Alien Paladin's Woman: SciFi Alien-Human Military Suspense Romance (8 page)

Audrey didn't know what to say to that, but she moaned when he kissed her again, gently this time, cupping her face in his strong hands. When they parted, he looked focused once more, but on his duties instead of her.

"Come," he said, turning away. "We have a chance to see our enemy at last."

Audrey wanted to say something about there being
so many
better things to do than looking at a monstrosity, but that would have been impossible to explain to a paladin. She went after him, not missing the glances he threw her way. He adjusted his step, walking slower to allow her to keep his pace.

She couldn't stop wondering what it all meant, even when they reached the bridge and Tieran ordered a crew member to bring up the vid.

Paladins don't do stuff like that
, she thought.
But I don't do simple kisses that don't go anywhere either.

Clearly, there needed to be some sort of understanding between them now that they'd established the obvious attraction.

Yet even that ominous thought couldn't stop Audrey from admiring the way Tieran commanded the bridge with ease, turning every pair of eyes to him without asking for attention. He dealt out orders and directions, looking her way every once in a while to see if she was still there.

Finally the vid came up and Audrey went to Tieran, wanting to see his reaction first. After all, it wasn't her that had to fight the monster.

The vid showed a little boy, standing in the middle of a street. People kept walking by him, some even knocking into the child, but he didn't move from his place. After it had been going on for almost a minute, a man approached him, clearly suggesting that he move out of the way of the foot traffic.

Audrey waited with a thudding heart, ready to wince when the monster came crushing down, but that never happened.

Instead, the boy smiled. She knew what it was instantly, seeing the same empty, hollow grin. The boy reached out his arm, pulled it back then and punched it right through the man's stomach. Audrey could hear screams from all around them as the boy pushed his other hand into the wound as well and ripped the howling man in two, right down the middle.

There were people rushing closer and Audrey saw paladins in huge armors, glaives held ready at full length. The vid cut a second after the boy's smile stretched impossibly wide and something gigantic and black emerged from it.

There were no sounds on the bridge for a long moment before Audrey whispered: "The Fearless... it's a Jorcossi now."

A
s Tieran watched the vid
, his prevailing emotion was curiosity.

The Fearless had plagued the galaxy for thousands of years, Palians knew that very well. While other species didn't always keep their history, Palians most certainly did. Records put the appearance of the Fearless long before the Galactic Union was founded, in a past so long gone it was hard to imagine.

Back then, they had been an even worse nuisance, because the cooperation between different species had been practically nonexistent. Making contact with others mostly resulted in trade relations or war or both. It was far too easy for the Fearless to sow seeds of terror all across the galaxy back then, and Tieran was sure that there were several civilizations that had been wiped out by the creatures.

Palians thought of those times as the dark days. Before the Union, before the comfort of being able to call one of the invincible Brion generals to deal with any enemy, it had been every species for itself.

Tieran knew for a fact that the Fearless were one of the main reasons – perhaps the only one – for the creation of paladins. Palians weren't naturally hostile to anything, but they quickly realized the need to be able to protect what was important. They couldn't afford to confront the galaxy defenseless.

Ever since those days, there had been seventeen documented sightings of a Fearless. Some had been killed, some disappeared after they achieved their purpose, but ultimately they remained the same.

Audrey's words rang true and hollow through the reigning silence on the bridge. The only comfort the galaxy had ever had when it came to Fearless was that the creatures
looked
the part. They were impossible to miss, which made it possible to both find and escape them.

Now it had been taken from them.

"Can it do that?" Audrey was asking.

The female's eyes were wide, unbelieving. Tieran thought he would have loved to feel the same disbelief, but not trusting his very own eyes wasn't a luxury he could afford.

"Apparently it can," he said.

Audrey turned to him, the same emotion now turned in his direction.

"How can you be so calm?" she asked quietly. "That thing... it could be anyone right now."

"Yes," Tieran admitted, raising his voice then to be heard all over the bridge. "I want you all to take a good look at this. The Fearless have evolved and are more dangerous than ever."

He paused, letting his words sink in, before continuing: "But this is not anything new. Fearless have always changed and we have always adapted. It is a major disadvantage not to know when the attack might come or if it possesses any other qualities the Jorcossi have.

“That is true, but it does not change the very nature of this monster. It is still Fearless, named after the core principle of the creature. It can't stop hunting what it wants. For now, it is the lifestones. Undoubtedly the end goal is to use the power of the stones to dominate everything around it, just like every Fearless before it has sought to do. Ultimately, it will reveal itself and I will kill it."

