Page 65 of Triplets for the Barbarians

I run as if everything depends on my speed. Everything hinges on these next few minutes and how we’re going to play out what’s left of the dirty game we’ve been playing against the Sky Tribe for far too long.

Behind us, the western gates crack open in a dreadful explosion. I can’t even imagine what might be left of our troops. I can only think of what will happen if we lose the base, too. But I saw the doubt in Blaze. I felt him wavering once more.

It’s clear that while he does stick to Shaytan’s side, he’s not entirely sure they’re doing the right thing. Shaytan’s ethos doesn’t fully align with his, and I have to try playing that card against them one more time.

Where there is doubt, there’s room for it to fester into hesitation.

I’m grievously wounded, and my brother got his feathers ruffled, too. He also managed to injure Shaytan, but we both know it’s not enough to keep that bastard down. If anything, he’s going to be even more aggressive, more violent, and more determined to have our heads impaled on the thickest wooden stakes he can find when it’s over. We cannot take Shaytan and Blaze on ourselves.

I look back again, the fear clotting the blood in my veins, as I see dozens of Sky Tribe soldiers running after us.

A laser beam shoots up from the base. It slices through one of the enemy’s fighter jets, which blows up in a myriad of red and yellow flames, rippling flowers painting the morning sky. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’ve got a bit of juice left to keep fighting.

We’re running. We’re either running to our deaths or our salvation.

The rising suns will determine which.

26

Jewel

Istare at the security screens, trying to swallow my fear so I can breathe again. I can see Yossul and Fadai running toward our base. Ivo alerted our guards so they know to let them through, but I fear they won’t be the first to make it here.

Sweat drips down my cheeks and seeps into my collar as I observe a buggy furiously cutting across the red dirt.

Shaytan and Blaze are in it.

“No,” I whisper as Blaze fires several laser shots at Yossul and Fadai just as they drive past them. He misses and I breathe a sigh of relief—a short-lived sensation as I realize Shaytan will be the first at our doorstep.

I slap the comms button on my console. “Get ready!” I shout. “Shaytan and Blaze are coming first! Fire at will and do not stop until they’re dead!”

More Sky Tribe soldiers come up from behind, catching courage as their overlords approach the military base. I’ve got one of our best shooters on the long-range weapon, and he’s busy clearing the sky above Opal City of all those unwanted aircraft.

I’ve got a dozen men with laser rifles trained on the incoming hostiles, too, and about a hundred boys with short-range weapons and long knives ready for battle.

What I still don’t have are the fucking coordinates for the starship, and time is running out.

“Dammit,” I curse and plug my earpiece in, then grab the tablet and run out of the command center. I’m not sure what will happen to Fadai and Yossul while they’re still out there, but our men have clear instructions, and the enemy is here.

There is no room for error.

I need to get behind the controls of our second starship shooter, and I need to do it fast. Running like my soles are on fire, I dart through the building, occasionally glancing through the reinforced glass windows to see the Sky Tribe cohorts swelling outside the compound.

Our people release rapid-fire sequences of laser beams at them, managing to push the bastards back and even take some of them out.

It's not enough.

My heart aches as the prospect of never seeing my men again cuts deep into my heart. It’s hard to focus, but my choices are few and each more dreadful than the other.

I press the comms button on my earpiece. “Any news, Ivo?”

“They’re transmitting numbers on one of the radio lines,” he replies. “We can’t decipher them, though.”

“Are the gates holding up?”

“For now, yes.”

“JEWEL!” Shaytan’s voice echoes outside, sending shivers down my spine.

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