Page 9 of 80% Beef 20% Cake (Alien Fated Mates #2)

9

G inger’s head lolled against my breastbone as I ran through the tunnel. I bit down on my lip. It still tasted of Ginger, rich and spicy. Her linnea scent magnified my senses, alerting me to the dangers awaiting us at the cave entrance. Water trickled louder beneath the tunnel’s volcanic rock floor, and the drone of the wind in the distance strained the limits of my hearing. Would the enforcers draw the hellsna away? Would we be freed? Will Ginger’s lip mesh with mine again?

The muscles in her leg clenched again, only relaxing when I pressed the pad of my thumb to her bunched thigh. Ahead, light streamed into the tunnel, highlighting the dark shadows under her eyes. Ginger needed Dr. Ten’s care in a way that set my teeth on edge.

Though I’d encountered hellsna more times than I could count, they’d never shaken me until now. With Ginger in the mix, my heart raced. A deep inhale refocused me. The thousands of repetitive drills I’d completed as lead elite guard returned like muscle memory.

We arrived at the entrance with no time to spare. Tucked behind the narrow ledge that acted as a doorway, I protected my charge from what might come. As Ginger slept, I dug into her bag and slipped her long-sleeve shirt over her tiny starburst-covered top to prevent her teeth from chattering in the cold air.

“I have this, King Kong.” She woke, her voice a raspy breath, and batted at me like a jungle kitten while she adjusted her shirt. The monster hadn’t made itself known yet, which led me to believe the enforcers hadn’t arrived.

Ginger shivered. “I forgot how blanting cold it is up here.”

I leaned against the pock-marked volcanic rock as close to the entrance as I dared and chuckled at how she tested the foreign swear word on her tongue. My gear bag jumped and rustled against my shoulder, and when I went to investigate, two eyes peered at me. Camouflaged among the contents, the dorat’s tail flickered on and off. I ran my thumb down her spine to show her my appreciation for staying with me and zipped the bag almost shut.

What I really wanted was to help Ginger get her coat on. Her arms jerked in slow increments, and her fingers trembled from the cold. Her mittens should’ve been on by now. The brittle volcanic rock wall crumbled under my fingers as I held back. My help wouldn’t be welcome. I’d learned to let her take the lead. Unless her stubbornness became a problem. Which happened to be right now.

“Ginger, the enforcers aren’t knowledgeable about hellsna.” I squared my shoulders and stood straight so she could gauge my seriousness. “We must expect the unexpected and move without argument or discussion.” The wrinkles that bracketed her nose pinched together, and I itched to smooth them out with my thumb.

She fumbled with the fasteners on her bag. “What are you getting at, JayJay?”

My voice remained calm, but inside, irritation and heat sizzled below my skin. “Precisely what I said. You can’t argue with me.”

“If you think I’m going to sit here idly like some princess and do nothing, then you’ve another thing coming, King Kong.” On shaky legs, she pulled her bootlaces so tight they were in danger of snapping. “I’m not fragile. Nor am I one of your soldiers to command. I have a perfectly functional mind—”

A shriek rent the air, and my ears rang, blocking Ginger’s tirade. But it looked like she was counting under her breath and taking deep breaths.

She stretched her long neck from side to side and exhaled one more time. “You’re right. I’ll quit being a pain in the ass and stop arguing.”

A calm quiet washed over us. Time stopped when I pushed Ginger’s hair behind her ear and placed her linobee hat on.

The next moment, all hell broke loose. Outside, the hellsna slammed against our prison walls, showering dust over our heads, and voices shouting commands rose above the hellsna’s shrill calls. Rushing, I strapped our bags to my back.

D’Rasma and D’Argon’s familiar voices shouted, penetrating our safe shelter. Their voices bounced off the cave walls. “Did someone call for a rescue?”

The brothers’ sharp-toothed grins shone a bright white against their deep brown skins as they rushed through the concealed entrance. I’d never been so happy to see their razor-sharp smiles.

D’Rasma tapped his mittened hand against his wristport. “Chop, chop. Time is of the essence. That big white bastard won’t get the best of us.”

