“Fun?”
“We’re the bait.”
“Us?”
I give my mate the benefit of my fangs.
“You and me, little flame. Together.”
ROSALIE
This is a terrible plan. But it is also a brilliant plan and one I should have expected from Dante. He’s filled with fire as he works his way through the glowing cables, his claws far more dexterous than I would have thought. His eyes are lit up, concentrated on his task, his scales glittering with fire.
I want to be as confident as he is about his plan. But holding ourselves out as bait for the Gonoz—for one I don’t know why they would want me, but also, Dante is putting himself at significant risk.
My heart is consumed with silly jealousy about his sacrifice. Why should anyone else have him when he belongs to me?
Except there is Della, who deserves to have a life free of fear and all the other sarkarnlings who didn’t ask to be where they are, and who need to be able to grow up among the warriors who care for them, warriors without a mutation which renders them incapacitated on occasion.
We have to see this plan through. I have to see it through.
“Ah, the human female.”
I’ve been so concentrated on Dante and his task, when the metal hand winds around my neck, I almost freeze.
“Oh no!” I duck, wrenching myself away from the robot which is all spindly limbs, almost hollow body save for wires, and no head. It glints silver in the strong lights of this place.
Dante looks up and growls at it. I take a step back, fumbling with my ray gun before releasing a bolt, which shoots the arm off the thing.
“Well done, my mate,” Dante croons. “You’ll need to shoot a few more times before it cannot come after us again.”
He is entirely correct, as the robot, its missing limb sparking, stumbles towards me, pincer outstretched. I fire again and again and again, and parts of it go flying off down the passage, but it’s still coming. I need to be more strategic where I’m aiming, so taking a deep breath as the thing lurches at me, I lower the ray gun and shoot at what I suppose are the legs.
One of them crumbles and the robot falls to one side. I swiftly shoot the second off, and finally I take several shots at the densest part of the robot, figuring that is probably where its CPU or the Gonoz equivalent is situated.
“Absolute perfection,” Dante calls out. “Couldn’t have done better myself.”
He grins over at me.
“Is this part of the plan?”
“They know we’re here now,” Dante says. “And they know we’re armed and dangerous. I expect we’ll be inundated soon.”
“So, how are we going to stop them?”
“Containment.” Dante holds up his bundle of wires which still look like a bird’s nest.
I doubt they could even contain some eggs.
From all around, there is a noise I really don’t like. It’s a screeching, thumping, and it’s getting closer.
“Are you ready, my little flame?” Dante says, holding out his hand as he lifts the bundle over his head.
I let him pull me against him, against his hard, warm body as he releases a cloud of smoke.
“Is this your plan?” I query. “A smoke screen?”
“I need them to know where we are.”
