Deviant Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book Three)

by Brenda Trim

  “I was going to point out how badly you smell, but then I remembered how it felt with your blade against my balls. I like my bits intact, thank you very much,” Nate teased, making her laugh. “I’m going to need to have a talk with Kyran about your hygiene habits.” He dodged her fist and stood up still laughing. “Stop or I won’t give you the shirt I got you.”

  That got her attention. She loved t-shirts. “You got something for me?” That he would get her anything was shocking. He left the room and returned moments later with a bag in hand. She reached in and took out the black material. She burst into laughter and jumped up, giving Nate a hug. “It’s perfect,” she told him holding the shirt in front of her.

  “You Say I’m A Bitch Like It’s A Bad Thing,” Rhett read out loud with a chuckle. “And, it sparkles,” he added. Yes, it did, and she loved the pink glitter of the letters.

  “Suits me,” she beamed and turned back to Nate. “About that shower?”

  *****

  Mack pulled on the clean pants and tshirt, trying not to think about what Kyran could be suffering. She hated that they hadn’t left yet. She’s taken the quickest shower ever, scrubbing her hair and body under the steaming hot water. She was going to have to ask Legette where he got their soap and shampoo. It was obviously hand-made and it was intoxicating, smelling of berries and coconut.

  She exited the bathroom and found Rhett lounging on the bed in the attached room. He looked ridiculous lying across the white, lace covering with his black boots hanging off the side. He jumped up, smiling at her. She wondered if he was ever in a bad mood. She couldn’t picture him pissed off and snarling. Even when he had fought the Buggane, he hadn’t really been irate. He’d been focused and efficient in his attack, but not vicious.

  “That was fast. Dragon females take an eternity to get ready…in fact, most other species of females take much longer to get ready,” he observed as he stood to his considerable height.

  “That must be a universal trait for women. I wasn’t getting ready for a date or I’d have been in there longer. I don’t have any of my hair products or make-up, but even if I did, I’m not a two o’clock beauty queen. I want to get to Kyran. In the end, how my hair and face look doesn’t matter. My energy is better spent on the mission.”

  Rhett slung his arm around her shoulders. “You are a rare female, indeed. Let’s see if the dragons are ready to go.”

  “Can Pip stay in here? It will be safer if he stays behind. I’m just not sure where in this castle he won’t be seen as a snack.” She’d kept him close given how the Máahes eyed him hungrily.

  “He will be safe from all the hungry dragons in this room. Once a guest is given a room, it is considered their private domain and no one will come in here until you leave Khoth.”

  “Stay here. I’ll be back with Kyran in no time and then we can go home,” she told Pip as she scratched behind his ears. He nuzzled her palm and sat back on the bed.

  “You do realize that you’ve been talking to what most consider dinner, right?”

  “Pip is not dinner. Come on, Match. It’s rescue time.” She exited the room, trusting him to follow her. She started down a hallway only to be pulled in the opposite direction.

  “It’s this way, Sunshine. I’m surprised Legette is allowing you to go with them. He doesn’t allow females to engage in battles.” She looked at the fire demon and realized he wasn’t kidding. She recalled Nate had mentioned the same thing.

  “It’s funny you think he has a choice. Kyran is mine and nothing could stop me from going.”

  Rhett held up his hands in a show of surrender. “Hey, I wasn’t suggesting you shouldn’t go. In the Cuelebre society, females are protected because of their population problems. Legette has always believed Angus will return and call Civappu to identify new Tuya. There won’t be anyone for the ceremony if the females are killed in battle.”

  “That’s a lot of power for one person. So, this Angus rules this world and is the only one who can perform this ceremony? That’s a big responsibility for one person. What will they do if he doesn’t want to come back? From what Kyran has said he has made a life with them and is happy there.”

  “Circumstance forces you to do things you never dreamed possible. Surely, you, of all people understand that looks can be deceiving. What lies in someone’s heart is rarely shared with others. I pray that you are wrong, and that if given the choice, the king will return to his people,” he replied. His depth of insight surprised her.

