by Gail Koger
“I acknowledge your blood rights, but…”
Why was there always a “but”? “You want him to face the Kalafat?”
“Malik’s treacherous actions demand it.”
The screams of the children echoed in my mind. Zarek was 100 percent correct. Malik did deserve such a fate. Plus the bastard had unleashed his feral warriors on several of the Colettis’ worlds, forcing the Overlord to put his own people down like rabid dogs. “You’re right, sir, Malik doesn’t merit a fast or easy death. He must face the Kalafat.”
“A difficult decision, but the correct one. Report to the command center in fifteen minutes,” Zarek ordered and broke the link.
Voss pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Well done, sugar tits.”
“I’m not a complete moron, honey buns. Zarek doesn’t handle betrayal well, and I was afraid if I refused to give up my blood rights, he would have simply forced me to comply with his wishes.”
“True, or he could have challenged you to hand-to-hand combat.”
“That would be one very short fight. Zarek knows all my tricks.”
“As do I.” Voss pulled on his battle suit.
Big surprise, he went commando. “C’mon, admit it. You never thought an itty-bitty female could take you down.”
“Your actions were unexpected,” the big guy acknowledged. Picking up strands of copper, he began plaiting them into warrior braids on the right side of my face. “All that defiance in such a small package. How could I resist you?”
“Love at first sight, huh?”
He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Something like that.”
I noticed a copper warrior’s bracelet with black etchings and grabbed it. “Isn’t this bit small for you?”
Taking it from me, Voss fastened it on my wrist and kissed the palm of my hand. “This proclaims your warrior status and allows you to interface with the ship’s computers.”
“Does it give me access to all your nifty weapons and explosives?”
“It does, but you will not take anything without my permission.”
“Spoilsport.” I spotted what looked like Batman’s utility belt on the bed. “Is that mine too?”
“It is.” Voss fastened it around my waist and slid a laser pistol into the holster. “It has extra energy cartridges for your pistol, restraints, explosives, a medical kit, and I’ve included an expandable baton for close-quarters combat.”
I pulled the baton off my belt and triggered it. It popped out, and I swung it experimentally. “Nice balance.”
“Try not to have a reason to use it.”
“Hey, have some faith. I’m pretty damned good with a baton.”
Voss inserted two black daggers with ornamental copper handles into my boots. “It will have little effect on an Askole.”
“Then I’ll just unman him.”
The big guy sighed.
A gong sounded.
Voss walked over to the door and touched an icon. The door slid open to reveal Hothar.
I did a slow spin. “What do you think?”
“Totally awesome,” Hothar said with a grin, and held out an ice-cold can of soda.
“You guys are keepers.” I popped the top and took a swig. “Perfect.”
Chapter Seventeen
Another command center had been set up for the Gorum. Seems they made all those battle-hardened warriors nervous. Twitchy trigger fingers were never a good thing.
Sariel had stationed several heavily armed warriors a short distance away. Two more testosterone-fueled Askole had decided they wanted to bag themselves a Gorum. After I had unmanned them, they gave us a wide berth.
Okay, I had to admit watching the Gorum eat the sand sharks was a bit gruesome, but the Askoles had no room to complain. They were like the cartoon version of the Tasmanian Devil: swirling tornadoes of death slicing and dicing their enemies into itty-bitty pieces with their wicked claws and fangs. They both made a mess out of their prey.
Bedan appeared on my shoulder and began playing with my braids. “Pretty.”
“Where have you been?”
“Hunting.” Bedan proudly held out a gnawed-on finger.
I sucked in a horrified breath. “Where did you get that?”
“Found it.”
“Where?”
An image of blood-splattered rocks formed in my mind.
“Was there a body attached to it?”
“No.”
I linked with Voss. “Anyone missing a warrior or technician?”
There was a brief pause before he answered. “No. Why?”
“Bedan found a finger.”
The instant Voss appeared at our command center, Bedan quickly stuffed the finger down his maw.
