Aedian: Alien Warrior: A Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Paranormal Romance (16 page)

Bile rose in Aedian's throat at that. He didn't know that the Platoks had turned to eating things like humans. He knew they hunted for meat, but there was something horrific about the idea of one of them eating a person.

“We refuse,” Prias said smoothly.

“That is very foolish.”

He scoffed. “Please. We have been putting you down like the filthy creatures you are for years. We do not fear you.”

Another chorus of agreeing cheers went up from the assembled Calphesians, and Aedian shifted in his stance, knowing it would be soon. The talk wasn’t going to get them anywhere, and there was only one thing that would decide this, and that was strength.

The Platok clicked its tongue and shook its head. “Things have changed. Are you sure you will not deal?”

Prias replied by spitting in the dirt again, and Aedian was pretty sure that was all that needed to be said on the matter. One by one, the other heads at the front of their formations spat in the dirt as well, and the Platok looked at each of them and then smiled. It was a gruesome thing to behold.

“So be it.”

He lifted his head to the sky and let out a shrill sound that made Aedian want to drop his sword and slam his hands over his ears. It was piercing and horrible and after a moment, it was echoed, the others in the trees taking up the cry.

All at once there were Platoks everywhere, over a hundred of them, surely, streaming out of the trees, arms held up and bone blades glinting razor sharp in the weak morning light as the sun rose.

The Calphesians gave their own cry, a roar that shook them all to their cores and made them ready. As one, they lifted their weapons and rushed forward to meet the challenge, not backing down for a second.

It was easy for Aedian to throw himself into this fray. Fighting came naturally to him, and each swing of his sword was instinctive.

He used it to push back a Platok that swung its arm blade at his chest and then ran him through, sword cleaving easily through his thin body and then dropping him onto the ground where he was trampled by more Calphesians pressing forward.

It was clear that the Platoks weren’t any better at fighting than they had been years ago. They still made the same predictable moves, relying on their natural weapons to win them the battle when it also left them open for attack. Of course, they managed to wound quite a few Calphesians, but it wasn’t going to win them the battle.

For the first time in a long time, Aedian felt truly alive. He whirled with his sword in hand, he hacked and chopped at the enemy. He stabbed and parried and kicked with his feet, clearing a path around him for his comrades to rush into.

And rush they did. Calphesians always managed to work together, ducking under each other’s swings and moving into spaces that were cleared. They were often accused of being nothing more than brutes, but when it came down to it, they had a method all their own, and it was a method that had been putting the Platoks in their place for years.

Right there in the thick of it, it was easy to sense the tide of the battle. At first, they’d been wary. Determined, but wary. It had seemed ridiculous that the Platoks would come all this way to fight them without having something up their sleeves, but as they pushed the enemy back towards the trees and their ships, the general consensus seemed to be that they could do this. That they were going to come out of this triumphant.

Of course, that should have been a big tip off that things were not going to go the way they thought they were at all.

Chapter 13: How Does it Feel?

The problem with the inner rooms of the compound was that they hardly had any good views out the windows. Most of the compound was surrounded by thick patches of trees, which made it hard for sunlight to find the windows, casting a dim mixture of weak light and shadows through the windows. Of course, being set up in this way, made it easy for Roxanne to go to the windows and look out and see the battle as it was getting ready to start.

She watched as the Calphesians spread themselves out into their formation, the sight triggering a memory of seeing the same thing on the news ten years ago. Now they stood just as firm and tall and menacing, and Roxanne truly believed they stood a fighting chance.

And then the Platoks arrived.

She watched with her mouth open as their ships came down into the trees and then as the Calphesians waited and then as the first creature stepped out and began to speak.

Roxy couldn't hear anything he was saying, but by god, the thing was ugly. She'd called the Calphesians beasts because they were large and bulky and dangerous, but this Platok was truly a monster. It looked like something that you'd find on the underside of a rock, wriggling in the damp, dark earth, never meant to see the light of day. Just one of them was enough to turn her stomach and have her clenching her hands into fists with fear, and who even knew how many others were on those ships.

She thanked anyone listening that her parents had already gone and were safe.

Nothing seemed to happen for a long time. She could see the Platok talking to the Calphesians and she could tell that the Calphesians weren't happy about whatever was being said. It was easy to see how they tensed as a unit, how they seemed to be leaning in, ready for violence. But still, nothing happened.

Were they trying to negotiate in some way? She could only imagine what demands the Platoks had, and she didn't think it would be anywhere near as easy as it had been when the Calphesians were bargaining with humans.

Her hunch was proven right when the Platok laughed, a high, shrill sound that filled the air and made her cringe.

The Calphesians reacted and soon there were more Platoks streaming out of the trees, arms held aloft and a battle cry on their lips. Aedian and the rest of his kind roared back and the two factions clashed, rushing forward into each other's lines. The battle had begun.

For nearly an hour she stood by the window, afraid that if she left it, something terrible would happen and she’d come back to see Aedian lying broken and bloody in the dirt. Roxy could just make him out from where she was standing, and that was mostly because of his massive sword that she could see flashing as the sun rose.

He was amazing with it, honestly.

She’d seen him perform in the tournament, but this was something entirely different, and she could imagine that having to fight for your life brought out skills otherwise unseen.

Aedian spun and lunged and slashed, arms never seeming to tire. He cut down any Platok that got close to him and left spaces for his companions to rush into. It was almost like a well choreographed routine, the way they functioned as one unit made up of many different parts.

