Engulf [New World Book 5] (3 page)

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked Abri.

Sam shrugged her arms up and down in question and frowned as she said this. Abri felt like her life had been turned into a perpetual game of charades. She was about to answer when Abri caught movement and looked over at Tasha who dropped her plate on the ground and began waving her arms like the drama queen she was.

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” Tasha yelled loud enough for Abri to make out her words. “She needs to get laid. We all do.”

Abri could feel her face flame. It started in her neck and crept up the sides of her cheeks, all the way to her forehead where the small hairs nearest her scalp itched. Brea, who was sitting to her far right, laughed, as did Sally at her far left. Tabby, also across from her, giggled behind her hand.

Sex was the last thing on Abri’s mind. There were only three men she ever thought of—the first being her father. Then there were two others whose faces haunted her. They had never been able to free the Captain and co-pilot. Their remains were still hopelessly crushed within the shuttle. When she thought about them, she felt sad. They had saved their lives after all, and Abri and the others couldn’t even offer them a decent burial.

Abri looked at Tasha a bit melancholy and shook her head no. She could see Sam watching her from the corner of her eye. Sam slung an arm across her shoulders. The warmth of Sam’s arm as it seeped into her skin was little comfort. Abri struggled with her emotions for a moment. Even after a year of almost virtual silence, it was still so hard to cope. Yes, it would be wonderful to faceplant into a strong man’s chest while he stroked her hair and soothed her. But what about the words she needed to hear? What about the words she wanted to say in return?

“Well, I want sex,” Tasha yelled, and howled with laughter.

Abri shrugged off Sam’s arm and took her plate of food—hardly touched—to the place where they fed the little moon followers. She scraped the contents onto the ground with her fingers. The fish-like things were soft, not scaly. Not unlike marshmallows. The heads and tails were left on—they had no knives to remove them. It always creeped Abri out to see the bulging black dead fish eyes stare vacantly at her while she ate it.

The food that was supposed to be aboard the shuttle had been dropped to aid in their escape. Along with any utensils and plates. A small bush on the planet grew jagged fern-like leaves. They were able to slit the belly of the fish open if they kept the jagged part clutched tight in their four fingers and thumb at the very edge, but the plant wasn’t strong enough to cut through bone.

The skin on the nape of Abri’s neck tingled. She moved around slowly, knowing she was being watched. Abri could see a tiny head poke out around a tree. It was the big male of the moon follower species, their leader. He was perhaps a foot and a half tall. Boldly he moved to stand beside the tree instead of hiding behind it. The creature had nothing to fear from Abri and he knew it. The long grass came to his waist. He offered her a direct stare in recognition.

Abri liked him, his regal stance; she liked his protectiveness towards his mate. He watched over his entire pack. There were fifteen in all. Young and old. It wasn’t the first time Abri wished she was a moon creature—wanted, loved and protected. The moon would be out soon and the leader would herd his pack to food and water. He would take care of them.

The creature’s eyes squinted. The moon beings could see better in the dark. The big male’s mate poked her head around at Abri as well. She could see a little one pressed up against its mother. She didn’t want to interfere with their dinner. Abri headed back to the lake to wash. Up in the sky, the two suns began to set. Soon enough, she would see millions of stars dancing across the heavens. A tuneless melody would play in her mind if she watched the stars long enough. A mind trick. She wasn’t in the mood for it tonight.

The water was tepid as it danced through her fingers. Abri spent a lot of time touching the water—the trees, everything. It was as though the entire planet was a living breathing entity. Or perhaps it was just Abri trying to hear through contact. In the distance, she could see the moon creatures picking through her offering. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Abri thought her sight had improved over the last year. Or perhaps her concentration was more thoughtful.

A small gust of wind fluttered her hair to tickle her cheeks. It made Abri smile—something she rarely did anymore. A school of the silver fish came curiously close to the water’s surface and then just as quickly vanished together. They only flew into the air when the suns were at their peak. Abri wondered if they did it to warm themselves or even regenerate their glowing silver physique.

Giving one last look to her surroundings, Abri went to the make-shift home they had built and strengthened throughout the year. It was made mostly of long, thick grass woven together to keep out rain. The mats were slung over a large bush that poofed up at the top like a massive umbrella, leaving a shelter beneath. The woven grass hung down the sides for walls. A few strategic rocks gave them a solid base to keep the mats from moving.

