by LM. Preston
“At least I will be able to kill more Femoh before we leave. Now that I can enjoy!” Eirena said as she lay down, then turned around to face the wall.
“Eirena? Eirena,” Aadi said, and then smiled when he heard her snore. He frowned slightly at her joy of killing and didn’t know if he liked this change in her way of thinking. Pondering that thought, he fell asleep beside her.
Chapter 52
Jantik went to his room in the main house and hoped to go undetected. Usually, his father didn’t notice his disappearances as he worked with the guards to devise ways to secure their homes and protect themselves against their enemies. He headed to his room just when he heard his father’s approach from behind.
“Jantik! You have been to the outer rim. Don’t lie to me. We have noticed you were gone for some time!” his father, Batil, called out.
Jantik slowly turned around and bowed to his father, who looked more Femoh than Katek with silver eyes and a sprinkling of gray hair on his slim muscular red body with the white curvy lines of the Femoh. Jantik looked more Katek, as did his mother, who was killed by the Katek when they had a battle on the outer rim. His mother often went to lead a battle or such since she was a merciless fighter. He had missed her so. She would hug him, kiss him, and tell him that she loved him. His father never spoke of love or of anything positive when it came to him. His father only forever berated him for his carelessness and weakness as a warrior.
“Yes, father, I did go out, but I have returned” Jantik stated, not wanting to give away that he had his friends there. Aadi, Eirena, and Ebu had been the only friends he had. Others were intimidated by his position as the son of their leader, who could be as cunningly brutal as all of the Femoh when he didn’t get his way. Although, he didn’t show how he cared for Jantik, Batil certainly let everyone know that Jantik would be the undisputed leader of the Nutah when he died.
“You will prepare to come to the council meeting today, as we have some important matters to discuss. They refer to the crashing of a ship on Shrenas that happened several weeks ago,” his father stated. He looked at Jantik in disgust since he still wore the warrior gear from his adventure with his friends Aadi and Ebu.
“Yes, father,” Jantik replied and bowed his head.
“Hmph,” his father replied.
“Father, I won’t disappoint you,” Jantik whispered. His father turned away, not hearing him as he left to go to the council building for a day of planning.
Jantik found his counsel clothing and changed. He headed out the door to where he left his new friends. Jantik walked to the hiding place he made for Aadi and Eirena, who were sleeping when he arrived. Ebu sat watch as he approached.
“Hello, Ebu!” Jantik said, happy to see a friendly face.
“Hello, Jantik, I am glad you returned. I now have a full detailed design of the Femoh lair,” Ebu said. Jantik noticed Aadi and Eirena were awakening to Ebu’s voice.
“You know where the shilmena resides?” Eirena asked Ebu and pulled her hair out of her eyes.
“No, not exactly. However, there are some places I noted that it could be,” Ebu said.
“Jantik, thanks for bringing us here to rest safely. We need to speak to your leader. We need their help in understanding anything you all know about the shilmena and where it could possibly be,” Aadi said. He stood up and ran his hand through his tightly curled hair.
“I am on my way to our council meeting. I could present you to my father and the other council members then,” Jantik said and looked kind of uncomfortable naming his father as the leader of the Nutah.
“Your father is the Nutah leader? You have got to be kidding! Jantik, the Femoh would have destroyed all of your people by having you in their possession. Thank you, Jantik, for the risk you took in coming with Aadi to save me. You are a true friend,” Eirena added. She walked over and touched Jantik on his shoulder. Jantik blushed, his already red skin turning hot under Eirena’s fingertips.
“Well, I will give you only a moment to get ready, and then we must hurry. My father hates it when I am late to council meetings,” Jantik said, then turned around and walked to the door. Aadi, Eirena, and Ebu quickly followed Jantik to the tallest building that sat in the middle of the city. Other Nutah looked at them out of curiosity only for a moment but then went on busily with their tasks. There were women and children walking about that had characteristics of both species. The men were all heading to the council meeting place, as well as women who didn’t have children in tow.
