Alien Slave (27 page)

At that moment Wynhod’s hand shot into
the air, fingers splayed wide. The group halted as one, and the
three Kalquorians’ scented the air, their nostrils
flaring.

“
Tragooms!” the Nobek
shouted. He yanked his blaster from his belt in a motion so fast
the metal casing flashed like lightning in the strange orange-gray
light. He leapt behind the rest of them, crouching in a defensive
posture facing the way they’d come. Gelan was at his side in an
instant, and Krijero pulled his knife, shoving Dani behind his big
body.

She heard the enemy coming, booming
thuds of heavy feet heading quickly their way. Gelan and Wynhod
sank low to the mucky ground, the blasters pointed.

“
Protect Dani!” Gelan told
Krijero. It was the last thing he said before the Tragooms hove
into view and all hell broke loose.

Looking like bastard children of a pig
and rhinoceros, four Tragooms fired percussion blasters in a
tremendous volley, the shwack-shwack boom of their attack shaking
the very air. Wynhod and Gelan shot back as Krijero turned and fell
on Dani, knocking her to the ground. At first she cried out in
horror, thinking he’d been hit, but as his body wrapped around
hers, shielding her from the blasts, she realized he was shielding
her.

Inhuman snorts, squeals, howling, and
screaming added to the din, and Dani clapped her hands over her
ears as firing continued. Somehow over the bedlam she heard Wynhod
yell, “More are coming!”

Gelan’s roar rang out. “Krijero, get
her out of here! Run!”

Krijero was on his feet in an instant,
all his usual clumsiness gone in a surge of adrenaline. Hunched in
a crouch, he yanked Dani to his chest and took off as more blaster
fire shivered the air around them. The Imdiko put on a dizzying
burst of speed, and the sounds of the blasters quickly faded from
her ringing ears.

Chapter 15

As fights went, it was a bit of a
disappointment for Gelan and Wynhod.

They were outnumbered but these were
young Tragooms, unseasoned in battle. No doubt they’d been sent
ahead by their leader to be destroyed, ‘cannon fodder’ as an
Earther might term them. It was no surprise to either Kalquorian
for this to have happened. The leader of the Tragoom party might
have sent these young ones ahead as punishment. He might have sent
them ahead in order to cut the numbers so he didn’t have to share
as much of the Kalquorians’ belongings with his crew. Maybe he
hoped the sacrifice would result in hurting one or more of his
enemy, making them easier to kill later. Or maybe he actually
thought the young ones would get lucky and take a mature Kalquorian
clan out, saving his own cowardly hide from danger.

No matter the reason, Gelan and Wynhod
killed all their attackers without suffering a single injury
themselves. Triumph was shortlived, because they knew the larger
party was still coming for them.

Gelan dragged the last of the Tragooms
he and Wynhod had killed to a deep pool of water, where the Nobek
was heaving a bloody mess into the depths. The Dramok hefted his
bulky burden and tossed it in after Wynhod’s offering. An explosion
of water drenched him anew, but he welcomed the impromptu shower.
The rancid stench of Tragoom clung to him as tenaciously as the
disgusting race’s blood. The damned things had a bad habit of
evacuating their bowels when they died.

He and Wynhod returned to the site of
their fight, strapping the fallen enemies’ blasters to their belts.
Most were still at least half-full of power. In all, the
Kalquorians had killed eight. Gelan felt as high on bloodshed as he
had after the fight with the beast in the cave. He knew better than
to give into the thrill of battle and forced himself to sober
contemplation of their situation.

He told Wynhod, “We may not have much
time before the main phalanx of the Tragoom party arrives here, but
I’d like to cover Krijero and Dani’s trail as best we
can.”

Wynhod nodded. “After that we’ll give
the gurlucks a more obvious but false trail to follow, like I did
before.”

