by Becca Colton
“I’m coming,” Leah said, climbing to her feet. “Don’t wait for me.”
A green hand appeared in the opening above them. It was quickly joined by several more as the slavers began pulling themselves through.
Chloe looked at Leah, nodded, and then ran for the trees.
The foliage was thick and Chloe was plunged into shadows almost instantly, with dapples of bright light spotting the landscape here and there as the twin suns fought to make themselves known. Oh yeah. Twin suns. Chloe couldn’t help but notice them when she looked around after escaping the ship. She glanced back at the crash site and saw the others disappear within the trees, the green aliens breaking off into groups and following. At least five of them were headed in Chloe’s direction.
Fuck! Must be pissed because we broke their ship.
The aliens raised their pistols and start firing in her direction but Chloe was already moving, dodging and weaving through the trees. No worries about freezing up now. Crash-landing on an alien world was a new experience, one that her brain had needed several minutes to process, but this wasn’t the first time she’s been shot at. It wasn’t even the first time she’d been shot at while running through a jungle.
White flashes of light exploded harmlessly against nearby trees, allowing Chloe to relax slightly even as she continued to watch for ankle-breaking roots while evading her pursuers. White light meant stun. They weren’t looking to kill her, just recapture her. Things would get more serious if the light from their lasers turned red.
Something landed on the ground with a WHUMP up and to the right, sounding big and heavy. Chloe pointed the laser pistol in the general direction of the sound. A stream of sunlight lanced into the shadows, reflecting off eyes low to the ground. Several eyes. A solid mass of darkness within the shadows moved toward Chloe. She inhaled sharply, that icy paralysis she had experienced earlier threatening to overwhelm her again.
Approaching slowly, but in a weird jittery way that let her know it could be fast if it wanted to be, was a spider. A big spider, at least as big as a large dog, and that didn’t even include the legs. Its many eyes sparkled, a pearly luminescence within them that made Chloe think of water floating in a puddle of oil.
Usually, spiders didn’t scare Chloe, but usually she could just splat the annoying arachnid with a shoe. For a brief second she tried to imagine herself attempting to splat this spider.
Gonna need a bigger shoe.
Since she didn’t have giant feet—and the giant shoes that would go with them—she aimed the laser pistol right at the creature’s beady eyes and pulled the trigger. The giant arachnid quickly skittered to the side, flexed its legs, and jumped at her.
“Fuck!” Chloe yelled, turning to run. A low-hanging branch caught her on her forehead and she fell to the ground, feeling like she’d just been hit in the head with a baseball bat.
“Fuck me,” Chloe muttered. “I can’t ever tell anybody about that. I’ll never live it down.”
A quick movement. Low to the ground. Chloe reached for the laser pistol that she’d dropped when she hit the ground but she couldn’t find it. The giant spider jumped for her. Without even thinking about it, Chloe pulled her legs back and kicked out hard. It felt like she kicked a brick wall but a satisfied smirk appeared on her face when she heard the spider land on the ground several feet away.
Scrambling to her feet, Chloe looked around, hearing the slavers approaching fast through the trees.
Aliens in front of me, giant spider behind me. Fucked almost everywhere.
Flipping an imaginary coin in her head—heads to the right, tails to the left—Chloe turned to the left and ran as fast as she could. Something wet and sticky threatened to drip into her eyes and she ran her hand across her forehead. Sharp pain like fire seared across her skin and her hand came back covered in blood.
The jungle behind Chloe erupted with loud, frantic sounds. Screams, angry shouting, multiple blasts from laser pistols, and a loud inhuman squeal.
Chloe grinned. Guess the slavers and the giant spider ran into each other.
