Chapter Three
A kaleidoscope of images and sounds whirled through my mind. A terrible battle raged. The blackness of space was filled with ribbons of dazzling red energy beams. I flinched as brilliant billows of yellow and orange flames erupted around disintegrating spaceships. Our warriors were losing the fight to save Tanith.
The enemy’s battle cruisers unleashed a hail of bombs on our world. Cannon-like blasts ripped apart the night. Sun-bright holocausts raged across the continents. Wails of the dying filled my head as the Coletti citizens were engulfed by the ravenous flames. When the barrage ended, charred metal superstructures of the once-vibrant cities rose eerily from an endless ocean of radiation-blasted sand. Few had survived the attack. Devastating loss, rage, and the need for vengeance churned in my gut.
“Awake,” a female voice commanded.
My eyes popped open, and I jerked upright. The room spun dizzily around me. A petite woman with long silver hair and pointy ears stood next to me. Who was she? Where was I? Why was I handcuffed to a metal table? Good God, what was that awful smell?
“I am Detja, you are on Tanith, Voss thought the handcuffs were necessary, and you reek of skunk,” she answered as she removed the EEG bio-sensors pads from my temples.
Memories came flooding back. Central Command’s betrayal and my capture. My gaze fixed on Detja. She was the Overlord’s deadly mate. Rumor had it her powers equaled his. “What’s with the history lesson?”
“It is important you learn about your new home. Our past. Our culture. What your role will be. You also need to understand: the Overlord does whatever is necessary to protect the Coletti clans from harm.”
She wouldn’t get any argument from me. The Overlord was a ruthless bastard. Anyone who got in his way was either conquered or exterminated. Even so, I couldn’t shake my grief for the billions of Coletti people who had been massacred. “What started the war?”
Detja cocked her head to one side and studied me. “You truly want to know about the Great War?”
“I do.” After the Tai-Kok and Rodan had slaughtered millions of our people, I understood the need for revenge. None of us would be safe until all the monsters were dead.
“As you wish.” A faint smile touched her mouth. “Six hundred years ago, an Alliance general by the name of Samor Tigres unleashed a deadly rain of Gall bombs on Tanith. The general held the entire Coletti race responsible for the death of his mate and tried to annihilate every male, female, and child. Mercy was not in his vocabulary. A lethal dose of radiation poisoned the surface and vaporized the seas.”
“How did anyone live through that?”
“The Overlord was fifteen when the bombings began. Even then, he was a force to be reckoned with,” Detja said proudly. “Drawing on his considerable mental powers, he herded the battle-weary and injured survivors into underground caverns before the second wave of Gall bombs hit. Zarek found an old warbird in a hidden bunker and used it to raid other worlds for much-needed supplies. It took him three hundred years to rebuild the Coletti Empire into what it is today.”
Too bad Central Command wasn’t as persistent in protecting their citizens as the Coletti. “You now live in caves?”
Detja laughed. “Not exactly.” She touched a floating holoscreen. “This is our world now.”
The images of the Coletti subterranean cities were impressive. They were each a perfect Eden complete with blast doors. Every city had its own artificial sun, parks, waterfalls, lakes, and critters of every type.
“This is my home,” Detja said, and the view changed.
The Overlord’s palace was like something out of a fairy tale. The intricately carved black stone rose gracefully from a turquoise lake. The structure came complete with arched gateways, flower-covered terraces, and colonnaded streets.
“I’m impressed. Where do we bunk down?”
“Until you no longer smell like a deceased skunk, you will be housed in the old warriors’ barracks.” Detja gestured, and Rho stepped into the room. “Please take her to the barracks.” She teleported away.
An angry scowl twisted the big guy’s face. Wonder what had his panties in a twist. I sniffed my jumpsuit. Yep. That would do it. I smelled worse than the rotting corpse of a week-old road-killed skunk. Made me wonder if the Coletti Tucson headquarters smelled as bad. It would only be polite to ask and thank them for bringing me to the far side of the galaxy. “Good morning, or is it afternoon? Whatever, just wanted to say how happy I am to be on Tanith and enjoy all its radioactive glory.”
Rho growled like a rabid dog.
Someone had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. I patted his arm. “Really. What’s not to like? I absolutely love antiques, and the surface of Tanith has to be an archaeological treasure trove.” I rubbed my hands together. “I can’t wait to go antiquing.”
“Are all Jones females insane?”
Knowing Aunt Tess, she was using her critter control to drive the Coletti warriors nuts. Sam was a whiz at building homemade bombs and had probably blown something up. I gave Rho an understanding smile. “The Tai-Kok made all of us a bit psychotic, but in a good way. I mean, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as killing monsters. Don’t you agree?
“Killing good.”
Hmm. Brief and to the point. He did kinda remind me of a caveman. Not quite civilized. I asked blithely, “How many monsters have you killed?”
