Ha'ven's Song (21 page)

He grabbed another vine and followed. They
were soon high above the forest floor. He nodded silently at Crom
as the huge Moniker jumped down next to them on a large branch.

“There are thirty purple warriors,” Crom
said in a low voice. “Another male appeared. He is one of your
people.” Crom nodded toward Ha’ven. “The scouts lost track of him
when he entered the forest. He has some type of shield protecting
him.”

“Kejon,” Ha’ven growled out. “I will deal
with him. Can you and your people take care of the Marastin Dow?
They are cutthroat mercenaries for hire.”

Crom snorted. “The others will handle them.
I will go with you.”

Ha’ven shook his head. “Kejon is very
powerful. I will deal with him alone. I do not want to take a
chance of him hurting any of your people.”

Crom grinned. “I will still go with you. Do
not worry, if you should die I will claim your female as my own and
care for her.”

Ha’ven pushed down his desire to kill the
huge Moniker again. It was getting harder and harder to do so. He
would be lucky to get off the damn planet before he gave into his
desire to show the other male what a jealous Curizan could do even
without his powers.

“I’ll see your hairy ass as a rug before you
touch my mate,” Ha’ven growled back.

Crom grinned again. His sharp white teeth
briefly gleaming to show his amusement. They all turned as another
Moniker dropped down beside them. This time a tall female carrying
a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

“They have entered the forest,” she
whispered. “They are heavily armed but we are prepared. Once they
reach the fork in the path, we will attack. This will allow us to
divide them into smaller groups.”

“I will oversee the attack,” Saba Monda
responded. “Crom, go with Ha’ven.”

Ha’ven gritted his teeth in frustration. He
was not used to anyone covering his back. He knew arguing would be
a waste of breath as the silver haired Moniker disappeared through
the trees with the female. He turned and glared at the dark brown
male who stood with his arms folded confidently across his
chest.

“Kejon has powers that you cannot fight
against,” Ha’ven warned. “He has the ability to teleport short
distances. He often comes from behind or to the left of his
opponents as he is left-handed. He favors several different types
of weapons, including the Marastin Dows curved blade and the
Opairan’s poison-tipped throwing stars. He can throw small bursts
of energy that can disorient you. The best thing if you see him
raise his hands is to roll to the left. It will throw him off. He
will not be expecting you to know this. He can also pull an energy
shield around himself to make himself invisible but he cannot
maintain it for long periods of time.”

Crom listened intently. “How do you plan to
kill him if you cannot see him?” He asked curiously.

Ha’ven grinned. “I may not have full use of
my powers but there are some things I am able to see even without
them. His aura will give him away. You will not be able to see him
but I can.”

“Let us go find your shadow-male,” Crom
said. “We will stay to the trees.”

Ha’ven nodded. He tried to pull his power
around him. He cursed when a sharp pain pierced his skull. What
little that had returned he had given to Emma earlier when they
came together in an explosion of need. He breathed through the pain
and quickly followed Crom. It was likely he would only get one
chance to kill Kejon. He refused to think about what would happen
to Emma if he should fail.

*.*.*

Kejon slid back into the shadows of a thick
tree and released the shield around him. He cursed the moment of
weakness that washed over him. He had left the others back at the
lake. They would draw the attention away from him. He had one goal
and that was finding the Curizan prince. He didn’t want to waste
his energy on fighting the native inhabitants. He looked up at the
branches above him. He couldn’t see the movement of the creatures
but he could sense them. He waited until they were past him before
he moved out from under the protection of the shadows. He
remembered well where the village was from his last visit. He
doubted that Ha’ven would remain behind there but the prince now
had a weakness… the whore with him. Even the brief glimpse he
caught of the female on the viewscreen showed she was unusual. The
prince had a soft spot for females. If he could find her, he could
have an added advantage and all he would have to do is wait for the
prince to come to him.

Before he had stumbled upon the village, he
had found a narrow cave near the river. When he had explored it, he
found it contained stored items. If he wasn’t mistaken this was
where the villagers who were either too young or old to fight would
take refuge. If he wanted to find a weakness, that was where he
needed to go.

