Coletti Warlords: Just Desserts (15 page)

Damn, the Kotsors were hard to control. I gritted my teeth and fought to hold them, while riling up the Afulas.

Zarek added his strength to ours. Holy cow! The surge of power was off the chart.

More rogue warriors stepped out of the warehouse and started firing at the spiders.

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!

To my disgust, most of the webbing missed. The rogues quickly teleported out of the way and efficiently decimated the Kotsors charging them.

“We’re in position,”
Datlow announced.

“Roger that. You got ’em, Tess?”

“I think so,”
she answered.

“Go. We have them,”
Zarek instructed.

I released my hold on the Kotsors.

Zarek used his deadly psychic abilities to cloud the rogues’ minds. Suddenly, they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. The Rodan were equally bad shots. The Kotsors’ ferocity drove them toward the swamp.

Raising my laser rifle, I put the warehouse in my crosshairs and fired three times, punching big holes in the rusty metal.
“You’re a go, Datlow.”

“We’re in,”
he replied a few minutes later.

Time to get the party going. I focused all my attention on the Afulas.
“Sic ’em, boys.”
They obediently charged out of the water and started chomping rogues and Rodan. Blood and body parts flew in every direction. What the Kotsors didn’t kill, the gators did.

The sudden silence was jarring.

“Good going, runt. You achieved your goals in less than fifteen minutes,”
Ethan said with praise in his voice.

“One for the record book,”
Jake added proudly.

Uncle Saul asked,
“How many hostiles survived?”

Uncle Derek interjected,
“A better question is do they realize the attack was deliberately provoked?”

Zarek responded,
“Five rogues still live, and yes, they know.”

“We are in position, and your mate is aware of us,”
Datlow advised.

“I think it’s time for me to go down and say howdy.”

“Kaylee?”
Talree’s shock was apparent.

“I’m here, big guy, and we’re busting you out.”

“No! It’s too dangerous.”

“Not with your dad on our side.”

“Father?”
I could sense Talree’s relief at Zarek’s presence.
“My mate takes too many risks. She must be protected.”

“Hey, helpless I’m not.”

“Trouble follows wherever you go, petka.”

“Not all the time,
” I protested.

“Your mate is well guarded,”
Zarek assured Talree.
“What have you learned?”

“Balldar, Haas, and Hotan have joined with Malik. They plan to attack your warbird at Tigre.”

“Haas is no longer a threat, and the hunters are now the hunted.”
The pure malice in Zarek’s voice was the stuff of nightmares. A shudder shook me.

The Overlord linked privately with me.
“Free my son.”

“Yes, sir.”
I hurriedly broke my link with Talree. He’d freak big-time if he knew I was planning on confronting Balldar.
“You ready, Bey?”

“To go into battle with you? No.”

Flipping him the bird, I climbed down to the next branch.

“Be careful,”
Tae called.

“I’m always careful.”

Bey huffed in disbelief.
“Always?”

The kids scampered after me.
“We come too.”

“I need you to stay and protect Tae and her babies. Can you do that for me? It’s a very important job.”

Their fur puffed out.
“We keep Grandma safe.”

“Enough of this endless chatter. A warrior attacks in silence,”
Bey said irritably.

“Then why don’t you shut the hell up?”
A web hit my shoulder, and Bey swung me through the trees like I was Tarzan.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you.”

“Poor little petka. Your battle skills are not up to the task.”

The web snapped without warning, hurtling me straight at the warehouse.
“Bastard.”
The ground rose up to meet me, and I turned my forward momentum into a roll. I somersaulted to my feet.

“That is how a warrior travels into battle,”
Bey said from the safety of the roof.

I stroked the butt of my gun. I really wanted to fry his ass, but duty called. I banged on the warehouse door. “Hello? Anybody home? I’m selling Girl Scout cookies. I’ve even got Thin Mints. They’re so yummy.” I hammered on the door. “Hey! I’ve got a quota to meet.”

“Calamity Jane strikes again,”
Caleb complained.

Talree growled.
“Girl Scout cookies?”

“It’s an Earth thing.”

Dangling on a web, Bey dropped down, grabbed my pistol, and shot back up to the roof.

