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

“Fine,” she growled, and she squeezed the trigger. A tracer snaked out from the orb, joining it to the gun, followed instantly by a blinding flash of lightning and a crash of thunder. The weapon hummed as it primed, and her heart raced as her eyes adjusted.

The creature collapsed to the deck. Its biomass oozed from the steel plate, dripping down along its surface. Cautiously, Casey prodded it with her gun.

Satisfied it was dead, she crouched and set down her weapon. Carefully, she turned its head toward her and ran her gloved fingers along its surface, from the top to the chin. There, she detected a ridge, and she dug her fingertips into it. Straining against it, the skin finally peeled back, revealing a mouth as wide as its entire head. Large, blunted teeth lined its jaw. It retched suddenly, and a huge black tongue lolled out. She yelped, and she scrambled to her feet, grabbing her rifle on the way up.

“Casey, are you okay?” asked Shona. She slid down the ladder, nearly tripping over the creature’s body. “We heard your gun go off.”

“Hell no, I’m not okay,” said Casey. “We’re going to need to review the footage, because I don’t know what I just saw.”

Orin leaned over the hatch as the others stepped close. “What is that?” he asked.

Casey glanced up at him. “It’s a new kind of xeno, and it’s hostile.”

“Remarkable,” whispered Edison.

Suddenly, Orin’s eyes went wide. “Shona, look out!”

With a black blade in its good hand, the figure kipped up and stabbed with blinding speed, cutting through the tactical vest as if it weren’t there. Shona barely had time to react, catching nicks here and there as she desperately dodged. Its separated mass flowed in through its feet, healing its other arm, and from its hand, a second blade appeared.

“Somebody, help me!” Shona screamed.

“Leave her alone!” shouted Orin, and an indigo bonfire crackled around his hands. Gritting his teeth, he reached out with cosmic power and gripped the interloper’s forearms. Caught in the tidal vice of a neutron star, the figure stood frozen in place. Slowly, it turned its faceless head toward Shona. The fear in Orin’s eyes turned to rage, and Orin brought his hands together, clenching them. “I said leave her alone!”

The interloper collapsed upon itself as crushing force compacted every bit of inky flesh and ejected a rush of water. Ringed with light, the water formed a crystal-clear orb around a tiny black nucleus. Orin released his hold, and the interloper’s compressed remains struck the deck hard enough to dent its surface. Water splashed down around it, pooling over the tiny, black sphere.

“Thanks, Orin,” said Shona, and she winced in pain.

“Sure,” said Orin, and he fell to his knees.

“Come on, baby girl,” said Malmoradan, and he helped Shona up the ladder. “You’re bleeding,” he said. “Edison, she’s cut all over!”

Mike ran to her side. “What did that thing do to you?”

“Let’s have a look,” said Edison, and he opened his medical kit.

“Most of the cuts just sting,” said Shona, and she lifted her forearm. Blood dripped from her elbow. “I think this one’s deep.”

As Edison tended Shona’s wounds, Casey exited the hatch and took a moment to collect herself. “Edison, keep doing what you’re doing, but everyone needs to see this. You too, Orin. On your feet, deputy!”

He remained on the deck and sank onto his side. “Go ahead. I can see,” said Orin.

“Fine.” Taking a deep breath, Casey played back holographic footage, pausing to zoom in on the creature’s face. “We need to get planet-side as soon as possible. That thing was extremely interested in the people down there, and we have no idea how many more of these creatures there are.”

“It’ll be a massacre,” said Malmoradan.

“Not so long as we’re fast about it,” said Cajun. “Not so long as we got Orin.”

“Speaking of which,” said April, and she excused herself to crouch beside Orin. “Are you feeling all right? You look shaken.”

“No, I’m not all right,” said Orin. He rolled onto his back as his body trembled. “I killed it. Why did I kill it?”

“You saved Shona’s life,” said April.

“I got scared when it looked at Shona, and then I got so angry.” He squeezed April’s hand. “See? This is exactly what I was talking about! I’m a danger to you. I’m a danger to everyone. You guys should just leave me here.”

April ran her fingers through his hair. “I’ve always known you were a protector, from the first moment I saw you. You got angry, because that creature intended to kill Shona, and you acted to keep her safe. You’re not a danger to me, or to any of us. Besides, we know almost nothing about these creatures. It may not be dead.”

Orin frowned. “April, it’s dead.”

“Maybe.” She nodded. “All right, probably, but Shona surely would’ve perished had you done anything differently. I hope you can embrace that one day.”

“I didn’t mean to kill it,” he whispered.

“You did nothing wrong,” said April.

Edison finished gluing Shona’s forearm and wrapped gauze around the wound. “Will you be checking the reclamation level, next?” he asked.

Casey snorted. “The hell with this place. We’re taking our own shuttle down.”

Quickly, they gathered their things and exited the space station.

◆◆◆

Within the confines of the embattled engine room, the tiny sphere dissolved. Very slowly, it mixed back into its water. Gloss black tendrils sprouted from the liquid mass, twisting and knotting, until the interloper reformed completely. After a lengthy pause, it opened the hatch at its feet and descended.

Chapter 21

Rust

Casey was already in the cockpit as April slid down the ladder and alighted upon the passenger compartment deck. The rest of her team rapidly descended. Shona shrugged out of her ruined vest and tossed it in the direction of the latrine before taking her place on the bench. Gingerly, she probed her bandaged forearm. Malmoradan embarked last, dropped the duffle bags inside, and sealed the top hatch behind him. He hurried to