Fractured Souls (Darkstar Mercenaries Book 3)

by Anna Carven

  It swayed back and forth, then…

  Whoosh. The dust exploded, a great wavefront of red rolling toward them like a tsunami. She only just saw Nythian’s dark form being swallowed by the serpentine creature’s gigantic mouth before everything disappeared in an opaque blanket of red.

  She couldn’t see anything now.

  Something was terribly wrong.

  “No!” she cried, banging her fist against the window. She turned to face one of the warriors, who had raised his pale eyebrows in mock-surprise. “Is this some sort of sick fucking joke? Aren’t you people going to do anything? That thing… could… ”

  She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. The old, crippling fear returned, and she hated herself for it.

  “Nythian’s not going to die,” the soldier drawled, sharing a knowing glance with his companion. “Although I respect your loyalty, female, I really do. Goddess knows his kind need a lot more of the likes of you. As we told you before, just wait and see.”

  She noticed Ektans standing in one shadowy corner, leaning casually against the wall. He had that same infuriatingly smug look on his face.

  “You all seem so sure that this is going to work out,” she grumbled. It almost felt like they were having some sort of fun at her expense.

  Outside, the monster whipped back and forth, its body turning into a dark, sinuous tornado. And Nythian was inside… trapped in a constricted space, crushed by peristaltic organs, his body coated in corrosive gastric juices…

  Oh god.

  It hurt to even imagine Nythian in such a place. Her man was in there? Alexis’s chest tightened. Her heartbeat kicked into a lightspeed gallop.

  Her trigger finger twitched. So frustrating. She, who was so used to being in control… she couldn’t do a thing right now.

  Her mind went blank. She was on the verge of losing it again, just like when she was back in her quarters, when she’d foolishly punched the wall.

  Only Nythian wasn’t here to absorb her madness.

  So she did the only thing she could think of at this point in time. She raised her right hand and grabbed the Kordolian in front of her, curling her fingers around his throat—the only part of his body that was exposed. Her hand tingled as she released just a little bit of the power Anuk had given her, much in the way she’d learned to do when she’d straddled her powerful silver warrior…

  But there was no tenderness in her touch right now.

  “I don’t know you people,” she said, and she was surprised to hear how cold her own voice sounded. “I know Nythian does, and maybe he trusts you one hundred percent, but I don’t.”

  The Kordolian stiffened. A trace of fear entered his crimson eyes. “Seriously, human? What are you doing?”

  Ektans and his offsider moved like the wind, and suddenly a big black armored hand clamped down on her arm.

  The power flowed through her, just a trickle right now, although she could turn it into a torrent any time she wanted.

  Just like she’d done with Nythian.

  Funny that during the most mind-blowing sex she’d ever had, she’d learned how to kill with a touch.

  “Don’t, boss,” the warrior under her touch whispered, his silver skin turning platinum-pale. Deep grey blood vessels stood out on his temples.“She’s doing something to me… heart’s slowing down… I can’t breathe…” He swore in rapid-fire Kordolian, the words coming out as a half-choked wheeze.

  “I’d have a blade to your throat right now,” Ektans hissed, “but for the fact that you’re Nythian’s mate. But you do anything to hurt my man and we’re all going to have a big fucking problem. What in the Nine Hells do you think you’re doing, human?”

  “I can kill him with a thought,” she said softly, her calm tone hiding the rage coursing through her veins. “If anything happens to Nythian out there… if I don’t get him back, then I’ve got nothing to live for. I’ll take down at least a few of you before you can kill me.”

  “Ah…” Ektans loosened his grip ever so slightly. “Ah.”

  “Confirmed crazy,” her victim muttered. “Just like every other fucking human I’ve encountered. Tch. Nythian didn’t tell us his female had sorcerous death-touch abilities.”

  Suddenly, all four of them froze and looked out the window.

  That sound…

  It was the most awful thing she’d ever heard in her life, like steel cutlery screeching on glass, but magnified a thousandfold. It made her want to curl up into a ball and cover her ears.

