Abducted (Blue Barbarian Series Book 1)

by Rena Marks

  “She is still fragile,” I insist.

  Lucie smiles. “You forget how strong she is. She’s figuratively had a leg cut off. She’s avoided rape. She still lives.”

  “You are just as strong,” Niki says. “You didn’t avoid it.”

  “Rape?” I ask. “What is that word?”

  “You know,” Niki says. “Lech.”

  The answer dawns on me. The forced breeding. Lucie has paled and Rayhaan turns purple with fury. “When did this occur?” I ask her softly.

  “When they dragged me back to the test tubes.” She shrugs. “It was quick. We had just crashed, after all. It was less than five minutes.” Her tone implies it was nothing, but I witnessed the act on the other human. I know otherwise, and I reach out to tuck her hair behind her ear.

  “What can I do for you?” I ask her.

  Lucie is harsh as she looks at Rayhaan. “Keep him away from me.” She rises, and goes back to the nests with the others, leaving us gaping after her. Rayhaan moves to go after her, and Niki places a soft hand on his arm.

  He cannot disobey a direct command, as much as he wants to. Niki, on the other hand, does not understand what this means.

  “Let her have some space,” she says softly.

  “I do not understand what has happened,” he says. “She is mine, yet she suddenly won’t accept me.”

  Niki looks confused. “What do you mean, she’s yours?”

  I speak for Rayhaan. “Rayhaan is my right hand. It stands to reason that Lucie is yours. He has my permission to mate her.”

  My mate’s jaw drops again. This appears to be a day of shocks for her.

  “Holy shit,” she says, and the phrase makes no sense in our language. But many of their phrases do not. “We don’t do that as humans. You don’t gift someone to another.”

  Rayhaan and I share puzzled looks. “Then how do you mate on your planet?” I ask her.

  “You date a girl. You make her happy. Bring her flowers. Show her your interest.”

  “Of course I am interested. She is mine.”

  Niki reaches out and places her fingers on his mouth to silence him. It makes me jealous, and I have been brothers with Rayhaan since the summers we ran naked.

  “You really have to stop saying that. Like I said, it doesn’t work for us. Listen to what I tell you and she’ll show interest.”

  He leans in, suddenly wanting to learn how to human-date Lucie.

  “Make sure you go slow with her,” Niki says. “She’s been hurt. We didn’t know about the alien rape. That messes a girl up. She may have flashbacks when you touch her.”

  “She did not,” Rayhaan says arrogantly. “She managed just fine last night. She even came with my fingers still inside her.”

  My poor mate’s jaw is going to freeze in that position. I reach for her chin to tap it closed.

  “Holy shit,” she says again. “You better tell me what happened. I’m not being nosy, I just know the cultural differences where you don’t.”

  Rayhaan bows to her wisdom. “We talked a lot. She made her interest clear with her soft touches and sly looks. And of course, I already knew she was my mate. When the sounds of you and Drakar echoed throughout the caves—”

  “What?” Niki shrieks and everyone from down the room look toward us. “Ohmigawd.”

  Another phrase that makes no sense. “Mate,” I say to her. “Rutting is a natural act. I know you did not want your human females to know we did it, but my people would expect it.”

  She grits her teeth and turns back to Rayhaan. Her cheeks are a delicate pink and she is beautiful. “Go on.”

  “The obvious pleasure of the sounds made my cock grow hard. Lucie knew this, and we reached for each other. Because Valencia slept next to her, we had to be quiet so as to not alarm her. I explored Lucie’s folds with my fingers and she gushed her fluids onto my hand.”

  Niki is still pink. “And the next morning?”

  “That is when Valencia woke screaming and you collapsed with the language transfer. Things were a little hectic. I knew she would understand that I had to focus on my duties.”

  Niki’s eyes narrow. “Wait a minute. Is that tribal talk for you ignored her after fingering her?”

  “I do not understand this phrase,” Rayhaan says, and I nod in agreement.

  “Jeezus. You cannot ignore a girl after you’ve been intimate,” she explains. “If Drakar didn’t speak to me the day after we had sex, he and I wouldn’t be here now.”