He moved silently through the undergrowth
pausing sporadically to make sure he had not been seen. His eyes
narrowed when he reached the edge of the woods near the river. He
saw the dark outline of the rock wall on the other side of the
river where the entrance to the cave was located.

Pausing for a moment, he focused. He
stumbled when he rematerialized on the other side of the river. He
sank down behind a large boulder and breathed deeply.

He wiped a hand across his brow. He pulled
several small devices from a bag at his waist. The small devices
would detonate sending out a gas that would incapacitate anyone who
breathed it in. Normally, he would have just killed anyone in his
way but he wanted the female alive. He wanted the Curizan Prince to
watch as he killed the female. It would make his own thirst for
power that much sweeter.

Rising, he stepped toward the entrance of
the cave. He barely had time to raise his shield before an arrow
bounced harmlessly off it. He raised the laser gun and fired. A
harsh shriek cut through the air as he hit his target. A rain of
arrows burst around him. With a silent curse, he focused a burst of
energy toward those high on the rocks above him. At the same time,
he tossed the small balls through the entrance of the cave. A brief
flash sounded at the same time as shrieks of pain echoed as those
above him rocked from having their equilibrium shattered.

Several figures stumbled out of the cave. He
brutally cut them down as they emerged. Tossing the last body to
the side, he pulled a small breathing apparatus over his nose and
mouth before entering the cave. Bodies lay where they fell. Larger
ones shielded the smaller ones. He ignored all of them. He wanted
only one. His eyes fell on the golden haired female with
satisfaction. She was lying on a thin cover on the ground.

Stepping over and around the others, he
stared down at the still figure. She was attractive for being a
different species. He decided to change his plans as he stared down
at her soft features. A devious smile curved his lips as he thought
of the ultimate revenge against Ha’darra.

Kejon reached down and scooped up the tiny
figure. He turned on his heel. He had taken only a few steps when a
hand weakly reached out and grabbed his ankle, almost tripping him.
He glared down at the female holding him. Her eyes went from his to
the bundle in his arms. He pulled his leg away and viciously kicked
the female’s rounded stomach.

He chuckled at her cry of pain. He continued
through the cave and stepped out into the clear night sky. His eyes
narrowed when he saw that he was not alone. A dark, satisfied smile
curved his lips when he saw the outline of the male he had been
seeking. It did not take as long as he expected to enjoy his
triumph.

“Well, well, well. If it is not the Curizan
Prince,” Kejon said mockingly. “It is a shame you are too late
to
protect your whore, Ha’darra.”

“Put her down, Kejon,” Ha’ven growled back.
“This is between us. We finish it here and now.”

Kejon chuckled as he shifted Emma’s slight
weight in his arms. He palmed the device he had in his hand as he
did. The sweet revenge tasted even sweeter knowing he would be able
to rub in his plans before he killed Ha’darra.

“She is so sweet,” Kejon said in a low
menacing voice. “I wonder if she tastes as sweet as she looks. I
will have to make sure I find out before I let the others sample
her as well.”

Ha’ven took a step forward. “Release her,”
he snarled.

Kejon’s mouth tightened as he caught the
movement of another large figure. “Tell whoever is with you to
stand down or I’ll snap her in half,” he warned.

*.*.*

Ha’ven had frozen behind Crom when the first
shrieks had echoed through the thick forests over the sound of
fighting and confusion in front and to the side of them as the
other Monikers engaged the Marastin Dow tactical team.

“The cave,” Crom had growled out in rage.
“They are being attacked!”

Ha’ven had turned even as the huge Moniker
was conveying what the sounds meant. He ran along the branches,
grabbing the huge vines and swinging from limb to limb. Crom
followed closely beside him. The two of them raced toward the
river. They had burst out of the forest at the same time. A female
Moniker lay by the shore of the river, blood seeping from her ears.
She looked up, pointing with a low groan. Three bodies lay broken
by the entrance of the cave where they had fallen from the rocks
above. The bodies of four elderly women lay crumbled beside them,
cut down as they emerged from the cave.

