Citun’s Storm (7 page)

“I can’t believe you took on seven Zargonnii warriors. Especially not knowing what they are.” Citun looked at her strangely, and she knew he didn’t understand the language. “You’re so powerful. The ugly warriors were weak. They needed all of them to try and best you, still you fought. They understand they can’t defeat you. What a proud moment.”

She saw the Cono lift its head higher with each word. She was right after all; it took seven of them to knock him down. Storm went on to tell him the cowards would be leaving soon; she was going to make certain. The Cono was finally able to amble off to its herd. The females rushed to his side and they disappeared into the thick foliage. Storm growled and spun on the warriors.

“Let’s get this straight,” she demanded. “You are guests on this planet. You will show the creatures the respect they deserve. Unless the rest of you want to bathe in crap. Because I can arrange that.”

“We were only sporting with it, we never planned on killing it,” a warrior said. “It charged me first while we were looking for Citun.”

“Of course it would. You are male and large. It was afraid for its females and little ones; the females have no idea how to defend themselves. A Cono will only kill if it must and only to protect its family. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.”

“We weren’t about to run away,” a warrior snapped. Shit dropped from his head to plop beside him.

“Why not? You would have spared his
and your
dignity. You look like a fur ball a ten-foot cat crapped.”

“Citun, who is this vile little beast?” a warrior asked.

“I’m happy to see you, too, Jari. You being down here means the sky is safe for now—I’m hoping. Unless you came to look for me. This female’s name is Storm, and she’s graciously accepted my request to take us home.”

“Request?” Storm muttered under her breath.

“When I discovered your transmitter was broken we searched, but the Gorgano attacked,” Jari said. “Once they were gone, I met with the other warriors to look for you.”

“Are there other females?” another asked, he was taking in Storm’s form from head to toe, making her uncomfortable.

“Yes,” Storm said.

“No, Taft,” Citun said.

The warriors looked confused. Storm faced Citun. “Well, maybe one of them will come with me. If it will take time to fly back, I’d like to have company.”

Citun seemed uncomfortable. “You said they were alien.”

“So are you,” Storm exploded. “For that matter, so am I.”

“I’m not alien to a Zargonnii. I told you it took time for my warriors to accept human females as anything other than a pet.”

“A pet,” she squealed. “I’m not the one covered in fur, Fido.”

“Storm…”

“I won’t leave unless you agree to let me ask the other females.”

“Fine.” Citun growled the word, looking none too happy.

* * * *

The little alien standing in a corner of an alcove not five feet from Citun was cute. She was small, dainty, a perfect lilac color. Citun took in her dark indigo round eyes, dark pink eyelashes and eyebrows. Purple lips, white straight teeth…and a tail. A two-foot long pink tail with a furry tip. He blinked. Only animals and lying Tonans had tails. Besides, the buttercup was no more than five feet in height, much smaller than Storm in inches. If possible, she was also much smaller in weight. A Zargonnii would crush her.

“Citun this is Amini. She’s what humans would call a shifter.”

Amini suddenly turned into a massive furred cat. Long teeth hung past her lips. Her pelt was a sleek ebony shiny black glistening in the sunlight. Her eyes were a transition of different color, flickering, changing, captivating. Storm stood unconcerned when the beast, two feet from her and a thousand pounds heavier, snarled and growled.

There were four other females. Each a different alien. Citun knew humans, he knew what they were capable of, but these females were unknown. Storm might call them friends, but Citun didn’t want his ship in an uproar, literally. One female looked like a walking snake. Another was a mass of muscle. Six feet in height, each roll was hard and round on her upper torso. Her lower half was covered by a long skin of light brown hide. The mighty black female was darker than any shade of black Citun had ever seen. Her eyes were white, oval and huge. Her teeth were sharp brown sticks surrounded by blood red lips and filled with a handful of meat she gnawed on. Her springy hair was a riot of ringlets to her waist.

The warriors surrounding him were intrigued, dismayed, perplexed. One humanoid female disappeared and reappeared. She seemed terrified. The alien was her own game of hide and seek. Here, gone, here. Storm approached her.

“Don’t be afraid, Lano. The warriors won’t hurt you. They aren’t like the males you grew up with. If I thought they would hurt you, I never would have brought them here.”

“They’re so big,” Lano whimpered and wrung her hands. Her eyes were so dark they appeared black.

