by Gail Koger
With a little psychic manipulation, I could read Lilkee’s thoughts. The idiot believed she could defeat Talree and even her father in battle. Her pitiful mind roiled with anger and hate. She was obsessed with cleansing the Coletti bloodline of all the tainted hybrids.
Talree bared his fangs in a truly frightening smile and seized her mind. “You did not inherit our father’s powers, sister.”
The pampered princess’s eyes bugged, and her mental scream was one of pure terror. “No. No. This isn’t right. He told me I was powerful enough to destroy your mind.”
“Who told you that?” Talree demanded.
“Malik. Together we will rule the galaxy.”
Talree’s mental voice crackled with anger. “Malik has not long to live, and neither do you.”
Lilkee held a beseeching hand out to Zarek. “Father, please help me.”
Not an ounce of mercy on his face, the Overlord snarled, “To raise a weapon against my mate is to raise a weapon against me. I renounce you. You are no longer clan. You are dead to me.”
I muttered, “Karma’s a bitch.”
“Sucks to be her,” Sam added.
For a long moment, Lilkee stared at him in utter disbelief. Then she started laughing a weird, demented kind of laugh. The glittering blue light of a transporter beam engulfed her, and she vanished.
Talree let out a roar of pure fury.
Her voice full of frustrated rage, Kaylee said, “I can’t track her. Anyone else get a lock on her?”
I psychically searched the surrounding area for the skinny bitch. “I’ve got zip.”
“Nada,” Sam replied.
Aunt Tess shook her head. “Nothing. I think Lilkee’s minions are using some kind of cloaking device.”
“Sorry, babe,” Kaylee told Talree.
Talree hugged her gently. “I will find her, and when I do, I will take her mind and turn her into a vacant-eyed breeder.”
“Works for me.” Kaylee looked over at the messy remains of her welcome-home party. “Any beer left?”
Uncle Saul was suddenly in my head, “Everyone okay?”
“We’re fine,” I assured him. “We had a little dustup, but it’s under control now.”
“You’re sure?”
I watched as a growing number of Coletti warriors teleported in. “Yep, we’re good.”
My uncle let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop General Tasker from giving you to the Coletti. I didn’t realize how much power that bitch had acquired until it was too late.”
“She’s a traitor. We just need to prove it.” I mentally kissed Uncle Saul’s cheek. “Be careful.”
“I’m always careful.” He broke the link.
An incredibly good-looking Coletti warrior walked up to me. “I am Lothel.”
Oh fuck! Talk about bad timing. My eyes bugged when I noticed the huge golden tarantula riding on his shoulder. Spiders gave me the creeps. The little buggers were always scurrying about, waiting for an opportunity to jump in my hair and giggle evilly while I had a meltdown. Where was a stun grenade when you needed one? Wait a minute. It was the perfect time to see how Lothel handled my demented act. I screamed bloody blue murder and jumped on the table. “Keep it away from me. Keep it away from me!”
A blood-covered Voss appeared. “Nice try.”
“Has the female been damaged in some way?” Lothel regarded me warily.
“I’m not a Happy Meal, and you don’t get to munch on me,” I bellowed and popped him in the mouth.
Tihar’s sword was suddenly against Lothel’s throat. “Do not touch her. She is my chosen.”
Oh hell. I picked up the last bowl of salsa and dumped it on Lothel’s head. “I challenge you to a duel. Swords at dawn. Mwah-hah-hah.”
“Is she serious?” Lothel didn’t seem worried by the blade cutting into his neck.
“It’s an act,” Voss stated, giving me the Coletti version of the stink eye.
On a private link, I whispered to Tihar, “Back off. I’ve got it handled.”
“It is my duty to protect you.”
A bloody Sariel zipped up and commanded, “Put the sword down. Now.”
Tihar lowered his sword and promptly grabbed Lothel by the neck. “Sarah is mine. I will fight you for her.”
“She belongs you?” To say Lothel was stunned would be an understatement.
“That is unknown. We will test her blood in two days’ time to determine if her DNA has been compromised,” Sariel advised.
Tihar bared his fangs at Lothel. “The mating dance has started. Touch her and die.”
