Fighting Lory (English Edition) (Lords Of Arr'Carthian 2) (13 page)

“What are you called?”

“Loomo, General.”

“What use were you to Allegrass, Loomo? You’re definitely not a soldier.”

Loomo shook his head.

“No, not for fighting. I’m the cook.”

“The cook?” asked Amano in amazement. “What does Allegrass need a cook for? He has food generators.”

“He liked freshly cooked food. I’m a master chef. Maybe you gentlemen can make use of someone like me?”
 

“Help us find our mates, then we’ll see,” replied Kordan.
 

“Yes, I’ll help.”

They combed the whole cabin and the connecting bathroom. Next they systematically searched the entire deck, one room at a time.

***

“I can hear something,” whispered Lory.

The two women listened out into the darkness.

“Yes, me too. They’re getting closer but I can’t work out whether they’re coming from your side or mine.”

Lory strained to listen.

“They’re on my side. They’re combing the rooms. They’re obviously looking for us. Only I don’t know whether they’re Kordan’s men or Ellyod’s.”

“And we still don’t know for sure who the bad guys are now,” Charly pointed out.

“I wish this whole bloody alien abduction hadn’t happened. I’d happily carry on believing that aliens only exist in science-fiction films and just get on with my job. Fuck! And whilst I’m wishing for things, I also wish that my last night on earth had gone differently and that my colleagues were still alive. “

“Life can sometimes be truly shit,” Charly responded quietly.

They were silent for a while, listening out.

“They’re getting closer. Shall we go out on my side and hide somewhere else?” Charly suggested.

“Can you just open the door really carefully and see if anyone’s there?”
 

“I’ll try. It’s really tight in here.”

Charly carefully opened the door behind her and peered into the corridor. She closed the door again immediately, swearing quietly.

“What is it?”

“There are three men there. I recognize at least one of them from the
Cordelia
. At least we now know who’s won the battle and is now after us.”

“I can’t even say whether that’s good or bad. Damn it!” Lory had never before in her life felt so torn. Who was the foe and who was the friend? She had always known who the bad guys were. But these damn aliens were completely different in their facial expressions, their gestures and their whole behavior, and from that point of view really hard to work out. The whole thing with the biting, the injection of some kind of drug and the shapeshifting did not make the situation any easier either.

“They’re getting closer,” whispered Charly, panicking. “And from both sides.”

“I can hear them,” snarled Lory. “Shit!”

The door was torn open and three men stared into the closet. Just seconds later the other door opened, too. They were caught in a trap.

***

“General,” a voice came from Kordan’s radio.

“Yes? Any news?”

“We’ve got them.”

Kordan’s heart beat faster. Amano rushed over, too, and was now standing next to him, ready to set off.

“Where are you now?” asked Kordan.

“In the infirmary.”

“Are the women injured?” asked Kordan, worried, whilst Amano walked up and down restlessly beside him.

“Not the women, but several of our men. Lady Lory had a scalpel and Lady Charly sprayed a de-icing substance into two of the men’s eyes.”

Kordan groaned inside. Whatever had the women been thinking? Did they not know that the men belonged with him and had come to rescue them?
 

“I have a feeling that our mates don’t want to be rescued at all. It’s so complicated with these two. Do you think all women on their planet are like this?” asked Amano in frustration.

“No idea, but we’ll soon calm them down again. No doubt they’re just feeling stressed.”

“We’re coming,” he said into his radio.

“OK. Over and out.”

“Over and out.”

Kordan, Amano and Loomo entered the infirmary on deck F. To Kordan’s dismay he found both women bound and gagged. Lory glared at him from angry eyes. Amano, next to him, swore and was about to rush to Charly who was sitting next to Lory, tears in her eyes, but Kordan held Amano back.

“Wait. Let’s clarify the situation before you jump to conclusions.”

“I’ll kill anyone who’s hurt a hair on Charly’s head,” snarled Amano sinisterly.

“Right now you’ll be silent. That’s an order!”

