"I detect four pod fighters."
Must be nice having extra time to throw some sort of were-assassin reunion. Or The Cause decided the time was right to send reinforcements. Like I need assistance. "Land."
The pod lowered like a lift.
Sunlight bore into fighter's warm dark recesses.
Well, the foursome might be able to help with the search. And I can return to Darla. Devros knows she's panicked or pissed. A distressed mate equaled miscarriage. With the elevated risk of the baby being rejected by Darla's body, only a fool would take his time on errand. I grabbed for sunshine and pulled myself upward.
"That's-" a familiar female voice started.
Red Trekaar. I blinked, trying to acclimate my vision.
The endless stretch of blue ocean and paler sky framed four people.
Five if you counted the baby Red held. The other child of legend expected to be born of a Nulvitian mated to a lesser-evolved psychic, Jake Straightarrow. Both Red and Jake's long black hair marked them as the duo.
"Goro?" Red asked.
The shock in her voice was so out of character for her. She had been my star protégé who burned brighter than sacred Devros. If only my child could breathe sunlight into a world of darkness the way Red did. But that was before I took the wrong step. Before I shed bad blood between us and lost her trust.
Red turned and walked across the rock's grassy coat.
Jake Straightarrow planted his hands on his hips in a casual manner. The wind whipped his long black hair around his black leather like a torn spider web. "Goro, you look like Hell."
Only because there was never enough time to sleep. To relax. To just be. But what type of life would that be for a warrior? Stagnation. "Jake." I nodded, swung my boots to the solid ground, and faced the trio.
"Come to think of it," Jake chuckled, "you look like me. Where in the universe did you find all that hair?"
"Hair grows quickly on Xquine males." I strode toward the trio.
The faintly glowing Illusian, Strako, and his earthling mate, Rosa were also good to see. Two absolutely competent mercenaries. How Strako hid his glowing aura that could be misconstrued as wings by many earth cultures would be an interesting tale to hear. Not as intriguing a story as how a commander was stripped of his rank. But I've already heard that too many times. These mercenaries would definitely sit on the edges of their seats waiting for that unfolding delight. "I see Destiny has treated you all well. Congratulations on the birth of your child."
"First time's the charm." Jake winked. "What about you?"
So Jake led the pack, speaking for all. Or took over when Red couldn't. "Destiny has kept me busy."
They must be craving news from The Cause. None of them could have known about off-world happenings. Especially since no one aboard The Undertaker had mentioned these four were on Earth. If this party were hiding out from the Blood Wars, they'd done so for over a year.
"Good to see you, commander," Rosa nodded at me. "I'll go help with the baby." She was gone like a breath of wind.
"To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Jake smiled.
What would they think the minute they learned the truth? "I lost my command? Very few people know I'm here."
Jake and Strako shot questioning glances between each other.
"You lost your command?" Jake almost couldn't choke the words out.
Maybe they'd assist in the hunt for skulls. "I'm searching for Bramyllion skulls for Arken."
"You buy into too many legends. Give him a beer." Jake turned and followed in the wake of the females.
Strako waved me along the same path. "Ignore them. They may be somewhat bitter, but we all still fight on the same side."
The gravelly path turned into a small encampment but twenty steps around the corner where it meandered toward two brown tents. The temporary lodges sheltered the sitting area of which encircled a fire pit fashioned from some metallic tub they'd found on the planet. But the fire's warmth couldn't counter Red's cutting stare.
Jake tried to stand between us.
Block his mate's glare with his body. To no avail. She wasn't going to forgive me for using her to do away with Voldon's spies. Maybe things had gotten out of control in her eyes. Or she couldn't reason based on her raging pregnancy hormones back aboard The Seeker. But Red's mate was safely standing at her side. And I had no intention of ever harming either one of them because she was the closest thing to a child I'd had before I mated. Red had to know how I felt.
"I can't hear what's going on inside your heads. So, no mindspeaking. I want to know what's been said, or the universe will never rest easy," Jake warned.
