Helion

Olivia March

Helion, crown prince of Arloren, is a veteran
commander of the warriors of the Keeper race. After the Scourge attack his home
planet of Arthaneas, Helion vows not to lay aside his sword until every last
Scourge is slain. That desire for vengeance takes him to Earth and what should have
been a routine mission. Everything is turned on its head, however, when Helion
meets a delectable Earth female whom he will stop at nothing to possess. 

Gwen doesn’t want to be his possession. Her
only desire is to stay alive so she can care for her vulnerable young daughter.
When Helion captured her she was sure their lives would be forfeit. But it’s no
longer merely her life at stake— now it’s her body and her heart. Now Gwen has to
decide whether to protect her heart from Helion’s determined siege or embrace a
new destiny with the alien prince of her dreams.

Reader Advisory: This story has graphic sexual language and
scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

An
adult sci fi romance
from Ellora’s Cave

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wonderful
husband. Thank you for everything you do to support my dream of being a writer.
You wouldn’t let me keep my scribbles to myself and always see the potential in
everything I do. And thank you to my amazing daughters, whose presence in my
life made me want to reach for my dreams so that one day they will reach for their
own.

Journal entry, High Commander Bron.

Arrogance and ignorance. It was a dangerous combination, but
one the humans of Earth were guilty of in one fashion or another. The majority
had somehow fooled themselves into believing they were the only intelligent
beings in the vastness that was space. And those who didn’t believe they were
the only ones were certain that if life did exist on other planets, those
planets were too far away to be a threat. Humans. Wrong on both counts.

Humans sent many messages into space, some with the express
purpose of making contact with other life forms. Did they ever really expect to
get a response? Probably not. They greatly underestimated what was waiting out
there in the vastness however. In their ignorance humans left a trail of
breadcrumbs back to their small, nearly defenseless planet. In intergalactic
relations humans were near the bottom of the food chain, so whatever they hoped
to achieve with their messages made no difference. All they really did was
invite disaster upon themselves. Now it was up to the Keepers to save Earth and
the human race.

Helion frowned as he watched the news feeds on the comm
screen from his seat in the High Commander’s briefing room on Arthaneas. It
should have been a peaceful scene. The High Commander’s chambers were light and
airy in the way most Keepers enjoyed, lush greenery abounding among tall,
elegant trees that provided shade, birds singing sweetly in the trees and the
potent scent of flowering plants permeating the air.

Helion, his clenched fists resting on his knees, was not
soothed in the least, however. He wanted to close his eyes at the views on the
screen but as prince of Arloren and Keeper Commander he chose instead to watch
every atrocity so his hatred would glow brighter than ever. The Keepers’ sworn
enemies, the Scourge, had found an obscenely vulnerable planet to attack. The
primitive species on that blue dot could barely get into space, used brutish
and ineffective weapons and had bodies too frail to repel Scourge attacks. The
Scourge were the boots and the humans of Earth were the ants.

The disturbing images being relayed made Helion’s blood boil
in his veins. Masses of humans slaughtered, including women and children.
Others carted off in chains for short lives as Scourge slaves on their hideous
ships. Because that was all the Scourge had, that armada of ships. Parasites
with no home planet of their own, having killed it with wars and disease and
pollution, they now roamed the galaxies, looking for easy prey to supply their
war machine with anything that could be scavenged from unlucky planets—anything
from building materials to food to slaves.

The Scourge had made a fatal mistake when they attacked
Helion’s planet, he vowed. What had they seen when they’d decided to attack
Arthaneas, the home planet of the Keepers? Smallish towns of great beauty? No
massive war machines, no polluting commerce. A race that was quiet, its women
delicate, its men imposing, but seemingly peaceful. But instead those seemingly
peaceful people had become the greatest enemy the Scourge had ever known. They’d
vowed to wipe out every last Scourge warrior, to destroy every last Scourge
ship and to erase their name from history. So far they’d made admirable
progress toward that goal.

Helion swallowed a little guiltily. Fifty years of the
Keepers’ relentless pursuit and assault had the Scourge desperate and on the
run. So desperate, in fact, that when the Scourge had picked up on those human
transmissions floating around in space, they’d immediately headed toward the
planet sending them. The crude technology of the humans had told the scum all
they needed to know about the strength of the beings of Earth.
Easy
pickings.
Helion knew the Scourge—knew the way those bastards thought. Hit
the planet hard with a full-on assault, taking as much as they could before the
Keepers could intervene.

And intervene they fully intended to do. Helion flexed his
tense hand as he surveyed the Keeper war council planning their strategy. The
Scourge had a jump on them, a brutal one. The humans of Earth were in chaos and
dying in droves. Helion and his comrades stood grim and battle-ready,
anticipation rocketing through their veins to wet their blades on Scourge
blood.

