Damaged (Planet Alpha) (9 page)

“There,” Kyuk said, stabbing a finger at the cool plastic. “They are taking her to Xyran.”

Reiyn leaned closer. “How do you know this?”

“I know that ship,” Kyuk replied bitterly, watching the icon grow smaller and smaller.

“Whose is it?”

“Friktor. Surely you remember him,” he answered. Reiyn put a hand to his shoulder, and Kyuk suddenly realized he was still nude as the touch sent a frisson of heat through him.

“He
was the one who nearly drowned you.” Reiyn sounded even angrier now. He tossed his helmet into the pilot’s chair and watched the display intently.

“Yes. He is worse now than he was as a child,” Kyuk leaned into his blood-kin. “And he carries his grudges with him like old friends. He must have been the one behind all this.”

“The mutiny on your ship? The rumor of gems on Sarton?” Reiyn asked.

“Yes,” Kyuk replied, rage in his heart. “He has our mate.”

Reiyn slipped his arm around Kyuk’s waist. “I apologize for not killing him properly when I was still on Xyran.”

Kyuk laughed shortly. “You were half his size. The lashing his father gave you for dragging him off me nearly killed
you.
”

Reiyn shrugged. “I am not half his size now.” He leaned closer and put his mouth next to Kyuk’s ear. “I will drown him slowly. If he harms Cori, I will skin him first and then drown him. You may assist me.”

Kyuk shivered as the softly spoken words warmed his soul with a fierce joy. “Spoken like a true warrior.” He smiled grimly. “He is Lord Friktor now, leader of his tribe.”

“He will die at our feet.” Reiyn said, his words short and sharp. “Like his slaves, who have lost all hope.” His eyes went to the displays. “But first, we will need to repair the fuel cell. The hull breach damaged the socket.”

“With both of us working together, it should not take long,” Kyuk said.

Reiyn’s eyes glittered with resolve as they met his. “No. It will not.” He smiled. “We will bathe in their blood. Corazon will not be a captive for long.”

Chapter Nine

Cori moaned. Her head hurt like crazy. When she tried to move, she discovered that her hands and feet were bound. Her eyes flew open as fear shot through her, and she jerked against the ties until her skin stung. She couldn’t see anything, not even the cold metal floor beneath her. That was what finally calmed her down. She’d been in this precise position before, many years ago. The Xyrans had her. There was nothing she could do, at least not until she had more information.

“If you struggle, it will go badly for you,” a harsh voice said.

Cori froze as her captor turned on a single light. She looked around, squinting until her eyes adjusted. The moment she saw where she was, her heart sank. The bare cell had no furniture except a ceramic pot in the corner. The walls were of metal. The largest Xyran she’d ever seen stood near the door, hand on the remote control device he’d used to turn on the light. It
shone down from above the doorway; so bright and piercing she winced. The other weird thing about the cell was the door: it was made of wood.

Who uses wood on a spaceship?
she wondered, trying to control her breathing. She wasn’t doing a great job of it, but if she kept freaking out, she’d hyperventilate.
A ceramic pot and a wooden door? You’re not in Kansas anymore,
she realized, panicking even more.
Shit, this isn’t a spaceship.
She was on Xyran.

“I see you have, hmm, how do you humans put it?” He smiled malevolently. “Worked it out, yes?” He slipped the remote into his pocket and leaned back against the wall, hands crossed over his chest. His skin was a horrible shade of green, highlighting the spiral of yellow gems set into his left pectoral muscle. Scars covered his right bicep, though the thick tissue didn’t seem to bother him.

He probably picked that skin color to frighten me,
she thought, trying not to shudder.
And it’s working, but at least it’s not red.
Cori remembered the countless beatings her captors would give to the older women, the ones who could no longer bear children. The Xyrans often shaded toward crimson during the violence, almost as if their anger over the women’s aging made them lose control.
Or possibly they just enjoyed it
, she thought. She couldn’t hide a shiver as the old fear she thought she’d banished rolled through her like a tsunami.

“Welcome to Xyran, little female,” he said, clearly enjoying her despair.

She took a deep breath. “If you’ve brought me here to breed me, you can forget it. I can’t have children.” She lifted her chin a little, wishing she could sit up. “The barbarians who captured me before saw to that.”

He frowned. “Impossible. No one would damage a valuable breeder.”

Cori snorted. “I took care of it myself after I escaped the first time.”

He stood up and walked over, anger chasing its way across his face. “You are fortunate that I took you for other reasons,” he said, looming over her.

Cori said nothing as she stared defiantly up at him. She was bound, on the floor, and half his size. He could stomp on her head if he wanted to, and there was nothing she could do about it.
If this is it for me, at least I’ll die with dignity,
she told herself, thinking of Kyuk and Reiyn.
And at least I had some happiness for a little while.

