Chapter 125
Dron dug his fingers into the dry rock and pulled himself higher.
The cliff seemed to stretch forever above him, disappearing into the darkness where the light from the moons couldn’t reach. Every time he looked up, all he saw was more stone, more narrow cracks, and more places where the rock looked ready to crumble under the smallest amount of pressure. The wind wasn’t helping. It tore around the side of the mountain in sudden, violent bursts, throwing sand and tiny pieces of stone into his face while pulling at the straps across his chest. More than once, it had shoved his body away from the cliff hard enough to make his grip slip.
He tightened his fingers around the narrow crack and waited until the gust passed before lifting one boot onto the next ledge. He had to test every piece of rock before putting his full weight on it. Skoq had a way of making even solid ground feel untrustworthy. The entire island seemed ready to break apart beneath them, as if it resented their presence and wanted to cast them into the deep black waters surrounding its shores.
It had been seven days since he’d left Tempest.
Seven days since he’d touched her. Seven days since he’d woken with her body pressed against his. Seven days since he’d heard her voice.
That was the part that was starting to tear at him.
He’d known he would miss her. There had never been any question about that. Even before they had fully given themselves to one another, Dron had hated being away from her for too long. His body always seemed to know when she wasn’t close. There was an emptiness inside him that grew heavier with every passing hour until he saw her again.
This was different.
He hadn’t expected the silence.
Communication with the mainland had been limited since they landed on Skoq. The violent storms surrounding the island interfered with most transmissions, and the mountain range they’d been forced to cross made the problem worse. They had been able to make contact with Master Chief Tuliq twice, but both conversations had been short and focused entirely on the mission.
Dron had asked Tuliq if a personal message had come through for him.
There hadn’t been one.
He had also asked whether he could use their communication equipment to contact Tempest directly, but Tuliq had told him the signal was too weak. They could barely hold a connection long enough to exchange important information without risking the entire transmission being lost.
Dron had understood.
That didn’t mean he’d liked it.
All he wanted was a few seconds. He didn’t need a long conversation. He didn’t need Tempest to tell him about everything that had happened while he was gone. He only wanted to hear her say his name. He wanted to know she was safe. He wanted to close his eyes and listen to her voice long enough to imagine she was standing beside him.
Instead, he had nothing.
His mind filled the silence with things he didn’t want to think about.
He wondered if she was sleeping. He wondered if she was eating. He wondered if Gerax remembered to check every entrance to the home before the moons rose or if Maznik was keeping his promise to visit her each day. He wondered if Mexyn stayed with her often enough to keep her from feeling alone.
Then there were the darker thoughts.
He wondered if someone had already tried to get to her.
He wondered if the alphas who’d attacked them in the poor class had more allies waiting for the right opportunity.
He wondered if Prince Jaqen had sent him to Skoq because removing him from Tempest had been the true purpose of the mission.
That thought had stayed with him from the moment he stepped onto the transport.
Dron forced it away and reached for the next crack in the stone. Thinking about Tempest wasn’t helping him climb, but it wasn’t stopping him either. If anything, thoughts of her were the only reason he kept moving. Every time his muscles began to burn or his fingers started to lose their grip, he reminded himself that finishing the mission was the fastest way to get back to her.
Skoq was worse than the stories made it sound. The island had always been described as dry and nearly impossible to live on, but those words hadn’t been enough. Dry didn’t explain the way the air burned his throat with every breath. Nearly impossible to live on didn’t explain the bones they’d found half-buried in the sand or the deep pits scattered across the land where the ground had collapsed into old tunnels.
Nothing seemed to grow there.
The little vegetation they had found was twisted and gray, with thick thorned stems that pushed through stone and buried themselves deep underground. Most of it was poisonous. One of the team members had brushed against a patch on the first day and spent hours vomiting while his skin turned a frightening shade of gray. The medical supplies Tuliq had ordered them to carry had kept the poison from reaching his heart, but the alpha still hadn’t regained all the feeling in his arm.
The rest of the island was stone, sand, and salt.
