Eluria's Enforcer (The Argadian Heart Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

Eluria had placed a rebel beamer inside the
container of antidote. If she didn’t return to Ednos, others would at least be
able to find the precious cache and complete the mission. It was imperative the
vials be kept out of the Tribunal’s grasp, whatever the cost.

When the Serdion firestorm first started,
she’d taken cover, and hidden the antidote. The metal container now rested
beneath a pile of rocks near where she sat, hidden in case she was discovered.
Once the storm abated and she was certain the Enforcer was not close by, she
would recover them and make her way to safety.

For days she’d eluded him, trying to get to
the secure cave she’d prepared, without being discovered. There was no way she
could capture him by herself. Kill him maybe—if she caught him unaware. Yet,
she was so weary of the deaths. Each time she killed it was another mark on her
soul. And there were so many already.

Eluria sought only to evade him. The point of
the antidote was to save lives, not sacrifice more. Once she reached her
sanctuary, he would be unable to detect her location as it was veined in
plordium, a natural yet effective mask to any tracking devices the Tribunal
might use.

Eluria stepped out from beneath the overhang
and squinted up at the sky. The firestorm had abated. She scanned the desolate,
rocky area around her, hand poised in readiness above the weapon strapped at
her hip.

Serdion had once been the home of a
benevolent, thriving community. It had been destroyed because word spread that
Serdion insurgents planned to overthrow Argadia. But that information been a simple
ruse that allowed the Tribunal to conquer the planet.

Once it was a beautiful planet, rich, lush,
teeming with life. Until it was discovered it contained several rich deposits
of Talagite. The indigo colored, glowing nuggets were considered priceless by
the greedy and powerful on Argadia. A very lucrative deal had been struck with
certain members of the Tribunal, and the Enforcers were sent out to secure the
planet and subdue its supposed insurgents. It was such a surprise when
exploring the planet, a team “accidentally” discovered the Talagite.

Once the Talagite had been mined, the planet
was stripped, and all life destroyed on Serdion. All done in the name of the
Tribunal for some pretty baubles and more power. Such tragedy, pain, and
suffering from what had once been a welcoming, indulgent society. All based on
lies. The Tribunal must be stopped, whatever the price.

Eluria began to gather her things quickly and
moved toward her velocitor. She had to get to the cave.

A shadow moved between her and her
destination, halting her abruptly, heart thudding in her chest. She dropped
what she was carrying and reached for her weapon.

“Rebel Leader Eluria Zydon, dishonored
daughter of High Commander Clorial Zydon of Argadia, your end has arrived.
Prepare.”

Eluria stayed her hand as she eyed the weapon
aimed at her. Her gaze slowly rose and her eyes widened in disbelief. “Devon
Andromeda,” she rasped out. Shock pulsed through her. Standing before her was
her nemesis. The man she’d sacrificed everything to save.
Merciful Symion
,
was this how it would end? Would Guardian truly be so cruel?

She saw a brief, halting flicker of what
looked like surprise in his merciless blood red gaze when she’d uttered his
name. Then the fire in his gaze banked and surged. She knew by the look of him,
there was no hope, there would be no salvation.

Devon didn’t recognize her. How could he,
when he had no memory of the Before? Eluria carried no weapon powerful enough
to stop him, nor was she fast enough. She knew in an instance who was behind
the order. This was the work of her father, pitting her against the one
Enforcer he knew she wouldn’t fight. Devon was in Killing Frenzy. She knew his
reputation. Impotently, she watched as his finger tightened on the deadly
weapon.

Eluria accepted defeat. Her father knew her
one weakness far too well. Even if she had a worthy weapon, this was the one
Enforcer she could never destroy. If her death meant he would live, so it must
be.

“It is good you recognize the means of your
end, Female. May your journey to Haydon be less painful, knowing the means by
which you pass. You have been a worthy opponent.”

