Chapter Twenty
Thankfully, the bonding ceremonies went off without a hitch. I’ll admit, I shed a few tears when Wulf gazed into Yakira’s eyes and said, “Your love is my anchor. Your trust my strength. You make my life complete. I will give you all my love until eternity ends.” Wulf fastened a black ownership band on her neck. “We are now one.”
More tears fell as Yakira said, “I accept this band as a symbol of our love. It has no beginning and no ending. I am yours for all eternity.”
Sorrow filled me. Did Tihar love me like that? I hoped so, but we had been together for such a short time. It was hard to know if our love was real or an illusion.
Two hours after the ceremonies, the Overlord, Voss, Talree, and Jaylan boarded a warbird and went after Diar. The bad news was, they had left Rho behind to run things while Detja and we girls were meditating. Rats.
I soon learned Detja was a sneaky bitch. She created a crisis on the far side of the planet that required Rho’s attention. The minute his shuttle left, we boarded Yakira’s stealth fighter.
Using a holographic Wulf, we got planetary air command to clear us. When we had passed the last death satellite, I gave Detja the coordinates for Tihar’s location. He was in the rebel stronghold of Sirte, which was located on a frontier planet called Epsilon.
Aunt Tess stared at the map of the stronghold. “Do you think Tihar was captured?”
“No. He spends too much time in a tavern.”
“Maybe he’s undercover,” Kaylee said, bouncing Thor on her knee. Haki, a baby Tabor, was perched on Thor’s head. The little guys had become best buddies during Kaylee’s third trimester.
I blew out a long breath. “I’ve considered the possibility. If he is a spy, we don’t want to blow his cover.”
Bree stroked her cattle prod. “The simple solution is to disguise ourselves, get the lay of the land, and when it’s safe, we zap him.”
“Tihar has to weigh about four hundred pounds. Who is strong enough to teleport him?” Leave it to Aunt Tess to bring up the obvious.
“I am,” Kaylee said. At my doubtful look, she added, “I’ve done it before.”
“Really? That’s gotta be a story.”
“It is.”
Thor clapped his hands. “Kitty.”
My gaze locked on a big, black cat. “That’s no cat; that’s Adan.”
“Adan, show yourself,” Detja commanded.
Adan morphed into his true form. He waved his tentacles around and opened his enormous mouth, exposing his serrated teeth.
Thor squealed in delight.
“Me play with big marble,” Haki cried, scurrying across the floor.
Detja caught him. “No playing with the big marble.”
Adan roared. It was a mixture of howler monkey and dinosaur.
“We’re all properly terrified,” I said with a yawn.
His sticky tongue shot out.
I dodged it. “Not nice.”
His size doubled. “I can eat all of you.”
Not one member of my family flinched, shrieked, screamed, or ran for their lives. That included Musa, KeeKee, and Haki.
Bree triggered her modified cattle prod. A blue electrical current arced dramatically. “If you wanna play, I’m game.”
Adan eyed her warily.
Thor teleported over, grabbed a tentacle, and stuck it in his mouth.
My eyes widened in surprise. “How long has he been doing that?”
“About a week. Thor is utterly fearless. You wouldn’t believe the places I’ve found him.”
Adan picked Thor up carefully. “Why is he chewing on me?”
“It’s called teething,” Kaylee said, rescuing her son.
“A shape-shifter could come in handy,” Zoey commented.
Aunt Tess asked, “Can you do an Askole?”
“I can take any form.” Adan transformed into Sariel.
Musa jabbered happily.
KeeKee hopped up and down on my head. “Do again. Do again.”
Poof. Lilkee stood there.
Oh, gag me. “Anything but her.”
The wizard kid appeared.
Zoey laughed. “He’ll be our ace in the hole.”
“You will only eat those who try to harm us, Adan,” Detja warned from the pilot’s chair.
“Yes, daughter.”
Bree chortled. “Pity the fools who get in our way.”
Haki asked, “Are we there yet?”
“No, we are not,” Kaylee answered patiently.
KeeKee whined. “When we get there?”
Without batting an eye, Kaylee grabbed a backpack. She handed Thor some silly putty to play with and rolled marbles for Haki, KeeKee, and Musa to catch and bring back.
