Hannah's Warrior: Cosmos' Gateway Book 2 (25 page)

“Soon, my Hannah. Soon I
will take you there and you will not only feel it as it runs
through your fingers but I will love you among the silky grains. It
is so soft you can sink down into it and sleep as if upon the
clouds that drift across the sky.”
Borj
said tenderly as he imagined wrapping his arms tightly around
Hannah.

“Tomorrow I am going to try
to escape. We are moving uphill. I still can’t see anything but
trees but I can feel the change in the ground. It is getting
rockier. I think I can hear water in the distance as well.”
Hannah sent an image of where they were to
Borj.

“J’kar and I are following
the ravine near the river. We will be coming upon a set of smaller
waterfalls soon. We are continuing through the night. I can feel
you are closer.”
Borj assured
her.

“Amurr will be meeting up
with us in the afternoon. I’m afraid of what will happen when he
gets here, Borj.”
Hannah said
sadly.

Hannah felt a wave of warmth
surround her before what Borj was saying registered.
“Amurr will not be meeting you, Hannah. He has
been caught. Do not let Mazzum know. He may decide to change his
plans. I do not want to take a chance of him killing you and
disappearing.”

Hannah forced herself to
remain relaxed.
“Thank you. I love you so
much, Borj. I want to spend the rest of my life showing
you.”
Hannah said softly.

“I love you too, ku lei.
Rest if you can. I will be with you soon.”
Borj said tenderly.

Hannah let her mind relax.
She drifted off to dreams of pink sand, wild waves, and even wilder
love making with Borj. As the night slowly faded to light, Hannah
woke with a renewed determination to survive.

Chapter 18

Borj stood on the lower end
of a series of small waterfalls. Further up ahead, he could see a
larger fall. A deep ravine ran down where the river ran cut through
the rock over time. Borj pushed his fatigue aside. Merrick, Core,
Te’mar and his father were in position at different sites
throughout the area where different falls were located. Borj was so
deeply imbedded in Hannah’s mind he was seeing what she was seeing
now. He refused to let her push him away or cut him off for any
reason.

“
J’kar.” Borj called out in a low
voice. “Hold up.”

J’kar paused as he worked his way over a set
of boulders. He turned waiting quietly as Borj stood still
frowning. He was getting images from Hannah she probably wasn’t
even aware she was sending him. He saw the taller fall up ahead of
them. They were climbing up a steep path leading up to the falls.
He could almost feel the spray from the water as it fell around
Hannah. The rocks were slippery. Hannah was in front. Borj watched
as she turned. Bachman was behind her with Mazzum following up
behind them.

Borj watched as if in slow
motion as Hannah turned at a sound behind her. Bachman slipped on
one of the stones. Mazzum moved to grip Bachman’s arm but suddenly
he fell back a step with a stunned look on his face. Hannah’s eyes
widened as she saw the knife wound in Mazzum’s side. Bachman picked
up one of the rocks lying loose and struck Mazzum on the side of
the head knocking him down and over the ledge of the narrow path.
Borj lost sight of Bachman as Hannah’s eyes followed the falling
body of Mazzum as it disappeared before whipping back to Bachman so
fast Borj felt a moment of disorientation.

“
What is it?” J’kar asked in concern
sliding back down the rock to grab hold of Borj when he put a hand
to his head to steady himself.

“
Bachman just attacked Mazzum. He
stabbed him and knocked him over the edge of the path. They are at
the upper falls.” Borj said hoarsely as he saw Bachman was looking
savagely at Hannah who was backing away from him. “He is going
after Hannah.” Borj said in a panic.

“
Let’s go.” J’kar said gripping Borj’s
arm and dragging him after him.

Both men started moving
quickly over the boulders, cursing as they had to find different
ways around them at times. Borj could feel Hannah’s panic as she
scrambled to get away from Bachman. J’kar was talking quickly into
his comlink letting the others know they knew where Hannah was and
they needed help.