As she continued on the path, Chloe realized the ground was sloping up, slowly becoming steeper. There were all kinds of ways for that to go wrong but it was too late to change her mind. She could hear the slavers behind her, gaining on her. There was also a new sound behind her, a sound that sent a shiver of fear down her spine. It sort of sounded like the laser pistols the green guys used, if the laser pistols were about five times bigger.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t something Chloe wanted to get up close and personal with so she forced herself to move faster, wiping away the blood that continued to pour from her forehead. The little bit of light filtering through the trees suddenly seemed blinding, and somewhere there seemed to be a phone ringing . . . or maybe that was just her ears.
I think that close encounter with the tree branch might have fucked me up.
Chloe could hear water up ahead, verifying that going up was a bad move. The trees around her began to grow less dense, the foliage thinner, and then she was out in the open, standing on a rock outcropping that extended out about ten feet in front of her. The sound of the water was coming from over the edge.
Carefully, Chloe approached the edge of the cliff and looked over the side. The side of the cliff was almost completely vertical. There was no way to climb down. She could see a churning river down below, but it was so far down she knew she’d die on impact if she tried to dive into it.
“Well, shit,” Chloe muttered. She looked back at the trees, wondering if she could lose herself in the foliage, hide until the green guys turned back and went away. It was a crazy idea but better than nothing. She started back toward the tree line but had only taken a step or two when more of that angry-sounding laser fire echoed through the air. Two of the green aliens tore through the thin foliage into the clearing. They skidded to a stop, seeming stunned to see her just standing there, but they quickly shook it off and ran at her.
Chloe swore softly. She was free, and she had no plans of going back to living in a cage. She didn’t know what the green guys had planned for them but she wasn’t interested in finding out.
“Not going home this time after all,” Chloe whispered to herself. She hoped Leah and the others managed to escape their pursuers, hoped they would somehow find their way back to Earth.
The aliens reached for her but emitted startled squawks when she grabbed each of them by the wrist. Too late, they realized what she was doing.
“Let’s fly, fuckers,” Chloe said softly, and then she threw herself back, dragging the aliens over the ledge with her.
Chapter Three
Father Sky and Mother Moon! She jumped!
Corsar couldn’t believe it. He had torn through the trees just in time to see the woman jump, falling from sight as the two Struun struggled in her grip.
The warrior jumped off the cliff, keeping his wings pressed tight to his back. She had already released the Struun, leaving them to their fate. They were smaller and lighter and she was already several meters below them.
Corsar snapped his arms out as he fell between the Struun, grabbing them, snapping their necks, and flinging their lifeless bodies out further from the cliff so their corpses wouldn’t interfere with what he had planned.
He was the heavier object and continued to draw closer to the falling woman, and Corsar couldn’t help but admire her beauty. Her arms were spread wide, eyes closed, accepting her fate. Her long red hair fanned out around her head like a halo of fire. For some reason she opened her eyes. They were a dark vibrant green, like the jewels found in the caves of Trizalia. She stared at him for a second and then closed her eyes again, as if seeing someone with wings falling toward her after she flung herself off a cliff was just part of everyday life.
Once he was free of the emerald snare of her eyes, Corsar realized the red substance on her forehead came from a wound. She was injured. For a second, he just stared. Kriath blood was gold, so the red color emphasized he
r alien nature more than her lack of wings and feathers, but she had a warrior’s spirit—a Kriathian spirit—and he swore to the sky spirits that he would save her.
Gravity’s embrace pulled him closer to the woman but she was too far below him. She’d hit the ground before he could get to her. He yelled into the wind that pushed against him. “Kee-eeeee-arr!” The sky was not his master; he was its master. He extended his wings, pushing against the air, increasing the speed of his descent. He turned his head and glanced at her as he soared beneath her, admiring her form, impressed with her calm acceptance of death. Her beauty, her bravery, took his breath away.
Another powerful push of his wings sent Corsar down far enough to turn in midair and swoop back up, his powerful back muscles straining against the sudden climb. He extended his arms and the fire-haired beauty fell into his embrace. He held her close and flew toward the sky city of Stratos as fast as his wings could carry them.
