Karac: Kaldar Warriors #1 (25 page)

“Is it true you come from a far off planet?”  The leader asked.  I didn’t respond.  “We will find your planet and take the females so the Kaldarhns cannot mate.” 

“What if they don’t want to go with you?”

“Who said they would have a choice?”  He smirked.  “Any who oppose us will die.”

“You can’t kill off an entire race!”  I screamed.  He shrugged.

“By killing your race, we get two with one stone.  No mates, no Kaldarhns.”  The vehicle suddenly stopped and the Degrens opened the doors.  Two Degrens grabbed my arms and pulled me from the vehicle.  Looking around, I noticed we were at the ship dock. 
Where was everybody?
  Before I could really look around, my captors pulled me toward a ship up ahead.  We got about ten feet before three other vehicles flooded the area and Kaldar warriors streamed out.  I was pulled around to face them as my eyes met with Karac’s. 

I could feel the fury radiating from him in waves as he took in my ripped dress, mussed hair, and bruised face.  His gaze turned to the Degren leader and turned lethal.  Somewhere from the celebration to here, Karac had picked up another sword strapped to his waist and daggers hanging from his hips.  Calzen stood beside Karac with just as many weapons.  Twenty Kaldar warriors faced off with the scraggly seven remaining Degrens.  Karac took a step in our direction and I suddenly felt the tip of a blade at my neck as the two holding my arms let go.  Karac froze mid step. 

“We meet again, Karac.”  The leader taunted from behind me. 

“Dreslic.”  Karac bit out with disdain. 

“Seems we are in a predicament.  Should you attack, you will lose your mate.  Should you let us go, you will lose your mate.  Not much of a choice, is it?”  Dreslic chuckled darkly.  “At least she would be alive in one scenario…for now.”

“If you leave with her, you know we will follow.  How will your master like that?”

“He would enjoy the chance to kill you with his own hands.”

“You will not make it out of our galaxy.”  Karac growled. 

“I don’t know about that.”  Dreslic mocked. 

“You don’t have the technology to tear space.”

“We may not…yet.  But our friends do.”  I could see Karac trying to figure out who would help the Degrens and have the technology.  But as Dreslic hitched the knife a little higher, almost nicking my neck, Karac focused on the here and now. 

“Remove the knife from her throat.” 

“Now why would I do that?”  Dreslic asked mockingly. 

“We will not attack when she is in your possession.  Besides, she’s a female.  How dangerous can she be?  Unless you’re scared of a female.”

“I am scared of no female.”  He snarled. 

“Then remove the knife.  Show she doesn’t pose a threat to you.”  I could hear Dreslic breathing furiously behind me, insulted that he would ever hide behind a woman’s skirts. 

“Fine.”  He pulled the knife away from my throat and I could hear him sheath it at his side. 

“Ashley?”  I looked to Karac as he studied me intently.

“Do you remember how to sing?”  My eyes widened fractionally as I slowly nodded.  Dreslic still had one of his arms around my collar bone, leaving his sternum uninhibited.  At least he didn’t have knives belted across his chest that could hurt my next move.  Before I could second guess my decision, I hit his solar plexus, instep, turned and rammed his nose with my hand, then lifted my knee up as hard as I could into his groin.  The last step was an addition from training with Karac.  I dropped to the ground and rolled toward the Kaldar warriors.  As I dropped, battle cries ensued and I heard warriors rush past me and attack the Degren fighters.  Familiar hands reached down and pulled me tight against a hard chest before locking eyes with me.

“Are you hurt?”  Karac asked as his hands roved over me. 

“No, I’m fine.”  He looked over my face, didn’t believe me, but didn’t question my answer.  His eyes slid past me and I glanced over my shoulder to see Dreslic dragging himself toward the ship.  No one was stopping him. 

“Calzen,” Karac barked out.  Calzen had just dispatched one of the last Degren nearest to us and stepped up beside us with eyes blazing from adrenaline.  “Protect her.”

“With my life.”  Calzen nodded before pulling me toward him and Karac gave me one last look before rushing after Dreslic.  I watched as Karac weaved in and out of the battle, deflecting hits as he finally reached his target.  Dreslic pulled out his sword but was no match for Karac.  Dreslic blocked the first blow, the second had his sword broken in half, and the third was his downfall.  Within moments, the fighting was over and the Kaldarhn warriors had bound any surviving prisoners.  Dreslic was not one of them. 

Karac made his way back to me, holding my gaze the entire way.  After he cleared the mayhem, I ran and launched into his arms.  His lips came down hard, claiming me for all to see.  Slowly he gentled and was able to pull back with his forehead resting on mine.  He took a deep breath before speaking.

“I thought the worse when I got your message.”

“Took you long enough.”  I teased to lighten the mood.  Karac didn’t find it funny.

“I’m so sorry you were hurt.”  He brought his hand up to the side of my still throbbing face and I couldn’t hide the wince when he lightly touched it.

“No big deal.  It will fade in a week.”

“He shouldn’t have touched you.”

“Well, I think he paid the ultimate price.”

“I wish he was alive so I could kill him again.”

“Shh…it’s ok.  I’m fine.  You’re fine-“ Gasping I looked around.  “Where is Merrik?  Is he ok?”

“Merrik was taken to medical.  He will recover fully but his pride took a hit when you were taken.”

“Wasn’t his fault.  We were drastically outnumbered and I was clumsy.”  I shrugged. 

“How did they get their hands on you?”  I took a deep breath and explained how I was trying to help and lost my balance and tripped.  That’s when they grabbed me.

“You killed four Degrens?”  He asked shocked. 

“I don’t know if I wielded the killing blow, but I helped them along.”  Karac raised his brow in amazement, then smirked.  “I wasn’t going to just stand there and NOT help.”  I huffed.

“My warrior princess.”  He chuckled before kissing me again.  He pulled back and looked into my eyes.  “I love you, Ashley.”

I caught my breath.  Looking into his eyes I could see pride, happiness, devotion, and most of all, love shining bright.  I smiled with tears in my eyes as I replied, “I love you, too.”

“You are the light to my darkness.”  He whispered.  He reached up and cupped my face between his hands before adding, “Without you, I am nothing.  You, are my universe.  I can’t live without you.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you won’t ever have to.”  I kissed him and settled into his arms, happy with the knowledge that we had a long future ahead to spend together. 

Yeah, we still had to deal with this Ranirc guy, and there was probably going to be a war with the way things were shaping up.  But looking around at the deadly warriors around me I knew nothing would break the Kaldarhns.  They all deserved happiness.  And I intended to make sure they got it even if I had to kill that Ranirc leader myself.  Although, knowing how Karac would want to have first crack, I thought we should probably start a line to take turns.  Together we would find a solution to end the war or rid the universe of the Degrens.  Together, we would live, the Kaldarhns would find Earth truemates, and life in our seven galaxies would thrive. 

Thank you for reading my book!  I hope you enjoyed it.  As I am new to this whole book writing thing, I would appreciate your feedback.  I’m still learning every day and have to remember that when it is all done, I FINALLY get to share the story with you.  I’d like to hear what things you would suggest to change to make your read more enjoyable.  And if there is nothing you would change?  Hey, I’d like to hear about that too.
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I’m from a small town, went to a small college, and majored in science and math.  While I enjoy those subjects, my passion has always been reading.  I finally convinced myself to sit down, finish one of the stories I have playing out in my head, and see where it goes.  Hopefully, fingers crossed, you’ll be able to hear some of them as they slowly take form in my books.  Until next time!