“I’m going to kill you, Earth bitch,” he snarled.
I was going to die.
And then a huge blue shape came roaring into the room. It rushed around me and bowled into Doloroso as he knelt on the floor. The blaster went off but the shot went wild, spending itself harmlessly in a shower of sparks on the metal ceiling overhead.
Next I heard a very distinct crack and then Doloroso started making a high, screeching wail that made me cover my ears with my hands.
“You fuckin’ asshole—shut up!” Grav—(because it was Grav, of course it was)—growled. He had Doloroso flat on his back, one knee planted firmly on the sprawling alien’s writhing midsection and the blaster in his hand.
But Doloroso wouldn’t shut up. He kept screaming and moaning until at last Grav got up and took a step back.
Doloroso clutched at his groin.
“You broke it!” he wailed, rocking back and forth. “You broke my bratwurst!”
“What?” Grav frowned. “I broke your what? That’s not possible.”
“Look—look!” Doloroso pulled his hands away and I saw that, indeed, the top part of his equipment was bent at a very strange and unnatural angle. I hoped that Teeny, who I thought was still behind me, wasn’t looking.
“Goddess of Mercy!” Grav actually went pale. “What the fuck?”
“I think that’s called a penile fracture,” I said, feeling a little sick. “My friend Charlotte told me about it. She’s seen a lot of wild things at the ER.”
“That’s pretty fuckin’ wild all right,” he agreed. “I must have got him with my knee when I tackled him. I almost feel sorry for the poor bastard.”
“Don’t,” I said grimly. “He had some pretty unpleasant plans for me.”
A low growl rumbled up Grav’s throat and his white-on-black eyes flashed.
“You okay?” he asked, looking me over carefully. “He didn’t hurt you with that little thing, did he?” He nodded contemptuously at Doloroso’s broken bratwurst. “Because if he did, I’ll fuckin’ kill him. But first he’s gonna wish he was never born.”
“No, he didn’t hurt me,” I said quickly. “And you can’t kill him—that body isn’t really his. It’s stolen and we have to return it to its owner.”
“Gotta tell you, I’m not sure it’s owner is gonna want it back,” Grav remarked. “Not like that, anyway.”
“Well maybe he can fix it,” I said. “Or buy a new one or something—he’s rich enough.”
“Well, I don’t know how to remove an Assimilated from a Host body but I guess we can try,” Grav remarked.
“There is no way.” The new voice made me jump. Looking up, I saw the tall Majoran Captain of the Guard looking down at me. His skin and hair and eyes were all dark blue, as before, though I knew he could go back to gold—or any color, for that matter—whenever he wanted.
“Captain Verrai?” I said uncertainly. “How, uh, nice to see you. Um…what are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story,” Grav growled. “Basically he and his men were tracking us. They slipped through the hole in the Web I told you about and cut their way into the Widow’s control station not long after you and Teeny got taken. Which took some serious balls,” he added, throwing Verrai a look of grudging admiration. “And then they decide to come along and help get you back from Doloroso.”
“So…you’re friends now?” I eyed the two big aliens uncertainly. They were both huge but Verrai was perhaps an inch taller while Grav was just a little broader through the shoulders.
“I wouldn’t say friends exactly,” Grav growled.
“The Braxian saved my life,” Verrai said formally. “It’s a debt I will not repay with treachery. I have sworn not to try to arrest him or take him in—I wanted only to help rescue his female.”
Grav’s face went abruptly stony.
“She’s not really my female, okay? And it looks like she’s just fine, even if I did break my oath to protect her.”
“Stop, Grav…” I put my hand on his arm. “You didn’t break your oath. You came to find us..”
“Not before he almost killed you and Teeny. I never should have let the two of you get into this kind of danger in the first place,” he insisted.
“Grav?” the new voice was Teeny’s. She’d run to hide, apparently, as I had instructed. Now I saw her creeping out from behind some of the bulkier medical equipment. “Grav, is that you?”
