Charlotte gasped. “Well, if they think for one minute they’re going to touch Miln they better stay away from me. If it wasn’t for them my sister would be dead.”
The door to the office opened, and Zander and Remus stepped out. Anger radiated off them as they stepped out of the room. Charlotte stepped towards them, but Venus shook her head.
“No, let them decide. It’s up to them if they stay here or not,” she whispered in her ear. “You want them to come to you. They need to choose.”
Both men took in the room and spotted Charlotte. They stood there staring at each other for a moment, before disappearing from the room.
“Well I guess they decided,” Charlotte said and looked over her shoulder at her.
“Don’t give up hope. They could have gone to cut their ties with Tapio, we never know. They did save Volund’s life.”
Volund and Jaxxon came out of the room making their way to them. “Well? What are they going to do? Can we count on them?”
“Wow, one question at a time,” Jaxxon said and hugged her, before turning his attention on Charlotte.
“They’re staying, but they are not happy right now. It seems Tapio kept them in the dark about many things and right now their furious. They’ll be back.”
“Are they still going to go after Miln and Oshki? Because if they are, I won’t have anything to do with them. Miln saved our lives.” Charlotte looked around the room.
Volund stepped next to Charlotte and took her hands into his. “We’ve already explained this to them. If they agree to stay with us they must give up this quest. I’m afraid we have to wait now. Tell you what. You have been stuck in here for the past three days taking care of your sister and the children. Why don’t you come with us. We’re going to take Venus to see the progress of the wall we are building and the house we picked out.”
Her Gram and Melinda came up behind them smiling. Melinda spoke. “Go, you need to get outside for a little while. We’ll take care of the kids.” Her sister smiled and Gram nodded.
“When you come back you can tell your sister all about it,” Venus said.
Grinning from ear to ear, Charlotte clapped her hands together excited. “Let me grab my gun. It might be old fashioned, but it can take the head off any of those creatures. Plus, I want to try those pants you gave us. I think they might be better for this trip than this old dress.”
She took off running to her room and her sister laughed. “Thank you Volund, Venus. She’s been going nuts, stir crazy over being inside, and worrying about those two big lizards, Charlotte needed this.”
Volund actually looked embarrassed and Venus winked at Melinda. “It’s our pleasure. I just can’t wait to be able to take the children out. They need to run and play, but right now it’s just not safe enough.”
“If all goes according to our plans, the third building we are connecting today will have space to be used for the children to work off some steam. Badden noticed the swings and things at the school and he thinks the bottom floor would be big enough for a few such things to be moved there,” Jaxxon informed her.
“That would be great! The kids will love it and till we can clear and wall off some of the city, it will have to do.” Venus hugged Jaxxon. “Gram, you give Badden a hug for me and tell him thank you. I should go get my gun.”
“There is no need.” Volund flashed out of the room for a second, then was back with her gun. “I also thought we would allow the pets to come with us. Tonto needs to walk some, exercise that leg. The sun is out and it’s not too cold.”
She was even getting excited, as Charlotte ran into the room. “It sure is weird wearing these, but they do feel a lot better than that dress, and the petticoat.”
Her sister gasped and her eyes grew large. “Charlotte you look great!” Her sister walked around her. “I think I’m going to change while you’re gone. It looks so comfortable, not so restricting.”
Smiling, Venus hugged Gram, and took Jaxxon’s hand, while Volund took Charlotte’s. “Don’t worry, I’ll have Melinda in jeans and a sweater by the time you get back. Matter of fact I think we need to get the children some new clothes too.”
“If I remember right, there is children’s store about half block from the house, we’ll stop in there and I’ll show Volund what we need. He can send some men back for what we choose.” Venus waved goodbye, when Jaxxon transhifted them downstairs.
It was the first time she’d been downstairs since the Bone Eaters had gotten in, and she was surprised to see not one spot of their acid blood anywhere. It even smelled better than before.
