Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

Schurke returned his attention to Orin. “Join me.”

“Never,” said Orin.

“Perhaps I’m being unclear, so I’ll spell it out for you,” said Schurke. “If you refuse me again, your captain will die first, followed immediately by Watchtower. Then we’ll hunt down your friends, and while it may take some time to locate her, we’ll eventually capture your sister. The torture she’ll endure on her way to death will be legendary. If you still won’t join, something tragic is in store for every place you’ve ever held dear, starting with your residence tower. If you still won’t join… I could continue, but I think you get the idea.”

Orin’s phone buzzed. He glanced at a message from Eridani and smiled. “None of that’s going to happen.”

“Oh?” asked Schurke. “Please, do enlighten me.”

With a confident smile, Orin locked eyes with Schurke. “I know how to beat you.”

Schurke scowled. “Clearly, I’m going about this all wrong. Let’s focus on the positives for a moment. Orin, this is Earth Star. Earth Star, this is Orin. He’ll be joining us as our sixth. Together, we’ll bring an end to all war across the known galaxy, save stranded cats and cute little babies, and so on and so forth. You’ll get your own room aboard Saxony, the star nay’s flagship, and—”

“I’m sorry, did you say earthstar?” asked Orin.

Schurke narrowed his eyes. “That’s right.”

“Like the mushroom,” said Orin.

“Excuse me?”

“See, look.” Orin typed into the search bar and showed the admiral an image of the fungus in question. “Oh wait, I get it! It’s a team of five all-stars based out of Earth. Unfortunately, there are lots of different kinds of stars, so maybe you could use pentacle instead—you know, to avoid confusion.” He pocketed his phone. “Earth Pentacle… No, Earth Star does sound better. Anyway, if I joined, we’d have to rebrand as Earth Hexacle. Is hexacle a word?”

“You mock me,” said Schurke. “I warned you what would happen if you refused me again.”

Orin held up his hands, and his flames subsided. “I didn’t refuse you! I’m thinking about it. Hexacle, I mean. I really want to know if it’s a word or not.”

“I offered you an olive branch, and you cast it into the fire. It seems you lack the proper motivation,” said Schurke, and he looked at Casey. “Constable Knox, if you please.”

“Forgive me,” whispered Nathaniel, and he took off his gloves. He reached for Casey, but Orin lunged, knocking his hand away. They shared an instant of contact, and Orin vanished. His commlink tumbled as his clothing fluttered to the ground.

Chapter 35

Showdown

Shona and Malmoradan set Frostshadow down, watching through the tinted glass of a nearby building. “Orin!” screamed Shona, and she whirled around on Malmoradan. “Orin is gone! Knox just disintegrated him!”

“We don’t know that for sure,” said Malmoradan. “Stick to the plan.”

“But Casey’s all alone out there,” said Shona. “I have to help!”

Sternly, Malmoradan shook his head. “Stick to the plan.”

“You traitor,” snarled Casey. She leapt away and drew her plasma pistol. “I trusted you!”

“I’m sorry,” said Nathaniel. “I had no choice!”

“Neither do I,” growled Casey, and she fired twice. Searing bolts drilled through Nathaniel’s chest, and he toppled backward. “Officer down,” she spat, and she dove for cover behind a parked car.

Schurke tapped Meteor Mo’s shoulder and took a step back.

“Yes, boss?”

“Kill Officer Cartwright,” said Schurke.

Meteor Mo cleared his throat. “Boss?”

“Was I unclear?”

“No,” said Meteor Mo. “It’s just I thought we were the good guys, and killing cops isn’t what good guys do.”

“Officer Cartwright is a very bad apple,” said Schurke. “Now, do your job.” He glared at Lafuega. “You will help him.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Lafuega, and a crown of fire gathered above her head.

Meteor Mo took a deep breath and nodded. Balling his fists, his skin turned to silvered stone, and lava erupted from his legs. With a fearsome growl, he launched skyward as fireballs streaked from Lafuega’s hands.

Scanning her surroundings, Casey flinched as the building behind her exploded, showering her with debris. The cars on either of her hissed as fire flipped them high in the air. An instant later, they crashed down and burned. “April, come in,” said Casey.

“I’m getting a lot of fear from you,” said April. “Almost panic. What happened?”

“Change of…” said Casey, and she glanced up in time to see Meteor Mo barreling down on her from directly overhead. “…plans.” She closed her eyes, and he crushed her skull into her legs as he landed, bursting everything in between.

“Captain!” cried Shona, and she ripped the front door off its hinges.

“To hell with the plan,” snarled Malmoradan, and he readied his lightning gun.

Mike swore under his breath as Shona charged into view, eyes fixed on Meteor Mo. Fire surged from Lafuega’s hands, crawling up her forearms, and she reached back to take aim at Shona. Closing his eyes, Mike bolted from behind an empty trash bin and dove into the path of Lafuega’s fireballs. They struck him square in the chest, burning away his BICOM vest’s outer layer of cloth, and he hastily shrugged out of it. His hair shimmered as flames licked the ends, but it didn’t burn. “Hi,” said Mike as he got to his feet and held Lafuega’s attention. He dropped his ruined vest to the asphalt.

“Hi,” she said, and she turned her head slightly. “No way!”

“No way what?” asked Mike.

“Are you Prince Miguel?”

“If I am, will you stop attacking us?” he asked.

Lafuega regarded him questioningly. “Why would I do that?”

“It’s always worth asking,” said Mike. He kicked a nearby side mirror off its door and caught it. “Ever play baseball?”

“In high school,” said Lafuega.

“I always liked pitching.” He hurled the side mirror at her, but she intercepted it with a bolt of fire, blasting it apart.

Lafuega lowered her chin as flames roared around her. “How’s your catching game?”

“Not horrible,” said Mike, and his throat bobbed.

“Too bad for you, it looks like I’m on a hot streak,” said Lafuega. She brought her hands together, swallowing Mike in a massive