I swept a sideways glance at the enforcers. “It’s good to see you.”

I scooped Ginger into my arms, and true to her word, she didn’t complain. The linobee from her mittens slid like silk along the nape of my neck, and I swallowed hard at the memory of her hands pressed to my cheeks as her lips grazed mine.

Ginger patted my arm as I stumbled into the harsh light, blinking through my temporary snow blindness.

“Oh my God,” she cried, voice soft, her mittened hand covering her mouth.

What remained of the young forest was splintered everywhere. Enormous boulders were strewn about, and blood splatters marred the cave entrance where the monstrous maggot had bludgeoned itself while it attempted to reach us.

D’Argon and D’Rasma clicked their Boola teeth while they scanned the tattered forest for danger.

“Let’s go.” D’Argon led the way over a trail compacted by the worm’s underbelly as it toiled, waiting for us. Farther down the volcano’s side, hoverbikes hummed in the distance, interspersed with the shrieks of the hell-bent worm.

“Gah, that sound creeps me out.” Ginger shivered as I picked my way through the carnage.

If I had hair, would mine stand, too?

“How did you divert them?” I asked the brothers, both camouflaged in snow-blue pants and jackets.

D’Rasma’s toothy grin flashed over his shoulder. “It was actually Sully’s idea. Pure genius.” Breath puffed around him in white wisps. “YimYim has this toy…”

When D’Rasma’s dramatic pause went on too long, D’Argon took over. “It’s a flying toy. Loud. Kinda buzzy.” D’Argon jumped over a dislodged rock in his path. “Operated by remote control and long range.”

Their plan formed in my mind, sliding into place like a hinge—genius. “That’s extremely clever.”

My fists clenched as I warred with my need to contact Yagras and share this strategy with the new elite guard. The tiny elephant charms wrapped around my wrist chimed. Strangely, Ginger’s eyes appeared to be locked on my forehead ridge, and then she patted my hand. Sooner than I expected, we crested the lip overlooking the valley, and my hoverbike came into view.

Bossman Geo’s palm rested in the curve of Makir’s back, where they paced alongside my hovee. Even in their evident worry, they seemed bolstered by a new self-assurance in each other. Beside them, Sisip’s tawny ears flicked as she called in her enforcers.

Ginger launched herself from my arms as we neared. “I missed you guys.” A flurry of hugs and tears followed. She stood crushed between Geo and Makir, whose blue tail wrapped around the threesome like the ribbon on a gift.

Someone had cleared the snow from around my hovee. Though I should have been thankful, my shoulders deflated. Feeling a strange sense of uselessness, I strapped our bags down, carefully avoiding the dorat. With Ginger in the arms of her friends, the urge to celebrate our freedom had vanished. The rescue had been too easy and left me full of adrenaline, with no battle in sight.

Sisip approached, resting a tawny-furred hand on my elbow. “JayJay, it’s good to see you alive and well.” The wispy tips of her ears blew in the wind. “Looks like I can check reconnaissance of the Starry Mountains off my list?”

I let her teasing distract me from stewing and wiggled my forehead. “You mean Starry Volcano.”

“It’s a volcano?” The pointed ears atop Sisip’s head twitched as she studied the snow-capped peak. Without a conical depression to characterize it as a volcano, no one had suspected the Starry Mountains weren’t mountains.

“It’s definitely a volcano,” Ginger chimed in, gathering Geo’s hands and spinning them in a sort of dance. “And so much more. Spiky blue cucumbers to eat, flowers to drink from and vines and mushrooms grow as far as your eye can see—well, my eyes, anyway. The ground’s like a trampoline, and the air’s like a tropical summer day.” The whimsy in her voice drew everyone closer.

Makir’s long blue tail wrapped around Ginger’s waist as if he wanted some part of him to touch her. I could relate.

“Of course,” Geo said, his voice filled with revelation. “The geothermal energy must have a source. The Starry Moun—Volcano makes perfect sense.”

I placed my hand on the lump in my bag and subtly kneaded. Bossman tended to go on and on about geothermal power, and judging by how he rubbed his beard, this time would prove no different. Hopefully the dorat had buried herself deep in my clothes. I didn’t want the chill to harm her.

