by Shea Malloy
She heard a heavy thump. The ship shook gently. Jonnar must have opened the ramp. Then came the voices, loud and angry. She couldn’t understand what was being said, but it sounded like a barked order. What was going on? She had to find out. Despite Jonnar’s bossy demand, she couldn’t just stand here. What if he was in trouble? She didn’t know what she could do to help, but it beat just waiting around like a sitting duck.
She moved to the doors and they slid open to let her out. Her body still weak, Jillian held onto the side of the metallic walls as she walked slowly along one narrow hallway. She didn’t know if this was the way to the ship’s ramp, but she felt warm air gusting along the path she’d taken.
The voices had calmed but she could hear them better as she got closer. Finally, bright light poured in from an opened area, nearly blinding her. Jillian shielded her eyes from the glare. Five human-shaped lumps stood at the entrance, and even without her glasses, she recognized Jonnar’s tall, broad stature in the distance.
“Jonnar?” Jillian called as she approached.
Then her eyes adjusted to the brightness, and her steps came to an abrupt halt. Five pairs of eyes turned their gazes on her, and four pairs of hands swung their guns away from Jonnar and pointed them at her.
Oh boy.
6
Jonnar
—
“Gods be damned, Jillian, I told you to stay on the ship.”
Jillian folded her arms. “Well, I didn’t. Now here we are.”
Jonnar released his irritation on a deep exhale. Jillian’s infuriating disobedience was the least of his worries. Not when they were in a tense standoff at gunpoint with a Muridian and a Dava male, while two more Muridians searched his ship. He supposed their situation could have been worse. At least the unknown planet they’d crashed on had breathable air.
“That one sort of looks like one of your kind,” Jillian said. “A Dava.”
“He is.” Jonnar stared at the Dava male with open dislike. Were it not for his presence, this business with the Muridians would have been over and done with. But the man’s telekinetic strength matched his own. A disturbing thought, as such abilities were only taught in advanced military training or to the wealthy. How would a man dwelling among Muridian pirates have such a power?
Nevertheless, to defeat him would require every bit of his attention. He couldn’t afford that with Jillian nearby. The Muridian beside the Dava male eyed her in a manner that set Jonnar’s entire being on edge. Their perverse and savage nature was well-known.
“I don’t like the look of that grey, scaly one,” she said, her voice low and tense. “He looks like a giant rat. He’s even got a tail.”
He nodded, impressed with her perceptiveness. “Yes, avoid his kind at all costs. He is a Muridian and his tail is filled with a deadly poison.”
“God… space is weird.” She let out a breath. “But I guess this means there’s a way off this planet if more people are here.”
“Or they are trapped as well.”
“I can tell you’re a glass half empty kinda guy.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s an Earth phrase. It means you tend to see the bad instead of the good.”
He heard the smile in her voice and he was grateful for that much. Despite their dangerous situation and the brief, tense episode they’d had on the ship a moment ago, at least she was in marginally good spirits.
“Perhaps you are the same.” Jonnar glanced at her before returning his glare to the two men watching them. His hand did not waver as he held his gun pointed at them. “You did not see the good when I disclosed your pregnancy. You wished for death.”
She remained silent for some time before she responded, her voice lacking the good humour.
“Like I said before, you don’t understand. Even if I am pregnant, I—”
“Quiet!” barked the Muridian in his harsh language, shifting his gun higher to point at Jillian’s head. She sidled closer beside Jonnar, bunching the arm of his flight suit in a tight, frightened grasp. Angered by the Muridian’s threat toward Jillian, Jonnar tightened his finger on the gun’s trigger. He was ready to blast them all to pieces. Better yet, he was ready to throw his gun aside, seize the beast by its head and legs with his power, and violently tear it in half.
“Be wise in your actions, brother,” warned the Dava male in Omar tongue.
“You are no brother of mine, traitor,” Jonnar spat.