“Your blood-kin will not be so fortunate as you when they come,” he growled. He opened his mouth and tested the air with his tongue. “Yes. You smell of them. Such an abomination.” He spat to the side and pivoted, walking to the door.

“They won’t come looking for me,” she told him shakily, just before he left the cell.

He spun around. “You think not?”

She shook her head. “You’ve got it all wrong. I only just met them both a little while ago. We barely know each other.”

He looked at her for a long time. “You have much to learn about Xyrans, little human slave.” He opened the door and walked out.

Cori stared at the door for way too long, wondering if he was wrong. Hoping he was right.

****

“State your tribe and status immediately,” the disembodied voice demanded.

Reiyn frowned. They would have to lie if they wanted to reach the surface.

Kyuk tapped a command to activate the microphone. “This is the courier ship Bloodspawn, returning from Earth,” he said, avoiding the question of tribes. He adjusted course slightly, compensating for the hull breach by entering the atmosphere with the opposite side of the ship facing down. The interior heated as the environmental controls struggled to compensate for the damage.

“Tribe and status,” the voice asked again, barking the order.

“It is not a computer,” Reiyn said quietly.

Kyuk grimaced and tapped the display again. “Tribe Bonespex. Status, ship’s captain.”

“Acknowledged.” The space traffic controller sent them data on how to approach the surface.

Reiyn lifted a brow as Kyuk disconnected the feed. “Bonespex? Have you gone mad, giving them your tribal affiliation?” He rubbed a hand over his eyes, exhausted beyond anything he could remember. “They
tried to destroy every member of the tribe after Kaxt’s death and his son’s defection to Earth. Everyone knows this.”

“Those controllers are low-status children, on their first deployment as soldiers. There are many hundreds of tribes on Xyran. They will not know any better.” Kyuk said, leaning over the display.

Reiyn stared at his blood-kin. “Bonespex is the most notorious tribe on the planet.”

Kyuk shrugged. “It does not matter. They have given us access.” He gestured to the computer display. “I told you that these children would know no better.”

“Unbelievable,” Reiyn murmured, leaning over to look for himself. The screen showed coordinates and permission codes. “They simply let us through?”

“Xyran has the fiercest warriors in the galaxy, yes?” Kyuk asked sardonically. “No one would dare invade the planet, so no one suspects a stealthy approach. And there are no supervisors who care to watch the controllers.” He made a derisive noise. “All that keeps the planet secure is arrogance, threats, and a false reputation.” He tilted the ship and headed due west, toward the jagged mountains that tore holes in the atmosphere. The peaks stretched into the clouds like the dark and angry spinal scales of some long-dead reptile.

Reiyn understood Kyuk’s point, but even so, he had his doubts. “The reputation of Xyran warriors is fearsome for a reason. It is no idle threat.”

Kyuk tossed him a look. “Are you not a Xyran warrior?”

Reiyn frowned, bristling. “I am half-human.”

“Xyran genetics is dominant. Do not attempt to dissemble with me. I know you, inside and out, even if we have been separated all these years.” Kyuk angled the ship into the first of the mountain peaks, flying fast and low over rough ground. Nothing much grew here, high in the northern section of the largest continent. Most of the fertile ground on Xyran clustered around the equator and the long, rolling plains speckled with barely functioning agricultural irrigation. The vast farms were run by representatives from each tribe and populated with slaves.

Reiyn rolled his shoulders, trying to reconcile his memory of Kyuk-the-youth with the adult who was not afraid to argue with him. “I am no longer a child, Kyuk, to be told who I am.”

His blood-kin turned to him. “Are you not a warrior?”

Reiyn inclined his head. He was.

“Are you not strong?”

Reiyn frowned. “Of course.”

“Do you honor your oaths?”

At this, Reiyn had to smile. “Yes, always.”

Kyuk shrugged. “You are a Xyran warrior, regardless of your human blood. You are a warrior as of old, before our people lost their way in the murk of politics and violence.”

“You speak of honor as it was a thousand years ago, Kyuk. No Xyran now alive will agree with you.” Reiyn wished it weren’t so, but no matter how much they discussed it, their conclusions would not change reality.

“You agree with me,” Kyuk replied, as if it were that simple. Reiyn was about to respond, but then Kyuk smiled triumphantly, eyes trained on the gutted landscape of the mountains. “Friktor’s territory is on the higher peak of Mount Braskix.” He pointed to a craggy point through the transparent viewscreen he’d activated as soon as they entered the atmosphere of Xyran. “We will find him there, in his stone fortress.”