As if just remembering my presence, Geo walked over and gripped my elbow. “Whatever you need, JayJay…no matter the hour of the day, I’m here for you.”

A trickle of warmth slipped past the numbness that had replaced the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

“I mean it. Anything. You name it.” Geo looked bigger than when he’d rushed off to Lorne, Makir’s home planet, to deal with a family emergency, and his confident bearing made him seem like a different male.

Sisip’s voice rose above those gathered. “We aren’t out of hot water yet. D’irk has drawn the hellsna away but it is still very much alive. Let’s reconvene at Makir’s where I expect a full report on the volcano. And, JayJay”—she shook her finger at me—“I hear you’ve withheld information from me. I fear this won’t be the last encounter with a hellsna, and I’ve been told you’re an expert. Your council is required.”

“Sisip is right, JayJay,” Geo added before he turned to face Sisip. “If his schedule needs to be altered, consider it done. Protecting Tern from these veiny bastards takes priority. House building can wait.”

Beside me, Ginger’s teeth chattered. I ignored what seemed like my conscription to the enforcers and grasped her wrist loosely. “We’re leaving.”

“All right, all right. I’m coming already.” She smiled at Geo as he nuzzled into the back of Makir’s neck, where they doubled on his hoverbike, then trudged toward my hovee. “I’m fine.” Her moment of reasonableness seemed to have passed.

Relief loosened my shoulders. She’d returned to her regular hostile self. When she’d danced around like a youngling, it had baffled me. Nestled between my legs and arms on the padded seat, her presence eased a hollow in my chest. Her white hair whipped against my chin in the icy wind as we coasted over the frozen ground. It warmed the skin on my exposed head.

Do I want to hunt hellsna again? Or will Sisip ask me to train soldiers as I once did for the elite guard? Blue humps of snow-covered debris passed below us as we exited the wastelands. Do I want my old life back?

If not for the chattering of Ginger’s teeth and her poor health, I could’ve driven us around the outskirts of Yurstille all rotation and not arrived at a conclusion. A part of me ached for a different life altogether. One I’d never experienced before. But all too soon, Makir’s front door loomed. Geo’s dogs burst through the open doorway and spread their love and exuberance with sloppy tongues and tail whips to anyone who paid them attention.

What will the dorat think of them whenever she decides to make herself known?

Ginger barely had time to get her boots off before I said, loud enough for Geo and Makir to hear, “After you’ve taken your medicine, showered and put on warm clothes, you will discuss your health with Geo.”

As expected, she scowled, and the cute wrinkles on her nose appeared again. Clearly about to let me have it, Ginger snapped her mouth shut when Geo and Makir hurried toward her with a flurry of questions, preventing what would undoubtedly be a scathing reply.

“Medicine? Are you hurt? You look exhausted.” Geo assaulted her with his concern.

When Ginger said nothing, Geo spun toward me, looking for answers, tugging the ends of his beard with too much force.

“I’ve said enough. The rest is Ginger’s story.” I’d learned from my experience leading a team that sometimes you needed to be shoved into difficult situations. I escaped to the central bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I’d let just enough slip that Geo and Makir wouldn’t relent until she disclosed the dismal state of her health.

From the kitchen, Makir called back over one shoulder, “I’ll prepare soup, tea and Earth coffee. And oh…maybe some of those graneth cinnamon…”

“I need a shower before I tackle this conversation,” Ginger announced as she stormed down the hall and slammed the bathroom door closed.

I opened the courtyard doors to Makir’s pool area and placed my gear bag against the pink earthen wall. Behind me, Geo and Makir remained in the kitchen, ready to pounce on Ginger as soon as she appeared.

Lush plants lined the pool’s edge and filled every space, creating an oasis amid Tern’s cold winter. I sighed as the wonderful humidity generated by the geothermal power met the dry, cracked skin on my head. I missed the volcano already. I unzipped the bag. The dorat could hide among the greenery.

