Rekker: Warlord Brides (Warriors of Vaznik Book 1)

by Ava York

  Sighing, I considered my options.

  A mission like this was definitely too dangerous for Lila, but she had surprised me before. As beautiful as she was, she wasn’t exactly a delicate flower that needed to be sheltered from the universe.

  She had fire inside her.

  “Fine,” I finally said. A bright smile immediately spread across her lips, but I noticed a hint of nervousness there, as well.

  As much as she had fought to be included in this mission, she wasn’t blind to its dangers. Good. “But you have to do exactly what I tell you to. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Lila

  I’d imagined the shuttle to be a tiny little thing, something that compared to the Calliope like a rowboat to a yacht.

  Instead, I found the Calliope’s shuttle could qualify as a space vessel on its own. It was a long, sleek vessel cleverly stored along the bottom hull of the ship.

  It reminded me of a slender needle, and I imagined it could easily disappear in the black if I looked at it from the right angle.

  “My lady,” Kyre said with an overdramatic flourish as he extended his hand.

  “Why, thank you, my good sir.” I echoed his tone and took his hand. Rekker held my elbow to help me balance as they helped me into the shuttle. “I’m sure I could’ve managed that on my own.”

  “I know,” Rekker said. “However, I don’t want to take any chances. It wouldn’t do if you twisted your ankle before we got to the Suhlik ship.”

  “Why do I get the feeling you’d prefer that?” I said with a wry smile.

  “Because then I wouldn’t have to worry so much,” he replied.

  “You’re going to worry no matter what,” Javik observed. “It’s part of our nature to be hypervigilant of our mates.”

  “What you’re telling me is that this won’t stop?” I laughed.

  “No.” Javik shook his head. “He’s going to be like this until he expires.”

  “You’ll go running back to your family after this for sure,” Rekker joked, but I spotted the genuine fear in his eyes.

  Yes, of course I wanted to go back to my family, but I was no longer sure I wanted to leave Rekker and the Calliope behind for good.

  What Rekker mentioned on Silva about visiting my family sounded like the perfect solution to my dilemma.

  Just the idea of leaving Rekker made my chest hollow, my throat tight.

  But I couldn’t let myself think about it now.

  Rescuing the people of Silva had to be the center of my focus.

  I slid into the seat beside Rekker and wrapped my fingers around his.

  There were plenty of open seats for the kidnapped victims, though we still didn’t know exactly how many had been taken.

  From the viewport, I could see the Calliope dart forward, then pull back, again and again against the invisible enemy.

  “Are we sure the supply station is there?” I whispered.

  Then I gasped, as the massive space station decloaked, obviously deciding that since they’d been found, there was no need to stay hidden.

  I watched in horror as huge guns appeared from the side of the ship, rotating to point right at the Calliope.

  My heart clenched when the guns began to fire.

  “Don’t worry,” Rekker soothed me, his hand tight around mine. “Cedroc and Derrix know how to play this game.”

  “You should take your own advice.” I tried to tease him, but my voice fell flat.

  “Watch,” he urged.

  Cedroc expertly maneuvered the Calliope closer to the Suhlik base, while Derrix sent targeted blasts into its hull.

  “What are they doing?” I gasped.

  “Getting out of range,” Javik said. “Those guns can’t fire at something so close.”

  I watched in awe and horror as the Calliope danced in front of the Suhlik ship.

  “Cedroc’s really putting on a show.” Kyre laughed. “The Suhlik must be losing their minds over this.”

  “Good,” Rekker said. “With a little luck, they won’t be watching the back entrance.”

  Sure enough, when the shuttle slid up the back side of the Suhlik vessel, there were no guards. Rekker disembarked first. I slipped out after him in case he tried to make me stay on the vessel.

  “There’s a sensor to open the door,” he said.

  “Leave that to me.” Kyre stepped forward with a hand-held device.

  “What’s that?” I asked, peeking over Rekker’s shoulder.

  “I made it a few weeks ago,” he explained with a proud grin. “In theory, it’ll mimic the hand of a Suhlik.”

  “How does it work?”

  “Watch.”

  He approached the sensor and aimed his device at the pad. Light flashed. What looked like a wide, flat laser moved up and down the sensor pad until it lit up green. The door slid open.

  “Amazing!” I beamed. “Kyre, you’re a genius.”

  “So I’ve been told,” he preened.

  “Not by any of us,” Javik joked.

  I looked over my shoulder at him. “You make jokes?”

  “From time to time,” he nodded.

  “Activate stealth protocols.”

  Rekker tapped something on his shoulder. The seams of his tactical shirt lit up for a split second. The others did the same.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  “It helps mask our heat signatures,” Javik explained. “We won’t activate any cameras as we move through the ship.”

  My eyes went wide.

  “I don’t have a shirt like that. Won’t I be spotted?”

  “The tactical wear covers a larger radius,” Rekker explained. “Stay close to me and your heat will be masked, too.”

  “I wasn’t planning on leaving your side,” I said, and laughed unsteadily. Now that I was actually there, I’d begun to think that waiting on the Calliope was the smart idea.

  But it was too late.