They set to work, quickly camouflaging
Krijero’s fleeing footprints. Then they both went in different
directions to roll around on the ground here and there, leaving
concentrations of their scents in misleading routes to confuse the
enemy. All the while, Gelan listened and scented the air, expecting
the main party of the Tragooms to fall upon them at any
moment.

The light was reddening beyond the
clouds, warning the pair that day approached its end by the time
they met back up at the battleground.

Gelan jerked his head in the direction
he wanted to take. “Let’s head north for a few miles then we’ll
make for the rock formation and meet up with the rest of our
clan.”

Wynhod’s eyebrows rose even as a slight
smile warmed his face. “Are you including Dani in that?”

Gelan started on their new route, and
his Nobek fell in step with him. “I suppose I am. What do you
think?”

“
You know me. I’ve never
been one to turn down a challenge. I just hope our little fighter
isn’t giving Krijero a hard time, since he’ll be the most difficult
to convince.”

“
To that end, let’s move.
She’s impulsive enough to try escaping him if the notion hits her.
Plus I don’t like having my Matara and Imdiko on their own with
Tragooms trying to find them.”

Wynhod growled, and they broke into a
run.

* * * *

Because Krijero carried her for the
most part that day, Dani had the energy to help him build a small
shelter when they stopped for the night. They both wanted a fire
and with Tragooms trying to catch them, construction to shield the
light from enemy eyes was imperative.

While Dani laid fallen branches side by
side to allow them to lie above the wet ground, Krijero tied a
thick vine so that it stretched between two trees. Using more
branches, he propped them against the taut line to form an A-frame
roof. Foliage covered the timber, providing light-proof walls. More
fibrous plants laid on Dani’s platform gave them a soft place to
rest. Finding wood dry enough to light into a fire took some doing,
but the pair managed. With sighs of contentment, they sat on the
platform, sharing the meat the Kalquorians had smoked back in the
cave where Dani had recuperated.

Reflecting on the long stretches of
silence in which they’d traveled that day, Dani told Krijero, “You
sure are quiet compared to the other two. Is that an Imdiko
trait?”

He shrugged. “There are talkative
Imdikos too.”

Dani considered him as he stared into
the dancing flames. She found Krijero hard to read. He was gentle,
compassionate, and looked after her carefully. He’d thrown himself
on her when percussion blaster fire raged around them. He’d even
opened up to her a little the one time when they’d made love. His
occasional clumsiness endeared him to her, made her feel better
about her own awkwardness, and made him more approachable than the
rest of his self-assured species. Yet he was mostly silent around
her. He rarely looked her in the face. He often seemed ill at ease
when she spoke to him.

Dani remembered the vulnerability he’d
shown that one night, how it had made her want to make him happy.
Such a fascinating dichotomy, this man who demonstrated both
courage and a sense of having been hurt. It bothered her that he
continued to keep her at arm’s length.

“
You don’t like me much, do
you?” She kept her tone nonchalant.

He looked at her then, his eyes wide
with surprise. “On the contrary. I like you more than I’m
comfortable with.”

Well, that was interesting. “Why do you
say that?”

He laughed, the sound embarrassed. “I
didn’t mean to admit that. Your question shocked the answer out of
me.”

“
You don’t want to like
me?”

Krijero shrugged. “I hate putting
myself on the line with another person. Like you, I was hurt by
someone I loved. I have a mortal terror of rejection
now.”

Dani nodded. Rejection was hard. Every
rebuff she’d ever suffered had humiliated her, made her feel small
and unimportant. And there had been so many.

She swallowed. “Who pushed you
away?”

The Imdiko stared into the fire once
more. “A Dramok I had a long relationship with when I was young. We
were companions from childhood, and then when we were of age he
clanned another Imdiko. I never saw it coming.”

No wonder he came off so much like a
kicked puppy sometimes. He’d been dumped for someone else. “Wow,”
Dani breathed. “What a jerk.”

Krijero laughed hard at that. “I
suppose he was. I’ve called him much worse.”

