Unexpected (15 page)

Mikel
willed himself to calm and tried to open his mind to any contact he could form
with Alisa. All he could sense was his own uncertainty and compulsion to find
her.

Felix
drew in a deep breath and stepped away from the monitor. The clerk whose seat
had been usurped shot them both an irritated look, but settled back in without
protest to continue his tasks.

“Three
vehicles entered the main terminal, and one entered the utility bay,” his
bondmate said in a thoughtful tone as he ran his hands over his lash coiled at
his belt. “I doubt they’d take her to a populated area, so I say we should go to
the smaller building first.”

How
his bondmate could be so rational was beyond Mikel. He wanted to find an
armored vehicle and blast all the structures around them to sticks until they
found her. “We can’t be sure she’s there. She might have been talking about the
human sections.”

Felix
shook his head once and walked toward the exit. The prince and his entourage
were still milling around the ship, and one of the lords-in-waiting beckoned
for their attention. Felix smiled broadly back at them.

“Please
excuse us, Prince
Edem
. Our bondmate has been
kidnapped, and we must find her before she comes to further harm.” Even as he
spoke he kept walking and Mikel followed along, plotting which course would get
them back to the little used docking bay at the far end of the Alphan station
most expeditiously.

They
exited the building at a trot and as soon as they reached the tarmac, bolted
into a dead run. Mikel wondered if they should discuss some sort of plan of
attack, but Felix merely barreled along, not reacting to the rain falling on
them or the shouted inquiries of their fellows as they passed.

****

With
a triumphant wheeze, Alisa rolled off the bench and fell to the spaceship’s
floor. She held still a moment, listening for any sort of movement from
outside, then crawled to the hatch she’d come through what seemed like hours
before. The restraints still bound her wrists and ankles, but the Alphan who’d
looped them around the back of the seat hadn’t made them tight enough to
prevent her from stretching and wriggling her way free. It was probably the
first time he’d secured a smallish human. She was sore, sweaty, but thrilled to
be nearly free. The passageway beyond was dark, and she couldn’t see any light
indicating the ramp was still down. That was no surprise. Security officers
wouldn’t leave the vehicle open with her inside.

As
she pulled at the bindings on her wrists and ankles, she looked around. She
didn’t dare check out the cockpit area since there were viewports all around it
and she’d be spotted moving around inside. Urging her brain to work, she
wondered what other means of egress there might be on this ship. Surely there
was an emergency exit or escape hatch somewhere. Peering at the discreet
signage on the wall, she ignored the Alphan lettering since it was quite
incomprehensible and concentrated on the line drawings. Some showed how to stow
materials in storage bins, others illustrated where seats could be unfolded or
concealed. With a quick intake of breath she spotted something likely. A figure
was grasping a curious-looking handle with arrows that showed it moving. It was
attached to a large oval frame, just the right size to jump through.

Hope
renewed, she continued to pull at the straps. There was just enough give to
pull first one then the other from her hands. She’d have bruises tomorrow, but
with her restraints removed, she at least had a chance at tomorrow. Her ankle
fetters refused to
budge,
so rather than continue to
struggle with them, she merely looped the excess material over her elbow.
Taking a deep breath, she grasped the handle in both hands and twisted it. It
didn’t budge. Dropping her hands and shaking her arms and shoulders, she
grabbed it again. A sudden memory of Felix and Mikel overwhelmed her, and she
almost doubled over, longing for their strength and comfort. Determined to do
everything within her power to find them, she heaved again, her shoulders and
arms shaking with the effort. To her utter shock, the handle shifted briefly,
then
rotated smoothly as she continued to turn it. The oval
shaped depression on the way deepened and finally receded to reveal a short
passageway and the view of a slice of the concrete floor below. Crouching down,
she shuffled to the edge, careful not to let any of the tether attached to her
ankles, or her peeing head, show. There were no men in sight, but she wanted to
get an idea of where they were before she dropped out of the ship.

