Alien Savior (Zerconian Warriors Book 5) (10 page)

By some miracle they actually found their way down to the cargo bay of the ship without encountering any more Coizils.

“Wait here,” Rye ordered. “Steele, Mitch, watch our backs. Deacon, Nolan, and Willa, stay with Darac. Zuma, you’re with me.”

Nolan took Darac’s pulse.

“How is he?” she asked, even though she could see for herself he wasn’t doing well. His breathing was shallow, his eyes glassy and unfocussed.

“I am fine,” Darac stated in a low voice. He opened his eyes, staring at her. “Everything will be fine, Willa.”

“Course it will. Never doubted it. Not for a second.”

“You are a terrible liar.” His lips twitched.

“What are you doing? Are you in pain? Are you having a spasm?” she asked alarmed.

Nolan placed his hand on her arm. “I think he’s trying to smile.”

“Smile? Oh my God, you’re trying to smile? You never smile.”

“I am trying to be reassuring,” he told her.

“Well, don’t. It’s freaking me out. So just stop it. Go back to your normal snarling, angry self, all right?”

“All right.” He closed his eyes once more.

“We’ve got trouble.” Rye strode towards them, his face impassive.

Of course they did. She’d faint in shock if anything ever went their way for once.

***

Darac lay slumped against something hard. Where was he? The sounds of battle forced his eyes open in alarm. What was happening? Why did he feel so weak? So sore?

When his vision cleared, he saw someone standing over him. He stiffened, ready to defend himself.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” the person muttered. Female? Who?

The female glanced down at him, worry in her bright green eyes and it flooded back. Willa. Coizils. He’d been tortured. She crouched down in front of him. The ship rocked, creaking.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Where are we?” He avoided the question. He was pretty certain he was dying. He needed a regen chamber. Now.

“Hidden behind some crates in the cargo bay of the Coizil ship. We’re trying to get to our ship.” From the lines of worry on her forehead and the tense way she held herself, he could tell things weren’t going well.

He noticed the blaster she held in her hand. This wasn’t right. He should be the one defending her.

There was movement beside him. He turned his head, fighting not to vomit. The healer. Stars, he should have spotted him straight away.

Suddenly there was a scream of pain. The healer stood then took off at a run. “Mitch!”

“Shit. Nolan! Nolan!” Willa stared after the healer then turned to look at him, clearly torn. “Damn it. He doesn’t have a blaster.”

She turned back to peer over the crates he was leaning against. Movement in front of him caught his eye. A Coizil warrior appeared, a snarl on his ugly face.

“Willa!” He attempted to reach for her, cover her. But he couldn’t move his arms, he was too weak.

But Willa must have heard him, she quickly turned, firing just as the Coizil warrior leaped forward. He fell to the ground with a thud.

“Not good. Not good.” She moved in front of him, crouching.

“Willa, leave me.” She needed to find her brothers. Let them protect her.

“No.” She didn’t bother to turn back to him. “Be quiet.”

“I am dying. Find your brothers.”

“Did I not tell you to shut up?”

“Leave me.” He injected as much command as he could muster into his voice.

She spun, giving him a fierce glare. “Either shut up or I’ll gag you. Right now, I’m in charge. Like it or lump it.”

Lump it?

He didn’t have time to ponder the meaning of her words as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Someone was sneaking towards them. If not for his training, he might not have spotted them. There were at least two. No, three.

They were surrounded. There was no hope left. Not for him, but perhaps she could still survive.

“Willa—”

“I am not a coward, Darac. You might have changed your mind about mating me, but that doesn’t mean I’m prepared to leave you here to die.”

Changed his mind? Why would she think that?

The kiss. She thought he was rejecting her. Pain stabbed at him. He had hurt her.

“Hang on, it’s gonna be a wild ride.”

A head appeared above a crate and the tight knot of fear in his stomach unravelled.

“Don’t fire,” he yelled.

Willa gave the hot drink the small brunette offered her a suspicious glance and shook her head. The other woman’s smile didn’t slip as she placed it on a small side table. They both stood in a room on the Zerconians ship. It was sparsely furnished, just a half-circular sofa in the middle of the room, a side table and a large vid screen on one wall.

Even though she wanted to demand this woman take her to her crew, to Darac, these were the good guys. Supposedly. So she’d play along nicely for a while and see where it took her.

The last few hours had been a blur. From the moment she’d realized those weren’t Coizils creeping toward them but Zerconian warriors here to save them, until she’d been bundled into this room on board the Zerconian ship, against her protests, to wait.

Wait. Wait for what? For Darac to die? Screw that.

“It’s hot chocolate,” the other woman explained, tucking her brown hair behind her ear. Willa became all too aware of her short hair. “Made with real chocolate. Our exalted Crown Princess is pregnant and craving chocolate in the worst possible way. We’ve just been to a meeting on Mercuria. I saw some chocolate at one of the markets and bought some for her. Cost a fortune. We were on our way back to Zerconia when we heard Darac’s SOS.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, I’m talking too much. I do that when I’m nervous.” She glanced over at the door. “Darac’s in a bad way, isn’t he? Koran wouldn’t tell me much. But that’s a bad sign in itself, because if Darac was going to be fine, then Koran would have said he would be fine, right?”

