Zuran: A Paranormal Sci-Fi Alien Romance: Albaterra Mates Book 6

by Ashley L. Hunt

  “This does not concern you, old man,” Terrik snarled.

  Faro did not deign the jibe with a response. “Let him go,” he repeated.

  Silence fell. It was one of the few times I had ever heard silence in the lair. I could only assume all eyes were on us, though I could not be certain. Terrik’s breathing was heavy and labored, and I could hear frustration in his wheezy gasps. When it became clear that Faro had no intention of backing down, Terrik ceded to his will.

  “Release him,” he snapped.

  I was dropped immediately, my body falling to the ground like a doll. I scrambled up, and I lunged forward to snag my blade out of the back of the A’li-uud I stabbed. When I turned, Faro was still holding the sword to Terrik’s neck, but he spoke to me.

  “Go now,” he ordered. “Find your human. Get out of here.”

  Terrik laughed a menacing, evil laugh. “That human is mine,” he growled sadistically. His eyes burrowed into mine. “And so are you.”

  Rage boiled into me. I cared not whether Terrik took issue with me, whether he wanted to seek me out to exact revenge, even if he wanted to call me “his” to sate his need for control. But to hear him say Phoebe was his infuriated me. I was blinded again, this time not by pain but by ire. I started to move toward him, my daggers held aloft, but Faro stopped me.

  “I said go, boy,” he hissed. “You are better than this now.”

  I was not so sure. Part of me wanted to rip Terrik limb from limb, carve the smugness right off his face. In fact, I actually fancied the idea of him finding me in the future solely so I could do just that. I stepped forward again, and Faro shot a warning look at me.

  “Zuran,” he said persistently. “Your human is alone. Go to her. Ka-lik’et is not safe for her at night.”

  As quickly as my desire to perform violent acts upon Terrik had arisen, it vanished at the thought of Phoebe. Without another word, I turned and fled from the lair.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Phoebe

  I was lost. Completely and totally lost.

  The tunnels went on forever. As soon as you thought you were getting somewhere, it turned out you were exactly where you were just a minute ago. I started to actually recognize some of the divots in the walls, and panic was starting to overtake me. I was never going to get out of here, and I was never going to see Zuran again.

  Everything was much louder now in the tiny, compressed cave-like corridors, and then I remembered it being on our way down not too long ago. My shoes made slapping sounds against the ground that echoed back like someone was smacking a surface of water. Each breath I took in was haggard and gasping, and every breath I let out was a whine. Even my dress, the silks, made noise. They slithered against themselves and whooshed with each step. I was surrounded by sound, unable to see, and had no idea how to get out.

  Several times, I considered going back. Images of Zuran being beaten to a bloody pulp kept popping into my mind, and, while I was far from a fighter, I was a helper, and I could not get past the idea that he might need help while I was racing away from him in the opposite direction. But, really, what could I do? And he had been right. My being there would only be a distraction. For all I knew, he may have actually been holding his own, and my sudden reappearance could be his downfall.

  When I couldn't run anymore, I slowed to a quick walk. There was a stitch in my chest just between my breasts, and my side had long since cramped up. I found it ironic that I was able to travel for several days through the desert without experiencing any great physical protest, but a few minutes of sprinting in a relatively cool environment had me feeling like I was about to die. Maybe it was the panic. Maybe because I was as scared as I was, my body was going into overdrive. It made sense. My years in the ER had taught me that stress came in many forms.

  Suddenly, I tripped. My entire body lurched forward, and I threw my hands out just in time to catch myself. Hard, uneven stairs met my palms, and my knees buckled to crash into the sharp edges. I yowled and rolled, pulling my legs up around my chest.

  I found the stairs.

  Now, not only was I exhausted and terrified, but I was in pain. My knees ached like I was eighty years old, and my hands felt like I had run them across sandpaper. I didn't feel any blood, but that didn't mean it wasn't there, so I brushed myself off as best as I could before mounting the first stair carefully.