Chapter Four
Chloe felt a slight bump and frowned. She had expected the impact with the ground to be more painful, but aside from a splitting headache and an endless ringing in her ears, she felt perfectly fine.
She opened her eyes and gasped. She was in the arms of a man, the most handsome man she’d ever seen, with golden eyes that burned like the sun when he looked down at her. Her thoughts were foggy but she vaguely remembered opening her eyes and seeing a man—this man—falling toward her. She was sure she had imagined it, but now she understood. He was an angel. She hadn’t been very religious in her life but what else could he be with those big wings?
She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Her eyes were drawn to that smile, those lips. They looked very kissable, so she stretched up and kissed him, moaning at the firm pressure of his lips against hers. She teased his lips with the tip of her tongue and then pulled back. She wanted to do so much more than kiss this handsome angel but her head would not stop hurting. It felt like her skull was exploding into a thousand pieces. She closed her eyes and leaned into his muscular chest as the world began to spin and grow fuzzy around her.
“Take me to Heaven, my angel,” she whispered right before passing out.
Chapter Five
Corsar stood near the wall in the med-bay, rarely taking his eyes off the woman lying in the medical pod before him. Her red hair fanned out around her, similar to the way it was when she was falling, and her expression was peaceful, also like when she was falling.
But everything else was different. His lips tingled from her kiss, and his blood burned as if filled with the flames of Kriath’s twin suns. She was not of this world, but he felt connected to her, drawn to her. When Dr. Rokan glanced at him with one arched eyebrow as she prepared to examine the woman, he had initially resisted the unspoken command, but he was an honorable warrior so he stepped outside the privacy curtain as the doctor and her assistant removed their patient’s torn and dirty clothing and dressed her in the white form-fitting bodysuit of med-bay patients.
A short while later, the doctor and her assistant came out and informed him of her condition. Corsar nodded, ignoring the doctor’s questioning look as he returned to his self-assigned post near her. It wasn’t his intention to be rude, but how could he explain his desire to be near her, the compulsion to protect her from harm?
As he contemplated the strange feelings coursing through him, another slave from the crashed ship was brought in, this one appearing reptilian in nature. She was placed in a nearby medical pod and the curtain drawn as the doctor examined her. After a brief glance at the new patient, Corsar’s attention returned to the woman before him. The wound on her forehead had already knitted itself together and the soft blue pulsing light of the medical pod that had washed over her for a couple of hours had grown dark, indicating her internal injuries had been healed.
The woman moaned, her forehead scrunching as if deep in thought. Corsar found himself standing taller and shook his head.
Get a hold of yourself. She’s on a strange world, who knows how many star systems away from her home. She was a prisoner on a slave ship. Focus on the task at hand—keeping her safe until we’re able to return her home.
She slowly opened her eyes, glancing around. She rubbed her forehead and glanced at her hand, a look of surprise on her face, probably surprised at the lack of blood.
Her eyes found him and Corsar once again found himself lost in her emerald gaze, his previous thoughts burning away like fog in the morning sun.
I will make her mine, a silent voice in the back of his mind said.
“You’re real?” she said softly. “I didn’t think you were real.”
Corsar grinned. “I am very real.”
She gasped. “You can understand me?” She blinked. “Holy hell. I can understand you.”
Chuckling, Corsar nodded. “A translator was placed behind your left ear, just under your skin.”
She reached up and felt behind her ear, then gingerly ran her fingers across her forehead again, tracing the light scar there. “Wasn’t I bleeding?”
Corsar nodded, his heart feeling lighter as her nose scrunched up. It was an expression that he could get used to, although he could also see the confusion in her eyes.
“You had a fractured skull,” he said. “Some internal bleeding, also.” He nodded toward the pod she was reclining in. “We were able to heal you.”
“I remember feeling dizzy, my head feeling like it was exploding into a million pieces. And now I just have a scar?”
