Alien Savior (Zerconian Warriors Book 5) (18 page)

“Are you certain you will not allow me to lock you in a high-security room where no one but me has access to you?”

She snorted. “I know that’s your dream. Like when I cut my finger yesterday, and you picked me up and raced into medical. Bet Nolan pissed himself laughing after we left.”

He sighed. “I suppose I could admit to overreacting slightly.”

“Yes, just slightly.”

“Here we are, home sweet home.” She watched out the porthole as their ship approached Joyadan.

Darac came up beside her, staring down at the red planet.

“You speak like you are not happy.”

She sighed, and he studied her. He could sense through their bond that she was both happy and sad. He tried not to actively search for her thoughts or emotions too often. In return she kept her walls down, allowing him to be a presence in her mind. All the time.

It was a lot to ask. More than he thought she would give him.

But he was eternally grateful. The fear of losing her had been eating him alive, making him irrational, giving him nightmares that led to him lying awake at night listening to her breathe.

“Joyadan is a harsh place to live. There are good things about it and not so good things. Guess you’ll soon see that.”

They stood there until Zuma landed the ship safely. She reached down and grabbed the bag at her feet. Everything they currently had with them filled that bag. He was used to traveling light. He was not aware of any other female who was.

They joined the others and moved down the ramp. The heat hit him first. Zerconia was a hot, dry place, but their cities were built by the sea, which brought a breeze. As he stepped outside, a blanket of heat smothered him, robbing his breath.

“It feels as though there is not enough air,” he stated.

“You get used to it,” Deacon told him.

Red and dusty, it looked as though the sun had scorched every inch of the planet. “Where does your water come from?”

“Wells,” Willa told him. “Luckily, we have a deep well.”

“Catch you all later.” Mitch turned to walk away.

“Mitch, wait for a moment,” Rye called out.

Mitch turned with a cocky smile. Rye quickly lashed out and punched him. Mitch fell back with a yell, his hand covering his eye immediately. “What the fuck?”

Nolan dropped to Mitch’s side, glaring up at Rye.

“That is for attacking my sister. Touch her again and you won’t take another breath.” Rye walked past him, face impassive. Zuma strode after him, whistling happily.

Willa gaped at Mitch then Rye. Darac placed a hand on the small of her back, prodding her forward.

“Perhaps you could show me your quarters?”

“Um, yeah, right. Did you see what Rye did? Because of what Mitch did to me?”

He did. And he thoroughly approved.

***

“These are your quarters?”

Willa stared around her. The cabin was small, dark, and dusty. It was one room. A bed, two chairs, and a fireplace. There was no bathroom, no kitchen.

Yeah, she got why Darac looked so dismayed. He’d nearly had to bend in two to get through the door.

“Yep. Hard to believe I am so lucky, huh?”

“This is…it is…I am—”

“Lost for words? I told you that life here is harsh. Not many luxuries, that’s why we take whatever job we can get. We need the credits.”

“Where do you cook? Bathe?”

“There are central bathing areas and a communal kitchen.”

Darac ran his hand across the windowsill, holding it up in the poor light. His finger was brown with dust.

“I should warn you that people aren’t going to like that you’re here. They don’t like outsiders and they’re not very trusting. It won’t help that some of them aren’t that fond of me.”

“Why not?”

“They’re jealous. My brother is the leader, and they think I get special treatment because of it.”

He looked around him. “This is special treatment?”

She grinned. “Nope, this is how everyone lives. Including Rye. I didn’t say they were smart. Just jealous. Some of them tried to be my friend to get close to Rye. Didn’t work and I wasn’t kind when I told them to fuck off.”

He pulled her close, holding her tight. “We do not need to stay here.”

“What? Leave all this luxury? For what? A running bathroom? Air you can breathe without dust clogging up your nose?”

“Yes.”

She patted his arm. “This is home. I wouldn’t know how to live any differently.”

“Perhaps. But you are a quick study. I am sure it would not take long for you to learn.”

A knock on the door had them both turning. Darac shook his head as she stepped forward, pushing her back gently.

“Darac, this is my house. My village.”

She watched on with exasperation as he opened the door. Then her irritation fled, and she leaped forward into the waiting arms of the man standing there. “Duke!”

“Let go of my mate!” Darac roared as the strange male spun his mate around. Her foot connected with a chair, sending it flying.

“Chill, beast man.” She waved at him without looking. “This is my brother.”

“He should still put your down.”

They ignored him for a moment then the large male placed her on the ground.

“So who’s the big dude and why are his eyes red?”

Willa sat on the bed so the two men could have the chairs. They sat and glared at each other as Willa explained how they had met. When she was finished, Darac prepared himself for Duke’s questions. The other male studied him.

“Can you drive racers?” Duke asked.

“No. But I have piloted an I-35 fighter. I believe I can handle your racers.”

“Oh, famous last words.” Duke grinned. “I’ll take that bet. Tomorrow before dinner. Let’s do it.”

***

Darac noticed everyone staring at him. Whispering. Staring at him suspiciously. Not that he blamed them. He was new. An unknown commodity.

“Ignore them,” Willa told him, leaning into him. She glared at the worst offenders.

“It is of no concern, Willa. I understand.”

“Yeah, well, they don’t know what you did for us. If not for you we’d all be dead and they’d be struggling without the credits the crew earns.”

“The credits you earn are used to support the village?”

“Most of them. We get to keep a percentage, of course. But without those credits these people would starve.”

