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With Izzy tucked under his arm, ‘helping’ him along the path toward the forest, his health was much improved. The shower, despite the detour, and a full belly of pizza had bolstered his energy. She was quiet, her lips pursed, with her gaze far away. Returning to the shelter made sense since it was an unknown factor. It was also defensible if their backs were to the rock wall.
She stumbled and slumped. Frowning, he dipped to catch her.
“Izzy?” He fell to his knees and gathered her unconscious body close to him. The salty stench of her blood seeped into his nose, dominating his thoughts. Like a tidal wave, a wealth of unknown emotions bombarded him. Intense heat and pain pierced his chest. The keening sound that ripped from his throat was unrecognizable as his voice.
Cradling her on his thighs, he brushed the hair off her face and ran his finger down her cheek to the red stain on her tunic. When he lifted the fabric, the shape of the wound was unmistakable.
He whipped his head up and scanned the forest wall, trying to find the source of the blast. No approaching footsteps, rustling of the green vegetation, or other disturbing noises had reached him.
He curled his arm around Izzy and cradled her. “Show yourself,” he roared. He darted his gaze from side-to-side, peering into the shadows.
The lone figure who stepped out seized every muscle in Oyaz’s body. The Etterian warrior leaned against a brown tree and crossed his legs at the ankles. The smirk was one Oyaz would never forget and had longed to see again. Madyx. How was this possible?
Oyaz tightened his arm around Izzy, pulling her snug against him. He gaped at the male, at his dark blue jeans, black tunic, and Etterian boots. Shaking his head, Oyaz tried to clear his vision.
“Well, what do we have here?” That was Madyx’s voice.
He is not an illusion? “Madyx?” Warmth burst through Oyaz, with darkness drenching his joy a moment later. “You died.”
“Died?” Madyx laughed, his unbound shoulder-length hair swirling around him. “No, I escaped Fuyra in an explosion. Father would have been proud.”
Oyaz sprawled Izzy on the ground and stumbled toward Madyx. “Maker, you are a sight. You look well, my battle-bond.”
“Battle-bond?” Madyx pinched his lips. “That was decades ago, Oyaz. We are strangers now.”
He patted his blaster against his thigh in a rhythmic beat. The yellow blinking light on the side flooded Oyaz with relief. Like someone drenching him with hot water, his shoulders drooped in relief. Tears prickled his eyes. Izzy wouldn’t die. Madyx had only stunned her. Still, set for an Etterian’s muscle mass and weight, such a shot had drawn her blood.
“Why, Madyx?” Emotion rose like a crescendo, bombarding his thoughts. Fury he recognized. Red tainted his vision. His nostrils flared, and the blood rushing through his veins increased his heart rate.
“Do not bore me with questions, Oyaz. The buzz wants me to believe Etterians find Earth fascinating.” He pushed off the tree and circled Oyaz, forcing him to turn to maintain eye contact. “Imagine my joy at stumbling upon Xeus tasking you to protect this pathetic blue orb. From that, it was easy to trace your comms and roll out a plan to entice you into my trap. You could never resist playing the honorable one.” He smacked the red button on his blaster, setting it to kill. “My time for revenge is at hand.”
“Revenge?” Oyaz frowned at the male he had once considered his dearest bond.
Madyx’s face contorted into a snarl. “You knew I did not touch Azian, yet you said nothing.”
Oyaz flinched at the pain in Madyx’s voice. “I did defend you.”
Madyx snorted. “Weak attempts made by you and my father.”
“His hands were tied, Madyx.” Oyaz glanced at Izzy, not in the mood to discuss this.
“And like the pathetic king he is, Xeus sided with the female.”
That snapped Oyaz’s focus back to Madyx. “He did not. Azian was as punished—”
Madyx laughed. “Regardless, I mined rock while you became a commander. How is that fair?” He nudged the blaster at Izzy. “Enough nostalgia. You will follow me freely, or I will terminate your pet.”
Oyaz frowned at the odd command. Go with him where? And no way in Alodon’s hell would he abandon Izzy. “I do not understand. Why did you not come find me?”
“Why, he asks? You do not know, Supreme Commander?” Madyx smirked.
Oyaz bristled. “Where have you been all this time?”
Two Yithians and a Maloidian flanked Madyx. Oyaz gritted his teeth, having not heard them approach. Frowning, he studied the males, not in armor and sporting no allegiances.
“Why did you harm her?” He knelt beside Izzy to gather her into his arms, cupping her cheek to feel her lifeforce. Her skin’s warmth lessened the pain cinching his chest. He sucked in a deep breath, hoping to calm his deafening heartbeat. “She posed no threat.” Anger tore through him, clenching his jaw and his arms. He pressed his temple to hers, missing her sad gray eyes and her effervescent chatter.
