Warrior's Paradox (Cadi Warriors Book 3)

by Stephanie West

  There was a rustling at the tent flap, and they both froze.

  “Yes,” Tytus called out, as he released June.

  Fire, the red haired Toufik, pushed the flap aside and entered.

  “Ah, Fire, I’m glad to see you.”

  Fire stared at June a little longer than was comfortable. His caramel colored eyes assessing her, before turning to Tytus.

  “Welcome,” Fire gestured, as he handed Tytus a box filled with fruit and other snacks.

  Fire shrewdly studied Tytus as well.

  “Thank you,” Tytus replied as he took the gift. “I will need you to organize the Toufik for tomorrow.”

  “I will have them ready after first-meal,” Fire gestured.

  Fire stood for a moment looking between them.

  “May I ask you something?” the Toufik signed.

  “Anything my friend.”

  “Your mate is the new species, like the one who joined with the Cadi Alpha?”

  “Yes, June is human.”

  June appreciated that Tytus translated, even though it was a bit weird to hear him saying both sides of the conversation. Eventually she’d learn the Toufik hand gestures.

  “They are the ones that gave us voice,” Fire motioned.

  “Yes, the human females have helped Cadi see the error of being so self-involved,” Tytus replied.

  June recognized the appreciation in Fire’s eyes. It was just as awkward as the way the Cadi warriors stared at her during lunch. It was inspiring to think her new friend, Giselle, had played such a pivotal role on Cadi. June hoped she could live up to the high standard set for her species.

  “It is good you are here.” Fire glanced out of the tent, then back to Tytus. “I don’t believe the new Toufik moved and I’m certain they aren’t working on the plantation. I will see you at first meal. Again welcome,” Fire said then left.

  “Is it just me, or was that a little odd?” June asked.

  “The Toufik who have heard about what Giselle did to free them, and what Providence did to help rescue them, hold humans in great esteem.”

  “That is a different kind of weird,” June replied. “What I mean is, did you see how Fire looked outside the tent before contradicting what Feroze and Bohdan reported?”

  “I did, but it is too soon to come to any solid conclusions. I agree, the Toufik didn’t move, leaving clan member behind. But I do think Stigand’s plantation should be considered. If Stigand was allied with Vigdis quo Carnager, and his plantation has suffered since freeing the Toufik, then he is at the top of my list of suspects.”

  “Getting to the bottom of this problem is going to be tedious,” June said.

  “I know of a more pressing mystery,” Tytus husked as he pulled June against him again, and worked his hand into her robe.

  “What might that be?” June asked coyly.

  Ashtoret walked in and stopped cold when he saw them embracing.

  “Son of a metcor,” Tytus growled under his breath.

  “Should I come back?” Ashtoret asked.

  “No,” Tytus huffed as he released June, then turned to his computer.

  June giggled at her poor man. At this point all the interruptions were becoming comical.

  Hopefully we solve several mysteries sooner rather than later.

  Tytus quo Munitor

  “So how did you become a techie?” Ashtoret asked June, as he popped a fritter leftover from midmeal into his mouth.

  “I was interested in the mechanical and chemical sciences from a young age. My parents had just started letting me stay home alone, while they worked. I heard that mixing bleach and ammonia was bad. So, what did I do? I got a test tube out of my junior chemistry set and mixed a few drops of each. I still remember how amazed I was when the concoction heated up, and produced this noxious gas. I was surprised that such a small amount of a substance could be so volatile,” June exclaimed. “My mother came home and caught me in the act. I was banned from doing any experiments while home alone,” she laughed at the memory.

  “I bet your parents were hesitant to leave you alone after that,” Ashtoret chuckled. “That sounds like when I was seven, and my sire caught me training to be a warrior,” Ashtoret emphasized the word ‘training.’ “I was throwing his best blades at my brother.”

  “Oh, crap,” June snorted. “I hope he still has all his parts.”

  “We call him One-Eye, but he gets around pretty well,” Ashtoret joked.

