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20
TSCHENKAR
Kantus and I spoke very little since we’d left his other bodies behind. One had died. I’d killed the other for him.
I didn’t really understand how the mindmeld worked forInseminators, but I’d heard enough about it to know that all of his personality had been spread equally out over all three bodies and brains. He hadn’t lost any of his mind.
Still, I tried to think of it like this: If I lost an arm and couldn’t have it regrown, I’d be bloody gutted. This bloke lost two four arms, four legs, four balls, and two cocks. So even if he hadn’t lost any of his mind, the poorInseminatorhad lost more body parts than I’d ever even had.
“It’s getting dark,” Kantus said.
I nodded, but I knew we were getting close too. It was a given that neither of us would stop walking until we’d found our mates, but nightfall came with its own issues.
First off, we were following the sled tracks.
Khetar did have better night vision than humans, but anyone waiting to ambush us would have the luxury of being able to stay perfectly still, while Kantus and I had no choice but to keep fucking moving. With the sunlight, I doubted any human ambush could catch us, as either Kantus or me would spot it well in advance.
“Let’s walk faster,” I suggested, and we picked up the pace.
I was tired though, and I hadn’t remembered the terrain quite right. The little hills and “memorable trees” had started to bleed together. There was so much bloody snow everywhere, though thankfully none had started falling again, as that would have made it much harder to track our mates.
We trudged on, faster and faster as the sun sank into the horizon.
“Kantus, are you in favor of slowing down our pace to be a bit more defensive?” I asked.
“No,” Kantus said flatly.
“Good, neither am I.”
We had to find them, and the tracks were already getting harder to follow, but I’d realized pretty early on they must be heading for the ski lodge. It made sense, and the longer we followed the tracks in that direction, the more certain I’d become that’s where they were headed. At this point, even if snow fell and covered up all the tracks, I would just keep heading toward where the lodge was.
Just as true night fell, when the last hints of the sun’s rays were gone, and the starlight was brighter than anything else, I saw the first streak of gold.
I froze, and Kantus stopped several paces ahead of me, glaring at me. “Are you tired, Scion, or—”
“Look,” I said, pointing up.
He looked up, but there was nothing to see now.
“Scion, we—”
Another two streaks flew across the blackness. Then two more.
“Thuliak,” he whispered.
I nodded. We had knownWrathwould need to land soon. The time had finally come then. These were tiny little streaks though, much smaller than the shards I’d made withHarbinger.Those shards would look like fireballs in the sky.I couldn’t be sure how big these gold streaks really were, but I doubted anything close to a full squad could fit in one.
“The glorious bastard is finally falling down to our level,” I said, grinning. “I wonder if he brought the radio with him?”
He’d probably have one radio per squad? Two for redundancy? Well, Kantus and I didn’t have one, so it didn’t change anything for us right now.
Most of the golden streaks were raining down in the direction of Ginsburg, which was to be expected. I’d spoken with Thuliak over the radio about the best way for him to deploy his forces, and we’d both agreed that dropping directly into Ginsburg would have to be a big priority.
What surprised me was just how many golden streaks seemed to be off course, often falling in seemingly random locations. Had something gone wrong? Were the maths wrong? Or had they been hit and deflected from Ginsburg?
“I’ve counted at least nine—maybe even more—falling right on course for the ski lodge,” Kantus said.
Fuck. I hadn’t been counting. My chest tightened. The ski lodge…that meant…Engineer must have told Thuliak she’d be there. And now Thuliak was dropping backup right onto the lodge. Fuck, the crazy bastard was probably dropping himself down there to rescue her with his own two hands, and his own smug smirk.
“Kantus,” I said, “I know I shouldn’t be thinking of my triumvirate like this, but mate, I’vegottabe the one to rescue her first.”
Kantus grinned at me. “Let’s run then. I’m healed up enough.” He stroked his hand across his plasma rifle as if it were a human’s house pet. “Maybe we’ll even get to blow some of their cocks off too?”
“I knew youInseminatorsweren’t so bad after all.”
