“Uh… no. I don’t.” Juliette scowled.
“Yes, you do. You have information. You may have the water in exchange for the name of the person or persons who sent you here,” the dark-haired man said, smiling persuasively.
“Well,” she stalled, trying to guess at their game, “I guess he didn’t say I couldn’t tell you..”
“Exactly. We are in a referral business, after all,” the second man smiled encouragingly. “We’d be interested in setting up a direct supply chain if your man is interested.”
“Well, in that case,” she batted her eyelashes flirtatiously, “His name is Bob.”
“Excellent,” the light-haired man chimed in, leaning closer to her. “Does he have a second name? What work does he do? Where can we find him?”
“Well,” she smirked, thinking of the popular young children’s cartoon, “I don’t know his last name, but he likes to build things.”
“Hmm..” he nodded thoughtfully. “Interesting. Where is this ‘builder’ now?”
“Right,” she stalled again. Where was Bob? Where was Bob? “You know, I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” she nodded affirmatively, hoping to make her story more believable. “There are huge military bases on the back side of our moon, and Bob works there. Building stuff.”
The dark-haired man’s eyebrows rose with skepticism. “I know of these bases. They are constantly fighting there, human and non-human alike. The whole structure rings like a hollow bell with every major blast. A very dangerous place for anyone to go. Who took you to such a place?”
Now it was Juliette’s turn to be confused. Shocked. Mystified. “What?”
The dark-haired man’s eyes narrowed. “You seem to know nothing of this moon you visited.”
“Visited the moon?” she asked, unable to stop parroting the large man as she was otherwise struck speechless. The moon? What the hell? Juliette shook her head, trying to clear the fog. “I never visited the moon. That would be crazy,” she coughed, scrambling to recover. “But. Uh. I met Bob on a ship.”
Both men crossed their arms over their chests and waited. The handsome blond grinned. “This should be good. Please. Enlighten us. You met the builder on a ship that was not on the moon?”
She nodded. “That’s right. He’s…ah…he’s in the navy. And we were on a ship. Bob just happened to be stationed on the moon, but he was on vacation when we met.”
“On a ship?”
“Yep,” she agreed. “On a ship.”
“And where exactly were you and ‘Bob’ headed in the ship?”
Juliette frowned. Scowled more like, at the men. This was totally getting out of hand. She didn’t want to say she was on Earth. What if they decided to go there looking for the fictitious Bob? Realizing too late that she needed to steer them away from her home, she said the first place that popped into her mind. “Mars.”
“Bob, who works for the navy on a military base on the moon, told you to come here to get maju water while he was on his way to a warm, balmy vacation spot on Mars?”
“Mmm hmm,” she agreed, her eyes the picture of innocence. “We dated. It didn’t work out.” She raised her hands, palm up, scrunching her nose in distaste. “He was a bit plastic, really, so if you wanted to go kick his ass for spilling the beans about you, be my guest.”
Maybe sheer bravado would help her pull this off. Her story was pathetic, but they didn’t need to know that. She was on Mora Five negotiating with aliens for some kind of magical healing water after being abducted by reptilians, was befriended by a giant blue creature, and ultimately saved by a large, good looking hunk of a man, wasn’t she? Talk about unbelievable. Moon bases and vacations on Mars were starting to seem pretty tame as stories went.
She stared.
They stared right back.
Your blood,” he finally offered. “We’ll trade for a small amount of your blood.”
Juliette looked at the tiny pipette he held up, her brows furrowing. “Are you kidding me? What about Bob? This is what you want? The dagger and a couple drops of my blood?”
“Two ‘drops’ and you can keep the dagger,” he offered. “You may need it to get back to your ‘friends’.”
“To sell on the blood market? I’ve heard of it. A few drops of my blood seems reasonable. You have a deal,” she agreed, holding out her finger to the larger man.
“I’m known as ‘Taegar’,” he introduced himself, nodding toward his friend. “This is Marcano. Ask for us by name if you run into trouble on the way back to your friend.”