“Bad baby.”
“Mine.”
Voss held out his hand. “I have no wish to take your food, young one, but I need to examine the finger.”
The little guy crawled on top of my head. “No.”
Oh gross. His goopy tentacles were now entwined in my hair.
Raj tried to pull Bedan away from me. “You will show us the finger. Now!”
Bedan tightened his grip. “Want to keep the pretty.”
In danger of losing a good chunk of my scalp, I grabbed Raj’s tentacle. “Easy does it. Okay, Bedan, how about we trade you a big juicy eyeball for it?”
“Want two.”
“Deal. Now give me the finger.”
Sticking a tentacle in his maw, Bedan reluctantly brought the finger out and handed it to me.
Ewww. Bloody pieces of shredded flesh still clung to the bone. “Is that a ring?”
Voss plucked the finger off my palm and examined the ring. “Malik’s.”
Zarek popped in and took the mangled digit from Voss. “It is his.”
I shrugged. “He probably lost it when his Marauder got blown to smithereens.”
Turning his lethal gaze on Bedan, Zarek said, “If you show us where you found this I will give you three more eyeballs.”
The little guy wiggled excitedly. “Deal.”
“Good.”
A yellow glow surrounded Bedan, and he vanished.
One look at the Overlord’s vexed expression, and I laughed.
Zarek’s scary index shot off the charts. “You find this funny?”
“No, sir.” I gulped and turned to Raj. “You can track Bedan, right?”
“Yes.” Wrapping a tentacle around me, Raj tossed me on his back, and we fell into that horrible vortex.
I was still screaming when we appeared next to scarlet rocks that pierced the sand like thorny fingers.
“Enough of your screeching, female.”
A shudder shook me. “I hate that fucking vortex. Do you hear me? I hate it!”
“Everyone hears you,” Voss commented, his amusement evident.
Big surprise the Battle Commander had followed us. Sliding off Raj’s back, I stomped over to Voss and smacked him in the chest. “It’s not funny.”
Voss pulled me to him and kissed the tip of my nose. “This wasn’t your first time.”
I hit him again. “It doesn’t get any easier, snookums.”
Zarek appeared with Commander Zan clamped to his chest.
My eyebrows shot up in amazement, and I whispered, “Do they have a thing?”
The big guy choked back a laugh. “No, Zan insisted on accompanying us.”
“Oh.” I winced at the nasty look Zarek shot me as he released the commander.
Sariel zoomed up like the Tasmanian Devil.
“Hail. Hail. The gang’s all here.”
“Unfortunately.” Voss looked around. “Where is Bedan?”
Dropping my shields, I scanned the area. “He’s behind that first rock eating a sand shark’s eyeballs.”
“Why don’t you and Raj fetch him while I check for signs of Malik’s base,” Voss said.
“Okay.” I motioned to Raj. “There’s a dead sand shark behind—”A tentacle curled around me, and off we went.
> A blinding red light flashed behind us, and for a fleeting second, agony seared through every cell in my body. When the funny black spots cleared from my vision, I saw Voss, Zarek, Sariel, and Zan sprawled on the ground.
Oh my God! Voss! I yanked at the tentacle wrapped around my waist. “Let go. Voss is in trouble.”
Raj tightened his grip and slithered off. “You cannot help him if we are captured too.”
Twisting around I watched as a glittering blue transporter beam illuminated the area, and then they were gone. Sick horror knotted my stomach. Malik had them.
“We will get your mate back, Zoey.”
“You’re damned right we will.”
Bedan scrambled out of the rocks. “Monsters come.”
A feral smile curved my mouth when I sensed two Tai-Kok warriors heading our way. “Let’s go kill some monsters.”
“Why would Malik only send two warriors to capture you?”
My gut tightened. “He wouldn’t. It’s a trap.”
“Exactly. Go back to the command center, Bedan, and warn the others.”
“Me tell.” He vanished.
