Ha'ven's Song (16 page)

“You will open,” she gritted out.

She struggled to pull the latch down but it
wouldn’t budge. She was beginning to pant as fear that they were
trapped rose up inside her. She closed her eyes and focused on
calming down.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please, I don’t
want to die. I just found a reason to live. I have to save us.
Please, please help me.”

She didn’t know who she was asking for help
from, just that she needed to hear her own voice to help calm her.
She slowly opened her eyes and was stunned to see her hands shining
with a soft pink glow. As she pushed on the latch, a strand of
black rose up and circled her hands. Warmth flooded her and she
knew that subconsciously Ha’ven was keeping his promise to protect
her.

The latch slid down and the hatch burst
open. The rush of water pushed her back before a surge lifted them
up and through the hatch. Emma quickly wrapped her arms back around
Ha’ven and kicked upward.

She breathed a sigh when they broke the
surface of the water. She saw they were only about ten meters from
the shoreline. Rolling Ha’ven onto his back, she wrapped an arm
around his neck and began kicking. She was breathless and trembling
with fatigue by the time she could touch the bottom. Stumbling
forward, she pulled Ha’ven as far as she could out of the water
before collapsing down beside him.

She reached up and gently pulled on the
mask, hoping against hope that the environment was conducive for
them. She held her breath as long as she could before she inhaled
deeply. Sweet, fragrant air filled her burning lungs.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, lowering her head
in relief. “Thank you for looking out for us.”

She turned and quickly pulled the mask off
of Ha’ven. She touched his face looking for any other signs of
trauma. Except for still being very pale, he looked like he was in
a deep sleep. She could only hope that was a good sign as she knew
next to nothing about first aid except for how to take care of
minor cuts and burns.

She forced herself to stand and looked
around. It looked like they had crashed along a huge lake. The nose
of the transport was barely visible. The water was crystal clear
and she could easily see the outline of the transport. The beach
was covered in soft, colorful pebbles. As far as she could see,
huge forests surrounded the area. Her eyes swept upward. She saw
the huge red planet like a full moon shining during the day while
the sky was a soft mixture of red, pinks, yellows, and purples.

“Ha’ven,” she whispered as she watched a
flock of large birdlike creatures fly over the lake in the
distance. “This is so beautiful. I wish you would wake up so you
could see this. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

She slowly sank down next to him in the
shallow water. It was still cold but not as bad as it had been. She
didn’t know if she was just numb from what had happened or if she
had grown use to the temperature.

She scooted closer so she could cradle his
head on her lap. Brushing his hair back, she looked down at his
peaceful face. He was a very complex man, she decided. She had seen
so many different images of him. The tenderness he showed the older
woman in his dreams. The love he showed his brothers. The
tenderness and protectiveness he had shown to her last night. Yet,
she had also seen images of him being tortured and the cold
determination when the other warships attacked them.

“Who are you?” She whispered as she tenderly
outlined his face. “What do you want from me? You make me crazy. I
don’t understand any of this. When you touch me, I feel strange…
wonderful and safe and warm. But, I don’t understand why you would
choose me.”

Emma looked over her shoulder when she heard
a noise coming from the forest behind them. Her arms tightened
protectively around the man who had sworn to keep her safe. Her
heart raced as several large furry beasts slowly lumbered out of
the thick foliage. They looked like huge Mammoths from Earth’s
distant past only they had one large horn in the center of their
forehead and no long trunk.

Her mouth opened in surprise as they halted,
forming a small cluster. It was not just the beasts that caused her
heart to nervously flutter; it was what was on their backs. She
carefully lowered Ha’ven’s head down to the ground before
scrambling to stand in front of him.

She shivered as a light wind danced across
her wet skin. She stood gazing at what were obviously the local
inhabitants of this strange but beautiful world. Her heart skipped
when several of the creatures slid off the huge beasts and started
walking toward her, sharp spears in their hands.

