Zola Flash (The Zola Flash Series Book 1) (3 page)

DOODLE AND I SIT on the floor, waiting for direction from Pin. I thought the ship was vacant beyond the three of us. I was wrong. I crawl closer to the edge to the wall. Doodle sticks his snout around the corner, which I pull back, as I try to hear as much of the conversation as possible.

“Have you found her?” one of the Payohlini ask.

“No, but I’m on it,” Pin answers. “You can take a break. I’ll find the troublesome brat.”

My mouth falls open. A brat? I’m not a brat. If he hasn’t forgotten, his people invaded my home. Not the other way around.

My mouth is still hanging open when a shadow appears over me.

My eyes widen, and putting my hand over Doodles mouth, I slowly turn to see Rican standing behind me.

He smirks down at me, twisting his features into an unpleasant expression. I push to crawl away, but he snatches me up by my leg before I’ve barely moved.

Doodle falls from my arms and goes screeching around the corner.

With me hanging by my leg, Rican marches after Doodle, stomping the floor around the creature with his massive feet as if trying to crush him.

Pin’s head snaps up, as other males with him turn toward the commotion and where I swing from Rican’s hand.

Pin swings his gaze accusingly toward me, like it’s my fault I’m in this predicament, and stalks over to where I dangle. Grabbing me by the shoulders, he seizes me upright and shoves me up against a wall. I cringe beneath the crush of his fingers and the ire in his eyes.

“I can take it from here,” Pin announces to the others.

Rican and the others seem unsure as they glance between each other, but Pin merely stares back at them all. I can’t tell if Pin is stalling, or what his plan is.

“No, that’s al—” Rican starts.

“I got this!” The authority steeling Pin’s voice is convincing, even to my ears.

The Payohlini soldiers narrow their eyes, but as if he hasn’t seen, or doesn’t care, Pin walks away still restraining me.

We don’t get far before a couple of fists come flying our way. I think the punches are meant for Pin, but they graze my chin instead, and I stumble into the wall. Sinking to the floor, I clutch my jaw where it throbs and aches.  Everyone hears stories of the strength of the Payohlini’s. I didn’t realize they really were that strong.

Doodle comes crawling into my lap, when Rican sends a blow to Pin’s stomach.

Expecting Pin to double over, I shudder and clutch Doodle closer. I almost feel the pain from that one myself. Even if he is wearing armor, that has to hurt. Fortunately, Pin seems to be used to this, having the wind knocked out of him. He stands perfectly vertical.

Rage pours out of him, as he and Rican stare each other down.

Two other soldiers had followed us with Rican, but they turn and bolt from the standoff, as if they want nothing to do with whatever the outcome might be.

“Protecting the Princess?” Rican asks with a smirk in his voice.

“Someone . . . needs to . . .” Pin takes a creeping step forward every time he speaks. And then he takes a swing: “From you!”

Rican brings his arm up and blocks Pin’s blow. Without pause, Rican shoves back at Pin before he can recover, and sends punch after punch to Pin’s jawline.

Clearly affected this time, Pin bends at the waist, clutching his knees. Rican sends a flying kick to Pin’s torso. I gasp, as Pin drops to the floor.

Shifting direction, Rican comes towards me.

I force myself back up against the wall. Panic spirals through me.

From the corner of my eyes, I see Pin rise. He places a finger over his lips, and I obey.

Pin glances around and heads toward a metal chair. Rican jerks me forward by my neck, and I swallow hard, but Pin brings the chair down upon his head, and before Rican can do so much as squeeze my throat, he drops to the ground, his eyes shuttering closed.

Pin turns to me, concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

I blow out a shaky breath. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He gazes into my eyes for a moment before he turns away, and I slowly follow behind him as he starts up the corridor.

I’ve never had anyone protect me before, except for a stone wall that kept me trapped inside my own home. No one ever explained why I was pretty much treated as a prisoner.

I take a long glance at Pin.  In that moment, I really wish he was not a Payohlini. Though, where is it written that Payohlini and Victians can’t befriend one another?

Staring up at me, Doodle starts up again with the snorting; I’m glad I can’t understand him because he’d most likely be saying ‘princess, tsk, tsk’.

Princess? I wonder why they keep referring to me as that.

I stop and place Doodle on the floor. If I look into those bubbly eyes, I will doubt myself; which I really do not want to do.

Pin turns around. “What’s wrong?”

I can’t help but stare at his breathtaking features, his muscular and broad shoulders. His Silk-like black hair is long enough to go into a ponytail, if he didn’t seem to favor it flowing in the wind. He also has the most exquisite green eyes and kissable lips I have ever seen.

Granted, I haven’t seen many . . .

I might as well forget about it. He is a Payohlini, and I am a Victian. We don’t mix.