  While Ashtoret and June talked, Tytus sat frustrated in front of his translation program. They’d questioned the Toufik all day, and the only thing he’d learned, was that the refugees witnessed Cadi taking away their missing clan members via rota. He knew his equipment was working, but the Toufik couldn’t seem to recall anything else.

  Surely, they’d recall the number of males, or the way they were dressed. Something. Anything.

  June saw his foul expression and rubbed his arm.

  “This has been very traumatizing for the Toufik. We need to give them time to relax and get comfortable with us,” she encouraged. “Come on Tytus, take a break. You didn’t touch your lunch, plus I know you were up all night getting things ready. None of that is helping.”

  “You are right.” Tytus pushed back from the table. “Ashtoret, we are done for today,” Tytus announced. “June, would you like to go for a walk?”

  “Sure.”

  Tytus took June by the hand and led her through the camp, towards the road.

  He could build a million different things, but he couldn’t overcome people’s basic nature. The abductions had the Toufik uneasy. It was almost palpable as they walked through the camp. It was time to step back from the situation and walk off some of his frustration.

  Then again, maybe this walk was a bad idea.

  The scent of June’s desire was a thick sweet perfume that had been steadily gnawing at his self-control for days now. It was made worse by their inability to get quality time together, yet that’s also what kept him in line.

  Off, away from the others, he was sorely tempted to do things to June that he promised himself he wouldn’t. June said she enjoyed the way he touched her, that night in the tent. But she might think otherwise if she knew the impure thoughts his mind harbored. Having her bound and at his mercy, had only incited the primal need to dominate and brand her as his own.

  Tytus slowed his stride when he realized June was lagging behind.

  “I feel like I’m in a Tolkien book,” June commented, oblivious to the extent of his conflicted thoughts. “He was an author who wrote this series of books on Earth. It was a magical adventure full of love, true friendship, heroism, and overcoming evil. It’s a lot like what we’re doing here.” When June smiled Tytus was mesmerized.

  “I read all of them, except the last hundred pages. I got so sick of the ad nauseam descriptions of the forest and the never-ending walking. Perhaps I was too young to appreciate more than the action. It’s too bad, because here, I find myself looking at the jungle, wishing I could describe half of what I see in a way that would do it justice.”

  Tytus watched June as she studied everything in awe. She turned and looked into his eyes. The emotion he saw reflected there, gripped him hard.

  “I can’t describe the texture of the bark on the trees, or all the shades of leafy green. But more than that, I wish I could capture the way I feel in this moment, here with you.” June leaned her head against Tytus’ arm. “I never imagined I’d find someone who makes me anxious and excited, deliriously happy, and countless other emotions that I don’t even know if there are words for.”

  Tytus swung June up into his arms and headed towards a large knotty tree not far off the main road. He hunkered down with her in his lap.

  “Some things can’t be expressed in words,” Tytus said, as he stroked June’s cheek with his large palm. His fingers traced her eyes and lips.

  Tytus understood what June was trying to relate. From the moment he met her, he’d been overwhelmed.

/>   “I think your Daimio described it pretty well.” June kissed his fingertips. “I’m in love with you, Tytus.”

  Tytus nearly choked. He gripped June against him, as his heart thudded in his chest. She loved him. Tytus knew he had fallen hard for June, but hearing her express that she felt the same, leveled him.

  “June, I think I fell in love with you the instant I saw you stuck to my lab floor, and realized it was you who’d played that prank on me.” Tytus smiled as he held her face in his hands.

  “That was pretty good.” June beamed.

  “It was.”

  Tytus leaned in and captured June’s lips. He adored the human custom of mating mouths. Tytus palmed June’s behind as his tongue speared into her mouth. June moaned into his mouth as she rubbed against him insistently. He could feel the heat of her womanhood grinding against his stiff shaft. It would be so easy to take June here and now. All he’d have to do is pull his vestment up, and push her cape aside.

  There was a sound on the road that captured Tytus’ attention and he paused.