“Teeny, sweetheart!” His face broke into a big smile and I felt a twinge of emotion that was almost like jealousy. I wished I could get a reaction like that from him!
“Grav!” She came running to him and he swept her up into his arms, holding her gently as she nuzzled against him like a kitten might nuzzle a Great Dane. “I knew you’d come,” she whispered. “I never doubted you.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. That means a lot to me.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
I felt a blush of shame rise to my face.
“I never doubted you,” Teeny had said—and she hadn’t. With a child’s uncomplicated faith, she had trusted that Grav would find us. While I…well, I had had my doubts. And to be honest, I still had some. But now wasn’t the time to voice them.
“I need to talk to you,” I said, turning to Captain Verrai. “I realized it after we met last time.”
He looked startled. “Are you certain?”
“Yes.” I nodded firmly. “And I’ll tell you anything you want to know. But first we have to do something for Count Doloroso there. He’s really a mess.” I nodded at the Count, who was still clutching his equipment and whimpering quietly as he rocked back and forth.
“I’m afraid there’s not much we can do.” Verrai frowned. “As I said, I don’t think there’s a way to get an Assimilated out of a host body. Once they take over, they own it until it dies.”
“Well, we have to try,” I said firmly.
“We’ll take him with us when we go,” the Captain of the Imperial Guards promised. “There may be something we can do for him back on Femme 1. But in the meantime, I have some urgent questions about your friend.”
“Fine.” I took a deep breath. “What do you want to know?”
Grav
Verrai and Leah talked a long time while Doloroso rocked and whimpered and Teeny clung to me like a climbing T’sango vine. Apparently Verrai thought there was something special about Zoe and Leah’s friend, Charlotte. He kept mentioning the “rainbow aura,” which I didn’t understand until I remembered the rainbow glow that seemed to surround the female in question when I’d seen her on the Alien Mate Index light screen.
Apparently the rainbow aura made her unique and Verrai was worried she might be in trouble.
“But why does it make her special?” Leah asked as they were finally wrapping up. “I mean, I love Charlotte—she’s really hard working and incredibly smart and down-to-Earth but you’re saying she’s some kind of…royalty?”
“I believe it may be so. At least, the Goddess Empress believed it.”
“Wait,” I said. “The Empress believed it? Past tense? Then that must mean the Empress has…”
“Ascended to the Heavens. Yes. Why do you think I am in mourning, Braxian?” Verrai said quietly, indicating his solid, dark blue color. There was a depth of sorrow in his rainbow hued eyes that was difficult to look at. “I have served her all my life and her last command to me was to find her next incarnation and protect her with my life.”
“And you think Charlotte is it?” Leah’s eyes grew wide. “I mean that’s…that’s crazy.”
“It’s perfectly logical,” Verrai said. “Between twenty and thirty cycles before the Goddess Empress ascends to the Heavens, her next incarnation is born. For a time, they share a soul and both have the unique rainbow aura. When the present Goddess Empress passes to the other side, her incarnation is old enough and wise enough to rule in her place.”
“Well…” Leah looked thoughtful. “If anybody could rule
the galaxy, it would be Charlotte. She’s the most determined person I know.” She frowned. “But she just started med school so I don’t know if she’s going to be willing to give that up for some crazy sounding dream. Because, I’m sorry—it does sound kind of out-there that she would be the next ruler of the universe or whatever.”
“She must come with me,” Verrai said earnestly. “She cannot stay where she is, unprotected and ignorant of the truth. She is in grave danger.”
“Danger? What danger?” Leah said, looking worried.
“The danger of assassination,” Verrai told her. “You see, I am not the only person searching for the next incarnation of the Goddess Empress. There are other players in this game—and all of them want their own candidate to rule. If one of them finds out where your friend is located they will seek to eliminate her.”
“They will? That’s awful!” Leah exclaimed.
“No,” Verrai said grimly. “That is court politics on Femme 1. The capital planet is a treacherous place rife with intrigue. So you see why I must find your friend before anyone else does.”
