by Roxie Ray
The air between us seemed to throb with a palpable magnetism, like the dark calm that used to settle over my village right before a devastating sand storm ripped through it – something huge and wild and out of control, something with a hunger that would not be denied. In that moment, his very presence seemed so all encompassing that I thought it might swallow me whole.
More than that – I wanted it to.
Another Valkredian appeared next to him – one I recognized as Akzun, the planet's Blood Ruler. He cleared his throat sharply. “There will be plenty of time for this sort of reminiscing later,” he said. “For now, we need to know everything you can tell us about where Torqa took you.”
“A ship,” I told him. “Bigger than any vessel I've ever seen. And she didn't just take me.”
“Yes, we heard she massacred all the Macurians on the planet's surface as well. I'm deeply sorry for your loss.”
I shook my head. “No, not all of them. Ekaid and Lidea, my parents. They're alive. She brought them to her ship as well. Maybe others, too, though I couldn't say for sure.”
Akzun looked surprised. “Really? Why would she keep them as prisoners? What do they have to do with her plans for Mana and Valkred?”
“I don't know,” I replied, wishing I could give him more. Dhimurs hovered at my side, and I tried to focus more of my attention on the conversation with Akzun.
“How did you escape?”
“One of the guards left my cell unlocked. My parents weren't so lucky – and when I tried to free them, they insisted that I go without them, and seek out your aid. We must rescue them. You have to help me, Blood Ruler. Please. The N'kiiti tribe has always been your ally. You have to help us now, in our time of greatest need.”
“Of course,” he said. “We would never leave your people to remain captives of Torqa. But first, we'll have to determine where she is, and exactly what we're up against.”
“I have an idea about that,” Dhimurs spoke up. “But first, we need to get Judy to safety. Khim, is it safe to move her?”
The healer nodded. “She has some contusions, a concussion, and perhaps a couple of cracked ribs – but no damage I won't be able to reverse with relative ease once we return to the Ruby Stronghold. Just be careful how you carry her. Don't place any direct pressure on her sides if you can help it.”
Dhimurs gave her a brisk salute, and then gently tucked his arms under me, lifting me up. There was pain, but it paled compared to the sensation of being held in those powerful arms. For the first time since Torqa had appeared on Macur, I felt safe. Once again, the need to be swept up in Dhimurs – to lose myself within him completely – arose. I tried to push it down, but it refused to be dismissed.
“Surge is on his way with some technicians, to salvage the remains of the pod and bring them to the Stronghold for study,” Akzun told Dhimurs. “Come, let's fly.”
Before I knew what was happening, I saw their wings unfurl and felt myself being sharply lifted into the air. I cried out in surprise, but Dhimurs' hand squeezed the nape of my neck reassuringly.
I'd never had a chance to see Valkredians fly – the conditions on Macur's surface were too hot for them to wear anything other than protective cooling suits, which didn't allow for their wings to extend. The only place where those suits weren't needed were the caves, which didn't have enough open space for them to take flight.
Now I was soaring through the night with them, like the jadabra vultures that swooped and darted across the skies of my planet in search of carrion. It was frightening and exhilarating, being so utterly untethered from the ground, seeing streets and people so far below me.
I wondered if this was the same view the Macurian ancestors enjoyed from their place in the heavens. Perhaps the Macurians who had been killed by Torqa were up there now, watching me. If so, were they pleased that I'd managed to make it to Valkred to seek aid? Or were they disappointed and angered that I had failed to save them in the first place?
A castle with impossibly tall crimson towers came into view, and I instinctively knew that this magnificent structure must be the home of the Blood Ruler. All other buildings were dwarfed by it, and the walls were lined with red statues of snarling, winged creatures.
The Ruby Stronghold.
I'd heard about it from visiting Valkredians. There were nights when I'd even dreamed of seeing it someday. But here, in person, it was more awe-inspiring than even my wildest imaginings.
Dhimurs and Akzun touched down on one of the high battlements, with Khim right behind them. Slowly, Dhimurs lowered me onto my feet – and I swayed for a second, unsteady after the crash and being carried through the air. For a terrifying moment, I thought I might fall off the tower, and that my narrow escape from Torqa would have been for nothing.
But Dhimurs reached out to steady me, pulling me away from the edge. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Sorry. Just… lost my balance, that's all.”
“Well, let's get you inside before it happens again and you plummet to the ground without a pod to protect you this time, shall we?” Khim led me through a door and into the castle, shaking her head wryly. “More human women. Just what we need around here.”
Before I could ask what she meant, she brought me to a long, low couch and gently pushed me down onto it. “Try to hold still,” she admonished, producing a polished yellow gemstone from her robes and holding it over me. “This shouldn't take long.”
The gemstone glowed, and I felt a sharp agony in my ribs – as though they were moving, grinding against each other. But within seconds, the pain began to recede. The sensation of my bones knitting themselves back together was odd and uncomfortable, but by the time she was finished, my head felt clearer and my body was no longer aching.
“There,” she said with a nod, stepping back. “As long as you don't put your body through too much stress for the next day or so, you should be just fine.”