Massive cliffs rose from the ground like broken towers. Deep canyons cut across the landscape without warning, some narrow enough to step over and others so wide Dron couldn’t see the opposite side through the dust. Even the sky looked wrong. The sand floating through the air gave the moons a dull reddish glow that made everything around them look stained with blood.
Dron hated the place.
He hated the way the wind always sounded like someone whispering just out of reach. He hated the strange movements he sometimes caught in the distance. Most of all, he hated knowing that every step took him farther from Tempest.
A loose stone broke away beneath his boot.
His body dropped before he caught himself.
"Careful," someone whispered from below.
Dron looked down.
Krazek was the closest member of the team beneath him. The younger alpha had one arm hooked over a sharp ledge while his other hand remained pressed against the rock. He looked far too relaxed for someone hanging hundreds of feet above the ground.
"I’m fine," Dron answered.
Krazek glanced toward the darkness below them.
"Would be a long fall."
Dron didn’t respond. He looked past Krazek at the others climbing beneath him. Seven alphas in total had been sent to the island, every one of them chosen after Prince Jaqen ordered Dron to lead the investigation. Master Chief Tuliq had taken command of the mission from the mainland, but he hadn’t been responsible for choosing the team.
That bothered Dron.
Zeqon climbed near the rear, watching everyone with the same hard expression he’d worn since they left the mainland. As the highest-ranking alpha physically present on Skoq, he handled most of their direct orders, but even he answered to Tuliq when they managed to establish communication.
Zeqon spoke only when he had to and offered no explanation for why they had been sent to this part of the island beyond Master Chief Tuliq believing the attack in the poor class had connections to Skoq. According to the report they had received, fragments of weapons recovered from Aixen’s ruined home had been made from a dark metal found only in the mountains ahead.
That explanation had never felt complete to Dron.
They had no names.
No witnesses.
No proof that the attackers themselves had come from Skoq.
All they had were pieces of metal and orders to search an island most people avoided.
"Ledge is close," Zeqon called softly.
Dron looked up again.
The top of the cliff was finally visible. A flat shelf of rock extended over the side, casting a deep shadow across the last stretch of the climb. It was still higher than he wanted, but close enough that he could reach it in a few more movements.
He climbed faster.
His muscles had been burning for the last hour, but he ignored the pain. He found another hold and pushed himself upward until both hands closed around the edge.
The rock shifted beneath his weight.
Dron froze.
Dust slipped over the side and disappeared into the darkness.
For one terrible moment, he thought the entire ledge was going to break free.
It held.
He pulled himself up and rolled onto the flat stone.
The wind was stronger at the top. It hit him the moment he stood, bringing sand so sharp it felt like tiny blades cutting across his skin. He turned his face away and lowered his body while the rest of the team climbed over the edge one by one.
Krazek came up next, followed by Vraxin, Jorq, and the others. Zeqon was the last to pull himself onto the plateau.
No one spoke for several seconds.
They were too busy catching their breath and studying the land ahead.
The top of the mountain wasn’t the narrow peak Dron had expected. It opened into a wide plateau surrounded by tall walls of black stone. Cracks ran across the ground in every direction, some no wider than a finger and others large enough for an alpha to fall through. Strange white deposits clung to the rocks, glowing faintly beneath the moonlight.
There were shapes carved into the cliffs.
Dron moved closer.
At first, he thought they were natural markings, but the longer he stared, the less certain he became. Deep lines had been cut into the stone. Circles. Jagged symbols. Large handprints with too many fingers.
His body went tense.
"We’re not alone," he said quietly.
The others stopped moving.
Zeqon pulled the shock-blade from his back. The weapon was long and curved, with thin threads of blue energy crawling along its edge.
"What do you see?"
"Nothing yet."
Dron looked toward the large boulders scattered across the plateau.
"But someone’s been here."
A soft crackle came from the communication device attached to Zeqon’s shoulder.
"Tuliq to Skoq team," Master Chief Tuliq’s voice broke through the static. "Report your position."
Zeqon touched the side of the device.
"We’ve reached the upper plateau."
The signal hissed.
"Any signs of habitation?"
