by Lexa Luthor
Clio huffed and came down another step, pointing the gun closer to Charlie's face. "That's not how they tell it." She shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. Your hide is finally worth something." She tilted her head. "You must have really pissed off Serrato Corps."
Charlie revealed all her teeth in a wicked smile. "You have no idea."
Clio grunted and shifted to the right. "Time to go." She checked on the priest, who remained in the same spot.
Going up the first step, Charlie hissed from the pain in her leg but continued ascending the steps. Almost to the top, she faltered from the sudden, warm pulse in her chest that gave her hope.
"Move," Clio snapped and shoved Charlie forward.
Collapsing, Charlie hit the stone step but lifted her head and saw the long shadow rushing toward them through the main entrance. Her heart thundered to life, and she reacted with fire to Clio's demands. She rolled onto her back and drew her knees to her chest, then drove her boots into Clio's stomach.
Clio was launched into the air, cursing and screaming. She collided into the ground but then scrambled to her feet and pointed the gun at Charlie.
Sitting upright on the steps, Charlie watched Clio's features grow pale. Charlie felt the heated darkness pouring and sweeping around her, filling the temple. A ferocious growl reverberated off the walls and echoed in everyone's ears. She was warmed by it, unlike Clio, who stumbled backward.
Clio attempted to open her mouth, but she only managed a peep before tumbling to her knees. Still determined, she raised the lectra gun at the immense threat behind Charlie. Her first shot bounced off her target, followed by a roar.
A massive body leapt over Charlie's head, landed in front of her, and lunged to end the entire fiasco with one clean swipe. She cringed as Clio's head separated from her neck, slid off, and fell to the grass. I fucking hate decapitation! But it was over, and Charlie slumped against the steps, watching her lover spin around to her.
Kal knelt next to Charlie and lowered her sword nearby. "Are you all right?"
"I'm great." Charlie forced a smile, sensing it didn't make the grade. "There's another bounty hunter."
"He's already been dealt with."
Charlie considered whether that meant the bounty hunter Max was dead or arrested. "You have perfect timing as usual."
Kal chuffed and started to inspect Charlie, hissing at the leg wound.
"It's nothing serious." Charlie sat up on the step and stretched her injured leg. "I've been hit plenty of times in the past." She ignored Kal's displeased rumble and peered up when the priest drifted over to them.
Kal tilted her head back and said, "Turen, Tas."
Charlie lifted an eyebrow at hearing the priest's name for the first time. The name Tas had to be a title, similar to the High Commander's being Kal. It was too coincidental that the priest's name was the last portion of Kalatas's name.
"Turen, Kal." Tas slipped her hands into the green robe but shifted her attention to the entrance.
Charlie twisted her head around and watched the four soldiers march into the temple. She started to get up until Kal pushed against her chest, telling her to stay.
Kal stood and ordered, "Remove the body. Two of you remain at the temple's entrance and do not let anyone pass."
"Ja, Kal," one soldier agreed, then started the process of dragging the body while another picked up the head.
Kal grabbed the sword, sheathed it, and knelt on Charlie's right side. Leaning closer, she spoke in a softer voice. "After the soldiers leave, I need you to lower your pants enough so I can heal the wound."
Charlie sighed and said, "I'm okay. I'll get Brexton to look at it." She stiffened from Kal's low snarl and submitted with a head bow. "I don't want to weaken you."
After the temple became quiet, Kal touched Charlie's leg and studied the injury. "It won't require much energy to heal it."
"Sum—" Charlie was cut off by Kal's dark glare. But she was unsure if it was for using Kal's old name in front of Tas or being argumentative about the wound. Maybe it was both, and she grumbled at the losing battle. She suspected Kal would use a blade to cut the jeans if Charlie didn't take them off. Giving up, she reached for the belt buckle but stopped and glanced at Tas.
Clearing her throat, Tas nodded and turned, then gave them some privacy. Charlie unclipped the utility belt, worked the zipper, and peeled the jeans off, but she grimaced when the clothing brushed the raw, bubbling wound. "I hate these fuckers." She seethed at the bloody flesh sticking to the material. Once they were low enough, the oozing flesh glistened.
