Rescued By Tordin: Olodian Alien Warrior Romance (16 page)

Kyra shuddered at his words. She didn’t want to think about how much Tordin might be suffering at the moment. She spoke up to address the warrior scout, “Did that thing say for certain it was Cordin who was behind this, or was he attempting to deceive you?”

“No, Lady Kyra, we saw the truth in him.” When she looked a little skeptical, he continued, “The Skleen are what you’d call scum and bottom feeders. They feel no dishonor skimming energy from your life force and killing when it is easy, but they are spineless. When captured, if you do certain things to them,” she noticed how he spared her the details of his torture techniques, “their life force cavity—in the middle, where our stomachs are located—will begin to glow blue when they speak truth. This happened as we asked him all these things, and we corroborated it with the other one before their demise.”

“I see,” she said and tried not to vomit from the thought of having to pass by twenty Skleen bodies to get to Tordin. “I need to get this straight before we proceed. Is it your report that Tordin’s brother is behind this, and that he is keeping Tordin prisoner up ahead?”

“Yes, my Lady.”

“And am I to understand that he wants to capture me, as well? And, oh yeah, he has some type of magical wizard with him who can paralyze us with a mental death ray?”

The scout looked to Jalek before answering. When Jalek offered no additional input, the scout affirmed her summary of his report. “Yes, my Lady. That is correct.”

“Okay then. I just wanted to make sure I had all the points so I can make a comprehensive plan. I’m going to make Cordin rue the day he decided he could harm my mate.” She pointed to both the scout and Jalek. “I need both of you, Counselor Rilic, and five of the best engineering warriors we have with us. Once I have a plan, we will assemble here and work on implementing it. And oh, is there anyone among us who is familiar with the atmosphere and flora of this planet?”

“That would be me,” Counselor Rilic said and came to stand next to her.

“Good, I need you to help me figure out what natural resources we can tap to ring this magician’s bell. He, she or whatever it is, is going down. They’ve all managed to really piss me off now,” Kyra said and strode off toward an overhang of branches on a nearby small tree. When she saw none of them had joined her, she yelled back, “Well, what are you waiting for? Get over here!”

After a twenty-minute pow-wow with her assembled team, they had a plan of ambush to deal with the mysterious being in Cordin’s camp. They’d wait until nightfall to attack.

Kyra didn’t dare think of all the things that could and probably would go wrong with their hastily thrown together plan. She had to believe that the Goddess was with her, helping and guiding her to Tordin.

The twin suns were lower in the sky, and it was time to move out.

“My Lady Kyra,” Jalek called to her.

“Yes, Jalek, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing, except I think it would be best if you cover your head with your flight suit cap. I think it would be better if they have to get near to confirm your identity. We can protect you if they get close, but if they can spot you from far off and plan some sort of aerial attack to capture you, we can’t resist that as well.”

“I see. It would be easy to spot me from afar with my hair out. Thank you for thinking of that. I’m doing it now,” she said and pulled the knit-like material over her thick curls.

They proceeded up the trail, taking every precaution they could imagine. Kyra continued to keep the swift pace the large warriors set, noting something powerful fueling her from within.

Pick the agate and aegerine crystals. Place them close to your body. Gather as many as you can carry and still continue unaided.

“What? Jalek, why are you telling me to pick up crystals?”

“Pardon me, my Lady? I’ve not said anything to you in a while.” Kyra was about to ask if he meant the instructions for another and had gotten the vo-link confused when he offered, “Did the voice sound like mine does now?”

She paused to think, and no, it sounded more like her own when she had a thought but way stronger.

“No, actually the voice sounded more like my own.”

“Then my Lady you are truly blessed. It must be the Goddess giving you direct guidance. Do what it says. It could not hurt, and we need all the advantage we can get.”

Kyra pondered his words. This was getting deep into a realm she wasn’t comfortable with. Hearing voices could be a sign of a psychotic break. What if she was losing it out here on an alien planet and leading sixty-plus warriors to their death in response to her crazy voices? As soon as the thought formed, a stronger feeling of certainty and rightness washed over her. She had to believe in what she felt and heard. Tordin’s life could depend on it.