Akzun nodded. “Excellent. Thank you, Khim. You may return to your regular duties now.”
“Oh, so I'm dismissed, am I? Very well. Though based on the way things have been around here lately, I was starting to think my 'regular duties' were treating Earthling females' skinned knees and tucking them into bed.”
And with that, Khim left the room.
“Mouthy, isn't she?” Dhimurs observed.
“Her reverence for my status is of little importance to me,” Akzun answered with a shrug. “Her talent as a healer is all that matters, and in that, there are none who match her. Now, you said you might have a way for us to track down Torqa? If so, let's hear it.”
“While the escape pod was still on her ship, it would have been plugged into the central system,” Dhimurs explained. “Therefore, it's possible that the data regarding the Dezmodon's flight plan, once programmed into the main navigational program, would have been saved to the pod's computers as well. If we can find that, we might be able to figure out where she's headed next.”
“That sounds highly unlikely,” Akzun said. “Especially knowing Torqa. She'd be far too smart not to have planned for that contingency.”
“You may be right. Then again, she's also too smart to leave a prisoner's cell unlocked.”
Akzun frowned. “She didn't. One of her people did. What is your point, Dhimurs?”
“My point is that Torqa doesn't see to every last detail herself. That would be impossible, given the immensity of her plans. So she delegates certain items to the soldiers she's recruited – many of whom aren't nearly as detail-oriented as she is. We don't know how much of the Dezmodon she personally designed and built, or which systems she implemented. If one of her techs got sloppy, or didn't think to isolate the main navigational computer from the ones in the pods…”
Everything Dhimurs was saying made perfect sense to me. Still, Akzun seemed skeptical.
“I'll admit, the odds are slim,” Dhimurs conceded. “But even if all we can determine from the pod's data is its point of origin, that might still give us some clue as to wher
e Torqa is taking the Dezmodon, and for what purpose. We have to try.”
“Very well, I'll order our people to extract what they can,” Akzun said, turning to me. “Judy, in the interim, please let us know how we can make your stay here as comfortable as possible. If you require food, clothes, rest…”
“All I require,” I replied, “is to be part of the team that's sent to retrieve my parents from Torqa.”
“Out of the question,” Dhimurs snapped immediately.
4
Dhimurs
The words were out of my mouth before I even had time to think about them – not that I needed to. It was the only sensible response to her demand.
“What? Why not?” Judy stammered, her face growing flushed. “I have every right to –”
“This is not about 'rights,' Judy, it's about common sense,” I went on implacably. “I'm well aware of how… willful you human women can be. I experienced quite the example of that recently, as a matter of fact. It's one of your most admirable qualities. But you are not a warrior.”
“I'm not some defenseless little girl!” she insisted. “I've been trained to subdue creatures ten times my size, and to defend our tribe from threats…!”
“But you are not a warrior,” I repeated loudly. “Your people are not warriors.”
Judy crossed her arms, frowning at me. “Oh really? My people were certainly 'warriors' enough for you to recruit them as reinforcements against Torqa and her army, though, weren't they? You didn't seem to have any doubts about the Macurians' ability to fight on that day.”
I felt her words drive deep into my heart like sharpened daggers.
“You are entirely correct,” I said through clenched teeth. “I was willing to overlook their obvious limitations as warriors, in order to use them as a means to an end. They were hunters, farmers, barely trained in combat except against other primitive tribes… and even then, only as a last resort. I should never have involved them. I should have ignored what Respen showed me, and come up with a better plan to rescue Zark. Instead, I was impulsive and short sighted, and my actions led to the cold-blooded genocide of most of your planet's population. I will carry the shame of that with me for the rest of my days, but I will not repeat my mistakes by placing you in danger.”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. As I looked at her – shoulders squared, head held high, proud, defiant, her long blonde hair framing her determined face – I couldn't help but desire her. She was short, even by human standards. But her presence filled the entire room.
“I apologize,” she began. “I did not mean to imply that what happened to my people was your fault. The truth is, Ekaid and Lidea would have wanted to help you save Zark. He was an honored guest of the N'kiiti many times over. It was a choice I know they made gladly, out of respect for our races' long history together. And they would never have blamed you for the consequences of their decisions.”
“That may be,” I countered, “but it doesn't stop me from blaming myself. And I simply refuse to place you in that kind of danger. Not when I went through so much effort to save your life all those years ago.”
Her eyes flicked downward for a second. “I know I owe you my life, Dhimurs. I have been grateful to you every day since. I do not wish to dishonor what you have done for me.”
“Good. Then stay here.”
I fervently hoped that would be the end of it. Now that I had found my mate, the thought of carrying her toward a battle – of actively putting her in danger – was unthinkable to me. More than that, I had a duty to Akzun and the people of Valkred. I couldn't afford to fail or falter in my mission. But how could I promise that, even to myself, if I was too concerned with Judy's well-being to summon the proper focus?
“However,” she continued, her eyes returning to mine, “I also cannot allow you to dishonor how much I've already risked and sacrificed to travel here. When I left my parents behind – in a cage, at the mercy of that twisted monster, Torqa – it was not so I could send others to liberate them while I stayed behind in comfort and safety. How could I face them after behaving in such a cowardly fashion? How could I live with myself after so grievously shirking my duties to them?”
