The Hareema was back on his feet faster than expected. He emitted a high pitched squeal, and a moment later the door was opening and the second Cargraves rushed in. “Traitor,” the first said, pointing in Drake’s direction.
Both Cargraves came for him. He fought them, throwing punches faster than lightning, but their shapeshifter forms protected them. One got behind him and put his hands on him. Suddenly, the suit around him began to malfunction.
The Cargraves at his back let out a gasp, and Drake looked over his shoulder. Where the thing’s fingers should have been, red tendrils had appeared, melding with his suit. Apparently the shape-shifters were able to somehow merge their forms, something he’d not been aware of.
His cover was blown, he realized, as the suit melted off his body.
“Holy fuck,” the Cargraves in front of him exclaimed. “What the fuck have you done to our brother?”
Drake assumed he was talking about the Hareema who had died to become the suit he’d worn. But rather than speaking he replied with his fists, popping the Hareema in its mouth.
Then he spun, sweeping out his legs to knock the one behind him to the ground. He was still partially merged with the suit Drake had climbed out of, so Drake turned his attention back to the Cargraves in front of him.
Jamie grabbed Lakewood’s arm and started leading him in the direction of the door. Before they could get around the guard on the ground, he reached out and wrapped a tendril around her ankle.
Jamie let out a scream of fright that sent a torrent of rage through Drake. How dare the creature touch his mate? Without thinking, his bioenergy flowed through him and he shot a charge at the Hareema touching Jamie.
The blast hit its target, but nothing happened. They’d already been upgraded, it seemed.
Meanwhile, the other Cargraves took the opportunity to leap on his back. Drake tried to grab his shoulders to pull him off, but the shapeshifter used his abilities to evade Drake’s grip.
The other Cargraves was standing, grabbing Jamie more securely and hauling her towards him. Drake let out a bellow of anger, the thought of his mate being accosted driving him near mad.
Suddenly the creature behind him let out a scream of pain. One moment it was on his back, a Hareema in the shape of Cargraves bent on taking him down. The next moment he was an explosion of red jelly, splattering all over the room and then disintegrating into a sick gray puddle.
“What the fuck?” the other Cargraves yelled, releasing Jamie and rushing towards Drake.
A series of commanding bleeps came from behind him and Drake made a split second decision. He turned so that his back was facing the rushing Cargraves, and in the next moment there was another scream.
Then, another explosion of red jelly.
“Herman!” Jamie yelled jubilantly. “You got them!”
“But how?” Drake asked, cocking his head over his shoulder to look at the robot strapped to his back. “My bioelectricity did nothing.”
“While on your ship I scanned your bioelectric properties. I realized you were able to emit a rotating charge. I postulated that if I reversed the rotation of the charge and emitted a blast, I might be able to affect them.”
“Affect them,” Jamie laughed. “You blew them away!”
Lakewood came forward, patting Herman affectionately. “Your conclusion was correct, Herman. In fact, I purposefully left that vulnerability in when I was forced to help them adjust their physiology to counter the Zantharian weapon.”
Drake shook his head in wonder. It seemed they now had a secret weapon against the shifters. Now they just had to get them off the base and into Zantharian hands.
“We need to move,” he said. “If anyone was watching, they’ll be on their way here.”
He led the group to the door. “Herman, you stay ready to blast when I give you the word. We’re going back to the ship.”
“Wait,” Jamie said, tugging on his arm. “What about the rebel agent? We’ve got to get him out of here, remember.”
“No time for that. We have a new plan, getting the four of us off this damn base and back to Zanthar safely.”
Jamie shook her head. “No. We still need to contact the rebel factions. We should stick to our original plan.”
“I don’t have time to argue, Jamie,” he said, trying to stay calm. “They’re going to be coming for us as soon as they realize what’s happened.”
“Then Herman can blast them to smithereens. But I’m not leaving until we rescue at least one more prisoner.”
Drake debated picking her up and carrying her out bodily, but he needed his hands free for fighting. Then he looked closely into her face. There was sorrow there, and guilt.
