by Gail Koger
“Still think I’m a petka?”
“You have earned your warrior status,” Bey conceded.
“Thank you.”
The doors opened and Adoz flew in. Chirping loudly, he landed on my shoulder. “That bad, huh?”
He cheeped.
“Who’s this?” Dad asked, sitting the bowl of mealie worms in front of Bey.
“This is Adoz, the Draconic I rescued from Threll.”
Dad held out his hand for Adoz to sniff. “I heard they can produce fire.”
“Adoz’s fire came in handy when that idiot Rodan started shooting up his own engine room.”
Dad brows knitted together. “What were you doing on a Rodan ship?”
“Blowing it up,” Bey answered.
Huh? He understood English. “I prefer to call it, evening the odds.”
“Trayon let you port in the middle of a space battle?” Father’s voice rose an octave.
My spine stiffened. “I’m an adult, I didn’t ask for permission. I did what needed to be done.”
“Surely you know where a Jones female goes, chaos soon follows.”
Dad and I glared at Bey.
The doors slid back to reveal the rest of my family. One look at Trayon and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. He seemed a bit frazzled and if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he had come straight from the battlefield. His armor was a bloody mess. “Who won?”
Trayon gave me the stink eye. “Who do you think?”
“You are a formidable warrior, but the evil twins are sneaky.”
“The children rigged several bowls of worms over the door.” Trayon gestured at his armor. “When I walked in, the contents fell on me.”
My dad snickered.
“How long did it take you to catch them?”
“Not long,” Trayon said.
His super speed did come in handy. It had taken me an hour to catch the little brats.
The evil twins popped out of Trayon’s tentacles. “Momma Jia! We found you.”
“You did. Have you been playing with the blood worms again?”
They hid in Trayon’s tentacles.
My mate let out a long-suffering sigh.
“Have you told Father Trayon you’re sorry?”
LeeLee peeked at me. “No.”
I tapped the table. “Come down here and apologize, now.”
LooLoo and LeeLee skittered down Trayon’s arm and leaped on the table. “We sorry,” they said in unison.
“Your access to the food processors has been revoked,” Trayon growled.
LeeLee peered up at me. “What mean?”
“No more bloos-bloos or mealie bugs.” It was a struggle to keep from laughing.
“Him mean,” LooLoo cried.
I clapped my hands loudly. “Enough. You will sit there and be quiet.”
The evil twins gave me their version of sad puppy dog eyes. “Kay.”
My dad laughed. “You have quite a menagerie, Jia.”
“Don’t I.” My gaze fell on Cason. His infant sized battle armor was too adorable for words.
“Ax. Ax,” Cason babbled happily.
“Yes, you look very handsome.”
Pepe trotted over to show off his red spiked harness. “Me have armor too.”
“The mesh will stop a laser blast, or a sword thrust. You can tap the icon key here.” Trayon pointed to my gauntlet. “And the mesh will completely cover him,” Trayon advised.
I tapped it and the mesh quickly covered Pepe. “Awesome.”
Chiara crawled up on the table. She proudly wore a wraparound gold band with Trayon’s clan sign on it. “While our quarters are being cleaned Father Trayon thought it was a good time to meet your father.
I bet he did. “Dad, this is Trayon my mate.”
“We met during the battle of Pictoris 335. You’d better take damn good care of my daughter,” Dad growled.
Holy Mother! Testosterone overload.
Trayon’s tentacles slowly rose from his head like angry snakes. “I will do everything in my power to keep her safe.”
“Really? How did Jia end up alone on the Rodan ship?” Dad snapped.
“Whoa!” I held up my hand. “First, I wasn’t alone. Second, we were outnumbered three-to-one and the shields were failing. I did what was necessary to keep my family safe.” I met my father’s irate gaze. “In my place, you would have done the same thing.”
“I’m a trained warrior and you’re…” Dad broke off.
“Not? I guess it’s just a coincidence that Threll got blown to hell along with those Rodan ships.” One of Trayon’s tentacles gently stroked my face. I smiled up at him. “It’s a dad thing, tesoro.”
