Rebel Pax (Shifters of the Primus Book 2)

I
sigh aloud
and nearly jab myself with a sewing needle. I’m one of ten seamstresses that take care of outfitting the entire human colony on the jungle planet of Markul. It’s a small settlement of about 5,000 humans, but we’re all that’s left.

“Daydreaming again?” asks Aria.

I try to scowl at her but my attempt must come up short because she only giggles.

“I’m not daydreaming,” I say. “I’m
lamenting
. There’s a big difference.”

“Oh?” asks Aria. She has thick black hair and an infectious smile that touches her whole face.

I sigh again, this time as a smile creeps onto my own lips. Leave it to Aria to ruin a perfectly good brooding session with a smile. “Yes,” I say. “Daydreaming is for people who still believe something good will happen. Lamenting is for people who know they are stuck right where they are. And for people who know they are never going to find the right guy.”

“I don’t think it’s so bad here. . . At least we can keep each other company.”

“You’re the only reason I don’t use one of these needles to fight my way out of here,” I say, mock-jabbing a sewing needle like a fencer.

She giggles. “The door is right there, Mira. You could just get up and walk out any time. No stabbing required.”

My smile fades. “Like it’s that easy,” I say more sourly than I intend to. Aria is sweet, and I know she only means well. “Sorry. I just wouldn’t make it for an hour out there alone. This planet is like a psychopath's worst nightmare. Did you hear there is a plant out there called the
Spit-foot?
They say it will spit acid on you if you step on it, but it disguises itself to look like a tree root. While its victims dissolve, it grows around them and—”

“Okay, vivid image,” says Aria. “That’s plenty.”

“My point is that unless I get a
job
traveling, there’s no point.”

“Well, what’s so great about traveling?”

“I could meet new people, for one. I know every single man in the human colony. Haven’t you daydreamed even a little about one of the Primus males
claiming
you? I mean… Think about it. I heard some go their whole lives never even taking a woman and then one day,
boom.
It’s like some kind of chemical reaction and they just click with one female until the day they die. Can you imagine?”

Aria blushes. “No thanks. They are brutes.
Sexy as hell
, yes, but terrifying. I think I’ll pass.”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I mean, they can’t
all
be mean savages, right? Besides, I kind of think it’d be exciting to have some…big, muscular savage just, you know,
claim
me. Protect me...”

Aria laughs. “You say that now. It would be another story when he is carrying you over his shoulder to his cave to do gods know what.”

“Seriously though, I just want to
get out of here
. It’s like I feel trapped.”

“Mira,” says Aria. “I’ve never asked you before...but if you want to travel so badly and be anywhere but here, why did you resign when they assigned you to be an ambassador?”

The blood rushes to my cheeks. I pick at a loose thread on my blouse, not meeting her eye. I had hoped she wouldn’t ask. I would do what I did again, but to say it out loud sounds childish.

“It was just,” I say quietly. “It wasn’t how I wanted it to happen. As much as I want to travel and as much as I want to show everyone that I’m not just some dainty speck of dust that’ll blow away in a strong breeze, it wasn’t right. I remember how proud I was to tell my sister and Kato. But later that night I found out that I only got the position because the admiral was trying to get in good with Kato. So…” I trail off, the memory of how hurt I was making my throat thick and my eyes water. I don’t want Aria to see me cry so I just stop talking and continue tugging at the thread on my blouse.

“Mira, I didn’t know. I’m sorry. But hey! I have an idea. My uncle is one of the transport pilots and he’s always saying they are short-staffed. I bet if you offered to work after hours flying transports they wouldn’t turn you down.”

I look up at her, the sadness of memory retreating as fast as it came. “Really? Do you actually think they would let me?”

“No promises, but I’ll put in a good word with Uncle Barsa.”

I give her a quick hug and get up, dropping my sewing needle to the table.

“Mira! Wait. We still have two hours in our shift!”

I grin at her over my shoulder and run for the door. I hear Overseer Helen shout after me. She says something about docked pay and extra duty, but I barely hear her. For the first time in months, I dare to daydream. I picture myself in a shuttle flying over exotic places and seeing creatures I never imagined existing. The thought gives me butterflies. I even spare a wild thought for the possibility of meeting a Primus male. Maybe even one with golden skin like Kato, meaning they come from a royal bloodline.

In my daydreams, I picture myself wrapped up with a Primus with skin as golden as the sun, his strong arms around me. But I don’t have time for wild thoughts like that. The Primus males are extremely selective and only seem to claim the most outlandishly beautiful human females. And even if one did claim me, the chances of him being a golden royal are astronomically small.

