An Apocalyptic Need by Sam Cheever Page B

her.”
    “Mm hm.”
    “I’m trying to find out what she’s up to, that’s all. I have a feeling she’s working against the accord somehow.”
    Kord frowned. “And speaking of that… Why won’t you tell Yeira what you were doing on the Angel ?”
    Grimm shook off Audie’s arm. “I can’t.” He gave his friend a searching glance. “You don’t trust me?”
    “It’s not a matter of trust, Forbes. We’re dealing with trouble on multiple fronts right now. We need to know who’s with us and who isn’t.”
    “I’m with you. I always have been and I always will be.”
    “Then why did you disobey Yeira’s orders?”
    When Grimm looked away, unwilling to respond, Audie expelled a frustrated breath. “Dammit, man! You were the one who recruited Yeira to lead the reborn. Yet you ignore her orders and go gallivanting off.”
    “I wasn’t gallivanting. Everything I do, I do for her…”
    Audie’s gaze widened. “You’re saying you were on an errand for Yeira?”
    “I can’t tell you…”
    Gunfire crackled in the distance and both men’s heads snapped up.
    “Yeira!” Audie took off running and Grimm wasn’t far behind.
    By the time they reached the mouth of the cave the firefight was intense. Yeira and Cari were crouched behind a large rock in the flatland below, and they were pinned. Both women were returning fire.
    “Remind me to thank Yeira for loaning Cari a gun.” Grimm pulled the weapon he’d brought from the Stellam and fired toward the distant spot where O 2 blasts sparked in the growing dusk. Audie did the same and it wasn’t long before the firefight split between their two positions.
    Ribbons of fire sizzled through the air and sheared chunks out of the hillside behind them, spraying dirt and chips of rock into the air. Pinned behind the rock, Yeira and Cari could do little more than shoot blindly in the direction of the attackers as fire spat all around them.
    Finally, as their combined efforts took a toll on the attacking force, the blasts of O 2 fire lessened and the attackers appeared to retreat, their shouted instructions fading into the distance.
    Minutes later, Yeira and Cari stood, their gazes on the distant forest where the firefight had originated.
    “How did they find us?” Audie murmured, turning to Grimm. “Could the crew of the Stellam have followed you here?”
    Down below, Yeira lifted her hand to indicate she was returning. She spoke to Cari before heading back toward the cave. Cari didn’t immediately follow. She stood with her back to them, staring toward the forest.
    Grimm shook his head. “Unlikely. We took a couple of deviations before coming to the dead lands.”
    Kord started down the hill. “The Healer’s lair and where else?”
    “The portal on the Stellam took us to the eighteenth world, Earth’s wild west.”
    Audie’s gaze snapped around. “Really? That’s odd.”
    Cari finally started walking toward them.
    “Yeah, I thought so too at the time…”
    A wave of blue suddenly filled the air, rolling across the scorched land at an impossible speed. It illuminated the area from the forest to the spot where Cari had been standing and kept spreading.
    Guide magics! Grimm screamed Cari’s name and took off running.
    She lifted her gaze to look at him and was hit in the back by the wide, blue wave before she could take another step.
    She stilled in mid-step, her body going rigid.
    Even from a distance, Grimm could see the look of surprise in her pretty features.
    “No!” He dug in and ran full out as Cari was dragged backward, the guide magics sparking around her as they drew her away. Once the magics managed to coalesce around her with sufficient power, they would yank her back and away from him.
    Grimm growled in frustration as he realized he wouldn’t make it in time. His gaze focused on the terror in her pretty eyes. “I’m coming, Cari. You have to fight it. Fight the magic’s pull.”
    Dust flew around her, turning the blue sparks to fire that