Roihan Read online

  Roihan

  Cyborg Warriors Book 2

  The Ardak Chronicles

  Immortal Angel

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Roihan

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Fallen Press, Ltd.

  Copyright © 2018

  Editor: AW Editing

  Copyeditor: Anne-Marie Rutella

  Proofreader: Lisa Howard-Fusco

  Cover Designer: Jonathan Melody

  ISBN: 978-1-948243-01-8

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the author.

  Dedication

  For my mother.

  Bunnicula.

  Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.

  A Wrinkle in Time.

  The Chronicles of Narnia.

  The Girl with the Silver Eyes.

  No Flying in the House.

  The Neverending Story.

  Writers always begin as readers,

  and I believe I have you to thank for much of that.

  Because of you, I have wings.

  Immortal Angel

  Chapter One

  Roihan

  Roihan blinked.

  “Roihan, are you there? Anyone?”

  There was that voice again.

  “Tordan?”

  There was a long silence. Then the voice boomed inside his head again.

  “Cyborgs. You’re free. But I-I can’t hold on. The crystal is pulling me into it. Find my elf. Help her win this war against the Ardaks. Tell her I love her . . .”

  “What? Tordan, wait!”

  Roihan screamed inside his head. “Where are you? What’s going on?” He remembered the march to Renwyn, coming to the underground tunnels, almost as if he’d been sleepwalking. But once he was there and everyone was lined up for battle, everything had gone hazy.

  “Tordan?”

  But there was no answer.

  His best friend was gone.

  And Roihan had a pounding headache.

  How long did those Ardaks use hard override on us?

  That was the only thing that would explain the pain in his skull and the haziness of his recent memory.

  He tried to grab for his head, and realized he had a sword in his right hand only a second before he took his own eye out.

  The roar of an Ardak came from right in front of him. His eyes caught a glint of metal and he instinctively raised his sword. Images of the seven-foot-tall, brutally intelligent jungle cats flitted through his mind, with their razor-sharp claws that disemboweled and fangs that beheaded their enemies in one powerful bite.

  The Ardak’s body clashed against his armor, and he smelled its fetid breath against his face. It had been thrown into him rather than charging at him, but that didn’t make it any less deadly. He tried to remember the weaknesses in their armor, but the Ardak was too close for Roihan to use his sword.

  Why can’t I see?

  Through his haze, he told the chip to shift his vision, and everything took on a greenish hue.

  The sharp fangs of the Ardak came into focus, lunging toward his neck. He blocked the attack with his free arm, the tigerlike monster’s fangs penetrating his armor to sink deep into his flesh. He tried to back up, but he was against a wall of rock and there was nowhere to go.

  He growled in pain, kicking out with his foot to thrust the Ardak back against the rock wall of the tunnel. The fangs ripped the flesh of his arm before letting go, and Roihan brought his sword back with his other arm to thrust it home. The Ardak batted his arm away with one huge paw, but another cyborg came to help him, and the Ardak roared, springing into the gray darkness above him.

  Time slowed as his eyes followed the Ardak’s body upward into the air.

  It’s going to try to crush us.

  The clanking of swords and armor rang all around him and a chill came over him.

  I can’t die. Tordan told me to serve his elf, to help win the war.

  Then another thought came to mind: She needs me.

  He didn’t know where that thought had come from, but he didn’t have time to figure it out before a foot lashed out from his right, kicking him out of the way. The Ardak landed, and its roar ended in a hideous scream as it was penetrated by three swords, two elven blades and his own. He pulled his sword out of the Ardak’s body, thrusting it once more to be sure the giant beast was dead. Then he jumped between two elves to fight a second Ardak.

  The beast’s knife clashed against his armor, which was lightweight metal and leather, and Roihan’s sword seemed nearly indestructible as it clashed against Ardak metal and glanced off the rock of the tunnel.

  That’s what you bastards get for giving us—the slaves—your weapons.

  We were slaves!

  The knowledge burned through him, and a fresh desire for Ardak blood flowed through his veins. Each Ardak was surrounded by several elves and cyborgs, but the Ardaks were fighting with swords, fangs, and claws, teaming up to take on their enemies. Several Ardaks were gradually escaping down the tunnels as they got near the edges of the battle, and anger pulsed inside him. The cowards.

  A clash of swords drew his attention to the left, where a cyborg, along with a bunch of elves, was fighting an Ardak. But his movements were choppy, almost as if he couldn’t control them. What was he doing in the middle of the battle? He was going to get himself killed.

  Jumping into battle beside him, Roihan thrust his sword into the open spaces between them at first. He kicked several elves out of the way of the Ardak’s fangs and claws and then went for its neck and head once the space was more open. The other cyborg pierced through it at the same time as he brought his sword back and lopped its head off with one powerful blow. It collapsed with one last growling outward breath.

  After a moment, the clanking of swords, growls, and pained screams gradually died off. The Ardaks were either dead, or gone.

  Roihan turned to the cyborg beside him.