She was grateful that she knew what those crystals looked like but had no clue why she should wear them close to her body. Now wasn’t the time to argue with herself as she trotted over to a patch of crystal and wrestled with the two types within the beautiful, multi-colored collage. She tugged, pulled and tried to snap off pieces of the two crystals without success. Seeing her struggle, Jalek and Counselor Rilic came over and assisted her, easily snapping off the ones she instructed them to.

“It looks like the Goddess is in our midst,” Counselor Rilic said, looking at Kyra with greater appreciation.

“What does that mean?” she asked, not understanding what was happening.

“It means that you are being divinely guided by the Goddess herself. Agate,” he paused and took a piece of the greenish colored stone in his hand and fingered it as he continued, “is a powerful stone crystal that enhances your creativity and intellect. It also offers strength and courage to you while keeping your body in harmony. It is called a good luck stone for its ability to help situations turn out for your best.”

Whoa, this was getting to be a little freaky. If the Goddess was instructing her to load herself down with good luck stones, what lay ahead could be treacherous. What was she coming up against?

Kyra ventured to ask about the dark, almost black spiky aegerine rods she held in her hands. “And what are these for?”

“The aegerine is a powerful crystal of protection against psychic attack and negative energy. It works to energize your core points—I believe your old Earth term for those would be chakras. It can be used to energize both the wearer and the place the wearer inhabits. On a side note, aegerine will help strengthen your connection to Tordin, as well. It is known to amplify, repair and strengthen bonds such as yours. I would definitely say the Goddess is with you.”

Kyra wanted to take the time to process all of this, but knew they had to keep moving. It seemed the Goddess was preparing her for some type of battle.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the outer edges of the camp. The wondrous scouts eliminated about ten more Skleen lookouts before they had a chance to run back and alert the camp. Kyra and the others set up a perimeter around it and looked for where they were keeping Tordin and the delegation.

When she spotted the tall, frat-boy beautiful man, she knew she’d located Cordin. Instead of being muscular like Tordin and his warriors, he had a slightly less muscled swimmer’s build; he was golden and too pretty to be handsome. He was nothing like his half-brother Tordin, who had dark, strong manly features. Her mate looked like a man who’d known battle and won—he looked like a champion. This one, on the other hand, strutted around like a peacock, looking more like the dandies of old from Earth. Everything about him was meticulously executed, from his hair to his fancy shoes. Not a speck of dirt appeared to sully his coverings—in the middle of a rock-enclosed camp. How did he manage that? Kyra looked down at her own stained clothes in confirmation that this was a huge feat.

When she turned to glance at something that caught her attention, out the corner of her eye, she saw him. Tordin and the others were locked inside a cage—a freaking cage, like they were animals! She continued to peer over the distance toward him, willing him to look at her. As if he sensed her presence, he turned his head to look in her direction. She was hidden, up in the rocks surrounding the encampment, but he found her. Their eyes locked onto each other like beacons, and she felt the magnetism of the connection spark in the air. At that moment, she knew without a shadow of a doubt nothing would keep them apart.

Tordin rose from his sitting position and walked to the front of the bars of the cage. He didn’t reveal their hiding place but scanned the ridge and smiled.
He knew
. She could tell he knew they’d come for him. Before she could do anything to try to communicate with him, the middle of the camp sprang to life, and a luminous tall figure emerged from what seemed like empty space. It generated a brilliant light that caused the Skleen to scatter like rats.

Kyra held her breath as the figure, garbed in a billowing, hooded robe and looking more like a strange rendition of a cult high priest, moved toward the cage where Tordin and the others were. Without opening the door, it latched onto Tordin’s arm and held on. She watched with a mix of horror and hatred as Tordin’s face contorted in pain. She felt a scream about to erupt from her throat when Jalek’s hand clamped down hard on her mouth.

Shock at watching what was happening to Tordin didn’t keep her from landing the instinctive punch to Jalek’s side for putting his grimy hands over her mouth. She had to admit, though, he saved them from being discovered—until the being began to speak in an amplified voice.

“I know you are the Goddess-bearer. Show yourself, and I will release him. Come to me now. If not, I will drain him of every last bit of life while you watch. You will have come all this way just to fail.”