Ha’ven looked up as a large figure carrying
another emerged from the cave. He immediately recognized Emma’s
golden hair. His eyes burned with rage as he pulled the laser sword
out.

His blood boiled at Kejon’s mocking words.
“Put her down, Kejon,” Ha’ven growled back. “This is between us. We
finish it here and now.”

He took a step forward. Fear and hatred
pulsed through him at Kejon’s barely veiled threat. His hand
tightened until his knuckles gleamed white.

“She is so sweet,” Kejon responded to his
demand. “I wonder if she tastes as sweet as she looks. I will have
to make sure I find out before I let the others sample her as
well.”

“Release her,” he snarled, his eyes gauging
the distance between them.

Ha’ven watched as Kejon’s eyes flickered
briefly to the side. The assassin’s words froze him and he raised
his hand to halt Crom. He could tell from the sudden darkening of
Kejon’s aura that he meant what he said. He would snap Emma’s spine
in a heartbeat.

“You want me, you’ve got me,” Ha’ven growled
out, throwing the laser sword to the side. “Just you and me. No one
else will interfere. Just release the female.”

“I think not,” Kejon said with a triumphant
grin. “Aria should have killed you when she had the chance. I will
not make the same mistake. But before you die, Ha’darra, I want you
to know that your female will be well used before she dies.”

Ha’ven roared out in frustrated rage as
Kejon shifted Emma over his shoulder as he raised his hand. Ha’ven
saw the small device in the assassin’s hand even as he rushed him.
A burst of black shot from the device. Long tentacles reached out
toward him, wrapping around his arms and chest. The thick bands
spread out over him, spreading up his neck and down his legs. The
more he fought, the tighter they became until he was struggling to
breathe.

“You can thank the Valdier Royal,
Raffvin
,
for this little trick,” Kejon
said with a cold smile. “You see, his symbiot feeds off of dark
power and you, dear prince, have the power they crave.”

Ha’ven fought to remain upright but the
black bands dragged him to his knees. He struggled to gasp in a
breath of air but the black bands refused to release their hold on
his throat. The dark strands stretched up over his mouth and nose
until only his eyes remained free. Spots danced as he struggled
with the lack of oxygen.

Crom growled out and moved to try to pull
the black bands off of Ha’ven. The huge Moniker flew backwards when
the black bands sent a burst of pure energy through his body.
Ha’ven fought to keep from losing consciousness, his only thought
was for Emma.

I am sorry, my mate,
he whispered
silently to her as darkness washed over him.
Forgive my failure
in protecting you.

Ha’ven?
Emma’s faint voice echoed
softly through him.

Kejon’s astonished expletive filled the air.
The fury in the curse echoed as a colorful form suddenly appeared
between him and Ha’ven. The figure turned to look at Kejon for a
moment before it floated through the air toward Ha’ven’s still
figure. The iridescent form knelt on the ground next to the
shrouded body. A slender hand reached out to touch the black bands.
The moment it touched the pulsing negative energy, the black bands
rose up to entwine with it. The figure spoke softly to the greedy
strands that slowly dissolved into it, leaving thin gold strands
behind.

A shiver went through Kejon as he realized
that the figure was that of the female in his arms. She was more
than Ha’ven’s current whore. She was a being of incredible power.
As the bands dissolved, Kejon knew he needed time to explore what
he held in his arms. Such power was not to be ignored or eliminated
without careful consideration as to how it could be used first.

Pressing the signal for the transporter to
beam him up, Kejon cast one last look at the figure that floated
above Ha’darra’s body. He needed to retreat to his hidden base. He
needed time to plan because there was one thing he knew without a
doubt… Ha’darra would be coming after the female.

“Ha’ven,” a deep voice said. “Wake up.”

Ha’ven’s eyes snapped open at the same time
as his hand gripped the throat of the male above him. Rage glowed
from his violet eyes turning them darker. His hand tightened as his
power returned. He felt a vibration and heard the sound of metal
groaning ominously as he stared into a pair of matching violet
eyes.