Oddly enough, no wind ever whipped about, even when it rained. There was the occasional light breeze. There was no thunder or lightning, not that she could hear thunder; Abri felt she might be able to make out the vibration if it occurred. Abri would stand sometimes as the rain poured down on her, feeling it, if not hearing it. In her mind, the sound could be whatever she wanted, anything to match her mood. From a tap, tap to a splash, splash. Tasting its coolness as the deluge floated across her tongue. If it rained during the day, the suns still shone brightly. The planet was a contrast to Earth in that it was a bundle of energy. It appeared to Abri that this planet’s Mother Nature was even-tempered and calm, whereas Earth’s was given a bad dose of PMS times ten thousand.

As Abri settled herself onto her mat, the others began piling in. With the flap open, an orbiting planet, not unlike Earth’s moon, shined brightly enough for her to see everyone. Try as she might, Abri had not mastered the art of lip reading beyond one or two words. Longer sentences were too complex. It was a source of amusement at times, frustrating more often than not.

Tasha was mouthing words at her. Abri scratched her head when she thought Tasha asked her if she wanted something to do with bacon. Tasha was such a bundle of energy all the time. Everything she did was fast—including talking. Abri couldn’t help the blank stare she gave her. Frustrated, Tasha moved her with a shove and sat the rock behind her more firmly over the mat beside Abri.

Once more Abri settled back. She had grown used to the shoving and pushing and hand tugging to get her in motion when words didn’t work. She realized she wasn’t the only one to grow frustrated with her loss of hearing. The women were well-meaning. It was never done in anger. Tasha just wanted to make certain Abri’s sleeping area was secure. If it did rain, no one wanted the water seeping in. They made a point of caring for each other. There were no doctors. Since there were only six of them, the women wanted no more loss to make their lives that much drearier.

Abri sighed. Her hands crept up behind her head to cushion it. The grass wall beside her ruffled then settled. She could feel each soft blade of grass tickle her arms and legs. It wasn’t unpleasant. Abri searched for the feeling. The hut grew darker. It was not unlike the suns’ closing sleepy eyes. She could see the others talking, joking, smiling. Abri felt like an intruder. Even surrounded by people, she was alone.

Abri closed her eyes. Inside the darkness of her mind, for the first few seconds it reminded her of the wormhole and the nothingness. Except in here, Abri could hear her own words. She could turn on sound. She could hear her mother and father calling out that they loved her.

* * * *

“Do you really think there could be humans on this planet, Raiden? It’s been months since Earth has sent any shuttles.”

Raiden cast a fast glance at his male warrior mate. The sky was dark, but he could see perfectly. The green glow of a tattoo on Cace’s face was the only light to shine in their immediate vicinity. Covered in their ebony body armor, Raiden knew any humans wouldn’t see them coming. He thought it a strange peculiarity that humans couldn’t see in the dark.

“I don’t know, Cace. Our craft sensors did show a small vessel, so maybe.”

“I hope there are females,” Cace muttered.

Their small vessel cloaked on voice command and the two large beings began walking. The two males were a match at six-foot-six. They were both powerfully muscled. Their body armor showed off bulging biceps and thick thighs. Raiden could sense his warrior mate was in deep concentration. They were highly tuned to each other’s emotions. Even though Raiden couldn’t see any facial expressions, he could smell Cace’s brooding thoughts.

“Well, if there are, we will need to plan how we introduce ourselves carefully. Cobra says they will be terrified of us. Poor little things. Human males have no body armor; the females aren’t used to seeing it. Strange—but I’m told there were many male humans who could protect their females at one time, at least on Earth. Although I’m uncertain as to how. I’m told we appear very scary to humans in our shields, even to human males.”

“Well, if there are human males, I’m leaving them here,” Cace grouched.

The idea startled Raiden. Which startled him further—he almost always knew what Cace was thinking. “Why?”

“Males outnumber the females on Dargon and Bagron by too much already.”

