Lord of Capra (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Just as Drake
suggested, Nemesis placed them on the road about fifty yards from the forest.
Seconds after their arrival, a deathly quiet permeated the area as the forest
birds quieted their raucous morning calls. The insects ceased chirping and
buzzing soon after the birds fell silent. Only the soft sound of swishing tree
limbs and fluttering leaves carried by a gentle breeze reached Drake’s
sensitive ears. He wondered if some of the bird sounds that had suddenly stopped
had been generated by the warriors.

Drake gripped his
sword and withdrew it from the sheath strapped to his back. He didn’t want to
activate his power swords until it was time to fight. He just wanted to look
the part of a warrior readying for battle.

Beside him Evana
stood poised to fight. She’d gathered her hair into a tight thick braid that
fell down her back. The ends almost reached her waist. Her hands rested lightly
on two power sword hilts strapped to her belt. She gave him an appeasing smile,
knowing full well he disapproved of her outfit. Dressed in the traditional garb
of Capra, he believed she was the sexiest pregnant woman in the world and the
most scantily clad. They took deep breaths, testing the breeze.

“We’ve got company,”
he whispered.

“Yes.” As planned,
she turned around to face them. “Two warriors approach. One leads, no sword
drawn. The other follows with his sword in hand.” She nodded once, silently
acknowledging them across the distance.

“I’d say that’s a
fairly neutral approach, considering I’ve drawn mine.” Drake chanced a quick
look, turned halfway to face them and thought it best to re-sheath his sword.

The warriors didn’t
break their stride as they continued to approach. Studying them, Drake suddenly
felt as if he were just one of several subjects in a Boris Vallejo fantasy art
panorama.

The two males were
both swarthy, the second one lighter than the other. And they were as big, if
not bigger than he, and were just as heavily muscled. He didn’t see any obvious
battle scars or wounds on their exposed skin, but they each had similar tattoos
on the upper right side of their chests, circular with a central design,
different patterns. Both were clean shaven and had their long dark hair pulled
back, bound by leather straps. Since all they wore were loincloths and boots,
it wasn’t difficult to judge how strong they might be or imagine how successful
they could be in a fight.

The leading warrior
stopped a few yards from their position and his gold-colored eyes scrutinized
them suspiciously. Drake noted he was just out of sword reach.

Drake took a chance
and glanced toward the city, then back at the warrior before speaking. “We’ve
come to fight our enemies within your city. Will you join us?” He hoped he’d
not made it sound like a challenge.

The male blinked
and then stared hard at Evana before returning his now openly curious gaze back
to Drake.

“We’re prepared to
fight when they emerge,” the warrior replied in a deep rumbling voice as he
fixed his gaze toward the city. “How do we fight this plague?”

Drake exchanged
looks with Evana and gave a stiff nod.

“We destroy all the
creatures by depriving them of their heads.” His lovely mate told them exactly
how to fight them.

They gaped at her
in astonishment.

“It’s the only way
to destroy them,” Drake explained, drawing their attention away from her. He
decided it was time for introductions. “My name is Drake. And this is my
consort, Evana.”

“I’m Jarrok. My
partner, Attor,” the lead warrior offered.

Attor moved to
stand beside Jarrok. His pale-eyed gaze fixed on Evana and he drew in a
scenting breath. “You’ll allow your mate to fight, in her bred condition?”

He blurted the
question in such a tone of pure innocent curiosity that neither Drake nor Evana
took offense. In fact, he seemed genuinely concerned about her safety.

Jarrok elbowed him
hard, eliciting a loud grunt from the outspoken male. “Pay no attention to this
youngling. My partner has been bladed for two years, but his mouth is still
untrained.”

The younger warrior
directed a scowl at his partner and made a few quick motions with one hand.
Jarrok responded with a few choice gestures while glaring back at him. Attor
turned his face away, trying to hide a slight smile.

“She’s determined
to fight,” Drake explained.
Just try to stop her
, he fumed silently. “And
she’s the only warrior here who can defeat the ‘one’ inside the city who
inflicted this plague on your people.”

Both warriors
snorted. Their disagreement was obvious. Evana laughed out loud at their
reaction. They blinked before exchanging dubious looks.

Jarrok said, “We
have some knowledge of the one you speak of. He’s infected our people and has
turned some of the soldiers into his servants. They guard the gates and walls
of the city and don’t let anyone escape.”

Bewildered, Evana
shook her head. “This one is unusual.”

“Looks like we’re
fixing to find out,” Drake warned as he turned to face the city. The gate was
opening. “Jarrok, I hope your warriors have their swords sharp.”

