While he still seemed a bit dazed, she kicked out at his stomach—a sensitive area, more so without his armor. He howled and stumbled backward. If she wanted to defeat him, she needed to do it fast. He’d have more endurance and could easily outlast her. She twirled and kicked his jaw, a direct hit.
He grabbed her boot and flung her to the ground.
She landed with a hard thud, and the air rushed out of her. “Ohh…” Her ribs felt bruised, though she didn’t think any broke.
“Die, bitch.” He raised his stud-soled boot to stomp on her face.
“Roll!” someone yelled.
She rolled into him, against his other leg. He fell like a boulder onto his stomach. She scrambled onto his back and held on. She couldn’t choke him. His neck was thicker than her thigh. She needed to take a different path. With all her strength, she gouged at his eyes.
Growling, he got to his feet and tried to shake her off. She held tight with her legs hooked around his waist.
When she punctured his sockets, he wailed and clawed at her legs. Her pants ripped, and his long nails contacted bare skin.
Halah screamed. She bit her lip to stop her cries. She couldn’t let him know he’d hurt her. She pressed her fingers harder into his eyes. He flailed back and forth, ripping at her hands. Her skin tore under his attack, sending waves of agony through her.
Finally, she had to let go. She fell to the ground, dislocating her shoulder when she hit. Blinding pain shot through her. She feared she wouldn’t be able to get back up. And even if she did, her fighting ability would be severely limited. Still, she refused to surrender.
The Commander whirled toward her, his eyes gone.
Halah couldn’t do anything but stare at the black, empty sockets.
He took a step forward and fell flat on his face.
Waiting for movement, Halah held her breath. When she saw none, she relaxed, not completely, but enough to think more clearly. She forced herself to her feet, staggering more than a little. She held her injured arm and tried to ignore the blood covering her body. Her own blood. Breathing heavily, but steadily, she raised her boot to rest on the Commander’s back. “I claim victory,” she said to the troops.
The other Egesa backed off. Reluctance showed in their eyes, however they honored the challenge.
Halah limped over to grab her jacket, power supply, and disruptor with her good arm. “Get in the rover,” she told everyone.
Kam tried to help her in.
She shrugged him off. “Don’t make me look weak. Get us out of here, Dak.”
After they settled in their seats, Dak gunned the rover. They sped through the mountain pass and topped the next hill, putting distance between themselves and the Egesa. The rest of the way to The Dome lay flat and should be quickly covered, even with a tank leak.
“Thank you,” Leila said from the back.
“Yeah. Sure.” What was she supposed to say? Halah never felt comfortable with gratitude. They hit a bump, and the jostling almost caused her to pass out.
“You’re hurt, Halah,” Erik told her. “Let Leila tend to you.”
“With what? She doesn’t have any equipment.” Halah glanced at Bron, unconscious beside her. He didn’t look good. No blood stained his clothing. He must have been hit by one of the new pulse-beam weapons, which caused internal injuries without any external signs of damage. “Now shut up and let me be.”
A hand touched her good shoulder. She jerked, then relaxed when she realized who’d touched her and why. Kam. The Warrior way after a fight. A show of solidarity and a good job. Uncomfortable with the gesture, she shrugged him off.
“At least let Leila reset your shoulder, Halah,” Kam said.
Dak stopped the rover. “He’s right.”
“Damn it! Fine,” Halah ground out. “Anything to shut all of you up.” She couldn’t take the pain much longer anyway. “Do it. Quickly.”
* * * * *
Torque entered the Command Center and approached Braden. Finally, good news. “Pitch checked in. He and our sisters have Josella secured. The orbiter sustained some damage, but should be in full working order within twenty-four hours or less. There’s a storm in the area. They’ll need to wait it out and flush their external systems before they take off. I told them to stay put on the Sand Moon until we issue the all clear.”
“How dangerous will it be there for them?”
Torque let out a heavy breath. His stint on the Sand Moon, when he’d been banished from Xylon for refusing to become a Dispenser, among other things, had burned a permanent memory of violence and pain on his psyche. “It’s not a stroll through Xylon Square, but they should be all right for the short term.
While the storm is raging, none of the gangs will attack. The crew is well-trained and well-supplied. With three armed Warriors together, if they do encounter trouble, they’re at least equipped for defense.
They’ll check in with us every few hours so we know their status, and so they know ours.”
“Any additional information on military movements from The Dome?”
“They’re not shut down at this point, so I don’t think anything is imminent. But we are seeing an increase in Egesa patrols. They’ll register our shutdown, so it’s only a matter of time before they do the same.”
Marid often attacked on a small scale. He knew a larger attack loomed somewhere on the horizon.
“The increase in patrols could be because of our team infiltrating their air space, if the orbiter was picked up.”
“Maybe, but I think they’re planning something big. They’re trying to be subtle about it, hoping to catch us off-guard. I feel it.”
Braden nodded. “All right, step up our own patrols. No non-Xylon ships are to be cleared for landing.
No exceptions. Divert to Tamara or Sunevia. And increase the foot patrols on the surface, just in case.”
“You think Assassins are already here?” Probably a stupid question. No way could Xylon identify and keep them all off-planet.
