Star's Storm: Lords of Kassis Book 2 (13 page)

Star let her eyes focus in on the opening
where the warriors were again. She would have to take them out. She
couldn’t trust to use the small, knock-out powder bombs that Madas
made her. The area was too open and the breeze would be blowing it
away from them. She would need to kill them; quickly and silently.
The door she needed to access was inside where they were standing.
Her heart twisted at the idea of taking another life but she would
do whatever she had to do to rescue Jazin. It wasn’t like she
hadn’t killed before, she reminded herself silently as she pulled
the goggles from her head and stuffed them into the backpack. She
looked down from where she was sitting. She would have to climb
down less than a meter to a narrow metal platform surrounding the
cable she would be crossing. The diameter of the cable was actually
a little thicker than what she was used to balancing on so she felt
confident the crossing wouldn’t be too difficult. Her eyes rose to
the sky. She would start out in another ten minutes. In the
meantime, she would organize her pack so she would have everything
she needed handy.

“I’m coming for you Jazin,” Star murmured
softly into the twilight. “If you can feel me, I’m coming for
you.”

*.*.*

Jazin’s head jerked up. He had fallen into a
light sleep thanks in part to the utter exhaustion in his body and
to the pain patches that still helped to relieve some of his
discomfort. His eyes searched the darkness of his cell. He had
heard Star’s voice. He could swear he could almost feel her warm
breath against his skin. She was close. His eyes closed tightly as
he fought against the fear that rose inside him like lava inside a
volcano that could no longer contain it.

He had been left blissfully alone for the
past few hours since Jarmen had left to see if he could pick up any
signs of communication or get a feel for when Tai Tek was expected
to return. A shudder rocked Jazin’s body. He hoped the councilman
hadn’t returned. He was hanging onto life by a thread. He had only
had the small amount of water and nutrients that Jarmen had brought
him. Between the lack of food and water and blood loss from the
torture his body had endured, he was extremely weak. Fear engulfed
him at the thought of what would happen to Star if Tai Tek got his
hands on her.

“Please, if you are listening,” Jazin
whispered quietly into the cold darkness surrounding him. “Please,
keep her safe.”

Before he had met Star, it had been years
since he thought of the Gods that had liberated their world.
Zephren, the God of War, his two sons and three daughters had come
to their world thousands of years ago. The ancient scripts tell of
a time when the people of Kassis had been almost extinct. Their
world taken over by a cruel race of aliens who wanted to strip
their world of everything that lived. Zephren, his two sons and
three daughters arrived on the night the twin moons of Kassis
aligned with one another to form one moon. It was said to only
happen once every two thousand years. The skies turned a dark
purple from the fierce storm that raged in the heavens. Out of the
storm, six great ships appeared in the skies over the last
remaining cities of Kassis, each commanded by one of the Great Gods
and the Goddesses. The battle that followed was fierce but by the
end, the people of Kassis were free. His family was supposed to be
descended from one of the Goddesses. The goddess was said to have
fallen in love with the commander of the forces protecting the city
where his home was located while her sisters were said to have
fallen in love with his cousins. It is said that is how the
different clans had formed in an effort to make their world
stronger. In fact if he remembered the lessons he received when he
was a boy, the garden located in the center of the Four Houses of
Kassis is where his forefather and the Goddess were said to have
sworn their love and the Royal Houses of Kassis were built for
their children. He was named after that great warrior from long
ago.

Now,
he thought as he leaned his head
back against the jagged wall,
I have my own alien
warrior.

How his ancestor dealt with having a mate
who was in constant danger was beyond him. He could feel his gut
twist at the thought of anything happening to Star. A small smile
tugged at his lips as he thought of her mutinous glare after he had
returned to his House with her. She was constantly trying to sneak
out or do things he felt were too much for her. Her blistering
curses still stung his ears whenever he would catch her just as her
heated kisses warmed his soul. A chuckle escaped as he
remembered.

No,
he thought,
I wouldn’t want
her any other way. I love her so much. I don’t remember if I ever
told her that. I have to live so I can tell her just how much she
means to me.

He pulled a pain patch he had hidden from
under a loose rock and slid it into place on his neck. If what
Jarmen said was true, others knew where he was and would be coming
for him. He would need to do what he could to help. He focused
inward, trying to focus his mind and body on gathering the strength
it would need when the time came. Hope blossomed inside him as he
realized he would not die alone in this unknown prison. A fierce
burning rage began building with that hope. He would return home.
He would not let his people down. He would not leave them
vulnerable to attack. He was Jazin Ja Kel Coradon, the third son of
the ruling House of Kassis, descendant of the Goddess and the great
warrior Jazin. He would rise to protect his people as was his right
as a Lord of Kassis.

He rose slowly, steadily as he felt the
spirit of the warriors of old return to his mind and body. With
concentrated effort, he began moving in a focused pattern. Slowly
at first, before he increased the speed as his body responded to
his commands. He ignored the torn flesh on his chest and back, he
ignored the pull on the cuts or the ache from the bruises. The pain
patch was doing its job of blocking most of his discomfort. He
turned, striking out in the age old dance of the warrior. He would
be ready when his mate came. He would fight beside her as long as
he could.

*.*.*

Star paused as she waited for the gust of
wind to finish its twirling, shifting flow around her. It wasn’t
bad but there were occasional gusts that threaten to unbalance her.
She stood straight until it passed, the long staff in her hands
tilting ever so slightly when she needed the additional balance on
one side or the other. The shoes she had on were softer than the
boots in the bag on her back. She kept the small crossbow and arrow
tucked securely under the bag. She stared straight ahead, feeling
carefully with her toes as her eyes focused on the image of the end
of the wire that she had in her head. She had descended from her
hiding place just after dark and stepped onto the wire. She
estimated she had just under a hundred meters to the tower. She had
paused four times as gusts gathered and danced around her, trying
to unbalance her slight form. She refused to bend to it. Now as the
end approached, she focused on it. She was close enough to see
where the wire was bolted into the heavy stone fortress. A search
light danced under her briefly but it was scanning far lower than
where she stood.

