As the ceiling above their heads exploded and collapsed, Tessa opened her mouth to call Kahn back from his flanking position. But he was too far away and too busy fighting encroaching Endekians to help. The stone ceiling was falling.
With a desperate psi lunge, Tessa sped forward, shoving Miri, Shaloma and Helera into Xander to avoid the falling stone from overhead. The four of them toppled, but Tessa had no time to see if they were okay.
Endekians dropped from the opening above their heads. Tessa spun to face them, arms up, wrists cocked, her weight balanced on the balls of her feet. Five to one, not good odds, but then Kahn had trained her, and he was one of the best.
She gave the attackers no time to see through the dust. With a hammer blow to the temple, she killed the first Endekian before he blinked away the dust or had raised his stunner. She took out a second man with a knife hand slice to the neck. A third Endekian seized Tessa to use her as a shield. His mistake. She let him spin her right into him. Then simultaneously jamming her elbow into his chest, breaking ribs, and sweeping his knees out from under him, she put him out of commission. Not fast enough.
Two Endekians had grabbed Miri. Shaloma was down. Not moving. Kahn and Etru were trying to plug the hole in the corridor and prevent more of the enemy from swarming inside to give the women time to escape.
When Xander poked his head out of a mass of fallen bodies, Tessa screamed at him, even as she kept fighting. “Get Helera and Shaloma out.”
Oh, God. The Endekians were using null-grav to hold Miri in front of them as a shield. No way could Kahn or Etru fire their stunners around her. In fact, they didn’t yet know the problem, their backs were to Miri as they faced down the corridor, trying to stop a platoon of Endekian invaders.
Stunner shots beamed through the corridor, the laser lights chipping stone and sizzling too close for comfort. They had to get out of here. Fast.
But Tessa wouldn’t leave Miri. The Endekians had floated her up over the debris and bodies on the floor, out of Tessa’s reach. Despair and frustration peaked inside her. Gathering every cell of fear, Tessa screamed through her psi, launched herself into the air for the first time, her null-grav kicking in—too hard, too fast. But she used the momentum to slam one Endekian into the ceiling. His head smacked rock with a resounding crunch. He wouldn’t be coming back for more.
The second man had his arm around Miri’s throat. Likely, she couldn’t breathe, but still let out a shout.
At her scream, Kahn and Etru turned, saw the problem, but more Endekians poured into the hallway. Tessa needed one second of surprise, a distraction to take out the Endekian holding Miri. She turned her suit transparent.
The Endekian goggled. Her naked body was the last thing he ever saw before she shoved his nose straight into his brain.
“You didn’t see that,” Tessa told Xander as she gently floated Miri down the corridor, toward the shuttle and away from the Endekians.
“See what?” Xander helped Miri on the other side and together with Shaloma and Helera, they advanced, the men covering their flanks.
“We have been overrun on several fronts.” Dora reported. “Rystani men are falling back, giving time for the women and children to escape through bolt holes and to hide.”
“Options?” Tessa snapped.
“You are too far from the bolt holes. There’s only one chance,” Dora warned. “Get out. Run for the shuttle.”
They rounded two more corners. This area seemed clear of intruders.
“Go.” Kahn waved Tessa toward Zical who had cleared the final path to the shuttle. “Get them out of here.”
Tessa knew Kahn meant to stay behind. He wouldn’t want to leave his people or abandon them in a time of need. But sometimes the better choice was a full retreat so one could live to return and battle another day. She’d prayed this moment would never arrive and now that it had, she didn’t feel prepared.
Tessa handed Miri to Xander and Mogan in the shuttle, then covered Shaloma and Helera as the women also took shelter inside. Etru and Nasser went next. Only Zical and Kahn remained and as she expected, Kahn urged her into the shuttle without taking one step toward it himself.
“Come with me,” she demanded.
His eyes sad and full of regret, he shook his head. “I can’t. Etru and Zical will bring you to the Challenge. My people need me.”
