Verakko felt his fangs pulse in anger. The last of the guards was currently in a room with a female. She was strapped to a chair, facing away from the camera, and he was seated on a stool next to her. At present, they were only speaking, but Goddess knew what the abhorrent male had planned.
The idea the Queen had devised to free the captured humans was imperfect, to say the least. Remotely opening the facility exits and releasing humans into the wild with no idea of how to survive seemed idiotic at first glance. But the alternatives were worse. The Insurgents, otherwise known as PRIC, were not yet aware they’d been found out.
If the Queen and her army spent resources attempting to find each secret facility, word might get back to the Insurgents, and they may decide to discard the evidence—namely the humans themselves—before being revealed as the traitors they were.
The strategy they’d settled on to free these humans had been more disheartening than hopeful, but they couldn’t allow them to be locked up any longer. Verakko shuddered to think what may have already been done to them. It boiled his blood that he couldn’t figure out a way to access the locations of the facilities.
“I’m almost ready for Alice to come in,” Verakko said as he tripped an alarm down the hall and watched the last of the guards leave to investigate. When the guard was a safe distance away, in an unused corridor, Verakko sealed the only exit and inspected his work. Many of the trapped guards were banging on their doors, and some, those in the control rooms, hadn’t noticed they’d been trapped at all. Verakko sensed no movement behind him, so he repeated himself. “You need to retrieve Alice now.”
Luka’s frown matched his own. He said nothing. It was clear he was very unhappy about Alice being here at all, but the persuasive female seemed to have a hold over this stubborn male that was quite impressive.
If I had a mate, I’d never allow her to be this close to danger. Never.
When Luka still made no move to leave, Verakko debated whether to sway the male. Normally, swaying was frowned upon, but he imagined that in this situation, a small nudge wouldn’t be too bad. Whether Luka’s mind would accept the sway was another matter. The ability of his people, the Swadaeth, to use their minds to influence the thoughts of others was unique and, like most unique things, often feared by those who didn’t understand the practice.
Verakko shrugged off the idea. Although Luka was distracted and likely stressed, which were perfect conditions for a successful sway, it’d be…bad if Luka realized what Verakko was attempting to do.
“I’m ready now. Call her in. She needs to speak with the females and explain how to escape—”
Shouting from outside made both their heads spin to the exit. Luka flashed a worried glance toward the feeds then back to the door.
“Go!” Verakko barked, instinctually infusing the command with sway, but Luka was already dashing out of the small cabin.
Dread laced itself around his throat as he began to secure access to the communication system in the first facility. How much time do I have? The echoes of pummeling fists and pained cries boomed through the doorway, and Verakko stiffened. There wasn’t time to talk to each human individually as they’d planned.
Someone or something was thrown into the side of the building with a heavy thud, just as Verakko focused himself on the task at hand.
Originally, they’d planned for Alice to speak to the humans, judging Verakko’s voice and word usage to be too alien and thus untrustworthy, plus there was no guarantee all the humans had been implanted with a language translator. If there was ever a time to use his gift, this was it. He quickly programmed the comm systems to link and spent precious minutes making sure only the speakers in the humans’ cells would produce sound.
A thundering bellow outside was followed by a loud crack. “They have Yulo gloves!” shouted a male from outside.
He forced his eyes closed and took a calming breath, willing his mind to focus. “Hello, humans. I am a friend.” A flash of annoyance speared through him as almost all of the twenty or so prisoners flinched or jumped at his words.
He forced calm to leak into his voice as he swayed. “Listen. In a moment, your doors will open. You need to run. Look for a spinning stairway and run to the top floor, then out through the front doors. Once outside, you’ll want to get as far away from this place as possible. Try to find a city and gather as much attention to yourself as you can. You’ll tell them you wish to speak to the Queen of Tremanta.”
A booming, anguished roar shook the house. That could only mean one thing—Alice must be in danger. He needed to help.
Mustering all the command he could manage into his sway, he said, “They’re open. Leave now!”
He watched with bated breath as they rose and moved to their now-ajar cell doors.
Verakko spun and bolted to the cabin door, wrenched it open, and bared his teeth. He felt the sting through the roof of his mouth as his fangs filled with deadly venom. With one last glance to the screens, he slunk silently into the night.
He managed not to attract any attention as he assessed the scene, clinging to the shadows around the building. His secondary eyelid slid into place and disguised his glowing eyes. A Strigi male was soaring underneath the dense canopy, readying to shoot using an incredibly illegal Yulo glove. The other two-winged Strigi males were grappling with Luka and Kadion.
Three against three? Please. Verakko chuckled low and moved soundlessly until he was poised behind one of the males aiming a glove at Luka’s head.
Strigi were notoriously hard to kill because of their lethal wings and ability to fly out of reach. Although their wings were their greatest strength, they were also their greatest weakness. The massive wingspan created blind spots while fighting, and the inability to bend their wings behind them made their backs particularly vulnerable.
The Strigi male stiffened, sensing Verakko behind him a moment too late. With one hand, Verakko gripped the male’s chin from behind, and with the other, he wrenched the top of his head down until he heard a sickening crack.
Luka peered over his shoulder at Verakko and gave a quick nod before dashing into the dark forest near where Alice must’ve been standing only minutes ago.
Verakko kept his eyes trained on the two remaining Strigi, now circling overhead. He hefted the substantial weight of the male whose neck he’d just broken and shielded Kadion and himself from the Yulo glove blasts.
“Did they make it out?” Kadion rasped while attempting to strip the Yulo glove off the Strigi’s limp hand.
Frustration made his fangs ache, and he grimaced. “I did what I could under the circumstances.” A bolt of green light sizzled through the dead male’s wing and whizzed past Verakko’s ear. The acrid scent of burnt feather, mixed with the pools of blood at their feet, invaded his nostrils. “What’s your plan, General?”
Kadion finished strapping the glove on and shot Verakko a lopsided, dimpled grin. “My plan is to shoot stuff.”
How elegant. Verakko rolled his eyes and readied to toss the winged male aside. “Just get them close, and I’ll do the rest.”
In a moment, the boyish grin on Kadion’s face vanished and was replaced by the hard, cold indifference the male was known for in battle. The swift and abrupt change in demeanor even had Verakko itching to scoot away.