The Revenge of Excalibur (8 page)

“I will not destroy another Shalit,” Excalibur admonished.

His arms were crossed as he stared intently at the two Calen females. He shifted sideways, and Pam saw the silver sword hanging from a thong on his back. He looked menacing and irresistible.
He definitely has the 'bad boy' attitude down pat. The only thing missing are tattoos.
Pam's mouth fell open as large, silver, lightning bolt tattoos appeared on his tanned, bulging biceps. He turned toward her, and winked.

Pam shook her head, trying to stay focused on what they were saying. “Wait, that thing in the basement, the one that's been torturing my father, is a Shalit?”

“No, not yet. If he had been allowed to complete his transformation, instead of being imprisoned in Husken Silver, he would have evolved into one of us. The other Rem brains encased in silver faced the same fate. They were not allowed to complete their metamorphosis.” Excalibur scowled at the two Calen women, who had the decency to look embarrassed under his intense gaze. “He is a victim himself. He does not enjoy torturing and devouring the life essence from the prisoners. He has no choice.”

Pam narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing his impassive face.
Can I trust the Shalit? Is he telling the truth?
As hard as she tried, she couldn't read his thoughts. It felt as though he'd placed a barrier around his mind. She huffed in frustration. She'd always been able to read people's minds. Not being able to probe his thoughts made her feel, well, ordinary.
Make up your mind
, she scolded herself.
You complain about being different, and now you're complaining because you're not. Still, if he didn't have anything to hide, why would he block his thoughts?

She hated the fact her life was in his hands. Her gaze dropped to where he slowly stroked his beard, his lips turned up in a sensual smile, appearing to enjoy the sensation. She nervously licked her lips. She'd give anything to have those big, strong hands touching her body. She gulped, as the image of them entwined together started her heart racing.
Get a grip, girl! You're here to save your father, not have a love fest.

“Do not worry, little one, I will protect you.” His full lips curved into a smile as he stared down at her. She swore he was laughing at her.

“What? You're reading my mind? How dare you!” Pam stood glaring at him, hands on hips, face burning with embarrassment again.

“Enough of this,” snapped Olso. “We need to save our King and Queen. We are here.”

“No! Wait, we don't have a plan,” Pam protested, eyes wide with fright, as her and Excalibur disappeared.

Pam found herself standing in a large meadow, surrounded by rugged, snow-capped mountains. Bindkall Prison sat at the other end of the field, with a dirt road leading to the compound. The road ended at a gate with a guard shack. Peering nervously around, she saw the Shalit standing next to her, holding the sword Excalibur across his broad shoulder.

“What are you doing,
Weesa
? Trying to get me killed? I have no idea what to do. I've never been in a fight before.” Pam's eyes were wide with fear and uncertainty. She crept behind Excalibur, trying to hide behind his massive back. She peered around his shoulder, staring at the shouting guards as they hurried out of the shack.
What the hell do they expect me to do?

*Pamela,* the twin voices of
Weesa
said in her mind, *other than the Shalit, you are the most powerful being here. You are the only one who can save your father, and all these other hapless prisoners. Trust yourself.*

“Do not worry, little one.” The Shalit-man turned toward her, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I have fought many battles as the sword Excalibur, and I do have a plan. We need to disarm and eliminate as many guards as possible. Even with my powers dampened down by their nullifier, I have been able to detect an arms room right inside the main doors. I believe I can teleport us there. Once we enter the building, The One will alert General Mayo to our location. He will send guards to capture, or kill, us. That is when we shall take action.”

“What kind of action?” Pam asked in a small voice, trying to resist the rush of heat his mere touch caused. “Do you mean we have to kill people? I don't think I can do that. I'm not that type of person.”

*You must hurry,*
Weesa
chimed in. *You must not be discovered until you enter the arms room.*

“Trust me. I will do what is necessary. Now, prepare yourself.”

Pam reappeared inside a room with an assortment of different types of weapons. Most of them looked like they came out of a sci-fi movie. In the distance, she heard a bloodcurdling scream, sending gooseflesh down her arms.

Oh my God. What am I doing here?
Her knees were shaking so bad she could barely stand.

*We have just been probed by The One,*
Weesa
told them, as alarms began blaring. *He knows we are external, but he knows you are not. We will withdraw for now. Hurry. You must save our King and Queen.*

Pam felt her heart pounding in her throat as her palms started sweating.
What are we supposed to do?
She turned to Excalibur for help. His face was set in concentration, as an outpouring of tremendous power flowed around her, making her take a step away from him.
What kind of being is he? He has more power than the Sun. I'm supposed to be almost as powerful? No way.

With a loud crash, the arms room door flew inward. In rushed ten guards, with General Mayo right behind them, yelling at his men to shoot to kill. Pam stood there, petrified, while Excalibur turned and winked at her, a smile playing on his luscious lips. In a blink, he disappeared, along with the General and his men.

