Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4) (14 page)

Leaving Earth (Delroi Connection 2)

Stolen Earth (Delroi Connection 3)

Claiming Earth (Delroi Connection 4)

Freedom (Delroi Prophecy 1)

Irresistible
 
(Delroi Prophecy 2)

Redemption (Delroi Prophecy 3)

Absolution (Delroi Prophecy 4)

Excerpt from Freedom (Delroi Prophecy
1)

Roarr
thought this might be the most foolish operation he’d ever taken part in, and
as a southern clan chief on Delroi, he’d participated in his share. If anyone
else was leading it, he never would have volunteered, but he’d followed Falkor
Trace on crazier missions. The problem was he wasn’t sure Falkor was leading
this one. From where Roarr was standing it looked like Janice Hawkins was in
charge. That didn’t sit well with him at all.

His
people had invaded Earth hoping to find
der’lans
,
the mate of their heart. Some of them had, including Falkor. These women were
not what any Delroi warrior expected though. They were independent. Fighters.
Even in his clan, where the goddess worship remained strong and women
empowered, a warrior wanted a woman who would submit to him. Who would trust
herself to her mate’s care and protection. Earthling females seemed to be
missing that gene. He was happy for his peers who’d found what they were
looking for, but he’d rather find a woman back home. A woman he wouldn’t have
to live in fear for.

Which
meant nothing like the woman moving silently in the woods before him, Falkor at
her side. A Delroi female would have stayed on the ship. A Delroi female would
have done as her mate ordered. And her mate? Would have restrained her if
necessary to ensure it. But for some reason Falkor was allowing Janice along.
It was so unfathomable that Roarr couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Not that he
had time to figure it out now.

The
squad of warriors reached the perimeter fence surrounding the secret facility.
If intelligence reports were correct, those behind it were the secret power
behind the Alliance, the most powerful country on Earth. A shadow government
called the Tel Group made up of telepaths, telekinetics, and gods knew what
else. According to Janice they were pure evil, and he didn’t need to read the
reports to know she told the truth. He was an empath. He’d felt the malice when
the shuttle landed, an impression that had only grown on the long trek through
the forest. If there weren’t prisoners inside he’d have targeted the compound
from their ship in space and been done with the foul place.

But
there were captives, and he could feel them now. He motioned to two of his
warriors to slip over the fence and eliminate the guards at the gate. When that
was done, he left two warriors on guard and motioned everyone else through.
After a quarter mile the path split in two directions. One led up the hill. He
could see several buildings through the trees and motioned the squad towards
it. They’d lay charges around the foundation of the biggest to be detonated
once they were safely in the air. In the opposite direction, less than a
quarter mile away, was a small building where he sensed the prisoners. Falkor,
Janice, and Sergei headed for it, while Roarr remained in place to guard their
escape route. Unfortunately, the distance wasn’t great enough to buffer him
from the spike of emotion when Falkor and Janice entered the makeshift prison.

He
felt the terror first. It was so strong he staggered. Thank the gods no one
else was around to take note. He’d kept his ability secret and he didn’t want
to explain the weakness now. Taking a deep breath, he let the fear wash over
him. After the breathing exercise he felt only stubbornness and fatigue. He let
his senses expand, trying to determine what they were dealing with. There were
three captive women inside, hurt and weak. Fury rolled through him. A woman on
his world would never be mistreated in such a way. Earthling males had much to
answer for. As tempting as it was to teach them that lesson, it wasn’t the time
or the place. Nor was it his business.

He
focused on the mission and struggled to contain his emotions. The Delroi
believed the prisoners were being drugged to repress any mental abilities, but
if they weren’t the women didn’t need to share his anger or sympathy. Besides,
he didn’t want to alert one of the telepaths in the other buildings. His team
signaled the charges were set and were ready to move out. Time he got his head
back in the game.

“Falkor,
we have to leave,” he whispered into the transmitter at his lip, but the
reminder wasn’t necessary.

His
men slipped from the shadows and spread out around the women exiting the
building. He assigned the closest warriors to two of the women and moved to
help the third. Impatience and elation radiated from her. She lifted her face
as if to question the arrangements or perhaps the delay and he froze.

