by Gail Koger
Oh shit!
Jaylan shoved me behind him. “If I’m defeated, run.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
Karoo bellowed his war cry.
Roaring his own, Jaylan pulled his sword and attacked.
Karoo went into hyperspeed and attacked Jaylan.
In a frightening dance of death, Jaylan teleported in and out, avoiding the Askole’s slashing sword.
Icy fear flooded my body. One tiny miscalculation, and Jaylan would be sushi. They were moving so fast I didn’t dare interfere.
“Me scared,” Rio cried.
Cokie bristled. “Me bite monster.”
“Not a good idea, honey. Askoles are immune to most poisons.” There had to be a way to stop the fight.
Jaylan suddenly flew backward, slammed into the cavern wall, and crumpled to the sand.
Oh dear God, he was out cold.
The Askole prick sauntered over to Jaylan.
“Die, asshole.” I fired my laser pistol. To my dismay, the beams were absorbed by his armor. Crap. Drawing my 9mm, I emptied a clip into him. The bullets just bounced off.
Karoo swung around. “Wait your turn.”
“I’m the impatient type.” Using my telekinesis, I punched him as hard as I could in the groin.
The Askole’s eyes bugged out, and with an agonized cry, he dropped to his knees.
I smiled gleefully. “Bummer. Your armor doesn’t protect you against psychic attacks, does it?”
“You will beg to die!” Karoo shouted in fury.
“You murdered my father.” I mentally grabbed Karoo’s balls and twisted them viciously.
“As the father died, so shall the daughter,” he choked out.
“Your plan has a few holes in it. There are no horses on Gansu.”
Shock flared in the Askole’s yellow eyes. “Thor was your father?”
“Yep, which makes Zarek my grandfather.”
“He cannot protect you from my wrath,” Karoo spat.
“I don’t need his protection.” I looked down at the snake curled around my arm. “Rami, can you dump his ass in this solar system’s sun?”
“With great pleasure.” Her body began to vibrate. A burring hum grew louder and louder.
The air around Karoo began to churn.
“Surrender, and I will allow you to live,” Karoo promised hoarsely.
“Liar.” I tightened my grip on the Askole’s manhood until he writhed in pain.
Pop! A gray void swallowed Karoo.
“Good job, girlfriend.” I hurried over to Jaylan and scanned his body. Thank God, other than a concussion, he was okay. I turned to the kids. “While I fix Daddy Jaylan’s boo-boo, I need you to watch for the bad guys. Okay?”
“We protect Momma Bree,” Rio and Cokie said in unison and climbed on Jaylan’s chest.
“I’ll guard the entrance,” Rami said, slithering off.
I quickly did a mental check of the surrounding desert and heaved a sigh of relief. There was no sign of the assassins. Placing my hand on Jaylan’s forehead, I entered his mind and channeled healing energy into the damaged area.
The stench of burning flesh broke my concentration. Every nerve in my body went on alert.
“Monster back!” Rio and Cokie yelled.
I turned and gasped in horrified disbelief. Tendrils of smoke rose from Karoo’s crispy fried body. Ugh. Pieces of his armor had melted into his swollen red flesh. His tentacles had been reduced to blackened stumps. “Guess your armor doesn’t protect you from everything.”
“Now you die.”
Shit, my shields were down! I hit the icon on my bracelet, pulled a dagger from my right boot, and threw it at him.
Karoo dodged it.
I wasn’t fast enough to evade the big, charcoaled fist rocketing toward my face. It broke through my fluctuating energy field. Bam! I was suddenly tumbling through the air. Twenty feet later, a boulder rose up and smacked me.
“Momma Bree!” Cokie screamed.
Everything spun in a nauseating blur. I swiped at the blood flowing down my face. Damn. My nose was broken.
“Get up! He’s coming for you!” Rami shouted.
I shook my head to clear it. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Karoo had Jaylan’s sword. I struggled to get my feet under me.
A ferocious roar shook the cavern. A second later, an eight-hundred-pound tiger pounced on Karoo.
The Askole went into hyperspeed, dislodging Tiko and flinging her like a Frisbee. She crashed into a rocky outcrop.
