by Sahara Foley
Karrin stood with hands on hips, glaring at the Leader's mate. "Ask your questions before I get angry with you. As you can see, your toys do not affect me."
Zelka's gray face was marred with red blotches. "Fire again!" she barked at the guards, her hand trembling with rage.
When none of her guards jumped to obey her command, she shoved the closest one, sending him flying into the next one which caused a domino effect. All six of them tumbled to the ground, frozen like statues.
Zelka snapped her head around, staring in horror at the small, pale Earth child.
Lurga's loud, mocking laughter echoed off the blue, metal walls. Gasping, trying to catch his breath, he said, "What do you not believe, sister? I advise you not to anger the Warrior Child, or you will see the extent of her tremendous powers. Abilities she has not touched."
Karrin nodded her head, speaking in growling Ispepyein. “Lurga is correct. I just recently discovered them, and he has not had the time for my PSI training.” She cocked an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips. “Who knows, in my anger, I could accidentally turn you purple.”
Zelka’s jaw dropped open as she plopped heavily onto her throne, Lurga looking at Karrin with concern.
Purple was a sacred color to them. Even their sun was a dark shade of purple. Legends said that Ispepyeins had once been purple and a mighty race. Somehow, they’d angered the Creator of all Universes. In His rage, He turned them gray and replaced their fingers and toes with long, sharp claws.
In His fury, the Creator took away their feelings of compassion and love. So, being turned purple was a horrifying thought. If they angered Him, again, how would He retaliate?
The proud Leader’s mate’s shoulders were slumped in defeat.
Karrin felt sorry for her. “Zelka, ask your questions. We won’t be here much longer as I grow weary of this place.”
“Where did you send my mate, Kargan, and the other soldiers who followed him into battle?”
“Do not worry. They are on Calen,” Karrin responded in a deep growl. “I know not how I sent them there, nor how I trapped the energy beast. These are powers I must explore further.” She pointed toward the paralyzed guards scattered on the floor. “As for your guards, once we leave, they will return back to their normal state.”
Zelka studied the wall and the remains of the pillar destroyed by the Seeder pistol blasts. There were no outlines where Lurga and Karrin stood. “How did the grids from the Seeder weapons pass through you with no harm?”
“It was what I wanted,” Karrin explained. “Understand, I could have used a different approach, like destroying their weapons or the guards. Lurga trained me in various battle strategies of the warrior. I felt the Passive Resistance tactic was the best defense. I wanted you to see we are not afraid of you, and you are not a threat to us.
“When your leader returns, tell him what you witnessed. Also tell him, if I must whisk him away, again, he will not live long enough to travel back home. Now, it is time for my questions. What is that energy being? Where did it come from?”
Zelka gnashed her teeth at the small, annoying child. She did not like being dictated to. She spent years snaring Kargan, and she had no desire to lose him especially now she was carrying his litter.
His fate was her fate. If Kargan died, she would no longer be the Leader’s mate. She would be relegated to the unmated Warriors, to be nothing but a breeding-whore. This she could not allow.
She hissed loudly through her gilded vents. “All right, I shall answer your questions.” Turning in her throne, she pointed toward the back of the large chamber. All across the floor, against the wall, were round silver containers of various sizes.
“The energy beast came from one of those. Many moons ago, the Calens told Kargan of beings with tremendous powers. He wished to use them as a weapon, so he went to a place far away and stole them.”
She chuckled in a deep growl. “The look on Kargan’s face when he was unable to open them and see what was inside.” She glanced at Lurga. “You would have relished the moment, my brother. He took two of the containers outside to find a way to access them. Some fool stumbled by with a flask of water and spilled it on them. Suddenly, these huge, black clouds came streaming out of the containers. One of them just winked out and was gone. The remaining energy beast rose into the sky, and we saw it drift away.
“Kargan, in his infinite wisdom, commanded our soldiers to give chase. He wanted to contain it, again.” He had no idea how to trap it. Still, he tried.” She huffed in irritation.
“They were no match for the vile thing. After losing many brave warriors, Leader Kargan finally called off the hunt.”
Zelka glared at her brother. “That was when I sent my call to you, Lurga. Out of all our soldiers, I knew you were the only one who could best it. And, so you did.” She grinned at him. “Since water is the only way to release them, we hid them here, to keep them safe.”
Curious, Karrin strode to the back of the room, where thousands of gleaming, silver containers in different shapes and sizes were lined up. She closed her eyes and concentrated on a few, probing them with her mind, a power she found easier to use each time.
Her eyes snapped open as she took a step back. Black hatred overwhelmed her, making her heart pump in fear. What the hell are these things? She probed more of them. All of them emanated hate, except one.
