“Kill him! You must kill him if we’re to steal the god’s power!” the woman screeched at the screen.
Fear twisted a hard knot in the pit of Caelan’s stomach as the Emperor shoved the screaming woman aside and leaned close to the camera. “Get what information you can out of him with regard to the godstones, Lord High Commander, and then kill him. I want it done immediately.”
Caelan didn’t hesitate. He spun around toward Grim, grabbed the front of the man’s shirt with both hands, and propelled him forward with all of his strength. The large commander plowed headfirst into the TV screen. Blue sparks shot out and the glass crackled as it went completely black. The man fell limp to the floor. Kneeling, Caelan grabbed the knife off the man’s belt and plunged it into his heart. If he wasn’t dead before, he certainly was now.
Caelan was tempted to pull it free and keep the weapon, but a knife wasn’t much good to him until he got the damn handcuffs removed.
Step one of his questionable plan was complete. The Empire did know of the other godstones and planned to steal the power from the other gods and goddesses.
Time for step two: Get the hell out of there so he could do something about it.
Not a particularly easy step since the guards who’d escorted him from the brig were likely still waiting for him outside the commander’s office.
He started toward one of the other doors, hoping it might lead to another room he could cut through, but a loud explosion rocked the ship. Caelan stumbled, his left shoulder crashing into the wall.
That was bad. Really bad.
That could only have come from the Caspagir fleet. He was out of time.
3
Caelan Talos
If Caspagir was attacking, there was a good chance that this was supposed to be the distraction while his friends rescued him. Great. Drayce, Eno, and Rayne were running around the ship with no clue where to find him. Time for him to give them a helping hand.
Taking a deep breath, Caelan pushed off from the wall and braced his feet against the rocking while he pulled on the power from the God of Storms. Kaes had stopped him from using his gift once, but the old god seemed willing to play now.
He held his hands out in front of him, and a crackle of lightning danced between his palms and snapped along his fingers. This could be useful.
Caelan charged across the thick carpet, now littered with papers, to the door and jerked it open. The two guards on either side immediately jumped to attention, obviously expecting the Lord High Commander. They stared at him in dumbfounded shock before moving. Caelan grinned as he pulled a surge of energy from Kaes and released it into the two guards. Both men let out strangled cries of pain and collapsed to the floor, muscles twitching and spasming.
That worked nicely.
He started to step over them, then realized he needed fucking keys to get out of the damn cuffs. Fighting was far easier when his hands were free. He kneeled next to one man, fumbling through pockets and feeling along his waist for a possible keychain, but there was nothing useful.
Swearing under his breath, Caelan turned to the other unconscious man. His heart was pounding in his chest and sweat coated his body. The entire ship felt claustrophobic. He needed to get the fuck out of there, find his friends. The longer they were there, the more their lives were in danger. He’d caught a glimpse of the truth with regard to New Rosanthe and the Emperor’s goals. Not much. But it was something they could start piecing together to create a bigger picture.
None of that was going to happen if he and his friends died on this fucking ship, though.
“Hey!” a sharp, hard voice called, and Caelan cringed. He ducked his head to his shoulders and reluctantly looked over as he tried to dig into one last pocket. One of them had to have the keys.
Down the hall, a short, slender man in an oversized Empire naval uniform was marching toward him with two guns already drawn. From under his cap, blond hair poked out. Wait, did he know that chin?
“Drayce?” Caelan asked, earning a smirk from the mouth that he wanted to get to know so much better.
“Ah, you ruined it,” Drayce replied. He jogged to him and kneeled beside the other guard while Caelan continued to search for keys. “Should have known you wouldn’t be in the cells.”
“I was brought in for a conversation with the Lord High Commander,” Caelan muttered. His fingers brushed against something jagged and metallic. He pulled it free with a loud jingle and nearly shouted with joy.
Drayce stole the keys from him and started trying to find the right one to unlock Caelan’s cuffs.