Croaking his war cry, Karoo, stalked toward me.
“Mess with the best; die like the rest,” I yelled and psychically grabbed for his balls. Shit. They were gone. My hand dropped to my holster. It was empty. My backup piece was gone too. I looked around frantically. I needed a weapon. “Backpack! Anyone seen my backpack?”
“I’ve got it.” Rami wrapped her tail around it and ’ported.
The vortex opened beneath her, and ten seconds later, the backpack and Rami fell on me. Off balance, I tripped over a stone and did a face-plant. A sword swished over my head, missing me by a scant inch. God, Karoo was worse than one of those villains in a slasher movie who just won’t die.
Rami curled around my neck. “How do we kill him?”
“Any way we can.”
Karoo reached for me.
I pulled my cattle prod, jammed it into his stomach, and lit him up.
The Askole staggered back, howling in agony, and dropped Jaylan’s sword.
With an ear-shattering roar, Tiko leaped on Karoo. Bones snapped and crunched loudly, but the Askole refused to go down.
Grabbing Jaylan’s sword, I shoved it into Karoo’s belly.
A big paw knocked me out of the way of Karoo’s slashing claws.
Madal vaulted on the Askole’s back and chewed viciously on his shoulder.
My can of military mace rolled out of the backpack. What the hell? I was running out of options. I quickly scooped it up and sprayed Karoo in the face.
He immediately collapsed on his hands and knees, chest heaving, mouth sucking in air hoarsely.
I gagged and struggled to breathe.
In one smooth movement, Tiko ripped Karoo’s head off. It rolled to a stop by my feet, a look of surprise permanently frozen on his face. About fucking time!
More blood sprayed the sand as Tiko ripped his body to pieces.
I scrabbled backward, trying to get far, far away from the pissed-off tiger and the mace. My back hit the cavern wall.
Madal padded up and began licking the blood off my face.
“Enough, Madal.” I pushed him away.
His rough tongue swiped my neck. “We saved you.”
“We saved each other.”
“My debt to you is paid,” Tiko snarled. Blood dripped off her muzzle.
“It is. Thank you.” Something poked me in the butt. Rolling to one side, I pulled my gun out of the sand. Yes! There was a God.
I stiffened when something big moved in the shadows. Fuck. Karoo’s punch had knocked my radar offline. “Uh, Tiko, we have a problem.” I slowly got to my feet.
She turned and bared her fangs as the Pantos with only one tusk stepped into the light.
Shit. How long had he been tracking Tiko?
One Tusk growled, “I claim you as my mate. Submit to me willingly, and your cub dies quickly.”
What a sadistic prick. I rammed a clip into my gun. “No one hurts Madal, asshole.”
“You, I will eat,” One Tusk snarled.
“Not real bright, are you?” I shot the tiger between the eyes, and it crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
“It seems I’m in your debt again.” Tiko sighed.
I pulled Jaylan’s sword out of what was left of Karoo. “Nah, let’s call it even.”
Rio and Cokie scurried up my back. “More monsters, Momma Bree.”
“What? Where?”
A beat-to-all-hell assassin popped in. He waved his bloody sword around his body in an intricate d
ance. “I’m going to cut you until you beg for death.”
Too bad the blast from my booby trap hadn’t disabled his communications bracelet. “Really? That’s the best you’ve got?” I did my own sword dance with a little Texas two-step thrown in.
The idiot laughed. “A mere female can never defeat a warrior.”
“Now you’ve done gone and insulted us.”
Alarm spread over the assassin’s face. “Us?”
I pointed at Tiko, who was crouched on a boulder behind him. “Us.”
The warrior whipped out his laser pistol and whirled to meet the threat.
I hurled my sword at him. It sliced into his legs and knocked him off balance.
Tiko leaped, and her lethal teeth clamped down on his head. SNAP! She broke his neck and dropped his lifeless body to the sand.
I cautiously surveyed the cavern. “Anyone else need killing?”
“I hope not,” Rami answered.
A shimmering blue light filled the cavern.
Give me a fucking break. How many enemy warriors were there?
The light vanished, and six armored Askoles stood there.
