Venomous Lust

by Mary Auclair

  “It’s Gerkin who scares me,” Hazel answered truthfully as she put on her tank top. “He’s bad, that one. Rotten to the core.”

  “Leave Gerkin to me.”

  There was a promise in Khal’s voice. A deep, dark promise that Hazel held on to with all her heart.

  Chapter 13

  Khal

  Hazel is my bloodmate.

  His link had sunk into his heart like a hook, pulling at his innards, leaving him bleeding inside, reeling with a bond that was stronger than anything he had ever experienced before. He could feel her sumptuous body moving behind him, those shapely limbs, that perfumed, pale hair luring his mind toward the pleasures of the flesh when his focus should be on the dangers lurking ahead.

  He should regret it. Should feel shame for endangering her, for selfishly keeping her tied to him. For endangering his mission, the most important mission of all.

  But he didn’t.

  A force stronger than Prime Councilor Aav, stronger than the Ring and the negative particle bomb, had put Hazel in his path. She had brought forth not only the Mating Venom from inside him, but had become his bloodmate.

  He was the last warrior in his family to close the circle, to find the one female who would make his life full like no other. Khal had witnessed each one of his three brothers find fulfillment like nothing else in their mates. He had watched them recover from years of enslavement, from the stain of lawlessness, and the brink of insanity. All because of that bond that made a warrior whole. That made him want to build a life instead of cutting lives apart.

  But still, he had never thought he would have that honor. He’d never seen himself as worthy of finding that kind of peace.

  Now his bloodmate was standing in the path of danger, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

  She’s safer with me than with Gerkin, but for how long? I can’t bring her along on this mission.

  There was no easy solution to his problem. He had spoken the truth when he’d told Hazel he no longer wanted to leave her on Garana to be put in a shuttle for Aveyn. There was something wrong with this place, with the way the Eoks were acting.

  With Gerkin. This wasn’t just bloodlust induced by too long a time drenched in violence. There was something more, something rotten in Gerkin that made him more dangerous than anything Khal had been prepared for.

  And with the Myrador still completing its refueling, he was at the mercy of the commander of Garana. There was no choice, he had to face him again.

  Khal had led the way to the garrison building, Zaxis and Hazel following close behind, and he now stood in front of Gerkin. Two pale, soulless eyes settled on Khal and a cold, calculating grin split the Eok’s face.

  Khal had him and Gerkin wasn’t going to let this pass. Vengeance shone in those pale eyes, nothing of the usual Eok loyalty showing. No honor and no respect, only greed and a lust for violence that corrupted all it touched.

  “Back so soon after your mating?” Gerkin’s eyes slid from him to Hazel and fury filled Khal’s mouth as the other male looked upon his new mate with lust in his eyes. “You sealed it. I can smell your seed in the air.”

  There was naked lust in Gerkin’s eyes, in the way his gaze kept wandering to where Hazel was hiding behind Khal’s back. It was clear to Khal that the fact that Hazel was mated mattered little to Gerkin.

  What kind of an Eok looks at another’s bloodmate this way?

  “Hazel is my bloodmate.” Khal’s voice was barely controlled and he fought the urge to let his wrath loose upon the commander. “No harm shall come to her from an Eok’s hands, on pain of death, as per our laws.”

  “A mighty threat coming from a warrior whose brother is chief of the Erynian tribe, but it wasn’t necessary. My troops are not savages, Commander Khal. Most had never witnessed a bloodmating before. It will give them something to look forward to for when their time at the Frontier ends.” Gerkin smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “The mere thought of finding a mate such as yours is bound to make them fiercer for a long time. They will be mad with lust, it will make them all better fighters. I must admit it affects even me.”

  Again, that wandering gaze, full of jealousy and lust. Bloodlust had taken a toll on Gerkin’s soul, shaped him into an animal whose veil of civilization was barely skin deep. A coat of varnish over the rotten ruins of a lost soul.

  I will have to kill you before this day is over.

