Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (39 page)

the dog-woman said to you.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

The sun was barely visible on the horizon when Tara sloshed through dew-covered

grass and walked toward the assembling group of gliders. All assigned troops were to

meet at sunrise for their journey to the Norther country. It was not yet sunrise and

already there were hundreds of Runner and Gothman soldiers gathering in their

assigned squads.

“Are we leaving enough of an army to protect Bryton and the clan site?” she asked

Darius, who walked alongside her.

“It’s a skeleton army but it will be enough, it will.” Darius stared across the field as

the sun began to offer light. “Look at that lady manage her troops.”

“It’s quite impressive, don’t you think?” Tara followed his gaze and the two

watched Meah walk alongside row after row of soldiers. Her troops sat at attention on

their gliders in three perfectly ordered rows. She punched away at her portable

landlink. Every now and then she barked an order or pointed out an oversight.

Meah looked up and noticed them as she was in the middle of barking orders

through her comm. They were close enough now to hear her chew some poor fool out

for not properly synchronizing the landlinks to her specifications. She dismissed them

as easily as she’d noticed them when other soldiers flew in to join the troops already

assembled. The late arrivers were informed they’d see no combat if they failed her again

by not following orders.

“It’s hard to believe such a small thing can control an army with such a tight whip,

it is.” Darius chuckled to himself. “Andru talked to me some last night. I hope he

doesn’t regret taking on a claim with such a hateful tongue.”

“The dog-woman came to her. I can’t blame him for taking that as a sign.”

Darius and Tara moved to the front of the troops where Andru stood talking to

several Gothman. He and Gilroy turned to greet the two as they approached.

“I believe we’re all set,” Andru told his parents and accepted a mug of coffee from a

young boy who poured the steaming brew from a large hip carafe that strapped over

his shoulder.

“Good.” Darius grabbed his son’s arms ceremoniously. “Lead your men well, son,

and may Crator go with you, yes.”

“He’s definitely with us,” Andru answered seriously.

Darius kissed Tara goodbye passionately after she’d boarded her glider. “Bring our

family back quickly, my lady,” he whispered in her ear.

She smiled and then nodded to Andru to prepare for departure. Thousands of

gliders lifted off the ground in a synchronized pattern. By the time they were all

airborne, their presence offered shade like a dark thundercloud to over half a mile of

land. They were a feared military with a mission of destruction pending. They flew

without mercy and in no way hiding their presence. Runners and Gothman combined

were undefeatable. All of Nuworld knew it and as they passed over the land below at

high speed, anyone below gave merciful thanks when they continued on and left them

untouched.

Word would travel fast of their presence. No one doubted that. Ana assigned

several members of her troop to monitor ground transmissions so they could keep

abreast of any word transmitted concerning their presence. She received their first

report after they’d flown for over half the day.

“Are we the gossip of the day?” Meah’s voice chimed into her ear.

“Did you have any doubts?” Ana responded in a cheerful tone.

Adrenaline was high and they knew everyone felt it.

“None. Are we monitoring for any other troop activity in the area?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask Andru.” Ana paused, and then feeling giddy with the day, she

couldn’t help but add, “Unless you’d rather ask him.”

“Remember chain of command? I report to you.” Meah’s answer was too quick.

Ana groaned. Everyone loved and adored Andru. If Meah continued to berate her

brother, verbally or nonverbally, it would be a damper on their combat. Meah would

have to forgive and forget.

Shortly after they broke camp the following morning, they saw the first sight of

their aggressors. Spotters flying out in front of the rest of the troops reported the

sighting to Tara. Word flew to the heirs and commanders next, and Gilroy and Meah

quickly barked orders to their troops. Formation broke and the large cloud of warriors

broke into several smaller clouds. Meah and Gilroy raced at incredibly high speeds as

they flew from one troop to the next and prepared for battle.

Two very large troops approached them at high speed and opened fire as soon as

they were in range. Meah had never experienced actual combat before and her heart

raced. A wave of nausea threatened to overtake her briefly as she flew faster than she’d

ever pushed her glider before. She kept track of her targets on her screen and pushed

one of three buttons as she zeroed in on her assailant. One button fired lasers in front of

her, another button fired lasers behind her, and the third button fired her eliminator.

