Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) Page 25

  The Torons were attacking the lab. That was what the report had said that came to the bridge. Lana had felt her heart drop, thinking that it would disrupt Corden's plan, but Yarel calmed her. The Palian looked neither worried nor surprised, so it had to be a part of what Corden had in mind. Lana resisted the urge to try and figure out what was going on. She was bright enough to do it, but purposefully kept her mind blank.

  That, of course, left it wide open for the memories of Worgen to flood back. Lana had never before felt so helpless. If the mad general decided he'd honored the gesha fighting tradition, it was all over for her. She didn't know where Corden was, but if he didn't reach her in time, Lana would be out of his reach on the Abysmal.

  She didn't even want to imagine what would happen there.

  Worgen's fighter landed and the general approached, flanked by his warriors. Lana noticed there were quite a few of them this time, clearly ready to defend the lab.

  The mad general's eyes were burning with promise of violence. Lana prayed to any god that could hear her that Corden's plan worked, because if it didn't, a lot of people were about to die.

  "What happened here?" the general growled at her, the venom in his voice forcing Lana to take a step back.

  "I wasn't there, General," she began, "so I know what I was told. The Torons attacked the lab and managed to kill some of your men."

  The roar that escaped Worgen's lips was almost inhuman. Lana exchanged a quick look with Yarel, who was similarly shaken. The captain honestly didn't think Worgen cared that much about his men, but their deaths were an irreplaceable loss.

  "That is impossible," the general said, the dark eyes beaming with fury. "My men are Brions, real warriors. The Torons are beasts, nothing more than animals. They might hurt the clones, but these were real fighters."

  "The Palians tell me the men were sedated at the time," she said, wincing when Worgen's gaze became outright murderous. "They were in the middle of a procedure."

  The mad general stomped closer to her, his fiery armor engulfed in red flames. It wasn't the first time Lana thought he looked like a demon straight out of hell. Only this demon was real.

  "You were responsible for the safety of my men," he growled.

  "With all due respect, General," Lana argued, despite the fact her heart was beating so loudly she could almost hear it. "You just said it. I didn't believe your men were in danger. And the Torons seemed to have calmed down."

  "Clearly they did not," Worgen said, coming closer until he stood right in front of her.

  Lana didn't dare back away further. It would have practically meant running away from the general. She forced herself to stand her ground and face whatever came.

  "Yes," she said. "I didn't know it would happen."

  "You should have," the mad general said. "Now the Flora is going to pay for this."

  "No," Lana protested at once, but Worgen was done listening to her.

  "Do not worry," he said coldly, "I will not hurt you."

  "That is not what I meant," Lana countered. "The ship has done everything you asked. This is not their fault."

  "A lesson must be taught. No one disobeys me."

  The mad general turned to his warriors. "Find the Torons. I want all of those creatures dead. I should have killed them all the moment I heard those animals were aboard, but I was merciful."

  Lana thought that Worgen had an absolutely absurd idea of mercy, but that was not the problem anymore. She watched as the Brion warriors marched away to kill the Torons. Out of the corner of her eye, Lana saw Yarel signal something, but she couldn't understand what.

  Worgen turned his attention back to her.

  "You will take me to the Palians and their lab," he said.

  "I—" Lana began to argue.

  "Now."

  Worgen's voice brooked no argument from her. Lana was about to take her chances anyway, but Yarel appeared by her side, very gently nudging her forward. She got the message, but thought that if Worgen saw the Palian touching her, the commander would be dead within a second.

  "As you wish, General," she said. "Lead the way, Yarel."

  The lab wasn't far from that particular landing bay. It had been chosen for that very reason, so it didn't take them long to get there. Lana felt like she was walking around blindfolded, every corner threatening her with a new surprise. She wished that Yarel and Corden had told her what was going on, because the plan seemed to be spinning out of control.

