by E. A. James
A weak spark of energy started to spread through the room. Kira felt it, as did Bron, apparently. He stepped forward, nodding his head with purpose and said, “I can’t very well sit on the sidelines for this one. The Hangar is damned, Vinnie, we’re going!”
Vinnie jumped with excitement, pumping his fist through the air.
Everyone turned their focus on Kira, waiting for her to join in their battle cries. She scanned their faces, seeing the look of determination in Bron’s eyes, the pleading in Dario’s, and the fiery zeal in Thor’s.
“Let’s go get ourselves into a fight,” she said, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
Propelled forward by the energy in the room that continued to increase, she marched determinedly towards the flight deck. As she lowered herself down into the pilot’s seat, she drove the ship forward with purpose, firing up the warp system and sending the vessel screaming through the stars.
She had no idea what they were racing towards. She had no way of knowing what they would find when they finally made it back to her home planet.
What she was sure of, though, was that it wouldn't be the same place she left behind. Then again, she wasn't the same person who had taken on the mission to deliver an unidentified prisoner to a galactic bounty hunter.
She wasn't the same person that lived only for her work. She had a new purpose in her life now and Grimm had given it to her.
She was willing to do whatever she could to stand up for what she believed in and to set right everything that had quickly and suddenly gone wrong.
Just then, Thor came onto the flight deck and sat down in the co-pilot's chair beside her. She looked over wordlessly at Thor who locked his eyes on hers.
“You may not need protecting, but do me a favor anyway, and try not to die on me,” Thor said.
“No promises,” Kira replied. “But, so far, being alive around you hasn’t been half bad so I’ll do my best to keep it that way.”
Thor chuckled slightly and leaned over, pulling her head to him and kissing her softly.
He pulled away gently, and strapped himself into the co-pilot's chair, “Alright then, let’s go get this son of a bitch!”
TANAK
CHAPTER ONE
Margila Fallosi headed across the Village Common toward her home when her best friend Amara Dunroy rushed to meet her. “Margila! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Well, you found me. Now, what’s the big fuss?”
“Have you finished the decorations for the Harvest Festival? You’re in charge of the decorating committee, and you haven’t told me one thing to do. If we don’t finish in time, the village won’t be ready. We can’t let that happen.”
“If you looked on your way across the Common, you would have seen that the decorations are all finished. I put up the last garlands not an hour ago. Would you like to go back and check if they meet your standards?”
Amara seized her arm. “Oh, Margila, I’m so relieved. I should have known you wouldn’t leave such a big job to the last minute, and I’m sure the decorations look marvelous. I have a feeling this is going to be the best Festival ever!”
“It won’t be the best ever if we don’t do an equally grand job on the food for the feast and the flowers for the procession. We had better get back to my house. Mother will be waiting for us, and there’s so much to do before the full moon.”
The two young women fell in side by side on their way back to Margila’s house. “What’s your Mother preparing for the feast?”
“Just...everything. Roast pig and roast venison and roast vegetables and pies and cakes and cookies and crumbles and everything in between. Salads by the score, cordial syrup for drinks, candied apples and sugar-dried chips—you name it, she’s preparing it. You know how my Mother is. When she sets out to make food, she doesn’t spare. She’s been a whirlwind for three weeks, and I’ve been pressed into service. That’s why I volunteered to do the decorations, so I could get out of the house for a little while. What’s your mother preparing?”
“I don’t think she’s doing a pig this year, but she’s doing everything else. I only wish....”
The two friends came to the end of the Common and turned off into a side lane. Clusters of small cottages lined the lane set off with flowerbeds. They passed through the garden gate toward Margila’s front door when Margila laid a hand on Amara’s arm. “Sh! Do you hear that?”
The two girls stopped in their tracks and listened. Amara frowned. “Who’s that talking in your house? I recognize your father’s voice, but I hear someone’s I don’t recognize. Who is that?”
Margila grabbed her friend’s hand and towed her around the corner of the house. She crouched low under the kitchen window and held her finger to her lips. They peeked over the windowsill at three men standing in Margila’s kitchen. Margila didn’t see her mother anywhere.
Thomas Fallosi murmured in low tones to the other two. Margila knew Amara’s father, Councilor Dunroy, as well as she knew her own father. The third man wore a crisp, dark-blue uniform with gold braid looping from the shiny epaulets on his shoulders. Medals and ribbons hung on his lapel, and he stood very tall and erect. “The Axis Joint Command is doing everything it can. I’m mustering the fleet, but it takes time. We can’t move any faster than we already are. You must understand that.”
“Of course we understand,” replied Thomas. “We’re desperate. That’s all. We’ve been at war with these beasts for over a hundred years, and the only solution we’ve found to stop them devastating our crops every autumn is to sacrifice a virgin maiden on that mountain over there. We go through the same quandary every year. Should we keep up the sacrifice, or fall back on outright hostilities?”
