by Gail Koger
An evil grin curved Malik’s mouth. “I see you survived my booby trap, but once again you’re too late, Father.” He teleported back to Voss and raised his sword. “Now all you can do is watch as I kill your great Battle Commander.”
A terrible rage vibrated through every cell of my body. “The only one dying today is you.”
That creepy maniacal laugh broke from Malik. “You think you can kill me?”
“Yes.” With a little help from Zarek. A torrent of power exploded from me and slammed into Malik.
His face a bleached-out mask of shock, Malik staggered and went down on one knee. In a choked, hoarse voice filled with fury, he spat, “You will pay for that.”
An immense power hit my mind. I sucked in an agonized breath and tasted the cold, bitter flavor of fear.
“You are not alone,” Voss whispered in my head.
Images rushed through my dazed brain, and I suddenly knew what I had to do. “Let’s kick some ass.” I unleashed volley after volley of energy, hammering Malik and driving him to his knees.
Bellowing like a wounded bear, Malik jumped up and launched his counterattack.
Pain shattered my concentration, and darkness danced across my vision. Malik’s next mind blast seared through my brain, and it took everything I had to hold my shields. My energy reserve was dwindling rapidly, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could fight him.
The next blow sent me reeling. My knees buckled, and I crumpled to the sand, too exhausted to rise.
Malik howled in victory. “Did you think this pitiful female could defeat me, Father?”
Voices whispered in my head, “Get up. You fail, he dies.”
No! Voss couldn’t die. I had lost too much. I wasn’t strong enough to go on without him. Reality blurred, and for a moment, I stood on that bloody Phoenix street strewn with disemboweled corpses and the hot wind carrying the children’s tortured screams. From somewhere deep inside me came a final vestige of angry strength. Never again would the innocent be slaughtered. Vengeance would finally be mine. This was the hour of his death. The day of retribution.
I hurled all my pain and rage at Malik.
Malik’s screams of stunned agony reverberated around the energy field.
“Die. Die, you bastard.” I felt his shields crumble under my furious onslaught. The one who had sought to destroy me and mine would in turn be destroyed. I sensed his life force slipping away, and then it was gone.
I fell into a weird kind of limbo where I was detached from my body. There was no pain. No fear. Just peace. Voss was safe.
“Zoey?”
“Mom?” Joy erupted inside me as she appeared out of the blackness. “I did it, Mom. I killed the bastard. Just like I promised.”
She pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m so very proud of you, Zoey.”
“Malik will never hurt anyone again.”
“No, he won’t, but your battle drained your life force to the point of death, sweetie. It’s not your time. You must go back.”
“I want to be with you, Mom. I’ve missed you so much.”
Zarek’s furious voice demanded, “Will you let Voss die?”
“What? No. I saved him.”
“No, you did not. Get up. Now! Voss needs the antidote. You must deactivate the energy barrier.”
A wave of power hit me like an electric shock. My eyes flew open. “I’m up!” Everything was a nauseating blur. I shook my head to clear it and spotted Voss. There was a bluish tinge to his skin, and his breath came in ragged gasps.
Oh dear God. He was dying. I tried to rise, but my muscles howled in protest. It was like I was made out of granite. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get up. My strength was gone.
The Overlord’s growl reverberated around my skull, “Will you let Voss die?”
“No, I would give my life for his.” My gaze settled on Malik. He was just a couple of feet away. I could do it. Gritting my teeth, I dragged myself across the burning sand and fought back the waves of dizziness.
“Hurry,” Zarek urged.
Fear had me scrambling like a drunken sea turtle for Malik. I grabbed his thick wrist and started punching icons on his warrior’s bracelet until the energy barrier vanished.
Everyone rushed to Voss.
A shudder shook me. I was so very cold. The sun dissolved, and an inky blackness crashed over me in a claustrophobic wave.
Chapter Twenty-One
I floated in an endless black void. Shadows shifted, danced, and writhed in a celebration of death. They whirled around me, beckoned to me, pulled me away from the light.