Kordan looked round the room. All four medical units were occupied by his men. A few others were sitting on the beds with makeshift bandages, waiting their turn, whilst the ship’s healer was frantically administering first aid.
 

Maron spotted his superiors and greeted them with respect by placing his right hand, clenched, on the left-hand side of his chest, over his heart.

“General. Captain.”

“Was this necessary?” asked Kordan, nodding in the direction of the two bound women.
 

Lory appeared to want to say something but the rope in her mouth made her words unclear. But it was certainly nothing nice that she had to say because her eyes screamed murder and he thought that he could make out, in the unclear murmuring, words like bastard and ass-hole. The word castrate also occurred and he flinched involuntarily.

“Unfortunately yes, General,” Maron responded to his question. “As you can see they’ve injured a lot of men. Some seriously. At first we only tied them up, but they did not stop insulting us in the most awful way and they made unspeakable threats.”

By the sudden pallor of his officer Kordan could tell which unspeakable threats she had made. The little word castrate will definitely have had something to do with it and he sympathized with his men. Such a threat would indeed disconcert any man in the universe. He sighed and secretly felt sorry for himself for the thankless task of making peace with his mate.
 

“Do you still want to set them both free?” he asked, turning to Amano.

He, too, had turned somewhat pale and just shook his head silently whilst casting a distrustful glance at the women. But then he nodded.
 

“Prepare to leave the ship,” commanded Kordan. “Maron, you’ll stay here until the men come out of the medical units, then return to the ship immediately. How long will the treatment last?”

“An hour,” replied the ship’s healer.
 

“Kandu, program the self-destruction of the ship at one hour and twenty minutes. The extra time should be enough for the return to the
Cordelia
.”

“And what about me?” Loomo spoke.

“You’ll come with me.”

Loomo nodded eagerly.

***

Lory cursed the stupid gag that was preventing her from speaking. But that did not mean that she did not utter every insult and threat that occurred to her. When Kordan and Amano approached her she pulled wildly at her ties. She did not miss the determined look in Kordan’s almost emotionless face. But she thought she also saw a hint of resignation in his expression and wondered what that meant.

She struggled when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She was getting fed up of this Neanderthal shit. Charly, too, next to her, was hanging over Amano’s shoulder, wriggling and struggling like an eel. Amano smacked Charly’s bottom with the palm of his hand and Charly shouted in outrage behind her gag.

The two men bundled them into a small spaceship that was waiting in the docking station with many others like it. Kordan dropped Lory roughly into a seat and belted her in tightly. Charly was given the same treatment.
 

Once all of the men had taken their seats and were belted in Kordan started up the small spaceship. He counted down from ten and the ship shot forwards so unexpectedly and so violently that it pushed Lory back into her seat. The extreme acceleration made her whole body vibrate.

‘
Shit! I think I prefer the bloody beaming, after all. This is awful
,’ she thought miserably.

The flight to the
Cordelia
was only short and the landing in the docking station much more gentle than the take-off. Kordan pulled her out of her seat and she stumbled behind him. She was pleased that he was at least not throwing her over his shoulder again. The walk to Kordan’s quarters seemed endless to her. But once they got there, and the door closed behind them, she wished that the walk had lasted forever. Anything was better than being alone with this bloody alien. She simply could not trust herself when it came to him. He clearly had a greater influence over her than she had thought.
 

Kordan removed the gag and pushed her into an armchair. Then he stood before her, threatening, looking at her intensely.
 

“What the hell were you thinking, cutting my men up like beasts at slaughter, huh? I nearly went mad with worry and rushed after you to rescue you. For the second time since we’ve met you don’t seem to be the slightest bit grateful for that, instead you fight me and my men as if we’re your enemies. Why?”

“Because I’ve found out about your little secret, you filthy feline beast!” she shouted into his face. “And it would be best for you not to let me out of your sight because I’ll castrate and disembowel you at the very first opportunity. I’ll show you, you bastard, that you shouldn’t mess with Lory Andersson.”

