Karrin Warrior Child

by Sahara Foley

  At that moment, Lurga's hand-link beeped as Contruda informed him of an incoming space message. They glanced at each other in surprise. The same question going through both of their minds.

  Who would be contacting me after all these years?

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  'Ispepyein calling Warrior Lurga Pukani. Respond to the mate of your leader.' Though Karrin couldn't read a word of the language, she understood every word as Lurga read the message.

  "My sister, Zelka," Lurga explained.

  Karrin stared at him in surprise. She didn't know her mentor had a sister. It took several months for her to adjust to living on Switch and being around Lurga. Once she did, her curiosity kicked in and she tried asking questions about his life. His answer was always an icy glare and a snapping of his teeth. She learned early what questions not to ask.

  Now, she discovered he had a sister. Is she younger or older? Did he leave his own mate when he accepted Mamma's blood bond? Maybe he has children. She bowed her head as guilt overcame her.

  "You need to answer her, then. She's your sister," Karrin insisted.

  Lurga climbed out of the body-sized hole and stepped toward his ship, Karrin right behind him. "No. That is not wise, little one. If I respond, I will be giving away our location. Though I broke the Code in good faith, Kargan must honor his contract with Calen. He will send other soldiers to kill you. I cannot allow that."

  "That was seven years ago. Surely the Calen's forgot about me?"

  Lurga turned toward her, gnashing his teeth. "I taught you much about the Warrior Code and Ispepyein laws. Kargan cannot break his contract with Calen any more than I can dishonor the blood bond between the Warrior Woman and me. I will defend you with my last breath, even against my own sister.”

  He growled, and his breathing vents fluttered. "This is nothing, but a weak attempt by Zelka to trick me."

  "I don't think so," Karrin said, pointing toward his hand-link.

  The new message read: 'Ispepyein calling Warrior Lurga Pukani. Answer your sister, Zelka. Ispepyein is in extreme danger. Leader Kargan acquired some strange beings from the Calens. They escaped their confinement and wreaked havoc in our system. We can neither control nor defeat them. They left our system for the moment, but if they return, Ispepyein will be no more. Heed your sister's call.'

  Lurga scratched his breathing vents. Is this a ploy by my sister, or is our planet really in jeopardy? He dimly remembered a conversation between him and Kargan before he left. Didn't my fearless leader mention something about beings he wanted to use as a weapon?

  Lurga shook his head. The fool. What did he do now? He had no choice, but to find out if Zelka's plea was genuine.

  "Little one, I am not sure if Zelka's call is a trap, but I cannot let my planet be destroyed by Kargan's greed and incompetence. How far can you travel, as you did before, when you vanished?"

  Karrin bit her lower lip, thinking. "I've never done it before, and it scared me half to death. I'm not sure I want to try it again."

  Lurga peered up at the sky. "I understand your reluctance. What you accomplished is an unknown to us both. However, we might be able to use your ability to our advantage. If you can take us far enough away from Switch, I can respond to Zelka's plea without fear of them locating us."

  He gazed down at the girl. "If this is not a trick, I must do everything in my power to save my people.” He clenched his claws into a fist. "If it is a trap, there will be Ispepyein blood shed, today. Whether mine or theirs."

  The gleam of determination in Lurga’s black eyes made him look fiercer than Karrin had ever seen. Now, she understood why he was such a feared warrior. He made her tremble just looking at him.

  She wanted to help him, but she had no idea how to make the ship disappear and move through space. What if we end up somewhere horrible, like the inside of a planet, or a sun? What if I kill us by mistake? She licked her dry lips as she studied the fighter. These are Lurga’s people. Do I have the right to stop him from protecting them?

  "Okay, I'll do it." She climbed into the pilot seat and strapped herself in. This could be a bumpy ride.

  Lurga clambered in behind her and secured the seal on the outer hatch. As he busied himself with the inner seal, he said, "Whenever you are ready, little one, try taking us out into space."

  Karrin’s face scrunched up in concentration, then she giggled. "We already are."

  "Not possible. I sensed no movement." Lurga leaned forward to get a better look at the silver screens. Both screens showed they were two hundred miles above Switch. His mouth fell open. He tapped on them several times to make sure they were working.

  Karrin laughed at the sight of Lurga’s breathing vents fluttering like wings. If they went any faster, he would be flying out of his seat. She'd never seen him this excited before.

  "Yes, we're right where Contruda shows us. I thought about us being a few hundred miles above Switch and boom, just like that, we were." She gave him a broad, cheeky grin. "Anywhere else you want to go? I'll get us there, don't you worry."

  Lurga signed, disappointment in his eyes. "I thought I trained you better. You know what happens when you get overconfident." He gave her a reproving glare. "You just acquired your abilities. You do not understand how they function."

  Karrin cringed as memories of her near-fatal crash landing in the fighter flashed across her mind. She thought she was ready to fly solo and took the ship without Lurga's permission. She would be dead if not for Contruda.

