CHAPTER 46
The guards lurched forward, their armor melding into battle mode, blades forming and sliding into their hands. They dashed in front of Mia and Phoebe, as if blocking the sight would change anything, would erase the picture from in their minds. Phoebe was still screaming, but Mia could barely hear her. Fear had crested within her and she stood, shocked and unable to think.
More Livarians arrived, their grim faces flashing before her.
Someone spoke into one of the light tools, commanding all available units home.
Relief found her. Draven would return and he would fix it all.
And then they were being moved, led along the footpath and back toward the dormitory. Mia followed in a daze.
“It makes no sense,” Ashley said. Mia blinked, she hadn't even seen the woman approach. “I saw Lee this morning. She was at breakfast. That body...”
That body had been rotting for a long while. There was no way Lee could have been at breakfast. Unless it wasn't Lee at all.
They are you and they are me.
A strum of terror shot through her, breaking the icy hold of the shock that had settled in. What if the Y'kil really were out there, but instead of mimicking forest creatures, they were mimicking Livarians? Was that even possible? It seemed like magic, some sort of fairy tale turned nightmare, but a few months ago she would have never believed in cat-men, either.
The dormitory loomed before them before Mia could sort out her battered thoughts. They would secure the women in the building, do anything to keep them safe. They were stubborn and overbearingly protective. But if she was right, they would be locking the women in with the monsters.
“Hey, it's alright, we'll keep you safe,” the Livarian next to her soothed.
“No, we can’t go in there,” Mia stopped. He reached out to guide her, his mouth a firm line. He didn't want to manhandle her, but he would. “You don't understand,” she hated the ring of panic in her voice. “The Y'kil, they're mimicking someone. It could be anyone, but it's probably one of the women.”
A flash of worry passed through his eyes. Not about the Y'kil, but for her sanity.
“You'll be safe,” he repeated the promise. Phoebe and Ashley were already inside, disappearing through the opening. Mia's instincts screamed as the guard reached out for her. She slipped to the side, avoiding his touch.
“No!” she shouted.
The energy field flashed, and the siren screamed, piercing her ears. Once, twice and then the field was gone, as if it had never been. The guard paused, too shocked to continue his pursuit. Across the street, Morkuth grinned, his face lighting with delight and triumph. Then he turned, his black blade gleaming in the sun, and stabbed it into the unprotected throat of man next to him.
“It's the Y'kil,” she told her guard, “They are you and they are me.”
Chaos erupted. From the side streets, Livarians poured forth. Three tackled Morkuth, but some, seeing the dead man, turned on their neighbors. There was definitely more than one Y'kil in the compound. The sounds of battle climbed above that of the siren. Mia backed against the stone wall, her heart pounding. She had no idea where to turn, who was the enemy and who was safe. Across the field, figures stalked toward them; these were not Livarians. The odd angles of their limbs looked more insect like than anything, their brown bodies lean and starving looking. Soulless black eyes stared out of a smooth carapace face that split as she watched, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth glossed with a slimy trail of saliva. And one of the mimics had shut down the shield for them.
Oh my god.
Women stumbled out of the doorway and Mia registered the screams numbly. A Livarian she didn't recognize grabbed one by the hair, the blond tresses flying with the motion. Leanne. Lim dashed in front of her, pushing her free. The action cost him, as the Y'kil slashed the black blade across his face. Lim's features froze in shock and he fell to the ground at the Y'kil's feet. Leanne was already scrambling away, her screams lost in the terror of the battle.
There was no way out of this. They were all going to die. Jhudur had been right all along.
Jhudur. He knew the Y'kil, maybe he would know how to kill them, how to tell friend from enemy.
Mia spun, ignoring the bodies that lay broken on the ground. She could feel the edge of terror coasting over her thoughts. She had to do something. There was not time to freak out, she would worry about that later. The side of the building was empty, all of the Livarians had moved to the footpath and the open field. Down the street, Chef came charging out from the dining hall, his roar echoing above all else.
Mia slid along the building, every step like trying to break out of ice. She forced herself to move. Just one step. One more. She peered around the corner. The street was empty.
She would free Jhudur. He would know what to do.
Movement became easier with a goal and she found herself running along the streets, dodging between buildings whenever a noise or movement threatened.
Finally, the courtyard opened before her and she dashed across it to the apartment where Jhudur was kept. She slapped the keypad frantically.
The lights flashed red. She had been locked out. Dammit. She ran to the front of the building. So close, she was so close to the storage shed and Lee's body. The windows were long and narrow, could she break them? She searched for a stone or branch that might help her in her quest. It took several moments for her to realize that none of that was needed. One of the windows was already shattered, sharp shards of glass sparkling like diamonds in the gaping maw.
He was gone. She knew it before she peaked her head inside. He had already escaped. Left them all to their doom
“There you are.”
Mia jumped, nearly slicing herself on the broken pane. She whipped around, searching the street before her for the owner of the voice. It was feminine, and almost too sickeningly sweet.
Sora, the second sister from her journey stood before her.
She inhaled deeply, lifting her chin and savoring the air. “The sweet morsel from the world gate. I am eager to taste your rotted flesh. It is so rare that we get to sample such a soft, tender species.”
Mia didn't answer, couldn't. Raw, primal terror had taken over that part of her mind. Sora stepped toward her and Mia knew, instinctively, that the Y'kil was faster and stronger than her. She threw a desperate glance down the street.
“It is just you and I, little morsel,” Sora tittered. Her voice would leave its spikes in Mia's nightmares for the rest of her life, which was looking to be only moments.
“Don't run and I promise your end will be swift,” she cautioned. “Running ruins the meat. It would be a terrible waste for one such as you.” She tilted her head. “Of course, allowing it to ripen will mitigate some of that, if you so choose.”
Bastard. Terror had frozen her in place, but something else had crept up within her listening to the Y'kil's words, listening to it speak in a dead woman's voice.
Mia slowly crouched down and snared one of the broken glass shards. It sliced into her skin as she gripped it. She hardly felt it and she knew that was the adrenaline short circuiting her mind and dulling her pain response. It didn't matter. If she was going to die, it wouldn't be cowering on the ground.
Sora laughed. “Glass does not harm us,” she teased. She was close now, the little game she was playing bringing her almost within arms reach.
Just one more step.
Mia lunged. She was not a fighter, but she gripped the glass shard as well as she could and aimed for the woman's face. Bile rose within her as she neared. She couldn't do it, it was too much like Sora, like killing the other woman.
Surprise bolted through her when the Y'kil's dark chuckle became a drawn-out gurgle. Blood exploded into her face, coating her cheek and splashing into her mouth and eyes. Something dark appeared through the woman's neck, it slid to the side, severing muscle and flesh.
The gurgling continued, ragged wet sucking as the creature tried and failed to pull air into its ruined throat.
Noise behind her had her spinning, her glass shard still ripping the flesh from her fingers. Draven stood in the street, only steps away. His face was pale and grim, but relief washed over him as he looked at her.
She managed to blink and look back at the flailing body that had looked so much like Sora. It had changed in the moments she had looked away, limbs twisted and bent the wrong direction, the face a mask of horror. Y'kil.
Jhudur stood above the creature, one of the Livarian's blades in his hand. He hadn't left them to their doom. He had saved her.
“Seal the doors, Prime,” he growled.