“They always have a few plants, like we do. I want our people on the lookout for anyone who appears out of place, Assassins or other spies. Let’s see if we can flush them out for questioning.”
“All right. I’ll take care of things.”
“I want to meet with the team leaders at—”
An alarm blared.
“What now?” Torque winced at the loud, squawking sound.
Braden checked the security board. “Damn! We’ve got a breach in the Med Lab. Alexa’s due there for a checkup.” He glanced at a timer on the wall. “Right now. Shit!”
Torque’s heart raced. Alexa… He and Braden both grabbed their disruptors and their transport-connectors.
“Let’s go,” Braden ordered.
“On your heels, brother.”
Chapter Nine
Alexa staggered and reached out for the nearest wall. She connected with empty air instead, not near enough to grab onto anything.
Despite the lack of support, she somehow managed to keep her feet under her and steadied her body.
She’d been in the process of transporting back to her quarters after her medical checkup, when she got dizzy. She didn’t remember anything after that.
“What happened?” Her hand automatically went to her slightly rounded stomach.
She looked around, not recognizing her surroundings. She stood in a completely white room with no furniture. Disconcerting, as if she’d landed in some sort of limbo.
Her mind reeled, and her thoughts seemed strangely muddled. She wasn’t even certain how much time had passed since she’d left the Med Lab. She didn’t have a timer with her. “Hello?”
No one answered.
Maybe she’d gotten the transport code wrong. No, that didn’t make sense. The location was preprogrammed into the handheld. Had she hit the wrong button?
She looked at her transport-connector and tried to relocate. None of the buttons worked. “Darn it.” She wished she had her vid-cell with her. Normall
y, she carried it, but today she’d left the connector recharging in her quarters.
Damn thing only needed recharging once every five hundred hours. The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Of course, she hadn’t expected anything to go wrong. She wasn’t planning to be gone for more than an hour. She should have known better and recharged the cell last night. Braden would not be happy. But really…in The Lair, what could go wrong?
“More than I realized, apparently.”
She took a deep breath, attempting to stay calm and focused. Panic wouldn’t do her or the babies any good.
A panel on the side opposite her slid open, and she saw black beyond the opening. “I take it that’s a hint,” she said to no one in particular. She rubbed her stomach, wondering what to do. “Well, anything has to be better than staying here and doing nothing.” She chewed at her bottom lip a moment, then sighed. “Probably.”
She started forward, walking carefully, not knowing what to expect. The floor blended with the walls and made her feel unstable on her feet. She peered out the opening, but couldn’t see anything.
Maybe she’d just take a step or two outside, in case she was able to see something once on the other side. Her eyes might only need to adjust to the change in lighting. The glare in her current surroundings almost hurt her eyes from the brightness.
She could always backtrack if she needed. Simply sitting around and doing nothing held no appeal.
Besides, nowhere to sit existed in this strange room, except for the floor. Her stomach hadn’t grown that large yet, but still, she didn’t do floors well. So… “Here we go.”
Holding her stomach, she stepped through the opening and into empty space.
* * * * *
Braden and Torque materialized inside the Med Lab. A six-man security team was already there, along with the confused and nervous medical staff, and the area erupted into chaos.
“Report?” Braden asked the ranking officer, as he scanned the area for Alexa. He didn’t see her, only staff rushing back and forth, and Warriors barking orders to other personnel.
The Warrior in front of him stood at attention as he spoke. “No external breach, sir. The breach in the Lab came from an internal source.” His eyes flickered with uncertainty. “We think.”
“What do you mean, you think? Explain.” A bad feeling gripped him. “Shut up!” he yelled to the others in the area. He couldn’t hear.
Torque crowded close to listen to the Warrior’s report.
“The Healer on duty said Alexa dematerialized out right after her checkup. That’s when the alarm went off. We can’t find an entry breach, so we suspect she transported out of The Lair, which caused the system alarm to go off due to the shutdown. We’ve been unable to contact her.”
Concern kicked up his heart rate. “Keep on it,” Braden ordered the soldier. The only thing that kept him from losing control was the knowledge that he had tools at his disposal to find her.
“Why would Alexa do that?” Torque asked, after the other Warrior stepped away. “Was she that upset with you, Braden? Now we’re going to have to open at least one security channel in The Lair to get her back in.”
“She wouldn’t do that.” Braden grabbed his vid-cell and punched in her locater code. Nothing. He frowned. He engaged the Locater in his brain that all Branded breeder-mates possessed for finding their mate. The Locater was part of the brain chip Xylons had implanted shortly after birth. The internal circuits for mate location became activated upon Branding. He shook his head. Impossible.
“Where is she?” Torque asked him.
“I-I can’t locate her.” His voice shook. Now panic held him captive. His fingers clenched and unclenched, and his knees felt weak. This was not happening.
“What? That’s not possible, Braden. The only time a breeder-mate can’t locate is if the other one is—”
“Dead.” He shook his head again. He wouldn’t accept that. If she’d used the transport-connector incorrectly, the atmospheric pressure would kill her. But she knew what to watch out for. He’d taught her well. She wouldn’t make such a mistake. Unless some sort of malfunction occurred during materialization…
Torque grabbed his arm. “Let’s go up to the Control Center. We’ll try to connect with the main tracker.