“Here we are. Please don’t speak until invited to do so by Batil, my father and our leader,” said Jantik as he opened the door to the council meeting room. The council room had walls of smooth red rock. Aadi observed that the council was on a platform facing a large open area where many of the Nutah people stood. They all appeared to be separated by their roles in the community. Warriors were in one area and tactical leaders in another. The general public stayed near the door. The room was large, but everyone could see the council sitting high up on the platform. They followed Jantik forward to stand in the open area in front of the council and mimicked Jantik as he bowed politely to the council members.
“Jantik, I am glad you finally made it. You may speak,” said Batil. Jantik’s father spoke with an unwavering frown on his face while he looked Aadi and Eirena over. He noticed they were similar to his kind, but his knowing eyes also noticed differences.
“Father,” Jantik said, and all in the hall made shocked sighs as Jantik never referred to Batil as “Father” during council meetings. His father looked angry and about to reprimand him when Jantik rushed out and said, “these are the beings that crashed on our planet weeks ago.” Shocked voices and murmurings stirred through the council hall as Batil looked at everyone and silence came about in waves.
“Jantik, you mean to tell me you were harboring these beings in our lands! Putting yourself and our people in grave danger from the Femoh and Katek? You go too far, boy!” his father yelled as he stood up and leaned on the platform in front of Jantik.
“Sir, if I can explain… these beings need our help and protection. They are trying to get home and have found that the Femohs still have a shilmena at their disposal. They also have strengthened their forces, much stronger than we have ever imagined. They are in the millions now and at the capacity to not only take over the Nutah, but reclaim the Katek as well. I know this firsthand since I have been in their lands and the lands of the Katek on my journey to bring Aadi, Eirena, and Ebu to our home for safety,” Jantik ended with a bow of his head.
“We do not help weaklings! We are Nutah, and if they can’t help themselves, we don’t need them bringing war to our doors! How do you know that neither one of them have tracking on their skin. Lemin, check them all, and start with that Femoh-looking female child!” Batil commanded, pointing at his lead warrior. Lemin moved forward, and ran his hands down Eirena’s face, then through her hair, pulling out a clawed bug. It was flat and appeared to have legs with sharp cutting feet. Lemin smashed it in his fingers. He checked Aadi and then Jantik, looked strangely at Ebu, then turned to Batil and bowed. Eirena turned her angry look at the Nutah leader. Aadi saw Eirena’s distrust and placed a hand on her arm to get her to relax. She glanced at him, took a deep breath, and stood with her fist to her sides.
“Well, now that it appears that the girl gave away our location to the Femoh, we have no choice but to bear arms and be ready for an attack! Do these beings have anything to say?” Batil asked, looking at Eirena and Aadi in disgust. Eirena stepped forward angrily, but Aadi placed a hand on her arm and bowed his head to Batil as he had seen Jantik do earlier. Then, Aadi looked up at Batil and the council members and spoke.
“Sir, we have found that the Femoh want to use us to start a shilmena. For some reason, this spacecraft has lost power and the ability to fly. They seem to think that we are the answer. However, we plan on using the craft to save our comrades and go home. Also, sir, we are not weaklings, for we have the ability to kill m
any Femohs as well as to overpower them. We have not only adapted to your planet, but we have other qualities that allow us to survive and protect ourselves,” Aadi said in the most authoritative voice he could muster. He was trying hard to sound like his dad did when he wanted to make people take notice.
“Is that so? Then Lemin, you fight the boy there and see how well he can protect himself from our kind,” Batil replied and sat down. Lemin stepped forward, and everyone fell back to leave Aadi, Eirena, and Jantik in the middle of a semi-circle of watchful Nutah. Aadi looked over at Jantik, who looked extremely worried, and he nodded to him to reassure him that all would be all right.
“Jantik, Eirena, it is all right. Move aside, for this is my battle,” Aadi stated. He was pleading with Eirena and sent her a mental command to just do what he asked. She accepted his plea, nodded her head, and walked with Jantik to the circle of Nutah.
