Ecstasy Bound

by Kerce, Ruth D.

  People always sought to explain evil. Even with her. Many believed her evil too longer cares about anyone or anything. Retaliation against whomever he perceives as an enemy is all that fuels him. We need to be cautious. He’s already deceived us once.”

  Recently, she had aligned herself with yet another ally. Someone who could better get her what she wanted after she’d found out the promises made to her by Daegal were less than originally agreed upon.

  Instead of settling for only a portion of the power she’d been promised, she would attain and hold all the power that existed in this quadrant of the galaxy and maybe even beyond. Ultimate power. Yes. That would indeed be sweet.

  As long as she appeared loyal and true and she took things one step at a time, her ambitions would finally be realized. She could do this, for everyone always believed her loyal, even Braden, while she’d been with him. She squeezed the patch in her hand.

  But they were all wrong. She would forever be loyal to just one person. Herself.

  “The plans are progressing well then? You have yet to inform me of all the details.”

  “Yes. The plans are moving along perfectly.” And she had no intention of telling him or anyone else all the details. She was too smart for that. “Our new ally is more controllable than Daegal. He holds great power. That’s all you need to know. Together we will be successful.”

  Actually, she was the one who would be successful. Once in position, her new ally would be in for a very large shock, for he was only a means to an end. Just like all the others.

  She fingered the small remote control device hanging around her neck. Yes, a means to an end. The device she guarded so protectively was connected directly to the implant in Class 2 Warrior Kam Nextor’s throat.

  He had survived. Somehow. Somewhere.

  The device recorded his vital signs. Just not his location. She had techs working on an upgrade now—a special plug-in with a locater designed to home in on the internal tracking chip in his brain, which all Xylons possessed. She’d obtained the frequency code on the Sand Moon during his implant surgery of a sonar device.

  She hadn’t expected him to escape when he had, otherwise she’d have been more prepared and would already have had the locater in place. She should have known better and not underestimated him.

  A beep drew her attention. She shoved the Warrior insignia into her pocket and followed the navigational change that popped up on her computer.

  “He’s changing course.”

  “Yes, I see,” she said as she studied the screen. Daegal’s ships had switched to his final heading. “Send a message for our ships to follow, then recheck the coordinates to make certain we’re exactly mirroring his path. I want our cluster of fighters and nav-control ships to simply look like a shadow in space if picked up by his onboard monitoring system.”

  Her second-in-command nodded and turned on his heel to carry out her orders.

  Frost turned from the screen. Daegal was headed for his final target, confident of his success and power. Though armed with more than scout orbiters, he’d still brought only enough ships, weaponry, Agents and Egesa to defeat the planet’s military. A mistake. She wondered what humans would think about the Egesa once they saw them in force. The half-lizard, half-humanoid Slave Masters would cause quite a stir, she imagined.

  Daegal didn’t need to worry about Xylon’s Warriors and their military defense fleets interfering, but they were not his only formidable enemy. He just didn’t know that. Yet.

  Still, she knew from past experience to be extra careful. Not to trust anyone. And certain people raised her warning meter more than others.

  As she looked over her current crew, the female Agent sitting at the engineering controls caught her eye and her warning meter spiked to full capacity, like an Egesa’s cock during breeder-release. Rave. A former Class 1 Warrior who had turned. She’d worked for Daegal after her banishment from Xylon. Now Rave worked for her.

  The woman was a Sensor Reader and a valuable asset, even though her powers had waned. Sensors could read emotions. Their abilities, boosted by specially constructed and assigned electronic equipment, made them an asset to any leader. Rave was also a trained Pain Master—a torture specialist. Her talents might come in handy once Frost had Kam in her clutches.

  Frost had connected with Kam on the Sand Moon after he left the Warriors to join with Daegal’s Agents. She’d considered his switch in alliance a victory but she hadn’t gotten much information out of him, beyond what he’d initially promised to provide.

