Rise of the Faire-Amanti (The Ascendant Series Book 3) (37 page)

Kyr’s grip tightened in Ty’s. They both knew it wouldn’t be long now before they finally faced Vycor and Shaya.

The battle for Alametria was underway.

Chapter 47

If Kyr never had to travel by air again, it would be too soon.

The real battle began in the air. She and Ty sat strapped into a lightweight interplanetary vessel no bigger than one of Earth’s automobiles with the La’run at the controls. The vessel was meant for air travel within a planet’s atmosphere as well as across land. She had felt Ty’s interest when they first approached Alametria and the smaller vessels disconnected from the larger Shelvak mothership outside of Alametria’s atmosphere, spreading out and landing in numerous locations on the planet’s surface. This prevented the V’larian projectile weapons from having only one target on which to focus as they landed. She wouldn’t be surprised if Ty told the Rowe to begin working on something similar for the Alametrian fleet.

Now, they took off from the palace grounds and flew above the trees marking the borders of the Vawn megai. Unfortunately, even though they hit the air with other Shelvak ships and spread out, they were still at risk of getting shot down. Kyr’s palms were slick with sweat as she gripped the handles on either side of her slightly reclined seat. The world skimmed by in a dark rush outside the sloped viewing shield. Booms and vibrations rocked them, making the interior of the compact vessel shiver and convulse. Kyr expected it to implode any second.

The only good thing about the blasts was that it meant they were near the Dane megai. She read from Ty’s thoughts that he believed Vycor had met up with the V’larians and was now trying to kill Ty and Kyr before they could land. Ty’s instincts on such things were rarely wrong.

If that was the case, Vycor was incredibly stupid for using the projectile weapons. All they had to do was follow the blasts to their source to find him.

That’s my girl
.

Kyr managed a smile at Ty’s thought, even through her fear. Some of his strategic knowledge was rubbing off on her.

Her smile vanished as the vessel flipped completely sideways and took a stomach-lurching nosedive. A loud detonation reverberated behind them. Suddenly, they were spiraling out of control. Noises unlike anything Kyr had ever heard screamed at them from the vessel’s control panel. All of the noises sounded like doom.

She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her seat, trying to keep her terror to herself. And she silently vowed to only travel by horse or on foot from now on.

The vessel leveled out a few seconds later. She dared to open her eyes and watched several blasts careen across the viewing shield. Somehow, they safely cleared the weapon fire. The La’run brought the vessel to an abrupt halt in the air, altering the engines and lowering the ship to the ground.

Once again, Ty marveled over the small vessel’s capabilities. They watched as the wings drew in, allowing them to land in the middle of some trees. When they touched the ground, Kyr barely even felt it.

The viewing shield hissed open as the La’run disengaged the controls.
We are on the outskirts of the primary battle zone
, the Shelvak informed them.

Kyr climbed out after him, grateful Ty had suggested that she wear her lightweight armor under her gown. She had removed the gown at the palace before they departed. Armed with her Oro blades, she now felt more prepared for the fight to come.

The sight of the actual battleground shook her, though. They broke through the line of trees beyond their landing zone to find themselves at the base of some low hills. All around them, bodies and weapons clashed and fires blazed. Acrid smoke and the savage, brutal sounds of battle filled the air. Freshly spilled blood and singed flesh added a layer of stink that Kyr knew she would never forget.

Prayers for her family raced through her mind as she tightened her grip on her Oro blades. She had no idea where Sem and Owyn had ended up or whether Gren and Scarlyt had made it there with the Shelvak reinforcements. As Vycor’s forces spotted her and Ty and the tide of the battle shifted in their direction, she knew they were on their own.

The La’run eased back into the shadows, but Kyr wasn’t concerned. She knew he couldn’t fight comfortably out in the firelight. He would certainly find a way to be useful, though.

She opened her senses as she and Ty started climbing the hill. They had to move carefully to avoid stepping between combatants or getting struck by a stray fist or weapon thrust. Both of them instinctively wanted to step into every faceoff to help protect those fighting for them, but they knew the longer they lingered, the greater the chance that Vycor might escape. Their goal was to get to the Advisor, and there were plenty of thoughts coming from Danes who were fighting for their homes and their lives to direct them straight to him.