Closing her eyes, she raised both hands,
curled them into fists and placed them over her heart. Delivering herself
freely to death, she whispered the chant of acceptance. “Guardian, into your
hands I release my light. I embrace my destiny. Your justice will endure.”

The sound of exploding zyflamite missiles
filled her ears, and the next thing Eluria knew she was flying through the air,
hurled by their force and slammed to the ground some distance away. At the hard
impact, as she met the solid rock and tasted dirt, her breath was knocked from
her body and blackness engulfed her.

Guardian, or at the very least, Symion, had
apparently heard her chant. Drawing oxygen into her lungs, Eluria opened her
eyes, a sense of imminent danger flooding her. In one fluid motion, she was on
her feet and turned to assess the situation. The sickening smell of spent
zyflamite shells permeated the air and turned her stomach.

Eluria didn’t know how long she’d been
unconsciousness, but knew she couldn’t take the time to gauge its passing. Cactching
her breath, frantically she searched the area, until finally she located the
inert form of Devon Andromeda stretched out on his stomach some distance from
where she stood.
Oh, please, don’t let him be dead
, she prayed. Not
after all this time.

Alert to any movement, she unsheathed her
weapon and tentatively, in quick, running steps, made her way to his side.
Scanning the area as she went, she knew that whoever had launched the zyflamite
would not be long in locating them and discover they were still alive. It
didn’t make sense. Now knowing it was Andromeda who tracked her, she also knew
from his file, he worked alone. Always. So, who had fired on them?

Why attack if they knew an Enforcer already
had her in his sight? Unless, they were after him as well? Betrayal was more
the rule than the exception when it came to dealing with the Tribunal. Anything
was possible.

Sinking down, she knelt next to Devon’s inert
body, alert for any movement on his part. Holstering her weapon, then using all
her weight, she pushed against his side and roll him to his back. She surveyed
his body, seeking signs of injury. It was impossible for her not to reach out
to touch his face. He was here, with her. How many times had she imagined this?
Eluria inhaled sharply when she spotted a long narrow gash in his right side
where blood was steadily oozing onto the ground.

In his gloved hand, Devon still clutched the
laser weapon that would have ended her life. She pulled it free, carefully
disengaged the power source, and tossed it away. Checking the pulse in his
neck, she was thankful to find it strong and steady.

Eluria quickly surveyed him for other signs
of injury. There wasn’t much time, so she could only make a cursory
examination. It looked like the worst of it was the gash to his side. There was
no way for her to detect if there was internal damage. Not here. She had
emergency supplies at the cave; she would tend to him when they were in safer
surroundings.

The most urgent need was to get them both
away. First, she needed to make sure he stayed in stasis. Thank Guardian the
velocitor was undamaged because she was going to need it. She sprinted to the
vehicle and then grabbed a container from beneath the driver’s seat. It held a
small amount of a stasis-inducing drug, which should be just enough to
immobilize him until she was able to get him to the cave.

She ran back, knelt next to him, and injected
him. Hurriedly she gathered what remained of her supplies, dug up the antidote
from beneath the rocks, and returned to her vehicle.

There was little chance, even with the pump
of adrenalin, she’d be able to drag him any distance. She jumped into the
velocitor, planning to maneuver it as close to him as possible, hoping somehow
she would be able to lever him into the passenger seat. The rocky surface and
crater indentations made it difficult to get as close as she would have liked.
Once positioned, she jumped out and hurried back to his inert form.

Gazing down at all that solid muscle, she
seriously had her doubts.
I can do this—I have to do this.
Hooking her
hands beneath his arms, she heaved and slowly began to drag him the short
distance to the velocitor.
Haydon, he was solid, dead weight.
Reaching
the side, Eluria released her grip and sank back onto the seat, needing a
moment to catch her breath. She still needed to shift him the short distance
onto the seat. The fact the vehicle was very low to the ground and with a hefty
helping of adrenalin, hopefully she would just be able to manage it by dragging
him across the seat and settling him into it.