“I need you.” She flung her arms around Kahn’s neck, used all her psi to merge with his, and then opened her emotions to him. She let him feel full force what losing him would do to her, how she would surely lose the Challenge without him there.
He didn’t go down without a struggle. He tried to raise his psi shields, but she’d gotten past his defenses.
“Please, Kahn. You can do more good for your world by living than dying. I don’t want to lose you, and I need you to train me for the Challenge.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
JUST BECAUSE Tessa was right didn’t mean Kahn could extinguish his obligation to his people. Torn between staying and going, he seethed with the frustration of needing to be in two places at the same time. He’d have rather walked naked into stinging stunners than abandon his people during a battle. His escape to the safety of the shuttle while people on Rian were dying seemed an act of cowardice. Yet, he damn well knew Tessa was no coward. She’d risked her life to save him and his men when she’d entered the Endekian camp alone, and again to save a boy she didn’t know when she’d plunged into the frigid water, and she’d killed a handful of Endekians to rescue Miri. Obviously, after Dora’s reports it was clear the current battle for Rian was lost, and the notion sickened him, but he had to look at the entire situation, the ultimate goal of returning with the Federation’s help to reclaim the planet—after Tessa won the Challenge.
Kahn entered the shuttle to see Miri surrounded by a calm Helera, a purposeful Shaloma, and a worried Etru. When linked with Tessa, Kahn had experienced the fetus’ extraordinary psi strength and already felt as if he knew the little one’s spirit. With Miri in labor, the Endekians shooting missiles at the shuttle, Kahn headed straight to weapons control and navigation, and employed desperate evasive maneuvers to keep the shuttle from taking a hit.
Zical’s eyes flashed a twinkling red. “You set to go?”
Kahn avoided a missile and returned fire. “Don’t ever marry an Earthling.”
Zical clapped Kahn on his shoulder. “She needs you to win the Challenge. If you’d stayed, I would have stayed, and then we both would probably have died.” Zical handed Kahn a printout, his face grim. “Dora’s sensors have found a group of our people who have taken cover in the hydroponics area. The Endekians aren’t yet aware of their presence. With the food materializer and hydroponics, they may be able to hold out for a week or two.”
“We should return. Help them.”
“We will,” Zical told him. “Just not yet. First, Tessa is mere days from taking the Challenge, and she must pass before we return. Your duty lies with—”
“I do not need a reminder of where my duty lies,” Kahn snapped at his friend, all the more annoyed because he was right.
Zical shrugged, jerked his thumb at Kahn and looked over to the communications console. “Tessa—”
“Not now,” she snapped, her irritation so severe that Kahn knew the danger must be more critical than he’d assumed.
He spied two Endekian ships on their tail and calculated their shuttle with their ragtag family inside would never make it inside the spaceship’s flight bay. “Dora, go to hyper drive. Both shuttle and mother ship. We’ll dock the shuttle after we return to normal space.”
“Compliance.”
Real space disappeared, replaced by hyperspace where all sensations became ultra-sensitive. Kahn had made the transition numerous times before and had no difficulties, but Zical looked a little green, and Miri screamed in agony.
“Baby’s coming now. There’s no time for a healing circle. The head is crowning.” Helera moved between Miri’s spread knees. “One more
push, Miri. Good.” Helera cradled the baby boy and uttered the traditional blessing. The child didn’t cry. He opened his stunning violet eyes and sent a warm psi pulse of hello to everyone in the room.
Kahn supposed it might have happened before, but he’d never heard of a baby being born in hyperspace. Helera placed the calm baby in Miri’s arms. And Dora popped out of hyper drive. Kahn leaned forward and checked the instrumentation, his hands itching to take the controls. “We lost the Endekians. Nice flying.”
Tessa stepped back. “Could you take us into the flight bay?”
At the sight of the spaceship Tessa had purchased, a breath of admiration rushed out of him. Long, lean and with the graceful lines of a winged bird of prey, the ship glistened like a shiny present. Larger than the vessel they’d used to travel from Earth, she appeared to be a modern pleasure craft with extra space for cargo.
