Bringer of Chaos Page 11

  I can't either, but I'm on it.

  This is all my fault!

  You can't blame yourself.

  I told him to stick close and then I left him. I left him!

  Pietas, don't cloud your mind with worry. Seek outside yourself. You-- Oh, no! No! Her mindvoice cut off.

  He pivoted, spotted her light hair in the dark, and sprinted toward her.

  "Are you looking for this?" His father's unmistakable voice came to him before the man's faint outline revealed itself in the dark.

  Mahikos had captured Six and pressed a knife blade to the ghost's throat. At the point where the blade dug into him, blood oozed.

  The blank passivity on his friend's face revealed what Pietas had feared. Six had been compelled into submission. He would stand there and let Mahikos kill him.

  Rage propelled Pietas forward.

  "That's far enough, Son." He dragged Six backward. "Unless you want your own hands covered in this human's blood."

  Chapter Twenty

  Pietas ground his teeth. For this, his father would forfeit his life. "I will end you, old man."

  "Will you?" Mahikos dug the knife edge into Six's neck. "You dared bring this abomination into our camp after it threatened your mother--the woman I love--and you want to end me? This thing is going to die by my hands!"

  Time slowed to a crawl. Someone had told him.

  Joss? Too loyal.

  The twins? Too detailed.

  Dessy? Had she been so quick to betray him?

  Pietas drew every vestige of Compulsion he had and threaded Chaos along its invisible bands. Mahikos was immune to both, but aligned, they might soften his will.

  Wait. Immune. Immune!

  That word rattled around his head, a stone bouncing off the sides of a bottomless metal pit.

  Pietas had practiced compulsion, sending command after command to Six.

  The man was immune.

  Six, blink twice if you hear me.

  He gave two quick blinks.

  How he treasured this man! Good job, ghost. You stalled him. If you're hurt, blink once.

  Six remained steady.

  Excellent. I should never have left you. I'm sorry. On my mark, drop and get out of the way. Joss, go right. Distract him.

  I serve. Her mindvoice packed the simple Ultra vow with raw emotion.

  Now!

  Joss screeched a war cry and bolted right.

  Pietas shot to the left.

  Startled, Mahikos flinched.

  Six hit the ground and scrambled aside.

  Reversing course mid-step, Pietas used his full bodyweight and slammed Mahikos into the ground. The knife flew from his father's hand. The two men rolled, each grappling for supremacy.

  Mahikos was a full foot shorter and similar to others in the scientist class, slight of build. He'd altered his own genetic makeup and now possessed the greater strength of the warrior class. The man got in one blow to Pietas's jaw and a second to his head.

  The world went white hot--then red.

  Nothing existed beyond this enemy.

  This retribution.

  This hatred.

  This rage.

  Pietas flipped his father onto his stomach and rolled atop him. One arm beneath the man's throat, the other bracing the first, he crushed his father's airway.

  Mahikos clawed at the arms pinning him, but without air, soon weakened. His struggle slowed, then ceased. In one swift move, Pietas shoved his father's face into the dirt.

  That would have killed a human, but the Ultra metabolism had kicked into battle mode while they fought. The man healed before Pietas could move back. Gasping, Mahikos clawed for the knife.

  With his longer reach, Pietas claimed it first. He rolled his father onto his back and knelt atop the weakened man's arms, pinning him.

  He showed him the knife. "Are you looking for this?" he asked, echoing his father's earlier words.

  Mahikos stared up at it and then at him, wild-eyed, choking for air.

  Pietas wrapped both hands around the hilt, drew back the blade, and plunged it down.

  "No!" His mother's voice rang out. "Pietas!"

  He stopped the blade but the tip had already punctured his father's skin. Pietas ached to ram it deep, deep, all the way past skin, muscle, and bone, straight into the man's heart. Twist it. Break it off.

  "No!" His mother pleaded. "He's your father. Pietas. Please! For me. For me."

  He held his father's life in limbo, suspended between cold indifference and hot fury, buffeted by his mother's plea.

  For her, Pietas withdrew the knife, cast it aside and stood. He turned to find Helia supported by Dessy.

