To Catch A Warrior [Unearthly World Book 5] (8 page)

“If there is anyone left alive we will find them,” Titus said. “Since the Gorgano were still here, it’s a good sign some may have escaped them.”

“I hope so. There was a woman whose husband was killed by a Tonan. She was in the first stages of pregnancy, before I was kidnapped. We had been on the planet for a while already. The baby, if it survived, would be a few months old.”

Titus grimaced. The Gorgano and the Tonans would have no use for a baby. They would have taken the mother without the child.

“I’ve never been on this planet,” Titus admitted. “We scanned it for life forms but only plant and animal registered. Tell me was there a female named Bertha ever there?”

Zabbie turned in his arms. She lifted her hand to caress his cheek. “No, Titus. I would have mentioned already if there had been. Give her up or you’ll drive yourself insane. Insanity isn’t a nice place to be. Trust me.”

Titus wondered at her words. She was alone for so long, he imagined her mind invented images to keep her occupied. Did that make a person insane or was it a coping method? Zabbie was a little off, but not nuts. He would have to keep her close until she settled and was feeling secure.

“What is this planet like?” Titus asked.

A small smile curled Zabbie’s lips. “There’s insane and then there’s plain crazy. Saddle up boys. Welcome to Crazy Town. You’re in for a helluva ride.”

Zabbie never thought she would see this planet again let alone have her bare feet sink into the sweetest grass she had ever known. It was summer where they landed, her favorite season. The air smelled of fragrant tropical flowers. A gentle breeze tickled the tips of the grass and flew wayward petals to skip across the waving tips. Beautiful, massive, chocolate dark trees with trunks larger than buses spanned the distance. Their intricate branches went heavenward for thirty feet, intertwining to seem more like enchanted bridges to each level. Zabbie and her friends spent hours in the trees.

An ebony bug with glowing green speckles resembling a butterfly floated past. The wings increased when soaring, decreased when diving. The many eyes under the bug’s belly made Zabbie smile, it carried its young wherever it went. The sky was clear and blue and breathtaking. Immediately to her left a wall of blizzard howled. Zabbie took a few short steps to the wall that stretched upwards as far as the eye could see. She lifted her hand to wiggle her fingers in the winter season. When she drew her hand back her fingers were red and cold and wet.

Titus was gazing off in the distance. “This is strange. Everywhere I look there’s beauty until I glance at that wall of snow and ice. What contains it? The planet and wall resembles the ice and fire from the sun we were in but with seasons.”

“It took us a while to get used to all of the seasons coexisting side by side. It’s a small planet and each season is extreme in its own way. The summer season we’re in is full blown summer and stays that way, never changing. As does autumn with all of its vibrant colors and crisp scents. Winter is harsh and unforgiving, volatile and unpredictable. Spring is a little lazy. That season is quiet because everything is waking up, you can almost hear the plants yawn and stretch. Most of the animals stay away from winter, except one and, well, let’s hope we don’t run into it. It’s a hard creature to describe and loves the fall season best. It’s very furry. The winter season bogs its fur down and if it lies down it can get frozen to the ground. Summer is too hot for it. It’s a mammoth-sized black beast with fangs and snorts smoke.”

“Sounds like a cyron,” Titus said. “Can you explain more of what happened and who attacked first?”

Zabbie wished he hadn’t asked. The memories hurt when they came, as though the Gorgano were torturing her thoughts all over again. Titus’s gaze was sympathetic; he wasn’t trying to hurt her, only understand. He was leader after all. The warriors he commanded were his to care for. For him she would try.

“We escaped into the winter weather when the Tonans came. They need the sunlight to maintain their shields. The winter season has very little sun, a blizzard blows mainly. We, meaning me and the other survivors, would come into the summer season to hunt and into the spring season to gather new edible shoots and race back underground in caverns we found. I doubt any humans are living in this area,” Zabbie said. “It was too dangerous to stay in a warm welcoming place.”

“You were forced to abandon the luxury of heat for survival,” Titus said. Zabbie heard the pity in his tone.