Karrin stepped over and squatted in front of it. “There’s something wrong with this one,” she said over her shoulder to Lurga. “It's different, not full of hatred.” She placed her palm on the container, her eyes closed again.
“Hmm,” grunted Zelka as she towered over Karrin and peered down at the silver object. “Kargan told me a guard was watching over the silver objects. Maybe that is the custodian. You would need to ask him.”
“How could Kargan trap one of these beings?” asked Lurga. “He does not have the mental powers.”
“It says Kargan carries a female in breeding lust trapped in a silver chip,” Karrin said. “This one is a male Shalit. His name is one I cannot pronounce, yet. He was assigned to watch over the Others. The Others are evil, but the Shalits are not. He says more Shalits will come to retrieve the Others and take them back where Kargan stole them from. If anyone tries to prevent them from removing the Others, they will be killed.
“He also says there are two more Others on Calen, and they might already be loose. He keeps asking me to release him. I think I will.” Karrin opened her eyes, stood, and took a few steps backward.
“No, little one.” Lurga hissed in agitation. “You do not know if –” He backed up as a black cloud issued from the silver orb, his Seeder pistol in hand.
*I am Lainal, and I thank you for releasing me, Karrin,* the Shalit said telepathically in slightly accented, but perfect English. *You are of the blood from one of our people. I can feel the Shalit power inside you. I shall take these containers back into the dead space, where they belong,* Lainal declared.
*You must capture the remaining Others who are loose and return them to me. You must also retrieve the female Shalit Kargan uses. Otherwise, he shall be able to capture the guard, again. We cannot allow this to happen. *I plead with you, Karrin, to do these tasks. A Shalit is unable to trap an Other. Only you have the power to do so. If one Other is left free, the Universe is in extreme peril.* With a soft popping sound, the black cloud, along with the thousands of silver containers, disappeared. The only one remaining had a hole in it.
Karrin’s eyes were squeezed shut, and her forehead was creased with concentration.
“Are you all right?” Lurga asked with concern.
Smiling, she held out her hand. In the middle of her small palm sat a tiny, silver chip. “Your leader cannot trap anymore Shalits. He doesn’t know I took it from his pocket. Also, they are on their way back here.”
Lurga scratched at his breathing vent. “Well, little one, it seems we have a quest to perform. Where to now? Calen?”
Karrin picked up the remaining heavy, silve
r orb and turned it around in her hands. “I have no idea, Lurga. I don’t know how to find these Others. The first one found me, remember?”
“Yes,” he growled out. “Then, that is our plan. We shall scout around as you try to attract it to you. But first, we must go to Calen and take back the energy beasts they foolishly bought from Kargan. I just hope they are still contained. Come, little warrior child. Zelka, Good Battle.” He nodded toward his sibling.
When they left the room, Zelka sat on her throne and peered down at her guards. They were beginning to twitch as they thawed.
“Someone must stop this child,” she muttered to herself. “No one person should wield that amount of power, for they are a threat to us all. I will consult with Kargan upon his return. He will set up a task force to figure out a way to kill her. Sorry, big brother, but you will be in the way. You will be destroyed right along with your precious warrior child.” She gurgled with pleasure.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Lurga and Karrin walked to their fighter. Expecting trouble, he kept one hand on his pistol, ready for a confrontation. Though a handful of warriors observed their every move, no one tried to stop them.
Once the pair was secured in their ship, it vanished from its assigned stall. Two warriors were prepping their crafts for flight. They looked at each other and all around, trying to figure out where it had gone.
The silver fighter reappeared, two-thirds of the way to Calen. While they sat dead in space, Lurga tapped out a message to the five Ispepyein spaceships making a mad dash for home. 'Leader Kargan, Lurga Pukani demands the name of the Calen who possess the pair of silver orbs.'
The answer came back immediately. 'The fools released them, and they vanished. Leader Kargan orders no further interference from the traitor Lurga Pukani. You will turn the child over to us, or the Calens. If you do not comply, your name will be stricken from the rolls of the Honorable Warriors. You will be an outcast, with an ample reward offered for your capture or execution. Leader Kargan proclaims this, and so, it becomes law.'
Biting her lip, Karrin glanced over at Lurga. She understood how much it meant to Lurga to be an Ispepyein Warrior. Now, he could lose his title, all because of her.
Noticing the frown on Karrin's face, Lurga growled, "Do not concern yourself, little one. This fight is not, yet, over." The keys clicked as he tapped on the keyboard with his claw, then hit the send button.
'Leader Kargan would enjoy trying to best Lurga Pukani. After my quest is completed, I shall return to Ispepyein for the Challenge of Leadership. This is one law Leader Kargan cannot change or break. Send no soldiers after me you expect to return.'