Fuck.
Hadn’t he said he didn’t want an Earthling
der’lan
?
No amount of wishful thinking could thwart fate though. There was no denying
this one was his. He’d heard stories all his life. He’d seen enough mated
couples. But no tale could have prepared him for the confusing rush of emotions
he experienced when she met his gaze. Or his satisfaction when her eyes
widened, as if she felt the sudden combustive connection too. Maybe she did.
Janice’s sources said the prisoners were all women of talent who were enemies
of Tel. Janice and Sergei had done background checks on the list of names she’d
been given, but they hadn’t had time to get much.

“Are
we going or staying?” his mate hissed.

They
were definitely going. He ordered the squad to move out, keeping a hand on his
woman’s arm. Everything went fine until the shuttle came into view. Janice and
the other telepath with them, Sergei Trace, dropped to their knees and the
woman at his side began cursing under her breath. She fought him when he
dragged her to the shuttle.

“Get
on board,” he snapped. “You can’t help them right now.”

She
was physically weak and psychically blind. Useless in this battle. She ground
her teeth together, but she went with her two companions while he ran back to
help Falkor get the two unconscious telepaths on board. Seconds later they were
lifting off and he triggered the countdown for the explosives. The woman sat
close to the window and watched it blow with a grim, satisfied smile. He
settled back in the opposite seat, studying her, wondering how best to seduce
her. The desire building in his soul and body was uncomfortable. Soon it would
grow painful. The longer he delayed taking her, the worse it would get for both
of them.

***

When
she stepped off the shuttle into the Delroi spaceship’s landing bay, Kareena
Smith took her first easy—and free—breath in six months. It felt damned good,
but she didn’t dare let her guard down yet. Parker and Zola flanked her, and
she took a look around the group that had rescued them, finally ending on the
two who were from Earth. Zola had whispered their identities during the escape.
Janice Hawkins and the Shadow—Sergei Trace she’d since learned--both Tel
operatives, both still unconscious from the telepathic attack they’d all just
escaped. Since they’d led the rescue Kareena might assume they’d gone rogue.
Then again that assumption might be a terrible mistake. Her torturers at Tel
had been trying to get her to give up the rest of her group for months. This
could be part of an elaborate plan to earn her trust. She didn’t know enough
about the Delroi to guess why they would be involved, however, and it didn’t
seem to fit what she knew of them. They’d been straight forward in their
dealings with Earth. No subterfuge. No ruses or tricks.

“You’re
safe,” the warrior who’d spoken to her on the ground murmured. “The three of
you need to see the healer. It’s this way.”

He
stepped closer, set his hand on the small of her back, and steered her towards
the door following the others. A healer couldn’t tell her anything she didn’t
already know. She’d been drugged to repress her mental abilities, half starved,
beaten, and she was dehydrated. So were the others. Time, food, and water would
take care of her. But she didn’t protest.

She
tried not to sneak a look at the big warrior sticking to her side, but it was
impossible. He was three or four inches over six feet, broad shouldered and
thickly muscled. His hair was blond, a little long, framing a chiseled face and
green eyes that belonged on one of those romance holo covers. Too perfect to be
real. Then there were the tattoos, geometric symbols mostly. They were black
with hints of red on some of the fine tips. She’d never seen anything like them
before. His native language maybe? They stretched down the right side of his
face, disappeared under his shirt collar and reappeared on his bared arm. They
made him look intimidating and he hadn’t smiled once. The severe displeased
expression hadn’t altered a bit since the first moment he’d looked at her.

So
why was she so fascinated by him? She wanted to see how extensive his tattoos
were, if his chest was as muscled as she hoped. She cast a surreptitious glance
down his body and caught her breath. She didn’t have to guess about his cock.
It was clearly outlined by the tight fit of his pants, long and thick. Maybe
that was why he looked so irritated. But who was responsible? Was it just a
reaction to adrenaline from the rescue? For some reason, she didn’t think so.
Damn, it would be nice to have her powers right about now.

