Free Son of Orlan (The Chronicles of Kin Roland Book 2) by Scott Moon Page B

me. She
said a shape changer could mimic the aspect of a turtle, but wouldn’t have a
hard shell. And the shifter would still have the same mass. Might look bigger
or smaller, but physics don’t lie.”
    Kin considered the tracks and his knowledge of the area.
“William has no idea where he’s going. About a mile down the road, there’s a
pass to a valley. Lots of trees, no obvious predators. He’ll probably hide
there.”
    “Why are there no predators in the valley?”
    “That’s not what I said. The Crashdown wolves scare away
other hunters. Nothing goes near their territory. Once inside the valley, it
will be more dangerous than the Valley of Clingers.”
    “Great.”
    “On the bright side, I’ve been there a couple of times and
know my way around.”

Chapter Nine
    A lone Crashdown wolf peered over a
ledge to watch Kin and Orlan as they approached. The lupine silhouette
retreated until only the faint glimmer of its eyes could be seen in the night.
It howled three times.
    “What is that, a lookout?” Orlan asked.
    “Exactly.”
    “I’m glad I brought you along.”
    Kin liked Orlan better when there were no other troopers
around to feed his ego. He never forgot Orlan’s face as he closed the space
casket condemning him to death in the void, but his resentment was mitigated
now that he understood the man had been helping Rebecca. “After we find
William, I’ll need your help.”
    “Sure. But the Imperials have won here. Even if Westwood
returns with the main Earth Fleet Armada, the odds will be ten-to-one. No Fleet
officer takes that kind of bet. So they won’t come. And if they did, they’d
lose.”
    Kin wanted to deny the truth. “We have to evade their
patrols. In the best-case scenario, we don’t fight them again.”
    “You don’t know much about Imperials. They won’t stop until
you bow to them. Lieutenant Raker is the only trooper to survive and escape
Imperial captivity.”
    “We met,” Kin said.
    “He was crazy. The Fleet used him, but I sat and talked with
the man. Droon did us a favor by killing him.”
    Droon . Kin searched the area as they walked. Though
he doubted the Reaper was near, the image of the Reaper’s Clinger-damaged face
burned bright in his memory. The scars and glowing orange eyes weren’t the most
terrifying aspect of his enemy. Intelligence was what Kin feared. Reapers had
always been a sentient race, but concepts of time confused their thoughts.
Droon had overcome that mental block after biting Kin and recovering whatever
secrets they hid in his blood.
    “What’s wrong?” Orlan asked.
    “Nothing. I was thinking of Droon.”
    Orlan huffed and led the way deeper into the Valley of
Wolves. Kin spotted wolf patrols as they searched for William. Orlan responded
by changing course, muting the armor’s external speaker, and communicating by
FSPAA direct radio.
    The night passed. They took turns standing watch. Kin
wondered what had befallen Laura and the others. The Imperials had surely
closed around Maiden’s Keep by now. Once, about midday, he heard the sound of
gunfire and rockets, probably Rebecca’s Shock Troopers as they fought a running
battle across uneven terrain. The Mech units were unstoppable in most battles.
Rocky slopes and narrow passes favored regular ground forces.
    Send me a message, Becca .
    Nothing.
    “There he is,” Orlan said.
    Kin spotted William sitting at the foot of a tree, resting
with his feet spread before him like a schoolboy on a field trip.
    “That’s a strange way for a Reaper to sit,” Kin said.
    “That’s my boy. Lazy as hell, but smart. He’s probably
pouting because there’s no books out here.”
    Orlan and Kin approached. William made no attempt to run.
    “Hungry,” William said.
    Orlan ejected a ration bar from his armor. William reached
for it, but Orlan proffered a tube from his helmet.
    “Drink, Billy.”
    “My name is William.” The words came hard. He struggled with
every syllable.
    Orlan grunted. “Change