Defiance (Rise of the Iliri Book 3) (37 page)

Packs of grauori moved into view, all in shades of white, grey and gold.  As a group, they raised their heads to the sky and called out, the sound like a thousand souls screaming in pain.  The Terran horses spooked and shifted.  Men grabbed at the reins.

In the chaos, Sal's high-pitched voice carried clearly.  "Last chance!  Surrender, or die.  Which will it be, Terrans?  Any man who surrenders will be spared!"

"Kill them, sound the horns!" the Archduke screamed, spinning his horse, and racing to the center of his army.  "Attack!"

Two men, one in black, one in white, raised their bows and loosed.  The Archduke fell from the saddle, an arrow through his spine and one lodged beside it.

Someone get that man's body and take Dom and his page to safety.  The rest of you, kill them all,
Sal sent, as she shoved her helm on her head. 
Fucking kill them all.

She put her heels to Arden, Jase and Blaec on her sides, and the elites rushed forward as one.  The grauori poured from the hills and men screamed as they died in the onslaught.  Sal and her men charged in to meet their desire for death. 

Dag made the first kill, and they drank in the need for more.  Sal slashed at a soldier, but only wounded the man before he fell from his horse.  Razor made the second kill – and through the link, Sal could feel Jase's need rising to meet her own.  The Shields reached for the euphoria of the maast, and the iliri fed it to them.  Their fear fled, their anger grew, and the mixed unit became a whole.  A glance from Blaec warned Tebio of a pike headed at him, and Zep countered the attack.  A thought from Caein told Arctic of a soldier fleeing the field so he could shoot the man from his horse. 

The deeper they waded into the battle, the more aware they became of the grauori around them, the senses of those near them mingling with their own.  They all hacked, slashed, shot, and tore at the Terran soldiers.  The smell of human blood drove them for more.  Hwa saw a man behind her and Sal turned to cut him down, but Ricown heard the cry of surrender.

Ilija!
Sal snapped across the link. 
I need someone to collect the soldiers that surrender.  Dom needs to deal with them.

Yes, Kaisae.  Sal, I'm sorry.

Don't be sorry, just deal with them before I kill them,
she growled.

She turned Arden and raced to her next victim, Jase following close behind.  When Sal swung her blade at a pikeman, slicing the man's hand off at the wrist, she felt a flare of shock from her partner then he hit the ground hard.  Spinning Arden back, she saw a Terran soldier, lance in hand, poised over her mate.  Jase snarled behind his helm, but Sal's heart froze in her throat.  The Terran stabbed.  Jase lunged to the side, and Sal reached for her crossbow.  The pikeman tried again.  Time crawled, the lance thrusting toward the ground while Sal pulled the release.  Jase's sweet rush of pain filled her mind a split second before her bolt hit, and she pushed Arden into the fray.  The human grasped at his arm.  Desperate to make the man pay, Sal threw the useless crossbow at him, the wood smashing against his helm.

"Die, iliri!" he yelled, kicking his horse as he reached for his sword.

Sal waited, Arden jigging beneath her until the man was almost on her.  He swung.  She ducked, caught his forearm, and pulled, shoving her heel into Arden.  The mare jerked away from the enemy horse.  With nothing to support him, the human fell, crumpling onto the ground with a groan.  Sal dropped from her horse and stormed toward the idiot.

"Killer?" she asked, his pain still coursing through her mind.

"I'm hit, kitten," he told her.

Sal kicked the man on the ground.  "Get up." He shielded himself with his arms, crawling through the dirt.  "I said, get up,
human
," she snarled again.

"I surrender!" the man called out.

Grabbing his pauldron, she pulled his body toward her, wrenching his helm from his head to find the face of a young man, no more than twenty.  He looked scared.  Wide eyes stared back into hers, and she could smell it even over the carnage.

"You just impaled my lover.  Do you think you can surrender now?" she yelled in his face before releasing him, letting his body crash back into the dirt.  Ripping her own helm from her head, she threw it at him.  "Get up, and fight like a man!"

"No, I surrender!" the guy cried again, cowering away from her.