  Seriously, he sighed.

  “What is it?” June asked breathlessly.

  “It’s Fire. Looks like he’s been hunting. He has several feathered parma over his shoulder,” Tytus commented. “Fire is a big male, but it’s still not safe to go out alone.”

  They observed the Toufik from inside the tree line, as the male stopped at the bend in the road. Tytus’ eyes widened when the largest Toufik he’d ever seen stepped out of the cane field. The gray alpha was taller than many Cadi males, and looked just as fierce as any warrior. A young Cadi male accompanied the gray Toufik. Tytus didn’t recognize either of the new comers.

  “Do you think they’re from the plantation?” June whispered.

  Tytus nodded. He tried to see their hand gestures, but they were too far away. Whatever they discussed didn’t take long, because Fire turned and took off running back towards camp.

  “We should try to talk to them,” June suggested.

  “You stay here,” Tytus insisted.

  As Tytus got up, the Toufik and Cadi male disappeared back into the cane field. He had to hustle if he was going to catch up with them. Tytus sprinted up the road to where they entered the tall stalky growths.

  A sudden sharp pain in his gut, had Tytus looking down. A dart was sticking out of his stomach. Tytus roared angrily. He sorely underestimated the danger of what he was walking into. Tytus staggered back, as his vision started to swim. Two blurry shapes came towards him as he dropped to the ground.

  “Tytus.” He heard June scream.

  “June run,” he tried to yell, but his voice failed.

  Tytus fought against it, but darkness was rapidly closing in.

  10 Variables

  June

  June fled the safety of the tree line when Tytus stumbled, then fall to the dirt road.

  “Stay back,” she snarled at the two men reemerging from the cane field.

  She plucked the barb sticking out of Tytus’ stomach, and threw it at the pair. June should have been afraid for her safety, but all she could focus on was Tytus. His unseeing eyes were wide open, looking eerily past her. June sighed in relief when she felt the heartbeat thundering in his chest.

  “Thank you for the sage advice. Do you think I would’ve darted him, if I knew a female was hiding in the jungle? He was following us,” the Cadi male said to the massive gray Toufik.

  June didn’t know what to do, as she knelt beside Tytus. The man had darted Tytus without so much as a single word or boo. They hadn’t bothered to find out who he was, or what he wanted. The only thing they seemed remotely concerned about was that she had seen them.

  The gray Toufik continued gesturing to the young Cadi warrior. Since the man didn’t translate, like Tytus, June only understood half the conversation.

  “I’m aware that the exotic female means this warrior was sent by the Daimio. I witnessed Fire’s report too,” the Cadi male growled back at the Toufik, sounding perturbed.

  June’s heart lurched. The red Toufik was feeding these people information.

  Why? Surely Fire isn’t behind his own people’s abduction? This really complicates things.

  Either way these men were not benign, and they didn’t seem happy with the presence of one of Kagan’s men.

  “Obviously, they’re coming with us.” The Cadi male ignored June as he conferred with the gray Toufik.

  Do something, June. There was no telling what these men had planned for them. They say, never let your attacker take you to a new location.

  June felt Tytus’ bandolier of knives, as her hand rested on his chest. While the men bantered, she palmed one of the smaller blades, slipping it into the sleeve of her robe. Her sleight of hand had never come in so handy.

  “Come female. Everything will be fine,” the young warrior insisted as he approached her.

  June jumped to her feet and faced off against the man.

  “What did you do to him?” she demanded.

  “He’ll wake up in a few hours,” the warrior replied, looking slightly surprised by her aggressive stance.

  “Then leave us.”

  “Do you know how many predators are in the jungle?”

  June growled in frustration as she thought of all the nasty creatures she’d already pissed off. She couldn’t defend herself, much less Tytus. And she wasn’t about to leave him entirely vulnerable while she ran to get help. So, where did that leave them?

  June glanced at the handheld strapped to Tytus’ wrist.