“I understand your dilemma, but surely hostilities can’t be worse than throwing away innocent lives. You only have a few more months to wait, maybe less. Then my fleet will enter orbit around Phomentina and wipe out the Raveniss menace forever. You won’t have to worry about sacrificing your daughters anymore.”
“I only wish I could believe you, Major Bloodkist, but we’ve heard the same promise from the Axis before. We’ve been so close to defeating the Raveniss, but the promised support from the Axis never materialized. You have to forgive us for not trusting you now.”
“That won’t happen this time. The fleet is on its way here as we speak. We know you can’t defeat the Raveniss on your own, and the Axis remains committed to ridding the galaxy of this pest once and for all. Just hold out a little longer. We won’t let you down this time.”
“Where will we go? What do you have in mind for us after it’s all over?”
“We have the destination all lined up. It’s the perfect solution to your problem, but you must trust us. Put off the sacrifice, just a little while.”
Amara whispered to Margila, “What’s he talking about?”
Margila silenced her with a wave of her hand and bent closer to the window to listen.
Thomas Fallosi shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we’ve learned through hard experience that the loss of one person means little compared to dragons destroying our crops, burning the village, and killing hundreds of people, not to mention leaving the rest of us to starve over the winter.”
Major Bloodkist drew himself up. “In that case, I’ll send the fleet as fast as I can. We’ll stop this terrible business and get all your people to safety.”
He strode out of the house, but Margila didn’t see where he went. She never saw him in or around the village again.
Her father turned to Councilor Dunroy. “I only wish we could believe him. I would give anything to skip the lottery, even for one year.”
“I feel the same way. We both have young daughters, and the more times they enter the lottery, the more likely their chances of being chosen for the sacrifice. I don’t understand why the Axis is sending all their fleet here to destroy the Raveniss. Why don’t they just evacuate us and leave the Raveniss behind? That would solve everyone’s problem with
a lot less effort and expense.”
“Why does the Axis do anything? I can almost believe Major Bloodkist enjoys fighting so much he would go out of his way to start an all-out war between the Axis and the Raveniss. They don’t really care about us. They just want to show off their firepower.”
Councilor Dunroy smiled. “I wish I could share your humor, Thomas, but with the lottery coming up tomorrow, I just can’t seem to enjoy anything. I won’t enjoy anything until I know Amara is safe. Then I can relax for another year until next year’s Festival.”
Thomas laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know. We had better go now, before anyone starts to suspect.”
The two men wandered out of the room, and Margila lost track of them. She and Amara crouched under the window. “What was that all about?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know the Axis sent their representative here. I’ve never seen him before.”
“What was all that about evacuating and finding a perfect destination for us? It sounds serious.”
Margila stood up. “I don’t know, but I have more important things to think about right now. I’m sure my father can handle anything the Axis Joint Command throws at us. If they’re coming up with a way to defeat the Raveniss so we don’t have to keep conducting these wretched lotteries, I’ll be happy to go along with it. Now, come on. I have to find my mother and get to work.”
Amara hung back. “I better go home, too. My mother will be wondering where I am. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She gave Margila a kiss on the cheek and hurried away.
Margila went around the front of her house where she met Marcus Drury at the door. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
Marcus swept his arm around her waist. He hustled her around the opposite corner of the house. Three large spruce trees sheltered that side of the house from the cold winds. They hung over the eaves and made a shelter out of sight of the lane and the Common.
Marcus pushed Margila against the wall and kissed her. He pressed his chest against her breasts and crushed her with his body. His hands roamed around her waist and down her hips to her thighs. “I had to see you. I couldn’t stand it anymore.”
Margila sighed into his mouth and closed her eyes. “I’ve been busy.”
“You’re not too busy to sneak off with me, are you? Just for a little while? We’ll hide in my father’s barn.”
He rubbed his hips against her, and his flesh swelled between his legs. Margila’s body quivered with excitement, and a pleasant warmth spread between her legs. Oh, how lovely it would be to sneak off right now. She would roll with Marcus in the warm hay in his father’s hayloft. His hands would explore under her skirt to hidden places underneath.
He hitched up her dress around her thighs, and he caressed her bare skin with long strokes of his fingertips. Margila mewed, and she panted through her nostrils. His insistent mouth pushed her lips apart to let his tongue dart inside.
Their tongues danced in a rising swirl of intoxicating passion. Marcus found the moist center between her legs and circled it with his fingers. Margila writhed against Marcus, longing to satisfy her craving with those fingers. Marcus always knew the best way to drive her wild.
