Citun’s Storm (8 page)

Storm yelled sending the Tonan flying back into another Zargonnii warrior who pummeled the hideous alien. The grey shield covered the Tonan while he swung his talons and ripped at the ground for leverage. Intricate black tattoos adorned his high, covered cheeks, pulsating. Muscle on muscle, the Zargonnii and Tonan were well matched.

Ashala jumped up and raced to Storm and Amini. The two sat huddled together, Amini between them. Storm kept the Tonan warriors who appeared at bay with her mind. She couldn’t kill the warriors, but she could move them physically back. They kept coming, dozens of them, suddenly appearing, disappearing. Before long her head throbbed, and she grew weary. There were too many trying to get to them and not enough Zargonnii between them. Some Zargonnii appeared to be swinging at nothing, fighting for all they were worth against air. She wondered if they were a pinwheel of motion in case something was thrown at them. It was a strange tactical maneuver.

“Is she dead?” Ashala asked of Amini.

“No, but she’s hurt. Her shifting ability will fix her, but it will take time. She needs to be in a safe place to regenerate and this isn’t it. I’m tiring. The last Tonan almost zapped what strength I have left. My head feels like it’s going to explode.”

“Storm, the warrior Taft, he saved my life,” Ashala said.

“What the hell happened between you two?” Another Tonan charged; he was sent flying back. Storm rubbed her temples.

“I invaded him to teach him not to be so cocky; it was that stupid look on his face that pissed me off. Our minds mixed and he claimed me instead. When I vanished we were still connected and he came with me. That’s never happened to me before. If I ever have children they can disappear with me, and my mate, but we aren’t mated. He says I’m his mate. He was so intense. I think I believe him, but the idea is so confusing, he’s an alien. The Tonan attacked while we were talking, and Taft went crazy. He was bellowing nothing was allowed to harm his mate. My mind is still screaming; what the heck just happened?”

Wei, the black warrior female, ran in a crouch to them. She hefted Amini into her arms. “I’ll take her to the cave with the others. Go, Storm, take the aliens away. Ashala decide what you are going to do and decide fast.”

Ashala stood wringing her hands glancing from Wei’s retreating form to Storm, until she disappeared. Storm spun wondering where Ashala went; she was alone amidst the many males. The battle was raging, fire erupted. Explosions circled the fighting, allowing no retreat. The area Wei had run off to was obliterated behind them. Cono began to appear; their huge powerful legs jumping them into the foray, they battled all the aliens. Male against male, until it seemed all eyes were on Storm.

The reason the aliens were here was because of alien females; she was alien. The Cono were furious. Again, their loved ones were placed in danger. Tonans wanted Storm dead for simply being female. A Gorgano appeared and she knew it wanted her dead because she could mind-battle. But Storm couldn’t battle everyone. She was in trouble and realized what Citun said was true. The mass was turning on
her
. Outnumbered, she was dead if something didn’t happen.

Too exhausted to run, her gaze searched for Citun. She didn’t have the heart to kill a Cono. Oct appeared heartbroken but determined. Zargonnii continued to battle air confusing her. It was as though an invisible foe kept the warriors from her.

The Gorgano moved closer, raised a hand and then was gone. A roar sounded in her thoughts and she saw Citun racing to her. He smashed his way through Tonan and Cono to no avail as they advanced; the true target in the chaos was her. It occurred to Storm the only hope she had was Citun. His image began to fade and she wondered if she was passing out. The Cono were a hairsbreadth away, a Tonan dropped the shield from his face to give her an evil smile and he vanished. All Tonans were gone, everywhere she looked, and she wondered if there had only ever been one, they moved so fast, he moved so fast. Was he behind her? The Zargonnii were still fighting air.

A Cono was charging her, its pounding hooves would shred her. He appeared furious, it wouldn’t matter how she died; its main mission was to dispose of her. Any truce was gone, gone for good. Citun was nowhere to be seen. Her world was spinning. Storm blinked as she turned in a tight circle. Everything in the room she found herself in was black, the floor and walls, surfaces. There was quiet when before the noise was deafening. The room lit gradually until she saw everything. She was standing on the bridge of a Gorgano ship. Ten of the gangly creatures were in various places near consoles. Her heart pounded in her ears. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood tall. A rancid odor assaulted her.

