The Rift War Page 13

  Rowe gave Jack a hesitant glance before she pushed her shoulders back and looked squarely at Sloane. ‘I’m coming with you,’ she said, confidently.

  ‘I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,’ Sloane replied.

  Rowe sighed, her shoulders deflating as the air rushed from her. ‘I knew you were going to say that,’ she said. ‘But you don’t have a choice in this. I heard what happened last night and I know that the human settlement is in trouble. Jack and I are going back there to help them whether you like it or not.’

  ‘You’re coming too, are you?’ Sloane turned to question Jack.

  ‘Wouldn’t miss it,’ he smiled, patting the Unfaih sword that still gleamed at his side from their training session. ‘Got to put my new skills into action.’

  ‘This isn’t a joke. The human settlement is dangerous,’ Sloane said. ‘They’re not equipped to defend themselves against the Brakys, and the creatures could attack at any time.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Rowe said. ‘But they were defeated last night, so perhaps they will be wary of trying again.’

  Sloane shook her head at her sister as she failed to come up with the words to convince her to stay behind. Rowe didn’t know what she was talking about. She didn’t know the Brakys well enough to try and predict what they would do next. As far as Sloane knew, all the creatures wanted was the Liftsal and more power. The camp full of humans would enable them to create an army large enough to defeat the Unfaih, and Sloane felt certain the Brakys would attack the settlement again. The thought caused a shudder to tremor down her back. She could imagine nothing worse than the Brakys becoming even stronger.

  ‘Sloane, I’m not going to argue with you about this,’ Rowe said. ‘These are our people, and everything we have done has been to try and protect them from the Brakys. I can’t stay hidden behind these walls and pretend that they don’t need help.’

  Sloane let out a sigh and nodded, disappointed in herself for giving in to her sister. ‘If helping them is so important to you, then you can come.’

  The words left a bad taste in her mouth. She hated that she was allowing Rowe to be in danger again. But who was she to deny Rowe’s wishes? Sloane had underestimated her before, and Rowe had more than proved herself when she had gone into the human settlement to retrieve information for the Unfaih. Not to mention when she had travelled to the Brakys’ lair. If returning to the human camp was what she really wanted, there was no way Sloane could hold her back.

  ‘And she’s convinced you that this is a good idea as well?’ Sloane asked, her gaze falling on Jack.

  His eyes flickered towards Rowe for the briefest of seconds before he nodded. ‘They’re my people too,’ he said.

  Sloane let out a breath. It made her feel slightly better that Jack would be going with Rowe. He still wasn’t fast enough with a sword to stop the Brakys, but he clearly cared about Sloane’s sister, and she knew he would do everything he could to protect her. However, Sloane almost felt more confident of Rowe’s talent with a bow and arrow.

  She admired their commitment to helping the humans, but Sloane couldn’t help but consider her own motivations for protecting the humans in battle, and meeting with them to discuss a truce. She was doing it all for the Unfaih, and for Rhyn.

  She looked up at the Unfaih prince as he called for his assembled warriors to depart, and the group started moving towards the castellum gates. Sloane, Jack and Rowe trailed at the back of the procession. She didn’t move up to walk alongside Rhyn as they left the safety of the castellum and hiked up the steps to the rift. She decided instead to stay with her sister and Jack as they followed the warriors and made their way back through the rift and into the warmth of Aeris.

  The suns were both high in the sky as they arrived in the green world. Rowe took a deep breath in and blew it out like a weight had just lifted off her chest. Jack, on the other hand, was grinning as he looked back over his shoulder at the rift they’d just passed through. ‘They really are incredible,’ he said.

  ‘The rifts?’ Sloane asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ Jack nodded eagerly and turned his attention back to Sloane. ‘I’ve been studying them while helping Kai with the Oblivion Stone. The other day I used a power meter to measure the energy contained in this rift, and the reading was off the charts. It was much higher on one side though. Don’t you think that’s odd?’

  ‘I guess so,’ Sloane replied, though she was struggling to focus all her attention on what Jack was saying. She was too busy thinking about the meeting they headed towards rather than the rift trivia Jack was spouting.