Aadi looked at Lemin and squatted to fighting position, and Lemin turned his deadly gaze upon him. Aadi concentrated, building up his power from within. He decided he would only use it to sting this Nutah. He would focus on using his strength and fighting moves to bring him down.
“The first one to fall nearly fatal is the victor.” Batil stated and gave the signal to begin. Aadi smiled, for he knew he wouldn’t be the one to fall. It wouldn’t be him, because he had too much to live for. Now, he knew he could use his full power, and he would use no mercy until the end.
Chapter 53
Lemin wasted no time with his attack. He was swift with his hit to Aadi’s face, as if he were testing Aadi to see what his weaknesses were. Aadi’s face jerked back, and he smiled. This was what Aadi needed to blow off the simmering steam he had floating under the surface since going to space camp. Although Lemin stood head and shoulders taller than Aadi, Aadi was not afraid or intimidated in the least. He knew he had the power to bring him down, but he didn’t want this to end too quickly. He would play with Lemin a while before he used the full force of this power to bring him to his knees.
Aadi returned his attack and punched with minimum power to Lemin’s neck, then followed through with an uppercut to his reptilian chin and held back the simmering power that built in his gut. Lemin was quick to recover, as his head jerked down, and then he punched down onto Aadi’s chest.
Aadi let the punch cause him to fall to his knees. Aadi looked up from kneeling to punch Lemin upward, onto his inner thigh. Aadi quickly jumped up, deciding enough was enough, and grabbed Lemin by the neck. He then ran at top speed and slammed him against the wall of the room to leave a dent where he held Lemin up. His power slowly seeped into his legs and arms. Lemin then head butted Aadi, which caught him off guard. Aadi saw stars for a moment before Lemin extended his hand with his sharp nails and cut Aadi across his face. Blood dripped down his chin and unleashed his restrained anger.
Adrenaline sunk into Aadi’s body. He unleashed the poison that he held deep within. His punch landed to a crouching Lemin with a right and then a left, knowing that with each punch, the sting of the poison held within him would bring Lemin to his knees. Needles of fire soaked through his body with each punch. Lemin fell, but not completely as he reached up and grabbed Aadi by the neck. He slammed Aadi down on the floor with enough force to break some of the rock loose around him.
Aadi responded to the attack, ignoring all pain, and gave a kick up to Lemin’s chest, which sent him flying through the air and into the wall. Lemin quickly shook off the hit and stood to run toward Aadi in attack. Aadi, now sick of playing with Lemin and tired of holding his strength at bay, unleashed himself and punched a charging Lemin to the ground, breaking his jaw in the process. Aadi quickly straddled Lemin, held him down, and forced the poison into Lemin’s body as Lemin jerked and cried out in pain. Blood poured from Lemin’s mouth and ears.
“Enough!” Batil yelled. But Aadi couldn’t stop it, couldn’t control it. The power poured out of him, and Lemin convulsed as if dying. Then he felt a blast of power knock him off Lemin and against the wall. He looked up to see a smirking Eirena’s arm, outstretched as she held him to the wall with a powerful blast of white light.
He looked at her and nodded, and she pulled back the powerful beam, leaving him to fall to the floor. He stood up and walked over to a convulsing Lemin, picked him up, and gave him to one of the warriors. Then turned to Batil and bowed.
“We will help you,” Batil stated grimly.
“And we also will help you,” Aadi replied with a bow and a smile.
Chapter 54
Gitab went to check on Finul on his way to meet their leader, Heno. Finul was held in the lower tunnels, near where the shilmena was housed. Finul’s quarters were spbutt because Femohs liked clean, hard environments that would constantly push them to the point of discomfort. They loved giving and receiving pain most of the time. However, Gitab was an anomaly. He hated pain but loved giving it. Finul was not just his assistant but also his friend. Although, it was not usual for Femohs to have friends, Gitab and Finul were like family. Gitab finally came upon Finul’s holdings. Finul’s mate, Ketah, met Gitab at the door.
“Hello, Gitab. I am sorry, but he is asleep. Do you need me to wake him?” Ketah asked and gave Gitab an evil look, which was kind of an endearment between them.