  Yarel led the way. The hallways emptied before them, people running to get out of Worgen's path. The ship's intercomm kept announcing new attacks and warnings against the Brion patrols. Lana hoped that good sense kept most of the passengers and crew hidden.

  Here and there, she saw the signs of the Toron attacks. They were bloody and brutal. Unlike the Brions who excelled in combat because of their skill, the Torons relied on their strength alone. They had no particular style of fighting, pushing through every conflict with sheer force.

  It was why they'd been so easy to subdue by other species, as they lacked clear leadership and tactics. Their single attacks were devastating though, and Lana kept her eyes away from the floor.

  Worgen said nothing either. Every time Lana dared to peek his way, the armor appeared to be hotter and hotter until it was painful to walk close to him. She wondered if it reacted to his mood somehow, like the Brion valor squares did. By the time they got to the lab, Worgen was an inferno by himself.

  The scientists had been gathered to answer to him. With disdain, Lana noticed the way they were huddled together like a pack of sheep. Not fighters, as she'd suspected. She was afraid too. It would have been foolish not to fear Worgen, but at least she tried to be better than the terror inside her.

  "You are the ones responsible for the death of my men?" Worgen demanded.

  Lana couldn't imagine any of them would ever answer that. Beside her, Yarel had tensed up too.

  "We were working on the techniques you ordered, yes," the bravest of them finally said, clearly figuring silence was damning.

  "And what happened?" Worgen boomed.

  Lana saw them all wince, wishing she could somehow share her own courage with them. The cowards were about to doom them all. She didn't know what was going on with Worgen's army exactly, but Yarel and Corden had both hinted there wasn't going to be one.

  "The... Torons, they attacked us..." one of them dared to say.

  "And you let them," the mad general said, drawing his spear.

  All of their eyes were nailed to it. The spear's shaft was as dark as Worgen's armor, the blade sharp enough to cut through them without effort.

  "General, we are Palians," Yarel came to their aid, "we are not a match for Torons. And they aren't even warriors."

  Worgen turned to him and Lana thought how brave it was to draw attention to himself in a situation that explosive.

  Silence stretched as the general measured Yarel with a dark look of his black eyes.

  "How did the Torons know?" he asked at last.

  "General?" Yarel asked, but Lana had seen the flash of fear in his eyes.

  "How did the Torons know it was the lab they needed to attack?" Worgen asked, coming closer to the commander. His voice was no longer threatening; it didn't need to be when it was very clear Yarel was seconds from his death.

  "We told everyone to stay away from the lab," Lana cut in, knowing it wasn't the best excuse, but she had to do something. "They might have figured out that there was something valuable to you here."

  "The Torons?" Worgen asked, his voice showing his disgust. "They are animals. No Toron would put the two things together. No, they had help from someone who saw an opportunity to hurt my cause. And you Palians have always had your lies."

  Things were going from bad to worse fast. Lana could practically see Yarel's mind spinning, looking for a way out, but no words seemed to be forthcoming.

  Help came from the most unexpected source, but the words froze the blood in Lana's veins.

&nbs
p; "It might be the weird Brion, General," one of the Palian scientists said.

  All eyes turned to him. The Palian shrunk back from that threat alone. He was a timid creature, short even for a Palian, and the naked fear in his eyes was clear for all to see.

  Corden, Lana thought. No. Not now.

  "A weird Brion?" Worgen asked, moving away from Yarel.

  The spear was still in his hand, a bare threat. The scientist's eyes flickered between him and Yarel. Lana thought he was probably trying to help, to save one of his kind, but in fact he was killing them all. And she was unable to stop him. There wasn't anything she could say to convince Worgen he'd heard wrong.

  In the thundering silence, the Palian nodded.

  "This is not our fault, General," the man hastened to say. "I saw a strange Brion a few days ago. He had killed some of the others and he was looking right at me. He said I couldn't tell anyone, but I have to now. He must be the one. I'm sure of it! He led the Torons here!"