Pam looked around, stunned.
What just happened? Where did they go?
She stared at the open door.
I might as well be a duck in a shooting gallery.
Reaching to close the door, she nearly jumped into the hallway when Excalibur reappeared by her side.

“Where did you go?” she yelled at him. “You left me. I thought you were supposed to protect me.” She was panting, her heart fluttering in her chest.
Am I reacting this way from fright, or seeing him again? Damn, I need to get my emotions under control.

“I am sorry, little one,” the god-like man told her, looking down at her with a quirked brow. “I had to act quickly. I have taken them to the Planet Lear, where they will either kill each other, or die. Neither of which concerns me. Before you can rescue your father, we must remove the brain. Now, concentrate on him. Feel where he is located.”

Hand at her throat, trying to calm her racing heart, Pam took a couple of deep breaths. After her heart slowed to where she didn't feel as if she were having a heart attack, she nodded, then closed her eyes, mentally probing with her mind. When she felt her mind being scanned back, her eyes popped open. It was alien, confused, and powerful, and she felt as though she were being squeezed in a giant, mental bear hug. She started to panic when she couldn't break the link.

“You are doing fine, little one. Hold him, and focus on the Planet Lear. Take him to Lear with you.”

Hold him!
she screamed in her mind.
I'm trying to get away from him.

Excalibur turned her to face him, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. “Focus, Pam,” he encouraged in his deep, smooth voice. “You can do this. Focus on him and the Planet Lear. I will do the rest.”

Pam concentrated harder, eyes squeezed tightly shut, knowing the connection between her and the brain was not of her own doing, which terrified her. The One felt so alien and powerful, reminding her of the first time she encountered Excalibur in his Human shape. She started trembling, sweat trickling down her forehead, as she pictured the cave and waterfall on Lear. A gigantic psychic power surge overtook her, causing her to step backwards. The mental contact was violently ripped from her brain, making her shake her head at the sudden emptiness in her mind.

Sensing the warm, fuzzy feeling she associated with Lear, Pam opened her eyes, finding herself next to the cave with Excalibur, and
Weesa
in the background. Pam leaned over, bracing herself with her hands on her knees, taking a few deep breaths. That had been a hell of a trip. Straightening up, she noticed a huge, ugly, pink slug thing lying on the ground next to Excalibur's sandals. It was pulsating, with flickers of light dancing across the surface.
Yuck
. Her stomach did a few flip flops, so she quickly turned away.

Pam felt Excalibur release his mental control over The One. He squatted next to it. “Relax, and absorb the life-giving radiation, my young friend,” he said in a soothing voice. “I promised you were being born, and so you shall. Soon, you will shed your bulky body, and transform into an energy being. I, hereby, name you Treas, brother Shalit.”

White sparks started jumping off the brain as it pulsated faster and faster, seeming to grow bigger with each fluctuation. Fascinated, Pam stared at it, curious to see the metamorphosis happen. Just as the sparks started turning silver, she found herself standing outside the main guarded gate. Excalibur had teleported them back to Calen.

“Hey. You could've at least given me some warning,” Pam scolded. She didn't like being tossed around from place-to-place, like a piece of luggage.

“Sorry,” the handsome Shalit said, grinning down at her, making her knees quiver. She could tell he wasn't sorry at all, as his eyes twinkled with amusement. He was toying with her. As she stood there fuming, he said, “Little one, it is time for you to save your father. I will assist, if needed, but you must do this on your own.”

Pam was about to make a sarcastic remark, when two guards by the shack opened fire on Excalibur. The two Ultilear beams hit Excalibur, passing harmlessly through his body, unnoticed, and hitting
Weesa
. One of the beams ricocheted up into the Calen sky, while the other one went downward, burning a hole through the planet.

Pam almost laughed out loud at the comical expressions on their faces. They trained their weapons on her, firing at the same time. She watched in panic, the two white beams flying towards her, knowing there wasn't enough time to BLIP! away. One hit her in the chest, the other her stomach, and they both ricocheted into the sky.

“Ouch!” she yelled, smelling burnt clothing and flesh, afraid to look at the damage. She'd never been shot at before, especially by alien weapons.
Am I hurt
?
I'm too scared to look.
Bottom lip clamped between her teeth, she peered down, seeing one partially bared breast and her stomach. There were two ugly red welts where the beams had hit and bounced off.

Picking at the tattered remains of her favorite sapphire blouse, Pam began to get angry. It had taken her months to find a shirt matching the color of her eyes. She looked up, staring daggers at the two guards.

Psychic energy she never felt before started crackling through her body, making her hair stand on end. The fear for her father, the fear for her safety, and the fear of her feelings for the alien entity known as Excalibur coalesced into a raging inferno inside her. She turned that raging inferno toward the guards who had just shot her.