  His mother had always been tiny. Not even five Terran feet. She weighed less than a child. Now she looked near death. Frail, fragile, her skin pasty white.

  He'd taken two steps toward her when multiple voices cried out a warning.

  "Behind you!"

  His father came at him with another knife. Pietas threw up an arm to defend himself.

  A black tornado swept between them.

  Pietas stood stock still, unable to process what he was seeing.

  The panther had leaped into the fray, fangs bared. Mahikos fell beneath the bloodthirsty onslaught of snarling animal fury.

  Six pulled Pietas away. "He was going to stab you in the back! That cat came out of nowhere!"

  Hardly nowhere. The cat had tracked him since day one.

  Watch. Scout. Guard. Keep. Care. Safe. Duty.

  Pietas understood now.

  Growling, the panther gripped his father's throat in its powerful jaws, but didn't complete the bite. Waiting. Listening.

  Through their connection, Pietas understood. It awaited the kill command.

  Pietas opened his mouth to give the order.

  "No!" Helia screamed. "Stop!"

  He hesitated.

  The Council had gathered. No one moved. No one interfered.

  The panther yelped, twitched, and then went limp.

  His father pushed the animal off him, revealing a knife protruding from the cat's chest. He stood, staggering. The cat's dark blood drenched the front of his once-white uniform. Mahikos covered the puncture wounds on his neck.

  Armand and Philippe closed in on him and gripped his arms.

  The panther's green eyes closed as Pietas knelt beside the animal. He stroked the sleek black fur of its chest, its jaw, traced one finger around the rounded ears. The cat's lifeblood oozed from its wound. Forgive me! I should have let you eat him.

  Battle wounds in Ultras, Pietas understood. He'd never treated an animal. If he removed the knife, the bleeding might worsen. Hasten death. One did not mercy kill a fellow Ultra. They healed.

  Ultras took no prisoners. He'd dispatched suffering humans. Why torture an enemy close to death? After what traitors done to him, however, he'd rethink that in the future.

  Pietas could not bring himself to kill someone so loyal. He rested his hand on its chest, felt breath leave the body. This beautiful animal had died for no reason other than to save him.

  A rumbling growl surrounded him. From the dark, eyes flashed green and gold.

  "Pi!" Six called to him. "Leave the cat. I think they want you to back away."

  Unmoving, he opened himself the way he had earlier. He'd felt their presence but had not recognized then who and what they were. An impression thrummed between him and the cats, teasing his senses. Unspoken, as present as the background hum of a powerful ship. A shared energy. Pietas gave himself over to them and they drew him in, welcoming his presence, accepting his nature, claiming his ferocity.

  More than brotherhood. More than soldiers. More than family.

  Tribe.

  Like the kinship he shared with Six but on a primal level.

  Hunger. Yearning. Wrath. Vengeance. Pure. Raw. Bloodlust. Blood justice.

  Pietas set his hand on the knife, gripped it, and in one quick move, pulled it out.

  The panther's tail twitched. Its chest ro
se and fell.

  Remaining beside the cat, Pietas stroked it, cooed soft words of assurance.

  It lifted one huge paw and Pietas set his hand beneath it. He stroked the paw, his own hand dwarfed by its size.

  The animal raised its head, blinked a few times, and then gathered its feet under itself and struggled to a sitting position.

  The wound on its chest had closed.

  This animal was immortal. And like Six, it protected him.

  On the planet Kaffir, homeworld of his ritual, they had a word for loyal warrior. Pietas cupped the animal's jaw, his face inches from the cat's. "You answer to no man, but when I speak and think of you, I'll call you Tiklaus."

  The animal staggered to its feet.

  "Steady. Here." Pietas wrapped his arms around the panther's neck. "Six!"

  The ghost moved up behind him. "That thing thinks I'm dinner."

  "You're safe. Give me the cloth from around your neck, please."

  Six held it down for him.

  Pietas used it to wipe his father's blood from the cat's muzzle.

  Tiklaus gave him a long, wet lick and nudged him before backing away.

  Pietas stood and offered the cloth to Six.

  The ghost held it between fingers and thumb like a dead rat. "Burning this."