Zeqon glanced at the markings carved into the surrounding cliffs.
"Possible signs. There are symbols cut into the stone."
There was a pause before Tuliq’s voice returned.
"Proceed carefully. Do not separate. Communication may be lost once you move deeper into the mountain."
"Understood."
The connection broke apart beneath a burst of static.
Then the wind died.
That bothered Dron more than the noise.
The silence came so suddenly that he could hear the scrape of his own boot against the rock.
Then he heard something else.
Breathing.
Slow.
Deep.
Close.
A shape moved behind one of the boulders.
Dron pulled his own blade free.
"Come out."
Nothing happened.
Krazek stepped beside him, gripping a short shock-staff. Blue sparks snapped between the two prongs at its end.
"Maybe it’s an animal."
"No animal marks stone like that."
Another shape moved on the opposite side of the plateau.
Then another.
The team shifted into position without needing to be told. Vraxin and Jorq moved toward the right. Two more alphas covered the rear. Zeqon stood in the middle with his shock-blade held in front of him.
The first creature stepped into the moonlight.
Dron stared.
He’d seen many different people on Ustea. He’d fought alphas from lands most citizens never knew existed. He’d seen bodies changed by poison, disease, and war.
He had never seen anything like this.
The creature was shaped like an alpha, but only barely. It stood at least a head taller than Dron and nearly twice as wide. Its shoulders bent forward as if the bones beneath its skin had grown too large for its body. Thick gray skin covered it from head to foot, cracked in places like dried earth. Long strips of dark flesh hung from its arms, moving slowly even though the wind had stopped.
Its face was worse.
The eyes were small and pale, almost colorless. Its nose was nothing more than two narrow openings cut into the center of its face. The mouth stretched too wide, reaching almost to the sides of its jaw, and when it opened, Dron saw several rows of sharp, uneven teeth.
There were no horns.
No hair.
No visible ears.
Only thick folds of skin along the side of its head that opened and closed each time it breathed.
More stepped out from behind the rocks.
Five.
Eight.
Twelve.
Dron stopped counting.
The creatures surrounded the plateau. Some carried crude blades made from black metal while others held long hooked spears. One dragged the severed head of a large animal behind it, leaving a dark streak across the stone.
"They’re alphas?" Vraxin whispered.
"No," Krazek said. "They can’t be."
One of the creatures tilted its head.
Its mouth opened wider.
A low clicking noise came from somewhere inside its chest.
The others answered.
The sound spread across the plateau until it felt like the stone beneath Dron’s boots was vibrating.
Then the first creature charged.
It moved faster than anything that size should’ve been able to move.
Zeqon shouted an order, and the team spread apart.
Krazek struck first. He swung the shock-staff against the creature’s chest, sending a wave of blue energy across its body. The creature’s muscles locked, and its forward charge slowed, but it didn’t fall.
"Again!" Zeqon shouted.
The plateau exploded into movement.
Blue energy flashed through the darkness as the creatures rushed them from every direction. The first reached Dron before he could swing his blade. Its arm came toward his head, thick fingers ending in hard black claws.
He ducked.
The strike passed close enough to pull at his hair.
Dron drove the hilt of his blade into the creature’s stomach. It felt like striking a wall. The creature barely reacted before grabbing the weapon with both hands.
Dron refused to let go.
The creature pulled him forward and opened its mouth.
He released the blade at the last second, letting the creature stumble backward with the sudden loss of resistance. Dron stepped in and slammed his fist into the side of its jaw.
Pain shot through his knuckles.
The creature’s head turned, but it didn’t go down.
It looked back at him.
Dron hit it again.
Then again.
The third strike split the skin near its mouth.
Black blood ran down its chin.
The creature screamed and threw itself at him.
Dron braced himself, but the impact still knocked him backward. They hit the ground together. Its weight crushed the air from his lungs. One clawed hand closed around his throat while the other dragged across his armor, leaving deep marks in the metal.
Dron caught its wrist.
The claws lowered toward his face.
His arms shook as he held them back.
The creature was stronger than him.
That realization lasted only a moment.
