Twisting Sanity Read online

  Four Alguth flew toward them, landing in their path and stopping their progress.

  The male in charge lifted his head and addressed Solouk. “Why have you come here? You have no place among us.”

  Windy cocked her head. “You are exceptionally rude, and I do not believe that you are allowed to speak that way in the presence of a female.”

  The male paled when she spoke Alguth, and he bowed. “My Queen. We had no idea that you were...”

  She ended his dangling sentence. “Standing in front of you? Here to have a dialogue with your queen?”

  He nodded. “Yes. The last one.”

  “Fine. Lead us in. You may fly ahead, but we are going to your city, and we will speak with your queen.”

  “Yes, my Queen. One of my men will go ahead, and I will walk with you as escort to forestall any other mistakes on our part.”

  Windy nodded and began to move forward. The messenger flew off, and when they rounded a corner a few minutes later, she saw a heavily populated Alguth city. It was breathtaking.

  The air was full of fliers. The ground had females with no wings running shops and engaging in tasks. These females had a serious expression, and their hair was tied in thick braids down either side of their faces. They wore long tunics and generally looked like every Monday that Windy had ever seen. It was depressing.

  The central building here was where they were going, and now that the city was occupied, she could see the use for the buildings surrounding the main tower.

  The guards in front of her straightened when a woman wearing silks and gems stepped out of the entryway, walking toward them and causing a flurry of activity.

  Windy looked at the woman who was about four inches taller than she was but had midnight hair and rainbow eyes. “Queen Miakha. How pleasant to meet you. I am Windy, and this is Lucky. May we speak with you for a moment?”

  The queen blinked and smiled slowly. “I have spoken with one who said she was of your kind, but she was much taller. Your males look appealing. This specimen is very striking.”

  Windy wanted to defend Doros, but instead, she inclined her head. “They are rather appealing. As are your males. We have two with us who are demonstrations of different levels of the repairs we can engage in. One has been healed completely, and his skin has been tinted to match its original colouration. If it weren’t for the strength in the wings, you would never know he had been repaired.”

  She beckoned to Thanadon, and he looked rather embarrassed.

  Miakha blinked and stared. “Thanadon? You were butchered. I saw it.”

  “Yesterday, I came to the Cursed City with the help of friends, and they healed me. They helped me with no question, and I now owe them my allegiance.”

  Miakha drew herself up. “You are one of mine. You are a junior consort.”

  Windy stepped up and put herself between Miakha and Thanadon. “You discarded him when he lost his physical perfection. We replaced it. Lucky’s partner, Solouk, was also one of those who were taken from the Cursed City. He has been upgraded with every bit of tech and every program we could arrange.”

  Miakha blinked and frowned. “Demonstrate.”

  Lucky took Solouk’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He winked and took to the sky with an astonishing rush of speed.

  The queen gasped. They watched as he flew to the trees and his wings sliced the branches and the tops off the wooden targets. He gathered the branches up before they fell and stacked the bundle on the ground next to their group. He then flew over Doros and extended his arm as he hovered. Doros grabbed the limb and Solouk flew them in a rapid swirl around the sky beneath the dome.

  Miakha had her hand over her mouth in shock. “He can carry a male of that size?”

  “Technically two of them for a short period and one for a more extended flight.”

  Doros was placed back where he started, and Solouk showed off his new camouflage during his flight.

  “How is he doing that?”

  Lucky smiled. “I programmed the nanites in the mask and stripe pattern. It makes him harder to hit.”

  Miakha blinked. “How can I get these alterations to my consorts?”

  Windy smiled. “You can’t. These men have been through maiming and torture that they knew would have them ejected from your society. They are ours now, but we have several of them who have not found partners, and they might be willing to take on a position as consort.”

  “Can they carry children?”

  “We would assure that they would, but we will ask and see how many wish to be offered for consideration. If they would like to be considered as consorts, you would be able to choose from their files.”

  “The men do not choose; they do as their queens command.” Miakha nearly puffed up with indignation.

  “They are doing their queens’ command. We are in charge of their lives and welfare; they are ours, not yours. Not anymore.”

  “Why are you here? Are you taunting me with what I cannot have?”

  “No, I have come to tell you that if there are any others who are damaged or injured, they may come to the Cursed City and we will replace their wings, heal their limbs, and let them fly again.” She said her peace with the headset broadcasting throughout the central square.

  Miakha blinked. “What was that?”

  “Oh, nothing. We have been pleased to meet you, and we are delighted that you are in such good health. I wish you luck, many strong children, and a line of consorts to serve you.”

  Miakha nodded. “I wish you the same.”

  Windy nodded to Lucky, and they herded their men back the way they had come.

  Doros whispered, “I am not sure, did that go well?”

  “It went very well. We had the full attention of the citizenry, and they were listening.”

  Solouk was arm in arm with Lucky, and he murmured to her, “Only twelve more to go.”

