Initiation (Xylon Warriors 1) (9 page)

Kam glared at Erik. “Just eat. Braden will handle it.”

Erik grabbed a ham sandwich from the plastic tray on the coffee table, then flopped on the couch. He licked some mayonnaise off his thumb. “Well, if Braden wants us here until after the Initiation, we’ve got a lot of time to burn for just sitting around.” His gaze shifted to Leila, who was relaxed in a cushioned chair across from him, her legs tucked up under her. A sly smile crossed his face. “How about some strip poker? I saw it on an Earth satellite feed, and it looked fun.”

“Geez,” she replied with a scowl, then crunched down on a sour pickle. “Is sex all you ever think about?”

Kam studied his friend. Something was eating away at Erik. Each year he became more and more uncivilized and moved closer to the edge of self-destruction. He might just tumble over if someone didn’t pull him back.

“Who said anything about sex? Naked and sex are not the same.” Erik bit into the sandwich. “Of course, if that’s what
you
want, I’m sure that Kam and I can—”

“Me! You live for sex. I don’t think anything else is important to you.”

He took another bite of ham. “Food. It’s a very close second. Ever had food sex? Cocoa-covered tits, topped with berry-berry cream, and a thick syrupy-coated pussy, are real delicacies. Ever tried it? It’s a lot better than this crap they call food on Earth.”

“Please.” Leila shuddered. “Give it a rest, will you. You’re making me ill. Besides, you seem to be downing that sandwich pretty well, for something you consider crap.”

Kam shoved a chip into his mouth. Erik needed to eat more and speak less, before Leila popped him.

“I need energy. And you’re not fooling me, Leila. I’ve heard the sex stories about you in The Lair. I know you love it rough.”

She fell silent, and pain briefly flickered in her eyes.

When she remained silent, Kam wondered at her reaction. It wasn’t like Leila to back down so easily. He wasn’t sure what sex stories Erik was referring to. He’d never heard anything about Leila. Erik might just be yanking her chain and trying to get a rise out of her.

Leila sucked on the end of the pickle until Erik laughed lustily. She scowled and then ate the piece in two quick bites.

“Ouch,” Erik replied. A huge grin remained on his face. When she stuck her tongue out at him, he slapped his hand over his heart. “Is that an invitation to lick and make it better? Please tell me it is.”

Kam watched their exchange with interest. Anger, desire, frustration, longing. He didn’t need his sensor to see the emotions flying between the two. A beep drew his attention. He picked up the detector he’d set on the table.

“Anything wrong, Kam?” Leila asked, leaning forward to grab a napkin.

He set the bag of chips on the floor. “We’re not alone, guys.”

Erik swallowed. He tossed the rest of his sandwich on the tray. “Where? And how many?”

“Um…one. Doesn’t seem to be Egesa, but I can’t be sure. The readings are strange. Something’s causing interference. He’s…moving around the house, back to front. Trying to scope out how many of us are in here would be my guess.”

Erik surged to his feet, a mask of seriousness on his face. “I’ll slip out the back door and circle around.”

Chapter Six

Erik pulled the cream-colored, slatted shade away from the back door window just enough to peek outside. He didn’t see any movement, except for one black bird searching for worms around the base of an elm tree.

He’d bet the intruder was one of Daegal’s highbred assassins—a former Xylon Warrior turned and now serving on Marid. Egesa usually only ventured out under cover of darkness when off-planet, the lowly cowards.

He turned the knob and cracked open the door. The lone bird lifted its head, hopped away from the tree, then flew off toward the adjoining empty lot.

No other motion caught Erik’s eye. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he slipped out, staying pressed close against the house. His heart thudded, and his pulse raced. The thrill of the chase always excited him. Hunting ran very close to sex and food in his book.

With luck, he’d be able to take out this spy quickly and efficiently. The closer Alexa’s Initiation got, the more attacks Daegal would likely order. They’d have to stay sharp. If Daegal’s people got their hands on Alexa, they’d sterilize her, then bond her as a sex slave for the Egesa to play with. Death would probably be preferable for her. He followed the line of the house and turned the corner around the side. Still nothing.

He stopped and listened. No wind to cover any sounds. He heard birds. Cars in the distance. An airplane overhead. Nothing much else. He continued forward and turned the corner to the front of the house.

