by Rena Marks
My men cheered.
“You will also have the choice whether you wish an implant,” I said to them. “Do not be afraid, our technology is unrivaled. But also do not feel as though you must have one. I can easily translate for you.”
My mate slipped her hand into mine, and I knew which way she would choose.
* * * * *
I traced along her smooth, unlined throat with my fingertips. The implant in my head, I didn’t even think about. Not any longer, since I had hair to cover my skull, but my throat? It was darker and thicker from what the human military had done to remove it. It would probably stay that way.
But on Sian’s throat, there was nothing there. There would never be a scar. No mar, no blemish on the delicate skin whatsoever. It was done quickly and easily.
I leaned in to kiss her throat. Her hand came up to rest on the back of my neck.
“I love you, Sian,” I muttered thickly.
“I love you, too. I’m glad you’re my mate,” she said.
“How do you feel?”
“A little bit of a headache.”
“That’s normal. It should dissipate as your brain adjusts.”
She began to try and sit, so I pulled her up. “Why had you been here without your men? When you were captured by the military?”
“Oh, that,” I said, sheepishly. “I was supposed to be captured. I had a tracer and the ship was going to shimmer into the atmosphere once I was at—or near—the Praydian headquarters. Instead, my men were a bit shocked when the plan changed, and I was discovered naked with a human in the woods.”
Sian’s jaw hung open. “That was your plan? To allow yourself to be captured and taken to the Praydian in charge? I thought my plan sucked.”
“What was your plan?”
“I was going to be a sex worker to infiltrate the base to steal my dad and Ria. Except, they locked me up with you.”
“You planned that?” I was aware my voice squeaked.
“Well, I didn’t know they actually had ordered one.” She defended. “But, hey. No deflecting. You got yourself willingly captured. By puny humans.”
“Cockroaches,” I muttered. “No offense.”
She yawned. “None taken. Your children will be greenish-gold cockroaches.”
My hearts flopped in my chest. “Children? How many would you like?”
“Well, probably one pregnancy would suffice. I’d probably emit twenty or so offspring.”
Twenty? Did humans bear their young, or hatch eggs? “Are you serious?”
She never answered.
I grunted, as it served me right for assuming she was related to a cockroach. “Come, love. Let me carry you into the dining area where your parents are eating. After we plan the takeover, you and I need some sleep.” I grinned large enough to show my fangs, because it was not sleep on my mind.
Chapter Fourteen
Sian:
True to his word, Miack carried me into the dining room. My parents sat in the center of the room, with Turic next to Ria. He scrutinized her every movement, while she never seemed to notice.
Everyone had grand smiles while they laughed and ate. I imagined the men of Miack’s ship were just as enthralled with the foods my parents would eat. Sure enough, I saw my mother take one of the brown balls on her plate, pop it in her mouth and wrinkle her nose, shaking her head.
The aliens cheered her anyway, and passed her a glass of water.
“Sian is here,” someone whispered. “She likes everything.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted or not.
Miack and I sat at the table, and a couple of men brought plates to us. I began to eat, ravenous.
“She has your strength. Her appetite is good,” Turic commented, and his voice sounded approving.
I’d never understand these aliens.
Miack agreed with him. “It makes more sense for Sian to pretend she’s still holding me captive. The Praydians will know I am weakened and will try to overtake her. They have no clue that she’s my mate, has gained my strength, and has been shielded by me.”
“I don’t like you being out in the middle of everything without your strength,” I said. “I’d rather you carried your own.”
“Impossible,” Turic said. “Praydians have developed a laser scanner that can detect our growth hormones. They’ll know if Miack is at full strength or not.”
“What if they accidentally scan me?”
“Their lasers focus on Nisibians. Your physiology is different. Nothing will show up if a scanner is pointed at you.”
“I know my daughter’s strong. But as a parent, I worry about her being sent to the middle of the battlefield,” my dad said.
“I understand, Gerry. So, as a back-up plan, we’re all going to train in a few hours. We’ll show Sian a few moves designed to inflict the most harm to Praydians.” Miack watched me as he spoke.
I sighed.
A few hours later, here we were, facing off, despite the fact that Miack had a good foot or so on me, and about a hundred and fifty pounds. I, on the other hand, had his strength.
“Let’s begin,” Miack bellowed.
His deep, baritone voice caused odd little flutters in my belly. As did the ripple of muscles across his chest and shoulders. I loved him more than I did yesterday.
He was the most powerful creature I’d ever encountered, a mountain of strength until, when it was transferred to me, he became an overwhelming ferocity instead. I’d never witnessed anything like his fighting techniques. The man was a beast, strength or no strength. His skin hardened to scales, and his spikes sharpened into blades. I’d barely noticed his men went through the same transformation as they sparred with one another.
Then they moved back into their non-fighting mode, leaving the humans shell-shocked.
“Yes, you’re probably the better fighters,” my dad said mildly to Turic. “Especially since Miack doesn’t have the same strength and is wily enough to battle you without it.”