“Which is the only reason he is not picking his teeth up off the floor.”
I patted Trayon’s chest. “I appreciate the restraint.”
“Sorry. Being a father is new to me.” Dad rubbed a hand over his face. “You and Kaylee are so much alike, it terrifies me. I’ll never understand why you deliberately put yourselves in harm’s way.”
“I’ve been in harm’s way since I was six years old.”
“And I wasn’t there to protect you,” Dad said grimly.
“I survived. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Isn’t that what the Americans say?”
Dad took my hands. “I don’t want to lose you, like I lost your mother.”
“You won’t. Believe me, I’m hard to kill. Now, can I introduce you to my family?”
“Please.”
Pepe sniffed Dad’s armored legs.
“This is my son Cason,” I held him up. “Isn’t he a cutie?”
Dad’s eyebrows crawled up his forehead when notice Cason was a Rodan. “Yeah, he’s real cuddly.”
“Trayon has formally adopted Cason and is converting him,”
“Is that so?” Dad shot Trayon a disbelieving look.
My big, bad bared his fangs in a ghastly smile. “It was Jia’s greatest wish.”
“They do say love is blind,” Dad said diplomatically.
“This is my adopted daughter Chiara. She’s a Shani from the planet Derak. She just achieved warrior status.”
Doing a good imitation of a deadly cobra, Chiara spread her hood and rose up. “It is an honor to meet you.”
“The honor is mine. Destroying seven Rodan ships is a great feat,” Dad said.
Chiara responded modestly, “I only ported us to the ships. Mother Jia did the rest.”
“It was a team effort. All I did was leave a few thermite grenades in the engine room, but I do have to give credit to the idiot Rodan for blowing up his own ship,” I chuckled.
Trayon declared, “Together our enemies cannot defeat us. It matters not what size, shape or species we are. Love unites us all.”
.
Aw. He was such a romantic. I raised my glass of Merlot. “To love.”
“Love.” Dad tapped my glass with his. “And family.”
“Family.” Pepe peed on Dad’s leg.
“Pepe! What are you doing?”
“He no smell like you.” Pepe wagged his tail. “Now does.”
Dad laughed. “A unique family christening.”
“Sorry Dad.”
“I have summoned the cleaning bots,” Amusement danced in Trayon’s eyes.
His head and armor covered in blood worms, Zarek stalked in. His narrowed-eyed gaze fell on the evil twins.
LeeLee and LooLoo shot up my body and hid in my hair.
Merda! I gave Zarek a weak smile. “Remember, they’re just children.”
“Children that were held captive by the Rodan. I will see that they are properly disciplined,” Bey added.
Totally ignoring us and the mess on the floor, Zarek advised, “Sariel has arrived. He has called a war council.” He teleported away.
I drained my glass of Merlot. “What exactly did the twins do?”
“Chiara can give you all the details,” Trayon said.
Dad stood. “Can I offer you
a ride to your father’s ship?”
Trayon nodded and gave me a toe-curling kiss. “Try to keep the damage to a minimum.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Dad winked at me. “What he said.” He touched Trayon. Poof! They vanished.
Chapter Twelve
I burst out laughing. “I wished I could have seen Zarek’s face when he realized he was trapped in the twins’ webbing and four bowls of blood worms were suddenly raining down on his head.”
“He was not amused,” Chiara said.
I chortled. “I can imagine. He got his butt kicked by children.”
“The Overlord knows you are laughing at him,” Bey stated.
“No way. He’s not omniscient.”
Bey’s eight eyes regarded me as if I were too stupid to live. “Yes, he is.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I am not.”
“Him knows,” LooLoo said.
LeeLee added, “Big scary.”
“Help. Me,” A male voice whispered in my head.
My amusement died a sudden death. “Did you guys hear that?”
Adoz chirped in alarm and took flight.
“Me did.” The hair on Pepe’s neck stood up.
Bey’s fangs sprang out of his fur. “The mental signature does not belong to a human.”
“It sounds a lot like Adam,” I countered. God, please let it be him.
