He brought the food to her and sat down on the furs across from her. “Think of this as a rabbit. I believe this was the forerunner to rabbits. Although I assure you this rabbit wasn’t sweet or kind and if you tried to pet it you’d lose several fingers, but it is tasty.”
“What’s this?”
“It doesn’t have a name; I believe it’s from the fruit family, and it will help to rejuvenate you.”
She took a bit in her mouth and moaned as the coolness of the juice slid down her throat. It had to be some kind of exotic melon.
“That’s good.”
“I know, it’s one of the things I miss on the modern day Earth.”
“When you came to Earth did you leave all your family behind? Were you married or in a relationship?” She took a bite of the meat liking it; she took another bite as she waited for Colun to answer.
“I had a brother a couple of years older than me, the two of us were both picked for this trip. He didn’t live past a couple of centuries here. We were ambushed by a group of Sudir that banded together. He sacrificed his life so that I could get the children out alive.”
The pain in his eyes made her want to leave the subject alone, but she knew he was waiting for the next question.
“Do they attack like that today? In groups, there was only one at the mall.”
“That was the first and the last attack like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I did something that’s still whispered about today. I hunted the Sudir down one by one and killed each of them. I left my calling card on each head, and I promised on my brother’s lifeless body that if there was ever a mass attack again, the perpetrators would see me.” He looked at her and gave her a smile hoping he wasn’t scaring her.
“Remember I told you I’m one of the ones that were fused together. I wasn’t born like this?” She nodded her head but stayed silent. “I’m an anomaly even among the others like me. I had power back then that made most of my kind scared. Now my power is off the charts but if I were to kill every Sudir, the imbalance in this world and the repercussion would be felt for centuries to come. When you have power, you better know how to control it.”
She thought about his words and realized that’s what she lacked in her life, control. She had power, probably more than she wanted, but she didn’t know how to control it.
“That’s why your power is killing me, lack of control.”
He nodded in agreement.
“Teach me how to control it, after you make love to me again.”
“To control power, any power, you have to be one with yourself.”
She frowned at him, “Don’t they say that in yoga?”
“I don’t know. I just know what’s true about power or at least about the power you have.”
She nodded. Lots of people had power, they weren’t one with themselves. Then she remembered the state of the Earth and decided to listen to him.
“That brings us around to the beginning. I have no idea how to be one with myself because I don’t know who I am.” She opened her mouth to say more, but a sound made her eyes fly upward.
“Colun!”
“Run, Sara I’ll find you, but now you have to run.”
Three of the most lethal animals she ever saw stalked towards them. They had to be over two hundred pounds each, all lean muscle. They stood on all fours but almost reached her chest in height. Their claws were deadly, and they could tear her in half.
She thought Sabretooth’s were the scary things of legend, whatever these were must have been the forerunner to Sabretooths. Not knowing what else to do, she ran. One broke off and followed her, and she knew death was a minute away.
Chapter Thirteen
Colun needed a weapon; he looked around and grabbed the branch of a tree he’d been sharpening into a spear. One of the animals ran after Sara, and there was nothing he could do; at least she had his power. It would be up to her to figure out how to use it. Right now he had to figure out how to stay alive without his power.
He backed up trying to keep in front of them. These animals like to hunt in packs. They surround their victim, tearing chunks out of their prey when its attention was on the other one.
“The world is a much better place without you in it,” he murmured and stabbed at the first animal running towards him before he dropped and rolled trying to stay out of clawing distance of the second animal.
They scented him, and their eyes grew wider as they opened their mouths to show their fangs. He was going die. They liked what they smelled, and he was going to be dinner. But he wasn’t dying alone.
He put on a burst of speed and headed for the trees around them. He climbed one, jumped to another, sliding down it, so his scent was on the trees. He could hear them following him as he raced to another tree. They were looking for him, but his scent was throwing them off until they finally split up.
Colun was sitting in the tree not making a sound when one of the animals started to sniff at the bark of the tree. He moved his body, rearranging it before he jumped on its back.
He forced his spear as deep into the animals back as possible. He wounded it but didn’t kill it. The animal roared and shook him off its back; it went to its knees before forcing itself to its feet. He looked around for the second one knowing it would be coming for him. The animal reared back, its nostrils flaring as he ran toward Colun.
Colun jumped on his back forcing his weight against the spear driving it deeper into the animal’s back. It fell, this time, screaming its pain but didn’t get up.
He pulled the spear out, but the end snapped off. He stood straight to look at the second animal. Would he attack? Right now Colun was the victor. Did the animal feel that he would be able to win? He stepped back and replayed the lessons he had learned as a child before his natural power took over or he became one with his Matra taking his power to the next level. He could hear his mother’s voice teaching him how to call the fire. It seemed so insignificant when he thought of what he could accomplish with his power, but he called the fire until his hands glowed with the flames. Then he reached out and sent it into the animal he had killed. Its body ignited brightening the day sky. He turned around to look at the other animal who took a few steps back before it turned and ran.