“You see,” came a rough voice. The voice was male and belonged to a lone Tonan warrior, his shield covered him. “We have another chance to change a human female into a fighting machine. We failed with the last. We know better this time. There will be no power fighter like Zabbie. This one will be collared and monitored. There will be no escape. The child she bears will do everything he’s told.”

Storm stood still as the Tonan approached. She tried to force him back in her thoughts, but he chuckled. There were too many Gorgano in her brain beating her down in her mind. She was right in her assumption there was only a single Tonan. The others were a Gorgano illusion. Citun was right; he needed her, now she was alone. She’d helped no one. She struggled to breathe, her heart pounded. The Tonan took her chin in the palm of his taloned hand and squeezed.

“Let go of me you ugly snot.” Storm tried to jerk her head free.

He towered over her. “You are mine.”

“The female said let go, you ugly fucker. And she’s
mine
.”

Panic erupted on the bridge when Citun appeared. Storm wanted to cry. She knew he couldn’t mind-battle. They were both as good as dead. He had come for her; she’d killed him. He was a noble, honorable warrior. A Gorgano was to Citun’s left. Citun threw up his arms and covered his head. He bellowed in agony. Storm was pissed. The Gorgano exploded. The panic of a Zargonnii warrior appearing created a window, she realized. Four more Gorgano hit the floor while Citun battled the Tonan.

“Storm, come to me,
now
,” Citun bellowed.

Citun continued to battle the Tonan, but Storm was on the move. Citun hefted the Tonan over his head and threw him as hard as he could. Terror washed through Storm’s thoughts, she knew what was about to happen. A Zargonnii warrior unleashed his extreme power. The Gorgano were running to evacuate. Moments elapsed, stretching into slow motion until time sped up. The second the Tonan hit the massive window, it shattered. The shield on the outside of the vessel boomeranged particles back until a console erupted, then another. Storm was in Citun’s arms. He curled his body over her. Storm’s world became surreal as the tiny particles exploded and floated, the consoles were sucked out; the ship’s shield was no more. Everything headed into space. Fire erupted then extinguished, the air was gone. Citun had a death grip on her, pulling her toward a black hole.

Storm couldn’t breathe. Citun shifted her in his arms and placed his mouth over her mouth and nose. Agonizingly slow they made their way to the hole, Citun dragging them along the inside, his sheer muscle mass stretched to the limit. When Citun stepped through they fell, hitting the hard ground. Storm gasped in ragged amounts of air when he released her. She blinked in rapid succession and took a hand to toss her wayward locks from her eyes. Citun took her by the arms and smiled.

“Welcome aboard.”

“Holy hell,” Storm whispered.

“Definitely.”

* * * *

Citun watched as the shuttles whipped past. He stood hands on hips, legs braced as his warriors picked off as many of the fleeing Gorgano as possible. The massive Gorgano mothership hung tilted, drifting, small explosions igniting on different levels. A lone Tonan floated amidst debris.

“What do you want us to do with him?”

Citun gazed at Jari and the ten warriors surrounding him. A Tonan would give them no trouble. “They want a human female for a purpose. Let’s find out why. Bring the little shit on board.”

Several flashes of light lit the darkness as ruthlessly the lone warrior was blasted. The enemy fire belonged to the many Gorgano shuttles.

“What are they doing? They can’t kill the Tonan,” Jari said.

“Or can they?” Citun moved closer to the window. “Look, they’re depleting his shield while they fire. Sucking the sunrays he needs for the shield to survive. Fuck me, that’s brilliant and brutal. They know the Tonans well.”

The Tonan was soon without his shield, his body spasmed and he was gone, a last blast and he was killed by the Gorgano. Citun felt Storm touch his arm.

“The Tonan said they would use me against their enemies. Something about a male baby doing what he was told. Sounds nasty,” she said.

“Citun, Taft is tearing around the ship looking for his female.”

“What now, Carr? The female was transported aboard?” Citun demanded with irritation. Storm was staring up at him with big blue eyes, she needed him.

“Yes, she’s aboard. Every time Taft finds her, she disappears and ends up on another level. There’s fucking ash trails everywhere,” Carr said.

“She’s scared,” Storm said. “But I’m happy to know she’s here and not on the Gorgano vessel.”