  “Simban,” the other man said, pointing at his chest.

  “Roihan.” He grunted. “Simban, you are one crazy son of a bitch.” The words were tinged with admiration. Simban had fought hard despite his broken chip. He wasn’t running away like those damned Ardaks.

  “Can’t help it.” The cyborg pointed at his head. “Chip broken. Must find Aielle.”

  Roihan nodded, searching the darkness for Tordan’s elf. The floor of the cave was littered with fallen cyborgs and elves. Some of the less injured were trying to help those who called out for aid in the darkness.

  “What have we done?” Roihan muttered. A wave of helpless anger burned through him at his subservience to the chip at the back of his neck.

  “Not you,” Simban answered. “Ardaks. And chip.”

  Those damn Ardaks. They made us kill the elves.

  The Ardaks had used the chip at the back of his neck somehow to control him, to give commands, and generate compulsion. He’d successfully freed himself from the Ardaks’ control several times, but if he got too close to the signal, it would take him over again.

  But he was free again, and the voices were gone. “Did Tordan stop the voices?” he asked Simban.

  Simban nodded. “Went for Ardak power crystal.”

  A surge of pain went through his chest as he thought of the only friend he’d had since becoming a cyborg. He remembered Tordan’s unspeakable rage, his rescue of the elf. He was glad Tordan had found love, if only for a brief time. His selfles
s act had saved everyone in this cave, freed the cyborgs, and taken down their weapons. If Tordan took their power crystal, it explained why they weren’t using their blasters. They no longer had the power to do so.

  He stared down at the fallen Ardak in front of him. Its death was brutal. But so were the Ardaks. They had been merciless during his enslavement.

  He spotted Tordan’s golden-haired elf many paces down the tunnel and pointed toward her. “She’s over there.”

  Simban had spotted her as well, and they started in her direction. The cyborgs they passed on the way were covered in blood, wearing dazed expressions.

  One stopped him. “What happened?”

  “You’ve been enslaved by the Ardaks, but now you’re free. The Ardaks made us fight the elves, but the elves weren’t our enemies.” Roihan gestured to the tunnel. “Please help some if you can. And if you see an Ardak, kill it.”

  Roihan started toward Aielle again.

  Where is my wife?

  He had remembered her before and was trying to remember more about her. He couldn’t remember her name. Or even her face. But he knew she was real. Knew he needed to find her.

  But that thought would have to wait for a moment, because he’d reached Aielle. She turned to him, her glowing green eyes bright with unshed emotion.

  “My lady?” He kept plenty of distance still between them to show he wasn’t a threat, but she remained guarded.

  “Yes?”

  “The cyborgs wish to pledge our service to you . . . in memory of Tordjin.” Roihan dropped his gaze toward the ground.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice tinged with fear.

  “I-I’m sorry, my lady. I forgot that you would have no way to know. Tordan freed us. But the crystal stole his mind. Before he faded, he asked us to serve you.”

  “He said . . . he loved you,” Simban offered from beside him.

  He shot the other cyborg a grateful look.

  Aielle reached into a leather bag she was holding and pulled out a crystal, and Roihan took a step backward. Simban did the same. They’d seen enough magic during this battle. But she didn’t acknowledge them or speak another word. She simply took off down the tunnel.

  “Where . . .” Simban began.

  Roihan shrugged. “Who knows?”

  Another elf came running over, his long, golden hair flying behind him. His armor was intricate and well made. The metal scales over his chest and shoulders graduated into a reinforced leather harness, which sheathed his torso and flared out around his thighs. The armor was deceptive, looking too simple when its flexibility was surpassed only by its protection in battle.

  “Hey! What did you say to my sister?” the elf demanded, his cold blue eyes assessing.

  “We gave her the message from Tordan. He asked us to serve her.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Roihan.” The name still didn’t sound quite right, even after all this time, but he couldn’t remember any other. “I guess.”

  The pointy-eared being nodded once. “Roihan I Guess, I’m Aefin. I saw you fight earlier. Good job helping us kill those Ardaks.” He raised a slender arm and pointed with his elven blade across the tunnel to the torso of the last one, which was still bleeding from its neck. “We could use your help either chasing the surviving cats or cleaning up this mess.”

  “I have to find my wife,” Roihan responded, and the elf looked taken aback.

  “Well, if she is one of your people, I know that several cyborgs went back to the base before this battle. I’m sure they will rescue them, if they can.”

  “If they can?” Roihan narrowed his eyes. “That isn’t good enough.”

  Aefin stared at him thoughtfully. “If Tordan spoke to you using the chip, maybe you can speak to them.”

  Why didn’t I think of that?

  “What are their names?”

  “Valdjan and Mordjan.”

  Roihan closed his eyes, trying to broadcast over the same frequency that Tordan had used. “Hello?” He repeated it several times, but there was no answer.

  He opened his eyes to see Simban laughing at him. “Why don’t you try?”

  Simban’s grin widened, and he smacked himself on the forehead. “Chip broken.”

