They came to the top of the ridge and Kadan started sprinting ahead when he caught sight of the transport vehicle. Without warning, two hideous creatures sprang at him out of the trees.
Maia screamed a warning but he’d already seen them. He tossed the bundle on the ground behind him and changed direction, heading along the ridge away from the craft. They raced after him.
Maia’s scream drew two others. They appeared at the edge of the woods, blocking the way to the transporter. Their heads swiveled, seeking the source of the sound, and she found herself staring into cold dead eyes. She stood rooted to the spot, hypnotized by their gaze.
Solymus jumped in front of her and pushed her away.
“Run!”
He roared and charged, spraying them with his blaster. It didn’t seem to have any effect on their thick shells. They came at him with their beaked mouths snapping open and shut like sharp pincers.
She heard him shout something about “the Heart,” then his words were drowned out by loud shrieks of the creatures as they overpowered him. Maia was suddenly filled with rage. She’d never used her powers for anything but good before, but she summoned a blast of energy and hurled it at the creatures.
It didn’t even slow them down. She caught a glimpse of Solymus between them and knew she couldn’t save him. He was on his knees, one arm dangling uselessly at his side, while he struggled to keep the snapping beak of one of the creatures away from his face with the other. Their eyes met for an instant. His were filled with a silent plea.
Maia didn’t think, didn’t hesitate. She knew what she had to do. Gathering up a massive bolt of energy, she aimed it at Solymus’ chest. His heart stopped an instant before the creatures tore his body apart.
Lost in a killing frenzy, they had forgotten about her for a moment. She darted ahead, snatched the Heart off the ground, and ran in the direction Kadan had gone.
Before she’d gone a hundred yards, she heard it. The vicious buzzing sound stopped abruptly, replaced by a thin high-pitched wail coming from a creature somewhere nearby. A second wail joined in, then a third. Within moments, the eerie howls spread through the woods and rose up, echoing off the mountain peaks around her.
The chorus of death. Kadan must have killed one of his pursuers.
She was on the verge of collapsing, but Maia ran on with tears streaming down her face. Solymus sacrificed himself to save her and the Heart. She wouldn’t let his death be in vain.
A shout rang out over the keening wails of the creatures and she saw Kadan, beckoning to her. Behind him, in the distance, she spied the transport vehicle. She headed toward him, stumbling and weaving. Kadan shouted again, pointing and waving frantically. She glanced behind her and saw an army of the creatures. They were advancing toward her, slowly but steadily, as though her capture was a foregone conclusion.
She summoned the last reserves of her strength and ran toward him full-tilt. Then stopped, horrified.
Somehow, her path had diverged from Kadan’s. He stood there, no more than a body’s length from her—but they were separated by a deep chasm.
“You can do it, Maia. I know you can. Jump.” His voice was calm, compelling. But through their connection she picked up the fear he was trying so hard to conceal.
She stared into the black hole yawning at her feet and shook her head wildly. “I can’t! I won’t make it.” She glanced behind her at the advancing horde. “The transport vehicle! You could go for it, then fly across and pick me up.”
He shook his head. “There’s no time for that. Trust me, my love. Jump.” When she hesitated, he narrowed his eyes. His voice lashed out like a whip. “Are you disobeying your lord’s command?”
There it was. The masterful tone that made her ache for his touch. A touch she might never feel again.
“The Heart!” She threw the bundle to him.
He caught it, tossed it to the ground carelessly, and held out his arms. “Jump. Now.”
She backed up, took a running start, and hurled herself through the air.
* * *
One minute she was flying toward him, arms outstretched, and the next she was gone. He stood there, stunned—and heard a wild shriek.
Kadan threw himself on the ground and peered down. Eight feet below him was a narrow ledge, barely deep enough for fingertips to grasp. Somehow Maia had managed to catch hold of it. He leaned out, stretched, but couldn’t reach her.
“Hang on, my love. I’m coming down to get you.”
“You can’t. The cliff face is sheer and this ledge will never hold your weight.”
On the other side of the chasm, he saw the creatures getting closer. They’d be able to bridge the gap easily. Kill them both and recapture the Heart.
He looked back at Maia. He could see the strain on her face, her arms shaking. She’d been weakened by healing him and it was clear she couldn’t hold on much longer. He met her eyes and saw that she knew it too.
“Go. You have to get the Heart to the Oracle. To your people.”
“Fuck the Heart. I’m not letting you die.”
Down on his belly, he scooted forward a little further. He leaned down, hanging over the cliff face as he stretched both hands toward her.
“Trust me, Maia. Let go with one hand and grab mine. I’ll pull you up. “
The creatures were drawing nearer. He could hear their wild shrieks.
“Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
Though he knew she was terrified, the trust in her eyes as she stretched her hand up toward his touched his heart. Their fingers brushed, then the weight of her body dragged her back down. She flailed desperately, clawing at the cliff face, before finding a new hold.
“I can’t do it.” She mustered up a brave smile. “Go. Please, my love.”
“I won’t leave you.” He got to his knees, ripped the thunder dragon belt from his waist, and wrapped the end around his fist. “Grab this,” he ordered, throwing himself back down on his stomach. “I’ll pull you up.”