Voss sighed in aggravation. “I suggest we discuss this situation over a great deal of Mallon brandy in my office. Once I tell you how troublesome this female can be, you won’t be so eager to claim her.”
Lookee there, I had missed a bowl of hot sauce. Voss would look good wearing it. Before I could reach for it, Kaylee grabbed it.
“Not a chance. This is the good stuff.” She grabbed a chip, dunked it, and chowed down. “I dreamed of chips, hot sauce, salsa, and chocolate every damn day I was sloshing about that stinky swamp and eating God knows what.”
The spider jumped on the table and stuck its face in the red sauce.
Voss and Lothel teleported away.
“I will be back,” Tihar promised and zipped off with his father.
A buzzing filled my head, and then I heard the spider ask, “The crazy one is family?”
“She is,” Kaylee answered, stuffing another chip in her mouth.
A talking spider? The universe was truly wacked.
The spider raised its head, and I started laughing. Its fangs held a chip dripping with hot sauce. Anyone who liked Mexican food couldn’t be all bad. “I thought spiders ate bugs?”
“I am a Tabor. A distant cousin of your Earth spiders, and we eat many things”
“Her kids really like chowing down on Tai-Kok,” Kaylee inserted.
“Whoa! Really?”
Kaylee nodded. “Yep. They’re a great source of protein”
Damn. Just the thought of the monsters being drained dry by itty-bitty spiders brought a smile to my face. “Any time the babies need a snack, you let me know, and I’ll bring them some Tai-Kok.”
“Alive, please,” the Tabor clarified and held out a furry leg. “I am called Tae.”
I gingerly took it. “Nice to meet ya. I’m Sarah.”
A sand fly buzzed the table.
Tae’s tongue shot out and snatched it out of midair.
“She’s my own little bug zapper,” Kaylee commented.
“How do I go about getting one for myself?” My gaze locked on a plate. “Tacos!” I picked up a taco that had somehow managed to survive the carnage and ate it.
“You funny,” a little voice said in my head.
I looked around. “Who said that?”
A little Tabor crawled out from behind the hot sauce bowl. “Me.”
“What’s your name, cutie?”
“KeeKee. Pet me.” She climbed on my hand.
“Word to the wise. Tabor’s venom is deadly. One bite, and you’re dead before you hit the floor,” Kaylee warned.
“Good to know.”
KeeKee hopped up and down on my hand. “Pet me. Pet me.”
What a pushy little thing. “No biting.”
“No bite.” KeeKee’s emerald eyes sparkled with mischief.
Stroking KeeKee’s soft, silky hair, I watched Caleb open a big cooler and start passing out beer. In a very short time, we had one hell of a party going on. Everyone ignored the blood and bodies and got drunk.
Even Detja and the Overlord got a bit tipsy. A tipsy Overlord was a frisky Overlord. They brought tonsil hockey to a new level. Zarek’s hands roamed over Detja. Oh my God. Get a room.
Earth beer had quite an effect on alien physiology. When did I figure that out? When some Coletti warriors started playing their version of soccer with a dead wannabe’s heads. Ick factor was a twenty.
I caught a
glimpse of myself in a mirror and shrieked. Holy shit! There were gross pieces of the wannabes in my hair, and their blood streaked my face. Ick. Ick. Ick.
Kaylee stopped eating. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m covered in blood and body parts.”
“Get used to it. Happens to me all the time,” Kaylee said.
“Oh, yay.” I headed for my room.
Detja’s stern voice sounded in my head, “Where are you going?”
“I need to clean the blood and bits of Lilkee’s warriors off me.”
“Very well. Do not dawdle. Lothel will return shortly, and I want you to spend some time with him.”
Yeah. Like that was going to happen. “What about Tihar?”
“Tihar is no longer your concern.” Her ice-queen demeanor was spoiled when she giggled. Zarek had whispered something naughty in her ear.
I needed to learn their language. “Yes, ma’am.” For a fleeting moment, Detja’s memory of a very naked Zarek flashed through my mind. Yeow! Her intense desire for him made me squirm.
