Jardun's Embrace

by Rayna Tyler

  “Orrr that works,” Cara said.

  I was glad to see that Celeste was okay, but could have done without her excited shrill when she realized Carl was really Cara.

  Other than a few scrapes, Zaedon didn’t look too bad either. Burke, on the other hand, was in bad shape, most likely the result of an encounter with someone’s fist. One of his eyes was swollen shut. He had a split lip, and his jaw was red with early signs that there would be bruising. The pants covering one thigh had been sliced, and blood coated the fabric. Sloane had already cut the ties binding his wrists to the chair and was fastening one of the longer lengths around his leg to slow the bleeding.

  I tried not to wince. “Burke, I hope the other guy looks worse than you do.”

  Burke rubbed his wrists. “I wish. Doyle never was one to fight fair.”

  Garyck helped Burke to his feet, then draped one of his arms over his shoulders. Zaedon took a few steps closer to Cara, tugging a curl as if testing to see if it was real. He took several long sniffs, then wrinkled his nose. “The male who is a female smells worse than a pile of chaugwas dung.”

  “Zaedon, right?” Cara sneered and pushed his hand away.

  “Yes.” He quirked a curious brow, clearly surprised she was aware of his name.

  “We don’t have time to discuss my personal hygiene right now. It won’t be long before the cameras come back online and the others come after us.”

  “Not to mention Doyle won’t be happy when he discovers Vurell isn’t in the lab,” I added.

  Celeste grabbed their sheathed swords from a nearby counter in a wall unit. She kept Burke’s and tossed Zaedon’s at him on her way to the outside corridor.

  Doyle’s room was located on the main level, which also happened to be close to the entrance at the front of the ship. Even with Burke’s injury, it didn’t take us long to make our way to the exit.

  Jardun cautiously surveyed the area outside the vessel. “Where are the three males we saw earlier?”

  “We took care of one of them. The other two accompanied Doyle,” Zaedon said.

  “Head for that solarveyor over there.” Cara pointed at the largest of the transports. “The solars have been fully charged.”

  “And how would you know that?” Sloane asked.

  Cara grinned. “It’s amazing what you learn when no one pays any attention to you.” She leaned against the exterior hull and aimed her laser pistol back inside. “Now, go. I’ll catch up.”

  Zaedon stepped aside, withdrawing his sword as the rest of us passed. Cara wrinkled her nose at his blade, raising her gaze to his face. “They have guns. What do you think you’re going to do with that?”

  “Whatever is necessary to keep you safe.” He moved to the opposite side of the opening.

  “Ketaurrans,” Cara muttered under her breath, then returned her focus to the dimly lit passageway.

  I turned to stay with my friend, but Jardun grabbed my arm to stop me. “Where are you going?”

  “I can’t leave Cara behind.”

  “Zaedon will make sure she reaches the transport.” He gave my wrist a gentle tug.

  Cara was a stellar fighter. I didn’t think Zaedon would appreciate hearing that it might be the other way around. I gave the two a frustrated glance, then groaned and paced alongside Jardun until we reached the transport.

  Celeste and Vurell had helped Burke into a seat and were securing his safety strap. Sloane was hovering near one of the portals, her gaze focused on the ship. Garyck was in the control seat, his fingers flitting over buttons, the engine rumbling to life. He maneuvered the vessel as close to the ship’s entrance as possible, moving slowly but not stopping.

  I braced my feet on the floor and clutched a bar near the open doorway, ready to give Cara and Zaedon assistance. They were already under attack and running in our direction. Cara aimed her weapon behind her, firing shots to keep Doyle and his men from following. One of her shots hit the control for the main door, and it started to close.

  When they were a few feet away, Zaedon grabbed Cara around the waist, then hoisted her up and followed her inside. “Go,” I hollered at Garyck and hit the button to seal the door.