God, did I need some chocolate. I kicked Karoo’s head at them. “Your entire army couldn’t catch one renegade?”
The smallest Askole picked up the head. “You killed Karoo?”
“It was a team effort.”
Tiko bared her fangs menacingly.
The Askoles drew their weapons.
“You harm a hair on Tiko’s head, and I will kill every one of you.”
The warriors laughed.
On a private link with Rami, I said, “I think these assholes need to be taught a lesson, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I cannot ’port all of them to the sun.”
I pictured the hellish swamp in my mind. “Can you send them there?”
“NO!” Jaylan appeared at my side. “The smaller one is Sariel, the Askole High Commander.”
“So?” I glared at my mate. Not a word of thanks for healing him?
Jaylan clamped his right hand to his chest. “You honor us with your presence, High Commander.”
I snorted. A sharp pain zapped me in the butt, and I jumped a good foot.
“Remember your manners, granddaughter,” Zarek rumbled.
“Yes, sir. Tiko, sit. Stay.”
A low growl rumbled in her chest as she obeyed.
Madal plopped down next to her.
Off-the-chart power roiled through the air. An instant later, Zarek, Voss, and Talree were standing next to us.
Yikes. Their expressions of sheer menace made them scary as hell.
Cokie whimpered and hid under my hair.
Zarek surveyed the mangled bodies, Tiko, and my blood-covered form before turning his attention to Sariel. “I see you’ve met my granddaughter, Bree, and her family.”
Sariel removed his helmet. “I have.”
Thunk. A thermal grenade landed at our feet.
I instinctively grabbed it with my mind and lobbed it out of the cavern. “Fire in the hole.”
Jaylan, Zarek, Talree, and Voss jumped on top of me.
I could feel Tiko’s shock when one of the Askole warriors’ energy field encircled her and Madal.
Boom! The ground shuddered. Rocks and a thick cloud of dust slammed into the Askoles’ protective shields.
“Get away from me,” Tiko snarled.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the Askoles calmly step back. “Can’t breathe,” I wheezed.
“They are squashing me,” Rami moaned.
Rio scrambled across my shoulder. “Me sting them.”
“No stinging,” Jaylan commanded, crawling off me.
Zarek lifted me to my feet. “Are you injured?”
“I’ll live.” I wiped the crap out of my eyes and realized everyone was staring at me. “What?”
“Nice catch,” Voss drawled.
“She has many useful talents,” Sariel added.
Zarek nodded. “My granddaughter is full of surprises.”
Tiko pushed against my leg. “The attacker still lives.”
“Damn.” With my luck, the assassin had another grenade. “Sic ’em.”
Tiko shot out of the cavern. Her ferocious roar was followed by a bloodcurdling scream that was abruptly cut off.
“I wanted to interrogate him,” Voss said. His tone was one of extreme exasperation.
“Ooops. My bad.”
A laugh broke from Sariel. “She must belong to the Jones clan.”
“Bree belongs to me,” Jaylan corrected.
I rolled my eyes. Testosterone was the bane of my existence.
Tiko padded up to me and dropped the assassin’s head at my feet.
“Gosh, you really shouldn’t have.”
Talree picked up the head, and scowled. “Vonder.”
“Who?”
“Radan’s second in command,” Jaylan answered.
“Were you able to intercept Radan’s ship, Gramps?”
Grinning, Talree repeated, “Gramps?”
Madal’s sudden horrific shrieks of pain hit me like an electric shock. “Oh my God.”
Tiko bolted from the cavern.
I ran after her and skidded to a stop at the terrifying sight.
The badly scarred Pantos had tracked us and was mauling Madal.
Jaylan teleported onto the tiger’s back and drove his dagger into the base of the Pantos’s skull.
The tiger fell to the sand, twitched once, and died.
“Madal!” I ran over to the cub and watched as Jaylan gently pried the tiger’s jaws off him. A cold thread of dread snaked up my spine as I scanned his bloody body. He was dying.
Mewling her anguish, Tiko nuzzled him.
Rio and Cokie peered down at the cub. “Can you save him, Momma Bree?”