“Taeger. Marcano,” Juliette scrambled for a fake name, settling for no name at all. She hated to lie. “Nice to meet you.”
In short order they’d completed the transaction. “You may use the maju paste to heal your finger,” Taegar offered.
She declined, tucking the two cylinders into the pockets of her oversized cloak. She turned to leave, nearly forgetting the strange symbols she’d been told to show the vendor. Turning back to the two men, she held up a finger. “One more thing. May I borrow something to write with? A pen and paper, perhaps?”
Taegar’s brows came together. “A scripter? A message maker?”
“Yes. That sounds fine.”
He reached under the counter pulling out a thumb sized, silver coin. As soon as he handed it to her, the coin expanded into a crisp sheet of silvery gray material, about the size of a small electronic tablet back on Earth, with a stylus attached. “Write your message here,” he pointed at the silver material. “It will hold your script until you press this button to erase. If it needs to be delivered off planet, we can negotiate a new trade.”
Juliette carefully drew out the symbols she’d memorized, then handed it back to Taegar. “Actually, I was told to give it to you. Well, whoever I got the maju water from, that is. I hope you can read it.”
Taeger pulled the silvery sheet back around and stared at the symbols. He finally pushed the erase button, murmuring, “No. It’s meaningless.”
“Oh. Okay. I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t mess it up. I usually have a pretty good memory. Do you want me to try again?”
“No. Safe journey to you,” Taeger said, nodding his goodbye.
“Thank you. Nice meeting you.” Juliette waved, then made her way out, rushing back to the ship and Torrin, praying she wasn’t too late to save him.
Taegar turned to Marcano and a third man who entered just moments after the human female left, dumping the pipettes with her blood into a hidden incinerator. “Greig, were you able to plant the tracking device on the dagger before she took it from you?”
Greig nodded. “She has light fingers. I didn’t even feel it when she lifted the dagger. Seth is following her to make sure she gets back to her ship without incident. She’s got skills, for a human, but we weren’t the only ones who noticed her walking around.”
“I trust Seth will protect her without anyone the wiser to our presence, or hers. He’s spooky quiet, even for one of us,” he said, his voice full of tension. “Did you see the infant Targos wrapped just above her ridiculous footwear?”
Greig grinned. “She wears flowers on her feet to distract us from the vicious man-eating targos wrapped around her ankles. A practical, womanly approach, eh?”
“I’ve never heard of a Targo attaching offspring to a human. Must have been fakes to scare off other predators,” Marcano remarked.
“Perhaps. Did you see anyone else leave the ship?” Taeger asked Greig.
Greig shook his head, raising his brows in question.
Taegar’s hazel eyes burned with inner fire and tension as he looked toward the door. “It’s now even more important we find out who she is and why she’s piloting a Vilitos ship. That was no mere message she handed me. It was a symbol, written in Lumerian code. Either someone has broken that code, or we just received our first contact in two thousand years.” The room grew thicker with tension. “Grab your ‘go bags’. Full gear. Teams four, seven, and nine. Liftoff in twenty. We’re not going to
let that ship out of our sight without knowing who she is and what she really wants. The elders of Lumeria could be on board or the dead fucking king; I don’t give a rat’s ass. That was a Vilitos ship. Until we know exactly what we’re dealing with, we stay silent. Understood?”
“Full gear. Teams four, seven, nine. Understood.” Marcano and Greig removed the traditional garments worn on Mora 5, revealing black camouflage material that flickered in patches in and out of sight. No one said another word as Taeger looked from one warrior to another. They were tense with excitement. Wariness. Anticipation. Hope.
Strapped to their backs were ancient looking swords in rune covered scabbards. First Greig disappeared, then Marcano flickered out of sight, his deep voice the only evidence that he was still in the room. “Was it wise, then, to give her the maju water? Did we just tip our hand?”
Taeger’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he opened the back door, scanning the alley. “She came here looking for us. Someone already tipped it.”
“When will they stop hunting us?” Marcano growled.