“That is very generous of you all.”

“These people have nothing. Everything they have is due to Rye. It’s his rule that the credits we earn go to the village. Duke runs the track, which is the only other source of income. People come from other villages and place bets. The winners take a percentage. Some of those credits also go to the village.”

“Like a tax. Except only the wealthiest are taxed.”

“If you can call anyone who lives here wealthy.”

No. They lived very primitively. A group of children raced past nearly crashing into them. Darac pulled her back. The children were skinny and dirty as children often were. But they were laughing as they played.

They might have nothing. But the children still knew how to have fun.

“Is there no schooling?”

She sighed. “Rye is trying to find a teacher. They’re hard to get. Come on, let’s go get some food.”

They moved over to where a group of people were gathered. A fire burned, a dead animal turning on a spit above it.

Grabbing a plate, he held it out as someone slapped some food down. Everywhere they moved, people grew silent, watchful.

“Let’s get this over with,” Willa muttered with a sigh. She stood on one of the overturned logs that people were seated on. Everyone fell quiet.

“This is Darac. He’s a Zerconian warrior. He saved our lives and he’s mine. He stays. Anyone got a problem with that, talk to me.”

***

Darac walked towards the well, carrying a bucket. The primitive life they lived surprised him. With a few credits life could be improved greatly, but it was obvious they were just managing to survive.

No wonder Rye took whatever job he could. The weight of having to look after this many people must be staggering. Still, he did wonder where most of the credits the crew earned went.

Willa had been called away by Rye. Something private. So he had offered to get their water for the night.

“Hello, what have we here?” Four young males approached him.

Darac glanced around. Were they talking to him? No one else was around, so he surmised that they must be.

“I am a Zerconian male.”

The red-headed one who had spoken nudged a shorter boy. “Hear that, Frank? A Zerconian male. Bet you’re worth a few credits, huh? That why Rye brought you here?”

Another one, with long hair caught back in dirty braids, eyed him up and down. “He’s not tied up, though, is he?”

“And Willa said he was hers,” another one added. This one was painfully skinny.

They moved around him, circling.

“What do you suppose Willa sees in him? Think she sees him as an easy mark?” The redhead, who appeared to be the leader, asked.

“Could be her ticket off this hellhole,” Frank added from his right. “Could be ours as well. How much you reckon he’s worth?”

Darac sighed. He didn’t need to understand everything they said to correctly interpret their actions.

“I have no credits on me.”

“No, but I’m betting you have access to plenty.” The leader pulled a knife, his eyes growing cold.

“Willa ain’t gonna be happy if you slice him up, Nick,” the skinny one warned.

“I’m not scared of Willa,” Nick replied. “I can take her.”

“She kicked your ass last time,” Frank told him.

“You attacked Willa?” He had been feeling slightly amused by their antics until now. Anger stirred and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. When Willa wasn’t close, his control was greatly reduced. Reaching for her through the bond helped calm him.

He reached for her now and her presence pushed back the fury.

“He thought Willa wanted him. Thought he’d sneak up and surprise her with a kiss. She kneed him in the balls so hard we all wondered if he had permanent damage down there,” Frank explained.

That was his Willa.

“Touch her again and I will kill you.”

Nick laughed. “What makes you think she’ll want you after we’re finished with you?” He attacked, obviously thinking it gave him the advantage.

He was sorely mistaken.

Darac grabbed the arm that held the knife, twisting the boy’s arm behind his back. Turning, he slashed out his leg to take out the male behind him. Using Nick as a weapon, he pushed him into the male who stood to his right.

Frank, who was the only one still standing, launched himself at him. Darac quickly jabbed him in the stomach then slammed his fist into Frank’s nose. He was pulling his punches, but the younger male still dropped to the ground unconscious.

By this time, Nick was standing. He raced towards Darac. Waiting for the last minute, Darac stepped to the side and shoved out his leg, tripping Nick up. He stood, waiting. The other two attacked at the same time. He picked them up by their shirts, one in each hand and shook them before throwing them in the air.

“Darac.”

Willa’s voice had him turning, pushing the anger back. He found her standing with a small group of people, including her brother Duke. He tensed, waiting for her to reprimand him.

She simply grinned. “It’s mean to play with them. End it and then let’s get to bed.”

“Your wish is my command.”

***

“This is going to be interesting.”

Willa glanced up as Kyle stepped up next to her, leaning against the fence surrounding the track.

She bumped into him gently. “Hey, big bro. How you doing? Miss me?”

“You were gone?”

She placed her hand on her heart. “Ahh, you wound me.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I missed you, brat. Heard you used my cloaking device.”

“Yep. Worked the first time. Not the second.”

He nodded. “Needs tweaking. I’ll get on to that tomorrow. So, Zuma told me you found a man. That was unexpected.”

“No one was more surprised than me.”

Darac followed Duke to one of the racers, obviously shortening his stride so as not to overtake her limping brother. It made her love him more.

“His leg is paining him,” Kyle told her. “The stump is rubbing against the prosthesis.”

She wished she had enough credits to get Duke one of those fancy prosthesis that were wired into the brain so it would take just a thought for him to move his leg. It was the next best thing to having your own limb.

“If I had the materials I could build him a new leg.” Kyle’s jaw was clenched.

She patted him on the back. “I know. We’ll get enough credits together one day.”

Darac climbed into the racer. “Here we go.”

Nerves strummed through her. The racer fired up. Around them, people quietened. Come on, come on, come—