  A pain grips through my heart. “Niki,” I gasp. “Do not speak of such things.”

  “It’s how women think. How humans think,” she says, turning back to Rayhaan. “Lucie thought you rejected her. She thought this after she felt her lowest. She turned to you after a vicious rape.”

  Rayhaan snarls in anger.

  “Exactly,” Niki says. “She trusted you and you let her down.”

  If a blue face could pale, Rayhaan’s does exactly that.

  “What do I do, Niki? How do I get my mate back?”

  “Treat her tenderly. With kindness. The way you did when you first met her. Be patient and go slow. Remember her happiness comes first, even before your own. Talk to her gently and never growl. Oh, and bring her gifts.”

  “Gifts?”

  “Pick a flower for her hair. Give her something special for her own comfort.”

  He nods, showing excitement for the first time.

  Niki yawns.

  “I will take my leave. Thank you, Niki, for your human advice. I will regain my mate if it kills me. I will show her how strong and handsome her male is, how fierce, and how proud.” He bows and heads back to the others.

  “Oh, oh,” Niki says. “I don’t think he gets it. It’s not about showing her what he can do, but what he can do for her.”

  “Your water is cold now,” I say. “I will get more.”

  “No,” she says with a smile. “I’m tired again. I’d like you to hold me.”

  I am only too happy to oblige. My own bath can wait until the morning. It is more important to hold her in my arms.

  * * * * *

  Niki:

  Drakar wakes me and he’s slightly wet and smells good, like the soapcakes they use. Crisp and clean, with a gentle smell. “You bathed,” I murmur, inhaling his scent.

  “I did,” he says. “I need to feed you so we can get moving.”

  “I’m not hungry,” I say. “I didn’t expend any energy yesterday. I slept the day away.”

  “But you are weak,” he argues.

  “I’ll eat when I crumble,” I say with a smile. “Show me to the bathroom.”

  Bathroom is our word for trys-something. I’m glad he remembers what it is, because it’s hard to remember and pronounce their word. He pulls me to my feet and my legs stumble, they’re so weak. I tremble against him, and he walks me slowly to the bathroom.

  Once there, he sets me on the water-hole to pee. It’s not quite as humiliating as I thought it would be. Then he pulls me up by my hands and moves me a foot over to the bidet. He dips the soapcake into it, lathers my girl parts, and I dip them to rinse. He dips a rag into the hot spring again, lathers it and runs it over my body. A sponge-bath in the bidet. Whatever works.

  He’s brought along a fur to dry me off, and then slips my gown over my body. I toss my head, just noticing that it’s heavier than usual.

  “It is a headdress,” he says. “To block the sun as you sleep. I wove your hair while wet, so it’s tight. It lasted throughout the night.”

  Now the blue barbarian is my hairdresser? I zip my lip while he carts me out to the main room of the cave. The rock has been moved from the entrance and everyone is gathered outside. The furs I was laying on are no longer on the edge of the cave. Everything has been tidied and readied for us to leave.

  The sun casts a glow in the sky, and it’s perfectly warm, not yet scorching like it gets at midday. Valencia brings me a piece of sunscreen from the coconut-looking fruit and I rub it absently along my arm
s, noticing that Atareek is always next to her.

  A couple of the warriors hold a makeshift bed and seem to stand a little too close to me. I take a step back and they step in close again.

  “What is that for?” I ask warily.

  “For you, mate,” Drakar says, bending to kiss my forehead. “We do not need to hurry like we did yesterday. But you will still not be able to keep up.”

  “Are you kidding me? You expect me to be carried today?”

  “Yes, my love,” he says softly against my lips. “Please do not fight me on this. Let’s show Lucie how to welcome Rayhaan’s efforts during dating.”

  That was so not fair, and I glare at him. He gives me a grin, and his teeth are pearly white and straight. Sexy.

  I may not be healthy, but other parts certainly are. “Where is Lucie?” I ask.

