Page 77 of Shifter King
His stomach twisted. He couldn't eat anything else. Rising, he strode to the room where he'd told Amelia about his plan to protect her. To make her into a terrifying legend.
WroOth followed him in and closed the door. "Listen. I know you're angry. She isn't my wife, and I know how I felt when I saw QueQoa had given Eskiatlo her dress. It was…not the wisest choice, but it is understandable."
"This isn't a subject I wish to discuss," Naatos snapped. "What is done is done. And it has absolutely no bearing on whether we get her back, so I don't care."
"We're going to get her back," WroOth said. "I swear it."
Naatos shook his head. He had promised WroOth the same thing. That they would get everyone back. Mara, Sadyr, KelChon, Leslo, and Ephalon—
"Don't." WroOth held up his finger, his tone becoming far darker. "You don't go there. This is different. We both know it. She won't die. She's far too cantankerous for that."
He fell silent. There were things worse than death. And what the Bealorns might do to her…
WroOth bowed his head as if weighing his next words. "I don't know how to lead into this. So I am just going to say it. There are many stages of pain and madness between here and true skinchanging, brother. You're on their border now. But you don't have to be fully undone to fall in. She needs you to remain focused. We all do. We're all going to replenish our strength tonight. We will eat. We will sleep. And then we search again. By this time next week, we will be reminiscing over how well all this went."
He nodded. But the heaviness remained. The utter powerlessness of it. The horror of knowing that even with all that he could do, just a few people had thoroughly upended everything, perhaps to the permanent loss of his veskaro. And that tightening, that pressure across the back of his neck, the creeping up along his skull. He wanted to dig his fingers into it—just rip it away. But he didn't. He knew what that was.
"I have no doubt of what is working within you even as we speak," WroOth continued. "I know the look. I know the pain. And I know—I know it wounded you when you had to stop me. When you nearly killed me. I know what it took. AaQar spoke more freely of it than you, and I actually remember some moments. But it is the one thing I won't ever be able to do for you. You will burn this world to find her, and if somehow you fail, you will destroy it. And if that happens, well, this world is out of luck. Because I certainly won't stop you. I'll be by your side, breaking it apart piece by miserable piece and setting it all ablaze. And we'll watch it explode together."
Naatos grabbed WroOth's doublet. That was it! "Yes. I will blow this world apart."
WroOth raised an eyebrow, a faint look of alarm entering his eyes. "Literally or figuratively? It's a little early in the process for literal."
Naatos shoved him back. "Icanmake things explode." He flung the door back. It slammed against the wall. "AaQar, did we save any of the components from the mantis belts."
AaQar stepped into the hall, his brow drawn. "No. Why would we? They had tracking components in them, and we do not have a secure location for storage." He stepped out of the way as Naatos barreled down the narrow passage.
"But they used tra." He reached the end of the main living quarters and then seized one of the exposed panels. It tore away with a slow grinding creak. "All of the tech we've seen is still based in tra."
"Yes. Why are you tearing up our wall?" AaQar walked alongside him.
"Yes." A telltale brownish-grey clump sat within the wall. Entirely burned out but proof nonetheless. He ripped it out and flung it at AaQar. "They used tra for this bunker. And this was burned through. Look at it. No security measures. No buffers against anything like it. Pure efficiency. What purpose is there to protect against something which will never be a threat?"
WroOth followed after him. "So we're going with literally. We're going to literally blow this world up to find her. That makes excellent sense, brother. I'm certain she'll survive an all-consuming blast of energy."
Naatos shook his head. "No. Think about it. The Bealorns use a little bit of Abliato technology. Not much. Not enough to not register on the Abliato sensors. But enough that they are able to mask their scent and heat. Enough to camouflage. That means multiple node points. But if they have not set up security measure to protect them, then when they are exposed to too much energy, specifically travine lightning, they will explode."
"Would they really have been so foolish as to have unprotected tra within their technology?" AaQar asked, frowning. "This bunker might not have been able to afford protection."
"They've eliminated all Vawtrian strongholds. What need is there to protect against Vawtrian forms that can no longer exist. Look at the Vawtrians who live in this place. With those levies, none of them could withstand a full ramp of tra exploding near them and all the travine lightning that would ensue."
"Are you thinking of becoming the raiku?" AaQar folded his arms. "Several treaties forbid that—"
"And who is enforcing those treaties?" Naatos demanded.
"It wasn't only banned for harm to the people affected but for those Vawtrians who would use it," AaQar said sternly. "We have other options, Naatos. We are going to find her. But you do not need to burn through your own cerebral cortex and—"
"It would be worth it." Naatos slammed the panel down. There was no question. It bounced up with a creak.
WroOth shrugged. "It probably won't take that many little fires to convince the Bealorns to start cooperating. It isn't like we're talking about doing this to all of Darmoste though it would glow quite beautifully for one glorious moment."
"You stop," AaQar said, pointing at WroOth. "We don't need to set anything on fire. And you." He turned on Naatos. "Those sensors are protecting them from more than just us finding them. It is protection from predators of all kinds. From the Abliatos. We have no way of knowing what all is within this hidden Bealorn city or what additional threats could be triggered. So unless you can guarantee that you will destroy only the technology that hides her and that it will not lead to any delays in your actually finding her, you could be putting her in additional danger. Eskiatlo says that all prisoners and those who are considered a flight risk are kept underground. Far underground. Do you not remember what we discussed? And Zorna has set up her city to burn. Stray sparks very well might set that on fire. Travine lightning can set oil ablaze as well as any other spark."
Of course, these had to be the burrowing kind of Bealorns with fire hazards in their halls. Naatos growled with frustration and struck the wall segment down. "Amelia is in danger so long as she is with them."
"If you prepare properly and we take appropriate steps, the raiku may be our ultimate solution," AaQar said. "But the goal in this is not to just rescue Amelia. It does her no good if we destroy everything else."
"I still have to test this," he said, meeting his gaze without blinking. "I'll find a way to protect her with this. And maybe this will convince these other Bealorns to cooperate."