“Come on, lovely. Come away with me. I just need you for a little while. I’ve been out of my mind. Come on now. You’re so wet. You know you want to come. You want me, don’t you? You want me to touch you and make you moan?” He pressed his bulging crotch against her leg. “You make me so hot. I need you now.”
With a great effort, Margila tore her mouth away from his, but he nibbled down her neck to her bodice. He mouthed along her collarbone even as his hands traced up to her breasts lying taut and bound under her bodice. He found the delicate softness of her nipple and pressed it with his thumb. “Oh, Marcus!”
He breathed into her ear and ground his crotch into her swollen mons. “Say my name, darling. Say it loud. Scream for me the way you know I like it. I’m going to take you tonight. I’m going to make you mine.”
She gasped for breath. “I can’t! I want to, but I can’t. Mother needs me. I can’t just leave her without help.”
He gave her one last pump of his hard prick. He kissed her until his passion subsided. “After the festival, then. Promise me you’ll come to me as soon as the Festival is over.”
“You know I will. You know I want to more than anything.”
He pulled his hand out from under her skirt and it fell to her ankles. He smelled his fingers. “I know you’re a game vixen. That’s what I love about you. Well, you better get in there and I’ll get back to work. Don’t forget your promise. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I won’t forget. I want you as much as you want me.”
He checked both directions to make sure no one was coming. Then he ducked out from under the branches and disappeared.
CHAPTER TWO
Amara burst into the kitchen and found Margila up to her elbows in flour. Piles of pastry lay rolled out on the work table. “Come on, Margila. We’ll be late.”
Margila dusted off her hands. “I’m coming. Just let me wash my hands first.”
She washed the flour off her hands and untied her apron. She hung it on a hook by the door, and she and Amara walked out into the lane. Dozens of people flocked from the village houses toward the Common. The two girls had to wait at the gate for a crowd to pass before they found room to follow.
Countless people already crowded the Common. They surrounded a low platform where Thomas Fallosi and Councilor Dunroy stood with six other village men. They all looked very somber. No one smiled.
Murmured conversation rippled through the crowd, but everyone kept their voices low. The children didn’t run and shout, and the younger ones clung to their mothers’ skirts. Margila spotted her mother in the crowd and migrated toward her.
Dara Fallosi turned beseeching eyes toward Margila and caught her daughter by the hand. She tried to smile, but her lips started to tremble. She compressed them to keep her composure.
Margila held her mother’s hand and they turned their attention to the platform as her father addressed the crowd. “Is everyone here? That’s all right if someone is missing. We can inform them afterward. Let’s get this over with without preamble.”
A little boy approached the platform and climbed up the steps. Margila recognized him as Paulo Rakner. At nine years old, he was the oldest of three brothers. He would never enter the lottery, and he had no sisters to enter it, either. No one could accuse him of harboring any vested interest in the outcome.
Paulo carried a large platter balanced in his hand. Dozens of huge, ripe red strawberries lay heaped on the tray. He stopped next to Thomas Fallosi. “Does anyone have any objections to raise about the conduct of this lottery? If you do, speak now.”
No one said a word—as if anyone would object to a tradition the people of Phomentina followed for generations. Thomas Fallosi rummaged around in his pocket and brought out a tiny glass bottle. Without ceremony, he uncorked it and poured a clear fluid all over the strawberries. It drizzled into the stack and covered all the berries.
He corked the empty bottle and put it back in his pocket. Then he nodded to Paulo and turned away to the other men. He kept his back turned while Paulo climbed down from the platform and wormed his way into the crowd.
He went from one young woman to another and offered the tray. Each one took a strawberry and ate it. He stopped in front of Amara. She hesitated before she took the biggest, ripest, reddest berry she could see. Amara held the berry in her hand and stared at it. Then she looked around to find Margila watching her.
Margila didn’t have time to smile or give her friend any reassurance before Paulo came toward her. She studied the berries on the tray. They all looked so tantalizing. None was less ripe and red and perfect than another, but that meant nothing. She picked a beautiful berry off the top of the pile. She weighed it in her hand. She couldn’t escape her fate by choosing a better berry.
She eyed it with mixed emotions, bu
t in the end, she took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and took a big bite. The delicious juice gushed into her mouth, and the bite mark showed up red and bright in her hand. She chewed the berry and swallowed it, but it stuck in her throat. She couldn’t enjoy it.
Paulo made a complete circuit of the Common and came back to the platform, where he started over with the first young women again. He still had quite a few berries left. One by one, the girls took a second berry. Some broke down crying when they tried to bite into them. One by one, their loved ones threw their arms around their necks in tears of relief.
Paulo came back to Amara. Her hand shook when it hovered over the tray. Amara’s mother had to put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders to comfort her before Amara could summon the courage to select a berry. Even then, she sniffed back tears before she bit into it.