  Cursing would have been appropriate, but Windy kept it in until they were back in the shuttle and on the way to the next city. This week was going to suck.

  Chapter Twelve

  Doros was rubbing her shoulders, and she groaned. “How can women so pretty be so bitchy?”

  “Welcome to what men have been asking themselves for thousands of years, and yet, we can’t stay away.”

  It was done. Every enclosed city on Alguth had been notified that they were there and willing to do repairs on damaged citizens. The trickle that was coming into the Cursed City was heartening. Cracker was keeping busy, and so far, eight Alguth had been able to fly back to their homes, looking like they were whole once again.

  She grunted as he found a particularly knotted bit of shoulder. “It sucks. Those women are unpleasant.”

  “True. Have you had many of ours who want to return to their cities?”

  “No. Not until the Splice are taken care of. None of them want to risk fighting while they are carrying the next generation. It is responsible of them, and I admit, having them on our side during a fight will be handy.”

  “You are thinking that the Splice will be coming here?”

  “I know it. I can hear them. They are still chasing the array and me.”

  He paused and leaned forward to look her in the eye. “Why you?”

  “I have the key to wrecking their incoming shuttles and ruining their incursions. I can’t be more than one place at one time, but if I am here and they kill me, they can stop worrying.”

  “The Splice worry?”

  “Oh, yeah. They worry. They are fighting for their survival, but like most bullies, they were never expecting to find someone more savage than they were.”

  He finished working on her back, and he flicked her hair over her shoulder to hang down her spine again. Her hair was growing rapidly. “There you go.”

  “Thanks. The nanites can only do so much.”

  The was a flood of activity around them as men worked out, drilled and the Alguth cyborgs doing sprints from ground to sky and back again.

  The Curs
ed City was alive with tense energy. The men on the ground were waiting for action, and Windy knew that they wouldn’t have to wait long.

  The Splice were coming, and she was waiting to see where they were going to attack.

  Windy grunted and got to her feet, taking Doros’s arm for the walk to the food dispenser. She was small, and the guys tended to get too close when she crossed the span during their exercises.

  “You seem to have finished your adaptation.” Doros spoke softly.

  “I have. Everything is back where it was supposed to be. It is a little odd to think that if I didn’t move and barely breathed, my body had enough fat and muscle on it to last for all those years.”

  “You did get supplements. Not enough, but there were supplements hooked to you.”

  “I know. I just associate my condition by being completely helpless. I didn’t care for it.”

  “You weren’t helpless. You were able to drive the Splice out of the array over and over.”

  “True. Thanks for that. It makes it slightly better.”

  “You are welcome, but it was true. I unhooked you myself, and Buddy did the analysis. The electrolyte solution was weak, but it slowed your degradation.”

  She nodded and nearly sprinted for the coffee bar. She had a sudden craving for anything that she could consume directly.

  “You do turn to coffee when you are upset.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “It was four years with no food, no water. Coffee was the thing I missed more than anything. I could smell it when you spoke to me that first time, and I nearly cried.”

  He chuckled. “I would apologize, but I had no idea what your situation was. You were my assignment, and I must say that it was a shock to see the condition you were in.”

  She snorted. “I know. You hacked your way through the systems of Splice ships to find me.”

  “I did. I also found the traces of the Earth ship that was on the array. That is what finally helped me locate you.”

  “Oh. Oh...” She remembered now. “The two guys who hooked me into it. Their ship. I remember now.”

  “It was registered at Adaptation Station, and I was able to follow it’s path. That is how I found you.”

  She smiled. “I am glad you did. It was dreadfully boring with only the data stream for company.”

  “I am glad I could break things up for you.”

  She nudged him with her hip, and they watched the exercises that the men had fallen into without any formal direction. A glance upward showed Lucky and Solouk on a slow patrol of the forest around them.

  “Why did your expression just fall?”

  “In the next six hours, we are going to be facing combat, and I don’t know where they are going to strike.”

  Doros straightened. “What?”

  “They are coming. They are at the array, and I can hold them off for a while, but they will be here soon enough.”

  He nodded. “Do what you can.”

  She grimaced and sent the signal through the station. She kept it cycling until the Splice were lying on the ground and twitching.

  “They are coming now. They have locked onto my signal and are on the way down.”

  “How many?” Doros looked at her.

  “Two warships. They will be here in ninety minutes. They are definitely coming for the Cursed City.”

  “Right. Do you want to tell them, or shall I?”

  She gave him a dark look and activated the coms around the city. “Gentlemen and Cracker and Lucky. The Splice are on their way to this settlement. They will be here within ninety minutes, and I would suggest that we gear up and prepare. We have two incoming warships will full complements of personnel. I am going to try and work my way through their ship to reduce the numbers a little.”

  The men looked at her, nodded, and everyone calmly moved to battle stations. The shuttles were manned and lifted off into a defensive posture. Cracker and Lucky got the med unit up and fully supplied.

  “Windy, are you going to go anywhere?”