If Helion had anything to do with it, this young species would
not be exterminated in the dawn of their existence.

“Commanders, you’re each assigned to a major hub around the
planet, the largest cities they have. The Scourge are likely to follow the
predictable pattern of attacking the strong, populated centers of civilization
and crippling the humans’ defenses before working their way to the fringes. You
will mimic them, engage them in the cities and destroy them. And you will do so
with minimal harm to the indigenous people wherever possible. We do not want to
add to their casualties. Any questions?”

Helion shared a droll look with his friend and fellow
Commander Melithan. The Keeper asking the question, the architect behind all
Keeper attacks on the Scourge, didn’t give the appearance of welcoming queries.
Over two thousand years old, the mastermind of countless military campaigns, possessor
of a devious, strategic mind—most would avoid asking High Commander Bron
anything, because they didn’t want to draw his notice. Helion was not such a
Keeper.

“These humans are very primitive, High Commander, and the
males at least show a marked tendency to be aggressive. Are we cleared to use
deadly force if necessary?” Helion asked, not at all concerned when the High
Commander’s swirling silver eyes focused on him with ire in them.

“If a human attacks you, Commander Helion, I expect you to
attempt incapacitation first. They are weak against us, don’t forget that. If
death can’t be avoided, do what you must, but I’ll expect a report and it
better be convincing.” Bron waited for Helion’s reluctant nod before
continuing.

“The High Council is sending diplomatic liaisons to the
leaders of Earth governments, the ones who survive the initial invasion anyway.
They may need assistance if things go awry, so be ready to lend aid. Otherwise
this mission is much the same as the others. The Scourge have a head start on
us, so be prepared for entrenchment. If there are no other questions, you’re
all dismissed. Collect your men and head toward your gates.”

The Commanders bowed in silence before lightstepping away to
join their men, each eager to begin the battle, each Keeper ready to spill
Scourge blood. Commander Helion, no less eager than the rest, quickly
marshalled his troops. He allowed himself a grim smile as he took in the ranks
of gleaming gold armor that would soon be covered in Scourge blood. Helion
checked his own golden raiment, secured his long white hair at the nap of his
neck and readied his weapons. As soon as his assigned city came through the
mind link, he opened the gate to a place called Louisville, Kentucky, his
purpose set. It was time to destroy the Scourge once and for all.

On the run. They were always on the run now. You kept on the
move or you died. Your death would come from the Scourge or from your own
people, humanity having devolved into utter chaos in the months since the
invasion. No one could be trusted anymore, not the humans who survived the
purge, not the creatures who had done the purging, and not the other creatures
who had supposedly come to humanity’s rescue.

So Gwen treated every creature with the same amount of suspicion.
She had to—it wasn’t just her life at stake if she was wrong. She had to
protect her precious girl, born just a month before the world went to hell.
Tiny little Evelyn, who’d had just four scant weeks of security and comfort
before the whole world had come crashing down around them. Gwen had been
prepared to worry over every scrape and every sneeze but she hadn’t been
prepared for living every day of their lives terrified they’d be caught by
aliens and killed, or caught by humans and degraded before they were killed.

Gwen crouched in the corner of yet another crumbling,
abandoned building and sighed. A few months ago her worries had been caused by getting
knocked up by a deadbeat, being left to raise a child alone, and how to afford
diapers, formula, daycare and medical bills on her underpaid librarian salary.
Making ends meet as a single woman by clipping coupons, living cheaply, with
few luxuries.

Evelyn had changed everything for her. Being one hundred
percent responsible for another living being was
terrifying
. But nothing
was more important to Gwen than providing for Evelyn, no matter what had to be
done. Prior to the invasion that had meant trying to make more money, keeping
Evelyn fed and clean and happy and taking every day as it came.

Now, however, their cute little two-bedroom ranch was rubble,
destroyed in a skirmish between the military and the Scourge. Gwen had barely
had time to grab Evie and their emergency bag and flee the house before a bomb
had exploded behind them.

She looked around the run-down, cold, dirty little place,
typical of those they laid low in during the day in the hopes no one would
discover them. How long until night, when she had to risk leaving to forage for
food and supplies, too often with little to no success? And then after a couple
days begin the hunt again for a place to hide out during the day. They couldn’t
spend too long in one place. Too much risk of being found.

They had very little in terms of possessions anymore. Their
prized possessions in the duffel strapped to her back were a pack of diapers
and wipes, which had to be used sparingly, no matter how much Gwen wanted
Evelyn to be comfortable. There was a small blanket for Evelyn, a little
formula for emergencies and a couple bottles. Gwen tried to breastfeed Evelyn
as often as she could but it was hard to maintain a good milk supply with not
getting much to eat day by day. It was more tempting to stay inside in relative
safety than risk going out to forage.

