Defender (New World Book 7) (3 page)

Image after image flickered across his screen and before long Taz was intrigued. They needed vehicles with wheels for transportation. They would climb inside mouths of rolling beasts and accelerate and slow down. Some rode two wheel beasts, again called vehicles of sorts. There were many names for many modes of transportation humans used, all foreign to Taz. When Taz moved he needed no such device. His shield came up when he needed to move at a swift rate, jumping from tree to ground to tree.

Human’s sported odd articles of clothing. They needed mass weapons of destruction, which they eventually used on each other. The games they played made no sense to Taz; they hit balls, threw balls, kicked balls, and bounced balls. Earth was fascinated with balls. They played in snow, water, on ice, any season. They rode strange beasts called horses, donkeys, elephants and other four-legged creatures, and some not four legged. There were so many strange creatures: big, little, miniscule. Earth had insects. Everything was so different on this planet. Weapons, vehicles, food. There were no replicators.

They actually have to grow food?

That practice went out on his planet hundreds of years ago. Warriors didn’t have time to play in the dirt. Warriors—warred. What else was there? Humans were a primitive race. It would serve them right to be enslaved. Except, Taz struggled with the concept of human females being valuable and vulnerable. He gave his head a shake, annoyed after all these years that stupid thoughts popped into his head. Nothing would make Taz lose sight of the bigger picture. He would complete his mission. Not fuck it up. Once home where he belonged, he’d leave Krish. He wasn’t a dog, whatever the hell that was; perhaps he could find one and keep it in secret. Krish would be busy with the females. There was a vague recollection in his mind of a squirmy furry creature. Krish killed it in front of him after Taz played with it and developed affection for the beast.

Definitely can’t let Krish see anything I bring home.

Taz was both excited and wary when he glanced at the cage. Krish killed all the furry beasts he gave to Taz. Each death hurt his heart. There was a lesson Krish wanted Taz to learn and so Taz killed the last furry beast Krish brought home. He took the beast into his arms and didn’t ruffle its fur or croon to it. Taz looked Krish in the eye and wrung the creature’s neck, dropping it at his feet. His heart hurt the worst that day. Taz decided he wouldn’t try to love anything, ever. Love died, it could be crushed and if you loved you would be crushed. Even so, Taz never completely threw off that tiny feeling of remorse from whenever he killed something innocent.

Leaning back, Taz watched as the scene on the monitor changed. Krish was staring at him and scowling. Taz wondered if he remembered Krish ever smiling a real smile. Nothing came to mind except the sinister scowl Krish was prone to.

“We will lose communication soon,” Krish said. “Remember, don’t get caught and don’t fuck this up. I don’t want to draw attention to this planet and have to move in our mother vessels.”

The image flickered and Krish was gone.

I hope someone flies a spaceship up your ass.

* * * *

The valley below was set deep in the base of mountains. The shuttle hovered over a small clearing, the door opened a foot from the ground and Taz took his first step onto Earth. His shield was up. The ground beneath his feet crunched and indented. Sticks broke; small stones were crushed under his weight. His feet left indentations that didn’t disappear as he walked. He lifted a clawed foot to check if anything stuck to him.

“That feels nasty,” he mumbled. “How do humans walk on this shit?” With his finger he scraped off moss and flicked it away.

Taz set his tracker beam and maneuvered the shuttle into a cave out of sight. The cave was largish, and hidden from view from the overhang of the mountains. When he sniffed the interior he could scent no one had been inside the cave in hundreds of years. Taz glanced around. There was no light entering the cave but Taz saw everything. Overhead were tiny winged beings, a few were watching him. He scented a few were curious, nothing more and they slid back into slumber.

What the hell sleeps upside down?

Taz remained shielded as he strolled from the cave; the day was sunny and his armor absorbed the sun rays as he flexed his muscles and opened and closed his talon fingers. The black tattoos on his cheeks glowed, reflecting off his shining grey biceps. It felt good to be free and unconfined. Real sunlight was better for his shield, but the ground would take getting used to.