  “And, here we are. Come on, you’ll love this part.” Rhett pulled her into a room she hadn’t seen earlier. This particular room had been updated and the stone walls were covered with countless shelves, but it was what was on those shelves that caught her attention. Swords of all shapes and sizes, battle axes, maces, spears and war hammers. She spun in a circle, awed at the sight. She had died and gone to heaven.

  She walked up to the daggers and short swords and ran her thumb down the side of one that had an inscription in the blade. “Careful, those are sharp. I refuse to explain to Kyran that you lost a finger because you were playing with weapons,” Nate instructed, coming to her side.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “This is the most impressive workmanship I’ve ever seen. What does it say?”

  “The usual…death to Buggane.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh at that. “It looks so beautiful I thought it said something like ‘may the Gods bless your arm and your aim’.”

  “I like your saying. I’m going to have one made for you. But, what do you expect from a bunch of males who just want to get the killing done so they can move on to the ale and females. There isn’t one of us who wouldn’t rather be balls-deep in a female.”

  “True dat,” echoed a Máahes, loading himself down with battle axes. She laughed, unable to be offended by the male chauvinism. When the dragon had added all of his weapons, she wondered how the hell they fought with so much weight.

  She picked up the dagger she’d been looking at and tucked it into the waistband of her pants. She’d left her knife in her backpack in the room with Pip. She had no desire to risk losing it. Her blood, sweat and tears were in that blade. “You’d think you would want to discuss what we are going to do once we get there, rather than sex, but then again, you are a guy, so I don’t know what I was thinking,” she teased.

  “What’s there to discuss? We go in, we kill, we grab a Nightwalker and we get out. Easy-peasy,” Nate observed.

  “I can’t believe you lied to me, Match. Sounds like we could have run after the Buggane and rescued Kyran ourselves.”

  “Don’t listen to this douche-dick. There is nothing easy about handling Buggane. They are big, mean mother-fuckers and very difficult to kill. This lot just doesn’t know how to deal with their anxiety,” Rhett defended himself.

  She turned and looked around the room, listening to the various Cuelebre talk about their plans later that evening or their dates the previous evening. They were discussing anything but the battle ahead, but the tension in the air belied the levity of the discussions. In fact, she sensed the entire castle was buzzing with anxiety. They were using this time to remind themselves what they fought for. Anyone of these dragons may not come home from battle, and if they thought about that fact, it could be debilitating, even for tough warriors like these. She understood ruthless focus and respected their coping mechanisms.

  “Actually, I don’t think they’re worried. They’re horny as hell,” she teased. “Seriously though, for me, they are hard to kill. Do they have any weaknesses? Anything I can use to my advantage?”

  Nate slid a weapons belt over his shoulder and approached her with another one. He removed the blade she had stowed and placed the belt around her hips. The dragon stepped in close and leaned into her body while he buckled it behind her back. She smacked his arm and chastised him. “Stop that. I may not be armed, but I can still hurt you.”

  “Come on, you wouldn’t send me out to battle without a kiss, would you?
” Nate asked with a sly smile. He was incorrigible.

  “Yep. I will. I ain’t your Mack-mama. Now,” she said refocusing the conversation, “is there anything useful you can tell me?”

  With the flip of a switch, Nate’s serious came out as he picked his weapons. “You are a female and small compared to the ogres so use that to your advantage. They will underestimate you.”

  “In fact,” Legette said, gaining their attention as he walked into the room, “you will likely be the only one who will be able to get to their dungeons where they will no doubt be keeping Kyran. I want you to focus your efforts on getting into the Unut fortress and locating their cells. Swipe any keys you come across along the way. There is a chance they have used magicks to secure him, but we can’t bet on that.”

  At the mention of magic, she began to worry. “How they hell am I supposed to deal with magic if they’ve used it? I am not a witch, or sorceress, or anything like that.”