Oh fuck! Was I dead? I didn’t feel dead.
The shadows pushed me farther and farther into the void. Gruesome skeletal caricatures spun gleefully around me.
Okay, this was creeping me out. “Mom? You there? Am I dreaming? Please, God, let me be dreaming.”
Faraway voices called to me.
“Hello? Who’s there?”
A maniacal laugh shattered the silence.
“No! None of this is real. It can’t be. I killed you.”
“I cannot die.”
“Sure you can.”
“I attached myself to your life force. As long as you live, I live.”
Gotta say I didn’t see that one coming. Did I want to go through life with a murderous parasite attached to me? Hell no. I swam deeper into the waiting blackness. “Let’s go say howdy to the devil.”
Malik’s stunned horror washed over me. “Stop!”
“Not a chance, asshole. You’re done with killing my loved ones.”
“You’ll die too.”
“And your point is?”
“Are you insane?”
“No. Determined. It ends now.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?”
“Voss will never allow you to die,” Malik blustered.
“Because of you, he’s in no shape to stop me.”
A thrust of iridescent light shot into existence. “But I am.”
Crap. Zarek. “Sorry, sir, I forgot all about the Kalafat, but he hurt Voss, and he’s gotta die.”
“He will die, but this is neither the time nor the place.”
“Touch me and she dies,” Malik snarled.
A ribbon of dazzling energy shattered the blackness and coiled around me. A tremendous power poured into me, ripping me away from Malik’s foul grasp.
Malik’s cry of stunned agony echoed in my head. “No! It’s not possible.”
“Awake,” Zarek commanded.
My body convulsed violently, and I sucked in a lungful of air. A groan broke from me as pain radiated throughout my body. Being back in the land of the living hurt like a mother.
“Zoey? Please wake up,” Hothar called urgently.
My eyes snapped open, and I surveyed his badly bruised face. “Whoa! I hope you kicked the asshole’s butt.”
A feral smile curved Hothar’s mouth. “I did.”
“Good.” I raised my head and looked down at my body. “Why am I wearing this funky paper jumpsuit?”
“It’s a life-support suit for those who need intensive care.” Grabbing me in a bear hug, Hothar whispered in my ear, “I thought we had lost you.”
“Can’t breathe,” I squeaked.
He eased his grip. “You take too many chances.”
God, he sounded just like Voss. Shit! “Where’s Voss?”
He pointed to a regen tube filled with a funky red gas. “The medics have stabilized him, and they are purifying his body of the poison.”
An Alliance medic in a rumpled green tunic bustled into the room. “Good, you’re awake.” He ran a scanner over me. “Your life signs are back in the normal range, but let me give you something for the pain.”
My head did feel like it was going to explode. I winced as he triggered a pressure injector against my neck. “Is Voss going to be okay?”
The medic nodded. “Fortunately we got to him in time.” He gave me a stern look. “You, how
ever, came very close to dying.”
I shrugged. “What’s a girl to do? I was the only one who could stop Malik.”
His skepticism obvious, the medic replied, “Females do not engage in battle.”
My temper flared, and I glared at him. “You’ve never been to Earth, have you?”
He gave me a condescending smile. “No matter what the species, females are genetically not suited for battle.”
“Would you like a demonstration of my abilities, honey?”
Hothar’s eyes widened in horror, and he yanked me out of the regen tube. “No! He does not.”
“I think he needs one.” Okay, I was being a cranky bitch, but I’d had it with his snotty attitude.
“Witnessing such a battle can overcome a female’s fragile sensibilities.” The medic picked up his pressure injector.
Fragile sensibilities? What an ass. “Get away from me before I hurt you.”
He raised the injector.
Twisting in Hothar’s grip, I kicked the pissy little medic in the family jewels and smiled in satisfaction when he doubled over and made a gagging noise. “Who’s fragile now, huh?”
With a groan, Hothar dropped me to my feet.
“I did warn him.”
“That you did,” Zarek commented drily.
