The Complete Alien's Bride

by Yamila Abraham

  She felt as though she were reeling. “Xaroth is going to kill women’s husbands so the widows can be forced to be with his soldiers? Even after what he went through with his own wife?”

  Hern gave an anguished groan. “This colony is afforded none of the protections the Earth humans have under the Surrender Agreement. Xaroth’s not going to make these women brides, but breeding slaves. They’ll be kept in cells on planet Hok, to be used by his soldiers sexually whenever they wish, while being forced to breed in the usual accelerated manner.”

  The room felt like it was spinning around her.

  “He claims he doesn’t want his men to become weakened or burdened by wives. He wants the women to produce new soldiers for us while staying out of the way of the current ones. Their only value is as pleasure-givers and brood mothers.”

  “How…” Her voice had become so choked with emotion she could barely speak. “How can he do this?”

  “That’s his agenda, Selena. To bring us as far away from compassion as he can.”

  “Can…can Lord Elentinus stop him?”

  Hern scrubbed his hand over his anguished face. “He truly can’t! His jurisdiction is only planet Earth. Even as a member of the High Council—he can’t force him to stop. Xaroth has the authority to lead the military with impunity. Lord Elentinus has objected. He wishes to bar him with a High Council order, but that’s something that must receive a unanimous vote. Xaroth knows he doesn’t have enough time to call a High Council session. We’re already in your solar system.”

  Selena felt as if ice were in her stomach. Tendrils of potent nausea threatened to take her off her feet.

  “You…you have to stop him. Lives can’t become so meaningless. Women can’t be treated like animals. Not…not when our babies have to grow up in this world.”

  “It’s his turn to command.” The volume of his voice had dropped. “All the soldiers know it. If I give opposing orders I’ll be asking for civil war.” He closed his eyes. “I have no options left. If I let this happen, then there’s nothing…nothing I could ever do to bring us back. He would have his way, without compassion or restraint, from here forward.”

  The door slid open. Let-Shurit led Elentinus in. Selena gave him a stricken gaze. Elentinus’ auburn eyes still looked cruel, but they gave her hope. The cunning alien always seemed to get his way, at least according to her former slave colony leader. When he stood next to Hern she noted the silver-haired alien looked more authoritative than her husband. Older. Filled out with greater muscle. Perhaps even wiser than him.

  “I…I’m not supposed to let anyone see her,” Let-Shurit repeated.

  “But you know better than to blindly follow the commands of a madman,” Elentinus said. “Your master is gone, anyway.” He gestured with his nose for Let-Shurit to leave them. The effete man sighed and obeyed.

  “Where is he?” Hern said.

  “He left on a pod back to his own warship,” Elentinus said. “It was in defiance to me. He refused to hear me any further.” He looked at Selena. “He gave orders that you be brought to him. He mentioned that you would be fertile soon—and that he had rights to breed with you.”

  Hern’s face darkened with anger. “I’m not giving her to him. Not now. Not ever again.”

  Selena held back a new flurry of tears.

  “That would be rash and foolish,” Elentinus said.

  “I don’t care!”

  “She’s the only one who can stop him now.”

  Hern’s lips parted. Selena became incredulous.

  “Stop him how?” Hern said.

  Elentinus tapped open a hidden compartment in his shoulder armor. He removed something small, and then displayed it on the tip of his finger. Hern gasped in horror at the sight of it. Elentinus shhed him with a cruel glare.

  Selena leaned forward to see. It was a metal square, no larger than the nail of her pinky finger, with four sharp prongs sticking up from each corner.

  “After he makes love to you, run your fingers through his hair—and smash this into his scalp. The prongs must fully embed into his flesh.”

  She felt the color drain from her face.

  Elentinus reached up with his free hand to sooth her shoulder. “This will place him into a coma, Selena. Nothing more. He will merely be incapacitated, and Hern will be forced to take command.”

  “Oh!” She felt relieved.