  “That would be unwise,” the male warned and reached for the communicator, before she did.

  June lunged for him, knife in hand. As she swiped with the blade, a gray furry hand grabbed her wrist.

  “Whoa,” the Cadi warrior said in surprise as he jumped back.

  “No,” June yelled, when the Toufik restrained her, taking her only weapon.

  “There is no need for violence, female.”

  “Says the man who attacked my mate,” June snarled.

  “Metcor, I’ve got the feral little female, if you can secure the warrior.”

  “Let us go you sons of bitches,” June screamed, hoping someone might hear her.

  That only earned her a gag, as she and Tytus were tied up. The men then carried them into the cane field. The young warrior was smaller than Tytus, but he was still strong enough to subdue her as she struggled, perched over his shoulder.

  If it hadn’t been for her robe, the course broad leaves of the dulcis cane would’ve cut into her, as they pushed through the towering stalks. June had to tuck her head to keep from getting hit in the face. After walking for several minutes, the warrior finally set June in a rota, and Tytus was deposited at her feet.

  The rota took off, following a wide drainage ditch between the rows of cane. June took note of everything she could, mentally building a map. Several fields and turns later, she was completely lost.

  Shit this is not good, June fretted as she glared at her abductors.

  Eventually they arrived at a large compound, made up of a dozen stone buildings. A group of at least a hundred Toufik were jovially eating dinner at an open-air dining area. They stopped their animated motions and stared at June when the rota passed. The vehicle finally came to a halt at the top of a hill, in front of a two-story villa.

  “What is going on? Who is this?” a Cadi woman asked as she came out the front door.

  The long dark haired female stared at June, confusion lighting her gaze.

  “Well, sister, we had a complication when we met Fire,” the Cadi male replied, while he lifted June out of the rota.

  The gray Toufik descended the rota and started gesturing to the woman. June wished she understood him.

  “Yes,” the woman replied to whatever he signed. “Bringing them here was the best option, considering who they are.”

  When the Toufik finished gesturing, he hefted Tytus and headed into the house. June started to panic when he carried Tytus down a hall, goi
ng the opposite direction from where she was led. The woman paused seeing June’s distress.

  “Stigand, untie our guest, and take that rag off her mouth. Was that truly necessary?” She asked Stigand, then turned to June. “I promise, your companion will be fine. I am Sundara.”

  The names confirmed what June suspected. These were the siblings Feroze had spoken about.

  “Pardon me if I don’t trust you,” June informed the Cadi woman, when her gag was removed.

  She rubbed her wrists to get the feeling back, after Stigand untied her hands.

  “I am sorry. My brother did not handle this very diplomatically. Please join me for the evening meal. I would like to have a chance to speak to a human. I have heard much about your people,” Sundara pointed towards the dining room.

  “I would prefer to stay with Tytus.”

  “He will be sleeping for a while. This is not how I wanted to approach the Daimio’s emissaries.” Sundara shook her head in disgust. “My brother acted rashly.”

  “With all the abductions, we’ve been wary of intruders,” Stigand explained, looking remorseful.

  June could sympathize, and appreciated the apology, but it didn’t make any of this better. The way Feroze had spoken, June was wary of the pair.

  June reluctantly followed the woman and her brother. She didn’t really have an option, since they weren’t going to take her to wherever they stashed Tytus.

  I guess it’s up to me to figure out what’s going on here.

  Stigand pulled a seat out for June, at a large marble-topped table laden with food. He sat on her left, while Sundara sat at the head of the table, on her right. Metcor, the gray Toufik, took a seat next to Sundara when he arrived. June nervously looked from one to the other, debating her next move.

  “What is your name?” Sundara asked.

  “June.”

  “June, here is some vinum. Help yourself to anything you see.” Sundara gestured to the various platters.

  June studied her cup, as Sundara took a sip from her own glass.

  I suppose if they wanted to drug me, they could have shot me with a dart. June took a hesitant sip. The vinum reminded her of Merlot. It was dry, but good.