“Are
you always so grumpy?” she asked. Well, she couldn’t ask if he was always so
hard, could she?

“What
are you talking about?” He looked down at her, his eyes widening with surprise.

She
shrugged. Now that she’d started the conversation she had to figure out how to
keep it going. It was an impulse she couldn’t explain and didn’t fight. “I get
the impression you’re unhappy with us being here.”

He
was silent so long she thought he wasn’t going to answer. “No. That’s not it at
all.”

But
there was definitely something bothering him. The woman who’d left him so hard
and unfulfilled, maybe? She didn’t pursue it. Despite the awareness humming
through her, what business was it of hers? Maybe he had a wife he hadn’t seen
since the invasion. Hell, maybe this was normal for the alien warriors. And
wow, didn’t that present possibilities. She shut down that train of thought as
soon as it hit. She knew almost nothing about them. Had no idea if she’d
exchanged one prison for another.

“Sorry.
It’s none of my business.”

“Yes
it is,” he murmured so low she thought she must have misheard.

Before
she could ask what he meant, they turned into the medical bay. One doctor, a
woman, rushed to check on Janice and the Shadow, while the man dealt with
Kareena and her companions. He had the three of them propped in beds and
getting IV fluids in moments. The warrior who’d freed them left Janice’s side
to speak to them and the healer faded into the background. Kareena figured it
was finally time to get some answers.

 
“Kareena?” the other warrior asked.

“Yes.
Kareena Smith,” she provided. “This is Parker Reed.” She nodded. “And Zola
Gray.”

“Welcome
aboard,” he said with a twist of his lips that might have been intended as a
smile. “I’m Falkor Trace. Janice is my mate.”

He
nodded at the grim warrior who’d stuck with Kareena since the shuttle had taken
off. “You’ve met Roarr Idis.”

Kareena
looked him over wondering if the name fit. So far he’d been silent. She turned
back to Falkor.

“How
did you know where we were? Why did you come?” And while she was thinking about
it…“Do you know who the other telepath with you is? He’s dangerous.”

“Oh,
don’t worry about Sergei. He’s harmless.”

Kareena
choked off a laugh at that ludicrous pronouncement. “Sure he is.”

“He’s
one of us. And we were there because Janice and Sergei want to be free. We
figured we’d have to destroy Tel to do that.”

“All
you did was cut off the serpent’s tail,” Zola said, her voice raspy from
disuse.

“Perhaps,”
he said. “But the confusion will last long enough for everyone to disappear.”

Kareena
snorted. “I hid for years. They always find you.”

“On
Earth.”

She
hadn’t considered another possibility. “What are you suggesting?”

“Offering
actually. Asylum,” Falkor said. “On Delroi. We strictly control which
Earthlings are allowed on planet. Tel won’t sneak past us now that we’re
looking out for them.”

She
exchanged a look with Parker. The offer was more than tempting. They’d fought
against Tel for years, secretly, always running and changing identities. If
they stayed on Earth they’d be killed as soon as they surfaced. Her abilities
might be dead at the moment, but she knew Parker had drawn the same conclusion.
Kareena didn’t know if she could trust these Delroi warriors, but she couldn’t
see another option. She ignored the regret she felt at fleeing, at betraying
her father’s legacy, and chose life. Freedom. He would want her to, wouldn’t
he?

“I’ll
go.”

“So
will I,” said Parker.

They
both turned to Zola for her answer. They knew little about the other woman.
She’d been part of the inner workings of Tel for years before defecting.
Kareena had no idea what had turned Zola against her own people, what guilts
weighed on her conscious, but it didn’t matter. People like them, assassins and
rebels, learned young not to share personal information that could one day be
used against them. There were other ways to learn a person’s character. They’d
survived the Tel prison together. Zola had distracted the guards from them more
than once, put herself in harm’s way for them more than once. It wasn’t exactly
friendship that had forged between them, but there was trust and there was
loyalty. If Zola wanted to stay on Earth Kareena would join her. She thought
Zola might chose to stay and fight, but finally the other woman nodded.