The cutting, gut-wrenching scream that had shaken Lynx from his vigil over Rain and brought him running down the main street of the settlement as quickly as his legs would carry him was the sound of one of the other warriors. A man bred and trained for battle, screaming in horror as he watched a man die in the few seconds that it took for the Covra eggs implanted within him to hatch and the younglings within to eat their way out of his body.
By the time that Lynx had gotten to the street and found the dead man, Fabian had gotten ahold of himself and was valiantly fighting off the strong, vicious new Covra. Fortunately the voracious appetite that the newborn Covra had in their first moments of life distracted them enough that they were not prepared immediately for the battle that Fabian waged upon them, and with the help of Ero and Bannack he was able to destroy them all by stabbing them directly through the eye, the only way that they knew of to defeat the fearsome creatures.
"Is he the only one?" Lynx asked.
He turned back to the man lying in the dirt at his feet. The slightly swollen, softened area around the puncture wound where the Covra had inserted the eggs was now a gaping hole. The flesh around the hole was tattered, lying open across his torn clothing like ribbons. Lynx noticed immediately, however, that there was no blood. It struck him strangely, making him feel even more uncomfortable than he might have felt if the wounds had bled like he was accustomed to the injured bleeding in battle. Instead, Lynx could look directly into the man's body and see the white of his ribcage and an abdominal cavity left empty by the Covra young eating their way out after hatching.
Who had he been before the Covra froze him? What was his name? Did he have a wife, a family? What was his role within this community? Where was he going as he walked down the street away from the direction of all of the houses in the quickly darkening hours of that evening?
Lynx dug back through is memories to try to remember this man from the night that he had spent making his way throughout the entire settlement reliving the last few moments of the conscious lives of everyone within it. He had used a power that he didn't even know that he had to gain insight into the Covra and how they had managed to completely take over the settlement and lock all of the people in place. Though it had been uncomfortable, almost as though he were prying into these people's existence and digging out information that he had not been given permission to even access much less share with anyone else, it had given them incredibly valuable insight into the Covra that they could then use to defeat them.
No matter how hard he searched, though, Lynx couldn't find this man in the memories of all of those moments. They had been some of the most mundane and unremarkable moments, moments that everyone passes innumerable times each day, but through the Covra toxins they had become the most private and treasured of moments that these people had ever lived. Those few minutes were like shrines, encapsulating all that was each of these individuals in the only way that the world would know them for more than a century. For this man, that shrine had become a tomb for everything that he had been and would never have the opportunity to follow through.
"I don't know," Fabian said from where he stood several feet away from the man and the other warriors, "I found him, but I haven't found anyone else."
"Everyone spread out," Lynx said, pulling his attention away from the man and to the warriors, "Get as many of us that you encounter along the way, but don't go looking for anyone. If these young were just hatched, that means that the other eggs are likely ready to hatch soon. We have to find out if there are any others that have hatched and kill any of the Covra young. Do whatever you can to save the people if you find ones with hatching Covra."
"Which is more important," Ero asked carefully, "killing the Covra or saving the Light Ones?"
Lynx felt his spine straighten and he lowered his shoulders as he resolved to be the strength that the rest of the men needed in that moment.
"Kill the Covra."
Chapter Two
Zsilvia savored the feeling of George's hand flattened against the small of her back as she climbed back up out of the mirrored realm where they had all been seeking refuge from the storm. The touch was simple, but there was so much in the supportive, protective pressure that it briefly brought tears to her eyes. She had been frustrated and even angry the last few days. It had only been moments when Loralia had stormed into the small cavern where she and George had finally completed their bond and were beginning to drift asleep cradled in each other's arms. It had been Loralia who had led her to that cavern to take a bath and relax after she had run away from the rest of the group, particularly George and Ivy, but at that moment it had been Loralia who was forcing them out of their comfort and telling them that they needed to leave the mirrored realm and keep going toward the settlement where the men were waiting for their help.
Above her Zsilvia could hear that the storm was still raging and she braced herself for the cold of the rain that would soon assault her as it had before they moved down into the safety of the caverns. They had hoped that they would be able to pass the entire storm in the warm, dry chambers where Loralia had lived and then continue on their way in the morning when the weather was more hospitable. They had only been there a short time; however they had to rush out when Loralia got word from Bannack that they needed to get to the settlement as quickly as possible to help them as the new generation of the vicious Covra hatched throughout the settlement.
Even with George's hand on her back and though she didn't want to mention it to anyone, Zsilvia was frightened by the thought of leaving the Denynso compound where she had been her entire life and go to an unknown settlement to help save one strange species from another. She, like the rest of the Denynso women, had only ever encountered her kind until the humans started arriving from Earth to study the planet or bring information about them back to their planet. They had usually only stayed for a short time, however, which meant that she didn't have to interact with them very much. It wasn't until Eden showed up and the king gave her special permission to remain on the planet for as long as she wanted that things began to change.