  He’d gotten plenty out of her though. He’d set her up, lied to her and sabotaged their main computer systems. He’d been nothing more than a damn spy. He’d played his part well.

  Revenge was going to prove tasty indeed.

  She had plans for Kam. Eventually, he would take Rave’s place. His sensor skills were greater, for his equipment had not been neutralized and stripped as Rave’s had.

  He would be more useful to her in the end. More powerful.

  As long as she possessed the controller, she could make him do as she pleased. Not totally, but he’d have a hard time resisting the impulses she intended to send his way.

  She had a job she needed him to do to solidify her position of power, provided the others lived, as she suspected. Otherwise, she’d have blown the device in his throat as soon as she’d discovered his betrayal.

  The sonar device could not be neutralized. It would only appear dormant. And it couldn’t be removed without causing Kam’s death.

  “The Xylons think themselves so smart,” she murmured, remembering Kam’s time on the Sand Moon. He had undergone a re-initiation to serve as an Agent while there.

  Beforehand, he’d been injected with some substance by a Xylon Healer in an attempt to counteract the rite’s chemicals. It had shown up on his XBST blood and semen screening, an advanced test recently developed by Daegal’s Healers.

  The chemicals injected by the Xylon Healer hadn’t worked, much to her delight.

  Though Kam and everyone else would think that they had.

  His Initiation and pending switch of alliance was now controlled by a trigger—a trigger that Kam himself would engage at the most opportune moment, or the most inopportune, given one’s perspective. This alternate method of Initiation trapped the chemicals from fully entering his system and had been done on Kam so he could remain undiscovered in the heart of the Warriors, once he returned to them as her Agent, right where she needed him to be. She chuckled.

  If he hadn’t betrayed her, he would have knowingly been sent back as a spy, with the device in his throat, masking the chemicals. With him there unknowingly as her Agent, things might take a bit longer but would still work in the end.

  “Power is such a rush.”

  Chapter Three

  Planet Xylon

  Auxiliary Underground Shelter

  Brianna noticed Kam rubbing his throat. A reaction to the stress? Maybe, but her gut feeling about the motion struck her as not good. She would mention it to Braden.

  She automatically glanced at her brother and saw him already eyeing Kam closely.

  He’d noticed. When his gaze shifted to lock with hers, she knew they’d be speaking soon about all this. In private.

  The intensity in the meeting room had turned palpable. From the edginess of the others, the shifting and squirming, she knew she wasn’t the only one feeling the tension.

  “After your Branding ceremony, Braden, the future of Xylon entered a new phase,”

  Laszlo announced, continuing the meeting. “With Alexa being the key.”

  “Me?”

  “Alexa?” several others asked simultaneously.

  “Braden, didn’t you ever wonder why I told you to take my place and be the lead in her Initiation?” Laszlo asked. “Beyond what I said to you at the time.”

  Brianna perked up. Initiation rites with harvested women were always carefully planned, well in advance. Changes
were practically unheard of.

  “You made an off-planet Initiation change?” Pitch asked. “Without Council approval?”

  “That’s right.”

  The planetary system had formed a Council of thirteen to prevent any type of military dictatorship from eventually emerging. Brianna wondered though if the Council knew that Laszlo was a Visionary. That would be a good reason for them not to vote against many of his requests. The fear of retaliation—the kind they’d be powerless to stop—would be a good motivator.

  “You’re determined to control everything and everyone, aren’t you?” Erik asked, his voice calmer than his expression indicated.

  “I’m determined to do what I believe is right.”

  Regardless of Xylon law, obviously. After Laszlo left, Braden had taken his place on the Council, then when he’d disappeared, the duty had fallen to Erik. Erik had gone against the Council’s orders and done what he’d thought was right on certain key issues, with the full support of most in this room. Was it right to condemn Laszlo but not themselves for acting the same?

  “Braden?” Laszlo prompted. “Your thoughts?”

