Zar: Science Fiction Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Raiders' Brides Book 1) Page 18

  Knowing she was risking a lot, Ashley went ahead and whispered:

  "Gwen, listen to me. You must believe me now. They are not taking you to receive any reward for this. They're taking you so that The Reaper can see if he has a further use for you and if you don't, he'll probably lock you up, or worse.

  "When I say the word, we go for it. Be ready to run and not a single scream."

  Gwen was staring at her as their guards jumped out of the carrier, howling a challenge to Zar's men.

  "But he said..." she protested.

  "I heard him," Ashley said darkly. "The man's a charmer. Look, that captain there, with the other carrier. He is Zar's friend and he knows me. All we need to do is get to him. I need you to be brave, just this once, Gwen."

  Gwen looked like she wanted to fall to pieces instead, but the same desperation that had made her such an easy target for The Reaper was now working in Ashley's favor. The spirit that had been so fierce at the beginning was showing again, carefully raising its head like sun peeking out from behind clouds.

  "I don't know if I can," Gwen said, but that wasn't a "no".

  "Be ready," Ashley told her, knowing further arguing was pointless.

  She looked around. Roagh hadn't seen them yet. She hoped with all her heart that the captain would give them the protection she believed he would. Back in the walkway, the look of hurt on his face had been palpable when Zar had accused him of betraying him. No doubt he'd seek a chance to make it up to him – say, by saving his fated.

  Their own carrier wasn't empty yet, but even the pilot was aching to get a piece of the action. Ashley could see his hands twitching for the blade on his back.

  She judged. The sides of the carrier were very low and the pilot's attention was entirely fixed on the fighting.

  "As quietly as you can and then fast," Ashley whispered to Gwen, not waiting for her confirmation. "Now!"

  They stood. Ashley jumped out of the carrier first, her stomach lurching when she looked down at the drop not three feet from where she'd landed. Right behind her, Gwen looked ready to lose her breakfast.

  There was no time to contemplate developing a fear of heights, as the pilot had turned and called out.

  "Run!" Ashley yelled to Gwen. "Don't look down! Roagh!"

  She took off, sprinting, not looking behind to see how fast the pilot could give chase. All that mattered was that she kept running.

  It was almost dreamlike, running so fast she could only see the next step ahead of her. The top of the walls was pure rock, uneven and hard. She could only pray that it would slow down Nayanors in their heavy armor and help her, wearing nothing but tight pants and a green coat that Zar had finally allowed her instead of a dress.

  Roagh had seen them. Ashley heard his deep voice bellowing over the fighting.

  "Protect her! Alert the harbinger! Ashley, left!"

  Ashley turned left without thinking, having long lost her sense of direction, her entire attention focused on having ground to put her foot down next. Now she risked a glimpse to the side, seeing the wider path that Roagh must have meant.

  She was almost there. The squad Roagh had brought seemed to be winning. Ten feet more...

  "Come on, Gwen –”

  Looking behind her, Ashley slowed. Roagh reached her, unceremoniously pulling her along.

  "Come," he barked at her, "Zar will want to know you're safe!"

  Ashley didn't let him drag her away. Behind her, the pilot had caught Gwen and was dragging her back, the woman kicking and screaming.

  "Help her!" Ashley cried to Roagh.

  The captain looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowed.

  "She's not a priority right now," he said darkly, giving her another pull. "The harbinger will want you safe and that is what I will –”

  Putting all her strength into the blow, Ashley slapped him across the face as hard as she could, her eyes flashing.

  "Help her!" she said. "Gods, you brought her here! For once in your damned life, show some responsibility! The Reaper will kill her for failing to deliver me to him."

  Roagh looked as mad as any man she'd ever seen. The warrior's eyes were so dark Ashley wouldn't have been surprised if he'd just knocked her off that wall in his fury. She had no doubt no woman had ever hit him before, least of all before his men, but she had no time to worry about something as fragile as Nayanor pride.