  "I know," she said meekly, "but somehow I can tell I can do it. I feel strong, powerful, like I can do anything I want. Please, let me try." She batted her eyes at him, lips turned into a pout.

  Lurga growled to himself. Why can't I say no to her when she looks at me that way? "Okay, Child-That-Wishes-To-Rush-To-Our-Deaths, I will let you try. Contruda, show me a star system closest to home from Switch."

  Tiny blinking lights appeared on the screen.

  Lurga laid the tip of a claw on one of the bigger, blinking dots. "There, little one. That is Ispepyein." He slid his nail across the screen to land on a smaller dot. "Try to take us to this planet. From there, I can safely respond to Zelka's message. If she set a trap, be prepared to move us quickly. They can be there in a matter of minutes. If you are confident in your ability to fly us there, do it, now."

  Karrin's eyes grew glassy, then she trained them on Lurga. "We're there, I think."

  Lurga checked the screen, breathing vents fluttering again. They were fifty miles from a planet, named COLTON III, right where he wanted them. He shook his head. How did she manage to do that? He felt no sensation of flight.

  "COLTON III is inhabited by creatures like the ones whose skins you wear, which are the only life forms able to withstand the poisonous gasses from the volcanic eruptions. Because of the toxicity of the air, no one comes here. Therefore, Zelka would not think of finding me here. If her summons is not a trick, I am still close enough to help my homeworld."

  Karrin gasped in pain, grabbed her head with both hands, and slumped over the silver Contruda console. She was groaning and breathing harshly.

  "What ails you, little one?" Lurga asked as he reached for her limp form. He cursed himself for letting her use her new abilities without the proper training and preparation.

  "No! No, don't touch me," Karrin yelped, jerking away as his gray claws brushed her shoulder. "There's something, a, uh, a huge black thing, trying to suck out my energy. It hurts." She moaned.

  Lurga hastily scanned the screens, looking for the threat. "I do not see anything. Where is it?"

  "The black thing is far away from here." She shrieked, again, as another wave of pain overcame her. She was panting, sweat dripping down her pale face. "No, wait a minute. It's here. Right here. It moved the same way we did. It's trying to kill me. Please, Lurga. Help me!"

  She reached out a trembling hand to him and he dwarfed it between his larger ones. He had no idea what to do. How do you fight an enemy you cannot see?

&n
bsp; Yet, the PSI power flowed through the silver fighter. More power than he'd ever encountered before. His ears rang, and his mind ached from the inside like it was being squeezed into a pulp. If they didn't do something soon, they were doomed.

  As Karrin writhed in pain, a plan formed. "Karrin! Quick! Think it away. Far away, like you thought us here."

  Lurga was flung out of his seat, and onto the floor of the ship, as it zigged and zagged, back and forth, covering a mile of space with each lurch. He was being body slammed between his flight chair and consoles. As suddenly as the see-sawing began, it stopped.

  Pulling himself back into his seat, Lurga glanced at Karrin. She was no longer panting or holding her head in pain. He didn’t sense the PSI power either.

  "What happened, Karrin? Did you defeat it?"

  Karrin grabbed his muscular, gray arm, staring at him with round eyes. "I'm . . . I'm not sure. One minute I was fighting for my life, the next, it was . . . gone." Her eyes darted around the cabin. "No, not gone. Here! In here with us. I can feel its PSI power."

  They swiftly searched the cabin, but couldn't find anything unusual.

  Lurga shook his head. "I don't think so, Karrin. There is nothing in here but you, me, and the bags of silver ore."

  Karrin wasn't listening. Hand stretched out, she moved it over the console, inch by inch. Stopping when she reached a cross brace where Lurga placed several of the smaller chunks of silver to crush and eat for a snack. Lurga was transfixed as she touched one nugget that hadn't fallen during all the shaking.

  When Karrin picked it up, tiny silver sparks jumped from the ore. She held the lump in her clenched hand, eyes closed. "The energy beast is here, Lurga," she said in a hushed whisper, full of awe. "Somehow, it’s trapped inside this golf ball-sized piece of silver. I can read all its hatred and anger. It wants to devour us."

  She gently laid the silver nugget on the narrow counter space in front of him. He reached out one long, gray claw to tentatively touch it when a small, silver spark jumped to his fingertip, making him jerk his hand back. She was right. He could sense it as it made his own PSI power tingle all over his body. He also felt the terrible hate emitting from the evil thing. For evil it was.

  "Please, don't eat that one," Karrin said softly, tears gleaming in her eyes. "I think it will make you sick."

  Lurga chuckled. "You need not fear, little one. Even if that is the only substance left in the world, it will not pass my lips. But, the question remains. What is it, and how did you trap it?"