  “Since the unit will be hidden beneath his hair it will take time for it be detected and removed. By then Hern will have a chance to lead this mission in a civilized manner.”

  She nodded. “That…that’s perfect. I’ll make it happen. No matter what.”

  “Excellent.” He offered her the tiny device. “Take care not to prick yourself. Its chemical may be fatal to humans.”

  She cupped her trembling hands together to accept it.

  “Lord Elentinus.”

  The sharpness in Hern’s voice made her look at him. His face had more than darkened now. Her husband was trembling with anger.

  Elentinus appeared calm and evil, as always. “Let us continue our plans for this mission in your control room, General Hern.”

  “You’re not going to use her like this.”

  “General Hern!”

  Elentinus’ sudden shouting startled them both.

  “Step into the corridor with me.” He shot him a piercing gaze.

  Hern caressed her back as he exited.

  Selena waited while cradling the device in her hands. Her stomach began tying itself into knots. She refused to try to think about why—or anything. She merely waited.

  More than a few minutes passed. Then a half hour. She sat down at the table and carefully hooked the tiny device in the fabric her sleeve. Then she continued to wait. Hours passed.

  When the door finally slid open, Let-Shurit and Elentinus entered. She stood, craning her head to see if Hern was behind them.

  “Let-Shurit is going to bring you to General Xaroth now,” Elentinus said.

  “Where’s Hern?”

  “He’s too emotional to see you off,” Elentinus said. His voice was perfectly even. The words sounded premeditated. “He asked that I bid farewell for him, but have no fear. You’ll be reunited soon.”

  “This thing…it’s not what you said it is…”

  “The thing between you and General Xaroth?” Elentinus said. He moved his eyes toward Let-Shurit in a meaningful way and then back to her. “Yes. I know you don’t love him, Selena, but you must serve him. That’s what you agreed to.”

  She nodded weakly.

  Let-Shurit placed a hand on her shoulder. “Please try to hurry, my dear.” He ushered her into the corridor. “And you must claim that you spoke to no one. Not to General Hern nor Lord Elentinus.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  “Say that Hern came to the door, but I didn’t let him in.” He brought her on to a moving walkway.

  “Yes.”

  “Then he tried to talk to you when I was bringing you to the pod, but he was too far away and I slammed the hatch closed before he could reach you.”

  She nodded. Her mind went back to the device in her sleeve. If only she’d seen Hern one more time before they left. Then she’d know for sure what to do.

  Xaroth’s warship was identical to Hern’s except that it teemed with Dak-Hiliah soldiers. Two dozen of the blue aliens were in the large bay the pod opened to. They angled their heads to gawk at her, but Let-Shurit had her march speedily. She was rushed onto a moving walkway where they passed even more men.

  “There’s over 900 Dak-Hiliah soldiers on the ship,” Let-Shurit said. “General Xaroth loaded them aboard for this mission. You’re at greater risk here. You mustn’t leave his chamber or open your door for anyone. Only General Xaroth and I have the key-code.”

  Selena started scratching at her cuticles. “Understood.”

  Let-Shurit brought her to Xaroth’s chamber. The layout was the same as his quarters on Hern’s ship. Here, however, he had plaques with his acc
omplishments fused to the walls and a computer terminal had been installed in one conspicuous corner.

  “I must report to him now.” Let-Shurit stepped out the door. “Remember my warning!”

  Then, once again, Selena found herself alone. She crawled onto Xaroth’s large bed and transferred the device from her sleeve to the edge of the mattress, beneath the bedcover. Then she had to question why she did that. Was she really going to use it on him?

  If it really put him in a coma then of course she would. Why would Hern have that reaction if that’s all it did? Was he angry that Elentinus expected her to betray one of her husbands? That couldn’t matter, considering what was at stake.

  The device might kill Xaroth. Could she dare use such a thing?

  Could she afford not to?

  If this wasn’t her world now, its problems wouldn’t be her problems. She could remain a bystander. She could read about the horrors that would happen at Europa Colony in one of those tablets and feel bad for them. She’d never see any of it, or experience their pain.

