“Yes.” Baylech returned the embrace, “I did as you asked and sabotaged the ANT as much as possible. How has life been on the Elyon?”
Marcael snorted, “Same as always.” He noticed that the other males were all standing around watching them. “Sorry, we can catch up on another day perhaps. Today we are running out of time and I would have a plan agreed upon.” Turning back to Kniam he said, “I have an idea on how to finish this madness with Knuan but I need your help.”
“I will be of whatever assistance I can. What do you need me to do?” Kniam offered without even asking what would be required. Marcael’s chest burned painfully at how much like his father this son was.
“Baylech has probably told you that the Elyon will not function without Knuan. If we kill him, the ship puts all life support on minimal, locks down all systems and clones a new one. There is nothing we haven’t tried to end this before getting here, and we lost good men in the attempts.”
“Why not use self-destruct and blow the ship up?” Barrett yelled from his spot on the grass.
“You read too much fiction if you think a real ship traveling in space has a ‘self-destruct’ button on it. What next level kind of idiot puts that kind of thing in their design?” Marcael snapped.
“What about sacrificing—”
“Enough!” Kniam yelled and he turned his glare from Barrett to look over at him. “We are not going to second guess decisions made by Marcael and his men when we know not what their experiences have been. There will be no more ‘sacrificing’ anything in the attempts at stopping Knuan. We will work together, we will succeed at ending this, and then we move on with our lives.”
Marcael might grow to like this leader, it was shame that the feeling was not likely to be mutual. “As I was saying, I have a plan that will work.” He turned his back on the grassy bank, his eyes going over the four brothers. “Knuan trusts me… he will not see what I have in mind coming.”
One of the brothers strode forward to shake his hand, “Can you tell me why he trusts you this much?” Knollig asked.
Marcael grimaced, “Because I killed your father and the happiness it gave me is one of the favorite memories Knuan likes me to play back for him in mind when he grows bored.”
He heard the little female let out a gasp that was quickly drowned out by the shouts of the males. The oasis was echoing their angry words around. Marcael blocked them all out, he would wait for it to calm before trying to talk again.
“I don’t believe it!” Brennae shouted. Marcael turned his gaze to her. Her violet eyes looked into his deep blue ones, searching for something. “I don’t believe you.” She whispered fiercely.
Feeling a faint call in his mind he looked up, beyond Brennae to the forest, he forced his face to become impassive and his gaze icy. They were no longer alone in the oasis. Colle had tried to warn him the other search parties were moving to his location but Marcael had been blocking him out. His eyes flew to Brennae, she had her cloaking device and daggers but only the blades would do her any good now.
In mind, he yelled to Kniam and the others, “Fight only the males that attack you, the others are loyal to me.” Aloud he yelled, “The Princes are the priority!” He drew his weapon. To Brennae he whispered, “Do not bother to cloak they can see you, but run Brennae!” He reached out a hand and traced his fingers along her face. “Run now!” He put all the desperation he felt in his voice and that got her moving. Keeping one eye on the female, he joined the fight. He needed to kill all six of the men loyal to Knuan or this would be a disaster. Putting his face shield back up he joined the fray. Moving toward the men like a shadow of death, he saw a male materialize right in front of the fleeing form of Brennae.
“Leave the female, the Princes are the priority!” He shouted in mind sure that the male would listen but he was too far-gone in his frenzy.
“I shall take her to the Elyon.” The male shouted back, “Knuan will reward me.”
“NO!” Marcael went to freeze his mind but it was too late. The male had already initiated transport back to the Elyon, just as he wrapped his arms around Brennae. The last thing Knuan saw before he went berserk were violet eyes huge in her pale face, her mouth screaming as she reached a hand for him. Then she was gone from the clearing. He thought he might have heard the males of Terraneu all in various degrees of anguish yell her name too.
He had never lost control in combat and that was saying something. He had been in countless battles, but after seeing Brennae disappear something in his mind snapped. He killed the other five of Knuan’s men. He knew he had done it because he was covered in their blood, and there were dead men all over the clearing. The Princes...no the men of Terraneu, they did not want the title of Prince, were all around him standing at a wary distance. The only male that dared come close was Colle.
“Marcael?” His friend was staring at him concern written all over his face.
He stood there with his blades dripping blood, then shook his head and turned his eyes to his friend. “Get your armor off. You also Mallex.” His men instantly started stripping off their clothes. Walking toward the men of Terraneu, he cleaned off his daggers. They immediately took up a defensive stance against him.
“What do you think to do?” Kniam asked coldly.
“I cannot go back to the Elyon without the blood of some males of Terraneu on my blades!” He snapped. “As good as you think you are Knuan will not believe that you defeated his best scouts without injury!” He stopped before the males and waited. “The longer you stand there, the longer your female is on the Elyon without protection.” Just saying it made his blood cold.
It was the magic words. The males all ripped off their arm plates and held them out.
“I only need a couple of you.” Cutting Knaleg, Knollig and Thian he turned to hurry back to his friend. Using his taser set at highest level, he shot the material of Colle and Mallex’s armor so it would look as if they had suffered fatal battle wounds. Replacing the weapon in its holster he told his friends, “You two are staying. I need twelve hours then send help to this oasis. If we are successful in escaping from the Elyon, this is where you will find us. Twelve hours Colle!”
