Ultimate Passage: New Beginnings: Box Set ( Books 1-4) (27 page)

“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 moved 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 pass through 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’d shared with Finn 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 and 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. We are 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 and tied the drawstring at her waist. She yanked the top over her head, stretching it to allow herself 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 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.”

F
inn looked at his father
, wondering if he understood the risks. Then he realized, of course he understood them, and yet he was offering to risk so much. “You have a son, Raiza, and 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.” Finn pointed to the two Kormic who had brought him here. “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, and 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 who 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 and 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, which was 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, assessing, but it didn’t attack.

“Jungle cats cannot be tamed,” Finn scoffed.

“Someone should tell Lev, then.”

“Lev? You named it?”

No sooner had the words left Finn’s lips than Feroz stepped around him and stood in front of the massive jungle cat. The little boy was no 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 had no idea jungle cats were even able to purr.

Feroz squealed in delight as the cat nudged the boy with its 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. Apparently, he was 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 on 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. “We will drop them off, and 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.”

M
arissa took a last 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. It was a 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 shaped like a heart at eye level. 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 wouldn’t have much hope. She’d head back to Dekard and hope he was somewhere in the area.

Taya and Cinia had been 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, but miserable under the weight. She took a deep breath, and began a trek through the undergrowth.

F
our 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, up ahead. Then she looked at her boots. Clearly, they were her own tracks. This was unbelievable. And it 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 had she, an average American woman, a former restaurant owner, ended up here? On this planet, far from home, in perpetual danger? Finn’s handsome, rugged face came to mind. 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 had been flirting with Belle. Marissa had had no idea she was his Target at the time. Neither of them had had a clue they’d fall for each other. And now—this. A rain forest 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 off. While she had been in the midst of her mental meanderings, something had 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 that wasn’t the case here, that she was simply 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 were 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-her-knees praying.
I’m such a hypocrite.
She closed her eyes, trying 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 there was 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 was real or what was her imagination. She blinked again.

Finn was one thing. Saraz was another. But these two creatures... something very different than either Finn or 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 halves of their faces were human jaws, but their chins had striations, raised pale lines that emanated from their lower lips, traveled over their chins, 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 a 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 who had pointed at her. She made a leap that would’ve done her old track coach proud.

A hand on her arm brought her retreat to an abrupt halt, and 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. If they knew her name, that could only mean one thing.

Saraz. He’d probably sent these two creatures.

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

P
ar paused
and 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 dangerous it would be 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 going 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.

F
inn 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, not to mention you are announcing our presence to every creature within hearing distance.”

Finn swiveled. “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.”

The sound of 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 have 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 the 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 Barz’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, and Par brought up the rear.

A good distance later, 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, barely audible. Finn glanced at the trees, scanning the branches in what little light the moon afforded. There. He saw movement. He grabbed Par’s shoulder and pointed. 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 was completely ensconced in Corzine’s arms. He’d wrapped his legs around her, and had one hand pressed over her mouth.