Long blond hair, with brilliant streaks of florescent green covered her breasts. When she lifted her hand to play with her locks Citun could see she wore no shirt; her smallish breasts were covered in beautiful intricate tattoos of the same florescent green. She wore the type of hide wrap Storm did around and between her legs and over her ass. She was taller than Storm, but breathtaking when she solidified for longer than a few seconds. Her hips were rounded, her waist tiny. A few of his warriors were definitely interested. The female’s gaze wasn’t just wary, she was scared shitless, and Citun realized these females hadn’t seen a male in a long time—at least not one that wasn’t trying to kill them.

It occurred to Citun then. These were terrified females. They didn’t care about his approval. They feared him and his warriors. He was looking at the situation all wrong. There was no reason for these aliens to be grateful he and his warriors had shown up. Storm wasn’t crazy about the idea either.

“This is Citun,” Storm began. “He’s leader of the northern Zargonnii. He came here searching for females to save and take back to his planet but ran into some trouble. The Gorgano are back.”

Storm was using different languages when she spoke to include everyone. Before long, her words were only in the Zargonnii language and the females nodded in understanding. Citun wondered if they were all exposed to the Gorgano at one time or if their ability was a natural understanding. Or, he pondered if Storm was giving them the ability to understand. Females were remarkable.

Citun’s warriors shifted, annoyed when she declared them to be in some trouble. His warriors feared no one. Two of his warriors were glowering; he didn’t blame them, they smelled like shit. It’s hard to be feared when you’re covered in crap. The warriors could wash on the ship. With the Gorgano around, Citun would take no chances with his warriors around water.

“Storm saved my life,” Citun said. His warriors looked surprised. So did Storm. “The Gorgano made me think I was drowning in a simple pond. If Storm hadn’t killed it, I would be dead.”

“Okay, I get it,” the two filthy warriors said in unison. Citun should have explained his reasoning for not stopping to wash sooner, but they were in a hurry.

“You killed it?” The flickering female, Lano, wailed. “They’ll come for us for certain. We’re doomed. Another alien to hunt us and kill us. The Cono will come after us again.”

“Not if I leave on the Zargonnii vessel,” Storm said. “If I go with these warriors, the Gorgano will follow, and you’ll all be safe. The aliens only want females they feel are compatible to Castians or can mind-battle. None of you can mind-battle even though you have your own defense of shutting the Gorgano out. You all have the ability to learn different languages at an amazing rate. I’m not sure any of you are compatible with Castians or Tonans. My question is, do any of you want to go with me? Citun has promised to place me in a shuttle to return. They need a female human to battle the Gorgano. If I take the warriors home, I can lead the aliens away. The rest of you will be safe, so will the planet. The Cono will settle. We can return to a life of quiet acceptance. We can make this place a home.”

There was a great deal of muttering and some shuffling. One by one, the females apologized but refused to leave. Citun was relieved; his warriors looked relieved. Many females voiced a shuttle wouldn’t be able to accommodate them. From the looks of some, Citun knew they were correct. The snake female slipped in and out of a small water source repeatedly. The shifter was too large when she changed. The ebony powerhouse simply shook her head and continued to munch on raw meat, blood dripping down her chin. Citun shuddered, if the replicator failed Storm would be history named breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.

“I’ll go with you.” A small voice piped up.

A female of average human height and weight stood alone. She was pure white, snow white skin, eyes, eye lashes, long flowing hair. Two separate white eye brows, high cheek bones.

“Ashala that’s very generous of you,” Storm said. “But maybe you should show Citun what you can do to protect yourself.”

“If he refuses me passage, will you still leave with them?” Ashala asked.

“Citun’s warriors are honorable and noble. They won’t refuse you passage.” Storm sounded sarcastic and smug. Citun was curious. He wondered if this creature, obviously not human, was a shifter.

Ashala tilted her head in acknowledgment, the other females stood back, including Storm. Ashala took a breath and when she exhaled, a wash of pure white ash flowed in a stream past her lips. The ash took shape to create a standing wave. The image went nowhere; eight feet hovered and rolled forming shelves amidst the particles.

Storm was smiling; she was delighted. Citun realized the alien might be able to create other images. This was confirmed when the wave crashed down near his feet, rolled back, and crashed down. Every movement controlled. His warriors stood with their arms crossed over their chests snorting. Ashala turned to Taft, a young warrior. His condescending smirk obviously annoyed her. The ash formed a line to slide into the warrior’s nose and mouth and ears. He spun in a tight circle, choking.

