by Sadie Carter
She watched on with exasperation as he opened the door. Then her irritation fled, and she leaped forward into the waiting arms of the man standing there. “Duke!”
“Let go of my mate!” Darac roared as the strange male spun his mate around. Her foot connected with a chair, sending it flying.
“Chill, beast man.” She waved at him without looking. “This is my brother.”
“He should still put your down.”
They ignored him for a moment then the large male placed her on the ground.
“So who’s the big dude and why are his eyes red?”
Willa sat on the bed so the two men could have the chairs. They sat and glared at each other as Willa explained how they had met. When she was finished, Darac prepared himself for Duke’s questions. The other male studied him.
“Can you drive racers?” Duke asked.
“No. But I have piloted an I-35 fighter. I believe I can handle your racers.”
“Oh, famous last words.” Duke grinned. “I’ll take that bet. Tomorrow before dinner. Let’s do it.”
***
Darac noticed everyone staring at him. Whispering. Staring at him suspiciously. Not that he blamed them. He was new. An unknown commodity.
“Ignore them,” Willa told him, leaning into him. She glared at the worst offenders.
“It is of no concern, Willa. I understand.”
“Yeah, well, they don’t know what you did for us. If not for you we’d all be dead and they’d be struggling without the credits the crew earns.”
“The credits you earn are used to support the village?”
“Most of them. We get to keep a percentage, of course. But without those credits these people would starve.”
“That is very generous of you all.”
“These people have nothing. Everything they have is due to Rye. It’s his rule that the credits we earn go to the village. Duke runs the track, which is the only other source of income. People come from other villages and place bets. The winners take a percentage. Some of those credits also go to the village.”
“Like a tax. Except only the wealthiest are taxed.”
“If you can call anyone who lives here wealthy.”
No. They lived very primitively. A group of children raced past nearly crashing into them. Darac pulled her back. The children were skinny and dirty as children often were. But they were laughing as they played.
They might have nothing. But the children still knew how to have fun.
“Is there no schooling?”
She sighed. “Rye is trying to find a teacher. They’re hard to get. Come on, let’s go get some food.”
They moved over to where a group of people were gathered. A fire burned, a dead animal turning on a spit above it.
Grabbing a plate, he held it out as someone slapped some food down. Everywhere they moved, people grew silent, watchful.
“Let’s get this over with,” Willa muttered with a sigh. She stood on one of the overturned logs that people were seated on. Everyone fell quiet.
“This is Darac. He’s a Zerconian warrior. He saved our lives and he’s mine. He stays. Anyone got a problem with that, talk to me.”
***
Darac walked towards the well, carrying a bucket. The primitive life they lived surprised him. With a few credits life could be improved greatly, but it was obvious they were just managing to survive.
No wonder Rye took whatever job he could. The weight of having to look after this many people must be staggering. Still, he did wonder where most of the credits the crew earned went.
Willa had been called away by Rye. Something private. So he had offered to get their water for the night.
“Hello, what have we here?” Four young males approached him.
Darac glanced around. Were they talking to him? No one else was around, so he surmised that they must be.
“I am a Zerconian male.”
The red-headed one who had spoken nudged a shorter boy. “Hear that, Frank? A Zerconian male. Bet you’re worth a few credits, huh? That why Rye brought you here?”
Another one, with long hair caught back in dirty braids, eyed him up and down. “He’s not tied up, though, is he?”
“And Willa said he was hers,” another one added. This one was painfully skinny.
They moved around him, circling.
“What do you suppose Willa sees in him? Think she sees him as an easy mark?” The redhead, who appeared to be the leader, asked.
“Could be her ticket off this hellhole,” Frank added from his right. “Could be ours as well. How much you reckon he’s worth?”
Darac sighed. He didn’t need to understand everything they said to correctly interpret their actions.
“I have no credits on me.”
“No, but I’m betting you have access to plenty.” The leader pulled a knife, his eyes growing cold.
“Willa ain’t gonna be happy if you slice him up, Nick,” the skinny one warned.
“I’m not scared of Willa,” Nick replied. “I can take her.”
“She kicked your ass last time,” Frank told him.
“You attacked Willa?” He had been feeling slightly amused by their antics until now. Anger stirred and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. When Willa wasn’t close, his control was greatly reduced. Reaching for her through the bond helped calm him.
He reached for her now and her presence pushed back the fury.
“He thought Willa wanted him. Thought he’d sneak up and surprise her with a kiss. She kneed him in the balls so hard we all wondered if he had permanent damage down there,” Frank explained.
That was his Willa.
“Touch her again and I will kill you.”
Nick laughed. “What makes you think she’ll want you after we’re finished with you?” He attacked, obviously thinking it gave him the advantage.
He was sorely mistaken.
Darac grabbed the arm that held the knife, twisting the boy’s arm behind his back. Turning, he slashed out his leg to take out the male behind him. Using Nick as a weapon, he pushed him into the male who stood to his right.