Once Eden and Pyra had bonded it seemed like everything that Zsilvia had known had started to disappear around her. It was subtle, and she felt that in a way she was being over dramatic about the situation, but the reality was that the influx of humans into the compound as the women appeared for their own reasons and then found their life mates among the men of the Denynso represented a fundamental shift in the lives of the Denynso. What was once a clan that encountered other species only when in battle and never left their compound was suddenly in a situation where they were forced to learn about the ways of another species and assimilate them into their number.
Many found this change exciting and progressive; pointing out that it was the opportunity to learn from one another and eventually cooperate and interact on a regular basis. That was the original point of allowing humans into the compound and then the university exchange program. Zsilvia, though, had been intimidated by the changes and not sure how the others fit in with them. It wasn't that she didn't like them or had a problem with the fact that they were other species. It was more that she felt uncomfortable around those who she didn't understand and who she thought might judge her. Over the weeks, though, she had become more at ease with them and had nearly gotten to the point where she didn't even acknowledge the difference between the other Denynso women and the human women.
Of course, it was the arrival of the humans that had also brought her George, and, for that, she would always be grateful. If it hadn't been for the courage of Creia and Theia and their determination to expand the knowledge and understanding of the Denynso about the people away from their home planet, George never would have come to Uoria and she would have lived the rest of her life completely alone. Deep within her she knew that she needed to do whatever she could to give that same type of chance to the people of the settlement. No matter who or what they were, they should have the opportunit
y to live the lives that they wanted, not suffer by the whims of others.
Zsilvia took the final step up out of the hole beneath the moss that led out of the underground mirrored realm and cringed as the sharp raindrops hit her face and arms again. She moved out of the way to allow George to climb up behind her and pulled her shirt up as high on her neck as she could, thankful that she had her thick hair down so that it guarded some of her exposed skin.
Everyone else stood closely together, their backs curved and turned against the wind as they tried to protect themselves from the cold. Each of them carried a nervous, uncomfortable expression that bordered on frightened, and as George came up behind her and tucked his hand around her waist again, Zsilvia realized that she was the only one of them who had her mate with her. The others hadn't been able to touch their mates since the men had left on their quest and for the first time Zsilvia was truly feeling the type of impact that that separation had on them. George standing so close to her made her feel safe and secure, and their bodies cut the wind and rain from either side for the other, making them feel warmer and less assaulted by the ever-worsening storm.
Loralia kicked the piece of moss that covered the hole back into place and gestured for them all to continue forward. It was as though none of them wanted to speak. They were all lost in their own worlds, their thoughts controlling them as they ducked their heads and pushed on through the rain and the wind toward the edge of the compound.
Soon they arrived back at the crumbling remnants of the prison where the warriors had found out about the settlement, and where the women and George had gone to find out more about the Light Ones, the Covra, and what might free the people of the settlement from their bonds. Zsilvia had hoped that the rain would have tampered down the burned corpse of the prison enough to keep the acrid, biting smell at bay, but it only seemed to heighten her awareness of the odor, as if the cleanness of the raindrops only accented the ash and charred stone.
"Do we go back inside?" Samira asked, lifting her voice above the sound of the storm.
"No," Zuri answered, shaking her head, "It would be too dangerous to go down there in this weather. The structure isn’t sound anymore. You have no idea when the top layer could just crumble in. Besides, we have all of the information that we could find. That's all we need. We need to keep going. Every minute that we delay there is more of a chance of the Light Ones all dying. We have to get there as fast as we can, at least so Lynx knows that we tried."
"What if we don't get there in time?" Elianna asked, giving voice to the worries that all of them held.
"We have to at least do our best."
Silence fell as they started again and Zsilvia tried to block the sound of the creaking branches and tree trunks out of her head. They were out of the densest portion of the forest now, but the trees towered high enough that if one of them broke it could still fall onto them. Though she feared going past the barrier that blocked all of the compound within it, she knew that she was going to feel better when they were finally beyond it and away from the forest.
Suddenly the sky split above them with a flash and a crack of thunder so loud that Zsilvia's ears rang and she turned to look over her shoulder at the row of trees beyond the remnants of the prison. Only seconds later another bolt of lightning shot out of the angry-looking clouds, hitting the center of the pile of rubble that had been the prison. The impact sounded like an explosion and Zsilvia's scream joined the others as she dove away from the exploding stone and wood.