My radar screamed a warning. A second later a large Coletti warrior slammed into me, knocking me off Raj. I hit the hot sand with three hundred pounds of muscle on top of me.
“You can’t leave yet. Malik has plans for you.”
“Gosh, I hate to disappoint but—”
The warrior suddenly started shrieking and rolled off me.
Raj stung him again and again and again until a bluish foam spewed from his mouth. The warrior gave a final twitch and died.
A brilliant red beam seared across Raj’s back. Squalling in agonized fury, he collapsed on the ground and twitched spasmodically.
Kneeling next to him, I patted him anxiously. “How badly are you hurt?”
“Stun beam. Not a direct hit,” Raj moaned.
“Can you teleport?”
“Not yet.”
My radar went to Defcon 1. Multiple bad guys were heading our way. “Malik’s definitely catching on. He sent an entire squad of his goons for us.”
“Stall them.”
A tad bit sarcastically, I retorted, “Sure. How hard can that be?”
“If we are to escape, you cannot allow them to use the stun ray on me again.”
“Gotcha. Keep their attention on me.” I pulled a thermite grenade from the pouch on my weapons belt. “This should do the trick.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“No. I’m just really pissed off. No one hurts my guys and gets away with it.”
Twelve heavily armed Coletti warriors appeared in front of me.
I smiled real pretty and said in perfect High Coletti, “Greetings, clanless cowards. You took my man, and I want him back.”
Baring their fangs, they all growled fiercely like a pack of feral dogs.
Wonder if they had had their rabies shots?
The growling became more aggressive.
Nope, mad as hatters. Guess it was up to me to put them down.
An older warrior with a smashed-in nose barked, “Drop your weapons, female.”
“Damn, that was my line.” I held up the grenade. “Drop your weapons, or I’ll pull the pin.”
The old guy eyed the grenade warily. “You will die too.”
With a shrug, I answered, “And your point is?”
A tentacle slithered around my ankle. “I am ready.”
“Can you handle a short jump to that ridge over there?”
“Yes.”
Holding out his hand, the old guy commanded, “Give me the grenade, and I will let you live.”
Not the brightest bulb in the pack, are you, buddy? “Okay.” I pulled the pin and tossed it to him. “Catch.”
The moron caught it, and horror flared in his eyes.
“Yeah, it makes a really big boom.”
The tentacle yanked me on top of Raj, and we fell into the vortex.
The swirling hell spat us out behind a spiny ridge of crimson rock.
Raj shoved me under a rocky ledge that formed a small cave and crowded in after me.
A thunderous explosion rent the air, and the ground shook violently.
I watched in amazement as a hurricane of sand blew past, and massive boulders fell from the sky. “Gotta say that worked out better than I hoped.”
His eyestalks swiveled around to glare at me. “You are truly insane.”
“You act like that’s a bad thing.”
Chunks of sand sharks rained down, splattering the sand with bloody entrails.
“How have you survived this long?”
“I’m really lucky,” I answered, stroking his rubbery hide soothingly.
“Luck eventually runs out.”
“Have you been talking with Voss?”
“He needs to lock you up.”
“Wouldn’t work. Trouble always finds me.”
“So it seems.” A tentacle petted my hair. “You are a very unusual female.”
“Not in my family. I’m the normal one.”
“Normal! You?”
“Yep. Scary, huh?”
“Very.”
A metal sensor array slammed into the gruesome remains of the sand sharks. “Well, lookie at that. The blast took out Malik’s sensors and transporter array.”
“While he is blind, we must strike.”
“Not a problem. I’ve got another thermite grenade.”
Raj tentacles crawled over me. “Give it to me.”
I giggled. “Stop! That tickles.”
He plucked the grenade from the pouch and held it out. “Is this all of them?”
“Yes.” I tried to snatch it back, but Raj held it out of reach.
“If anything needs to be blown up, I will do it.”
“Spoilsport.” I stepped out of the cave and looked around. The thick haze of sand blotted out of the sun. The ground was littered with body parts, pieces of metal, and shattered rocks.