Frank, who was the only one still standing, launched himself at him. Darac quickly jabbed him in the stomach then slammed his fist into Frank’s nose. He was pulling his punches, but the younger male still dropped to the ground unconscious.
By this time, Nick was standing. He raced towards Darac. Waiting for the last minute, Darac stepped to the side and shoved out his leg, tripping Nick up. He stood, waiting. The other two attacked at the same time. He picked them up by their shirts, one in each hand and shook them before throwing them in the air.
“Darac.”
Willa’s voice had him turning, pushing the anger back. He found her standing with a small group of people, including her brother Duke. He tensed, waiting for her to reprimand him.
She simply grinned. “It’s mean to play with them. End it and then let’s get to bed.”
“Your wish is my command.”
***
“This is going to be interesting.”
Willa glanced up as Kyle stepped up next to her, leaning against the fence surrounding the track.
She bumped into him gently. “Hey, big bro. How you doing? Miss me?”
“You were gone?”
She placed her hand on her heart. “Ahh, you wound me.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I missed you, brat. Heard you used my cloaking device.”
“Yep. Worked the first time. Not the second.”
He nodded. “Needs tweaking. I’ll get on to that tomorrow. So, Zuma told me you found a man. That was unexpected.”
“No one was more surprised than me.”
Darac followed Duke to one of the racers, obviously shortening his stride so as not to overtake her limping brother. It made her love him more.
“His leg is paining him,” Kyle told her. “The stump is rubbing against the prosthesis.”
She wished she had enough credits to get Duke o
ne of those fancy prosthesis that were wired into the brain so it would take just a thought for him to move his leg. It was the next best thing to having your own limb.
“If I had the materials I could build him a new leg.” Kyle’s jaw was clenched.
She patted him on the back. “I know. We’ll get enough credits together one day.”
Darac climbed into the racer. “Here we go.”
Nerves strummed through her. The racer fired up. Around them, people quietened. Come on, come on, come—
A siren sounded, making her freeze. Around her everyone stilled.
“Prepare to evacuate. We are under attack. This is not a drill. Prepare to evacuate.”
Around her, people fled. Parents picked up children. The elderly were aided by those younger. But they all moved.
She and Kyle stood frozen as Zuma raced up to them. “A Coizil warship was spotted. It’s less than three hours away. It can’t be a coincidence—they must have come for us.”
Fuck.
Chapter Fourteen
Darac strode into the small cabin, his heart beating rapidly. He knew she was all right. He could sense her through the bond. But the panic filling her made it hard for him to maintain control over himself.
“What is happening?” he asked, staring around the room. His gaze hit her and immediately he felt calmer. He moved to her side. Willa squeezed his hand once then went back to looking at Rye, who stood at the end of the room.
The village was in chaos. Organized chaos. But still chaos.
“A Coizil warship has been spotted by our scouts,” Rye stated.
“How far away?” he asked. Coizils? Here? That couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Three hours,” Rye told him grimly.
“Three hours?” He gaped at the other man. What kind of security did they have in place? Why hadn’t they had earlier warning?
“We pay people on Zadar to tell us about anything they see that’s suspicious. They spotted the warship,” Willa told him quietly. “We don’t have the resources for anything more.”
“We need to contact my people. We cannot fight a warship filled with Coizils.”
Rye nodded. “Our ship has the best communication system. Deacon, take him. The rest of you, arm yourselves. We’re evacuating to the mining tunnels. Arm everyone who can carry a weapon without shooting their own foot off.”
Darac glanced down at Willa, frowning. He did not want to leave her.
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “I can take care of myself. Better than most of these people can. Let me do what I have to do.”
It was hard, but he let her go and followed Deacon out.
***
“Your people can be here in less than two days?” Willa asked as she walked beside him. “That quickly?”
“The Lilans must have seen Koran’s ship attack the Coizil warship. They asked Zerconia for help. While our Emperor and the Council are making their decision, our ships decided to pull into port on Tarra. They are faster than your ship so I believe it should take them about thirty hours to get here.”
“The Crown Princess won’t be pleased that there will be a delay getting her chocolate.”
Darac nodded. “Chocolate is very important to her. Because of her delicate condition, she should not be upset. I am surprised that Koran remained.”
“Delicate state? Bet she loves hearing that.”
“We have been ordered not to mention those words in her hearing,” he replied.
He studied their surroundings. After he’d messaged Koran, he had raced back to where Willa was gathering her stuff.
Once everyone was ready, they’d set off. Zuma, Rye and Deacon leading the way. Willa, Darac, and Steele at the back. Everyone moved steadily. Duke and some others drove the racers, carrying the infirm and the very young ahead of them. Others moved behind them, erasing their tracks.
They had been walking for over an hour. The landscape was flat in every direction but one.
“What is that?” he asked, pointing ahead of them where rising from the ground was a huge rock-like hill. Bathed in colors of red and yellow, it looked so out of place that he almost wondered if he imagined it.