  ‘Do you think they’ll come to a truce?’ Rowe asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper as they entered the cool shade under the canopy of trees.

  ‘The humans would be stupid not to,’ Sloane replied. They hadn’t been very smart since landing on Aeris, however, so Sloane wasn’t exactly confident in their decision-making skills. She just hoped that Denton was a better leader than her father.

  ‘But will they even consider an agreement with the Unfaih when they think Father and Ash are still being held as hostages?’

  ‘Hopefully, they’re going to realise that what Father and Ash were doing wasn’t really in the settlement’s best interests. They put those people in danger and actively started an unnecessary war against the Unfaih. If they’re not happy with Father and Ash being imprisoned, then they deserve to become Braky fodder.’

  Rowe blanched at Sloane’s words. ‘That’s pretty brutal, Sloane,’ she replied.

  ‘If anything it’s not brutal enough,’ Sloane grumbled.

  ‘She’s right,’ Jack agreed. ‘The Unfaih shouldn’t have to help protect the humans if the humans can’t accept that they were following a mad man.’

  Rowe’s eyes dimmed a little as she looked at Jack. ‘I didn’t know you felt that way,’ she said.

  He reached out a hand and touched Rowe’s arm. ‘I just don’t want us fighting unnecessarily. I don’t want the humans in the camp to be in danger, and if they still support your father then what can we do to help them?’

  Rowe fell silent, her gaze dropping to the forest floor as she walked. Sloane knew her sister still struggled to accept how terrible the actions of their father and Ash had been, but she believed she’d come around eventually.

  Sloane left her sister with Jack and quickened her pace so she could catch up with Rhyn, who was leading at the front of the group.

  ‘So, what’s the plan for today?’ Sloane asked as she fell into step beside him.

  ‘We see if the humans are willing to accept a peace between our peoples,’ Rhyn replied. ‘Ideally, they will decide that they wish to leave this planet forever after what they experienced last night, but I’ve long stopped hoping for that to happen.’

  ‘Yeah, me too,’ she agreed, quietly letting out a frustrated sigh. All she had wanted since she’d first seen the Brakys was to convince her people to leave Aeris. But any chance of that happening had long been quashed. Now, she’d just be happy if the humans agreed not to do anything stupid, like attack the Unfaih again.

  ‘How does Vas feel about making peace with humans?’ Sloane asked.

  Rhyn glanced at her, his eyes serious as he considered what to say. ‘My father understands it may be necessary to work with the humans,’ he said. ‘He wanted to come with us today and speak with them himself, but I convinced him it wasn’t safe.’

  ‘Especially not if there are any Brakys still near the camp,’ Sloane agreed. ‘Do you think that there could be?’

  ‘It’s hard to tell,’ Rhyn said. ‘I’m more worried about any humans that might have sustained scratches from the creatures and who remain in the camp.’

  Sloane grimaced at the thought. ‘The change isn’t immediate though, is it?’ she asked.

  ‘No,’ Rhyn replied. ‘So we should be able to warn their leader today to check all of the people in the camp for Braky scratches.’

  ‘Well, that sounds like a fun activity.’

  Rhyn shook his he
ad at her and fell silent for several moments before he looked at her again. ‘I noticed something last night,’ he said.

  ‘What?’

  He glanced down at her leg, before looking back into her eyes. ‘You weren’t limping when you got close to the Brakys. Your scar didn’t seem to affect you at all.’

  ‘I know,’ she nodded. ‘The scar completely disappeared after I drank the Liftsal.’

  She wanted to be glad about the fact that she no longer felt pain when the Brakys were near, but something about it worried her. A small part of her saw it as another indication that she was becoming one of them. But she wasn’t about to voice that concern aloud.

  ‘I guess I can’t be your personal Braky-detector anymore,’ she murmured.

  They continued through the forest until they could see the human settlement. Small spirals of smoke still drifted from the camp, and the many demolished and blackened tents and buildings were a stark reminder of the night before.