  Rekker grabbed my hand and squeezed.

  “We’ll get in, find them, and get out,” he assured me. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

  I forced a broad grin. I didn’t want him to know how scared I was. The last thing he needed was an extra dose of worry on top of what he already had to deal with.

  We stepped into the ship. Immediately, the corridor split into two pathways.

  “According to the schematics, the likely locations for the prisoners could be in either direction,” Javik growled.

  “Lila and I will go to the right. You two, take the left.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kyre nodded.

  I clung to Rekker’s arm as we moved through the corridor.

  “They’ll probably be somewhere on the lower decks,” he whispered. “Unless they’ve modified this base from the blueprint, the lower the deck, the larger the rooms. The rooms near the front of the ship will be smaller.”

  “So, lower back rooms?” I guessed.

  He nodded.

  We found a stairway and followed it down to the deck below.

  “I think this deck is our best bet,” he murmured.

  “You’re the expert,” I whispered back.

  We passed through another docking bay, this one holding a tiny shuttle, not even half the size of the sleek craft we’d come in on.

  Scorch marks covered one side. Rekker stuck his head in for a minute while I bounced on my toes.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed.

  “Seeing who else might be here.” He stood straight, glancing at the floor . “Craft seems functional, but . . . ”

  I looked at the dark smears on the bay floor.

  “I don’t think there’s another group that will need rescuing,” he finished. “Come on.”

  Most of the doors were inset with small windows. Rekker and I checked the corridor and found nothing. We moved to the deck below, with the same result.

  “They must be in the hold,” Rekker said. “Normally, that space is used for weapon and auxiliary supply storage. If this ship was near t
he end of its rotation, the hold might’ve had enough room to fill with prisoners.”

  “You mean, the attack on Silva wasn’t planned?”

  “It’s difficult to say for sure. Sometimes the Suhlik make trips specifically to capture people. Other times, the captain might be feeling particularly cruel.”

  I shuddered. “That’s so horrible.”

  “We’re going to find them.”

  We moved through the lowest level of the ship, until there was only one door. Thankfully, it had a window.

  “They’re here,” Rekker said when he peered through.

  “The door’s locked,” I said after frantically tugging on the handle to no avail.

  “Step back,” Rekker ordered. He produced a small, narrow tool from his pocket. “Cover your eyes. It’s about to get bright.”

  I did as I was told. Even though my eyes were closed, bright light bled through my eyelids. I heard a gentle cracking noise. The air around us hummed with electricity.

  “You can open them now.”

  I opened my eyes to find a hole where the handle had been.

  “What did you do?”

  “Humans need to learn the practicalities of pocket lasers.” Rekker flipped the tool and stuck it in his back pocket.

  “You’re sure it’s powered off all the way?” I asked. “I like your ass. I’d hate for it to be singed off in a terrible laser accident.”

  “I’m sure, but I appreciate your sentiments about my ass,” he said, and grinned.

  He pulled the door to the hold open, revealing clusters of people huddled together on the floor. Dozens of pairs of eyes turned to us, faces of several species watching with caution through the dim light of the room.

  “We’re here to help,” Rekker announced. He turned to me. “Begin your examinations. I’ll signal the others that we’ve found them.”

  I stepped into the room. The Silvan prisoners scooted away as I came nearer.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” I said gently. The translator injected into me before I was sent off to Rekker worked for the Mahdfel lineages, but did it work for others?

  I hadn’t thought to ask, but it had worked talking to Rekker’s friend Binuf.

  It should work now, right?

  “I’m a doctor.” Some looked at me with understanding, while others still looked confused and wary. “A healer,” I clarified.

  Now they all looked at me with relief in their eyes.

  It felt strange calling myself a doctor when most of my patients were animals, but I didn’t think the word veterinarian would translate well.

  I moved to the center of the room with caution. I nearly tripped over someone dressed in dark clothing lying on the floor. It was only when they didn’t react to my boot connecting with their side that I realized they were dead.

  As my eyes adjusted, I realized there were several bodies strewn about the room. I swallowed my tears and tried not to look at them.

  There was nothing I could do for them now.

  “Do you have food?” A small child with tiny green horns looks up at me with wide eyes.

  “I don’t. I’m sorry. But there’s plenty of food on my friend’s ship that you can eat,” I explained.

  “I haven’t eaten since I woke up at home,” the child whined.

  The Suhlik hadn’t given any of these people food since they were taken.

  I was willing to bet they hadn’t been given water, either. I needed to get them out of here, now. A human could only survive three days without water. I didn’t know how long any of the species here could survive without it, and I didn’t want to find out.

  “We have food and water back on our ship, but first we need to get you out of here.”

  Rekker appeared in the doorway with Kyre and Javik in tow. Javik immediately stepped into the room and began identifying the most serious injuries.

  Thankfully, none of the surviving prisoners were too badly injured to walk, even if they needed help, but the women and children recoiled from the massive frames of the Vaznik.

  “Don’t touch me!” one woman cried as she flinched away from Javik.

  “Shhhh,” I murmured, holding her hand. “He’s safe, I promise.”

  She stayed coiled within herself, refusing to look at him.