“I see.” Leah’s face was pale as she nodded. “Just please—take care of her. I love her and Zoe like sisters.”
“I have sworn to guard her life with my own,” Verrai said—somewhat coldly, I thought. When I give my oath to a female, it’s a passionate thing. But the Majoran Captain spoke as though guarding Leah’s friend would be a duty—not a pleasure.
Well, maybe I should cut the poor guy a break—after all, he was still in mourning for the old Empress, who had ruled for as long as I could remember. It was probably damn hard to go looking for the next Goddess Empress to guard when he still carried the former one in his heart.
“At least you won’t have to explain how you’re an Alien and that there’s sentient life outside the confines of the Earthlings’ little planet,” I said to him. “Since we paid the Commercians to give Charlotte a message when Leah left.”
He frowned. “I wasn’t going to explain that anyway. Who doesn’t know there’s other life in the universe?”
“Uh, actually, most people on Earth don’t,” Leah said apologetically.
“Earth was a closed world up until recently,” I explained when he looked at her blankly. “The Ancient Ones put a lock around it to keep the DNA there pure, I guess. Anyway they’re pretty primitive, so they think they’re alone in the galaxy.”
“Hey!” Leah glared at me. “We’re not primitive!”
“Excuse me—I just meant your technology is primitive,” I growled, correcting myself. “They don’t even have faster-than-light travel yet,” I explained to Verrai. “So they’re pretty much stuck on their little blue and green ball with no way to get out and see the rest of the galaxy.”
“We’re getting there.” Leah sounded defensive. “We’re doing the best we can.”
“Yeah, well…” I shrugged, not wanting to piss her off any further. But I was only telling the truth! The tech on Earth was pathetic which was why Leah’s people still hadn’t even found or contacted their nearest neighbors.
“Whatever.” Leah crossed her arms over her chest, looking irritated. “Grav is right about one thing—your visit shouldn’t freak Charlotte out since the Commercians will have already contacted her and explained what was going on. With me, anyway. You’re going to be on your own trying to convince her that she’s supposed to be the next Queen of the Universe.”
“Goddess Empress of the galaxy,” Verrai corrected her. “At least, she will be if I see the rainbow aura when I meet her.”
“Oh, I think you’ll see it all right,” I muttered, remember the image of Leah’s friend on the AMI screen again. “But for now, we’d better all get moving.”
“Right. And I think the body Count Doloroso stole is going to need medical attention.” Leah looked over at the crumpled figure of the Count and then put a hand to her mouth. “Oh no!”
“What is it?” I turned around and saw the same thing she had—Count Doloroso wasn’t moving. His orange-skinned face was slack and his puffy, pouchy eyes were open but unseeing. Only his organ remained awake and alert—turgid and bent at that strange, crooked angle, even after death. Because there was no doubt about it—the male was definitely dead.
“Oh my God!” Leah had already rushed over to him and was reaching out tentatively with two fingers to take his pulse.
“Don’t bother,” I told her. “He’s gone.”
“You don’t know that! How can you know for sure?” she demanded.
“Well, I mean—just look at him.” I gestured to the limp form—well, mostly
limp. “And besides, he smells dead.”
“All right.” She sat back on her heels, looking troubled. “I feel bad—he overdosed on those pills that made his, uh, equipment so hard because of me.”
“Because he wanted to hurt you,” I said harshly. “Isn’t that right?”
“Well…yes.” She sighed. “But I still don’t like it that he died. I feel…responsible for his death. Like it’s on my conscience or something.”
“Take it from somebody who’s been responsible for a lot of deaths,” I told her harshly. “It gets easier. Just don’t think about it.”
“Is that how you deal with it?” she asked quietly. “You just don’t…think about it?”
I knew who we were talking about and so did Leah and it wasn’t fucking Doloroso.
“I think about it every damn day of my life,” I told her. “And every day, I’m glad I did it.”
Leah made a little gasping sound and looked away. Verrai, who had been looking between us with a confused expression, shook his head.