Drake heard an
eerie sound, not unlike knives being withdraw from tight metal sheaths, and he
turned back to see Jarrok and Attor brandishing two forearm blades each. The
solid bone-white blades looked wickedly sharp, and had obviously sprung from
the outer edge of their forearms. Each one was narrower at the wrist and they
flared wider as they reached closer to their elbows.

With raised brows,
Drake grinned. “Those will work. Just don’t let the creatures bite you.”

For the first time
since they’d met, Jarrok smiled. The warrior turned to face the forest and
raised a bladed arm, making a decisive downward gesture. A wall of Tauran
soldiers mixed with warriors emerged from the tree line and charged forward.

The soldiers were
armed with swords and blasters while the warriors carried swords and brandished
the same arm blades as Jarrok and Attor. As they drew near, Jarrok gestured to
each of the closest warriors to him on each side of the road. Drake didn’t
understand the message, but he knew they communicated in some form of sign
language that seemed different from the one he used with Attor. It was
definitely more formal. The message traveled down each line like a
well-executed wave traveled through a crowd of spectators at a football game.
It was damn near brilliant.

Jarrok turned back
to face him and shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve told them the method to use.”

Drake nodded and
took another look toward the gate. The creatures rushed out of the city in a
massive swarm. Some of them darted ahead of their comrades, overcome by their
own hunger and the smell of blood that lured them to their destruction. They
quickly melted back into the creeping multitude as fear and uncertainty made
them more cautious.

“It’s time, my
love.” Evana stepped closer to him.

He bent slightly,
and with no thought to his present company, kissed her hard before reluctantly
moving away. Since he didn’t trust himself to speak or linger around any
longer, he headed to the right, leaving the roadway behind him.

He heard her
footsteps traveling in the opposite direction. A moment later, another set of
footsteps, heavier, followed her. Drake glanced over his shoulder. Jarrok had
taken up a stance in the middle of the road. Attor trudged along after Evana.

*

Evana picked a spot
up ahead where she decided to take her stand. It placed her slightly forward of
Jarrok’s position on the road, still ahead of the line of warriors and Taurans.
She heard footsteps following her and twirled about. Attor skittered to a stop
and dropped his head, looking down to avoid her gaze.

“Why do you follow
me?” she asked in as stern a tone as she could muster without growling. It was
difficult since Attor appeared uncertain of how to act in her presence.

Evana appraised him
swiftly. His sheer size would be intimidating if she wasn’t already used to her
own consort’s immense body and towering height. What Evana thought was most odd
about Attor was his eyes. She’d never seen such an unusual eye color. They were
a light shade, not exactly light brown, but more a tan color.

“I was ordered to
watch over you,” he grumbled, keeping his voice low.

Evana guessed he
didn’t want the approaching line of Taurans to overhear him. She suspected
watching over a female during a battle wasn’t the most challenging or noblest
of duties a warrior might want to perform. Add to that the fact she was a total
stranger and unproven in battle to all of them, she understood his reluctance.

She willed her
expression to stay firm, and ordered, “Then walk beside me.”

As soon as he drew
even with her, she turned about and took off once again, setting a brisk pace
in order to reach her chosen position. The young warrior matched her stride.
She was surprised to discover she found him quite endearing, in a cute puppy
sort of way.

“How old are you
Attor?” Evan couldn’t help asking. She placed him at about twenty-one or twenty-two
years old.

“It’s been nineteen
years since my birth.” He spoke a little louder this time, sounding surer of
himself.

Nineteen?
Evana was stunned
.
Goddess. Almost a child.
He certainly didn’t look like a nineteen year old
male to her.

“Well, you seem very,
um…” She cleared her throat and tried again, hoping to avoid insulting him. “You’re
very mature for such a young age.”

“Of course!” He
sounded enthusiastic. “We’re mature at sixteen years of age and then we’re
fully trained—in all ways.”

Evana shot a quick
glance at his face. The huge warrior grinned from ear to ear. Somehow, she
feared she’d done or said something to encourage him.
Sweet goddess.
She
had to destroy an abomination while babysitting a hulking teenage warrior who
was determined to watch over her.

She regained her
composure and turned her attention to the approaching enemy. The mass of
creatures milled about in a confused manner, but as a whole they came closer
and closer with each passing minute.

Once in position,
Evana stopped and took her stance. She scowled at Attor and was happy to see
his grin shrink to a timid smile. However, he stood too close for her comfort.
She needed more space in order to fight effectively.

