by T. S. Ryder
"The Sanctuary contacted us, offering to buy you back from us," Taliga mentioned idly. "Twice as much as the Wytsians, actually."
Silence answered him.
Taliga glanced at Vanessa. "I'll find a place to rest soon."
"Is that why you saved me?"
"What?"
Vanessa pulled her hand away from him. He couldn’t see her face, but her voice was thick with anger. "You saved me from them so you could collect a bigger bounty from Zon. And you shot Kulog so you could have a bigger piece of the pie."
"No."
"Then why? Why not sell me to Zon earlier?"
He hesitated. Did he dare tell her the truth? Well, what harm would it do? "Kulog was part of the Sanctuary, long ago. He was imprisoned for using his musth to seduce women. I never liked him. But I owe him, or at least I thought I did."
"And now?"
"I think it's worth the risk to get more money," he lied. "I'll be ransoming you back to Zon after all."
"I see," Vanessa murmured.
Was it his imagination, or did she sound disappointed? Taliga opened his mouth to tell her the truth, that he lost his head at the thought of her being harmed in any way, but stopped. She didn't need to know the amount of power she had over him. And besides, giving her to Zon sounded like a good idea.
She'd be safe there, and all he'd have to worry about was the Wytsian Order coming after him after he dropped her off.
Chapter Five – Vanessa
Taliga had found a river some time ago, and had made them walk down it for what felt like hours. Every so often he would break off and move through the grassy forest around them, presumably to create false trails. Every time he did this, he told Vanessa to stop for nothing and to just continue downstream.
By the time he said that they could stop to rest, Vanessa's feet felt like blocks of ice, and her head was drooping against her chest as she stumbled over the sandy bottom of the river. The adrenaline had worn off long ago. She wasn't sure how much further she could go.
"Here we go."
Taliga pulled some fallen tree branches over the entrance of the cave that had eroded out of the bank of the river. If she wasn't so tired, Vanessa would have hoped that it wouldn't collapse in on them. She wasn't sure she'd care at this moment, though.
The T'shav sat beside her. "In this darkness, they won't be able to see anything amiss, even if they bring lights. If they have thermal imaging we might be in trouble, but since Kulog blew up our ship I know they don’t have access to our equipment. I don't think Wytsians collect much technology, either."
"My feet are freezing. I'm going to lose my toes to frostbite."
"You're alive, aren't you? And if you lose your toes, you can have bionic replacements."
Vanessa sniffled. She knew she should be more grateful that he was saving her life, but he was the one that put her in danger in the first place. Besides, the only reason he was saving her was to get more money.
Taliga wrapped his arms around her, fumbling at the knot he'd made in the tattered remains of her skirt. "Give me your feet."
She obeyed, shivering. He pulled off her shoes–flats, made from a nanite material to conform to the shape of her foot but offered little protection–and tore the strip of cloth in half. He dried each foot before binding it in the cloth. They were still cold, but warmer than they had been. Taliga pulled her close to him.
"We'll have to share body heat," he said. "Hope you're not shy."
Vanessa shook her head mutely. His body was so warm she wished she could wrap herself in it. Weariness dropped heavily in her eyes, but as she inhaled the T'shav's oddly sweet scent, a different sort of heat flared in her. It settled in her core, sending tendrils up and down her body. She shivered again, for an entirely different reason. Even now she was feeling drawn to him, wanting him.
"Are you…" she hesitated.
"Am I what?"
"On your musth."
There was a moment of silence, then Taliga tucked her even closer to himself. "No."
"How can I be certain?"
"I don't suppose you can be. There are certain indications that a T'shav male is in his musth, but if I was in the early stages only a trained eye would be able to see the physical differences. Not that the earliest stages really affect females that much."
"That's not very comforting."
"If I was in musth, we'd be dead right now."
Vanessa laid her head on his chest. His heart beat strong and steady. It was a soothing sound. "Why do you say that?"