  “I sent her and Rayhaan to gather the Aglaia fruits so that the females may tie them around their necks for nourishment. We have made more of these straws you like from last night’s dinner.”

  Straws? What part of dinner contained the straws? I decide not to ask, because I much prefer to think of a straw as plastic. It felt like plastic. It tasted like plastic. I’m going to tell myself it’s plastic.

  Lucie and Rayhaan approach and she’s got her skirt hiked up to mid-thigh, with a lot of the coconut things carried in her folded up piece of gown. Several of the warriors eye her bare legs, and I have to admit, they’re shapely.

  She smiles innocently, but there’s a wicked gleam in her eye.

  I smile back. It’s going to be a long day if she continues to tease the surly-looking Rayhaan. It’s apparent the barbarian wants her, but he’s not quite sure what to do with her. Lucie has a mind of her own.

  She heads straight toward the women. “Take one.”

  They each grab a fruit, and the warriors grunt at them. The men take a small stick and poke it through the eye of the fruit. Someone hands out straws, and they jab them in. Finally, they use the ties to the round fruit to string it around their necks.

  “Hop on,” Drakar says.

  I sigh, and crawl onto the makeshift bed. He covers me with my cape and we’re off. The steady footsteps of the blue men are uniform, even and pacing. I try to stay awake, but eventually, their steps lull me to sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  Drakar:

  Niki sleeps, but I travel easier knowing it is just rest she needs. Yesterday, I thought it was permanent damage. The dynamics in the traveling party are different this time. The females are much more comfortable around my hunters. Valencia is never out of Atareek’s sight. And Rayhaan is trying hard with Lucie. He is a good male.

  I explain to Lucie that we can make it to my village before nightfall, if we travel a few hours with my men carrying them. She nods and translates. Several of my hunters carry the human females on their backs but I notice, for the women, it is just that. A ride. Finally I understand the phrase cultural differences Niki speaks of. While my people may take it as favoritism that a female spends time with the same hunter, the humans are different. They choose familiarity. A lot of them choose the same warrior they rode with yesterday. I explain this to the men, and a few look crestfallen. They’d hoped for a mate attraction.

  The humans will take a lot of getting used to.

  Niki sleeps most of the afternoon, and we finally reach my village. As soon as we get within range, the drums sound. The beat is comforting to me and my men, and a ripple of excitement runs through them.

  I, of course, missed the rhythm of the drums. They always signal my arrival home and I never thought to hear them again. My eyes moisten with emotion.

  During the day, the wide, main gate is open. At night it is closed and blocked early, as soon as dusk approaches. We have learned to shut it early and avoid any problems that may occur with a last minute closure. There is one small opening that is next to the main gate that is kept open longer…until the dark hits, and then it is closed also.

  When we enter the main gate, my people descend before we can get to the caves in the center of the village. They are eager to see the new humans and of course, the arrival of their long-lost king and new queen. Many ogle the new females. They are unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Some approach Niki’s bed to look upon her sleeping beauty.

  Niki awakens with the commotion, but I do not allow her to walk just yet. Some of the humans are walking, but with the language barrier, they look confused and cling to the hunters they know best.

  We halt as the reverent mother approaches. She looks regal as always, her long black hair braided and twisted in a thick crown around her head. I bow to her beauty.

  Tears run down her cheeks, creating trails. “My son.”

  I continue to kneel before her, too choked to speak. Weeks ago, I did not think I would ever see my mother, nor my people again. The woman who has given birth to me hugs me tightly to her breast.

  “Rayhaan,” she nods. “Thank you for bringing him home.”

  He grunts. “I would not have been able to bring him this far if it was not for the human females, reverent mother. This one is Lucie, and she is the new queen’s right hand—the second to the queen Niki.”

  I rise. “This,” I shout to my people, “is your new queen, Niki.”

  Niki and Lucie look shocked as my people cheer. Of course, there is a lot of surprised looks. My people have never seen another race, nor have they seen the strange clothing the humans wear. To suddenly have another as your queen is a lot to grasp. Niki and Lucie have no idea of their instant status within our village, and it is apparent by their lack of speech.