“Hey! Give it back.”

“No.”

The door swung open. An old Coletti warrior stared down at me. His badly wrinkled skin was covered in a multitude of icky scars.

“Balldar,”
Zarek snapped angrily.

“He looks like a good wind would blow him over.”

“Looks are deceiving,”
Talree snarled.

In perfect High Coletti, I said, “Greetings, old one. I lied. I really don’t have any Thin Mints. Nasty trick, I know. Ready to surrender?”

Everyone groaned.

“What? Is my High Coletti that bad?”

“Balldar has never been defeated in battle,”
Talree said.

“Until now.”

Grinning madly, Balldar grabbed the front of my overalls and pulled me inside. “You stink of Talree.”

“So I’ve been told. Release Talree or die. Your choice. You’ve got two minutes to decide.
Ticktock
.”

Balldar yanked me off the floor and shook me until my teeth rattled. “Shut your mouth, female.”

“That’s the best you’ve got? One minute.
Ticktock
.”

The old coot shook me again. “Do you know who I am?”

My gaze froze on Talree. He was hanging from a chain in the ceiling. His nude body was covered in cuts and bruises. “Balldar, the dead guy?”

“You, a tiny female, think you are capable of killing me,” he bellowed in astonished fury.

“Yep. Time’s up.” I punched the old creep hard in the throat.

Balldar gagged, and his grip tightened.

I hit him again.

Fighting for air, Balldar dropped me and staggered back.

Hot dang, it finally worked. “Word of advice, asshole. Never, ever take on a female suffering from PMS and a lack of chocolate. You’ll lose every time.”

Balldar’s face turned an interesting shade of blue.

“Run!” Talree shouted.

“I’m not leaving without you.”

The old guy gave a funny rasping gasp, and down he went.

The rogues stared at me in stunned disbelief.

“Surrender or die,” I barked in my best cop’s voice.

Growling like rabid wolves, the rogues drew their swords and surrounded me.

Shit. I eyed them warily. They wanted to turn me into a shish kebab.

“Remember, Kaylee, we just practiced this scenario in your tactical training,”
Caleb called.

Boy, did I remember. I got my ass handed to me.

“If Kaylee dies, the beast wins,”
Talree warned his father.

“The only ones in danger are the traitors,”
Zarek reassured him.

“Keep their attention on you, petka.”

“Not gonna be a problem.”
I dodged a sword thrust and another and another.

“Your little female seems to be in a bit of trouble,” a harsh voice announced in High Coletti.

I glanced over my shoulder.

A holographic image of Malik floated in midair. His flat, dead eyes and blunt features had a brutal quality to them. The aura of menace was enhanced by a horrific scar across his right cheek.

“Nah, I’m good, but I could use some chocolate.” I ducked a whizzing blade.

“Gut her, and Talree becomes my beast,” Malik cried.

“Now, Datlow,”
Zarek commanded.

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!
Web balls slammed into the rogues, enveloping them in thick webbing.

Their faces contorted with rage as they struggled to free themselves.

“Bey, my pistol.”
As soon as it dropped into my hand, I turned and fired at the chain holding Talree.

It disintegrated. Talree dropped to the floor.

The link with my family shattered unexpectedly, and Zarek burst into my head. His fury was terrifying. I threw up a shield and retreated.

Talree cautioned urgently,
“Don’t fight him. He needs to use you.”

Fuck.
“Why me? Why not one of the rogues?”

“Be quiet,”
Zarek commanded.

I trembled violently as I felt him take control.

My voice was deep, harsh, full of authority, and simmering with a barely controlled rage. “Malik, you are dead to me. You have been branded a traitor. You will be hunted down and face the rite.”

A nasty smile curled Malik’s mouth. “I’m hard to kill, old man. Know this; your precious Talree is a dead man. I’ve instructed my second in command, Commander Hotan, to destroy the entire planet of Jabal.”

Holy moly.
“Can he do that?”

“Yes,”
Talree answered.

Zarek linked with someone and commanded,
“Now!”

Boom!
Malik’s image wavered.

Yay! The Overlord’s warriors were attacking Malik’s ship.

