"Knowing that they are human could make a difference, Lynx," Ero said, "There could be something about them that enabled the Covra to lock them for so long and keep them this way that is unique because they are human. We have to tell Ciyrs."
Lynx finally relented and nodded.
"I'll tell him when he gets back," he agreed, "Now would you mind leaving for a while? I want to have some time with her."
Ero hesitated and then nodded, standing up out of the chair and starting out of the room.
"You have to trust that the warriors will do what is right, Lynx."
"They'll do what they think is right for the Denynso and the compound. What if when they find out that the Light Ones are actually humans they decide that saving them is not what is right?"
Ero opened his mouth as if he had something to say, and then closed it again, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him. Lynx sagged, putting his face in his hands. He felt like everything was closing in around him. He turned and lay down on the bed beside Rain, resting his head on the pillow beside her.
Gently moving the blanket aside, he rested his hand on her stomach. He felt the pull as the touch drew him into the last moments before the Covra locked her in place. It was something he had done many times before, the only way that he was able to see her moving and breathing. Though they were the same few seconds replayed time and time again, each time that he saw them he seemed to notice something a little different. He took time each venture into her thoughts to look around the room more or to listen more closely and see if there were any other details that he might catch. He was learning to control himself within the visions so that he could maneuver within the envisioned space and experience the things that he wanted to rather than just standing and watching helplessly as the gleaming black creature approached Rain's prone figure and buried the sharp tip of its leg into her belly.
The vision ended and Lynx took a breath before diving into it again. This time he controlled the stream of thought and forced himself to turn and look at the door to the bedroom. The Covra that attacked her had come from beneath her bed, but he had long thought that they were not the only ones in her house that evening. As he suspected, there was another of the creatures, this one larger and more gruesome-looking that the others, standing in the hallway, one of his pointed legs sticking just inside the door. He saw something that made his heart feel like it was going to stop.
Again the vision ended and Lynx shook his head, trying to clear it before he went back into the moments. He turned more quickly this time so that he was able to take a longer look at the Covra standing in the hallway. As he had seen the first time, there was something strange about the creature's front two legs. Rather than being smooth and black like the rest of his legs and like the legs on all of the other creatures, it seemed to be covered in translucent yellow orbs. They shivered slightly as if there was something inside them.
The next time that Lynx immersed himself in the vision he turned almost the instant that his mind materialized in Rain's room and he saw the Covra step in front of the door. Lynx turned sharply to look at the mirror and realized that Rain couldn't see its reflection. He watched as a smaller Covra slipped in beneath the front legs of the first, pausing just long enough to touch the end of one of his legs to one of the yellow orbs attached to the front of the larger creature's leg before climbing under the bed so that it was poised to attack Rain when she laid down.
When the vision broke, Lynx was breathless. He stared down at Rain, his eyes fixed on the area of her belly that the Covra had impaled. Jumping off of the end of the bed, he ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the living room. Ero wasn't there. He rushed out of the house and down the street toward the house that Ero had chosen.
"Ero!" he called from the street, hoping that his voice would carry up into the house, "Ero?"
"What is it?" Ero asked, coming around the house from the backyard.
"I know why the Covra have been keeping the Light Ones alive."
He was frantic and his skin felt like it was burning. He couldn't control the breaths that were tearing jaggedly out of his lungs and his head was light.
"Calm down," Ero said, "What are you talking about?"
"Do you remember how Ciyrs said that he didn't understand why the Covra locked them for so long? Bannack told us that Loralia said her grandfather had told stories of the Covra locking their enemies, but they always killed them very soon after."
The words came out of him in a stream that he could barely understand himself and Ero stared at him as if he was having even more difficulty.
"I'm not following you."
"The Light Ones. They've been here for decades. Just sitting here doing nothing. And the Covra keep coming back, but they leave them here alive. Why? Why would they do that when they could just as easily kill them when they weren't awake?"
"Bannack said that they are weak when they get older and they lock enemies because they can't defeat them."
"Exactly. They are old and weak and waiting for the next generation to be born. Loralia even said that she could feel that there were more around and that they would soon be here to defeat the Light Ones. We've been operating this whole time on the concept that the Covra have just left them alive because they were holding a grudge and wanted to come back here and look at the people that they were holding prisoner. That's not it. They aren't here to check in on the people."
Lynx started around the house toward one of the people who was locked in the alley between it and the house beside it. It was a man who had been injected by the Covra in his back. Lynx pulled the man's shirt up and looked more closely at the area where the Covra's leg had pressed into his skin. Just as he expected it would, the area around the injury was slightly swollen and seemed to move beneath his fingers when he touched it.
"They don't care about the people. They defeated them a long time ago," he said to Ero, pointing out the area on his skin, "They knew the minute that they locked them in place that they would never wake up again, but not because of the lock. When they come back here, they aren't checking to make sure that the people are still locked or even to gloat about them being here. They are here to check on their children." He pressed into the man's skin again, causing the slightly swollen area to shift. "They are using the Light Ones as incubators."
