Defender (New World Book 7) (18 page)

Taz was furious, Krish’s tail didn’t grow; he wasn’t lying. “You planned this all along, you bastard. I should have known the females were for sport and treachery. You’ll kill off another race to destroy Castians. It’s always about the damned Castians. Why do you hate them so much?”

“They are weak. They are an embarrassment.” Krish twitched, it was subtle but Taz knew the truth.

“They scare the shit out of you. Cobra has escaped and he’ll stop at nothing with his warriors now grown.”

Krish’s jaw twitched. “Nothing scares me, you pile of puke.”

“The males, elderly and young children left on this planet won’t survive the storms. You’re the pile of puke.”

“So what? Why the concern? Ah. Your mate is expecting isn’t she? What a good little warrior you are.”

“I should have known. Your kind killed two entire races of females. Humans would be no different. It’s all you know. Your evil has no bounds. There are tiny little lone humans with no home and no hope.”

“We can discuss my lack of empathy further aboard my vessel.”

“I’ll take my chances here.”

“The water will drown you and your mate eventually, as well as the little one. I can’t have that. You will never get away from me. Your mate will never get away from me. This mating is for female offspring. Your babe won’t get away from me either.”

Taz knew it was true. As long as Krish lived, he and Macey would be hunted. His baby would only have the protection of her baby shield for five years or less. Krish would kill him, and as soon as the shield fell, Macey would die, their daughter would be left unprotected. Taz couldn’t let that happen. He would never allow her to be raised and tortured as he had been.

Krish chuckled. “You can’t seriously be thinking of taking me on? It never ceases to amaze me how stupid you are. I’ll kill you, scent out your mate and keep her alive. We both know once the baby shield drops, your daughter will be mine. And to tell you the truth,” Krish said and leaned in a little closer. “I’m a horrible father.”

“You are no father at all. But I will be. You’ve taught me everything
not
to do with a child. And guess what, you bastard. I know why you wanted me to come here. You have your answer. Your kind will fall, you’ve killed them. Paybacks a bitch, as the humans say. You’ll get yours in spades. Cobra’s escape will be your end, and if my kind is smart they will join with him and take a mate. And they will. I know it. I denounce you. You are a coward. A coward has no mercy. You and your kind will fall. I hope they all get their brains bashed in. Our females didn’t deserve to die. Neither do Earth’s females.”

“You’re pathetic.”

“You’re dead.”

Both males leapt at the same time. Arms a whirlwind of action as they sliced their talons across each other’s armor. Sparks flew as they spun high in the air, dropped to deliver punishing blows on bowed backs. Taz jumped and sent both clawed feet into Krish’s chest. Krish went sailing into a broken piece of roof which spun backwards from the force to reveal a young female hiding, half dead. Taz could scent she was a child, but wouldn’t be for long.

“More bounty.” Krish stood and eyed the young female, she was maybe nineteen. “After I’m done killing you, I’ll fix this one. She’ll be perfect for a Castian warrior still in must. Cobra doesn’t have them all; some of his warriors are still mine.”

“She’s a child, you pile of puke.”

“She’s female. She’s worthless.”

Something in Taz snapped. Taz’s mother wasn’t worthless. The death of the boy, Jimmy, was senseless. The slaughter of the human race was senseless. A young female lay dying, and all Krish could think of was to heal her to hurt her. His child was female; she wasn’t worthless. She already meant everything to Taz. She could never fall into the hands of Tonans.
Never
.

Every inch of Taz was seething. He could feel his shield as it changed, morphing his emotions into weapons. Hate the likes he had never known enveloped him. He was going to protect his babe. Macey called him their defender. He was and would be until his dying breath. But right now death wasn’t an option.

“You will never harm another female again,” Taz said with a soft growl.

“Grow a back bone. Do what needs to be done. You’re a Tonan, act like one.”

“I will. I will act like the Tonan I am and was meant to be. I made a promise to my mother hundreds of years ago. I’m going to honor that promise. Females are life. They were slaughtered because they were
too
important. My kind will mate and your kind will die. Tonan against Tonan. Beginning with you.”

Krish began to speak, but Taz attacked. He wouldn’t listen to another word that spewed from evil’s mouth. Taz lunged and the two warriors met in the air. Their armor smashed together. The booming sounds of their battle was horrific. The storm moving in was inconsequential as titans fought.

