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

Drake moved faster than she expected, and none of them found their mark. As he prepared to bowl her over, she accidentally dropped the pistol and raised her forearms defensively. The instant before impact, Malmoradan slammed into Drake from the top of the ladder, and they crashed onto the deck.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, April glanced up in time to see Sturmhardt lead her associates into the fray. April reached for the plasma pistol, but Ikunku dashed toward her, and his mechanized fist shattered the weapon. The impact sent arcs of electricity snaking all around, igniting several plasma pellets. April yelped and scrambled backward as Ikunku punched holes in the deck near her feet, between her ankles, and between her knees.

The buccaneers surrounded Malmoradan, landing punches and kicks all over his body. Suddenly, Malmoradan roared and threw off his attackers as he stood up. He clawed at Drake, but his opponent dodged back, allowing Sturmhardt to step in. She sliced through the air, leaving arcs of light in her wake, but Malmoradan avoided every swing.

Cornered, April cried out as Ikunku raised his fist for the kill.

Malmoradan glanced their way. Baring his fangs, he howled, “Stop! Touch her, and you die!”

“You let down your guard,” said Sturmhardt. Her katana snaked out, but it glanced off his BICOM vest to plunge deep into his shoulder. With a twist of her hands and a flick of her wrists, she severed muscles from tendons.

Malmoradan’s arm hung limply from its socket, dripping with blood. Howling in pain, he stumbled backward, tripped, and fell.

Ikunku laughed as he hovered over April. “Any last words?”

“Captain,” said April, and she beamed.

“Aw, that’s sweet, but it’s way too late for that,” said Ikunku.

His electrified fist vanished in an explosion of steel and lightning. He screamed as he gripped the twisted elbow of his ruined limb. Thunder filled the passageway. Casey fired her shotgun from around the corner, pumping blast after blast into the pirates. Buckshot ripped them apart as she advanced.

“Zis vay!” shouted Sturmhardt, and she dashed behind a pair of iron crates on the other side of the intersection. Drake grabbed Ikunku and followed. He hopped over the crates, landing in a crouch next to Sturmhardt, and he sat Ikunku down.

“Vhy are you making so much noise?” she asked. “It’s not made of flesh!”

Ikunku paused. He flopped his wreckage left and right. “I know.”

Drake cocked his revolver. “I’m gonna waste that ocelini.” He popped up just long enough to take aim and squeeze off a round, but it stopped just short of impact.

“That’s enough!” said Orin as he stepped into view. Blue fire burned from his hands. Misaki, Shulana, Ostonk, Mayfield, and Laz stood at his back.

“Goddammit!” snarled Drake, and he punched his own thigh as hard as he could. “Ow,” he hissed, and he winced as the pain radiated throughout his leg.

Still shaken, April got to her feet and stumbled to her cousin’s side.

As Casey turned around, Misaki’s mouth fell slightly open. “But… I saw you die!”

“You saw exactly what I needed you to see,” said Casey, and she looked at Orin. “So, what happens now?”

“You’re dead meat,” said Drake. “That’s what!”

Orin raised his hand, and he took a moment to assess the carnage. “You slaughtered four of our men, and I see no sign of Broose. I can only assume he fell in the lab.”

“They smashed open his skull,” said Drake. “Like a melon!”

With grave regard, Orin stared at Casey. “Cassiopeia Cartwright, Shona Chelsea, April Sattari, and Malmoradan Taig, you have proven yourselves to be nothing more than bloodthirsty savages. I will no longer guarantee your safety, and while I abhor—”

His eyes went wide as April stood on her toes, grabbed his face, and kissed him. She backed away, gazing intently. “I’m sorry for breaking my promise.” Taking a deep breath, she kissed him.

Images of a vast, dark stage filled Orin’s mind, and miniature galaxies drifted about, like motes of dust caught in the sunlight. Slowly, gracefully, they formed a ring, glittering in the inky expanse. Gradually, the ring spun faster.

“What’s going on?” he asked, and he looked at April. “Where are we?”

“We’re in your mind,” she said, beaming. “I told you it was beautiful!”

“I don’t understand,” said Orin.

“You’re about to.”

The stellar bodies flashed. Together with April, they thundered, “Orinoco!”

In the first instant that followed, he didn’t know who or what an Orinoco was. In the next, he knew every word for it in every language, and what it meant to every intelligence everywhere, for whom it held meaning. He lost himself in rivers of light and reverie, as April coaxed his memories from each point of light. Moving outside the flow of time—in jitters, and bursts, and jags—she stitched his mind back together.

“Orinoco, remember!”

Blue fire roared through his neurons, as everything came flooding back. Orin gasped, and he gazed into April’s eyes. “Hi,” he breathed, and he smiled.

“There you are,” whispered April, and she hugged him tight.

“Here I am,” he said, and he hugged her just as tightly.

“Scheisse,” muttered Sturmhardt.

“You’d better take care of Malmoradan,” said Orin, and he turned toward the crates.

“I’m on it,” said April, and she hurried to Malmoradan’s side.

Orin raised his hands and with currents of kinetic force seized each one of the pirates’ weapons. He brought his hands together, drawing them close. His blue fire flickered somewhat as he prepared to crush the weapons into a single mass.

“No, Orin, wait!” said Casey.

“Why?” he asked.

“I’d like to make them an offer,” said Casey, and she regarded Misaki with a confident smile. “In exchange for your help in facing off against Blacktusk, I can offer you all a place in my posse. As deputized representatives of the Interstellar Police Force, you’re entitled to exercise your rights under the United Planets Articles of Clemency. So long as you continue to act in a law enforcement capacity, whatever you’ve done up until this moment can’t be held against you. Ever. You want to talk about freedom? Welcome back to the Milky Way, my