  Was this, in fact, her world now? Did she truly have to get involved in what happened?

  If she did nothing Hern would be a ruined man. All his wonderful ideals would be crushed. Other worlds would be devastated the way Earth was.

  The ones doing the devastating would be her children. Well, perhaps just the boys. What about the girls? How was their future going to be in an empire where some women were used as sex slaves?

  This was her problem. She didn’t have to waste thoughts on figuring that out. Stopping Xaroth was the right thing to do, and if she could do it, then she had to.

  For Hern. For their future—and their future children.

  But what if she was deciding to become a murderer?

  She wrestled with the thoughts in her extended solitude. The door chimed and a robot brought her a meal (apparently they had access to the room too). She ate a little, then realized her hunger and cleaned the plates. After that she felt she could think more rationally. There had to be a better way.

  She was seated at the table when Xaroth entered the chamber. He looked at her with a derisive smile.

  “So he handed you over—just like that.”

  She kept her expression neutral.

  He passed her and went to the bed. “In a very short while I’ll be leading our soldiers on a controversial mission. It’s one completely at odds with Hern’s ideals. It will, quite frankly, guarantee that my philosophies are adhered to in this new era.” He started to remove his boots. “Hern’s lost everything he was fighting for. I thought he’d cling to you, since there’s nothing else left for him. I was even ready to relinquish my claim on you.” He began to remove his tunic. “You were to be my consolation to him.”

  She watched him with her lips sealed.

  “I suppose he better prizes you as a peace offering. It just annoys me. How can he possibly hope to change things after this?” He stood to strip off the last of his clothing. “Get over here and undress. Impregnating you is my chore. I’d just as soon be finished with it so I can get on with our invasion.”

  Selena stood and started to unfasten her dress. “Human women can’t control what gender our babies will be.”

  He eyed her. “I’m well aware of this.”

  “If we have a little girl, is she going to be better off living in an empire that’s governed by your philosophies?”

  “Our children will enjoy special treatment.”

  “What about all the other little girls?”

  He smiled snidely. “To consider them would be an act of compassion. Letting compassion surmount reason will be our ruin.”

  She looked away from him. “What if we have a little boy and he wants to be a soldier like his father. Don’t you think you’re making things harder for him?”

  “He’ll be part of an empire that’s strong enough to withstand that.”

  “What if he’s part of an empire that’s so cruel the whole universe joins together to crush it?”

  “I’m ensuring that we can never be crushed. Compassion is what would lead us to become weaker. I’m making us stronger than we’ve ever been before.”

  She became plaintive. “But is it worth it?”

  Xaroth lowered his head. She saw his shoulders quaking. Her lips parted. She thought he’d broken into tears. When he lifted his face she realized he’d been laughing.

  “So that’s why Hern sent you to me? To try and talk me out of this? He’s so marvelously absurd. I can’t believe I ever admired him. He’s weakness incarnate. He’s the downfall of our whole empire. When he fails he sends a woman to continue his fight. My gods…!”

  He walked over to her and jerked her to the bed. “I don’t have time for this idiocy.” He shoved her onto the mattress. Her dress was still on. He reached beneath it and yanked off her underwear.

  Selena curled onto her side. “You’re going to hurt me!”

  He wrenched her straight again. “Oh, be silent. Here.”

  He grabbed a flask of oil from his nightstand and emptied it on her sex. Then he jammed his member into her. Selena shrieked in pain. She’d been filled too fast, and the lubricant only prevented her physical injury.

  “Keep still!”

  His voice was raspy. She saw that there was still lust coming through his anger. He made hard thrusts against her body. She sobbed while huddling her arms against her. Every movement felt like foul violation. Worse still, her anguish did nothing to lessen his desire. She heard his visceral grunts of pleasure.

  Finally his body ceased its barrage and she felt him climax. He shoved deeper than she felt she could withstand, garnering another cry of pain from her, then withdrew.

