His Human Hellion (Ultimate Passage Book 2) (16 page)

“We’ll take you.” Taya grabbed her hand and Cinia’s, tugging both of them toward the door.

The hallway was darker than when they’d first entered, as if some of the candles or lighting source had gone out, it was more difficult to see the stone hallway’s walls, and hid the occasional unevenness in the floor.

When all three were well out of earshot, Marissa said to the two, “That was lucky, wasn’t it?”

“Luck?” Taya said, while Cinia laughed. “No luck. We had a backup plan. And those two are looking to curry favor and rise in the ranks.”

Marissa kept from wrinkling her nose or showing her complete disgust at several dozen women vying for the attention of a solitary male. Curiosity prompted another question. “You aren’t worried about losing your status?” With each step the hallway became dimmer, the walls more rough, and the flooring more uneven, as if the rocks were merely placed there, not smoothed or contoured.

Taya giggled at Marissa’s question. Cinia responded though. “No. We have an alliance. It works for us.”

“Alliance? And if you didn’t? Then what? You get voted out of the house? Off of the island?”

Cinia’s face held a confused look. “I do not understand.”

“Never mind. It’s an
Earth thing. How much more? This seems further than the walk to dinner.” And so much darker, and the hallway wasn’t as wide.

“We are almost there, this is a different room, closer to the exit. We have all of your things there.”

“My things?” She thought Saraz had ordered her things destroyed.

“Not your old things. Your new ones, except for the
TripTip blade. We do have that for you. Where did you get it? It’s Asazi military issue. Elite forces, you know.”

“A friend.” What did she meant by
new ones?
Did that mean sheerer harem veils? “Like these?” She rubbed the skirt’s fabric between her thumb and index finger, even though they probably couldn’t see her in the dim lighting.

“Oh
, no. Hardly. We have assembled clothing more suited for traversing through Midland.”

Marissa could only wonder what that meant as they stopped in front of a door. The hallway had become little more than a crude tunnel. In the dim lighting, Marissa could tell that this door was very different from the Great Room’s massive, polished, sanded, and carved double doors with their intricate medal handles. This one was rough timber, lacking finesse and polish, barely large enough for them to enter without stooping.

Taya rushed Marissa and Cinia in, then shut the door quickly. The room wasn’t any larger than the closet beneath the staircase back home. Well, back home in Texas, not the ranch house in Arizona that she’s shared with Finn. Tears sprung—used to share—before she was abducted and brought to this hostile foreign planet.

“Look.” Cinia held up an outfit made of something that wasn’t sheer.

Marissa snatched it from her, held out the thick garment. “God. This is wonderful.”

“Better than you know. It’s woven from one of the local plants. It resists rain, keeps you from sweating or dehydrating, and repels light weaponry attacks.”

Cinia caressed the outfit. “We have not tested the last part. Not sure how much it can deflect. Call the repelling weaponry attacks unconfirmed.” Her laugh was hollow.

“Don’t worry. I fully intend to avoid conflict.” Marissa pulled the beige pants on, tying the drawstring at her waist. She yanked the top over her head, stretching it to allow her better mobility.

Cinia handed her a pair of beige boots of the same fabric, but woven differently—stiffer.

Taya handed her a rolled blanket, a canteen made of a fruit’s shell with a
cork top, and lastly she gave her a map drawn on the same fiber as her clothing. “That’s a rough sketch of Midland. Here’s Lesser League.” She pointed to a spot. “Here’s where we let you out. And this is the Asazi town you were in. Dekard.”

“Thank you.” Marissa clutched the rough map to her chest.

”There is one provision,” Taya said.

Marissa looked up from the map.

“Do not return.”

Finn

Finn looked at his father, wondering if he understood the risks. Then realized, of course he understood them, and yet he was offering to risk so much. “You have a son, Raiza, a life here. I do not know what dangers I face.”

“That is why you need help. You do not know, and you do not need to be alone. Let me talk to Raiza. I’ll let her know. We can leave at first light.”

“That is hours away, hours that are precious. Par, I have already lost so much time being locked up—”

His father rose, a protest on his lips.

“No, I don’t blame you or them.” He pointed to the two Kormic who brought him. “But I have to go.”

“Fine. I will tell her and we will leave immediately.”

Finn and his father walked over to Raiza. The two Kormic joined them in front of the fire they’d put out earlier.