“That’s Ilam.”
“That is where we are going?”
“Yep.”
The top was flat, and deep grooves ran down the sides. Twenty minutes later, they stood at the base of the huge hill. Time was ticking away. By his reckoning, there were thirty minutes left until the Coizils arrived. He wondered if they were going to attempt to climb the steep cliff when some of the males moved towards some boulders at the base of the hill. Pushing and straining, they moved a large boulder, revealing a small opening.
“We are going in there?” he asked incredulously.
“Why beast man, are you scared of small spaces? Have we discovered your weakness?”
“I have no weakness.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But there is some difference between your size and mine.”
“You don’t say,” she said dryly. “Don’t worry, it will be a bit tight in places, but Rye had the tunnels widened. It shouldn’t be too bad a fit.”
“Rye created tunnels in this rock?”
She shook her head. “It was an ancient dwelling. The natives created the original tunnels. We lived hours away in that direction.” She waved her arm to the south. “We didn’t even know this was here. But a few years after our parents died, Rye helped rescue a native from a group of rogues. There are very few natives left. His family was grateful and to clear the debt they gave him Ilam.”
“Gave it to him?”
“It sounds weird but the natives are big into guardian spirits. They believe this is a sacred, safe place. They didn’t want us to live here, but in times of war we could take shelter. After our parents were killed, Rye became obsessed with protecting the village. So he moved us all here. Oh, some people didn’t come with us, but most did.”
They entered the small entrance and like she had told him, there were a few tight areas where he had to bend down or force his shoulders through.
“What about the entrance?” he asked.
“Duke and some others will cover it up, then hide the racers with invisibub’s around the other side of Ilam. There’s another entrance there.”
“Does everyone know where to go?”
“Rye made us all memorize the way in case the village is attacked while we are away. We usually run a drill every two months. Rye’s a paranoid bastard. With good reason, it seems.”
This could actually give them a chance of surviving. They reached a large cavern, the walls of the cavern were a soft, pale yellow. He ran his hand along it. Smooth. Almost silky. Crates piled three high sat against one side of the cavern. Some of the men started opening them.
“Hold this.” Willa handed him her handheld, which she’d used to light their way. She pulled out a glow stick, shaking it until it lit up. Around them other people did the same, filling the cavern with a soft light. She moved to another crate and handed him a blanket. No one seemed too concerned about their situation.
Steele cracked open a crate, while Rye moved to another one. They started pulling out weapons.
“You are well prepared.”
“Don’t sound so impressed.” She grinned. “Rye has been preparing this place for years. Its where most of the credits we earn goes. On weapons, defense mechanisms, emergency supplies.”
“I did wonder where the credits were used.”
“It took time to gather the credits to purchase Betsy, our parents left us some and we sold off some of the racers and borrowed some more. It took Rye a long time to pay off that debt. Then he had to gather a crew, find jobs. He set up this place, stocked it up over time with weapons, surveillance, supplies to last us a month. He also had Kyle set up a surveillance system that would warn us when rogues were near. We pay the Zadarns to warn us of anyone approaching our airspace.”
“Why does no one stop these rogues?”
“They’re too powerful. They’re ruthless and surprisingly organised. If someone organised the villages to band together we would have a better chance of fighting them. But people around here don’t trust easily. Do you remember me telling you about the overpopulation of Earth and how my grandparents number came up in a lottery so they were sent here? Well, back then the lottery was only for those who had a criminal record.”
“Earth sent it’s lawless here?”
“My grandfather was arrested when he was sixteen for stealing a racer. He didn’t know it was stolen, his best friend sold it to him. But he was caught with it and his friend was the Sheriff’s son. So he ended up with a record. Not everyone that was sent to Joyadan was so innocent, though. And some of them continued their criminal ways. People choose to live in our village, despite how rough it is out here, because Rye protects his own.”
Darac watched as Rye paced restlessly.
“They will find us.” How long could they hold out before reinforcements arrived? They had children and elderly to protect.
He had her to protect.
She grinned. “If they do manage to find us they are in for a few surprises.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Remember, Rye is paranoid, and Kyle is a genius. They’ve got a few things up their sleeve.” She closed her eyes. “Guess we better get some shut-eye before it’s our turn on watch.”
***
No. Damn it.
Willa willed the image in her high-powered goggles to disappear. Coizils, dozens of them, were moving in slow formation towards them. Like something from a nightmare, they marched along, side by side.
“They’re not even trying to hide their presence,” she muttered. Fifteen hours it had taken them to get here. She quickly commed Rye to report what she saw then glanced over at Darac. He sat on a ledge a few feet up the cliff, hidden behind a boulder.
“We’re coming,” Rye told her grimly.
Darac dropped quietly down beside her.
“How did they find us so quickly?” she asked.
“Probably by the one thing we could not hide, our scent. They have excellent trackers.”