After a few seconds she sat up and looked over at the prison. Flames shot up from the middle and danced across the surface, catching any bits of wood that were dry enough to burn and creating a low glow that was almost mesmerizing. That single, blinding bolt of lightning must have found an area of the decimated floor of the prison that was even weaker than the rest and broken through, igniting everything in the underground labyrinth of corridors and offices that they had not long before been exploring in an effort to find out everything that they could for the men. The flames continued to jump and spit out of the floor, hissing as the rain touched them. New smoke joined the smell of the burned lumber to create an even more choking sensation in the back of Zsilvia's throat.
The thought that they had only moments before contemplated climbing back down into that dungeon made her heart clench painfully and she reached for George's hand. He gripped her firmly, not saying anything as they all rose to their feet from the wet ground. They all stared at the flaming prison with a combination of fascination and horror, locked in place for several long seconds as everything that the ancient Covra had stored inside that building in the generations before the Klimnu had taken over it was engulfed, consumed so that it would never again be seen. Zsilvia found herself hoping that the sight was prophetic, that together they would be able to eliminate the threat of the Covra and let them disappear into the ether of history so that they were never again able to hurt the others that roamed the planet outside of the compound. Whoever those others were.
For the first time since they started toward the settlement Zsilvia thought about Eden. It seemed strange that she wasn't with them. Though she had spent only a short time with them, Zsilvia had become accustomed to the entire group of women being together, from Eden, the first human woman to arrive in the compound, to Loralia, the strange but beautiful creature who the warriors had discovered after their final battle with the Klimnu. She wondered if Eden was worried about them or if her only thoughts were of her mate Pyra and their baby, who she held within her in anticipation of his arrival very soon, too soon for her to brave the walk that would carry them to the settlement or the danger that might face them once they got there. Zsilvia couldn't imagine the type of torment that Eden was feeling then. She had to be not only worried about her mate and wishing that he was home to support and comfort her at the end of her pregnancy, but also afraid that the creatures that were threatening the Light Ones and then warriors trying to defend them would make their way to the compound and put her child's life at risk.
Chapter Three
Zsilvia was barely paying attention to where they were walking, but suddenly she felt George's hand tighten around hers and she looked up from where she had kept her eyes focused on the ground in front of her so that she could keep the rain out of them. Several feet ahead of them was a massive stone wall. They had finally reached the barrier of the compound.
Everyone stopped walking and stared at the wall. The storm continued to rage around them, but for that moment Zsilvia wasn't even thinking about the crashing of the thunder or the blue and white blasts of light that came from the lightning bolts. Instead all she could think about was what that barrier represented. That was not just a wall or a delineation between abstracts areas of the planet. To her it represented so much more. All her life she had known that her existence was limited just to the compound. It was never something that they spoke about or that had been scared into her like too many lessons parents attempt to teach their children. Rather it was simply a part of life, like an element of her culture that was just as much permeated through all of the tasks of her daily routine as it was passed through the generations and born into her.
Denynso children simply knew that their world was the world of their compound, just as it had been for their parents, and their parents' parents, and on through their ancestors since the beginning of their kind on Uoria. No one ever spoke of what might exist beyond the compound or why they didn't go beyond it. It had never occurred to Zsilvia or anyone that she knew to ask the questions that seemed so obvious to her now that she was an adult and was finally staring at the boundary that had held her back her entire life, whether she realized it or not.
"Are you afraid, love?"
His accent seemed even more pronounced when he whispered to her, and Zsilvia felt herself leaning toward him as if sinking into the soft sound of his voice. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"No," she answered, "I'm not afraid. Just," she took a brea
th, "anxious to see what is on the other side."
George smiled at her and she saw a glint in his eye that told her that despite the storm and the unknown dangers that awaited them right past the stones, he was happy that they were having this experience together, that he was finally by her side to see her through such a momentous moment in her life.
"Who should go first?" Zuri asked, looking back at the rest of the group.
The five other women exchanged glances. Out of the corner of her eye Zsilvia could see George start to open his mouth as if to offer himself as the first to cross the wall.
"I will," Zsilvia said, stepping forward toward the other women.
"Zsilvia?" Zuri said.
"Are you sure?" George asked.
Zsilvia looked into each of the pairs of eyes that stared at her in shock. She could see the surprise and hints of confusion in them, but she was steadfast in her decision.
"I am the only Denynso here," she said in a voice that was calm, steady, and loud enough to rise above the continuing roar of the storm, "This is my compound, my home since the day I was born, and it is my duty to lead. I will go over the wall first."
George looked at her like he wanted to protest, but he knew better than to argue with her. Just as the warriors had the responsibility of taking care of the rest of the clan through their dedication in battle, she felt compelled to step forward and lead in their journey to help the men that awaited them.
Alien Romance Box Set: Uoria Mates II Complete Series (Books 1 - 10): A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance Page 32