His Human Hellion (Ultimate Passage Book 2) (17 page)

Finn

Par paused, looked at Finn. “I’m still hopeful.”

“Me too.”

“But it will be dark shortly, we should make camp. Corzine and Barz will head this way soon. We arranged to meet at the waterfall, by the forked tree.”

“You arranged it. I did not.” Finn wasn’t remotely interested in stopping or stalling the search for Marissa.

“It is too dangerous, my son. Jungle cats.”

“If it is dangerous for us, then imagine
how it would be far more dangerous for a frail, pregnant woman.”

“Yes.”
Par blew out a breath. “We will wait for them, then strike out together. It is best not to separate in the dark.”

Finn was not go
ing to wait indefinitely for the Kormic brothers to arrive. “How far from the waterfall?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Fine, let’s go.” He wouldn’t give them more than twenty minutes after that. It was too close to dark, he had to go searching.

*~*~*

Finn and Par had been at the waterfall for at least fifteen minutes already. Finn paced back and forth between two large puka trees. The ground cover had been mashed to a pulp beneath his military boots.

“You are making me crazy, n
ot to mention you are announcing our presence to every creature within hearing distance.”

Finn swiveled. “Maybe one of those creatures could be Marissa.”

Par took a step back. “I did not mean to . . . I cannot imagine . . . if Raiza were . . . of course, I understand.”

Breaking branches and crunching undergrowth came from behind the waterfall.

Barz burst through the undergrowth. “We have the human.”

Finn couldn’t speak. He swallowed a lump. “You have Marissa?”

“I do not think there would be more than one human female running loose in Midland. “Barz gave Finn an odd look. “Long dark hair? Green eyes? A terrible temper? A bit ugly? Actually very ugly.”

“Yes. Yes!” Finn fought the urge to jump up and down, to crush Barz in an embrace. “Wait. She’s quite attractive, you know, by
Earth’s standards. And by Asazi standards, too.”

“If you like your women to ha
ve smooth, pale skin, perhaps. As for me, give me a Kormic head or Asazi skin,” Barz argued.

“Fine. Fine. She’s not your type. Now where is my woman?”

“I hit her with a blow dart. My last one.” Barz looked sheepish that he didn’t have more of this darts with him. “But Corzine had none.” He seemed pleased to have out-performed his brother, if barely.

“Great. So where is she?” Finn tried to temper his impatience.

“The dart’s effects wore off. We could not carry her when she was conscious. She was kicking and screaming.” He shook his head. “A handful, that one.”

“So I hear.” Finn put his hand on
B
arz’s shoulder. “Look, Barz—”

Par
stepped forward. “Barz, we are impatient to see her. Let us dispense with the small talk.”

“Of course, Balif. Immediately.” Spinning around, Barz took off at a trot.

Finn set off behind him, Par brought up the rear.

A good distance
later, quite a bit of distance further, Barz looked back. “Almost there.”

Finn’s lungs were about to burst. Was he so out of shape? Or was stress making him hyperventilate?

Barz stopped suddenly. Finn ran into his back.

“They were here.” He turned around twice.
“This is where I left them.”

In the near distance, a jungle cat screeched a territorial howl.

Barz looked at them wide-eyed. “I should have stayed with her and sent Corzine to get you.” He lowered his spiny, knobby head—defeated.

“Psst.”

It was faint, just audible. Finn glanced in the trees, scanning the branches with what little light the moon afforded. There. He saw movement. He grabbed Par’s shoulder and pointed. The figure in the tree.

Par
shrugged. Whatever it was, was still not discernible. They stepped closer, weapons raised in case a jungle cat should pounce.

The figure shook and wriggled. Should he get closer?
Finn took aim.

“Do not shoot.”
Par’s tone was low. “It is Corzine.”

Finn squinted. It was. The figure was actually two, though. A moving squirming Marissa completely ensconced in Corzine’s arms. He’d wrapped his legs around her, one hand over her mouth.

Marissa

Marissa squirmed, twisting back and forth. The first creature had returned—with Finn and another Asazi. She tried to call out to Finn but the hand over her mouth was too tight.

She panicked. Was he a prisoner of theirs? No, he didn’t seem to be, it looked like he was with them because he wanted to be. Then a worse thought hit her, maybe he not realize it was her? If not then why—

When Finn drew his weapon and aimed it her way, she almost burst into tears. She froze, terrified. What the hell was he doing? The other Asazi pointed at them, Finn lowered his weapon and approached. Then he said something in a foreign language.