The belt dangled in front of her face. She let go again, with the other hand this time, and reached for it. Caught hold and hooked her fingers through the buckle. He wiggled backward frantically. Toes scrabbling in the dirt, he managed to drag her up a few inches.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the slight movement. Watched the Heart he’d jostled when he moved rolling toward the cliff. Maia saw it too, as it teetered on the edge.
“I love you, Kadan,” she whispered. “I’ll always love you. Fulfill your destiny. Save the Heart. Save your people.”
“Noooo!” His wild cry echoed off the stone walls of the canyon as he watched her fingers slowly unclench, leaving the belt dangling weightless in his hands.
Chapter Twelve
Dendros, third Moon of Anteres
This time he welcomed the cold. Guilt made him revel in its bone-chilling embrace. So different from the warmth of his lover’s arms.
Kadan picked his way along the narrow ice-covered path leading to the summit. He swore the path hadn’t been there on his first trip. Surely he’d have seen it. Though the surface was steep and slick, it was a far easier journey than his previous one.
Still, the burden he bore made this climb more difficult than the last. The wind howling in his ears carried a mournful refrain. You failed. You failed. Kadan, Omega Warrior of Anteres, defender and protector of the Worlds of the Seven Stars, had another unsuccessful mission to add to his record, this failure with a far higher price than the last. He dreaded confessing to the Sacred Oracle that the Heart of the Entity had been destroyed. Shattered into a million needle-sharp pieces on the rocks at the base of the canyon.
He’d put his love for an alien woman before the safety of his entire civilization. Let the Heart go, watched it crash onto the rocks below, as he dove forward and caught Maia.
The truth of it was, he wasn’t sorry. Every being in his world would be destroyed, but even if he had succeeded, they’d all die eventually. Each life must come to an end. Be
tter to happily live out the days he had left, few though they may be, with the woman he loved by his side than to become a bitter old man, tortured every day by the knowledge that he’d abandoned the person who meant more to him than any other.
His path curved around a rough outcropping of rock ahead and for a few moments he was forced to hang on by his fingers again. Kadan cursed the gods roughly. He’d spent far too much fucking time clinging to the sides of cliffs lately.
Once past that obstacle, he was shocked to find himself at the summit of the mountain. On his last visit, the temple had been shrouded in gray mist. Tonight the other two moons of Anteres shone brightly in the clear sky above, reflecting off the ice-covered ground to bathe the building before him in pale, cold light.
Again, the huge doors stood open, beckoning him. Kadan mounted the slippery flight of steps carefully and stepped through the entryway.
The temple was as cold as the mountaintop on which it was built. Flames in the cauldrons burned as brightly as ever, but this time they gave off no warmth. Every huge column bore a flickering torch mounted halfway to the ceiling, throwing the room into pools of light and shadow. Without being invited, he headed toward the figure seated on the platform in the center of the cavernous space.
A stranger sat on the throne. A beautiful woman, her head bowed, dressed in a platinum gown that shimmered in the firelight. Silver-white hair flowed over her shoulders to graze her breasts, full and rounded under the form-fitting gown.
The fire’s glow reflected off her, nearly dazzling him, and he looked closer as he approached. Her hair gleamed because it was coated with ice, every strand. It rippled over her body like a frozen waterfall. And the gown—it was made of thousands of frost crystals.
She must be cold as the seventh hell. No wonder her nipples are hard. The thought popped unbidden into his mind.
She lifted her head and sharp black eyes bored into his. “No, I’m not cold,” she announced. “But thank you for your… concern. It is customary to kneel before me,” she added, with a note of irritation.
He knew that voice. And those eyes. Kadan fell to his knees.
“Holy One?”
“Who else did you expect?” she snapped.
“But… last time you were so …” He stammered then stopped, appalled at the insult he’d nearly uttered.
“Old? Ugly?” She shrugged. “You expected to see an Oracle worshipped by your people for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. A shriveled-up hag. So that’s what you got.”
“And this is your true form?”
She gave him a cool stare. “I take many forms. But we did not meet so you could find out how hard your cock will get if I let you continue to ogle my tits. Tell me about your Quest.”
“I…” He swallowed, forcing the words out despite the lump in his throat. “I… I cannot bring you the Heart of the Entity, Holy One. It is gone. Destroyed. Shattered into a million razor-thin shards.”
She frowned. “You destroyed it rather than bring it to me?”
“I had a choice, Holy One. Save the Heart of the Entity or save the life of the woman I love.” He met her eyes. “I have watched too many brave soldiers die in order for me to complete missions I’ve been charged with. Men whose lives I could have saved had I not blindly followed orders from those far removed from battle. Those men are gone, but the battles rage on.”
“So you saved the life of your woman and let the stone be destroyed.”
Guilt and shame vanished, replaced by a surge of anger. He’d risked his life while she sat on her ass on that ice throne. Who was she to sit in judgment of him?
“Damn right I did. I saw the thing. Held it in my hands. There was no mystical power in the Heart. It was nothing but a fucking rock!”
He took a deep breath, got control of his temper.
