The Stars For Valentine’s Day (The Journeyman's Way) (2 page)

Her skin burned as the vine-like thing twisted up her body, tying her up like a calf in a roundup. Something foul, like a smelly rag, filled her mouth and kept her from screaming. When had that happened? Had she blacked out for a few seconds?

She struggled, but the ropes holding her only tightened. That whole saying about her life flashing before her eyes rang true.

She closed her eyes, tears squeezing out between the lids. There was no hope, she was going to die. Nobody would come to her rescue—she had no way to let anyone know she needed rescuing.

She snapped her eyes open at a sharp pain in time for the monster to kick her in the side a second time, most likely breaking a rib or two. He pulled out a long, strange metal thing with a jagged edge and started to cut away her clothes, yanking them from under the ropes. In seconds, he had her naked. The rope seemed to tighten more and dig into her bare, vulnerable flesh. “I’ve heard human skin is a special treat,” it growled. “Maybe I’ll save some and share with my brother, but then again he never shared with me.”

He pinched her skin until she swore he was going to rip the piece off her, when all of a sudden he released her and jumped up, facing away from her. What happened to distract it? It faced the door, but nobody was going to show up at this hour. The pain was so great, Shantel fought to stay conscious. If she passed out, she was a goner for sure.

Once more, the thing sputtered and seemed to get pissed, casting quick glares toward her every few seconds. She held her breath, waiting for some kind of deathblow, but the thing continued to watch the door, and then suddenly vanished before her eyes. The front door burst open, and two of the biggest men she had ever seen stormed in. They searched her apartment, clutching strange objects as if they were weapons.

As they moved closer, she noticed one actually had striped skin while the other had fangs protruding from his mouth. Yep, Shantel had to be dreaming or she was in some totally deep donkey doo doo here and not one person to help her.

“He’s gone!” The striped one came to kneel next to her. “We don’t want to hurt you, but I’m afraid releasing you is going to cause you pain. The material wrapped around you is an actual creature. It’s alive. Already, it has started to dig into your thin skin. I’m sorry we didn’t get here in time,
bearer
of our children.” His words were nonsense filtering through the pain and terror. He sprayed liquid over the binding and her skin. “Not only will this kill the thing that holds you. It will help heal your delicate skin. Uh oh. Knight, look what it’s doing….”

The spray cooled the pain for a moment and Shantel drew in a breath of relief and released it on a scream. “It’s peeling my skin off!” And in a way, it was. The thing holding her started to loosen and drop to the floor, taking with it some of her skin. Her stomach rolled and Shantel pushed up only to fall back onto the floor, writhing in agony. She struggled to lift her head and her upper body enough so she wouldn’t choke, losing the breakfast she had eaten earlier.

“Easy there, little human, we have you.” The striped man wiped her mouth with some strangely textured cloth he pulled out of his uniform.

“I’m afraid this
tribop
is different. Judging by the stench, he waited until the last minute to leave. Most of their kind wouldn’t take the risk we’d get a chance at them,” the other strange man stated, pacing back and forth.

“We can’t leave her or court her according to her customs now. It would be too risky. I’ll have her belongings transferred to the ship and take her to the medical room to heal.” The striped one knelt in front of her again. “Sleep, little human, and know you are safe now.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, supporting her, and everything swirled and went black. “But am I safe from you?” she whispered.

Knight scanned the small unit where their woman had lived, promising himself she would have much more when they returned to their quarters on Seven Depths
.
Even the lowest form of life on their planet had better homes than this. Not to mention the place was so dark and empty.

He glanced at the hearts in a box. Picking one up he smiled, remembering the list of things humans celebrated. Hearts Day, no that wasn’t it, Valentine’s Day. Closing up the box, he sent it to her friend using his portable transmitter. Including a note on why she had to leave. Hoping this Zandra would not worry about their woman.

With everything cleaned up, Knight transported back to their ship. He made his way to the medical room where Saber would be with Shantel. The liquid antidote Saber had sprayed on her had not only started the healing, but put her to sleep, as well.

