Page 77 of Venomous Lust
“My brother’s name was Hayro.” Affek spoke with a dead voice. “He was the warrior who helped you escape Garana. He was the first to fall when Gerkin gave the order to kill those who were not with him. I chose life, Commander, but there is not a single breath I have taken since that I don’t regret it.”
Affek’s eyes misted over and the Eok was clearly reliving the horror of what Gerkin had ordered them to do. Then it was gone, and Affek looked at Khal again.
“There is no forgiveness for us, Commander,” the Eok went on, the darkness seeping all the way into his voice. “I envy you. You will get to walk the Night Lands alongside the Midnight God, and stand with your ancestors alongside your bloodmate.”
The pit of the Eok’s despair was as bottomless as it was dark. Whatever had happened to break his spirit had leeched all willpower from him, turned him into a soulless follower. A soulless follower much like the Ilarian guards, except the Eok knew what he was doing was wrong.
“Redemption is never out of reach,” Khal lied. “It’s the road leading to it that gets more and more painful.”
The other Eok locked gazes with Khal, but there was no light behind the blue of his eyes. He wasn’t going through to him.
“You are an honorable warrior, Commander Khal, but there is no changing the past. It is better that way. Now, your hands, please.”
“Not before you tell me what Knut intends to do with Hazel.” Khal took a step back, his talons pushing out of his fingertips. “A bloodmate is sacred, Warrior. You have a duty to protect her.”
Something flashed in the blue eyes of the Eok, but the Ilarian guard stepped in front of him, motioning with his ionic gun.
“We have orders to shoot him if he doesn’t comply.” The Ilarian’s toneless voice echoed the despair of the Eok’s eyes. “Knut needs him able to talk, but he doesn’t need arms for that.”
The Eok tilted his head like the words were a slap. It was faint, but Khal saw the gesture.
“What of my bloodmate? What of Hazel?” Khal asked.
“She will die,” Affek whispered. “He will use and abuse her, to force you to comply with whatever he demands of you, then he will kill her and blame it all on you. That is how he plans to turn the Ring’s opinion against our kind after he overturns Prime Councilor Aav.”
Khal reined in his instinct to attack. The hiss died in his throat as he understood the depth of Gerkin’s betrayal, the twisted cunning of Knut’s plans.
He was going to blow up the Ring’s headquarters, wiping out the Mantrillas’ home planet and the Avonies’ home planet at the same time. Then he was going to use widespread public rage to get rid of the only other warrior race capable of standing up to him.
And Khal wasn’t going to be able to stop him. Because whatever Knut might do, he would not be able to see Hazel suffer.
We are lost. Knut has already won.
Chapter 24
Hazel
She was tired of fighting, but she didn’t stop. As Gerkin dragged her roughly through the hallways of the gray building by the scruff of her neck, she screeched and kicked, making as much noise as she could.
She was going to die, but she wasn’t going to die easily.
It didn’t affect Gerkin much. The Eok dragged her behind him, his face set in dark, hungry lines. He wasn’t happy to be denied his prize, but he was following whatever orders Knut gave him.
Finally, the door opened to blazing red sunlight, bathing a vast square made of stone in a harsh heat. It rippled off the ground in suffocating, dancing waves like the mad embrace of death. The benevolent shade of the Medina and the loving caress of the grassland were long gone memories from this place that Knut had built for his Ilarian army.
This is where I’m going to die.
Gerkin walked to the center of the square which was filled with Ilarian guards, all standing to attention. They were like a never-ending sea of bodies, standing in groups made up of neat rows and columns, faces devoid of emotions. Devoid of willpower, devoid of souls.
The sheer size of Knut’s Ilarian army was crushing and yet, he was only beginning. He would use Muhar to continue producing his Ilarian clones once he got rid of the Muharee, turning the entire planet into a factory of death and misery.
Finally, Gerkin dropped her roughly on the stones, kicking her in the ribs for good measure. Hazel fell forward, scraping her palms on the rocks, but quickly got her balance back. She rested on her knees, bracing her hands against the ground as she scanned the assembled crowd.
There were Zaxis and Celaith, huddled together under the dispassionate watch of two Ilarian guards. Celaith looked unconscious, and from that distance, Hazel had no idea if she was even still alive. Her face had a deadly pallor, and Zaxis cradled her against his chest with something akin to despair.
Not too far away was Roohl. The Cattelan captain of the Mother lay face-down in a pool of his own blood, the back of his skull exploded, exposing the brain inside. What was left of it.
Dead. And soon, it’ll be us.
