Alien General's Chosen (Brion Brides 4)(29)

It was miracle they were still alive. And still falling. Only they weren’t falling. They were sliding down the statue. Leiya observed in helpless, devastated amazement the way Roven’s hands bled. How could they not, when he was trying to break their momentum with his fingers and nails?

They dropped the last part and landed with another nauseating thud, but they were still alive. Leiya slid off Roven’s back, staring at his hands in horror.

“You…” she began, but the warrior shook his head.

“It’s nothing. We must keep running.”

Yes, run.

They ran.

Their incredible jump had bought them time to hide for a bit, but their pursuers picked up the trail soon after. Around them, night was slowly setting. Roven kept going, but Leiya thought she could sense his pace losing its edge. He was carrying her again. She’d never felt so useless in her life.

He’s really going to die for me. And then I’ll die as well. This is not a good song. A warrior like that, dying because of a stupid human girl. They'll hate me. They'll all hate me.

In the dark, Roven’s valor squares were lit up more brightly. She should have told him to try to calm his emotions so as not to give their position away, but she didn’t dare. There was no way she’d tell the man who was about to die for her not to live his final moments as a true Brion.

Besides, she could see their pursuers too. Lesser lights, not so bright, followed them in the streets. Most of the Brions in their way stood by, unsure of what was going on. Here and there, Leiya thought she heard a few fights break out. Those had to be on her side, right?

Other senators also had guards, and they wouldn’t allow her to die just like that. And then there were the warrior-guards who held peace on Briolina. But all of them had to be confused. Things like this didn’t happen on Briolina often, and they had to confirm whether Leiya had actually done something wrong.

Then they met her fans.

Leiya had been applauded, praised, complimented. Brions had cried at her concerts, they’d demanded she stay for more songs. Her audience loved her, she knew that. They sent her gifts, and named their daughters after her, and invited her to visit, and sent her stories.

When the first one of them signaled Roven, and they fled to a house seconds before being seen, Leiya started to cry.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” said the man who’d let them in, “but it doesn’t look right. Run, Leiya.”

They went out the back, and once again there were a few streets between them and the chasers. She wasn’t going to ask why they didn’t hide out. They had to keep moving or risk being cornered.

The man wasn’t alone. While the rest of the capital tried to make sense of what was going on, her fans didn’t care. They trusted her. One by one, they fled through houses, and buildings, and private hangars. Leiya saw the looks on their faces; some even had her images playing on the holoscreens. In one house, she heard a recording of one of her songs playing.

She couldn't have stopped the tears from coming even if she'd wanted to. She felt so guilty. Right when she'd thought that Briolina was turning against her, driving the stranger away, her home fought for her. Leiya knew that much was true too. She may have been born on Terra, but Briolina was the only home she knew. And her people, her family were trying to hide her from danger.

Her life kept spinning out of control, but she clung to that realization as she clung to Roven.

But all good things had to come to an end. Their chasers picked up on the trick, and inch by inch, they were herded away from residential areas.

“The fight will come soon,” Roven rumbled.

His voice was impossibly deep. Maybe the voices of Brion warriors did that when battle drew near. It made sense.

“When it does, stay behind me, but don’t get too close.”

There was no fear in his voice. Roven was prepared to meet his end, because his commander had given him a task, and he was going to try to do his duty until his last breath.

She couldn’t have done that. Leiya wasn’t a coward, but this was something else.

She tightened her hold on Roven’s neck for a moment and hoped that he’d understand it was a hug, a wordless thank-you before it all ended. Right on time too. At the next cross-section, their way was barred.

It took a few halting steps for Roven to actually come to a full stop. In the setting darkness, Leiya could make out the hungry faces of their pursuers. The edges of their battle spears glinted in the light of the valor squares, pulsing their lust for blood. Roven’s spear came up on guard – he’d carried the weapon in his hand the whole time, ready for an ambush.#p#分页标题#e#

He let Leiya slip to the ground gently. Feeling solid stone beneath her feet again was good, but there had been a comfort she instantly missed in being near Roven. She backed away from the mass of warriors barring their way only to nearly run into another behind them.