Taeger turned toward Marcano’s voice, his own cold and flat. “Never. But we have nothing to lose this time. They have no leverage against us. We’re on our own out here. Our planet was destroyed. Our children dead. Let them draw us out. This time.. this time we show no mercy,” Taegar reminded his second in command as he, too, removed the outer garments he’d worn to blend in with the crowds, tapped his cloaking armor, and flickered out of sight.
A small bag of coins flew toward the counter, landing with a dull thud in an otherwise empty room.
Chapter Five
“Find me….” Sevron’s voice echoed as Torrin woke with a start, his heart racing painfully.
He was in a bed. Not with his brother back on Caldor. Not in the cage his Vilitos captors had kept him in for months, too feverish and in too much pain to reach out to his twin.
Torrin reached up and ran a hand through his hair. Still shaggy. An intravenous line was taped into his arm.
“You shouldn’t be awake yet,” Juliette admonished, placing her small hand on his shoulder in comfort. “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?”
He frowned. “My physical pain is zero. What are you putting into my veins? Where are we?”
“We’re still on the ship we stole. And we’re on Mora Five,” she soothed. “I’m giving you maju water through an intravenous line. Doctor Jorvin and I discussed your condition. He instructed me to infuse you this way for damage control since you were unable to drink the water. We’re almost at the four-hour window. I’ll remove the IV.” She smiled, quickly removing it with deft fingers. “Can you tell me your name and what day it is?”
“My name is Torrin Llahsab. I am uncertain of the number of days I was held by the Vilitos. I believe approximately one hundred have passed. How did you come to be on that ship? You are a human from Earth, yes?”
“Of course. I wasn’t thinking, just force of habit to ask. You were injured quite severely. You should rest, even if you think you’re fine, there is still the possibility that your internal injuries are not fully healed. Try not to move around too much until..”
“I’m fine,” he murmured, sitting up. “I can take care of myself. What happened on Earth? How did you get here?”
Juliette stiffened her spine and pasted on her most professional smile. The really fake one. “All right, we can talk about Earth first, if you insist,” she agreed, taking a deep breath as she mentally counted to ten, “but try to rest while we talk. You’re so tall, you’ll give me a crick in my neck looking up at you.”
Juliette was more than a little relieved when Torrin grinned weakly, lying back once more. She had a way of bringing out the funny side in any situation and relied on that ability to keep herself, and others, from going crazy. Not much to laugh about in this hell hole, though. Torrin should be in a hospital, not chatting about Earth. She knew how close he’d come to death, it was a miracle that he could function at all, let alone sit up and talk.
“Perhaps you would care to sit down for the telling of your tale,” Torrin scooted to the side and patted the space next to him.
Blushing as heat infused her cheeks, she sat awkwardly next to him and wrapped her arms around her legs, only to scoot a little closer as the minutes ticked by. She ignored the tiny voice in the back of her mind that said she needed comfort as much as he needed rest.
The professional façade, the plastic smile, faded as she recounted the details of the attack. “I’m not really sure what happened. I was with a new team of human medical personnel hired to work with the Caldorians. We had just passed through security at the Welcome Center on the Caldorian base when the building was hit. Fires exploded all around us. The smoke was choking me. I could hardly breathe. Everything happened so fast after that, I don’t know how to describe it.”
She raised a hand, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear before continuing, surprised by the shaking. She was usually as cool as a cucumber under pressure. She must be experiencing delayed shock. “People were screaming and running. We didn’t know where to go. Commander Bashall came down the stairs and shouted at us to follow them.”
“Them?”
“Another Caldorian. I didn’t recognize him, but we knew the base commander; he was the one who granted us permission to be there in the first place. We followed them out through the fires just before the building exploded.”
Juliette paused to take a breath. Calm herself. She hadn’t realized how difficult the retelling would be. “We were on our way to another building, one that he said would be safer, when we were ambushed. They shot the commander and the other Caldorian, then blasted the rest of us with stun guns.” Juliette had to pause and take a few deep breaths before she could continue. The memories were so fresh, her heart pounded as if she was still there. Still trapped.