  Jardun

  It must not have taken the humans long to get the main doors of the spaceship open again. I notice two of the solarveyors trailing behind us in the distance. Currently, they were too far away to catch us easily. Garyck was pushing our vessel to its limit, the hull vibrating, the whine from the engine’s increased speed rippling through the interior. The additional speed we needed to outrun any pursuing vehicles would use the solarized energy reserves a lot faster than normal. I was not happy with our odds of making it out of the Quaddrien before the engines failed or we were overtaken by Doyle and his males.

  I stared at the sunlight flickering through the clouds on the horizon, casting glints of green against the darkening backdrop of an impending storm, the rays too far away to come to our aid. If ever there was a time to hope that water wouldn’t drop from the sky, it was now.

  Zaedon was at my side, a disconcerted frown furrowing his brow. “You know they will not stop until they get Vurell and the antidote back and we are dead.”

  “I know,” I said, glancing at Laria and her friends. Unless they tried to fight, I did not believe the females would be put to death. I did believe that dying would be a better end than what awaited them at the hands of Doyle and his males should we be overtaken. The thought of any male forcing his touch on Laria repulsed me and further fueled my resolve to prevent our recapture.

  “I’m sure my destroying everything in the lab didn’t help,” Cara stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “What are you talking about?” Laria asked.

  I was curious as well. As far as I was aware, the female had done nothing besides secure the males in the storage room.

  “When I jammed the camera signals, I set a timer to release the agent in the ceiling used to extinguish fires.” Cara proudly cracked her knuckles. “That nasty foamy stuff has a long shelf life and is very potent. There’s no way it didn’t contaminate all the toxin samples. And yes, before you ask, I set it off in all the labs.”

  Knowing the mercenaries would no longer be able to replicate the toxin designed to kill my people provided me with a small amount of relief. It did not, however, assist with our current situation.

  “This will work.” Vurell approached from the rear of the transport, where he’d been rummaging through storage units. He smiled victoriously at the medical supply kit in his hands. He knelt in front of Burke and set the container on the bench next to him. Since leaving the lab, he’d kept the bag containing the vials strapped across his chest. Instead of removing it, he repositioned the bag so it pressed against his lower back.

  “Can’t this wait until we reach the city?” Burke grumbled.

  “Only if you want to arrive without any blood left in your body.” Vurell took the knife Celeste handed him and made a long cut in the fabric of Burke’s pants.

  “Don’t be such a baby, Burke. Let the doc fix you up,” Cara said.

  “I’d hoped that spending time in the wastelands would’ve adjusted that impertinent attitude of yours.” Burke hissed through his teeth when Vurell pressed on the skin around the gash.

  “What attitude?” Cara chuckled. “I’m still the sweet-natured person I’ve always been.”

  “This is going to hurt.” Vurell announced his warning at the same time he applied a liberal dose of an anti-infection herbal preparation. A preparation not known to possess soothing qualities.

  “What the draeck, Doc?” If not for the safety strap holding him in place, Burke would have lifted off the seat.

  It was comforting to know the time Vurell spent with Doyle had not changed his personality or the abrupt way he treated his patients. Vurell ignored Burke’s complaints and wrapped a sealing gauze around the wound. “That will have to do until we reach Aztrashar.” He closed the kit, then slid it in the empty compartment beneath an adjoining
bench.

  The transport rocked to the right as Garyck shifted directions to circle around the loicryn. Seeing the blur of blue as we rushed past the lush plant-filled area brought memories of my night spent with Laria. I glanced in her direction, noting the concern she held for her friends. If I had learned nothing else over the past few days, it was how precious the few gifts we received could be. She was one of those gifts, and it strengthened my resolve to do everything possible to keep her alive and in my life.

  Laria must have gotten a glimpse as we passed and guessed the direction of my thoughts. She smiled, a hint of pink appearing on her cheeks.

  “Hey, guys.” Sloane had been kneeling on one of the benches near the rear of the vehicle and staring outside. “They’re getting closer, so if you have any ideas on how we can slow them down, now would be a good time to share with the group.”

  “What about the snakkrils?” Laria asked.

  Cara wrinkled her nose. “What the heck is a snakkril?”