  Roihan shook his head and tried again. “Valdjan? Mordjan?”

  After a few moments, there was a response. “Roihan? This is Valdjan. Roihan, come in.”

  “Valdjan?”

  “Roihan? Come in, dammit. Where are you? What’s happening?”

  He closed his eyes while he tried to answer with his mind. “Is this Valdjan? Can you hear me?”

  “Yes to both.” The other man’s voice was rather impatient. “But everyone can hear you on this channel, including the Ardaks. Did you all get free of the chips? What’s happening there? We didn’t hear anything because we were deep within the mountain.”

  “Yes, everyone is free. I’m in an underground tunnel with a bunch of elves. There was a huge battle here, but it’s over and the Ardaks have run away or been killed. I don’t think they have the power to tune in to the frequencies right now.”

  “Good. Tordan succeeded in that at least.”

  There was a brief silence.

  “We got the people from the Ardak base, and we’re heading for Renwyn. We’re in an underground tunnel now. I think we’re heading in your direction. We’ll be there as quickly as we can. Some of the women and children have seen better days.”

  “Son of a—should we come to you?”

  “No, you’ve probably got your hands full there. We’ll see you soon.”

  Roihan turned to Aefin, who was examining the fallen Ardak’s armor and weapons. “Valdjan has rescued the women and children from the Ardak base, and I guess they are coming here as we speak.”

  Aefin grabbed a ray gun and a few other things, then stood and nodded. “So, you can communicate with the other cyborgs in your head.”

  Roihan nodded. “I used the same frequency Tordan used to communicate with all of us.”

  “Can you ask the rest of them to help us carry the dead and injured out of here? Have them gather some weapons as well—even though they don’t work, we might be able to learn something about them. Everyone is welcome in Renwyn if they follow the tunnels due east.”

  Roihan examined the cave and then nodded. “We created this mess. Let us help you clean it up.”

  He wanted to find his wife, to make sure she was all right. But if she was with the other women and children, then she was heading in his direction, and his help was needed here. If she wasn’t, then he would have to find her if he could.

  A small frisson of fear went through him at the thought that he might not recognize her.

  He would try to remember while helping the elves.

  “What exactly do you need?”

  Chapter Two

  Aria

  Aria awoke with the familiar feeling of suffocation, her fingers clawing the low porous ceiling, her breaths coming quick and erratic, and a cold sweat covering her body.

  Breathe, Aria. Breathe.

  It was difficult to pull in the musty air of the dens where the Ardaks slept, much more so after a nightmare. Over a thousand Ardaks could be housed in the dens during space missions and the smell was overwhelming. Although, she supposed she should be used to it since she’d gotten her own sleeping den six months ago. She crawled out of the rounded space and stretched her neck and then her back and legs, thankful that the Ardak uniform was made of a flexible gray fabric.

  Chief Innovator DeathWatch, the Ardak lead scientist, said her nightmares were from the time before her rescue six months ago. The Ardaks had saved her from a dying planet, installing a chip into her head that made her forget her horrible past. She couldn’t remember a time before she’d been on the ship or a time before she’d had the chip.

  But the cybernetic implant also gave her amazing powers of communication, intelligence, and memory. She could communicate directly with the ship an
d direct download and assimilate new information almost instantly.

  She left the tall room of branching dens for a smaller corridor that connected to the living quarters of the ship and turned right down a corridor that led to the front of the ship.

  She had been told that the Ardaks had built the insides of their ships to mimic the jungles of their homeworld, Baihu, which was why the walls were made of a porous wood and the floor from stone. There was even a small, living jungle in the middle of the ship, and vines and plants grew in many unexpected places.

  “Good morning, Aria,” the ship’s system spoke aloud in its grumbling voice even though it didn’t need to.

  That was something that it had started to do only yesterday when it realized that the hours of silence had begun to wear on her.

  “Good morning, CXV1,” she replied. “Any word from General Slash or the commanders?”

  “No.”

  She winced at the abrupt answer.

  “There has been no communication with the ship from any external source.”

  Her shoulders slumped, and she changed direction to the laboratories. There was no point in going to the empty control center. “They were supposed to return tonight.”

  “That is correct.”

  “Then we were supposed to go over the plans for integration of the new power crystals,” she told the ship needlessly, just to fill the silence.

  “That is also correct.”

  “They’ve never lost contact for this long before.”

  “A third correct statement.”

  She frowned, not wanting to contemplate what their prolonged absence meant. If they didn’t return, maybe she would have to go outside. She knew the ship was docked on a planet, inside a mountain. But DeathWatch had cautioned her that the outside was full of dangerous predators and could be deadly to her.

  Aria reached the long corridor of laboratories, Chief Innovator DeathWatch’s pride and joy. There were over twenty laboratories devoted to different science and medical experimentations. Chief Innovator DeathWatch’s teacher had been the Grand Innovator CyberTech, who had been the first to create Ardak cyborgs.