"Because the fighting instincts are very strong during musth. If I was in it, then grabbing you and running wouldn't have occurred to me. I would have tried to kill Kulog and all those priests. And that would have ended with me dead, and you would have hopefully gotten caught in the crossfire…"
He gripped her thigh unexpectedly, making her gasp. He guided her leg between his, adjusting his calves to enclose her foot. The warmth made her sigh as her tense muscles relaxed.
"That's not true," Taliga murmured. "I'd have killed you myself the moment I knew that I was going to lose. I should never have taken this stupid job. I knew what it would entail. And I don't think I would be able to turn you over to those zealots, even if…"
Vanessa's fingers began unconsciously tracing the contours of his muscles. "Even if what?"
"Even if I wasn't so drawn to you. I don't know what it is about you, but I have never been so angry in my life as when those priests said that they were going to kill you. Priests. More like cult leaders. Something that preaches such hatred shouldn’t be considered a religion."
Vanessa rose her head. As much as she would like an ecclesiastical discussion, that wasn't what was drawing her attention. "You're drawn to me? In what way?"
There was another silence. When Taliga spoke again, his voice was low and husky. "From your question about my musth, I imagine it's the same way you're drawn to me. Ever since we picked you up, I've wanted to… well, I won't get graphic. But it's not all sexual. I've felt protective of you."
Was he just saying that? Vanessa tried to infuse her voice with as much doubt as possible. "Why?"
"Maybe it's because Kulog is entering his musth, and there is a natural defensive response by other males when they're around a warrior entering musth."
"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself."
"Maybe. But… I've never heard of another man's musth making a woman desire a male who isn't in his musth…"
Vanessa felt something stir inside of her. Before she was really aware of what she was doing, she had lifted her hands, seeking out Taliga's face in the darkness. When she found him, she pushed herself up and pressed a kiss to his mouth. At least, she tried. Since she couldn't actually see him, she missed and ended up on one side of his nose. She decided to just roll with it, ghosting her lips down to his.
Taliga's hands rested gently on her hips. As she teased his mouth open, he shifted her, bringing her over him. Her ripped skirt rode up on her thighs as she straddled him, surprised by her own actions and the building heat in her core. The T'shav's kiss became more insistent, his arms wrapping around her. He pulled her tight against him, making the heat already inside snap and sway. Vanessa couldn't stop herself from moaning. When one of his hands moved to her breast, her small cross pendant popped out of her cleavage and dangled from her neck.
What was she doing? This was completely the wrong time and the wrong man! It had to be because of adrenaline. They were on the run, they didn't have time to… do this.
Taliga's hand continued to massage her breast, the other working under her skirt. Vanessa pulled away, grabbing both hands and pulling them away from her body. "No."
"No?" The surprise in his voice made it clear he didn't hear the word very often. At least not in situations like this.
Vanessa rolled off him. She pulled her skirt lower, trying to cover as much of her legs as possible, and tucked her cross back into her cleavage. If it hadn't popped out, would she have sto
pped him? Of course she would have… it wasn't like she could just make love with a man she barely knew. She tried to pull away from him, but he held her tight.
"We have to share body heat. Nothing more, I promise."
"Okay."
Vanessa settled back down beside him. Her body ached to continue what they had been doing, her weariness almost completely gone with the surge of hormones that had accompanies it. She sucked in a deep breath. There was no use in thinking about it. No matter how much her lips tingled to taste his again, she wasn't going to give in.
"Did you stop because you think I'm in musth?"
The question genuinely surprised her. "No."
"Then why?"
"A bunch of reasons. For one thing, you kidnapped me. Even if you are rescuing me right now, you still kidnapped me in the first place. And you killed that priest when he tried to save me. So I shouldn't even be feeling this in the first place."
"I didn't kill him. The gun was set to stun. Kulog's too. Our cover story was that we were sent from another parish so you could lead our rites, and if we have killed anybody that would have been impossible to convince the authorities of our story."