Spinning around, I met his merciless gaze and stated firmly, “I’m not apologizing to that little prick.”
A dangerous smile touched Zarek’s mouth. “Have I asked you to apologize?”
“No.” I blinked as the room danced dizzily around me. “Whoa. I think I need to lie down.”
Totally ignoring the medic’s groans of pain, Zarek scooped me up and plunked me on an examining table. “You need blood.” He drew a big-ass knife from his boot and slashed his palm. “Drink.”
I stared at the blood welling up in dismay. “Uh. No offense, but couldn’t I wait until Voss is feeling better?”
A low growl rumbled in his chest. “Are you defying me?”
“No! Not at all, it’s just… It’s not Voss’s.”
“In emergency situations, you may drink from a male other than your mate,” Zarek advised.
“Drink,” Voss hissed in my head.
“Sir, yes, sir.” I obediently lapped up Zarek’s hot blood. It tasted kinda funny, but boy did it have a kick to it. I was getting one hell of a buzz on.
“No chocolate for the next two months,” Voss stated suddenly.
“What! That is so unfair.” I pushed Zarek’s hand away and angrily wiped the blood off my mouth.
“You disobeyed me.”
“I saved your ungrateful ass. Again.”
“You almost died.”
“But I didn’t. Since I stopped Malik from killing you, you owe me big-time, buster.” I scowled at his regen tube. “I want a really big box of chocolate, a case of soda, and some play time with Johnny.”
Hothar asked, “Who’s Johnny?”
Crap, I was broadcasting my thoughts again. “Nobody you know.”
“When can I meet him?”
“Ah… Well…you can’t.”
“Johnny wants to come out and play,” Voss murmured in my head, raining phantom kisses down my neck.
A blush stained my cheeks. “Stop it.”
“I haven’t even begun.”
I wiggled frantically as Voss stroked my clit. “Listen, you horny bastard, we are so not doing it in front of Zarek and Hothar.”
“Zarek understands a warrior’s needs.” His mouth closed over my right nipple.
Ever the persistent teenager, Hothar asked, “Why can’t I meet Johnny?”
“It wouldn’t be proper,” I gasped, fighting back the urge to scream as Voss licked and nibbled my clit.
With a confused frown, Hothar pushed on. “Is this Johnny our enemy?”
Oh dear God. Why me? “Not exactly. Look, let’s just say Johnny is a personal matter between Voss and me.”
“I see,” Hothar said, when clearly he didn’t.
Voss slid his finger deep inside me, and a shocking heat clenched my muscles. He thrust again, and pleasure rocked me. Panting hard, I managed to ride it out without screaming.
Hothar frowned as I shuddered and shook on the table. “Is Zoey having a seizure? Should we get another medic?”
“No! I’m good,” I squeaked.
His amusement evident, Zarek instructed Hothar, “Take Zoey to her chambers and make sure she eats something other than chocolate.”
I gave him a grateful smile. “When is Voss getting sprung from sick bay?”
“In another hour,” the medic croaked. He looked at me like I was something that had climbed out of the toilet and snarled. “Get that creature out of my sick bay.”
Excuse me? Before I could tell him where to stick it, power suddenly roiled around the room. Uh-oh. He had done gone and pissed off the Overlord. I slid off the examining table and waited for the fireworks to begin.
The medic took one look at Zarek’s furious gaze and messed himself.
My eyes began to water at the stench. Hooboy. What had he been eating?
His voice soft and menacing, Zarek stated, “That creature is a Coletti warrior, and she will be treated with the respect due her. Do you understand me?”
The medic’s head bobbled crazily, and he slowly backed out of the room. “Please… Please accept…my apologies. It won’t… Won’t happen again, my lord.” The medic fled.
A horrified scream sounded from the corridor.
I stepped out the door and shook my head in disgust when the medic crumpled to the floor in a dead faint.
Bebo slithered over to me. “He frightens easily.”
“The poor thing suffers from fragile sensibilities,” I said, trying to work a touch of sympathy into my mental voice.