Their attackers dressed as Runners and most of them flew Runner gliders, although

she flew up against one or two models she didn’t recognize. Ana flashed her a report

showing they were quickly defeating the two troops that attacked them. Meah grinned

and accelerated mercilessly as she flew to the other side of her warriors to help them

eliminate the troops that continued to fight at that end. She looked down to see body

and machine fall and bounce from the ground before landing again in disturbing

patterns. Body after body fell and she wasn’t sure how many were her soldiers and how

many were the enemy.

Something caught her eye and she punched some buttons on her console to adjust

the readings coming in on her screen. A handful of the enemy had broken formation

and were landing. She saw the outskirts of a town and wondered if the enemy was

retreating and seeking refuge down there. Very few enemy warriors remained in the

sky and Meah made a quick decision.

“Ana, I’m going down. We have an enemy retreat and I’m pursuing,” she spoke

into her comm. “Send backup. I see about ten warriors landing as we speak.”

Meah hit the ground with such vengeance she felt her stomach race up her throat

and into her mouth. Don’t get sick right now.

“Meah, where are you?” Tara’s voice broke in.

“I’ve landed.” She punched her fingers on her landlink. “Here’re my coordinates.”

“I’m right above her.” It was Gilroy’s voice.

“Stay on them, we’re right behind you.” Andru’s voice broke her out in a cold

sweat.

Meah trusted they were behind her and didn’t slow to physically check. The town

approached quickly and she forced her glider to an appropriate speed. One of the men

she pursued turned and fired at her with a handheld laser. Meah pushed her button

and fired back, sending man and glider spinning across the ground to her side. She was

closing in on the other men. Although she could see them clearly, she waited until they

were centered on her target screen before firing.

Before she could fire, two gliders and men lost control and flew to the side. She

turned quickly to see who fired and Gilroy caught her look of surprise that he’d caught

up that quickly. His expression didn’t change but she saw his blue eyes dance with

delight.

Meah looked ahead in time for the wheels of her glider to hit the pavement. She

almost lost control of her glider as she slowed down drastically. Then she skidded to

the side again as one of the men came out from behind a large abandoned building and

fired at her. She returned fire and he flew off his glider from the impact. She turned

away quickly as his body slammed against the side of the building. Meah rolled her

hands forward on her handlebars so she could catch the remaining three, but her glider

didn’t respond.

“My glider’s down,” she reported on her comm and then jumped from it with

disgust.

“I’m right behind you.”

Meah turned around in time for Andru to pull up without stopping, lean to the

side, and with one large hand scoop her up off the ground and then accelerate again. He

pulled her into him and she flipped her leg over the glider quickly so he wouldn’t lose

balance. All of her senses were tuned to the chase. She didn’t notice her backside being

tucked up against his massive body. She barely felt his steely arm wrap around her

middle and secure her where she was. Her mind was grossly preoccupied in trying to

locate the remaining men and take them down.

Andru rode with his dome down, and she pulled her laser from her hip and

prepared to fire if necessary. Just then they passed more buildings and several of the

townspeople dived inside to avoid the pending laser fire. Something caught her eye and

she turned her head quickly to see three of their enemy pull out from in between two of

the buildings. She struggled to turn further when she realized they were now being

pursued. Andru’s arm became a vise grip around her waist and she stabbed him with

the butt of her laser and pulled up her leg.

“What the hell did you do that for?” he yelled into her ear in surprise and loosened

his grip long enough for her to push herself up and turn around on the glider.

“Don’t drop me.” Meah ignored his outburst as she barked her order.

She’d contemplated the maneuver for only a minute. The first time she’d been on a

glider with her knees on the seat, facing backwards and being held by the driver, she

had ten winters. She’d chased wild boars and a young blond visitor helped her pull off

the stunt. Well, she wasn’t as small as she used to be, but then he certainly wasn’t as

small as he used to be either. His weight had doubled and she was a petite woman.

Since that memorable day, she’d tried the stunt with several of her friends who

witnessed the first successful maneuver but they’d wiped out each time. She could only

hope Andru had continued to develop his riding abilities as she had hers.

“If you fall, it will be because I threw you, not because I dropped you.” Andru’s

comment was without emotion and Meah didn’t take her eyes off her target in order to

see his expression.

Meah used Andru’s broad shoulder as a shield and instinctively held on by

grabbing his other shoulder. When she fired, she leaned hard into his body, smashing

her breasts against his shoulder and the side of his neck. The position could be

considered incredibly intimate but the only passion that existed at that moment was the