  When I emerged from the trap-door, I was almost blinded even though the alley was dark. The sounds of the market way were raucous, and I felt the same jolt of fear in my belly that I had felt upon seeing Terrik for the first time. I didn't want any more attention on me, but I didn't know how to get to the colony without at least adventuring where the merchants were. Reluctantly, I tiptoed back through the alley the way Zuran and I had originally come, and I exited from between the same two booths.

  It seemed like there were more people out now, even though the sky was still very dark and covered in stars. Laaka passing by cast me confused, irritated looks, but thankfully none of them spoke to me. I wound my way through them, as well as the shifty shoppers, and kept my eyes down to the ground in hopes that I would disappear.

  Finally, the lights from the geodes started to fade, and I saw a pleasant, warm, golden aura lifting from above tall walls. It was the colony. The knot in my stomach immediately eased, and I plucked my skirts up so I could jog. When I reached the entrance to the colony, I was out of breath again, but this time it was because my adrenaline was pumping so hard I was drained.

  Unlike the merchant street, the colony was relatively dead. Only a few stragglers remained along the paths, and those that did paid me no mind. I was grateful for that. I was back in familiar territory, and I felt safe once again.

  In my absence, I had not forgotten how to maneuver through the colony. It was set up in neat blocks, and I knew how many to count before turning right. Soon enough, I found myself at the door of my hut, my old home. I knocked. There was a long moment of silence, and I actually started to wonder if Edie was even there, when the door swung open, and I was face-to-face with my friend.

  “Oh my God!” she cried. Her tiny form flew forward, and her arms flung around me in a hug so tight I felt crushed. “I haven't seen you in so long!”

  “It hasn't been that long,” I said with a small laugh. “Only a few weeks.”

  “Well, it feels like a really long time.” She let go of me and stepped back, and her eyes immediately fell to my clothes. “Phoebe, what on Earth are you wearing?”

  “We are on Albaterra, technically,” I joked. “And why don't I tell you inside?”

  We went in. The hut was completely dark, and I realized I had probably woken her. As I looked at her, I realized she was in her pajamas, and I immediately felt guilty.

  “I'm so sorry,” I apologized. “I didn't mean to wake you up.”

  “Are you kidding?” she exclaimed. “I would have been so mad if you were back in Ka-lik’et and didn't come by to see me. By the way, what are you doing back in Ka-lik’et?”

  Sighing heavily, I sank into the nearest chair and pressed my hands into my eyes. I realized sitting was a bad idea the second my rear hit the cushion as my entire body began to ache like I had just run a hundred miles without stopping. I didn't think I'd be able to get back up. “It's a long story,” I said vaguely.

  She scurried to the small kitchenette set-up and brought back a jug of something to drink. She wandered off again to fetch two cups, and then returned and filled them nearly to the brim. When she handed one to me, I didn't even ask what it was. I just drank. My throat was sore, and I felt a little dehydrated.

  “You can't just show up and not tell me why,” she nagged with a whine. “Come on, what brought you back?”

  I swallowed the contents of the cup in one drink, and then placed it on the table in front of me. “Zuran’s brother was arrested for murdering the Elder,” I said.

  “Who's Zuran?” she asked with interest. “Is that the IAO? I haven't seen him around here either
.”

  “Yeah. He's the IAO.” I reached forward to pour my cup full again, took a drink, and then continued. “We came back because he needed to get a message to his brother before the trial.”

  She looked at me with obvious confusion. “But why are you here?”

  I didn't answer. I didn't know how to answer. What was I supposed to tell her? That I had managed to convince myself it was better for Zuran if I accompanied him, or that the truth of the matter was I had come with him because I cared for him? Was I supposed to tell her we had made up a lie to the other members of the team back at the hospital in order to get here without questions asked? It didn't matter that I didn't answer her, though, because her eyes widened and a smile took over her small mouth.