Dani scooted to sit closer to him, to
give a show of support. To her delight, he circled her waist with
one arm. “So how did you end up trusting Gelan and Wynhod enough to
clan with them?”

He admitted, “It took a long time. I
thought it had to be some kind of joke they were playing on me,
asking me to be their Imdiko. I mean, I trip over my own feet, I
never remember to brush my hair, I have the worst time talking to
people I don’t know. Why would they pick me?”

“
Nothing plays hell with
your self-confidence like someone telling you you’re not good
enough.” Dani sighed.

“
Believe me, I know that for
a fact.” Krijero smiled and shook his head. “I was so scared it
would happen again. I can’t believe Gelan and Wynhod didn’t give up
on me, but they finally convinced me they really wanted me to join
them.”

“
You’re lucky to have found
them. I’m jealous.” She leaned back to consider him. “We’re a lot
alike, maybe.”

He nodded. A lock of hair fell over her
face, and he gently smoothed it back for her. “I think we are. I
like you, Dani. But I don’t want to get attached and have you leave
when your contract is up.”

She blinked hard against the sting of
tears. “I like you too. But no one has ever stuck around, so I’m
waiting for your clan to disappear on me too. You may end up
thrilled to see me go when the three years are done.”

He studied her in silence for a few
moments, his face working as he seemed about to say something
several times and stopped himself. At last he did speak, his tone
so faint she had to strain to hear him. “I don’t think so. I think
despite all my attempts to not fall in love, I might
fail.”

Dani bit her lips together. He liked
her that much? Enough to think he might want to keep her? Tears
escaped despite her best efforts, and she knuckled them away. She
wondered how long it would take before her usual impulsive
stupidity changed his mind. “We’re a mess, Krijero.”

He nodded. “I suppose we
are.”

“
Want to have
sex?”

Another burst of laughter, and he
pulled her close, his face dipping down for the first kiss. “I do.
I think we can trust each other for that, at least.”

His tongue invaded her mouth as he
lowered her to the platform. He felt so amazing against her body,
so warm and strong. Dani opened her legs to him, letting his
searching hand dive into her damp folds.

“
I guess we’ll have to be
quiet again, just in case those stupid gurlucks are close by,”
Krijero whispered in her ear.

“
I hate being quiet. You
Kalquorians make me want to scream my head off.”

“
But you will be quiet,”
Krijero said.

He covered her mouth with his free
hand. She gasped against his palm as he thrust two fingers into her
pussy. He stared down into her face as he finger fucked her hard,
making her lower parts throb with arousal.

“
Everyone thinks Imdikos are
so easygoing, especially with sex. We can be just as demanding as
any Dramok or Nobek though,” he told her, his weight pinning her
down. She sobbed as his thumb flicked her clit and lightning
flashed through her belly. “Would you like me to show
you?”

His dark eyes and the firelight
flickering over his face made Krijero look very dangerous suddenly.
Dani’s heart pounded at his intense expression. She
nodded.

Yes, she wanted to see the more
ruthless side of Krijero. Absolutely.

He grinned, and her stomach executed a
flip flop. Her sex pulsed out honey. She was in for it, and the
anticipation made her giddy.

“
Lock your fingers behind
your neck. Spread your arms wide. If you move them from that spot
without my permission, I will punish you with a
spanking.”

Dani did as he told her, twining her
fingers together, her palms against the hated collar. Krijero’s
words brought up the memory of Gelan’s discipline when they’d
caught her. That had not been a pleasant incident, but the way
Krijero looked at her, the way he spoke the words as if promising
her a bucketful of diamonds, made her pussy clench around his
steadily driving fingers.

He grinned, the expression full of evil
intent. “There are spankings, and then there are spankings, my
lovely little Dani. I’m not talking about the kind where you are
brought to task for dangerous behavior. I’m talking the kind where
you acknowledge my power over you and offer yourself to please me,
even if it means laying your sweet, round ass over my thighs and
accepting my hand turning it as red as your hair.”