Kal's rumble was long and heavy. She raised her hand, letting it hover over the wound. Her eyes were a fiery emerald, and black mist poured from her palm, covering the mangled, charred skin.
Last time, Charlie had watched in awe when Kal healed Dorlon and brought her back. This time, she studied the dark, smoky force that seeped into her skin, blood, and muscle. First the burned muscle started to heal, then the ripped, charred skin pulled and stretched causing the opening to close up. As the wound continued to heal, the pain intensified until Charlie fell back on the steps and cut her nails against the stone under her palms. She let out a low cry, digging her heels into the soft grass. Her entire body strained, and her heart wanted to burst from her chest.
Charlie held her breath until the dark heat vanished from her body. With her head against the top step, she panted and slumped after relaxing her hands. When she opened her eyes, she met Kal's stern features and saw no signs of weariness.
Reaching for the unbuttoned pants, Kal pulled them up to Charlie's waist and left them open while Charlie caught her breath. "How does it feel now?"
Charlie sat up and groaned from the awkward position on the steps. She shifted, then inspected her leg through the hole in her jeans where the burned spot had been. "It feels normal now." She took Kal's offered hand and tested her leg once on her feet again. Keeping her balance, she flexed her leg a few times and smiled at it. Nothing hurt, and no scarring remained other than the damage to the jeans. "Tah."
"Motah." Kal turned to Tas, who remained several steps away with her back to them. "Tas," she called.
By the time Tas joined them, Charlie had zipped her pants and clipped her belt into place. She cleared her throat and swept her wild hair back with her fingers.
"Tas, this is Charlie." Kal hooked her hands in front of her body, legs parted, and stony features locked on Tas. "She rescued the Omega who was kidnapped during the first nineth."
Tas's smile was warm and genuine to Charlie. She slipped her hands into the green robe's sleeves and asked, "You are from Kardos?"
Charlie shrugged and replied, "Once upon a time, ja." She studied Tas's features and suspected that Tas was close to Kal's age. "Have you been the priest long?"
"For about eight years now," Tas replied. "I am the High Priest of Kander, as Kal is the High Commander of our planet."
"So is 'Tas' your title?" Charlie ignored Kal's low huff, which had a note of amusement in it.
"Ja. My name is Sallow, but it is spoken by few."
Charlie was intrigued and wanted to ask more, but Kal interrupted them.
"I must go." Kal looked at Charlie with a hint of concern in her eyes.
Charlie nodded and fisted her hand to keep from touching her lover. "Are we still on for our meeting later?" She went over and collected her lectra gun and techbit, coming back over while Kal spoke to her.
"Ja, I will be in my office at the fourteenth hour."
Considering her mental clock, Charlie decided it would be good timing between now and when Raine liked to return to the farm. "I'll see you then." She watched Kal and Tas exchange a goodbye, then she was left alone with the High Priest. She pointed a thumb over her shoulder and said, "Sorry about the mess earlier."
"It is not the first time blood has been spilled in this temple," Tas said. "It will happen again."
Charlie frowned and zipped up her jacket, chasing off the c
hill in her body. "I've never been in this temple. I knew it was here but…." She scanned the interior, then tilted her head back and gazed around the dome that opened to the bell tower. Streams of light cascaded into the temple, lighting up patches of grass around them. "It's beautiful."
"Our temple is the oldest structure in the city." Tas watched how she took in the details. "Before it was a temple, it was the alping for the region. Then later the Great Tower was built and became the new alping."
Now awed, Charlie focused on Tas and digested the new information. She recalled that an alping was both an event and structure in Kalmar society where people assembled for law, hearings, judgments, and announcements from their leader. She hadn't realized the temple held such long history. The stone walls had seen and heard many things over the centuries. "That's amazing." She frowned after a worry came over her. "Am I even allowed in here? I'm not Kalmar."
Tas gave a soft laugh but smiled and replied, "Kalatas does not judge based on species but spirit. You are welcomed here at any time."