Electric-blue flames danced over the metal walls.
Snap. Crack.
Smoke billowed from the ceiling. A multitude of alarms blared.

“We will see who dies first,” Zarek snapped.

Poof! He vanished from my mind. My knees wobbled badly. I never, ever wanted to do that again.

Malik gloated. “Die, brother.”

Talree bared his fangs in a snarl. “I challenge you to Ditkar.”

Malik’s maniacal laugh echoed around the warehouse. “The dead cannot fight, brother. Your warriors are now my beasts, and soon I will have my army of ferals.”

Another blast sent a geyser of sparks spraying across Malik’s control console.

Five Coletti warriors popped in.

Malik pulled his sword and, bellowing a war cry, charged them.

The holographic image abruptly disappeared. Hopefully, that meant Malik was dead.

“Search for the warbird,”
Zarek instructed me.

“Yes, sir.”
I opened my Siren senses and scanned the heavens. Shit. Malik hadn’t been lying. There was a Rodan ship heading our way.
“Does a Rodan battle cruiser have the capability to turn Jabal into space rubble?”

“It does,”
Talree answered.

“Unless we can come up with a spaceship, like now, we’ll be space debris in about an hour.”

“There are two marauder fighters a click away. Take one and join me at Tigre,”
Zarek said.

“Wait! We can’t leave the Tabors to die,”
I cried.

Talree snatched a ship’s command key off Balldar’s belt.
“Will you come with us, Datlow?”

“To save my people from extermination? Yes.”

Chapter Thirteen

I broke my mind meld with Soulet. Boy, did I have a headache. I opened my eyes and noticed Soulet was sprawled comfortably on the cavern floor. No sign of Hank. I guessed he was still patrolling.
“And that’s how I met the Tabors and formed the best SWAT team in the galaxy.”

“Your ability to create partnerships is unique.”

“The bottom line is survival. Mine and theirs. You do what you gotta do to keep your families safe, and if friendship grows out of it, you’re very, very lucky.”

Hank teleported into the cavern, beat all to hell.

Soulet’s tentacles stood straight out from her head.
“You appear to have been dropped from a great height.”

He scowled.
“I was.”

Smothering a laugh, I picked up the med kit and ran the scanner over him.
“Landing didn’t go as planned?”

“Hit a tree,”
Hank admitted, more than a bit embarrassed.

“Emergency teleporting can be tricky.”
I sprayed his already healing cuts with an antibiotic sealant.
“Grandpa Gargoyle get the drop on you?”

He glared at Soulet.
“I was distracted.”

“Maybe you two should talk,”
I said cautiously.

Hank spat,
“About what? How she tricked me?”

“There was no trickery involved,”
Soulet protested.

I quickly interjected,
“When an Askole finds their mate, a whole shitload of pheromones are released and…uh…things get a little heated.”

“Heated? It feels like I have been dosed with Spanish fly.”

Her confusion evident, Soulet asked,
“What is this Spanish fly?”

“It’s an aphrodisiac that gives men the hard-on from hell. Your pheromones created the same effect.”

“I am responsible for his shrinkage?”
There was a touch of horror in Soulet’s voice.

Hank growled.
“Shrinkage?”

Time to change the subject.
“Did you see any sign of the Tai-Kok on your patrol, Hank? You had a bird’s-eye view of the island.”

He gave me a look of withering scorn.
“Nice try.”
He turned his attention back to Soulet.
“Let me get this straight. You think I have a small dick?”

Instead of explaining, Soulet shoved the image of her brother’s huge penis into his mind.
“Am I wrong?”

“Maybe you should date your own kind, kitten.”

“Whoa! Enough already. Like it or not, you two are bound together. Forever!”
I shouted.

Hank retorted grimly,
“Not if I kill her first.”

There was a slight
snick
as Soulet’s talons extended.
“You can try.”

“No! No fighting! Have you lost your friggin’ minds? You’re mated, Hank. Get over it. You’re acting like a fucking teenager. Soulet, your remark was uncalled-for. Apologize to Hank.”

A hint of red crept up her squirming tentacles.
“I misspoke. Your penis has brought me some pleasure.”