  Lana wanted to punch the man so badly her fingers itched. She had to bite her tongue not to scream. She couldn't even begin to count all the mistakes the Palian was making, trying to push the blame on Corden.

  Of course, she had no doubt that he was right. It started to make sense now. Who else other than Corden could have killed Brions and who else would have dared to order a Toron horde around? It was all him, Lana was sure of it.

  But the damn Palian... He was doing it all wrong. Most importantly, he still thought anyone could reason with Worgen. Lana knew better, had seen better. Worgen didn't care who was to blame. He killed everyone he thought should die, without discrimination.

  "This Brion," Worgen was saying. "What did he look like?"

  Lana prayed that the Palian had any sense in his head to lie, now that the malice in Worgen's voice was very, very obvious. To her right, Lana thought she saw Yarel slowly drawing the gun from his hip. She wanted to warn them both, to scream, but it would have been a death sentence. Was it a Palian thing, to underestimate an enemy like that?

  The scientist was hesitating, starting to realize he'd done something wrong, but still hoping to walk away from it.

  "Tall," he said, "strong. Almost as powerful as you are, General."

  If he thought flattery was going to get him out of it, he was wrong. Lana saw the understanding dawn on the mad general's face and it was horrible to witness. She would never have said the general looked peaceful before, but the change made it seem so.

  Any warmth, any compassion he might have ever had washed away and was replaced with utter, all-encompassing fury. Lana and the Palians found themselves seeing the first true manifestation of the Brion rage since the dark days of their species.

  She doubted any of them relished the historic moment.

  Slowly, very slowly, the general turned to her. The contempt she saw there shattered any illusions she had of a happy ending to all of it.

  Corden, she thought. As life flashed before her eyes, Lana realized that her priorities had changed completely. It wasn't death she feared the most, not even torture. It was never seeing her gerion again.

  "He lives," Worgen said and Lana chose not to respond. "You knew."

  The general came closer to her and she knew there was no place to hide. It was over. They'd lost.

  "I was wrong about you," the mad general snarled, inches from her. The blazing armor was hurting her, burning her skin and threatening to set her clothes on fire. Lana could barely breathe in the heat of him, but the look in his eyes was so much worse. "You don't have spirit. You are only a slave to this fool, a whore."

  Lana backed away, fury rising within her. If these were going to be her final moments, she wanted to give that bastard a piece of her mind.

  "I am no one's whore," she hissed, "and I will never be yours."

  Before Worgen could answer, a shot rang out. Lana cried out when it whined past her, aimed right at the general's head.

  The blade rose and fell and she heard the bullet clatter on the floor.

  Impossible, Lana thought, while the world went into slow motion around her.

  Worgen turned toward his would-be killer and Yarel took another shot, his expression stony. The general advanced in slow steps while the commander staggered back from him, firing as he went.

  Worgen dodged each and every one of them, seemingly not even expending effort to do so. The Palian scientists were pleading for him to stop, but Lana couldn't get one word over her lips. She only realized what was happening when Yarel stumbled, falling. His eyes met hers and flared wide.

  Run, he mouthed.

  There was no time to consider her options or to thank him. Not even a second to say goodbye. Lana turned on her heels and ran, hearing a roar behind her. She heard another shot as she rounded a corner, followed by the screams of the Palians.

  Yarel was dead, she knew it. The grief wanted to bury her, but she refused to give in. Not like that. The commander had bought her a chance with his own life and Lana wasn't about to waste it. She ran as fast as she could, but could she really outrun a Brion warrior?

  Looking behind, she heard no footsteps. The hallways were empty, everyone hiding from the general and the Torons. Hesitantly, she peeked around the corner. Running was ultimately futile. She knew that. Worgen would catch her. Perhaps it was better to hide?

  Lana didn't know what to do. Corden was somewhere on the ship, looking for her no doubt, but she had no idea where.

  She decided to head back to the landing bay, the place where Corden thought she'd be.

