Charlotte Boyett-Compo- WIND VERSE- Hunger's Harmattan Unknown (top business books of all time .TXT) 📖

ghoret venom, Ailyn was lost in a hellish world from whichhe feared he’d never escape.

He fought the double-braidedtitanium-hafnium shackles that kept him unable to move and cried out as freshanguish stung his skin while burning pus ran from the enflamed areas of hisbody. The stinking excretions pooled under his helpless body to eat at hisbelly and chest.

“Please,” he begged, but though he knew hewas not alone in his fiery prison, no one came to help him. Not one drop ofwater was given to ease his dry mouth. Not one milligram of tenerse wasadministered to stop the pain of withdrawal and no Sustenance was provided tohold at bay the Transition that threatened to erupt at any moment. When itcame, he nearly went mad with the inability of his body to change as it should,his limbs held forcibly in place so he was forced to writhe in unrelentingtorment as his sinews tried to stretch, his bones to elongate, his organs totransform. All that changed without ungodly torture was his face, hands andfeet and even those hurt far more in Transition than they should.

Another four days passed in a haze ofnearly unbearable pain. As slow as he’d been to Transition, he was that quickin reverting back, whimpering with the change that came so rapidly he had notime to adjust.

“It’s safe now to harvest,” he heardsomeone say.

He barely felt the scalpel cut into hisflesh, drag down his back over his kidney but he did feel the tearing, brutalhurt that came as his parasites were pulled out of his body in clumps.

“They’re not dead,” he croaked. “Leave thembe.”

The revenant worm queen buckled and ranbeneath his skin under his belly to hide to keep from being extracted but Shewas in no danger. It was the little ones, the fledglings, that were wanted, andwhen She realized that, She quickly healed his wound and continued to fight theghoret toxin while gearing up to reproduce more spores inside him.

In a fog of agony, he saw the nestlingsbeing dropped into beakers and placed on a shelf across the room in which helay. His wavering vision saw faceless people moving about doing things he couldnot fathom and began to realize they weren’t people after all but cybots thatwere completely without features.

How long he lay pleading for some kind ofassistance he did not know. Gradually his pain began to subside, his elevatedtemperature to cool, his involuntary spasms ceasing. He became aware ofconversation somewhere in the room and though he tried to lift his head, toturn his face toward the sound, he was too weak, too drained to do so.

All he really wanted to do was die.

* * * * *

“We know damned well who took him and why,”General Strom told Shanee. “We just don’t know where the hell they tookhim.”

Sitting beside her mother, Shanee’s eyeswere swollen and she was far too pale but her facial expression was hard asflint. “When I get my hands on that bitch, I’ll rip her heart out!” shedeclared.

Arch-Counselor Sebastian Euphrates noddedfrom the vid-com screen. “And it would be well within your right to do so,Colonel.”

“Do we know how Jost bought it?” Strominquired.

“According to the forensics team, Jost waspoisoned,” the arch-counselor replied. “It was a slow-acting nephrotoxin thatwould have caused an excruciating death.”

“And still no sign of the younger son?”King Gabriel Leveche inquired from the other side of Shanee.

“It’s like they all three—Harmattan, hismother and brother—fell off the face of the planet,” Strom reported. “I’ve gotall my Guardians involved—pulled them off every other case—but there hasn’tbeen any intel at all.”

“They were waiting for me to call themedivac team,” Shanee said. “They sprayed me with the pairilis mist then tookAilyn. If only I’d not listened to him about activating the ’bots. They wouldhave prevented all this.”

“They’d have found another way to get toAilyn, Shanee,” Leveche told her.

“The mere thought of them transporting aghoret into my daughter’s quarters absolutely boggles the mind,” Polemusa said.“She could have been killed. A single bite from one of those creatures hasenough venom to kill twenty men or more.”

A soft rap came on the general’s door andhe cursed. “Damn it, Miriam, I asked not to be disturbed!” he yelled even asthe portal opened.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but…” Miriam began thenstepped aside as a man politely pushed past her.

“I told her it would be all right.” Hepatted Miriam on the shoulder. “Thanks, love.”

Polemusa Iphito sat straight up in herchair and drew in a quick, stunned breath. Her hand fluttered near her chestand when her daughter gave her an annoyed look, she didn’t notice.

“Can I get anyone something to drink?”Miriam asked. She too was staring at the man who had entered the general’soffice.

“No, Miri. We’re fine,” Strom answered foreveryone.

“Shanee, I am so sorry to hear about yourhusband,” the newcomer said, and he came to hunker down in front of Shanee,reaching out to take her hands in his. “Tell me what I can do.”

“Find him,” Shanee said, her eyes tearingup again much to her irritation. She swiped angrily at the telltale moisture.

“That is my intent,” came the reply.

Ryden Bakari—the man who had once beenBurgon of Aduaidh—got to his feet and turned to face Strom. “I came as soon asI heard and I’ve got Quinn with me.” He gave Gabriel Leveche a grin. “How’s itgoing, Gabe?”

“Fair to middling. I take it you’ve foundhim?” Leveche asked. He reached out to grasp the other man’s wrist in thewarrior way.

“Does the queen pop out fledglings?” Bakariquipped.

“Where?” Strom asked.

“Where do you think?” the former Burgonqueried.

“The last place we’d think to look,”Leveche said, grinning.

“Where?” Shanee asked.

“R-9,” Bakari and Leveche said at the sametime.

“Let’s go,” Shanee said, getting to herfeet.

“I know you’re anxious to get him back,”Bakari said, “but he’s pretty heavily guarded.”

“Why?” Polemusa asked. “We thought it washis mother who took him.”

“It is,” Bakari stated.

“How did you find him, Burgon?” thearch-counselor asked from the vid-com.

Bakari nodded to the arch-counselor. “Howare you, Sebastian?”

“Quite well, Ry.”

“Although we dismantled the Reaper labs onR-9, the facility was still being used as a medical facility up until aboutfour months ago. I had them keep a minimum-security staff on hand via