"I never rest easy. Why should the universe?" Red muttered.
"Wait inside the tent," Jake finally told Red, ushering her elbow toward the dirt-brown flap. "Why don't you put the child to sleep? You both could use a nap."
Rosa shot Jake a pursed-lipped smirk. "Hey, she's got reason to be on alert."
"And he's lost his command. We should listen for more news." Jake waved at the fire pit. "Please sit. We don't have much in the way of luxuries here." Jake lowered into a squat. "But we do welcome a new face with news."
"Since when?" Rosa snorted and disappeared into the tent with Red.
"Women," Jake laughed.
Strako descended around the fire pit.
Settling down might lead to insight and information. But Voldon didn't need to know where Red Trekaar's baby was. The fact I know means I can be tapped for information. My essence could give away her location. And her child's. Red was right about concealing the child's features. Voldon couldn't identify the boy if he had no idea what he looked like. I lowered into a warrior's crouch. "You must relocate once I depart. No one can know of your location."
Jake and Strako shot all-knowing glances between each other.
"I see you agree." For what truth is worth. "But Voldon is determined to find those skulls. He had a bounty out on Darla. She was captured. I had to chase her across the universe. In doing so, I lost my command."
Strako started to speak.
Goro threw up a palm. "Say nothing. It was bound to happen. The moment I mated with Darla I lost the life I had. I am what sits before you, merely the last Xquine warrior flying on the fumes of my last blood libation with an angry mate left back aboard Arken's starship."
Jake pointed back beyond Goro's shoulder. "There's a pod fighter de-cloaking behind you."
"What?" Red groaned from the tent.
The flap snapped open. Rosa rushed out with Red carrying the baby.
Red slid to a halt beside my boots. "Who else did you bring, Goro? Like I can afford everyone knowing where I am!"
They obviously weren't going to buy into I came alone.
Chapter Nineteen
Like I can't handle a little trip to my hometown, Darla fumed and yanked herself up into the whipping ocean breeze and scanned the rocky island for any sign of her husband. If he thought he was leaving me alone on that ship with all those gaping aliens, he was wrong. To think I'd be endangered on my home turf. He's crazier than his buddies think I am. Especially since those cold syringes offered anything but bare bones comfort. Why couldn't he see I have feelings?
Warm tears blurred my sunlit view.
I am not going to cry anymore. God I hate crying. Marriage has reduced me to a sniffling sob. Or those damned computers are right. I am pregnant. Well, that won't be holding me back. Crazy Darla has landed to take what she wants. My husband. I spotted two tents.
People rose before the flapping brown shelters, looking my direction. All wore black leather. Mercenaries. And, bingo, there was my husband. Goro led the crowd toward me with a hungry clip in his stride.
Probably not to satiate his blood lust by that scowl on his lips. I tried not to laugh. But laughing was such a nice change to sobbing.
One woman carried a bundle. Her black hair flared red.
Red Trekaar. Red because her hair flared red when she was pissed. Red proba
bly thought I was bad news. By the looks of her bundle, she toted her own child of legend. At least, Goro's story about Red Trekaar and the legend held true. Maybe I should respect him a little more. Maybe I'll start tomorrow when he holds true on his promises. I shoved my boots toward the ground and jumped onto the hard rocky surface.
"Darla, what are you doing here?" Goro demanded in his deep commanding half whisper.
I threw back my shoulders. "I told you I wasn't staying on that ship. So I decided I'd better follow you when I left it."
Goro halted inches away, snaking his arms across his chest. The others stopped behind him.
Apparently, leery of my past behavior. "Did you tell them I'm not crazy?"
Goro's mouth went straight as a line. "We're not going to discuss anything. You're going back to The Undertaker."
Because he was ashamed of me? Or feared what the masses would do because of how I behaved all those years? "Why aren't Rosa and Straightarrow jetting their asses up to party with the carcasses?" I threw up a palm. "No. Let me tell you. Because The Undertaker sucks. Because Rosa and Straightarrow took on mates who want to be with them. Who set out on missions in teams. And why do I have to sit around waiting for you to return on a ship where the crew prepares for burial?"
