Defiance Rising by Amy Miles Read Free Book Online Page B

Not after he risked his life for me.  
    Even if I manage to get off a couple good shots, I know I’ll be taken by the reinforcements at the back of the factory.   I’ve only got two blades but maybe I can do enough damage to take that Gentry alive and use him as a bargaining chip.  
    No matter how I look at this, I know this isn’t going to end well for me, but I still can’t bring myself to leave Bastien behind.   I bend over and crawl on my hands and knees, inching my way past the fallen stairs to get a better view.  
    “Get him down, now!”   The Gentry growls as he dodges a disfigured metal trashcan.   It clatters past and rolls to a stop against one of the machines.   I peek out from my hiding place and watch him plant his feet, rigid and motionless apart from a tic under his right eye.   His gaunt cheeks pull taut as he leers up at the floor above, a crazed fervor gleaming in his eye.   I shudder as he fingers a long curved blade at his hip.  
    The way the Gentry caresses the black hilt reminds me of Eamon’s affection for his spear.   I reach back and run my finger along my own blades and feel a jolt of realization.   He’s a hunter.   I have no doubt this man will take pleasure in personally gutting Bastien when they catch him.
    Suddenly, a strange burning sensation in my fingers grabs my attention.   The burn climbs through my fingers and reaches my wrists.   I gasp as tears sting my eyes.  
    Something is wrong.
    I sink back against the wall and clutch my hands to my stomach.   Like dipping frozen fingers in water, the burn is nearly unbearable.   I fight back a moan, knowing I need to move, to get in a better position, but I’m paralyzed by the pain.
    My pulse quickens as I tug at my arms.   An irrational desire to remove the pain from my flesh with my knife makes me bite my lip.   I open my mouth in a silent scream as I claw at my forearms.
    Pressing back against the wall, I hardly flinch when the second floor erupts with fire, bubbling the paint off the concrete block wall.   I can feel the residual heat but it can’t compete with the internal agony crawling up toward my chest.  
    “Cease fire!”   The commanding alien holds up his hand.   The device at his shoulder comes alive.   “Roof structure compromised.   Unsafe to land.”
    I lean my head back against the wall to peer through a second floor window.   The moon disappears directly overhead as the Sky Ship moves away.  
    The Squaddies inch forward, obviously anxious for a fight.   I can see it on their faces.   There is a wild gleam in their eyes, lit by the crackling fires all around.  
    “Commander Drakon?   What are your orders, sir?”   I bite down on my lip as the pain vines up my arms, twisting around my elbows.   I strain to listen to the Gentry’s answer but his words sound jumbled in my mind.
    I watch as Drakon tilts his head to the side and contemplates the walkway.   His gaze darts across the wide, silent expanse.   It has been nearly a minute since Bastien launched anything over the side.   “He’s out of ammo.   Attack!”
    Drakon turns on his heel and marches toward the front of the factory as his men rush forward, clumping in two small groups as they hurl some sort of rope and metal claw up over the ledge.   I know I should do something to help Bastien but I can’t think past the agony winding its way up toward my shoulders.
    As the first two men begin to climb, I lurch to my feet.   I have to do something.   Anything.   Commander Drakon turns to watch when he reaches the overturned reception desk as his men scramble up black ropes.   More Squaddies arrive at the door, but he holds up his hand and they fall back.  
    A tall alien with a wide mustache calls back over his shoulder from the base of the rope, “Shoot to kill?”
    I lean around the machine, desperate to see his commander’s response but I don’t need to.   Judging by maniacal grin that stretches across the soldier’s