“Many.”
“I just bet you have.” I patted his arm again. “So, big boy, want to do a little antiquing with me?”
“No!” The word was a roar.
“Wow. What happened to your sense of history? Don’t you want to preserve your family’s keepsakes?”
Rho leaned down until we were nose to nose. “My family and home were vaporized. There is nothing left to retrieve.”
“Oh my God, you’re breaking my heart, but you’re not alone anymore. You got us girls.” I kissed his cheek.
Rho reared back like I had cooties or something. Oh. Wait. I sort of did. “I am a warlord. I live to serve the Overlord. I do not want or need your pity.”
“Pity? Who said anything about pity? How long has it been since you had sex?”
Rho’s jaw dropped.
“That long, huh?” I gave him a come-hither look. “I can fix that.”
“You have been promised to Lothel.”
“It would be our little secret.” I cupped my breasts. “Haven’t you heard? Jones girls are hot to trot.”
He bared his fangs menacingly. “I will not dishonor my oath to the Overlord.”
Warlords were so much fun to mess with. “Okay.” I switched topics. “Since we’re family now, are our spiffy Tucson headquarters still uninhabitable?”
“Our headquarters?” Rho’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief.
“Well, yeah. You know, the whole conversion thing? Aren’t you supposed to welcome Aunt Tess, Sam, and me to the clan?”
“Goddess help us,” Rho muttered under his breath.
“Any hoo, being family and all, I can give you the name of a good Tucson exterminator. You’ll probably have to have the building sprayed several times to kill all those little buggers.”
“The little buggers have been dealt with,” Rho replied nastily.
I fought back a grin. “The skunk smell is a real doozy to get rid of, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Rho unlocked my handcuffs and snarled, “Any resistance will be met with force.”
“Wow. Do you practice that look in the mirror? Can you teach it to me? It’s really effective.”
“I do not find you amusing.” Rho yanked me off the table and teleported. There was a fleeting second of blackness, and presto, we were standing inside an old military barracks. “This is your new home.” He pushed me away from him.
“What? No good-bye kiss?”
Rho vanished abruptly.
That had been way too easy.
“Sarah!” Aunt Tess ran over and wrapped her arms around me. “Thank God you’re okay. I’ve been so worried.”
I hugged her back. “They didn’t hurt you or Sam?”
“Sam wasn’t happy about being stunned. Voss, the prick, refused to let the medic treat her severe muscle cramping. He said she would think twice before attacking another warrior.”
“Never gonna happen. As Grandma used to say, ‘That girl is a hellion.’”
Aunt Tess laughed. “True. It didn’t stop Sam from building a flash-bang bomb and lobbing it at Voss.”
“What did the Battle Commander do?”
“He tossed her butt in their version of a jail.”
I looked around the room. There was a table, two chairs, and two beds. “Where are the guys?”
“They’re cooling their heels with Sam until Zarek can”—Aunt Tess did air quotes with her fingers— “speak with them.”
“In other words, until he can use some mind control on them.”
“Exactly. The only reason we’re stuck in the barracks is the Coletti warriors can’t handle the smell.”
“Can’t blame them. Even breathing through my mouth isn’t helping. I’d kill for some mentholated gel to rub under my nose.” A buzzing noise emanated from the other side of a door. “What kind of critter is making that noise?”
“The Tanith version of a fly. They breed in the underground river that runs nearby,” Aunt Tess answered. “Horrible little things. Not only are they lime green, but they look like a wasp mated with a particularly nasty mosquito.”
“Yuck. You can control them, can’t you? They seem really intent on getting to us.”
“The stench acts like an aphrodisiac. Rho thinks they want to lay their eggs on us.”
I let out a squawk. “What?”
Aunt Tess patted my shoulder. “Relax. Controlling them is child’s play.”
“Thank you, Jesus! I thought the decontamination chamber was supposed to fix our problem.”
“Voss was so pissed we attacked Rho, he forgot to decontaminate us before he threw us in the stasis chambers. The stasis field intensified the stench.”
“There’s got to be something we can do. I don’t want to smell like a rotting skunk for the rest of my life,” I protested.
Aunt Tess grimaced. “Neither do I, but ten sessions in the decontamination chamber haven’t made a whit of difference. Detja is checking into Earth remedies.”
“Great. That could take a month or two.” I blew out a long breath.
“Or longer,” Aunt Tess groused.
“I guess we can look on the bright side. The Overlord’s plans just went up in smoke. Can you image a warlord trying to bed us wearing a gas mask?”
“Does spoil the moment.” Aunt Tess chuckled.
“And to add to our fun, we can always play sic ’em with Tanith’s horde of insects.”
Aunt Tess snorted. “Those Coletti boys aren’t as tough as they act. One sniff, and they go from swaggering asses to puking little wusses. Add in a few insects and whoosh! They’re gone.”