  It came straight from the beast’s throat, a sound of pure terror.

  A death-knell.

  “Here we go.” Ektans muttered. “This ain’t going to be pretty…”

  The dust had cleared just enough that she could make out the monster’s twisting form. It bucked and flailed, its movements becoming wild and erratic.

  Something long, black, and slender poked out of its throat.

  A blade?

  Transfixed, Alexis watched as the blade slid down the length of the creature’s body, splitting it right down the middle.

  A mass of slimy grey entrails spilled out of the cavity, splattering onto the hot desert sand. The creature swayed and fell backward…

  And then Nythian burst out of its mangled belly, covered in guts and slime and bits of gunk, and the relief Alexis felt was so intense that she started to feel giddy.

  “Oh my god, that’s disgusting,” she blurted, unable to tear her eyes away as Nythian gracefully landed on the sand in a half-crouched position.

  The beast feel to the ground with a dull thud, and a dramatic tide of dust momentarily engulfed him, before clearing to reveal Nythian’s solitary form, victorious before his vanquished foe.

  He looked menacing, spectral… as far from human as anything she’d ever encountered.

  He rose to his full height and cleaned his dark blade with a sharp flick of his wrist, sending blood and guts flying. The movement was brutal and elegant, underscoring the violence that he lived, breathed, and walked.

  He’d taken the monster down so easily… it had all been over in a matter of seconds.

  A seed of understanding cracked open inside her brain, and suddenly she felt a little bit foolish.

  How could she have even thought that he was in any kind of danger? She put it down to all the years she’d spent protecting people. Now she was the one being protected, and all she could do was stand back and watch.

  Ektans snorted; a dry, cynical sound. “See? I told you. Takes a lot more than some pissed off sand worm to trouble him, believe me. Now release my man, human, or we will have a problem.”

  “You weren’t very forthcoming about his skill level,” she sniped, still getting this sneaking suspicion they were making fun of her.

  Ektans laughed. “Is it us, or Nythian who’s supposed to explain these things to you? Relax, female. You don’t need to worry about a thing. You’ve got the First Division on your side now. You don’t even understand what that means, do you?”

  “Huh.” Slowly, she removed her hand from the Kordolian warrior’s neck. The man reflexively rubbed his throat, giving her a funny look—as if he’d seen a ghost.

  Abbey had tried to explain this to her—the First Division… they’re not normal, even by Kordolian standards—but being the jaded former detective that she was, Alexis had thought she was exaggerating.

  The seed in her mind grew, blossoming into perfect understanding.

  Holy crap.

  Why had Nythian even bothered to try and teacher how to fight? He was so far beyond her level that it was almost laughable.

  She looked out the window again, but he’d disappeared from view.

  Ektans clapped her on the shoulder, still chuckling. “Welcome to Darkstar, Alexis of Earth.” A note of approval entered his voice. “Good. Very good.”

  “Good? I just gave your man a death-threat.”

  “Exactly.” Ektans grinned, revealing his sharp fangs.

  If she was crazy, then these Kordoli
ans were another degree of nuts.

  “Did you give my soldiers trouble while I was gone, my love?” Suddenly, Nythian was there—how the hell did he move so fast?—putting his hands on her shoulders, possessively, pointedly drawing her away from Ektans and his men.

  She turned to him, feeling bemused and relived and mildly annoyed all at the same time. Damn. He was the only one who could scramble her emotions like this. “What’s this, soldier?” She looked him up and down, admiring every inch of his chiseled body. His dark helm was down, and a wicked smile curved his lips. Ektans was wrong. He wasn’t in a foul mood at all. He seemed rather pleased with himself. Alexis frowned. “You don’t stink. Why don’t you stink? Considering you just went for a ride inside the guts of a giant drooling sand worm, that’s impressive. Please don’t tell me your suit of armor has magical gunk-and-spit removing properties?”