The doors opened to the medical lab and Saber handed him a vial. “This was not a
simlone
, but a
vatacore
.” Saber pointed to parts of their female’s body. Scars now covered her soft skin, which should have healed without scarring. “Bane needs be informed of this and the possibility of the creature being released on Earth. It would soon cover a landmass, left unchecked. It also means we are going to be staying here a bit longer until we make sure everything is back to normal.”

Her little whimper drew them closer to the table. Knight was thankful Saber had placed her on the padded table. Saber pulled the thick, warm blanket over her tiny, naked form as Knight brushed her hair away from her face and watched her eyes flutter and then open.

“Hello, Shantel Brooks. Welcome to our ship. Are you still in pain?” Knight asked.

“You’re not human are you? All of this is real isn’t it?” she murmured.

“No, we’re not human, and, yes, this is all real. I can promise you this, Shantel. You will always be safe with us and never want for anything. I am called Knight Rouge, and I’m in charge of this unit. One of my partners there”—he nodded to Saber—“is called Saber Rougereaper. We are what you on your world would call police, sheriffs. But when we are called in, there is no prison for the ones we hunt, only a death sentence. The
tribop
who attacked you is one we seek now.”

She scrunched up her face and went to lift her arm. A groan slipped out and she lay back down.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” Saber ran his hand up and down the limb. “It’s not broken.”

“I’m just stiff from being tied, I guess,” she said carefully, pulling away from him. A cloud passed her features and her brow furrowed. “Why did you call me bearer o—

“Bearer of our children? Because you are. The fates granted us our wish. I hate to upset you, but I must tell you that the binding that held you earlier was not the one we believed it to be. The one used on you was much more deadly. You will carry its mark upon your fine skin. Not to worry, though. We will find this
tribop
and dispose of him.”

“What the hell was, is this
tribop
?” Shantel pushed up on her elbows. Knight reached over to help her, but she shook her head. “I can do this. Please explain. Start with this ‘bearer of your children’ nonsense.”

“What is there to explain?” Saber said. “You will live with us and carry our children for us. Wanting for nothing, of course.”

Shantel turned her attention on the striped man and stared at him, a stunned expression marring her stunned. “I’d live with you, children?”

Knight slowly entered her mind and frowned at her thoughts.

How do I always end up in trouble. I am going to have myself committed if this is a dream. But looking around this place—it’s no dream, but nothing I’ve ever seen before.

“You are not in trouble with us, Shantel. I know this is all different, but we promise you will be happy with us.” Knight clenched his fists at his sides to keep from touching her and frightening her further.

Saber brushed a chunk of dead vine away from the table and onto the floor where one of the man-bots would dispose of it. “As soon as it’s safe, we’ll take you to your new home. You’ll have whatever humans need and more. You can change anything you don’t like.” At once their woman took a defensive body posture.

Sitting fully up now, she glared at him and then at Saber. “You think I’m going to carry your children, let alone move away from everything I know? I don’t think so. I will only have children with someone I love.”

Knight held back a smile. Saber scooted a stool over and sat, covering her small fingers with his and sat down. “And what makes you think you won’t love us?” Saber rubbed his cheek on the back of her hand, starting the scenting process already.

“Because you are his partner.” She went to pull back, but he held tight. “I won’t come between you two.”

Knight couldn’t hold back his laugh. Even Saber smiled. “Our sweet little human. You will not come between us. Well, you will eventually be physically between us while we are loving you.” Knight leaned down and placed a kiss on the side of her neck. “But do not worry, our little human. We have read up on all the different loving styles.” Knight tapped her nose and pointed to Saber.

“I might be the leader of our unit, but Saber is what you would call a very dominant lover in our chamber unless Raven chooses to join us. Already Saber is scenting you, claiming you as his, and you are ours.” He traced a finger over the scar that ran over the top of her breasts. “No one touches you and hurts you without paying for it, but the
tribop’s
crimes go further than this, I’m afraid.”

“Wait, what? You want me? Both of you want me?” Her voice squeaked. “But you’re...and I’m...no there has to be some kind of mistake. How do you know this?”