"You thought it sounded like fun to kill us a second ago."  Hooking her fingers in his armor, she dragged him toward Jase.  The Terran screamed in fear, struggling to get free, but Sal's maast lent her strength.  She dropped him beside her lover and grabbed his head, forcing him to look at what he'd done.  The wound bled freely, the lance pinning him to the ground.  "What changed, human?  Why
was
that so enticing and
now
you want to become my pet?"

"Don't kill me!" the guy begged.

Sal!
Jase warned, and she turned, lashing out at the rider he'd seen bearing down on her.  Her blade hit the horse across the knees, and the beast tried to run another stride with its legs cut nearly out from under it.  The rider tumbled over its shoulder.  Sal pounced on him, snapping the man's neck before he too could beg for surrender.  When she turned back, the Terran was staring.

"You really can't kill us if we surrender?"

"I would na push my luck," Jase grumbled, reaching up to the lance impaling his shoulder.

Risk!
Sal summoned, knowing that if Jase pulled the lance out, he'd likely bleed to death.  "Jase, leave it."  Then she looked at the young man.  "You touch my mate, and I'll rip your throat out with my teeth." 

"Yes, Kaisae," Jase breathed, letting his hand fall to his side.

The boy shook his head as if to clear it.  "They said we had to fight.  We had to fight, or they'd kill our families!  Ma said you couldn't kill us if we surrendered, but they said you were just beasts."

"Sit the fuck down," Sal growled at him.  "This stupid battle's almost done, just shut up."

He nodded and sat down in the dirt.

Feeling Risk heading their way, she knelt beside Jase.  "Love?"

He chuckled.  "Wrong man, kitten."

The lance pinned him awkwardly to the ground.  He couldn't lay on his side nor his back without it pulling at the wound, so Sal lowered herself next to him, leaning his back against her legs.  "You'll just have to accept that I do love you as much as him.  You just kill better."

Jase nodded, the pain making him clench his teeth, and the emotions of her fellow soldiers began to fade from her awareness.  Roo had removed them from the main link. 

The kid shifted his position, and her eyes darted to him.

"I'm not moving!" he said.

"You are, and you have no idea how much I want to kill you."

"Do na hurt the kid, Sal," Jase whispered.

"He surrendered.  I can't."

Jase looked up at her. 
I touched him, kitten.  He's scared to death. 

She nodded.

Risk finally made it there.  "Damn, Cyno, you're fucked," he said by way of greeting, hopping off his horse.  "Sal, I'm gonna need you to pull the lance out."

I'm going to need you to grab my prisoner.  Unless you want to deal with Jase in the maast?

No,
Risk thought back. 
I'll get the kid; you get him.  The grauori are cleaning up.  Who's in charge until you get back?

Blaec and Ilija.  Tell them to work it out.

Risk nodded.  "Ready?"

Jase let his head fall back onto the ground.  "Yeah."

Sal looked at the Terran soldier.  "You move, and we'll kill you.  You run, and we'll kill you.  Understand?"

The boy nodded, fear written across his face. 

Then she turned back to Jase.  He met her eyes, holding them.  She grabbed the shaft and waited for Risk to kneel beside him, holding Jase tightly.  With a nod from the healer, Sal pulled, and felt the spiked tip rip as it slowly tore from her lover's body.  Jase clenched his jaw and held her eyes, his body straining against the pain.  When the tip came free, Sal staggered back before throwing it aside.  Jase gasped for air, his back arching away from the ground.  Sal dropped to his side, pressing against the wound to stop the free flowing blood.  That's when Risk began to exhale, and Jase screamed. 

Sal clamped her bloody hand over his mouth, silencing his cries.  When the first wave passed, he met her eyes again.  His gaze was filled with appreciation, and his mind reached out for hers.  She met him, and the next wave of healing split the pain between them.

"Fucking berserkers," Risk panted.  "One more."

Sal nodded and braced for it.  The burning of the healing scorched her nerves through Jase's mind, driving her deeper into her desire. When the flare of healing ebbed, Sal could no longer restrain her needs.  She pulled Jase to her, his hands tangling in her hair, and they growled as their mouths met.  Everything around them was secondary to the needs of their bodies.  Jase tore at her armor and Sal nipped at his lips.

