Angel in Bronze Ch. 02

It seemed Trex and Eva had the ship to themselves as they went to the garden. Then up through the central portal, they found the others. In the stream, two nearly identical Tenkaru males laughed while they wrestled and splashed in the cold water. A female sat in the branches of one of the trees. She was eating a piece of fruit and laughing along with the other two.

For a second, Eva felt embarrassed. She covered her breasts and pinched her legs together, wanting to cover her nudity. Everyone was naked though, and no one was shy about it. It didn't take her long at all to drop her hands and relax.

Their simple playing made Eva giggle, but her own smile dropped abruptly when all three Tenkaru fell silent and turned to stare at her. The woman in the tree immediately jumped to the ground. Her walk was full of grace and menace, eyes narrowed with fierce suspicion. This woman was a bird of prey, and Eva had never felt more like a mouse.

"So," the female Tenkaru purred. "Our Nevvari is human now." She stalked a circle around Eva, then stood directly in front of her. She was taller than Eva and leaned forward, close enough so Eva could feel her breath. She growled, "Nevvari was my heart-sister."

Eva struggled with herself, trying to access Nevvari's memories of this woman, but she was suddenly terrified of saying the wrong thing. "R-really?" she managed to squeak. "That's um... I-I'm s-sorry?"

Eva tried to back away, but the Tenkaru woman grabbed her arm in a firm grip. She frantically turned to look for Trex's help, but he only watched with his arms casually folded across his chest. Whatever happened, this was Eva's fight. "Look at me!" the woman snapped, and Eva did as she was told.

The Tenkaru female looked deep into Eva's eyes, trying to find the woman she had once known. When Eva noticed the fine line of tears in the other woman's eyes, she became less afraid. The Tenkaru growled, "What's my name, human?"

The name swam to the surface of her thoughts. "Zaine. Your name is Zaine."

Zaine's expression softened, but only slightly. She gave Eva a little more space and said, "You tell me something. You say something to me that only Nevvari would."

Eva had no idea what to say, then words suddenly started coming out of her mouth. "When was the last time you brushed your hair? Are birds nesting in there?"

Oh my gods! Eva thought, what the hell am I saying?! But she couldn't stop. The next sentence to fly from her lips was, "Your breath smells like ogre feet."

Eva clamped both of her hands over her mouth before she could say anything else. With her eyes alone, she pleaded for Zaine's forgiveness. Zaine's face twitched, and Eva hoped Trex would save her if the woman tried to kill her. Then the Tenkaru's face broke into a tearful grin. She grabbed Eva in both arms and hugged the breath from her lungs.

When Zaine stepped back, she took Eva's bra from out of her sash and handed it to her. She said, "I found this. What is it for?"

Eva blushed, and brought the garment up to cup her breasts, demonstrating its use. "You wear it to hold your boobs up."

Zaine took the bra back and held it up to her own chest. The Tenkaru woman frowned and innocently asked, "Why?"

"Um," Eva thought about it. "I don't know, really."

Zaine snorted and tossed the bra aside. "Humans are even weirder than they used to be."

"You have no idea." Eva replied.

The tension dissolved instantly. The brothers had watched from their place in the stream, but they approached her as soon as Zaine let her breathe. They smiled at her, and each held out a hand for her to take. "You remember us, right?" the taller of the two asked.

Eva nodded, pointing at the brother who spoke, she said, "You're Skerra." Then to his brother, "And you're Skyah."

"Other way 'round." Skerra said. "Nevvari would never have mixed us up that way."

She frowned, about to apologize, when Skyah quietly asked, "Do you remember Skerra is a shithead?"

The Tenkaru laughed, and Eva joined in shortly after. Skerra then leaned in to kiss Eva's cheek. He said, "Eva-Nevvari, our queen, welcome home!" He stepped back with hands spread wide to turn in a grandiose gesture. Then he shrugged and concluded, "Such as it is, anyway."

They all went back to playing and eating their breakfast, like nothing had happened. Trex put his arm around Eva's shoulders and said, "That went better than expected." He further introduced their friends by caste. "Zaine is War Caste. Skyah is Shadow, and Skerra is Lore. They will help us rescue your heart-brother."

Eva smiled and nodded, then she asked, "Where's Anuk?"

Behind her, a bored voice answered, "He's making a fucking hole in the hull." She turned and Anuk, who was just coming up from below, gave her a polite bow. "Forgive the language, my queen. But you have no idea how it pains me to do this to my ship."