“Help. Me,” the voice said again.
“Adam? Is that you? I was having a hard time getting a fix on him. “Where are you?”
“Don’t. Know.”
“Look around. What do you see?”
The blurry image of a lab formed in my mind. “Hurt. You. Must. Free me.”
“I will, but first, I need to know where you are.” A twinge of alarm shot through me. Bey was right. The entity talking to me wasn’t human. Had Giovanni already experimented on Adam? Was he now a monster?
“Port. To me.”
Port? Adam didn’t know about Chiara. I winced as my head was suddenly full of angry males. “Ouch!”
“It’s a trap,” Dad bellowed.
Trayon commanded, “Break the link. Now.”
“It is not Adam,” Zarek snapped and struck the mind trying to ensnare me.
I heard a shriek of utter agony before the link broke. A knot formed in my stomach as it hit me. “The mental signature doesn’t match Adam, but it’s a dead ringer for that Rodan scientist who’s working with Giovanni.”
“The scientist’s name is Mallox.” Trayon flashed me an image of a space station littered with headless corpses. “He was responsible for the massacre at Pictoris 335. Three hundred Coletti citizens died.”
A cold chill skittered up my back. Mallox and Giovanni were both trying to create super soldiers. If they succeeded, billions would die.
“He is here?” Fear filled Chiara’s voice.
I cuddled her. “Sssh. You’re safe. He can’t hurt you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Father Trayon is going to kill him.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.” If he didn’t, I would.
Pepe licked her. “We protect you.”
Cason offered Chiara his slobbery bone. “Ax. Ax.”
“I am deeply honored but I cannot take your greatest treasure,” Chiara said.
“Ax.” Cason stuck the bone back in his mouth.
Dad and Trayon teleported into the mess hall. I had never seen them in battle mode before and they gave Zarek a run for his money in the scary as hell department. “We’re all good. I didn’t think the Rodan had strong telepathic abilities.”
Trayon holstered his laser pistol. “They do not.”
“Zarek’s spies discovered Mallox has been collecting tissue samples from psychic brains in an attempt to genetically alter Rodan soldiers,” Dad said, holding his arm out for Adoz to land on.
Bey added grimly, “The Rodan bought LeeLee and LooLoo to use in their experiments.”
Horror rolled through me. That explained the evil twins’ bad behavior. Had Giovanni already killed Adam for his brain? “How many warriors is the Coletti Empire missing?”
Amusement twinkled in Dad’s eyes. “Mallox and Giovanni are using Lilkee’s Legionnaires as guinea pigs.”
Information flashed across my mind. Lilkee was Zarek’s traitorous daughter. She wanted to cleanse the Coletti bloodline of all the tainted hybrids and take control of the Empire. Thankfully, she wasn’t smart enough or powerful enough to pull it off. Her Legionnaires were pitiful, second rate warriors and psychics. “So, the joke’s on them?”
“It is,” Dad replied.
“Did Mallox get what he needed on Pictoris 335?”
Trayon’s tentacles undulated angrily. “No, he did not. There was a radiation leak and the brains he harvested were unusable.”
“Which is why they started hunting psychics on Earth,” I said.
A wolfish smile curved Dad’s mouth. “Saul and your cousins have put a stop to that.”
“Good. I can’t wait to meet all of them.”
“They are eager to meet you too.
The doors to the mess hall swished open. Sariel strode in like he was the king of the world. I guess in his mind, he was. I met his glowing yellow eyes and in perfect Askole said, “Welcome to our ship, Commander.”
Sariel glared at me and demanded in High Coletti, “Give me the Shani.”
Trayon stiffened. “That is not my father.”
Adoz launched into the air as Dad’s hand dropped to his weapon.
A sibilant hiss escaped Chiara. “His aura is black.”
Pepe growled menacingly.
“Want me to web him?” Bey asked.
Trayon pulled his weapon. “Not yet.”
I stared at the imposter. “Is it just me or is Sariel a little on the short side?”
“Give me the Shani.” Sariel’s tentacles rose threateningly.