  “The nanites absorb protein and use it as an energy source.” He shrugged, looking devilishly handsome with his crew-cut hair and creased brow and slightly uneven nose. Damn him. Even when he’d just emerged from the bowels of a monster, he was perfection. “Gunk is mostly protein, isn’t it?”

  “I wouldn’t know. It’s not really my style.”

  Nythian grinned. “I apologize for the uncontrolled variables on the shooting range. Your shooting style is adequate… for current purposes. We’ll have to continue that particular conversation later, but right now I think Lodan will be arriving in three, two…”

  A dark shadow streaked past the window. “That him? How did you know?”

  “He said twenty sivs. I set a timer. Lodan’s got a thing for being punctual. He’s very particular about this and that, you know, always needs things to be a certain way… how would you humans describe it?”

  “Obsessive compulsive?” She shook her head, trying to imagine how such a thing would manifest in one of the deadliest fighters in the Universe.

  “Perhaps.”

  “I’m not obsessive, I just like to be on time.” Lodan’s deep voice echoed from below, making her turn. Moments later, he appeared at the head of the stairwell. How the heck had he gotten here so fast? Alexis suppressed a shudder. She’d never get used to the way these Kordolians moved, so swift and silent you wouldn’t even know you were dead until after the fact.

  The pilot had a hostage in tow. As the alien stepped into the dim light, Alexis froze.

  Tharian.

  She’d seen this creature in her dreams. She’d seen the iridescent green eyes, the regal features, the smooth blue skin decorated here and there with a smattering of scales…

  She’d seen the long, graceful neck; the tall, elegant body, with limbs that were absurdly long and yet somehow beautiful.

  These were the people Anuk had thrust into her memories.

  She’d seen them swallowed by an ocean of white fire.

  Deep in her mind, a powerful presence stirred.

  Anuk? Can you hear me? Alexis tried to use the mindspeech technique Ashrael had taught her on the journey to Tharos. One would think it would be an easy thing to do… just think the words and the other would hear them, right?

  But no, mind-dwelling symbionts were more complicated than that, especially when dealing with a mere mortal like her, who didn’t have strong psychic abilities.

  Anuk? She tried again, but no luck.

  The Tharian stopped in the center of the room and stared straight ahead, clearly petrified.

  To her untrained human eyes, this one looked like a he, but she wasn't certain. He wore long hooded brown robes and a bright blue scarf around his neck. Intricate black tattoos decorated his lower arms and hands; swirling lines of strange alien glyphs.

  “He speaks a little Universal,” Lodan said, “but he still won’t believe me when I tell him we’re not going to hurt him.”

  “We’re not going to hurt you,” Nythian repeated, scowling in a manner that was distinctly not reassuring. “We just need to ask you a few questions. If you give us what we need, you’ll be free to go.”

  The Tharian’s emerald eyes blazed with pure malevolent hatred. If looks could kill, they would all be in the fiery pits of hell right about now.

  The stirring in her mind grew stronger, until suddenly she was filled with the most intense sadness. The feeling was so strong it almost brought her to her knees. She’d never experienced an emotion as powerfully as this. This wasn’t human. This was human sadness and grief multiplied tenfold, perhaps a hundredfold. Her kind wasn’t supposed to experience emotion like this.

  If this went on for too long, she’d go insane.

  Mixed in with the crushing sadness was a sliver of happiness, a tendril of relief.

  Alexis couldn’t help it; a single tear leaked from the corner of her eye.

  “Alexis,” Nythian growled. He put his arm around her and pulled her close as Ektans and the others watched. “What’s wrong?”

  She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. She was too choked up with emotion.

  Anuk’s presence seeped into her mind.

  The Tharian was back.

  Humans are fragile. If you knew what we knew, if you felt the way we felt…

  Excruciating pain hit Alexis right in the temples. The pressure inside her head grew.

  Thank you for bringing me home, Alexis Carter. I am eternally in your debt. I must ask something of you now… I have no right to demand this, but I need you to let me take over. This wayward son will not trust any of you. He would die before revealing a thing to these Kordolians. This situation is dangerous, Alexis. If he feels hopeless, he will provoke them. He hopes for a swift death.