The sheer rock face he moved to went straight up. His feet and hands instinctively found indentations as he scaled the height in moments. Reaching the top and casting his gaze around, Taz took in the foliage.
How puny.
The trees were nothing like he was used to, everything was small and unimpressive. The ground was hard beneath his claws, not spongy. He went to touch the bark on the tree and grimaced inwardly. Too hard for his liking. A fast movement at his feet and Taz reached down with lightning speed. Between his palms he held a small furry creature with long ears and a puff of a tail. The creature was virtually weightless. A tiny nose twitched, it struggled, wildly flailing its back feet. The heartbeat thundered erratically. Taz sensed its overwhelming fear.

“Interesting.”

Taz wasn’t certain what it was, except it was female. He gazed at the creature until it went limp. Taz gave it a tiny shake. He placed it on the ground, it remained still. Squatting next to it Taz nudged its bottom with the flat of his palm.

“Come now little being. I didn’t hurt you. It’s not my mission to kill females, of any kind.”

Taz sniffed the air. The creature was dead. Taz realized he’d scared it to death. The spark of remorse fired for a split second before Taz quashed it. In the distance, another of the furry beings remained quiet and unmoving, watching him. Another female. Taz didn’t go near it. A flying creature soared overhead. Wings outstretched it circled. One of these creatures was pictured on the monitor in his ship. There were many types but categorized under one name.

A bird.

The bird was watching as well. It was large and Taz saw the claws, no doubt it was intent on eating the dead creature. Earth inhabitants moved in swiftly. Taz tried hard not to care, but in the end he picked up the furry little female and put it in the hollow of a log. He sealed the opening with a rock.

A short distance away, Taz spotted a male furry animal. The black-and-white creature was interesting and male, no worries of it dying of fright. Taz had no trouble cornering it, wondering if he could place it in the cage with other little furry creatures. The creature spun and a whiff of something noxious reached his nose for a second before his shield filtered the stench out. Taz waved his palm and talons in the air.

“Buddy, you have a serious health issue,” Taz said under his breath. “Poor little females, do you stink them into submission? I thought Tonans were cruel. Ew. Who knew Earth had such nasty specimens.”

About to move off, Taz heard voices.

“I swear, Emma. I’m sure I saw a shuttle go down over here somewhere,” came a male voice.

“So what. The government has mentioned they were ready to try and get some shuttles off the ground for test flights.”

A female’s voice.

Taz was certain. His heart rate increased with excitement. The first female he would set eyes on in over four hundred years without fur. Every ounce of him squirmed in anticipation. He was annoyed he had to remain hidden.

Come into view, little female.

“Maybe it crashed. Let’s have a look,” the male voice said.

“Fine, but then it’s time to go. I need to get home.”

The female sounded impatient and reluctant. Her voice was soft and compelling. Taz’s curiosity was too hard to ignore, he couldn’t keep still. Creeping as silently as possible, Taz parted the foliage before him. There was a young female and a male. The female was so little. The male was larger, but not by much. Taz felt his brow knit under his shield.

That male is tiny.

For a second, his heart pounded with distress instead of excitement. The Tonans he knew could annihilate such a small human male. He heard Krish’s sneering tone in his head telling him it would be fun to bash the male human’s brains in and play with the female.

“I’m curious,” the male said.

The female gave him a playful nudge. Taz was surprised when she almost knocked the male over.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” she replied in a saucy tone.

The male chuckled and they continued walking, the male was holding her hand and parting the vegetation for her. Taz wondered what it would be like to hold another’s hand. Taz let the foliage slip back into place, his curiosity was satisfied. He couldn’t engage and they were strolling from his view. The humans would never make it to the cave, the shuttle was safe. He was there to observe not interfere. He needn’t hurt the male and obstruct their path.

As he turned to leave, he heard the female scream. Taz parted the foliage again to see the male trying to shove the female up a tree. His hand was on her ass and she kept slipping. She clawed at the bark with her fingers and Taz could smell blood. Taz was confused until he heard a thundering as foliage smashed apart and he noted a huge beast. A massive furred, four legged creature was charging the pair. The creature had huge antlers.

A bull moose.

