Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) (38 page)

"There aren't so many out there and most of them are clones," Lana said. "It's a risk we have to take."

The warriors were silent for a while, but eventually they nodded.

"This is a good plan," Ilen said. "I think the general would like it."

That
definitely lit up a warm flame within Lana, but it came with a bittersweet taste. She wanted to believe that if Corden had been killed, they would know. Surely Worgen would broadcast his triumph over the comm links, right? But Lana would have liked to be certain. Even better, she would have liked to see him.

Lana told herself that the sooner they would take the
Abysmal
, the quicker she would see him.

"What about all this?" Tuven asked, gesturing around them. "The clones."

Lana looked at them, the bodies in every possible stage of development floating in the transparent tubes. Some of them were only children, but even those who appeared grown had technically not even been born. They hadn't done anything wrong yet, hadn't been taught to follow Worgen's creed.

"We will leave them," she said with certainty.

"They might become our enemies," Ilen said and Lana heard the disgust in his voice.

She knew the originals hated the clones, but these were nothing more than empty shells.

"Or they might not," Lana replied. "Your Elders will judge that once we get out of here."

Not wanting to start a philosophical debate over clone rights when time was of the essence, Lana turned and walked away. After a moment, the three warriors followed, as was the Brion way. She wasn't their leader, not really, but she was the closest thing they could get to Corden himself.

Lana let them take the lead again, ascending through the levels between her new guards. The valor squares showed the way to her through corridors until she started to feel the stench of death again.

"How are we to take over a whole bay?" Ilen asked. "We can try, but as soon as the bridge hears, there will be reinforcements."

"Just like your general," Lana said, smiling. "We have allies."

***

Tracking a furious pack of Torons was not something Lana had ever thought she'd do. It kind of felt like walking right into a blade again. The memories of the atrium played before her eyes, the way the beasts had torn through everything and everyone in their way. Her heart beat faster and faster as the noise level rose all around, signaling that they were getting closer.

Lana wished she had Corden's certainty, so she would
know
she could get through to the Torons. The captain had strictly warned her three guards to attack only when it was absolutely clear that the Torons were not listening to her. She was going to approach them alone as well, not to give them immediate targets in the form of the Brions. There was no way they could distinguish between the good and the bad kind like that.

Before her, Lana heard screams and roars. The Torons were not holding back, it seemed.

"Wait," she told the Brions quietly and advanced alone, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

Not that I have to try very hard
, she thought.
Each and every one of them could eat me in one bite.

The pack of Torons were just finishing up a bunch of clones.

Lana's insides had only calmed down after the healing, but now it felt like a roller coaster again. The Torons weren't cannibalistic, but they sure looked like it, crouching over a pile of bodies that was only mostly dead. Some let out shrill screams when the beasts tore their legs off.

She wasn't sure what she should say, but didn't get the time to figure it out. The Torons had noticed her and arose like one. They came at her, looking like walking boulders, about to crush her. Lana prayed that her Brion guards had the sense to stay hidden until she'd at least given it her best shot.

The only problem was that every word was wiped from her mind as she watched the beasts approach, blood trickling from their fangs. Like before, the thought that was on the top of her mind was a name.

"Corden," she said.

Lana didn't know how much the Torons cared about names or if her
gerion
had even told them his. But they stopped, a foul smell coming from their mouths. They waited, growling.

Lana wasn't entirely fluent in the Toron language, but she felt it would send a better signal if she tried it out. Searching for something that would show she was there to help, Lana tried:

"Ally. Friend."

A light of understanding dawned in the eyes of the Torons, but they still said nothing. Lana went on.

"I want to help you. Fight Brions."

Roars pierced the air, seeming to shake the room apart. But then the leader of the beasts leaned forward.

"Friend," it said.

Okay. Good. We're getting somewhere now.

"I will show you," she offered, noticing how her three warriors appeared from cover once she'd calmed the Torons.

Apparently the introduction could have gone smoother. As the Torons charged and the Brions drew their spears, Lana yelled:

"
No
! Good Brions, good!
Friends
!"
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Corden

He couldn't find her.

The
Abysmal
's layout wasn't familiar to Corden, not entirely, but that barely slowed him down. He was a Brion and there was a certain logic to how warships were built, after all. So every corridor and walkway didn't go where it did on the
Claw
, but the overall picture remained the same. It had not taken him long to find Worgen's quarters.

Fury drove him on, fury like he'd never known before. The mad general's words thundered in his mind, fueling the rage within him. It hadn't been enough for Worgen to simply insult him, he had to unleash the monster in Corden by attacking
Lana
. The way he'd spoken about her left no doubt in Corden's mind that if he failed, his
gesha
would suffer for it for the rest of her life.

And while the Brions were renowned for their skills in killing, they were also
very
good at not letting people die. Worgen could keep torturing Lana forever with the techniques the Palians had given him.

All of that had not happened yet,
would
not happen. Corden wasn't going to allow it, but the images kept parading before his eyes, more real than the actual ship around him.

He barely noticed killing the guards standing watch before the general's quarters. Corden tore through them without sparing the warriors more than a look. He registered flashing lights and the fear of
prey
, utterly out of place on a Brion, but they deserved his wrath.

The doors were reinforced, but the battle spear in Corden's hand was capable of cutting through almost anything in the galaxy. Except maybe the
Abysmal
's outer interior. Stepping back over the fallen originals, he cut his way through the door with a roar, blunting the blade of his precious weapon.

Lana. Lana is there.

