Soul of Eon (Eon Warriors #8) - Anna Hackett Page 0,3
crawled along, the smell was not pleasant—it stank of bugs and rotting things.
“Stop.” He was looking down through a grate, then shook his head.
They kept moving, checking each room that they passed.
“This one,” Thane said.
Through the grate, Kaira saw vats of fluid. There were also cocoon-like objects that pulsed gently.
“This is going to be gross, isn’t it?” she muttered.
“Highly likely.” He carefully opened the grate and peered into the room. “Clear.”
He jumped down, landing in a crouch. He rose and held his arms open. “Jump. I’ll catch you.”
The thought of jumping into Thane’s arms made her pulse speed up. She climbed to the edge of the hole, and dropped.
Strong, muscular arms closed around her.
“I’ve got you.” His warm breath puffed against her cheek.
She felt the rumble of his words and licked her lips. “Thanks.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. The green filaments flared brighter.
Then he set her down. “Let’s look for the antidote.”
They separated. The long benches were covered in…she wasn’t sure what. There were small containers bubbling with thick fluids. Everything smelled like month-old garbage mixed with raw sewage. So disgusting.
“What the hell are they doing in here?” she mused.
“Concocting new bugs.” Thane crouched to look at a white cocoon. As he neared it, it pulsed, something moving inside it.
Kaira grimaced.
“They conduct tests on their enemies,” he said. “Find ways to exploit their weaknesses.”
“Just when you think they can’t get any worse.”
Suddenly, Thane froze.
She frowned. “Thane?”
He strode across the lab with barely suppressed fury.
“Thane!” She rushed after him.
Several long, narrow, clear vessels were attached to the wall. Gases swirled around inside, of all different colors.
In the center of each vessel was some sort of crystal.
Most of the crystals were covered in what looked like mold spots and furry growth. The crystals were twisted and black.
“Hey.” She grabbed his arm. “Talk to me.”
“They’re helians.” He looked away, muscle ticking in his jaw. “Helians may not have bodies like ours, but they’re sentient. They live. They want to use their abilities. That’s why they bond with the Eon. The Kantos are experimenting on them. Killing them.”
God. She looked at the vessels. “Can you tell what they’re doing to them?”
“No. I need my helian.”
“Let’s find the antidote.” Determination filling her, she strode through the lab.
They checked boxes, looked on every surface.
Dammit. Where the hell would the bugs keep this?
Then she spotted a small container with a heavy lock. “Thane?” She lifted the box.
He hurried over and smashed the lock. He flipped open the lid. Relief crossed his hard features. “This is it.”
He pulled out a small vial and tipped the fluid onto his helian band. It ate away at the black ooze.
He dragged in a breath and she saw the way he straightened.
“Okay?” she asked.
He nodded. His black-scale armor formed. It flowed up his arm and across his broad chest. Amazing.
“Kaira, you should form armor, too. It’ll offer you protection.” His face was unreadable. “I’m able to share my armor with my mate.”
She stiffened. “I’m not interested in mating.”
He stayed silent.
“My husband—”
Thane sucked in a breath. “You’re married?”
“Widowed. My husband died two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
She heard the sincerity in his voice. She looked at her boots, fighting the emotions churning around in her gut. “It nearly broke me. Losing the man I loved.” She met Thane’s gaze. “I will never love again. I’m fine, just as I am.”
Thane inclined his head. “We can discuss this after we escape.”
Right. Escape had to come first. She nodded.
“But it makes sense to take the protection of my armor.”
Damn. He was right. She gave him another nod.
A second later, black scales flowed off his armor and over her body. The armor covered her, snug and tight. She stroked it, feeling how flexible and strong it was.
Thane was already back at the helian testing tanks. He pressed his palm to the first container and sucked in a breath.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
He shook his head and moved to the next one. Inside, the crystal was withered and an ugly brown color.
“These helians are dying.” Anger and sorrow mixed in his voice.
He was a doctor. It must cut him deep to see this. To see a living life form, like the one he was bonded with, suffer.
“It looks like the Kantos are developing some sort of pathogen that targets helians,” he said. “That’s what is in the gas.”
Kaira gasped, and eyed his helian band.
His jaw worked. “The Kantos came after Airen, the second commander of the Rengard. They believed that something about her female physiology would make