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I had never been so happy to land, to leave my ship. But the past few days have been hell. The fight, clean up, having John on my ship. Just his presence takes me back to my time in his home, the stealing, the pain, but worse is his hands on me. I had woken screaming the night before, Fynn’s arms holding me as my body shook with memories.
“Akiyra!” Fynn yells, his hand shaking my arm, pulling me from the memories of a past I thought I had buried. Slamming the brake, we jolt to a stop, mere feet between us and the wall of wood and leaves. Bad time to be lost in memories
“Jax! Do not get out of the hovercoach.” I hiss, as he stands to leave. Ahead of us a large tree blocks the road, Yes, it is a hovercoach and if I really punch it we might be able to clear it, but more than likely we will smack into it. Behind us, I can hear boards approaching. Nothing good happens when a road is barricaded.
“Akiyra, we have to run!” Jax replies, his voice quivering. For all of his 24 years, he still is a baby when it comes to the world we live in.
“No, we don’t. You think it is an accident that a tree is across the road?” Sawyr’s hand clamps down on Jax’s shoulder. He points to the base of the tree. “Think, look at it. The cut is clean, not jagged. It’s a trap. If we run, we don’t know what we will find. Stay and fight, we at least know who we are up against. Plus the spiders.”
That does it. Jax sits stock still, sweat popping out on his forehead. “Sp-spiders? I thought those were only on Zanthia?”
“Are they? How do we know that?”
Turning I slap Sawyr’s hand. “Cut it out. You and I both know that Xislunia doesn’t have spiders. We have been on the moon for less than twenty-four hours, who would know we are here?”
Fynn looks behind us. “Those are Polzenian enforcers. Unless your John has connections like he said, they are from Umbri or the Xistrosie Government.
Looking back I gulp. These guys make Relly look small. They could tear my head off and use it for a game of balycoal without breaking a sweat. I jab my finger onto my wrist, activating my call button to Tiri. But nothing happens. I try again, but still nothing. “Guys, I can’t get Tiri. In fact, I can’t call for any help. What do we do?”
“Um, Akiyra,” Fynn taps me on the shoulder, pointing towards the tree. There standing on top of the large tree are three women.
The woman in the middle looks down at us, the sword in her hand reflecting the sun. Covering my eyes from the glare of the sun, I can see her better. Her form-fitting white bodysuit hugs her figure, the gold detailing accenting her slim waist. A gold petaled flower with a cerulean colored stone at the center covers her stomach. Behind her, a red cloak flows, almost absorbing the light around her.
“What hell did we land in?” I whisper. The only response is John’s maniacal laughter as he crows, “A raven collects, a raven calls, death comes to us all.”
“Hurry up and get out of that hovercoach if you want to live.” The woman on top of the log orders.
I look behind us and then at her. It seems she would be the lesser of two evils. “Guys do what she says. If they catch us, we are dead.”
“We will be dead either way,” Roberd mutters, but obeys.
“What about this cumberground here?” Sawyr asks, his hand holding tightly to John’s arm.
The leader of the little band responds before I can, “Bring him. He may have answers we need. Especially if he sings of the raven.”
I look at her in shock. “The Raven? What about the raven?” I ask, thinking of the pile of skulls in my lock box on the ship.
“We don’t have time, now come.” She jumps down, landing in front of Sawyr.
“How did you jump that far?” Jax asks, wonder in his voice.
“Doesn’t matter,” she replies as she deftly wraps a rope around John all the way down to his hips, making it so he can barely move. She is older than I had thought, her hair more white than blonde. Her body is all muscle, a light scar runs down the side of her face from her eye to her ear. Her eyes show a life lived through more horrors than anyone should have to.
Roberd looks at the woman before us, “You remind me of someone.”
The woman cocks her head inquisitively, “I don’t believe we have ever met. I am Sherdra.” She turns to the rest of us, “Come. We will need to walk from here to the base. I would like to be far enough away to not have the Polzinians follow us.”
We quickly follow the women, into the thick forest.
“Sherdra, thank you for coming to our rescue. But who are you?” I ask.
“I will explain later. It isn’t safe to talk in the forest.’ Her eyes scan the area constantly. She is always moving, looking around as if someone or something will jump out of the forest.
“Okay.” I take a breath. I don’t like not having all the information, added in that we are on our way to give John to the authorities. How do I know that this woman isn’t working with him? “Can you at least tell us how you knew to be on that road?”
“Yes,” she turns towards me. “We monitor all ships that land on Xislunia, as well as the traffic from the station to the town. When your ship made arrangements to land, the Xislunian law immediately sent crews here. We knew something was going on, so we hid and watched. If our assistance was needed, we would help.”
“Thank you, I think.” I still don’t know who she is or who she works with. For all, I know this could be a trap, but something about her reassures me.
“Trust me, had we not stepped in to help you, you would have been in more trouble. Xislunia is similar in many ways to Xistrosie. We just don’t have their indentured servants as our workforce. But the law and leaders are just as corrupt,” bitterness laces Sherdra’s voice.
I am quiet as we race through the forest, weaving between trees and down paths that are barely there. I am completely lost and the only thing I can tell you is that we ran with the sun to our left, and even that I question as in some areas of the forest the trees blocked out the sun. Finally, Sherdra slows her pace. As the trees space out. A sheer crystal cliff towers over us. Small openings dot the surface.
“Welcome to Crystal Mountain, the home of the Xisonian Rebels. For your safety, and ours we will talk out here. As I told you, I am Sherdra, the leader here. This is Marlena and Adora.” The two women who had accompanied us nodded.
Roberd steps forward, “It’s true? I had heard rumors of rebels, but no one knew anything.”
Sherdra turns to look at him, “Yes, it is true. Why were you looking for us?” her voice doesn’t change but her body tenses, as if ready to pounce on Roberd.
“As a teen, I never understood why people feared Dolores, then I crossed her. I have always wanted revenge, but never knew how I could do anything. The rebels were this goal, this idea that kept me alive.”
“One day we can talk about that, but now is not the time.” Sherdra relaxes. “When the time is right, head to the milkmaid's den to find the elixir of life”
Roberd nods and steps back, as Sherdra turns to me. “Thank you, Akiyra for capturing John Wild. He has long been on our radar and has worked with Dolores and the governments. The Galactic Consociation though have been trying to capture him for nearly a decade. We will make sure that he reaches them and does not evade capture.”
I look at this woman who is old enough to be my mother and know that she will do everything in her power to make sure justice is served.
“His men,” I look away, “They did not make it during the battle on my ship. We tried to take them peacefully, but they fought and were injured.”
“Have you cleaned your ship? What did you do with the bodies?”
“Yes the ship has been sanitized and my onboard AI had the bodies tethered to our ship and spaced. When we reached an asteroid belt, he pushed projectiles into them, causing them to shatter.
She smiles grimly and nods. “You’re AI is very efficient. What of his ship? Where is it?”
“Hidden on an asteroid. We hadn’t decided what to do with it. The AI on board it has been deactivated, but none of my men can fly it.”
“Would you allow us to purchase it? It would be a great help to have the ship.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You can’t purchase it but you may have it. My contribution to removing the Xistrosian way of life.” I don’t even need to ask the guys their opinion on this, though I am not sure it matters to me. When it comes down to it, it’s my ship this all came down on, so my spoils.