  “Can I examine you, instead?” I asked, heart cracking. “He’ll go take care of someone else.”

  Sure, Javik and the others were strangers. And sure, they were strong, massive warriors.

  But I could only think of one reason she was so afraid of having a strange man touch her.

  And she wasn’t the only one, I was sure.

  There were some broken bones, plenty of sprains, and nearly everyone suffered some kind of bruise or abrasion. I spotted a few potential concussions.

  “I have the appropriate brain scanners in med bay,” Javik said, “but you’ll have to help me.” His voice was dark, angry.

  While I agreed with the sentiment, it didn’t help. Not right now.

  “Good.” I nodded, and gave him a look. “It looks like everyone here is mobile. Let’s get moving.”

  “We’ll go in groups to avoid attracting attention,” Rekker decided.

  “I’ll take the first group,” I volunteered. About a quarter of the women avoided Rekker and his crew, but came with me.

  It wasn’t ideal, but we didn’t have any other choice, not if we were going to get out of here in the time Cedroc and Derrix could buy for us.

  I managed to find my way back to the shuttle with only minimal difficulties. Once my group of prisoners was loaded into their seats and crammed into every available space that would hold them, I turned back to rejoin the others.

  Moving through the stairways and corridors on my own was an unsettling experience. The natural creaks and groans of the Suhlik hub put me on edge.

  I rounded the final corner. Rekker and the others were in sight, but they were looking in another direction.

  I started to raise my arm to signal them, but a rough hand clamped over my mouth and eyes.

  I was violently yanked back, my scream swallowed by the thick material of my attacker's glove.

  Rekker

  The guards came out of nowhere.

  “More volunteers,” a lean Suhlik with an electrified club sneered.

  With a quick slash, I laid him out, but then heard a cry from behind me.

  I spun, and my heart froze.

  At the end of the hall, I spotted Lila being taken away by a guard. She struggled as she tried to break away, but her attempts were futile.

  Lila disappeared from the hall, and before I could follow her, I was knocked back into the fight.

  My back ached at the impact. I rolled before my opponent struck me. He struck again, but I kicked the blade out of his hand. It flew, landing several feet away. Grunting, the guard pulled out a laser gun and aimed it at my head.

  “I got you, you—ugh!” The guard fell over when Kyre knocked his head in with a sickle. After crushing the guard’s head further into the floor, Kyre grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

  “You alright, Captain?” Kyre asked through labored breaths.

  Before I could answer, another guard charged. I pulled out a blaster and shot him in the face.

  The guard fell forward but, in my fury, I shot him twice more before whirling to find another target.

  My skin felt like it was on fire as my tattoos blazed red. Never in my life had I felt so much fury.

  Kyre took a cautious step back, drawing Javik’s attention after he took down two more guards. They eyed me with concern, wariness in their eyes.

  We were the only three left standing, at least for that moment. In the distance, I heard yells and footfalls coming in our direction.

  I turned to the noise and then to my crew. “Get the rest of the prisoners to the shuttle and get out!!”

  “What about you?” Kyre asked, his worry clear.

  “I’m going after Lila and we’ll make our own way back. She’s b
een kidnapped and I need to find her.”

  “Kidnapped?” The two gasped in surprise, their eyes widening.

  “Do as I say, now!” I shouted before dashing along the hall as fast as I could.

  My heart hammered loudly in my chest, the beats filling my ears in an urgent rhythm. It was almost like it was going to pop, to explode.

  My skin burned with a rage I had never felt before.

  It was if I was going to burst into flames. I was sweltering as sweat streamed all over me, but I ignored it. I ignored the pain and tried to focus. I had to focus. I had to focus. I had to focus.

  Damn it, I had made sure I was always with her and now she had been taken from me. She had been taken. I had to get her back. I had to get her back, but I didn’t know where she was. Where could she be?

  Where did that bastard take her? When I found that bastard, I would surely kill him.

  This hub was huge, like a giant maze. All the halls were identical with the same sick green lighting, but they seemed to get narrower and narrower the further I went into their cold depths.

  Cold was replacing my heat. The air inside slowly chilled but I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting Lila back. That was all I cared about. I had to save her. I had to save her right now.

  I had to rescue Lila before it was too late. I had to. I had to.

  Before I advanced further, a huge Suhlik guard came barrelling towards me. He wore heavier armor of a stronger material and had a helmet hiding his features, except for his eyes. I didn’t want to see his features anyway, since I assumed he was ugly beyond all things, just like the rest of those sick, twisted bastards.

  The guard carried a giant spiked mace, and immediately started swinging towards my direction. I kept dodging as I advanced forward, but a few times I had to jump back to avoid him. I pulled out my blaster and shot him in the chest, but the armor blocked it. It only left a small scratch on the armor.

  The Suhlik laughed and laughed as he hammered direct hits at me. I dodged as I tried to figure a way inside his guard. The only opening was a small area on his neck. Inhaling sharply, I aimed the blaster at his neck and scored a direct hit.

  Gasping and gurgling, the guard dropped his mace and tumbled to the ground. He tried to rise as he spat out curses.