“We’ve cleaned the whole downstairs, reinforced the windows and doors. Since the lab will be next door with our new security headquarters, we thought we could use this as a meeting place. I don’t want anyone on the bottom floor for now, for security reasons, but when we are more secure, this is a useful space.” Volund then called for Tonto and their pets.
She liked the idea. Before Volund and his brother had come here, Venus had always felt uncomfortable down in the main floor alone and vulnerable. Upstairs there was a level of protection with the stairs and the traps she’d set, and now, with the security systems that her men and the others had installed.
“Ready?” Jaxxon nodded to the door where two other men waited.
“And these are?” Venus nodded to the two men she hadn’t talked to before. One was much taller than her men, by at least a half foot, and he was bald. There was what looked like some form of old tattooing on his head. He had a strange looking thing in his ear lobe that actually…
“What is that? Is it moving?” She scooted closer to Volund, a little scared of the thing.
Charlotte leanedclose to her, “Looks like a miniature rat and it looks to be gnawing on his ear.” she whispered. “You need me to shoot it boy?” Her friend asked the warrior, who laughed and shook his head.
“Charlotte, Venus this is Chuck-Torr and Marsh. They’ll be accompanying us on our venture today,” Volund introduced the new warriors.
“Charlotte, as for the animal at my ear, it’s a common practice of the warriors where we come from to carry one. If any foreign parasites that try to attach themselves to us, this little guy will eat them. He’s actually quiet harmless, unless he feels threatened.” Chuck-Torr winked at Charolette, and she blushed.
“Now, you go and stop that, Chuck. It’s alright if I just call you Chuck isn’t it?” Charlotte asked. , Zander and Remus came out of nowhere, snarling at Chuck and Marsh.
“What do you think you are doing?” Zander demanded of Charlotte, standing in front of her. Remus stood off to the side, glaring at the two new warriors Venus and Charlotte had just been introduced to.
“Excuse me? You did not just yell at me! I was just being nice to the boy, if it’s any of your concern. Now get lost, we’re going on a walk. Come on Venus.” Charlotte latched onto her arm and dragged her around Remus and Zander.
“Let’s go. Volund and Jaxxon, ignore those two thugs.” She waved her other hand and waited for Venus to open the door.
“Where are you going?” Remus asked, barely keeping the snap out of his tone. “It’s not safe out there!” Venus punched in the code, and the steel doors swung open.
The two warriors Chuck and Marsh, went out first, and nodded that it was safe to proceed.
“We’re taking the animals out, and the woman needed to get away for a little while. You are more than welcome to join us if you have made up your mind to stay with the settlement. If not...” Volund looked at the two red warriors. “Maybe it’s best you don’t come. Charlotte, her sister, and the rest of the women will be meeting all the men here soon enough anyway.” Volund turned to follow Venus and Charlotte, hiding a grin.
Sure enough, in a matter of seconds both Remus and Zander were following behind them. “Charlotte does not need to meet any other warriors,” Remus stated and Zander snarled.
Wanting to break the tension, Venus started a monologue on points of interest along their rout
e. She pointed to the fountain as they passed. “That use to be so beautiful when it was working. At night, we had different colored lights under the water that shot up out of the fountain and came back down. It looked like it was raining colors. Volund, I see that your men have cleared the cars and debris from the street here.”
He nodded. “I wanted all things that blocked our view removed. We now have an open view of your town square, so we’ll be able to see the Bone Eaters coming. I made sure the men stripped each vehicle of anything we can use before we melted them down. As the warriors move through the city, we’ll be cleaning as we go.” Volund pointed to the camera store at the end of the street.
“We stripped that place clean. I have six men setting up these cameras all around the city now. They’re digital components have been changed and we added some of our tech so that the information can be transmitted back to our security system,” Volund stated as they walked past the store and headed down the next street, Washington.