(To be continued in Part VII…)
Book 7
Chapter One
Lynx's heart felt like it was going to break through his ribs and burst through his chest. His mind spun, the thoughts rolling through it making him feel sick to his stomach as they grew and intensified in their horror.
"What do you mean the Light Ones are incubators?" Ero asked.
His voice was low and he was fighting to keep himself as calm as possible as he asked the question that was both terrifying and enlightening.
"The Covra are using them as incubators," Lynx said, "Remember how Loralia told Bannack that she could sense that they were waiting for the next generation to be born but that it would take a very long time for that to happen? She wasn't exaggerating. It takes decades. Whey they locked the people from the settlement they weren't just locking them to be cruel or to make sure that they were able to defeat them. They did it so that they would have a safe place to keep their eggs while the young inside developed."
Lynx thought back on the vision he had of how the Covra had locked Rain. He has had that vision so many times before, but only in the last few days had he learned to control his ability to move within the space he was seeing. Instead of just being stuck in place and having to watch as the gruesome creatures emerged from under Rain’s bed in order to impale her with the pointed end of one of their legs, freezing her in that calm moment as she slept, he had been able to look around the vision of her bedroom and see what else was happening in the space.
Looking around had allowed him to see the huge Covra step into place in the doorway. He couldn't understand why Rain didn'
t seem to see the reflection of the creature in the mirror of the vanity where she had been brushing her hair. The horror had not come when Lynx noticed that creature, however. Instead, it came when he saw that the front legs of the enormous Covra were not sleek and black like those of all of the other creatures. They were covered with perfectly spherical, translucent yellow orbs that seemed to have small forms moving around inside.
One of the smaller Covra had climbed through the legs of the larger one and gently pulled one of the orbs from the leg, absorbing it into his leg so that he could pass it into Rain's body along with the toxin that locked her into place. It had been sickening to watch, but at the same time it filled Lynx with a strange sense of relief when he thought back on it. Now that they understood why the Covra had decided to keep the people alive rather than just killing them immediately after locking them as they usually did with their enemies, they might have more of a chance of saving them.
"I don't understand," Ero said, "Why use the Light Ones as incubators? That can't possibly be the way that they always reproduce. They can't just lock entire settlements of people every time they are going to have a new generation, no matter how long it takes for their babies to be born."
Lynx shook his head.
"I don't know. I don't understand it either, but that's what's happening. All of the eggs of the new generation of the Covra are inside the Light Ones preparing to hatch. According to Loralia, that is going to be soon."
"Do you think that she might know why they would put their young inside another species to incubate them?"
Lynx thought for a moment. Loralia knew things that none of the Denynso ever had, and even though she had always been helpful and done so much to help their kind get through the adversities that they had faced recently, when it came to Rain and the rest of her people, Lynx had difficulty trusting anyone with her. The tremendous responsibility of releasing her from the binds that were keeping her in her peaceful yet brutal sleeping state rested on him, and he was going to do everything that he could possibly do to make sure that he was the one that would take care of her now and when she woke up.
"She said that she doesn't really remember all of the stories that her grandfather told her," Lynx said.
"But she remembered enough that she was able to help get rid of the Covra when they came into the settlement the other night, and that she was able to tell us that there were more coming, which is what helped you figure out that they were using these people to house their young until they are born. Don't you think that it's worth asking her?"
Lynx let out a long breath, trying to convince himself that what Ero was telling him was true. He had never felt so distrustful and unnerved in his life. It made him feel on edge and jumpy, ready to lash out against everyone that got near him. He knew that much of that feeling came from knowing that he was so close to his mate but not being able to bond with her.
"What's going on?"
Lynx looked up and saw Bannack approaching down the alley, his face stony with concern at finding the two warriors engaged in such heated conversation away from the rest of the group that had stayed behind in the settlement while Pyra and some of the others headed toward the nearby kingdom that had once been allies to the Light Ones.
Ero and Lynx exchanged glances. Lynx could see the message embedded in Ero's eyes and knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter any longer. He could exert the control and leadership that Pyra had given him when he left and refuse to tell Bannack what they were talking about, silencing Ero at the same time, but that could put his ability to help Rain in jeopardy. Ero pushed him again through the look in his eyes and Lynx turned to Bannack.
"Could you get in touch with Loralia for me?"
"Is everything alright?" Bannack asked, looking more worried.
"I need to ask her something about the Covra. I think I might have figured something out that could have an impact on the Light Ones, but I don't understand it completely and she might. Could you get in touch with her for me so that I can talk to her about it?"
Bannack nodded.
"Sure. Do you want to go inside?"
"We need to go up to Rain's room. There's something I'll need to show her."