"Sal," Risk hissed.  "Sal, get off the damned battlefield!"  With a snarl, she looked at him, but the healer pointed to the field.  "Kaisae, look around.  You can't have him here."

That would cause problems.  Humans wouldn't understand.  Somehow, they struggled to their feet, and Sal aimed Jase toward his mare.  Now that his body was healed, he mounted easily but waited for her before the pair raced toward the woods.  They weren't alone.  Groups of grauori did the same while others roamed across the wasteland of bodies.  Risk sighed and turned to the young man beside him.

"You just put a lance through my brother.  You're damned lucky to be alive right now, so stop grinning at me like an ape and do exactly what I tell you.  My patience with your kind is wearing pretty thin right about now.  You understand, human?"

Eyes wide, the boy nodded.

Chapter 40

"Don't do that to me again, Jase," Sal said, laying satiated beside him on the forest floor.

He smiled down at her, brushing leaves from her hair.  "Never thought I'd hear ya beg me na ta screw ya," he teased.

She pushed him onto his back, nipping his shoulder lovingly.  "I mean take a lance for me."

Jase sighed.  "That, na.  I can na promise ya that."  He pulled her closer and kissed her gently, meeting her pale eyes.  "I would die fer ya, kitten and na regret a thing.  Jus' remember that, ok?"

Sal shook her head slowly.  "No.  I couldn't live without you, Jase.  No dying for me.  I'll share your pain, I'll share your pleasure, and if you die, I'll share your death."

He smiled up at her, pushing a lock of hair beneath her ear.  "Nah, ya will na.  I already told Blaec, and ya know he will na let ya."  He kissed her again, their lips just brushing.  "The world needs ya, Sal.  The iliri need ya.  The grauori need ya.  They need LT, too."

"But I need
you
."  She laid her head on his shoulder and pulled herself against him.  "Jase, you don't understand.  Without you, I'm lost.  I don't know how to be iliri without you.  I don't know how to be Kaisae without you.  Everything I do, I do because you look at me with pride, or you smile when I get it right.  I was raised to be human, killer.  Ayati, nevermind that I love you so much.  I nearly killed that kid – even when he surrendered."

"I know, kitten, but ya did na.  He was scared.  That's why I took the hit, ya know?  His mind hit me so hard, and I did na expect it."

"Do I need to cover you completely next time?  You can't get locked in a reading in the middle of battle, love."

"Is that an upgrade?  From killer ta love?  And ya know I allus get readings."

She cocked her head to the side in a feeble shrug.  "I know, Jase.  I know you just read me, too.  But 'love' fits you when you're gentle, and you've been a lot less feral lately."

"Fair 'nough."  He climbed to his feet, offering his hand.  Then, after lifting her up, he brushed the leaves from her naked body and pulled twigs from her hair.  "Remind me ta pack a blanket in the packs before the next battle?"

Sal tried to smother a giggle.  "I think I actually had one, but we never manage to think of it at the time.  Give us a little blood and we really do turn into beasts with just one thing on our minds.  Ok.  So what do we do with the prisoners?"

"I do na know.  Anglia killed 'em, before.  Does na help our plans to sway the world, though.  Either way, I gotta get ya back."  An impish smile flickered across his lips.  "Na matter how much I wanna keep ya out here alone."

He was right.  She couldn't keep ignoring her responsibilities for the pleasures of the moment.  As a lowly Corporal in the Conglomerate army, it didn't matter what she did, but as the Kaisae?  Her time was no longer her own.  Rummaging through the leaves, the pair found their discarded uniforms, but the heavy resin plates were no longer necessary.  They bundled their armor together.  The mounts could carry the weight of it back.  As Sal strained to reach the top of her mare's back, she felt Jase's arms wrap around her. 

"Yer too short fer that," he whispered in her ear, pressing her between himself and Arden as he tied the gear into place.  When the pack was secure, he turned her to him, then traced the line of her jaw with his hand.  "I do love ya, kitten.  Cessivi.  Do ya know what that one is?"

