Starlight [Warriors of Dareen] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Sara Anderson

  Chapter 18

  Joran’s fear and rage burned as he got the communication. Nuvan was gravely wounded, his survival was not assured, and his bonded was taken. The Shara had overwhelmed the medics, killed them, and used knives in their packs to kill the guards. No one had noticed anything wrong until it was too late. The Shara had found weapons and roamed until they had found the launch pad on the ship. Nuvan did not stand a chance. With surprise and numbers on their side, they made quick work of incapacitating the young warrior. Guilt ate at Joran. He should have stayed on the ship, guarding his bonded. Rage consumed him as he thought of the ways they would torture her. A woman’s hiccupping sob drew his attention. Joran had blocked most of the fear coming off of her. Sunter held the young woman they had rescued. They were in the middle of an intense firefight when the Shara suddenly broke off and ran, leaving the woman. Several warriors chased them, but the human woman needed to be taken care of. She appeared bruised, terrified, but unharmed and unmolested. Now they knew why the Shara had sent a communication to the Earth’s surface soon after their escape. They were going to regroup. This time they had a shuttle, and they would leave the Earth with his bonded. They would rape and torture her until she died. The dread that filled him as he thought about her fate if they got off of the planet with her made bile rise in his throat. Now he had to do the hardest thing for a warrior. He had to wait as their communications officer, Profax, tracked where the shuttle landed. He prayed to whatever god ruled this planet, and the Dareen’s Great Mother, that his bonded would be spared until he could find her.

  * * * *

  Kara woke up lying on her side. Her head pounded in pain with her pulse. Her arms were tied tightly behind her back and her legs curled painfully behind her, hogtied to the rope around her wrists. She tried moving but her limbs were pulled too tight. She was lying on something hard, like rock. Kara moaned and rolled off of her side to get off of whatever was poking into her side. She winced at the pain of rolling onto her back with her legs tied behind her. Breathing hard, she rolled again to her other side. She made it to a mostly smooth area and lay still, trying to figure out where she was. It was dark, but she could smell damp earth and mold. There was water dripping in the distance, echoing as if she was in a large space. She also heard wind howling. It made a slight whistling noise as it whipped through narrow openings. A cave, she was in a cave. She raised her head, wincing at the pain that thudded with the effort of her looking around. She could see light like she would expect with cloudy daylight on one end. On the other was pitch blackness.

  She tried to squirm, hoping to pull herself free, but she was bound tight. This was bad, very bad. Even though she was alone, there was no way for her to escape tied up like this. Joran, please find me. She begged the heavens to hear her and send her warrior to save her.

  Hauntingly familiar hissing noises had her grow cold all over and her stomach felt sick with dread. They were back from wherever they had gone. Kara could not help but try to scoot away from them. They stalked toward her, their hideous faces a mask of pure evil. Their forked tongues tasted her fear when they stuck them out, which made their smiles all the more ecstatic. One of the aliens rubbed its crotch as its red eyes focused on Kara. She shook her head frantically. “No. Stay away from me.” Panic made her voice come out in a high shriek.

  He reached down and grabbed her knee.

  Kara screamed while trying to wiggle away.

  He turned her over on her stomach. Kara felt the ropes cut away. She gritted her teeth at the pain from her limbs being cut free. She had a pins-and-needles feeling in her arms and feet.

  I have to move. If I do not try to run, they are going to rape me. Kara’s thoughts raced while she tried to get her half-asleep, sluggish limbs to move. She pushed up to her knees when a foot came down on her back shoving her back down. A heavy body landed on her back. The hissing was right behind her head.

  “God, no,” Kara cried between clenched teeth.

  The alien pushed its cold hand up her light dress. It went past her waist to her chest. It grabbed her bra and ripped it off of her. Kara tried bucking him off of her. “Get off of me,” she wailed. Now that her hands and legs were free, she thrashed around, punching and kicking as best she could while on her stomach.

  An angry snarl like a rabid dog filled her hearing seconds before the alien grabbed her hair, pulled her head back, and slammed her face into the stone floor of the cave.

  Pain exploded in Kara’s face, stunning her into being still and silent. The alien hissed again, then picked Kara up. She was suddenly face-to-face with pure evil. Emotional shock had her barely able to move, but she was able to take in every detail of its face. She could see its red eyes had narrow black pupils that seemed more like the pits of hell rather than parts of an alien’s eye. It opened its lipless mouth, making its cold breath hit her nose. Kara nearly gagged on the sulfur smell. The alien stuck its tongue out and tasted the air in front of her face. She knew it was trying to sense her terror. She tried to hide it, but knowing what was about to happen had her shaking in dread.

  The Shara smiled in vicious satisfaction at the taste of fear coming off of her, then threw her to the ground. Lights exploded in her vision when her head impacted the stone floor of the cave. Kara closed her eyes, too stunned to move. When the lights in her vision finally faded, she opened her eyes to see it standing over her. The crotch of its pants were open, and it was stroking its grotesque sex while staring at her. The hissing coming from its mouth was far louder.

