incredible speeds, they trailed a line of fire miles behind them.
Their fiery tails arced over the night sky, as the rockets finished accelerating through the atmosphere and penetrated the thin cloud cover with a deafening sonic boom. Automated onboard systems took control, directing the rockets over the planet, angling toward the city. Boosters firing, the missiles lined up with the main road. Just before reaching airspace directly over the Alliance soldiers, the warheads burst open, spilling their payload of tiny spheres into the air.
Vance watched the trail of fire arc toward them through the air at supersonic speeds. Waiting patiently, he turned on his radio when he saw the small explosion in the sky above, knowing the rockets were pouring explosive death onto the street just ahead.
“Everyone, find cover!” he screamed, diving behind a nearby car.
The small spheres plummeted to the ground, the first ones striking before the giant Seque and continuing a path of destruction up the street toward the outpost. On impact, the spheres ignited in a plume of blue and purple plasma, scorching the ground and sending shockwaves that tossed aside loose debris.
Dozens of Seques caught on the street were consumed by the superheated flames. Gray skin boiled and melted away, cracking and bursting in the heat, spilling internal organs onto the molten concrete ground. The concussive blast sent shrapnel tearing through thick hides, stripping away skin and blowing off limbs.
Heat and smoke washed over Vance, as he huddled behind the ruined automobile. He covered his ears and shut his eyes in anticipation of the bombing. As the heat receded, he risked a look.
Though smoke hung thickly in the air, he saw the street to the north lay in ruins. Concrete was lifted and shattered in a massive upheaval, leaving slabs of stone jutting at awkward angles. The blast leveled many of the nearby buildings, some of which still burned, casting a soft, red glow in the night air.
Coughing, he looked at the stunned soldiers still hidden behind cover. His eyes fell on a severed, clawed hand in the middle of the road nearby. The index finger pawed the air involuntarily, spasms still rolling through the separated stump of the arm. Green blood oozed from it, pooling on the ruined ground.
All around them, a new sound added to the crackling fire and rumble of collapsing rubble from ruined buildings-a sea of infuriated growls. From alleys and buildings, glowing red eyes of Seques emerged. One by one, they took up a howl of angry defiance and vengeance.
Vance stood and picked up his rifle. “Halo bought us time!” he yelled to any soldier who could hear him. “Now run!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Keryn stormed into the barracks room, fuming from her loss in the aerial joust. All her training and years of practice in the secret Wyndgaart arts amounted to nothing in the Academy. She couldn’t help feeling her entire childhood and schooling were a waste of time. In just days, she successfully embarrassed herself, her family, and her race with her abysmal performance.
Iana followed her in and quietly closed the door behind her. Either oblivious or uncaring, Keryn paid the Pilgrim no attention. Instead, she angrily threw her pillow to the far side of the bed, only to retrieve it and toss it to its original location. Frustrated with herself, Keryn sought any excuse to keep busy and think of something other than her repeated failures.
“It’s not all that bad,” Iana offered, standing well outside Keryn’s reach.
“Spare me,” she growled without turning. “I’ve heard enough pep talks from Victoria to last the rest of my life.”
“It’s probably because she’s right. You’re way too hard on yourself. A couple of bad days when you’re first learning don’t mean you’re a failure. So what if you didn’t win today? You can always try again. After all, we joust again tomorrow. What’s the big deal?”
Keryn spun on her, tears welling in her eyes. “It’s a big deal, because I never fail! I may not have been the best, but I always excelled at everything I put my mind to, but this….” Her anger faded, and her tone changed. “I don’t understand this. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around it. Every time I think I have it figured out, someone shows me how wrong I was.”
Iana moved to Keryn’s side and put an arm around her shoulder. “Then you’ll have to try harder. You don’t seem like the type who’d let herself quit.”
“What if I just can’t do it? What if I give it my all, and it’s not good enough?”
“Then you can leave the Academy with your head held high, knowing you did all you could. That’s a damn sight better than the way you are now, constantly second-guessing yourself and fearing waking up each morning.”
“I’m not afraid.” Keryn sat heavily on her bed.
“You are. Most of your fear comes from the fact that all you do is either lie on the bed studying or sitting in front of your console. You never give your mind a chance to rest. You need to unwind once in a while, if for no other reason than to let your mind think of something else for a chance.”
Iana dropped on the bed beside Keryn. “Last night, I extended the offer to go to the bar, and you said, ‘No.’ Tonight, I won’t give you that option. Get up, get over yourself, and get ready to go out.”
Groaning, Keryn fell into the bed and buried her face in her pillow.
“What are you, five years old?” Iana shouted.
Keryn peeked over the edge of the pillow, staring at her aggressive roommate.
“Get your lazy butt out of bed. We have a lot of work to do if we’re going to drive the boys wild at the bar tonight.”
Finding Iana’s attitude contagious, Keryn began laughing. “You know, I
“Then get up. Let’s get ready for a wild night on the town.”
They spent the better part of an hour preparing for their night, sorting through a myriad of outfits. As Iana looked through the piles of shoes under her bed, Keryn stared at herself in the mirror. Her silver hair was pinned up with loose tendrils flowing down her neck and shoulders. A plunging neckline revealed deeply tanned skin and exposed the curves of her breasts. Shirt and pants clung tightly to her body, though they weren’t nearly as constrictive as the suit earlier.
She felt confident again, and her violet eyes sparkled at her reflection.
Leaving the bathroom, she caught Iana’s attention. “So, how do I look?” She turned in a circle.
“Platonic erotic.” Iana smiled.
“Excuse me?”
“It means all the boys will want you, but you won’t give them the time of day.”
Laughing, the pair left the barracks and crossed the quad to the only bar on campus. Twin moons cast warm glows over the courtyard. The scent of freshly bloomed flowers filled Keryn’s senses, and the day’s tension slowly faded.
In the distance, she saw the bar’s glowing neon signs. Soft, rhythmic beats carried on the breeze, telling stories of dancing bodies and freely flowing alcohol. Her spirits lifted, she hurried with Iana across the grassy quad, eager to join the festivities.
As they entered, the pair was enveloped in a cocoon of pounding, percussive beats and shrill, stringed notes. A live band, hidden by a haze of smoke, stood on the stage at the far end of the room. A few tables lined the walls, their smooth tops dominated by large hookahs, from which noxious gray-green smoke billowed.
The center of the room was packed with writhing cadets, each dancing his own style to the intoxicating music. Recognizing a few of them through the smoke, Keryn and Iana exchanged waves, as they moved to the long bar.
Sliding onto two empty stools, the girls had to lean across the bar to be heard by the bartender. Soon, drinks in hand, they began talking and laughing, allowing the day’s stress to fade. While not exactly what Keryn tried to order through the din, her drink was sweet and strong, the alcohol burning the back of her throat.
As the night went on, and they consumed more drinks, the pair told stories of their home worlds and childhoods. While Keryn was surprised to hear of Iana’s upbringing as a gypsy, a traveling group of Pilgrims known