  “No, you aren’t, but you aren’t exactly without your own talents, now are you?” Legette asked, pointedly.

  “What is that supposed to mean? Somehow, I don’t think being able to hack a head from its shoulders will help in that situation.”

  “To answer your question, Mackendra,” Legette began as he crossed to arm himself, “you have a talent that you aren’t aware of. You not only discovered an object that had been hidden for over a thousand years, but was hidden behind a wall of magic. You followed the feel of the magic and disarmed the spell in the process. Perhaps, Kyran bestowed the gift upon you in your mating.”

  “Kyran said the only thing I’ve gotten so far is immortality because I took his blood. I think you are overestimating my ability. It was luck, nothing more,” she said, but wasn’t so sure she believed her own words. She had never experienced anything remotely similar in her life and found it hard to believe that she had an ability to counteract enchantments.

  “You underestimate yourself, Mackendra. You are a capable fighter from what I’ve been told and have untapped talent that you can’t fathom. I sense the power within you. But in the end, neither I, nor my men, will be able to get close to the fortress.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere, Legette,” Nate informed him. The Máahes may have joked with him and teased him, but their respect for their leader was obvious. And, it was clear that they weren’t about to allow him to place himself in danger. She understood that. He was all that stood between their society and anarchy. Without him, the Cuelebre would have succumbed centuries ago and the Buggane would be rulers of Khoth now.

  “I am going. I refuse to sit by when I can be of service. Trust me, I don’t take this mission lightly, but I also know that my presence is necessary. If I am there, Akilam will focus on me and not Mackendra. She will be able to slip by relatively unnoticed.”

  “Fuck,” Nate exploded and the others didn’t look much happier.

  “Don’t worry, Lorne will remain behind. He has promised to maintain the search for Angus should anything happen to me.” Legette and Nate shared a look that spoke volumes. It was clear to her was that Legette wanted to save Kyran just as much as she did, although, their reasons were vastly different.

  “How will I know where to go?” she asked, keeping the men on track so they could be on their way.

  “I’ll go with you,” Rhett spoke up from next to her. “I’m good with tunnels and finding my way in them.”

  “Won’t they try to stop you, too?”

  “They might, but I don’t smell like a dragon so I can get farther than any of them,” he explained, motioning to the Máahes over his shoulder with his thumb.

  “Okay.” She watched as several of the Máahes stripped down and put light armor on. When Nate was standing there naked while another buckled his armor in place, curiosity got the better of her. “How can you wear that without clothes under it? Seems like it would rub your skin raw.”

  “We haven’t figured out a way to enchant our clothes to shift with us yet. The metal is easily imbued with magic and grows with us,” Nate shared as he pulled on his gear.

  “No way. This will change when your form does? How does that work?” She reached out and placed her palm over the thin, metal, breast plate. She felt a tingle and peered at it closely. She saw the runes etched into the side of the garment and was about to trace it with her finger when it was suddenly grasped in a strong hand.

  She looked up at Legette, wide-eyed. The male didn’t smile readily like Rhett and he wasn’t a relentless flirt like Nate, but he had an intensity that was frightening. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he murmured. “Nate here, loves his parts too much to have them strangled when he tries to shift.”

  “You really believe I can turn off spells?”

  “Absolutely, which is why I don’t want you touching any of our armor or weapons belts,” he countered. “We have some armor that may fit you over here. You can’t go in unprotected.” He walked her over and tried several pieces before he found the size he believed would fit her.

  She shook her head in disbelief at the whole situation. Such ideas were hard to wrap her brain around. She liked to believe she was open-minded, but there had been countless times in the past week that had tried her. “Thank you,” she responded, gratefully. “FYI, I’m not taking my clothes off to put this on.”

  “But you have to…” Nate’s reply was cut off when Rhett hit the back of his head. Mack laughed at the look of astonishment on Nate’s face. Seemed to her like he should be used to that given how often she’d wanted to do the exact same thing. “What was that for?”