The Dava male did not respond. He turned his attention in the direction of the thump of footfalls approaching. The two Muridians who searched his ship reappeared, a malevolent gleam in their black eyes.
“If he is a Union rat, he hides it well,” said the largest Muridian to the Dava male. “No weapons on board. No union insignias. Only one of your holy men and he’s dead.” He grinned evilly at Jonnar. “Kill him. Save the bitch. I’ve never seen her kind before, but she looks good enough to fuck. Then we’ll eat them all.”
Beside him, Jillian trembled. Even though she didn’t know the words, clearly she understood their context. Jonnar wrapped his hand around her, holding her soft body close to his side. He hated these monsters who inspired the live terror etched across her face, and wished he could take her a million stars away from this place, this moment.
His instincts told him to fight. Many years ago when he was nothing but a child of the streets, he would have rushed forward heedlessly. Even though the bloodlust still lurked beneath his skin, his years being a leader had taught him self-control.
“Assuming you can kill me is your first mistake,” Jonnar said, deriving satisfaction in the Muridian leader’s surprise he could speak their tongue. “Your second mistake is your shortsightedness. You need me alive.”
The Muridian leader sneered. “Dead men shouldn’t have so much confidence.”
“I agree,” Jonnar said, his gaze dark and meaningful as he caressed his gun’s trigger.
Fear raced across the Muridian’s face before he hid it behind a scowl he directed at his cronies.
“What are you waiting for? Kill him!”
“No,” said the Dava male. “Not yet.”
The Muridian leader spun on him, his dark eyes bulging with outrage, spittle flying from his thin lips as he spoke.
“Do not give me orders, Dava rat! I am in command here.”
“Without question, Zoraf.” The Dava male’s features remained indifferent. “However, he claims he is of use to us. It would be wise to hear what he has to say.”
“Jonnar, are they going to kill us?” Jillian whispered. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, and her grip on his flight suit had lost its firmness. She was weak and needed rest.
“They can’t. I will never let them hurt you,” he said fiercely, giving her a possessive squeeze. Gods above, her supple body felt divine pressed against him. A flare of lust sparked in him and he longed to lift her up into his arms and carry her back onto the ship, preferably on a cot where he could explore every curvy bit of her. It hit him again how much more important she’d become in his life. She carried his child. And while this thought left him nervous, it filled him with a deep sense of satisfaction he’d never felt before.
He would do everything within his power to keep her and their unborn baby safe. Even if it meant bartering with beasts.
“I am not a Union officer,” he spoke up, garnering the Muridian leader’s attention again. He hated doing it, but he let the hand holding the gun fall to his side. “I would not have let you search my ship if I were one. I am a trusted servant of the king of my planet. If you assist us on our return home, I promise you will be greatly rewarded.”
The Muridian leader laughed humorlessly. “Our ship is destroyed and yours is broken. Your promise is worthless, Dava.”
“It is not. I can fix my ship.”
As if the planet itself doubted his words, a loud rumble sounded. The ground shook violently, shifting and undulating beneath their feet.
“Earthquake!” cried Jil
lian, barely steadying herself with one hand while she tightened her grip on him with the next. “Jonnar, we can’t stand here. The ship might fall on us!”
Jonnar nodded in agreement and guided Jillian toward an open, grassy area ahead, helping her to lie down. The shaking intensified, the rumbling growing louder. Behind them, the ship groaned and squealed but stayed upright.
Fissures erupted in the ground around them. Heat poured out from the new gaps, the temperature rapidly becoming humid. And along with the heat came a smell. A noxious scent like burning, rotten flesh.
Over the rumbling, an explosion boomed in the distance. Then a deafening crack as what was once a small mountain became rubble, tumbling down in a dangerous landslide, leaving a heavy plume of dust in its wake.
The shaking came to an abrupt end, the following quiet relieving, yet somewhat sinister. Dread lay heavy in the pit of Jonnar’s stomach.
This planet was destabilizing. He’d never witnessed it firsthand, but he’d read reports on the symptoms of a dying planet. The scent of decay and destruction of landmasses meant it had arrived at the advanced stages of death.