  “They’re these snaky lizard creatures with huge fangs that live in the ground,” Celeste answered. “Oh, and they’re poisonous, as in you’re dead after one bite.”

  “Yes, but they’ll attack anything that moves if they think their offspring are in danger. If we drive near their nests, maybe we can use them as a distraction,” Laria said.

  I was reminded of the day before and how close I had come to losing Laria. Our situation was dire, we lacked resources, yet I had to admire her ingenuity for coming up with the solution, no matter how risky. There were very few areas along the rocky wall surrounding the Quaddrien where the terrain was low and level enough for a transport to travel. The site where we were attacked was out of our way, but not by much.

  “Since we are aware of their location and the other males are not, it could work,” Zaedon added.

  Celeste shook her head. “Or we could end up being their next meal.”

  “What happens if they get underneath our vehicle and do something to the engine?” Sloane asked.

  “They cannot get inside. The metal is too thick for their fangs or claws to penetrate,” Zaedon said.

  “These things have claws too?” Cara sounded more impressed than afraid.

  “And if we get stranded?” Celeste pressed one hand to her hip. “Then what?”

  “Look guys, I don’t think we have much of a choice.” Cara blew out an exasperated breath. “Doyle is one mean, crazy asshole, and his men aren’t much better. Let’s not forget that they’re armed with laser pistols. One lucky shot to the solar drive...” She expanded her fingers to mimic an explosion. “...and we’re done.”

  “I agree with Cara and say we go with Laria’s idea.” Burke fiddled with the latch, trying to free the strap keeping him in place.

  “Where do you think you are going?” Vurell shoved Burke’s hand away.

  “If we end up in a fight, I won’t be much good strapped to a seat,” Burke said.

  “You will not be of help if you move your leg and tear open your injury either.”

  “Here. Maybe this will help.” Sloane retrieved the gun she’d confiscated from Rick. She appeared reluctant to part with it when she handed it to Burke.

  “Then it is agreed. We head for the nests.” I searched the faces of everyone around, receiving affirmatives. Celeste did not seem convinced, but finally gave me a nod. “Garyck.” I could have saved my breath. He was already manning the controls, the solarveyor vibrating with the abrupt shift toward our new destination.

  Chapter Fourteen

  LARIA

  “Why did you tell Garyck to slow down?” Celeste pinned Jardun with an incredulous look, panic lacing her heightened voice.

  My anxiety equaled my friend’s. Slowing down as we approached the nest site hadn’t been part of my plan. Skimming across the sand, waking the snakkrils, then making a speedy run for the nearest exit out of the wastelands had been what I’d envisioned.

  “If we do not operate at a lower speed, then we will not have enough power to reach the Quaddrien’s exterior border,” Jardun said. “We also need the other transports to be close once we wake the snakkrils.”

  I’d been around Jardun long enough to know that he took his leadership responsibilities seriously. He would never willingly put any of our lives at risk without a good reason. I also didn’t want to be trapped in the wastelands, not with Doyle’s transports bearing down on us, and certainly not being this close to the snakkrils.

  “I hope this works.” Sloane hadn’t moved from her kneeling position on the bench at the rear of our vehicle, nor had she stopped staring outside since everyone had decided to move forward with my plan. “Because they’re right behind us.”

  I moved next to the viewing portal so I could get a better look. Sure enough, the other transports were getting a lot closer. “Where are they going?” The two vessels were moving farther apart from each other. Up until this point, they had stayed close and had been traveling in tandem.

  “Crap.” Sloane pushed off the seat, slipped between Celeste and me, and plopped down in the copilot seat next to Garyck. “You need to do something, or they’re going to flank us.”

  Garyck released a threatening rumble but didn’t increase the transport’s speed.

  “All right, stop growling. I’m doing it.” Sloane snapped the seat’s safety strap into place.

  If we survived Doyle’s attack and made it back to the city, I was definitely going to ask Sloane how she was able to understand what Garyck’s various grunts meant.

  “Everybody needs to hold on,” Sloane called loudly over her shoulder.