“It just amazes me to see all these buildings. I feel like I’m in a dream. I’m so used to open spaces and such. Are there any animals around? Did this sickness affect them?” Charlotte asked, gawking at everything she noticed.
“Some animals have been affected, but not all. Like the cat that bit Tonto, his species seems not to have changed. But there are snake like creatures that have changed and believe me you don’t want to see them.” She stopped and turned to Zander and Remus.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you when I said that. It’s just these things… They are twisted and wrong and well, they scare the crap out of me.” She shivered and Jaxxon was there rubbing her arms.
“We’ve seen them and they are a problem on the edge of town.” Jaxxon frowned.
“Zander you’ve worked with the Bandex more. Do you think it possible to make a portable one we can stick in the ground to watch for these things? I would hate to have the children or the women to come into contact with one. They wouldn’t have a chance if one latched onto them.”
“I’d like to see one of these creatures. I might be able to put something together to keep them away. Maybe after this outing, we can locate their den.” Zander stepped in front of them and stopped, holding his finger to his mouth. He pointed towards a small shed in the back of a house.
At once, Ino and Ka appeared at their side, as did Tonto. The six warriors covered themselves in their armor. Chuck and Marsh split up, each one taking a side, while Volund and Zander moved to the front, leaving Jaxxon and Remus guarding Venus and Charlotte.
Slowly, Venus readied her gun, as did Charlotte. Waiting when they heard shouts and then crying. Marsh came back into view carrying a small bundle in his arms.
She stepped up, but Jaxxon moved in front of her. “We don’t know what it is or if it’s dangerous.”
“I’m not an it!” a tiny voice yelled. “I have a name.”
Pushing Jaxxon out of the way, she and Charlotte waved the men back. “Put him down Marsh,” Venus asked and smiled at the small boy.
“My name is Venus. This is Charlotte and the man holding you is Marsh. We won’t hurt you, but we want to know where you came from?”
The boy stood a foot shorter than she did. He had bright green eyes and red hair. There was a small cut on his face, which looked infected and he appeared to be very skinny.
“You’re Venus? The doctor Venus?” He asked calming down as soon as Marsh set him down.
“Do I know you? I don’t remember any child being born around here for the past decade or more.” Venus watched as he pulled out a piece of paper, then he turned and whistled.
At once, all six men had weapons drawn and ready but relaxed as three smaller children came out of hiding, and made it to the boy’s side.
“My name is Brian and this is Eve, Mary and Betsy. Dr. Zeon found us in the last city to the west. We don’t know what happened to him. He was trying to bring us back to you, but he left to find you and never came back. He said we would be safer with you. When he did not return, we decided to come here, but we didn’t know where to find you. And there are so many infected people here, so we’ve been hiding.”
She grabbed onto Jaxxon hearing her friends name and took a deep breath. “It’s okay Little Warrior,” Jaxxon said kissing the side of her face.
“My name is Jaxxon and this is my brother Volund. We are Venus’s husbands. How did you survive so long, the four of you?” He kneeled down and pulled out his jar of ointment.
“This is medicine. It will help with the cut on your face.” Jaxxon smeared the goop onto the boy’s face.
“We’ve been living in that shed. It’s the only thing I could get open. I killed a snake thing and cooked it like my dad taught me, before he died. It was enough for us, but I was just getting ready to go look for something else, when I heard you.”
“I am Zander and you are a very brave lad. Where did you kill this creature? Was it here in town?”
“It was down by the park. I had to be careful, because there were many of them.”
Stepping forward, Volund put his hand on Brain’s shoulder. “I’d like you four to go with Marsh and Chuck-Torr. They’ll take you back to our compound. We have food for you, and clean clothes. There are also other children there. Venus’s grandmother is there, her name is Gram. She’ll take good care of you until we get back.”
The boy looked up at her and smiled. “Dr. Zeon always said we could trust you, that you were pretty, and he was right.”
Next to her, Jaxxon grumbled, as Chuck and Marsh gathered the children up and transhifted back to the bank.