The ash left his body as quickly. Taft blinked…and went crazy. Taft lifted an arm to point at Ashala who suddenly looked terrified.

“You belong to me,” Taft bellowed.

Storm shrieked as Taft grabbed the female, yanking her into his arms in battle mode. Lano disappeared, the furred cat shifted. Before anyone could do anything, the pair were surrounded in white swirling ash and were gone.

“Ashala,” Storm cried out.

“Taft,” Citun bellowed. He grabbed Storm by the arms. “Where the hell did the little creature take my warrior?”

“The volcano,” Storm whispered. “When Ashala is scared she goes to the volcano.”

“What did she do to Taft?” Citun demanded.

“I don’t know. I’ve seen her invade; she did it to me when we first met. She learns about someone when she enters them. Her way of mind control, but she doesn’t make anyone do anything. The Gorgano can’t hurt her, but she also can’t blow them up. Will he hurt her, your warrior?”

Citun released his grip. His fingers left an imprint on her tanned skin and he calmed his raging heart. Taft was the youngest warrior there. He had never Holidayed with a Zargonnii female. Citun had never seen the young warrior behave in such a manner. Taft had never hurt any female to his knowledge.

“How far is the volcano?” Citun asked.

Storm grabbed his hand. “Will he hurt her?” she demanded.

“I don’t know. Our way is to try and dominate.”

The furred shifter growled and raced away. The huge warrior female was also on the move followed by the slithering female reptile. Lano flickered into view. She was scowling.

“All males are unpredictable.” The female vanished.

“Well, this went well,” Storm mumbled.

Citun wanted to press her against a tree or shake her. “I told you my warriors recently accepted human females and their diversity. Your extreme vulnerability keeps you safe and keeps us from battling.”

“Ashala uses the ash particles to confuse, hypnotize, but not hurt,” Storm said. “One heated blow and he’ll kill her. She has no way to protect herself from him. She can’t battle, at all.”

The idea made Citun sick inside. “We need to find them, fast.”

“I can locate him from the bridge,” Jari said. “And get him on board.”

“Go,” Citun said. “Storm is the volcano far?”

“No.”

“Let’s go. Jari can track him from the air; we’ll do it on land.”

Storm had no trouble keeping up with the quick-footed warriors. Citun had her hand in his, keeping her close, as he pulled her along. The ground was smooth to run on. A few trees dotted the area, but she sensed his concern as he gazed upward to the sky as the foliage became almost non-existent with only a few boulders for shelter. A black shadow darkened the ground as they ran. A bad feeling invaded her belly.

“Citun,
incoming
,” a warrior bellowed.

The ground exploded near Storm and she screamed. She would have fallen if Citun’s grip wasn’t so strong. The small amount of foliage burst into broken bits, a giant boulder erupted, taking the last of their coverage. It took a few seconds before the dust settled.

“No,” Storm cried out.

Amini lay not far from Storm. Storm yanked her hand from Citun and raced to her. The shifter turned back into the tiny elfin creature, not moving. Storm dropped beside her, trying to shield her friend from another explosion. The land was blowing up, like Citun said it would. Irreversible damage littered the ground. Storm’s vision clouded, her mind raced to her last days on Earth. The scene was familiar. Chaos, panic, fear, anger, too many emotions to battle while a war raged, Mother Nature and Tonans united in a cause to kill humans. The destruction was happening again, only on a planet she’d hoped was safe. Again she was reminded there was no safety, no peace.

Ahead, Storm could see Taft fighting with a Tonan warrior. Ashala was crouched on the ground near the Zargonnii who was in battle mode. The Tonan was lifted from his feet, pitched farther than Storm thought possible, and crashed into a mound of dried volcanic ash which exploded on impact. She had no idea how strong a Zargonnii warrior was, she was finding out now. The Tonan jumped up and charged Taft who stood his ground, growling; the Tonan had balls. If faced with an infuriated Zargonnii warrior, Storm would be hard pressed not to curl into a blubbering ball, let alone charge one. The Zargonnii was urging the ugly beast on into another confrontation. Suddenly, Taft disappeared. Ashala screamed when the Tonan went for her, its intent clear as he lifted a talon to strike.