Suddenly she was loose
. “Finn.” She twisted once more and scrambled down the tree, falling the last three feet and landed against Finn’s chest with a thud.

“Marissa.” It was as if her name was ripped from his heart and came out his throat, so tortured was his tone. He turned her around, checking her all over, head to toe, front to back. “I missed you. You
are all right? And the baby?” She leaned back against him, his chest solid, comforting. Finn rested his chin on her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, put his hands on her abdomen, buried his face in her hair. “How is my baby?”

That did it. Marissa burst into tears, turned around, and buried her face in his chest. “Take me home, Finn. Now.”

“I will. I’ll figure out a way. Give me time because I’m not on the best of terms with my people. That would make it kind of hard to get to a vehicle.”

Marissa wondered if she should tell him about Saraz and his claim to create portals. If she opened that door, would she have to tell him about her near-infidelity with Saraz? Okay, maybe it was more than near,
but they didn’t have sex. Then again, her body responded to Saraz in a way she didn’t like and wish it hadn’t. “If you are not on good terms with the Asazi, then—” she looked at the older Asazi man.

“
It’s unbelievable.” Finn’s tone changed. “It’s amazing. This is my father.” His smile was bright against this green skin. “Par, this is Marissa.”

The Asazi man stepped closer.

“Your father? Alive?” Marissa looked from one to the other.

“Nice to meet you, Marissa. I am called Norn.”

“I thought Finn said, Par?”

“That’s like Dad in Asazi.” Finn’s color darkened. “He didn’t die in battle. We’ll talk later.”

A small part of her felt envy because she missed her father. The greatest part of her felt joy that Finn has his father back. She knew losing him at such a young age left a gap in his life. She hugged him tighter.

Norn cleared his throat. “Let’s get back to the waterfall. It’s more ideal than this to spend the night until the sun comes up and we can get to Raiza.” Then he said something in another language to the two creatures that had captured Marissa.

She stood on tiptoe to whisper in Finn’s ear. “Who are those two?”

“They’re Kormic.
My father’s brothers-in-law.”

“That means . . .”
She didn’t want to say it out loud.

“He is with a Kormic woman.” His voice was still low.

“Are you okay with that?” He had spent all his life hating Kormic, and now, with his father married to one, it had to be difficult.

“I’m learning that so many things I held to be true aren’t
, and that things are not what they appear.”

Ugh.
She would have to tell him the truth about Saraz. All of it. She took a deep breath. Later. Not now.

“Marissa, this is Barz.” Finn pointed to the taller Kormic. “And that’s Corzine.” He indicated the other one.

Both Kormic smiled and nodded.

She did the same. “Do they speak English?”

Finn looked at Norn. “No.” Then Norn smiled. “Maybe you can teach them English while they teach you Kormic.”

Not a chance. I won’t be here long enough.
That’s what she wanted to say. “Sure.” She infused her tone with an enthusiasm she did not feel.

They all four headed into the barely moonlit forest, with Finn repeatedly asking her if she was okay and if she needed him to carry her.

Finally, they arrived at a waterfall, Norn led the way, behind the waterfall into a cave.

“Jungle cats are not fond of fire or
water. The waterfall deters them. We’ll build a fire small enough to not attract any enemies, but large enough to use for torches in the event a jungle cat does brave the water.”

Marissa was so tired she almost collapsed on the bedroll Finn laid out for her. “Will you be here
with me?” She raised up on her toes, placed her lips on his, then let her tongue trace the outline.

He groaned against her mouth. “Woman. I want you.” He pulled her close, his erection pressing against her abdomen.

“Finn.” She kept her volume to a low hiss. “Behave.”

He studied her with hooded, hard-to-read eyes. Beneath her fingertips, his shoulder muscles strained, the wings pushing against her hands.

“Get into bed. I’ll be back in a little. Let me make guard shift arrangements with Par and the brothers.”

Marissa tried to stay awake, though sleep pulled at her.

*~*~*

A kiss on her neck made her moan.
Marissa shifted so she could help probing fingers make their way up her thighs. She startled. What if it wasn’t Finn? What if it was—

“Saraz.” His name was torn from her subconscious.

