KARRIN: Warrior Woman (Excalibur Saga Book 4)

by Sahara Foley

  Lurga groaned and transformed back to his Ispepyein shape as he backed up a few steps. He looked like he was ready to bolt out the door.

  Excalibur chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Only when Pam lets me. Otherwise, I’m just another peon husband.”

  “Oh, you,” Pam said and punched him playfully in the shoulder.

  Excalibur cocked an eyebrow at Lurga’s hand, resting on his Seeder pistol. “Lurga, stand down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Lurga glared back at him, but didn’t remove his hand.

  “Fine, whatever floats your boat.” He turned back to his granddaughter. “How did you recognize I’m a Shalit?”

  Karrin glanced down at her leather boots and shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just knew.”

  “None of our own kids could tell I was a Shalit unless I showed them. Interesting.” Excalibur turned his gaze back to Lurga. “I believe the reason Kargan couldn’t kill you with the Seeder pistol was because of the love and hate burning through your soul at the time. The silver ore you ate enhanced it, no doubt. Funny thing about Husken Silver, it responds to emotions. This is why an Ultilear beam focused through one of the Others is so dangerous. It takes all their hatred and evil and amplifies it.”

  A frown crossed Excalibur’s handsome face. “I was encased in Husken Silver for a very long time. My beautiful wife released me, or I would still be trapped, today. So, I know what I’m saying. However, my past is not why we’re here. Karrin, Lurga, we need your help.”

  “Why would an all-powerful Shalit need our help?” Lurga asked with a sneer as he scowled at his nemesis.

  Excalibur crossed his arms over his broad chest. Lurga was taller and wider than him, but he wasn’t intimated by the towering Ispepyein Warrior. He quirked his brow and asked, “Dad, are you sure this one will be useful?”

  Arthur appraised the two men. Even without his mental powers, the animosity between them was apparent. Sparks virtually flew through the air. He sighed with irritation. “We don’t have time for this. Lurga’s important to our mission.”

  “Sorry, Dad,” Excalibur apologized as he loosened his stance, and his arms dropped to his sides. He eyeballed Lurga. “I understand Ispepyein’s fear Shalits, but you don’t fear Karrin, do you? She is, after all, my granddaughter. She has the same blood in her veins.”

  Lurga’s shoulders tensed, as his breathing vents blew in and out. His hands remained close to his pistols as he considered what the man said. I could never fear Karrin, he thought to himself, shocked to discover her heritage. This made no sense to him. However, Shalits are the only life form capable of killing an Ispepyein.

  Feeling torn, Lurga responded to Excalibur, “Of course, I don’t fear Karrin. But you are –”

  “Yes, I’m a Shalit,” Excalibur broke in. “Karrin can turn into a Shalit if she wants to. So can my wife. You can, too, if you tried. Don’t you understand? We are all one family. We are all interrelated.”

  An older female Calen’s face appeared next to Daisy’s. They shared a striking resemblance to each other. “Really, Lurga. We thought, with your high intelligence, you would’ve figured this out already,” she said in a condescending tone. “Listen up while we educate you in your ancestry. Sixty percent of all races in the Universe are compatible with one another. Do you understand why?”

  When Lurga didn’t respond, she continued, “Because we’re all spawned from only three separate ancient races. These three species seeded planets already filled with genetic material available for evolution to progress. However, the diverse environmental obstacles resulted in life developing in different patterns. Hence, there are the Calens, with no body hair, but strong physic abilities, and the Eilsels, with multiple limbs, but no physic powers.”

  The older woman nodded toward Excalibur. “Even the Shalits, who are primarily energy beings. Yet, underneath, at the DNA level, we are all interrelated. From our extensive research, we’ve learned these three species seeded every life-giving planet, billions and billions of years ago. Of course, every planet has their own explanation for their origins.”

  She tipped her head toward Lurga. “Take your people. Ispepyeins believe in the Creator of the Universe. Karrin’s people believe in multiple Gods. The Deseptions believe life started from some sort of cosmic accident. Nonetheless, you are all wrong. Life is not an accident, and there are no Gods. We all stem from the same three races.”

  “Wow,” said Karrin. “I never imagined. Still, that’s only sixty percent. What about the rest? How do they relate?”

  “The other forty percent are connected by two other types of ancient lifeforms. One of them is dying off, so is of no concern to us. It’s the other one, the Srellooks, which worry us. They aren’t from our dimension, but they have the ability to cross over at will. Luckily, it’s been billions of years since the last time.

  “They are not remotely compatible with us and consider us nothing more than pests, to be eliminated as they please. They are, also, adept at manipulating us through the dimensional time slip. We are unable to discover how they manage it, but we think the Srellooks are the ones who set the Calens after Karrin.”