He could see Bannack looking at him with confusion in his expression, but Lynx didn't bother to go any further into his explanation. He didn't think he had it in him to talk about the situation with Rain any more than he was already going to have to, so Bannack was just going to have to wait and hear it for himself when Lynx told Loralia what was going on and asked if she knew anything that might explain it.
The three warriors walked out of the alley and back to Rain's house. Once in her bedroom, Lynx positioned himself on the edge of the bed beside her and nodded at Bannack. Bannack took the heavy silver compact from around his neck and opened it, bending the long silver braid that acted as its chain so that it reflected in the top mirror. Within a few seconds the surface of the mirror seemed to swirl and cover over with light grey smoke before Loralia's face appeared.
"Bannack?" she said, "Are you OK?"
Lynx saw the softness in Bannack's eyes and again felt a pang for Rain. He was feeling more and more afraid that he would never hear his intended mate say his name or have the opportunity to have that look in his own eyes when he spoke to her.
"I'm fine. Lynx says that he needs to talk to you."
Loralia nodded and Bannack handed the compact over to Lynx. He took it carefully in his hand, knowing that it had once belonged to Loralia's father and was a precious gift she had given Bannack as the warriors prepared to leave on their quest around Uoria.
"Hi, Lynx," Loralia said, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Hi. What do know about the Covra's reproductive cycle?" Lynx asked, the words bursting out of him so quickly they almost sounded like one.
"What do you mean?"
"You said that they took a long time to reproduce. What else do you know?"
"That's really all I know, Lynx. The mothers lay eggs that take decades to develop. I know the older Covra get weaker the older they get, but that the young are extremely powerful even from birth. I can't tell you much more." She paused and Lynx could see her eyes narrow as if she was looking more closely at him. "What's going on?"
Lynx took a breath and told Loralia about the eggs and watching the Covra inject them into the Light Ones when they were locking them into place. He carefully pulled aside the blanket covering Rain's stomach and gingerly lifted the nightgown she wore. He was careful not to touch her directly as that would bring him into his vision of Rain's last few moments before getting frozen in place. His stomach turned slightly when he saw the remnants of the injury in her smooth, pale skin. Just like with the man in the alley, the area surrounding the injury was slightly swollen.
Lynx turned the mirror so that it reflected the injury to Loralia.
"Do you see how it is swollen?"
"Barely."
"That's the way it looks on all of them. When you touch the swollen place, it moves. I think it is because of the eggs. I don't understand why they would be using them as incubators, though. They have to have a way of keeping their eggs protected until they hatch that doesn't involve injecting them into another species."
"I have no idea, Lynx. I'm sure there is a reason, but I don't know."
Bannack took the compact from Lynx and looked into the mirror as Lynx tenderly covered Rain's stomach and pulled the blanket back into place.
"We need to figure out why they put the eggs inside the Light Ones," Bannack said to Loralia, "Lynx thinks that it is really important to unlocking them."
"I know." There was a pause. "I think I have an idea. I will get back to you as soon as I can. Watch the Light Ones closely. Make sure that the injuries aren't changing and if they do, reach out to me immediately."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to find out everything I can about the Covra."
Chapter Two
Pyra's throat burned with thirst but he continued to force his feet forward. The sun beat down on him with greater intensity than he had ever felt, making him feel vulnerable and exposed as they walked across a vast open space that seemed home to nothing but shriveled, browned blades of grass. It was unlike anything that he had ever seen. Accustomed to the deep, lush forest, towering cliffs, and wide ponds that surrounded the Denynso compound, Pyra was unnerved by the seemingly endless space of nothingness. There was nothing that changed out the space in front of him or gave him and the men he led a reprieve from the intensely hot sun. When they had left the settlement, the air around them had been cool and soft, but now they had walked into air that nearly stung on his skin.
He felt like he was walking in place, not really going anywhere, but when he looked down, Pyra could see that his feet were indeed moving, pushing the parched ground back behind him like a golden ribbon disappearing behind him, proving that he was actually going forward.
"What if this kingdom isn't around anymore?" Gyyx asked from behind him and Pyra glanced over his shoulder toward him.
"We have to keep looking," Pyra said.
He straightened his shoulders and headed forward at a slightly faster pace, hoping that his leadership would encourage the men who followed him to keep moving ahead. It felt like they had been walking for months, though he knew it had only been two days since they left the compound. The map indicated that the kingdom should be relatively close, but they had seen no indications of any life as they had walked, making Pyra wonder if the kingdom still existed. He hadn't said it to any of the men yet for fear of discouraging them and keeping them from continuing forward, but he was truly starting to worry that the reason that they had not seen any signs of another group anywhere near the settlement, was that over the decades during which the Light Ones had been locked, the other kingdom had either fallen to some other enemy, or simply dissipated and moved on as groups tend to do.
Alien Romance Box Set: Uoria Mates II Complete Series (Books 1 - 10): A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance Page 27