“Yes. I let the stone be destroyed.” He removed his sword from its scabbard, laid it on the ground in front of him. “I failed, Holy One. Failed the gods, failed you, failed my people. I submit to whatever punishment you and the Seneschal decree. Take my life if you deem it appropriate. I will die content in the knowledge that Maia survives. If the gods are merciful, my fellow warriors will succeed in their missions and we will still be victorious in the end.”
“Failed?” She stared at him as though he’d spoken in a different language. “Tell me, Great Warrior, what was the Quest I sent you on?”
He wondered if the witch’s brain had been permanently damaged by the cold. “Don’t you remember? You bade me bring you the talisman worshipped as the Heart of the Entity.”
“Fool!” Her shrill retort echoed off the cavernous walls. “That is not what the gods intended. You said it yourself. The object they revered had no mystical powers. ‘It was nothing but a fucking rock.’ I believe those were your exact words.”
She shook her head, as though frustrated with his stupidity. “Did you really think the gods would have an Omega Warrior, one of their chosen few, risk his life to steal a worthless hunk of stone? And did you never wonder how your body was able to heal with a blood transfusion that should have killed you?”
The Oracle waved a hand and the torches in the temple dimmed. A rhythmic thumping sound began, barely perceptible at first. He felt it more than heard it, vibrating through his body. Slow and deep. As he listened, it became louder, thrumming like the sound of the blood rushing through his veins.
“Your survival was due to a miracle. Not the trick of a sorceress or a conjurer, but the greatest miracle in the Universe. The miracle of life. Your body recognized the truth. You could never reject your lover’s gift. Your essence and her essence, your blood and her blood, were already one.”
Her voice died away, and he became aware of another sound underlying the first. A faster rhythm, swishing and pulsing. Faint in the beginning, then growing stronger and louder until it reverberated off the stone walls and filled the room.
The Oracle looked down at him, her eyes now soft and warm. And when she spoke, her voice was gentle.
“You say you failed? Impossible. You are an Omega Warrior, a man who follows no one’s orders. A man who charts his own course, creates the very destiny he was born to fulfill.” She cocked her head. “Listen. Do you hear them? Both of them? One is the beating heart of your woman, who lives because you chose love over blind obedience to the rules of warfare.
“And the other? The sound that grows stronger with every passing moment? That is the sound of the child in her womb. It is the heart the gods meant for you to bring back safely to Anteres. The beating heart of your unborn son—the Heart of the man who will one day defeat the Entity and save our World.”
The End
Stormy Night Publications would like to thank you for your interest in our books.
If you liked this book (or even if you didn’t), we would really appreciate you leaving a review on the site where you purchased it. Reviews provide useful feedback for us and our authors, and this feedback (both positive comments and constructive criticism) allows us to work even harder to make sure we provide the content our customers want to read.
If you would like to check out more books from Stormy Night Publications, if you want to learn more about our company, or if you would like to join our mailing list, please visit our website at:
http://www.stormynightpublications.com
More Stormy Night Books by Kallista Dane
Her Darkest Desires
Claire’s world has been turned upside down. She’s suddenly single again, alone for the first time in years, with no idea of what to do with her life. When she finds a series of intriguing ads promising to make every wicked, secret fantasy she’s ever imagined come true, she signs up for a weekend at the X-rated mountain resort The Dark Side of the Moon.
Run by the mysterious Lady Gwen, an ageless Amazon of a woman, and her partner Mistress Jade, a six-foot-tall domme with an army of devoted subs to do her bidding, The Dark Side of the Moon proves to be everything it promised. Claire finds herself paired
with a hot, young dom named Kyle who is more than willing to introduce her to a whole new lifestyle—one that includes plenty of stern, over-the-knee spankings on her bare bottom, mixed with the hottest, steamiest sex she’s ever had.
Now that her darkest, most savage hungers have been awakened, can Claire bring herself to say goodbye to Kyle and go back to her old life?
Buy on Amazon
Captured by the Sultan
Shortly after Dr. Shayla Dennison uncovers a trove of sexually explicit statues in a long-buried temple deep in the desert, she is knocked unconscious during a ferocious storm. When she awakens in what seems to be the distant past, being hailed by those around her as the great Queen of Sheba, the shy scholar finds herself expected to play the lead role in a highly erotic ceremony witnessed by the entire kingdom the night before she travels to meet the man chosen as her husband.
When her caravan is attacked during the journey, Shay is rescued by Tahraz, the arrogant sultan of a hidden oasis, who promptly announces that she will submit to his every command or face punishment like all the other women of his harem. Shay discovers all too soon that Tahraz is as good as his word and she quickly ends up across his lap, her royal robes pulled up and his rough palm reddening her bare bottom.
Hatching a plan to win her freedom, Shay proposes a contest—a series of chess matches—with herself as the prize. If she is the winner, the sultan will grant her freedom, but if he triumphs, Shay will kneel before him as he administers pain—or pleasure—at his whim. But when Shay realizes that she is in love with Tahraz, will she continue to resist or will she give in to the savage hunger he has ignited in her and surrender her body and her heart to him fully?
Claimed by the Omega_A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 13