  “Yes. I’ve wondered about the Initiation,” he responded. “The Council had selected Alexa for you to mate if emotionally and physically compatible. I thought your excuse not to be involved was flimsy at best.”

  Brianna couldn’t tell by the look on Alexa’s face whether she’d known about Laszlo being her proposed mate. Her features remained frozen. For an Earth woman, she held her control more impressively than Brianna sometimes gave her credit for.

  “Yes. I suppose my excuse did sound flimsy. There was a reason for that. I was selected by the Council because of my DNA. Though the Elder Council finally stopped the Super-breeder experiments long ago, due to too many mental problems associated with the women and developed later in many of the children—which answers your earlier question, Halah—our more recent Xylon Council voted a partial continuation in the hopes of passing down any remaining active Super-breeder genes from stable carriers to children born through the mating process.”

  Brianna’s thoughts turned to her mother. She and Braden had been so young when she’d passed. But she’d heard the stories of her mother’s emotional pain and mental instability. Now she knew the truth. Even though the Council was aware of the danger, they’d still proceeded.

  Luckily, she and her brothers hadn’t been adversely affected mentally from having the Super-breeder gene. But if such problems truly did exist, maybe all “active” Super-breeders found should be restricted from breeding, regardless of Xylon’s need for these women. She glanced at Alexa. A harsh punishment, but…

  “They hadn’t totally given up hope on the old program because some success has been achieved with different women. All this was kept strictly confidential, of course, from the general population. In fact, many of the Super-breeder experiments, in the beginning, had been done and continued on women without their knowledge or consent. It never should have been set up that way but secrecy gave the Council extra freedom.”

  Brianna’s stomach tightened. To do those experiments, any of them, without consent…

  “As you know, Braden, you also have the Super-breeder gene from your mother.

  Her instability gave the Council pause, though, and they hesitated to approve a joining when I suggested it. But I knew you and Alexa were the perfect DNA and emotional match.”

  Brianna felt Torque’s resentment when Laszlo mentioned their mother. And she saw a dangerous darkening in Braden’s eyes. Torque had never quite been the same after their mother’s passing. He’d turned rebellious and remained deeply scarred to this day.

  “What they didn’t know was that I kept a secret of my own.” Laszlo’s gaze switched to Alexa. “I could not initiate or mate with you, my dear, because I am your father. And Kam’s.”

  Their father? Brianna gripped the table. She heard the sharp intake of air from the others.

  “No.” Alexa immediately shook her head. “I knew my father. Kind of. Enough. He was around from time to time when I was younger. We have the same birthmark. He, Kam and I.” Her gaze swung to her brother. “Kam?”

  “It’s true. What Laszlo said. For too long, I was also fooled and thought our father was…” His voice hitched and he swallowed hard, not finishing the sentence.

  “The birthmark was a simple tattoo,” Laszlo explained. “A decoy. I have the true mark.”

  “None of this was indicated in my mother’s journal.” Alexa sounded confused and more than a little suspicious of his words.

  Brianna had her suspicions too.

  “We planted the decoy, for you, Alexa. To save your life. She never would have jeopardized you, even in a private journal. If you read back through the pages, now that you know the truth, you’ll see the real meaning behind the entries.”

  Brianna, uncertain of the truth of his words, felt too shocked to even speak, for if accurate, this explained a lot. But it also created many more questions. At least she better understood Kam’s loyalty to Laszlo now.

  “Only a few knew the secret. For your protection. Daegal would never allow a child of mine to live, especially a female, for reasons I will explain in a moment. As it was, he found out you were a Super-breeder and tried to sterilize you. He obviously knew even before you did, given what happened to you on Earth. If Daegal had known you were my daughter and a Super-breeder, no telling the lengths he would have gone to in order to destroy you.”

  “Like blowing up the planet?” Erik interjected with disgust. “Maybe he does know.”

  Alexa looked at Braden, a horrified expression on her face. “All this happened because of me.”

