Challa (35 page)

Before the other Arra could react, Compton swung around, lined up on the silvery pipe suspended in midair, and fired. The bullet hit the pipe and ricocheted off, but he got the effect he was hoping for.

The bullet’s impact made the pipe jump out of their grasp. Challa slumped onto the road as if someone had cut her strings. Taking aim again, Compton put four slugs into the two Arra. The creatures screamed shrilly and moved backwards. Compton was about to fire a third time when he heard a loud blast. The alien in front of him lost the upper third of his body and dropped to the ground. A second ear-splitting blast followed immediately after, and the second Arra exploded like a milk-filled water balloon.

Compton stared at the Arra as they slowly oozed to the ground. The things were either dead or permanently down for the count. Either way, neither they nor that diamond bubble would ever hurt anyone again.

“Comp?”

It was DeGrassi’s voice.

“Over here!” He scrambled to his feet and rushed over to where Challa remained unmoving on the ground.

“Compton!”

Hannah. It was as though a switch had been thrown. Everyone began to rouse since the diamond bubble no longer had any control over them.

Falling to his knees, Compton gathered her up into his arms. Challa remained completely out of it. There was no use in trying to talk to her or call out her name. She couldn’t hear him, much less sense he was with her. Or even know that she was safe.

“Compton?”

Jebaral reached him. The alien was still in his Ruinos form. He laid a hand on Compton’s shoulder. “What happened?”

“That Arra that got away earlier came back with reinforcements and some kind of ray that knocked everyone out. But the tree protected me, and I managed to get to my pistol I had stashed in my prosthesis.” He looked up at the Ruinos male. “Can you help me get her out of this fucking thing?”

“It’s a
burla
,” Tiron hissed, coming to stand beside her mate. “We have no idea how its locking mechanism works.”

Compton glanced up. Overhead, the Arran ship remained where it was—unmoving, silent, and invisible to radar. “I wonder what they’re thinking up there? I wonder if they know what’s happening down here?”

Lawson Hall limped over to where they were gathered. The carnival owner snorted at the questions. “I don’t care if they know now, or find out later. Sooner or later those walking zits are going to have to learn that they better not fuck with humans if they know what’s good for them.”

Compton looked over at Hall, who was standing near DeGrassi and Tiron. Behind them, he could see… He started, surprise and relief sending goosebumps over his skin. “Simon! Thank, God! Simon!”

Simolif nodded weakly, held up with the help of Sarah and another man as they joined the group.

“One of the deputies got the Jaws of Life over to the bubble and managed to pry Simon out of it before it was too late,” Sheriff Klotsky explained, coming up from behind.

Simolif placed a hand on Compton’s other shoulder and nodded at the woman lying unconscious in his arms. “Can you sense her?”

Compton shook his head. “No. I can’t sense anything.”

Tiron growled softly. “Then we’ll have to wait for her to come out of it on her own.”

It was Sarah who asked, “What if they send more down here?” Like the others, her attention was divided between Challa and the ship hovering almost directly overhead.

“Good question,” DeGrassi said. “How many more do you think are up there?” He pointedly asked Jebaral, “Is that the mothership?”

Simolif scowled, shaking his head. “It’s a slaver. A slave ship. A cargo carrier. The mothership looks different.”

“We don’t know how many Arra it takes to run a slaver,” Jebaral added. He started to say more when an immense wave of air slammed down on top of them, knocking everyone to the ground. Before anyone could cry out, the Arran ship lifted upward in a straight line. It took off perpendicular to the Earth until it disappeared in the night sky.

They waited, watching, straining their ears for any sound that would signal the ship’s return. Finally, Hannah murmured, “Think they’ll be back?”

“Count on it,” DeGrassi answered.

“I don’t know,” Compton said. “Maybe they realized that we’re not a species to be trifled with. In all the years those creatures have spent roaming the universe, dealing in slave trading, don’t you think they’ve encountered a world or two where they realized it wasn’t worth the headache? Maybe…if we’re damn lucky, maybe they’ve decided to write us off. If we’re this dangerous over a handful of Ruinos, imagine what kind of shit we could deal out if there were more of us.” He gave them a weak smile as relief filtered through him. As much as he wanted to hope this was the last they’d see of the Arra, there was no way anyone could guarantee the possibility.

Hell, maybe the Arra couldn’t make the same prediction. What were the chances those creatures would change their minds, if not tomorrow, then in the near future?

“Come on.” The sheriff gestured for them to follow him. “It’ll be daylight soon. We can take a couple of the county squad cars to get you home.” Motioning toward Challa, he added, “By that time maybe we can figure out how to get that thing off of her.”

Chapter 46

Freedom

Compton rode in the backseat with Challa held tightly against his chest. She remained out of it, although her breathing was more like someone who was in a deep sleep.

“What did those fuckers do to her?” he asked Tiron, who sat next to him while DeGrassi sat in the front seat with Klotsky.

“It has to be the
burla
,” the female Ruinos told him. “There’s something inside that gets into the bloodstream, keeping her docile. Makes it easier for the Arra to cart away the unruly prisoners. Some Ruinos succumb completely to it. My guess is as soon as we get her out of it, she’ll come to.”

DeGrassi turned partly around in his seat and glanced back at them. “Roni, do you remember how you got out of your
burla
?”

“No. Sorry. All I remember is waking up with it already off. Either it wasn’t locked properly, or…” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Compton glanced down again at the pipe keeping Challa trapped. He gave a huge sigh and leaned his head back against the seat. He was exhausted. The adrenalin was gone, leaving behind a dozen aches and pains from their ordeal. He could still feel the pistol poking him in his pants pocket where he’d stashed it, which reminded him…

“Hey, DeGrassi. Guess things are going to be a bit different in Tumbril Harbor, now that a lot more people know about the Ruinos.”