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think he understands Askole either.”
“His disguise is flawed. My father only wears gold armor,” Trayon said.
I smiled at the imposter. “Surrender or die.” Zzzzzt! A glowing green energy ball formed on my left palm.
The evil twins scurried up to my head. “We bite. He dies.”
“No, we need to interrogate him first,” I said.
The imposter began to rhythmically pound his feet against the floor. In High Coletti, he shouted, “Waewae tama-nur-ra. Waewae tama-nur-ra. Waewae tama-nur-ra.”
Trayon glanced at his gauntlet and in English said, “He is using a holographic projection of my father and proclaiming he is master of the universe.”
“He’s delusional. I could kick his butt.”
“Without a doubt,” Dad agreed.
“Waewae tama-nur-ra,” the Sariel wannabe shouted and broke into an acrobatic sword dance.
“What’s up with the sword dancing?” I asked.
“All Legionnaires must perform the ritual dance before they can attack,” Dad answered.
“Who came up with that incredibly bad idea?”
“Lilkee. She cannot understand why their enemies attack before the ritual dance has been completed,” Trayon commented.
Dad chuckled. “It’s like shooting ducks in a barrel.”
“I can’t believe the Legionnaires still follow her.”
“Only a few Legionnaires still live,” Trayon advised.
“One more is about to come to a tragic end.” I watched wannabe Sariel boogie for a moment. “His dance instructor should be shot, and I think they stole those moves from the Maori.”
The fake Sariel stomped his feet to some silent beat. “Ka nate whakatu. Tutu ngarahu. Waewae.” He pointed his sword at us. “I am the death bringer. I proclaim my promise to vanquish the vile destroyers.”
I leaned toward my dad. “Are we the vile destroyers?”
“We are.”
The wannabe hopped over and around his twirling sword. One
minute he was upright, the next he tripped over his own feet and did a face plant. His sword slid across the floor.
I picked it up. “Lose something?”
Sariel’s image flickered wildly as the Legionnaire shot to his feet. “Waewae tama-nur-ra. I am the death bringer.”
“So, you keep saying.” I zapped him with the energy ball.
Convulsing violently, the Legionnaire toppled to the floor. A few seconds later, Sariel’s image vanished.
I stared down at the mangy male decked out in a flaming red jumpsuit. Not only was he pint-sized by Coletti standards, but his warrior’s braids reminded me of moldy dreadlocks, and he had a beer belly. “Either of you know him?”
“We have not met,” Trayon said.
Bey declared, “He seems familiar.”
Dad grinned. “Zarek’s gonna be thrilled we finally caught Waewae.”
“And who the hell is Waewae?”
“That is Waewae?” Trayon exclaimed at the same time.
“In the flesh.” Dad nudged him over with the toe of his boot. “Waewae claims to be the rightful Overlord of the Coletti clans.”
I snorted. “He’s not very skilled with a sword and he’d last about thirty seconds in mental combat.”
“If that long,” Dad said. “His mother is Lilkee, the supposed leader of the Legionnaires. She also claims to be the most powerful psychic female ever born. No one knows who his father is.”
“I think his father was Ymer, a hybrid traitor,” Trayon said.
“It must be genetic, and I take it Lilkee isn’t the most powerful psychic ever born?”
“Hell no. Her abilities rival those of a five-year old child,” Dad said.
“How did Waewae get on our ship?” Call me curious.
“An excellent question,” Trayon said.
Zarek teleported in with Sariel.
“Waewae,” Zarek spat.
Sariel glared at Trayon. “Your security protocols need improving.”
Dad pulled the holograph generator off Waewae’s belt and triggered it. Sariel image appeared. “He got onboard wearing your face, sir.”
Sariel’s tentacles squirmed madly. “The image was poorly done, and he should have been stopped before gaining access to the ship.”
He had a valid point, but I didn’t like his attitude.
“Lilkee’s plans create chaos but seldom succeed,” Dad interjected.
Zarek squatted down and placed a hand on Waewae’s head. Power roiled around the room.