“With pleasure,” Levi said.
The berserkers opened fire. The laser fire was loud in the enclosed space, lighting up the darkness.
Arden darted to the side, moving along the wall.
She watched the hellions bound toward the berserkers. Her heart was hammering hard and she prayed everyone would be okay. She saw carbine fire hit the lead hellion. Its belly exploded, its body tumbling over and over before it smacked into the ground. The red ooze from its stomach, sizzling as it made contact with the dirt.
As more hellions raced toward the berserkers, growls and snarls filled the air.
“Bring it on, baby.” Hemi’s cry.
She had to get to the bomb.
Inching farther along the wall, the big, dark shape of the device loomed ahead. She had to cross several meters to get to it.
She lifted her chin. She could do this.
Then suddenly, a hellion leaped in front of her. It lowered its head and snarled.
Oh, shit. Arden froze, just as her drone swung in front of it. She heard a whirr, then the drone sprayed a clear oil at the creature.
The sharp scent of cedar filled the air, and the hellion started snarling wildly. It shook its head frantically for a moment, before it slunk away and disappeared.
She blew out a breath. Thanks, Noah.
Arden set her shoulders back. Time to destroy the bomb.
Dom threw a grenade. It arced through the air and landed in a clump of hellions.
One, two, three. It exploded, spraying cedar oil all over the creatures. They started shaking their heads and snarling.
No, you don’t like that, do you? Carbine fire was brighter than the glow worms above, lighting up the tunnel.
Nearby, Hemi roared, firing oil from the end of his carbine. “Take that, assholes.”
The yips and cries of the injured hellions filled the space.
Dom kept firing, but lifted his head, searching for Arden. He saw her close to the far wall. He watched her drone drive off a hellion.
His gut clenched. He hated that she was here, in danger. The need to protect her was so strong it damn near strangled him.
She darted forward, running closer to the bomb.
So brave—beautiful and elegant, but steel and iron beneath her soft skin. She was a true survivor.
Suddenly, Griff cursed savagely. Dom spun just in time to see Griff trip over the rough ground. Sensing a weakness, a hellion leaped into the air, claws slashing. It pounced on Griff.
Dom yanked a knife out and threw it. It hit the hellion in the face, and the alien dog let out one yelp. It landed hard beside Griff and toppled over.
Dom slapped his hand against Griff’s and yanked his friend up.
“Thanks, man,” Griff said.
Together, they both lifted their carbines. They walked forward, firing on the pack of alien dogs.
“Raptors,” Tane yelled.
Dom tensed. He scanned the back of the tunnel and spotted them coming out of the shadows on the far side of the bomb.
Cazzo, Arden would be caught between the berserkers and the raptors.
Levi threw a grenade and it arrowed through the air. “Cineole.”
The grenade exploded, spewing oil over the alien soldiers. Grunts and guttural shouts filled the air. Dom saw the closest raptor press a claw to its head, blood weeping from its eyes.
Dom checked on Arden again. She was crouched down low, watching the fight. She wasn’t at the bomb yet, but she was close.
Her drone was busy firing on the raptors.
The berserkers kept moving forward, kept firing, kept fighting. They had this. Dom smiled briefly. Only a few more hellions, and then they could take down the remaining raptors.
Then they could disable the bomb and get the fuck out of here. He could get Arden back to safety.
The ground trembled.
What the hell?
Dom looked at the dirt floor. Something burst out of the ground near his boots. As adrenaline surged through him, he watched a tentacle shoot upward with a spray of dirt. The damn thing was as thick as his waist, and a dark, fleshy gray. It slammed into him and knocked him over.
“Watch out!” he shouted.
Dom hit the dirt and rolled. He sat up, and all around, he saw the berserkers cursing and dodging. More tentacles were spearing up out of the ground. Another tentacle broke out of the dirt and started coming right at him.
Cazzo. Dom saw the suckers all over the tentacle and he rolled. He whipped his carbine around, firing on the tentacle.
It burst open, goo flying everywhere.
Shit. Damn. Fuck. A rush of realization hit him.
The small suckers they’d seen at Lake Lyell had been babies. This was the mama.
He leaped to his feet, firing on any tentacles that he could see.
He heard a woman scream and spun. Arden was surrounded by several tentacles, all of them waving wildly, keeping her caged in.
“Cazzo.” Dom aimed and fired.
Her drone joined in and a second later, she darted away from the tentacles.
A larger tentacle speared upright in the center of the tunnel. With a shout, Hemi opened fire on it. But the tentacle swung, slamming right into Hemi. It lifted the man off his feet and threw him into the tunnel wall.
Nearby, several tentacles burst up in front of Selena. Tane fired on them, but two more came up behind her. Selena spun.
“Selena, get out of there!” Tane roared.
She ignored him, crouched, and pressed a hand to the ground.
Dom wasn’t sure what she was doing, but the tentacle started waving faster, more frantically.
Then the tentacles closest to the woman burst open, one by one.
Selena smiled and rose.
With terrifying swiftness, another tentacle slithered across the ground, aiming right at Selena. Dom opened his mouth, but before he could warn her, it wrapped around one of her legs and yanked her off the ground.
She hung upside down, struggling to break free.
Tane ran toward her. He leaped over another tentacle, sprinting closer.
More tentacles speared up out of the dirt. Dom turned and fired. Tane would get Selena. Dom had his own woman to keep safe.
Arden was facing two more tentacles. Every time she tried to dodge