She
allowed her head to extend further, and her heart seized in her chest when she
saw two
Alphans
not ten meters away, standing near
the landing struts of the ship, mercifully with their backs toward her. There
were no other security officers in view, so she decided to concentrate on how
far she’d have to drop. She stared at the floor. It was at least three meters
down. There was nothing to do but try.

Wishing
her legs were as free as her hands, she slowly slid her feet out, gripping the
edges of the hatch so tight her fingers hurt. The last thing she wanted to do
was fall and
make
a noise. The slack of the tether
fell first, and then her calves and knees swung free. The weight of her body
was worse than she’d expected, and she was grateful for all the hard digging
she’d done in the garden that spring. Once her whole body extended from the
opening, she couldn’t hold herself any longer and made a barely controlled
drop. Pain shattered from her feet and up her legs, and she couldn’t hold back
a gasp. As soon as she had control of her limbs, she was scuttling toward a
stack of resin cases, crouching down to remain as hidden as possible.

Poking
her head cautiously around the corner, she tried to count how many foes were in
the hangar. Most were congregated near the tall open doors with their backs to
her. She couldn’t spot Ivar anywhere. Her heart pounded as adrenaline pulsed
through her veins. A sudden
urge
to stand up and
scream at them, beat them with some sort of heavy cudgel filled her mind, and
she was shocked at how illogical the battle-lust was. She needed to find an
unobtrusive exit and escape, not rush to engage with these formidable men.

Scanning
the area, she couldn’t spot any likely doors or windows. A sudden wave of
longing for Felix and Mikel filled her, and she doubled over, almost hearing
their voices and catching their distinctive scent somewhere deep inside her
brain. The need to see them, touch them, was so strong she moaned. An
inexplicable wave of reassurance filled her, and she blinked at the soothing
sensation. With a shake of her head, she tried to regain her focus. Mooning
after them wasn’t going to get her out of this situation, she needed to think.

Suddenly,
there was a squawking tone from the cluster of men, and she watched them gather
around a monitor. They then patted at their belts and harnesses, checking what
seemed to be hand weapons. Apparently there was going to be a confrontation,
and she should stay as far from it as possible and take advantage of the
distraction. If only she could find another door.

Raised
voices brought her attention back to her captors. They’d fanned out in a line
in front of the open bay, hands hovering near deadly-looking devices attached
to their belts. A light mist was falling outside, and she could hear the faint
sounds of running feet splashing their way. Was someone coming to rescue her?
Unlikely.

Again,
she thought of her men, her bondmates, and a smile crossed her lips, despite
the inappropriate timing. It couldn’t be them, of course, but maybe some
well-meaning
Alphans
had heard her appeal and were
coming to her aid now. She only hoped the interaction wouldn’t escalate into a violent
confrontation.

Two
large men appeared in the concealing rain, their forms hard to distinguish
under long, water-resistant capes. A sudden surge of recognition filled her,
and she realized that contrary to all logic, Mikel and Felix were there, not more
than twenty meters away. Jogging into a group of their compatriots they’d
instinctively trust.

“Halt!”
One of the men held up his hand as the others’ postures tensed. Mikel and Felix
didn’t slow their advance and within a second were inside the hangar, water
pouring from their shoulders, their hair plastered to their heads leaving their
horns exposed. They stopped two meters from the other security officers. She
couldn’t see that either had any weapons
available,
and she went cold with dread.

“Alisa,
come to us.” Felix’s voice boomed and echoed in the cavernous building, and she
jumped, but stayed hidden, too anxious about the tension building among these
powerful males.

“Your
presence here is unauthorized, and you must leave the building,” declared one
of the officers, and Mikel smiled at him. “We have the advantage of numbers,
weaponry, and proper authority. Don’t compound your mistakes even further.”

“Stand
aside,
Zet
. We will have our bondmate, and if she
chooses the merciful path, I will not crush your skull beneath my heel.”

Growls
filled the air, and all the men tensed.