Skerra cheerfully asked, "What's the hole for again, Anuk?" Skyah playfully swept his brother's legs out from under him, and Skerra came up sputtering water.

Anuk ignored the brothers and looked to Trex. "My king, survey drones report a point buried beneath the least amount of debris. I hate to cut into the ship like this, but it is the most direct way. I have set demolitions to the task, and will have your way out in a few hours." The disgruntled engineer bowed again before going below to return to his drones.

Trex called, "Tenkaru, gather. We have a rescue mission to plan."

The group huddled while Eva used a stick to draw a rough map in the soil. She said, "To leave the dig site, Ellsworth had to travel on foot over some tough terrain. There's a small village between here and the main road. He's probably got a carriage waiting for him in the village, though."

Zaine asked, "Is it just him and your friend, or is he guarded?"

"An Advocatus doesn't travel without at least one guard, though they usually try to underplay their muscle. I'd guess a cheap thug for hire, maybe two or three if he's nervous."

Trex nodded and said, "We'll take him here." He pointed to the road between the village and the main highway. He looked at Zaine and Skyah saying, "You know the routine: hard, fast, and one gets away to play messenger. I want Ellsworth alive. He will provide useful information."

Eva said, "Trex, I don't know the routine. What do I do?"

He frowned at her, "You stay here, where you are safe, until I return with your friend."

"Bullshit!" Eva snapped.

Trex began, "Eva, listen..."

"No, you listen! Ru's in this because of me. I'm going."

Skerra laughed and said, "I like you!"

Zaine added her own support with, "My king, nothing will harm Eva-Nevvari, not while I'm alive. Never again."

Then Skyah shrugged and murmured, "It's her fight, Trex."

Trex roared, "She does not even know how to fight!"

"So I'll teach her, damn it!" Zaine yelled back at him.

Eva and the Tenkaru all started arguing at once. Suddenly, Skerra took to the air. He had a large stone in his hands, and when he reached the domed ceiling he hit it with the rock. The clanging echoed loudly, and it silenced everyone in mid-shout. Calmly, Skaerra rejoined them and said, "We vote. Those in favor of Eva-Nevvari going with us?"

All of the Tenkaru except for Trex raised a hand. When Eva didn't vote for herself right away, Skerra gently took her arm and lifted it. Skerra's voice was low and sly as he asked, "Do you deny the will of your people, King Trexien?"

Trex sighed, "Fine." Turning to Eva, he instructed, "You will stay out of the violence. Rupert Ashley is your task. Am I understood?"

"Yes," Eva said with a grin. "And thank you, Trex."

They leaned over her map again to further solidify their rescue plan. Then Zaine and Skyah went below to prepare. Skerra was about to follow them when Trex stopped him. "Skerra Lore Caste, this small mission is the first maneuver in a war against the Order of the Chosen. Eva-Nevvari should know where the gods of her enemies come from."

Skerra bowed to his king. When Trex left the garden, Skerra sat before Eva and smiled. "Do you like stories?" he asked.

"Yes, I'd love a story!"

The storyteller nodded and began. "Once, when the multiverse was still warm from its birthing, the divines gathered together to create a perfect realm. They made a world in absolute balance. Every part knew its own place, and all things existed in one harmony. It was this way for eons, until the gods desired something more.

"They each added a part of themselves to their new creation. When their design was complete, they gazed lovingly into the eyes of their two beautiful sons. One son was called Tenka, and he was given dominion over the daytime and the air. The other was called Elo, and he was granted the nighttime and the water. Though the divines loved them, their sons were not perfect. One was always jealous of the other, so Tenka and Elo fought and fought.

"Tenka and Elo shook their beloved Arcadia apart, until there was nothing left but tiny islands floating miles away from each other on an endless sea. The brothers destroyed the gods' perfected world, as they tried to destroy one another. Finally, the divines brought their sons before them, and they said, 'Together, you bring everything you touch to ruin. So, Tenka, you go this way. And Elo, you go that way.'

"The brothers were cast out into the multiverse to find new homes, far from one another. Tenka learned his lesson about jealousy and fighting. So, when the Tenkaru meet other sentients, they share, they learn, and they teach. Elo kept his anger and let it grow. When the Eloua meet other sentients, they lie. 'We are gods', they say, 'You must serve us.'"

The 'verse is not as big as it once was. Sometimes, Tenka and Elo meet each other. When they do, the brothers always fight. And like the gods said, when they are together everything they touch is ruined."

