Hunted By The Alien Assassin (A SciFi Alien Warrior Romance) (Mates of the Kaluma Book 1)

by Ella Maven

  “Yerk!” I shouted into the sky.

  The human made a squeak of inquiry next to me.

  “Leg cramp,” I shouted over the rushing of the wind. “Just be quiet.”

  She settled down after that and seemed to doze off as we sped over the land. We weren’t far from the council’s headquarters, and I wondered why she came to Gorsich of all places. Maybe she figured this was the last place I’d look? Which was a fact, but then it had been easy to track down when she left and where she was going. I hadn’t had to hurt anyone, really. Usually just the sight of my stained bat was enough to loosen lips, and the one who aided her escape wasn’t any different. Everyone was a gangster until I showed up.

  The sun was setting by the time I arrived at the gates of Haliya, the capital of Gorsich and home to the Rinian Council. No vehicles were allowed inside, so I parked the hover buggy in the mass lot outside, next to a few hover bikes and a carriage pulled by a peeved-looking trubis—a large, beaked, feathered animal with two strong, spurred legs.

  I hauled the human out of the vehicle with her cloak still over her head. She stumbled and made a noise of protest I ignored. Her arm felt fragile in my grip, and I had to grit my teeth to prevent asking her if she was okay.

  I didn’t care.

  Why would I care?

  She didn’t give a yerk if her fellow humans were well-cared for in this galaxy.

  “You know what happens to the humans you bring here?” I growled at her. I flashed my council-issued badge at the detector at the gates. After a low-toned beep, they swung open.

  She struggled in my grip and mumbled something through her gag.

  “Nothing good happens,” I snapped at her. “Some species use them for breeding practice for their males, and trust me, that doesn’t end well for them. They’re experimented on, sold, and treated like property since you’re a terrible species with no defenses.”

  She let out a growl, which seemed to perk up my yerking cock again.

  “Who made you?” I hissed at her as we walked inside the walls. Buildings rose all around us, housing Rinian elite. “Whoever designed humans could have at least given you sharp teeth.”

  I swore I could hear her try to snap her jaws at me. I nearly laughed. “I have claws. Teeth.” I jerked a thumb at my shoulder spikes. “Spikes.” I snorted. “And that’s not even the best part, I can also—”

  “Kaluma!” A voice called out. I stopped short and turned around to find one of the council members, Garquin, standing with two guards behind him. Garquin was an Ubilque, a former tree-dwelling species. Silver-furred and hunchbacked, they could run on their four paws as well as upright. His head was shaped like a circle, and concave, so his eyes were almost always in shadow. He spoke from a series of three mouths beneath his neck, his lower lips protruding so he could scoop up grubs and insects.

  I kept my grip on the human. She wriggled next to me enough so that the cloak fell from her head. When she caught sight of the Ubilque, her eyes went wide, and she went perfectly still.

  I snatched the cloak from the ground and draped it over her shoulders.

  I nodded at the Ubilque as his large head turned to the human. His mouths stretched into thin lines. “I see you’ve completed your job.”

  “I have.”

  He gestured toward the peaked tower of council building in the distance behind several rows of business buildings. “We are having some renovations done, so when we were notified of your entrance, I came to retrieve the human and take her directly to our cells to await trial.”

  I glanced back at the building, but I couldn’t see any scaffolding. When I didn’t respond, Garquin stepped closer. “You can’t see the workers because of the other buildings blocking the view, but the front doors aren’t functional.”

  I ignored the weird itch under my scales. “Where will I get payment?” I asked.

  Immediately, he thrust forward a czen credit square. I took it from him and flicked the thin metal chip it to verify its authenticity. Not that I had any reason not to trust him, but this was out of the norm from the way I usually did things. Usually, the council deposited the czens directly to Gurla while I waited. Now, I’d have to take the credit square and get it converted into czens.

  “My guards will take her off your hands,” he motioned to the helmeted Kulks behind him, who stepped forward in sync. I stared at their yellow eyes through the slits in their helmets. Related to the Ubilque, they were big, dumb, and strong. Decent guards, but no match for me.

