It was full dark, and Livvy could barely see. There was no ambient light out here, no streetlights or houses. The stars seemed very far away in the absence of the moon.
Derek and a few helpers had set up a line of launchers along the crest of the hills. Livvy had to stifle a laugh as she remembered the instructions she had given them.
Set them all up in a single line. Put the missile launcher in the middle and alternate between grenade and rocket launchers on either side. Target the hall and lock the coordinates. Once you start firing, give each blast a thirty to sixty-second mark to hit the location and then fire the next one.
While she was calibrating the machines, she had wrecked up the targeting systems slightly. If they targeted the hall like she told them to, they would be at least a few feet short.
Putting the weapons in a line and locking them was the stupidest thing anyone could do from a tactical perspective, especially with the flight capability and swift maneuverability of their enemy in this instance. The Preor weren’t like human soldiers who would have to dig into the hills or crawl through underbrush. They were bold, experienced warriors who could fly… and had very little reason to fear bullets.
She struggled against her bonds once more, but her hands were tied to her feet. She was trussed up like a hog and had been dumped next to a clump of bushes. She was wondering if she could roll herself away into the nearby cover, but what good would it do her?
Her plan was a good one and she was banking heavily on it. With the launchers all in a line and locked, every single blast would show the others exactly where they were. The smart thing to do would have been scattering them through the hills and nearby scrub, forcing the men to run back and forth between them. In that situation, they couldn’t really get pinned down.
But now, they are lined up like ducks, she thought. Let’s see if any of these fuckers can quack.
She couldn’t believe they had actually followed her advice. It seemed so basic to split the guns apart that she hadn’t thought they would believe her.
Not far away, she heard footsteps and sharp movements. The guys were getting behind the guns. She heard Janine’s voice as she took a grenade launcher and moved down the hill a bit to get ready for the action.
She curled herself into a ball as they called out to each other. She was battle-hardened and yet she was terribly afraid right now. None of these guys knew how to operate these weapons properly and all of them could get vaporized by a stray grenade.
The missile launcher stood in the center of the line, leaving an imposing shadow over the rest of the weapons. She had told them to fire it last as a finishing shot, slowly working up to it as they used up the ammo for the grenade and rocket launchers. She hoped desperately that they would get captured before they got to it.
The missile could destroy the entire town, she thought. Where did they get this shit, anyway? They have contacts in the military. Nowhere is safe—
With a high whining noise, she realized it was starting. She felt tense enough to snap the ropes that held her just by sheer will, but even though she struggled, she was still trapped.
Soon after the clicking and spitting that indicated the firing of the weapons, she heard the first boom. She prayed that no one would get hurt. If the Preor were here, they would stop them. If Radoo were here—
Radoo is here.
It wasn’t like the Knowing, nor was it like a voice outside of herself. The voice spoke from her heart and tears filled her eyes as she realized it was her own voice. It was as if future Livvy had reached out and grabbed her hand—smiling, carefree, happy Livvy, who knew love and feared nothing.
It is the Knowing! she realized, in excitement. Just like it shows us the past, it can show us the future, if we need to see it badly enough!
She had always been so lonely. Her parents loved her, but she felt they couldn’t understand her. The more she mixed with people, the worse this feeling became. She withdrew just a little every day, finally choosing the military because the comradery there would be based on work merits, not emotional connections, as well as being exciting and challenging enough to keep her mind from her inner feelings of inadequacy.
You’re meant to be. He is the promise in your soul that you always knew was there but couldn’t believe in. He is yours and you are his.
As the explosions began to increase, Livvy felt tears pouring down her cheeks. He was here. He really was! She could feel him, and it wasn’t brainwashing or hallucination. She could feel his heartbeat getting closer to her by the second!
The feeling intensified, making her skin shiver with goosebumps. She heard the rushing sigh in the air and the Knowing sickness left her in a rush.
“Radoo! My love! Shaa kouvi!” she screamed as loudly as she could, utterly shocked by the power of her own voice.
Before she could call out again, Derek was on her. He pressed a hand to her mouth and cut the rope on her feet.
“Move, now! Did you lead him here? Is there some kind of telepathy or homing device?”
He didn’t give her time to answer as he dragged her into the bushes. She didn’t know if she could explain basic military tactics to him anyway, let alone the magic that could let her feel her mate, even over great distances.
Her skin burned where Derek touched her, but it wasn’t as bad as when he had grabbed her breast. She could sense that sexual intent from any male but her own would be painful and only the fact that Derek was distracted made his touch less painful.
She struggled as he dragged her along, trying to hook her feet into the dirt or twist to kick him. He kept yanking on her tied hands and almost making her fall on her face, keeping her moving as quickly as he could.
“Where are you hoping go, Derek!” she called out, breathlessly. If she made a lot of noise, maybe it would help Radoo to find her.
“Shut up!” He yanked her hands again, making her stumble. “We have to get out of here!”
“Who’s scared of a little dragon?” she sang at him, laughing. He grabbed her, yanked her to her feet, and slapped her. She couldn’t speak or see for a second and when her eyes cleared, she stared over Derek’s shoulder in a mixture of confusion and hope.
Radoo was coming right at them, his dark maroon scales reflecting the light from the nearby explosions. Derek looked too and came to the same conclusion she had, that Radoo was about to rain fire.
He darted behind Livvy and crouched, holding her in front of him. She watched Radoo get closer and closer, mouth open and sparks gathering around his teeth.
He’s not going to—
Flame burst from his mouth. He let out a truly earth-shattering roar as he let his flames loose, pouring wildfire all over the top of the mountain as he swept by. Livvy screamed and kept screaming, utterly sure he had misjudged her position and unwittingly killed her.
When she finally blinked her eyes open, her wrists were burned from where the nylon rope had melted. Her clothes were ash and she stood on the bluff completely naked.
But I didn’t burn!
All around her, members of the resistance lay dead. They had succumbed to the fire almost immediately and nothing was left of most of them except faint stains of ash.
She turned, hoping to see that all that was left of Derek was a pile of charcoal. When he grabbed her from behind, she tried to fight, but he dragged her into the bushes even as she screamed and clawed at him.
It didn’t matter now. Nothing did. Her shaa kouvi was coming for her and nothing on this planet could stand in his way.