  But could Khal attack Gerkin? Fight him out in the open on Garana, even as he commanded an entire garrison of battle-hardened warriors? A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed what he already knew. A dozen Eok warriors had followed them inside, eying Khal and Hazel with a mixture of deferential awe and naked jealousy. Each and every one of them yearned to find a mate, to fill that hole in their lives that only a female could fill. But they were loyal to Gerkin and their training wouldn’t let them betray him. Khal and Zaxis were too severely outnumbered. If a fight broke out, they wouldn’t have the upper hand.

  Khal reined in the hatred that had blossomed inside him for the Eok warrior in command of Garana. Losing a fight to Gerkin wouldn’t just foil their mission, it would put Hazel right in the path of danger. And he could never stomach harm coming to her.

  Never to Hazel.

  “I can smell her sweet essence on you.” Gerkin’s voice was sandpaper to his ears. “Like honey and flowers. Just ripe for the taking.”

  The growl filled the room. Feral. Unabashed. Khal’s.

  Gerkin’s face lost its grin and the naked ugliness of his soul shone through clearly. As Khal growled at him, his talons shot out of his fingers, long and deadly. Every single one of his instincts pushed him to attack, to remove the threat with bloodshed and violence. As Eoks all around eyed the standoff warily, Khal noticed some were staring at Gerkin with hard eyes. They didn’t all take the threat to an Eok’s mate as lightly as Gerkin did.

  It seemed Gerkin didn’t have all his men’s loyalty after all.

  “Forgive me, Commander Khal.” Gerkin cast a quick, harsh glance at his fast-growing audience. “I meant no disrespect to you or your bloodmate.”

  Silence descended on the assembled Eoks as Khal let the words sink in. They all needed to understand who the superior warrior was between Gerkin and himself. Not only in physical strength, but in honor and loyalty. Those Eoks might be fighting under Gerkin now, but they had families back on Eokim—mothers and brothers, all who valued loyalty above all else. They would not follow a dishonorable warrior blindly, and it might be enough to tip the scales if things came down to violence.

  Gerkin stared hard at his warriors, then turned his back on Khal, walking with an affected slow, confident pace to his desk.

  “Now, I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what in the Midnight God you’re doing on this red shithole?” Gerkin didn’t waste time, he sat down at the desk and flicked through a few dusty looking screens, looking for something he obviously didn’t find. “Unannounced, unofficial, it’s like you’re not even here, Commander Khal.”

  “I am to accompany this Avonie on a mission to establish trade with the Decatee people.”

  Commander Gerkin lifted his pale, unfeeling eyes from his screens and snickered at Khal. Nothing passed in those eyes, but Khal could feel the cold of his thoughts on his skin like a poison.

  “We both know that’s bullshit.” Commander Gerkin shrugged, but his eyes remained sharp and focused. “You’re here for the same reason Captain Roohl and the Mother paid me a visit two days ago.”

  Khal’s chin lifted and the corners of his mouth twitched, but he didn’t answer the provocation.

  “Captain Roohl was here?” This time, it was Zaxis who spoke, his voice full of the emotions Khal had hidden so easily. “Did he tell you why?”

  “Son of a bitch was as closed-mouthed as you are.” Commander Gerkin leaned over the desk, his face splitting into a humorless grin. “But he did leave me with a little parting gift.”

  At the sound of the dark glee in Gerkin’s
voice, Khal’s mind filled with suspicion. Whatever that gift was, it wasn’t good news. “Quit playing with me, Gerkin.” Khal’s voice was harsher, more cutting. He was done playing games with a sick mind. The Myrador was already refueled. He wanted off the planet as soon as possible. “What did Roohl give you?”

  Commander Gerkin slowly got to his feet. Khal stayed firmly in place, his face expressionless, betraying nothing of his feelings. From the corner of his eye, Khal saw a few Eoks darting fearful glances between Khal and Gerkin.

  “Let me show you instead.” Gerkin turned and walked away, not glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was being followed.

  A heartbeat later, Khal turned to Hazel and Zaxis. “We stay together. Whatever happens, don’t let Hazel out of your sight.”

  Zaxis nodded somberly, then they all headed into the bowels of Garana’s garrison.