  “No,” he replied emphatically. He cupped her cheeks. “You are not responsible for any of this.”

  “Damn. I’m sorry I blurted that out,” Erik said quickly. “Never think that, Alexa.

  Daegal has been after us for years. He would have done the same thing whether you were on Xylon or not, most likely. He’s a madman and everyone knows it. He just finally went over the edge and did the unthinkable.”

  Brianna felt bad for Erik. She knew how much he cared for Alexa. He’d never intentionally hurt her and true regret showed on his face. She saw Kam move as if to say something too, but then his eyes shifted and he settled back in his seat.

  Braden and Erik were both right. Alexa was not to blame. One monster had made this decision. He would be the one to pay.

  Laszlo’s words suddenly replayed in her head, if Daegal had known… Not if Daegal

  knew. Did that mean he hadn’t known about Alexa’s parentage then but did now? Or was she reading too much into his words?

  To do something so drastic simply to destroy an offspring of a brother he considered an enemy seemed insane. But then, so many things involving Daegal seemed insane.

  And now that she thought about it, back on Earth, how would Daegal have known about Alexa’s Super-breeder status if it wasn’t even in their own files? Very little was making sense to her.

  “So you’re the one who told the Council about Alexa being a Super-breeder but you didn’t tell them about her relationship to you?” Braden asked, turning back to Laszlo.

  “Yes. I told them that I had received a tip regarding a possible DNA-compatible Super-breeder living on Earth who had an unknown genetic background. After your mother unexpectedly passed, Alexa, I knew the time was right. The Council was given the altered database info—your tracking chip signal code—among other data. I still made certain your files didn’t reflect your breeder status. The Council agreed for your protection. I saw to it that a lot of information remained sealed. I don’t know how Daegal found out. Kam only knew bits and pieces. I brought him into my confidence because I needed his help. He was told you were his half sister and believed at the time that the decoy—his father—was your father too. Once he got over the shock of thinking his father had mated with another, besides the woman he’d Branded, Kam be
came intrigued. He agreed to help me in whatever way I needed to protect you.”

  “Why didn’t you marry Kam’s mother?” Alexa asked. “I mean, Brand her. Didn’t you love her?” She glanced toward Kam a moment but then her gaze switched back to Laszlo.

  “Yes I did. Do. Very much. As I did your mother. However, it isn’t safe to Brand any woman as my own. It would be a death sentence for her. As well as for any children produced. Daegal would find a way. His evil and hatred are that great.”

  “Why?” Erik asked. “You still haven’t explained what I feel is at the core of all this.”

  “I will get to it.”

  “Well, get to it faster,” Torque replied.

  “It must be difficult. To be condemned to a life alone,” Alexa responded, a compassionate look on her face.

  “One makes adjustments. Life isn’t always as we would wish. Myself, another and the Warrior now mated to Kam’s mother initiated her. He fell in love with her too, so I stepped aside…eventually.”

  “After she got pregnant?” Alexa asked.

  “Yes. He raised Kam as his own and then stepped in when I needed him to, after I found out your mother was carrying you.”

  Brianna didn’t know whether to feel sorry for Kam or not. He had been partially informed but also used and manipulated. Blamed, maybe somewhat justifiably by his friends, but at the same time he’d tried to remain loyal to their leader as they’d all been trained to do. And now he was struggling to be loyal to his friends, his family and his duty—all at the same time. A hard position, she would imagine.

  Braden shifted in his seat. “I understand Daegal wants all Xylons destroyed, so he can take over this system, as well as others, without interference. Eliminating or sterilizing all Super-breeders and any fertile remaining singular breeders would eventually guarantee that. Especially given his longevity, if what you’ve said is true.

  We’ve known that to be his goal for years. But why is Alexa so special? It has to be more than her being a Super-breeder or just an offspring of yours that he might want revenge on, if that bastard would go to any length to destroy her.”