Xavier turned back toward the wrecked hover and crouched beside it, ignoring the ache that still pulsed through his side. One of the panels had peeled away completely. The engine housing was split open, cables hanging loose and sparking weakly. He ripped the console free and powered it on manually, thumb sliding across cracked glass until the navigation flickered to life.
He squinted at the readout.
"About a hundred kiloters," he said.
Klatos limped closer, feathers matted with blood. "That’s not walking distance."
"No," Xavier replied, straightening. "It’s not."
Klatos opened his mouth to ask what the alternative was, but the answer arrived on its own.
The sound ca first. Xavier looked up just in ti to see shadows pass over the treeline. Three hover vans dropped into view, angular and armored, followed by two machine escorts that hovered lower, weapons already tracking.
Klatos swore. "AIL."
Xavier tilted his head, watching them settle into a loose periter. "Looks like our ride showed up."
One of the vans projected a hardline beam, a voice cutting through the air without warmth.
"Unidentified combatant. Power down and surrender imdiately. You are in violation of multiple intersystem statutes, including destruction of protected assets, unlawful use of relic-grade weaponry, and—"
Xavier started walking forward.
The voice continued, louder now. "Failure to comply will result in lethal force. Kneel. Disarm. Place your hands where we can see them."
Xavier didn’t slow.
Klatos glanced at him. "You hearing this?"
"Bits of it," Xavier said. "Mostly the boring parts."
The first machine adjusted its stance, weapon ports opening with a chanical click. Xavier stopped just long enough to summon Serpent’s Fang again, the chain sliding into his palm, alive and restless.
"You should’ve stayed in the shadows," the AIL voice said. "This ends here."
Xavier smiled faintly. "You shot first."
He snapped his wrist.
The chain tore forward, ripping through the closest escort before its targeting system could lock. tal split. Components scattered across the ground in a violent spray. The second machine fired imdiately, plasma tearing through the space Xavier had occupied a heartbeat earlier.
He wasn’t there anymore.
Xavier moved hard to the side, yanking the chain back and sending it out again, this ti wrapping it around the underside of one of the hover vans. He planted his feet and pulled.
The van lurched violently, armor screaming as it was dragged sideways and slamd into the ground, rolling once before detonating in a burst of fire and shrapnel.
"Klatos," Xavier said without looking back. "Stay behind ."
Klatos drew his weapon anyway. "Not a chance."
The remaining vans opened fire together, suppressive beams chewing through trees and stone. Xavier surged forward into it, Serpent’s Fang flashing as he tore through incoming drones launched from the van bays. One clipped his shoulder, detonating close enough to stagger him, but the regeneration caught up before he could even curse.
Xavier ripped the chain free again and flung it wide, the segnts slicing through the air and collapsing the last escort in half. He didn’t give the operators ti to react. He closed the distance at speed, leapt, and drove the chain straight through the cockpit housing of the nearest van.
The voice cut out mid-command.
Xavier landed hard, breathing steady, eyes already tracking the last remaining van as it tried to lift and retreat.
"Wrong direction," he muttered.
The chain snapped out one final ti and dragged it back down.
Silence followed, broken only by crackling fires and the distant echo of falling debris.
Klatos stared at the wreckage, then at Xavier. "You just stole our transport."
Xavier rolled his shoulder and walked toward the least-damaged van. "I told you," he said. "The cab arrived."
He glanced back at the ruined hover, then at the road stretching beyond the trees.
"Let’s not keep it waiting."
Klatos stayed half-turned, scanning the treeline while Xavier checked the captured hover. "That was AIL," he said. "They don’t send singles. They move in packs. More will be coming."
Xavier pulled open a side panel and yanked loose a scorched conduit, then looked up. "None of that matters right now. Reva and the others are still out there."
Klatos slid into the cockpit and started working fast, fingers moving with practiced ease. He bypassed a lock, rerouted power, then brought up a tactical display that blood across the windshield. Routes, restricted zones, patrol grids, and active beacons snapped into place.
Xavier was impressed. "Didn’t know you could do all that."
"Hey, I worked at AIL, rember? I know their systems in and out."
"AIL internal overlay," Klatos said. "This thing still thinks it belongs to them."
Xavier leaned in, eyes tracking the map. "Good. Now we know where not to go."
Klatos shot him a look. "You say that like it’s a small advantage."
Xavier didn’t answer. He pulled out his device and called Arlen.
But there was no response.
He called again. And this ti, the line connected, but the voice on the other end wasn’t hers.
"So," Requiem said, tone dry, "you finally decided to check in."
Xavier laughed under his breath. "I was hoping for a warr welco. Where are you?"
"We’re moving," Requiem replied. "And we’re not alone."
Xavier straightened. "Talk to ."
"Kylus’ people found us again," Requiem said. "Reva and the others stayed behind to slow them down."
Xavier’s expression hardened. "And Lyra?"
A pause, just long enough to matter.
"She suddenly collapsed," Requiem said. "She’s breathing, but she’s out."
Xavier closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, then opened them again. "I’m in Glassreach Basin. I’ve got transport. I’ll be there in an hour if nothing else gets in the way."
"You’d better," Requiem said. "Because they’re not giving up."
Xavier replied. "Keep her safe. Don’t stop moving."
The call ended.
Xavier looked at Klatos. "Floor it."
Klatos didn’t ask questions. He brought the engines online and lifted them hard, the stolen hover surging forward.
"Go as fast as you can. Don’t worry about anything. If soone chases us, I will take care of it, so you only focus on driving."
User Comments
0 comments from readers