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

[The dust cloud will never reach me,] said Ellylle, and she glanced at her world seed. [Everything that was, will be no more. Everything that follows will be by my design!]

“If you were planning to destroy the planet, why send the spheres to Earth?”

[How else could I command the galaxy’s attention? Tell me how else I could make certain that everyone in the galaxy would be watching as the United Planets’ very seat of government is unmade!]

“Turn them away,” said Orin, and blue fire surged around him.

[Now, this is getting exciting,] said Ellylle, and she raised her branches, animating every nearby tree. Moving as one, they uprooted themselves and stomped toward Orin. [Defend yourself, my champion, and you may live to see Earth receive her resurrection!]

Orin glanced at the approaching arboreal warriors. Clenching his fists, he looked at the stars and back to Ellylle. “Damn you,” he hissed, and he ran, dodging and weaving his way through swinging branches and entangling vines. He bolted for the bridge, but a buried root surged from below. It seized Orin by the chest and started to squeeze.

Tears filled his eyes as he cried out, and his flames intensified.

“Save the pyrotechnics for the professionals,” said Lafuega, and she stepped into view. With a focused column of flame, she scorched the root to its core, and it released Orin. “I got your message.”

“Thank you,” said Orin, and his fires subsided. “I can’t thank you enough! Lafuega, I need to conserve my energy long enough to stop the spheres, but Ellylle’s trying to kill me!” He pointed across the way. “She’s right over there!”

“Not for long,” said Lafuega, and a fiery crown formed over her head. Wherever she stepped, the soil burned, turning grass and roots to cinders.

Ellylle turned on her vocoder and cackled. “Is this the friend you were going to see?”

“That’s right,” said Orin, and Lafuega lobbed fireballs into the trees. They cracked and crumbled as they burned. “It’s over, Ellylle! Call off the spheres, and we’ll let you live!”

With a dismissive sneer, Ellylle vanished into the earth.

“Where’d she go?” asked Lafuega.

“I don’t know,” said Orin. “Give me a minute to see if I can sense her.” He closed his eyes and searched for the connection he shared with Ellylle. Suddenly, his eye sprang open. “She’s right under us!”

“Oh, shit,” said Lafuega. The soil beneath her exploded, and Ellylle drove one of her branches up through Lafuega’s chin. Curling twigs out through Lafuega’s nose, she clamped her jaw shut as she mutely cried out.

Slowly, Ellylle emerged from underground, holding her trophy high as Lafuega grasped and kicked. Blood flowed over her lips and down her neck. “Join me,” said Ellylle. “Join me, and I’ll let her live.”

◆◆◆

The fleet of spheres raced toward Earth. Radiant beams sliced through the starscape, emitted from every defending warship, except for the beocranns. They fell back, refusing to engage as countless volleys of missiles streaked across the void.

Continuous explosions formed garlands around each of the spheres. With a burst of speed, they smashed into the vanguard. Dozens of starships vanished in fire and wreckage. Hundreds of frontline warships scattered ahead of the spheres’ advance

Standing across from Imperium’s viewscreen, Eridani fought a wave of nausea as she watched the battle unfold. “Come on,” she whispered, and her hand hovered over the command console. “Come on, Grostonk. Please hurry.”

Grostonk spoke through the comm. “Captain, it’s ready.”

“Great work,” said Eridani. “Brady, there should be a new channel on your display. Use it to hail the spheres!”

“Aye-aye, Captain,” said Brady, and he sent a standard greeting. The viewscreen darkened, and with stilled breath, everyone on the bridge waited.

Brady grinned. “Captain, we have a response!”

“Excellent,” said Eridani. “Put it through!”

A corporate logo appeared onscreen above a ring filled with hundreds of ancient symbols. Persephone’s voice filled the air. “Greetings, Ellylle Fenmore. On behalf of Porrima Industrium, we thank you for your business, and we hope you’re satisfied with our services. All our offices are currently closed, but this automated system offers several commands to customize the content and destination of your delivery. If you wish to continue, please say yes, or press ihāke on the interface array.”

“Yes!” said Eridani.

The system trilled. “Voice print not recognized. Please try again, or you may enter your contract code at any time.”

She pushed the mute button and looked at Eleski. “This is your moment. This is how you save Earth!”

“Explain?”

“Ellylle’s a public figure,” said Eridani. “Find samples of her voice you can imitate.”

Afshin ran a search for Ellylle’s speeches and other appearances. “Here,” he said, and he stood up to offer his station.

“I am grateful,” said Eleski, but she pursed her lips. “Eridani, I…” Gentle illumination brightened her cheeks. “I have never successfully duplicated the voice of a beocrann.”

“You only need to match her vocoder,” said Eridani. “When it comes to mimicry, there’s no one in the galaxy that’s better than you! You can do this.” She looked deep into Eleski’s eyes. “I believe in you.”

“Your unwavering support is appreciated,” said Eleski. Steeling herself, she took Ellylle’s form and listened to snippets of her voice. Slowly, she assembled a vocoder and rehearsed. At last, she nodded and looked at Eridani. “I’m ready.” She sounded just like Ellylle. “What shall I say?”

Eridani smiled. “Just say yes,” and she took her finger off the mute button.

“Yes,” said Eleski, and the voice system trilled.

The recording continued. “Please listen closely to the following options, as our menus have changed…”

Proceeding as fast as she could through the available choices on screen, Eridani switched the language to English and paused at the cargo manifest. As the list scrolled by, her mouth fell slightly open. “They’ve listed people as their cargo! Grostonk, run a block of those names against public records.”

“On it,” said Grostonk, and he transferred a