Durstin Read online

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  Cyborg Warriors Book VI

  The Ardak Chronicles

  By 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.

  Durstin

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Fallen Press, Ltd.

  Copyright © 2019

  Editor: AW Editing

  Copyeditor: Anne-Marie Rutella

  Proofreader: Lisa Howard-Fusco

  Cover Designer: Jonathan Melody

  ISBN: 978-1-948243-05-6

  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.

  Other works by Immortal Angel

  Tovian: A Cyborg Warrior Tale

  Tordan: Cyborg Warriors Book I

  Roihan: Cyborg Warriors Book II

  Simban: Cyborg Warriors Book III

  Valdjan: Cyborg Warriors Book IV

  Mordjan: Cyborg Warriors Book V

  Durstin: Cyborg Warriors Book VI

  Tristin: Cyborg Warriors Book VII (November 2019)

  Zordan: Cyborg Warriors Book VIII (December 2019)

  For Jo

  Now you really do have wings.

  Immortal Angel

  Chapter One

  Durstin

  King Durstin awoke sweating and shaking, his eyes taking in the thousands of tiny glowing lights that dotted the ceiling above him, mimicking the stars. It looked like the night sky—but it wasn’t. The source were actually tiny glow bugs, their light a neon blue rather than the pure white of real stars. The rock ceiling graduated into rock walls, with an opening at the far end of the chamber. It took him several moments to remember where he was—and why.

  The Ardak invasion. The fight to the caves. The tunnel cave-in.

  “Was it the nightmare again?” Kiersten asked as she sat up beside him, beautiful even in the low light of the cave.

  His gaze settled on her face, where her green eyes took him in with their familiar glow, then moved down to the worn fabric of the gown she was using to sleep in.

  It had been almost five weeks since he’d led the River people from Vierten into the caves when the Ardak army had attacked their castle. All of them had kept extra bags packed with old clothing since the Ardak invasion for just such an occurrence. But they hadn’t counted on the tunnel cave-in the next day.

  The ground had seemed to shake from all directions, then settled, blocking their only way out. At first, they’d tried to dig around it, but the ground had only seemed to settle more. It was as if something huge had settled over the top of it.

  He’d sent other teams to explore the caves in different directions, trying to find a way out that didn’t require them to breathe the tainted air. But it was taking too long, and they hadn’t found another way out.

  “Yes. No,” he finally muttered. “I had a nightmare, but I think something else woke me. What time is it?”

  “Still the middle of the night.”

  They listened for a moment in total silence, and then shouts filtered through from the soldiers’ cave.

  “The damn soldiers are at it again. They probably still haven’t been to bed yet.”

  “Well, at least it wasn’t the nightmare, and at least the Ardaks haven’t found us, so we’re safe for now.” Her green eyes blinked up at him, somehow still shining in the near darkness of the waning firelight and glow bugs that lit the cave. Sometimes he could have sworn she seemed to glow. “But we are all still stuck down here. And the fights are getting worse.”

  Durstin threw aside the covers, tugging on his pants and then his leather and metal armor over the top, hooking the buckles. “The fights will continue to get worse until we find a way out of here.”

  The shouts grew louder, and she rose as well, quickly donning her clothes beside him. Her dress was plain, unlike the silken gowns she usually wore, and the boots she pulled on were made for comfort.

  “You don’t have to help with this,” he muttered while tying the laces of his boots.

  “I know,” she replied. “But my presence might calm them.”

  He snorted. “That isn’t the effect your presence has on me.”

  “You’re different.” She flashed him a brilliant smile that told him he had no say in the matter.

  “Are all the women of the River people as stubborn as you?” he asked, exasperated.

  “No, but then again, I’m adopted.” She winked and flung her long blond braid back over her shoulder. “And that’s why you love me.”

  She was right about that, dammit. Durstin could remember being told about when the king and his people had found her in the forest as a child. The king had sent men in several directions, even as far as the Mountain realm, but he’d never been able to find her people. When Durstin had left the Mountain realm to join the River people years later, he could see why they kept her. She was independent and had a stubborn streak within her that matched his own.

  To his chagrin, he found both of those attributes wildly attractive, and although one or both had caused him more moments of exasperation and occasionally outright terror than he could count, he wouldn’t change her. She was a fierce warrior, and also a healer, and he knew his men would sooner harm themselves than harm her.

  He eyed his armor and sword for a moment and then decided against it. Truth be told, he could use a good brawl just as much as anyone. Moments later they were striding down the short tunnel together toward the ever-increasing noise of angry warriors.

  Durstin stopped before the entrance to the next cave.

  Stephan, the leader of his army, and three other senior soldiers were waiting for him. Cahin, Duncan, and Finnian were all great fighters—they’d have this wrapped up in no time. He turned back to Kiersten. “Don’t come in until I have the situation under control, okay?” He kissed her on the forehead.

