Scarred

by Tana Stone

  His stomach churned as he was led to a platform that extended slightly over the water. Peering over the edge, he looked down into the massive pool but couldn’t spot the bottom. Drowning was not how he’d imagined dying. He’d always expected to meet his end in battle, and he’d been fine with that. But sinking to the bottom of a seemingly bottomless pool? He gulped.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the guards had fallen back. There was no one on the platform with him, but it had also glided away from the edge. There was no way out now, he thought, cursing in his head.

  Across the arena-sized pool, he spotted the Spartosian queen standing on a water-level platform, her skirt catching the moonlight as it fluttered in the breeze. Next to her stood a golden-haired Spartosian he assumed was the king. Flanking both of them were two males who were clearly princes and looked nearly identical. He narrowed his gaze, trying to determine which one had been the one who’d almost assaulted Madeleine.

  The king spread his arms wide. “Welcome to the sirenatos.”

  The packed stands erupted in cheers as hundreds—perhaps thousands—of Spartosians waved their arms and jumped up and down. The water rippled, and waves splashed over the sides of his floating platform.

  “We honor our ancient tradition by doing what our ancestors did,” the king continued. “Although in many ways we have evolved, it is important to remember our true nature.”

  More cheers. Brok studied the wild faces of the crowd and shifted from one foot to the next. This had the feel of a gladiator fight, but there was something definitely off, aside from the water.

  The king quieted the crowd with a wave of one arm. “Pleasure can only be fully appreciated when it is contrasted with pain. We honor the sacrifice of pain and the euphoria of the pleasure that is Spartos.”

  Brok swiveled his head. Was Madeleine nearby? He hoped not. He hoped that if she’d seen the bizarre arena, she’d returned back to his ship. He did not want her to see him defeated as badly as he knew he would be.

  He’d tuned out the king’s speech and almost succeeded in blocking out the chants of the crowds. Tipping his head back he watched as the planet’s moons slid into perfect alignment, so that it appeared there was only one moon in the sky. The arena instantly dimmed as the light of three moons was diminished, and the sounds of the Spartosians morphed into a strange frenzied noise.

  He returned his attention back to the arena and saw that the royal family no longer stood across from him. They’d disappeared.

  The knot in his stomach hardened. Where were they? His gaze slid to the crowds and his blood went cold. The flaxen-haired aliens were jerking and spasming as their faces contorted. He twisted to scan the stands. They were all going through some sort of metamorphosis.

  A loud splash made him jerk his head around and back away from the edge of the platform. What the grek was that? The water churned where something had emerged from below and splashed back down. Was the pool stocked with enormous sea creatures? He thought about the sharp-toothed sea monster he’d narrowly escaped when he’d arrived on the planet. Drowning was now starting to look like the best possible scenario.

  A shimmering, golden creature leapt out of the water in front of him, pale hair streaming down its back. His heart stuttered as he recognized the queen’s eyes before she flashed him a smile with her now razor-sharp teeth and splashed back down in the water, her tail sending a spray of water in his face.

  “So, she’s a fish,” he muttered to himself. “A fish with arms and serrated teeth.”

  Another figure shot into the air, and then another. The entire Spartosian royal family had transformed into terrifying, half-fish creatures. So, this was the sirenatos.

  Centering himself in the middle of the platform, he stole another look at the moons. It had to be triggered by the alignment of the four moons, which he suspected didn’t happen very often. Were the Spartosians descended from some amphibious species? It would make sense, as their planet was mostly water. And it would explain their iridescent skin that could have evolved from scales.

  Brok eyed the distance between his platform and the edge of the stands where he’d entered. He was a good jumper, but even he couldn’t make that distance without ending up in the water. He had a sense the water was the last place he wanted to be.

  Spartosians began leaping from the stands into the water, sending water splashing onto him and rocking his platform. He held out his arms for balance and bent his legs. All he needed to do was stay out of the water and wait for the moons to move out of alignment. Or so he hoped.

  As more bodies entered the water, it began to churn and darken. A Spartosian emerged and emitted a blood-curdling scream as another creature bit into its arm.

  Brok swallowed the taste of bile. Correction, the Spartosians were descended from a violent amphibious species. A severed hand flopped onto his platform and Brok cursed again. At least it explained why they were so xenophobic. This kind of thing was not great for interplanetary relations. If he got out of this alive, he was going to ensure that every other species knew about this.

  “Which is why they aren’t going to let me out of here alive,” he said to himself, as the realization hit him.

  The only thing he truly ached for was Madeleine. He wished he’d had more time with her. It seemed unfair that he’d finally found a female who seemed perfect for him—and one who didn’t seem to care that he was battle-scarred and less than perfect—and his chance for happiness was being ripped away from him.

  As long as she was safe, he told himself. As long as she escaped from these creatures, it would all be worth it.

  The platform that held him rocked wildly in the churning water, and Brok’s heart pounded as he saw two of the transformed Spartosians crawling up onto one side. He recognized the king’s face, although it looked less regal and more horrific when he bared his rows of pointy teeth in a venomous smile.