“Hiding like a bug in a wall,” Reiyn murmured, staring intently at the mountain.

Kyuk shot him an approving smile. “Indeed.”

“It is not close to Bonespex territory,” Reiyn said, thinking about his childhood in the foothills of the mountains. “We do not know the hidden ways into his lair, so we will need to enter from below.”

“We will do what we have to do,” Kyuk responded, deftly maneuvering the ship through an opening in the rocks and down toward the middle of the mountain. High winds buffeted the ship, common for this part of Xyran. Reiyn grabbed hold of the console as Kyuk banked through another low pass, then headed toward a shallow depression in the rock. A few abandoned shacks clung to the side of the mountain, like dead flowers, abandoned long ago.

“This will do,” Reiyn said, nodding as he scanned the area with the ship’s sensors. “There is just room enough for the ship. We can camouflage it and head up that old trail, here.” He tapped a finger on a topographical map he’d created from the data. “It will not take long to reach the fortress.”

Kyuk set the ship where Reiyn indicated and powered down. Winds still pressed on the ship, but not enough to damage anything. “I am not certain this ship will survive another launch into space,” he said, unstrapping. “The damage to the hull is not insignificant.”

Reiyn frowned. “We have little choice.” He stood up, stretching the soreness from his shoulders. The fight with the Xyran raiders hadn’t gone well, and he’d had to wrestle with the ship to keep her whole while Kyuk fought off the boarders. His muscles were paying the price doubly, now, on the slightly heavier than Earth gravity of Xyran.

“Friktor must have flown to his fortress. We will simply relieve him of his starship. He owes Cori a useful vehicle since his raiders destroyed hers,” Kyuk said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Reiyn smiled grimly. “Excellent idea. Corazon will agree,” he said, using the longer version of her name. He liked the sound of it. It felt strong and defiant in his mouth.

Kyuk turned to him, the humor fading from his eyes. “We shall get her back. Do not think otherwise.”

“I can sense her,” Reiyn said, putting his fist to his heart. “I did not expect that.” The energy that swirled among the three of them surprised him. He hoped it would give him and Kyuk an edge as they fought their way to Cori’s side.

“She is our true mate.” Kyuk put his hands on Reiyn’s shoulders. “We are bonded.”

Reiyn grabbed his wrists and pulled him closer. “Bonded with blood,” he growled, and then he dipped his head and kissed his blood-kin.

Kyuk responded, shoving a leg between Reiyn’s and grinding against him harshly. Their erections shoved together almost painfully. When Kyuk pulled back, his skin held a tinge of crimson. “We will use our bond against our enemies. They will die with their blood on our hands.”

Reiyn nodded sharply. “They will die with our names on their lips as they beg for their lives.”

****

Cori spit the fibers out of her mouth onto the floor. She’d finally managed to chew through the bonds on her hands.
Thank God, he used leather and not metal or some kind of plastic,
she thought, hurriedly plucking at the ties on her feet. Once she was free, she stood up carefully. Her headache was subsiding, but she was still dizzy. She wasn’t sure if she’d passed out due to lack of oxygen, being hit on the head, or from some drug the Xyrans had given her.

I suppose it doesn’t matter,
she mused, grateful he’d left the light on. She prowled around the cell, looking for something, anything, she could use to pry open the door. The ceramic pot in the corner had promise as a weapon if she was able to smash it into shards. The door was wood, but seamlessly fitted to the wall. She ran her fingers around the sides, looking for a weak point, but when energy buzzed against her skin she cursed. They’d used a forcefield to lock her in.

Dammit. Of all the crappy luck
, she thought, frowning. She sat on the floor, thinking for a moment.
Maybe I can surprise him when he comes back to the cell. It’s better than giving up.
With that thought, she stood back up, pulling her pants open to pick at the seam. When it was loose, she extracted a thin, plastic shank.

“No one ever expects plastic,” she murmured,
concealing the weapon in her sleeve. She sat back down, leaning against one of the walls to plan.
When he comes back in, if I can get close, I might be able to disable him,
she mused.
He’s bigger than I am, and a lot stronger, but surprise can work in my favor. If I can hurt him badly enough, I can probably get away. I can hide until I figure out where they keep their ships.

When
the floor shook a moment later, she frowned.
What the hell?
The floor trembled again, as if some distant explosion had gone off somewhere in the fortress. She looked at the door speculatively. When the light in the cell flickered, excitement shot through her. She went to the door and touched the latch. No buzz stung her fingers. She pushed, and it clicked open. Cori stared at it in shock. She hadn’t really expected it to open. Something must be going on. Power loss from a storm? They were in the mountains, after all, and the weather was horrible here.