“Yes,” Corsar said. “And even the scar will be gone within a couple of hours as the flesh continues to heal.” He frowned. “We carry a spray that does something similar when it comes to healing external wounds, but I feared you would die if I took the time to use it instead of getting you here as quickly as possible . . . and I wasn’t certain the spray would even work on a non-Kriathian.”
She looked at him, a soft smile on her face. “Trust me. You don’t have anything to feel bad about. I’m not a stain at the bottom of the river. I think I have you to thank for that.”
Corsar grinned, his wings flexing behind him. “I’m not used to seeing people try to fly when they don’t even have wings. I had to meet the incredible woman who tried to defy gravity with nothing but the power of her will.”
She laughed, and Corsar promised himself to do anything he could to hear that enchanting sound more often.
“Incredible?” she said. “If you think jumping off a cliff makes me incredible then you’ve been hanging around the wrong girls.”
He tilted his head. “If you don’t think you’re incredible does that make you one of these wrong girls?”
She laughed again, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes as she tilted her head and smiled at him. “I am the wrong girl in soooo many ways.”
Corsar stepped closer to her, barely aware that he had done so. “If you think anything about you is wrong then you’ve been hanging around the wrong guys.”
She laughed, her cheeks turning an intriguing shade of pink. Her eyes were filled with emerald fire as her gaze wandered slowly up and down his body. “Do you know of any guys that could be the right guy?”
He took another step closer. “I know of one.”
The pink in her cheeks became darker, and the fire in her eyes grew hotter. “Does this guy have a name?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Corsar.”
She smiled. “Chloe. Sounds like they’d go good together.” She bit her lower lip, leaning toward him as he drew closer.
The med-bay doors slid open, and Corsar quickly stepped back, shaking his head as if awakening from a spell. His heart pounded in his chest and he held back a groan of frustration. He was both happy and angry that they had been interrupted, because if they hadn’t been, he would’ve . . . well, he wasn’t sure exactly what would’ve happened, but he was sure the doctor wouldn’t approve.
“Chloe,” a familiar voice shouted.
Corsar glanced over and saw a female with short brown hair and blue eyes runn
ing toward the redhead, Andar close behind her.
“Leah,” Chloe shouted back.
The two women hugged each other tightly. When they parted, the happiness of seeing each other was plain on both their faces.
Chloe’s eyes roamed up and down her friend’s body, taking in her clothing, the traditional Kriathian outfit for female warriors consisting of a light brown wrap around her breasts, exposing her shoulders, upper back, and stomach, a leather kilt, and leather sandals.
“Hey, girl,” Chloe said. “Love the new look you’re rockin’. Glad to see you’re still alive. I lost track of you in the trees.”
Leah winced. “I didn’t actually make it to the trees. I went back into the ship to look for a way to contact Earth and . . . things didn’t go well.” She glanced back at Andar and smiled. “At least not at first.”
Chloe’s eyes flicked over to Andar and her lips curved up in a small smirk. “I know the feeling.” She glanced over at Corsar and her smile widened.
Andar’s eyebrow arched.
“She’s compulsive and prone to taking action with little thought of the consequences,” Corsar said, frowning at her. “Rather than allow herself to be imprisoned by the Struun again, the headstrong woman actually threw herself off a cliff to avoid capture. She’s lucky I was able to reach her in time.”
“Very lucky,” Chloe murmured softly.
Corsar couldn’t keep the smile off his face, and he saw Andar grin. His commander gave a subtle nod, then returned his gaze to Leah.
Leah gestured at Chloe’s forehead. “What’s with the new scar?”
Chloe’s cheeks flushed red as she reached up and ran a finger along the injury. “Not my proudest moment. Those Struun guys were shooting at me and I was running blind through the trees. Ran into a low branch and almost knocked myself out.”
Leah laughed, covering her mouth as she did so. “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t expecting that from the badass warzone reporter.”