  When I didn’t immediately hand over the human, Garquin sat back on his haunches and rested his large front paws on his protruding stomach. “Did she cause you any problems?”

  “None,” I answered.

  His gazed settled on me in a way that turned my stomach. “I’m sure you’re eager to get back home.”

  Home. That was why I was doing this, right? So why did I feel like I was doing something wrong handing her over to Garquin? I had to shake some sense into myself. She was a job. I got my payment. Get out and get home, Bosa. I swallowed heavily before looking down at the human. Her light brown eyes met mine, and a myriad of emotions swirled there. Fear, determination, regret. I jerked away with a low noise of irritation in my throat, shoved her at the Kulks. She tripped on her feet, but they caught her between the two of them. She shot me a glare over her shoulder.

  “Perfect,” Garquin said. “Thank you for a job well done, as always.”

  I nodded. “Get her into a building soon. Humans are allergic to the sun.” Garquin blinked at me in confusion, and I wanted to slap myself. Never had I cared about what happened to my mark after I turned them in. Clearing my throat, I bristled. “Just a human fact.”

  “Right,” Garquin said slowly, like I was dumb yerk. “Thank you for that.”

  I took one last look at the human, and then slipped my claw in the knot of the fabric at the back of her head. For some strange reason, I wanted the stupid ugly scarf. “This is mine.”

  As it fluttered from her mouth, I snatched it into my hands. She stretched her jaw and licked her lips before scrunching her nose and narrowing her eyes at me. “You’re making a mistake, you dumb asshole.” Her voice rasped out, dry and cracked.

  My spine snapped straight. “What?”

  “The sun must be getting to her,” Garquin said with a cackle. “Let’s go.”

  The Kulks hauled her past me, and I watched as they dragged her between them, her boots barely touching the ground. Garquin gave me a nod as he passed. “Good job, Kaluma.”

  The last look I had of the human was her tossing that mane of hair and shouting something at me that was indecipherable as the wind swept it away before it reached my ears. Glancing down at my credit square, I forced myself not to think of her anymore. I was going home.

  Three

  Karina

  Kulks, the armored aliens who held me, were huge and strong. Their yellow eyes gave me the creeps. And the Ubilque behind me pounded the dirt with his large, booted paws.

  Inside the gates, it was clear wealth existed here in spades. The buildings gleamed a bright white, almost like they were made of marble, and black opaque glass shimmered in the sun. Instead of small handmade stands of vendors, shops lined the street with wares on display outside—everything from jewelry to pelts to sweet treats. The species were varied, and I wondered if the council was also a diverse mix or if they were all Ubilques.

  I focused on staying upright, and it wasn’t until we walked a little ways that I got my head together and tried to speak to the Ubilque over my shoulder. “How long before I speak to the council? There’s been a misunderstanding about what I do.”

  The Ubilque didn’t answer. I frowned and lifted my head to gauge how close we were to the council building. The sun was beating down on my dark hair, nearly boiling my scalp. Except I didn’t see the council building’s peak. We were walking … away from it.

  “Wait.” I began to squirm in the Kulks’ grips. “Where are we going?”

&n
bsp; Again, no one answered my question, and I tugged harder. “Hello?” I ground out as I twisted at the waist to peer behind me. “What’s going on?”

  Finally, the Ubilque lifted his head, but I couldn’t see his eyes very well beneath the dish-like rim of his skull. “Don’t worry about where we’re going.”

  “What do you mean, don’t worry? I need to talk to the council and explain myself. I’m not trafficking my own kind, and I would have told that to the asshole back there, but he gagged me.”

  “He wouldn’t have cared,” he said casually. “That’s why we hired him. No morals, that one.”

  I didn’t really believe that. He’d been so … angry I’d betrayed my own species. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t the one I needed to appeal to. “Okay, but the council will care.”

  Finally, we came to a stop at a nondescript building in a narrow alley. After knocking on the door, the Ubilque turned to me. “They might care. But you won’t get a chance to talk to them.”