“I need to get moving if I’m going to find your friend, Lady Leah. I thank you for the help and information you so freely gave me.”
“Just take care of Charlotte,” she said earnestly. “Just…”
“Ouch!” The exclamation came from the other end of the room, where four of Verrai’s Imperial Guards were examining some of the Assimilation medical equipment that filled the room.
“T’zorin? What’s wrong?” Verrai called, frowning.
“Nothing, uh, Captain.” The male in question put a hand at the back of his neck, looking queasy and disoriented. “I just…it felt like something stung me. That’s all.”
“Well, did it?” Verrai asked.
“Don’t think so. Sorry for the interruption, Captain.” Abruptly, the male stood up straighter, a new light in his eyes. “I am quite well, now. There is no cause for alarm.”
“Very well.” Verrai turned back to us once more. “As I was saying, I must take my leave.”
“Well we can’t just leave Doloroso’s ship here unattended,” I said grimly. “We did that before—Sarden and me—and Doloroso turned up later in another part of the galaxy with a whole new body. Not a very nice one but still…it’s a chance we can’t take.”
Verrai sighed. “None of my men can fly this class of ship—it’s a megaton cruiser. I’ll have to order it hooked to my own vessel and towed back to Femme 1. But the time it will waste—”
“Excuse me, Captain,” said one of the guards—in fact, the same one who’d complained of being stung earlier.
“What is it now, T’zorin?” Verrai sounded impatient.
“Just that, well, I know how to fly this kind of ship.”
“You do?” Verrai looked at him skeptically. “How?”
“I learned when I was a child—we had a merchant in my hometown who had one and he was like an older relative—uh, an uncle to me. He let me learn to fly his.”
“And?” Verrai asked.
“And so I can fly it for you. Straight to Femme 1 so you don’t have to waste any time.”
Verrai looked relieved. “You swear that you can?”
T’zorin nodded. “I swear it.”
“Good—then do it. You take the rest of the squad and I’ll meet you back on Femme 1 when I have the female we seek under my
protection.”
“Yes, my Lord Captain!” T’zorin made a strangely elaborate bow and then stalked off, presumably to set a course to Femme 1.
“Now that that’s taken care of, I really must go,” Verrai told us. “May the warmth of the Goddess’ personal sun shine upon you.” He held out an arm to me.
Reluctantly, I took it in a warrior’s clasp.
“Good bye, Verrai. Be careful and be well.”
“I still owe you a life debt, Braxian,” he said, formally. “I will not forget it. For now—farewell.”
He left, heading back to his shuttle and I knew it was time for us to go too.
“C’mon,” I said to Leah and Teeny. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Leah
“So you have two choices,” Grav said in his deep, growling voice. He was working at his ship’s control area, not looking at me while he spoke. Teeny was already in bed—she’d been tired out by the whole ordeal we’d been through, so Grav and I had the main part of the hopper to ourselves.
“Oh?” I put a hand on my hip. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I can take you straight back to Earth or you can come with me to drop Teeny off to her grandfather and then I can take you back to Earth.”
“Is that all?” I asked. “What about going to Eloim to see Zoe? Or is that promise completely off the table now?”
“Right. Yet another promise I didn’t keep.” His tone was bitter. “Along with the oath I swore to keep you safe.”
“Grav, stop that!” I grabbed his broad shoulder and spun his chair around to face me—which wasn’t easy—it took both hands, but I did it. “Look at me,” I told him. “You didn’t break your oath to me and Teeny—you came for us. You came.”
“But not in time!” he roared. “Or you wouldn’t have had to resort to trickery to keep yourself from getting killed or raped!”
I flinched at his ugly words but held my ground.
“Give me some credit,” I said evenly. “I’m not the scared little girl I was when you first saved me from Gerald’s attack back on Earth. I can take care of myself now—I’d think you would be happy about that. Especially since you seem so hell-bent on taking me back where you found me and never seeing me again.”