  I didn’t have time to react before Jardun had his strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me tight against his chest. He steadied us by holding one of the horizontal support beams that ran along the interior wall with his other hand.

  Vurell remained in the seat across from Burke, secured his strap, and kept a tight grip on the bag containing the vials sitting on his lap.

  Celeste, Zaedon, and Cara were standing. To prevent being tossed around, they reacted quickly by latching onto bars similar to the one Jardun was gripping. When Garyck jerked the transport to the left, I clutched Jardun’s shoulder.

  My heart pulsed rapidly, and every nerve in my system was vibrating with anxiety. Part of it I attributed to our current situation; the rest I was certain was my reaction to being in Jardun’s arms. An embrace that made me feel safe.

  Jardun spoke over my shoulder to Zaedon and Garyck. “If they are able to overcome our vessel, we cannot allow Doyle to confiscate the antidote or take Vurell and the females.”

  “This female is quite capable of protecting herself, thanks.” Cara flexed the fingers on her free hand.

  Zaedon flared his nostrils and grinned. “You will not need to worry about fighting. After one whiff of your scent, the males will abandon your capture.”

  “Just for the record...” Cara sneered. “I’m not impressed with your sense of humor.”

  Zaedon chuckled, then returned to staring out the nearest pane.

  The transport rocked, Jardun and I swaying with the motion. I could see the vehicle moving along our right. It was rapidly approaching and would soon be side by side with us.

  “Laria.” Jardun’s deep voice rumbled in his chest.

  “Yes?” I pulled my gaze away from the threatening sight outside to focus on his.

  “If things go badly, promise me you will not do anything foolish.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I do not wish to lose you.”

  Was there a deeper meaning hidden behind his words and the piercing intensity of his blue-green eyes? Did his concern for my welfare go beyond the warrior’s duty-bound honor to protect me because I was a female? Was it possible he secretly craved the same future I did, one where we were together and not apart?

  I reached up and cupped his cheek. “The same goes for you.” The possibility of a life with Jardun was all the incentive I needed to push aside my personal feelings and draw on my training, the
instincts that helped me survive. I shifted my stance, turning to see past the panoramic view of the sprawling flat and sandy area in front of our transport. In the distance, I spotted the darkened outline of my chaugwas’s carcass and knew we were getting close to the snakkril’s nest. I didn’t want another painfully vivid image of the dead animal to add to my mental collection, so I refrained from staring.

  “What the draeck is Doyle doing?” Zaedon growled.

  I glanced back through the side pane to see what had caught Zaedon’s attention.

  Burke hadn’t been kidding about Doyle’s level of insanity. The male had pushed the sliding door panel aside on his vessel. He stood in the middle of the opening, a tight grip on the frame. With a maniacal intent, he aimed the weapon in his free hand in our direction.

  “He’s going for the engine.” Cara stuck her hand underneath her shirt and retrieved the laser pistol.

  The blast hit the hull, the zing echoing through the interior, the vessel rocking as Garyck maneuvered away from Doyle’s next attempt.

  The two males piloting Doyle’s transports had to be communicating with each other. The vessel on our left pulled ahead slightly, closing the gap, trying to force us closer to Doyle. When that didn’t work, he rammed the side of his vessel into ours, adding the scrape of metal against metal to the air.

  The spot where we’d been attacked by the creatures loomed in front of us. Garyck slowed the transport even more. The vehicle rebelled against the motion, the floor vibrating from the engine’s whine.

  “Garyck, what the...” Sloane might have been strapped in, but it didn’t stop her from lurching forward and slapping her hands on the control panel in front of her.

  I was glad I wasn’t the only one who wanted to know what he was thinking. I changed my mind when I noticed Doyle’s vessel’s zoom past us, unprepared for the sudden maneuver. Garyck immediately banked hard to the right in order to avoid driving anywhere near a nest.

  As soon as the other two transports slowed to turn and follow us, a pit opened up in the ground and a snakkril sprang from the sand, wrapping its body around the front end of the transport that had rammed us. For once, luck was on our side, and so was my shock. “I can’t believe it’s working.”