I weave through a crowded section of the settlement where people are haggling for extra supplies and pass the dining hall. Eventually, I reach the port, where three shuttles are on standby. I ask if anyone knows a man named Barsa and am quickly directed to a short, stocky man with a gray mustache.

P
erhaps today
I will find a beast capable of granting the death I desire. I exit the cave I call home and use a well-worn Loris tree root to slide down, gaining speed until I sink beneath the waist-high leaves of The Shallows. Most of the Primus believe the entire Dead Sea to be a fathomless depth of fallen leaves and bark, infested with nameless beasts that can swallow men whole. I did too when I set aside my crown and went into exile. I thought to dive into the depths and fight until I was torn apart. But I have found no creature that is my match.

I use the shallow areas to go “fishing.” I walk slowly until I sense a drop-off beneath the leaves. Then I sit, letting myself sink until only my head and neck rise above the leaves. I close my eyes, meditating, wishing that today will be the day
it
finds me.

In the early years of my exile, I came across a beast unlike any I have yet seen. It had two arms that were as thick as the trunks of Loris trees. Its shoulders were wider than most buildings, and its teeth were as long as a full-grown Primus male. I only glimpsed it in the far distance, ripping apart any creature that came near it. I knew this was the beast that could give me the death I desired. I hunted it for months, but it moved so quickly there was no hope of catching it. So now I wait until the day it would return and grant me the death through battle I seek.

There is a tearing sound above, as if the sky is being ripped in two. I shield my eyes against the broken rays of sun filtering through the trees that tower above. A shuttle weaves its way toward me, slowly sinking and spewing black smoke. Another ship screams past, firing a missile that corkscrews through the air and explodes against a Loris tree beside the damaged shuttle. The shuttle is blown sideways by the shockwave and shower of debris and then loses all power, spinning end over end as it loses altitude. With a muted thud, it thumps into the surface, caught by a huge leaf that bears its weight.

For a moment, I do nothing. The pointless fighting of the Primus clans no longer interests me. Let them squabble over invisible borders if they like. Let them war over females. I have long since given up hope that I will ever find a female who is worth my claim. And even if I did, it is unlikely that I would be driven from my path of self-destruction. I am about to close my eyes and resume my meditation when I see the first Primus emerge from the shuttle. Green skin. Of the Umani clan, then, most likely. Though he could be from the Deep South, but it’s unlikely. The next to emerge is small—a child, perhaps. No. I squint, my powerful eyes bringing it into focus. A female.

She has golden hair as bright as the sunrise. I have never seen anything like it before. The beast within me stirs for the first time in many months. My inner panther growls, urging me to get closer and see if this female is worthy of my claim. It has always been more curious than I, and now it drives me to go see this strange creature up close. I close my eyes against the unwelcome feelings.

I have not wished for anything but a good death in so long. The desire to see more. . . No, it is not my wish to
see
her that drives me, it is a need to protect. It glows hot within me like molten metal, unavoidable and warm enough to crack the armor I have put up. Though I risk my honor in doing so, I will go to the shuttle. I will protect this woman with golden hair from the horrors that are surging toward her from beneath the dead leaves, unseen for now but not for long.

Roughly three hundred yards separate us, but I know what lies beneath the leaves by memory. I follow a winding series of tree roots that lie just beneath the surface. Though fallen leaves the size of houses, broken wood, and plant debris are up to my waist, I move quickly. I jump atop the leaves and run across before they have time to sink and give way under me. I power through anything else, the strong muscles of my legs and torso proving more than a match for wood and plant matter.

A keening shriek rings out. A
korvassa
. I glance to the East and see it breach the surface of The Dead Sea. It is bigger than most—probably fifteen feet long. It has spiked wings that it uses to weave beneath the leaves and a long, flexible body. It has sharp teeth and will bite, but its tail is the most dangerous. As it leaps high enough to be silhouetted by the sun, I see the outline of its spiked tail, each barb carrying enough poison to kill a fully-grown Primus male on contact.

I’ve nearly reached them when the
korvassa
lands by the shuttle. Three Primus warriors have emerged, spears held at the ready. Two human males with glowing green rifles limp from the shuttle after the Primus. The
korvassa
arcs toward them, landing mouth-first on one warrior and swallowing him whole. It punches through the leaf their shuttle sits on and submerges itself before the humans fire a shot or the Primus land a blow.