  The good news is Lucie has unknowingly stepped nearer to Rayhaan, unconsciously seeking his support. He catches my eye when he realizes it. It is a good thing. While the hunting party knows of his interest in her, there are other single warriors in the village who may try for her attention.

  My mother approaches Niki. “You are not well, child?”

  “I am fine,” Niki insists. “Drakar just worries.”

  None of my people seem surprised that she can speak our language, though they do notice she speaks it with a softer tongue than we do.

  “She is not fine,” I say. “It is a long story, but the creatures who abducted us have implanted the knowledge of several languages into Niki. She is the only one to survive such an implant. She is able to transfer them into others, but it weakens her greatly. So far she has transferred to Lucie and to Valencia.”

  “They speak another tongue?” my mother asks.

  “Yes. They speak Heenglish. But Valencia did not even speak that, so Niki had to give her their Heenglish and Blaedonian.”

  “Which one is Valencia?”

  Valencia steps forward, but she stays close to Atareek. He holds her firmly against his chest, staking his claim for all to see. My mother nods at her.

  “We will nurse Niki to full strength and she will be able to gift more peoples with languages. The priority is her people, so they may communicate with us,” I say.

  “You are my priority,” Niki whispers.

  My mother looks pleased with her response. She moves to Niki and hovers her hands over certain areas of her body. Her hands pause for a few minutes over Niki’s lower abdomen, where her female parts reside. Then she moves up to where her energy center is—in her throat. And finally, Niki’s brain. Her hands stay the longest here, and I know she is transmitting her healing touch.

  Finally, she pats Niki’s shoulder.

  “We will tend to you further tonight. For now, let us get our new family inside and make them comfortable. Today we will feast in celebration.”

  A cheer roars through the crowd and the poor human females cling to each other in confusion. My hunters step toward them protectively, wanting to show them comfort. I am proud of my men.

  Our peoples disperse. The hunters who had stayed behind with the villagers head out the gates to hunt for our feast. My hunters who traveled with us escort the females into the inner caves, where we all g
ather in the cold months.

  When we enter, the females gasp. It is amazing to look at. The ceilings are high and echoes sound throughout. Like the first cave we had stayed in, there are holes in the ceiling to allow light inside. A natural rock glitters gold inside the walls, and the light strikes it, creating sparkles. Our home has the greatest bathing pool of any and the water trickles down one wall to fill the pool.

  “Thewalls are maydof goold,” someone whispers.

  “Let us make a makeshift healer’s hut out in the main area,” my mother says. “So we may check all the hu-maans.”

  Her healing cave is too small for the ten women, plus the hunters who do not seem eager to leave their side.

  Several of my men gather furs from the reverent mother’s cave and stretch them over the moveable bed they carry out. The bed is stretched onto a frame, a tall bed of branches so that my mother does not have to bend on the nests of the floor.

  “Niki first,” I say.

  My mother smiles at me. “I have scanned Niki. She is well, for now. Her exhaustion is obvious and will hit again later, and I will give her healing then. She has had too much restorative sleep for me to do any good now.”

  “Told you.” Niki grins at me.

  “I will take the second queen. Loosh-see.”

  Lucie looks startled, but she is brought forward by Rayhaan. There has been a subtle shift with him, and I realize he takes Niki’s advice. He holds her hand tenderly, whereas before he would have pulled her to the medicine table.

  He asks her permission before he wraps his large hands around her waist and lifts her to the table.

  For his reward, Lucie holds his hand tightly.

  I catch Niki’s eye, and she smiles. I move to my mate’s side and sit cross-legged, then pull her onto my lap. Some of the hunters gesture for the humans to sit, and the women mimic our cross-legged style as if they do not wish to offend. I almost snort. It is not a ritual to sit cross-legged.

  Just like on Niki, my mother’s hands pause over Lucie’s feminine parts, but she holds them there much longer. She then gestures to Carmelac, her healing drummer. He comes forth with his sacred drums, and begins a song to heal with as my mother chants.