Night Song (The Guild Wars Book 9) by Mark Wandrey (best management books of all time .txt) 📗

who halted the battle? Conspiring with Humans, hiding heavy-assault tanks? You don’t think we can tell you have been undercutting this contract all along?”

Nillab’s tail curved high, and she took a full step forward before taking evident hold of herself. “All the progress—and most of the losses—of this contract to date have been on the Zuul side, rather than the Pushtal, and you say these words to me?”

In another setting, Meesh might have backed off from the gleam of the Zuul’s metal-coated teeth, but now he snarled back, desperate to put her in her place.

“Enough!” The Vergola stepped forward, interrupting their line of sight of each other, and raised his hands. “Let us examine video of the battle, then, Captain. Show me the disruption the unexpected tanks caused.”

“I said I am not sure what happened, Fak’l.” Nillab used the Vergola’s name without title or care. Meesh might have huffed in surprised approval, were he not so close to launching himself across the room. “I already attempted to watch recordings of the video on my way here to report. Strangely, they’ve all been deleted.” She stepped forward again, tilting her muzzle down and to the side, her eyes blazing at Meesh and the Vergola both. “Perhaps someone did something they are ashamed of in the battle. By not following the plan?”

A yowl of utter rage yanked out of his chest, and Meesh tasted the blood he so dearly wanted to spill. “Are you implying—do you think—the Zuul—you think—” Adrenaline and bloodlust and liquid hot anger sluiced through him, making words impossible.

“It has, after all, happened many times before. I believe last time you indicated you would not stand for it again, Fak’l?” Nillab turned fully toward the Vergola, polite and attentive.

Meesh would rip every head in this room off its respective spine and use them for play until they rotted. He would spill their intestines and hang them from the ceiling for kits to play with. He would—

“It seems we have chosen poorly on this contract,” the Vergola said, looking up at the ceiling. Both Meesh and Nillab stiffened, but Fak’l took no apparent notice of the thickening tension in the room. Did he not know how close he was to death at Meesh’s claws? “I want the attack resumed. You are returned to the planet, Captain. Ensure it is done.”

“Now?” Nillab cocked her head again, and her tail waved once, definitively, to the side. Meesh, his own tail in constant, twisting motion, knew it for a clear rejection. “Fak’l, it will take hours—three at least—to deal with our wounded and regroup the squads accordingly. Then to stagger appropriately with the Pushtal to best balance the—”

“You have one hour, Captain. I will not be disappointed again. This ends. Today.” He turned without looking at either of them and swept out of the room.

Meesh ripped his claws out of the table and glared across the room at Nillab. She returned his gaze until he blinked, then left in the direction from which she’d entered.

He was going to kill everyone.

But not yet. With a ragged breath, he composed himself enough to send a message to Skeesh. The Pushtal, at least, would be ready to end this today, indeed.

* * * * *

Chapter 13

Classified Engineering Guild Holding—E’cop’k System

Rex opened still-bleary eyes into the middle of an argument. He forced himself to blink a few times, then wriggled his ears until the ebb and flow of voices resolved themselves into words.

“—nothing about that is final; she could change her mind.”

“The captain understands that circumstances have changed. I’m sure if we give her more information, she’ll be able to—”

“That hardly changes—”

Rex flapped his ears again, harder. His father’s voice he expected, after his stunt in the battle. But he couldn’t actually be hearing Veska?

“She is the most decorated—”

“That’s hardly—”

“Rex!” Sonya’s voice cut across the rest the moment he moved his arms to push himself upright. “Pause on that. Brother, you took a ripper of a hit to your head.” She loomed into focus above him, and he blinked again.

“Sunny. Thought I heard—”

“Zuul have hard heads. Expected you awake before this.” Another Zuul appeared behind Sonya, and he breathed in more deeply. The expected scents of all of his siblings and his father, a faded hint of Bana, and…

Female. Insho’Ze. Veska.

“He did slam it pretty impressively,” Ripley said, and Rex meant to turn his head to look at her, but his eyes were glued to the one Zuul in the room he wasn’t related to.

“Took out the tank, though,” he managed, ungluing his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

“Disabled the big gun, at least,” Veska replied, and Sonya shifted out of the way with a drop-jawed grin.

A moment later Veska’s nose was buried in his neck, and he turned his head and bit her shoulder without thought.

“Get a room!” Drake announced, and something bounced off Rex’s legs.

He didn’t bother to look to see what it was. “I believe this is my room,” he said, voice muffled in Veska’s fur.

“It’s a shared room, idiot!”

Alan cleared his throat, and that took the two of them apart again. “We were talking with your…friend,” Alan gestured to Veska. “She was telling us about her commander on site.”

“Captain Nillab,” Veska said. “She is a legend among the Zuul…” Veska glanced at Rex, her tail twitching. “Outside the Hosh, though she once fought for one.”

“There’s that word again,” Alan said. “Is it related to Krif’Hosh?”

“You know of the Hosh?” Veska gasped.

“The ones I got these five from, they used the name Krif’Hosh. Crent was their commander.” Alan looked at the five young Zuul and sighed. “We were performing a mission on Gephard alongside the Zuul unit. It went to shit, and we couldn’t disengage long enough to get