  The strain was immense. It was taking huge willpower just for Anuk to be here; conscious, speaking in her mind.

  Please. Trust me.

  Alexis had to make a snap decision. She felt Anuk’s irresistible pull. She could give in so easily, surrender control even though it went against all her instincts.

  Nythian’s arm was warm and solid against her chest. His body was her anchor.

  Safe in his arms, she could do anything.

  For the first time in her life, she understood what it meant to trust another person so completely you would give up everything.

  “Hey Nythian,” she said softly, leaning into his powerful embrace. “I have to do a thing right now. I just want you to know that I’m doing this willingly. You’re going to want to flip out, but don’t threaten, don’t go violent. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Everything.

  Just let go.

  She submerged, letting the Tharian take full control of her mind, her body, her free will.

  It was like being buried under an avalanche, only she was floating…

  She was above, and she could see everything. It was the strangest feeling. She was both free and tethered, bound to her body and yet closer to that other place, the one she’d seen when she’d died on the Malachi.

  There was Nythian, standing with his arms around her, his body dangerously tense, one hand reflexively going to his blade… for all the good that would do. His jaw was clenched, his nostrils flaring, his crimson eyes so cold and dangerous she would have been afraid if not for the fact that she knew him by now, and she knew he was keeping himself under control… only just.

  “Alexis.” Nythian’s grip tightened. He gripped her chin and tilted her face upwards, staring into her eyes. Only they weren’t her eyes anymore. They glowed green.

  Nythian’s demeanor changed instantly. “If you do anything to her, Tharian…”

  “Be calm, Kordolian. She has nothing to fear from me. I am indebted to her.”

  It’s okay, Nythian. Alexis wanted to reach out and touch him, but she couldn’t do a thing.

  She was just a spectator here.

  Anuk focused on the Tharian male and began to speak in a low, melodic tongue, her speech punctuated by strange whistles and reverberations that should not have been possible from a human throat.

  The Tharian started to tremble. His eyes wen
t wide. His fists opened and clenched, and suddenly he dropped to his knees. He placed his hands on the floor and bent over, touching his forehead to the dark surface, chanting a kind of prayer.

  And slowly, impossibly, the words filtered into Alexis’s consciousness, and she began to understand.

  “Oh, get up, child,” she/Anuk said as she gently broke away from Nythian’s embrace. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he let her go, even though his eyes were fierce, his entire body poised and ready to strike at the first hint of danger.

  This male would kill for her. He wouldn’t tolerate anything less than complete possession of her, and in return, he gave her this…

  This scarily intense loyalty, which made her melt over and over again.

  The Tharian rose to his feet, still trembling. His hands shook like crazy. Tears welled in his eyes. “H-how are you here? And in the company of these groundless demons? Have they hurt you? I’ll kill them all…” He rolled back his sleeves, exposing his bare cerulean hands. If they were anything like Alexis’s black hand, then he would be extremely dangerous to Ektans and his men.

  “Don’t move, Rucha.” Anuk walked slowly toward him and placed her—their—hand on his forehead. “Peace to you. I am here now, and as unlikely as it seems, these Kordolians speak the truth. They will not harm you.”

  “How can you trust them when they’ve killed so many of us?”

  “Remember what we always say, child. There is good and evil in every living being. These ones are capable of anything… but now they lean toward the light. Do as they ask, Rucha. I want you to take them to the Eternal Portal of Souls.”

  “The Portal? But that is sacred—”

  “Do it, Rucha. That is my command.”

  Rucha fell to his knees and began to sob. He touched both hands to his forehead and bowed his head. “My Queen.”

  Queen?

  What else had Anuk been keeping from her?

  Nythian, Lodan and the other Kordolian warriors watched impassively, not looking in the least bit surprised. Hands rested on weapons, ready to explode into action in a heartbeat…

  And yet they were showing a surprising amount of restraint, even though they couldn’t understand a word of Tharian.