A rush of relief came over her. She fought it down. How could she believe that he was telling her the truth? But she did believe him… she wanted to think that he was a good person beneath the ruthless mercenary. After all, he was rescuing her…
"That's not all," she whispered. "Why I stopped."
"You don't have to give me reasons, Vanessa. It's best if we rest, anyway. I don't know if we'll get any sort of daybreak here, but if we do it'll be easier for Kulog to track us. We have to be strong for whatever comes our way next."
Vanessa propped herself onto her elbow. All of her other reasons were just excuses. It was the necklace that made her stop what she had been doing. And she wanted Taliga to understand her reasons. "But I want to tell you. The humans at the Sanctuary, they all seem to go one of two ways when it comes to human religions. Either they reject them outright or become almost fanatical about clinging to their beliefs. I'm caught somewhere in the middle. I don't know what to think. But…"
Taliga was quiet.
"I was raised in a fairly religious household. I was always taught that marriage comes before sex. And no matter how much I've rebelled against that over the years… it feels like the last thing I can cling to. This necklace is the last relic I have of my old life, but that teaching… Maybe it's silly, but I feel like it's the last thing I can do to honor my parents and the way they raised me. To wait until marriage before I have sex."
Taliga tugged her back down so she was laying. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "It's not silly. If I were in your position… I don't know what I could cling to. But it's not silly. Now try to rest. We need our strength for tomorrow–or at least, what counts as tomorrow."
Vanessa put her head down, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She smiled as she snuggled closer to the warm T'shav. His acceptance of her decision was all she needed at the moment. With his body giving her warmth, she drifted easily off to sleep.
Chapter Six - Taliga
When the darkness outside began to pale, Taliga woke Vanessa again. His hasty preparations hiding their resting spot when they entered the cave wouldn't hold up against sunlight. Her feet were still cold to the touch, but he slipped them back into her soaking shoes and they headed off again. The river basin was too exposed to air, so he set a path through the grass again.
The light was never more than a pale silver glow, but it was enough to illuminate their surroundings better. The trees above them had short, thin branches. They would never have been able to hold both he and Vanessa overnight.
"How far is the settlement?" Vanessa whispered.
Taliga ignored the question. He had a good sense of direction, but he was mostly counting on luck to get them there. And luck that there would be someone there willing to help them. He continued, holding Vanessa's hand tightly. She had slept more deeply than he had, but she was fragile and couldn't easily keep up with him.
After half an hour, Taliga pulled up to a sudden stop. There was something wrong. He looked around, but could only see the tall grasses around him. Then he heard it. The slight buzz of a vehicle coming to their direction. With a curse, he broke into a run.
"What's happening?" Vanessa cried.
Before he could respond, something caught around his ankle. He glanced down just in time to see a tripwire. Taliga cursed, pushing Vanessa back. A flash of red burst into the air and spikes of blue energy arched all around him. They crisscrossed and wove together, forming a barrier within seconds.
"Run!" he shouted at Vanessa. She ran–towards him. She grabbed a branch off the ground and began beating at that ground. Taliga rushed towards her. He wanted to push her away, but they were separated by the energy cage. "Vanessa, get out of here, leave me!"
"There's an anchor here," she grunted, hitting again. "If I can break it—"
A voice spoke from behind him. "You can't."
Taliga whirled. Kulog emerged from the grass, grinning widely. His toe claws were massive, a wild gleam in his eyes, skin a darker shade of red than normal. Getting shot in the chest must have increased his testosterone production, sending him into full musth.
"Vanessa, run."
"Oh, she's not going anywhere. Are you?"
Horror filled Taliga as he turned. Vanessa was frozen, the branch hanging limply in her hand as she stared at Kulog. Her pupils were dilated, a dark flush rising up her neck, making her golden tones look more brass. The points of her nipples pressed hard against the thin fabric of her dress. Her chest heaved. Already she was being affected by the pheromones that Kulog was secreting.