T
his would not be
another instance of Kyra failing someone she loved. That had been the story of her life. When the people she loved needed her the most, she had failed them, over and over again. Try as she might, they still suffered. Now Tordin could die, and it all depended on her.

She wanted to be that strong, confident woman she felt lived deep down inside, but not at the expense of his life. What if her antics got him killed? But…what if this was a chance to break that pattern? A budding confidence she’d begun to sense growing within her days ago sprang up and slammed against her old thoughts of doubt and self-deprecation.

Not this time.

She’d succeed and get Tordin and the others out of this. She had to; there was no other option. Heck, the Goddess had her wearing enough crystal to light up the place better than the techno show this being had just put on.

Kyra scanned the camp, looking for any idea. How could she get that thing to release Tordin and put this nightmare to rest?

“Goddess, any help would be greatly appreciated now. Can you help a girl out?” She whispered the invitation, this time hoping the voice would speak up.

Kyra waited, resisting the urge to grab at straws and feign mental thoughts. The same voice that had spoken before returned clear and strong. She’d not entertain any emotional deception or mental monsters of illusion. Kyra wasn’t the same woman who had believed she was unworthy to have happiness or love. She’d grown and had proof that she was indeed loved, cherished and appreciated, not only from Tordin but from all his warriors who had come here with her, based only on her instincts. She was strong and could do this. She was Lady Kyra!

A soft thread of remembrance wove its way to the forefront of her thoughts. That being had called her the
Goddess-bearer
. What did it mean? There was something to that statement.

Think, Kyra, you can figure this out. Breathe and think
. She urged herself to dig deeper, concentrate, and press onward to get a clue. It was there, just out of reach—she could almost sense it.

If she was to believe what Tordin had told her about the Goddess and the unction, then she was his help and answer to doing something big. This looked like it might qualify, too. She continued to look, think and even pray—anything to help her come up with an idea to stop this madness.

Why was this being calling her out, ignoring the others? Did it want to do battle with her for Tordin’s life? She wasn’t a wizard or a warrior. She was Kyra, Tordin’s mate. All the men on Tordin’s ship had been so kind and gentlemanly, showing her great respect. She didn’t realize how much she’d taken their actions for granted. It seemed like on this planet, chivalry never existed, at least not with this monster. She was Lady Kyra and Tordin’s mate—not a fighter—or was that part of the answer?

She was the Lady, feminine like the Goddess. Kyra was able to create life if she wanted to. None of the men could do that.

“Wait! Chivalry, honor and me,” she said forgetting she was vo-linked with Jalek.

“Excuse me, Lady Kyra, what are you talking about?” he asked, confused and anxious about what she would do.

“I’m talking about me. I’m LADY Kyra, not LORD Kyra—a female, like the Goddess. If I’m a bearer, that means I have a womb. Jalek, unless female Skleen look exactly like the males, I’m the only female here and the only one with a unique connection to the Creator Goddess. I have the power to create from a seed—I can produce offspring. Think about why that being may want me to come out into the open.”

He’d moved closer to her as a precaution in case she’d decided to go down to the camp, giving their location away. “I don’t know,” he said, clearly frustrated and frazzled.

“Jalek, look at that being. Really look it, past the intimidating robes and presentation. Look at him and tell me what you see. Look at the hand he has extended to touch Tordin, that’s going through the bars of the cage.”

She waited while Jalek used what looked like tiny binoculars to look at the being. When he’d taken a long, inspecting look, he said, “He looks sort of transparent.”

“Exactly. I think he’s able to do all the stuff he does because he’s not all the way in our realm of existence. I suspect he’s dying and trying to find a womb to infest and get some skin to be able to stay here. Don’t you think it’s mighty odd that he’s not asked for anything but for me to come out in exchange for Tordin. If he wanted to kill him, he’d have done it by now. Also notice how long he’s been waiting for me to come out and show myself. If my hunch is correct, he wants and needs me way more than he’s letting on.”

“Oh, Lady Kyra, I want to believe you’re right on that one. But what about Cordin, what’s his reason for all of this?”