From the lounge chair I sat on, the wispy tips of Sisip’s ears appeared over the gate to the courtyard, and D’Rasma and D’Argon’s arguing over who had lured the hellsna away drifted through the warm air. I groaned, muscles protesting as I rose from the low chair to let them in. They followed me to the poolside seating.

Makir rushed out with a tray of hot drinks and a welcoming smile, but returned just as quickly to Geo’s side. Sisip passed me a steaming container.

“So, what haven’t you told me?” Sisip’s intuition surprised me.

Best to get to the point. “There are at least three more hellsna, maybe four. We found a hibernaculum.”

Sisip nodded and exchanged worried glances with D’Rasma and D’Argon.

The bitter Earth coffee tasted like dirt on my tongue. “It’s accessible through a long canyon within the volcano. If you follow the river of magma that flows along the west side, there are two points of entry from the canyon. The magma river, which isn’t an option for obvious reasons, and a small hole located fifty meters up the vertical face of a volcanic rock wall. They’ll also have multiple unknown egress points outside the volcano.”

“How do you kill them?” D’Rasma’s toothy grin had disappeared.

At the same time, Sisip said, “We’ll need to locate those entry and exit points.”

I could almost see the gears spinning in her head, imagining all the havoc they could wreak upon Tern and how she would prevent it. At one time, those same worries had belonged to me.

“I can’t believe there might be five of those big bastards?” D’Argon growled.

Sisip’s wristport pinged, and she accepted an incoming com.

An image of D’irk—deep brown Boola skin shining, sharp teeth bared in a smile—projected over the pool before the audio came through. “The hellsna has been diverted to the west of Starry Mountain. Unfortunately, YimYim’s toy will need to be replaced. That fat bastard moves faster than blaster fire.”

Sisip tipped her chin at the projection. “Thank you, D’irk. Tell the remainder of your team I am pleased with the outcome.” The corners of her split-lipped mouth turned up. “And where did you last see that big, fat bastard?”

“Headed back to the mountain.”

“All enforcers will be debriefed tomorrow at seven suns. Watch your backs on the return trip.”

D’irk nodded before he closed the com on his wristport, and the image dissolved.

Sisip turned back to me. “Carry on, JayJay.”

“Bloodroot fungus kills them.” I’d already had this conversation with Mayor Yurst, but judging by how Sisip leaned forward in her chair, he hadn’t shared the information. “To be effective, they must eat it.” I polished my head with my palm. “Bonic is currently in talks with my replacement on Yagras, however, my understanding is they are at a standstill. Mayor Yurst is reluctant to pay.”

“He won’t pay?” Sisip scowled.

“I explained the extreme risk of damage and potential for lives lost, but he brushed off my concerns.”

D’Rasma growled, “That self-righteous statue-of-himself-loving, worthless dung heap.”

Tight-lipped, Sisip typed a rapid com. “Mayor Yurst will attend our debrief tomorrow. I’ve informed him it’s not optional.” She stood and gathered her tea container. “You must be tired, JayJay.”

I nodded to the three enforcers. “Thank you for coming to our aid.”

“You can thank us at the cantina, my friend.” D’Rasma lifted his tea container as if giving a toast, and I chuckled.

Ginger, Geo and Makir remained huddled around the long concrete table in the kitchen as the enforcers departed. The excitement of the rescue had worn off, but Ginger had enough energy to level me with a glare as I returned the tray. Her illness had exacerbated the shadows under her eyes. The dogs rested on top of all the feet under the table, and even their moods were somber.

“I’ll let you know Sisip’s plans, boss man.” I slung my bag carefully over my shoulder. “Get some rest, Ginger.” Ginger’s head lay on Geo’s shoulder, and Makir fussed with the linobee blanket covering her lap. But her glare softened, and she lifted her hand in a weak wave goodbye.

The weight in the bag slung over my back shifted, and the presence of my new friend buried inside cut through the gloom. The bunk beds in the Rock Dweller’s sono didn’t appeal to me as much as a night spent in a dim, warm cave with Ginger.

But she was no longer my responsibility. Instead of the lightness I expected, each step I took away from her dragged like hypergravity.