‘You’re mine.’

She jerked to a sitting position. “Go away, Saraz. I’m Finn’s.”

She looked around. “Did you hear him?”

Finn
jerked upright, pulling his hands off her legs. He looked at her as if she’d lost it. “Hear who?”

“Saraz. He said I was his. Didn’t you hear it?”

Finn shook his head slowly, as if trying to process what she was saying. “You know Saraz is our god—well, the Asazi god.”

“I know. I met him. He told me about the portal. The prophecy. Everything.
”
Why the hell am I crying?
She couldn’t stop the tears that were becoming sobs. She buried her face in Finn’s chest. “He said I’m Carrier. And our baby is Bearer. And that she will give birth to Deliverer.”
Jeez.
She sounded crazy and in hysterics. “He said I had to name her Alithera and that she would have wings. And he just talked to me. In my head. Like he does. Just now. Didn’t you hear it?”

Finn was quiet and still.

She looked up from his chest. “Say something.”

“I’m not sure what to say. All of that—it is a lot to process.”

Finn

Marissa dropped her head into his chest again. She sobbed and then after even more hard sobbing, she fell still. He felt her pulse, listened for her breathing. She was fast asleep.
What in the curses was that about?
He kissed her brow, laid his hand on her abdomen were his son grew. He knew it had to be a boy. And he had to make sure his son didn’t kill her the way Finn had killed his own mother. History would not be allowed to repeat itself. He untangled himself from her arms, covered her, and walked toward the fire.

Finn was lost in his thoughts, staring at the mesmerizing flickering flames when his father found him.

“You have your woman and child. Why do you seem pensive and melancholy?”

“There is too much
, far too much going on.”

Par
said nothing, the firelight reflected off his shimmering skin, making it seem as though he glowed. And still, he said nothing.

“Marissa is not making sense.”

“Sometimes females do not. It is difficult for us to understand their complexities.”

“She is talking crazy. I think the jungle got to her. Says she met Saraz. That she is Carrier and our baby is Bearer. That Saraz is a living
being and controls our portals. That he has Asazi women living with him as concubines.”

“There is truth in what she says.”

“What part of what she says is true?” Finn was having a hard time believing one-tenth of what Marissa told him and he couldn’t even pick which tenth to believe. He was certain she’d been brainwashed or drugged.

Par
nodded.

Finn waited. “Well, which part?”

Again with the nod. “All of it.”

“What in curse’s shadow are you talking about?”

“It’s a very complicated story, I’ve only heard it in passing. It was an Asazi girl that escaped from Saraz. Heavily pregnant she was discovered by a group of Kormic . . . she died giving birth, but not before recanting a story similar to Marissa’s.”

“You saw the girl? What happened to the baby?”

“I never saw her. This was before I met Raiza. Before her village was splintered by my appearance. It is like a legend and there are several variations. The commonality of the legends are that there is one who calls himself Saraz who changes shape, lives in the monastery, can make portals, and that all of the young Asazi women that enter the monastery in service of Saraz are never seen or heard from again.”

“Everyone knows that
Par. That is what happens when we send an Asazi woman into his service at the annual festivals.”

“Exactly. And no one really knows what happens there.”

Finn shook his head. “This is so much to take in. What happened to the baby? The one that the escaped woman died giving birth to?”

“
There are a few different versions of the story. They say it was a boy. Some say it died during birth, but a Kormic woman revived it and claimed it. That it was hideously monstrous and she took it and fled to the isolation of one of the Farlands mountain ranges.”

Finn rose from the boulder he’d been sitting on. He walked around the fire, making slow circles. Marissa’s story was not founded on a dream, or drug-induced or even a hallucination. He needed to talk to her. He stopped, turned to his father. “If you know all of this
. . .”
Curses.
He was struggling to assemble a coherent thought. “You know where this monastery is?”

“Barz and Corzine know somet
hing, they were talking one day.”

“Do you believe any of this?”

“No, and I do not know if there is a man, Asazi or Kormic, or any other being living in this monastery that I’ve never seen.” He studied Finn. “Why? What are you thinking?”

“About portals. Marissa is adamant about returning and we can’t go back the same way we arrived. I’m not exactly on the friendliest of terms with our people.”