Then he spied the weaponry. Lasers. Blaster cannons. Missile throwers. His wife had spared no expense.
Kahn let out a low whistle of appreciation. “She’s beautiful.”
“Quite shapely,” Zical agreed.
“Thank you,” Dora’s voice sounded bemused, almost flirtatious. “That’s the best thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Dora, I think I’m in love,” Zical teased.
Tessa ignored the byplay. She leaned closer to Kahn and whispered. “Back on Zenon the engineers made a few upgrades. They modified the engines, the design, and Dora’s technology.”
“Nice of you to consult with me.” Kahn checked the instruments, then double checked. “Tessa, there are already life forms on board the ship. Could the Endekians—”
“Osari is aboard. He brought Azrel and Corban with him. Apparently it’s necessary that three races oversee the Challenge to make sure no rules are broken.”
Kahn rolled his eyes at the ceiling. “You invited guests without asking me, too?”
“I forgot. Sorry.” She brushed a stray lock of shiny hair from her eyes. “Things have been hectic the last few days, but I’ve been trying to find the right moment to give you this.” She handed him the knife she’d bought for him on Zenon.
The hilt was beautifully designed, the balance suggested it had been crafted by an expert. “Thank you.” After all the deaths his people had suffered at the hands of the Endekians, he didn’t have the heart for a quarrel. Not after she’d given him this gift. Not with the memory of Etru beaming over his son, not with the gorgeous ship waiting for him. Not with a wife who’d begged him to stay with her—not out of need—but out of wanting him. And as much as Kahn enjoyed being needed, it was also good to be wanted for himself.
Her actions revealed that she was as eager for a future together as he was. The thought pleased him, placed a soothing balm over his heart. After Tessa won the Challenge, they would return to Rystan and with the Federation’s help, they’d free his world from the Endekians.
Meanwhile, he was grateful his family was safe. And for a wife who thought enough of him to give him gifts. And for a wife who had opened up an entire new universe of possibilities for them.
“WHAT DO YOU mean, Kahn and his wife got away?” Jypeg screamed at Trask, spittle flying from his lips. He raised his fist in rage, his scar of shame, livid.
Trask flinched. “We didn’t expect them to have a shuttle or starship on Rystan.”
“You didn’t expect? Fool!” Jypeg backhanded Trask so hard his second in command tumbled from his chair in front of the communication console. Yellow blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. “We know they are going to Laptiva. We can still stop them, sir.”
“Trask. That idea is underhanded. Sneaky. No race has ever interfered in the Challenge.” Jypeg bent down and helped lift Trask back to his feet. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Can you get us to Laptiva without being seen?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll assemble a task force.”
“I’m leaving nothing to chance this time. I’ll head the mission.” Jypeg greedily rubbed his hands together. “We need to make the most of the situation. Here’s a chance for us to take back some of the credits the Earthling and Osarian have stolen from us. And since we already know the female will lose, take any and all bets on the outcome.”
“Sir, the odds are—”
“I don’t care about the odds. We will crush her. And then I will finish off Kahn.” Kahn of Rystan, who had marred Jypeg’s face and made him an object of pity among his own people. Jypeg’s fist closed around his stunner. Soon, Kahn and his interfering female would be dead by his own hand.
THE FIRST MOMENT alone with her husband didn’t come for several hours. Between saying hello to their guests, a quick business meeting with Osari and settling the others into the spacious quarters of their new spaceship, Tessa and Kahn had had no private time together since leaving Rystan.
She didn’t even attempt to hide her eagerness to be alone with Kahn as she led him into the spaceship’s luxurious master suite, decorated with rare paneling that reminded her of cherry wood, precious art objects, and the latest hologram technology. However, she much preferred keeping the bendar clear and gazing into the depths of space.