Hothar grinned at me and nudged the medic with his foot. “He needs to change his shorts.”
“Perhaps a warship is not the correct place for him,” Bebo added. A tentacle gently petted my hair.
I shrugged. “Probably not.”
“I’ve summoned Commander Zan to deal with him,” Zarek added, staring down at him.
Zap! Someone’s career just went in the toilet. What a pity. I turned to Bebo. “Your kingdom is once again secure?”
“It is. I owe you a great debt for saving Bedan.” His tentacle settled on my shoulder.
“I really didn’t do anything. Bedan saved himself.” I eased way from the tentacle.
“Zoey is being modest,” Zarek said, shooting me a warning look.
A frisson of dread snaked up my back. He actually wanted me to get stung again? I had enough tattoos, thank you very much.
“We wish to honor Zoey with the Rite of Ascendance.”
Rite? Oh hell no. “It’s not—”
Zarek cut me off. “She accepts.”
“I do?”
“You do,” Voss growled in my head.
“The Rite will be held when the third moon rises,” Bebo replied.
A gleeful light in his eyes, Zarek gave a slight bow. “We accept this great honor.”
My mouth tightened. Like hell “we” do.
“We do,” Voss insisted.
“But—”
“Be safe, little one.” A starburst of gold enveloped Bebo, and he was gone.
More than a little pissed, I turned to Zarek and demanded, “Does this Rite involve more tattoos?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not going, and you can’t make me.”
“You are going,” Voss snapped.
His teeth bared in a menacing smile, Zarek answered, “Are you challenging me?”
Fear knotted my stomach. Did I have a big mouth or what? “No, sir. What can it hurt to get another tattoo?”
“Good answer.”
The medic groaned, sat up, took one look at the Overlord, and fled, screaming blue bloody murder.
“Malik hasn’t been under the medic’s tender care, has he?”
An evil smile spread across Zarek’s f
ace. “No. Bey and his warriors are guarding Malik.”
Why was that name so familiar? Wait a minute. “Isn’t Bey a Kotsor?”
“He is.”
“Can I meet him?” Kaylee had written me about them. Kotsors were a telepathic race that resembled tarantula spiders.
“If Voss is agreeable, I will arrange a meeting.”
“Cool.”
A familiar voice cried, “Zoey!”
I turned and watched my very pregnant cousin waddle toward me. “Oh my God! Kaylee, you’re pregnant!”
She laughed and patted her stomach. “Very.”
Zarek hissed his displeasure. “Talree agreed to this?”
Not a bit intimidated, Kaylee answered, “When Detja heard what had happened, she insisted on coming too.”
A petite woman in a moss-green tunic appeared in the corridor.
I gawked. She was drop-dead beautiful, with long silver hair that emphasized her high exotic cheekbones and delicate features. One look at her pointed ears and I knew who she was. I walked toward her and held out my hand. “You have to be Detja.”
“I am.” She hugged me. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you.”
“You should not be here,” Zarek roared.
“My place is at your side,” Detja replied, not batting an eye at his rage.
An exasperated Coletti warlord who bore a striking resemblance to Zarek popped in and wrapped a protective arm around Kaylee. “Father.”
The Overlord locked a menacing glare on Talree. “Have you lost your mind?”
A melodious laugh broke from Detja. “Your son has no control over me.”
A low growl rumbled in Zarek’s chest. “You risk too much.”
I gingerly patted the Overlord’s arm. “Relax. The good guys won. Malik’s locked up, and the galaxy is safe once again. What could possibly happen now?”
Loose Id Titles by Gail Koger
The COLETTI WARLORDS Series
Vexing Voss
Gail Koger
I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for thirty-one years and to keep insanity at bay, I took up writing. Not to worry. The insanity isn’t catching…much. Other than the addiction to chocolate and the twitch in my left eye, I’m good. My current project is Reality Bites, the next in the Coletti Warlord series.
Check out my Web site at http://www.gailkoger.com.