Movement! There he was, the intruder, peeking into the front, bay window. Wait. There
she
was. Damn. A woman. Definitely not Egesa. She held herself like a Warrior. He recognized the stance. Not one of theirs though. She hadn’t been on the Xylon ship. He knew that. She must be a Marid assassin, as he’d originally thought.

She slid into a crouch beneath the window and took a vid-cell off her belt. She seemed about average height, too skinny for his tastes, and he never much cared for short hair on a woman either, which she had.

He aimed his disruptor and the cell disintegrated right in her hands. He didn’t have a Class 1 ranking for nothing.

Her mouth gaped open as she stared at her empty fingers. Her head snapped in his direction. When their eyes connected, she bolted to her feet.

He pointed his disruptor. “Drop your weapon and your transport-connector to the ground.”

She slowly did as ordered.

This would be easier than he thought.

After discarding the instruments, her eyes darted from side to side, as if trying to figure out her next move. Her short, black hair framed her face in such a way that made her look so vulnerable. He almost felt sorry for her.

“Don’t bother running, if you were considering it.” He drew nearer, moving only a few inches at a time. “I’d be on you within five paces.”

She assumed a fighting stance.

“Ooo, now I’m scared.” He re-attached the disruptor to his belt and mirrored her wide-stance, hands in a defensive position between their bodies. He cocked an eyebrow, wondering why she hadn’t spoken yet. He had to admire that. Someone who could hold her tongue. That was something he never had much success at. She was either scared to death or highly trained not to reveal any information or weaknesses. “It’s your move.”

She kicked out, aiming for his side.

He easily sidestepped the blow. He needed the physical release. Hand-to-hand was becoming a lost art. No sense in passing up an opportunity to work out the body. “You gotta do better than that.”

She punched forward with her fist, connecting with his jaw this time.

He flew backward and pain wracked his frame. He hit the ground with a thud. “What the hell?” he muttered, following the curse with a groan. His whole body tingled. It took him a moment to clear his head and figure out what had happened. “Damn. I don’t believe it.” After disarming her, he hadn’t thought he’d needed to keep his shield activated. But then, the field only stopped non-living tissue, like a bullet or disruptor beam, so his shield wouldn’t really have helped anyway. She hadn’t transferred her power along the airwaves.

At that moment, Kam rounded the opposite corner in a rush. The woman immediately spun toward him, ready to fight. He skidded to a halt, his gaze targeting first her, then Erik, and back to her again.

Erik raised himself onto his elbows. “Careful, Kam. She’s wired for electrical transfer.” The current she’d hit him with still sizzled through his body.

Cautiously, Kam took a step backward. “That must be the interference I’m getting.” He glanced down at his hand-held sensor. “It shows she’s scared.”

The woman visibly stiffened.

Erik pushed to his feet. “Could’ve fooled me.” After that blow, he’d have assumed she was highly trained and not one bit afraid of combat.

She glanced back and forth between the two men.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Kam told her in a soothing voice.

“Speak for yourself,” Erik muttered, scanning their surroundings for something to incapacitate her with. His disruptor wouldn’t penetrate her wire-grid. He’d need a surge-rifle, and they hadn’t brought one down from the ship with them.

“Who are you?” Kam asked.

He received no answer.

“Hey, sweetheart. Look over here,” Erik called, drawing her attention. “Kam, back up. Now.”

She turned just as Erik threw a flowerpot in her direction. She raised her arm to block the clay planter. It hit her forearm and exploded. Sparks flew, and the air crackled. A loud pop split the air. She screamed and stumbled backwards.

“Dammit, Erik!” Kam yelled, reaching for the porch railing to steady himself. “What the hell was that?”

“I hid an energy ball in the dirt, so she wouldn’t know it was coming. I figured she wouldn’t dive and roll from a pot.”

“An energy ball? You could have killed her…and me, too.”

Distracted by their argument and the shock wave, the woman’s guard dropped. Erik saw the opening and grabbed her from behind, binding her arms to her sides. “It was low-grade, at best. And it neutralized her electrical field. You’re too soft, man. This bitch will kill any one of us at the first opportunity.”

She struggled against Erik’s hold. He shifted to trap her legs between his. When she was unable to get free or land any effective blows with her hands and feet, she gave a sigh of defeat and relaxed in his arms.