There were no such animals on his planet. The cage on board his vessel was too small to hold such a creature. Taz wanted to see the creature closer. The humans’ actions were strange to him. He could smell the terror the humans emitted, they reeked of the stench. They were trying to get away from the beast, obviously they couldn’t outrun it. They didn’t stand ready for battle. The female had water dripping from her eyes.
Females leak?
An oddity. For a second, Taz hesitated. If he showed himself, he would have to kill the humans. The female he could possibly spare and hide her in the shuttle. He had no use for the male, but he wasn’t to interfere.

“Run, Emma,” the male screamed.

Taz almost chuckled, hearing a male scream. It was laughable, but no shield went up on the male. He had been told humans didn’t have shields. At least that part wasn’t a lie. The moose was almost on them. The female screamed and collapsed. The puny male couldn’t lift her into his arms and scale the tree. She looked lifeless.

Damn. Do all females on this planet die of fright?

The humans would be dropping like stones in a pond on his planet. He had been on the planet less than ten Earth minutes and he was about to witness the death of more beings. Taz raced forward, he didn’t enjoy death as a sport and Krish wasn’t there to stop his actions. He grabbed the male from behind and threw him. He never saw him, Taz would spare him—as long as the fall didn’t kill him on his way down, Taz didn’t realize how weightless a human male was. The little being went sailing.

Legs braced, arm straight, one hand out, his palm flat and the moose ran right into him.
Bam.
The moose grunted, its front legs buckled. Taz gripped the antlers on either side and hauled the beast’s face to his eye level.

“Cool.”

The creature was a real beauty. Stunned from its sudden stop the beast shook its head. Taz released him. The moose stumbled away. Taz looked at the female at his feet. He crouched to study her. She sported the same blond hair as him but the length was much longer and suited her fair complexion. Her throat was so delicate. His shield absorbed into his wrist around his hand and Taz placed his palm on her chest. Her heart was beating. She was small and younger than he thought, perhaps eighteen. A child. He was actually touching a child. Taz had never seen a child; there were no other children as he was growing up. She was mesmerizing.

Cute.

There were small abrasions on her hands and face. Tiny speckles of blood dotted her throat where the tree branches had caught her. She looked fragile and lifeless. Taz lifted her under her arms and stood.

Fuck me, she’s weightless.

He couldn’t keep a child locked away until his mission was over. He knew what it was like to be caged, young and vulnerable. As he stood there wondering what to do he pulled her closer against his shield.

“Shit. What the hell?”

Taz’s shield dropped then closed around the female. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, her arms pressed tight to his bare chest. He heard the distinct hum within his shield of an action he knew well. His shield began to heal
her
. Taz was astounded. She was inside, chest to chest. He’d never had a female touch his skin this way. Her cheek pressed against him, the droplets from her eyes absorbed into his skin, which caused the shield to emit a calming secretion from his own skin. The talons on his hands scratched at his shield, trying to open it.

I’ve been invaded. My shield has turned traitor. What the fuck, what the fuck?

She wouldn’t come out. He heard the female whimper and his shield adjusted to calm her further as though the action was familiar while Taz knew his mouth was gaping. A system check was run on her next as though it was a natural thing. The girl was molded to his body as though she were part of him. It was unnerving. Her sweat seeped into his skin as he claimed her. It was almost…almost…
paternal.

Holy hell where did that thought come from?

The shield reconfigured its check to go in-depth. Taz wondered if there was a problem he hadn’t seen. The shield centered on a certain area. In his thoughts he knew the female was fine. Whatever she needed the shield provided. It took mere moments, but Taz was frazzled with his emotions. His shield released her, dropped and then closed around Taz. Taz almost threw her limp form to the ground. He thought his hair must be standing on end.

Shit.

The female child in his arms was fine. There were no abrasions, no bruising, not a scratch. Taz lay her down at the base of the tree. His thoughts were racing. He never knew he could heal someone else. Then again this was the first child he had seen, and a female child at that. The vulnerability on her face held his gaze. She would be a grown female in a few years. Krish would want her. Taz couldn’t confine a child he healed. There was no way he’d allow Krish to get his hands on her.