Page 18 of Guardian’s Heart (Space Guardian’s Mate #1)

NOVA

The alien who picked us up was more than curious to look at. I forced myself not to stare, but it was hard.

I ignored the exchange between him and Zaarek, who had been grumpy since he left the camp, and not much had improved after his return. I understood his rage. It seethed inside me too. Still, his anger irritated me. Just as much as the stupid tattoos that had burned more with every step he took from me. Or so I assumed since I had no idea where he went, but when it started to soothe, it took about the same amount of time as it had to build up and stopped when he returned.

Not wanting to face him, I pretended to be asleep when he came back, and by the way the pain slowly retreated, I could tell how close he got. Damn him, and damn these stupid tattoos. I hated both.

I stared out over the dark forest and did my best to ignore him during the short flight that would bring me back to where our strange relationship had started. From here, the distance I had traveled seemed ridiculously little, and yet it had taken two days. In no time, we returned to the well-lit spaceport, filled with activity even though it had to be the equivalent of midnight, making me wonder if this place ever shut down.

Zaarek didn't give me a chance to say goodbye to our strange ferryman and pulled me out of the ship the moment it set down on the tarmac. He took my hand and I would be lying had I said I didn't feel the electric jolt go through me at the contact. God, I wanted to kiss this man. No, no! I wanted to kick his balls for being an ass. After we kiss him , my body suggested. The jumbled feelings inside me were beginning to drive me crazy, making me wonder if I might have to kill the man just to find peace.

Besides the fact that I wasn't a killer, I feared what would happen if I actually followed through with that urge. Would it break the spell, or would it awaken the wrath of the damn tattoos?

"This way." He dragged me over the tarmac. I stumbled a few times, trying to keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" I panted.

"My ship," he informed me curtly.

"Are the others there?"

"I will go get them as soon as I have you safe aboard my vessel."

What? He was going to dump me off at his ship while he went gallivanting through… wherever the fuck we were? I didn't think so. "I want to go with you."

"No."

I braked with my feet. He was so much stronger than me that he pulled me a few paces before he realized I wasn't moving.

"No?"

He glared at me furiously. "No. It's too dangerous. You will be safe aboard my ship. You can shower, eat, rest."

That gave me pause. Shower?

My stubborn nature however won out. I held out my arm with the tattoos. For good measure, I removed the material of the cloak to make him look at the entire thing. "I'm not." I paused dramatically. "Going to wait on your ship, writhing in pain, while you prance through town."

His glare intensified, but my words sunk in with him. He looked heavenward before he changed direction and started moving again.

"Alright." He yelled.

Since I was walking behind him—dragged would have been the better word—he missed my gloating expression. It was petty, but I couldn't help myself.

"At least put your hood up," he snarled over his shoulder.

I gritted my teeth at him having the last word but conceded to the wisdom and covered my head with one hand while he kept moving us forward. In order to keep the hood in place, I stared down at the ground and grumbled quietly to myself.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice rang out; a set of feet moved into my field of vision, and I felt my free arm yanked back.

"Do not touch her," Zaarek snarled.

"Hran, that's a Space Guardian," another voice stated, and I looked up, wishing immediately that I hadn't.

"What is that?" A third man stepped from the shadows, grabbing my arm, followed by two more.

An irritated sigh from Zaarek reached my ear before he pulled me free from the other's grip and pushed me behind him. Speechless, I allowed it to happen because the five, no seven now, men—creatures—who accosted us were something straight out of a nightmare.

It seemed none of the aliens fancied shirts because these creatures' chests were unadorned, exposing a sickly-looking, washed-out aqua coloring. Their skin was loose and bloated, giving me the heebie-jeebies.

Long loincloths covered their midsection and part of their thighs. Long, dirty-looking white hair grew from their heads, elbows, and knees. Their eyes glowed whitish in the darkened ally, but what spooked me the most were their faces. They looked… melted, drooping, as if gravity was pulling every loose piece of flesh down except the skin on their wide noses. Their lips were peeled back, making it look like they were snarling, exposing yellowed, sharp, long teeth.

What in the hell were these creatures?

"Get back," Zaarek ordered.

"Give us the pretty," the thing who had held my arm—an arm I was now furiously rubbing to get his touch off—said, pronouncing pretty like pruttttyyy.

"Not happening," Zaarek replied in a clipped tone, pulling a knife.

A knife? Go for your goddam blaster , I wanted to scream, uncaring how wicked-long and serrated it was. There were seven of those creatures now, no, wait, eight. Nine!