“My mom gave me an Etch-A-Sketch when we went on road trips,” Zoey said with a smile.
Bree grinned. “My dad would hand me a Glock to field strip.”
Me? I read romance novels. The smuttier, the better. Mom was not pleased when she found the heroes were aliens with big dicks.
* * * *
Four hours later, we went into orbit around the frozen world of Epsilon. There were only two settlements on the ice-covered landmass. Sirte, the rebels’ stronghold, and Murdo, which was inhabited by a few hardy souls who harvested the feathery yellow Eugleanophyta. It was a type of algae that grew on the ocean bottom and was worth its weight in gold. Eugleanophyta reversed the effects of aging, and people flocked to the planet, hoping to strike it rich. Few did. The only way to get to the Eugleanophyta was to drill through a thousand feet of ice. A one-man submersible was then lowered into the water to harvest the algae. Not only were there severe rip currents that could tear the submersible apart, there be monsters. Hungry whalelike critters that chased down the mini-submarines and swallowed them whole. Their digestive juices could eat through anything.
“We have a problem.” Detja tapped the command console. A hologram of Sirte appeared.
I groaned. The rebels had erected an energy shield over the stronghold. One that could withstand an intense bombardment from space.
Detja brought up the schematics “The shield prevents anyone from teleporting in or out, and it blocks transporter beams.”
“I can get through the shield,” Adan said smugly.
I had to ask, “With a passenger?”
“Or two?” Bree was equally interested.
“Yes, I am Katanic. I belong to the most powerful race in the universe.”
Zoey quipped, “And so modest too.”
“A warbird just uncloaked on our starboard side,” Aunt Tess warned urgently. “Our shields are down.”
We pulled our weapons.
A very irate Rho suddenly appeared on the bridge. “Return to Tanith, or I will inform the Overlord of your actions.”
“And testosterone strikes again,” Kaylee muttered under her breath.
I watched Detja assume her ice-queen demeanor. Holy crap. The shit was about to hit the fan.
Detja nodded at Adan.
Adan’s tentacles shot out and wrapped around Rho.
Rho went for his laser pistol.
A tentacle yanked it out of his hand, then relieved Rho of his sword and handed both of them to Detja.
“It is my duty to stop you. Release me,” Rho growled, struggling to break free. “You cannot hold me.”
“Oh, but I can. Take Rho to the Crystalline Cavern and lock him in. Do not kill him, Adan,” Detja instructed.
“Yes, daughter.” An incandescent orange light formed around them. The light spun faster and faster and faster until it became a vortex. Slurppp! They were gone.
“Rho’s smarter than he looks,” Zoey said.
Aunt Tess nodded. “When he gets his head out of his ass, he’s a great guy.”
We all stared at her in disbelief.
“What? Just sayin’.”
I smiled. “Gotta a crush on him, don’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“I have our disguises in the captain’s cabin. Find one that fits and be ready when Adan returns. We need to extract Tihar as quickly and quietly as possible,” Detja directed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
We all walked into the captain’s cabin. Instead of a selection of cold-weather clothing, there were black lace-up corsets, leather leggings, and knee-high black leather boots. Another pile contained floor-length hooded cloaks.
“Sluts are us,” Zoey said, holding up a corset.
Bree grabbed a pair of leggings. “Bitchin’.”
I hurriedly changed and found hidden pockets for my weapons. I tugged on my boots. “Who gets to stay behind and babysit the kids and the ship?”
“Good question,” Kaylee responded.
Aunt Tess held up her hand. “The old lady will stay. All of you are better fighters than me, and the cold plays hell with my joints.”
“You’re only fifty-one,” I said.
Detja walked into the room. “Once you mate with Rho, your joints will no longer bother you.”
“Good to know, but Rho doesn’t want another mate, dammit.”
A cold anger filled me. “He lost both his family and his mate in the Great War?”
“Yes, it left him broken.” Detja patted Aunt Tess’s left shoulder. “You have made great progress with him.”
“Doesn’t feel like it, and I’m running out of ways to get Rho’s attention.”
“Your warlord is secured,” Adan announced and handed Zoey her corset.