“Nothing,” I say.

“Well, come on. The ship is ready, and we need to get off this planet before Rican becomes conscious.”

Turning, he marches away again, and once again, I follow.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN? We’re not going anywhere!”

Pin tilts his head down toward me, and without warning, he thrust me up against a wall. His hefty hands wraps around my neck, though he does not choke me, and our eyes lock. “I have betrayed my people to help you. The way I see it, you have two choices. We both take off on this ship and head to earth. Or I take you to my people to die, which I do not think you want,” Pin says through clenched teeth.

Unable to speak, I only nod.

“Good! From here on out, we do things my way, Princess.”

Again with the princess. Why has everyone been calling me that?

Pin grabs Doodle and stuffs him in my jacket, not seeming to care how he handles the innocent creature. I give him my killing look, which always works on my friends—what few friends I did have—but he pays it no consideration. He grips my arm and hauls me out into the gloomy world.

As he pulls me at his long-legged pace, I constantly trip over my own feet. I know this frustrated Pin by the hardening line of his mouth and the breaths he expels. As though finally done with my lack of coordination and balance, he snags me up, and throws me over his shoulder  like a sack of rooted gushberries, as if I can do nothing for myself.

When we arrive at the ship’s navigation room, Pin sets me on my feet and locks the ship’s entrance. Reaching over the navicomm panel, he fires up the ship’s rocket.

Sitting myself down across from Pin, I watch him fiddle with the screens, switches and buttons, as I buckle my seatbelt and bring Doodle out.

The glance Pin sends me holds an emotion I’ve never seen him aim at me before, one of pure hatred, one that makes me want to cringe away.

Three, two, one, and we lift off. However, to our misfortune, the Payohlini have ships of their own, and three of them trail us into Victian wormhole.

Five torpedoes come towards the ship. Each hit results in a cluster of explosions that rock the ship.

While I slip from my seat, panicking, Pin gets up as if nothing has happen.

“Take over,” Pin yells.

I slide in and take the wheel, but don’t understand all the controls. So many flips and dials. I start to ask Pin, but instead just start pushing buttons and hope for the best, as we come out of the wormhole.

When Pin gets back, I move to the other seat. Pin puts the ship in auto-drive and aims beams at each ship following us, but instead of the beams releasing, they explode and take out our ship’s engine.

Pin glances at me for a long moment before two more torpedoes destroy the ship’s wings, and we go spiraling down into the middle of the Earth’s atmosphere.

A scream tears from my throat at the realization that this could be the end. My short life could be over any second. I really don’t want to die.

Pin wraps a hand over my mouth. “Zola! Cease!” He releases his hold, frees my voice once more. “I’m about to press the eject button, so I need you to hold on to me.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice before I wrap my arms around his neck. His sigh is a soft sound against my cheek, making me wonder if maybe he does feel the same attraction.

As soon as Pin presses the eject button, and we fall through the dark, hot night, I realize what’s missing.

“Where’s Doodle!?” I shout.

“It’s too late, now.”

The ship crashes into Earth’s surface and explodes.

The fire is bright, but not bright enough for the Payohlini to spot us. Hopefully, they must think we are dead, because as soon as the flames burn down, they are nowhere to be seen.

It appears we have landed outside a city full of luminous lights, but at this moment, I really do not care where we are.

I spin around and throw my arms around Pin, hugging him close to me. A few breaths pass before he cautiously wraps his arms around my waist, holding me in return.

“I’m free,” I whisper in his ear.

AFTER WALKING FOR WHAT seems like days on Victian, Pin and I arrive at a bridge. It’s not like the bridges back home – arched and made from shimmering crystal that molds colors to the essence of each person who steps upon it – but matte and metal with an uninviting vibe. However, on the other side are lights and life, and we need to get there.

Once across the bridge, I attach myself to Pin’s arm. Red tiled mud buildings, with metal railing, line both sides of the pathway, and there are people out. Lots of people. I look around for someone peaceful-seeming enough to provide us with information of our location.

A group of hooded guys squat down in a huddle and appear to be exchanging some form of currency. As I watch them, they narrow their eyes at me. “What da hell are ya lookin’ at?” one of them yells, and I immediately turn away.

On my other side, a young girl, who looks around my age, leans into a vehicle window. She twirls her limp, lifeless hair around her finger while chewing on something, as she communicate to the men in the vehicle. Nausea swirls in my stomach when she turns around and lifts up her skirt, exposing her fully naked bottom to the passengers in the vehicle.

I avert my gaze, toward a fully clothed woman standing next to an illuminated cart of decorative meats. Beside her, a rotund man in a red and white suit handles her meal.