Sal shook her head.  "You've said it before, but you never gave me a chance to ask."

"It's the word fer two souls that are one.  Souls that are na complete unless they're together.  Cessivi means yer my other half, kitten."

"I am, Jase," she promised.  "Don't forget it, and don't
ever
make me go on without you.  Ok?"

"There's only one way I can promise ya that."

From the tone of his voice, she knew what he was offering was serious.  "How?"

"Ta never drop the link between us."  He looked away, a shy and wistful expression on his face.  "It's na all good, though."

"I never expect things to be."  She gently turned his head back to her. "You swore you'd never let me go." 

For a moment, his eyes searched hers, then he barely nodded.  "Never.  Jus' do na pull yer mind from mine, and I will allus be here.  Now c'mon, cessivi, let's head back.  I have a feeling yer gonna be in high demand."

Jase lifted her into the saddle, kissing her leg before mounting Raven.  She hoped that Dom and Ilija would realize why she hadn't returned immediately.  Otherwise things could get awkward.  But Blaec was there.  He'd take care of any questions. 

Side by side, they turned their mares toward the Anglian camp.  The sound of carrion birds drifted to them from the battlefield.  The sugar of so much human blood smelled like incense on the breeze.  Before they reached the army encampment, they crossed another swath of Terran corpses.

"I think they lost," Jase said.

"Yeah.  I don't see many of ours in there, either."  Sal stood in the stirrups to look farther.  "How bad do you think our casualties were?"

"No way ta know.  Ya wanna stop by the medical tents first or deal with the prisoners?"

"Medical tents, I think.  Let's make sure there's no problems between species."

Jase jerked his chin in the direction they should go, and side by side, the iliri rode into camp.  Soldiers moved from the path, some melancholy, but most were celebrating.  When they saw her, they all cheered.  Like a bubble of hope, the sound waded through the soldiers alongside her. 

"We kicked their asses," a man called to her.  "Good fight, Kaisae!"

"How many did we lose?" Jase asked him.

"Twenty-one!"  The soldier was grinning. 

Sal's mouth fell open.  "That's it?"

"Yeah," another soldier yelled over.  "The wolves healed the rest up.  Only ones we lost died instantly.  I think someone said a few wolves died, but I dunno."

Sal nodded at him then looked at the crowd.  "
Anyone
know how many grauori?"

Seven,
Hwa thought, his pale form slipping in beside her.

"Just seven?  That's twenty-eight Anglians to almost six thousand Terrans?"  Sal looked at Jase in shock.  He gaped back.  She'd hoped for victory, but that?  It was almost impossible!

Hwa huffed at her reaction. 
Humans broke the Terran lines in many places to get the grauori injured inside and to the healers.  Rragri asked me to have you give accolades to a man named Dalyr Trant.  He saved her mate and took a mauling for it.  The healers said he'll have scars.

"Ok, let's deal with that first.  Anything else?"

Not for now.  Dom wants you to see him when you're done.  He doesn't know what to do with the prisoners.

Ok,
she said,
I'm going to need Blaec's help for that. 

I'll let him know.  Here's the human tent, Kaisae,
Hwa said, flicking his eyes to the canvas building.

Sal dismounted and gestured for a soldier to take her horse.  "She's rested, but would you find someone to take her to the picket lines?"

"Yes, Kaisae.  I'd be happy to take yours too, Ahnor.  Should I drop your tack at the Blade's camp?"

Sal nodded.  "Thank you, sir.  Yeah, that'd be a huge help."

Jase passed his reins to the soldier, then took Sal's hand.  Lacing her fingers through his, she led him into the medical tent.  When the smell of blood wafted over them, Jase's grip tightened.  She patted his hand with her other but refused to let go.   

It didn't take long before a doctor stopped to greet them.  "Kaisae.  Ahnor.  Can I help you?"  She recognized him from earlier in the day.

"I'm looking for a soldier.  Dalyr Trant?"