  Her jaw tightened, but she nodded reluctantly. “Why don’t you throw them out into the hall as you separate them? Divide and conquer usually works.”

  Durstin turned to Stephan, who cocked his head to the side. “That’s a good idea.”

  “It isn’t really a good idea,” Durstin amended, “but it’s probably the best one of all the other bad ideas we’ve had in the past week to keep the men calm during their forced confinement down here.”

  “You mean it’s better than painting murals on the cave walls?” Kiersten flashed him a grin. “Say it isn’t so.”

  Durstin snorted.

  “I’m still for the idea of cleaning and polishing all the weapons.” Stephan’s words drew a few smiles from the others.

  Durstin placed another quick kiss on Kiersten’s forehead before turning to Stephan. “Ready?”

  “You bet.” He smiled grimly.

  In that split second, Durstin took in the haggard faces of his men. The River people were a hardy sort but hiding underground didn’t suit their spirits. The bright blue eyes that characterized his people were turning darker with every passing day. At this point, even the strongest willed were chafing in the cold, cramped conditions, and the fear that clawed at them day and night wasn’t helping.

  Durstin turned and strode into the cave, and his men followed. Stephen shouted for everyone to be quiet, but the commotion was too loud for anyone to hear him. So, they began at the edge, separating the men and throwing them out into the hall.

  “All right! Break it up!” Durstin shouted loudly. He grabbed Galbrand and locked the man’s arms behind his back. The soldier strugg
led briefly, but then gave up when he saw who was restraining him.

  When he took Galbrand to the door, Kiersten was standing in the opening watching him, green eyes wide with excitement. She’d always loved to watch him spar. He gave her a look that promised they would do some sparring of their own later.

  He handed Galbrand out to her and turned back to the rest of the brawling mass, but thoughts of Kiersten made him lose his focus. He took several blows including one to the jaw that actually pissed him off. He punched back, knocking the man unconscious with the force of the blow.

  Cahin and Duncan were coolly efficient, joining Durstin and Stephan in taking down the men and handing them out into the hall. But Finnian was enjoying the brawl far too much for such quick resolution. He took the blows with great belly laughs and then pounded the men back with several punches of his own. When they’d finished with most of the others, Durstin nodded at Stephan and they waded into the battle around Finn, breaking it up. Durstin tossed him into the hall for good measure—shaking his head at Stephan’s smirk.

  Durstin walked back in to find all the men sitting around the walls of the cave, defeated and nursing their wounds. He gave them a few minutes of silence, then called the others back from the hall and took them all in with a stern look. “What the hell started this?”

  “Cordon was trying to drink the clear water,” Roland accused. He was a younger man, barely out of his teens. He’d lost his father to the first Ardak invasion, and the weight of being the head male for his mother and two sisters was wearing on him.

  Cordon had the good sense to look abashed. “I woke up thirsty—forgot that there was so little left,” he mumbled.

  “Yeah right,” another man snorted.

  “Well, it looks like you stopped him, so there’s no harm done. And these fights are only making this terrible situation worse. Are we men or are we animals, dammit?”

  “It hardly matters now, sir,” Roland cried. “We’re almost out of food, and since the water turned red, we’re all going to die anyway.”

  Their fear was justified, and it was also one Durstin struggled with. The water in their underground aquifer had been clear, but yesterday, the belowground river feeding it had turned pink and then slowly bled to red—and they had no idea why. The only clear water left was several buckets they’d drawn as reserves.

  Until now, he’d been hesitant to try digging harder at the tunnel, hoping against hope that they would find another way out. Yet without water, he had little choice but to send as many men as he could in all directions, even back toward Vierten and Renwyn to try to dig out the original tunnel once more.

  It chafed him to send people toward Renwyn. If the elves were still alive, it was only because they’d saved themselves with that infernal shield and were still refusing to help anyone else. But if his people didn’t get out soon and find clean food and water, they were going to die, one way or another.

  “I understand your pain,” he told them. “And if we’re going to die, we’ll not sit around waiting for it. Tomorrow, everyone who wishes to go will be broken up into teams of no fewer than five, and we will scout the cave system for a way out. I’ll need volunteers to head for Renwyn, even though we know the poison lies in that direction and they aren’t likely to help us.”

  There were a few snorts of derision at the last comment. Historically, the River people had maintained a civil trading partnership with the elves. Once a month they’d traded their weaving and fish for elven soaps and herbs, for a long as they could remember. But his instincts had told him that the elves had dangerous secrets and their long life spans gave them little regard for the mortal life spans of the other inhabitants of Aurora.

  He’d been proven correct nine years ago, when a sickness brought by the humans had swept through the River realm. The elves had been in town for trade, and they’d asked for help. The elves had refused, stating the scope and scale of the illness was beyond their capacity to heal. The elder king and queen had died in that illness along with many others, and he had almost succumbed himself. Most of the River people had accepted it, but Durstin had never trusted them again.

