Chapter 14 #3
A harsh snort escaped me, the sound carrying equal parts amusement and grim realism.
“Not even I am that reckless a warrior.” The admission tasted bitter on my tongue, but it was the truth.
I would take on twenty, maybe even thirty Kwado warriors without a second thought, my shifted form more than capable of tearing through their ranks like a blade through water.
But over a hundred guards, backed by ship-mounted weapons and the tactical advantage of superior numbers? That was suicide, not strategy.
We made our way back to the village to find the Peecha rushing about in frantic preparation for battle.
They were not a warrior species, but their courage and loyalty were unmatched.
These brave souls fighting with primitive blades and wooden spears against soldiers wielding blasters would face nothing short of a massacre. I could not allow it.
I chittered to Tark, my voice carrying the weight of our situation as I explained the overwhelming number of soldiers and my plan to hide rather than engage in combat.
Tark loped to my side, and I didn’t miss the faint expression of relief that flickered across his furry face.
He called to his people, his voice booming across the village, and the preparations changed in an instant from that of impending battle to survival.
Tark’s orders were clear: take provisions for many days of hiding. He would lead them to the southern caves. Jolie and Lilibet would be safe there until the Zarpazian ship arrived. I would see to that, no matter the cost.
I turned, my heart already breaking as I took Jolie’s hands in mine.
Her brow furrowed in confusion at first, but then, as understanding dawned, her eyes went wide with fear.
The color drained from her face, leaving her pale as moonlight.
I didn’t need to say a word. She could read the goodbye written in every line of my expression.
“No,” she demanded, her voice cracking as she clutched my fingers desperately, her nails digging into my scaled skin. “No. You can’t leave us. You can’t face them alone.”
I cupped her face in my hands, marveling at how beautiful she was even in her fear. “I don’t intend to engage them—only lead them away from you and Lilibet.”
“No.” Her arms linked around my neck, pressing herself against me as if she could somehow anchor me to this spot through sheer will.
“You don’t know Qurbaga. If he catches you, he’ll…
.” Her voice broke, and my heart cracked along the same jagged lines.
She didn’t have to say it. I knew. Under Qurbaga’s hands, I would face torture, possibly worse than what the queen had dished out.
But I also knew that I would endure it. I would endure anything to keep them safe.
I slipped my arms around her trembling form and held her tightly, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, memorizing the feel of her warmth against my chest. “He won’t catch me,” I promised, although the words tasted like ash in my mouth—a lie we both recognized.
To give my females time to escape, I needed to give Qurbaga something else to focus his attention on.
“Promise me,” she demanded, her breath hot and desperate against the sensitive scales of my ear. “Promise me you’ll come back.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t lie to her. If it took my death to keep her and Lilibet safe, I was more than willing to give it.
Jolie’s lower lip trembled, tears streaming down her cheeks, each droplet catching the light like liquid jewels. “I love you,” she whispered, the words barely audible yet thundering through my soul.
“I love you,” I whispered back, my voice rough with emotion, then my lips crashed down upon hers.
A kiss that might be our last, filled with all the words we’d never have time to say.
I let my fingers thread through her golden hair, holding her as if she might disappear, as my lips and tongue worshipped hers.
“DeDe?”
Lilibet’s small, uncertain voice came from somewhere near my knees.
Reluctantly, I pulled away from Jolie’s sweet mouth and glanced down, my heart clenching at the worry etched across the youngling’s face.
Even at her tender age, she was astute enough to recognize that something was wrong.
I pressed another short, lingering kiss to Jolie’s lips and went down on my knees, bringing myself to Lilibet’s eye level.
“Hey, qizim,” I murmured softly, as Lilibet stepped into my embrace with the trusting ease of a youngling who knew she was loved.
Jolie knelt beside us, not bothering to wipe the tears that continued to streak down her face.
“Why is MeMe crying?” Lilibet’s face crumpled into a confused frown, her wide eyes darting between us.
“She’s sad because I have to go away for a while.” Lilibet was too smart to lie to. I would not disrespect her in that manner.
“No.” Lilibet laid her head against my shoulder, her small hands clutching at me with surprising strength. “Don’t go, DeDe.”
“I have to, Princess.” I kissed her chubby cheek, tasting the salt of the lone tear that fell from her lashes. “More bad males have come, and I need to lead them away so you and MeMe can hide somewhere safe.”
“You can hide with us.” She insisted with a furious shake of her head, pink curls bouncing around her face.
“I’m sorry, qizim,” I whispered, my voice breaking as I held her tightly, feeling her small heart beating like a frightened bird’s. “I have to go. You’ll be safe with MeMe and Ceeka.”
“Don’t leave DeDe,” she whimpered, dissolving into heart-wrenching sobs that tore through me like claws.
I held her tight as the sobs wracked her tiny body, each one a dagger to my soul.
Jolie cried as well, her tears falling like rain as I drew her into my embrace, cradling both against my chest. My females.
