Bay's Mercenary [Unearthly World Book 1] (15 page)

Bay looked at
Zane, horrified, wondering why he hadn’t responded at the creature’s words. It
was only then he reacted. Zane rushed the being, but was thrown against a wall;
the creature never moved. Bay raced over to Zane who seemed pinned. Zane was
growling and snarling trying to break free of the invisible assailant. The
being turned to Bay and lifted his arm.

“Come to me, tiny
creature,” it demanded.

Again Bay heard
the words in English in her mind. She felt her body compelled to join the
being. Zane continued to claw at his throat. Bay went from terrified to
furious. She had already been kidnapped once.

How the hell many times do you get kidnapped before being exempt!

“Leave me alone.”

The being lifted
his hand higher. “You
will
come with
me.”

The words swirled
in her head and since the being had no ears Bay wondered if it heard noise
within its mind as she was hearing its voice. Bay narrowed her eyes; she
focused her thoughts and in her mind bellowed as loudly as she could,
“NO.”

The
being stumbled back.
Bay was stunned, she felt
her mind connect with this being,
she
felt not only
had it invaded her but she invaded it. Something very strange was occurring
between alien and human. Bay felt the being trying to block her thoughts,
trying to build a wall, but Bay tore it down. She felt empowered within her
mind. Something ancient invaded her entire being—she became a being. Bay was
the alien, the alien was Bay. Bay looked at Zane, enlightened.

“Stop struggling
and fight it in your thoughts.”

“I can’t,” Zane
bellowed.

“Damn it,” Bay
said with a snarl.

Bay wasn’t certain
how she did it, but when she lifted her arm and slammed it forwards, the
creature stumbled without being touched. Zane was free from the wall. The
creature fled from the room. In the corridors, all hell was breaking loose.
Zargonnii
warriors lined the walls, pinned. There
were
at least ten
Gorgano
simply
standing and observing them.

“Look at that little creature.”
Bay heard
in her thoughts, again it was spoken in English,
Zargonnii
and surprisingly
Draven’s
mother’s language. It
seemed these creatures could search her mind for any language she knew.

“We must take the little creature as well as a few of these
Zargonnii
to study.”

Bay centered her
thoughts onto the being that said this; it was standing near Titus who, at over
eight feet, struggled helplessly, pinned to the wall.

“Piss off,” Bay
said with a growl.

Centering her
thoughts onto the being, the creature was suddenly thrown against a wall and
landed with a thud. Titus was free; he picked up the fallen being and threw it
into another.

“The little pink being is attacking,”
a
creature screamed.

“How is that possible?”
another
shrieked.

One by one, the
Zargonnii
warriors slipped from the walls as Bay
determinedly mind-fought.
Zargonnii
warriors fought
with sheer strength, Bay was too small for physical battle, so were the new
gray beings. The gray beings were tall but too thin to fight the massive
Zargonnii
.

“The little pink thing can channel our thoughts.”
A
Gorgano
mind-screamed.
“Kill it before we
are all dead.”

Two
Gorgano
stared hard at Bay. Bay fisted her hands, her head
began to throb. Tiny knives inside her mind began attacking, slicing at her,
she could see them. It was agony. Inside the
Gorgano
mind, Bay felt her thoughts move with lightning speed. It was as though her
mind was a computer and she processed information. She was bombarded with war
tactical maneuvers and Bay was astounded, it wasn’t the
Gorgano
—it
was Zane she channeled. A seasoned warrior was in her thoughts, or was she in
his? Her mind flooded, expanded. Bay concentrated on only one creature before
her, shutting out Zane. She had what she needed, and with her thoughts
centered, Bay envisioned a nuclear bomb, then she blew it up in the creature’s
mind, obliterating cells.

The gray being
dropped to the ground, dead. The other being beside it howled in misery and
fled.

“What are you?”
Bay heard as the rest of
the beings fled to a black portal on the ship.

“Human,”
Bay yelled the words in her
mind throwing the thought in all directions.
“Stay away from the
Zargonnii
or die.”

As the beings
fled, Bay caught a frightening thought as the portal closed.

“Kill any human we connect with in the future.”

And they were
gone. The warriors stood dazed and confused.

“What the hell
just happened?” Titus exclaimed.

“I think Bay just
saved our asses,” Zane said incredulously.

“Oh Zane, I’ve
made a horrible mistake,” Bay said, panicked. She turned to him and threw
herself into his arms. “Those creatures are going to kill humans. My kind can
battle these things because of our thought processes. I can hear them in my
mind when they communicate with one another, could you?”

“I heard a noise,
but it was jumbled and I only caught a few words,” he replied.

“I heard
everything,” Bay said. “In every language I know. In my mind I saw it hold you
in the air by thoughts; it taught me how to fight back and didn’t even realize
it was teaching me. Humans only use a certain amount of their brain, but I feel
more inside now. It’s like a floodgate’s been opened.”

Titus went and
stood by her. “Can you do what those creatures did now that they’re gone?”

Bay looked at Zane
and concentrated. Zane didn’t budge. Bay narrowed her gaze and, with all her
might, thought to push him against a wall. Zane went flying back, he couldn’t
move. Within seconds, Bay collapsed to the floor and Zane was released. He
gathered her into his arms.

“I’m too tired. I
can pin Zane for only a second but it takes too much out of me.”

“I’m putting you
to bed,” Zane sounded stern.

