“You better hope that isn’t true.” Jeromy suddenly lurched from his spot and Ava worried that he might have been drinking something other than water. Too late, she realized her jeopardy and started backing toward the door. She was just reaching behind her for the doorknob when Jeromy pounced, grabbing her face in a cruel hold. “If that is true, then you are useless. There is only one thing I can recommend you for.” Twisting her face to the side, he leaned in and whispered hotly, “You can earn your keep in the bedroom. Your skills, as inept as they are, might garner someone’s sympathies.”
“You are such a cruel prick.” Ava breathed deeply against the pain in her cheeks. Tears were pooling in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. She wouldn’t let him see her cry. She would rather die first. “I am going to search for my father and there isn’t anything you can do to stop me.”
Her teeth were digging into her cheeks his hold tightened so savagely. “That is where you are wrong.” Jerking her forward he wrenched the door open and called to a passing patrol. “Jarrod, see Ava to her quarters and assign a guard to make sure she doesn’t leave the premises. With her father missing I’m afraid she is so distraught that she might do something…foolish.”
The guard moved over to grab her arms and pull her from Jeromy’s doorway. His final words to her were, “Don’t worry about the prisoner. Since you couldn’t get him to talk, father has agreed that we take the next step. You won’t be needed with his care anymore.”
Ava stumbled and then started struggling. They were going to start torturing Knadyn. She tried to reason with Jarrod. He was a friend after all, they had grown up together and he was usually reasonable. With Jeromy telling him that she was distraught over her father, he didn’t listen to her arguments.
“Just rest for a couple of days Ava. Your father is a tough old bird, he might show up.” She could tell that he didn’t believe that. He was giving her a pitying look that said the opposite of his words. “I can’t let you out of your room to go running around the countryside. We need your skills too badly here.”
“It’s my father Jarrod. Please.” She had begged and pleaded but he had tuned her out and locked her in.
“It’s better this way Ava. I’ll make sure you get your rations.”
Ava stalked angrily around her room. She had been assigned to a small house with four other single women. Since she was to be guarded, they might choose to temporarily reassign those women to other quarters. Ava had seen that before. It would keep anyone sympathetic to her plight from visiting or getting in the way.
Throwing herself across her bed, she fought the tears that wanted to flow. She fisted her eyes in frustration, but she would not cry. She hadn’t let herself since the day they had hurried into a cold government bunker. She wouldn’t now. Her father was running around who knows where, doing who knew what! Knadyn was going to be tortured and she was locked in her room with a guard at her door. She needed to come up with a way to get out of here. With that purpose in mind, she spent the next hours throwing out one plan after another. What was she going to do?
Chapter Six
Ava jerked awake when she felt a warm hand press across her mouth. She instantly started jerking, kicking and clawing at every surface she could reach. Suddenly she was smashed with the full weight of her attacker. The body pressing into hers kept her legs and arms pinned. Reaching with her fingers, she hit what felt like armor and stilled. Nobody in this community had this kind of covering.
“Mmpphh.” She tried to talk around the hand covering her mouth. It was dark in her room with the window boarded closed. The first day of her house arrest, she had escaped out the window and been caught halfway to where they were keeping Knadyn. Since then a guard was posted right outside her bedroom door. Now because of the dark she couldn’t quite make out her assailant. The light around the edges of the window was only enough to show her a very large, dark figure.
“Shh. If I take my hand away you cannot scream.” With a spurt of happiness, she realized that she recognized the voice.
She nodded her agreement frantically. How had he gotten his strength up and escaped? What was he thinking coming here in the middle of the day? He should have made a run for it, not stopped here. When she felt the hand move away, she whispered frantically, “Knadyn!” When he just lay there, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. “I was so worried about you! I was going crazy with what Jeromy might be doing.” Pulling back to try to see his face she could barely make out some type of helmet. “Where did you get that armor and headgear?” Ava started laughing with relief. “It doesn’t matter. I am just so happy that you are okay.” Hugging him again, she felt his hands moving to her shoulders. Squirming under his weight she gasped when she realized they would be looking for him, “We have to get out of here. How did you get past Jarrod?”
“Jarrod?” his voice was deep and mysterious behind the helmet.
“The guard that is posted outside my door. How did you get past him?”
“He did not give me any trouble.” There was laughter in Knadyn’s voice.
Ava gasped and pulled the helmeted head to look at her, “You didn’t kill him did you? Jarrod was only doing his job—” The hand moved back over her mouth.
“I did not kill the guard at your door. We need to get moving.” Before Ava could protest, she was wrapped in her blanket and thrown over a hard shoulder.
“Knadyn, I don’t want to complain but I can walk you know.” She huffed indignantly.
“You have to stop talking now, or I will be forced to quiet you.” She heard the humor in his voice and didn’t see anything funny about him threatening to “quiet” her.
“That—” She was about to protest but with a sharp, “Shh” from him she thought better of it. She would let Knadyn have a piece of her mind when he put her down. She was so tightly wrapped that she didn’t feel the air on her skin, the only hint they were outside was the sunlight she could see on the ground. Knadyn carried her quickly around the house she was living in and then started running through the field and into the trees beyond. She wasn’t an expert, but it was at least fifty yards of field to get to the trees and Knadyn wasn’t in any shape to be running and carrying her at the same time. Just as she was coming to a very startling realization, he stopped.