  The panther made a huffing bark sound. From the group of cats, a smaller panther padded close, dropped and stretched out, belly up. With its nose, Tiklaus butted the cat. The smaller animal stood and came alongside Tiklaus. Side by side, the cat's more noticeable rosette pattern showed, dark brown on black.

  Six nudged Pietas. "What just happened?"

  "Not sure. They're not mates."

  Tiklaus and the other cat walked toward the Ultras, who all backed away.

  "Stand still." Pietas raised one hand. "You're not in danger."

  Leading the other cat, Tiklaus padded before the Ultras, pausing to sniff each one.

  Pietas had hugged them. No doubt his scent remained.

  Erryq went down on one knee as Tiklaus approached. "Hello, there." She held out one hand and the panther put its nose in the center of it. Erryq stroked Tiklaus while the other cat sniffed her. Its breath ruffled the long red curls around her face. "That tickles." She stroked the other cat.

  Tiklaus moved past Erryq and headed for Helia and Dessy, the smaller cat keeping pace.

  His father tried to back away, but Armand and Philippe held him fast.

  Helia remained at Dessy's side. When Tiklaus approached them, his mother held down her hand. Dessy did the same. They stood still while the cats inspected them.

  The smaller cat sat beside Helia and wrapped its tail around her feet.

  Tiklaus trotted toward Six, who backed away.

  "No." Pietas held onto him. "Let the cat smell you."

  The cat snuffled Six's legs, walked around him, and then did one more revolution, dragging its tail along him.

  "Marking you, ghost. You've been accepted."

  Tiklaus plopped down between them, wrapped its long tail around Pietas's legs and leaned against his thigh.

  Six whistled. "I can't tell if you just got a pet or became one."

  He stroked Tiklaus. "Neither. We each got a partner. Mother, you need a name for yours."

  She touched the cat. "Pretosia. Precious friend in Kaffirish."

  Pretosia walked around Dessy, bared fangs at Mahikos and sat.

  His father struggled to free himself but the twins kept him captive.

  Pietas stooped beside Tiklaus. The cat dragged its rough tongue up his cheek. One final butt of the head and Tiklaus ambled toward the outer edges of the light. The cat turned, took in the group of Ultras, looked over at Pretosia and then blinked solemnly at Pietas before loping off into the dark.

  In the outer ring of darkness, the other cats faded into the night.

  Pietas turned back to discover the Ultras and Six had gathered around his mother, who was on the ground, unconscious.

  Fangs bared, Pretosia kept them all at bay.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  "Mother!" Pietas hurried to where she had collapsed.

  Pretosia sat, allowing him access without so much as a twitched whisker. When Mahikos yelled for the twins to let him go, the cat launched, fangs bared.

  "Don't let it get me!" Mahikos struggled to get away.

  Pietas turned his back on the man and knelt beside his mother. He lifted her head and shoulders. Supporting her, he touched her face. The skin felt hot, dry. Up close, dark circles showed under her eyes. Blue tinged her lips. Veins showed beneath white skin.

  "Dessy, what happened? She seemed weak but she was steady. She came out fighting." He indicated his mother's inert form. "What's wrong?"

  "She's been sick since we landed, but she was terrified of what Father would do once you got here. She demanded I get her up and bring her."

  "Since you landed! Why didn't you tell me!"

  "Because she made us promise we wouldn't. Once she knew you were alive, she rallied. She insisted we not tell you." His sister looked past him, eyes narrowed in a glare that blasted a winter storm's worth of empathic ice. "Why is he here?"

  He did not have to look to know Six stood behind him. "He's not leaving, so you might as well get used to having him hear everything we say. He's one of us now."

  "It's his fault she's ill!"

  "Explain."

  "Her pod malfunctioned during the trip. It cycled her partway through awakening and then re-froze her, over and over. She hasn't been able to heal since." Dessy leveled a pointing finger at Six. "He tampered with the controls. He tried to kill her!" Which clarified why Dessy had hated him the moment she'd heard Six had threatened to damage Helia's pod.

  Over his shoulder, Pietas beckoned to Six.