“I don’t know.” I knelt by Madal, placed my hands on his chest, and sent healing energy into the gaping wounds covering his body.
“I am with you,” Jaylan said, adding his power to mine.
Rami joined with us. “My strength is yours.”
Madal’s labored breathing steadied. The torn flesh on his neck and body regenerated.
“Dammit.” The damage to his heart was extensive, and I couldn’t get the bleeding under control.
“Don’t let him die,” Tiko pleaded.
His heartbeat slowed.
“C’mon, little guy, stay with me.” I worked furiously to repair dozens of puncture wounds. An eternity later, I sealed the last hole, and a wave of exhaustion rolled over me. “He’s lost too much blood. Will sick bay’s regen tubes work on Madal?”
“They will,” Zarek answered.
I sagged in relief. Thank God. “Tiko, I need you to trust me. The only way to save Madal is to move him to the Overlord’s ship.”
Tiko licked Madal’s face. “Do what you must, but take me with you.”
“Okay.” I looked at Jaylan. “Can you teleport eight hundred pounds of tiger?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Our transporter is at your disposal,” Sariel said.
“Thank you.” I touched Tiko’s mind and showed her how the transporter worked. “It kinda tickles.”
Zarek placed his hand on her head. “I will accompany you.”
“I promise not to eat anyone,” Tiko grumbled.
“And I will make sure no one shoots you,” Zarek replied.
“You have my eternal gratitude, old one,” Tiko sniped.
I suppressed a grin. The tiger was going to fit right in. “We’ll meet you in sick bay.”
“Do not let him die.”
“I won’t.”
Jaylan carefully picked up Madal. “Hang on.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist, and poof. We were in sickbay.
A medic hurried over and ran a scanner over Madal. “You got him to us just in time. Place him in the middle tube.”
As Jaylan complied, I studied the medic. He looked like he was twelve. In Eng
lish, I asked my mate, “You sure he knows what he’s doing?”
“He wouldn’t be on the Overlord’s ship if he didn’t,” Jaylan responded.
“Good point.”
Rami dropped off my waist. “I feel sick.”
“No puking on Jaylan’s boots, missy.”
“That’s a Shari,” the medic exclaimed in wonder.
“Yes, and she’s very attached to Madal,” Jaylan rumbled.
“My pardon, Commander.” He rapidly typed commands into the console, and thick gray gas engulfed the cub.
With his stinger in the strike position, Rio skittered onto the tube. “Madal die. You die.”
The medic eyed the baby Barat calmly. “What a fierce little protector.”
“Sorry.” I held out my hand. “Rio, come.”
“Me want to stay.”
Cokie joined him on the tube. “We guard Madal.”
“Let the children stay. I’ll keep an eye on them,” the medic said.
A roar sounded in the hallway.
A flicker of alarm crossed the medic’s face. “The mother?”
“Yep. Tiko. Be careful. She’s had a tough day.”
Jaylan picked me up and sat me on an examination table. “So has my mate.”
The medic pointed his scanner at me. “Yes, she has, and what is that awful smell?”
I bared my teeth in a feral snarl. “Skunk.”
Like magic, Jaylan produced a melted chocolate chip cookie. “Eat.”
I snatched it out of his hand. “You’re the best mate ever.” I swallowed the last bite and asked hopefully, “Got another one?”
There was a sharp stinging pain in my neck, and everything went dark.
Chapter Twelve
Cokie whispered, “Momma Bree, you sleep?”
If I ignored her, maybe she would go away. I was still sulking. Jaylan had actually allowed the medic to sedate me without my permission. What a prick.
Her pincher patted my face. “Momma Bree, you sleep?”
I opened my left eye. Cokie was perched on my pillow. “Yes.”
Giggles erupted.
What the heck? I had been invaded. The bed was covered with small golden tarantulas. Dozens of curious emerald eyes watched me. “Hello there.”
The babies chirped happily and bounded up the bed.
“Wait!” A tidal wave of warm, furry bodies engulfed me. Tiny sticky tongues rained kisses over my face. “Okay. Okay. Enough. That tickles. Cut it out! You are all too adorable, but no more kisses.”