Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  It was too dark to see much of anything. The house looked impossibly far away. How could she have gotten so far?

  The light swords—de’llums—wielded by Ty and Sem flashed in the distance, but she knew the guys would never reach her in time to save her.

  Oh, God, she thought as she struggled for air. I’m going to die here. I just got Ty back and I’m going to die!

  No the hell you’re not!

  She wasn’t sure if that was her own thought or Ty’s, but it gave her the strength to push past her pain and try to figure out what was going on.

  As her eyes adjusted to the shadows, she realized she was surrounded. There was no questioning that the Shelvaks had found them, as her attackers were all over seven feet tall and wearing black.

  Cold hands grabbed her upper arms. A whimper escaped her throat.

  You know how to defend yourself, damn it, that voice shouted at her. Do it!

  Drawing on her recently resurfaced memories, she allowed instinct to take over. Whipping her hands up and out, she broke the hold on her arms. She followed that up with an elbow to the Shelvak’s midsection and a kick to its knee.

  Even as that Shelvak released her, another one grabbed her. She took its gloved hand and whirled, bending it at an unnatural angle. It backed away.

  Two more took its place.

  How many? she thought wildly. How many more?

  She dropped to the ground before the two newcomers could take hold of her. Kicking furiously, she aimed for their knees. One of them faltered, but the other one gripped her leg. He yanked her up with unnatural strength, making her cry out. She again flew through the air. A scream lodged in her throat, never making it past her paralyzed vocal chords. She watched helplessly as an even larger group of Shelvaks caught her.

  Something felt like it tore when she landed hard against one of the armored enemies. Pain blasted through her ribcage. She wanted to give voice to her agony, but had no air left to do so. Her body crumpled against the Shelvak like a deflated balloon.

  “Kyr!”

  Ty’s frantic shout reached her. It somehow cut through her terror and pain and made her remember the device he’d given her. The luvesta.

  Dear, Lord … which jeans had she put on?

  Before the Shelvak could pin her arms, she felt around in her pocket. Elation soared through her when she felt the hard surface of the luvesta. Grasping it, she pulled it out of her pocket.

  Push the button! she thought urgently, fumbling with it.

  She heard the light whoosh of sound just before a Shelvak weapon struck her. A scream ripped from her throat as the weapon sank into her shoulder blade. She tried to tighten her hold on the device, but the injury left her with no feeling in her hand. Her last chance for salvation flew somewhere into the darkness.

  Burning such as she’d never felt before licked at her skin like acid. She sank slowly to the ground. The darkness around her started closing in.

  Turning her head, she thought she saw a pale figure just between two of the Shelvaks. She had to be hallucinating. The figure looked remarkably like the woman from Walmart.

  Just as unconsciousness claimed her, the forest lit up like the dawn.

  ***

  Her vision blurred when she tried to open her eyes. She felt herself lifted and carried, then set on a soft surface. The couch? The bed?

  Voices reached her, but the words didn’t register. Her shoulder felt as though it was on fire, consuming her every thought. She wanted to go back into the blissful darkness. No more pain …

  “Kyra … Ma’jah Kyr. Stay with me.”

  Sem’s voice. Where was Ty?

  Pressure was applied to her shoulder. She cried out in agony. Her eyes opened and met Sem’s. He looked like the one in pain. His face was pale. Sweat beaded on his brow. Sem never lost his cool.

  Hot moisture gathered in her eyes. Tears leaked down the sides of her face, wetting the hair at her temples. She remembered what had happened during their transition attempt when the begothia had only scored her skin. This time, it had actually punctured her flesh.

  “I’m dying,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper.

  “No, you’re not,” he argued, his dark brows drawn. “You’re too stubborn for that.”

  She didn’t want to think about what he was doing to her shoulder. His grim expression told her that things weren’t looking good, despite what he’d said. It was all she could do not to scream.

  Letting her head fall to the side, she finally found Ty. He stood a short distance away, talking to three people wearing dark sunglasses … two men and the woman from Walmart. The strangers were all much shorter and slimmer than Ty. From the look of things, he was giving them the third degree.