“Wait,” Bay said
as Zane turned. Bay looked at Titus. “I could hear those creatures in my head.
They tricked you into coming here. They are collecting specimens of different beings
to learn about them, learn how to conquer the universe one galaxy at a time.
But I warned them: they will leave the
Zargonnii
alone, but in the process I sacrificed my own kind. Titus you must warn any
allies you have. If they get a human and are attacked by these beings, a human
can stop them. These creatures use
all of their
mind,
but a human mind is larger, they woke something up inside me that has been
dormant; I feel it, I don’t even know how I know.

“These
Gorgano
are now aware of human existence; they won’t take
any more chances, and they’ll kill first before any more humans learn what I
just did. There are so few of us left. Please, you need to help us.”

“I promise you,
Bay,” Titus said. “We will find as many humans as possible and warn them.”

* * * *

Bay was sitting up
in bed at home. Zane had been working at his console and finally found a
far-off distant galaxy close to Earth who could trade information. Zane was
only looking for information on survivors and medical procedures. He refrained
from mentioning the
Gorgano
incident. The beings on
the planet were familiar with earthlings and had even roamed the planet a
number of times. When the storms hit they had taken their people home. The
humanoid types were advanced and declared the Earth species war mongers, open for
suggestion, reasonably intelligent with an aptitude to learn, and highly
destructive. Looking at Bay’s tiny form, Zane had found that last bit hard to
believe. Though she now had the ability to press him against the wall, it took
a great deal out of her.

Finn had tested
Bay’s ability aboard the ship, but it was limited. Without the
Gorgano
to help channel her thoughts, Bay would collapse
after a few brief moments of intense concentration. Zane finally put his foot
down. Bay would wear herself out; the testing was over until the babe was born.
It then led to speculation if the babe was affected, or if its
Zargonnii
half would stymie the ability. The
Zargonnii
were intelligent; they just couldn’t wrap their
heads around the idea of fighting without physical power.

The humanoids said
they had given the humans means of transportation to aid in their escape once
realizing Earth was lost, but so many fought over who would leave the planet
first, many lives were lost. There were those humans who placed themselves
above others. The humanoids agreed to exchange information on the condition
they were left alone. Their experiment with another being hadn’t been as
stellar as they had hoped. Although they did inquire about trading for Bay—if
she was carrying a
Zargonnii
babe, the outcome could
prove scientifically remarkable. Zane had scowled with the idea and told them
to, what was the term Bay had used once when angry?
Piss off
—he believed it to be. The humanoids had understood.

Zane settled in
front of Bay and took her hand into his. “Finn has the information he needs.
When the time comes, you should be fine. It appears the doctor has most of the
medications already, but you need much smaller dosages.”

“I’m not worried.”

Zane could see she
was. Bay was worried about the
Gorgano
encounter, she
was worried about the baby,
she
was worried for her
fellow humans. Zane wished he could take her mind off her troubles. “What did
you and
Vala
talk about?”

“You,
Draven
and
Zargonnii
males.”

“What did she
say?”

“
Vala
is fond of
Draven
; she would
die to protect him and all of her sons,” Bay said. Zane could see she chose her
words with care. “A long time ago, females separated from the males because the
males stayed in their cycle with the females around. The males grew frustrated
because the females didn’t come into heat as often as the males wanted to mate,
and there was a great deal of fighting. The females could see potential in both
species if they just stayed apart. Your females aren’t as barbaric as you
thought. In time, they will possess flight capacity, but for now they stay to
protect the weaker sex.”

“Males.”

“Yes, they feel
the creatures on this planet are more deadly than anything in space. You were
right; they love you and hate you. A male’s need to dominate and a female’s
need to dominate keep you at war. Neither of you are ready to cohabitate
respectfully. Because you know I could never overpower you, it keeps you calm.
The need to always fight to be on top—in every way—is no longer a factor. I
have no wish to dominate anyone, and as long as you are respectful and caring,
what we do in the bedroom satisfies us both.

“It hurts your
females to give up their sons, Zane.
Draven
was loved
by
Vala
. I’m guessing your mother loved you.”

“Who knows how
many more Earth females are out there,” Zane mused. “And many of our males
enjoy the mate fighting; even if they lose, they win.”

“Unless your
females have a female child, they feel they lose. It’s what makes them angry;
they may dominate, but if they have a son, they have nothing to show for it.
They have to give up a love of their life. I could see
Vala’s
pain as she touched
Draven
one last time. It was
heartbreaking. If there had been any way, she would have kept him. Maybe that’s
what female
Zargonnii
give their sons that first month—everything
they have.”

Bay looked so sad.
“You won’t have to give up your son,” he was compelled to say.

“Zane, this child
could be a female. What then?”

The idea almost
floored Zane. He never even thought it could be a female she carried. His was a
race of male warrior mercenaries. What would they do with a huge female in
their midst forever? Maybe even a female with the ability to mind-war. Until
she was full grown, she would need a parent’s protection. Bay couldn’t protect
a babe; Zane would have to. The thought was startling. Zane couldn’t take the
child and leave her for the
Zargonnii
females to
find—her mother was here with him. Zane would be responsible for three lives.

“Are you sorry I
stayed?” Bay asked in a small voice.

“No.”

“It’s alright, Zane.
Even on Earth, a tiny baby could send people into a panic. Parents always
wonder if they’re ready, always second guessing. This is just a bit more complex.”