Charlie nodded and decided it was time to go, until the wall behind Tas caught her attention. It glowed and flickered from a constant flame that ran along the wall, but only a portion of it. Intrigued, she was drawn across the distance and went up the steps to the wall. Behind her, she sensed Tas following her.
Getting closer, Charlie peered up toward the top of the wall that connected with the dome ceiling. At the top, there was a single name, then under it another and another and then more. They continued downward toward the fire trough at the bottom. She wanted to touch them, feel how they were etched into the white marble. Turning toward the High Priest, she whispered, "Who are they?"
"They are all the High Commanders of Kander." Tas climbed the steps and stood beside Charlie. "Their old names before they became Kal." She spoke in a soft voice and sighed low. "This is how we remember them after they speak their old name upon their death."
Charlie nibbled her lower lip, thinking of her lover. "What if there's no one to hear their name?"
Tas tilted her head, studying Charlie with a thoughtful look. "There is always at least one listening."
Looking at the wall again, Charlie followed the list until she found the most recent, and she glared at it. "I remember him." She held back a growl, but she heard the venom in her own voice.
Tas studied the last Kal's name too and whispered, "At the end, he became a troubled Kal." She looked at Charlie and hesitated, seeming to weigh something. "He did many great things for our people. But when your people arrived, he was unbalanced and unstable." Tas shifted her attention back to the name etched into the wall. "Yukon was driven mad by Kalatas."
"Wait. What?" Charlie narrowed her eyes and said, "Kal said that the last Kal died from the civil war."
"Ja, it did kill him."
Frowning again, Charlie sensed that Tas would hold back the details about the last Kal's demise. She filed it away for another time when she could ask her lover about what really happened to the last ruler. "I should be going. My friend is probably freaking out right now."
"I understand." Tas indicated the direction of the main entrance. "Our paths will cross again."
"Hopefully for a better reason than a bounty hunter chasing me," Charlie argued.
Tas followed Charlie closer to the main entrance and said, "But it was a reason nonetheless."
Chapter 6
"Damn it. I need to go, Raine." Charlie had about ten minutes to rush to the Great Tower after closing a sale on two tablets and a smart watch. "I'm going to be late." She shoved the techbit into her pocket and started to reverse out of the stall.
"We'll wait here for you," Raine promised.
Charlie nodded.
"Don't forget your business blocker." Raine pointed at Andren, who was standing at attention beside the stall. She'd had a sour look about Andren ever since her arrival at the stall.
Charlie didn't bother asking Andren who sent her, and before leaving she swore to Raine that she would handle the situation during her meeting with Kal. Having a soldier stationed at the stall was bad for business, and thus bad for Charlie's employment.
Andren shot a weak glare at Raine before following behind Charlie. She carried a spear, wore her normal dark uniform, and had a laser rifle strapped across her back.
Charlie jogged to the Great Tower, hating to be late. By the time she made it to the fifty-second floor, she had one minute remaining. The double office doors were closed and under guard. Like previous times, Charlie hurried down the hall between the elevator and the office, but she noticed that farther past the office entrance was the other, mysterious door. For the first time, it was open and light was streaming out of it, but there was no time to peek.
After a guard pushed open the left door, Charlie entered Kal's office and expected to find the ruler behind the desk, but the office was empty. Looking to her left, she spotted Kal seated in a wingchair beside the roaring fireplace and a familiar tattooed, bald-headed figure on the sofa.
Kal rose and came around the sofa, greeting Charlie. "Just on time."
Charlie grinned and joked, "Still working on the early part." She watched Lennox stand and exchanged a greeting with him.
"Lennox and I were discussing your upcoming mission. He has a few questions for you."
Charlie tried to remain calm, even if she was unprepared for the meeting to include Lennox. "Right." She took Kal's offer to sit down in the opposite wingchair, grateful for the warmth from the fire.
Like Kal, Lennox returned to his seat in the center of the sofa. He ran his hand over his neat beard. "Kal has informed me that you will be taking a unit of soldiers into outer space to capture the human responsible for kidnapping the Omega."