Maybe she’s out of range for the handheld somehow.”
“My internal tracker has no range.”
“Supposedly. Our implanted chips oftentimes develop a temporary glitch. The science behind them is not completely perfected yet. You know that. One of yours might not be engaged properly. We can track her transport-connector. The computer will register its location. Lots of possibilities still exist, Braden.
Let’s not give up hope yet.”
Braden nodded, unable to say another word. His throat had closed up tight. He needed to believe. He did believe. Alexa was not dead. He’d feel it in his heart, if she were.
* * * * *
The rover pulled up to The Dome’s Transport Center. Kam glanced around the area, which looked mostly deserted, with just a few Egesa working, and not many transports docked. He’d expected more activity. Dak got the three of them out of the back, then unloaded the injured guard from the front, hefting the man over his shoulder. “I’ll check in later.” Without waiting for a response from Halah or anyone else, he disappeared through a set of double doors.
Halah climbed out of the rover. Her knees buckled.
“Whoops.” Kam caught her and lifted her in his arms. His heart pounded in concern. She’d lost a lot of blood.
“Put me down.” Her head lolled against his bare shoulder.
“You’re hurt.”
Leila looked over her injuries. “We need to stop the bleeding and get her something to halt infection.
You need to eat too, Halah. You’re so thin. Can you self-heal?”
“Of course. After some patching up, I’ll be all right. My shoulder’s already feeling better. But we have to get you three processed first.”
Kam admired her strength. She presented the appearance of one tough lady. He wondered about the woman inside. Was she as tough deep down, or did she possess a soft heart buried under all that strength?
Several Egesa surrounded them.
Erik turned toward the group. “She’s hurt.”
They grumbled and whispered among themselves.
“Forget them,” Halah instructed, her voice sounding tired. “They’re not going to help. Put me down.”
She tapped Kam’s chest. “We have to go through processing. Once in my quarters, your Healer can fix me up. I have supplies.”
“You can’t walk,” Kam said. She’d fall flat on her face before she made it two feet.
“Well, for all our sakes, you’d better hope that I can. If I’m not fit to control my slaves, you’ll all go into The Pen, the slave arena, and eventually the Egesa will auction you off. I might not be able to get you back. Now, put me down.”
Kam gently set her on her feet, but he kept his hand on her uninjured arm, supporting her. “Your wounds will attract attention.”
“Not if I keep to my feet. Everyone will assume I just suffered a training injury, which happens all the time here. It’ll take a few hours before the Egesa patrol returns with the charred bodies of their comrades, and the truth comes out. Help me get the blood cleaned off. No one will be the wiser.”
“More will gush out,” Erik told her. “You thigh is torn up pretty bad.”
“I’ll wrap the wounds, until they can be treated properly,” Leila said. “It’ll do for the short term.”
Erik glanced at the Egesa staring at them. “We’re already attracting attention.”
“Don’t mind them,” Halah said. “They’re half-brainers—not right in the head. You can tell by the eyes.
A darker yellow. No threat.” Baring her teeth, she made a sound between a feline hiss and a canine growl.
The Egesa scurried off.
“Nice trick,” Kam said, with a laugh.<
br />
“Let’s move behind those supply barrels before anyone else notices us.” Erik herded them across the transport center. “You’re dripping blood.” He grabbed a rag from a work area. “I’ll clean up what I can as we go along.”
Kam watched for trouble, as they helped her limp to the safer location.
Halah grimaced. Every muscle and bone in her body hurt. “Hurry.”
“This is not sanitary,” Leila responded in a huff, wrapping her thigh.
“It’ll be fine.” After Leila patched her up with some additional rags Erik collected, Halah felt good to go.
Although she remained in pain, she could make it. She had to. Her body, already starting to self-heal, but with a way still to go, required rest soon. They couldn’t dawdle. “This way.”
A little unsteady on her feet, she led them out of the transport center, through a narrow corridor, and into a large, crowded room. The noise hurt her ears, and her head pounded painfully.
Egesa guards stood everywhere with pulse rifles in hand or slung over their shoulders. Others dressed in Marid uniforms or civilian clothing. Slaves, evident by their attire, followed their owners around the room.
She directed her three “captives” to one of the long tables in the room where they stood in line with others. Despite her jacket, she shivered at the cool air pumping out of the vents. Her injuries affected more than just her strength. Once she healed completely, her body temperature should regulate properly again.
“Are all these people slaves?” Kam whispered to her, rubbing her uninjured arm.
“That’s right. Don’t touch me here.” An unprocessed slave touching an owner in public could get the whip as punishment.
“Disgusting,” Leila said.
“I never realized the problem was this bad.” Erik moved closer to Leila.
Kam dropped his hand to his side. “Where are they all coming from?”
“Recruited from various planets and systems. Even Tamara.” She wondered how Kam would take the news of slaves from his mother’s home planet. He’d probably want to save them all. She knew his type.
His Carnal Need (Xylon Warriors 2) Page 19
