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

page worth of data into the search field. “They’re corporate citizens, all of them. Taranis Arms, mostly, but they come from all over. New Tortuga, Myconidian, Arsenal Bay—they’re all from countdown planets.”

“What is going on?” muttered Eridani.

Moving quickly, she continued navigating Porrima’s menu. She soon reached a header labeled, “Delivery Options,” and Eridani paled as she studied the settings. “Ellylle overrode all the safety measures. She was planning to ruin Earth all along!”

At the button of the page, she found a red button that promised to reschedule the active delivery. “This better work,” said Eridani, and she pressed it. The system prompted her for a date, and she chose the one furthest out—two weeks from that moment.

Imperium’s communications console lit up. Volleyed rapidly back and forth, captains from the surviving starships cheered. “They’ve stopped!” cried one of the captains. “It’s a miracle,” crooned another. Most were unintelligible in their exultation and exuberance.

Eridani plopped down in her chair. Leaning back, she let out a resounding cheer of her own. Her bridge crew shouted and laughed.

◆◆◆

Orin’s commlink crackled. “Eridani has been trying to reach you,” said Nimbus. “She wanted you to know that the spheres have halted their advance, approximately ten thousand kilometers from impact. They no longer pose a threat to Earth.”

“Roger that,” said Orin, and he thrust forth his arms, engulfed in a blue inferno. Cosmic power poured from his hands, and he severed Ellylle’s branch with a flick of his index finger, leaving it in place to staunch Lafuega’s bleeding. Deftly, he moved Lafuega to the footpath near the bridge, and with a dramatic upward gesture, he lobbed the rest of the animated trees into the East River.

“Yes!” said Ellylle. “Now this is more like it! I knew there was a warrior in you. Now, stand with me as we remake this world!”

“Not on your life,” said Orin.

She tilted her head. “You’d rather die fighting me?”

Seizing the tidal forces of a pulsar, Orin pulled her branches straight, and her phone tumbled to the ground. Making a fist, he crushed it into a marble. “Tonight, your schemes come to an end. Earth will live, and the Forest of Worlds will fade even further into obscurity, disgraced by their own Vanam. You’re done, Ellylle! You’re done!”

“Is that what you think?” She smiled wickedly, and the vines surrounding her trunk unwound. Cradled within, Earth’s world seed glowed brightly. “This is Nyx. Good luck crushing her,” said Ellylle, and the diamond dropped to the ground. “Gaia sleeps, her final slumber. Come forth, Nyx, tear Earth asunder!”

The seed oscillated with swiftly growing intensity. The wrought iron bench creaked, bowing forward as the moss coating leapt free, hurtling toward Nyx. Lights flickered, and electricity crackled in the air. A roaring howl grew ever louder, and at last Orin sensed the world seed’s nature.

“It’s a living rift,” he breathed. Pulled down into the world seed’s abyss, he beheld a nightmare planet, and he shuddered as he felt Nyx’s hunger. She longed to devour Earth, to vomit forth her own matter in its place.

Breaking free from Nyx’s spell, Orin sent the world seed high into the air, speeding toward the ionosphere where he could move it no further. Drawing upon his deep reserves of power, he held the seed at bay. “Ellylle, that’s enough!”

Freed from Orin’s grip, her branches curled back into place, and she slowly approached. “You foolish boy—we could’ve enlightened the galaxy together, but now you’ll be nothing more than fuel for my conquest.” She extended wooden spikes toward Orin’s eyes, but an aura of starlight surrounded him, and his nightmare body surfaced instantly. Ellylle’s barbed points scraped harmlessly against immovable membranes, where the whites of his eyes had been. “Remarkable. Truly remarkable. I wonder how long you can keep this up?”

“It’s over, Ellylle. My sister stopped the spheres, and I’ve stopped Nyx! You can’t hurt me. We’re endless and as powerful as the stars, remember? You said it yourself!”

“But the same isn’t true for your fiery friend,” said Ellylle. “Surely I can hurt her. Would you wear her death upon your shoulders after all? I know how your powers work, Orinoco. You can’t stop me without releasing my world seed.”

“Perhaps I can’t stop you, but I know they can.” Orin nodded toward the bridge.

Ellylle tracked his stare and found Shona stooped over Lafuega, treating her wounds. “That’s impossible,” muttered Ellylle. “No one escapes! No one!”

“Hi,” said Casey from across the way. Mike and Torsha stood on one side of her, Nimbus and Malmoradan on the other.

“You all escaped?” snarled Ellylle.

Casey smiled wryly. “Yeah. Clearly we did.”

“I’ll have to make something a bit more lethal for you then,” said Ellylle, and she focused on Casey. Stars brightened within Orin’s arms and upper chest, and sparks flared from Ellylle’s limbs. “You’ve found a way to block me.”

“They’re protected,” said Orin. “As long as my power lingers within them, they’re anchored to this existence.” He looked at Casey. “Where’s April?”

I’ve been following along from far away, thought April. We’ll keep Ellylle busy while you dispose of her world seed.

I can’t do it, thought Orin. I can barely contain the thing!

We’ll figure something out, thought April. She turned her attention to Malmoradan. Be on your guard. She’s sending something through the soil.

Malmoradan pointed his lightning gun downward, just as a braid of roots ruptured the ground from below. Light flashed and thunder cracked. Chunks of root matter rained down all around him, and he pointed his weapon at Ellylle. “Get down on your knees with your hands behind your neck, then lay face down on the dirt. Do it now!”

Ellylle scoffed. “Arms? Knees? Neck? I’m a tree, you imbecile!”

“Do it now!” shouted Casey, and she drew her sidearm. A plasma round churned within the firing chamber.

“I don’t think so,” sneered Ellylle, and she thrust forth a thick vine, tipped with a razor-sharp bramble. It streaked through air, headed for Casey’s throat. Guided by April, Mike stepped in the way, catching the barb in his chest. It whipped against