortan.

“I must admit,” Kipso let the words come slowly, “I have long imagined the scene in which I took down the traitor of Mirial.”Avienne grinned at the thought of Gobran Kipso taking down the tall, imposing man before her. “However,” Kipso broke out in a huge grin. “I just received very good news and don’t wish to spoil it by having to kill you!”

“What news?” Zortan asked, ignoring the fat man’s bold claims.

Gobran gave a short, quick laugh. “Survivors, Zortan! Survivors! My beautiful daughter lives yet!” He paused and his smile faltered a bit. “I asked about Adina,” he continued in a soft whisper as he met Zortan’s eyes. “She lives, too.”

Zortan stood perfectly still for a few moments, and Avienne wished she could see his face. She wondered who Adina was. Then Zortan nodded and Gobran clasped the side of his arm warmly, as though the two had once been friends.

“I’m still bringing you in,” Gobran smiled. “But alive. And I don’t expect you to cause too much trouble for an old friend!” The ship roared through the atmosphere, flames licking its hull, as the old planet of Mirial welcomed one of its wayward children home.

She could hear the smile in Zortan’s reply. “Only as much trouble as an old friend is willing to cause me.”

Gobran laughed as he braced himself at the slight turbulence, and was about to say something else when Loran interrupted him.

 “Captain, there’s something coming towards us!”

Considering Gobran’s size, Avienne was surprised at his speed. He was on tactical in moments, pushing the young crewman out of his way.

Avienne looked out the viewing port and gasped. Coming towards them, in a great foaming sea, was a wave of white, broken by shades of blues and greys. The ship jostled once more and was still as it stabilized in the planet’s sky, but still the wave came towards them, and Avienne could have sworn it even diverged slightly to cross their path.

“Mirial’s guts,” Gobran whispered, his features taut and white. He walked to his captain’s chair with slow, awkward steps.

“Do what you can to avoid that,” he whispered to Loran, whose big eyes remained glued to the screen. “Loran,” Kipso placed his hand on her shoulder, jerking the young woman back to reality. She pulled sideways on the controls and the ship turned slowly.

Too slow, Avienne knew. A ship this size wasn’t made for quick manoeuvres in an atmosphere. She trained her eyes to the wave, now almost on top of them. The greys and blues shimmered and took shape, and she strained her eyes to make them out. Faces!

She took a step back and gasped. The wave overtook the ship and small sounds like knocks resonated over the entire hull. It was like they were caught in a bad hailstorm, except that each knock seemed to be followed by a whisper, a plea to be let in. A thousand icicles formed on her spine.

“Captain, they’re dragging us down!” Loran cried, desperately pulling back on the controls. Kipso went to help her.

“Gant, weapons!” he shouted. “See if you can’t hit them with the ether cannons!”

Avienne turned to the young man at the tactical controls. Sweat ran down his brow and outlined his wide eyes.

In two quick steps Avienne had closed the distance to the tactical station. The young man didn’t even seem to notice her, his eyes filled with terror and reflecting the ghostly features of their assailants.

“Blood and bones, out of my way!” Avienne pushed him aside. The man slid off the seat and onto the floor, his mouth still moving and his eyes still transfixed.

“Cannons, now!” Kipso screamed. He pulled hard on the controls while Loran stood beside him, sobbing and paralyzed with fear. For half a second Avienne saw what she saw — faces looking at them, colliding with the view screen. Some were distorted almost beyond recognition, blue shimmers pointing out old features; others, the most blood-chilling ones, looked so human