His words echoed in the room and Tieran saw the immediate effect they had. His voice was a weapon like everything else about him, made to instill faith and confidence in anyone he addressed.

He was very careful not to use it on Audrey when they were alone. He didn't want her to obey. His very being hungered for her honest, pure affection.

Right now, Audrey was as mesmerized as everyone else, but in the end, she was a Terran. They had skepticism in their blood.

"You make it sound so easy," she said. "The Fearless are horrible even without gaining another edge over you."

"That's right," he agreed. "But it
is
easy. Not the fight to come itself. We must prepare with more care than ever before. The fact that we will need to kill it is the easy truth. It can't be allowed to have the lifestone. Imagine what it could do with that."

Audrey's face told him that she had a very good imagination.

Her eyes turned back to the vid, now playing again for everyone on the bridge to see. Tieran wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, to tell her that everything was going to be alright, but he couldn't make that promise.

Only that he would keep her safe, would protect her to his last breath.

He wondered if she knew that. If the little Terran knew she was turning his life upside down simply by existing, ripping all control from his hands.

He thought he was prepared for anything. But he hadn’t been prepared for her.

"The bracelet," he said simply. "In the light of this revelation, it's vital that we catch the Jorcossi as soon as possible. There is nothing more important in the galaxy right now."

That simple Palian truth had never felt so untrue before. Looking at Audrey smile bravely and nod, knowing that he was calling on her to hurt herself again by leading them in the right direction, Tieran wondered when exactly did she replace his sense of duty with such longing that it was painful to stay away from her.

"Alright," Audrey said. "I'm ready."

He took her into his arms gently, knowing it helped to dull the effect the lifestone had on her. Tieran had immediately informed the Palian scientists of her situation, asking them to look into curing her from the connection that pained her so. If anything were to happen to the bracelet, she'd be defenseless against it.

So far, the scientists were baffled by her condition. There shouldn't have been any remaining symptoms once she let the stone go.

He already knew he would give his life for Audrey if need be, but he didn't know how to defend her against something unseen and untouchable.

She removed the bracelet, standing above the galactic map with the pilot waiting to adjust their course. In the last few days, they had been making good speed, but the closer they got, the more it hurt Audrey to lead them.

Tieran couldn't wait until they were close enough to track the ship with their own technology and no longer had to torture her like that.

Audrey's entire body shook and a small scream escaped her lips. He had learned that there was a great pride in her, refusing to admit pain even when it was obvious to see.

She gritted her teeth and opened her eyes, looking at the map. Her hand in his was cold like the depths of the mountains back on Verien. He helped her point, feeling her body tremble against him, wracked under an assault he couldn't feel.

The pilot was taking notes, marking down the direction Audrey was giving them, making sure she pinpointed it as precisely as possible. The map kept zooming in and Audrey's finger moved over the glass surface, narrowing down the location of the enemy ship.

Finally the pilot nodded and went to insert the new course into the ship's navigation system.

Tieran reached for her hand to help snap the bracelet back on when Audrey screamed. It was not a sound a human throat was supposed to make. She threw her head back, collapsing in his arms, a high, pitching cry falling over her lips.

Tieran grabbed her wrist and started to lock the bracelet, but Audrey pushed him away.

The little Terran actually knocked him away, but she seemed surprised by her own strength. He was up in a second, ready to face anything, the same objectless prayer in his head as on the station.

Don't let her be a host.

Though the scans had brought up nothing, he couldn’t escape the slim possibility that she could still be a vessel. If she was, he’d be utterly devastated.

Audrey was shaking her head, whimpering quietly. She had stopped screaming but it was clear she was suffering.

"Wait, wait," she panted. "I see something else. Let me... I can find it."

"Find what?" Tieran asked, although he could already guess.

"The Fearless," Audrey said, her eyes filled with tears.

He pulled her back into his arms, hoping it protected her from the pain, at least a little. Audrey was now crying, but under the tears her eyes were determined.

"You can't take this much longer," Tieran said. "We will find the Fearless, I promise."

"I can almost see it..." she replied. "Just give me a second."

"Audrey–" he warned, running his fingers over her skin. "You are turning to ice. You need to put the bracelet back on."

She shook her head furiously.

Tieran could feel Audrey shake so hard she nearly twisted herself out of his grip. He had never been so conflicted in his life.

On one hand, no one understood sacrifice in the name of a higher cause like paladins did. If it was Tieran himself, he would have taken the punishment unflinchingly, but it was a whole other matter to watch Audrey endure it.