  Fear slithered down my spine. “I’m sorry?”

  The door swung open. Standing in the darkened doorway with a smarmy grin on his face was Frenz. “Hello, Karina,” he said with a chitter of his mandibles.

  My stomach dropped, my blood thickened, and my heart pounded in my ears, drowning out everything but my own screams. Immediately another fucking gag was shoved into my mouth, and I was hauled into the building. Frenz’s guards, large Gattrix like him, picked me up with their front legs and skittered down the stairs. My head bounced against a hard thorax, and I was too stunned to cry. There was no council. No trial. I heard Frenz and the Ubilque talking, saw the exchange of credits just as we reached the bottom of the stairs. The Gattrix turned a corner, and my betrayer and captor were out of sight. Torches lit the dingy, damp stone walls, and a chill entered my blood that I had a feeling would never leave as long as I lived—which I predicted wouldn’t be much longer.

  Tears pricked my eyes, for some reason I wished that stupid Kaluma was here. Something told me he’d care, no matter what the Ubilque said. But it didn’t matter now. He had his payment, and he was probably already on his way to his home planet, me all but forgotten.

  I was tossed into a cell and the door slammed shut. The only visible light was through a small, barred window at the top of the door. A bolt slammed into place, followed by the sound of the Gattrix guards scurrying back up the stairs.

  Voices drifted into my cell, too muffled for me to make out any words. I lay on my side where I’d been tossed. My hands were still tied behind my back, as they’d been all day, and my shoulders screamed. Shimmying until I found the sharp edge of a stone in the floor, I sawed at the rope for what felt like forever until I could snap the strands.

  As soon as my hands were free, I tugged off the gag and let out a long groan of pain as I stretched my muscles. Rising onto my hip, I glanced around. In one corner of the cell was a small pitcher of water next to a grate, which I assumed was my only option for a toilet. Cool. Great. Although, to be fair, I’d had worse since arriving in this galaxy.

  Other than that, there was no food. The Kaluma had fed me once, but I’d been so hungry I’d stuffed my face instead of talking to him, and as soon as I’d swallowed my last bite, he’d gagged me again. So, I wasn’t too hungry, but it wouldn’t be long before I’d need to eat. Would that tein bar he’d given me be my last meal? That was fucking depressing.

  I sat with my back against the far wall, the dampness of the floor soaking through my pants. I still had my cloak, and I wrapped it around me like a blanket as I tucked my legs to my chest. It was only then, as I dropped my forehead to my knees, that I let myself cry. Alone in this dark cell, I sobbed out my fear. The only regret I had was not destroying every single one of Frenz’s cargo ships. If only…

  Despair sank into my skin like a soaking rain. There was nothing I could do now. Hopefully Frenz would make my death quick. Or maybe this was it. I’d die here of thirst and starvation.

  I swiped at my wet cheeks and blinked into the darkness. With the toe of my boot, I scraped the ground which was lit by the single square of light left by the door opening, feeling sorry for myself. I hadn’t made friends in this galaxy in all the years I’d been here. I had acquaintances. Partners. Allies. But never friends. It hadn’t bothered me before, but as I sat in this cell, loneliness wrapped its cold fingers around my throat and squeezed. What if I’d accepted my fate and tried to make good with my captors? What if I’d made friends?

  I shook my head. No. No regrets. I’d made my choices knowing the consequences all along. Now I was facing them. Alone.

  I crawled over to the pitcher in the corner and drank some water. Then I used the grate, as it’d been a while since I’d relieved my bladder. After that, I retreated to my corner and huddled there in a ball. Was I defeated? Absolutely. I had no weapons. No saviors. The creature who wanted me the deadest in this galaxy held the keys to my cell and my life in his insect pinchers.

  I shuddered.

  I hated all Gattrix. They were a cross between a giant ant and a lobster. Six legs, plus a pair of strong claws that could slice off my head. I’d had visions of boiling Frenz and then ripping off his big claw and dunking it in melted butter. Maybe that was sick. I giggled a little to myself, which quickly changed into more sobbing. I fisted my hands in my hair and let out a cry of frustration. I was losing it.