Skerra grew quiet, and Eva knew his story was at an end. She sat there with him, neither of them saying anything for several minutes. Then Eva broke the silence. "The Eloua are here, too. They're the ones who knocked your ark to the ground? They're the Chosen's new gods?"

Skerra smiled sadly and nodded his response. By way of encouragement, he said, "The 'new gods' were new two hundred years ago. Their lies were still fresh. But lies go bad in the daylight, and there's a lot of daylight in two hundred years."

She looked into his eyes and asked, "You're suggesting a human rebellion?"

Again, she saw his quick, sly grin, "You look pretty rebellious to me."

On impulse, Eva leaned forward and hugged Skerra. Her spirit told her that Nevvari had loved the storyteller, and Eva loved him as well. She kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you, Skerra."

"Anytime, my queen."

*****

Eva and Trex were last to arrive at the ambush point. She could just barely make out the glowing skin of the other Tenkaru in the distance. They had taken up positions in the trees to either side of the road. Having to carry her slowed Trex down, but Eva felt responsible for what happened to Ru. She needed to help with his rescue. If she thought about it, she also needed her piece of revenge.

Trex said, "Remember the plan, love. Stay out of the fight, and wait until we have subdued the enemy. Then you can release your friend."

They approached Ellsworth's carriage, and Trex swooped in low behind it. When she was ready, Eva let go of him. She hit the ground running, and watched Trex swerve up to join his kin. Eva kept a steady pace behind the carriage, unconcerned at the distance growing between herself and the faster moving vehicle, because she knew it would stop soon.

Moving in unison, the other three leapt from their perches in the trees, following Trex's lead. They glided down, swarming the carriage. One landed on the roof, two to the sides, and Trex landed in front of the horses. With glowing skin, wings spread to their fullest, Trex roared at the oncoming vehicle.

Eva had gotten to know Trex well over the past few days, and she saw him as a lighthearted and gentle sort of being. So much so that his roar startled her, even though she knew the plan was to scare the holy hell out of Ellsworth and his men.

The horses reared against their harness and screamed, bringing the carriage to a shaking halt. The driver screamed along with his animals and lost his hold on the reins. On the roof, Skerra stomped and howled a feral whoop of laughter. He snatched up the terrified driver and dragged the human to the top of the carriage with him. He pinned the man there while he continued his insane cackle. Meanwhile, Zaine and Skyah closed in on the side doors of the car.

Eva grinned at Ellsworth's shout, "Can't you dumb brutes tell we've been ambushed by highwaymen? What the hell am I paying you for? Get out there and do your job, damn it!"

The guardsman on the right opened his door, and his face met Zaine's fist. She "assisted" him from the cab by grabbing a handful of his shirt and dragging him out. The man stood up, took a fighting stance, and then suddenly paused as his head cleared and he got a good look at his opponent. Zaine gave him a minute before she asked, "You over it yet?"

He answered with, "Die, demon," punctuated with a hooked fist to her gut. She saw it coming and braced, taking the impact on her solid abdominals. The punch hurt him more than it did her, but he drew back to swing again. This time he went for her face. He was a big man, obviously used to getting his way by brute force.

Zaine pivoted while grasping her opponent's arm, maneuvering his own momentum against him. He stumbled forward, his face reddening with rage and mounting humiliation. She laughed and kicked the man's rump, making him scramble to keep from hitting the dirt.

Trexien snapped, "Zaine, stop playing!"

Zaine frowned, but she obeyed her king's command. She took her cestus in hand, and bent to her task. While the man was still trying to regain his balance, Zaine grabbed his head and planted her blade at the base of his skull. With a slight twist to the left and right, the man's spinal cord was severed, and her job was done.

While Zaine bullied the guard on the right, Skyah pressed his back to the left side of the car and waited. When the human stepped down onto the road, he was surprised by a sharp elbow in the sternum. Silenced by a stunned diaphragm, the guard died quick and quiet when Skyah's blade slipped between his ribs. Then the Tenkaru scout stepped up into the cab.

Inside the carriage, Ellsworth screamed, "Abomination! Back to the hells that spawned you, foul fiend!" And Skyah was forcefully shoved out of the cab and back onto the road.

The enraged Advocatus followed him out, brandishing a heavy scepter. Skyah simply rolled out the way of the blow. Then from the top of the cab, Skerra brained Ellsworth's bald pate with the pommel of his blade. The man fell and Skyah glared up at his grinning twin brother.

"I had him," Skyah snarled.

"Sure you did," Skerra giggled, "but I got him."