Wily was the word for it. He ducked and jumped, appearing graceful for such a large man. His speed and energy were unrivaled. He explained as he went along that it was important to keep up his power by avoiding direct hits.
If I were ever without strength, I was to do the same.
“If I didn’t need Sian to draw them out, she’d be sitting here within the confines of the ship with you. But rest assured I can shield her from harm. She will have my strength. My force field. And my army behind her.”
Even though Miack showed me numerous times how quickly he was able to morph into warrior mode, my stomach was still queasy from having him unprotected and weakened.
But no one else worried.
The next day, we planned the trip to the fishing hole. Ria and I went, along with our dads. We were surrounded by a crowd of our friends in a matter of minutes. Jeremy and Mr. Tribble were in the front of the line.
“Where have you been?”
My dad was proud. “We’ve been secretly planning to overthrow the Praydians. We have help in the resistance movement.”
“You’ve found more humans on the resistance?”
The few humans who’d traveled, spreading word against the Praydians, mysteriously vanished. We always hoped for word from those we’d previously met.
“Not exactly. These are another race of alien.”
Jeremy and Mr. Tribble looked at each other. Reception wasn’t too keen.
“Another race?”
“Yes. These ones are friendly.”
Sadly, Henry Miller shook his head. “There is no such thing.”
“How do we know they’re not going to take over our planet after we help in overthrowing the Praydians?”
I leaned in. “We’ve lived in hell on Earth for eight long years. I know the trust is gone. But we can take a chance, or we can continue to live in the shadows, scurrying underground on our own planet, relegated to the roles of rats,” I spat. “We can jump on board or continue to scuttle.”
“Besides which,�
� Ria said. “None of us have actually met the Praydians. They bombed us, and took over our planet. Here’s your chance to meet and question the Nisibians.”
With a wave of her hand, Miack and Turic approached. Both men were tall, and golden color shimmered off their green skin. Their spikes stood sharp and proud. But Miack was a modern-day, golden-green, Greek god in futuristic clothes.
I wanted to reach out for him. He melted my insides with one look, a sweltering gaze that promised passion much later.
The others weren’t as positively impressed.
“Holy shit,” Jeremy said. The faces of our fishermen friends froze in terror. They looked like they wanted to run but their feet were buried in concrete.
“Please, do not be afraid,” Miack said, his deep voice carefully well-modulated. “We’ve dealt with a lot of planets, freeing them from the Praydian rule. I know how difficult it is to discover life exists beyond your galaxy, and then to have your freedom snatched by that same discovery. It’s why our race tries to right those wrongs.”
“Why should we trust you?” The voice belonging to Mr. Tribble wasn’t as belligerent as it had been with me. Fear made him a bit more respectful.
“You don’t need to,” Miack said. “We’re here to free your planet with or without your help. But it would go so much more smoothly if you would do one small thing for us.”
“What?”
“Help us to spread the word.” Miack’s smile was broad, and for the first time, it dawned on me that he was indeed royalty.
“How can we do that?” Mr. Tribble’s voice was steadier now.
“Not only can you pass the word amongst each other, but we need volunteers to head to the army base to give them a letter. You can say a girl in the forest paid you, give them Sian’s description. If everyone delivers on the same day, they’ll think chances are you’re just paid volunteers and not her friends.”
There was silence for a second.
“I’ll do it,” Jeremy said, looking at me. I smiled at him, and then a few others stepped up to the plate.
“One more question,” Mr. Tribble said. “What if they still capture us?”
“No man gets left behind,” Miack said simply. “Just as Sian returned to free her father and Ria, we shall free you.”
Smiles broke out on the faces of the people around us. “Let’s do this, then!”
* * * * *
The letters were in my own handwriting, telling them we would meet in one week’s time with the Praydian leader only. If he was still interested in acquiring the alien I’d stolen, we’d be at the abandoned base. There was no doubt the letters stirred up excitement with the army men. I can only imagine which military personnel wanted to suck up by delivering the news directly to the highest leadership level of aliens.
Each volunteer who took a letter was given a flare, and as soon as they made their way from the base, they released it and went into hiding once they were sure they weren’t being followed. We counted ten flares released that night.
“They all made it,” I whispered to Miack, from where we watched in the overhang.
“They didn’t dare delay things by grabbing someone to pack up for food,” Turic said.
We spent the rest of the week training. While it wasn’t much time, Miack assured my parents I would be shielded. I also had his strength, which I didn’t want, but it came along with the shield. I worried about his safety, but his men were present, and they were strong. Though, if Turic had his way with Ria, he could be missing his strength also by the big day. Ria, on the other hand, didn’t seem in the least bit interested.
Six days later, we landed the spaceship not far from the base. From there, we marched up on the cliff where I’d taken out the soldier during my rescue of my father and Ria. Below us, we were able to see the abandoned army base. The buildings were still intact, so it would still be able to conceal people who wanted to hide.
“Have they arrived yet?” I asked Turic. The three of us kept watch while the other Nisibians were navigating the other three sides of the base.
“No. Our ship would have picked up their sound waves. And the density of your atmosphere doesn’t allow for teleportation.”