Dron brought one knee up hard between them. The creature shifted just enough for him to twist. He rolled, forced it onto its back, and drove his elbow into its throat.
Once.
Twice.
The third hit crushed something.
The creature made a wet choking sound.
Dron grabbed the sides of its head and twisted until the neck snapped.
He shoved the body away and stood.
There was no time to catch his breath.
Another creature came at him with a hooked spear.
Dron stepped back as the blade cut through the air in front of his chest. The creature spun the weapon and swung low. Dron jumped over it, landed hard, and caught the shaft with both hands before it could strike again.
They pulled against each other.
The creature snarled.
Dron let go with one hand and punched it in the throat.
Its grip loosened.
He ripped the spear away and drove the hooked blade through the side of its neck.
Black blood sprayed across his armor.
The creature grabbed at the weapon, still trying to move toward him even with the blade buried deep inside it.
Dron twisted.
The hook tore through flesh.
The creature fell.
All around him, the team fought.
Vraxin and Jorq stood back-to-back, using shock-staffs to hold off a group trying to close around them. Each time a staff struck, blue energy spread over gray skin and filled the air with the smell of burning flesh. The creatures would jerk and slow, giving the alphas enough time to drive their blades into softer places along their necks and stomachs.
Zeqon fought with both hands wrapped around his shock-blade. He cut through the arm of one creature, turned, and buried the charged edge into the chest of another. Krazek moved through the fight with surprising speed, cutting at legs and throats before jumping away from every returning strike.
They were helping one another.
Dron saw Jorq shove Vraxin out of the path of a spear. He saw Zeqon drive his blade through the creature trying to attack one of the younger members of the team. Whatever Dron thought about the mission, the group knew how to fight together.
A heavy blow struck his side.
Dron hit the ground.
The pain came a second later.
One of the creatures stood over him holding a thick metal club. It raised the weapon again.
Dron rolled.
The club crashed into the stone where his head had been.
The ground cracked.
He pushed himself up, but the creature swung again. This time the club caught him across the shoulder and sent him stumbling. His arm went numb. Before he could recover, the creature charged.
Dron lowered his body.
At the last second, he moved aside and drove the hooked spear into its leg.
The creature roared.
Dron pulled the blade free and struck again, cutting through the back of its knee.
It dropped.
He climbed onto its back and wrapped both arms around its head. The creature fought wildly beneath him, clawing at his forearms, but Dron held on and pulled.
The neck gave way with a loud crack.
The body collapsed.
Dron rolled off and came to his feet.
A flash of movement caught his eye.
Krazek was coming toward him.
There was blood across the younger alpha’s face and a long blade gripped in both hands. His eyes were locked straight ahead.
At Dron.
The blade swung.
Dron moved on instinct.
He threw himself backward.
The edge passed so close to his throat that he felt the air move across his skin.
For a heartbeat, everything slowed.
Krazek’s eyes met his.
There was no surprise in them.
No fear.
No apology.
Then the blade continued its path and buried itself in the chest of a creature standing behind Dron.
Krazek yanked it free.
"Watch your back," he shouted.
He turned and ran toward another fight.
Dron stood frozen for half a second.
The strike could’ve been meant for the creature.
It had been behind him.
Krazek might’ve seen it coming.
But the angle was wrong.
The blade had been too high.
Dron knew combat. He knew the difference between a close strike and a careless one.
That had come too close to killing him.
A creature slammed into Dron before he could think any further.
They crashed into the side of a boulder. Pain shot through his back. The creature opened its mouth and snapped at his face.
Dron shoved his forearm beneath its jaw.
Its teeth closed around his armor.
Metal bent.
He drove his thumb into one of its pale eyes.
The creature screamed and pulled away.
Dron followed.
He hit it across the temple with the shaft of the spear, then drove the point beneath its jaw. The tip pushed through the top of its skull.
The creature went still.
Dron ripped the weapon free and turned.
Only a few remained.
The team closed around them.
Zeqon shouted another order.