  “Fuck you, asshole!” Kara screamed while lifting her knees to her chest. She was not going to go down without a fight. She kicked the alien’s knees as hard as she could. A deafening howl of pain filled the cave. Kara rolled away, seeing her chance to get away. She stood up but everything swayed and her vision blurred. Still, she pushed her legs to move. Run, run, run, she screamed to herself.

  She knew she was not running in a straight line, but still she moved toward the dim daylight. She sobbed panicked breaths in as she pushed herself. Almost there, keep going. She was going to make it. Once outside, maybe someone would hear her screaming for help.

  She could smell the fresh air when she was grabbed by her neck. The alien violently shook her by her neck. Kara’s legs kicked while her hands tried to pull its hands free from her neck.

  She was thrown to the cave’s floor once again. Kara tried to get her legs to move, to roll over, anything but simply lie there. Pain seared into her side and chest. She tried to pull in a breath to scream, but kicks from the Shara drove the air from her lungs. She put her arms up over her face to try and protect her head.

  The blows hit her over and over. Kara threw her hands over her head to try and protect herself. The hissing of enjoyment at her pain was enough to curl her stomach.

  A heavy weight settled on her. Kara pushed against it, whimpering, but it never moved. Her legs were pried apart. “No,” was all she could cry, too weak and in too much pain to put up any more of a fight.

  She cried thinking how she would either die or end up an empty shell like Laura. Her eyes were tightly closed so she would not see them. In a last ditch effort she brought her knee up hard. It impacted the Shara’s groin. It made a wheezing sound of pain. Keeping her eyes shut she smiled slightly in victory. She knew she would pay for that in just a moment when the Shara recovered. At least she did not go down without a fight.

  Before the Shara could attack her, his weight was suddenly gone. Had she chased him off with her defensive kick? A monstrously savage roar filled the cave. Kara opened her eyes and blinked several times. Relief flooded her when she saw the Dareen warrior standing there, howling furiously. There were also dreadfully inhuman shrieks echoing off the walls. She blinked several times before her vision cleared. Joran, his face twisted into a mask of pure rage, was there. He had a sword-type of knife he was slicing up Shara with. Kara heard the sickening thud of his blade sinking into Shara flesh. He split the head of one, then turned and ran another one
through. Kara’s eyes were wide as she watched Joran slaughter the Shara. Purple blood sprayed along the wall while he sliced, hacked, and stabbed. He drove his knife into another, then kicked the squealing alien off of his huge knife.

  “Don’t kill them all,” Varnis barked at Joran. Joran, however, ignored him. He seemed lost in his savage blood lust. Shara’s squeals lessened as more of them died. Varnis got ahold of Joran. “Don’t make me knock you on your ass.” His bellowing voice finally managed to break through Joran’s killing rage. Joran dropped his blade, breathing hard. “Go to your bonded, Sunter and I will take care of these bastards.”

  Kara watched Joran drop his knife and run over to her. “My bonded, my love.” He choked on a sob while he stroked her hair gently. Still, Kara winced in pain. Her head was pounding. “The medics will be in as soon as the Shara are dealt with.” Kara closed her eyes for a moment, hoping the pain would ease. Remembering everything, her eyes flew open. “Nuvan. Oh god, Joran. Is he alive?” Kara clutched at Joran’s armored shoulder.

  “Easy. You must not move,” Joran told her, trying to keep her still without harming her.

  “Tell me.” Tears flooded her eyes as she thought of the friendly young warrior.

  “Doctor Legav had to put him in stasis or he would have passed on to our Great Mother,” Joran told her gravely.

  “Oh no. No, that is very bad, isn’t it?” Kara felt the guilt pressing in on her. Nuvan could die and it would have been all her fault.

  “It is bad, but it is not hopeless. If there was no hope, the doctor would have let him pass to our Great Mother’s arms. It is better to rest peacefully with our Mother then to suffer when there is no hope. There are treatments on Dareen that a warship does not have.”

  Relief flooded Kara. That sweet-faced young warrior was not dead. She smiled weakly at Joran before she closed her eyes to rest.

  Chapter 19

  Kara winced, the machines they placed over her stinging as they injected drugs into her. But the pain relief they brought made up for the sting. They did not have anything to help her pain back in the cave, since the search party turned into a rescue mission. The two medics had fussed over all the blood on her face and head from the Shara smashing her face and head so hard. Kara was never more thankful for Dareen drugs than when the awful pain let up.

  “You are going to go to sleep now. The doctor is going to fix your internal injuries.” Joran spoke softly into her ear. He had not left her side since he snapped out of his murderous rampage.

  “Okay,” Kara murmured, already feeling herself being pulled into sleep. The machines knew the exact amount to give her to put her to sleep, then keep her there.

  Kara woke up still in the infirmary. She half expected to wake up with Joran and her cat, Sophie. Joran was leaning over her worriedly.

  “What is wrong?” Kara asked, alarmed by the concerned look on his face.

  “How do you feel?” he asked.

  Kara tried to move, but she was restrained. “I would feel much better if I could move.” Kara glared at him. “Get this shit off of me,” she demanded hotly.