Colun staggered until he was standing near a tall tree, he fell against it allowing it to hold him up. He had forgotten what the Earth was like in the beginning, the fight to keep the boys alive; most were so small they had no idea what they were capable off and the power they held. Then there was keeping Victor alive because he was just old enough not to listen.
It had been hard and lonely. Every thought he had of ever finding a female he burned out of himself refusing to hope. Even as Victor met Selma and a union was born between them, he refused to hope for himself. He took a job when he came to Earth to keep these boys safe, and they were. There were groups of Arbrin/Matra’s all over the world but his group was safe, and he was lonely.
He walked until he felt a spear gut him. He fell to his hands and knees panting as the pain tore through his body. He balanced himself using one hand and picked the other up to see how bad the wound was, but there was nothing there. It must be internal. He waited until he thought he could stand and pushed himself to his feet. He moved on, unable to walk in a straight line, until the second spear hit him and he fell to his side. His body curled up, and his mind fractured, taking him back to a time he wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on.
“Colun, catch me if you can,” Freya called, running away from him.
She was in her Matra form, and Colun thought she was beautiful. He ran after her playing a game of hide and seek. He would soul-bond with her one day, he was sure of it; he just needed to mature more. Both his forms didn’t agree with her as their choice for a soul-bond although both his sides liked her as a friend.
He caught her, and they fell into the red grass looking up into the pink sky.
“It’s so beautiful tonight,” she said, g
iving him a smile. “You’re leaving tomorrow. What should we do our last night together?”
He reached out and touched her, his form changing into that of the Matra before he pulled her into his arms.
“I don’t have to go; I could stay. It’s not like we won’t go to the trials someday.”
“You’re so confident, Colun, but I’m not as sure as you. I think we need the time apart. You’ll raise the boys; I’ll help the peace effort here and when the planet is safe and you’re back, we’ll see how we feel about each other then.”
“Come with us, Freya. It makes no sense to only send males and no females. Then we will be able to see how we feel about each other without waiting centuries. You want to come; I can see it in your eyes.”
She snuggled closer to him and watched the stars in the sky.
“The thought of going to a different planet is amazing, to see more than the Sudirs who try to kill us every day. I can’t go Colun; you know why.”
She had another suitor. While Colun had been having internal arguments with himself over her, someone else had stepped up to the plate. Colun knew he wouldn’t pan out; he couldn’t because he was sure he was the right soul-bond for her. Now he only had to get his two sides to agree.
“At any rate, they wouldn’t let me go. Every volunteer has to be single without a soul-bond.”
“I could stay; we could go to the trials together.” He could see the sadness in her eyes as she shook her head.
“No, Colun, I wish we could. You’re my friend, probably my best friend, but there will never be you and I. If you're honest with yourself, Colun, you know I’m right.”
She stood up and moved back and then she burned in front of his eyes and he screamed and tried to force himself to move, to go to her, but he couldn’t. His planet exploded into so many pieces that no amount of advanced equipment could detect where it used to be.
He curled into himself as the pain ripped his insides out. He should have been there. You would have died with me. He could hear her soft voice whispering in his ear, but it never stopped the guilt he felt.
“If you were on that planet, Victor, Cal, Rylan, and Gabe would have died the day your brother sacrificed his life so they could live, so you could live.” Voyager took a seat on the ground beside him.
Colun looked up; it was like looking into a mirror. This was how it should have been. Him and his Matra sitting side by side instead of being fused into one being.
“Guilt is a powerful tool. It keeps you down even when you want to get up. Do you think Freya hated you at that moment? The moment when she died, and you lived.”
How could Voyager know about Freya, but then how could he look like his Matra?
“Don’t you? She wanted to come. Could have come. I was the only thing standing in her way. I should have traded places with her. Allowed her to come while I stayed. She could have kept the boys alive.”
“Are you sure? Do you think she had the unique gift you and your Matra share? Tell me, Colun, are you feeling guilty because she died or because you did not love her?”
Colun rolled over and tried to rise to hurt Voyager for daring to say something like that. His anger radiated around his body.
“How dare you say that, insinuate that. We were going to be soul-bonded.”
“But you never went to the trials. This is your first time here, and you are with Sara. You did not ask her to go to the trials with you. Why?”
Colun got quiet as the pain in his stomach started again. His desire not to talk about the past made him want to run while his body knotted up in defense.
“I am waiting.”
He looked up into the vision of his Matra and spoke the truth. “I asked her, you know I asked her, but she said no every time.”
“She did not think the two of you belonged together, but she loved you anyway. It was not enough, and she knew it. Did you know that the trial remembers every single person that comes here? It has to in order not to let a couple in that it rejected the first time. Take a look, Colun.”