  Rhyn told the group to pause and wait just before they reached the edge of the clearing while he went to check in with the warriors who had kept guard overnight. Sloane stayed next to Elyx, both of them silent as they watched the camp through the trees. From where they stood, it was difficult to see any signs of humans moving around the settlement. It was oddly quiet without the usual drone of drills and hammers as people worked during the day. It was almost like the place had been abandoned, but Sloane knew that was highly unlikely.

  ‘There have been no further signs of Brakys,’ Rhyn said when he returned.

  ‘And the humans?’ Elyx asked. ‘Where are they?’

  ‘Tending to their wounded,’ Rhyn replied. ‘It sounds as though many were injured in the fire that spread through the camp last night.’

  Sloane’s gaze returned to the settlement, which lay in ruins before her. While the memories of the battle with the humans were still fresh in her mind, she couldn’t help but feel saddened at the news that so many of them had suffered. The camp wasn’t only filled with soldiers. Innocent and vulnerable people also lived there, and none of them deserved what they went through the previous night.

  Rhyn glanced up at the sky above. The two suns were just beginning to reach their peak above the green world of Aeris. ‘We should go,’ Rhyn said, lowering his gaze to Elyx. ‘Stay in the trees with our warriors. I will signal if I need you.’

  Elyx nodded and took a step back from Rhyn, turning towards his fighters who waited just behind them. Sloane turned and waved for Jack and Rowe to join her and Rhyn before all four of them started walking towards the human camp.

  Sloane had thought that the wall around the settlement had remained mostly intact, but in the daylight, it was clear that the fire and the Brakys had wrecked a great deal of it. As they neared the ruined section that the Unfaih had bravely defended the night before, Sloane could see blackened, charred buildings and the smouldering carcasses of tents. The camp smelled of cinder and ash, and when the stench hit Sloane’s nostrils, she was reminded of the shocking aftermath of the explosions during the battle against the humans.

  Rhyn paused just before he reached the edge of the smoking buildings that marked the start of the camp. There was no one to be seen, but Sloane could feel eyes watching her from within the structures that bordered the camp.

  ‘Do we wait here?’ Jack asked.

  Rhyn gave him a brief nod. ‘I’m sure Captain Denton is already aware we’ve arrived.’

  Rhyn proved to be right when Denton came into view beyond the wall of the camp. He walked down a road that was bordered with smouldering piles of ash and ruins, an entourage in tow. Sloane didn’t recognise two of the men with Denton, but was surprised to find Dean following him closely again. Lieutenant Dean had a high ranking in the camp and her father had always kept him close, but she found it odd that Denton chose to do the same.

  Denton and his group stopped just inside the ruined wall of the camp and one of the men continued through the opening and approached Rhyn.

  ‘Please, follow me,’ he said, beckoning Rhyn, Sloane and the others beyond the wall.

  As they stepped into the camp, Sloane studied the damage that surrounded them. Not even the few buildings that still stood on either side of the dusty path had escaped the wrath of the fire. There were scorch marks on the walls and a couple of the structures were now just blackened skeletons of the buildings they’d once been.

  ‘Captain Denton,’ Rhyn said, in greeting.

  Denton gave him a nod in reply. ‘We weren’t formally introduced yesterday. It’s Rhyn, isn’t it?’

  ‘It is.’

  ‘Well, Rhyn, I wasn’t sure if you would come back. But a lot has surprised me in the last twenty-four hours.’ Denton turned to the man who had come out to meet Rhyn and nodded at him. The man disappeared into the closest building and started to bring out several chairs. He placed them out where they were standing and Denton gestured for Rhyn to take a seat across from him.

  ‘I would have liked to invite you to my tent to talk,’ Denton said. ‘But it was demolished in the fire. I hope this will suffice.’ As he took his seat, Denton brushed a crease out of his camouflage jacket and crossed his legs casually. Unlike her father, who always wore his bright white captain’s uniform, Denton wore his camouflage gear and seemed ready for battle at all times, like his soldiers. He still radiated authority, however, from the badges on his chest, the clean and smart fatigues he wore, and the relaxed way he sat and addressed Rhyn.

  ‘This is fine,’ Rhyn replied, taking the offered seat.

