Soul of Eon (Eon Warriors #8) - Anna Hackett Page 0,36
was going on?
The nine menacing elite were bad enough, but this entire base was horrible.
The nine elite stirred.
You will conquer our enemies.
You will consume.
You will be powerful.
You will fight for the Kantos.
The nine elite opened their mouths and emitted a black gas.
“What the fuck?” Kaira fought back a hiss.
The hunger. Nisid stared through the wall.
The black cloud engulfed the juveniles. The quiet Kantos stood taller, shifting restlessly. A buzzing, clicking noise grew—harsh and loud—filling the chamber.
Something rose up in the center of the pit. It was a pile of vegetation, and some small yipping animals.
The Kantos juveniles descended on them, ripping and tearing.
Bile filled Kaira’s throat. She pressed closer to Thane, and he wrapped an arm around her.
It was so horrible.
The juveniles finished devouring, and milled around, shoving each other, hungry for more. In the center of the space, she caught a glimpse of the stripped sticks, and the skeletons of the consumed animals.
She fought back her nausea. This was what they wanted to do to Earth. To humans.
They had to be stopped.
Nisid shifted. We should go.
“Yes.” Thane rose.
The three of them moved away from the council chamber. Her brain whirled, trying to process.
This way. Nisid led them through a doorway.
“I expected more guards in here,” Thane said.
They’re outside. They don’t believe anyone could infiltrate the base.
Nisid led them through twisting, curving corridors. They passed some bugs, but they didn’t seem interested in them.
Finally, they moved up the ramp and into a small space. It was filled with dark brown consoles that glowed with colored lights.
The communications hub.
“Thank you, Nisid.” Thane knelt. A cable flowed from his armor at his wrist and spiked into the Kantos system.
Kaira watched as his gaze turned inward, and knew that he was navigating the system.
She looked at Nisid. “Tell me what we saw back there.”
The hunger is the driving force of the Kantos soldiers, bestowed by the elite council.
She eyed him. “You and your people don’t have it.”
We were deemed unworthy. In the end, it turned out to be a blessing. It left us more independent, and free from the need to ravage.
“Wait,” she said. “Kantos soldiers aren’t born like that? With the need to invade and consume?”
Nisid shook his head. It is the council. The nine elites generate the hunger for the glory of the Kantos.
“What about the other bugs and creatures they breed?”
They have the hunger bred into them from their creation. The problem is that implanting the hunger from the beginning makes the creatures more…mindless. Less able to think and reason.
Kaira nodded slowly. “So they can’t breed it into their soldiers, or they’d lose some level of intelligence.”
Correct.
“I’m in.” Thane’s toneless voice. “I’m sending the message now. It will take three minutes to complete.”
Kaira shifted. She wanted this done.
Next up, pathogen.
A buzzing started outside in the corridor. Shit. She ducked down and peeked around the doorway. Her stomach knotted.
“Four Kantos soldiers incoming.”
“I need more time,” Thane said.
“They might pass by.” They didn’t look hurried, like they were coming to find them. Go past, you ugly bugs.
Nisid moved beside her. She morphed a sword.
The soldiers passed the doorway and she held her breath. There was nowhere for Thane to hide. If they looked in…
The last soldier passed, and Kaira’s shoulders slumped. Thank God.
“One more minute,” Thane murmured.
Kaira resisted the urge to tap her toe. She knew once the message was complete, the Kantos would know they were here.
The pathogen lab is in the center of the base.
She nodded to Nisid. “We’ll get there.”
We will encounter resistance.
“We’ll get there, Nisid.”
The rogue shifted on his four legs and nodded.
“Nisid, I think—”
A Kantos soldier flew through the door, then stumbled to a halt. Its eyes glowed, and she got the distinct impression it was shocked to see them.
Fuck. She had to stop it alerting the others.
Kaira and Nisid leaped together. He pinned the soldier down.
“Hold it, Nisid.” She lifted her sword, preparing to stab it.
The rogue strained against the soldier. The soldier bucked, knocking Nisid off.
The soldier rolled and slammed into Kaira.
She fell and found herself face-to-face with the alien. It buzzed wildly. Then its sharp arm flashed, and pierced her side.
She grunted and rolled. She got her sword up.
“Kaira!” Thane yelled.
“I’m fine.”
Nisid closed in on the soldier, blocking the door.
“Nisid, now,” Kaira yelled.
They rushed it together. The rogue Kantos slammed the soldier into the console, and Kaira swung.
Her sword pierced the soldier’s neck. She shoved, and green blood gushed. It slumped and she yanked her sword back.
“Thanks, Nisid.”
Thane appeared. “Your side?”
She glanced down and