"Yes, sir.  He's over here.  The grauori tore him up pretty good."  She followed the doctor through the aisles of pallets.  Near the back, he pointed to a huddled form.  "His mental wounds are more of a concern than his physical.  It's going to take a while for him accept what's happened.  That's why we had to sedate him.  Please do not upset him, Kaisae."

Jase turned to the man and offered his bare hand.  With a confused look, the human clasped it – and Jase sucked in a breath.  For a moment he did nothing.  The doctor's brow creased, but the man made no attempt to pull free.  After just a few seconds, Jase released the human and turned to Sal.

They fear he's suicidal.  Be gentle with him.

Thanks for the warning.  You going to be ok in here?

I do na know.  If na, I'll leave.  Kitten, this man will need yer kinda help.

But he's not iliri.

Jase tilted his head slightly. 
When has tha' stopped ya?  He's still yer pack.

Yeah.  He is. 
He was her soldier, so her responsibility, which was the same as her pack in so many ways.  Sal knelt at the side of the maimed soldier.  "Dalyr?" she whispered.  The man murmured, and she called his name again, resting her hand on his arm.  "Dalyr?"

With a moan, he opened his eyes and rolled his face toward her, groggy from the drugs.  "Kaisae?" he muttered, looking up at Jase.  "Why is the Kaisae here?"

"The grauori asked me to thank you.  They're a proud people, Dalyr.  Sounds like you did something to impress their Orassae."  The soldier sighed and waved that away, glancing down at his memories.  Sal caught his hand in her own.  "You don't need to tell me, soldier.  I just wanted to make sure you know how much your actions mattered.  Rragri went out of her way to make sure I knew your name.  You're a hero to them."

"Really?" he asked, turning to look at her again.  Sal saw the lines across his face, deep marks that would never truly heal.  Beneath the scars, he'd been an attractive human.

"Really.  What rank are you, sir?  What unit?"

"Private, and I'm with the 19th infantry.  The doctors said they saved my sword arm, but the shield arm..."  She heard his voice pinch.  "It may be a long time before I can use it properly.  They said the muscle was torn off.  And my face."  He drew in a shuddering breath.  "My face."

Sal caressed the lines that ran from his eye to his mouth, waiting for his dark human eyes to find hers.  "The grauori fixed your arm, it just needs to be worked now.  What about your face, Dalyr?"

"It's ruined, Kaisae.  My girl won't want me like this."  He tried to turn away from her.

Sal grabbed his shoulder and gently lifted him toward her.  "I have a shoulder, and it's yours as long as you need it, ok?"  She glanced at Jase, and he nodded once before moving away.  "Come here," she said, wrapping her arms around the wounded soldier. 

He tried to pull away.  "Kaisae, I can't.  Your uniform."

"Has just been through hell and back. It's ok, Dalyr."  He relaxed against her, and she caressed his face again, soothing more than his skin with her touch.  "Do you doubt me?" 

He shook his head against her shoulder.  "No, Kaisae.  But you're iliri."

"Does that mean I understand your pain less – or more?  Scars are not something to be ashamed of.  Jase is covered in them, and I have a share of my own.  These," and Sal's finger traced the lines from the corner of his mouth toward his ear.  "These will fade but never truly leave.  Embrace them.  In a year, they'll be no more than proof of your bravery," she said.

"Will it take that long?"

Sal shrugged.  "I don't know.  They
will
get better, though.  The more you smile, the more they'll flex and the less they'll remind you of what happened.  And you have one hell of a story to impress the ladies with, ya know that?  Your girl won't be the only one to fawn over you."  The scent of his anguish was fading.

For a moment the soldier closed his eyes and relaxed into her.  "I just thought I was doing the right thing.  After your grauori spent so much time showing us how to fight unexpected attacks?  I don't know.  I guess I was trying to pay it back."

"Then you succeeded."  She concentrated on the pride this man should feel.  "Anglia owes you.  What you did?  You saved the Ahnor of the grauori.  Rragri will form an alliance with the humans now because
you
gained a few scars.  Think about that.  Those marks you wear?  That's proof that you, and you alone, brought the humans and the grauori together.  Maast, I've trained with them.  I know what they're like in battle."