Zarek smiled wickedly at his mate and out slid his snake. Holy guacamole, it was enormous! I quickly cut our link. I was never going to be able to look at the Overlord again without seeing his man parts.
As I trotted down the long walkway, my Spidey sense began to prickle. Something was wrong. But what? I psychically scanned the area. My gaze froze on a pair of antlers sticking out of a bush. How had the warlords missed this wannabe? A quick mind scan and I knew. The Legionnaire was as close to brain dead as you could get. I linked with Kaylee, “Tell your big, bad warlord he missed one.”
“Where?”
Before I could answer, a crackling red energy storm engulfed me, and agony seared every nerve ending. A scream tore from me as violent muscle spasms contorted my body. My arms and legs slammed repeatedly against the ground. I fought to stay conscious.
Kaylee cried, “Sarah! Tell me what’s happening.”
“Attacked,” I moaned.
The Genghis Khan wannabe literally pranced over to me and smirked. “Lilkee has planned an exquisite death for you and all the half-breeds.” He slammed the butt of his laser rifle against my head, and everything went black.
Chapter Eight
Something jumped up and down on my nose. “No dead. No dead.”
Someone was dead?
“No dead. No dead.”
Who’s dead? Couldn’t be me, could it? I groaned as pain ricocheted around my skull. Didn’t feel dead. It felt like someone was doing the rumba on my noggin. Did the Tai-Kok shoot me down? No. They ate downed pilots. Had I gone on a bender? Gotten into a bar fight? Why couldn’t I remember?
“No dead. No dead,” the relentless voice kept repeating, and something wouldn’t stop bouncing on my face.
“Arrgh! Not dead. Stop bouncing. I’ve got a killer headache.” I gingerly touched the throbbing spot on my head. Who hit me?
“Up. Up. Up,” the voice in my head demanded. Silky legs pried my right eyelid open. “Bad man. Bad man.”
Bad man? What bad man? My vision cleared, and I blinked at the little emerald eyes staring back at me. “KeeKee?”
“Grandma says no can find. You go. Now!”
My brain didn’t want to work. “What happened?”
“Thorn man hurt you.”
“Thorn?”
The image of a wannabe formed in my battered brain. “He mean. Hit you. Big owie. Me jump on bad man. Glitter light come. We here. No like glitter light. Me want go home.”
Everything abruptly clicked into place. I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Tihar. The oh-so-friendly warlords and the pampered princess’s attack. Some prick with antlers had stunned me and followed it up with a rifle butt to the head. Once I got my hands on the bastard, I was going to put those antlers where the sun didn’t shine.
KeeKee patted my cheek. “We go now?”
“We go now.”
The little Tabor crawled into my hair.
My scalp twitched. What was it with spiders and hair?
KeeKee whined, “Me hungry.”
Kids. Always hungry or needing to pee. “There aren’t any bugs in here. You’ll have to munch on wannabe bits or wait until we get out of here.”
Her legs poked about my blood-covered tresses. “Me no like.”
Me no like either. Struggling into a sitting position, I surveyed the metal walls and the glowing red energy barrier across the front of the cell. Kinda reminded me of Central Command’s setup, complete with shackles. The only thing missing was the orange jumpsuit.
I reached out mentally for Aunt Tess. What the hell? I could barely sense her, and forget about linking with her. Had the blow mucked up my psychic abilities? Or was a cloaking device interfering with my telepathy? “You can still talk with Grandma?”
“Me can.”
“Tell her I’m busting out and beating the snot out of Lilkee.”
“Me tell. What snot?”
“Uh. Well. Beating the snot out of Lilkee means I’m gonna hit her. A lot.”
“’Kay.” KeeKee did a little dance on my head. “Found bug!”
Oh yay. What other creepy crawlies had set up house in my hair?
“How get bracelets off?”
“Easy. Marines improvise, adapt, and overcome. Oorah!”
“Rah?”
“Oorah.”
“Rahoo?”
“Close enough.” I hit the shackles with a tentacle of power, and presto. They released. I stood up carefully and waited until the dizziness passed.
A pins-and-needles sensation grew in my brain as if nerve fibers were coming back to life. To my surprise, Tihar’s deep growly voice filled my mind. “How badly are you injured?”