She laughed. “He’s just a boy, please.” She rolled her eyes, and started walking with Charlotte, who snickered next to her.
“You’d think…What the…” Charlotte didn’t get another word out as the ground below her opened up, and she sank waist down into the ground, screaming.
“NO!” Venus grabbed onto her arms, as Zander jumped into the whole with her and blasted the snake creature, but not before it had bitten into Charlotte’s leg.
Zander scooped her up into his arms. Remus next to him, the three of them disappeared in an instant.
“Let’s go.” Volund said, and he shifted Venus and himself onto Zander and Remus’ ship. Charlotte lay on the table, tears running down her face as Remus tied a belt around her leg above the snake bite.
“Please, I don’t want to die.” She reached out for Venus, who took her hand.
“You’re not going to die. These two lugs aren’t going to let you, are you?” She looked up at Zander, who shook his head.
“Charlotte from what I can see, there are two things we can do. The poison is something we don’t have a cure for, at least not yet.” Jaxxon was already drawing her blood from near the site of the bite.
“We can take the leg off or we can change you? You would be ours, our mate. There would be no going back.” Zander brushed her hair back away from her face. “It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll try, and we promise right here and now we won’t go after your friends Miln and Oshki.”
“What? Jaxxon?” Venus didn’t want Charlotte to have to choose like this.
“He’s right, Venus, we can’t cure her right now, there isn’t enough time. With her blood, I’m hoping to come up with a serum for the snake creature’s bite, but it won’t be in time to save her. Only they can now. She has her choice. I’m sorry.” He wrapped his arm around her and once more moved them back to their private quarters.
“Why did you bring me here? I should be with her!” Venus screamed, and pushed away, running to the door where Volund stood, blocking it.
“There is nothing else you can do Venus. It has to be between them now. They are her only hope.” Volund embraced her and kissed the top of her head.
“It looks like when the child killed one of their kind, the snake things followed. They are getting more intelligent than they should be. I took a good look around that shed and the ground had risen around it in some places. We’re luc
ky we found those children when we did, but this also means we have another problem within the city.”
She didn’t even want to think about that. Venus pulled out of his arms and plopped down on her sofa curling up. “Sometimes I think it was easier being alone. At least then it didn’t matter, there was no one else to get hurt.”
Picking her up, Jaxxon held her in his arms as he took her spot. “You can’t think like that, Venus. We’ll deal with this problem, together. Now that we have a sample of the poison I’ll be able to make some type of serum.”
“Just great another damn shot,” she mumbled and sighed. “I have to go talk to Melinda.”
“Here, drink this first. You are getting dehydrated.” Volund handed her a bottle of juice and she took sips.
“I don’t know how we’re going to keep those things away from everyone, they tunnel! I swear if it’s not the Bone Eaters it’s something else. I’m so tired of all this crap!” She got up and stomped to the door.
“I’m going to talk to Melinda and wait with her. Go and find an antidote to the poison, Jaxxon, because I have a feeling we’re going to need it. And Volund please find a way to get rid of those things.” She swallowed the last of the juice and tossed the bottle into the trash.
She made her way down the flight of stairs. Her thoughts a jumble on how to tell Melinda what had happened.
***
Fluffing her pillow, Venus waited. She’d spent most of the day with Melinda and the children. All of them sensing something was wrong. Brian and the three girls hovered around her most of the day. Even Gram commented on how she now had four little ones following her. As the day progressed, even Jaxxon and Volund noted how much the four new children stayed near her, but said nothing.
Jaxxon and Volund would be up any minute. She didn’t care if it was late. They needed to discuss what they were going to do. If she didn’t find out soon what was going on downstairs, she’d go investigate.
Zander and Remus had reported once to Melinda, letting her know that her sister was doing fine. That the change was progressing, but it was a slow process since she had been bitten.
Lovers of the Galaxy: Book Three: Raiders of the Lost Heart Page 11