"Ja." Charlie refrained from looking at Kal, holding all of Lennox's attention.
"How do you plan to kidnap him?" Lennox was calm and his voice rather soft, making it easy to forget he was an Alpha.
"Ambush him," Charlie replied. "There's a planet in our quadrant called Eos Minor that skirts quadrant six. It's inhabitable, but no intelligent race lives there. It would be a neutral place to meet." She recalled it was inhabited by various small creatures similar to reptiles and dinosaurs that had once been on Earth. "Anyway, the terrain is like here. There's plenty of trees and landscape to hide the soldiers." She grinned at Lennox. "I'll give him my crewman in exchange for Serrato Corps to drop the bounty on my head. At least that's the ploy to get Victor to meet me on Eos Minor."
Lennox was quiet for a beat, then narrowed his eyes though his features remained calm. "And how can we be assured you won't have other plans? You may wish to go through with the exchange with Victor. Or perhaps you'll want to kill Victor yourself rather than return him to us, since he was the one that destroyed your ship."
Charlie clenched her hands and resisted her initial reaction to Lennox's list of accusations. He had a point after all, and she wanted to earn the job. She took a deep breath and held his steady gaze. "I might be a merc, but I have honor and a reputation at stake. I lose clients if I don't hold up my end of the agreement."
"Ja, but in this situation it's your life at stake, thanks to a bounty," Lennox countered.
Charlie flashed a grin. "I'll tell you a secret." She leaned toward him and whispered, "My life is always at stake." She straightened up after he chuffed at her. She wanted to say more and explain that the mission's purpose was bigger than she. Victor held information about the Sworne and what could be coming their way. However, Charlie was unsure whether Kal had disclosed to Lennox about the Sworne's potential arrival.
Lennox rested back in the sofa and slid his hands into the arms of his robe. He continued a staring contest with Charlie.
Kal shifted in the wingchair, which drew Charlie's attention to her. "Lennox, as part of the payment to Charlie, I will be offering her Victor's life after I've finished interrogating him."
After a low rumble, Lennox looked over at Charlie and asked
, "Does such an arrangement agree with you?"
Not expecting the offer, Charlie took a beat to weigh it and lifted an eyebrow at them. "Don't you want to return him or ransom him back to Serrato Corps?"
Kal remained silent and looked at Lennox when he spoke up. "It would be unwise to freely return him, Kal. He's been a threat to us."
"Nor is there anything that Serrato Corps can offer us as a ransom," Kal said, a low rumble rolling in her chest. Looking back at Charlie, she said, "His life will be yours to take."
Charlie hadn't calculated the offer and worked her jaw a few times, unsure what to say. But the expectant gazes from both Alphas made her sigh. "All right."
"Kal has made me aware of the possibility that the Sworne are returning to our galaxy," Lennox said. "You overheard this from Victor during your mission to save your crewman?"
"Ja." Charlie shifted in the chair and crossed her legs.
"We know very little about the Sworne." Lennox frowned and worry etched his features. "Only bits and pieces from your people."
Charlie swallowed as childhood memories tried to bubble to the surface. "I'm not an expert on them. I was a kid when they attacked my home planet. But I can tell you that their technology far outweighs anything here on Kander." She glanced at Kal, then said, "It's possible that their tech has even improved since they were last here."
Lennox made a disapproving sound, then asked, "Are there any among your people who are knowledgeable about the Sworne?"
Blowing out a breath, Charlie wondered about the best answer when she knew so little about the Earthlings in Kardos. "During the war, I'm sure my people studied the Sworne and learned everything they possibly could so that they could find their weakness and stop them." She felt Kal's dark gaze lingering on her. "The people who are going to know the most about the Sworne will be those left from the military, probably the US military."
"US military?" Lennox repeated.
"The United States," Charlie replied. "It was a government body on Earth. The US was kind of a province, but it was its own separate power. There were hundreds of governments like that around Earth." She didn't know if there was a Kalmarese word for country, but it was the best interpretation she could provide. "At the time, the highest power in the US was the president, but he died on the Liberator about a year after we left Earth."