His father told Raiza he had to go in Kormic. Explained the situation to her.

Concern marred her features.

One of her Kormic brothers put a hand on Finn’s father’s shoulder.
“We go with you then, Balif?”

Finn couldn’t get accustomed to his father having a Kormic name.
Maybe you’d better get accustomed to it, this is who Par is now, it seems.
Was there room in Par’s life for Finn now?
Is there room in your heart for a woman who comes from a hated group? Who looks so different?
Was there room in his heart for a brother that was half-Kormic? Finn turned his gaze to little Feroz. Innocent, not flawed by a society that hated differences.

Feroz studied Finn back with eyes far wiser than his age. A frown creased his Kormic forehead, realigning the spiky bumps. He clapped his hands, whistled low. Out of the woods, a jungle cat bounded their way.

Finn raised his weapon to eliminate the threat, putting himself between the boy and the jungle cat—already taller than Finn, though just a juvenile.

“No.
Par yelled, jumping out, pushing Finn’s weapon down.

“What are you—” Finn knocked his father’s hand away.

“That is Feroz’s pet.” Raiza explained.

The jungle cat came to an abrupt stop, paws as large as Finn’s foot were planted next to Finn’s boot. The cat eyed Finn, a
ssessing, but it didn’t attack.

“Jungle cats cannot be tamed.”
Finn scoffed.

“Someone should tell Lev, then.”

“Lev? You named one—this—it?”

No sooner had the words left Finn’s lips than Feroz stepped around him and stood in front of the massive jung
le cat. The little boy wasn’t taller than the cat’s leg. He raised his hands up to the cat, a laugh on his lips.

The
feline lowered its head, emitting a sound like the pickup truck in Arizona.
Purring. The damned thing was purring.
Finn had no idea jungle cats even purred.

Feroz squealed in delight as the cat nudged the boy with his massive head.

“Unbelievable,” Finn muttered.

“Isn’t it, though?”
Par agreed. “His dam was killed in a territorial scuffle with a big male when little Lev was probably all of three days old. Raiza and Feroz found him. We haven’t been able to get rid of him since.” Par’s Kormic was still thickly-accented, unable to shake his Asazi roots.

“Reminds me of another one we took in
.” Barz laughed, nudging Par. “Does it not?”

Corzine clapped
Par on the back.

Par
threw his arms around them. “It does.”

Finn realized the tightness shared by this group of individuals who should hate each other. It saddened him to have few allies on Kormia. His mind went to Kal.

Kal! Did Par know Kal was related to Finn through his mother, as well? That they were three-quarter brothers, not cousins as they’d always thought. Was it worth mentioning or would it muddy matters in a manner they didn’t need to be? Why did everything have to be so complicated?

“So Balif, you did not answer.” Barz started. “We go with you? Yes?”

Par looked at Raiza. Her nod was barely perceptible.

“Yes.”
Par picked up a giggling Feroz, sloppy from jungle cat drool mixed with dirt from the ground he’d been rolling around in with the huge feline. He turned to Finn. “First we take Raiza and Feroz to the village. We have a little outpost, where most of the ones live who left the Farlands with us.”

Finn was in a hurry. “I do not want
to be rude but how long before—”

“We leave now. We pack up, lock our things in your cell.”
Par smiled an apology. “Drop them off, in two hours we will be well on our way. We will split up to search. You and I will take one direction, Barz and Corzine another.”

Marissa

Marissa took one look back. The exit she’d just come through didn’t even look like one anymore. The door’s seams with their mossy covering couldn’t be picked out. Seamless fit, completely camouflaged. She scanned the surroundings, looking for a landmark—something, anything that she could use as a reference to return.
Why the hell would I want to return?
Yeah, she wouldn’t. But she looked anyway. And there it was. A landmark. A tree directly across from the invisible door had a knot at eye level. A knot shaped like a heart. She wished it were a good omen, but things sucked so badly for her on this planet, she knew it wasn’t.

Where could she go? What options did she have? Finn. She had to believe he would come for her. Otherwise, she didn’t have much hope. She’d head back to Dekard and hope he was somewhere in the area.

Taya and Cinia were right about the clothing. Sweat wasn’t an issue in the sweltering, unmoving forest. She shifted the heavy pack, happy for the food they’d packed, miserable under the weight. She took a deep breath, and began a trek through the undergrowth.