Willa gaped at the other woman, completely lost. Was she supposed to understand what she’d just said?

“Who are you?” Willa asked.

“I’m Mila. I’m rambling again. I’m Koran’s mate. He’s the big grumpy guy handing out commands.” The other female paced.

“No offense but that description could fit any of them.” Big, grumpy, and bossy seemed to be common Zerconian male characteristics.

She might have met Koran, but she didn’t know. All she really cared about was getting Darac some help, and checking on her crew.

“I need to see my crew.” Willa stood.

“What? No, stay with me. Please.” Mila smiled but Willa could see the firmness in her gaze. She wasn’t fooling her.

“Am I a prisoner?” Willa asked. They were a similar size, but Willa knew she could take her. Willa had grown up scrapping and fighting for everything she wanted. Mila had a softness about her. A femininity Willa could never hope to have. Nor did she want it. She was who she was. Which was fine with her.

Even if it wasn’t enough for Darac.

“Of course not.”

“Then I want to see my crew. The other men you brought in here. One of them was injured, I want to see how he is.” Mitch had taken a shot to the shoulder. There had been plenty of times where she’d dreamed of shooting him herself, but as an excuse it worked well.

“Oh, I can find that out for you right now.”

“Mila, why don’t you want me to leave this room?” Willa made her voice low, demanding. Mila seemed genuine but appearances could be deceiving. Willa didn’t trust easily and she wasn’t taking anything at face value.

Mila smiled. “Sorry. I’m under orders to keep you here for a while longer. You would be doing me a huge favor if you could sit down and wait. My mate should be here soon with an update. I promise that the hot chocolate is really good. You wouldn’t want it to go cold, would you? Zoey would have my head if I gave her away some of her chocolate and it wasn’t even appreciated.”

“You’re good. But not that good.”

Mila widened her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“At manipulating people. But I’ve lived with some of the most manipulative bitches in the universe.”

“I wasn’t trying to manipulate you, Willa,” Mila told her gently.

“No? So who is this Zoey? Is she gonna come in and do bad cop to your good cop?”

“No, she’s not. Thank goodness. Zoey is the Crown Princess of Zerconia. She’s from Earth, like you and me.”

“I’m from Joyadan.” She stiffened, knowing what others often thought of her people. That they were criminals, without morals.

But Mila’s pleasant expression didn’t change. “You are? Wow, I’ve never met someone from Joyadan.”

Willa sighed impatiently. “Now you have. My crew?”

“I’ve heard it’s very rough there.” Sympathy filled Mila’s gaze. Willa had had enough.

“Listen, Mila. I’m sure you’re a really nice person, and if I have to hit you then I’ll probably feel bad. But don’t think that I won’t hurt you to get out of here.”

Mila’s communicator beeped and she held up her hand, the look in her eyes wary. “Just let me get that. It might be Koran.”

She glanced down at her communicator then winced. “I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not.” She pressed a button and a holographic image appeared in the corner of the room. The image was so clear it was as though the hugely pregnant woman sitting on a plush sofa was actually in the room with them. Over her lap sprawled a furry rug. Wait, it moved, was that an animal of some kind?

“Mila! There you are. What’s going on? How is Darac? Has he gone completely mad?”

Mila winced. “Zoey, now isn’t a good time.”

The woman tried to shift around, grunting with effort. God, she looked terrible. Hot and uncomfortable.

“She’s not going to go into labor is she?” Willa asked, alarmed. She’d been around heavily-pregnant women. It wasn’t always a pleasant experience.

The woman turned to look at her. “Not yet, I’ve got another four weeks to go.”

She looked huge. But Willa knew better than to say anything.

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

“Zoey, this is Willa. She was rescued from the Coizil warship with Darac. Willa, this is Crown Princess Zoelle.”

“Your Highness.” Willa nodded at her, uncomfortable. She’d never met actual royalty before. The furry creature on her lap stirred and rolled over then let out a loud snore.

“What is that?”

“His name’s Giz. He’s a lanana. Call me Zoey. Royal titles remind me of my mother-in-law. When the old bat drops dead, there is no way I’m going to be known as Empress Zoey. So will someone tell me how Darac is? Are they going to have to kill him?”

“They’re going to kill him? I thought you were here to rescue us.” Darac had warned her they would kill him if they thought him a threat, but she hadn’t really believed him. Willa strode towards the door, intending to find Darac. And she would take out anyone who stood in her way.

“Willa, wait! No one is harming him.”

Mila grabbed her arm.

“Then where is he?”

“In a regen chamber. He was badly injured.”

“Who hurt him?” Zoey asked.

Willa turned to find the other woman watching them intently, her face filled with fury. “Mila?”