So much had happened over the last few days, but since she had to leave Kahn for the Challenge tomorrow, she didn’t want to spend what might be their last hours together talking. Placing a hand on her hip, she changed her black pantsuit into a provocative white lace number that should make the man salivate.
He raised one haughty eyebrow. “Are you trying to manipulate me, woman?”
“Actually, I was trying to seduce you. Can’t we just skip all conversation and make love?”
“You’re a confusing woman as well as a great deal of work to keep up with.”
“I’m a simple woman. Low maintenance,” she countered.
“Now who’s the liar? You’re a maze of contradictions that fascinate and intrigue me, especially in that dress. I really like that dress.”
“I thought you might.”
He folded his arms over his chest, his eyes brightening as he attempted to resist her. “What about honing your null-grav skills?”
“In the time I’ve got left, there’s no way I’m going to hone anything—except my appetite for you. So unless you plan to tell me about the Challenge—”
“You know I can’t.”
“—then the best thing you can do before you send me off is give me a good reason to come back.”
“I already have.”
“Really?”
His eyes all flinty amber, his lips twitching at some joke she didn’t understand, he watched her like a man about to reel in the catch of the day. Why was he looking so smug?
“I’ve already given you what you wanted most.” His arrogant tone, so sure and confident gave her pause.
She hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. “Is that so? Exactly what have you given me besides this gorgeous necklace?” She touched the fire stone that she always wore around her neck.
He scratched his jaw. “What have I given you? Me. I gave you me.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m the luckiest woman in the universe.” She let out a long breath of air in a rush. “I have a husband who didn’t want an Earth woman foisted on him. A husband whose wife never seems able to please him.”
“You know how to please me. In fact, I could become accustomed to living in this kind of luxury. But you’re changing the subject—don’t you know what you want most?”
“What?”
“A home. A family. People who care about you as much as you care about them.”
Oh . . . my . . . God. How did he know? How could he have guessed her secret when she’d buried the need so deep she hadn’t known just how right he was until he’d said the words aloud. As a child, from the moment she’d lost her parents until Kahn’s family—her family—had risked their lives to save her in the healing circle, she’d been alone. Not lonely. Alone.
On Earth, her detail in the Secret Service had bee
n a substitute family—not the real thing. But now, now she had a real family. People who stuck together, who loved and fought but still treasured and respected each other.
Her detail on Earth changed with who was assigned where. But this family was permanent. She savored the delicious idea like a priceless treasure. How ironic that Kahn had given her exactly what she needed, but she couldn’t even pretend to be the kind of wife he wanted.
Her heart quivered at the paradox. She couldn’t set him free. But he didn’t look dissatisfied, not with his hungry gaze swallowing her up as if he intended to gulp her whole.
But lust didn’t always transform into love or even long-term satisfaction. “No matter how much I try, I can never give you as much . . .”
He swept her into his arms, fisted his fingers into her hair and tugged until she bowed back her neck and he stared into her eyes. “You are my life.”
“But you wanted an obedient Rystani—”
“You may not be the kind of woman I would have chosen, but that was because I didn’t know a woman like you existed. Or how well suited we are for each other.” He seemed so intense, so sure, that he ripped right through every defensive barrier she’d raised. “You are the one who matches my psi, the one who holds my heart, the one who sets my blood on fire. Make no mistake woman, you are mine, and I will never let you go.”
His words soothed the ache in her. As a declaration of love, his words were more than she’d ever hoped for, and she flung her arms around his neck. “Wow!”
He released his fist hold of her hair. “Wow?”
“I rather like the sound of you never letting me go.” She leaned into his neck and nipped lightly. “So are you going to talk or show me some null-grav action?” She tossed back her hair, deepening her voice to a sexy purr. “Or perhaps, you’d like for me to dance the Ramala Ki? I’ve been practicing.”
His eyes dilated, leaving only twin rings of gold around black irises. He set her back on her feet. “I have no idea when you found time to practice, but I am most interested in seeing what you have learned.”
The Challenge Page 30