  Fear and regret rolled off the man in waves, but he did not try to defend himself. If a person could stand at attention while dropping to one knee, Six was doing it.

  "What did you do to her pod?"

  "I had the codes to disable it and set it to immolate. After you surrendered, I reset it to full service. At no time did I disable any other functions. It was working when I left."

  Pietas held his gaze, reading him. He found no hint of deception. "I believe you."

  Six released a breath. "Thank you."

  "What!" Dessy flung out an arm, pointing at Six. "You can't take his word! He's human!"

  "Being human doesn't mean he's lying."

  His sister uttered an oath. "Look at her. Look what he did to our mother!"

  Pietas motioned to Six, dismissing him. The man took up a guardian position behind him once more.

  Helia stirred awake and patted his hand. "Pietas," she whispered.

  "Easy. I have you, Mother." He leaned down to wrap his arms around her, his face beside hers. "I'm here now. I'll keep you safe."

  She pressed her cheek to his. "Missed you."

  "I missed you too. Missed you with all my heart." He slid his fingertips along her face, moving her long silver hair aside. "She needs water." When Six offered the canteen, Pietas took it. "Here. Sip." He held it for his mother. "Just a little. I'll give you more. That's good." He made sure she had swallowed before offering it again. He set his cheek next to hers. "Just a little more. For me."

  She accepted the drink but then slumped.

  Having her in his arms, tending to her, filled him with such joy he could scarcely breathe. He'd endured agony locked inside that pod, hoping to see her even once more. Tramped over a thousand miles, hoping to find her. Now he held her. There was nothing he would not do to make her well.

  Nothing.

  "Dessy, why haven't you performed the Mingle?" Every Ultra had the same blood type. The ritual magnified Ultra healing by pooling their blood during an exchange.

  "She wouldn't let us. She insisted she'd recover."

  "She's too weak to fight you."

  "It's not a matter of fighting, Tas! It's respect. She said no."

  "Well, she'll agree now that I'm here
." He gave Helia a gentle squeeze. "Won't you, Mother?"

  Helia patted his hand but didn't speak.

  Dessy swore in an alien language and shot up from her crouch.

  "Here." Pietas held up the canteen and Six took it. Pietas scooped up his mother and stood. "Where does she rest?"

  "I'll show you, but that ghost stays here."

  "That ghost goes where I go." He held her gaze, daring her to argue.

  His sister stared back. They'd contested one another's will countless times as children and she'd often won. This time, he bent her will to his.

  "Fine, Pietas, but mark my words. You're making a dangerous mistake. You can't trust him. Not for a nanosecond."

  He shared a glance with Six. "Not sure who briefed Father about the pod but I'm betting it was her. Stay close."

  "I will."

  "Armand and Philippe, escort Mahikos out of here. He's not to return to this camp until I give the order. No matter what he says, he is not to be admitted for any reason. If he needs something, get another person to fetch it for him. Is that clear?"

  "Yes--"

  "--sir."

  "Thank you. I know I can depend on you." While the twins hustled Mahikos away, Pietas shifted his mother to tilt her closer. Behind Dessy, he stepped behind the first upright pod.

  Pretosia kept pace beside him.

  They had placed three pods side by side, partly inside the mouth of a cave. Deeper in, two more sat in the narrowing space, with a fifth sideways at the back, in the deepest portion. Enough room remained to walk around it.

  While Dessy went to the last pod, Pietas halted at the mouth of the dark cavern and stepped back. He almost trod on Six's foot. "Sorry."

  Six steadied him. "It's fine." The man took one step into the cave, glanced around and looked back at Pietas. "Pi, you okay going in here?"

  Pietas swallowed. He would admit no weakness in his sister's hearing. "Why wouldn't I be?"

  His friend gave a knowing nod. "No reason." He walked partway into the cave. "Nice and roomy in here."

  "Tas!" Dessy crossed her arms. "Are you bringing Mother in here or not?"

  "Why is hers all the way in the back?"

  "It's the most sheltered spot." Dessy smoothed the padding inside it. "We stripped the insides of the upright pods and Erryq made a blanket with the lining. Lig used some of the other stuff to make cookware and set up a sink for washing."