“I could kill her.” Madyx waved the blaster. “Would you prefer that?”
Oyaz struggled to his feet, bringing Izzy with him. He clasped her to his chest and kissed her cheek, hoping she could feel it in her unconscious state.
“How touching.”
Oyaz glared at Madyx. “She is...precious to me.”
“The way you are acting, I could almost believe her your Dar Eth.” When Madyx stepped closer, his males followed. “Your eyes...”
Oyaz’s breath hitched. Ice blue eyes meant Izzy was his. Of all the things he wanted in life, she was his greatest desire. “What color are my eyes?”
“Blue.” Madyx chuckled.
Oyaz growled. “Alodon’s balls, Madyx, give me your medgun.” He had to heal her. Everything within him compelled him to care for her. She may not be his Dar Eth, but she was his...friend.
“Such a soft heart. Regardless, she will have to seek her own healing.” Madyx twitched his fingers, and three blasters leveled on Oyaz then at her. “She is a nuisance, costing me two males so far and thwarting my plans.”
Oyaz frowned. Was he talking about the two Yithians Izzy ported? “What is the meaning of this?”
“So straight and narrow. Oh, ignorant Oyaz, the universe is shades of gray with many twists and turns. King Xeus,” Madyx spat, “has you well-trained, like obedient soldiers, never questioning his methods or decisions.”
“Our king serves Etteria, as we all do,” Oyaz snapped.
Madyx snorted. “Come along, Oyaz, or I will have my males stun you again.”
“Again?” He squared his shoulders. “None of this makes sense. Why are you behaving this way?”
“Fine then. If you are unconcerned for your life, what about your pet?”
Oyaz’s gaze dipped to Izzy’s pale face. Peace covered her, and her chest rose and fell as if she slept well. He had to protect her at all costs. “I will come with you.”
“A wise choice,” Madyx said. The Maloidian approached, yellow skin and spots fading into his swaying tentacled hair. “Allow Balllio to slip on restraints.”
Oyaz frowned. “Why? You have injured me, harmed my...Izzy, and now this? Afraid I am no longer an honorable male?”
“Honor?” Madyx laughed. “You are entertaining. No, the restraints are for my protection.”
“What? Why would I harm you? I thought you dead, Madyx. I grieved.” Oyaz glanced at Izzy, and that compulsion surged through him, demanding he carry her pain and ensure she was well-cared for. As she had done for him since this adventure started.
“Leave her,” Madyx growled, leveling his blaster on her.
“No, I will not abandon her.” Oyaz raised his chin.
Four blasters turned on him. If he left her, at least she was not in the line of fire. Sighing, he marched to the housing unit.
“Where do you think you are going?” Madyx bolted, leaping in front of Oyaz.
“I will not leave her in the open.” Circumventing Madyx, Oyaz shouldered his way into the housing unit and draped Izzy on the big chair. He unstrapped his blaster, checked the activated button was yellow, and left the weapon on the table. With a jog, he was through the back door just as Madyx opened it.
Oyaz held out his arms to Balllio. The click of the Maloidian steel shackles made him wince. “At least, tell me why?”
“In due course, Supreme Commander.”
Oyaz trailed Madyx into the forest. He threw backward glances at the housing unit, skimmed over the Yithians and Maloidian before resting his gaze on Madyx.
Hours passed, the one sun tracked its path across the sky, and still, Madyx didn’t answer, didn’t speak, except to nudge Oyaz onward. Rounding a copse of trees, a cave appeared in the distance, gaping like the ravenous mouth of an omeika. The jagged rock dripped like fangs. Izzy had mentioned this cave, said someone died here over a century ago. As they ventured into its depths, the shiver rippling down his spine had nothing to do with the cooler temperature.
~ * ~
Agonizing fire woke Izzy, and she kept herself immobile while she assessed her body. Why did her shoulder hurt so much? Exhaustion drained her limbs. That was understandable after the last two days of stress.
Flicking her eyes open, she squeaked at the bloodstain on her white button-up shirt. Well, Simmy’s shirt. A minor detail, but blood was a nightmare to clean.
The house was too silent.
“Oyaz?” she whispered, expecting him to hear her with his preternatural hearing. There was no response. The last time she’d seen him, they were on the path to the tent. Fire had exploded across her chest, and darkness had claimed her. She snorted. Fainted, that’s what she she’d done. Right?
She peeled her shirt back. Or had someone stunned her? Flaming aliens and their weird guns. Maybe she should call Earth Armed Forces and ask for assistance. Her gaze rested on the blaster. She winced. Endangering more lives didn’t make sense, not when she didn’t know what they’d be up against.