Voyager used a segment of the air in front of him like a screen showing him couples going to the door to be let through. He saw his parents. The sight of his mother making his heart beat fast. Then there was his oldest brother, after that was his sister. Memories of the people he loved who were no longer living. Then Freya walked into the picture. She was beautiful; his memory didn’t do her justice.
She was with his rival. He closed his eyes against the sight for a minute; she’d promised to wait for him. To give him another shot, but she didn’t wait. They walked through the door with a smile on their faces. They were happy. The scene changed to the end of the trial. They were kissing each other, and he could see the love in their eyes. They had passed; Freya was soul-bonded to someone who wasn’t him.
His heart broke but in a way he wasn’t surprised. He was the one insisting they were supposed to be together. Freya was always the smarter one of the two of them, she knew, she just didn’t want to hurt him.
“They had a life together, a good life before the end came for them and the planet. So I will ask you one more time, what do you think Freya thought in the end?”
Colun closed his eyes, and the softness of her voice surrounded him and her wish, the last thing she ever said, came back to him.
“Colun, I wish for you to find everything you're looking for on this new planet. You deserve it all and more.”
“I think she was happy that I wasn’t there to die with them.” His voice cracked as the thoughts of the life he never lived were leached away from him, leaving him barren and bare.
He curled up into himself as he tried to reorder his world.
“Do not take too long; your Sara will need help soon.” Voyager disappeared leaving Colun alone to decide the fate of the rest of his life.
Chapter Fourteen
They were going to kill her. Sara should be disappointed and in a way she was, but things were beginning to feel inevitable like she wasn’t going to get a tomorrow. When that beast, the one that shouldn’t exist as far as she was concerned came after her, she had to think fast. There was no way she was out running it so when she slammed into the tree because she was so busy looking behind her, she took it as a sign and climbed it.
That was her first revelation; she could climb a tree. Not because she used to be a tomboy growing up. She climbed this tree because she didn’t want to die. So the scratches on her arms and legs were going to be her new badge of honor that she would display with pride because she was still alive.
She wasn’t sure how long that would last. It only took a look down to make her dizzy and scared at the same time. The animal, a prehistoric something, camped out at the base of the tree. At first, it had tried to climb the tree but couldn’t get a good enough grip on the bark. The growling made her nervous; she almost fell out of the tree once she was shaking so hard.
The growling brought others of its kind. Now there was four of them down there all looking up at her. There’s no way she would make them a proper meal, but maybe all they needed was a tasty Sara snack. In the beginning, she clutched tightly to the branch and told herself they would eventually go away. It looked like she might be right and then they came up with a new plan. They began to ram their thick heads into the tree.
The tree she was in was going to fall, all she wondered was would she be dead when she hit the ground or just seriously wounded. It really wouldn’t make a difference even if she weren't hurt; there was no way she was going to make it to her feet and outrun all four of those predators. Yep, she confirmed to herself once again she was dead.
They hit the tree again coming at it from all sides. This tree wasn’t going to stay upright much longer. What are you going to do? A little voice whispered in her head. It didn’t want to die, and it was reminding her of that fact. You’re going to die, the evil voice in her head said loud and clear with a cackle of laughter that reminded her of an evil witch from some movie.
She shimmied closer
to the tree trunk and then clutching it she stood allowing herself to get a better look at the predators after her. She only had one choice if she wanted to live, that was to open herself back up to the power she took from Colun. It felt like opening a door in the middle of space; you knew you shouldn’t do it. Then you did it anyway and everything around you gets sucked into a mindless void and you’re hanging on for dear life knowing that you’ll be sucked in next.
That was Colun’s power; it sucked everything into its vastness and before she knew it she was sucked in. His power was being generous; it circled her, infusing her with something that made her feel like a goddess among men. Sara leaped from the tree into the circle of the beasts that wanted her dead. Her hair flew around her head with electricity sparkling; while her hands felt like they were holding lightning and she knew that the power she possessed could defeat the enemy.
The first animal ran at her hitting her shield. She saw its body light up to the point that she could almost see inside its flesh. It fell to the ground dead. Because Colun’s power was using her not the other way around, Sara couldn’t control it, but it was willing to keep her safe as it consumed her natural power.
The second animal jumped at her, and she welcomed it with open arms. Not because she wanted to see these beautiful wild animals dead around her. She simply didn’t want them to eat her after she was dead. She wouldn’t be surviving this; already she could feel Colun’s power making its way to her heart, attracted by the small electrical current it was putting out.
The third and the fourth animal ran away. Sara smiled, grateful they got to live another day. She staggered as far away from the dead animals as she could before her body fell. Her eyes closed and she said goodbye to her child and grandchild. Her body convulsed, dying while dreaming of Colun making love to her.
“How long do you think I will sit here before I leave you all alone?”
Was she in heaven and if she was why was Voyager talking to her? Damn it; she’d gone to hell. Hadn’t she been good enough, self-sacrificing enough, only to end up in hell?
Colun's Passion (Alien Mates Book Four 4) Page 8