I’m dead, she thought.

The idea brought a completely unexpected clarity to her mind. Leiya nearly laughed out loud. Maybe she was a Brion after all, even if only for her last minute alive. Then, a worse idea followed.

I’ll never see him again.

She hadn’t been prepared for how much the thought hurt. It made her shiver from head to toe, making her feel like every inch of her was on fire, burning her soul to cinder.

The battle spear in Roven’s hand went into motion, picking up momentum with each twirl. It had to weigh more than she did, but he wielded it in one hand like it was nothing. Leiya noticed she wasn’t the only one contemplating that. No one seemed to want to take the challenge.

Of course it would be a fool’s hope to expect it to last forever. At one point, they’d be swarmed.

“Anyone who wishes to die like a true warrior, step forward,” Roven said, completely calm in the face of his demise.

“It would make the last deed of your miserable lives a good one at least.”

“Some words,” one of their pursuers called back, “coming from a monster like you. Do you think you are a true warrior?”

Roven didn’t seem to even blink an eye.

“I serve General Faren aboard the Unbroken. I’m more of a warrior than all you combined, serving a senator. A senator known for betraying all Brions.”

“He pays well,” another responded, smug and repulsive, rousing a round of chuckles.

As the circle around them grew tighter, it also grew smaller. Leiya backed away.

Faren, she thought.

The name seemed imprinted into her mind, like it was unwilling to perish without her last thought being of him.

Roven laughed. It was an odd sound, but he seemed genuinely amused. The circle reacted, drawing the noose even tighter. Leiya supposed that had hit home for at least a few – working for pay was as low as a warrior could sink.

The laughter hadn’t died yet on Roven’s lips when the first attacker dashed forward. He didn’t make it far before his blood was flowing down Roven’s spear. The great warrior had barely moved. Leiya wanted to be hopeful, but the numbers were just too much.

The night had set, dark and cloudy. Valor squares lit up the area around them, so many warriors present made it seem like it was light outside, not the pitch-black darkness of night. The lights of the capital were barely visible through the pulsing glare of the squares. One spark seemed brighter, somewhere further away. Leiya wasn’t sure what it was. As much as she could guess their whereabouts there were only hangars in the area.

She’d missed the moment their enemies finally broke. At an unseen signal, four of them dashed forward in sync, forming a unit to work so well together. Others followed, and Roven became a blur. Even through her fear for her life, Leiya couldn’t tear her eyes away from Roven, breaking down his opponents left and right.

The way he moved told her all she needed to know about how much better he was. Economic, fast strikes while the others wasted strength trying to catch him off guard with an array of blows.

All the while he didn’t forget about her, crouching behind him. The only reason Leiya could come up with for why she was still alive was that Roven made himself an obvious threat. They wanted to make sure her guardian was properly and definitely dead before getting to their real task of killing her.

What did someone do when they had a few minutes left to live?

She could have prayed to the gods, but they seemed to have completely abandoned her.

Can’t blame them, Leiya thought. They gave me all the protection I ever needed, but I was too stubborn to see it.

She could see the capital at least. Her last view of her beloved city was not a bad one. She loved it as much as any other Brion did, her adoptive home. Tears blurred her vision, but she forced herself to keep looking. At Roven, for that was all she could do for him – witness his sacrifice. He went down on one knee, a spear jutting through his thigh, but it didn’t stop him from fighting back. But there were so many, so many desperately trying to end him.

And she watched the city too. Her eyes looked for the bright light to have something to focus on, but it was gone. No, not gone. Moving. For some reason, the brightest spark in the capital was moving at a miraculous pace. A hovercraft, then, Leiya thought. Someone’s fancy ride.#p#分页标题#e#

Faren, her heart called again.