“Die, you bastard,” Taz howled. “I know what a dog is, you fucking piece of garbage, and I’m rabid.”

He scented worry on Krish as Taz relentlessly pummeled the warrior. Taz’s talons were ten times sharper than polished razor blades. He was fueled with passion, not for his life, but for the ones he protected. Taz smashed his forehead into Krish’s tattoos, sending him flying back. A roundhouse kick was sent into his guts. A steel pipe found its way into his palms and Taz beat at Krish’s back. The steel bent with his first blow. A block of a concrete wall was toppled onto Krish who roared and jumped up trying to fight back.

A small ounce of sunlight broke through the clouds for an instant. Taz’s shield utilized the beam, having become good at gaining what precious seconds it might have, while keeping the rays from Krish. Taz stomped on Krish’s legs. The crunch reminded Taz of when he saved Macey by breaking her bones. It was Krish’s fault. Everything was Krish’s fault. Taz grabbed Krish’s armor and using two talons ripped the body armor down the middle. A single area of skin was exposed for a mere second. It was all Taz needed. He bit Krish. The venom in his fangs wasn’t the same he used on Macey and the other females. This was toxic. Virulent bacteria of hate, rage and death mixed with Krish’s blood. Krish gasped. His armor dropped piece by piece to the ground where it hovered.

“That’s not possible,” Krish whispered.

“It is. You can’t look back in your history because your kind would never die to protect your children. My kind have and will. We get the edge, you bastard. We get the toxins meant to kill. It’s our secret. Guess what? Your plan will backfire. My kind will mate and we will turn on your kind. We will form our own race or we will join with the Castians.”

“It will never happen,” Krish’s shout of outrage was pathetic.

“You have doomed your own kind. Human females will be your demise. We will win in the end. My kind, Krish. Not yours. And no one will know but my kind, they will feel what I feel when their shield demands a mate. None of your kind will find out before it’s too late because you’re dead.”

Taz attacked with the fury and hate of hundreds of years. He ripped Krish to shreds in seconds. With satisfaction he stood back and watched as Krish’s shield turned to rust and floated away with the wind. A tiny groan caught his attention. Taz lowered his shield and went to the female on the ground; she had her arms wrapped around her head shielding her face. She hadn’t seen what he was. Tenderly he hefted her into his arms. She whimpered and clung to him. She was dying, he sensed it.

“A beast killed my dad. Another took my older sister,” she whispered.

“A grey beast?”

“A grey beast killed my dad. An ebony beast took my sister.”

“A Castian. So they’re here. What’s your name?”

“Jinx.”

“Everything will be fine, Jinx. Everything will be fine.”

Taz sunk his fangs into her throat and she went limp. He enveloped her in his shield and ran while the storm raged. The female would recover. Taz would keep her. She was alone and desolate. Jinx was of childbearing years even though she was young. Krish’s kind had no scruples. Taz knew the Tonans were taking anything female. He needed to get his family away from this area. Far away.

“What happened? Who is she?” Macey asked when Taz came home and placed a young unconscious woman on their bed. He raced to her and grabbed her hands.

“I saved her from death. I’ve knocked her out; she’s exhausted and scared half to death. She’s been through hell. She watched a Tonan kill her father and a Castian steal her sister. It’s time to leave, Macey. We need to find a safer place. The Tonans have come; they aren’t hiding their forms, as well as the Castians. Their leader Cobra is free and there will be war like no other because it involves living females. Cobra will do anything for his warriors. He will find them mates and he will rebuild his army and make it stronger. Like Tonans, Castian females were born but not many. There were never enough for all the warriors, with human females there will be, if Cobra gets a hold of them. He will become a warrior with a mission.

“This area is flooding. Krish said the storms will never end, but I don’t know what to believe. I killed him, Macey; he can never get to us. And now that he’s dead, another Tonan might stop the storms. It would be easier to search for stragglers if the weather weren’t as volatile.”

“What if there is nowhere safer?”