  "I don't know. When it attacked me, it was in the process of devouring a planet. It sensed my power and came after me.” She studied the piece of silver ore. "I'm not sure how it fits into that small ball of silver, though. Before, it was almost as big as the planet it was eating."

  Karrin turned frightened eyes to Lurga. "Isn't this what your sister, Zelka, was talking about? Some type of being that absorbs energy?"

  "Maybe." Lurga placed one of his rough, clawed hands on top of Karrin's small, soft one. "Whatever it is, it cannot stand up to you." He gave her a toothy grin, which would’ve frightened anyone, except Karrin.

  Lurga sat in deep thought as he studied the silver nugget. He faced many enemies in his lifetime, but none compared to this being. I would be no match against this evil entity. If it chose me, instead of Karrin, I would be dead, now. Yet, Karrin defeated it.

  He reached out to touch it with his claw tip and, once again, a tiny, silver spark arced out to meet him. Lurga turned to look at Karrin. She was biting her lip, eyes filled with worry.

  "I taught you the ways of the Warrior, little one, even to the use of our Ispepyein PSI powers, though you were powerless yourself, at the time. Now, you acquired skills, which far exceed anything I experienced. Not one Ispepyein could master the ability to travel from place to place so effortlessly and with such speed.”

  He scratched at his breathing vent, finding it difficult to put his emotions into words. It was not the Warrior way. "Though I have been your teacher, you turned me into a student, as well."

  Karrin stared into the big, dark, almond-shaped eyes with the pale blue, vertical retinas. When did I get over being frightened of them? Now, I can't imagine not looking into them every day.

  Lurga seemed to be ill-at-ease, the way he kept fidgeting, like he was struggling with something. She laid her hand on his.

  "I don't understand what you mean, Lurga. How did I teach you anything? I'm just a child."

  The warrior squirmed some more before he withdrew his hand. He averted his gaze to the silver ball with the trapped alien. "As I have taught you, Karrin, an Ispepyein Warrior fears nothing. We are bred and trained for the winning of the battle. We thrive on the battle. Yet…”

  He fiddled with his hand-link, then growled before giving a loud sigh. "Yet, you taught me something an Ispepyein Warrior never learns. I learned to love you, and with that caring came a great fear."

  Lurga hurriedly cleared his throat. "I fear not the thing in the rock, or even the harm it can do me. No, my fear is for you. I have never experienced such blind terror. I saw you in danger but was unable to protect you. I sat helplessly as you screamed in pain." He hung his huge head. "I am the protector, yet, you saved me.

  “The giving of thanks is another concept not taught to Ispepyeins Warriors, but I learned it from you. Thank you, little one, for saving my people, and for saving me," he finished in a hoarse whisper.

  Karrin leaned forward, glanced up into his face, and touched his cheek. "Do Ispepyein's cry, Lurga?”

  Lurga jerked up like being stabbed in the back. "Of course not," he vehemently denied. "We are emotionless."

  She smirked at him. "Then, you’re malfunctioning. Your eyes are leaking." Holding out the tip of her finger, several drops of clear liquid sparkled when she moved her hand.

  He poked one with a long claw. It broke apart and slid down the sides of Karrin's finger. "No, this cannot be. Ispepyeins do not cry." He stared at the girl, looking lost and uncertain. "What is wrong with me, little one?"

  She leaned over and kissed his large, gray, shark-skinned forehead. "I believe you're becoming Human."

  When his eyes darkened, and he puffed out his chest, ready to make a reply, Karrin held out her hand. "Before you start hissing or gnashing your teeth, don't you think you should answer your sister's call?"

  Teeth gritted, he slowly expelled the three lungfuls or air he was going to use to yell at her. "Once again, I have been bested in a battle, and I do not remember the right." He grinned. "Yes, I shall respond to my sister."

  Karrin watched in fascination as Lurga clicked away on the small buttons on the keyboard with the tips of his claws. It always amazed her how he never made any mistakes. He clattered away for a few minutes, his message appearing on the screen.

  When he finished, the warrior paused, his claw poised over the enter button. He glanced at the girl. "Be prepared to take us back to Switch, if my sister's plea proves to be a ploy." At her nod, he punched the enter button on the silver screen.

  Karrin's gaze flicked across the screen as the message disappeared, line-by-line. 'Lurga Pukani answers his sister, Zelka. We met, bested, and trapped your enemy that eats planets. Where is Leader Kargan?'

  Since they were close to Ispepyein, the response arrived fast. 'How was it possible you were able to defeat our enemy? Leader Kargan is the only one with the knowledge on how to trap them. Zelka.'

  Lurga hurriedly adjusted a knob on the console. "I think the message was not from Zelka, but Kargan. I reset my receivers for long range scanning. They may even, now, be approaching us."

  Karrin stared at the silver wall, her eyes going glassy as she concentrated, trying to locate any Ispepyeins other than Lurga. "No need. I can sense them. Five small ships using their Ispepyein PSI drive. They will be here in minutes."