  The older Calen turned her troubled gaze upon the young woman. “For some reason, the Srellooks fear Karrin. They are not afraid of Excalibur or Pamela, or we, the Weesa. So, it is not the mental powers we wield they fear. They went through a tremendous amount of energy and use of time to put a contract on Karrin. We must find out why.”

  All eyes turned toward Karrin, and she shifted in her chair, not wanting to be the center of attention. “I don’t know. No matter what you think about me and my powers, I’m not special. I don’t pose a threat to anyone.”

  Excalibur placed a hand on his granddaughter’s shoulder. “It’s because you don’t appreciate who you really are. You may be of our blood, but something is different about you. We must find out what that difference is, and why the Srellooks are afraid of you. Whatever it is, I’m certain we can use it against them.”

  He smiled at his wife. “Pam and I went into their world and observed them for quite some time. I am a mighty Shalit, and Pam is stronger than me, yet, they ignored us, treating us the same as you would a fly on a wall. They didn’t fear the Omars, either, who are greater than Pam and I combined. In fact, the Srells hunted them down and ate them for snacks.”

  “There’s a lot we don’t understand about them,” Pam admitted. “But, we know they’re planning on crossing over again. We just don’t understand why.”

  Scowling down at the Shalit, Lurga yanked Excalibur’s hand off Karrin’s shoulder, and placed his large, clawed one there instead. “What do they gain by coming here?”

  Excalibur stared at Lurga’s hand, the corner of his mouth lifting in a sneer as his silver eyes flashed. “Remove your hand, Ispepyein, or lose it.”

  Lurga stiffened and bared his teeth, but never moved his hand.

  Karrin glanced, back and forth, between the two males, shifting in discomfort with the unaccustomed attention. She wasn’t used to being around so many people at one time, let alone being in the spotlight. What’s their problem? I’m in the middle of a tug-of-war, and I’m the prize.

  A loud clearing of the throat made everyone jump. “Behave yourselves. We are facing the possible extermination of every race in our Universe, and you want to act like adolescent boys? If you don’t knock it off, I’ll bury you up to your necks in sand. And, Cal, you know I can do it.” Daisy frowned at them, her lips pressed into a thin line.

  Karrin had the impression if Daisy had feet, one would be tapping with impatience.

  Pam stood with arms crossed, staring disapprovingly at her husband. “She’s right, you know? We don’t have time for this infighting. The Srells are getting ready to move, probably against Karrin, and we need to find a way to stop them.”

  Excalibur’s shoulders slumped and a sheepish smile crossed his face. “You’re right, dear. I’m sorry, Ispepyein. Please, forgive me, Daisy.”

  “Yo
u are forgiven. Now, we must get back to business,” Daisy said with a smile.

  “Wait a minute,” Karrin exclaimed as she yanked her shoulder out from under Lurga’s grasp and slammed her hand on the silver console.

  Lurga took a step backward as tiny silver sparks flew, and her normal dark eyes turned silver.

  “You’re all talking about me like I’m not here. None of you bothered to ask me how I feel about what’s going on.” Karrin glared at Excalibur. “You may be my grandfather, but if you ever threaten my Lurga again, I’ll do more than bury you in the sand. Do you understand me?”

  Excalibur flashed a smile and gave her a slight bow. “Yes, my dear.”

  Lurga leaned toward Karrin and muttered in Ispepyein, “Caution, little one. That is a Shalit you speak to.”

  “I don’t care,” Karrin grunted back in perfect Ispepyein. “No one threatens my Lurga.”

  “Fear not, Warrior,” Daisy said in the same tongue. “Karrin’s powers cannot be matched by any Shalits.”

  “Daisy’s right,” Excalibur acknowledged. “Karrin possess more psychic abilities than everyone in this room combined. She didn’t inherit all of them from us, but we do not know where some came from. Finding out the answer might be what we need to defeat the Srells.”

  Karrin flung herself out of the chair and stamped across the room as far away as she could get from the milling throng. She pushed back her hair in frustration, then paced in a small circle. “Listen, before you showed up, I lived alone with Brownie. You keep telling me I harbor these amazing powers. Don’t you think I would know by now? Don’t you think I would’ve used them to get away from here?” Her eyes misted with the hurt of being forgotten and abandoned.

  “Oh, honey,” Pam said soothingly. “There’s no way we can take back the years you’ve lost being stranded on this planet. And, I’m so sorry we couldn’t be there after your parents died. We could’ve saved you so much heartache. Sadly, it did happen, and, now, we need to move forward.”

  Karrin stopped pacing and leaned against the curved wall. With arms crossed, she stared at her grandparents. So many conflicting emotions raced through her mind. Though she felt anger at the horrible life she endured at the Home, she was still grateful for having found Mamma. Mamma saved her from a terrible fate and taught her how to love again.

  Her life changed, again, when Lurga came along and killed Mamma. All because of the contract the Calens put on her for the Srells. Somewhere, deep inside, Karrin still harbored resentment for Lurga killing Mamma, but logically, she knew it was Mamma’s decision, to spare her life.