Borj’s heart was in his
throat as he saw Hannah made it up to an upper ledge. She was
trying to climb up a section of rock when Bachman came up behind
her and grabbed her, throwing her down onto the slippery ledge.
Borj felt murderous rage build inside him as he saw the look in
Bachman’s eyes as he stared down into Hannah’s. The bastard was
going to die a long and painful death if Borj had his
way.

Hannah watched as if in slow
motion as Bachman stabbed Mazzum. Her instincts were screaming for
her to get to the upper ledge of the falls. She didn’t know why but
her gut was saying if she could get there she could get away.
Hannah had been so focused on the feeling telling her to get to the
top that she was almost oblivious to the two men behind her. She
was moving with the easy grace of years of covering treacherous
terrain. When she heard Mazzum cursing as Bachman fell again she
thought this might be the break she needed. She was about to take
off when something told her to look around. She never expected
Bachman to have the nerve to attack Mazzum much less be successful
at it. It was the look in Bachman’s eyes, though, that made her
frozen limbs defrost. He had murder and revenge in his
eyes.

Hannah turned as quickly as
she safely could and began climbing. She had to get to the ledge up
above. She knew if she did she had a chance to escape. Hannah felt
a sense of triumph which quickly changed to horror as she realized
the ledge lead to a steep climb straight up. She was about five
feet up when Bachman grabbed her leg pulling her off the rocks she
was trying to climb. Hannah hit the slippery ledge hard on her hip,
crying out at the impact. She quickly scrambled up to stand along
the edge.

Bachman’s grin was pure
insanity. “Now that the bastard is dead it is just you and me,
darling. I want to know how to get off this fucking planet and you
are going to tell me.” Bachman said menacingly. “I hope you don’t
tell me too quickly, though. I’m looking forward to ringing
every…little…piece…of…information…from…your…delicate…little…body.”
Bachman said slowly as he took a small, menacing step towards
her.

Hannah glanced over her shoulder at the
nearly forty foot drop to the basin far below where the waterfall
fell into a pool of water before rushing down a series of smaller
drops. Hannah looked back at Bachman with a small smile. Her gut
was right. This was where she needed to be.

Looking at Bachman, Hannah
tilted her head slightly to the side staring him straight in the
eye. “You’ll never get off this planet alive.” Hannah said softly.
“I’m glad Mazzum showed you what it is like to be helpless. At
least you had a taste of your own medicine before you die. My one
hope is you can experience what you did to my sister when you
stabbed her. Only, I don’t think anyone is going to give a damn
about you bleeding to death. Go to hell, Bachman. It’s where you
belong.” Hannah added fiercely before she turned on her heel and
jumped off the ledge.

Hannah felt a sense of
freedom as her body fell through the air. She quickly tucked her
arms to her side, drew in a deep breath, and braced for impact with
the water below. As soon as her feet hit the water she spread them
to stop her momentum. She felt the current grab her immediately and
suck her down to the next set of small falls. She didn’t fight the
current but let it take her body. She briefly broke the surface and
drew in a desperate breath of air before she was pulled back under.
She felt her body hit a set of smaller boulders but she was able to
push off of them before she felt herself falling again. She hit the
bottom and tumbled along it, the force of it pushing precious
breaths of oxygen out of her lungs. Hannah pushed up with all her
strength trying to slow her speed but the current was too strong.
She forced herself not to panic when her body started screaming for
air. On one of her tumbles, she was able to pull in another
desperate breath. Hannah felt her body free-falling again before
she hit another turbulent wall of water. Hannah fought to get
oriented herself enough to know which way was the shoulder of the
river. She struggled trying to stop her tumbling body. She felt the
current rip one of her shoes off as it pulled her relentlessly
downstream.

Hannah’s fingers grabbed one
of the rocks when she was pushed up against it. She pulled her head
above the water gasping. She grappled to get a better hold but
between the current and the slickness of the rock, she could feel
her grip loosening.

“Borj, I love you.”
Hannah called out as a sense of peace started to
settle over her as a combination of cold and fatigue sapped what
little energy she had left.
“I’m so
sorry.”
Hannah whispered as her fingers
lost their hold on the boulder and she slipped under the water one
last time.

