Wrath of the Forgotten: Descendants of the Fall Book II, Hodges, Aaron [top 10 non fiction books of all time txt] 📗

“You killed my friends,” he snarled, the fiery heat in his stomach giving him courage. “Slaughtered them, so why spare us? Why go to the trouble of dragging us all this way?”

Still the creature did not reply, only stood staring at him, unblinking. The rage left Lukys as quickly as it had appeared and he found himself retreating a step, a sudden terror sweeping through his veins. The Tangatan leader slowly shook its head.

So…archaic, your kind. Its voice sounded amused. Screaming your thoughts for all the world to hear.

It advanced a step and Lukys tried to retreat further. A hand like iron caught him by the arm—he’d forgotten the female still stood nearby. Unable to break her grasp, he stood fixed in place while the leader approached.

Perhaps we are toying with you. Is that not what you humans do, when you take our people captive? It paused, still eyeing him, head bent slightly to the side. Or is it for some other purpose? Tell me, Lukys of Perfugia, what is the fate of my brothers and sisters you take beyond these lands?

“I…” Lukys trailed off.

He’d never seen the captives Adonis spoke of—Perfugia did not keep Tangatan captives. But he had read of such practices at the academy. The creatures were extraordinarily difficult to take alive, but human armies had on occasion been known to subdue a Tangata enough to be captured.

Initially, the Flumeeren physicians had hoped to discover the secrets of Tangatan physiology from those captives. But in ten years, they’d made little progress, and eventually the prisoners had been put to other uses…

Images flickered into Lukys’s mind, sketches he had glimpsed in his textbooks, of Tangata in cages at the Flumeeren court, of beasts with arms and legs severed, of creatures tormented by their human gaolers. Lukys had thought little of the images at the time—after all, the Tangata were a distant threat to remote Perfugia, an inhuman enemy that occasionally called for them to send soldiers to the frontier…

A soft growl was the only warning Lukys had before Adonis caught him by the throat. He gasped, but the sound was abruptly cut off as the Tangata lifted him into the air. Desperate, Lukys kicked out. His boot connected with the creature’s chest, but Adonis took no notice.

And you call us the monsters! Adonis’s voice practically screamed into his mind.

The grip around Lukys’s throat tightened, fingers digging into his flesh. He would have screamed if he could have drawn in enough breath. Instead, all he could manage was a pitiful squawk. Strength fading, he clasped at Adonis’s fingers, trying to pry them loose, but there was no fighting this creature. Darkness circled his vision and the strength began to fade from his limbs. His mouth opened and closed, straining for even a wisp of oxygen.

Adonis! a voice cried in his mind.

Then suddenly Lukys was soaring through the air. He cried out, still aware enough to half curl into a ball before he struck the ground. The impact robbed him of whatever breath remained in his lungs. Dark spots danced across his eyes as he wheezed, gasping, until finally his chest filled.

Rolling onto his side, Lukys sucked in great lungfuls of the chill morning air, hardly able to believe he was alive. When he finally looked around, he was surprised to find the female Tangata standing across from Adonis. No sounds passed between the two, and yet…Lukys heard snatches of their voices. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate through the pain, to draw meaning from the whispers…

Need…future…assignment…

Groaning, Lukys slumped back against the ground. It was no good. He could understand nothing from the snippets. It seemed he could only make out full sentences if the creatures directed their thoughts at him. He wondered why the female had interfered—Adonis was clearly her superior. It seemed they needed him for something…but what, Lukys couldn’t begin to understand.

Bastard, he thought, looking again at Adonis.

Across the clearing, the Tangatan leader’s head whipped around, the silver eyes fixing on Lukys. A wicked grin appeared on the creature’s face and suddenly it was stalking towards him. Lukys tried to scramble away, but Adonis was faster still, and before Lukys could stand he was clutching him by the front of the shirt and hauling him to his feet.

So you can Speak! the creature exclaimed. There was triumph in the creature’s words as they sounded in Lukys’s mind. You’re the one we’ve been hearing.

Lukys struggled to break free of the Tangata’s grip, and to his surprise, Adonis released him. He staggered, then slowly backed away. “What are you talking about?” he croaked, throat still in agony.

You’re different, Lukys. The Tangata’s words chased after him. We can Hear you. We’ve been hearing you for weeks.

What? Lukys whispered in his mind, staring at the creature, unable to believe…

We thought it was the Anahera at first, Adonis continued, though Lukys did not recognise the name. But no, even young, she would not be so unschooled.

“What are you talking about?” Lukys said aloud, rejecting that inner dialogue. It felt unnatural, projecting a thought for this creature to hear.

Laughter answered the question. How little your species understands of our power, the Tangata said eventually. Then Adonis leaned in close. Did you not wonder how we discovered your intrusion into our territory, how we found the hidden Birthing Grounds?

Lukys shook his head, but unbidden, memories flickered into his mind, of the strange dreams he’d experienced ever since arriving in Fogmore. He’d had another of the nightmares that night in the mountains, the night before the Tangata had found them…

“No…” he said. “It’s not possible.”

It had been him all along. The Archivist had accused Cara of betraying them, before they’d learned her true identity. But Lukys had seen the map, had known where the Archivist was leading them, the location of the ancient site of the Gods. Unknowingly, Lukys has betrayed them all.

He sank to his knees, thinking again of the bodies they’d found in the abandoned settlement. His fellow Perfugians,