*~*~*

Four hours later, hungry, tired,
and hot, she stopped and leaned against a tree. “You sure know how to get yourself into jams, Marissa Sanchez.” She looked at the ground. Tracks. She looked at her boots. Her own tracks.
This was unbelievable. And sucked.

Great. Now she’d resorted to talking to herself—out loud
, in a forest filled with dangerous people and creatures.
Super, smart
.

She wanted to keep going, but she needed a rest. She slid down the tree’s smooth trunk until she was seated on the soft, moist ground, nestled in the tall, leafy ground cover. The birds and other wildlife created a white noise that threatened to lull her. She fought the urge to sleep, concentrating on anything that would keep her awake.

How did she, an average American woman, former restaurant owner, end up here? On this planet, far from home, in perpetual danger. Finn’s face came to mind. His handsome rugged face. His beautiful shimmering skin and magnificent wings. She remembered the first time she saw him, at her restaurant. All muscle, white tee that showed off an awesome chest, dark hair, just long enough to run fingers through and a full set of lips with a ready smile. He was flirting with Belle. Marissa had no idea she was his Target at the time. Neither of them had a clue they’d fall for each other. And now—this. This, a rainforest on another planet where the only one who wanted her alive was Finn, and he was the only one she couldn’t find. The only one not available was the one who could help her.

Something was wrong, off. While she was in the midst of her mental meanderings something changed. What was it? She
cocked her head to hear better, but heard nothing.

She tried to convince herself to relax. That’s what it was—NOTHING.

Silence. Total silence. The forest had stilled. She held her breath, listening closely. She’d heard or read somewhere that when predators came around, birds quit singing and forest animals became still.

She wanted to believe that this wasn’t the case here, that she was projecting her fears. She huddled into as small a presence as she could, and sent a silent prayer out that Saraz was not here in the jungle, hunting her.

The next sound she heard was rustling. She bit back a sob at the thought of it being a jungle cat. Finn had told her about jungle cats; they worse than saber-tooth tigers, minus the two long teeth. Shit, she was going to be eaten by a jungle cat. Dear, dear God, suddenly she wanted to pray—really pray, like down-on-your-knees praying.
I’m such a hypocrite.
She closed her eyes, tried to make herself even smaller. The rustling and scuffling continued for what seemed like an eternity, but probably wasn’t more than a minute. Then silence again, total and complete. She refused to open her eyes. Why was it quiet?

Open them. Look
.

No.
What if it feels my gaze?

A strange sound interrupted her internal debate.

Strange, but familiar. Familiar, yet foreign.

Whispering?
She so wanted to look.

Foreign whispering?

Her eyes flew open.

Two beings stood directly above her, staring down at her, and whispering. One pointed at her. She blinked, not sure what she was real or her imagination. She blinked again.

Finn was one thing. Saraz was another. But these two creatures . . . something very different than Finn and Saraz.

Two-legged, two-armed, with a human body, at least as far as she could tell. No wings, though.

Good grief.
Those heads. The lower half of their faces were human jaws, but their chins had striations, like raised pale lines, that emanated from their lower lip, traveled over their chin, and thinned to the point of vanishing. They almost seemed like burn scars, except they were symmetrical. The remarkable part began over their eyes. A brow ridge that resembled lizard’s skin rose to a forehead that had two vertical bony ridges merging into a skull composed of purple-and-orange-tipped spikes.

Marissa gulped. They were
pointing at her, talking about her. She jumped to her feet, bag in hand, and skirted around one of the beings, the one that pointed at her. She made a leap that would’ve done her old track coach proud.

A hand on her arm brough
t her retreat to an abrupt halt, fingers dug into her skin.

“Let me go, you bastard.” She turned around, swinging the pack while drawing the
TripTip out of its sheath on her waist.

One of the creatures jumped back, yelling, “
TripTip.”

Stunned
, Marissa stared for a brief second, then her surprise at his use of the Asazi word faded and she jabbed at him with the blade. “Get away from me.”

“Maliska. Maliska.” He kept repeating
, then pointed at her.

The other one cuffed him on the head. “Mah-ree-sah. Mah-ree-sah.”

What the hell. Did that word mean give up? Then it hit her. It almost sounded like her name—sort of. If they knew her name, that could only mean one thing—

—
Saraz—

He
probably sent these two creatures.

“Tell Saraz I said go to hell.” She spun around, took a step
, ready to sprint, then collapsed.