Amaryah's Awakening

Chapter Thirty Three

Seethkar, First Quarter, Andromeda Galaxy.

Amaryah

When the lights dimmed Mya was blind. She'd ripped off her goggles when light had flooded the room with the elder's arrival. She cursed and reached for them again, her eyes would take too long to adjust and even then, they'd do a poor job of it. When her googles hummed to life she glanced behind her and saw Nezerra sprinting away, using the cover of the blasts between the battling teams as a cover. She used low level laser blasts and cut through the roots, running at full speed.

Mya sucked her teeth and turned to follow, What the hell is she doing?

She ran hard, following Nezerra, pushing her body and suit. They wound through the labyrinth of dark growths. She was headed for the engine.

"Nezze!" shouted Mya.

Nezerra's head whipped around, and she slowed her pace a little. Mya's shorter legs caught up to her then. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Nezerra nodded her head forward, "I have the Tyrhung, and I'm going to be the one to plant it."

They ran around a sharp edge, Mya stumbled but recovered before she could fall onto her face. The pulsing red light grew, they were booth caught in its siren's song. They ran some more, the sounds and vibrations from the warfare growing soft. Mya pumped her arms and legs as they sped through the snaking pathways. Her side began to burn. Right when she was about to stop to catch her breath, the twisting roots cleared and a few yards away was the engine. She pushed herself, her heart pounding in her chest, her side protesting her movement. Nezerra burst out a laugh of exhilaration as they closed the distance.

What Mya had thought was a small sphere turned out to be gigantic marble, reaching toward the ceiling above. The air seemed to curdle as they drew closer, such was the power of the engine. Mya had learnt that it was responsible for the life on Seethkar, but she hadn't been able to actually visualize the engine. Her hood whipped back behind her, and the raw energy of it snapped about her, feeling like clawed hands trying to scrape away her sensitive flesh. The shadows within it swirled, large as snakes looking for their next meal. The air vibrated around them. The pulsing light illuminated them in flashes of red as they ran towards it. It reminded her of a caged beast brushing against its binds.

Something slammed into them both. They flew. Mya landed hard and heard bones creaking from the impact. Nezerra was sprawled on her side. They both looked toward whatever had hit them. There stood the elder, surrounded by three oversized Ajal. They must have belonged to the upper caste as they had one pair of horizontal horns protruding from their heads. The lower had none, while the elder had two pairs. Mya groaned and struggled to sit up. Upper caste Ajal were harder to kill, but it was not impossible. The Ajals rushed forward while the elder looked on with a bored expression. One grabbed Mya by her exposed braid and yanked hard, pulling her to her feet. She screeched in agony, the hairs feeling like they were being ripped from her head.

The engine pulsed and pain leeched through Mya's skull.

The Ajal cough laughed. Slime dripping from its maw that was dangerously close to her face. It held her close against its body and Mya felt his excitement grow as he tightened his grip. She shuddered. Nezerra struggled between the two other Ajal, one punched her across her face hard. She whimpered. Her sister whimpered. Something vast stirred in Mya at the sound. It was only then that the elder stepped forward. He closed in on Mya and she was trapped between the two beasts. She gathered her spit and spat it out. It landed on his sharp cheek. His misshapen lips split open wide in a poor imitation of a grin.

"Careful, I need you alive but not whole Amaryah." cautioned the elder, "I only need the part of you that breeds."

He wiped away the spit with his curled fingers and sucked it into his mouth. Bile rose in her throat at the sight. She struggled against the Ajal holding her as the elder's hard hands dragged over her face. His touch was revolting. She remembered the Horcus' warning then. This was the elder she'd warned about. Icy fear filled her veins.