Standing up, she leaned down and pulled him
to a sitting position against the frame. Stepping up and to the other side of
the seat, she leaned down, again anchoring her arms beneath his armpits, and
she locked her hands together at the middle of his chest. Using as much
leverage as she could manage and with a fervent prayer to Symion, she pulled
upwards and managed to get his upper torso splayed across the seat. She
unclasped her hands and leaned away to gasp for air.

We don’t have time for this
, she thought to
herself in panic.
But I can’t leave him here.
With firm resolve she
leaned forward, locked her arms into position, and heaved once more with every
last bit of strength left, at last succeeding in levering him into the vehicle.

Choking back a sob of thankfulness, she
jumped across the driver’s side. Racing around the front, she lifted his legs
into the vehicle, shifted him so he was more securely in the seat, and strapped
him in.
Thank Guardian. It better not be this difficult getting him out
.

Luckily the velocitor was small enough she’d
be able to drive it inside the cave, so it wouldn’t entail dragging him far
once they reached their destination. And at least she wouldn’t have to try to
lift him upwards again as the bedroll would be on the ground.

She raced back around the side, jumped in,
and sped away. They weren’t far from safety; she just needed a few more minutes
to maneuver around the outcropping of rocks.

Surveying the sky first, she then studied the
surrounding area. She could detect no movement. Yet. She turned on the scanner
in the vehicle. Thank Symion the firestorm had eased as it had a tendency to
play havoc with the tracking program. The system allowed for short range
scanning capability that could give her some indication of whether there was
any lifeforce close enough to cause concern. None of this made any sense. Where
had the attack stemmed from?

Eluria breathed a sigh of relief as she wound
around the last obstacle to safety. She wended her way through low-lying
boulders and stopped before what looked like a solid wall of rock. She pulled
out a remote device and pressed the button. Slowly, the rock wall dissipated
and she drove forward. Once inside, she turned in her seat, pointed the device
and the illusion reappeared. Collapsing back in her seat, a sigh of relief
escaped her.

Swiveling sideways, she surveyed the
unconscious man strapped to the passenger seat. What was she going to do with
him? She couldn’t have left him there. Killing him was out of the question.
Slowly, she stepped out of the velocitor and walked through the low-lying
passage to the next chamber.

In was an area she used for sleeping as well
as storage. There was a set of large metal trunks to one side and she stepped
toward one of them. Inside were extra, small weapons, ammunition, and the items
she was searching for—restraints. She didn’t have a choice. Either she confined
him or he killed her. Her options were few.

After she secured him, she’d need to come to
another decision. One she wasn’t sure she was ready to make. One that scared
her.

Eluria pulled out a bedroll from the other
trunk and spread it out to one side of the enclosure. Then she set the
restraints. The electronic control allowing her to adjust the grip was set to
maximum level. Securing him would require no less.

Once everything was in readiness, she turned
back to the opening and took a deep breath. Now to get him from the vehicle to
the bedding.

Whoever said determination couldn’t get the
job done was wrong. It took the remainder of her strength and one heck of a lot
of focus, but finally she had him settled on the bedroll. Before she engaged
the restraints, she would need to remove his black skinsuit to assess his
wounds. She didn’t look forward to it; knew the effect it would have on her.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to steel her emotions against the sight of him.

As each centimeter of his supple, golden skin
was uncovered, she found it harder and harder to concentrate on her task. But
at last his body was revealed. And what a beautiful body it was. She would have
enjoyed just sitting there and gazing at him for hours. His body appeared more
like a fine sculpture displayed at one of the old museums on Argadia. She
wanted to curl up next to him, hold him, feel his solid strength. She wanted
Before.