“This is close to where we sheltered. Off in the distance you can just make out spring. But remember the Gorgano attacked. We all fled. No one else was on the Gorgano space vessel that I saw. They might have separated us. If your monitors didn’t pick up life forms it means either no one is left, or some are hiding in the winter season far underground. I guess with all the frozen ice above us sensors didn’t pick us up. We spent most of our time cold, I guess that’s why I survived for so long, I was already used to intense frigid weather. I already had the clothes to keep me warm.”

Titus walked up to the wall of snow cascading down, to stand next to Zabbie. She gazed at her limited clothing. Titus stuck his hand into the winter wall. He stepped through the sheet of snow and turned. Zabbie could see him frowning. In battle mode his hair whipped the large snowflakes away torpedo style. None came through the wall. Titus walked back through and stood next to her. Lifting his hand he brushed at the snow clinging to his fur.

“You aren’t wearing suitable clothing for that weather,” Titus said.

“Can your replicator make me something warm?”

“I’m afraid not. This material is all we know, our bodies don’t require furs. Cold doesn’t normally bother us but even I felt the sting of some unusually cold snowflakes. It might get uncomfortable after a while but not to a degree where we will freeze. I’ve never encountered single stinging snowflakes before. We get biting cold in the northern Zargonnii area but not like that. My warriors and I can go in there, we would be fine, I’m sure we can adjust, but I can’t leave you here or on the ship.”

“Your need to have me close every second is getting on my nerves,” Zabbie complained. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I guess I’ll have to fend for myself because I have to go with you. You can’t just walk up to humans and growl grunt at them and think they’ll be overjoyed to see you. We witnessed first-hand aliens hunting humans, and your warriors are massive, the biggest I’ve seen to date.”

“What do you intend on doing?” Titus asked.

“I need to go hunting. There’s a beast with a shaggy coat, it’s big enough so I only need one animal. The fur is best for the winter weather. I can fashion clothes from it and if there are humans the meat will be welcome. It’s always best to come bearing gifts. If you have food they won’t think you’re looking for food.”

“You are going hunting?” Cy snorted then laughed.

Zabbie ignored him. Cy was always no more than two feet from Titus. She heard his comments on the ship and they stung. She wasn’t some weirdo. She had no powers. It was plain to see Titus and Cy were close. It was also apparent Cy was jealous, why, she had no clue. Titus said he and the warriors only Holidayed with females. Or, she wondered, if Cy really thought her a threat and Cy felt he was protecting Titus. She would have to show him and the other warriors she was no threat, she wasn’t a burden either. Zabbie could take care of herself; she had for a long time.

A plant in sight resembled bleeding hearts, its innocuous look was deceiving. When Zabbie came close to the mass of the six foot high plants and six inch hearts, she stomped her foot on the ground and jumped back. Massive wooden spiked spears slammed from the ground to stand six feet tall replacing the bleeding hearts. Titus had her snatched back and in his arms in a heartbeat.

“Shit, Zabbie,” he roared.

Zabbie refrained from chuckling. “Gives you new meaning to why they’re called bleeding hearts, eh?”

“Any other surprises I should be aware of?” Titus asked, he sounded grouchy as he lowered her to the ground.

“Probably.”

“That was dangerous,” Cy said.

“Only if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Zabbie said. She had no idea Titus would react so fast, but he was never in danger. The plants couldn’t move.

Cy was growling and glaring at her, she winked at him. Zabbie walked over to the spears and yanked one from the ground. She hefted its weight and chose another. The spears were also not what they appeared to be. Some were hollow. The new one she held was heavier, not hollow. She’d need to be able to throw the spear and also penetrate a thick hide.

Glancing at the sky and judging it was mid-day, Zabbie struck out. She knew at this time of the day the female of the species she and the other humans dubbed the shadow beasts were cooling off in the water with offspring. There was a male leader who kept at least six other males at bay. Zabbie wanted one of the other males.

Titus remained close on her heels as she moved. There were eight warriors in all. She heard a few chuckling at her and she battled her annoyance. They didn’t know or perhaps didn’t care she knew their language. They thought she was weak and foolish. She was neither. Her annoyance grew, but she knew after she hunted the beast she would gain at least grudging respect. The only thing keeping her from spinning on them was Titus walking with her, Cy held back to make fun with the other warriors.