Smiling, I jaunt over to the cart. My first interaction with Earthlings. I’ve always wanted to visit Earth, but it’s eccentric. “Um . . . Greetings.” I can’t think of anything else to say. “Do you think you could, maybe, tell me where I am?”

The woman stares at me as if I’m a blabbering imbecile and walks away, leaving me standing there and feeling stupid.

When I return to Pin’s side, he seems to examine my expression. Scared of looking into those emerald eyes of his, I attempt to turn away, but he clutches my chin in one of his hands and pulls me round to face him.

Suddenly, all I can think about is kissing those lips of his. Mostly how they would feel against mine. Yeah, those lips would be a great first.

Before I realize I’ve moved, I do exactly what I’m thinking of doing. I kiss Pin. For a moment, Pin kisses me back. A low sound rolls from the back of his throat, making me think he’s more than happy with my sudden interest, it’s like a bomb going off in my stomach.

Rough hands force me away from him, and a slight sting grazes my face.

I move my hand to my cheek, and it takes a moment to register that it was Pin who pushed me away. Pin’s harsh reminder of our differences burns my face. All I can do is stare at him. I should never have let myself forget. He is a Payohlini. It is in his nature to be cruel and hardhearted. “I can’t believe you,” I say, backing away from him. From what I thought I’d begun to care about.

Pin reaches for me, but I move out of reach. “I apologize, Princess.”

“I shouldn’t have trusted you.” I spin away take off down a dark street, wanting to get away from Pin.

I should have taken my chances fighting against the Payohlini, instead putting my trust and feelings in one. Out of breath, I sink down on the hard, filthy ground, afraid of what I might find if I run any farther. As I try to calm myself, though, to hold back all the feelings I don’t want to show again, tears make their way out.

“Look who we have here, fellas,” a voice comes from my left side.

“She’s a looker.”

I peek up as I wipe the tears away. Grubby, foul men walk toward me, and I spring to my feet, ready to fight if I have to. They laugh as they encircle me. I try to push away from them, toward the crowd, but my long hair works against me, as one of the men grabs a hunk and yanks me backward. Pain blooms in my skull as my head hits pavement, sending a wave of dizziness through me.

I throw out a fist but it seems to hit nothing. I kick out a leg with the same result. Hands seem to be all over me. Pulling and poking and touching. I should have stayed with Pin, even though he is a monster himself.  Hoping Pin might hear me from wherever he is, I open my mouth and scream, but before Pin’s name can even leave my lips, one of them smothers my mouth. Another of them tears the sleeves from my top, while even more hands grope my neck, choking me in the process.

As fast as the hands grab, they disappear, as the men fall aside, get yanked aside, fly aside, and I blink up to see Pin throwing punches at anyone in his way on the path he’s cutting toward me. Kicking back against the ground, I push myself away from the fighting, and by the time Pin fights his way to me, I’m a shivering ball of nerves.

Reaching down, he slides his arms beneath me and cradles me to his body.

I lay my head on his shoulder. “I’m just not myself,” I whisper.

“I found a place for us to stay tonight,” Pin says quietly. “It’s not far from here.”

Around the corner is an immaculate building, constructed from the same mud tiles as the others. He sets me down on my feet, and after opening the door, scoops me back up in those strong muscular arms.

A female could get use to this.
Who cares if he’s a Payohlini?

As we walk through the building, Pin seems to be studying my cuts and bruises. His expression makes me believe he has something to say about them, but if he doesn’t, the thoughts aren’t voiced.

After laying me down on a bed, Pin examines my cuts. He pulls out a small bottle and kneads some red liquid over my cuts. It’s warm and burns, but when I run my fingers over the wounds, they’ve lessened to almost nothing.

“What is this stuff?” I ask Pin.

“My people use it in battle. It heals cuts and bruises much faster,” Pin replies. “It comes in handy when we are outnumbered and our men are down.”

“Pin?” I wait until he lifts his gaze. “I’m sorry. None of this would have happened if I didn’t . . .”

Pin presses one of his fingers to my lips. “Princess, don’t apologize. All you did was kiss me. And to tell you the truth, it was enjoyable. It was also uncontrollable.” He frowns, staring past me. “Go get cleaned up.”

I bounce off the bed in the hope of easing Pin’s concern, but when I take a glimpse back at his grave expression, it doesn’t seem to have work.

As I search for somewhere to clean up in the dark vacant building, I notice an abundance of garments hanging on racks. Earthling clothes. Scanning through the adorable clothes, I find something to wear. At least it will get me out of this awful attire Pin gave me. I wonder if Pin is responsible for the clothes — I guess it could be his way of apologizing, even though it is an outlandish apology.

When I finally look decent enough to be seen, I return to the other room, but as I near, I hear the last of a strident and livid conversation.

“—Zola’s guardian.”

That is all I hear before Pin turns and sees me reentering the room.