Raiden couldn’t argue with that. Although, there were very few human males as it was. The Tonans had killed most of them. The ones spared were only children. Raiden still couldn’t get his head around the idea of Cobra allowing a few of the Tonans to return to the Castian fold. Albeit, the ones who had were rendered harmless when they took human females as mates. It appeared human females were like a drug to a Tonan. Their emotions ran so deep even a filthy Tonan warrior couldn’t control empathy for their new mates and the others around them. They were rendered unable to lie or be deceitful. That must have pissed off many Tonans. Raiden didn’t care—he had yet to friend a Tonan and it was doubtful he ever would.

The traitor in their midst, who had poisoned the water and killed their females hundreds of years ago, had been caught and killed. Thanks to, ironically, a human female. There were still many more Tonans who remained renegades. Once Cobra had taken over the planet the humans named Ulsy, the remaining Tonans had fled. Raiden and Cace were on a mission to check out this small planet in a cluster of many. If they found renegades, they were not to engage in battle. Cobra, their leader, would return with a battleship.

Shortly, they came across a small battered shuttle. Raiden looked inside, but it was apparent it was empty. The cockpit was crushed. Debris was strewn around. When he sniffed the air Raiden became thoughtful.

“I smell death.”

“Me too.”

Using brute strength, Raiden pushed apart the protesting, crumpled metal, it squealed as though loathe to give up its victims. As it unfolded, he winced. Humans were so fragile. Whereas he and Cace would have walked away from this wreck unscathed, it appeared two human males weren’t as lucky. Their deaths wouldn’t have been pleasant.

“Poor creatures,” Cace muttered.

Raiden scented his warrior mate’s compassion. He knew immediately if they came across humans, female or male, Cace would not leave them behind. Especially after witnessing the males’ frailty. Castian warriors had been warned humans were delicate beings, but witnessing it was an eye-opener. Human bones could actually be crushed.

“I’m guessing there may be more. Humans rarely traveled to Ulsy in shuttles in numbers less than ten. At least that’s what my brothers’ mates have told me,” Raiden said.

Cace looked at him, then quickly looked away. Even though large bulbs covered their eyes when in body armor, Raiden could almost taste what Cace was thinking. Loy, Raiden’s brother, had taken care of Raiden after their parents were killed. After the water on their planet was poisoned four hundred years ago by a Tonan spy, all of their females died, taking their mates with them. When a Castian mated he mated for life. He gave half of his essence to his mate giving her immortality through his bite and marking her. Their mates, in exchange, gave the Castians half of their essence, which mixed during their mating ritual. The two became one.

Raiden had only been four when his parents died. His sister had died earlier. His mother and father only lived until Raiden’s baby shield was replaced with body armor. After that, his mother was no longer indestructible. Sadly, even a Castian male’s armor couldn’t heal their females; there was no way to tell just when a baby shield would be replaced with armor. The deaths were simultaneously occurring events and unpreventable. The shield detected no danger to its host, because there was no danger as long as the female had a baby shield.

Loy was all Raiden was left with, or so he thought. Another half-brother, Doss, had returned from Ulsy with a mate to become Loy’s new warrior mate. That alone had been a surprise, as Doss was also eight hundred years old, as was Loy. But finding out his new brother was a Tonian hybrid was a shock. The three brothers had the same Castian father—Doss’s mother was Tonan.

Doss was the only hybrid many Castians had ever seen, including Raiden. Thankfully, his new brother was so elated to have a family after living alone for hundreds of years they had become not only brothers, but fast friends. Cace trusted Doss because he scented Raiden’s love for his brother, but he was still somewhat wary around him. Doss was the only being that could slice the armor off either Castian or Tonan. Doss could kill the un-killable.

“If there are more humans, they may not have strayed far,” Raiden said, deciding now was not the time to dwell on his older half-brother.

“This wreck looks old.”

Raiden agreed, but still he was hopeful. It was a human-made vessel—perhaps one of the early few to leave Earth. With a little luck, the Tonans wouldn’t have discovered other survivors. The lack of more bodies was a good sign. The two moved off together searching the surrounding area. In the distance Raiden saw Moonway. Moonway had recently been introduced to their planet, Bagron. They seemed to be crouched over a pile. Raiden sniffed the air. Food, they were eating food. It seemed to be in a small mound. Moonway didn’t heap their food. It was as though it was left as an offering. The creatures looked comfortable eating where they stood.