  “Are they the Men in Black?” she asked. The words came out sounding like a frog’s croak.

  Sem paused for a moment, as if trying to understand the reference. Then he issued a surprised laugh. “No,” he said. “They’re V’larians.”

  The name rang a bell in her deep consciousness. V’laria was a friendly planet neighboring Alametria. She had recovered a few memories involving her parents discussing business dealings with them.

  “I’m not sure what they’re doing here,” Sem said as he lifted the towel he held from her injury. A shudder ran through her. “But the trackers have lit up. The V’larians must have somehow helped our ship reestablish communications. They saved your life.”

  She battled back nausea as another wave of pain hit her, and quickly looked back at Ty. She couldn’t read anything in his expression. Why wouldn’t he look at her? Why wasn’t he the one helping her?

  Following her gaze, Sem once again applied pressure to her wound and said, “It’s curious that Ty didn’t sense the intruders before the alarm went off. His instincts are supposed to be particularly tuned into things like that.”

  An image of Ty’s glowing forearms as she woke from her dream flashed through her mind. She knew then exactly why he hadn’t sensed the intruders. She also knew why he was avoiding her now.

  She was too much of a distraction for him to do his job.

  An excruciating spasm ratcheted through her. Her teeth ground against each other as her back bowed. There was no way she was going to survive this.

  You have to survive, her subconscious yelled at her. How do you think Ty will feel if you die because of what you two shared in that dream?

  She knew her subconscious was right, but the pain was too much. With Sem shouting at her to stay with him, she succumbed to the darkness.

  Chapter 20

  Ty refused to let Sem carry Kyr during the transition. There was risk involved in anyone transitioning while injured, and Kyr was in dire condition. He had once again been forced to cut into her flesh to release as much of the Shelvak poison as he could, but there was no telling how much of it still coursed through her. He hadn’t fully sealed the wound in hopes more of it would seep out. His cousin had done what he could to stabilize her, but Ty knew they needed to get her seen by the Rowe right away.

  He carried her to the transition point, standing beside Sem. The V’larians had returned to their ship only moments before. Ty had discovered through questioning them that the V’larians had intervened to aid the Alametrian ship. They had tracked the Shelvaks, which was how they ended up there. Knowing time was of the essence, Ty hadn’t been able to question them more extensively. The moment Sem told him he’d done what he could to stabilize Kyr, Ty collected her and their locaters and prepared for the transition.

  This time, everything went smoothly. One moment, he and Kyr were standing outside the house, and the next, they were standing on the Alametrian ship.

  Only a small portion of the crew stood in the receiving bay. Ty scanned the bodies in front of them and stopped when he spotted a thin, dark-haired male with intelligent brown eyes and a calm, self-assured nature … HemmelRowe, the ship’s chief medical technician. Hemmel’s gaze moved to Kyr’s limp form.

  “Ma’jah has been injured,�
�� Ty said.

  Standing straighter, Hemmel nodded. “Follow me, Dem-Shyr,” he instructed briskly.

  A few gasps and murmurs followed them as Ty strode across the bay after Hemmel. They exited the room through a sliding door leading out to an empty corridor. Sem stayed behind to offer an explanation, but the door closed on his words. Ty wasn’t sure what his cousin would say, but in Ty’s mind, there was only one explanation for Kyr’s condition.

  He had failed to protect her.

  “What is the nature of the injury?” Hemmel asked, pulling Ty from his thoughts.

  “She was stabbed by a begothia.”

  Hemmel stopped in the middle of the corridor. His eyes widened, reflecting rare alarm.

  “Are you sure?” he asked in a low voice.

  Ty clenched and unclenched his jaw as another wave of guilt and self-loathing struck him. “Yes.”

  “Divine Yen-Ki,” Hemmel breathed before turning and walking at a much faster pace towards the medical bay.