Vraxin and Jorq rushed the creatures from the left, striking them with their shock-staffs while Dron and Krazek moved in from the right. The final creatures fought harder when they realized they were trapped. One knocked Jorq to the ground. Another caught Zeqon across the chest with its claws.
Dron attacked before either creature could finish them.
He drove his shoulder into the nearest one and forced it away from Zeqon. Krazek struck its legs with the charged end of his weapon. The creature’s knees locked as energy raced over its body, giving Zeqon time to recover and bury his blade in its stomach.
The last creature tried to flee.
Vraxin threw his shock-staff.
The charged weapon struck the creature between the shoulders, sending enough energy through its body to make it stumble. It managed to keep moving, dragging one stiff leg behind it.
Dron picked up the metal club from the ground and ran after it. He caught up near the edge of the plateau and swung with both hands.
The club struck the back of its skull.
The creature fell forward and slid several feet before stopping near the drop.
For a few seconds, no one moved.
Dron stood over the body, breathing hard.
Black blood covered the stone.
Pieces of broken weapons were scattered everywhere. One of the glowing white markings on the rocks had been smeared beneath the body of a dead creature. The sharp scent of energy and burned flesh hung heavily in the air.
Then someone laughed.
It started low and nervous.
A second person joined in.
Within moments, the team was shouting, slapping each other on the back, and staring around the plateau as if they couldn’t believe they were still alive.
"We actually did it," Jorq said.
Vraxin dropped onto a boulder.
"I thought that thing was going to bite my arm off."
"It nearly did," Krazek answered.
He was smiling.
Acting normal.
Too normal.
Zeqon lifted his chin and looked across the group.
"You all fought well."
That earned more cheers.
Someone pulled a small bottle from inside their pack. Zeqon frowned but didn’t stop them when they passed it around. Jorq took a drink and coughed so hard that everyone laughed.
Everyone except Dron.
He stayed near the edge of the plateau with the metal club still in his hand.
His heart had slowed.
His breathing hadn’t.
He watched Krazek accept the bottle.
The younger alpha laughed at something Vraxin said, then lifted the drink toward Dron.
"You want some?"
Dron shook his head.
Krazek shrugged and drank.
Nothing about him looked guilty.
Nothing about him suggested he had nearly taken Dron’s head off.
Maybe it had been an accident.
The fight had been chaotic. The creature had been behind him. Krazek might’ve seen something Dron hadn’t.
But Dron kept replaying the moment.
The blade.
The angle.
Krazek’s eyes.
He remembered the way Krazek had looked at him before the strike. Not past him.
At him.
Dron lowered the club.
He said nothing.
There was no proof.
Calling Krazek out now would only make the others think the mission was getting to him. Maybe it was. He hadn’t slept properly since leaving Tempest. He spent most nights staring into the darkness and listening for sounds that weren’t there.
He was tired.
Angry.
Distracted.
That didn’t mean he was wrong.
The communication device on Zeqon’s shoulder crackled again.
"Tuliq to Skoq team. Report."
Zeqon touched the device.
"We were attacked upon reaching the plateau."
Static filled the air.
"Casualties?"
"None from our team. Several minor injuries."
"And the attackers?"
Zeqon looked across the bodies surrounding them.
"All dead."
There was a pause.
"Secure the area," Master Chief Tuliq ordered. "Search the plateau for anything connecting these beings to the attack in the poor class. Do not proceed farther into the mountain until I receive your next report."
"Understood."
The connection ended.
Dron looked around at the celebrating alphas.
Prince Jaqen had been involved in choosing every one of them.
That thought settled deep inside him.
He stored the moment away exactly as it had happened. He remembered where Krazek had been standing, how he had held the blade, and how little space there had been between its edge and Dron’s throat.
He would watch him.
He would watch all of them.
The team had won the fight, but Dron no longer felt like celebrating.
The creatures on Skoq had been dangerous. There was no doubt about that. They were stronger than anything he’d fought before, and there could be more hiding somewhere beyond the plateau.
Still, as Dron watched Krazek laugh with the others, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the worst thing waiting for him on the island might not have been one of those creatures.
It might have climbed the mountain beside him.