Claimed by the Alien Warrior Triad (Scorp Blood Tribe Book 1)

by Corin Cain

  Always assume the safety is off, even when you know it’s not. That’s one of the rules of firearms.

  “Have you seen bows and arrows?” I ask, trying to find a way to explain the weapon.

  Stryker rubs a small scar on his shoulder. “Yes. A coward’s weapon.”

  I raise my eyebrow. “Not all of us have strong arms, you know. I’m just as deadly as you are with this thing. This gun shoots with the force of a hundred arrows – but it can only shoot eight more times.”

  Brigg snorts. “And then it’s just a useless hunk of metal?”

  I nod. “Yes. But until then, I could kill an Aurelian from a stone’s throw away.”

  The three of them look at me with new understanding. I look like a small, weak woman to most Aurelians – but those who underestimate me will see my teeth. I didn’t get to the position of Secretary of Defense back on Earth easily. I had to manipulate and negotiate, growing my influence slowly. I’ve faced down five-star generals and men of power and influence who’d make even this so-called “Ripper” shake in his boots.

  “Tomorrow, we go,” says Stryker, without a hint of doubt in his voice.

  20

  Aubrey

  We trek to the underground home of the Scorp-Blood tribe. A guard challenges us at the entrance.

  “Halt! The three of you are banished. And who is this woman? Procured by some ungodly means? None of you have brought a sacrifice to the Orb-God to earn your fated mate. Where did you find her?”

  The guard draws his Orb-Weapon, holding the hilt but not activating it. I see Brigg’s eyes dart up and I raise my gaze. There are Aurelians surrounding us in the trees, with horns slung around their necks. So close to their tribal home, they have a stronger warning system against the dragon – or whatever other dangerous creatures lurk in the jungle.

  And there are few more dangerous creatures than Stryker, Brigg and Haleon.

  “This is our one true mate, Aubrey,” says Stryker calmly, though I notice his hand inches towards the hilt of his own Orb-Weapon. He may put on a calm front, but I know Stryker could explode into violence at any second.

  An Aurelian drops from the trees. He’s less than seven-feet-tall, with fewer markings than my triad.

  He must be a younger member of the tribe – one who has not yet earned the full tribal tattoos of the Scorp-Blood tribe.

  “Impossible!” The young newcomer snarls. “When a mate leaves, she will never return. The three of you are forsaken!”

  That sets my three Aurelians off. I watch in horror as Stryker, Haleon and Brigg each reach for their weapons.

  “Stop!” I yell, surprising everyone. I step forward. Brigg instinctively moves to protect me. “It’s true,” I growl. “I found a way back here through an Orb-Portal. I came back – I am these warrior’s fated mate, and I did not forsake them.”

  The guards listen dubiously.

  “These men are not forsaken – and, as such, they have the right to consult with their god.”

  The guard inspects me, his eyes roaming up and down my body. I hope he doesn’t look for too long, or the uneasy truce will be broken by the jealous Aurelians.

  “It was wrong of Ripper to restrict the rite of consulting with our god – even to you three.” The guard who first stopped us seems to be leaning in our favor. “All members of our tribe have that sacred right, and if this woman truly is your fated mate, then the Orb-God must have brought her back for a good reason.”

  “They lie! Sent by some void-devil to trick us,” snaps the younger Aurelian. The guard instantly boxes his ears. The younger Aurelian bristles, but steps down. I chew my lip, realizing how close the young man came to being killed. The Aurelian species is one that values honor almost as high as life itself.

  The guard grabs a thick vine and pulls, opening a path to the cavern beyond. He goes first, with Stryker following right behind him. Brigg gently motions me forward, and I follow Stryker into the smooth-walled tunnel and downwards into the caverns themselves. As we enter the young Aurelian glares daggers at us.

  The three of us enter the main cavern and I instantly feel that something is wrong.

  In one corner, three Aurelian warriors lie covered in mushroom paste and bandages, groaning softly in pain. Children sit duly in front of a thin stream, and pale-faced women huddle near a fire. They look up fitfully as we enter.