  “For being an idiot. I swear, you are begging for Kyran to cut your throat when he gets back. She is a mated female, have some respect,” Rhett retorted.

  “Oi! Mack knows I’m only teasing. And, who can blame a guy? She’s gorgeous,” Nate admitted.

  “Alright, saddle up, Máahes. Remember to watch your partner’s back and don’t take any unnecessary risks. We are on the cusp of getting our king back and I want everyone alive to celebrate Angus’ return.”

  The sentiment in the room would have brought tears to her eyes if there success didn’t depend on the blood of her mate. She’d use them to get Kyran back, but she refused to let them sacrifice him to get their precious king back…not going to happen.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  Mack looked around the jungle and checked the sky again. Legette had told her that they were going to attack before the sun set fully because the Buggane wouldn’t expect it. She had reservations about this plan because the sun would kill Kyran. For the moment, she took in the beauty of the land around her that up until now, she’d only seen at night.

  They had approached the compound from the south to avoid the redcaps, and in the peace of the late afternoon, she marveled at how the foliage surrounding her was both familiar and foreign. The green of the leaves was deep and vibrant like anything she’d find at home, but the shapes were nothing she’d ever encountered. Aside from the starburst, she also saw half-moons and perfect circles. The trees towered over her head and provided cover for the dense underbrush.

  The flowers were bigger here than any she’d seen near Seattle. She regularly purchased big bouquets from Pike Place Market and thought these would make a great addition and wondered if she could sneak some seeds to take home. She’d never considered herself a common thief, but she was feeling like one now. She was going to need a bigger backpack to get everything home and if she managed to get her hands on another bag, she was so grabbing a few weapons, too.

  The insects, birds and animals were another anomaly she was able to see for the first time. She expected everything to be bigger, like the flowers and spiders she’d encountered, yet the birds were strangely the same size as those found on earth. Their colors, however, were another story, altogether. They were brilliant streaks of blues, reds, purples, and greens overhead as they flitted from tree to tree.

  Rhett cleared his throat as he approached her side. “You ready? Legette has his
Máahes positioned around Osiris and they are waiting his signal. Soon, they will converge on Unut.”

  Mack turned her head and scanned the grounds fifty feet outside the tree line. The ground went from lush and fertile to sparse and barren. The difference was drastic enough without the hideous creatures stomping around the area. She imagined that their enormous feet killed not only the plants, but, also compacted the dirt, prohibiting anything from making its way to the surface.

  The “fortress” was nothing like she’d expected. She had imagined it being similar to Tatenen, but where Tatenen looked like a medieval castle, Unut looked like an ancient Mayan city, crude and primitive. There was a main structure made of rock with dozens of other smaller ones scattered around it. The walls surrounding the city of Osiris were high, but crumbling in many places. The sight made her imagine the Buggane having blood sacrifices in honor of whatever God they worshipped. Not a pleasant thought to have right before she was about to rush into the fortress depths.

  Getting into the zone, she went through her ritual of cracking her neck, twisting her torso and checking her weapons. She turned to Rhett and nodded her head. “I’m good to go.”

  “I’ll be right beside you, Sunshine,” Rhett promised before he raised his hand and signaled Legette.

  “Don’t let Kyran hear you call me that. He may cut your throat,” she teased, watching the dragons take flight and swoop down on the unsuspecting ogres.

  The screams echoed loudly and before she knew what was happening, countless Buggane were exiting the fortress. Dragons bellowed fire and ducked spears shooting from catapults. The smell of burning flesh attacked her senses, making her eyes water.

  Rhett didn’t give her a chance to adjust as he grabbed her hand, tugging her into action. “Come on, follow me.”

  She pulled out the short swords she had taken from the Cuelebre armory and ran behind Rhett. He had dozens of weapons on his person, but he didn’t grab any. They cleared the trees and she felt the ground tremble. She looked up and saw that a dragon had fallen to the ground with a spear sticking out of its side. It was trying to get up while five Buggane surrounded it.