How long did they have left?
“That smell is foul,” Jillian said, rolling onto her back. She clamped a hand over her nose and breathed through her mouth. “If my nose could leave my face it would.”
Jonnar chuckled and sat up. He wiped away the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, then helped Jillian to her feet.
“Are you hurt?”
She made a face behind her hand. “I want to puke and I’m so tired I might fall over any second. But I’m fine. I’m alive. We’re alive.” She touched a hand to his chest and gazed up at him with worry. The sunlight was weak on this planet, but enough to see her eyes were a shimmering blue. “What about you?”
He smiled. “Nothing broken.” A common line among his men that all was well, and they were capable of fighting.
Then he frowned slightly. It felt strange for someone to enquire after his welfare with such genuine concern. He remembered the look of relief on her face when he’d first awoken too. Did she care for him? A ludicrous thought. She barely knew him, and if she knew the whole truth, she would never feel anything for him except fear and disgust.
Her gaze shifted past his shoulder, her eyes filling with trepidation.
“Oh no. They’re back.”
Turning and shielding her with his body, Jonnar threw his hands up, using his power to push back the four men approaching them. The three Muridians could not advance and threw baleful looks at him, but the Dava male staggered forward, fighting against the press of his shield.
“Zoraf has seen reason,” said the Dava male, coming to a stop. “He will not hurt you or the human, but he will not help you either. And you will honour your promise of reward. Do we have an agreement?”
They wanted a reward without putting in any work? Certainly. When he was off this wretched planet, they’d get the reward they deserved by his hands. Jonnar dropped his hands and smiled, the action tight and unfriendly.
“We do.”
7
Jillian
—
With the help of the other Dava man, Jonnar buried Elder Olin.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, overwhelmed with a strange mix of sadness, guilt, and gratitude. Standing beside Jonnar, she stared at the Elder’s grave, wishing she’d known more about the man. “Thank you for saving me.”
She raised her hands to wipe away her tears and noticed the reddish-brown dirt from the planet on her palms and fingers. Like dried blood on her hands. Upset, Jillian swallowed the lump in her throat and used the back of her arm to wipe her eyes. When she lifted her head, she found the Dava man watching her.
It wasn’t the discomforting, perverse stare that the rat-like men with poisonous tails—she’d forgotten what Jonnar called them—had given her. His deep violet gaze carried that similar, unwavering intensity as when Jonnar gave her his undivided attention, yet it was far less welcoming.
He looked like the boys her baby sister, Karen, liked to get in trouble with. Except there was something a whole lot darker and menacing about him than Karen’s tastes. He had longish hair he tied up into a loose and messy bun. A few defiant tendrils caressed his forehead and the sides of his face. The scruff around his strong jaw and chin completed his roguish look.
Of course, he was handsome. Which only gave credence to Jillian’s suspicion that all Dava people must have some ‘attractiveness well’ they were dipped in as babies or something.
Naturally, the thought of Dava babies dipped in wells reminded her she was pregnant with a Dava baby of her own. But was she, really? Megan had told her about Kelan’s unusual creation, but at least her sister had been awake to witness it. She, on the other hand, had to go on Jonnar’s word. As much as she trusted him, she had a healthy dose of doubt.
Anyway, those thoughts required a certain amount of strength she didn’t have at the moment.
“I should go back to the ship,” she said, turning away from the Dava man’s stare. Handsome or not, he creeped her out. Not to mention he was buddies with those rat men who she definitely didn’t trust.
“As I told you moments before,” replied Jonnar. “And as usual, you disobeyed me.”
“Because you ordered me to stay like I’m some dog.” She glared at him. Seriously? Was he going to give her shit about not obeying his commands right now?
He frowned. “I am trying to protect you, but you undermine my efforts with your heedless behaviour.”
“Well, protecting someone doesn’t mean treating them like they lack intelligence.”