“I do not fault you for wanting to go, and as one who can never go home again, I certainly understand Marissa’s desires better than anyone. Earlier, when we were waiting for Barz and Corzine, you said if humans saw wings on the baby, whether in utero or during childbirth, that you, Marissa, and the baby would be isolated and analyzed by scientists.”

“Marissa mentioned having an unattended delivery
, to keep humans from witnessing.”

“And if the baby has wings?”
Par’s face had a stricken look.

“I know.
” Finn could only imagine Par’s next words.
So why risk it?
“She wants to go. And I love her and I’m afraid if I give her what she wants we risk her death or our discovery. If I don’t give her what she wants . . .” Finn punched his palm. “I could lose her. She may leave me.”

“I do not envy you this position. The que
stion that you have to answer is
what is more important
? Is keeping her with you more important? Worth more than her life?”

“How can you even ask that?” Finn hissed. Then he realized exactly what he was doing. “This will not be easy.”

Marissa’s scream brought all thoughts to an abrupt halt. Finn spun around, sprinted the short distance, all of a few yards, to her bedding. It was flat, empty. He turned toward the entrance to the cavern. She stood there, facing away, her back to him, immobile.

Finn ran to her, followed closely by
Par, Barz, and Corzine. He touched her arm. “Marissa?” she was cool to the touch. Her face was pale, eyes transfixed, she didn’t look his way.

“Saraz.” Her lips barely moved.

Finn looked in the direction her eyes were focused.

A man stepped out
of the shadows. No, not a man. Not Asazi, not Kormic, not human. The newcomer’s eyes glowed in the dimness, his pupils a vertical black slit in an iridescent metallic green. He was tall, imposing. Finn put his hand on his TripTip, but didn’t draw it. The newcomer had done nothing threatening, yet. His skin was interesting, and considering that Finn was Asazi and accustomed to scales . . . but this one . . . Finn wanted to lean in for a better look at the newcomer’s skin.

“Marissa. I am disappointed with you for leaving.” His voice was deep with an ethereal
timbre that made it sound unholy.

Could this be the Saraz that Marissa mentioned? The one who lived in the monastery?

The newcomer took a step closer. Finn side-stepped, half-blocking him from Marissa. He didn’t even look at Finn, as though Finn’s presence was of no consequence. He continued, “I am disappointed in your cohorts’ assistance in your endeavor to circumvent the prophecy.” He turned, waved his hands, beckoning.

Two Asazi women stepped forward. Both dressed in
flowing outfits that revealed more than they hid.
Could these be the concubines Marissa mentioned? Were these the Asazi women sent into service to Saraz?
More complications.

“Taya. Cinia.” Marissa’s voice quivered, as though s
he were scared.

She knew their names? What could Marissa be nervous about? What was there about this creature that could scare her so much?

“Though I’m disappointed in you Marissa, I am equally, if not more disappointed in these two. My favorites. Betrayers.” His voice was menacingly low.

“Sara
z, forgive us, please.” The red-haired one ran forward, lowered herself to the ground, reached for his hand.

He pulled away. “You are exiled.”

The blonde approached, stumbling on the rough terrain. “No, please. You know the Asazi will not take us back.”

“Then you will make do in
Midland.”

T
he two women wailed that Kormic would kill them. He silenced them with a wave, turned to Marissa. “You will come with me. For the good of the baby and yourself.”

Why wasn’t Marissa answering him? Why was Marissa not tell
ing the newcomer to go to hell?

Finn wondered if Marissa hadn’t told him something. Did something happen? Did she want this newcomer?

If she wasn’t going to deny him, Finn would take care of it himself. “No.” Finn stepped between them. Marissa was now directly behind him, the newcomer a few feet away.

A hum started. Low, but building to a thrum. It seemed to come from the being. The two Asazi women stumbled back, almost backing into Barz and Corzine, who hadn’t moved since they’d arrived on scene. Finn had noticed that Barz and Corzine had not registered surprise when they saw the newcomer. This lent credibility to
Par’s earlier statement that they knew something.

The thrumming grew louder still. The newcomer shook
, then twitched. His cloak fell away, a set of wings unfurled with the explosiveness of a surge. His wings were thick and black-scaled. His body expanded, thickened, turning him into a different creature, one that resembled a dragon from Earth’s folklore.

“Wh
o are you to deny me, mortal?” He gave Finn a look of acid disdain.