  She shook her head with a smile. “I am already there.”

  Windy reached into the ships, and she sang her song of laughter and madness. It was the gift that the Splice had given her, and she was merely returning it. Regifting had never been so satisfying.

  Forty minutes later, the warships entered the atmosphere and skidded in sideways. There was no way to catch them, so the shuttles worked to strike them and keep them from crushing any of the domed cities.

  Windy waited for the reports.

  She got up, and she paced, fretting as kilometers in the distance, her small contingent of men were entering the ships.

  She finally got the message.

  “The Splice are incapacitated and are being dispatched. We have human and Alguth survivors in the hold, and... there are children.”

  “Bring all survivors back to the city. We are preparing a set of primers and will be ready when you land.”

  “Yes, Windy. On the way, as soon as we collect them.”

  “Triage your ass off.”

  There was a weak chuckle. “Yes, ma’am.”

  A hum in the air got her attention, and to her surprise, the Alguth cyborgs were all in the air and heading for the ships. The wounded began to be flown back, cradled in the arms of the aliens who had been in the same position at one point in their lives.

  Windy walked over to Lucky, “The Alguth are bringing in the wounded. There are children involved.”

  Cracker overheard and fired up her machine shop. “We have painkillers and primers ready. We will knock them out if we have to.”

  As Windy watched, Cracker’s leggings moved, and the silver trim came loose and took up a position behind Cracker’s head reminiscent of cobras.

  “Okay, that is new.”

  Cracker grinned. “Very useful. They are my favourite adaptation so far.”

  Doros was out in the courtyard, and he caught the first one of the wounded, running them into the med center before going out to catch another. It was a hellish relay, but it let the Alguth remain airborne.

  Other men who had remained at the base mimicked Doros, and soon, the med center was humming at full capacity. Cracker was measuring for custom limbs, and Windy was responsible for installing primers and keeping the nanite tanks topped up. Lucky took charge of the med unit and kept it running smoothly.

  It was a wild eight hours, and they had managed to complete ninety-eight percent of the repairs without incident. The three children under the age of nine were difficult to work on, and they kept going into shock. Only time would tell if they were going to pull through. Cracker had to keep an eye on their growth levels, and they would need constant maintenance until they were adults, including several replacements of all missing limbs. It was a grim future for them, but better than no future at all.

  Windy finally staggered up to her quarters and opened her window to stare out at the stars.

  “The children were found.” Lacey’s voice was grim. Buddy’s body walked slowly into the room.

  “They were. They are still touch and go, but we have high hopes that they will make it.”

  “That is something. If they don’t make it, don’t think of what you could have done differently. There was nothing. This is all at the feet of Earth Defense. They have been feeding the Splice for fourteen months, and no one on the planet is the wiser.”

  Windy dragged in a deep breath. “It is horrible to want to kill your own kind.”

  “I am sure—”

  “No. Me. I want to fucking kill them all. I want to kill them for me, for you, for the teens with Alphy, and for those little ones who are being watched around the clock. We didn’t sign up for this. I never wanted to fight the Splice, I just wanted to run the coms. You wanted to make friends and make deals. This was not what we trained for.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We went to war, and we found it. We will be different when this is all over, but I am betting that we will still be alive. That makes us different from
so many who charged in and met their deaths and others who were traded for political expedience.” Lacey was stern. “We are going to survive. On paper, we have already been killed once, so let’s just defy all the odds and keep ourselves moving forward.”

  Windy looked at Buddy. “Will I see you soon?”

  “Soon. The hunter that Alphy pinned to me is on the world I am currently on. He’s good. I am just about to go meet him.”

  “Have fun but not too much fun.”

  Lacey laughed ruefully. “That is not much of a danger.”

  Windy repeated something she had heard in Kalusko City. “I hear that you are eight feet tall now.”

  “More or less. Sometimes more, sometimes less.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “The Splice tried to get creative. I will explain it when we meet. Cracker is going to have her work cut out for her. I am a mess.”

  Windy nodded. “I wish you well in your endeavours.”

  “Keep watching the sky. I will be with you soon.” Lacey shut her voice off, and Buddy blinked, bowed, and trundled out.

  Windy sighed and looked around. She was a mess herself, and she needed someone. She walked over to Doros’s home, and she entered his bedroom and peeled off her suit. Her friend was sitting up in bed, but he didn’t say anything as she climbed into his embrace, and she silently cried while he held her. When the tears for the children had dried, she turned in his arms, and he held her tight as she fought her way into sleep. It wasn’t calming, and it wasn’t restful, but for tonight, she wasn’t alone.

  A war wasn’t won over a desk with documents, it was won when the numbers on one side overwhelmed the other. Tomorrow, she would rise to deal with the horror all over again... and if she were lucky, the pattern of her days would eventually change.

  Things had to get brighter eventually.

  Author’s Note

  Whew. One lady left to go. Lacey has had a hard time, but she has managed to rise above it. Heh. You will see.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace