Knadyn: A Terraneu Novel (Book Six) (4 page)

Ava jerked awake when she felt a warm hand press across her mouth. She
instantly started jerking, kicking and clawing at every surface she could
reach. Suddenly she was smashed with the full weight of her attacker. The body
pressing into hers kept her legs and arms pinned. Reaching with her fingers,
she hit what felt like armor and stilled. Nobody in this community had this
kind of covering.

“Mmpphh.” She tried to talk around the hand covering her mouth. It was
dark in her room with the window boarded closed. The first day of her house
arrest, she had escaped out the window and been caught halfway to where they
were keeping Knadyn. Since then a guard was posted right outside her bedroom
door. Now because of the dark she couldn’t quite make out her assailant. The
light around the edges of the window was only enough to show her a very large,
dark figure.

“Shh. If I take my hand away you cannot scream.” With a spurt of
happiness, she realized that she recognized the voice.

She nodded her agreement frantically. How had he gotten his strength up
and escaped? What was he thinking coming here in the middle of the day? He
should have made a run for it, not stopped here. When she felt the hand move
away, she whispered frantically, “Knadyn!” When he just lay there, she threw
her arms around his neck and hugged him. “I was so worried about you! I was
going crazy with what Jeromy might be doing.” Pulling back to try to see his
face she could barely make out some type of helmet. “Where did you get that
armor and headgear?” Ava started laughing with relief. “It doesn’t matter. I am
just so happy that you are okay.” Hugging him again, she felt his hands moving
to her shoulders. Squirming under his weight she gasped when she realized they
would be looking for him, “We have to get out of here. How did you get past
Jarrod?”

“Jarrod?” his voice was deep and mysterious behind the helmet.

“The guard that is posted outside my door. How did you get past him?”

“He did not give me any trouble.” There was laughter in Knadyn’s voice.

Ava gasped and pulled the helmeted head to look at her, “You didn’t kill
him did you? Jarrod was only doing his job—” The hand moved back over her
mouth.

“I did not kill the guard at your door. We need to get moving.” Before
Ava could protest, she was wrapped in her blanket and thrown over a hard
shoulder.

“Knadyn, I don’t want to complain but I can walk you know.” She huffed
indignantly.

“You have to stop talking now, or I will be forced to quiet you.” She
heard the humor in his voice and didn’t see anything funny about him
threatening to “quiet” her.

“That—” She was about to protest but with a sharp, “Shh” from him she
thought better of it. She would let Knadyn have a piece of her mind when he put
her down. She was so tightly wrapped that she didn’t feel the air on her skin,
the only hint they were outside was the sunlight she could see on the ground.
Knadyn carried her quickly around the house she was living in and then started
running through the field and into the trees beyond. She wasn’t an expert, but
it was at least fifty yards of field to get to the trees and Knadyn wasn’t in
any shape to be running and carrying her at the same time. Just as she was
coming to a very startling realization, he stopped.

“I found the female we are looking for. They had her locked inside a
domicile with only one guard at the door.” Knadyn wasn’t even breathing heavy
and his voice was filled with amusement.

“We are done here then.” This voice gave her a chill down the spine.
“Kniam and the others are waiting for us to rendezvous at the port pad. We have
wasted a lot of time, but it is what Knadyn and Steve Howard wanted.”

Her father? They knew something about her father. She had already
concluded that Knadyn wasn’t the one carrying her, but what did her father have
to do with this? The sound of an engine revving and then forward motion stopped
her attempts to talk for a second. She had been placed on a seat, still wrapped
in the blanket and before she could stop herself, she had fallen onto her side.

“You can unwrap me.” She couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice. She
felt like a sausage in a casing. “If you are taking me to my father I will be
happy to sit quietly until we get there.”

“What do you think Marcael?” the man with a voice that sounded like
Knadyn asked.

“I think it would be best to leave her in the blanket for now.” The other
man answered and Ava snorted.

“It wouldn’t be best to leave me this way. I am laying on my side and it is
already falling asleep.” She struggled a little to see if the blanket might
give, but it was still snug, “Please. I swear I won’t give you any trouble.”
She added hoping to play on any sympathy they might have for her.

She heard a heavy sigh and felt a tug on the blanket. As she spun and
fell off a bench seat onto the floor one of the males remarked, “Very smooth
Knacayn. You managed to knock her off the seat.”

Struggling off the floor of the vehicle, she grabbed the blanket to cover
her nightgown and sat forward to study the men she was traveling with. The male
driving the vehicle was wearing some type of armor but his head was uncovered.
She saw that he had shocking white hair brushing his shoulders, and when he
looked into the rearview mirror, she was startled to see that he was young and
very handsome. His exotic cobalt blue-purple eyes were framed with dark
eyebrows. She saw humor flash in his expression before he put his attention
back onto the road.

“He has a mate already.” When she heard those words, she snapped her head
around to look at the other passenger. It was Knadyn only with longer hair and
when her shocked eyes met his, she realized the purple was much
brighter…sparkling and alive. He was also larger, but she couldn’t tell if it
was body size, armor, or a combination of both. The white haired male had
called him Knacayn.

“You are his twin.” She stated without expecting an answer. She had never
asked Knadyn to talk about family or someone he cared about because she didn’t
want to hide it from Jeromy when he questioned her. It was easier to say that
Knadyn wasn’t talking. That this was his identical twin brother there was no
doubt at all in her mind. “What do you mean when you say that about a mate?”

“You were looking at Marcael with interest. I thought it best to let you
know that he has a mate already. You would consider this to be married. My
sister Brennae would be very unhappy if you looked upon him as a partner.”
Knadyn’s brother didn’t mince words. She sat quietly for a moment taking it all
in. Knadyn had a twin brother and a sister with a “mate”, the male driving this
vehicle. The question was how many other relatives were there?

“Thank you for telling me about Marcael being taken. You were mistaken in
my interest being of a personal nature. I was merely interested in him in a
scientific capacity. It’s not every day that you meet aliens from another
world.”

Both men looked at each other and then shrugged. Knacayn turned to look
back at her, “You are very much like your father. If not for him, we might not
have found Knadyn in time. I think my Uncle Kneus enjoyed arguing with him over
the best way to create the hydrogen cell to operate your Earth vehicles.” He
half-turned his large frame in his seat as he talked. “In the end they compromised
and we were able to get to my brother much faster. Still, we are running on a
tight schedule and it will be close. Knadyn wouldn’t leave Earth until our
father agreed to find you. He didn’t know that your father had already asked
for you.” His purple eyes searched her for something then he added, “Marcael
and I volunteered to search the other domicile units to find you, while Knadyn
was taken immediately for medical care.”

Ava was amazed. It was all clear to her now. Her father had left so that
he would get to the wormhole on the solstice. He had intended to help any
search party that came through looking for Knadyn. Her mind was reeling. There
really were aliens using the wormhole and Knadyn was one of them. Her father
had been correct about everything this whole time. It was the only explanation.

“Is Knadyn going to be okay?” she asked hesitantly, “I wasn’t able to see
him for the last few days.” She was taking a risk in bringing up a topic that
might set them off but she had to know.

“He was very damaged but nothing that was done to him physically will
last. Our medical unit will see to that.” Marcael spoke and his voice seethed
with anger. Now she remembered the chill down her spine at his voice.

Ava thought of what Jeromy had done, “I know that they hijacked his
memories, if that helps with his treatment.” She wasn’t sure if their medical
unit could fix damage to the mind and wanted them warned.

Knacayn just smiled at her, “Our aunt and uncle are two of the best minds
on Terraneu. They will find a way to fix Knadyn.”

He spoke of an
aunt
,
uncle
…and Knadyn convinced his
father
to find her. At this rate, he
probably still had a mother as well.

Of course he had a mother…and that was her?! Ava had been hustled out of
the vehicle and hurried toward a group facing off before a dilapidated
building. Knacayn had waited patiently while the arguing continued and when a
gorgeous, petite blond had finally noticed them she had held her hand up for
silence.

“Mother, here is the female Knadyn and Steve Howard were talking about.”
He gently moved Ava in front of him.

All eyes had turned to her and Ava had never felt so self-conscious in
her life. On one side were obviously Earth survivors. They were a rag-tag
bunch. The same as the government group really. All pale, mal-nourished and
sickly. On the other side was…different. There were four males, all darkly
handsome, tanned, and muscular…one exceptionally so. They all had flashing
purple eyes, and similar yet different facial features. By their sides were only
two females. The one Knacayn had just called mother, and another even smaller
female.

Knadyn’s mother had thick, blond hair with multiple highlights dark and
light, that trailed down her back in a ponytail. Her eyes were blue-green with
purple mixed in. Her figure was showcased in tight leather pants and a tank
top. On her, it was almost indecent with the…uh, abundance of curves she had on
top. Ava noticed the rebel men were all noticing, and if she wasn’t mistaken
that could be another reason for the animosity between the two groups. She
didn’t think the Earth males would remember ever seeing a woman looking like
this. Tanned, fit and glowing with health. The smaller female was black haired,
wearing a similar outfit. Only this female also had weapons strapped to almost
every part of her body. Her cobalt blue-purple eyes were busy scanning the area
and Ava had the feeling that if something moved, it might get shot or stabbed
by this female.

“Thank you Knacayn, one second.” She then turned to the tall male next to
her. “Kniam, they gave us the vehicles that not only got Knadyn here, but also
Ava. If not for their help, we might not have succeeded in time.”

“We…it was nothing…” the rebel leader tried to talk but trailed off,
shrugging helplessly. Ava recognized him from their negotiations. She wasn’t
sure how he had been voted their leader, since he was pretty docile.