“Are you kidding?” Jari said and snorted. “The second I brought Taft on board, he freaked out. Bellowed like a banshee until I brought the female to him. There were a lot of heat sources but damned if Taft didn’t know her specifically; he was right.”

Citun sighed. “Taft has claimed Ashala. That means he won’t stop until she’s his and he won’t hurt her. But he will be persistent.” Citun turned to Carr. “Leave them alone, they can figure out their problems.”

At that moment, Ashala appeared, white hair disheveled. Her gaze landed on Storm; she appeared about to say something when a wild-eyed Taft thundered onto the bridge.

“Stop running, female. You
will
talk to me,” Taft bellowed.

Ashala was gone again. Storm groaned. “Stop hounding her. Let her come to you.”

Taft growled. “She won’t come to me.”

“Yes, she will. We’re on a strange ship going God knows where. Find a quiet spot and wait. She told me you saved her life. Let her calm down. It’s been a long time since we’ve encountered males that don’t want us dead,” Storm said.

Taft threw back his head and howled. “
Fine
.”

“This will be an interesting flight home,” Jari said. There were growls of agreement.

“Jari, keep an eye on things. I’m taking Storm to her dwelling.”

Side by side, they walked the corridor silently. Citun watched Storm’s curious gaze at every light, every door or open space. A number of his warriors they came across gave her a respectful distance but were just as curious. Storm cowered from no one. Citun knew why. For years, she saw death, perhaps even her own as friends died. Time spent with others was precious, but being alone saved her. Citun hoped she would become accustomed to being around him. When they reached a door directly beside Citun’s room, he entered a code.

“You and I are the only ones who know the code for this room. You are to stay in here unless I am accompanying you,” Citun said.

They entered the room and Storm glared at him. “You say your warriors are honorable and yet you have a warrior running around like a nut bar banana loaf. You should have told me your warriors are unpredictable.”

“They’re warriors. Unpredictable is a general description. They won’t hurt you, but when Zargonnii males are around females we experience the urge to Holiday.”

“Well, by all means go find a beach or a cottage, grab a few beers and have yourself a blast.”

“By Holiday, I mean we head into the jungle, find a receptive female, fight until one of us proves their dominance and hope in a few months we are delivered a son.”

“Fight? You mean you really do fight each other?” the words were little more than an ‘eep.’ Her face paled as her eyes widened.

“Our females are larger and stronger. I mentioned that; I wasn’t kidding. We Holiday for two weeks every two years.”

“Great, I’m stuck on a vessel filled with horny aliens.”

“They aren’t horny yet. But it’s a good thing; by the time we get back it will be time to Holiday. Warriors are geared to Holiday when females are close.”

“So, we get to your place, you stick me in a shuttle and you go have sex until your mind is mush.”

“The planet you left will be monitored by Gorgano and Tonans, perhaps others if Brax assassins have been hired. You will never be safe there. The Cono are furious; their world was close to being annihilated.”

Storm’s eyes widened. “You never planned on sending me back.”

“I did, but since the battle, I won’t. You didn’t see the look of terror on your face when it appeared everything was about to kill you. You are too vulnerable. When you disappeared, and I found out you weren’t on my vessel I knew I had to save you. I didn’t lie to the Tonan. You are mine.”

Being close to her wasn’t enough. He almost lost her. The battle to get to her tore him apart emotionally. Cono were a hairsbreadth from slicing her in half. Tonan appeared to be everywhere and nowhere. When the Gorgano made an appearance, Citun thought he’d lose his mind. Now, she looked just as lost. Her fear of the unknown moved him to comfort her. Citun grabbed her arms and he crushed her to his chest wanting to show her safety. The first time her lips were on his it was to save his life. The last time he placed his mouth onto her he did it to save her life. Now, he ravaged her lips to save his sanity.

The power of his touch surged through Storm. She never realized how much heat would radiate through blue lips to scorch her. Full, moist lips captured every emotion swirling within her, making her heart pound, searing their way into her veins, searching for her heart. Storm had read about kisses like his in erotic novels, which she and her friends used to download, read and giggle over, and hope one day they would experience something so elusive. None of them ever dreamed they would end up in the arms of an alien. Especially, a powerhouse such as this.