Erik was too smart to think she’d willingly surrendered and knew her fight wasn’t over, so he didn’t relax his hold. Too bad that ball was low frequency. “It would have been a lot easier, if she’d been rendered unconscious.”

Stepping forward, Kam grabbed one of her legs, then the other, and lifted. He opened the front door. “And a lot more complicated, if she’d been killed. She doesn’t have a jacket shield like we do.” He led the way inside. “We can do this without hurting her.”

“Hey, don’t make it sound like I enjoy hurting women. I don’t.” Erik kicked the door closed behind them. “But I know the risks.”

“And I don’t?”

Leila met them inside the entry. “A Warrior?”

“Not anymore,” Erik answered. “Be careful. She’s tougher than she looks.” He wondered why she wasn’t struggling more. Maybe she thought she could acquire additional information from the inside. Fine. Let her. The knowledge wouldn’t do her any good. She wasn’t going anywhere and wouldn’t be able to pass anything along that she found out.

“Bring her into the spare bedroom. It has a wrought-iron headboard and footboard we can secure her to. I noticed it earlier.”

“My kind of bed.” Erik chuckled. “I bet she’ll talk once she’s bound and spread-eagle.”

“Maybe she can’t talk,” Kam responded. “She’s been quiet, so far. Except for the scream.”

“I’ll check it out.” Leila led the way to the bedroom. “In here.”

When Leila pulled out restraints, Erik was barely able to stop himself from making a sexual comment, but decided against it at the last minute. None of them could afford to get distracted right now.

He stood staring down at the tied-up woman, while Leila checked her over with a medical monitor. Leila’s round ass caught his attention as she leaned over the woman. He’d love to get
her
bound and spread-eagle. At his sexual mercy. One of these days…

“Nothing wrong with her that I can find.” Leila put away the monitor. “She should be able to talk.”

Erik leaned over the bound female. “Who are you?” he demanded.

She raised her head, and he leaned closer. She looked prepared to talk. She had to know she was defeated. Better for her to cooperate.

“Well?”

She spit in his face.

He jerked back. “Son of a bitch!” He wiped his cheek.

“What’s your monitor show, Kam?” Leila asked.

“Nothing. Her electrical field must have shut it down. I’ll need to fix it.” He rubbed his temple.

Leila’s easy gaze turned to concern. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I think I got a stray jolt when Erik tossed an energy ball at her. I was shielded, but still too close. I’m going back into the living room and sit down for a while.”

“You want me to check you over.”

“No. I’ll be fine.”

A surge of worry struck Erik. He should have been more careful, and made sure Kam was well back before trying to kill her electrical set-up.

After Kam left, he turned to stare at the captured female. “Leave us, Leila. I’ll find out who she is and what she’s doing here. Her disruptor and transport-connector are out front. Secure those. We don’t need some stranger or child coming across them.”

Visible fear crossed the woman’s face. Good. Fear worked for him.

Leila touched his arm. “No. Let’s leave her for now. She’s not going anywhere. Let her think about things. She might be willing to tell us what we want once her arms and legs get numb and her body starts to protest.”

“I’ll make her body protest now.” Let’s see what she’d make of that statement. Put some real fear into her. He rubbed his palms together for added effect.

Leila tugged on his arm. “No you won’t. Now stop pretending you’re such a hard-ass. Come on.”

* * * * *

Alexa popped a grape into her mouth. She watched Braden’s throat work as he drank deeply from a bottle of water. Somehow, the action seemed very erotic to her.

She had to make a decision, and quickly.

Before Kam dropped his bombshell, her decision might have been different. Everything they’d said was so outrageous. Their words were at least partially true. She’d seen that for herself. But now, after what Kam revealed, she believed it all, and actually felt the need to help. How could she not?

“Where would I have to be initiated? Would we need to do it immediately?”

Braden spewed water over himself. He coughed to clear his lungs. “You’re saying yes?” he rasped out.

“Maybe.”

“Most initiations are performed on Xylon in The Lair, but we need to get you protected as soon as possible. We prefer to do off-world rites either on-ship, or we can do it here, if that’s more comfortable for you. I, um, kind of already planned it that way actually, if you agree.” He wiped the water from his chin. “It’ll be okay, Alexa. Really. Like a date…sort of. Or a fantasy. Anything you want.”