  Before he could back away, the platform jerked to one side and he was pitched into the pool, the cold water a shock to his system. Kicking his feet, he desperately tried to keep his head from submerging as the salty water slapped his face. Then something jerked him under.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Maddie watched in horror as Brok vanished beneath the surface.

  “Shit!” She scanned the water from where she stood at the underground entrance to the arena. The only way to get to him was to jump in the water herself. She had no fear of water—she was both a certified diver and an out of practice lifeguard—but she did have a fear of flesh-eating mermaids. To be fair, the things flipping out of the water and thrashing about were definitely not mermaids. At least, no mermaids she’d ever seen or imagined. They were more like mutated mermaids with really bad attitudes.

  Mutated mermaids or not, she had to save Brok. She hadn’t been able to save her parents when she was twelve. No way was she going to watch someone else she loved die in front of her eyes.

  Her breath hitched in her chest. Did she really love him? The moment she asked herself the question, she knew the answer. As ridiculous as it seemed, since she had only known him for a matter of days, she did love him. Sure, she’d tried to convince herself it was just physical, but she’d fallen for him more and more each time he did something brave or kind or self-sacrificing. The asshole had completely bossed his way into her heart, and she could have kicked him in the balls for it.

  “Then I’d better save his ass fast,” she muttered to herself.

  The only thing keeping her safe was the fact that no one could see her. She touched a hand to the device affixed to her waistband. Would it even work if it was submerged? “I guess I’m about the find out.”

  She sucked in a breath and dove into the pool, acclimating quickly to the cold water and using strong strokes to swim out to the platform. When she popped up and gripped the side, she saw that her hand was still cloaked. Score one for Drexian technology.

  Twisting her head quickly, she looked for Brok, but didn’t see him among the f
lashes of shimmering bodies. The Spartosians’ skin now made total sense to her, as it had only needed to adapt slightly to become scales covering their tails.

  Maddie ducked back under the water and swam underneath the platform, opening her eyes under water and searching for Brok. She hoped his dark underwear and bronze skin would stand out against all the iridescent fish people and make it easier for her to find him.

  A Spartosian swam into her and bounced back, shaking its head and looking wildly around. She might be invisible, but her body was still there. She swam to the surface and hoped the stunned creature wouldn’t follow her.

  She glanced quickly above water, then sucked in a lungful of air and dove down again. As she swiveled her head, she spotted the captain below, wrestling with a Spartosian. Although Brok looked to be stronger than the creature, he didn’t have gills and appeared to be weakening from lack of air.

  With a hard kick, Maddie propelled herself down and thrust the heel of her palm into the Spartosian’s jaw, stunning him long enough to grab Brok by the arm and pull him up behind her. Luckily, he wasn’t too weak to kick, and they soon broke the surface of the water.

  “What are you—?” he started to say between gasps.

  “Shut up and swim,” she hissed, pointing toward the edge of the arena.

  He nodded, but flailed his arms ineffectually, so she grabbed him in a lifeguard cross-body hold, and started to swim them over to the side. His body was heavy on top of hers, but his powerful kicks helped move them swiftly through the water.

  Maddie reached the side and placed his hands on the wall while she hoisted herself out. Her arms trembled as adrenaline coursed through her, but she was able to get out of the pool. Moments later, Brok lay beside her.

  She pushed herself to her knees, glancing back and seeing one of the creatures crawling out of the pool only inches away. She tugged on Brok’s arm. “Come on. We have to get out of here.”

  He took a step forward, but the creature grasped his ankle and jerked him back. He hit the ground and started to slide toward the water.

  “No fucking way, you freak-ass merman,” she screamed, raining hard kicks on the Spartosian’s arm until he shrunk back. She noticed that her cloaking device was no longer effective, but she didn’t care.

  Brok staggered back, but another creature lunged out of the pool. She cursed under her breath as she saw masses of the Spartosians heading toward them.

  “Thank heavens I found you,” Serge said, emerging from the tunnel and breathing heavily.

  “Serge!” Maddie gaped at him. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in the ship. You’re supposed to—“

  “I know, I know.” Serge tossed her a small, metal device. “Trust me, sweetie. You’re going to thank me later.”

  Maddie caught it and turned it over in her hands, hearing the flapping of fins behind her. “What do I do with this?”

  “Press the button and throw it into the water,” Serge yelled over the noise.

  Maddie glanced at Brok, who was beating off a creature snapping at his ankle. “Here goes nothing.”

  She pressed the button and tossed it into the pool. Almost instantly, the water was illuminated and glowed so brightly she had to shield her eyes. The sound of splashing was replaced by electric pops and sizzles. When she looked up, the creatures half in the water lay limp, their tails charred black. More bodies bubbled up to the surface, until the surface of the pool was wall-to-wall electrocuted Spartosians.

  “He did not mention the odor,” Serge said, from behind the hand he now held over his mouth. “I hate the smell of cooked fish.”

  Maddie clamped a hand over her own mouth to keep from vomiting at the scent of burning flesh.