  “Oh my god, you like him,” she gushed.

  My instinct was to tell her she was being ridiculous, but neither she nor I would believe that. So I just nodded and said, “Yeah, I do.”

  “Aren't you going to get in trouble, though?”

  “If we get caught, definitely. If we don't, maybe.”

  She shook her head. “Wow,” she said. “The most dedicated thing I ever did for a guy was get his name tattooed on my shoulder. P.S., it's a dove now.”

  I laughed. It felt amazing to laugh. The events of the night had happened in relatively short order, but I felt like it had been weeks since I had truly laughed despite the many good times Zuran and I had shared before making this reckless trip.

  She continued pressing me, and I continued answering mainly because I didn't have the energy to come up with vague responses to satisfy her curiosity. Frankly, I didn't mind her desire to gossip. It felt like such a light-hearted, pleasant thing to do after being consumed by the sick Novai, confusing feelings for Zuran that were developing faster than I could have imagined, and dealing with shady A’li-uud gangsters.

  I didn't know how long we sat there talking. We discussed Zuran in great detail, and she told me about the Corporal she had met. While mine was alien and hers was human, it still felt just like two girls gushing about their crushes. The minutes flew by, turned into what seemed like hours, and I realized my nerves were beginning to soothe just as there was a knock on the door.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Zuran

  I recognized the girl who opened the door, but I did not know her name. She was Phoebe's friend and roommate, as well as a fellow nurse. The moment she saw me, her mouth fell open, and she stepped back. As she did, she revealed the dark living area, and on the couch, I saw Phoebe.

  “What happened?”

  She jumped up from the couch and raced over to me. She grabbed my chin and pulled me back outside, tilting my face up to the sky to douse me in light from both the stars and the lanterns hung at even intervals along the colony walls. Her thumb tugged gently on my cheek, and I felt the wound from Terrik’s knife stretch painfully. I groaned.

  “Sorry,” she murmured. “I'm just trying to get a look at this.”

  “We should count our blessings this is all I came out with,” I said sardonically.

  She studied me for a moment longer, then released my face and took my hand instead. “Come inside,” she directed. “We need to get that cleaned up, and you can tell me what happened.”

  I allowed her to take me inside, and I inclined my head to her friend as I passed. The tiny human was gaping at me like she had never seen an A’li-uud before. If I had not just fought for my life, I would have made a comment in a snarky attempt to astonish her further.

  Phoebe guided me to the wash basin and began filling it with water. She reached into one of the cabinets below and extracted a towel of the strangest fabric I had ever seen. It had little loops all over it and gave the appearance of being soft, but, when I touched it, I realized it was actually rather coarse.

  “What is this?” I asked with minor revulsion.

  She gave me an incredulous look. “It's a towel,” she replied, speaking as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Did you hit your head?”

  “Why is it so rough?” I demanded, ignoring her second question.

  “I don't know. It's just a towel, like any other towel back on Earth.” She dipped the fabric into the water that was now filling the basin and wrung it out. “So, what happened?”

  Her roommate was now digging through a box she had pulled from one of the bedrooms. I spoke over the sounds of her searching. “I fought. Terrik fought. His bodyguard fought.”

  “You took on all four of them?” she asked, bringing the moist towel up to my face and beginning to clean off the dried blood.

  “I had no choice. Once you were gone, there was no conversation. I doubt Terrik had anything he genuinely wanted to discuss anyway.”

  She brushed the towel directly over the slit in my face, and I winced. “Sorry,” she murmured again.

  “Do not apologize,” I said gently. “I am just glad to be here with you.”

  The girl on the floor rummaging through the box cleared her throat. She approached with her arms full of strange things I could only assume were medical in nature and said awkwardly, “Phoebes, you'll probably need these.”

  “Thanks, Edie,” Phoebe said gratefully. She placed the towel on the counter and reached for her friend’s armful of items. Edie nodded and left the room, but she continuously looked over her shoulder as if she hoped to catch a juicy tidbit on her way out. I smirked.