The first small hill they ascended levelled out to a small field. A number of short trees stood nearby. The trees bore delicious pink fruit, unfortunately the juice stained horribly. The human men she had been with wouldn’t eat it because the juice dyed their hands pink for weeks and the women would tease them and ask who had bright pink cocks. Zabbie avoided going under any of the low branches, there was nothing worse than one splattering on your head when you least expected. She had no desire to be mostly bald, as well as zero desire to be pink, her hair was growing in but was taking its sweet time. The warriors would look ridiculous if their long white hair were colored.

Zabbie spun around when a bunch of warriors roared in anger. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw four of the warriors covered in a pink dripping substance. A number of the fruit had simply fallen from the branches and all four warriors were saturated. Cy was scowling at her. A blob of pink jelly sat perched on his head.

“Well don’t blame me,” Zabbie said. “One of you must have touched the tree. When the fruit is that ripe it doesn’t take much for it to fall. Simply walking under it could have caused it with all of your big clomping feet. I told you to follow me.”

“How the hell do we get this shit off?” Cy demanded. He shook his head in disgust sending a few warriors fleeing from the dye.

“It has to wear off.”

“Damn it, I look like an overgrown Earth pink poodle,” Cy bellowed. “We all do.”

“Franken poodles,” Zabbie whispered and rolled her eyes.

Zabbie turned and hid a laugh behind her hand. The warriors looked ridiculous covered in patches of pink. The other warriors had turned their attention from Zabbie to the other four. Titus was doing some ribbing of his own, telling Cy he’d have to find him a cute little bow for his hair, maybe the human females would like this dye bottled for their fingernails. Cy could give them a glimpse of the shade. After the initial ribbing, their voices quieted to a few seething grumbles.

The area they travelled was beautiful, lush foliage, brilliant colors. Small animals skittered into holes chattering at their intrusion. The flat ground tapered to a slope. Zabbie crept up the side of a hill and motioned for the warriors to be quiet. All on their hands and knees they surrounded Zabbie. The scene beneath them was tranquil. Huge shaggy ebony shadow beasts were bathing.

In a hushed voice Zabbie explained what she wanted. “Those are shadow beasts. All the ones bathing are female and their young. See that massive one at the water’s edge? The only one with the stripe of white on its back. He’s the herd’s male. We don’t want to mess with him or his herd. Now over there are other males just waiting to pounce if they even think they could beat the herd leader. So if we go after one of them, the herd male won’t care and he won’t interfere and neither will the other males. It’s every male shadow beast for himself when it comes to survival.”

“We should go after the male leader. He’s the only one worthy of a Zargonnii warrior,” Cy said in a scoffing tone.

“No. We need one of the smaller males, it’s safer,” Zabbie insisted.

“The larger male will give us more meat for the humans. I’m a Zargonnii warrior; I don’t need a safer route. We won’t let it hurt you, female,” Cy argued.

“You won’t get near him,” Zabbie said her frustration rising. “It’s not me I’m worried about. If you attack, so will the other males looking to mate, maybe with an underage female, it would be chaos, the mother females will freak.”

“Titus, are we going to let a human female tell us how to hunt? She can stay and watch how a warrior hunts from the sidelines where she won’t be injured,” Cy complained.

“She appears to know what she’s talking about. Zabbie have you hunted these beasts before?” Titus asked.

“Many times. A lone shadow beast will be enough of a battle without asking for trouble. I know where the spear needs to find its mark.”

“It’s better to hunt if the tribe is confused. We need to rattle them so they panic and run,” another warrior said.

“Tane’s right,” Cy said. “It will be easier to go after all to make certain we get one. Not corner one single one and hope for the best.”

“These aren’t buffalo,” Zabbie snapped. “You’re not shooting fish in a barrel. Don’t let their lumbering movements deceive you. They think and work as a family unit. If you go after any of the young, even to scatter them, it’s their mothers you need to worry about. The male will laugh
his
ass off at you while
your
dumb ass is shredded.”

Cy and another snorted with contempt and glared at her. Too late Zabbie realized she’d bruised their egos. She saw the look on Cy’s face. Bellowing war cries rent the air, four of the warriors leaped to their feet and took off, startling the herd. All the shaggy beasts turned to watch the warriors’ loud approach. Zabbie jumped to her feet howling.