Skyah shot back with a brotherly, "Asshole."

Zaine and Skyah picked up the guardsmen and the Advocatus like sacks of garbage, and dragged them towards the waiting Trexien. On top of the cab, Skerra continue to hold onto to the driver. The man had started to weep, and the Tenkaru murmured words at him. Whether those words were comfort or threat, Eva neither knew nor cared. The fight was over, and she had to get to Ru.

She climbed inside the carriage and found her friend bound to the seat. His head hung heavy, but he was breathing. It looked like he'd tried to fight them, for the knuckles of his right hand were broken, and there was blood under his nails. She lifted his face in her hands. His forehead was bruised and swollen, as were his cheek and lip.

Ru's head lolled to the side, and he blinked at her. He slurred, "Eva? You're sh-posed ter be dead." He stared at her, clearly drugged out of his mind and cried, "Oh no! Yer undead! Are you a zh-ombie, Eva?"

She quipped, "Yeah, I'm a zombie, Ru. Now hush."

Ru wouldn't hush, though. He wept loudly while she got him untied and started to lift him onto her shoulder to haul him out. He sobbed, "If you want to eat my brain, Eva, I jusht want you to know it's ok. I undershtand."

"Ru?"

"Yesh, Eva?"

"Shut up."

"Mm-kay." Ru was quiet for a few seconds as Eva set him down on his own feet. He was wobbly, but with her help, he could shuffle along beside her. Then he murmured, "You don't have any clothes on, Eva."

"Tenkaru don't wear clothes."

"Ah, well makes shense." They approached Trex and the others, and Ru got a good look at his rescuers. He cried, "Oh, holy shit!" Then he passed out again.

Trexien nodded to his gathered assembly and gave further instructions. "Zaine, you carry Rupert. Skyah, you take Eva-Nevvari. I will conduct the Advocatus myself." He looked to the top of the cab and said, "Skerra, once we're clear, let the survivor go free."

He looked then at the weeping carriage driver, "You've been spared for a purpose. Go home, hug your offspring, and make love to your mate. And you tell your people what happened here. Tell them that hell has come for the Order of the Chosen."

Passing Ru's care over to Zaine, Eva said, "Thank you. And you should know they've drugged him with something. I'll apologize in advance if he pukes on you."

"That's alright," Zaine said, "You know, he's kind of a cute little guy, isn't he?" The female Tenkaru was gentle with Ru, cradling him like a child as she took to the air.

She turned to Trex and asked, "See you soon?"

"I will be right behind you, love. I would carry you myself, but this human is too heavy for Zaine or Skyah."

"I know," Eva said. She hugged Trex and kissed him, then she stepped into Skyah's waiting arms.

Skyah turned his brother and smirked, "I get to carry the queen. All you can do is babysit."

Skerra blew a raspberry at Skyah. Regardless of the circumstances, the silly gesture made Eva laugh. Then her breath caught when Skyah leapt into the night sky.

* * * * *

Skyah took Eva home, then he went back outside to wait for his brother. She felt it odd to think of the Tenkaru colony ark as home, because she'd only lived there for a few days. Having Ru around might make it feel even more like home, but she worried about how she had left things with him. He'd been her best friend, and when he'd asked her to marry him, Eva had told him no. She was nervous about the wall between them, and how it would affect their future with the Tenkaru.

She and Skyah came home right behind Zaine and Ru. The female Tenkaru didn't set Ru down, but went straight for the ramp leading to the lower decks. Eva had to run to keep up, and she called out, "Zaine, where are you taking him?"

Zaine said over her shoulder, "He needs a healer. Fuck if I know what they drugged him with, but he's goofy as hell, and he's all banged up. He needs help." She paused and seemed to consider her words for a minute, then added, "By your leave, my queen?"

"What? Oh, yeah." Eva squared her shoulders and nodded, "Yes, take him to a healer." She couldn't help but notice the way Zaine looked at Ru, the way she cradled his body in her arms. "And, Zaine," she shrugged, saying, "Ru's goofy anyway."

Zaine flashed a grin at Eva and turned back toward the ramp. Eva started to follow her, but then she heard Ellsworth's voice behind her. The man seemed none the worse for wear after the conk on the head, for he was spouting expletives. The indifferent Trexien had bound him in his own robes, and Ellsworth was spitting outrage at the indignity.

Trex dropped his burden on the floor and turned to Eva. He took her in his arms and kissed her. Ellsworth shrieked at her, "You bitch! You witch! You traitorous, demon fornicating, whore!"