“There is no mistake, and there are three of us. Where we come from, when one is in the proximity of his bonded partner, that person scent drives them into a heated frenzy. He needs to find him or her because only touching eases this heat. Soon your body will carry our scents. There is no mistake.” Knight placed his dark hand on her creamy-white shoulder and squeezed.

“I have to make a call to our leader. Would you like to see some of the ship?” Knight asked. A tour would allow all of the information they gave her to soak in and a chance to get to know them.

She nodded. “Question. If that thing can appear in my room, can that thing come here?” She shivered. Both he and Saber surrounded her with their arms, hugging her and kissing her, wanting to reassure her that she was safe.

“No! Anyone who tries to enter this ship without our approval will be disintegrated on the spot. This is our second home. We travel much. You are safe here, we promise, Shantel.”

The shaking stopped and she took a deep breath. “Can I go back? I need my coffee. Do you even have coffee? What do you eat? What about my books, the Internet?”

“Stop!” Raven came into the room and went right to Shantel. “She’s getting hysterical.”

***

Shantel was barely holding onto her sanity when the door opens and the tallest man-robot came into the room ordering her and the others to stop.

“I’m not hysterical. Even if I was, I have a damn good reason to be. Who the hell are you?” She pulled the blanket tighter around her aching everywhere. “I need my ibuprofen,” she grumbled and inched away from him.

The man grinned down at her. “I’m called Raven Wind, your third man.”

“No.” She shook her head once more, determined to sit up. A shot of pain sent her backwards again onto the table. “Damn it!” Shantel sucked in her breath, working the pain away. “Fuck, that hurt!” She gritted her teeth.

“What else hurts, tell me?” Saber gently pried the blanket away from her and worked his warm, fur-covered fingers up her stomach. She drew away from his touch, but regretted it when once more her breath was sucked away.

“Did you fall when the vines wrapped around you?” He picked up a gadget and ran it over her. “I should have done this before, but I was so furious we didn’t get to you in time. Now, hold still and let me see what the problem is.”

“Broken rib or ribs most likely. I’ve had them before.” She grunted and reached for the covers. Both Knight and Raven stared at her as Saber ran the tests, making her feel a little exposed. Knight shook his head and took the blanket away.

“No, he needs to check you out. If you are cold I will turn up the temperature.” Knight frowned.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve already taken care of it. The whole ship will be warm soon. We must not forget she is much more fragile than what we are used to,” the machine-man said, running his metal-skin hand over the top of her head. “But so much more beautiful.”

“Me, beautiful?” Shantel shook her head. “You haven’t seen many humans then,” she mumbled, earning growls from all of them.

Saber gently pushed down on her sore side, which had her flinching and wanting to move away. Forgetting the kind words.

“How did you get this? It’s not from the binding? You have two broken bones and this bruise.” His finger was rough, but soft against the tender spot.

She took a deep breath and blew it out. “After tying me up, he kicked me a few times and pinched my skin. If you hadn’t come when you did…. She stopped and closed her eyes, they had saved her life. “I think he was going to take a piece of my skin off to eat.” She shivered and the handsome cat-man moved over to another counter. He lifted an instrument with some kind of long, thick needle. She didn’t mind shots. But that thing was not going anywhere near her body.

“What the hell are you going to do with that?” She tried once more to move off the table and almost fell off of it. If it wasn’t for Knight’s quick response, she would have. But in grabbing her, they both jarred her ribs. “This totally sucks,” she cried.

“Easy, Shantel. All he wants to do is heal you.” Raven leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

Knight righted her on the table. “Don’t do that again.” He frowned at her. “Just because you’re hurt does not mean I won’t punish you later. I for one would rather give you pleasure this day,” he said leaning down inches from her face so his slightly upturned nose touched hers.

He kissed her lightly on the lips, which distracted her from the needle until something cold slid across her stomach.

“Don’t move. This will only take a minute. It will heat up and heal your bones.” Sure enough, as Saber spoke, the thing heated until it was almost too hot. “Only a few more seconds and we are done.” Saber took the device away, and she rubbed the spot where it had been.