“I found the female we are looking for. They had her locked inside a domicile with only one guard at the door.” Knadyn wasn’t even breathing heavy and his voice was filled with amusement.
“We are done here then.” This voice gave her a chill down the spine. “Kniam and the others are waiting for us to rendezvous at the port pad. We have wasted a lot of time, but it is what Knadyn and Steve Howard wanted.”
Her father? They knew something about her father. She had already concluded that Knadyn wasn’t the one carrying her, but what did her father have to do with this? The sound of an engine revving and then forward motion stopped her attempts to talk for a second. She had been placed on a seat, still wrapped in the blanket and before she could stop herself, she had fallen onto her side.
“You can unwrap me.” She couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice. She felt like a sausage in a casing. “If you are taking me to my father I will be happy to sit quietly until we get there.”
“What do you think Marcael?” the man with a voice that sounded like Knadyn asked.
“I think it would be best to leave her in the blanket for now.” The other man answered and Ava snorted.
“It wouldn’t be best to leave me this way. I am laying on my side and it is already falling asleep.” She struggled a little to see if the blanket might give, but it was still snug, “Please. I swear I won’t give you any trouble.” She added hoping to play on any sympathy they might have for her.
She heard a heavy sigh and felt a tug on the blanket. As she spun and fell off a bench seat onto the floor one of the males remarked, “Very smooth Knacayn. You managed to knock her off the seat.”
Struggling off the floo
r of the vehicle, she grabbed the blanket to cover her nightgown and sat forward to study the men she was traveling with. The male driving the vehicle was wearing some type of armor but his head was uncovered. She saw that he had shocking white hair brushing his shoulders, and when he looked into the rearview mirror, she was startled to see that he was young and very handsome. His exotic cobalt blue-purple eyes were framed with dark eyebrows. She saw humor flash in his expression before he put his attention back onto the road.
“He has a mate already.” When she heard those words, she snapped her head around to look at the other passenger. It was Knadyn only with longer hair and when her shocked eyes met his, she realized the purple was much brighter…sparkling and alive. He was also larger, but she couldn’t tell if it was body size, armor, or a combination of both. The white haired male had called him Knacayn.
“You are his twin.” She stated without expecting an answer. She had never asked Knadyn to talk about family or someone he cared about because she didn’t want to hide it from Jeromy when he questioned her. It was easier to say that Knadyn wasn’t talking. That this was his identical twin brother there was no doubt at all in her mind. “What do you mean when you say that about a mate?”
“You were looking at Marcael with interest. I thought it best to let you know that he has a mate already. You would consider this to be married. My sister Brennae would be very unhappy if you looked upon him as a partner.” Knadyn’s brother didn’t mince words. She sat quietly for a moment taking it all in. Knadyn had a twin brother and a sister with a “mate”, the male driving this vehicle. The question was how many other relatives were there?
“Thank you for telling me about Marcael being taken. You were mistaken in my interest being of a personal nature. I was merely interested in him in a scientific capacity. It’s not every day that you meet aliens from another world.”
Both men looked at each other and then shrugged. Knacayn turned to look back at her, “You are very much like your father. If not for him, we might not have found Knadyn in time. I think my Uncle Kneus enjoyed arguing with him over the best way to create the hydrogen cell to operate your Earth vehicles.” He half-turned his large frame in his seat as he talked. “In the end they compromised and we were able to get to my brother much faster. Still, we are running on a tight schedule and it will be close. Knadyn wouldn’t leave Earth until our father agreed to find you. He didn’t know that your father had already asked for you.” His purple eyes searched her for something then he added, “Marcael and I volunteered to search the other domicile units to find you, while Knadyn was taken immediately for medical care.”
Ava was amazed. It was all clear to her now. Her father had left so that he would get to the wormhole on the solstice. He had intended to help any search party that came through looking for Knadyn. Her mind was reeling. There really were aliens using the wormhole and Knadyn was one of them. Her father had been correct about everything this whole time. It was the only explanation.
“Is Knadyn going to be okay?” she asked hesitantly, “I wasn’t able to see him for the last few days.” She was taking a risk in bringing up a topic that might set them off but she had to know.
“He was very damaged but nothing that was done to him physically will last. Our medical unit will see to that.” Marcael spoke and his voice seethed with anger. Now she remembered the chill down her spine at his voice.
Ava thought of what Jeromy had done, “I know that they hijacked his memories, if that helps with his treatment.” She wasn’t sure if their medical unit could fix damage to the mind and wanted them warned.
Knacayn just smiled at her, “Our aunt and uncle are two of the best minds on Terraneu. They will find a way to fix Knadyn.”
He spoke of an aunt, uncle…and Knadyn convinced his father to find her. At this rate, he probably still had a mother as well.
Chapter Seven
Of course he had a mother…and that was her?! Ava had been hustled out of the vehicle and hurried toward a group facing off before a dilapidated building. Knacayn had waited patiently while the arguing continued and when a gorgeous, petite blond had finally noticed them she had held her hand up for silence.