  Seven years Karrin spent with Lurga. She was fourteen when he disappeared, leaving her alone and abandoned, once again. She still didn’t understand what happened that made Lurga think she was dead. Maybe she never would, but by the time he left, she had come to love the grumpy, rough Ispepyein Warrior. She saw the love he felt for her, too. The love he denied until he thought her lost.

  If Pam and Excalibur had rescued me after my family was slain, I would’ve never met Lurga. I wouldn’t have found my soulmate. For that’s what we are.

  Karrin chuckled to herself as she leaned her head back against the wall and peered up at the brightly lit, silver ceiling. The irony of life. This was where she was meant to be. This was her fate. Everything has led me here. Every good and terrible thing that’s happened has prepared me for this moment. To fight the Srells. Whatever they were. But, powers? Karrin shook her head in denial. No way. I lost those years ago.

  The young woman faced her family. “Okay, let’s say I do believe you. That I’m the one to stop the Srells. How? No matter what you say, I do not have any powers left.”

  Excalibur grinned at Karrin. “Look at your hands.”

  Karrin unfolded her arms and stared open-mouthed at them. Small, silver sparks leaped from her fingertips.

  “Why do you think we’re over here, leaving you alone? You drained your powers, but over the years, they did come back. You were too stubborn to see it.” Excalibur glanced over at Arthur with a mocking smile. “Weesa is supposed to be dampening them, but she’s not doing a good job.”

  “Karrin, you need to relax and let your anger go,” Arthur instructed. “You’re putting a strain on the old ladies here, and me, too.” A scoffing sound could be heard in the background.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Karrin sank to the floor. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. Slowly, the prickly, energy sensations in her hands disappeared. She stared at them in wonder. I don’t remember this tingling from before.

  Karrin peered up Daisy. “I still don’t understand why the Srells are coming here. What’s here they can’t find in their own Universe?”

  “That is a question we don’t have an answer to,” Daisy replied. “Our research of the time-slip shows that, every once in time, they come to our dimension and destroy all life forms not compatible with themselves. Their last visit was billions of years ago and, after they left, the other two ancient races reseeded the planets, so life started again. It appears to be a cycle which has repeated itself for who knows how long.”

  Daisy sighed. “The problem is, the last time the Srells crossed over, they destroyed one of the two species which helped restart our Universe. We don’t understand why they didn’t kill the other ancient race. They certainly aren’t compatible with each other, either.”

  “What happened to the survivors?” Karrin asked.

  “Unfortunately, we can’t find any trace of them,” Daisy replied. “We can’t discover their name, or where they’re located. So, if the cycle is starting again, there will be no reseeding of our Universe. We will be the last living lifeforms in our dimension.”

  Karrin sat silent, hugging her legs to her chest as she pondered what Daisy told her. How many habitable planets exist in the Universe? I know of, at least, four, and they’re teeming with life. How many people will be killed? She rubbed her aching forehead as she tried grasping the enormity of the situation.

  “If the Omars get transformed when they cross over from their dimension to ours, why don’t the Srells?” Karrin wondered.

  Excalibur shrugged. “We don’t know. The Omars came over to warn us of what the Srells planned. Pam and I went there to see for ourselves what was going on. They live in one crazy Universe. We wouldn’t have survived if not for our force fields and psychic abilities. Even those protections wouldn’t stop a Srell from killing us. Fortunately, they just ignored us. Avoided would be a better term. This led us to believe there was some type of matter – anti-matter physics going on, which might’ve resulted in a chain-reaction explosion that could’ve destroyed them.

  “We tried communicating with them, but they use beehive-type telepathy impossible to understand. From what we gathered during our observations and from the Omars, the Srellooks are energy beings who defy our laws of science. When they fed, they don’t absorb the life-force of their prey, like the Others. Instead, they totally destroy it. This makes them a very dangerous enemy.”

  Karrin shuddered at the thought. She didn’t believe in a Heaven or Hell, or a God that took care of his worshippers. However, she did believe in reincarnation. This meant everyone had a soul, an energy force which came back as a new life.

  What happens to my soul if it gets eaten by a Srellook? Does it mean I won’t be reincarnated? Karrin got to her feet and went over by Lurga to hold his hand. She was getting freaked out about being permanently dead and needed some reassurance.

  He grinned down at her and gently squeezed her hand.

  Taking a calming breath, Karrin asked, “What do they look like?”

  “We don’t know that, either.” Pam sat in a chair next to Karrin’s. “Since they’re energy beings, they assume numerous shapes and sizes. Some with arms and legs, others just weird ass shapes, which made no sense to us. Some of them fly, some walk, and others teleport. It was quite disconcerting, and I still have a pounding headache from being over there.” She rubb
ed her forehead as if to prove a point.