Jaylan’s furious voice suddenly reverberated around my skull. “Did you set off that thermite grenade?”
“Yeah, I was getting rid of some pesky vermin, why?”
“Malik says he has the Overlord, Voss, Sariel, and Commander Zan. Is that true?”
“It is, but don’t worry, I’ll get them back.”
“You? Alone?”
His sarcastic tone got my hackles up. “Gee, I think the Gorum are more than adequate backup, Skippy. Plus the explosion took out Malik’s sensors and transporter arrays. He’s sitting blind.”
“You will not engage the enemy until I arrive with my team,” Jaylan commanded.
Covered in blood, the old Coletti warrior suddenly staggered out of the thick haze. He spotted me, pulled out his big-ass sword and, bellowing a war cry, charged me.
I ducked his swinging sword. “And if they engage me first?”
“Defend yourself,” Jaylan snarled.
“Okeydokey.” Dodging another sword thrust, I tried to draw my laser pistol. I yanked and yanked and yanked. Swell. The stupid snap was stuck.
The old guy smiled and swung his sword around his head in an intricate dance.
What a show-off. I yanked the baton off my belt and triggered it.
His bloodstained sword flashed toward my throat. Acting on instinct, I brought my baton up and managed to deflect the savage cut.
Jaylan bellowed, “Use your laser pistol!”
My fingers fumbled with the snap on the holster. “I’m trying.”
Reversing his swing, Gramps did a spinning, twisting arc.
Whack! The force of the blow sent me stumbling backward. My eyes widened in horror. The baton had been cut in half. “Oh crap!”
“Laser. Pistol. Now!” Jaylan shouted.
I tugged wildly at the snap, and it finally gave. Doing my best quick draw, I put Gramps in the crosshairs of my pistol.
Raj zoomed up, grabbed the old guy, and stuffed him down his gaping maw.
“Now you show up.”
Six more of Malik’s goons popped in.
I watched in amazement as Raj’s tentacles suddenly lengthened and whipped out, stinging three Coletti warriors. Writhing in agony, they collapsed to the sand and died.
The other goons sprinted madly for me.
I shot down two of the warriors before the third kicked the pistol out of my hand. Dancing out of his reach, I drew my knife and threw it. To my utter surprise, it hit the goon in the right eye. Having Voss’s battle skills to draw on was awesome.
Blood pouring down his face, the warrior struggled to pull the knife from his eye.
“Get down!” Hothar yelled in my head.
I hit the dirt, and a second later, laser beams sizzled wildly overhead. Holy shit!
“Leave the battle area,” Hothar commanded.
“Don’t you think I’m trying?” Sweat burning my eyes, I belly-crawled for a boulder, flinching as energy bolts flashed dangerously close.
Enough was enough. Rolling on my back, I opened fire and grinned in satisfaction as I sent three goons to hell. Malik was so going down.
The laser fire stopped abruptly, and I took a quick look around.
Hothar fought with a warrior twice his size.
A pair of kicking feet disappeared down Raj’s maw.
“Help Hothar, Raj!”
The Gorum’s tentacle whipped out, quickly encircling the goon’s neck with one yank, and Raj swallowed him whole.
“I could have taken him,” Hothar protested.
“I know you could, but we’ve got more bad guys coming, and we need to get the hell out of Dodge.”
Wrapping a tentacle around me, Raj tossed me on his back.
“I’ll meet you back at the command center.”
A laser beam missed me by inches.
“Go!” Hothar shouted and teleported.
That hellish vortex opened up, and as we fell into it, I caught a glimpse of four more Coletti warriors running toward us. I had to hand it to Malik; he never gave up, and where in the hell was he getting all those men?
Hell’s tornado spat us out at the command center. The Gorum stood side by side with the Askole, Coletti, and Alliance warriors.
Aw. The guys were bonding.
His body coiled with fury, Jaylan appeared in front of me. “You are not fit for combat.”