The deputy nodded as he watched the road. “But I have a feeling this is going to draw the community closer together. Tumbril Harbor has always been a tight-knit town.”

“Yet they accepted aliens from outer space?”

Klotsky spoke up. “Jeb and Hannah earned the town’s respect by fitting in without causing any problems. They get along with the townspeople, and they actively participate in a lot of our community activities. Same goes for Thom and Roni, although Thom grew up here. He’s considered a local, anyway.” He chuckled, then added, “Of course, every time they’re in public, Roni and Jeb are human. So is Simon when he and Sarah come to visit. I think tonight’s the first time the men have seen them as they really are.”

The car topped a hill and began its descent. Through the windshield Compton could see the sun peeking between the trees, although the moon still hovered in the sky when he glanced out the back window. He turned back around in his seat in time to see Tiron morphing into her human persona as she casually watched the passing scenery. For some reason he got the impression she had changed without having to think about it.

Actually, I’ve managed to adapt to changing into a human just as my body senses it. Sort of. I mean, I can still be asleep, but I change anyway without having to be awake to think about it.

Compton paused with his mouth open. The car slowed as it rounded a tight curve.

He could feel Challa changing. In fact, he could sense her subconscious sending a signal to her body, and slowly, more slowly than Tiron’s transformation, Challa became human. When the sunshine finally blazed through the window, it bounced off her scarlet hair with an almost ruby-red glow.

Tiron noticed the change as it happened. The woman glanced up at Compton. “How did she do that?”

“You mean, change?” Compton countered, slightly confused.

“Yeah. She’s still unconscious, right?” Tiron asked. “How did Challa change if she’s unconscious?” Her question caught the attention of her husband, who turned around in his seat to look. Compton glanced from one to the other.

“She told me once that she’d learned how to change while she sleeps. Sort of like having an internal alarm clock that goes off to let her know she needs to humanize herself before the sun rises. Why? Don’t you do the same thing?”

“No,” Tiron said. Clearly the woman was impressed by Challa’s ability. “I have to set the alarm so I don’t miss my chance.”

“Roni, have you tried seeing if you can go without using the alarm?” DeGrassi suggested.

Tiron shook her head. “No. But if Challa can do it—”

Challa groaned softly and moved in Compton’s arms. Lifting her head so that it rested on his shoulder, he waited. Presently, she opened dazed, unfocused eyes.

“Compton?”

“I’m here, honey.”

She lifted her face toward the sound of his voice. “The Arra?”

“They’re gone. Or, at least we think they’re gone.” He looked at where Tiron’s face reflected her astonishment. Curious, he asked her, “What’s the matter?”

“She’s still wearing the
burla
!”

“Yeah. So?”

The Ruinos woman’s eyes widened to where he could see silvery flecks dancing against gray. “That’s impossible. The
burla
keeps its prisoner under sedation. She shouldn’t…there’s no way she should be able to change!”

Challa shifted in Compton’s lap, and the movement sent fresh heat through his groin and belly. He watched as she noticed the odd handcuff pipe containing her arms. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, Challa pulled her hands free of the device.

DeGrassi exclaimed first. “Oh, shit! How did you manage that?”

“It has to be because she’s human,” Compton guessed. “When she put on her outer skin, it must have blocked the effects of the sedative inside the tube, letting her wake up.” He could see reddish rings encircling her wrists and just below her elbows. Motioning toward them, he said, “I’m taking a stab in the dark with this, but this thing probably lost its grip on her because of her transformation.”

“We gotta get that information out to the others,” Klotsky announced. Compton saw the man watching them from the rearview mirror. “We gotta let the other Ruinos know that those Arra can’t stand ultraviolet light, and that their
burla
, or whatever it’s called, loses its potency if the Ruinos change their forms when they’re caught in it.”

DeGrassi nodded. “Once we tell Sarah, she can get the word out the same way she let the others know about the chip.”

“But it’s only theory. I could be wrong,” Compton reminded them.

Tiron picked up the tube and examined it more closely. “But, in theory, it worked. If there’s any truth to it, it’s one more weapon we can use against the Arra. Sarah needs to take this back to the university and have it examined. Anything we can learn about it, the better for us.”

“How many other Ruinos are you in contact with?” Compton asked.

“At last count, eight,” Tiron told him. “We’re hoping the Arra didn’t get the others.”

“
T’kor
?”

Compton looked down at where Challa continued to rest against him. “What?”

“Promise to fill me in later on what I missed?” Although she was awake, she remained groggy. He contributed it to the remaining sedative still in her system.

“Not a problem.”

“Speaking of,” DeGrassi said. “Are you two going to set up house back in Cooper?”

“We hadn’t discussed it, to be honest,” Compton admitted. “Challa’s home was the carnival, but she’s quitting it. I grew up in Cooper, and with my folks dead, I have the property free and clear. With my disability pay, we can live comfortably. Why?”

“I would think an old Army veteran like yourself would be thinking about how you would be able to protect yourself if the Arra
did
decide to return.” The deputy raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t have to remind you there’s always safety in numbers.”

“Tumbril Harbor has a lot to offer,” Tiron said. “Please keep it in mind when you two sit down to decide.”

Compton nodded and readjusted his grip on Challa, who continued to doze in his lap. DeGrassi was right. Should the Arra find him and Challa in Cooper, there was little chance he could adequately protect her. On the other hand, there was a ready-made Ruinos family already here, and with the full backing of the local law.

“We’ll discuss it as soon as Challa can stay awake for longer than two seconds,” he promised, grinning, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

His smiled broadened. He had a future now. A real future that promised to be filled with life and love.
And surprises. Don’t forget the surprises.
Compton held Challa closer to his heart.
Which won’t be a problem. We’ll just take it one day at a time, beginning today.