She grabbed her
sword hilts, and ordered. “Attor, move your oversized body a couple lengths to
the side.”

His protest died as
she energized the weapons. At the sight of the black blade and the shorter
black dagger springing to life from the hilts, he snarled a curse. He backed
off, giving her plenty of room, but his expression told her he was still
determined to obey his orders.

She looked beyond
him, searching for Drake. She spied her mate. He was also watching their enemy
and was ready, power swords activated, both configured to long blades, his
fighting preference. He looked her way. Their gazes locked, and his blue eyes
glowed softly.

Suddenly, Attor’s
face blocked her view as he leaned over, his look curious. “Why do your eyes
shine?”

The better to see
you with, you big baby.
She wanted to yell at him. Instead, she said, “It’s
our way.” It was her go to brush-off excuse for these situations. His resulting
frown pricked her conscience just a little. She relented a bit, and warned, “Watch
out for their fangs. They can’t infect you, but the venom is painful and will
make your blood flow freely.”

He blinked once,
then nodded before facing the creatures.

Evana allowed
herself some time to study his form in profile. In her opinion, he looked like
an overgrown, hyper-developed young adult male. At the moment, his expression
revealed a look of strong determination to fight and overcome any obstacle that
got in his way. His body seemed poised, not stiff with anxiety nor restless
with nervous energy, just confident and ready for battle. A quick look behind
her revealed the other warriors bore the same readiness as young Attor. The
Tauran soldiers managed to copy their warrior brothers to a lesser degree.
Defeat didn’t seem to be an option for any of them.

Good.

All the creatures
are in the open. The abomination remains within the city walls. I will monitor
you at all times, pilot.

Understood, Nem,
Evana thought
back. She erased all thoughts and concerns from her mind to concentrate on the
task at hand. She held off her transformation to conserve energy she’d need to
fight the abomination and focused on the first unfortunate creature that
approached.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

In the seconds
before battle, the only sounds heard in the open grassland were hesitant
whimpers mixed with hungry growls coming from the approaching army of
creatures. With single-minded purpose, they advanced on the defending line,
which remained poised to strike, waiting on a signal.

Evana sensed
movement from Jarrok and leaped forward to attack. With her enhanced speed, she
beheaded it neatly and took care of two more before Attor or the line of
defenders behind her could move. She caught Attor’s surprised look as the first
creatures dissolved into clouds of dust after losing their heads. Afterward,
the Taurans joined the fight alongside her with unrestrained enthusiasm. Their
shouts of encouragement to their fellow comrades rose above the din of screams
and screeches coming from the annihilated enemy.

Evana tore into the
mass, slicing through necks with deft precision, making short work of the
nearest ones. While half of her mind focused on destroying the enemy, the other
half contemplated the eventual duel she must fight against the abomination.

Would he expose
himself after the creatures were destroyed as the others of his kind invariably
did in her past battles, or would he come for her in the midst of the fight? A
clever one would strike early, hoping to kill her amidst the distraction. The
suspicion that her enemy was gaining some form of intelligence kept creeping
into her mind. She had to stay aware of her surroundings and depend on Nemesis
to warn her of any danger. The idea that a shrewd abomination might attack her
mate first sent a chilling fear through her heart. Evana relayed her concerns
to the ghost ship.

Pilot, remain
focused. I am tracking the abomination. It is within the city, and the
creatures are dwindling in number very quickly. Drake is fighting close to
Jarrok at this moment. You have the forward position. The enemy is divided into
two distinct masses. One is focused on you while the other is attracted to
Drake’s position. I believe the abomination should come for you first since you
are closer and your blood more appealing.

Evana was grateful
for the update. The sea of opponents in front of her had definitely been
reduced in numbers. She slipped through an opening between creatures and pushed
forward, swords swinging, until she broke through the crush of them. She turned
her back to the city gate as she braced to continue the fight.

Smelling their prey
behind them, most of the dimwitted creatures spun to face her, exposing their
backs to the Taurans. Evana couldn’t keep a smile of victory at bay. Attor
sliced his way to her with impressive ease. The warriors and Tauran soldiers
overran the remaining creatures, slaughtering them. As the last yellow-fanged,
red-eyed, putrid-smelling dead body turned to dust, she whipped about to face
the gate, anxious for her enemy to appear.

The abomination is
at the gate.