  And then, the night of the Ardak invasion, he’d been proven correct once more. Unbelievably, the elves had erected a shield around Renwyn, and all the elves had disappeared inside it. They’d come out for only one battle, then retreated again when they lost their queen.

  Each day since, the glowing shield in the distance had stood like a glaring sore on the face of Aurora, protecting those within, barring those without to whatever fate the Ardaks had in store for them.

  He cleared his throat. “The elves are still our best chance, if we can convince them to help us. Regardless, no one team is to come back until they’ve found a way out or exhausted all possibilities. If you reach the surface, your objective will be to find help and bring them back to aid in transporting the civilians. And I will lead one myself.”

  There was a murmur of approval, and many of the men visibly relaxed, their shoulders dropping.

  “Who are the volunteers?”

  Almost all the men in the room raised their hand or stepped forward, and word would spread among the others so there would be several teams.

  “Do we have a map of the tunnels?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Roland answered, holding up a worn piece of parchment. “As you requested, I’ve been making updates as we discover new areas.”

  “Good work. I’ll need at least ten copies before morning.”

  “Yes, sir. We’ll have them, sir.” Roland saluted and gathered a few other boys together before leaving the cave.

  Durstin eyed the rest of them. “Collect the others who wish to volunteer. Then divide yourselves into teams and examine the map. I’ll accommodate your individual wishes—unless you start fighting again. Then those of you who aren’t tired can get some supplies ready for the morning, but let the rest of us get another few hours of sleep.”

  The men slowly got to their feet, some grumbling from pain as they headed for their assigned tasks or their bedrolls.

  But Durstin knew exactly where he was going. Minutes later, he climbed back into the rough sheets of his bedroll next to Kiersten. It wasn’t a feather-soft bed of silks and satins, but he’d rather be here with her than anywhere else. He sighed and drew her close. “Good work tonight with those men.”

  She traced a pattern across his chest with a finger. “You as well, my fierce husband.” She paused. “You know I’m coming with you tomorrow.”

  Of course. He knew from experience that asking her to stay would be a waste of his breath. His wife was fierce, but she was also smart and very skilled. She could take care of herself if the need arose. That didn’t make it any easier for him to stomach the idea of her having to fight. “Yes, love, I know.”

  Although, maybe he could tire her out.

  He made room beneath the blanket, rolling half on top of her and finding her lips with his.

  “I know this trick.” She chuckled as he pulled up her nightgown and then gasped as his fingers found one of her nipples. “But I still can’t resist.”

  Chapter Two

  Kiersten

  Kiersten woke with a surge of anticipation, which was almost foreign to her. Every day since the Ardaks had come had been filled with some level of fear, but today, the light from the glow bugs seemed to radiate a bit more brightly. They were finally going to go exploring.

  She turned to the side—only to encounter empty space where her husband should be. Her lips thinned in annoyance, but only for a moment. It was sweet of him to try to leave her behind, but after ten years, he really should know better.

  She rose stiffly, slightly sore from his efforts to tire her out late last night. It had been so worth it, though, she thought with an inward smile.

  Durstin was different from the other men she’d known. Exciting. Warm. Passionate. Tall, dark, and handsome, like the rest of the Mountain people. He was also exceedingly loyal, he loved fiercely, and his hatre
d was truly a thing to behold.

  His only downside was that he’d always believed that the women should be protected while the men did the tough jobs. She sighed. She was going to have a hell of a time talking him into letting the women go along.

  She strode past the caves of the soldiers and headed to the quarters reserved for the single women. Unsurprisingly, they were already up and dressed, and their married counterparts were filtering in from their tiny, adjoining spaces, just as she had.

  “We heard that King Durstin is letting all the men out to explore the caves,” Kiera said with a snort, sheathing her weapons.

  Rosae gave a feral smile, her blue eyes bright. “We decided they could use our help.”

  Kiersten was proud of the women she’d turned into warriors during her time with the River people. They might not have been as strong as the men, but they were just as swift and silent, and could shoot a bow just as well. They had polished their weapons and the metal plates of their armor until they gleamed, and one by one, they formed their lines that stretched out into the hall.

  “Why on Aurora do they always think they can leave us behind?” Isabel crossed her arms.

  “Because they’re men,” Kiersten answered. “I suggest we show them the error of their ways.” There were nods and murmurs of approval as she hefted her pack onto her back over the top of her armor and the others did the same, everyone ensuring their weapons were within easy reach.

  Their procession was quiet as Kiersten led them single file out of the caves toward the men’s chambers, where they inevitably found the men preparing to leave.

  The women filed into the chamber, blocking the door, and the expressions on the men’s faces were almost comical. Like children being caught trying to run away.