  “You were talking to her about me, were you not?” I teased.

  Phoebe flushed. “Were you listening at the door or something?”

  I chuckled. “I do not need to listen at the door to know when someone has information about me,” I said. Her blush darkened, and I added, “It does not bother me. If you told her about me, it means there was something to tell.”

  She squeezed something clear and gel-like onto her fingertip from a tube and dabbed it onto the slice splitting my face. It felt cool, soothing, and I instantly felt my nerves still in their aches. I did not speak as she continued to clean up my face, but, when she was finally done and taking things back to the box, I commented lightly, “I suppose I am lucky to have kissed a nurse.”

  “I'd say so,” she replied with equal humor. When she turned around, she put her hand on her hip and added a little regretfully, “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I'm pretty sure that's going to leave a scar.”

  “That was Terrik’s intention, I am quite certain,” I returned.

  For the first time since I had arrived at her home, I realized she was still wearing the laaka garb. My eyes drifted down her form, starting at her shapely chest and trailing to her hips before skimming down the length of her one exposed leg. Out of the sight of lecherous A’li-uud, I was able to fully appreciate how she looked, and she looked divine.

  “What?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious. She crossed her arms over her midsection, hiding the exposed bits of skin on her sides, and inserted her thumbnail between her teeth to chew it nervously.

  I strode over to her, took her wrists in my hands, and uncrossed her arms. Her eyes were eager but reserved, and I knew she was trying to anticipate my next move. I hooked one hand around her waist and perched the other beneath her chin.

  “What do you see?” I whispered.

  She gazed up at me, and I felt her skin flame beneath my touch. “You,” she hummed.

  I lowered my mouth to hers, suckled in her sweet taste, and felt the last lingering stabs of pain ripple away as I let her take me over.

  Chapter Forty

  Phoebe

  We stayed in the hut overnight. We slept in my old bedroom, but it didn’t feel like my bedroom anymore. I’d gotten used to staying at the hospital, I guess. I felt almost like I was intruding on Edie’s space, which was weird because we were still going to be roommates after everything was done with the mutacorpathy outbreak.

  Zuran and I shared a bed, but we didn’t do anything. It was strange having him sleep next to me. Even when we traveled through the desert from the hospital to Ka
-lik’et, we had hardly slept. In fact, the only time we did was when we came across the hermit’s house and stopped in the town after that. And, when we had slept, it had been separately. This time, we were in the same bed. I felt his body pressing against mine. He was so warm. He was always warm, but he felt even warmer than usual. I didn’t know if it was because I was acutely aware that I was so close to him, that we were in such proximity and anything could happen at any moment.

  But, as I said, nothing happened.

  I did wake up in the middle of the night to find his arm wrapped around me, but, other than that, we just slept. In a way, it was really nice. I felt closer to him than I had thus far like we were boyfriend and girlfriend. It was strange to think an A’li-uud could be my boyfriend, but I enjoyed it anyway.

  We stayed in the hut throughout the next day as well because, like when we had left the hospital, Zuran wanted to start our travels at night. Edie had to go to the infirmary, but she promised not to tell anyone we were there, and, by the time she returned, I was sure she had kept her promise. No one had come to the house, and, as much as she liked to gossip, I didn’t think she would betray my secret.

  I gave her a hug when we were ready to leave. “I don’t want you to go!” she whined. “I’ve missed having you around!”

  “I know,” I said. “I’ve missed you too. I was wondering why they didn’t put you to the task.”

  “And you really can’t tell me the details of this task?” she asked, her eyes widening as if she was hoping I would.

  “No,” I scolded. “You know I can’t tell you.”

  “Well, whatever it is, I hope it’s done soon. I don’t really like being here alone.”

  Zuran took notice of this. “Has anyone bothered you?” he asked.

  I felt a surge of admiration and appreciation for him. It pleased me that he actually cared about her safety.