“What if they arrived by jeep?”
“Too dangerous. Their own transportation would arrive quicker and safer,” Turic said. “Remember there are others who wish to take him out.”
“We know Piehelock, the leader of the vessel that landed here. He’s one of the cockiest bastards there is. There’s no way he’ll arrive in an Earth-bound chariot.” Miack sneered. “This way we’ll be able to tell how many people he brings. If we’re on the money, he won’t bring many.”
“But that means the rest of his people will still be scattered across the planet.”
“Yes. And immediately we’ll pick up on the locations and collect the rest for stasis.”
It was during the night when they arrived. We’d expected them early—to surprise us—it was what we had done after all.
Eventually one of them came out. He squinted upward, looking toward the trees where we hid. He held a device in his hands that was pointed in our direction. From where I hid with Miack, I could hear it beep in tune with our heartbeats, as the sound traveled upward on the barest breeze.
“Don’t come any closer,” I called out.
He froze at the sound of my voice.
The Praydians looked nothing like the Nisibians. They had a dull, grayish tinge to their skin that reminded me of decayed flesh. Their heads and faces were small in comparison to their bodies and their arms and legs seemed too long. Of course, I’d been warned their limbs stretched like taffy. I’d also been told he always traveled with an entourage of humans to use as bargaining chips. It was left unsaid that this group also served as chattel.
“My child,” he called out. “I am Piehelock, the leader of our fine planet. There is no reason to fear me. You are as dear to me as my own daughter.”
Somehow he didn’t look as loving as my father. “What do you want with this alien? I see he is not of your species.”
“No, he is not. He is dangerous, a contagion. I am glad you keep him weakened, but he still cannot be trusted. Even now, he figures out a way to manipulate you, to drain your soul force. You must trust me. The Nisibians have been an infestation for years.”
“So you’re letting all the humans go?”
“What humans?”
“The ones you brought with you.”
He swept his hands out in a benevolent gesture. “Of course. We do not need to hold our own. We merely needed this one brought to us immediately, before he figures how to escape from your hold.”
“Why this one?”
“It is Miack. He is of the royal family on the planet Nisibia. Getting our hands on him would be like cutting the head off a snake. The slithering of his people will be done at that point.”
Good grief. That was exactly what we were planning to do with him. “Good plan,” I mouthed to Miack.
“Keep him talking,” Miack whispered. “Turic and the others will gather behind them shortly.”
“How do I know you have our best interests at heart?” I called out.
“My child, before we landed, your planet was headed for destruction. Earthlings battled each other constantly. Do you know what we have brought you? Unity. Your planet was one of the few with such great diversity—and yet elevated discrimination. Other planets in the same situation as yours accepted multiculturalism. Your planet was in an uproar. However, no longer do you fight with someone whose skin is darker than yours. No longer do you mock the religion of someone else. Now you accept the skinhead into your homes with open arms, barely noticing the Confederate flag he has tattooed on his back. You ignore the swastika tattooed on his neck. You feed him, swap stories with him, give him a place to rest and regroup. Why? Because he is human, like you. No longer do you hate your own kind for differences. That’s what we have brought you. Unity to your people.”
Holy shit,
he believed what he spoke.
“I need to be guaranteed safe passage along with the rest of the humans,” I yelled.
The Praydian began to tap his foot. “I already told you I wish you no harm.” Recognizing his tone was harsher, he mollified his statement. “You are one of my own, child. I love you.”
I could point out that he was holding others that were his own, but we’d be going round and round in circles.
“The humans need to be released first and given the bags of my ransom money. After that, I will show you who I have,” I yelled.
“Now why would I release all humans? Suppose you do not want to give me Miack at that point?” His voice turned mocking.
“You’ll still have me,” I said.
After a few moments, a gleeful grin spread across his ugly face. It looked odd, considering he didn’t have a nose or lips. “I will release them.” With a flick of his hand, a container resembling a storage pod was brought out. He raised the door. “Be free.”
The humans who wandered out blinked in the bright sun, but looked confused. They stood around the open pod.
“Gather a bag of currency and be gone,” Piehelock said.
They still stood around.
“Jesus,” I whispered to Miack. “They’re so brainwashed.”
“They’re mentally tortured. Tempted to escape, and then punished for doing so. They think it’s a trick,” he whispered back.
Piehelock’s grin grew broader.
“If they don’t leave,” I called out, “your alien doesn’t get exposed for your viewing pleasure.”
“Be gone!” Piehelock’s head grew, and it was a scary sight to behold. His face morphed into monstrous proportions, his jaw extending and his teeth lengthening into triangular points. His mouth contained row upon row of teeth, giving a ragged serrated appearance.
I sucked in my breath as the humans scattered, squealing like frightened rabbits as they reached for a bag, dust kicking up as they raced as far as they could from him.
“Now you see his true colors,” Miack whispered. “This is the Piehelock that we know.”
As soon as the humans were gone, Piehelock dropped his façade of being the loving leader. “Bring me Miack,” he bellowed. “Now! Or I’ll come retrieve him myself and bite your head off in the process.”