“The Coizils tortured him,” Willa explained. “He told us to tell them that we had captured him and were bringing him to them, like a gift. He tried to save us. They were killing him slowly and he was trying to bide us time until we could be rescued.”

“Sounds like he’s not too far gone, then,” Zoey said. “We all thought he was dead.”

Mila nodded. “It was a shock to get his message. The last we heard from him, he was going to kill himself.”

“And that was all right with you? You both sound so accepting, like you’re talking about someone losing their socks. He was going to take his life.” How could they be so uncaring?

Mila sighed. “We don’t like it any more than you. I begged him not to. But he told us he was too far gone.”

“But he’s fine now. Well, not fine. But better.”

“Really? How interesting.” Zoey watched her closely. “Is he better around you by any chance?”

Willa scowled.

“Are you his mate, Willa?” Mila asked in a quiet voice.

Willa hated the hope in her gaze and voice.

“He said I was. But he’s changed his mind. He doesn’t want me.” Crap. She hadn’t meant to say anything and now she sounded pathetic. Wonderful.

“He can’t change his mind,” Mila told her. “If he is your mate—”

“Are you going to take me to where my crew is or what?” she interrupted the other woman.

“What do you do?” Mila asked.

“We’re mercenaries. We’re for sale to the highest bidder.” She held her chin up. She refused to be ashamed of who she was.

“Really?” Zoey asked. “Wow, that’s awesome. I always thought mercenaries would look more dangerous. You know, with facial hair and scars. You look normal.”

“Uh, right.” These women confused her. They weren’t at all what she was used to.

“You know. I might have a job for you. How much would it cost you to get me some chocolate?”

“That’s not really the sort of job we take.”

“Why not?” Zoey asked, patting the furry head of the little animal half-lying on her lap. “I’m willing to pay.”

“Actually, we bought you some chocolate. We managed to find some on Mercuria,” Mila announced.

“Really?” The Crown Princess perked up.

“Yep. I made Willa a hot drink with some. See?” Mila held up the cup so she could see it.

Zoey scowled. “You’re giving it away? Worst of all, you’re turning it into a drink. Sacrilege!”

“Oh, stop being such a drama queen.”

“I’m allowed! I am the queen.”

“Not yet. Not until the old bat dies.”

Zoey snorted, not a sound Willa had ever expected to hear from a princess. “As if. That cow will live forever just to annoy the hell out of me.”

Willa snuck backwards while they argued good-naturedly. She didn’t understand the two of them. How could they argue over chocolate when Darac could be dying?

Forcing her fatigue back, she moved down the corridor. There was a yell behind her, then a man raced past. She expected him to stop her, ask her what she was doing, but he ignored her.

She followed, moving quicker, a sense of urgency driving her. A loud roar filled the passage and made her falter, hand on her chest. That noise had been filled with such rage, it sounded almost inhuman.

It couldn’t be, could it?

Someone else raced past her, their face tense.

She moved faster, ignoring the burning pain in her legs, the ways her lungs labored, reminding her that it had been a long time since she’d last eaten. As she moved around the corner she saw the warrior who had just passed her pass through a doorway.

Following, she found a group of warriors standing in a semi-circle. Unable to see what they were looking at, she pushed forward. Another rage-filled scream filled the room, actually vibrating the floor beneath her. She pushed at the man in front of her, slipping past when he turned with a scowl.

“What are you doing?”

“Who are you?”

She ignored the questions fired at her, using their surprise to keep sneaking past until she stood at the front of the crowd.

Oh shit.

Kill.

He clenched his hands into fists.

Kill
.

He turned. Studying the enemy.

Kill
.

“Darac!”

The voice cut through his rage where no other noise had infiltrated.

“Kill!” he yelled.

“No!” the voice ordered.

Who was that? A female. That made him pause. She smelled…interesting.

“You are not going to kill. You are going to chill out and act like a normal person instead of a psycho killer, got it?”

There was silence. He moved, searching for the voice. There. The small female. She stood between two large warriors. One of them reached out and clasped hold of her arm.

He saw red. Storming forward, he swung his fist out, slamming it into the male’s face with a satisfying crunch. Someone grabbed him from behind, holding his arms. He slammed his head back, catching their nose. They grunted but didn’t let go. Breathing heavily, he let his legs go limp, forcing the person holding him to let go or fall.

He let go.

Darac turned, regaining his balance.
Kill. Kill.

“Stop it! Stop it all of you!” the female cried out.
Protect. He had to protect
.

Bodies piled on top of him. Too many to fight off. They suffocated him. He could scarcely breathe.

No. Female. Protect
.

“Get off him, you idiots!” Willa screamed at the pile of warriors covering Darac. She couldn’t see him. Could he even breathe?

“You should not be here, female. Where is Mila?” A warrior stepped towards her, a frown on his face.

“They’re suffocating him.”

“He is a danger to himself and those around him.” A hint of sadness entered the male’s gaze.

“He wasn’t before you lot got your hands on him. What did you do to him?”

“Willa! There you are.” Willa turned to see Mila run towards her, breathless. “Koran, what’s going on?”