Ty’s de’llum illuminated the darkness around them as they pushed up the hill. Within a few strides, he turned to address a pair of charging V’larians. Kyr sensed them trying to influence him, but it wasn’t working. They hesitated moments before reaching Ty, quickly realizing they were physically outmatched.

Kyr didn’t have time to watch Ty defeat them. She had to lift her blades and meet her first opponent, an armored Mynder who was nearly a foot taller than her and twice her size. He didn’t worry her much. She had trained with Ty and Gren, after all.

He swept his de’llum high, trying to cleave her head from her shoulders. She ducked and twirled, bringing one of her blades up to slice the back of his weapon hand. She halted her momentum as soon as she was clear of the blow and brought her other blade up to smash him in the face with the pommel. He staggered back but didn’t fall. Before he could move back in, two Mynder allies turned and engaged him.

In his place came two more enemies…influenced male Alametrians. Kyr brought forth the training she had received from Ty and Gren and honed her concentration to anticipate their moves.

The first of the two rushed her with a sword, swinging violently. She dodged the attack, sending him whirling off-balance. She moved so she could see him and keep her eyes on the second Mynder, who was wisely assessing her before he advanced. Behind her, the noise of fighting sounded so close that the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

The second Mynder feinted with his de’llum, but she anticipated the move. Rather than flinching away, she took the offensive, bringing her right blade up and forcing him to block it with his weapon. Her left blade aimed for his midsection. He shoved away from her into a back shoulder roll, effectively evading the strike.

She barely turned in time to block another sword thrust from the first Mynder. It took both of her blades and all of her strength to halt the blow. The clash sent pain radiating through both of her arms. If the Oro blades hadn’t been tempered with a special composite blend of liquid illuvite and reyanite, they would have melted beneath the de’llum’s innate heat.

Just as she thought her arms might give out, the Mynder was yanked away from her. She watched as Ty ignored her opponent’s sword and simply swung with his fist. The Mynder’s face cracked from the pressure of the blow. He went down hard with an incoherent groan.

Kyr intercepted the second attacker before he could try and take advantage of Ty’s turned back. Rushing towards him, she dipped low and brought her blades up towards his midsection. As she expected, he swung his de’llum down to deflect her. Sparks flew as their weapons clashed. He shoved her away, sending her off-balance.

She regained her footing only to find Ty ramming the grip of his de’llum into the Mynder’s jaw. He collapsed to join his companion on the ground. Both males likely had broken bones in their faces, but they would live.

Kyr met Ty’s gaze. She watched his eyes shift. Her memory flashed to their training in the Dark Lands when Scarlyt’s blade pressed against her throat.

Next time, assume your opponent has additional backup
.

Reacting on instinct, she reversed her hold on her blades and thrust them both behind her. She felt the shock of contact. Heard the sharp inhalation of breath.

Ty pulled her forward. Looking over her shoulder, she watched a V’larian fall. Blood seeped out from between his fingers where he clutched at his abdomen. The dagger he held fell uselessly to the ground.

There wasn’t time to regret or rejoice. The skirmish had only lasted a couple of minutes. Fighting continued to rage around them. Kyr’s eyes and throat burned from the smoke coating the air.

They battled their way closer to Vycor’s location, disabling rather than killing those who tried to stop them as much as possible. Every time a cry of pain hit the air, Kyr felt it like a blow. She saw people she had met at the palace fall, and felt immeasurably guilty that she couldn’t stop to help them. Many of their people lay on the ground, dead or severely injured. She stepped around severed limbs, slid in blood and viscera, witnessed grown males sobbing.

It was more than her heart could handle, but she had to bear it. The fate of the planet depended on her.

When projectile weapon fire started raining down on the hillside, it made things ten times worse. Eyes turned to the sky as blasts lit the air. People shoved each other in their haste to escape the explosive impacts, but there was nowhere to go. As the volatile weapons touched down, bodies blew in multiple directions, becoming grotesque weapons themselves.