“Jalek, I’ve been with you this whole time. How should I know? I’m as much in the dark about that as you are.” Kyra’s nerves were fraying around the edges with all his questions, while she still tried to find a way to save her mate and love. She still didn’t like how harsh her answer may have sounded. She tried to rephrase it. “Forgive for my sharp tongue. Like you, I’m still in the dark as to his end game. I know he wants to inflict pain on Tordin. We all know he wants to be Emperor, and we know he’s joined forces with this being in order to kidnap his own brother and lure me here. I’d say it’s for some sort of power this thing has promised him. That would be my best guess.”

“Okay, but why you specifically? Why couldn’t this being get any woman?”

“I think it has to do with the unction. On my home planet Earth, spiritual teachings say the unction was mentioned as some sort of anointing of an individual by a supreme being in order to carry out a task or life calling. Maybe this unction that is on Tordin and me is similar. Maybe this being needs both of us together to get whatever it’s after. It’s a long shot, and I feel like I’m grasping at straws, but how else do you explain this?”

“I don’t know, but what you’ve said makes the most sense, and I think you may be right. So, what do we do? Stick to the plan of waiting till dark to attack, or does that change since they know you’re here?”

“Scratch the plan. I’ve got to do this. You all will have to wait and watch to see what happens. I don’t know how I know, but I’m the one who has to go out there and face this thing. It’s the only way for Tordin to get away.”

“I don’t like this.”

“I don’t either, but something tells me everything is going to be all right.”

Kyra stood. Agates gently brushed against her skin as they remained nestled in both cups of her bra. She’d wedged a few pieces of aegerine in her cleavage and felt the rest of the crystals moving in all the pockets and compartments of her clothing. She hoped she didn’t clatter as she climbed down the rocks into the camp.

The closer she got, the stronger her connection to Tordin grew. A few hundred feet from him, and her mind filled with his voice. He was using the vo-link connection.

“Kyra, what are you doing? Stay away from this thing. It wants to impregnate you with itself.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“It’s been telling me through hypnotic suggestions that as soon as you came for me, it would enter into me, forcing you and me to join. It’s been trying to hypnotize me to do its bidding. It doesn’t realize how our unction works. Your thoughts about me have allowed me to fight off its attempts to brainwash me. Since you came to the camp, I feel more mentally clear than I have in a very long time. It’s like my thoughts have been cleaned. You bring me clarity.”

“I think it’s the crystals doing that.”

“The crystals?”

“Yeah, a gift from the Goddess. But what do you propose we do?”

“I think the Goddess is talking with you exclusively. All I sense is that you are the key to defeating them.”

“Wow—girl power to the rescue!” she said, full realization dawning on her. “Tordin, I think I’ve figured it out. This thing can only be defeated by a womb bearer—a female, and I think it wants to be born as a female. That way, it will be able to connect with the Goddess in a way unlike that of men. It will be able to create like the Goddess and not just worship her. It wants to become the most powerful being—the Creator Goddess!”

“Oh no! That makes so much sense. Through our joining, it would impregnate you. It wants to siphon off the Goddess power you possess and become like her.”

“Yes, that’s got to be it. Everything in me is buzzing with confirmation. But why us?” she asked, slowing her steps toward him.

“Because of the unction and its desire to gain control of my father’s throne. As one of his blood-related descendants, it would have access to the throne. Not only would it be able to grow in the power of the Goddess, but it could also become the Empress of our galaxy. Ours is the largest and most powerful in the IGA, but my father has been too busy dealing with my brother to exert that power. And speaking of my idiot brother, he promised this thing he’d deliver us to it in exchange for the throne. Cordin has no idea it plans to murder him as soon as it gets its way.”

Kyra was close enough to see that a blood vessel had burst in one of Tordin’s eyes under the pressure of this being’s grip. Instead of speaking out loud, Tordin looked at her, willing her to continue to listen to him through the vo-link.

“Kyra, my love. You are the only one who can defeat this being. You have the power and the link to the Goddess to do what none of us can. I love you and will do what I can to help, but it is you who will stand against this being.”

Kyra swallowed, knowing his words to be true. She saw Cordin inching closer, and rage tore through her. This rat-bastard was worse than Brantley. Before she knew what she was doing, she raised her right hand, leveled a pointing finger at him and lifted him off the ground. As he rose through the air, crystals that littered the ground sparkled and glowed. Kyra felt each of them sending power to her through the ground where she stood.