The pale-skinned
vampire stalked out. His red eyes focused on her with undisguised hunger. Long,
white fangs glistened in the sunlight. He was taller than most Taurans, and his
body looked powerful even from a distance. Evana suspected the abomination
would be unarmed, fangs and claws his only weapons. Since he didn’t openly
brandish a weapon, she hoped he stayed true to form.

Evana allowed her
transformation to come forth. Attor’s surprised gasp was just one of many she
heard behind her. There were several curses muttered as her body completed its
change.

Still keeping a
wary eye on her enemy, Evana gasped in surprise when a group of two dozen or
more glaze-eyed Tauran soldiers rushed out of the city gates. Without pause,
they charged across the field toward her, armed with swords and blasters. This
was new. She sent the thought to Nemesis.

They have a trace
of the elixir in their systems along with pilot’s blood. They will eventually
become creatures like the others.

She shot a
determined glance at Attor, and commanded, “Kill the soldiers in the same
manner as you destroyed the creatures. Let no one interfere with me in the
fight with the one!”

The young warrior
blinked twice and tilted his head. He appeared stunned, but to his credit, he
faced the males behind them and made several quick hand gestures.

Without hesitation,
Evana faced the approaching abomination. She paid no heed to the infected
soldiers. All her attention was trained on her foe. He strode confidently
behind the wall of his creations, his gaze riveted on her.

A movement to her
far right caught his attention. Evana growled a silent curse. She knew it had
to be Drake. If her mate came any closer, he’d put himself in danger by drawing
the vampire away from her. She couldn’t wait any longer.

“Charge them!” She
shouted the order, hoping her voice carried the authority to command.

Attor sprang forward
followed by the rest of the warriors and Taurans, drawing the abomination’s
interest away from Drake and back to her. Not satisfied, Evana ripped open a
deep gash in her forearm with her fangs.

The sight and smell
of her blood locked her enemy’s attention to her. With a snarl of pure blood
lust, he rushed toward her, leaving the protection of his wall of mindless
bodyguards. Evana bolted toward him, black blades ready to strike.

The abomination was
a split second faster than Evana’s first swing. The power blade sliced through
thin air as he narrowly avoided the sharp edge. Intent on tracking his
movements, she twirled about to face him again.

His ravenous gaze
fastened on her arm and he snarled. “My pets will feast on your carcass.”

To her shock, he whipped
out a blaster, aimed and fired at her. She avoided the full brunt of the blast,
just barely, by diving toward him. She hit the ground and rolled as she kicked
out and hit his legs, shin level, dropping him. Stunned by the blast, Evana
jumped shakily to her feet still gripping both her weapons. The abomination had
scrambled to stand and retreated several yards away.

Once again, he
raised his blaster, preparing to fire. The weapon pointed away from her. At the
outer edge of her field of vision, she saw Drake in full vampire form, charging
toward the abomination.

Oh, goddess, no.

In that instant,
Evana called on all her power to cross the distance. She appeared beside her
enemy, sword raised, and sliced through his wrist, disarming him before he
pulled the trigger. He howled in pain and backhanded her across the chest with
the stump of his forearm, sending her flying backward. She crashed into a
gathering crowd of Taurans. She barely avoided slicing them with her sword.
Instantly recovering, she tracked her enemy’s movements.

The abomination had
fled across the battlefield, a great distance away from the crowd. He stood
alone and clutched the stump of his severed arm. He sneered back at her.

“Pilot bitch!” he
howled, drawing his lips up in a grimace, baring his fangs.

It was the usual
insult. Unimpressed, Evana gathered her remaining strength to follow while
ignoring her mate’s shouts of protest. She didn’t take the time to call her
ship and have him removed as she sprinted toward the abomination. Her determination
was focused on beheading her weaponless opponent. Nothing else mattered.

She was so fixated
on her target she didn’t see the young warrior run up behind her enemy until it
was too late to shout a warning. The abomination sensed his approach before the
warrior’s sword could slice through his neck.

He sidestepped to
avoid the attack and grabbed Attor from behind, sinking the long claws of his
remaining hand deep into the warrior’s neck. By twisting his body, Attor was
able to swing one of his forearm blades into the vampire’s chest, leaving a
deep gash.

Her enemy howled in
pain, but he didn’t release his captive. The powerful grip on the warrior’s
neck tightened. The sound of vertebrae cracking under his hand was clearly
audible to Evana right before the abomination slung Attor’s limp body to the
ground.

She struggled to
stay silent as she streaked toward them. She had to clench her jaws shut in
order to keep from shouting a threat as the vampire leaned over to rake his
claws across the warrior’s exposed chest, leaving behind four deep lacerations.
Evana closed in. Bent over and focused on his victim, her enemy was perfectly
positioned. Her sword sliced through the abomination’s neck, beheading him in
one powerful stroke. His body disintegrated into a small pile of black dust,
which the breeze swept away with one puff.