“They
have weapons!” she screamed as loudly as she could, heedless if she was giving
away her place of concealment. One of the
Alphans
immediately spun on his heel and trotted her way, a terrible frown on his
golden face. Resurgent fear chased away her momentary burst of confidence, and
she turned and ran, hampered by the damned restraints still binding her ankles.
She had no immediate destination in mind, merely wanting to put distance
between her and the man she could hear drawing near. At least she’d improved the
odds in Mikel and Felix’s favor. Now they only faced four instead of five.

Without
warning, her feet slipped out from under her and she went tumbling into a pile
of cloth bags stuffed with something vaguely soft. She craned her head back and
saw the pursing Alphan had stepped on the slack line binding her ankles. He
bent down and picked it up, then proceeded to drag her along the floor back
towards the men still at a standoff. Before she even saw Felix and Mikel, she
could sense their rage and urge to fight. It washed over her in a hot, sticky
wave, and her own body tensed in response.

“I
have your soiled little morsel and will sever her spinal cord without
hesitation,” the man pulling her announced, and she gritted her teeth. “Leave
now. Forget this ever happened.”

Now
on her back, she stared up at the
Alphans
surrounding
her; assailants on one side, her men on the other. Anger prickled through her
veins, and in a spontaneous move, she kicked at the man holding her, more as a
means to release some tension than with any thought of harming him. Shockingly,
she made contact with the side of his knee, and his leg snapped the wrong way.
With a high-pitched grunt, he toppled over, and she immediately scrambled away,
dodging legs as Mikel and Felix threw
themselves
into
the fight. It was a flurry of movement, the melee moving so fast it was hard
for her to follow. Several weapons clattered to the floor as the opponents
struck each other. One of the other men had some sort of electrified whip in
his hand, and he circled the fighters, looking for an opening that would allow
him to strike at Felix or Mikel and not injure one of his own. One man had a
grip around Mikel’s neck while another rained blows on whatever body part he
could reach while Felix fended off the other with well-aimed kicks.

The
Alphan with the injured knee was fumbling at something silver attached to his
belt, and without a thought she crawled to him and grabbed his arm. It was as
solid as steel, and he had no trouble pulling a gun-like device from a small
holster even though she pulled with all her might. With a grunt and a
harsh-sounding Alphan word, he shoved her over, her feet flying up, the
restraint between them flipping over his head and shoulder. Sucking a breath
into her shaking lungs, she jerked her legs, tightening the band and finally
throwing him off balance. With his injured knee he couldn’t gain his footing
for leverage against her, and she flexed her thigh muscles. Unexpected strength
powered through her, and the man fell over with a crash, his head hitting the
concrete floor with a terrible crunching sound. His eyes rolled back in his
head, and he shuddered convulsively a few times.

Not
caring about his state of health, Alisa rolled back his way and pulled the
restraint away from his immobile body then grabbed the small gun he’d been
carrying. She had no idea how to use it, but had the urge to give it a try.
While she’d been fighting on the floor, Mikel had somehow managed to disable
one of his attackers, and was battering away at the other as Felix grappled
with his opponent in close grips. Before she could concentrate on her weapon,
there was a hissing crack and a bright line of light snapped across Felix’s
back, leaving a smoldering line across his cloak as he reared back with a
groan. He staggered and released his hold on the other man, slowly sank first
to his knees, then was completely prone. With a cry of distress, she launched
herself at him, grabbing his head up off the floor and staring at his slack
features.

Mikel
must have caught the blow in his peripheral vision, for he flung the man
struggling in his grasp up into the hull of the ship and whirled their way. The
man he’d thrown fell to the floor and didn’t move. In an instant he was running
directly at the man with the electric whip, who was so startled he jerked the
weapon back too quickly and it tangled in one of the struts of the ship. With a
growl, Mikel was on him, crushing his elbow into the other man’s nose which
instantly flattened and ran with rivers of bright red blood. As the other man
doubled over, Mikel brought both arms around his neck and twisted the helpless
man’s head until there was a wet snapping sound. He dropped the body and rushed
to their sides, the hangar suddenly quiet after the frantic seconds of the
fight.