"Zaarek," I pushed out warningly.

"Stay behind me," he hissed.

"Fuck this," I mumbled, pulling one of his guns, weapons, blasters, whatever the fuck they were.

"Nova, no," Zaarek ordered, but I was already trying to figure out how the thing worked. Apparently, like every other gun I had ever held. The trigger needed more pushing than I was used to, but there was no kickback when a brilliant white light emerged, hitting the thing straight in his chest.

"Fuck!" I jumped back as the creature exploded into a million blueish pieces of flesh and… goo, raining down on us in a heap of gore.

"You never listen," Zaarek complained, aiming his knife at the first incoming monster.

My shot must have activated some kind of rush them now order because all seven of them came at us at once. I didn't care what mess would happen next; I gritted my teeth and shot at the first creature. Only to be rewarded by another explosion of flesh.

"Nova!" Zaarek yelled, stabbing one of the things in the chest while two others pulled on his shoulders. He wasn't yelling for me to help; he was yelling at me to stop shooting.

"I don't think so.” I pulled the trigger again, unwilling to die or whatever the things had in mind for me. I’d rather put up with some gore.

“Frygg!” Zaarek cursed, moving his elbow and hitting one of the blue monsters holding him in the chin, breaking it off. I paused. What ?

He kicked at another coming for him—they must not have thought me a threat despite the gun in my hand. Zaarek’s attacker flew back, hitting his head against a wall and cracking it open. What the ever-loving God ?

I turned Zaarek’s weapon and hit it over another creature’s head. His skull broke open, exposing a gelatinous, green mass that made me gag and jump back right into another.

Its arms wrapped around me as it pulled me deeper into the alley. I put my heels down to make it harder for him, but he was surprisingly strong. Oh, I don’t want to . I already shuddered, even before I knocked my head back right into the thing's face. Something warm dripped down my hair, and with a disgusted shriek, I freed myself from its embrace as it loosened its hold. I kicked my foot out like I would have to a gator, hitting it in the face again and bringing it down to the ground.

Gagging, I pulled the trigger on another thing crawling out from underneath one of the egg houses. How many were there?

This time, Zaarek didn't complain; he must have accepted his fate of being showered in gore. With a grunt, he pulled his other weapon and, giving me a wry glare, began shooting. Not hesitantly one by one like me. No. His finger pushed the trigger several times as he leveled the gun. One, two, three, four, I shrieked again as the hail of gore turned seemingly never-ending.

Zaarek took my hand and pulled me down the alley. "Run!"

I focused only on my feet hitting the ground, trying not to think about anything dripping down my neck, skin, hair, and other parts we won't mention right now, maybe ever. I was panting for breath when he came to a standstill so suddenly that I bumped right into his back.

"A bit of a warning next time?" I complained.

His mouth opened and closed as he fought for a reply while he glared at me with his most murderous expression yet.

"It's not my fault. I didn't know," I tried to reason.

"You should have listened to me. Trusted me."

I rolled my eyes and shoulders, trust, shmust . After a lengthy internal debate, I allowed, "So I'm not the most trusting person in the wor—eh universe. Sue me."

I would have said his glare intensified, but that was probably just my imagination; I didn't think it would have been possible.

One more time, his lips moved as if he was about to say something, but he changed his mind and instead turned to the door of the egg-shaped building we had stopped in front of. It looked like the ones I had seen before, about as high as any four-story house on Earth and wide enough to have several rooms on each floor. The light green coloring peeled off in places, exposing a silvery metal underneath. A sign hung above an also egg-shaped door, but I couldn't read the strange symbols on it.

Zaarek held up his comm, and the door opened. We entered a large area that lit up the moment we stepped over the threshold.

Multiple tables stood arranged throughout the room, surrounded by, yes, also egg-shaped chairs. I questioned the comfort of them, but at least the seating surface seemed to be somewhat flat.

"We're leaving," Zaarek bellowed into the empty space. "Now!" he added when nothing happened.

"They're probably sleeping," I tried to insert some logic.

"They can sleep aboard the ship," he countered.

I shook my cloak with a meaningful look directed at him. "Maybe we should take a shower first?"

"Or maybe for once"—he held up a finger—"you should just listen to me and frygging trust."

"Maybe if you would explain to me—"

"What in the Netherworld is going on here?" The same alien who had been arguing with Zaarek before appeared at the top of the stairs.