“Find them!” Kejon snarled out
,
looking in fury at the captain of the Marastin Dow
warship he had paid handsomely for. “I don’t want excuses. I want
that Curizan Prince’s head on a platter.”

The captain of the
Traitor’s Run
looked coldly back at Kejon. He would gladly have slit the
Curizan’s throat if he could have but the man was too powerful. The
former captain of the
Traitor’s Run
found that out when he
was suddenly on the outside of the warship... without protective
gear… instead of the inside.

“He must have done something to the
Jumpgate. You saw the amount of energy the scanners were picking
up. We should have come out just inside the Curizan star system.
According to our sensors, we are halfway to the Yardell Spaceport,”
Captain Tylis replied stiffly. “That is impossible but the sensors
are not wrong. No ships are being picked up by the long range
scanners.”

Kejon glared at the captain before ordering
one of the Ensigns at the navigation console to move. He sat down
in front of the console and studied the information pouring in. His
fist tightened in frustration as the information confirmed what
Tylis had just told him.

He pulled up a map of the star system. He
knew it like the back of his hand. It had been his job to know
every possible habitable moon and planet for two reasons. The
first, to know where rebels might hide once Ben’qumain had
overthrown the current ruling family. The second was for a more
personal reason. He wanted an escape route should Ben’qumain
fail.

His gaze narrowed on a huge red planet
slightly set off the normal trade route. It was a huge desert
planet known for its metal ore mining and export. It had two small
moons. Both were habitable which made it unusual. One was a
primarily water covered world while the other was a lush planet
with an indigenous population that was not known for welcoming
visitors to its world. He knew because he had barely made it off
the moon alive.

Those were the only three places that they
could have sought to hide on besides the Spaceport. He still had
one contact on Yardell. He would have Bushnell see if the transport
docked. He would order the
Traitor’s Run
to send down scouts
to the planet and the moons.

“Prepare three transports. I want one to
search each of these locations thoroughly,” Kejon said pointing to
the red planet and two moons. “I will hold you personally
responsible if they should fail.”

Captain Tylis’ eyes narrow
ed
at the barely veiled threat. “Done,” he snapped,
turning away and issu
ing
the order to
prepare the armored transports.

He could only hope that Kejon did find the
Curizan Prince he was looking for. Anyone powerful enough to bend
space and time was someone he had no desire to confront. If the
bastard who had taken over his warship wanted to confront such a
powerful male, let him die.

I have my own battles to deal with,
Tylis thought as the cryptic message he had received earlier
flashed through his mind.

*.*.*

Rayon I

“I don’t like this,” Adalard growled. “It
has been two days and we still haven’t received word from Ha’ven.
He should have answered us by now.”

Arrow looked up from the tablet he held. He
had been running the calculations over and over. In theory, the
combined energy should have taken his brother close to the Yardell
Spaceport. It could also have blown him to smithereens.

“What did General Tiruss say? Have you heard
from Bahadur?” Arrow asked gruffly as he looked over his
calculations again.

Adalard dropped into the seat across from
his twin. He rubbed a tired hand over his face before looking
expectantly at Arrow. He was the science whiz of the family.
Adalard was just good at killing… and making love to beautiful
women.

“Yes,” he replied heavily. “Tiruss said
nothing came through the Jumpgate in Sector Twelve. Bahadur got
word from his contact on Yardell that Kejon has one of his
informants looking for Ha’ven. One of the freighters reported that
an unidentified transport entered Sector Thirty before disappearing
off his sensor. He suspected it might have crashed on the red
mining planet or one of its moons. He never received a distress
signal so he assumed it was an abandoned transport and continued on
his way.”

Arrow nodded thoughtfully. “If Ha’ven had to
release the energy he was harnessing due to pulling too much
through it that would explain why he was short of his
destination.”

Adalard raised an eyebrow at Arrow. “Can you
explain that in plain Curizan for me?” He asked dryly.