  The med tech’s words sat heavily in Ty’s mind. Nearly all Alametrians believed in the Yen-Ki, the spirit of the universe. At its essence, the Yen-Ki imposed checks and balances … what humans thought of as yin and yang. It was the ultimate balance between good and evil, love and hate, joy and despair.

  Ty couldn’t help but think that he was being punished by the Yen-Ki. He had taken advantage of Kyr by using his abilities to share intimate liberties with her without her consent. It was an egregious misuse of his abilities, which he’d known even as he did it. If he hadn’t invaded her consciousness like he had, he would have sensed the intrusion of the Shelvaks.

  Kyr wouldn’t be dying in his arms.

  They reached the medical bay, where a team of Rowe waited in the event their services were needed. It was protocol during any transition, but it was rarely needed. Ty felt the shock cycle through the team as they took in the sight of Kyr.

  “On the table, Dem-Shyr,” Hemmel instructed as he hurried into a side room and donned a sterile suit.

  Ty stepped up to the first examination table in the room and laid Kyr on it. The team immediately surrounded her, pushing him to the side. Rather than censure them, as they knew to never treat the Dem-Shyr that way, he willingly moved to give them better access to Kyr.

  “Dem-Shyr TaeDane,” said a soft female voice, “please stand on the other side of the sterile barrier.”

  Ty glanced down and met the purple-blue eyes of Hemmel’s prime aide, CallaRowe. Her gaze was full of compassion that he didn’t deserve. Nodding, he stepped behind the glowing sterile barrier that two other technicians had set up. Through it, Ty could watch everything taking place.

  They worked quickly and efficiently, as Rowe innately did. Alametrians looked to the Rowe for medical and other scientific and technical skills. Ty knew Kyr was in the best hands possible.

  Which didn’t ease his towering fear in the least.

  He knew Kyr’s chances were slim. They hadn’t yet discovered exactly what poison the Shelvaks used in their primary weapons, but very few ever survived a begothia strike as serious as Kyr’s. Puncture wounds caused by the weapons generally festered and metastasized until the injured Alametrian succumbed. He knew Kyr was suffering, and there was absolutely nothing he could do.

  The Rowe removed her clothing, doing a thorough assessment. Ty spotted the dark bruising along her ribcage at the same time the Rowe did. Hemmel waved a healing wand over Kyr’s side and the bruising eased. This, at least, was treatable.

  Few words were exchanged, but Ty read their thoughts. Broken ribs, multiple lacerations to the scalp, sprained wrist …

  Awful and unforgiveable, but again, all treatable.

  Except the begothia wound.

  After a few minutes, Hemmel instructed his team to cover Kyr with a robe. He walked over to the barrier and met Ty’s gaze.

  “Dem-Shyr, my only option is to place Ma’jah Kyr in stasis and hope that it prevents the injury from getting any worse. We have no possible treatment on board, but perhaps they have had more success at home.”

  Ty knew from Hemmel’s thoughts that he doubted this was true, but the med tech did harbor some hope. It would have to be enough for Ty, as well.

  “All right,” Ty said. “Do what you have to do.”

  Nodding, Hemmel turned to give the order. Ty clamped down on his emotions as he followed the team and a pale, lifeless Kyr to the stasis chamber. He oversaw the proceedings as they put her into a medically-induced restorative state that would hopefully keep her alive until they reached Alametria.

  The team gave Ty a moment alone with Kyr when they were finished. He stood beside the tube holding her and resisted the urge to touch the glass. On a ship like this, one was never truly alone.

  Kyr, I’m so sorry, he thought. I should never have done what I did. I allowed my feelings for you to get in the way of my better judgment. I assure you that if you live through this, I won’t ever let that happen again.

  You’d damn well better, Ty.

  He blinked and took a step away from the tube. Had that really been Kyr’s voice in his head sounding downright outraged? That was impossible. Her brain shouldn’t be functioning at all right now except at the most basic level.

  Kyr?

  He sent the thought out hesitantly, but didn’t receive a response. Shaking his head, he forced himself to leave her. He would maintain watch over her from outside the chamber until he was notified that they were departing for Alametria.