  "Get her!" the captain ordered his warriors. "Get the other female!"

  They moved fast, seeing their captain was in no mood to be argued with. Ashley loved the look of surprise on the pilot's face, seeing five opponents coming for him. He let go of Gwen to draw his sword but that didn't save him. In a manner of seconds, Ashley heard his scream as he tumbled down from the wall, leaving Gwen crying hysterically on the ground.

  She rushed to her, pulling her up.

  "Come on," Ashley whispered urgently, hearing a sound she didn't like one bit. "You have to move, now!"

  Gwen had heard it too. With the last reserves of her strength, the woman stumbled up and together they ran for Roagh's carrier just as reinforcements arrived for their enemies.

  Ashley looked on in horror as carriers began to approach from every direction, cutting off their escape route back. Apparently the pilot had managed to alert The Reaper before coming after them.

  They were trapped.

  Roagh didn't seem to think so, however. He kicked the pilot into action and the carrier took a nauseating turn and headed straight down, making Ashley's insides flip.

  The captain spoke to the transmitter:

  "Harbinger, I have your fated and the other female. Upper paths are blocked. We're coming down for you."

  And Ashley heard the voice she loved.

  "Bring her to me, Roagh. If The Reaper wants to play this out like this, I'll make sure he gets his desire."

  The last bit was meant for her.

  "I'm in the throne room, Ashley. I see The Reaper. Remember my promise. Everything here will be –”

  The last word was supposed to be "ours", she knew, but it never came.

  31

  Zar

  It was an ambush.

  Of course it was, but Zar had been expecting The Reaper to face him with an elite squad of fighters, them dueling it out like men. There was little honor among Nayanors, yet the one thing a man had to uphold was his personal honor and that was not relying on cheap tactics. Especially in battles that mattered, that were over a principle.

  As soon as he and his warriors entered the massive throne room, The Reaper's men opened fire upon them from both sides. The first moment was complete chaos, as shooting plasma cannons inside the Black Hall was so unthinkable that the truth refused to register.

  Most of the structure around them was stone, except for the living quarters that had all been automated and reinforced with metals.

  In the mayhem, Zar allowed himself a mad grin. The Reaper feared him so much he was ready to bring down the entire Hall upon their heads to kill him.

  "Take cover!" he roared, hating that the warlord had made him break away from his call to Ashley. "Kill those cowardly bastards!"

  After the first confusion passed, Zar saw that The Reaper wasn't as insane as he'd thought at first. The plasma cannons were devastating weapons, mostly mounted on battleships, and to shoot them indoors was purely absurd. The warlord had, however, tuned the weapons down. Specifically, they gave short bursts whose range wasn't enough to reach the walls. It was still dangerous in case a shot went wide or the warrior wielding it panicked, but it wasn't suicidal.

  Afar, Zar could see The Reaper look on with interest. The deceptive calm on the warlord's face only showed how deeply he'd snapped. There was no care in his eyes anymore. Zar doubted it mattered to the warlord whether he lived or died, as long as they both died.

  Such anger, Zar thought with disdain. Such loathing. What a waste.

  Even as he said that, the harbinger knew he was equally guilty of it, but his anger stemmed from the fact that The Rea
per had stooped lower than low. To threaten Ashley, to try and influence him by imprisoning his fated, that was unheard of.

  Before, fighting through the ranks of The Reaper's bodyguards, news had come in. The other harbingers in the Hall had finally taken up arms too and now there were battles all over the Hall. The Reaper knew he couldn't carry on ruling the Hall of his ancestors.

  He'd pushed them too far. Threatening females, leaving Nayanors out during the long night, the cowardly way he'd run from battle with Zar before... he was a dead man walking. And Zar was determined to be the man who killed him.

  The wounds he'd suffered at the hands of the warlord's bodyguards before were still tender, but he ignored the pain. Pain, like anger, was nothing to him when it came to more important matters and right now, the only thing he could think of was Ashley.