The being roared, “No! Stop that!”

She knew she’d found out what it didn’t want her to. She was the biggest, baddest power here. Yes! And she was going to tinker with and explore this power. Out of kindness for her father-in-law, she didn’t crush Cordin. Instead, she lifted him about ten feet off the ground and released him over a clearing. She smiled as he screamed in pain.

“You won’t be kidnapping me anytime soon, you wannabe movie star-looking ass wipe!” she said, with venom tinging her voice.

“Remind me to not make you angry,” Tordin said, trying to turn his head enough to see his wailing brother crumpled on the ground like a bag of rocks.

Kyra blew him a kiss and winked. Before the being had time to react, she turned her attention to it.

“Okay, Goddess, this thing has decided to try to replace you. You’re not going to stand for that, right? Please help me do all the cool stuff you can think of that I can pull off—without hurting Tordin, of course,” she said in an admittedly weird prayer to the Goddess.

She indicated neither movement nor intent as she focused on the being’s core. Through her connection to the Goddess’ intuition, insight and instinct, she finally knew what it was. It was a Skleen leader, trying to upgrade from its pitiful, bottom-feeding existence. That was how it was able to suck Tordin’s life force from him.

She blew, and its robes rustled enough for everyone to see the grizzled old Skleen within them. When the other Skleen saw one of their own, they pounced toward it. Evidently they didn’t appreciate being used like slaves by another of their kind.

“Cease!” she said with a thunderous voice that would rival Tordin’s, and all of them halted as if in freeze mode.

This new power stuff was too cool. But there was no time to play with the minions; she had some rescuing to do.

“Stand down. I will give whatever is left of this…
thing
to you after I’m done.” She turned back to the old Skleen and said, “Release my mate now, or I will punish you. Don’t try me. I’m a woman on the edge. You made me come out here. I’m dirty, tired and pissed off that you dared to touch my mate, and my butt still hurts from riding the hover bike constructed from Satan’s farts. I’ve had it.”

Cordin let out a yell of pain as Jalek’s men gathered him up.

She was done with him, too. “Cordin, shut up, or I swear I will make sure every one of your limbs is broken. You messed with the wrong mate, son!”

She heard Tordin chuckle in her mind.

“You are sexy beyond belief when you take charge like this. I’m highly aroused—more than usual,” he said, making her grin like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Back at you, mate. Now allow momma to work. I’m not done with this Ming the Merciless wannabe.”

“Got you, although I think he’s more like a Dr. Frankenstein wannabe,” Tordin said, making her laugh out loud.

“Look at you, spouting Earthian literary culture. I’m impressed, mate.”

She realized he was getting weaker as they spoke, and she turned her attention to the old Skleen again, and this time she was making short work of the thing. “Didn’t I tell you to let go of my mate?” she demanded with gravelly hatred in her voice. She directed her attention to its see-through fingers. With a simple intention, she pried them off Tordin’s arm, one by one. Once loose from its grasp, Tordin quickly stumbled away and as far back as possible from the being.

Kyra aimed sure and straight at its stomach area. When she threw the blast of creative energy, the scream that sounded was enough to curdle milk still in the cow. It scratched against her mind in excruciating pain. It attempted to fight and to resist the power of the Goddess. Each counter-energy strike it attempted to launch turned into wonderful, consuming power that sped up its demise. Finally, it couldn’t hold on any longer and exploded into minute pieces of robe.

Kyra watched as pieces of the robe fell to the ground like confetti. She waited and scanned the energy force of everything that she could now see. She saw everyone’s life force with clarity and was amazed to see vibrant colors where Tordin and the other warriors were. Cordin’s life force wasn’t as solid—more the wimpy, muted color of vomit. She returned her gaze to where the being had been to make sure it wasn’t a smoke-and-mirror trick. She didn’t want it trying to enter into anyone there. When she was sure she sensed no more of it, she came closer to the outer ring of its debris. The remnant piece of robe lay there as if glued to the ground. Once satisfied again that this thing was no more, she turned her attention to the cage. She saw the door open in her mind, and it was so.