  Finally, after following Gerkin down increasingly narrow and dark hallways, the commander of Garana pushed open a door at the end of a long, bare tunnel. As soon as the door opened, the stench assaulted Khal’s nostrils. Khal kept his expression unaffected as Gerkin stepped aside to let them pass, a cruel smirk on his mouth. Behind him, Hazel let out a distraught little whimper and Zaxis coughed, but they followed him inside, thankfully remaining mute.

  They entered what turned out to be the jail of the garrison, a dank, cold place where despair seeped through the air in waves of fluid waste and unwashed bodies. Here and there, prostrate forms lay on a dirt floor, not even bothering to look up as the group walked to the back of the room.

  As they went, the cells became smaller, the dirt floor wet, emitting an unbearable stench that Khal had a hard time ignoring despite his Eok training.

  “Here’s my new guest.” Gerkin pointed to the last in a long series of empty cells. “Don’t get too close. She spits.”

  Khal ignored Gerkin’s advice and stalked closer until a slim female form stood in front of him. The female’s eyes were wide and rimmed with red, but her mouth was pressed in a harsh line as she faced him. The pink colors on her skin flashed bright red in panicked, striated pattern. Her clothes clung to her form, caked with dirt and unspeakable things he didn’t want knowledge of.

  Celaith, the bounty hunter. This is a dishonor.

  “Arvak.” Khal blinked and shot Celaith a warning glare. Celaith’s eyes gleamed for a second, but she remained thankfully silent. “This is surprising. They never venture inside the Ring. And you said she was a gift from Captain Roohl?”

  Gerkin stared at Celaith, his sick gaze lowering to the female’s body with naked greed.

  “It appears the little thing isn’t as adorable as she looks.” Gerkin’s words had an edge to them, like someone savoring every moment before a feast with his eyes, wanting every second of delicious anticipation to last in his memory. “She betrayed Roohl—tricked him or lied to him, he wouldn’t say—but whatever she did, it was bad enough that he threw her away like a used carpet. It’s going to take some time to teach her some manners, but I’m a patient teacher. She’s going to learn, sooner or later.”

  Khal controlled his revulsion at the obvious perversion in Gerkin’s voice. At the glee with which the warrior entertained the idea of torturing the Arvak female.

  How will I get her out of here? Gerkin won’t let go of his plaything easily.

  Khal glanced over his shoulder at Hazel, whose face was dangerously white and whose eyes were fixed on Celaith with obvious shock.

  His only hope at saving the Arvak female was Zaxis. If the Avonie male understood his guile, then Celaith stood a fighting chance.

  “The Arvak female might be useful to you.” Zaxis spoke with a detached voice, but didn’t hide the reprobation in his tone. “She was one of Roohl’s crew, she could have valuable information. It’s not like Roohl to leave the Ring, he must have a worthy bounty to chase. My own money would be on Knut, but then again, all the bounty hunters are after Knut.”

  Good. Zaxis knows where I want to go with this.

  Once again, Khal was impressed by the Avonie’s fast thinking and steady nerves. Maybe he had been too fast in judging the Avonie as a species altogether.

  “If Knut were hiding beyond the Frontier, I would have heard of it.” Gerkin smiled, but there was a glint of uncertainty in his eyes. “In any case, I can’t see how Roohl would have let her go if she was worth anything to him.”

  “That’s the weakness of one too many males like Roohl.” Khal raised his brows, allowing just enough derision to show to ignite Gerkin’s anger. If his pride was injured, the other Eok would be less likely to notice the manipulation. “Not realizing how much the little people around him really know. I would wager that this one knows a great deal. And that whatever she knows will become less and less valuable as Roohl and the Mother get farther away.”

  A quick glance at Zaxis revealed nothing of the Avonie male’s feelings. His impassive purple eyes were set on the dirt floor as his aristocratic face twisted with revulsion. There was no way to know if Zaxis understood Khal’s intention, whether he understood what Khal expected of him.

  It’s in the Midnight God’s hands now. I won’t risk Hazel any longer.

  As Khal set his eyes on Gerkin again, he saw that his ruse had worked. The commander of Garana’s face was misshapen with rage and he glared at Celaith with a savage expression.

