Page 12 of Seized by the Alien Space Warrior (Alien Romance #8)

Chapter Twelve

T hey passed through many tunnels, coming to more vestibules that Brenur led them through almost at random. Ava’s shoulder throbbed so badly she couldn’t ignore it any longer. Kaico sent glances her way, concern etched on his face. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but she wasn’t going to last much longer. Her feet dragged and her mind was a fog. She was so thirsty, her tongue was stuck to the top of her mouth. If they didn’t stop soon, she would fall and wouldn’t be able to get up. Her body had hit its limit.

The walls were too narrow for Aekon to carry her even if she asked—and she was so tired, she would have let him. The bricks brushed her shoulders and the top of her head. The Ixod and Aekon her hunched over, their clothing scratching the walls as they passed.

There was no way to tell how long or how far they’d walked, but to her it was a good two hours. They must have traversed beneath the entire city, or at least it seemed that way. Brenur could be leading them around in circles for all she knew.

A wave of dizziness struck. She stumbled and her knees buckled. Her hand skimmed the wall, but slipped off the bricks. She was too sluggish to stop herself from falling when Aekon’s strong hands whipped about her waist. He propped her against him, his grip the only thing keeping her upright. Her legs trembled beneath her. She gasped as a cramp shot through her thigh.

“Ava, what is it?” Aekon’s voice was harsh.

She bit her lip, riding the pain before it subsided and she could whisper. “Just…a cramp.”

It wasn’t just a cramp. Every muscle pinged with exhaustion. Her limbs were as heavy as stones and her thoughts were choppy. If she didn’t stop soon, her body was going to demand rest the only way it could.

Aekon growled. “Ixod, we’d better be close to where we’ve got to go.”

Kaico was just in front of them. He twisted his body in the narrow tunnel to face them and his expression fell. He reached towards her. She flinched at the abrupt movement and he backed off.

“Kaico?” Brenur spoke over Kaico’s shoulder.

“The female will need the tonic, Brenur,” Kaico said.

“Tonic?” Aekon growled.

Kaico nodded. “Special medicine I make from herbs. It will take her pain away and give her the energy she needs to get to the shelter.”

“How do I know it’s not poison?’ Aekon said.

Kaico blanched. “I do not poison beings.”

“We have no idea what you would do. I’ve seen Ixod gut a being for looking the wrong way,” Aekon said.

Ahead, Brenur uttered a frustrated sound. “Do you think I would have put my warriors in danger to rescue you if I was going to poison you?’

“Then what do you want us for?” Aekon said.

“I will answer all of your questions, but when we are safe, I promise you. We can be tracked and found in these tunnels. The longer we are immobile, the more likely it is we can be found and you look like you want to protect your female,” Brenur said.

Ava sagged. If she had anything left to give, she would have refused Kaico’s tonic, but there was no option. She would take any help she could get. If she couldn’t walk, nobody was going anywhere. In this narrow tunnel Aekon couldn’t pick her up.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll take it.”

“Female…” She just about heard Aekon grind his teeth but she didn’t have the energy to argue.

She turned a tired smile to Kaico. “Please. I’ll take the tonic.”

“As you wish.” He opened a pouch that was bound about his waist and withdrew a small vial filled with brown liquid. He uncorked the top.

A pungent aroma seared her nostrils and she gagged. “Oh, God. Don’t tell me that’s the tonic.”

Her voice was weak even to her own ears.

Kaico sent her an apologetic look. “It’s the only way. There is just one thing…”

She reached for the bottle, but stopped when he didn’t hand the vial into her outstretched hand.

“It will give you the boost you need, but when it wears off, your body will demand rest,” Kaico said.

“My body demands rest now, Kaico,” Ava said, her voice cracking.

Kaico hesitated, but relinquished the vial. Ava took the bottle and before she could think twice, put it to her lips and tilted her head back. The liquid tasted worse than it smelled and burned the back of her throat like octane. She coughed so hard her vision wavered through her tears, but then a wave of heat washed through her body and the pain in her muscles and joints faded with a euphoric strength. She felt as though she could run the New York City Marathon, and win. She was no longer hungry or gagging for water. Her body thrummed with energy and life.

She straightened, easily taking her weight on legs that could run up a mountain, giving Aekon a beaming smile to let him know she was all right. She turned her smile to Kaico, handing him back the vial. “You should package that. You’d make a fortune on Earth.”

She felt so good, she ignored the look of unease that crossed his face.

“The results may be…unfiltered,” he said. “I will monitor you.”

“There’s no need. I’ll be fine. Come on, let’s get going,” Ava said.

“We should have given that to her at the start,” Brenur muttered.

“I won’t hold you up any more. Chop chop. Time’s a-wasting,” Ava said.

A smile broke out over her face. It didn’t matter they were underground in a tunnel too small for the average adult. It didn’t matter they could be found by big scary Ixod—the bad ones, in any case. It didn’t even matter she’d been kidnapped from her successful life or was thrust into the knowledge that aliens certainly did exist and not in a benevolent way. Nor did they look like little grey men with big eyes. Not at all. These aliens were way scarier than grey men.

None of that mattered. She could take on anything with that tonic. If she ever got back to Earth, she would talk to Kaico about manufacturing and distribution rights. She knew she could sell it. People knew her. People trusted her.

Ava and Kaico’s wonder tonic. She would be an instant kazillionaire.

“Ava!”

She swung around on the toes of one foot, walking backwards to be able to talk to Aekon. He had to hunch over the tunnel was so small. His massive shoulders scraped the walls but it was the scowl on his handsome features that stole her attention.