  There is a large, stone chair in the center of the cavern – which holds a large Aurelian warrior with scars crisscrossing his entire body. He’s eating a large piece of meat messily, juices dripping down his bearded face. A woman sits near him, and behind him stands a second Aurelian, just as large as the first. I wonder if the third member of his triad died in some fierce battle, or if he’s simply out of sight.

  In any event, I know instantly that this enormous, venerable Aurelian is Ripper, the Clan Leader and Chieftain, and my heart beats faster when I see the Orb-Bracelets around his wrists.

  He got the name Ripper because, in battle, those Orb-Bracelets extend into pincers modelled after the first Scorp he killed.

  Ripper stands, discarding the bone he was chewing on with force. It clatters against the ground and the woman next to him flinches.

  “Why did you let these forsaken Aurelians in?” He yells at the guard, his voice booming.

  The guard stands tall. “They seek consult with the Orb-God, who has brought them back their fated mate!”

  “Impossible!” Ripper roars, striding towards us. I tremble as the massive Aurelian stands only a few feet away from us. The second Aurelian, the one standing behind Ripper, steps up to support his battle-brother.

  “No, not impossible,” Haleon explains calmly – calmer than he has any justification to be. “She found her own way back to us. You banished us for fighting for her, but you could not stop fate from bringing our fated mate back to us.”

  Haleon’s voice remains relaxed, but I detect a knife’s edge of stress under it.

  “My word is law in this cave. I banished you once with words, do not make me do it again… with force. Defy me, and I’ll see you in… the Circle,” threatens Ripper.

  I swallow hard as I see that in front of Ripper is a broad circle of polished stone. He steps to the edge, and gasps fill the cavern. I know that if he steps into it, he won’t leave until someone is bloody in front of him.

  “Very well. Then we do battle,” snarls Stryker. Before I can stop him, he walks to the edge of the polished circle and draws his weapon. The Orb-Blade hums to life and he holds the sword in front of him. Every member of the Scorp-Blood tribe stands and walks forward as if in a trance. I feel a deep fear, knowing that if Stryker’s toe crosses the line, nothing but blood will end this.

  Ripper’s weapons activate. The huge Orb-Claws appear, warping reality as light seems to flee them. I watched my triad defeat Scorp warriors in battle, but Ripper is a different foe. I can see how badly he wants to fight and kill Stryker.

  The light disappears from the cavern. I can see the outlines of torches, but they are simply a tiny light that cannot travel in the sudden deep silence that falls over us all as if we are being crushed by the night sky. Some nights back on Earth I’d look up at the stars and fear that our atmosphere would be pierced by the nothingness of space.

  Screams fill the cavern and the light comes back on, but no one is moving. We are not frozen, but not a single one of us can move a muscle. Gasps fill the cave as a black pulse comes from down a long corridor. Long tendrils of Orb-Lightning reach out, and then as soon as it all started, it stops.

  “The Orb-God calls to us. Even a chief cannot stand between an Aurelian and a deity,” says Brigg, appealing to rationality. I force myself not to tremble. I need to put on a strong front.

  Ripper considers. He holds his huge pincer claws up, and there is open bloodlust in his eyes as he stares down Stryker. Suddenly, the two men deactivate their weapons as one. “Very well. I will give you the consult, but I too will be there.”

  Stryker bristles. Horror fi
lls me as I see his veins pulsating – every one, crisscrossing his body like the roots of a plant, and I know that the Scorp-Venom is affecting him; charging his anger and emotion. We were on the verge of bloody violence, and it’s hard for him to back down.

  “It is the right of a triad to seek consult alone!”

  Ripper bares his teeth. “Aye, and it’s also the right of the Chief to kill a man who insults him. Take my conditions – leave, or fight.”

  I grab Stryker’s arm. “Please, we came this far. We need to speak with the Orb. What matter is it if he’s there to witness?”

  In fact, given how Ripper’s misunderstanding of the situation had led to this, maybe it would be beneficial if he was there, too.

  Stryker nods, not saying anything, and we follow Ripper into the chamber that houses their Orb-God.