The need to save his
gesha
was the only thing he knew for sure. The spear shook in his hands from the terrible blows he dealt to the doors, but they broke before his weapon did. The impact had been enough to make his grip slightly waver, and he was trying to stop his hands from trembling in tune with the spear. Corden burst through the door, ready to rip Worgen's heart out with his bare hands if need be to stop him from ever hurting Lana again.

But the room was empty.

Lana wasn't there. Neither was Worgen. Walking slowly through the rooms, on guard for any surprise attack, Corden figured no one had entered the rooms for a while. Certainly not in the last few hours and before that, Lana had been safely aboard the
Flora
.

That meant she had never been brought there. Corden searched for an explanation in his mind, but it was hungered for revenge, not answers. His being called for blood, to kill anyone who stood between him and Lana. Did it matter why she wasn't there? She had to still be on the warship.

Like a predator preparing to track his prey, Corden shook himself, trying to clear his head. The growl on his lips was almost feral, something that was better suited to a beast than a man.

Had Worgen lied to him?
No.
Corden had seen the truth in his words. The mad general had intended for Lana to be brought to his rooms where he could keep her.

Had he taken her elsewhere? Not likely. There would be a trace of Lana in the rooms then, signs of her fighting back.

Corden smiled, baring his teeth. His little
gesha
with the spirit he loved would have certainly resisted. There were no signs of a struggle.

That meant she had escaped and was somewhere on the ship, needing him. The rage pulled him back into its burning, hot grip. Corden was ready to leave the quarters behind when he heard a sound at last.

It was so quiet, barely there at all. Normally it would have taken him a second to detect it, but the rage threatening to overcome him was dulling some of Corden's senses.

The noise was coming from the general's bedroom, right from under his bed. Corden cocked his head, confusion settling over him. Lana would never cower from anyone like that, even if she knew there would be no real chance to fight. But who else could it be?

As he took a few steps closer, the breathing he heard very clearly changed. It had been scared before, but as Corden approached, it was outright petrified, panicked. The sound was muffled, as if someone was trying to press their hands down on their mouth not to scream.

The general lowered the tip of his spear to the floor, bloody and damaged but still sharp. A small scream echoed through the rooms now.

He recognized the voice.

"Get out," he ordered roughly.

When the figure under the bed only whimpered, Corden added:

"I will not hurt you."

A slender hand appeared first, then the rest of the frightened girl. The general searched his clouded mind for a name.
Helia
. He watched her climb out from under the bed, only to scramble as far away from him as possible, backing into a corner.

The girl looked dreadful. Her blonde hair was messed up, but at least her clothes didn't seem to be torn. Corden thought that fear had done worse damage to her than Worgen. He chose not to explain to her how lucky she was.

"Helia," he said. "I need you to answer me. Has anyone else been here today?"

There seemed to be something calming about using her name. The girl's eyes went wide and she shook her head.

"Not before you," she said quietly. "Are you here to kill him?"

"Yes."

The thought of death didn't seem to please her, but there was a ray of hope. Seeing that, Corden pressed on.

"You're all right now," he said, trying to sound soothing, but the battle trance turned it into a snarl. "This will all be over soon, but you can help.
Do you know where he is
?"

Helia stared at him with big, wide eyes. Corden forced himself to wait, reminding himself that not every Terran woman had as much courage as Lana. He watched the frightened girl, seeing the weakness in her. It wasn't even Helia's fault. The man who had kidnapped her was not someone she could stand up to, but breaking her had not been hard to begin with.

Her trembling hand rose and pointed to the opposite corner. Corden turned to look and noticed a small indentation in the wall, big enough for a little speaker to fit in there. He grinned. Luck seemed to be on his side at last, although the general had never asked for such a fickle ally.

All the Brion ships had a special link to the general's quarters so the commander could always be informed as quickly as possible. The speaker doubled the comm device that the general already had with him, tuned to the private channel. The one in the quarters required it to be turned on, which was impossible without the genetic sample so no one could tamper with it.

Had Worgen really been careless enough to leave the device on when he left? Or was it a form of torture, to let Helia hear everything that was happening on the ship? Maybe it was done in preparation of Lana's arrival, to inflict it on both women.

Corden didn't know and cared even less.

She heard. She heard all the private messages sent to Worgen.

The general searched for words that wouldn't scare the already terrified little witness. He didn't need much from her, only what mattered now.

"Tell me the last place he was called to," he said. "Be sure it's the last one."

Helia nodded, biting her lip. It was obvious she was trying, combing her memory for the answer.

"A bay," she finally said. "He was called to a landing bay, I think. Someone was trying to open it up again."

"Good," Corden said. "Which bay? Try to remember."

It was infuriating, taking so much time when he needed to rush, but if Helia gave him the right spot, he would finally be able to catch Worgen.

"Port bay," she said. "I think they said F and then a number. I'm almost certain it was four."

"I need you to be absolutely sure."

The girl looked helpless, staring up at him. Then she closed her eyes, trying to focus, as if it helped her remember. Corden wasn't sure, maybe it
did
help Terrans.

"I'm sure," Helia said.

"Stay here," Corden said, turning away from her. "Hide. With the comm link open, I'm sure you'll hear when it's all over. Until then, don't come out of this room."

That was probably an unnecessary addition. Helia nodded and it was quite clear she wasn't going anywhere. Just in case, the general pulled out his knife, seeing the girl wince, and handed it to her.

"If anyone should come here, stab them with it," he said.

Then Corden left the girl and the empty quarters behind, a new goal in sight. He ached to go and look for Lana, but there was only one real threat to her. With Worgen gone, she was saved.