“Mother, here is the female Knadyn and Steve Howard were talking about.” He gently moved Ava in front of him.
All eyes had turned to her and Ava had never felt so self-conscious in her life. On one side were obviously Earth survivors. They were a rag-tag bunch. The same as the government group really. All pale, mal-nourished and sickly. On the other side was…different. There were four males, all darkly handsome, tanned, and muscular…one exceptionally so. They all had flashing purple eyes, and similar yet different facial features. By their sides were only two females. The one Knacayn had just called mother, and another even smaller female.
Knadyn’s mother had thick, blond hair with multiple highlights dark and light, that trailed down her back in a ponytail. Her eyes were blue-green with purple mixed in. Her figure was showcased in tight leather pants and a tank top. On her, it was almost indecent with the…uh, abundance of curves she had on top. Ava noticed the rebel men were all noticing, and if she wasn’t mistaken that could be another reason for the animosity between the two groups. She didn’t think the Earth males would remember ever seeing a woman looking like this. Tanned, fit and glowing with health. The smaller female was black haired, wearing a similar outfit. Only this female also had weapons strapped to almost every part of her body. Her cobalt blue-purple eyes were busy scanning the area and Ava had the feeling that if something moved, it might get shot or stabbed by this female.
“Thank you Knacayn, one second.” She then turned to the tall male next to her. “Kniam, they gave us the vehicles that not only got Knadyn here, but also Ava. If not for their help, we might not have succeeded in time.”
“We…it was nothing…” the rebel leader tried to talk but trailed off, shrugging helplessly. Ava recognized him from their negotiations. She wasn’t sure how he had been voted their leader, since he was pretty docile.
“My son knew the risks when he accepted an offworld mission. We all did.” Ava saw the small female grab the male’s hand. This must be Knadyn’s father. She could see the resemblance. Tall, dark haired with similar bone structure around the eyes, nose and chin. “I can accept that he is home now and will not suffer further.” Ava wondered how badly Knadyn had been tortured to cause this reaction in his father. “It will be discussed by both councils, and then decided on by the community as a whole what is to be done.” He stiffened his spine and she watched in awe as all the males stood taller as if in solidarity. Four tall, dark haired men with similar features and body size. Well except for the heavily muscled one, he was above and beyond. What were they feeding him to get that body mass? Ava felt goose bumps raise on her arms, she would love to be a fly on the wall during those council discussions.
The Earth rebels were easing back away from the anger pouring off the males in front of them. The leader tried to stand firm but it was the female next to him that ended up stepping forward. Ava recognized her from the negotiations as well. She had done a lot of talking and asking questions. She had been impressed with the way this female’s mind worked. The leader tried to grab her hand but she strode forward. She wasn’t very old. Maybe in her late twenties, early thirties. Her hair was cut short, probably for bugs and sores. Who knew what color it would be when clean, possibly somewhere between brown and black. She was about the same height as Ava which put her at five seven to five eight. When she spoke, Ava was taken by how melodic the sound was. She had noticed that during the negotiations too, how soothing her voice was.
“We are sorry for what happened to your son.” Her voice rang with sincerity, “We make no excuses for the fight here at this location. We have been trying to maintain our territory for months. The government forces keep trying to push us back, and we keep holding firm. We are losing good people daily to hunger, disease, and fighting. So yes, we are sorry for your son…but we are just as
sorry for what is happening to our sons, brothers and fathers.”
Ava knew how this woman felt. The everyday toll it took just to survive was wearing all of them down. Turning to see how Knadyn’s father had taken this speech, she saw them all staring straight ahead.
Finally he spoke, “We owe you a debt. This will be repaid in six months when we come back. A decision will have been made on what level of assistance we will provide you. If you control this area, come to this location. If you are not here, we will find you. May I ask your name?” Ava saw the look of surprise cross the females face.
“My name is Kenzie.” She nodded to the men in front of her, “We will look for you in six months.” With those parting words, the Earth group started from the clearing.
Ava was close enough to hear one of the men in their group grouching, “You are going to get us killed with that mouth of yours Kenzie.” Then they were out of the clearing and disappearing into the trees.
“It is time to get out of here.” Knadyn’s father ushered his group toward the building. “Females first, then we will follow.” Before Ava could ask whether they wanted her to go with the Earth rebels or stay with them, she felt a hand on her elbow.
“This way.” Knacayn was pulling her along.
“Is my father waiting for me in that building?”
“You could say that.” Marcael answered as he moved past them.
“I want to thank you then, for getting me away from the government base.” She looked up at Knacayn and wished that he could pass a message to Knadyn for her. “Tell your brother that I am glad he is back home and getting the medical help he needs. I hope that he heals…” her voice trailed off and she felt a lump in her throat. She was never going to see Knadyn again, unless he was part of the group that came back in six months. “I will probably be with the rebel group that just left, so if he comes back in six months I will try to see him.” Why would he come back here though…shaking herself slightly she hurried along, “If you can just show me to my father, we can catch up with the rebels before they get to far away.”
Knadyn: A Terraneu Novel (Book Six) Page 3