  “You do not feel like harming yourself, or anyone in here?” Joran was studying her. She felt the tingling of him making sure she told him the truth.

  “Not at the moment, but if you do not get me untied, I will start contemplating violence,” she retorted.

  Joran smiled, looking relieved. “She is fine, Doctor. The Shara were not able to advance far enough in their attack to cause the same effects as the other victims.”

  “You were worried I would wake up like Laura.” Kara looked at Joran in shock. The monitors and machines pumping medication into her made rhythmic ticks and hums.

  “Yes, now that we know it is the Shara DNA reacting to females that causes the mental disturbances, we kept you restrained. I had to be sure you were not—”

  Kara shook her head “no” as soon as she understood. “They never…” Kara couldn’t say it. “They never…you know.”

  “I know,” he whispered. He lowered his head to her forehead. “I thought I lost you. I saw all the blood and you were so still.” A sound like a sob came out of his chest.

  Kara felt his hand next to hers and took it. She nuzzled her face against his. “It’s okay. You found me in time.” She kissed him, surprised to feel tears running down his face. Kara’s eyes formed tears of their own. Once again, it hit her that this man really loved her. Not for what income she could provide him, or how she could take care of him, but he loved her for the person she was.

  “I love you,” she whispered in his ear.

  One of the medics came over and unlocked the restraints on her. She wrapped her arms around Joran, enjoying the feel of his hard muscles. She buried her face in his neck and inhaled his unique, wild scent. She did not think she would ever get enough of him.

  A baby’s cry caused her to look up. A young woman with dark-brown hair lay in bed, cuddling the boy, Aiden, they had brought in. “Is that the mother?” Kara asked in a whisper.

  “Yes, she was frightened but unharmed. She grieves over her lost husband but is thankful her child was not killed. When they took her, she believed they had murdered her son.”

  “How horrible.” Kara could not fathom the pain that poor woman went through in those moments, thinking her baby was gone.

  “What are you going to do with her?” Kara was half-afraid they would decide to wipe her memory. What if the worst happened and she lost many years, as was known to happen with the serum?

  “She is coming back to Dareen with us. She is under the captain’s protection now and will be until her trauma is healed and a warrior bonded can be found for her.”

  “Will it be hard since she already has a child?”

  “No, warriors consider raising children a great blessing from the universe. To have a mother trust him with her child that is not of his blood is an even greater honor. She will have many warriors to choose from. They will all be trying to impress her with their standing in our society, their fighting skills to prove they can protect her and her child, and they will show off their great homes.”

  “So you warriors like kids, huh?” She kept her tone light and teasing, but the look of pure desire on his face made her insides bubble. “I take that look as a yes.”

  “To have children, to raise them, teach them our ways, is a warrior’s greatest accomplishment.” He looked at her with a mysterious smile.

  Kara took a breath. She would love to have kids, but they were not even the same species. She was human and he was Dareen. She did not think they would ever have children. She felt an ache in her chest, but still, Joran would fill her life with love. He would be enough for her.

  “I still remember everything, unlike last time. I did not remember anything for a while.”

  Joran nodded. “You are still under treatment. The medication will help you, but you will retain your memories of this attack.”

  Kara shuddered. She was not so sure she liked remembering. There was freedom in having the trauma of the attack eased for her.

  “They will help you once we are home,” Joran assured her.

  “When?” she asked, suddenly wanting to be far from here.

  “In about three weeks, we left your system while you were in surgery.”

  “We left. Really? You finally got all of those aliens? We are on our way back to your home planet?”

  “Yes, Varnis managed to stop me from killing all of the Shara. Two of them are being kept sedated in our prison level until we reach Dareen. There the Alliance will allow us to try them for their crimes.”

  Kara shuddered a little at the thought of testifying. “Will they still make me take those drugs?” she asked, more than a little frightened at the thought of remembering every detail of her attack.

  “Yes, but Dareen will be there, and they will choose doctors that are strong empaths to monitor you. They will help you cope while you are under the influence of the drugs, then once your part in their tria
l is done, they will reverse the effects. Then you can be treated for both attacks.”

  * * * *

  Kara stretched on the bed. She knew the second she wiggled her toes she was in trouble, and she was. The predator stalked her, waiting for its opportunity to attack. It crouched down for a moment, then sprang at her feet. Kara squealed as Sophie pounced on her feet, her nails just barely touching her toes through the blanket.

  Kara jerked her toes out of the way, but Sophie pounced again, making Kara shriek again. Joran rolled over. “It should be me you squeal for, my lenora.”

  “You are the only man that can make me squeal.” Kara smiled as he leaned over her and grasped her nipple. He pinched it, making her arch into the pain. Joran had taught her she was a masochist. Kara never would have believed she got off on pain, but the more pain Joran gave her, the harder she came.

  “Bend over my lap,” Joran commanded her.

  Kara was up on her hands and knees, crawling over to him, ready to lay herself over his lap.

  “Such a good girl,” Joran told her softly, his tone full of approval.