  “I need to get back to the command center.” Gerkin spoke to Khal, but he was already far gone. He turned and headed back to the door, leaving Khal and the others behind.

  Now.

  Khal jerked his chin toward Zaxis, who rushed to Celaith’s side.

  “What are you doing here?” Zaxis spoke harshly, not sparing the female’s feelings. “Why did Roohl cast you out?”

  “It’s because of you.” Celaith’s voice brimmed with anger and despair. With pain. “After he left, Roohl asked me to sabotage the Myrador. He wanted you to explode as soon as the Myrador was out of range of the Mother.”

  “Why not obey him?” Zaxis continued, showing no mercy.

  “Is it so hard to believe that I won’t murder people just because Roohl tells me to?” Celaith retorted, anger showing on her features below the layer of dirt. “I didn’t blast you out in space because it was wrong. Roohl’s been blinded by the reward put out on Knut. He’s gone too far and, like I told you, I want out. I guess I’m out now.” She scoffed derisively, then shook her head. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. I know I’m telling the truth.”

  Zaxis stared at the Arvak female as she raised her chin, not giving in to the pressure.

  “We’ll get you out of here.” Zaxis finally relented. “But on one condition.”

  “I’m listening, but don’t go thinking you dictate the terms.” Celaith bit out her words, her skin flashing first bright, then morbidly pale. She was still defiant, even from the bottom of the foulest jail in the Ring. Were all females this stubborn?

  “Where is Knut?” Zaxis spoke low, but his tone was stone cold.

  “Let me out, take me with you.” Celaith tossed her head, her expression one of challenge. “Then I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

  “She doesn’t know anything useful.” Zaxis shook his head, his pupils shrinking and dilating in his purple eyes as he spoke. “She’s just trying to trick us.”

  “I’m not tricking you. I know why you’re going beyond the Frontier. Your mission was given to you by Prime Councilor Aav herself. She wants you to get back the negative particle bomb, and kill Knut.” Celaith’s skin covered in bright pink spots as she spoke.

  “How do you know that?” Khal took a step closer and was rewarded by Celaith’s eyes filling with fear.

  “You need me if you want to complete this mission. You think Knut is on Declan, but he’s not. You’ve been misled, all of you, Prime Councilor Aav included. I won’t say anything more than that until I’m free.”

  “You’d better tell me, and now.” Khal turned to Celaith. Her face had lost all color and she sta
red, her dark pink eyes full of fear. “Because you can be sure that Gerkin won’t ask nearly as nicely as I am.”

  The Arvak female swallowed convulsively, all defiance gone from her expression. She looked so different just then; female and scared. Defenseless.

  “I know where Knut is.” Celaith lifted her gaze to Khal. “And I know why. I know everything.”

  Khal stared at her as she stared back. There were no traces of deception on her face, in her wide, scared eyes. He glanced at Zaxis, who nodded, once.

  “If you lie to us, I will personally deliver you to the Midnight God.”

  * * *

  Hazel

  Too many things were happening all at once.

  Gerkin is a monster. Celaith is in jail.

  I’m not going back to Sally.

  Hazel’s mind tried to get hold of one thought and it slipped between her fingers like a wet fish into a river. She couldn’t focus, couldn’t decide what she needed to think about first.

  Just in front of her, Khal and Zaxis spoke low and fast, too low for her to understand.

  Her eyes slid to one side, where a creature was huddled in the back of a dirt-floor cell, its back covered in a foul-looking rag. She couldn’t see much of the poor soul imprisoned in Gerkin’s hell, only what looked like long clawed hands covered in brown scales, and maybe a tail, flicking back and forth in a slow, bored rhythm.

  “Can you understand me?” Hazel spoke low to the creature at the back of the cell so as not to startle it. Two bright yellow eyes stared up at her with naked, raw despair.

  “Don’t speak to it.” Khal snapped at her, his voice harsh and his expression remote, detached. Like she was some unruly child, poking around mindlessly at a dangerous animal behind bars.

  Anger flared inside Hazel at the tone in Khal’s voice, giving her some semblance of grip on the horrors happening around her.