  The last communication hadn't been long. He didn't know how far Roagh and his fated were, which meant he had to trust his second-in-command to keep his mate alive.

  Zar redoubled his efforts. The best he could do for Ashley was to end the battle before she reached him as the noose The Reaper had crafted was closing around their necks, drawing everyone together in the throne room.

  "Zar!" The Reaper bellowed from across the throne room as the harbinger focused on dodging the terrible plasma shots that were coming his way.

  It seemed every warrior carrying one who wasn't pinned down by his men was targeting Zar, trying to bring him down with sheer firepower. They knew he couldn't dodge all of them indefinitely. Sooner or later his concentration was going to slip, just for a moment, and that would be his end.

  With a grim determination, Zar took them down one by one, showing no mercy to cowards who didn't dare to face him with a proper weapon.

  The handle of his sword was hot in his hands, that was how close by the plasma shots were flying.

  "It's over, Zar!" The Reaper called again with obvious relish. "Lay down your weapons and I might be merciful! I might even open the gates for your people, if there's anything left of them by now!"

  Gritting his teeth, the harbinger paid him no attention. He knew that the two days his people had spent outside the gates had to be horrendous. The storm was upon them in full force and the weather outside was worse than anyone could remember. The last time he'd set foot outside, Zar had watched how hail beat off chunks of the Black Hall's impregnable outer walls.

  The fact that the warlord dared to remind him of that only fueled the rage he didn't want himself to feel. Zar hated that The Reaper had somehow managed to get to him. It was no longer just about Ashley and his people, it was far more personal than that.

  The Reaper was everything he hated and for once, Zar wanted better for his species.

  A plasma shot went by his shoulder so close Zar could feel his armor melt in the unreal heat. He had to work doubly hard now to make sure none of the shots damaged his sword or he was weaponless. Some of the warriors had actually began aiming for the two-handed sword in his hands to bring him down that way.

  Zar cut off the head of the next coward who didn't deserve to be buried like a warrior.

  There were fewer cannons now. His warriors were doing their share, pinned down now by The Reaper's final guards. As for the warlord himself, his taunts were getting desperate.

  "That pretty mate of yours, Zar," he could hear The Reaper call. "When this is all over and I show her your charred corpse, do you think the gods will gift her to me? I hope there is an afterlife for our kind, so you can watch her grow big with my sons, see how I fuck her until she forgets your name."

  The thought of Ashley in the hands of that monster was unbearable, but Zar still didn't turn his head in The Reaper's direction. All he needed was to make sure no one was going to shoot him in the back when he finally dealt with the warlord.

  In past times, that had been a given. He couldn't understand how things had gone downhill so fast.

  And then at last he was free to turn to The Reaper when the last cannon fell to the floor and Zar rounded on his true enemy. He could see the pale warlord bare his teeth in a vicious snarl. Finally, The Reaper drew his own sword, knowing there was no other end for it.

  Without a word, Zar began walking his way. At that moment, a carrier arrived outside the throne room and Zar caught a glimpse of Ashley, climbing out of it with her face white from concern.

  "Stay there!" he warned her, but it was too late.

  Roagh and his warriors rushed to the throne room to aid his men and Ashley followed in their steps, unthinking.

  The Reaper saw her.

  "Kill her!" he roared. "Get that little bitch! She's the one who exposed us to the Union!"

  Every warrior of his in the throne room turned and rushed for Ashley. Roagh only had a second to realize the fight wasn't as over as it had looked from outside and step back to protect her.

  Zar was already moving, uncaring of what The Reaper thought of him for running away from him. All he could see were the blades in the hands of the enemies, closing in on Ashley. His fated screamed when a sword slashed down to cut her up, jumping out of the way as Roagh blocked the blow.

  Zar saw his captain push her out of harm's way, Ashley crawling away from the fighters.

  There were so many of them, so many enemies with the single purpose of killing her. Zar could see the hatred in their eyes. They were finally seeing the female who had managed to deal the first blow to their raids since as long as anyone could recall. The Reaper had been right in that. He didn't need to tell them she was his mate, their anger was already piqued by what she'd done.