“Oh, just for a moment, Ketah. Don’t bother going to get him. I’ll wake him myself,” Gitab said. He walked past her to find Finul lying on a bed of nails, which the Femohs used to keep the nerve endings sharp and release adrenaline that would heal deadly wounds.
“Hello, Finul. Triab and I were concerned that you would not be joining us today,” Gitab said. Gitab looked down at him, and a smile broke through as he saw how Finul winced when he moved to look up at him.
“I am rather glad I won’t have to look at Pelaan today. His father would probably throw me to his sadistic son and his army for torture. Now, I will admit I like torture, but Pelaan takes it too far. He is definitely his father’s son,” Finul said with a look of disgust on his face.
“What exactly happened in there with the female?” Gitab asked Finul, who looked off in the distance.
“That being took all the pain that we had inflicted on her and poured it into me. It seems that whatever we did to her just made her stronger. When we tortured her with electrical power, she absorbed it and used it to torture us. It was so strong and powerful. I was crying out for death. How could something hold onto that and then release it? If it hadn’t been for the male child who pulled her off me, I would have died a terrible death. I like pain like any other Femoh, but what she had unleashed was worse than pain. It was pain laced with sadness, fire, and numbness. I hope I never lay eyes on that being again. If that is what she does as a child, I don’t want to see either of them at adulthood. Now, that male child is just as powerful as the female and seems to have control over her anger. He may be even more powerful since my men claimed he brought some down with only his mind. Together, they make the Katek look like children fighting. Believe it or not, I even think the female was holding back, yet to release her full fury on me,” Finul stated with a terrified expression on his face.
Terror wasn’t an expression seen or used by many Femoh. When Gitab saw the look in Finul’s eyes, he was reminded not to take these beings lightly. If they were indeed descendants of the ancient race that had visited their planet thousands of years before, they could destroy them all in a way that would mean an eternity of pain beyond their current understanding. The only reason the beings left their planet was to explore and dominate others. However, no one knew why the beings never returned. They left their spacecrafts behind, as if one day they would return, but they never did. Gitab pulled his thoughts back to the present and to what he had to accomplish today.
“Well, I am on my way. We have good news for Heno, so we shall live today, my friend,” Gitab said as Ketah came in looking at him angrily. Gitab knew that his welcome was over.
He left Finul to be met on the way by Triab, as he walked to Heno’s quarters. They w
alked into their leader’s meeting court.
“Master, we have found the solution to starting and replicating the shilmena. The female being we captured has the genetic markings of the Tumas. It is very faint, but she has enough power to start at least one of the shilmena. If we capture her and the male that crashed with her, we will have more than enough power to start the one we have and replicate others. They used this power to injure our men and nearly killed Finul,” Gitab stated to the Femoh leader, Heno, in his meeting chambers with Triab beside him.
“Is that so? Excellent. This could be the beginning of our quest to regain our former power and ability to conquer and enslave worlds we traveled to in the days of old. This is indeed the report I’ve been waiting for. How long will it take the team of Shinites to replicate the shilmena we have taken a century to repair?” Heno questioned, staring hard at Gitab from his seat at the head of the table. The Femoh leader had nails strategically piercing his skin on his arms, legs, and back, as he loved to experience pain as well as give it. Gitab, although he liked giving pain, never wanted to be on Heno’s victim list, so he stood a comfortable distance away from Heno and Heno’s son, Pelaan, the Captain of the Femoh warriors.
“They say it will only take about six months to replicate four ships from the design we made of the repaired vehicle. We don’t have a power source on this planet that can start them, nor the genetic markers for pushing these ships into hyper-speed to open the wormholes, which will allow us to capture beings from the outer galaxies. Although, we can use these two beings to do so,” Gitab added smugly.
“Well, it seems to me you had a problem holding her before. How did she escape, and how to you plan on recapturing her?” Heno’s son Pelaan asked skeptically. Pelaan looked at Gitab with an evil smile. He knew that if Gitab’s answer didn’t please his father, Gitab would be the one suffering under Pelaan’s and his army’s torture this night.