For the first time since she’d found out what was happening, she really thought that they were going to win without there being any kind of real chaos.

It was disgustingly optimistic, and she should have known better, really.

All at once, the battle seemed to stop. The Platoks stopped moving, stopped fighting back, and the Calphesians stopped as well, clearly confused as to what was happening.

Then there was that horrible sound again, all of the disgusting creatures lifting their heads and screeching at the top of their lungs. Roxy shivered, wondering if the sound was meant to illicit fear because that’s what it was doing to her.

Someone barked an order and from the trees came more creatures. It was hard to see from her spot, but it didn’t look like they were all Platoks. As they came running out and got closer, she was able to make out the forms of horned creatures and some with wings, some that resembled humans just with different skin colors and some that looked to be reptiles that walked upright.

The curious thing was that they didn’t seem to be heading for the battle. They didn’t look like they were reinforcements coming to make sure that the Calphesians couldn’t gain any ground. In fact, they streamed around the battle, avoiding it all together to rush out past them and into…

Oh, god.

They were heading for the city.

Aedian had mentioned that it seemed odd that it had taken the Platoks so long to get to Earth, but Roxanne thought she knew why that was. If they had been observing up there before they’d come down, they’d know how the city was laid out for the most part. They’d know that the Calphesians lived on the outskirts of vast human populations.

And if it was the humans they were really after, then their plan was genius. Keep the Calphesians busy with the fighting and then send a second swarm to devastate the humans.

The last thing Roxanne wanted to do was just stand there and watch while this happened, but she didn’t know what else to do. There was no way she could fight any of them off, and running out there now would be tantamount to suicide.

At any rate, the Calphesians seemed to figure out the plan not long after she did, since the force seemed to be splitting. One group dug in and spread out to continue fighting the Platoks and the other dashed off in the direction of the rag tag group.

Roxanne breathed a sigh of relief. Now she could only hope that it would be enough.

Separating like that meant that they had less of an advantage and the group that remained had to fight harder. Squinting through the flurry of weapons and fighting, Roxanne could just about see Aedian. He was at the front of his little cluster, taking on two Platoks at a time with his massive sword.

She couldn’t make out his face or see if he was hurt, but she could see it when a Platok managed to cut down the man at Aedian’s back and lunge in. She could see it when one of those sharp blades raked across Aedian’s back, and she could see the spray of blood that followed.

Roxy watched him falter just a bit, and she watched the other two Platoks break his guard and slash at his chest, twin arcs of blood showing that they’d landed their blows.

Another Calphesian came in to hack at Aedian’s attackers with an axe, and another shot one of them in the head. She heard yelling, and saw Aedian fall back, stumbling and bleeding heavily.

He went down to one knee, and a Platok that had been on the fringes stepped in. A blade flashed and Aedian fell with a cry that she felt in her bones.

And that was as much as she could watch without doing something. Obviously, she couldn’t fight, but she had to do something.

Without pausing to think, Roxy ran for the door. She didn't know what she could do, but she had to do something. Of course, it would have been a lot easier to do that something if she could get through the door, but when she pressed her hands against it like she usually did to get it to slide open, nothing happened.

Scowling, she tried again, slamming her hands against the door in frustration. This had never happened before, and she didn't know if the door was broken or if she was just locked in.

But how...

Aedian he wanted her safe and out of the way, and locking her in the rooms was a good way to make sure that happened.

With a wordless growl of frustration, Roxanne punched the door, banging on it like someone was going to be able to hear her. "Let me out!" she cried, and was alarmed to discover that she was on the edge of bursting into tears.

She had never been the sort of person who was content to just let things happen to her. Granted, some things she didn’t have any control over, like being chosen to marry a Calphesian, but she couldn’t just watch Aedian die. There was no way she could go back to that window and watch him be killed like he didn’t...like he didn’t mean anything to her. And she would have to examine those feelings later, when they were both safe and she could give him an earful about locking her in rooms like she was some kind of wayward child.

But first she had to get out of here. Roxy knew that the few women they had in their number and all the young children were still in the compound, forbidden from fighting because they were too precious to risk. Maybe one of them would hear her if she kept banging on the door. Maybe-

Before she could do more than slam her palms against the door, it slid open, and Roxanne nearly fell forward, but clawed hands came up to brace her, and Roxy blinked.

She recognized the Calphesian standing before her as Llya, the female who had helped her get ready to be presented all those weeks ago when this whole thing was just starting.

“Are you alright?” Llya asked, releasing her and taking a step back.

“No,” Roxy replied, shaking her head. “I have to go out there.”

Llya’s eyes widened. “You cannot. You shouldn’t even still be here.”

“I wasn’t just going to leave!” How many times was she going to have to explain that? “I know it’s dangerous, and I know something could happen to me, but Aedian’s
hurt
, and if I don’t go to him, he might be killed.”

The Calphesian woman seemed to hesitate, still blocking the door, and Roxanne drew herself up. “I’m going to him,” she said firmly. “I don’t care if I have to jump out of that window. I’m going to him. I know how your people are. You don’t care about the ones who get injured because they can’t fight anymore. But
I
still care. And every minute I stand here trying to justify this to you, is another minute that he doesn’t have. So please, Llya. Let me do this.”

“...So be it,” Llya said softly, inclining her head and stepping out of the way. Roxanne didn’t stop to thank her, instead rushing past her and into the corridor.