“You, bastards,” Pam hissed through clenched teeth, “This was my favorite blouse.” Concentrating on the guard shack, it blew up in an intense ball of white fire. The fire so hot, it burned itself out in only a few minutes, leaving behind a large pile of ash, and black smoke drifting into the cold, mountain air.

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several more guards standing by the massive double doors leading into the building. They had weapons drawn, but weren't aiming them at her, yet. They looked dazed, with their mouths wide open.

Pam stomped up to the gate. “As of now, this prison is CLOSED! You have two minutes to evacuate the guards. Anyone I find inside, who isn't a prisoner, will end up toast.”

Pam watched in amazement as two of the guards were foolish enough to aim their weapons, ready to fire. Suddenly, from behind, a large, white beam shot across Pam's shoulder making her duck.
Weesa
had fired one of her six Ultilears. The double-doors exploded inward, pieces of wood flying in every direction.

In horror, Pam stared at the gaping, smoking hole. The Ultilear beam burnt its way through the whole building, out the back wall, and into the small mountain behind it. The firepower she just witnessed made the weapons on Earth seem like toys by comparison. Earth would be no match against a Calen invasion.

Before Pam could react to
Weesa's
attack on the prison, she again heard a thrumming noise, signifying the ship was about to fire another beam. Ducking down, she watched as the second floor disappeared in a large explosion of glass, rocks, and plastic, leaving behind a large, round, smoking hole.

Pam spun around, lips tightly pressed, noticing
Weesa
hovering above the ground. “Damn,
Weesa
!” she shouted, fanning the dust out of the air so she could breath. “You almost brought down the building. Don't forget we're here to save the prisoners, not kill them. That includes my father.”

*We have waited a million years to use our Ultilears against an enemy, other than a Shalit. It felt wonderful,*
Weesa
said mentally, not even attempting to sound apologetic.

Excalibur was leaning on his sword, a huge grin spread across his face. “What are you smiling at?” Pam asked petulantly. She felt as if she were the only one taking this mission seriously.

He peered down at her, causing that flutter again. “I am getting closer to freeing my mate, little one.
Weesa
fired precisely where she needed to. She has destroyed all the control panels but for a few minor ones.” Looking over at the silver ship, he said, “Good shooting,
Weesa
.”

Weesa's
silver, chrome-plated hull turned a faint shade of pink, as Olso and Emeara blushed.
Imagine, being complimented by a Shalit
, they whispered between themselves.

Pam shook her head in disbelief.
What is it about this Shalit that makes women turn into stupid females around him? Besides, he's supposed to only obey me. Oh, great, now I'm jealous of a ship,
she thought, turning her attention back to the prison.

Men were yelling and screaming, running from the crumbling, smoking building. Some of them stopped mid-stride when they saw the silver ship floating fifty feet above the ground. Pam saw the fear in their eyes, as they realized they were at the mercy of whoever was on board.

Picking up his sword and slinging it across his shoulder, Excalibur stepped forward. “Drop your weapons, and start evacuating the prisoners,” he thundered in a voice sounding as if it came from a loud speaker. “You six,” he said, pointing at them with his sword, “move over there.” With a wave of the shiny weapon, a row of long tables appeared. “You will begin preparing meals for the prisoners.”

*Pam, you and Excalibur go find our King and Queen. We will keep a watch over the guards,*
Weesa
said.

With brisk steps, Pam strode past the Shalit, conscious of her half-exposed breast, and his smoky, silver eyes following her. As she approached the smoldering hole that used to be a doorway, the men standing there moved swiftly aside, averting their gazes. Carefully picking her way through the rubble, Pam saw black burnt marks on the floor and walls, going the full length of the long building.
Damn, that's one powerful weapon
, she thought, biting her lip.

To the right of her, a door slid open, and several guards came limping out, their uniforms and faces covered with blood and dust. They stopped, leaning against each other, staring at her. Death had come to them in the form of a large, blond man carrying a shiny, silver sword, and a female with burns on her chest and stomach, a silver streak flashing in her raven hair.

Reading their thoughts, Pam stopped.
What silver streak?
She reached up and pulled a lock of hair forward over her eyes. Sure enough, it was a shiny, silver color.
When did that happen? I'm not old enough for gray hair, yet.

Excalibur reached out, curling the lock around his finger, a sexy smile playing on his lips. “It becomes you, Pamela. Just as you marked the Husken Silver with your blood, the Silver has marked you.”

Peering into Excalibur's deep, dark, silver eyes, Pam found herself being enveloped with that same feeling of 'home.' Holding her spellbound with his gaze, a look of desire and uncertainty flickered behind his eyes. He licked his lips. Pam found herself standing on tiptoes, leaning forward; waiting for him to kiss her. With a sigh, he quickly stepped away, turning toward the elevator.