Arrow grinned. “You should have paid more
attention during your studies instead of chasing all those girls,”
he teased. “From what Bahadur said, it looks like Kejon is on the
outer edge of Sector Thirty. If he entered the Jumpgate just as
Ha’ven was focusing the energy he was pulling from it, Kejon could
have piggybacked on it. The strain would have been too much for
anyone, including Ha’ven. He would have had to release it or die as
that much energy would feel like it was pulling him apart. It still
would have propelled him ahead of Kejon because he entered first.
When he released it, the gravitational pull of the red planet would
have sucked him closer to
the planet
while
Kejon’s warship wasn’t due to being released further back.”

“So you are telling me we are now four days
out from Ha’ven, who might or might not be injured from either the
pull of this enormous amount of energy or crashing while Kejon is
just a day?” Adalard growled out in a low, deadly voice.

Arrow’s smile faded as he nodded. “Yes,” he
confirmed. “We need to push the
Rayon I
. I’ve made some
modifications. We can probably shave a day to a day and a half off
the trip.”

*.*.*

Ha’ven grimaced as he felt the touch on his
forehead again. It felt like someone was stabbing him with the end
of their finger right in the center of it. It wouldn’t have been so
bad except his head still felt like it was about to explode.

By the third time, he’d had enough of it. He
moved with lightning quick reflexes, grabbing the offending
appendage as it poked him again. His eyes snapped open. A loud moan
filled the air as a bright shaft of light struck his eyes and
speared straight through to his brain. He was about to close his
eyes again to block out the added pain when a furry white nose
touched his.

“Do you mind?” He growled out in a low voice
as he stared eye to eye the creature above him.

A low chuckle was his answer as the creature
sat back. Ha’ven almost changed his mind and asked the creature to
put his ugly nose back in front of him. He would have been happy
with anything that blocked the horrid light filtering in through
the window.

Pressing his hands to his head, he released
a small amount of healing energy. Intense pain splintered through
him and he rolled as his stomach rebelled. The creature was ready
for him. A small pail was quickly pushed under him as he emptied
his stomach. After several long minutes, he rolled back onto the
bed and covered his eyes with his left arm.

“Where am I?” He asked hoarsely before he
remembered Emma. “Where’s my mate?” He demanded, struggling to sit
up.

“
Chumba mi tai nee,
” the creature
said coming back over to Ha’ven. This time a cup was pressed into
his hand. “
Chumba mi tai nee,
” the creature repeated and
motioned for Ha’ven to drink.

Ha’ven sniffed the liquid suspiciously
before taking a sip. He started to spit out the horrid liquid
b
ut
the creature raised his stick at him
and repeated the sentence again… this time more sternly.

Ha’ven glared at the creature before he
tilted the contents down his throat. He grimaced at the foul taste
before lowering the cup and wiping the back of his hand across his
mouth. He stopped in surprise when he realized his head didn’t hurt
anymore.

“Where is Emma? My mate,” Ha’ven said
slowly.

“Your mate is well. The women have taken her
to the river to bathe,” the gruff voice replied.

Ha’ven stared at the elderly creature
sitting back in a low chair. He knew who he was. He had met him on
two previous occasions. Once during the Great War and the other
time after his father… Hermon was murdered. The elderly male had
come to pay his respects.

The Monikers controlled the mining
operations on the huge red planet below their small moon. Fiercely
protective, they lived in surprising simplicity while having an
advanced trading system. Because of the remoteness of their world,
only the freighters arriving to pick up the mined ore came this far
out.

“Saba Monda, I thank you for your help,”
Ha’ven said politely. “I did not have a chance to talk with you
much at my… father’s passing celebration.”

A husky chuckle filled the air of the small
hut. Saba Monda was the Chief Elder of the Moniker, a large,
fur-covered creature that stood almost six feet tall. The younger
males typically had black, brown or reddish fur while the elder
males were silver or white. The females were the same. They wore
bright, colorful tunics most of the time except when hunting. Then,
they preferred to remove their covers allowing them more freedom to
move through the huge forests that covered the moon.