  The man returned with chairs for Sloane, Jack and Rowe as well. Jack and Rowe sat, but Sloane remained standing. Rhyn may have felt like getting comfortable, but she preferred to stand back where she could assess the situation better.

  ‘I am still trying to wrap my mind around the creatures that attacked us last night,’ Denton said. ‘Brakys, you called them?’

  ‘Yes,’ Rhyn responded. ‘They were once human. Over a thousand years ago, there was a rift connecting our world with your Earth. Humans came through it and stole our sacred water. When they drank it, they became the monsters you saw yesterday—the Brakys. We closed the rift to Earth to stop them from turning more humans into monsters, but we have been at war with them for a millennium.’

  Denton leaned forwards in his chair slightly as he listened to Rhyn’s explanation. Even Sloane had to admit that it was an enthralling story to hear. She hoped that Denton would believe it and that he would listen when her father had been deaf to her pleas.

  ‘A single scratch from a Braky is enough to turn a human into one of those creatures,’ Rhyn continued. ‘Their poison spreads quickly. It has been a long time since we have seen its effects, but it has been known to change a human in only a few days.’

  ‘How many of the creatures are there?’ Denton asked.

  ‘Hundreds, if not thousands,’ Rhyn replied. ‘If they are allowed to attack you again, they could add many more to their numbers.’

  ‘You said you closed the rift before. Can you do that again?

  ‘That’s not an option,’ Rhyn said bluntly.

  Denton swallowed as he slowly sat back in his chair and watched Rhyn cautiously. His eyes were filled with more questions, but the captain seemed smart enough to know not to push Rhyn for more information than he was willing to give.

  ‘I can understand why you have so passionately protected your world from us,’ Denton responded. ‘Neither one of us would like for my people to turn into these … Brakys.’

  Sloane couldn’t be sure whether Denton was just playing along, or whether he genuinely appreciated and believed in the threat the creatures presented. He seemed to be listening closely to Rhyn’s every word and didn’t appear to mistrust what he was saying. Denton and his men had all fought the Brakys the previous night, so she hoped that he was smart enough to realise that Aeris was not safe for them.

  ‘If you sincerely don’t want that to happen, you all need to leave this planet,’ Sloane said, t
aking a step forwards. ‘The people here will always be in danger if they stay. Is that something you want for your children and their children?’

  Denton slowly shook his head. ‘I understand your concern, Miss Avery, and I agree that this planet is not quite the paradise we had been led to believe it was. But we will not be leaving Aeris. You know how damaged Earth has become. We have nowhere else to go, and this world can be a new home for our people.’

  ‘It will be a grave for your people,’ Sloane replied, folding her arms across her chest and taking a step backwards again. ‘You’re making the same mistake as my father.’

  She couldn’t hide the scowl that crossed her features and she struggled to keep a composed look on her face. But Denton simply lifted one eyebrow at her, unshaken by her words. ‘You have tossed a lot of accusations at Captain Avery,’ Denton said. ‘What could he have possibly hoped to gain by willfully ignoring the threat of the Brakys.’

  ‘We believe he has some connection with the creatures,’ Rhyn replied. ‘We are not yet certain how it happened, but we understand that he somehow knew about our sacred water, which created the Brakys. His actions indicate he is working with the creatures themselves, which is why he started the war against my people.’

  Denton shook his head slightly in confusion and looked like he was about to respond, but he paused when a shout rang out behind him. Movement caught Sloane’s eye from within in the camp, and she looked up to find a group of soldiers coming towards them, their guns lifted in the air and trained on Rhyn, Sloane, Jack and Rowe.

  Sloane’s stomach tightened, and she froze as she looked at the men who approached them. There were six of them in total and they were all dressed in military gear. There was a mixture of hatred and disgust in their eyes as they strode towards them, and a soft growl left her lips as her eyes fell on the man leading the small team.

  ‘Skinner,’ she muttered. She could never forget the face of the man who had whipped her so ruthlessly. His hair was just as greasy as she remembered, and the superior sneer he always wore was still glued to his ugly face. He’d always been her father’s errand boy, so she wasn’t exactly surprised to see him leading a group of angry men against them.