Clamping an arm across her bare breasts, Zoey ripped the corset out of his tentacle and spun around. “Pervert.”
Detja scolded, “Adan, where are your manners? Wait for us on the bridge.”
“I am not attracted to human females,” Adan huffed and rolled out of the room.
I followed him. “What kind of life forms are you attracted to?”
“A Katanic or a Gorum female.”
That made sense. I fastened my cloak. “Zoey knows some Gorum. Maybe she can fix you up.”
“I do not need assistance in mating,” Adan blustered.
“Okay, if you change your mind, let me know.”
Adan snipped, “Are you ready to retrieve your reluctant mate?”
“I am.”
Long, ropy tentacles encircled my waist, and a brilliant orange glow formed.
“Wait for me,” Bree cried, rushing up to us.
“Teleporting with Adan is like going from zero to Mach 1 in seconds,” I warned Bree.
“I feel the need for speed.” Bree patted the tentacles surrounding her. “Let’s do this.”
“Did I mention the slime?”
Bree repeated in horror, “Slime?”
The incandescent orange light whirled madly until a vortex formed. Slurppp! We were sucked into that twisting funnel of energy.
Not even twenty seconds later, it spat us out. Bolts of green energy danced over metal walls. I let out a breath of relief. No dementors this time. Another plus, my cloak had kept the slime off me.
“What a rush,” Bree exclaimed, then took one look at her dripping cloak, and dumped it. “Yuck.”
Adan harrumphed. “I am waiting for my accolades.”
“What are you talking about?” I turned around and blinked in surprise. We were in an armory filled with row after row of explosives, ammunition, and racks of rifles. “Good job, Adan.”
Bree rubbed her hands in glee. “I love making thing go boom.”
“Are those thermite grenades?” I opened a crate and did a little happy dance. “Omigod, we’ve struck the mother lode.”
“I will retrieve the others.” The orange light popped into existence.
I didn’t even look up. “Okay. You do that.”
Bree scooped up a black grenade reverently. “Jaylan said this puppy produces a fire that burns over four thousand degrees Fahrenheit. It’ll reduce all these weapons to a pool of molten slag.”
“Wanna set the timers for thirty minutes? It should be enough time to infiltrate the bar as dancers and persuade Tihar to come with us.” Huh? A training grenade. I stuffed it in a pocket. It might come in handy.
Bree gnawed on her lower lip. “The rebels outnumber us. If things go south with our snatch and grab, we’ll need a big, noisy diversion.”
“All we have to do is make the rebels think they’re under attack by Sariel’s forces. While they’re running to man their laser cannons, we boogie with Tihar,” I answered matter-of-factly.
Detja stated, “A strategic plan. You think like a Coletti.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” I grinned at Bree. “The ultimate compliment.”
An orange glow filled the building, and green lightning crackled like fiery snakes around the armory. The vortex spat out Adan, Detja, Kaylee, and Zoey.
A prickling sensation crept across my brain. “Hostiles.” Bree and I took cover behind the crate.
Kaylee, Detja, and Zoey quickly joined us.
Adan crouched down like some great, hungry beast.
Two Legionnaires teleported into the armory. Their eyes bugged when they spotted Adan.
I waited for them to start dancing.
“Waewae. Waewae.” The wannabes did a funky two-step as they fumbled for their weapons. “Tama-nur-ra. Aiieeeee!” they shrieked when Adan pounced.
Gulp! The Legionnaires disappeared down Adan’s gaping maw.
Keeping a safe distance, I asked, “Feeling better?”
“I am.” Adan burped loudly.
“Holy cow! Asus laser rifles. These are top of the line,” Kaylee crowed, pulling one off the rack.
An exceptional weapon was almost as good as chocolate. Almost. “We’ve got thermite grenades too.” I held one up.
Detja walked over and examined the crates of explosives. “The grenades will do nicely. Adan, I need you to place two of these on the power generator, the rebels’ planetary weapon systems, and any of their ships you can find. Set the first timer for twenty minutes and the other at thirty second intervals.”
“Yes, daughter.” He snagged a bunch of grenades and summoned his vortex. Slurppp! He was gone.
Detja stared at me for a long moment. “Are you ready to bag Tihar?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.”