My family. The two beings who had transformed my existence from mere survival into something worth living—and dying—for.
“Keep our daughter safe,” I whispered to Jolie, my heart breaking into a thousand jagged pieces. Her short, jerky nod cracked the organ further.
“Come back to us.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand laced with love and hope.
The hardest thing I’d ever had to do was walk away from them, each step feeling like I was tearing away pieces of my own soul.
I plunged into the jungle, my feet crushing fallen leaves and snapping twigs with deliberate carelessness.
The Kwado ship had landed like a metallic blight near the treehouse, its massive hull scarring the earth and splintering trees that had stood for centuries.
Smoke curled from its landing thrusters, filling the air with the acrid stench of burned vegetation and super-heated metal.
I didn’t attempt stealth—quite the opposite.
An attack was not my goal. My goal was to divert their attention, to become the target they couldn’t ignore.
To give the Kwado something else to chase, to give my females and the Peecha time to escape.
My scales twitched and rippled like restless serpents, my protective instincts wound so tight it was a constant battle to keep my scales from shifting.
The urge to transform burned through my veins, but it was the one advantage I possessed.
I couldn’t afford to let the Kwado discover my ability just yet.
It didn’t take long for a squad to pick up my obvious trail.
Kwado were basically a stupid species, concerned only with pleasure, with absolutely no warrior prowess or tactical thinking.
Even so, enough of them swarming together could prove deadly through sheer numbers and firepower.
Thankfully, I detected no Wojonik in their midst. Qurbaga had no doubt sent those in his employ out to hunt Jolie and Lilibet like the ones that landed here.
I led them on a winding chase through the undergrowth, deliberately looping around near the waterfall—the place where Jolie and I had first made love.
The memory of how she’d looked falling apart in my arms, her eyes dark with passion, made my stomach clench with both burning desire and gnawing worry.
I heard the footsteps behind me increase in number.
Over twenty guards now crashing through the jungle like a herd of clumsy beasts, with a flanking group of five or more attempting to cut off my escape route.
They all carried military-grade blasters, the energy cells humming, and the metallic, slightly sour smell of ozone and charged particles lay heavy in the humid air.
I let them chase me for over an hour, long enough to give my females and the Peecha a substantial head start. Now it was time to give Qurbaga something else to concentrate on.
I changed my trajectory, choosing a path that would put me directly on a collision course with the Kwado. The guards looked genuinely surprised, their bulbous eyes widening so comically that I had to bite back a laugh at their slack-jawed expressions when I burst through the undergrowth.
I fought them, of course, but purely for show.
The wet smack of the broad, flabby Kwado appendages slapping against my flesh wasn’t particularly painful, more like being hit with a damp cloth than actual fists.
Still, I pretended their blows had some effect.
I needed to keep the confrontation physical and hand-to-hand.
If they resorted to their energy blasters, that would hurt considerably—might even prove fatal in my unshifted state.
“Stop!” A searing beam of energy crackled close enough to my ear to sting the sensitive scales there.
I stilled immediately, raising my hands in mock surrender while my muscles remained coiled and ready.
The Kwado stepping through the ranks of panting guards wore the elaborate ceremonial robes of royalty, the fabric shimmering with threads of precious metals.
Qurbaga.
It was a monumental struggle to keep my scales still, the overwhelming urge to kill this bastard for what he’d done to Lilibet and Jolie burning stronger than anything I’d ever felt before. A rage so pure it threatened to consume my very soul.
“Where are the females?” Qurbaga held his ornate blaster pointed directly at my chest.
“What females?” I retorted, keeping my expression carefully blank.
“My property,” he spat, venom dripping from every syllable.
I clenched my fists at my sides, every muscle in my body itching to wrap my hand around his throat and squeeze until his eyes bulged from their sockets.
“I know they are here,” Qurbaga smirked, his lips pulling back to reveal yellowed teeth. “The Wojonik comm’d that they found the human and youngling here.”
“Oh, them,” I drawled with calculated indifference, crossing my arms over my chest in a gesture of supreme unconcern. “I sent them off-planet after I killed the Wojonik.”
Qurbaga went perfectly still, and I could practically see the gears turning in his primitive mind as he tried to discern whether I was lying.
The lack of communication from the Wojonik had undoubtedly brought him here.
He was intelligent enough to know I’d done something to his guards.
The question burning in his beady eyes was whether he believed I’d successfully moved Jolie and Lilibet beyond his reach as well.
“Where are they?” he finally demanded, his voice rising to a near shriek.
I shrugged my shoulders, the gesture earning me a rather pathetic smack to the back of my head from a nearby guard.
“Tell me!” Spittle flew from Qurbaga’s mouth in his rage, droplets catching the filtered sunlight.
“Make me,” I challenged with a smile. I wanted him to try. I wanted his complete and undivided attention focused on me. The longer I could keep it there, the better chance my family had of disappearing.
Qurbaga stepped closer, his bulbous eyes narrowing to slits. “Oh, I will.”