Macey ran a hand over her tummy. She felt the little flutters of movement within and wasn’t certain if she was happy or sad. What kind of life would their baby have? The only way for Taz to get close enough to the shuttles with the Tonans guarding them would be to mass murder. Neither of them wanted that. And now he was saying the Tonans no longer cared if humans saw them in their shielded forms. He said there were very few shuttles leaving, if at all. The skies were too volatile. He said even if he managed to steal a shuttle, it would be too dangerous to try and fly them out. Macey was certain Earth would heal. Taz would only say he wasn’t certain anymore. Krish was a liar. The storms had to end. He would have told Taz anything to scare him into leaving with him. She needed to believe that.

“I have been searching at night these last two months. Going farther across your planet. There is one area relatively safe. There are storms, but there’s a cave deep in the heart of a jungle. The bitter cold and water hasn’t done any damage.”

Macey could hear the word
yet
whispered in the air. “Is it far? How can we get there?”

Taz took her hands. “It’s going to be dangerous and tricky. I’ll need to move you and Haven there first. Next Jinx and Skylar and go back for Greta. I will tell you it will deplete my shield. I’ll need a few days to regenerate and if there is no sun we’ll all be in shit.”

“I know you’ll do your best. Why can’t we walk there?”

“I’m moving us a continent away. It’s our only hope. Where we’re going is so sparsely populated the Tonans haven’t bothered with it. With the storms so frequent, the Tonans are picking up and leaving. The sky is volatile.”

“We’re trapped aren’t we?”

“On Earth, yes. But trust me; you don’t want to go where the humans have gone. War is raging. Something bad is happening on my planet, I could sense it in the voices of the warriors I heard speaking.”

“When do we leave?”

“Tonight. We need to get away before Krish’s body is discovered. There’s a cave deep in the ground within this one. No one but an alien with my capabilities could get in or out. I’ll drug the others so other Tonans can’t scent any emotion, not even a flicker and leave them in the cave in a deep stasis. Macey, I know I sound cruel, but I can’t take the chance of anyone finding the others. If I don’t go back, they will die. If I leave them in a place accessible they will be captured. Tonans will kill your aunt. They’ll take the girls, as young as they are. I won’t let them take the girls. Skylar and Haven are like my own. They are my own.”

“They adore you. If you told them you are a Tonan they would still love you.”

“They’ve seen too much death by a Tonan hand. If Jinx saw me after what she went through, she would be terrified of me. Her father tried to save her life and was ripped to shreds. She witnessed what happened. I saw him, he was a brutal mess. Her sister was taken by a Castian. He may return for Jinx, but I can’t risk leaving her alone. She would be better off dead than with a Tonan.”

“But to die all alone…”

“I won’t let them die.” His tone was vehement. Pain flickered in his eyes.

“It wasn’t your fault you couldn’t save the boy, Jimmy. You didn’t know your shield wouldn’t allow you to heal him. How long will you beat yourself up over his death? It wasn’t your fault.” Macey ran her palm down his cheek.

“The place we’re going has no others nearby. I won’t risk any men coming near you and I won’t allow any boys near either. I can’t save them. I couldn’t save the child, but I know that now. I don’t ever want to feel so helpless again.”

“So you’re shutting us off?”

“Yes. It’s the only way to keep you all alive.”

“Taz.”

Taz pulled her to his chest. “I saw three Tonans today. That’s three too many. I love you. I love you so much at times, I watch you while you sleep and can’t believe you’re my mate. I can’t believe my mate will have our babe. I have to protect you, Macey.”

“You always have.”

“Tonight, after the others fall asleep, we’re leaving. I can wake Jinx and all of us need to eat what we can. Pack what you think we’ll need in the duffel bag I brought back. I’ll find more of what we need once we settle.”

“Everything will be okay.”

“That’s my line.”

Macey smiled and traced his frown with her finger. “It’s
our
line. We’re in this together.”

* * * *

“Am I sleeping?” Skylar asked as Taz lifted her into his arms.

“Yes, my beautiful little sweetheart, in a way. You will dream sweet dreams until I wake you and you won’t wake until I let you.” He nuzzled her nose with his and she smiled.

“I love you, Taz.”

He knew she did. “I love you too, little one.”

Taz dipped his head and gently buried his fangs into her throat. For hours, he searched his memories and there was one ancient memory his shield found. There was a potent drug in his possession that would knock a female out until he returned and gave her the antidote. If he didn’t return she would never wake. She would dream sweet dreams until her body expired.