I reach the leaf and see the golden-haired woman up close. I nearly stop mid-stride. In that singular moment, the crackling of dead leaves beneath me dies out. The sound of the Primus battlecries dies out. Time slows to a near standstill. I feel as though I watch her turning her head to regard me play out over several minutes instead of the fraction of a second it takes. Her hair catches a shaft of light, glowing as if it is pure gold aflame. Her large eyes widen slightly when they find me. Her pupils dilate. Even from where I stand several yards away, I hear her heartbeat quicken.

I am glad that this creature from the stars has small ears, or she would shame me by knowing how much my heart quickens as well.

H
e is an angel
. But no. My first thought is just adrenaline and fear talking. I see the slightly pointed ears and superhuman proportions that mark him as a Primus. Except he has blue skin and golden eyes—an oddity I have never seen among the Primus. Hadn’t Kato said only royalty had golden skin? What do golden eyes signify? And what would a king or prince be doing out here in the middle of—

My thoughts are cut short. The nightmare creature bursts up from the leaf we’re standing on, twisting in the air and then flexing its wings to control its descent. To my horror, it is flying straight toward me. It happens so fast. Its teeth are so big. . .

I close my eyes.

Something roars deeply, too deep for it to be the high-pitched cry of the beast. Wind rushes past me, nearly knocking me on my side. I open my eyes in time to see a blue blur streak before me. The blue Primus
tackled
it. But how? The creature is three times his size. The surviving two Umani clansmen Kato sent to protect me charge in to help him. They jab at its hide with their spears but it has some sort of scaled carapace. Their spears break uselessly against it. One of the human soldiers fires his weapon and green plasma sprays off the monster’s carapace harmlessly.

The Primus is
punching
it. The creature snaps and bites at him but he is too fast. He ducks, pulls back, or stands still if it feints a bite. It’s as if he knows where it will strike before it happens. Each time it misses, he lands a series of thundering punches against the soft places on its head. One of the Umani warriors gets clipped by its thrashing tail. He immediately turns a dark red and falls to the ground, twitching. A purple tentacle bursts through the leaf and grabs the other warrior by the leg. He screams and hacks at it with his broken spear, but is pulled down into the leaves below. A spray of spores from above catches the two soldiers and they fall to the ground vomiting blood. The other girls with me run back into the shuttle, but I can’t seem to make my legs work.

I feel like I’m in a dream. I’m going to die in this place. All because I wanted to prove I was strong. But I’m not. Look at me. I’m not even doing anything. . .
No
. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get off your ass.

I run to the shuttle, a hazy plan forming as another purple tentacle nearly catches my foot. I still hear the meaty thud of the blue Primus’ fists crashing into the beast. One of the purple tentacles wraps around his neck but he bites straight through it before it can get a hold on him.

Inside the shuttle, I push past the whimpering Kolari ambassador. The Kolari’s beautifully done hair is still in place and her supple pink skin is still perfectly toned even after our crash landing. She clutches at me as I pass but I kick her hands away. I find the floor-hatch that leads to the shuttle’s engine. As I hoped, it’s not too badly damaged. Just the auxiliary wiring that connects it to the thrusters was fried in the attack. To my relief, the construction doesn’t seem vastly different from what I worked with as a greaser back before we landed on Markul.

“What are you doing?” asks the Kolari.

“Improvising,” I say.

I find the power core. It still glows orange but the handle is cool to the touch. Then I break open the ignition box and find a starter. I click it twice and watch electricity arc across the two nodes. Perfect.

I run back outside to see the snake-thing with wings lying on its side, dead. The Primus is pulling the tentacle creature up by one of its arms. But behind him, I see a shark-like fin in the leaves. It is moving toward him, and
fast.
Well, the situation has changed, but I can still do something. I run to the edge of the leaf and click the starter. I press it to the insulation on the power core for a few seconds until the insulation burns blue with heat. Then I throw the core toward the rapidly approaching fin.

I run as fast as I can, covering my ears.

The sound of his growls of struggle and the leaves dies for a second, and then it erupts as the core implodes. A shockwave of force pushes me a few feet forward and I fall to my face. I blink, head spinning. Then something wet lands on my leg. I flip over and see bits of gore raining down from the sky. I nearly throw up. Whatever I blew up with the reactor is still falling around us when the blue Primus reaches the tentacle creature’s head. He punches his arm into its gooey flesh and pulls something free that kills the beast.

