Ah. The warriors were here.
Imma didn’t stop or slow, not even when one of the Unity soldiers spotted her, jerking his rifle around with a shouted warning.
The soldier fired, but Imma knocked the burning ball of gas aside with a sweep of her larger upper wing, firing her rifle at the soldier with a snarl. It hit him center mass, burning through his armor to the flesh beneath, his screaming enough to bring all the attention to them.
The other Unity soldiers turned to face the new threat, weapons whining as shots rang out, and were met with Dhenea’s plasma fire as she popped up from behind a stone wall, her helmet obscuring her face.
Rema flared his wings, jumping with a hard flap to the side, taking Patty with him. His wife was screeching, firing from the air as they swept sideways and didn’t stop firing even when they landed and he dragged her behind cover.
“Get some, motherfuckers! You ruined my wedding!”
Humor bled through the battle calm. She hadn’t even wanted to come to the Celebration.
He leaned out over her, firing his weapon before ducking back behind the stone wall when return fire answered him. More weapons shot off, and he shifted to see Nera’s attachment flooding the area from two different sides, converging on the enemy in a wedge. The burning acrid scent of plasma choked the air, the smell getting through even the advanced air filtration of his helmet. This was why you did not have a battle indoors. It made everything worse. Smoke from the burning trees and party furniture filled the greenhouse, even with the massive hole in the ceiling.
“Hold your fire!” Nera’s voice called out from somewhere in front of him.
The rifle sounds faded one by one until only the screaming and wailing of injured Neldre remained.
Rema rose from behind the wall, his hand on Patty’s shoulder.
The twenty or so Unity soldiers lay dead, scattered over the gray stone dancefloor, now stained with blood.
Imma stood by the huddled guests with Nera and Dhenea at her side, plasma rifle pointed skyward.
“Rema. Come here,” the Queen ordered.
She pointed in the direction of the palace. “I want you and Patty to go with Nera to clear the palace. I will head into the city to help deal with the chaos there. When you are through, I need you to use those piloting skills of yours to lead our pilots and give us air support. We have to regain control of the skies if we want any hope of taking back the city.”
“Yes, Great Matriarch. I will link you as soon as I have news.”
She nodded grimly at him, her six amber eyes alight with fury. “The Unity will pay for this,” she said, looking at the bodies of a dozen or so dead Neldre.
Chapter 25
Patty
My heart was poundingas I jogged behind Rema as we, and about fifteen other Neldre warriors, approached the drop off. The greenhouse was set on an outcropping above the palace, tucked into a crevice carved directly into the stone side of the mountain.
Rema slowed, reaching out his two right arms for me, and I stepped into them. My stomach dropped as we jumped off the side, his wings tucked so we plummeted head first at the towersof the palace. Unity Insects were clogging the airway and we needed to be fast to avoid being blown out of the sky.
Rema’s wings snapped out, jerking us hard as one of the black ships fired at us. Neldre scattered around us, dipping and jerking in the air to avoid the plasma fire. Rema’s left wing folded and we changed directions with a bone jarring abruptness, my head snapping to the side.
I kept my teeth gritted so I didn’t accidentally bite my fucking tongue off.
We fell hard again as he tucked his wings in close. There was a balcony coming in fast, and panic was starting to squeeze my lungs when Rema’s wings flared and we landed hard. Rema rolled, absorbing most of the impact, his wings folding around us as we crashed into the room, skidded across the floor and hit the far wall with a hard thump.
Rema groaned inside his helmet, rolling onto his back, his arms falling away so I could scramble to my feet. We were in someone's apartment quarters.
“That could have been better,” he said, getting to his feet with a few more groans. He shook himself, his wings flexing.
“We didn’t get shot out of the sky so I’d say that’s a win,” I said cheerfully, shouldering my rifle.
“Always the optimist,” he said, a smile in his voice as he moved to the door. “Come, let's clear this floor. We’ll move by levels until we hit the ground floor. Imma’s ships are in a hangar under the palace. That will be our rallying point if we should become separated.”
“Got it,” I said, following behind him after he made sure the hallway was clear.
This hall looked like all the others in the palace; long, red, with tapestries hung here and there. I hoped like hell we didn’t get separated because no way was I finding my way around this place.