Stop it
! She turned away from the focus of
her desires. His wounds required attention. She needed water to cleanse them.
Rising from her kneeling position, she walked into a third chamber. This one
contained an underground spring, the water warm enough for bathing. A cascade
of it fell from the face of the stone constantly providing a fresh supply of
soothing wet heat. It was one of the things that made this cavern a good
resting place. All the comforts of home, so to speak.

She pulled out a small wooden bowl, a soft
drying cloth, and a mediseal from another trunk located in the chamber. Filling
the bowl from the pool, she returned to Devon, and proceeded to thoroughly
cleanse the wound in his side. She winced as she surveyed the long, jagged tear.
Getting him into the velocitor certainly hadn’t helped. It was a good thing she
had a mediseal with her. Using the utensil, she proceeded to carefully close
the wound. It would heal, but because it was deep, there would be a scar. Much
similar to the one she carried on her own body.

She’d hesitated long enough. It was time to
engage the restraints. Again, she leaned back on her heels. With his eyes
closed, his face was in repose, softened, reminding her of the youth she’d once
known. They were strong features, but not hard, a square jaw, and high, defined
cheekbones.

Unable to resist, she reached up, and touched
his hair. It was thick and silky beneath her fingertips. The texture much as
she remembered. But the color had changed. It was now pure white, a consequence
of the Nanus process. Thus, it was a trademark of every Enforcer. When she’d
known him, hishad had been black as a night sky without moon.

His body was firm, muscled, sculpted. She was
unable to resist and ran her hand along his shoulder, down the contours of his
smooth, hard chest. Life, warm and pulsing, thrummed beneath her fingertips. So
beautiful. She closed her eyes in painful remembrance as the Before washed over
her.

“Come watch this old Earth film I bought on
the black market today,” Devon urged her, a grin on his lips. There was an
eager light in his beautiful turquoise eyes. He reached for her hand and pulled
her into the viewing room, urging her down onto the long comfortable lounging
chair. She curled up beneath his arm as they watched the science fiction movie
from long ago.

He looked down and grinned. “I’m glad you
came over, Eluria. I’ve missed you. You’ll be at the Celebration tomorrow,
won’t you?”

“Yes, I’ll be there. You know I wouldn’t miss
it,” she responded, tucking her head against his shoulder, inhaling his warm,
musky scent. She loved spending time with him. Wanted the moment to go on
forever.

How could she have known that within the
space of a sun’s rising he would be torn from her life? The spirits of Before
haunted her often. When he’d been taken away, her heart had broken knowing
she’d never see him again. Even if she did, he wouldn’t remember her. But when
she’d found out the truth, her whole life had shattered. That’s when it had
become imperative to find the antidote and set him free.

The antidote!
She raced out to the
velocitor and retrieved the small box containing the vials, handling it
reverently. She carried it back inside.

Devon was the reason she was here now. She
looked at him and then down at the small box. She had a decision to make. Was
this why Guardian had brought them together on this planet? Did she dare
attempt to use it on him now? Did she really have any other choice?

No. It would either work or it wouldn’t. It
was apparent someone wanted them both dead. If he killed her and went back,
they would probably find a way to kill him anyway. If she left him the way he
was, he would try to destroy her, complete his mission. And he would succeed
because she couldn’t kill him. Either way they were both dead.

She wanted Devon whole again. She needed to
give him back his life. Guilty knowledge from Before washed over her. And if it
did work, there was a chance it would work on others and the rebellion could be
successful.

Placing the box on the lid of a trunk, she opened
it, removed a syringe and one of the clear vials marked Nanus-X. She remembered
the instructions. First, she must inject him with Nanus-X. If all went well,
twenty-four hours later, she must inject him with the neutralizer, Nanus-Z.

After filling the syringe, she walked back to
him. Eluria’s hands shook at the enormity of what she was about to do. She
chanted to the protection goddess.

“Symion, if ever I needed your guiding hand,
I need it now. Don’t let me make a mistake. Please let it work.” Slowly, she
lowered her hand with the filled syringe to Devon’s hip.