“Wait!” Kniam shouted. “What are you doing?”
“I am doing what I do best. I am going to kill a King.” Marcael hit the teleport button before the others could ask anything more.
Chapter Six
All Brennae could do was watch in terror as her home world disappeared around her and she was suddenly in the last place she ever wanted to be, the Elyon. Named after her crazy grandmother it was specifically commissioned so that her Uncle Knuan could try to find her father and other uncles hiding in deep space. That her grandmother had named the spaceship after herself so that she could always be close to her insane son said volumes.
She didn’t know if it was a good thing that the male was carrying her or not. She wouldn’t be able to walk if he put her down and she really didn’t want to be dragged all over this ship. He was walking fast and she knew that with every step she was getting closer to meeting her mad uncle. The walls moved past her and she saw faces as they went by in a blur. She was probably going into shock and would die of a heart attack before getting to wherever it was that they were going.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She didn’t pass out or die before he was stopping in front of a large door. Two guards on either side looked her over with interest before letting the male into the room.
Rushing forward the male holding her bent over, taking her with him. Hitting himself with a closed fist on his chest, he almost smacked her in the face.
“My King I have a prisoner from the planet.” The man was overly excited and was speaking fast in his zeal, “It is a female my King, I captured her and brought her straight to you.”
“Is that so?” She heard a cold voice drawl out in the way she imagined the snake would sound in the Earth books she read as a child. The ‘s’ was drawn out and malicious sounding. She had ne
ver considered herself a cowardly person. She had earned nothing but praise for her efforts that she put into training. How was it that twice today she had failed at protecting herself? Stiffening her spine, she resolved to stop cowering. Whatever happened she would face it head on. Picking up her chin, she looked around the room. It looked like it could have been anywhere, not just a spaceship. There were chairs and a table directly in front of her, with doors leading to interior spaces. Maybe sleeping or meeting quarters possibly even a bathroom of some kind. Her eyes swung back to the table when she heard a scraping noise and a figure stepped toward them.
The male walking toward her was her father’s image. This male had the same dark hair, the same tall body but even though he was her father’s twin that is where the similarities ended. Her father was darkly tanned and this man was extremely pale. Her father had warm glowing purple eyes and this male had cold, hard cobalt blue eyes.
“What have we here?” He had stopped before her and Brennae couldn’t help that she was trembling like a leaf. “What is your name?”
“I am Brennae.” She managed to get out and was proud of herself for being able to speak clearly.
“Hello Brennae.” Her uncle moved his finger to trail in her hair. “Put her down fool.” The man holding her instantly set her on her feet. She staggered for a second then made herself stand taller. The brutal hold he had on her upper arm was going to leave a bruise but she had bigger problems to worry about. Her uncle was stalking around her examining her with his icy stare. She felt his fingers grab her braid and release the tie. She felt gooseflesh rise on her skin and not in a good way. Finished with her hair he moved to stand in front of her again. His hand rose to trail a finger against her cheek and Brennae couldn’t help remember the way Marcael’s finger held warmth and comfort when he had done the same. This was like the trail of icy death against her face. She shivered uncontrollably at the touch.
When his finger trailed to her chest, she slapped it away before she could stop herself. Her uncle punched her across the face without hesitation. Stars danced before her eyes and she hit the floor gasping. She had never, in the entirety of her life been struck across the face. During any training, they always wore gear to protect against injury. The pain she felt was immense but she made herself get off the floor. Taking an unsteady breath, she glared at her uncle through watery eyes.
“If you touch me again—” she hissed.
“You’ll what?” Her uncle snarled. “What will you do?”
Before she could answer there was yelling outside and the door banged open to crash against the wall and hang there. Brennae looked over her shoulder to see who was there and her vision blurred through a swell of tears. It was Marcael!
“Marcael, how dare you—” her uncle stared to talk but Marcael just ignored him. Stalking over to the male who had taken her, he grabbed him and jerked him back. Without a word of warning or explanation, he snapped the fellow’s neck and threw him across the room.
“If you clone that fool I will kill him again.” Marcael’s voice was stone cold and without emotion. Brennae had never heard such a dead sound. “He cost me good men on this mission.”
“I am still King and you will be punished for killing one of my men!” Her uncle snapped. “He even brought a prisoner for me to play with!”
“I had your brothers in that clearing!” Marcael shouted back, “That fool grabbed a female and forced a fight among the men that I could not win! Our priority was to bring your brothers in so that you can bring them to justice. Thanks to that fool they were warned and their priority was to kill us!” Marcael was pacing in front of her, slowly moving her uncle back with his movements. “Another few moments and I would have had them for you my King.” He waved his hands dramatically at the King and Brennae saw they were covered in blood.
“We must act then. If my brothers were all in that clearing then their stronghold must be close!” Her uncle was going to attack Terraneu! How many men did he have? Would they stand a chance of winning?