On the other hand, she was free to choose her own path like every being in the galaxy and she wanted to help. He couldn't deny that to her, but he wasn't prepared to let her die before his very eyes.

"The lifestone," Audrey whispered, " It – It's already in the Fearless' hands. It has it. It wants more."

That was incredibly bad, but Tieran was a Palian – any information she gained was useful, it would help them all to put the picture together, to find and fight the monster. He had to weigh it rationally.

Already he sensed that the new skills of the Fearless made more sense if it possessed a piece of the lifestone.

Audrey's flesh was becoming too cold to touch, but Tieran refused to let go of her. Everyone on the bridge had stopped what they had been doing, their eyes focused on him and her as they waited to hear what they were going to face at the end of their chase.

"No," she said. "I was wrong. It doesn't have it. Like you said... it's
in
it. It is one with the lifestone now. Tieran, it –
it saw me
!"

Everything happened incredibly fast after that.

As a born warrior, Tieran was bred to be better than anything the galaxy might throw against him. His reflexes were honed by years and years of hard, relentless training and naturally keen senses. Yet the warning only came a fraction of a second before Audrey's eyes clouded over and the little Terran struck him.

This time, the force was enough to throw him right into the bridge wall, but it hadn't been Audrey who hit him.

The roar that came from her throat as she rose was definitely not her either.

For a second, Tieran stared eye to eye with a presence that was using her as a conduit. Endless hatred and hunger flared in the beautiful green eyes that were not suited for those emotions.

His armor changed and he shook the glaive open. Every paladin on the bridge rounded up, surrounding Audrey.

"Don't hurt her," he ordered roughly. "
Audrey
, you have to put the bracelet back on–"

He didn't have time to finish the sentence before she charged, knocking a two-ton console out of the way like it was made of paper. When Tieran saw a horrible bruise on her hand, fury roared in him. The Fearless was giving her the power, but it was using a body that wasn't meant to channel that sort of strength, uncaring of what happened to her.

"Audrey!" he called, jumping out of the way of her.

It would have been so easy. The Fearless was tempting him to strike at her, but Tieran refused to harm her.

That, however, left the bridge undefended. He knew he couldn't let the Fearless destroy the ship if he had any hope of stopping the Jorcossi, but he didn't think he could have hurt Audrey.

For a moment, he saw recognition in her light green eyes, once more hers, but then it was gone again. She was battling a creature far more powerful and older than she was, but the fact that she hadn't given in completely was a true testament to her spirit.

“Move,” he growled at the crew, who were scrambling out of Audrey’s path.

Tieran tried to keep her away from them, but Audrey was unstoppable without him resorting to using his glaive on her. In a final attempt, the last line of defense, he put himself between her and the others. When Audrey took a purposeful step towards him, she twitched as though a part of her refused to move.

She
was
there, still fighting. He remembered their kiss, the moment that had made his very soul burn with the flames of passion. The way she'd held on to him and kissed him back ferociously, like he was everything she'd ever wanted…

Tieran lowered the glaive. It was a risky move, but it was all he had.

There was no way he could cut the connection by killing her. His hand would never rise against Audrey, he knew that without a shadow of doubt.

So he let her come. Audrey roared again, her beautiful features twisted, jumping at him. The forward motion was enough to knock them both on the floor, but she was holding back, throwing her hands around him instead of trying to rip him apart. Tieran caught her, grabbing her wrist and slamming the bracelet shut.

She collapsed as if shot in the head, crumbling into his embrace. Peace returned to the bridge, but in his arms, Audrey's body was nearly lifeless and her pulse was very weak.

"Clean this up," Tieran ordered, picking her up hastily. "Make sure we don't lose the ship. Not now."

He carried her back to the med bay, running, hating the fact it was the second time already when he had to do that. How much more did she need to suffer before he could kill the thing that threatened her?

His pulse was racing, anger swirling through him. It was an emotion he had never expected to feel. Through all his missions, through all his training, he had been instilled with the knowledge that anger would never lead him down the wrong path. It was an emotion the paladins had been trained to not know.

And yet it seemed to be all he knew for a moment. With Audrey’s life in danger, he could sense nothing but rage within himself towards those who made her suffer like that.

Tieran laid her down on a surgical table, waiting for the healers to make sure she had no permanent damage from the connection. He took deep, cooling breaths, pushing down the jumble of feelings within him.

He didn't know what complications there could be, but his mind conjured up the worst possibilities. If she woke up and wasn't all Audrey, would he be able to do his duty?