Daughters of Lyra: Heart of a Commander (12 page)

“
Perhaps we
should have taken her.” The echoing voice held a note of
amusement.

The Wraith meant to
provoke him but instead had given him a clear indication that
Amerii was safe, or at least she wasn’t here.

Van tried to get onto his
knees. Before he could manage it, something was around his throat.
Hauled off the ground and suspended by his neck, he stared up at
the Wraith who had captured him.

The ethereal white figure
stood at least a male taller than himself, his humanoid-shaped body
shifting with the breeze but his grip as solid as stone.

The face shimmered in and
out of focus, long and thin, trailing away in a wave of white that
danced like hair in wind. Empty dark eyes shifted into sharp
relief, a wide hollow smile following. As it moved into the light,
the rest of the Wraith’s face came into focus and Van’s eyes
settled on the deep groove in his neck.

J’nir kis’kl
reatlnnfir.

Only this Wraith was
worthy of the strongest Varkan curse.

It was little wonder the
Wraith had mentioned that their paths had crossed many moons
ago.

Van had been the commander
of the fleet that had wiped the remaining Wraiths off the face of
Varka Two almost a century ago. Those Wraiths had included this
male’s family. A Wraith commander.

He had thought that he had
killed him too.

The Wraith’s grip on Van’s
throat tightened. He choked and tried to grasp at the burning hot
ribbons of smoke that held him. His fingers passed straight
through. Van cursed again. This was why he hated Wraiths. While
they could touch you, it was almost impossible to touch them. That
was the reason Varkans had made weapons that would disintegrate
their particles.

“
What do you
want with me?” Van said in a strained voice.

The face above him shifted
to reveal a wide grin. He could see straight through his mouth to
the blinding sky beyond. His eyes stung and he longed for his
visor. He could show no weakness though. Wraiths fed off
weakness.

Regardless of the pain it
caused him, he let his bloodlust take control, his eyes brightening
and the world brightening with them. He growled at the
Wraith.

The Wraith’s smile
widened.

“
I want to kill
you. I desire to avenge my kind by destroying you and every
disgusting creature in that facility.”

Van snapped, violence
surging through him at the thought of the Wraiths touching Amerii.
He growled again, his teeth sharpening as he lost all control. He
wouldn’t let them touch her. He lashed out with his claws, cutting
through the Wraith’s arm in a desperate attempt to escape. The pale
smoke shifted and then regrouped. Van struggled, flailing his legs
and scratching at the Wraith.

“
It seems we
have determined our first target. A love for a love, Commander
Aeris,” the Wraith said coolly.

The Wraith turned away to
look back at others who shimmered behind him.

“
Seize the
girl.”

No.

Van roared, his feet
slammed into the ground and he launched himself at the
Wraith.

He wouldn’t let them touch
his Amerii.

The Wraith’s hand slipped
from around his throat and Van struck at him, growling with
frustration when his hand went harmlessly through the Wraith’s
body. Van tried again, a growing lust for violence burning inside
him. The Wraith would pay for what he had done and for threatening
to hurt Amerii. He wouldn’t let anyone near her. He would protect
her with his life if that was what it took.

A surge of bloodlust
stronger than he had ever felt crashed through him and his teeth
elongated. The world brightened until it was painful, the sunlight
turning everything white. He didn’t care. Violence. Death.
Bloodshed. It would all be his. The Wraith would die this time. He
would make sure of it.

The Wraith backhanded him
and he slammed into the wall, hitting the floor a moment later. His
head spun but he immediately pushed himself back up onto his feet
and launched himself at one of the other Wraiths. A quick glance
around revealed that the other Wraith had gone. Only the commander
and one subordinate remained. He would give anything for an
anti-Wraith weapon around now.

A hot prickling feeling
crept down his spine and out along his arms. It burned deep in his
chest. Rage. The bloodlust was taking complete control. He couldn’t
stop it. Even as he battled it, it grew stronger, pushing at the
boundaries of his mind and overcoming it.

Darkness filled
him.

The world drained of
colours and sound.

And then it turned as red
as blood.

He had never experienced
this before, the other side of bloodlust. He had never crossed the
threshold to the place where it ruled him and his actions, trapping
him in his own body.

He hit the wall again and
before he could get up and attack, the Wraith commander had grabbed
him around the throat. Van sneered at him, swiping with his claws,
growing increasingly frustrated each time they passed through the
Wraith without inflicting damage.

Damage.

Blood.

Destruction.

Death.

He wanted it all. He
wanted to feel his enemy’s blood on his skin. He wanted to smell it
in the air. He wanted to see the light of life fade from his
eyes.

Van stretched out, shoving
his hand deep into the Wraith’s chest. The Wraith commander
recoiled, dropping him, and screamed in fury. Van
grinned.

It seemed that Wraith’s
weren’t so impenetrable after all.

He threw a punch towards
the Wraith’s chest again, aiming for the same point that he had
attacked a moment ago. He had felt something in there. A heart
perhaps. Some vital organ that the Wraith couldn’t easily shift
into smoke. The Wraith blocked his attack and the other one left
him. Van growled at him, angered by the fact he was escaping and
the fact that he knew where he was going.

He wouldn’t let them take
Amerii. His weakness had placed her at risk again. A sense of shame
mingled with the rage inside him, pushing his blood to boiling
point as he grew angry both at himself and at the Wraiths. What if
they had taken Amerii, his mate?

“
Mate?” the
Wraith commander said, an amused ring to his words. “You have mated
with a Lyran female.”