“I’ll live. How are you able to communicate with me?”
“You are my chosen.”
“And being your chosen automatically creates a nifty telepathic link?”
“It does.”
Oh joy. “Do you know where they’re holding me?”
“No. Their cloaking device is blocking our scanners. Have no doubt, I will find you, and when I do, they all die.” There was a relentless purpose in Tihar’s voice.
“Oh, they’ll die all right. Lilkee made a big mistake in taking me. I’m a Jones and a Marine. I’m quite capable of freeing myself. As my cousin Ethan likes to say: ‘Mess with the best, die like the rest.’”
“Spoken like a true warrior. You are an excellent mate.”
Goose bumps skittered over my skin. It was like Tihar was stroking my entire body with that damn feather again.
This mate thing wasn’t a done deal yet, was it? Detja didn’t think so. I avoided the issue and went with, “What I’m going to do is provide the enemy with an opportunity to die for their cause. If you’ll excuse me, I need to focus on bringing down the energy barrier.”
The stroking stopped, and Tihar’s demeanor became one of a badass killer. I could sense the explosive violence he kept under a tight leash. He literally radiated menace. I was suddenly glad I wasn’t his enemy.
“Two warriors are headed toward your cell.” I felt Tihar probing their minds. “They have been ordered to execute you on a live vid feed.”
“Lilkee’s gonna be so pissed when her little death scene doesn’t go like she planned.”
“What is your strategy?”
“I’ll play possum, lure them in, and they die instead of me.” I lay down on the floor and feigned unconsciousness.
KeeKee asked, “What me do?”
“When they bend down to grab me, I want you to bite them.”
“Me bite.” KeeKee wiggled excitedly. “Me bite. Me bite.”
“You are a clever female,” Tihar said proudly.
“It’s called being realistic. I’m not up to a physical fight just yet.”
“My power is yours to call on.” Tihar sent gossamer filaments of energy into my battered brain.
Whoa! My headache vanished, and I felt like I could take on an entire army. “Thanks. How did
you do that?”
“It is one of the many benefits of being my mate.”
“Name another benefit?”
“Great sex.”
KeeKee quizzed, “What sex?”
“Ask Tae.” I wasn’t stepping on that landmine. Her grandmother could explain it to her when she was a lot older.
“Want know now.”
“Silence, youngling! The enemies must be dealt with first,” Tihar snarled.
“’Kay.” KeeKee shivered. “He scary.”
“Shhhh. Bad guys are coming.” Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as two small Genghis Khan wannabes marched down the hallway.
The wannabes stopped in front of my cell. The shorter one had a Fu Manchu mustache. The other one wore antlers on his helmet. Bet he was the jerk who hit me.
Antler Guy ran his hand over the control panel, and the energy barrier vanished. They stepped into the cell and broke into their dance.
Oh my God. Give me a friggin’ break. What freaks.
KeeKee inquired, “Why they jump like that?”
“I have no idea.”
“The dance is a ritual they must complete before each kill,” Tihar informed me.
“As in every friggin’ time?”
“They believe it badly frightens their opponents,” Tihar jeered.
I snorted. “Their casualty rate must be astronomical.”
“It is. Since Lilkee took over the Legionnaires, they have lost twenty thousand warriors.”
“Whoa. And their commanders don’t stop the idiotic behavior?”
“They encourage it. The Legionnaires think Lilkee is the reincarnated Goddess Anat.”
“Don’t tell me. Let me guess. She’s the goddess of chaos and stupidity?”
Tihar’s amusement brushed over my mind. “No, the goddess of fertility.”
“Half-breeds aren’t the only ones they want to purify, are they?”
“They are not. Prepare yourself. The dance has stopped. They will now try to kill you.”
“Try is the operative word.”
Fu Manchu pulled his sword, waved it at a camera, and spouted a bunch of gibberish.
“What’s he saying?”
“The live feed is to show all the half-breeds what awaits them,” Tihar responded in a quiet, deadly voice.
“And that is?”
“He will gut you, and while you plead for mercy, he will remove your arms, legs, and finally your head.”