Goro grabbed my arms above the elbows and held me still, his orange eyes sparking with fireworks. "Stop this. You're just pregnant. You can't control your emotions."
"Pregnant?" Red gasped. "Now I know you lost your mind, Goro. You've gone beyond mating with Crazy Darla. You're procreating."
Goro's grip slid away. He turned, facing the huddling psychic mercenaries, and stood ramrod straight. "Darla pretended to be crazy for me. If you think I used you, why wouldn't I have had her feign insanity to manipulate everyone else?"
Sweet universe. He's standing up for me.
My heart melted into a big pool of tears.
* * * *
"Please stop lamenting, Darla." Goro tried to squeeze the breath out of his mate's lungs in an enormous hug to snuff the dirge, but the woman just kept weeping. If only I could backtrack to Titan and wait out these tides of hormonal attacks. To keep her company and lessen her fears. Provide support. She seemed fine when we were together. Most of the time.
"Try this." Strako produced a brown bottle.
"Beer sucks," Darla expelled. "I need rum. Pineapple rum," she blubbered.
"If it would ease your pain, I'll depart to find you some," the huge Illusian announced.
"No." I met the man's blue gaze. "Think of the baby."
Rosa smacked her mate's shoulder. "Yes, think of the baby. She needs wine, my love."
Strako's face froze. He inhaled long and loudly as if he awaited the confusion he experienced with pregnancy issues to disappear.
Marriage seemed to do that to a man. Now to calm down Darla. "Can she lie down?"
"Is she a threat to my baby?" Red shouted where she clutched her child to her shoulder. Her hair had bled back to black.
A sign by the grace of Destiny that she would allow us a moment to gather Darla's wits. I squeezed Darla's damp nose into the crook of my neck. "Of course not. To her baby or yours. She's not taking well to the pregnancy. Blessed Devros, it seems determined to stick with her."
"Have her sit by the fire pit. I'll boil water for tea," Rosa ordered.
Anything to reduce the island ambiance back to simple blustery gusts. And nature proved soothing more oft than not. I ushered Darla's compliant form to the hearth and forced her shoulders down until she sat.
She just sniffed now.
Rosa handed Darla a small piece of cloth. "We don't have a lot of luxuries here. But you can dry your face." Rosa produced a smile.
Duty had become a joke. I was forced to leave my frustrated mate aboard a ship where she felt alienated just so I could pretend to search for Bramyllion skulls. And duty dumped me at the mercy of Red Trekaar. Red had vowed to have nothing to do with me again. But our two children are destined to change the universe. Destiny obviously wanted me to rethink my priorities in duty.
Something about this chance encounter rang with facing one's fear. Just whose fear was being confrontational today though? I surveyed the group and snaked an arm around my mate's stiff shoulders.
Rosa squatted beside Darla and became quite attentive. "I have some wine, Darla. It's red. But they say a glass of wine a day is healthy for the mother and baby during pregnancy."
Darla nodded.
"I'll be right back." Rosa patted Darla's shoulder and shot me a supportive glance.
When will I ever know what my mate needs? "So, a lifetime spent studying earth traditions boils down to one final encounter and the ultimate revelation."
Strako and Straightarrow sat down on their haunches and grinned, beyond bright-eyed.
"What would that be," Straightarrow asked.
Simple. "I know nothing about earthlings."
Jake burst out laughing.
How insulting.
Jake leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and gathered a serious composure. "Don't feel alone. There's not one man on earth who would claim to understand earth women. It's the way of the universe." He appeared to choke back his laughter. But guffawed just the same.
"Can you be any more insulting?" Darla blurted and blew her nose in the rag.
"You're right." Jake tried to sit still. "I shouldn't laugh. We've all been there. This will all pass when the baby comes. And then everyone will have to deal with the mental fatigue and general lack of sanity for the following years with thousands of those loaded bombs called diapers here on earth. Or so I've been warned."