Ice slithered between the cracks of her volcanic fury. Where was Oyaz? Leaping to her feet, she sprinted out the back door. Many footprints led into the forest but east. Hurrying into the house, she grabbed her phone off the couch and dialed Miri. She didn’t answer again.
“Dammit, woman, I need you. They, whoever they are, took Oyaz. I think they’re going to the cave. You know the one.” Izzy paced, then paused to blink at the blaster Oyaz had left her, like he was giving her a signal. She could rescue him. “Get in touch with Reyes. I need Garix. Hell, I’ll even take Vorn. Or some guy named Arrow.” Slumping, she tapped the phone on her temple before pinning it to her ear again. “All right, this might sound stupid, but I’m going after him.”
She pocketed her phone, popped two of Simmy’s pain caps, hefted the gun, and hiked along the path. The forest’s shadows were cool against her bare arms. She turned east when she hit Old Man Carn. The terrain dipped, rose, and dipped again, the trees growing closer together as if to stop her. She clenched her jaw and rested the gun on her right shoulder, trying to ease her cramping arms and the weight on her wound.
The afternoon sunlight didn’t pierce the canopy, but like it was yesterday, she knew where to go. She had no way of leaving breadcrumbs for Miri to follow, other than firing the gun at the tree trunks. Since she didn’t understand how the gun worked, or whether it could fire indefinitely, she preferred to save its battery, just in case it had one.
Besides, Miri was a park ranger. If anyone knew how to track, it was her. Peering from behind a tree, Izzy studied the cave’s opening about twelve meters long and five meters high. Something kept the boundary markers’ sensors active, despite them grouped and propped against a tree. There’d be no interference from the local E.A.F. precinct.
Crates were stacked to the right of the entrance. If she sprinted, she could dive for cover. With a quick prayer, she burst into a run, skidding the last meter to slow her approach. She threw herself into the gap between the crates and the rocky wall. Holding her ragged breath, she listened past her thumping heartbeat. No alarm sounded, no cries, and no footsteps drew near. That had been too easy. Now, the hard part. With the sunset at her back, if she hovered in the entrance, anyone inside could see her.
A metallic bridge lined the cave’s entrance to even the jagged rock bed beneath it. She could slide around the side and into the gap between bridge and rock. From there, she might see more. As tiny as she was, it shouldn’t be difficult unless a crevice lay beneath the bridge. She sagged. Thoughts of Oyaz alone with someone evil rushed renewed energy and determination through her. Or it could be the pain caps talking. Her shoulder no longer throbbed. Placing a hand on the top of the crates, she vaulted over them and darted through the cave’s mouth. She slammed into the rock wall and threw herself onto her stomach, hoisting the gun even as she grazed the hell out of her elbows. No twinges of fire reached her mind, and no burning agony pierced her shoulder when she collided with the wall.
Ice cream parlors were so much safer than this bullshit.
The cavern stretched before her. Tall poles lit great circles on the ground, casting the walls of the cave in darkness. A row of tents lined one side, and crates peppered the space. In the center of the clearing was Oyaz on his ass with his hands tied behind him to a metal pole driven into the rock bed. She twitched with the urge to sprint to him and throw her arms around him. But that was foolish unless she wanted to be caught, as well.
Seventeen sharkmen and five yellow squidheads loitered, some carrying crates crisscrossed the clearing. Alien guns were strapped to their thighs. Though, she doubted that was all of them. If she could take care of the aliens first, then she could free Oyaz. Darting across the bridge, she ducked behind a crate. She vaulted over it, dived behind the next stack, leaped over those, until she was near enough to Oyaz to see the blood dripping from his wrists.
Her face burst with a tingling heat, and she bit her tongue to swallow a sob. How dare they hurt him. She hunched, sank onto her backside, and leaned against the crate. Placing the gun beside her, she rested her elbows on her knees and shoved her fingers into her hair. A plan would help. All she had was the gun. As she peered over the top of the crate, an Etterian stepped from the large tent at the end of the row.
Hope blossomed in her chest like a burst of sunlight, and she opened her mouth to call out. But when he kicked Oyaz’s boot and laughed, she pinched her lips. What the flaming nipples was this? An evil Etterian? He was gorgeous, though, but they all were. Long legs in blue denim, a black T-shirt molded to an impressive chest, and his hair brushed his shoulders. He had a biker vibe of old.
Still, she’d receive no help from that quarter.
His head whipped up, and he scanned the crates. She crouched, praying he hadn’t seen her. What kind of rescuer was she if she didn’t even make it to Oyaz? A shitty one.
“Well, this is indeed a surprise.”
She squeaked and raised her gaze.
The evil biker palmed his gun and fired.
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