  Lana hadn't taken two steps when a figure appeared from the darkness of a corner. She breathed out in relief, but it died on her lips. Instead of her fated, flames appeared from the shadows, licking over an armor as black as its owner's soul.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Corden

  The landing bay was empty.

  Petrifying fear was not an emotion Corden was familiar with. It was the worst possible moment to experience it.

  Lana and Worgen were gone. That in itself wasn't surprising; he'd expected the mad general to want to talk to her, only Corden had been certain he would be able to track them. Worgen's men had delayed him. The originals had been dispatched to the ship, to deal with the Toron threat.

  Corden wondered if he'd underestimated Worgen's concern over his valued warriors. Judging by the viciousness the Brion warriors showed when they encountered a Toron, it was possible.

  So Corden had taken only a few minutes to stay and help his allies. He knew he was asking a lot of them, despite the revenge they were already set upon. And it wasn't like the great beasts were helpless, but he'd meant to pitch them against the clones. A whole unit of originals were an opponent they would have struggled with. The general couldn't simply stand by and watch as they were being butchered.

  He'd decided to join the fight, cutting through the ranks of the warriors with malice he hadn't expected. Corden thought it was the disappointment of the two rounds of fighting he'd done against the warriors in the lab. He was satisfied with the three that had chosen to take his offer, but it was infuriating that the others hadn't.

  They were not Brions, no matter how brightly their valor squares might have burned now that they were finally experiencing emotions again. A real Brion accepted responsibility for their failures as well as the victories.

  Arriving at the landing bay and finding it empty was almost too much to bear. Corden knew he hadn't tarried, had not toyed with the originals. He'd slayed them quickly and efficiently, taking the first opportunity for a kill he could find. And he knew it was the right thing to do, but it had lost him Lana.

  Gritting his teeth, Corden forced himself to consider the facts. Guessing was a close second on the list of things he hated, next to not knowing all the details. He had to think. Where could Worgen have taken Lana?

  The lab was a possibility, so was the bridge. Her quarters, even, as little as the general wanted to think of that option. Any of them were likely, depending on Worgen's mo
od. All the options open to him were equally bad. To dash after Lana raised the possibility he was wrong. To stay and wait meant losing even that slim chance.

  A Palian crewmember was walking around the bay aimlessly. His big eyes were wide, like he was searching for something. The clothes marked him out as one of the crew, specifically the bridge.

  Yarel, Corden thought.

  He took one more moment to make sure he was reading the signs right. No, the Palian was definitely there waiting for him.

  He approached the man, seeing the way the Palian flinched at the sight of him. Corden wasn't surprised; he was still covered in the blood of his enemies and the battle spear on his back probably didn't help either.

  But Yarel had chosen his men well. As much as the Palian obviously feared him, he walked to meet him right away.

  "General Corden?" he asked, just in case there was another six-foot-five warrior with beaming valor squares on the ship.

  Other than Worgen, that was.

  "Speak," the general ordered.

  Immediately, the little Palian switched to reporting mode, specific and precise.

  "Captain, commander, and the evil general are in the lab. Interrogating scientists about the Torons. Worgen is very mad. Commander signaled for you to hurry."

  Corden didn't need to hear more. Without another word, he took off toward the lab, not even bothering to hide himself anymore. It was all going to be over soon one way or another.

  He arrived to find the scientists gathered around a body lying on the ground. No Lana. No Worgen. Corden rushed closer, only to see Yarel lying in a pool of his own blood.

  It hurt more than he'd thought it would, especially when the frightened Palians explained to him that the commander had died protecting Lana. She had run away and Worgen had followed only after making sure Yarel was dead.

  Corden looked down at his fallen ally. It was the worst thing about loyalty. You could only really know someone's worth once they had laid everything they had on the line . The general had known the Palian commander was willing to fight by his side and destroy Worgen, but to do so much for him... it was a debt Corden would never be able to repay.