She breathed out a silent sigh of relief as
she stepped on the slanted roof of the tower. Leaning forward, she
gripped one of the iron rings used as a foot and hand hold. She
twisted and sat down, pulling the backpack and crossbow off her
back. She tucked the backpack around one of the iron rings higher
up before loading two arrows into the crossbow. She clenched
another arrow between her teeth before she climbed down to the last
ring. Turning, she slid her feet under the ring and did a slow back
bend. She would be hanging by her feet from the ring and firing the
crossbow upside down. It would be similar to when she was doing
some of her acts. She just needed to focus on the fact that the
targets were a living, moving entity. Arching her back, she slowly
lowered her body using the muscles she had perfected over a
lifetime of training. She barely reached pass the edge of the roof.
She remained still, her muscles straining as she carefully took
aim. One warrior came around the corner to talk to the other man.
She would have to be quick to kill them both.

“I need refreshments,” the one warrior was
saying to the other. “Do you want anything?”

“Bring me some food,” the other grumbled as
he moved the light in a slow arc. “I didn’t get any dinner. Tai
Tek’s new Captain of the Guard ordered me up here instead. This is
the third shift I have had without a break,” he complained. “I am
going to catch a few hours of sleep later.”

“Might as well,” the first warrior replied
stepping forward until he was in the way of the other man. “Nothing
happens here. I don’t mind, just don’t let the Captain catch you,”
he muttered darkly. “He slit two of the warriors throats for
complaining earlier.”

“The first chance I get, I am off this
rock,” the man replied. “I can find better pay selling fighters to
the fight rings on Elpidios than I do here.”

“Maybe we can go in together,” the man said
before he turned to head towards the door. His eyes widened when he
saw Star’s long, blond braid hanging down below her.

Star fired the crossbow just as the man
opened his mouth. He jerked back a step in surprise and looked down
at the arrow protruding from his chest before collapsing to the
floor. The first man turned in surprise and took a step forward but
that was as far as he got before Star released the second arrow,
hitting him in the throat. The man’s strangled gasp was soft but
seemed to echo loudly in Star’s sensitive ears. She quickly pulled
herself back up. Twisting, she grabbed the backpack and slid it
over her shoulders. She left the staff balanced on the rings and
clipped the crossbow securely to her side before climbing back down
to the last ring. She turned facing the top of the roof and did a
handstand, holding onto the ring before letting her body fall over
the side of the roof and swinging into the open area. She tucked
and rolled, coming up on one knee and quickly threaded another
arrow into the crossbow. After making sure she was alone except for
the two dead bodies, she tapped the small device hooked to her ear
to turn it on.

“I’m in,” she whispered before she turned
the device back off.

Star removed the backpack and pulled out the
three items she would need to take down the defense system. She
pulled the woven mask over her face making sure it was secure
before she pulled out two of the small round, clay powder balls
that Madas had made for her. The last thing she pulled out was the
device to unlock the door without alerting those inside. She stood
up and walked over to the narrow doorway. A panel was lit next to
it. Star attached the device and pressed the button Dakar showed
her. She waited impatiently, looking around her as a series of
lights on the panel changed from red to green. Her eyes skirted the
two men she had killed. She refused to feel remorse. Those men had
made their choice when they decided to work for Tai Tek. From what
she heard before she shot them, they planned on doing other things
that would have hurt others as well. The last light turned and the
door in front of her opened silently. Star stepped in and turned,
facing the door as it closed behind her. There would be no turning
back now.

*.*.*

“She’s in,” Dakar called out quietly to
Madas who was working her way down the side of the mountain.

“We are almost to the cable,” Madas
responded in a soft hiss.

Dakar glanced down. He could see the cable
as clear as day with the night goggles on. Madas had not needed
any. He was learning some very interesting things about his Tearnat
companion. She had a spunk about her that the women of Kassis
lacked. She also had a strange sense of humor that he liked. She
had offered to carry him on her back down the side of the mountain
if he wanted. When he had bit back an angry retort she had
dissolved in giggles that told him she knew he would have never
accepted such help. When he threatened to tell Gril about her offer
she had blushed furiously.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” she hissed out
as she ducked her head.

“Why? Do you think he would be upset to know
that you had another male wrapped around you?” Dakar had asked with
a raised brow enjoying watching the female Tearnat shift
uncomfortably.

Madas long lashes rose and she looked at
Dakar with a small smile. “He can be very jealous. If you were on
my back, he might think you were trying to mount me,” she hissed
out with a chuckle. “Not that you would, but he would not see it as
that.”

Dakar’s eyes widened as he studied Madas.
She was very beautiful in her own way. Her long lashes framed
midnight colored eyes that glittered often with humor, compassion,
and intelligence. He let his eyes run down over the slender curve
of her head and neck before traveling down her body. She was
different but she beautiful.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Lady Madas,” Dakar
said with a slight curve to his lips in return. “You are a very
beautiful lady. It is hard to ignore that and I am sure your mate
is more aware of your beauty than you appear to be,” he responded
before disappearing over the edge of the mountain.

Madas’ eyes widened as Dakar’s words sank in
and she blushed an even darker green as his eyes roamed over her.
Never before had she thought that another male would look at her
with desire the way Gril did. The fact that the Kassisan warrior
saw her as a desirable female stunned her. She would have to ask
her mate about it. Madas pictured Gril’s face when she related what
the warrior had just said and decided maybe, just maybe, it would
be better not to say anything after all.