  He couldn't take his eyes off her fragile, defenseless body. Ashley wore no armor, had no weapon to defend herself with.

  Zar crashed into the melee, shoulder first, knocking a warrior right onto Roagh's sword. The captain swung the man away, but was pushed back by the mass of bodies.

  The harbinger didn't let anyone stop him like that. Like a rock in the midst of a wild river, he stood, unmoving, before Ashley. The sword in his hand cut furiously, blocking every blow that would have hit her in favor of those that grazed him.

  His world narrowed down to blades and faces and the death cries of the men before him. Mercy never crossed Zar's mind as he killed ruthlessly, defending his mate. Behind him, Ashley kept backing away as he fought to give her room to move.

  It bothered Zar that he couldn't see The Reaper anymore. If the warlord had escaped again, he would have to spend weeks trying to locate him in the impossible maze of the Black Hall.

  The warriors facing him weren't just any fools with blades. The Reaper had cleverly left his best for last, no doubt hoping that they could bring him down before they ever crossed blades but Zar wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. He was already wounded. It should have been a stain on The Reaper's honor, but Zar doubted he had any.

  The enemies were as vicious as he was and the reason why was clear.

  "You are a traitor, Harbinger," one of them hissed. "Defending that female after what she did! Even if she is your mate, it can't be forgiven!"

  "I will tell you the same as I told The Reaper," Zar answered, pushing the men back with a mighty swing of his sword. "Nayanors don't whine over life being more difficult for us. We already have a cruel home world and a lack of females. Those are the punishments the gods have seen fit to give us as challenges. If they add more, we only fight harder."

  The warrior bristled at the insult, but Zar saw a shred of doubt in some of their eyes. What he spoke was the truth, after all, and he doubted any of them would have allowed their mates to be killed if they stood in his place.

  It gave him hope that the other harbingers he'd have to deal with later would understand, but the men in front of him deserved – and would receive – no mercy from him.

  One by one, they all fell to him, clutching broken bones and being quickly finished by Roagh and his warriors. The battle was ending, Zar could feel it. There was only The Reaper left and then he could –

  "No!" Ashley screamed
and a plasma shot rang out.

  Zar turned just as the last of The Reaper's guards slumped to the ground before his feet, his torso cleaved in two.

  Behind him, about twenty feet away, stood the warlord, his eyes as white as snow. The plasma cannon was in Ashley's shaking hands. His fated stood slowly, still keeping the warlord at aim.

  The Reaper slowly lowered his ruined sword he'd used to block the plasma shot with. His scorched armor showed he hadn't completely succeeded, but the sword in his hand was melting, dripping to the floor like wax from a candle.

  Zar could feel his blood boil. At the end of all things, the bastard was going to stab him in the back one more time.

  Roagh and the others were coming closer with furious glares, growling, but Zar raised a hand for them to stop.

  "Put the cannon down, Ashley," he said. "The Reaper is mine."

  "But I could –" his fated protested, her gorgeous eyes flicking between him and the warlord. "He's right there.”

  "He is," Zar agreed, his voice dark and shaking from rage. "And if I want to rule the Black Hall, I have to kill him fair and square. Put the cannon down."

  With clear reluctance, Ashley obeyed. The Reaper looked on with such hatred in his eyes Zar could believe the warlord would wish him dead if he could.

  "Pick a sword," Zar said calmly, seeing the surprise in The Reaper's eyes.

  He gestured to the fallen warriors and the many blades laying in puddles of blood.

  The Reaper didn't let him repeat that. The warlord picked up one of the swords that nearly matched his in height and width, holding it on guard with a cruel smile on his lips.

  "Are you sure that was the best idea, Zar?" he asked. "The little bitch was right. You should have shot me. You think I'm weaker than you just because I don't venture off-world, but you might come to regret that very soon."