Evana let go of her
vampire form and collapsed to her knees beside the downed warrior. His muffled
groan of pain assured her he still lived. A large pool of blood stained the
ground. She grimaced at the sight of the cruel wounds that sliced deep down his
chest, exposing ribs and sternum before she examined the wounds in his neck.
She probed the five puncture wounds. Three were deep but not fatal. Two were
deeper, puncturing his jugular. Every heartbeat pushed sluggish gushes of blood
from the holes.

A whimper of sorrow
sprang from her. “You overgrown man-child,” she mumbled softly. Evana glanced
around. No witnesses were anywhere near, except for her mate, who approached
rapidly. He was no longer in his vampire form. Making a decision, she called on
Nemesis as she brought forth her fangs and sank one into the base of her palm.

A few drops on the
punctures to stop the bleeding and mark him. Then I will assess his injuries.
Evana, you must hurry. We must leave this planet.”

Evana ignored the
ghost ship’s urgency. “You won’t die today, warrior,” she whispered to the
semi-conscious male.

Evana let two drops
of her blood fall into both of the deepest neck wounds. Drake slid down beside
her when the blood from Attor’s throat injuries stopped gushing in copious
amounts. Her mate threw a protective arm around her, holding her as tight to
him as she’d allow.

“Evana?”

She tilted her head
to gaze into his concerned eyes. “He’s only nineteen years old. Misguided
warrior-child was only trying to help me. How can we let him bleed out?” Tears
stung her eyes as she spoke. They spilled out when her mate simply stared back
at her, his gaze tender and so filled with love.

With two quick
kisses, he erased the salty drops from her cheeks and urged her, saying, “We’ll
have company soon. Jarrok is almost here.”

She tried to force
more blood from her palm. It’d healed so she bit down again to reopen the small
wound. Blood rushed out and she placed it to the warrior’s lips.

Unable to twist his
head away, Attor closed his lips tight to avoid her offering. She pulled her
hand away. Amid a groan of pain he protested. “No…” He grimaced with the effort
it took to speak, and gritted out, “No blood oath…with…females.”

“I’m not asking you
for an oath, you big overgrown beast!” she snapped. “I want to help you,” she
said in a softer tone, trying to encourage him to take her blood. “Just a few
drops, Attor. My blood will heal your wounds.”

“No,” he rasped
weakly.

He has two crushed vertebrae
in his neck. His metabolism is enhanced, and he could eventually heal from his
wounds, but without your blood, he will not survive. The injury to his neck
will kill him before he can heal. The paralysis is already spreading from his
extremities and he will stop breathing if you do not intervene. A small amount
of blood will heal him. Please hurry, pilot.

“I should just
knock him out and force feed him,” she whispered urgently to Drake. Her mate
nodded his agreement.

Before she could
carry through with her plan, Jarrok arrived and re-sheathed his blades before
falling to his knees on the other side of Attor. As his rough blood-covered
hands reached out to his partner, Evana waved him away, explaining, “His neck
is broken.”

The warrior took
his partner’s hand, careful to avoid the sharp blade. He lifted Attor’s slack
arm from the ground a few inches and then released his hold. The burly limb
fell back to the ground, lifeless. Jarrok sat back on his heels and let loose
an anguished groan. He reached for his belt and pulled out a dagger.

“Your mother will
force me to cut out my own liver and then order me to eat it,” he complained
sadly while raising his weapon above Attor’s heart.

Evana reacted
instantly. She pushed out with her hands and easily shoved Jarrok backward
several feet away from Attor. The giant male hit the ground hard. The startled
warrior bellowed a vicious curse, unsheathed his forearm blades and lurched to
his feet, his intent to return to his partner clearly evident in his manner.

“Stay away! Don’t
touch him!” She snarled and jumped to her feet. Evana took a protective stance
over the young warrior and bared her fangs at Jarrok, defying him to move any
closer.

The warrior
hesitated and looked down at Drake, his expression uncertain. “He’ll want to
die a warrior’s death.” Jarrok stated his belief firmly.

*

“Evana,” Drake
called softly to his mate. He remained at Attor’s side while watching Evana
square off with Jarrok. It’d taken all his restraint to ignore his first
instinct to jump between them. The confrontation wasn’t helping the injured
warrior. “Evana,” he repeated a little louder.