Borj and J’kar were almost to the bottom of
the first set of lower falls from the ledge where Hannah, Bachman,
and Mazzum were when something told him to look up. His heart was
in his throat as he saw Hannah standing on the edge of the ledge
with Bachman moving menacingly towards her with a bloody knife in
his hand. His heart actually stopped for a moment when he saw
Hannah jump from the ledge into the falls. He watched in stunned
disbelief as her delicate body hit the water below and disappeared
only to resurface briefly as it was carried down one of the lesser
falls.

“
Go to her!” J’kar yelled out as he
began moving rapidly towards Bachman. “I will get that
bastard.”

Borj turned and began moving
rapidly down the edge of the ravine they were following. He
practically flew over the boulders, jumping from one to another as
he fought to keep his eyes on Hannah’s body as it was being tossed
about in the freezing, turbulent waters. He watched in horror as
she slipped over another set of small drop-offs. He quickly rushed
down the edge of the embankment, jumping onto one of the boulders
over the water and slid into the water not far behind her. He felt
his own body lose weight as he fell through the air. He surfaced
fighting to see where Hannah was. He caught a brief glimpse before
she disappeared again under the water. He fought to push himself
faster through the water after her. Up ahead, he caught a brief
glimpse of her clinging to a boulder. Borj fought his way towards
her. He was almost there when he felt her soft words echo through
his mind before she slipped away from him.

Anguish unlike anything he knew filled Borj.
With a cry of denial, he fought against the current trying to keep
him from Hannah. Borj kicked out frantically with a burst of energy
driven by fear and adrenaline. He saw Hannah’s body roll limply in
the freezing water. Reaching out, his fingers twisted in the
material of her shirt. He felt it slip from her body as the ruined
material came undone from the knot she had tied. He reached out
again with his other hand wrapping it around her cold arm. Pulling
forcefully, he dragged Hannah’s battered body to his, wrapping his
arm more securely around her slender waist.

Borj pushed exhaustively
against the current until he was in calmer water. Once he was able
to get his feet under him, he stood on shaky limbs and pushed
desperately towards shore. Borj collapsed down onto the small
pebbles lining the riverbank. He turned Hannah’s limp body over
swearing when he saw her blue lips and sightless eyes. He felt
frantically at her neck. He couldn’t find a pulse. He closed his
eyes searching inward. He finally found what he was looking for.
Wrapping the tiny sliver of light tightly with his own, he forced
Hannah’s life force to stay inside her. He refused to let her go.
If she went, then they would go together.

“Let me go.”
The faintest of whispers brushed his
mind.

“Never!”
Borj said gently as he began pushing the water out
of Hannah’s lungs and breathing for her.
“If you go, then I go with you. I told you we are one. I will
always be there for you, Hannah, in life and in death.”

“Tired.”
Hannah whispered back as the tiny life force
inside her flickered and dimmed.

“Then, rest. I will take
care of you.”
Borj said tenderly.
“Sleep as long as you need but live…for us, for
our children, for your family.”

Borj felt the moment Hannah
took her first breath on her own. Her eyes slowly closed and her
color slowly changed from the pale blue to a soft, translucent pale
peach. Borj sank down onto the rough pebbles and pulled Hannah’s
cold body into his arms. Pulling his damp vest off, he covered her
gently. His eyes followed the telling bruises covering her breasts,
arms, and waist. He gently touched the cut along her throat with a
shaky hand. Rocking back and forth, he lowered his head until it
rested against Hannah’s damp hair and cried silent tears. That was
how his father found him a short time later.

Teriff walked slowly towards
his younger son. Teriff felt his heart breaking at the sight of his
proud son sitting holding his bond mate’s fragile body against him
protectively. He thought of Tresa and knew he would never survive
the loss of her. He remembered his first meeting with Tink and how
angry he was that such a tiny thing could be considered strong
enough to be a mate to his son. Now, he realized that despite their
size, these human females possessed an unusual amount of strength
and courage. J’kar called for them to come as soon as they saw
Hannah jump. Merrick and Core retrieved Mazzum. He was wounded but
not dead…not yet anyway. J’kar told him of what happened. His son’s
mate was a true warrior.