Bay's Mercenary [Unearthly World Book 1] (7 page)

“A
bangore
,” he whispered.

“A
what?”
Bay whispered back.

“
Bangore
, it must have gotten through the outer fence. It’s
early for them to be out; the Holiday must be coming. They are cruel creatures
that eat children.”

Holiday?

Draven
was stumbling as he backed up.
Bay screamed when a hideous monster crawled over the high fence. The creature
was the same size as her except it was covered in long red fur. Black beady
eyes settled onto
Draven
. It hissed, exposing three
black fang-like teeth, top and bottom. Gooey, bubbly saliva dripped from a
pig-like black snout, soaking the fur beneath. Four thick black scales
protruded from the
creature’s
back as it moved
forward, springing from within.
Draven
yelled for his
father.

The
bangore
came at
Draven
with a
vengeance.
Draven
grew in height, but he was still no
match for the broad-chested creature. It ignored Bay and circled the boy. Three
sharp black talons on either claw glistened as it made a swipe for him. Bay reacted.
A large stick
Draven
drew in the soil with found its
way into her hands and she smashed the
bangore
across
the face, grimacing as its nose made a gruesome squishing noise. It bellowed in
rage and swung at her. Bay shoved the stick into the
bangore’s
throat. The talons of the creature sliced at her weapon, making inch-long
gouges in the hard wood. Another solid blow was thrust up between its legs,
sending it to its knees where it gurgled and gasped.

Bay heard an
ungodly bellow from behind and Zane was there. His normal six-foot-six was now
over seven feet in height; his red eyes blazed so blindingly the
bangore’s
fur sizzled and caught fire. One swipe of his
hand and the
bangore
was smashed against the wall.
Zane was enraged, and Bay knew the creature was as good as dead. Bay didn’t
know how she lifted
Draven
, but he was in her arms
and she raced for the glass that would envelope them. Nothing else was allowed
in. When Bay had first come, Zane had scanned her body with a small device and
she was allowed entry and exit at her own will.

The two of them
collapsed onto the large overstuffed furniture, with their arms wrapped around
each other, watching the battle. Zane had the
bangore
in his arms and slammed the creature across his knee, breaking its back. Bay
gasped. The razor-like scales on the creature bent double when meeting Zane’s
hard flesh; two snapped completely off. Bay knew without a shadow of doubt if
her flesh had come into contact with those scales, across her vulnerable skin,
she would have been cut in half. Zane grabbed handfuls of the creature’s thick
fur and flung it over the wall, higher than the tree tops. Spread eagle, the
creature spun in fast circles. Bay was amazed; she didn’t think she’d ever seen
a baseball hit for a homerun fly so high and far.

By the time Zane
raced back into the home, his body was returning to normal; the threat had
passed. He scooped
Draven
into his arms and held him
tight, rocking his son, Zane was shaking; it looked odd coming from such a powerful
man—male. Bay could see his devastation.

“He’s all right,”
Bay mumbled.

“Bay saved me,”
Draven
whispered, he wasn’t injured, but was still an odd
white when his face was normally a tanned color a few shades lighter than his
father’s tone.

Zane looked
confused for a moment and looked from his son to Bay. “You spoke,” he finally
said.

“It took me a
while to heal enough and learn your language,” Bay said.

“Pets don’t
speak.”

“I’m not a pet.
I’m a woman and intelligent enough to learn your language. How is it you can be
so narrow-minded as to think there isn’t other intelligent life out there?”

“I’m aware of
other intelligent life; it’s just that I’ve never seen a human female. I’m a
warrior, a mercenary; when we wage war, we do not fight the enemy’s females if
they have any. We find females take care of their own battles. Normally, the
creatures we come in contact with are of both sexes.”

“On Earth, we call
them hermaphrodites. It’s rare in humans, but apparent in plant life and other
things. In humans, children’s parents pick a sex, making them either or.”

“Other species
embrace having both sexes, the best of both worlds, and at times are full of
their superiority. You look so tiny and are so frail, I just assumed you were a
pet; I’ve never come across a species so delicate.” Zane was mumbling, his look
incredulous. “And you’re female, just female.”

Bay felt herself
ruffle at his callous words. “Are your females pets?” she demanded.

“No, our females
are bigger and stronger, that’s why I thought you were a pet. Also, the affection
you show towards my son is uncanny.
Zargonnii
females
want nothing to do with our male children, and pets accept anyone no matter
what they look like or their sex. You just seemed so accepting and kind. I’m
not used to that in a female.”

“It’s easy to love
a child, no matter what they look like, especially
Draven
—who
is cute, thoughtful and sweet.”

Zane set
Draven
back onto the furniture and began pacing. “How did
my brother acquire you? We are not a race of slavers; he was also under the
impression you were a pet.”

“
Blu
saved me from a
Tonan
who
captured me from the planet
Ulsy
. I am from Earth,
which is, I’m guessing, very far from here. Our planet is dying; we were told
Ulsy
was our salvation, but the
Tonans
captured the women and killed our men. Almost all our males, except male
children, were obliterated.”

“You say that like
it hurts you. About your males, I mean.”

“The
Tonans
practically slaughtered an entire race, of course it
hurts me.”

“
Draven
, why don’t you go get yourself a treat?” Zane said.

Draven
looked from Bay to his father.
“She’s not a pet Father, but you are still not to hurt her.”