It was dark now, though, and Evelyn was fed, changed and as
content as she could be, warm and snug, wrapped tightly against Gwen’s chest
with a long piece of fabric. Now was the best time to look for food. She’d gone
without eating for too long already. If she didn’t eat something soon, Evie
would suffer for it.

And she had seen a Walmart a few blocks away when she’d
scouted this building. It had definitely been looted in the weeks since the
invasion but there were bound to be a few things left behind. A can of just
about anything would be bliss right now and Evelyn really needed more supplies.

After a tense trip, she arrived without encountering any
hostiles. Worrisome but she couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Evelyn,
bless her, stayed quiet and sleeping for the whole walk. Gwen was very lucky
Evelyn was a quiet child who only fussed when she was extremely hungry or had a
very dirty diaper. Gwen did her best to make sure neither situation occurred,
though often there was nothing she could do about the latter.

The parking lot of Walmart was completely trashed. Though
she hadn’t expected any different, it did strike some fear in her chest. People
always panicked and looted stores in TV shows about different types of
apocalypse and that was certainly the case here. Of course, looting was also
her plan, so she couldn’t exactly be judgmental. Gwen gingerly picked her way
around overturned carts and piles of garbage, trying not to make any noise.
This was in the open and therefore vulnerable to being easily spotted. There
could be people inside the store as well and she didn’t want to alert them to
her presence.

There was no electricity of course. The automatic doors
weren’t working but someone had been kind enough to knock huge holes through
them. Using a small flashlight to guide her, just bright enough to see where she
was going, Gwen headed toward the baby section. She carefully maneuvered around
toppled racks and fallen shelves, seeking anything they could use.

Gwen nearly cried out in joy when she realized baby items
hadn’t been a huge priority of the looters. Her eyes had tears in them as she
grabbed up several packets of wipes, diapers and powdered formula bags. There
was even a nearly untouched rack of baby food she eagerly plundered, picturing
Evelyn’s delight in tasting some fruits and vegetables. Gwen stuffed as much as
she could in their duffel, even finding a few warm outfits she hastily added.

Now if only she could find some food for herself as well,
the night would be a resounding success. She cautiously headed over to the
grocery section and it soon became clear these aisles had been more popular
with the looters. After carefully searching the shelves, Gwen was soon
overjoyed when she located several cans of soup that had been knocked to the
ground. A couple aisles over she found a few boxes of crushed pop tarts and a
jar of peanut butter and nearly cried again when she found a bottle of Coke
poking out from under an overturned display.

Gwen hastily spooned a scoop of delicious peanut butter into
her mouth for energy—there was a long way to go to find somewhere safe to hole
up again with their loot. The wonderful flavor burst into her mouth and she
stopped a moment to savor the taste before putting the jar away. Eating a scoop
of peanut butter was a lifesaving pleasure now. Regrets poured through her when
she remembered how comfortable life had been before and how little she had
appreciated it. All that time wasted on moaning and groaning about her problems
and wishing for a bigger house, a better car, more money.

Now she spent every moment of every day in fear for their
lives, scavenging for scraps of food and places to sleep and dodging enemies
left and right. She’d run into packs of humans, high on booze and drugs and
barely escaped notice. She tangled with Scourge too and barely escaped with her
life. Gwen would never forget that first close-up encounter. Scourge were
hideous, gray-skinned abominations. They had oozing, open sores all over their
bodies, creepy yellow eyes and savage strength. Whenever they met up with
humans, all that was left in their wake was blood and pieces. She should have
died then, with Evie, but a pack of humans had decided to test their bravery.
Gwen could still hear the screams that had followed her as she ran as fast and
far as she could.

So here she was, hungry, dirty and terrified, with each day bringing
the specter of death from any number of likely fiends. If she died, Evelyn
would die, no question. The struggle was killing Gwen slowly and her enemies
would kill her quickly. It was a lose-lose situation but she had to try to
survive. Things couldn’t be this bad forever. And if things did get better, if
order was restored, then Evelyn would have a chance at a future again. Gwen had
to believe that. So she dried up the waterworks and built up her resolve. They
had to get out of the store and begin the hunt for a safe place to lay their
heads.

A short time later, Gwen could hardly believe how their luck
held out that night. Not only had she found all that loot at Walmart without
being seen by anyone but a few blocks away she spotted an abandoned office
building. She cautiously scoped out the place for activity but didn’t see hide
nor hair of any living thing. She crept inside, hugging the walls as she inched
her way down dark corridors, barely breathing as she strained to hear sounds of
anyone already occupying the building. But there was nothing.