  The head of defense onboard ship was a Mynder named GrenDane. Gren was about a decade older than Ty. They had trained together on Alametria, and Ty had handpicked him for this mission. There was no one he trusted more.

  Gren stood outside the stasis chamber, straightening to attention when Ty emerged. “Dem-Shyr,” he said, bowing deeply. “How is Ma’jah Kyr?”

  “Stable for now,” Ty responded. “What the hell happened, Gren?”

  Dark brows furrowed over Gren’s copper-colored eyes. “We still don’t know everything. The Shelvaks arrived and disrupted our communications just as we initiated the transition. Whatever they did interrupted the transition stream. It’s a miracle the others made it.”

  Relief washed through Ty as he realized Kyr’s Kyndred and Avana had successfully made it onboard. “Were our weapons also compromised?”

  “No. But we know that Earth has the ability to monitor events outside of their atmosphere, and has a basic level of self-defense against extraterrestrial attacks. There was a chance they would see any weapon-fire against the Shelvaks’ vessels and opt to retaliate. I didn’t want to leave you and Ma’jah Kyr stranded, should that happen.”

  Ty nodded, not questioning Gren’s judgment. He had just wanted to determine their current status.

  “Are the Shelvaks still in orbit around Earth?” he asked.

  “No. They launched just before our transition equipment came back online. We have the V’larians to thank for that.”

  Ty didn’t react to that statement. “Do you have any idea why the Shelvaks and the V’larians happened to enter Earth’s galaxy? This planet is far outside of their usual flight patterns. They don’t generally interact with less advanced civilizations.”

  Gren’s frown deepened. “I don’t know, Dem-Shyr. I know only that the V’larians aided us in getting our systems operational. They claimed that they were scouting for planets with sustainable life and happened to pick up the Shelvak vessel on their radars. Because they were worried the Shelvaks might harm innocent life on an unsuspecting world, they decided to investigate. They didn’t realize we were also here until they entered the galaxy. Our cloaking device prevented it.”

  “So it was a happy coincidence that they arrived here?”

  Gren snorted. “You and I both know there are no such things as coincidences.”

  “Indeed.”

  That left Ty with a lot to process. Things had happened so fast when the Shelvaks attacked that he felt like he was missing something important. The only i
mage that kept running through his head was Kyr getting ripped from the bedroom window, the only sound her agonized scream as she was sliced open by the begothia. He needed time to push past that and clear his memories if they would have any chance of figuring out what happened.

  “Tell EyraRowe to set the coordinates for Alametria, Gren,” he ordered. “Have the crew and passengers prepare for stasis. It’s time to return the Ascendant.”

  Chapter 21

  The first thing Kyra registered was the sudden lack of noise. She hadn’t even known there was any noise until it ceased. Now, she registered the lack of the steady swooshing sound, reminiscent of a fetal heartbeat, which had served as her companion for an unknown amount of time.

  As her brain awoke, she tensed in anticipation of the pain to come. The last time she had closed her eyes, she had known death was imminent. No one could survive that much pain.

  Strangely, though, it never came. Even as she finally opened her eyes, she didn’t feel anything other than well-rested. Had she died, after all?

  The thought had her heart rate picking up. She blinked to fully clear her vision. All she saw was white. Was this the light at the end of the tunnel everyone talked about?

  No, she realized as more came into focus. The room was just well-lit. Releasing a relieved breath, she tried to sit up. Something held her down. Frowning, she tried to lift her right hand to remove whatever was pinning her chest. Alarm didn’t hit her until she realized that both of her arms were restrained, too.

  Twisting her head to either side, she realized that she was contained in a tiny tube. Although she had never been claustrophobic, the idea of being strapped into a tube without any air had her gathering breath for a scream.

  Be calm, Kyr.

  Ty’s voice filled her head. It had an instant effect, making her relax. She took a deep breath, knowing he would help her.

  A hissing sound made her ears pop as the tube retracted. The restraints around her body unlocked and disappeared. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness had her lying back down in a hurry.