“I won’t hurt her;
she saved your life.”

Draven
gave his father a hard look
before smiling at Bay; he left them alone. Zane looked as though he were trying
to digest what was happening. Once
Draven
left, he
perched carefully beside Bay.

“What do your
males look like?” he finally asked.

“Something like me
except most of our men
are
bigger; they have the same
anatomy as you, um, down there.” Bay pointed below his belt and felt herself
color.

“Your males are
larger than your females?” Zane looked incredulous.

“Many,
but not all.”

“Forgive me when I
say that I thought perhaps your tiny size was an oddity to your culture. It
must be frightening for your females when you come into heat and the males
search you out; you have to be the most defenseless creature I’ve ever
encountered.”

“Earth women don’t
come into heat; we bleed once a month, but our men don’t normally have sex with
us during that time—we can get a little cranky.”

“Sex is mating?”

“Yes, but
something tells me your females are different from Earth. Do you only mate
during a cycle of some kind?”

“Yes.” Zane went
back to pacing. “Once a year, every other year, female
Zargonnii
go into heat. Male
Zargonnii
are drawn to them if
they have become of age. Our mating isn’t always pleasant. Our females are
larger and stronger and dominant. It’s hard for a warrior to be dominated. Many
older females aren’t as bad, but the younger ones can be deadly.”

“Then why would you
mate with them at all?” Bay was incredulous. Their females were bigger? They
must be giants.

“A male
Zargonnii
can feel the urge to mate as strongly as a
female; some of us take the risk. The older we get, the stronger the urge.
Also, some males want a son.”

“What happened to
Draven’s
mother?”

“She is still out
there. I guess. I haven’t wanted to mate since finding
Draven
.
I can’t chance leaving him an orphan for the sake of an urge.”

“Since
finding him?”

“Our females wean
our male offspring at a month old and leave them in the jungle near their
father’s home.”

“How can they do
that?” Bay jumped up, outraged. “That thing that attacked was hideous; how can
a mother leave her child alone and defenseless?”

“They aren’t left
all alone. The mother watches her child until she is certain he is safe. She
then goes back to her own area which is hundreds of miles away. We do not
co-exist. The females have their lives, we have ours.”

Bay sat back down.
“It doesn’t sound very nice. Women giving up their children, not going near men
for years and when they do they’re cruel.”

Zane sat beside
her. “I don’t think they are normally cruel. It’s something about their season,
hormones. Finn would know—perhaps you could tell he is a healer?”

“Yes, he was very
nice to me. I think he wanted me to stay with him.”

“It would break
Draven’s
heart if you left. He remembers his mother. A
female
Zargonnii
is very affectionate with her
offspring during his first month. Much like you
are
with
Draven
all the time. Finn treated a female
Zargonnii
once; she was wounded in a battle with a
cyron
beast. He learned a great deal of their mannerisms
and the female body. She was with child but dying. Finn tried his best but was
unable to save her. It was a shame. It was the first time he had ever seen an
infant female—he couldn’t save the babe either.

“I don’t know why
our species cannot coexist for longer than a mating every two years. I’ve often
wondered what it would be like to live with a female. If you haven’t guessed, I
find you fascinating and am relieved you’re not a pet. Tell me of your people.”

“Like you, we have
managed space flight. At least we did; if anyone is still on the planet,
they’re doomed.”

“No, I wish to
know of your mating rituals. Do you and your
males
cohabitate?”

Bay wondered if it
was such a good idea to discuss mating with a big alien who now looked
interested in her; as well, her
Zargonnii
had been
improving, but she was still uncertain as to all the proper words and terms.
She and
Draven
never discussed sex,
obviously
. She would have to incorporate
some of her own language and hope he understood.

“Our men and women
do at times cohabitate; we form families and bond with one another, we trust
each other—love each other in a respectful way. When human men and women have
sex
, or
make love
as we like to call it, the men are very gentle.”

Zane’s
eyes widened in surprise.
“Gentle?” he whispered.

“
Very
gentle.”

“I suppose that
makes sense; your anatomy is too small for a male to be rough with.”

“When your kind
mates, do you look the way you did when you were fighting that
bangore
thing?”

“At first, so does
the female. But once the mating begins, the dominated male goes back to his
normal size while the female remains in battle mode.”

“They sound so
primitive. They must be a real riot to come across in space,” Bay muttered.

“
Zargonnii
females have no aptitude for flight and are
thousands of centuries behind us.”

“That must be
difficult but understandable as to why you don’t stay together. I don’t think
I’d spend much time with a Neanderthal.”

“Just speaking to
you and having a conversation with you is remarkable.” Zane did look amazed.
“If you coexisted with the males on your Earth and weren’t afraid of them, why
were you so frightened of me—of us?”

“You thought I was
a pet. And you’re all males, and huge. I had no idea what you wanted me for.”

Zane frowned and
then looked enlightened. “You were afraid we would mate with you. That’s why
you let me think you were a pet.”

“I couldn’t speak
at first. The
Tonan
hurt me.” Bay’s eyes were downcast.
“I wanted to learn to communicate before I tried to speak with you. I was
afraid you’d kick me out. Your planet is like nothing I have ever seen before,
it’s creepy scary.”

“I won’t kick you
out, but this makes this situation a bit tricky. You say your planet is dying.
Blu
could always have his commander take you back to
Ulsy
.”