Taliga slammed a fist against the energy barrier, getting himself thrown back for his efforts. "Leave her alone, Kulog."
"I'm not going to leave a woman unfulfilled when she has such obvious desire for me." The T'shav began circling the barrier, the grin never leaving his face.
"No," Vanessa blurted. She shook her head and retreated. "No, I don't want you."
"You'll change your mind soon enough. I need help through my musth. You won't let a man suffer, will you?"
Taliga charged the barrier again. "No! Don't you dare touch her! You want out of your musth, fight me! That'll do the trick, Kulog. Fight me, you coward! Unless you're afraid I'll kill you."
Kulog growled. He spun on his heel and reached for his sword, but paused. He shook his head. "No. In my state of mind, I'd probably kill you. But the Wytsians want you now, too. Something about you helping the false human earning you punishment. They're paying me to deliver you to them so they can kill you, too. At least, I hope they're going to kill you. But the money they'll give me will more than make up for wasting my time on you for all these years."
He stepped towards Vanessa again. Her breath caught and she started to lean forward before she shook her head again and retreated.
"Don't touch me!"
"You want me to. Don't deny it. Tell you what, human, if you behave yourself and stop fighting how much you want me, I'll tell the Wytsians that he killed you. You can stay with me forever, alive and at my pleasure. Believe me, I will make it worth it."
Taliga roared, drawing his black blade. He pounded on the barrier, charging against it with as much strength as it threw him back. Kulog ignored him at this time, continuing to approach Vanessa. Desire and fear warred in her eyes, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Her hand moved to her throat and she clutched her necklace. The pheromones were overpowering her sense. It was a terrible thing to watch, and Taliga roared again.
"Kulog, I will string you up and gut you like an animal if you touch her!"
The T'shav reached forward, running his fingers over Vanessa's cheek. She flinched but stopped moving away from him. Taliga rammed his cage again, and this time it felt like it shifted slightly. He glanced down to see the anchor Vanessa had been trying to break was flashi
ng yellow. It hadn't been secured properly. The energy field would not be projected under the device, only over.
Kulog had Vanessa by the hand now. Taliga howled as he dropped to his knees, cutting into the ground with his blade. The dirt pried up easily. He thrust his hand through the small opening he made, grabbing the anchor. Yanking it back under the net, he drove his sword right through it. The field blinked and disappeared.
With a roar, Taliga charged Kulog. The other T'shav turned with a smirk that fell into a look of horror. Taliga stabbed at him, making him jump back. Vanessa gasped. Taliga planted himself between her and his former partner, unable to stop a fierce growl from rising out of his throat.
"So I'll kill you after all," Kulog muttered furiously as he drew his own broadsword. "I guess I'll have to settle with selling the human."
"You always planned to sell her," Taliga growled.
Kulog shrugged. "True."
He leaped forward, swinging his sword in a wide circle. Taliga blocked it easily and drove the smaller T'shav back. His sword whistled through the air towards Kulog's head. Kulog was just able to block it. He fell back another step, then kicked out. The largest of his toe claws caught Taliga's thigh, tearing his var'ki and digging into his flesh. The smell of blood rose in the air.
A shout of pain burst from his throat, echoed by a scream behind him. He ignored Vanessa's cry, focusing on his enemy. Kulog feinted left; it was his go-to move in their sparring sessions. Usually, Taliga let him have it, but this time he swung his sword right. His blade bit deep into Kulog's arm, making him scream. Taliga forced himself into his enemy's space, releasing the hilt of his sword to draw one of his enemy's daggers. He stabbed towards Kulog's heart.
Kulog dropped his own weapon and grabbed Taliga's wrist. Blood gushed from his arm. A hateful gleam lit his eyes as he kicked again. It forced Taliga back. Kulog jumped, spinning as he kicked out again. His foot connected with Taliga's chest, claws tearing into his flesh. As Taliga stumbled back, grunting, Kulog drew his second dagger. The musth-mad T'shav charged, knife gripped in his hand.