“Yeah, big guy?”

At the front of the line, Brenur snorted. She ignored him. Aekon’s nodes dropped low over his eyes.

“You know you’d be more handsome if you smiled a little.” She sent him her brightest smile. “See? Like this? Just stretch your lips and turn them up at the ends.”

“She’s high, Medico.” Aekon snarled.

“I feel great! Kaico, you’re a miracle worker.” She skipped around again and patted his back. “Do you have any more of this stuff? I mean, I don’t even care if smells like week old vase water. It tastes even worse, but I bet if we can add a little mint people will love it. We can add in any flavour really. Banana. Strawberry. Bubble gum. It won’t matter. Anything’ll taste better than it does now.”

She could see bottles of the stuff lining the shelves. She didn’t even know why she was choosing a flavour. They could manufacture all flavours and then people could just choose their favourite.

“Does she ever shut up?” York groaned.

Ava gasped. “Was I speaking out loud? Oh, that’s all right then. I won’t have to explain it twice. What do you think, big bad warrior Aekon? Get your marketing brain on and let’s hear your thoughts.”

“Healer, how long does this tonic last for?” Aekon said.

“A vial is usually good for an Ixod for a click. Maybe more,” Kaico said. “It does have a few side effects, however since I’ve never tried it on a human I have no idea how long it will last.”

“Side effects, schnide effects. We can work that out in the testing. A click, hey. That better be a long time. I have no idea how long a click lasts for. Is a click close to an hour?” Ava asked, skipping a little on her toes.

“She is smaller than an Ixod!” Aekon said behind her.

Ava flinched, glaring at Aekon over her shoulder. “You’d be more attractive if you didn’t yell so much, you know that? Not that you’re not highly attractive now. Believe me, blind Freddy can see that. It’s just that you’d be more attraction. With your big muscles and your massive shoulders and that ten pack you’ve got going under that suit that leaves nothing to the imagination, let me tell you, you’re quite the catch. Only I wouldn’t let anyone even look at you. No, siree. I’d dig their eyes right out,“ she said, hiccuping.

She spun on her toes again to face him, stepping backwards and waggling her finger at him. His eyes narrowed on her and glowed. A flash of burnished gold flickered over his body from the base of his nodes. A bolt of pure desire shot through her. She never thought she would be attracted to an alien—who in their right mind would?—but with those full, stern lips, cutting cheekbones, and fathomless eyes, what red-blooded woman wouldn’t be?

Her nipples beaded, begging for his mouth, and her pussy clenched with need. She moaned out loud, her body aching to be touched. She wanted them all to stop walking so he could kiss her. She wanted to know how he tasted. How his lips felt on her mouth. Her breasts. Her pussy. His tongue as he lashed her clit.

Her eyes fell to his large groin and the promise it contained. Countless orgasms, all for her. She bet her hand wouldn’t even fit around his cock. That package he had going on between his thighs was quite the impressive bundle.

“Ava!” His raspy growl made her slick between her legs.

“Hmmm?” All she could think about now was the way he would feel between her legs. Filling her up to the brim. She never got hot for any guy and it seemed all it took for her to really want someone was that he had to be a seven foot tall, sex-on-a-stick alien.

“Ava! You’re talking out loud,” Aekon said.

“Don’t stop her. I haven’t been so entertained for a long time,” Ser said.

She didn’t care. Let the whole world know how sexy Aekon was and how much she just wanted to fu…

“We’re here,” Brenur said.

Ava turned in time to step from the tight little tunnel onto a ledge that overlooked a massive cavern. The ceiling arched at least thirty metres overhead and stretched further than she could see. Lit bulbs were strung on a cord that was fastened to the walls in regular intervals, strong enough to light the whole cavern.

Small figures ran down one of the dirt streets made by tents that were erected in neat lines. Ixod children darted amongst the adults. The hum of many voices as well as intermittent bangs and crashes met her ears. The smell of cooking mingled with the aroma of many beings existing in a place with limited ventilation.

This could be like any neighbourhood, except people weren’t out mowing their lawn on a Saturday morning. They were cooking on the street outside with lines of washing that were strung between tents. Some were in groups chatting, while others strode purposefully towards their destination. All wore clothing that were nothing more than rags. The dull brown material was lashed to their bodies by belts and pieces of rope. Their manes were unkempt and lank and there was a desperate taint to the air that clung to everything.

A massive tent towered above the rest in the dead centre. It reminded Ava of a circus tent, with a large pole in the middle that lifted the top into a point and was tall enough to be seen from everywhere within the cavern. All streets converged towards it, like a web that contained the spider in the middle.

“It’s a refugee camp,” Ava said.

Brenur turned tired eyes to Aekon. Lines she hadn’t noticed before framed his mouth and he wore his hounded expression like a glove.

“That is correct, female. And the reason I need your Dhasu. For selfish reasons, yes, but he is our only hope. It was worth the risk of discovery to get you. You, Dhasu. You will be the one to save us.”

A wave of dizziness hit Ava and like a bolt of lightning struck her, all of the magnificent euphoric energy was sucked from her system in an instant. She reached blindly for Aekon as her knees buckled and nausea rose in her throat. “I don’t...I don’t feel so good.”

“Ah. It seems she has reached the limit of the tonic. You were right, Kaico. Just a little over a click,” Brenur said, a little too cheerfully.

Aekon’s panicked expression seared the back of her eyelids before she tumbled into a well of nothingness.