  It’s the first time I’ve seen it, and I gasp as I witness a shimmering, rippling blacker-than-black ball that’s so much larger than the one that brought me back to this world.

  The Orb back on earth was nothing compared to this stallion-sized, pulsating sphere of energy. I look into it and lose myself in the swirling, incomprehensible darkness. It’s like I’m staring into nothing, yet everything. I see the entire chaos of the universe – the vastness of space, the brutality of life, and the coldness of an empty, endless void.

  Tendrils of darkness emanate from the ominous Orb, and I wonder deep in my heart if these things are good or evil, or if they are something else – far beyond human comprehension.

  Stryker, Haleon and Brigg step forward to address their Orb-God. Nothing happens that I can see, and they look at each other, confused and disappointed.

  “So, the Orb-God did not call you. Tell me then, what do you seek?”

  “A son,” says Brigg.

  Ripper looks at me again. “This female will not bear you a son? She is truly the Cursed Mate. The moment she came to our lands, the tyrant dragon rampaged. Perhaps it is a sign that I must end her!”

  I gasp. The room hums with violence as my triad circles me, keeping their bodies between me and Ripper.

  That great, hovering Orb-Sphere activates again.

  We all feel it, and turn to watch.

  Then I see it.

  The great, shimmering Orb pulses and I witness the clouds of black oblivion swirling and parting; moving open. I step forward without even telling my feet to move, until I’m right in front of the Orb.

  I remember the death and destruction the much-smaller Orb wrought, back in that lab on Earth…

  …but I’m not afraid.

  It’s speaking to me.

  “I see… I see something,” I whisper, and the four growling Aurelians reluctantly back down.

  I stare into the Orb, and I watch swirling blackness form shapes and images. I see generation after generation of the Scorp-Blood tribe, and other proud, primitive warriors like them, finding their mates and bringing them back through the benevolence of their Orb-God.

  Then I see a meteor hitting the ground, and hatching – for it is no mere chunk of space debris. It’s an egg.

  A dragon grows from that cracked, otherworldly egg - a dragon that lusts for company; another of its kind. A mate – and yet it finds none.

  A dragon that now lashes out in anger upon the Scorp-Blood tribe; alone and frightened and hate-fueled and vengeful.

  I peer through the shimmering Orb clouds and see the creature itself – like something from the fairytale books I’d read as a child.

  It’s as if I’m seeing it – watching the dragon right now through the eye of the Orb.

  In my vision, the dragon turns to face me, its red eyes staring at me. I can see it…

  …and it can see me.

  A scream leaves my body, as the dragon’s tooth-lined maw stretches open and a torrent of flaming magma roars out.

  Then I see the dragon’s head – just its head. It bleeds, it’s huge eyes unseeing.

  Visions of children follow – of strong, proud Aurelian offspring. More and more of them appear – generation after generation of my progeny, heroic and brave. I watch as one of my great, great grandchildren fights with his triad in a futuristic world ravaged by Scorp attacks, pulling a strong-willed mate and three small children back to the safety of the jungle planet. I watch as my sons fight for the right to their fated mates, bringing sacrifices back to the Orb-God. I watch a million years in an instant, and my mind fills to the brim with the vast yarns of destiny, all spinning from my own fertility.

  Countless strong, young sons sweep out in front of me – my sons, and the sons of my sons, and a dynasty that follows.

  I watch them all, and somehow it’s like they look up and see me in return. I feel a wellspring of pride inside me…

  …then they disappear into nothingness.

  The Orb abruptly ends its vision.

  “The dragon!” I gasp, staggering back from the swirling Orb, until Stryker grabs me. “It’s the dragon! That’s the key!”

  “What did you see?” Stryker growls, his question a command.

  “I saw the tyrant dragon. It needs a mate, and it kills because it’s full of rage that it cannot find one.”

  “She lies!” Ripper snarls. “She wants to draw attention away from her role in all of this. She is the reason the dragon angers. She disgraced you, your Cursed Mate, and the dragon is punishing all of us for her betrayal.”