Karrin held her breath, waiting for the response. This was a war of words and politics, neither of which she understood. A few minutes later a message came back.
'Lurga Pukani, this is Tatum Pokatch. As head of the Warrior Council, I hereby note your Challenge for Leadership. We cannot stop a proven traitor to his right to the Challenge. You must understand that unless you complete the assignment you accepted, if you win, we cannot acknowledge you as Leader.'
Lurga snarled as he typed some more. It was as he feared; his weakling Leader did not update his status with the contract. Kargan set him up as a traitor.
'The assignment was not honorable, as Leader Kargan withheld information from the Warrior who he asked to handle the contract. I understand the laws as well as you, Tatum. My assignment was overwritten by a death bond, paid in advance. Kargan was informed of the situation, but I doubt he notified anyone in the Council. I shall do this, now.
'I hereby inform the Council that I, Lurga Pukani, accepted a death bond on the planet Earth. Unwisely, I only sent word to our Leader. The contract between Kargan and Calen will end upon his death. When I am finished with my blood bond, I shall return for the Challenge. I vow to kill Kargan and whether you accept me as Leader or not, does not matter.'
The screen lit up with several messages being transmitted to Kargan.
'Leader Kargan, is Lurga's statement true?' one read.
Another demanded, 'Were you notified of a death bond, paid in advance, and you did not inform the Warrior's Council?'
"Well, you certainly stirred up a hornet's nest," Karrin observed from the co-pilots seat.
Lurga shook his head at her choice of words. Ever since she started watching the vids he downloaded while on Earth, she enjoyed throwing odd euphemisms into their conversations.
Kargan responded. 'The traitor lies. I was never sent the message. If I had, I must honor the bond.'
Lurga tapped in. 'Great Leader, how did you learn I did not complete my assignment? And, that the child still lived?'
Kargan's answer said, 'My mate informed me upon my return that you sent word you had not fulfilled your assignment, and you had the child with you. I did not receive any notice of this death bond.'
Lurga tapped in, "Ah, my sister, Zelka, found a way to disgrace me by lying to you, thus ensuring your continued Leadership, and her seat of power. She failed. My Challenge is duly noted. The law is clear and unchangeable.'
A message from Tatum flashed across the screen. 'If his statement is true, Kargan, you do not deserve to be Leader. It is not honorable to withhold vital information concerning a warrior’s assignment. Nor, for you or your mate to deceive us if you have. We are dealing with one's word against the other, and there is no way of learning the truth. As for myself, I lean toward Lurga, who never left an assignment uncompleted. I have accompanied him on a few of them, thereby, knowing from firsthand experience.
‘Kargan, one of the reasons we chose you as Leader was because his sister was your mate. She talked against her brother for years, so he would be disgraced and your Leadership unchallenged. Our law decrees that only the opponent who survives the contest is telling the truth as the challenger is no longer around to renounce it. The Challenge of Leadership will prove who lies.'
The screens on six ships showed Kargan's response. 'Until the Challenge, I am still Leader, and Lurga Pukani is still a traitor. The reward for his execution stands. I will add a new fighter and seat on the Warrior Council to the reward, as well as the choice of unmated females.'
Karrin stared at her screen, trying to understand what was happening. "What does Kargan mean, Lurga?"
Lurga hissed. "It means every rutting young warrior will want to take me on. Being on the Warrior Council is a high honor they will gladly die for the chance to have. Plus, pick of unmated females. If I were not the object of the hunt, I would take up the challenge myself."
The young girl frowned as she reread the message. "I thought my people were mean, but yours are cruel. Your own sister wants you dead, so she can remain the mate of your Leader. Well, no one will hurt you as long as I'm with you."
With that, she shut her eyes, mouth pressed firmly shut. She let out a sigh of satisfaction when she was done, a smile playing on her lips. The screen read, 'I am Karrin, Warrior Child from Earth. Lurga Pukani is my protector. He became my guardian by accepting a death bond from my friend. Be warned, anyone who comes to harm Lurga will DIE! This I promise!'
Lurga read the screen and looked over at Karrin. Her eyes were still squeezed closed, and when she opened them, they faintly glowed.
She smiled and winked at him.
"You are a truly remarkable child. What will Kargan's response be?"
"Nothing," she said with a smirk. "I burned my message into their screens. They won't be using them anymore." She giggled. "Ready to go to Calen?" Not waiting for an answer, she closed her eyes again, concentrating.
The screens winked, changing from the star system they were at to a close up of the planet Calen. In a matter of seconds, they traveled the vastness of space. Lurga marveled at the quickness of their transport.
How does she do it? Remarkable she may be, but dangerous, too. She doesn't understand the limits of her powers, yet. Old Gods, she might not have any limits. She could destroy us all by accident.