  “Are you hurt?” Brok asked, touching a hand to her arm.

  She turned to him where he swayed on his feet, water dripping down his legs. Aside from a slash on one arm that trickled blood, he looked okay. “No, you?”

  Maddie leaned into him, comforted by the warmth of his body, despite the cold water they’d both been in.

  “I hate to break this up, but we are not out of the woods yet,” Serge said, a note of panic in his voice.

  Maddie looked around Brok and saw the creatures who had made it out of the pool and had not been in the water rousing themselves. They were also transforming back to their original form, the tails morphing into legs, and the sharp teeth shrinking.

  “I don’t know what they’re going to remember,” Brok said, “but since we just killed hundreds of their citizens, I think we should probably run.”

  “Agreed.”

  He took her by the hand and picked up Serge, tucking him underneath his arm before taking off down the corridor away from the arena.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Serge shrieked and his cries echoed in the stone tunnel. “I am not a clutch purse. Put me down at once.”

  “Not until we’re safely in the ship.” Brok didn’t break stride as he ran up a flight of stairs that brought them out into the open.

  The arena was on the edge of the city, so the ship was not far, which was a good thing, since several guards armed with tridents had given chase. Maddie glanced back over her shoulder and cursed. So much for taking out all the bad guys. They must have kept some security staff away from the water, although she still wasn’t sure how their transformation process worked. All she knew was that the Spartosians chasing them definitely had legs, and they looked pretty pissed.

  Brok’s hand tightened around hers, and she pushed herself to run harder. Neither of them had come this far to get caught. She gritted her teeth with determination. They were getting away, and they were doing it together.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Brok’s side twinged as he ran, black spots dancing in front of his eyes. He’d been underwater for a while, and his lungs ached from the strain of holding his breath. But he didn’t have time to give in to the pain. Right now, he needed to push through it and get Madeleine and Serge to safety. There would be time to recover later, and time to ask how both Serge and Madeleine had ended up at the arena.

  The soldiers behind them looked determined, but they could not match his long strides. If he kept up his pace and made sure those pointy tridents they brandished didn’t get anywhere close to them, he should be able to outrun them. After winding through dingy, narrow streets, Brok led them down a dirt path toward the water.

  “Please tell me we aren’t going swimming again,” Madeleine said between gasps for breath.

  Brok didn’t reply but right before they were going to run into the water, he reached his hand out and held it flat to an invisible surface. A sleek, gunmetal-gray ship materialized at the edge of the ocean, water lapping at its sides.

  “Okay,” Madeleine said. “That’s impressive.”

  “I’m glad you approve.” Brok hoisted her to the top, tossing Serge up next to her as he complained about the intolerable treatment, then leapt up next to them and unfastened a hatch.

  “Ready to see an Inferno Force spaceship?” he asked her.

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

  A trident whizzed over his head as he bent over the hatch again. The soldiers had rounded the bend, and were making a final attempt to take them out before they could leave the planet.

  Grek.

  He pushed Madeleine and Serge roughly down the hatch, yelling at them to open the internal hatch as he ducked another flying trident that skimmed so close to his ear he was sure it had taken off some of his hair. Heart hammering, he jumped inside, clamping the hatch above him and dropping down into the ship before jumping up and pulling the second hatch down and locking it.

  “It’s good to be in a Drexian ship again.” Serge swiveled his head to take in the dark, compact interior of the shuttle.

  “We aren’t in the clear, yet.” Brok pushed past the Gatazoid to reach the pilot’s chair. “I’d suggest you both strap in and get ready for takeoff.”

  Serge muttered something about not missing
how bossy Drexian warriors were, but Brok ignored him as he quickly engaged the engines and reactivated the ship’s cloaking. He saw the Spartosians out the front of the ship’s view screen and watched their faces go slack with surprise as the ship seemed to vanish before their eyes.

  Of course, they could still hear the rumbling of the engine and see the exhaust sending water into the air from the rear, but at least the cloaking technology startled them enough for him to lift off without another trident being lobbed at them. He didn’t know if the electrified weapons would have any effect on his ship, but he didn’t want to find out.

  The ship rose into the air, and Brok could see a few of the city residents running through the streets, but he knew that the majority of their population lay dead in the water arena—including the entire royal family. He spotted the massive arena as the ship lifted higher, but he forced himself not to focus on it, or the bodies floating in the water. The moons were now out of alignment and the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, so the dead Spartosians no longer had fins and tails and deadly teeth.

  As he hovered over the city, a beam shot at them from the top of the tall administration building. He jerked the ship to one side to avoid it, cursing loudly. He might have disabled the communication systems, but they clearly still had weapons. Weapons he had no idea they even possessed.

  Before he could engage his own laser fire to retaliate, a blue beam cut through the sky from above and the top of the building exploded, raining chunks of stone onto the city below. Brok didn’t need to see through the atmosphere to know that it had been his Inferno Force battleship.

  Static filled the shuttle before Kalex’s deep voice boomed over the comms system. “We’ve got you covered, Captain. Come on home.”