She crept forward through the deserted halls until she found
a row of offices. A quick peek in every door on the row revealed nothing but
overturned furniture and scattered papers and office supplies. Choosing the one
that looked the least messy, she eased inside, closing and locking the door
behind her.

After searching every nook and cranny in the office, Gwen
allowed herself a smile. This office had dark curtains she quickly pulled tight,
a lock on the door, and a comfy-looking sofa. Sad as it was to say, this place
was like Christmas come early. With all the supplies gathered earlier, they
could stay here for several days, assuming it stayed quiet. The idea of resting
on an actual cushion, with a full stomach and being able to just breathe for a
couple of days without inhaling something foul or sitting on freezing concrete was
just too good to be true.

Happier than she’d been in weeks, Gwen quickly got them
settled in. Evelyn was cleaned as best as she could be with a wipe, changed
into a fresh diaper and put in one of her new, warm outfits. It had whimsical
little fairies on it, which made Gwen smile again. Then she gave her as much
breast milk as she wanted, with a special treat of some baby peaches at the
end. Seeing Evelyn’s surprise and her smile of delight at the taste was a pure
joy. They played for a while, quietly, before Evelyn was put to bed on the soft
cushions of the sofa.

After Evelyn was asleep, only then did Gwen look after
herself. Even cold and eaten straight from the can, vegetable soup tasted so
good to her starving taste buds, especially chased with a few sips from the
bottle of Coke she had found. With her belly fuller than it had been in several
weeks, she got up and quietly pushed the desk in front of the only door as a
precaution before unrolling their blanket and joining Evelyn on the sofa. Gwen
pulled her daughter’s tiny body snug against her own, letting the soothing
sounds of her child’s breathing and the warmth of her body lull her to sleep.

Gwen’s bubble of contentment, if it could be called that, didn’t
last long this time. It felt as if she’d just closed her eyes before being
startled awake by that noise. Every human on Earth was intimately acquainted
with the sound now, a sound like the hissing of a thousand snakes. A sign of
approaching Scourge and judging by the volume, they were way too close. That
the sound broadcast their presence didn’t seem to bother the Scourge. They knew
humans were no match against their greater physical strength and they delighted
in the terror the cacophony caused their victims.

And it was definitely terror that had Gwen in its grip now.
Terror for Evelyn and for herself but mostly for her child. The Scourge had no
use for babies or really young children. The fractured, gore-filled images of
dead and dismembered children would haunt humanity forever. Gwen lived in terror
every day of not being able to save her daughter from that fate.

She couldn’t tell how close they were but judging from the
volume of the hissing, Scourge were already in the building with them. Though
it was no doubt pointless, she had to attempt an escape. Quickly gathering all
their things, Gwen got Evelyn up and strapped to her chest and shouldered their
belongings. Her sweet girl slept on, lulled by her false belief Mommy would
always be able to protect her and keep her safe. Looking at Evelyn’s beautiful
little face, Gwen felt the crushing weight of her failure pressing down on her
chest. The enemy was about to knock down the door and all she had to protect
her daughter was the switchblade in her pocket, and her own body. Gwen would
sacrifice her life in a second if that would save her daughter but life wasn’t
that fair now, if it had ever been.

Their only chance was the window. The desk still blocked the
door but that wouldn’t stall the Scourge for more than a moment or two. The
deafening hissing paralyzed Gwen for a few precious moments. That cursed sound came
from right outside the door. Stifling a whimper, she dashed to the window and
frantically pushed, trying to shove it open, but it wouldn’t budge. They were
stuck, the enemy at the door and their only escape route no escape at all.

Gwen slid down the wall and clutched Evelyn tightly. Her
poor baby, with only a few short months of life to her name, would die with her
tonight. How cruel it was for the night to have started off so well, only to
end in agony and death. All she could hope for now was that these Scourge
wouldn’t want to linger for a prolonged torture and would finish them quickly.
The alternative was too horrible to contemplate.

Smash. Thunk. Smash.
She didn’t look up but heard the
assault on the door begin. They must have sensed this room was occupied. Gwen
could feel their eagerness for blood with every slash and every cut into the
door. Evelyn began to fidget in her arms but Gwen held her tightly. On some
level Evelyn probably sensed the threat coming. If she was a brave woman, Gwen
would take Evelyn’s life herself before those monsters had a chance. But Gwen
knew she didn’t have the courage to end her own sweet baby’s life.

Thunk, smash
…and this time she heard a
crash
as well. Something powered through the door and hit the desk inside. This was
it then. Gwen started praying at that moment. Not for mercy—that would take a
miracle. She prayed only for a swift death, for the both of them. And that when
they died, they’d see each other again for whatever came next.