Van growled and leapt up,
trying to hit the point over the Wraith’s chest again. The Wraith
swatted him away, catching him in the stomach and sending him
crashing into the wall again. He hit the floor hard, every bone in
his body aching from the impact. Pushing himself up, he told
himself to keep fighting, to prove that he wasn’t weak and to
restore his honour by protecting his mate.

“
Soon she will
be here... I will have her brought to us so you can watch her die
as I watched my family...”

Van sprung off the floor
and punched straight through the Wraith’s chest. His fingers closed
around something and a victorious smile twisted his lips when the
Wraith screamed again. Before he could get a better grip, the
Wraith’s hand was around his throat, pulling him away. Van kicked
out at him, growling and struggling to get free. The Wraith’s eyes
narrowed into a black look, his grin widening.

Van slammed into the floor
again, his back pressed hard against it, the Wraith’s hand still
locked tight around his throat. He grasped at it with both hands,
trying to take hold of it as he choked. The world dimmed a
little.

“
Perhaps I
shall make you pay a little first. Your precious Lyran female could
be dessert,” the Wraith said with a lascivious smile.

Before Van could
retaliate, the Wraith had struck him hard in the stomach. Van
doubled up, choking as he tried to breathe and winded from the
punch. The Wraith hit him again and he shut his feelings down,
taking the beating without making a sound. The Wraith could hit him
all he wanted, could rip him apart, but he wouldn’t give him what
he wanted. He would show no weakness. No matter what happened to
him. He would not give the Wraith the satisfaction of seeing him
weak.

His senses receded, the
bloodlust fading as he started to lose consciousness.

Tired and throbbing with
pain, Van slumped against the dusty floor, saving the remaining
shreds of his strength. If they captured Amerii, he would need the
last of his strength to save her. He would find a way to protect
her.

The Wraith released his
neck and kicked him in the side so he rolled onto his front. He
grimaced as the Wraith took hold of his wrists and pulled his arms
behind his back, locking something cold and solid around his
wrists. Varkan steel. Van smiled at the irony of that. The Wraith
commander must have found the cuffs in the facility. What Van had
once used on his enemies was now being used on him. It was what he
deserved for his weakness. The Wraith pulled him up so he was
kneeling.

Van hung his head
forwards.

He should have been on his
guard. He shouldn’t have let Amerii distract him. By allowing her
to do so, by pandering to his desire for her attention, he had
placed her at great risk. He was weak. Shameful.

Out of the corner of his
eye, he saw one of the other Wraiths return.

His head felt
heavy.

His body felt
broken.

But his heart held on,
unwavering, strong, even as he feared he would never see Amerii
again.

“
Commander,”
the new Wraith said. “Three Heavy Armours are coming this
way.”

The last thing Van saw was
the Wraith commander’s grin. The last thing he felt was his
forehead slamming into the ground. The last thing he heard was
gunfire.

Darkness swallowed
him.

***

Amerii screamed as she
blasted her way through the small dusty settlement, her Heavy
Armour pounding the dirt. This hadn’t looked like a particularly
dangerous area when they had been approaching but her two Varkan
friends had immediately begun firing their laser rifles. The moment
the shots had hit the buildings, white shimmering beings had
appeared and attacked them. She remained sandwiched between the two
Varkans, shooting at any Wraith that dared get into her line of
fire.

When she hit one, it
shrieked and seemed to destabilise, falling apart before her eyes.
She shot another and moved forwards, intent on reaching Van. More
Wraiths crowded the passages ahead of her. He had to be that way.
They were protecting it.

“
This way,” she
said and motioned to the Varkans. One caught the arm of her Heavy
Armour and held her back.

“
Cover
yourself, your highness,” he said and she frowned at
him.

She turned in time to see
the other Varkan step forward and shoulder his rifle. It built up a
charge, whining high as the end of it glowed red. The moment he
released the shot, she fell backwards into the Varkan behind her,
the blast knocking her off her feet. She stared in amazement as it
tore through the Wraiths, killing most of them in an instant and
leaving the rest missing limbs.

She hadn’t realised that
she could do that with her weapon.

Her comrade behind her
pushed her back onto her feet and she followed the first Varkan
into the building.

He collapsed in front of
her eyes and she barely had time to leap to the side and avoid the
green blast that had ripped through him. The other Varkan landed
heavily with her, covering her. He fired at the Wraith,
disintegrating it and then stood, pulling her up off the floor. She
ran to the other Varkan and pulled the Heavy Armour
over.

Blood covered the inside
of the visor.

Amerii swallowed
hard.

“
He is gone,
your highness. We must move fast,” the other one said.

She had never seen anyone
die. Before she could take it in, the remaining Varkan was forcing
her to run. She gathered herself and shouldered her gun again,
intent on reaching Van even though she was petrified. Suddenly she
was frighteningly aware of how fragile she was compared to her
enemy and how much danger Van was in. She had to get to him before
it was too late. A part of her said to ask her comrade what the
Wraiths would do to Van but she couldn’t find her voice. Fear stole
it. What if he said that they would kill him? She didn’t think that
she would have the strength to continue if those words left his
lips. And she had to keep going. Even though her legs were tiring,
becoming tense from the adrenaline turning to fear, and her heart
was missing beats as it pounded hard against her ribs, she had to
keep going.

She had to save
Van.

She wouldn’t let them take
her mate from her.

A galaxy without him was
one she wanted no part of.

Setting her jaw, she
straightened up, raised her gun and locked it tight against her
shoulder, and stormed forwards. Van was in that building. She knew
it. There she would find him and she would save him.