Red stuck her head out the tent flap. "I thought you were tough enough to deal with a diaper or two."
Jake shot her a grin. "Anyone who would marry you would have to be."
She rolled her eyes and shot me a warning glance before disappearing behind the tent flap.
Jake waved off the diaper discussion. "What about you, Strako? Still wishing the great mystery of love would demystify the inner workings of the female mind?"
Strako peered sideways, left then right, only to nod slightly in reply.
"Why are you here?" Jake's tone suddenly grew serious.
Maybe I should just admit everything. But where would that leave me? Probably wishing I kept all a secret. "I'm searching for Bramyllion skulls."
"You and every crotch-rot Crellon." Jake wagged his head. "Are you telling us Arken sent you out here to search for something that is obviously not here after three thousand years of extraterrestrial treasure hunts?"
Would nodding be a waste of energy? "Yes."
Strako waved his helpful Rosa over. "I've scanned the tropics countless times in my boredom. Destiny doesn't seem to wish to reveal the location of those antiquities."
Thank the stars.
Rosa handed a brown plastic cup to Darla.
"Thank you." Darla tilted the cup high and gulped.
As if she wished to lose herself in a spirited slumber. "Slowly." I tried to lower the base of the glass a bit. "Think of the poor child."
Darla struggled against my hold, managing to gulp down the last drop and wiped her lips with the back of a hand. "Gods, I haven't had a good drink in ages."
She probably choked down putrid water on the Crellon ship. Maybe I was too hard on her. She'd suffered so much because of me. Caring for her emotional crises of pregnancy would be a small price to pay in the long run. I owed her. And what was wrong with a man caring for his mate? It's not like I have a planet full of relatives to help with the pregnancy, childbirth, or rearing of the infant.
Darla's tense body slackened a bit beneath my arm.
Wine didn't waste time.
She hiccupped.
"Just give up the search, Goro. The only skulls you'll find here are frauds," Jake said.
"Yes, come back with me, or find some other place for me to wait out this pregnancy." Darla squirmed again. "The Undertaker doesn't feel like home. And you promised."
&nbs
p; Yes, I did.
Rosa disappeared into Red's tent.
Just what were the females doing beneath the concealing tarps? I hadn't seen the baby up close. Or heard the child cry. Children cried. Gods more than pregnant women. Thank the universe. "So how old is your son?"
Jake's eyes pinched with suspicion. "How do you know I've had a son?"
Hadn't the universe heard? "I've been disconnected from the chatter of communications and mindspeak for months."
Strako and Jake didn't look like they believed the explanation.
Well, they required the full explanation. "Darla was captured by Crellon bounty hunters. I had to find her. When I returned, there wasn't any gossip of your child's birth aboard The Undertaker."
"Then where did you hear about the child's sex?" Jake demanded.
The tone has gone terribly foul here. "From the Jennian priest on Titan."
Strako shifted attentively. "I know Shandul. He nears the end of his cycle. If what you say is true, he sees the future." The Illusian crossed his forehead in his culture's traditional triangular path of prayer. "His wisdom will be greatly missed."
Jake's gaze never stopped piercing through Goro. "What else did this priest tell you?"
Would it make a difference to share the knowledge? But Destiny called. And to pass on any information to affect the future would ease the journeys of both families. "Darla carries a girl. You know the rest."
"Jake." Red called from inside the tent. "None of us dare trust him. He's probably here to collect our child's blood. I don't want them here."
The menacing Native-American ex-mercenary from earth gathered his boots beneath him and rose with the determination of a were-mate etched on his face. "I hate to be a bad host. But I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Chapter Twenty
What could a man do when his mate had trouble focusing? Goro waited for Arken to indicate how much damage Darla had done.
The serious Arken nodded where he stood among the glowing blue grid and stars in his dark star chamber room. "Goro, you are fortunate your mate did not follow you into battle," the wizened elderly man said in mindspeak.
Feral Flaw Page 17