Ty and Kyr worked their way to the edge of the clearing. The trees offered them some protection from the blasts, but they had a few close calls. Ty suffered deep gouges on the side of his face from tree splinters that burst right beside him. Thankfully, his eye was spared.

Kyr wasn’t without a few marks of her own. She’d been struck multiple times in the face and head, grazed in the arm by a laser, and sliced in the thigh by a de’llum. Her armor kept her from getting seriously damaged, but she was sure her body would be almost entirely black and blue whenever she removed her armor.

Within the trees, the Shelvaks made themselves known. They slid out of the shadows with their begothias, using the fighting knowledge that Ty had imparted on them back on Shelvak to disable their enemies. Kyr watched multiple Mynders and V’larians charge towards her or Ty only to find themselves abruptly halted by long, dark arms that seemed to come from nowhere. A number of enemies did avoid the Shelvaks, though, and Kyr’s arms were starting to feel like rubber from defending herself. Visibility grew increasingly worse as the fires engulfed the trees.

At long last, they neared the central point of the battle. A gap within the trees on the far side of the hill had offered clearance for a few Alametrian land vessels to take up position. Bodies writhed in the darkness around the vessels. Light from de’llums and several brushfires cast the area into sinister shadows, serving as the perfect backdrop for the horrible bleakness of battle.

Kyr and Ty both spotted Vycor at the same time. He sat at the helm of one of the vessels, safely behind an enforced viewing shield.

It took a moment for Kyr to really register that he was sitting in the protection of the ship, allowing others—her people—to fight for him.

Renewed fury rose within her as death screams resounded around the clearing. In that moment, her sole focus became getting through that viewing shield and ripping out Vycor’s rotting heart.

She followed Ty’s lead as he headed through the trees to the other side of the clearing closest to Vycor’s vessel. A number of Shelvaks joined them from the shadows. Kyr sensed that they read their intent and wholeheartedly approved.

They got to work breaking through the defensive line around Vycor’s vessel. A nearly equal number of V’larians and influenced Alametrians stood against them. The Shelvaks accepted injury by the light of the fires and de’llums in order to stand with Kyr and Ty. Just the sight of their poisonous begothias was enough to have some of their opponents turning and fleeing. Kyr saw Vycor’s outrage over that, which fueled her even more.

Finally, they got the break they needed. A breach appeared in front of the ladder leading to the top hatch of Vycor’s vessel. It was several feet off the ground and ran along the side of the vessel’s curved exterior. Ty jumped up onto the ladder, then turned to give her a hand up.

As it had earlier, Ty’s gaze flickered over her shoulder. Kyr reacted instinctively, leaping to the side. She felt something pierce the back of her armor, but it did no more than leave a scratch along her shoulders. She swept out her foot as she fell, knocking her opponent to the ground.

A female’s scream reached Kyr’s ears as she scissored instantly back to her feet. She turned to see Shaya being lifted from the ground by several Shelvaks. Shaya’s screams amplified when she realized who had grabbed her.

Kyr glanced at Ty. Without her having to say a word, he nodded and turned to climb the ladder.

She would deal with Shaya, and he would finally deal with Vycor.

Chapter 48

Even though Kyr had more than proven that she could protect herself, Ty sent her a quiet warning to be careful as he started up the ladder.

I will
, she assured him.
I love you
.

I love you, too
.

From there, his thoughts turned to Vycor. At the end of this ladder was the male who had made his and Kyr’s lives miserable since their return to Alametria. He had plotted and planned against them. He had seduced Shaya into giving him some of the
Dem-Shyr’s
abilities. He had spied on them. He had pushed Kyr into situations she was untrained to handle. He had hurt her and lied to their people about it.

He had forced Ty to kill her.

So Vycor’s painful death was at the front of his mind when a spray of laser fire blazed into the vessel all around him halfway up the ladder. The projectiles punched into the side of the ship, hitting and disabling critical engine parts. Vycor must not have cared about the state of his vessel if he was ordering his forces to fire on him.