  I shake my head. I don’t want to say what I saw next – for that will force my triad and I to face almost certain death…

  …but we have no choice.

  I speak as though in a trance:

  “The Orb wants its head. It demands the head of the dragon as sacrifice.”

  The cave becomes hushed. Then Ripper snorts: “The tyrant dragon has killed twenty-three Aurelian warriors. If you three fight it, the number will be twenty-six… Plus one foolish, human woman.”

  Brigg clenches his hand into a fist. “The tribe has dwindled under your rule, Ripper. Aurelians hide like rats, instead of facing their enemies!”

  Ripper smiles, but the emotion does reach his cold, hard eyes.

  “Then come for the crown yourself, boy. If you think you can do better – challenge me in combat.”

  Haleon grabs Brigg by the shoulder. “We have a more worthy foe to fight.”

  Brigg turns to him, and they exchange a glance. A connection.

  Their look extends to Stryker, and then to me.

  The four of us nod, wordlessly agreeing to embrace our destiny.

  Ignoring Ripper, we walk back to the cavern together in silence. All I can think about are the images the Orb showed me. So much violence and death, and yet, so much life. So many stories, all stemming from my womb.

  We leave the cavern of the Scorp-Blood tribe, and journey home. When we eventually get back to our own cozy cavern, I realize that while life on this world means being surrounded by danger on all sides, it’s nothing compared to the danger we all wordlessly know the Orb-God has instructed us – no, ordered us - to seek out.

  I try to speak reason to my three loves.

  “You can’t seriously be considering trying to fight that thing!” I implore the three Aurelians to see reason.

  They are my bliss. These three beautiful, powerful, caring men – who I know would die for me in a heartbeat.

  This is my bliss – being with them for the rest of my life.

  I long ago gave up the fantasy of having children, and I found far greater happiness than I could ever have imagined as a result.

  But now, it will all be threatened once again by the curse of my infertility.

  Joshua took a younger woman because I was unable to have children.

  Now these three will go on a suicide mission for the same reason – to offer an impossible sacrifice to their damned Orb-God; at the risk of everything I’ve spent thirty years trying to restore.

  Haleon runs his hand through his mohawk. Then he touches me, his hand against my belly, and looks deep into my eyes. “You will
bear me a son, my pet.”

  I step back, anger flaring. “I’ll bear you nothing if you try to fight that creature!”

  Brigg has a hint of fear in his eyes.

  “We must. It’s our only chance.”

  His voice is resigned, yet determined.

  We eat a terse dinner. Then we fall asleep, barely a word spoken between us. My dreams are filled with fire and agony, and I wake up with a start, gasping for air.

  In the corner of the cave is a black dot.

  A floating, black dot. The same type I’ve seen before – the call of the Orb, or whatever intelligence it is behind those eerie, floating balls of raw energy.

  It shimmers into a portal, rippling and humming, but the three Aurelians don’t wake from their slumber.

  I do, though. I’ve never been so awake in all my life. The rift in reality opens, offering me a way out of the situation. I took it once before and it was my greatest regret.

  I see clearly through the shimmering portal into an office building.

  Earth.

  Home.

  If I go through it, the three Aurelians will have no reason to fight the dragon. It is only for their progeny and legacy that they’d take such a stupid, foolhardy risk.

  I pull myself gently away from Brigg’s arms and stand in front of the portal. I lick my lips, knowing that if I go through it, the Aurelians will be safe. They will have no reason to battle the dragon without me. They will survive instead of going on a suicide mission.

  Tears come to my eyes.

  I know what I should do…

  …but I can’t.

  I’m the selfish one now. Though I know I should step through and away from the certain doom that I’m condemning these three, proud warriors to, I can’t take that step.

  I did it once before, and it nearly destroyed me.

  I fall to my knees, knowing that by staying here I’m effectively killing the three men I love.

  As if reading my mind, the portal abruptly disappears. I’m left on my knees in the darkness, and suddenly all I feel is hatred at myself for not making the noble choice – to leave this brutal paradise and let my three loves live.