He turns to me, face serious. I get my first good look at him. He is bigger than any Primus I have ever seen, maybe even Kato. He wears only a ragged pair of leather pants that are torn in places, revealing the smooth blue skin beneath. His face is vaguely feline, with sharp cheekbones and slightly pointed ears, almost like an elf from old Earth vids. Except no elf ever looked so terrifying. And he’s definitely not built like one. He has startlingly gold eyes. A thick tangle of dark hair frames his face, but his jaw is powerful and his body is thick with sharply defined muscle. I follow the crease that runs down the center of his chest and through his eight-pack, blushing when my eyes reach the bulge of his cock beneath the leather pants. I can see its outline against his thigh, and it’s . . . Well, it’s . . . Yeah.

And then he grabs me. I am too shocked to scream. He holds me with one arm beneath my knees and another behind my neck.

The Kolari woman calls to him from the shuttle. “Wait!” she screams. Her makeup runs down from where she has been crying, but she is still more beautiful than I will ever be. She takes two steps off the shuttle and then falls to her knees, shaking with sobs. “Please, don’t leave me here. You don’t want to take that boring human girl, do you? She cannot bring you the pleasure I can.”

The Primus speaks. “Your kind are like leeches. You tempt the weak among my people and bring weakness to our proud species. Save yourself, if you are worthy.”

“Wait,” I say. “Please, you can’t just leave her.”
Even if she is a total bitch.

He growls. He actually
growls
. I immediately regret every time I ever wished for a Primus to be in my life. The reality of fear washes away any girlish fantasies I had about them. This is real. And this Primus is more dangerous than all those creatures combined. But, to my surprise, he listens to me.

I only have time to wonder how he’ll carry both of us when something like a shark mixed with a bear breaks through the leaf beneath her, flying into the air several dozen feet, swallowing her whole, and then landing back in the leaves.

With me still over his shoulder, Pax takes off in the other direction, leaving the monster to its feast.

I didn’t
like
the Kolari woman, but still. The terror on her face when he said he was leaving her wasn’t easy to see. And I’m suddenly afraid of what this brutal male is going to do with me. Or
to
me.

When I see where he’s running I do scream. We’re about to plunge into the leaves. But we don’t. There’s a slight jolt as we sink a few feet and then he lands on something firm, as if the leaves and debris don’t slow him at all, he charges forward. All I can see ahead is an endless expanse of tree trunks rising from the leaves and broken shafts of sunlight. The dead leaves seem to stretch forever.

“Where are you taking me?” I shout at him over the roaring wind in my ears.

“Somewhere else.”

I nearly roll my eyes. “Where else?”

“This way.”

This time I do roll my eyes. Is he being difficult on purpose? “What will we reach if we keep going this way?”

“A cave.”

Great. Because it makes perfect sense to run into a cave when we are trying to avoid monsters. Don’t monsters
live
in caves? I start to consider jumping, but realize this massive, frustrating alien is the only thing between me and a quick death. I also realize that ever since we have been running, the wind isn’t the only sound in my ears. I hear something—some
things—
following behind us and moving fast. I try to look, but his stupid big chest and shoulders block my entire view.

He does smell nice though. . . It’s a musty scent that is subtle but somehow powerful at the same time. I look left and then right, as if there’s anyone to notice what I’m about to do. I let the movement of his running jostle my head against the warmth of his chest. His skin is hot against me, speckled with sweat. But the smell. . . I want to keep breathing it in. Vivid images flash in my mind.
Dirty
images. I imagine him on top of me and his—Okay, Mira. Get your nose away from the guy’s chest and stop being such a pervert.

I take one more guilty sniff, and then remind myself that I’m probably going to die. Soon. Maybe the creatures will catch us. Maybe this Primus only saved me so he could ravage me and then toss me aside when he gets bored. I don’t think so though. Maybe that’s just my downstairs brain talking, though. Just because he
looks
like perfection, it doesn’t mean he is.

Then I see it. All Loris trees are big, but this one makes them look like Earth trees by comparison; a series of huge roots, each wide enough across to build a house on, spiders out from its trunk. At the spot where one root meets the trunk, I see a shadowed opening. The Primus runs us straight toward it. Just before we reach it, he grunts. Something flies over our heads, blotting out the light for a moment. I cover my face with my hands and curl into the Primus. He leans forward to shield me, but a small, sharp pain in my leg makes me cry out.

I immediately feel light-headed. My world spins. I hear his voice growing fuzzier until everything goes black.