“And what secret is that supposed to be, if you please? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Are you going to deny that you injected some type of drug into my bloodstream when you bit me?”

“No, why should I deny that? That’s so that …”

“And isn’t it right that it’s influencing my feelings?”

“Yes, but I thought you’d like it. I have no idea why …”

“Then there’s nothing more to discuss. Let me go and you’re a dead man.”

“You’ve behaving totally irrationally,” snarled Kordan. “What is this nonsense about? All Carthians do that with their women. It’s only so that you …”

“I don’t want to hear anything more about it,” she yelled, leaping from the chair to stand before him. She could not, of course, grab him with her tied hands, but she could do one thing. She spat into his face.

Kordan first looked surprised then his expression darkened. In a slow gesture he wiped her spit from his face then he grabbed her by the neck. He did not press hard, but she understood the gesture only too well.

“Do that again and I’ll put you over my knee myself and tan your hide. It seems to me that impressing a little respect upon you is long overdue.”

“I’m glad that you’re finally showing your true side to make it easier for me to hate you,” she hissed at him.

Barely noticeably, Kordan flinched when she said this, but he then took control of himself again. He grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed.
 

“Is that all you can do? Is that your answer to everything? Rape?”

“I don’t plan to rape you. I don’t see the point in taking a woman like you. I’m only taking your threat seriously and will therefore ensure that you can’t carry it out.”

Lory looked at him helplessly. What was he planning to do with her then?
 

“Computer, send a mechanic here.”

“Straight away, General.”

“A mechanic? What the hell are you planning to do?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

“The mechanic, General,” the computer’s voice was heard a few minutes later.
 

“Doors open!” called Kordan. The doors opened to reveal a man who had been waiting there.

At Kordan’s nod the man entered the room and approached them.
 

“General?”

“I’d like you to install a bracket here over the bed, then a chain that reaches as far as the bathroom and no further. You’re to attach the chain to Lady Lory’s neck. I don’t want her injured so make the collar so that it’s not too tight and pad it.”

The man glanced at Lory with curiosity, so she glared at him madly, making him look away quickly.

“As good as done, General,” replied the mechanic with a wicked little grin. “I’ll have everything ready in half an hour.”

“Oh, no, you’re not doing this!” said Lory threateningly once the mechanic had left.

“Unfortunately you leave me with no other choice.”

Lory shook her head. She tried to sprint past Kordan to the door but he caught her by the arm in time and pulled her in such a way that she fell back against his chest. A massive arm wrapped around her waist like a steel band. For a moment Lory leant against him, breathless. His scent enveloped her and she felt her damn body reacting. These people probably had some sort of pheromone bait in their scent. Who knew? The fact was that she reacted far too much to his presence. That simply could not be normal! Could it? Part of her wished to just push these doubts aside and swallow him whole. He was so damn sexy and he kissed so well and …

‘
Oh, no, girl. Don’t get into this trap again. This is what happens with carnivorous plants. You’re the fly and he’s the plant enticing you with its fragrance, and once you’ve unsuspectingly landed, then … bam! You’re a gonna!
’

She struggled in Kordan’s arms and tried to dig him in the stomach with her elbows, but he was holding her too tightly.

At that moment the door opened and the mechanic came into the room with a younger man, presumably his assistant. They were carrying chains and tools. Lory bit her lip to stop herself crying out. How could he do this to her? This now showed her clearly what a wretched pig he was.

***

Kordan left his quarters without looking back. He could not do it. He could not bear her reproachful expression. He was not happy about doing this but at the moment he did not know what else to do. She appeared to have gone completely crazy. Why was she behaving so irrationally? And why did she suddenly have such a problem with the sexual hormone? All Carthians use the hormone to give their mates the greatest possible pleasure. What was wrong with that? He did not understand the world any more. Was this whole rebellion really all about this triviality? She could have just talked with him about it and if she had really not wanted him to bite her again then he would have respected her wish. But she had never suggested that she did not like it.