Her words seemed as though they were encased in iron. They took my breath away.
“I am very much in awe of your formidable courage and strength of will,” I said sincerely. “In fact, I would go so far as to say that the only other woman I've encountered who could rival it was Torqa herself, in the days when we were allies. But although your fearlessness matches hers, Judy, your physical skills and tactical prowess simply do not. She is, without a doubt, the single most dangerous opponent the Valkred Empire has ever faced. She has evaded and defeated the Blood Ruler himself, not to mention Zark and hordes of other Valkredians who were counted among our finest warriors. I do not say you cannot come with us because I wish to insult you, Judy, or belittle your determination. I forbid it because to do otherwise would surely end in your death.”
She thought this over for a long moment. Then she answered, “I understand that, Dhimurs. And I appreciate that you want to keep me safe. But that’s not your call to make. There could be other Macurians alive on our planet – ones who hid from Torqa in the caves. Ekaid and Lidea were the rulers of the N'kiiti, the largest tribe on Macur. They considered me their child and heir. As such, in their absence, I am the acting leader of my people. Perhaps I will die in this effort. Perhaps I will not. But either way, I have a duty to the Macurians to avenge their fallen personally, and it is a duty I fully intend to carry out.”
“Enough of this bickering,” Akzun interjected. “I, too, am a leader to my people – and Judy is absolutely right. Her life is her own, and if she chooses to risk it by joining us in this mission, that is her prerogative as the Macurians' acting ruler. If I were in her position, I would certainly do likewise.”
“Thank you, Blood Ruler,” Judy said with a small bow.
“Very well,” I grumbled. I disagreed strongly, but I was a loyal general of the Valkredian military – it was not for me to challenge the Blood Ruler. “But if she doesn't survive, I'm not looking forward to facing Ekaid and Lidea and explaining why we chose not to keep her safe.”
Akzun arched an eyebrow at me. “If you do not feel brave enough to carry out that particular task, Dhimurs,” he commented dryly, “then certainly, I will handle it for you. Though personally, I will have expected more from you.”
I sighed inwardly. Akzun wouldn't let me protect her by forcing her to remain on Valkred? Fine. It was his call to make – even though, despite what he'd just said, he wasn't the one who'd have to face the consequences first hand if things went wrong.
But I decided right then and there that once we reached our destination – wherever that might be – I would not allow her to be endangered, no matter what. If we needed to travel to the surface of a planet where Torqa and her people might be waiting, she would stay on the ship, even if I had to tie her to a chair. If our vessel was attacked, I'd shove her into another escape pod and blast her into space myself if I had to.
Ten years ago, I stole a healthy human girl from the Sives (a risky endeavor, to be sure) and traveled halfway across the galaxy to make sure Judy would be in good hands.
I wasn't inclined to undo all of that now, no matter how brave this human girl thought she was.
She'd been sheltered on Macur.
And even after witnessing the slaughter of her own people, she still had no idea of the infinite terrors the universe had to offer.
Besides, I truly did believe that she was my destined mate. In all of my years, I'd never sought out a mate – my duty to Valkred was far more important, and if that meant living alone, I was willing to accept that for the greater glory of the empire. Now that I'd found her, though, I wasn't prepared to watch her die before my eyes in the name of her foolish pride.
If changing her mind meant teaching her a harsh lesson, I resolved, then so be it. I wouldn't take any pleasure from hurti
ng her, but neither would I let her needlessly jeopardize her life.
5
Judy
“Come,” Dhimurs rumbled. “I will show you to your chamber. You may rest there until it is time for us to depart.”
“Thank you,” I replied – but Dhimurs had already started up the wide marble steps.
I hurried to keep up, but my legs were much shorter than his, and it took all of my effort just to stay a few steps behind him. Even then, the distance between us was increasing rapidly. My breath started coming in shallow gasps, and beads of sweat were forming on my upper lip.
I kept expecting him to look back at me. Instead, he kept his face forward resolutely, as though he were pretending I wasn't even there.
More steps. And more. And more, mocking me, seeming to twist upward into infinity.
Weren't the Valkredians supposed to be an advanced society? Why the hell didn't they have some easier method of reaching the tall towers? Then I realized that they did: They had wings, and they probably used them to simply fly up to the heights they wanted to reach. The steps were ornamental.
And Dhimurs was currently using them to try to make a point.
By then, Dhimurs had disappeared completely, leaving me to wonder how many more stairs were left to climb. The effort was giving me stabbing pains in my side, and I could barely take in a full breath. My legs were wobbling beneath me, and it took all of my remaining effort not to collapse before reaching the top. I felt like my ribs were breaking all over again.
When I finally did reach the top, Dhimurs was standing with his arms folded and one eyebrow raised – his expression was impatient, as though I'd kept him waiting for hours rather than minutes. I leaned against the wall, trying not to pass out. After what he'd just put me through, that would have been the ultimate indignity.
“I see what you're trying to do,” I managed between gasps, “and it's not going to work.”