Page 44 of Shielded Heart 1
Arcanthus replied with another volley of plasma bolts, these aimed slightly more to the right. He rushed into the hallway an instant later—keeping Samantha inside the apartment behind him—to see a volturian ducking away from the orange-glowing holes in the wall. The volturian had time enough to meet Arcanthus’s gaze before the sedhi fired a prolonged burst into him. The alien’s body shuddered and jerked before dropping.
Arcanthus swung his blaster to the left, checking the opposite direction along the wall. No one else was present. He guided Samantha into the corridor. “So, where do I need to go, Drak?”
“Down,” Drakkal replied through the commlink.
“Remind me, which direction is that?”
“We’re working on it, Arc. Got at least four here at the front entrance.”
“Three more out back,” Kiloq added.
Blaster fire sounded briefly in the open feeds.
Frowning, Arcanthus kicked the volturian just to make sure he was dead. The still-smoking corpse bore no gang insignia, no discernable uniform, no distinct affiliated colors. Who were these attackers?Whywere they after Arcanthus?
No time to speculate now.
He led Samantha toward the elevators.
A soft tone sounded from somewhere ahead of them. Arcanthus stilled.
Three aliens touting auto-blasters emerged from theelevator bank; they were already facing Arcanthus and Samantha.
Releasing his blaster’s foregrip, Arcanthus raised his right arm and activated his hardlight shield projector. He splayed his fingers and snapped them shut, bending his wrist inward. The circular shield expanded and changed into a rectangle nearly as tall as Arcanthus just before the first bolts from the elevator crew struck.
The shield flashed with each impact. Plasma bolts burst against the barrier, their normally blue-white light turned to a pale green through the translucent hardlight. Arcanthus bent his arm to angle the shield vertically, covering as much of the hallway as possible while the elevator crew advanced.
“Stairs?” he asked, glancing at Samantha over his shoulder.
Her face was paler than normal, her eyes as big as twin moons, and she clutched her weapon in two white-knuckled hands.
“Back this way.” She gestured toward the hall behind them with the barrel of her auto-blaster.
“Good. Lead the way.”
Samantha held his gaze for an instant before nodding. She moved in a brisk, shuffling sort of sidestep that allowed Arc to keep the shield protecting them without removing his tail from around her waist.
Unfortunately, the ever-friendly elevator crew sped their advance, continuing their steady stream of fire.
“Vrek’osh!” Drakkal spat through the commlink. “I don’t know who you pissed off, but more just showed up out here.”
“They are covering each other,” said Sekk’thi. “Attempting to get more of them into the building.”
“Well tell them there’s no room!” Arcanthus turned his body perpendicular to his attackers as he and Samanthareached the door to the stairs. Plasma bolts zipped around the edge of the shield, burning holes in the wall.
An excited, guttural voice crackled over the comms—Thargen, hurling insults at his enemies in an amalgamation of Universal Speech and Vorgalese.
Samantha opened the door. Arc wedged the shield against the wall at an angle to keep her protected and leaned through the doorway with his blaster at the ready. Once he’d confirmed the stairwell was clear, he swung his tail, forcing his terran inside. Stepping backward, he swept his arm down. The shield’s lower edge embedded itself in the floor just in front of the doorway, effectively blocking off all but the uppermost half-meter of the entryway. He opened his fist, releasing the invisible field that kept the shield tethered to his forearm.
He returned his right hand to his auto-blaster’s foregrip and led Samantha to the steps. The shield would hold out either until it had expended too much energy to sustain its form, or it was beyond the control unit’s range.
At the very least, it would grant them some time to make their escape.
“At this rate, the Eternal Guard will get here before you’re out,” Drakkal said.
“As I recall,someoneis meant to be clearing a path.” Arcanthus hurried down the stairs with Samantha close behind. Her breaths were quick and ragged.
“Who…who are you talking to?” she asked.