  Xaroth moved to the edge of the bed and started dressing. “Let’s hope that takes, hmm?”

  Selena forced her quaking body to sit up. Xaroth was whispering a song as he dressed. She closed her eyes in a moment of nauseated disbelief. Then she forced herself to move.

  “You…have to leave?”

  “Yes,” he said pleasantly. “I’m about to invade a moon.”

  She crawled up behind him and drew her body next to his. “You can’t stay a little while?”

  He laughed and reached back for her. “I knew you liked it.”

  Selena jabbed the device into his skull.

  Xaroth ripped himself off the bed with a scream. He turned around to gape at her. His hand trembled over the place she’d stabbed.

  “What have you—!”

  His tongue stuck out. He began choking, then gurgling. Foam started to drip out from the sides of his mouth. He turned and lunged for the door, but stumbled just short of it. Horrible sounds of gagging came from deep in his throat. He clawed up the wall to tap the panel. The door slid open. As it did, Xaroth fell the rest of the way to the floor. His head bent to the side with his tongue sticking out and his lifeless eyes wide.

  Selena pulled her dress down to ensure she was concealed. Her hands were shaking, but beyond that she suffered no emotion. There was rather a void inside her where emotion should have been.

  Let-Shurit was standing in the open door now. He lowered beside Xaroth and felt his neck. Then his hand fell limply to his side. He fixed his wide eyes on Selena.

  “You…killed him?”

  Her lips were open, but no words came. She attempted to shake her head, but only managed a faint movement.

  Let-Shurit stood and looked around him as though unsure of what to do. “I…I suppose I should find someone.” He turned, paused a moment, and then exited.

  Soldiers came and dragged her to the ship’s dark jail. There were shouts and blue aliens running with panic. All of it seemed muffled to her, like she was watching a muted television. Let-Shurit stayed with her guards in the jail. The next day soldiers marched her to a pod and she was brought back to Hern’s ship. Until she saw him she’d remained in that vacant state, unable to think.

  Then Hern pulled her into his arms, held her, and made her feel human again. She looked
into his eyes with her lower lip trembling.

  “I killed him.”

  His face crumbled and he held her tighter against him.

  “We need to go somewhere private to talk.”

  Selena lifted her head. It wasn’t Hern speaking, but Elentinus. She realized he was standing beside them. Let-Shurit was there also. Had he ridden with her in the pod? She’d felt too dazed to notice.

  In a short while they were in one of the meeting rooms, similar to where she’d had her lesson with Xaroth before. Only Hern and Elentinus sat with her. Let-Shurit was told to bring Shol-Ignar to the room, and then wait until they were given leave to enter.

  Hern sat nearest to Selena. He held both her hands in his. His face was still brimming with fresh tears.

  “It’s not your crime.” He snuffled. “I knew what the hotice would do, and I didn’t stop you. I wanted to—so desperately—to protect you from committing this crime.” He closed his eyes with a grimace. “Then the voice of Tian-za was in my head. She said, ‘Let her do it. Let her end the age of barbarity.’” He opened his eyes with tears falling from either side. “I—I’m the one who killed him. You were lied to—used like a tool, the same as always. With no—no consideration. I’m so sorry, Selena. Can you ever forgive me for doing this to you?”

  She wept without sobs. Part of the numbness was easing back into her. In time she could face her feelings over what had happened. Right now she still fought against the shock.

  “I knew that thing would kill him.”

  Hern’s lips parted.

  “I tried to talk sense into him. Then I just tried to fool myself into thinking that the stupid thing might just put him in a coma. I used Lord Elentinus’ lie to just force myself to do it. It…it had to be done. If I love you, and I trust you, then I knew I had to do it. If…if I hadn’t done it…I’d regret it even worse. I’d regret it for the rest of our lives.”

  He swept her into his arms. “You are the bravest person I’ve ever known.”

  She held him back while swallowing a painful swell in her throat.