  I wasn’t sure how much time passed. I thought I dozed off, but I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was my stomach was gnawing on itself, and my ass hurt from sitting on this floor. Which was probably the least of my problems, especially as I heard the telltale chittering of the Gattrix guards outside my door.

  I pulled on my cloak and stood, remaining in the darkest corner of the cell. The door creaked open, and two guards stepped inside. Their beady eyes latched onto me immediately, because they could see in near darkness, the freaks. The ends of their legs were sticky and had tiny hooks, almost like burrs. They snatched the sleeves of my cloak and tugged me out of the cell.

  They didn’t speak to me, but the excited clacking of their claws didn’t bode well for my future. They led me in the opposite direction from where I’d been bought in, so deeper into the bowels of wherever we were.

  “Where are we going?” I asked. Not that I thought I’d get an answer.

  “Freennzzzzz wants to see y-yooouuuu,” one guard stuttered.

  The other snapped his claws near my face and then made a clicking sound in his throat I knew was laughter.

  I didn’t want to see Frenz. I didn’t want him to snip off my limbs one by one with his blade, or beat me with his giant claws, or set me on fire…

  Suddenly a thought occurred to me. The Gattrix exoskeleton was extremely flammable. I’d witnessed it firsthand when I’d lit up a cargo ship. Any nearby Gattrix that caught even a spark of fire went up in flames. The Kaluma’s thoughts on human design entered my mine. I wonder what he thought about the Gattrix’s weaknesses?

  The guards holding me didn’t actually have a grasp on my arms—a mistake on their part. They held only my cloak, which was too large so I could slip out of it easily. If I could get my arms free and grab a torch on the wall, I might just be able to light up these Gattrix bitches and run like hell. Would I be caught? Maybe. If I fought hard enough and caused enough casualties, maybe Frenz would make the end of my life quicker. That was really my only hope now. Freedom was a distant dream.

  The hallway was beginning to widen, which meant we were probably reaching some sort of underground cavern. Where Frenz likely was. I could see a light in the distance and could hear the distant murmurings of more Gattrix. Long shadows stretched out into the hall.

  It was now or never. One… Two… Three.

  I slipped my arms out of my cloak and ducked to a crouch. The guards didn’t even realize they no longer had hold of me until I rose behind them and snatched a torch off the wall. After shoving the flame into the thorax of one guard, I then slashed at the second one.

  Immedi
ately, they let out ear-piercing screeches and clicks as their bodies lit up like dry hay bales. The sound was deafening, and I stumbled back, falling onto my ass before recovering on a scramble. More screeches could be heard in the distance, followed by what sounded like an army of insect legs stampeding toward me.

  Finding my feet, I took off at a dead run. I had no cloak, no protection, just a thin shirt, leather pants, and boots. My destination was the stairs, and my heart pounded in time with my feet. Suddenly, freedom didn’t seem so far away. At least, I’d get to see the sun again. I imagined Frenz had eyes all over this city if he was in league with the council, but maybe, just maybe, I’d find an ally—

  Suddenly, I slammed into what felt like a brick wall. I heard the crunch of my nose right before I fell back onto my hip. Gasping for breath, I looked up. At first, I saw nothing, which made no sense. What the hell had I run into? Then, a series of clicks reached my ears, but not the sound of Gattrix. This was more … like a waterfall. Appearing before me, seemingly out of thin air, stood the Kaluma. He stood with his feet braced apart, his bat in one hand, his gaze leveled on me in pure anger.

  Blood trickled from my nose, and I swiped at it as all hope quickly fled from my heart in one fell swoop. The ground shook with Gattrix running toward us from behind me. I was trapped. I wasn’t getting an ally. I felt like I had Deja vu I stared at the end of the bat and waited for it to swing.

  Except it stayed still. Confused, I glanced behind me. The rest of the Gattrix were held up trying to put out the still flaming bodies of the guards, but it would only be a matter of time before they reached me. I could see Frenz through the flames, his mandibles spitting his venom irritant as his eyes promised me death.