Jonnar folded his arms and awarded her a withering look. “If they behave unintelligently, I have no choice but to treat them as such.”
“God, you’re so… you’re such an arrogant ass!”
Scowling, Jillian released a sound of irritation and began to storm off to the ship. At least, she assumed that big, black lump in the distance was the ship. Losing her glasses was bad enough, but the little bit of sunlight they’d had earlier was rapidly giving way to darkness.
Unfortunately, her legs chose that moment to cease functioning. Weak from her entire ordeal, she grew dizzy and her limbs became rubbery and useless. She flopped onto her hands and knees with a startled cry and would have keeled over if Jonnar hadn’t scooped her up into his arms.
“Jonnar, put me down!” The words flew out of her mouth before she could really question their sensibleness. In truth, if he did what she asked, she doubted she’d be getting back up on her own anytime soon.
“Certainly, my Yena,” he said, a calculating look on his face as he squatted to lower her to the floor.
“Okay, okay, fine.” She looped a wobbly hand around his neck and clung to the front of his flight suit. “You made your point, dammit. Just take me to the ship.”
“Who is the one barking orders now, hm?” A self-satisfied smile curved his lips as he straightened and walked toward the ship. Jillian wasn’t sure whether she wanted to slap it off of his face or pull his head down so she could kiss him.
God, this man left her in a constant state of confusion. She had to maintain boundaries. But it really didn’t help matters that in his strong arms she felt she weighed as much as a pillow, and that despite the scent of sweat and dirt on him, she still wanted to press her nose against his skin and inhale him forever.
“The bad smell is gone,” she said idly, inhaling the fresh air. Her irritation had disappeared as quickly as it had come. “Do you think Megan and Mikaal have sent someone out to look for us?”
“Not yet,” Jonnar said, the sound of his boots thumping against the ground, soothing in its rhythmic beat. “I’m unsure how much time has passed, but I doubt it is enough to cause alarm.”
“And I guess we’re too far away to contact them.”
Jonnar nodded. “We are in an entirely different planetary system.”
Jillian smiled weakly. “So all that’s left is to keep o
ur fingers crossed that man who attacked us feels sorry about the whole thing. Maybe he’ll come rescue us.”
Jonnar chuckled. “You have a greater belief in the goodness of people than I do.”
“I think I’m more of a half-assed cynic. I expect the negative while secretly hoping for the positive.”
The stretch of nothing but flat land and mountains lent an eerie quietness to the place. Nightfall was approaching and Jillian didn’t like the idea of what that might bring. Most of all, she hoped those rat men didn’t ask to stay on the ship with them. Jillian shivered, and not from the cool breeze that ghosted along her skin.
Finally, they arrived at the ship. Jonnar pressed a palm against the side and the ramp slid down to greet them.
“I hope this doesn’t mean just anybody can waltz in here,” said Jillian in suspicious tones as Jonnar carried her up the ramp.
“The ship is mine and will unlock to my touch alone,” replied Jonnar. “You worry too much. Is this a trait in all humans?”
“Maybe. But you know what they say: an absence of fear is an abundance of stupidity.”
Amusement shone in his eyes as he entered a room and deposited her gently onto a cot. Regretting the loss of his warmth and his closeness, she nearly reached for him but stopped herself in time. Wow. That would have been pathetic. Jillian sighed and lay down, allowing herself to relax for the first time in a long while.
Her tired body rejoiced. Finally, a bed. And judging from the undisturbed sheets, this was not the same room she’d awoken in to find the dead Elder. She wasn’t superstitious enough to believe in ghosts, but it would have spooked her to no end to be in the same room as the one the Elder had died in.
Jonnar moved to a panel beneath the cabinet on the opposite wall and touched a few buttons. In the typical Omaron fashion of random things appearing out of nowhere, the panel expanded into a diminutive bar. A bowl slid into view, along with two nozzles. While one nozzle poured a thick, pale-brown goo into the bowl, Jonnar cleaned his hands with blue liquid from the other.