“We do not have to go to them my King. We can use the female to draw them to us.” Marcael advised and Brennae wanted to scream and ask just what he thought he was doing!? Instead, she kept silent.
“Why would they care about a stupid female?” Her uncle sneered at her, “Now that I think on it...where had they found women?” He went to pull her around Marcael but he moved faster.
“No my King wait.” Marcael wrapped an arm around her to hold her against him. “You do not know what kind of germs she might have. I am guessing that stupid idiot did not even take her to medical to make sure she is not contagious.”
Her uncle took a wary step backward. “Yes, he did say he came right to me.” Taking another step back, he ordered Marcael, “Take her to medical for cleaning. Then bring her back to me. I have a lot of questions for this little female.” With a nod, her uncle dismissed them and then Marcael was holding her. He had one arm around her upper back pressing her against him, the other under her knees.
“Turn your head into my chest and do not look at anyone.” His voice was rough and angry. He was walking quickly and she could feel him turning this way and that. She got dizzy and everything went black for a few moments. When she came around, she was in a room like their medical dome. She recognized the equipment as almost identical to what they had on Terraneu.
“Out!” Marcael snarled at the male in the room with them. “I am capable of doing a medical scan!” Walking with her over to a medical bed, he gently set her down. She was sitting with her legs dangling off the edge, afraid to look at him in case he was angry with her. “Who did this to your face, your uncle or that idiot?” His voice had turned whisper soft and his fingers were on her cheek prodding gently. “Who Brennae?
Tears streaming down her face she gasped when he touched a particularly sore spot, “My uncle. He tried to touch my...” she lifted her face until her eyes met Marcael’s...” He was reaching for my chest...” her voice caught, “I slapped his hand away before I could stop myself. If he had tried to touch me again I would have—”
“Gods Brennae!” He groaned stepping between her knees and pulling her close. “Do you not have a sense of self-preservation?” His fingers were working deep into her hair and she did not think he knew they were there. “What would you have done? You are so small. He could have killed you in the time it took me to reach his quarters.” His hands moved to her shoulders and the burning heat of them felt comforting.
Pressing herself against his chest, her fingers digging into his back she whispered, “I am stronger than you think!” Being in his arms was comforting amidst the chaos, “Marcael what are we going to do?”
With her cheek pressed into his chest she could feel the rumbling when he said, “We are going to keep you alive for the next twelve hours. Then this will finally be over.” With one last reassuring squeeze, he took a step back. Taking her face in his fingers, his intense eyes bore into hers. “I want you to stay in here for now. I will have a man loyal to me watch over the doors. Do not go anywhere, with anyone! Do you understand?”
Brennae felt a bit insulted, a half-wit would understand the way he said it. Instead of showing her displeasure, because frankly without Marcael’s interference she would probably be a bloody pulp by now, she nodded slightly, “Yes Marcael. I understand. If anyone but you comes for me I will do everything in my power to stay here.”
Smiling Marcael brushed his fingers across her face one last time, his thumb almost against her lips, “Good. I will return for you as soon as I can. Now lie back for me so I can set the medical unit to fix your face.”
Brennae did as he asked and heard the familiar hum of the machine as it worked at repairing any damage it found. She watched through heavy lidded eyes as Marcael walked toward the doors. Then an un-natural need to fall asleep came over her. Why had he made her promise to stay here in the medical unit if he was going to knock her out anyway? That was the last thought she had before she lost the ability to think.<
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Chapter Seven
Marcael found someone he trusted to watch the medical room then hurried back to his King’s chambers. He was going to have to do some impressive lying to keep the King from Brennae. He had one of his men working on showing the medical room as under quarantine. If Knuan asked, he would explain that his armor must have protected him and that he was clean. Usually Knuan did not bother himself with the details of away missions as long as they got him what he wanted. This was going to be a tricky situation since Marcael knew that his King would want to see Brennae again, and that most quarantine situations only lasted a few hours or so. He would have to come up with something by then to keep his King occupied.
Walking into Knuan’s chambers Marcael came to stand before him. He did the required salute then stated, “The medical facilities are under quarantine my King. It is as I feared and the female has some diseases that require sterilization.”
Knuan looked at him, “Yes I checked. I saw that the female is contaminated. Is there any reason for me to be worried?”
“You have no need to worry my King unless you exchanged bodily fluids. You are safe until the quarantine is lifted.” Marcael knew the King had not kissed Brennae so he figured it was safe to use that transmission method.
“I could kill that idiot all over again for putting me in danger.” His King’s dead eyes landed on him, “You are a worthy Kings guard Marcael. What would I do without you?” Before Marcael could acknowledge his Kings words he continued, “Come show me my favorite memory while I relax.” The King walked through the doorway into his private chambers. With an exaggerated sigh, Knuan lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. “You may begin. Start at the point when they dragged the worthless traitor King into the Queens chambers.”
“As you wish my King.” Marcael made his voice cold as possible. Having to show his King the worst moment of his life was always a trial. Steeling his resolve he went into his memories and thought of the one his King wanted to “see”. Then he played back the moment in his mind. It was as if it was happening again for both of them to re-live.
Marcael: A Terraneu Novel, Book Five Page 4