“My son knew the risks when he accepted an offworld mission. We all did.”
Ava saw the small female grab the male’s hand. This must be Knadyn’s father.
She could see the resemblance. Tall, dark haired with similar bone structure
around the eyes, nose and chin. “I can accept that he is home now and will not
suffer further.” Ava wondered how badly Knadyn had been tortured to cause this
reaction in his father. “It will be discussed by both councils, and then
decided on by the community as a whole what is to be done.” He stiffened his
spine and she watched in awe as all the males stood taller as if in solidarity.
Four tall, dark haired men with similar features and body size. Well except for
the heavily muscled one, he was above and beyond. What were they feeding him to
get that body mass? Ava felt goose bumps raise on her arms, she would love to
be a fly on the wall during those council discussions.

The Earth rebels were easing back away from the anger pouring off the
males in front of them. The leader tried to stand firm but it was the female
next to him that ended up stepping forward. Ava recognized her from the
negotiations as well. She had done a lot of talking and asking questions. She
had been impressed with the way this female’s mind worked. The leader tried to
grab her hand but she strode forward. She wasn’t very old. Maybe in her late
twenties, early thirties. Her hair was cut short, probably for bugs and sores.
Who knew what color it would be when clean, possibly somewhere between brown
and black. She was about the same height as Ava which put her at five seven to
five eight. When she spoke, Ava was taken by how melodic the sound was. She had
noticed that during the negotiations too, how soothing her voice was.

“We are sorry for what happened to your son.” Her voice rang with
sincerity, “We make no excuses for the fight here at this location. We have
been trying to maintain our territory for months. The government forces keep
trying to push us back, and we keep holding firm. We are losing good people
daily to hunger, disease, and fighting. So yes, we are sorry for
your
son…but we are just as sorry for
what is happening to
our
sons,
brothers and fathers.”

Ava knew how this woman felt. The everyday toll it took just to survive
was wearing all of them down. Turning to see how Knadyn’s father had taken this
speech, she saw them all staring straight ahead.

Finally he spoke, “We owe you a debt. This will be repaid in six months
when we come back. A decision will have been made on what level of assistance
we will provide you. If you control this area, come to this location. If you
are not here, we will find you. May I ask your name?” Ava saw the look of
surprise cross the females face.

“My name is Kenzie.” She nodded to the men in front of her, “We will look
for you in six months.” With those parting words, the Earth group started from
the clearing.

Ava was close enough to hear one of the men in their group grouching,
“You are going to get us killed with that mouth of yours Kenzie.” Then they
were out of the clearing and disappearing into the trees.

“It is time to get out of here.” Knadyn’s father ushered his group toward
the building. “Females first, then we will follow.” Before Ava could ask
whether they wanted her to go with the Earth rebels or stay with them, she felt
a hand on her elbow.

“This way.” Knacayn was pulling her along.

“Is my father waiting for me in that building?”

“You could say that.” Marcael answered as he moved past them.

“I want to thank you then, for getting me away from the government base.”
She looked up at Knacayn and wished that he could pass a message to Knadyn for
her. “Tell your brother that I am glad he is back home and getting the medical
help he needs. I hope that he heals…” her voice trailed off and she felt a lump
in her throat. She was never going to see Knadyn again, unless he was part of
the group that came back in six months. “I will probably be with the rebel
group that just left, so if he comes back in six months I will try to see him.”
Why would he come back here though…shaking herself slightly she hurried along,
“If you can just show me to my father, we can catch up with the rebels before
they get to far away.”

They had come abreast of Knadyn’s mother and the other female when she
stated that she needed to hurry to catch the rebels. It was Knadyn’s mother who
spoke into the silence her words created.

“But Ava, you are coming with us.” Her smile held true warmth but the
words were so shocking that Ava just stood there disbelieving.

Shaking her head she rushed out, “I couldn’t possibly. My father…my
friends…”

Looking at her intently the smaller female dropped the other shoe. “Your
father has already gone ahead to Terraneu.”

Of course, if given the opportunity her father would go through a
wormhole. She just started shaking her head. “I suppose I can go through for a
short while, but then—”

One of the males in the group spoke kindly, “I am Kneus.” He offered her
a hand to shake and she did. “I am sorry Ava but the port pad is only active
every six months for a short period in one day. We are at the end of the
allotted time. If you go through with us, it will be for six months.” Ava
stared into his eyes, taking in the slight differences between him and those
around him. One of Knadyn’s relatives obviously.

“My father knew this when he went through?” Again, she sighed at the
stupid questions she was coming up with. “Never mind, of course he did.”

“It is a long story and we really need to get moving.” Knadyn’s father
was getting nervous, “It is not safe to remain here any longer.”

“We can explain everything when we get home Ava. Trust me when I say that
everything will be okay. It is your choice to stay or come with us.” At her
slight nod, Knadyn’s mother put her arm around her shoulder and walked her onto
a strange circle on the ground where the black haired female waited. “Send us
through Kneus.”

Was it possible to be flying and falling, surrounded by light and in
complete darkness at the same time? The pressure was too much and Ava didn’t
fight sweet oblivion.