“What happened to the commander?” Torrin asked gruffly.
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t see very far because of the incubator thing they put me in, and I couldn’t move, but they loaded him next to me. He was bleeding. A lot. I don’t know if he made it or not, but he was alive the last time I saw him. I couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t help. Couldn’t escape. I just had to lie there. Helpless,” she said, rage resonating through her. She pursed her lips to hold her tears in check. She refused to cry. “Someday I’ll make them pay for what they did.”
“Continue. Please,” Torrin said gruffly.
Juliette scrubbed a hand over her face, smoothing away signs of stress. She couldn’t afford to appear weak. Where she’d come from, weak got you killed. “When they finished loading us, we took off. I don’t remember anything after that. They must have tranquilized us because when I woke up those creepy guards were dragging me from one ship onto another. I don’t know where they took the others.”
“Did they say anything to you?” he whispered.
“I don’t have a translator. We were scheduled to get them after the orientation,” she whispered back.
When Torrin finally spoke, his voice was full of sadness. “I am deeply sorry that you were put through that, and I’m glad you’re here with me now.”
Juliette strained to hear Torrin’s words, they were almost too low for her to catch. Her lips quirked sadly. She patted his arm, aware that he was trying to make her feel better.
“Turns out, we’re not so easy to kill.”
”You’re recovering remarkably fast. I can’t even see any scars. I had no idea Caldorians could heal this quickly. You are Caldorian, right?”
“I’ve always healed faster than most. I really thought this time… well, let’s just say you’re a miracle worker,” he smiled back. Their eyes met. Held. Reaching out, h touched a lock of her long black hair. Something shifted inside Torrin. The same instinct he’d had the first time he’d seen her on the Vilitos ship rose up with a vengeance. Clicked into place. Mine.
“Not a miracle worker,” Juliette said with a twinkle in her eye, “A nurse.�
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“My nurse,” he said, his deep voice full of promise, holding her gaze in traditional Caldorian fashion, letting her know of his interest in her.
He must finish his original mission to find a stolen Lumerian Orb and visit his brother before he could properly bind Juliette to him forever, but he wasn’t the type to allow an opportunity to pass him by. He was finally free. Healthy. Whole. He’d never been the type to wait. He always set a goal, made a plan. Worked tirelessly until he succeeded.
“I’m so relieved you’re feeling better. I was worried.” Juliette’s long black lashes swept slowly over haunted, misty gray irises. Her head drifted sleepily to one side, only to jerk upright, repeating the same motion just moments later. “So glad.”
“You are exhausted, Juliette Rosen. You must tell me how you came by this name as we travel to Earth. Tell me everything about yourself, and why a Targo would allow you to keep its offspring.” Torrin frowned. “They are very protective of their young.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, unable to hold back a yawn, absently placing a hand on his chest. “I haven’t had much sleep the past few days while you were healing.” She yawned again, smiling sheepishly. “She gave them to me when we were on the other ship. They’re psychic. Telepathic, you know. She asked me to keep them safe. Take care of them. She didn’t think the Vilitos would let her live much longer. They’re just babies,” she said, yawning yet again. “They sleep unless they’re hungry, which she said wouldn’t happen for several months. What else could I do? They’re so cute.” Her eyes drifted closed on the last word, this time staying closed, her breath relaxing in slumber. She was literally falling asleep while talking.
“Cute?” Torrin raised his brows incredulously, whispering, “Cute now, maybe. But in a year or two you might not think they’re so cute.” He shook his head ruefully before gently reversing their positions, lowering her to the makeshift bed she had created for him while he was unconscious.
Done intentionally or not, she had touched him first, an unmistakable sign of her interest in him. She trusted him to take care of her. Careful not to touch the Targo babies, he murmured softly, “At least by then they should have formed a bond with you and won’t try to kill you while you sleep. I’d hate having to kill something you love, but I will do whatever is necessary to keep you safe.”
Alien Knight Steals The Bride Page 5