Alien Morsels: Short Tales from Zerconian Warrior Series Read online

  “About what?”

  “Wants to give me some fancy bionic leg.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” She’d hoped that the Zerconians advanced technology could help Duke. She thought he would welcome Thor’s help, not fight it.

  He was silent, staring down at the bottle of Sola he held.

  “Duke, what is going on? Why wouldn’t you want this leg? I mean, it’s gotta be better than what you have, right? Is it a painful operation?”

  He let out a low laugh filled with zero amusement. “I’m not afraid of pain. Between the prosthetic rubbing my skin raw to the phantom limb pain, I’ve become pretty acquainted with pain.”

  “Then what?”

  “What if it doesn’t work?”

  “Then you’ll just go back…oh.” It hit her. “You’re afraid to hope. Because what if you hope and then it doesn’t work.”

  “And I’m straight back where I started.”

  “But at least you would have tried,” she told him. “How exactly would this new leg work?”

  “The leg will move with my thoughts. Something about sensors in the muscle connecting the brain to the leg, I don’t know, I don’t talk doctor-speak.”

  “It is risky?” She hadn’t thought of that.

  He shook his head. “Thor said that risk is minimal. But right now, I have nothing. The track is gone. I don’t have a job. Do you know how many women want to fuck a man with one leg? Zero. Oh, I get the odd one here or there. But that’s it. All they see is what’s missing.”

  “Then they’re silly bitches who don’t deserve you.” And if she ever met any of those cows she’d rip 'em limb from limb.

  He snorted. “No, they’re not. They just want a whole man.”

  “You are a whole man.”

  “And you’re my baby sister who loves me,” he pointed out. “You’re not exactly impartial.”

  “Duke—”

  “No, I don’t need some sort of damn pep talk. I’m not twelve. Besides, I’ve heard it all from Rye, I certainly don’t need it from you. Don’t even know why I’m telling you all this, must have had too much of this stuff.” He shook the empty bottle.

  “I have nothing, Willa. And if I start hoping, it’s going to be damn hard to go back to having nothing again.”

  “First of all, you don’t have nothing. You have me, and Rye, Zuma, and Kyle, when he gets his head out of the clouds. We need you.”

  “You have Darac. The others are fine. There’s nothing for me here.”

  Panic curled in her gut. “Bullshit. You saw what it nearly did to Rye when we lost Lochlan. We can’t lose another brother, Duke. We can’t. And I won’t let it happen. If you don’t want the operation, that’s fine. But at least let us all sit down and talk to Thor about it.”

  He shook his head.

  A tear slipped down her cheek, and she moved off the stool towards him. Ignoring how he tried to back away, and the odor emanating from him, she wrapped her arms around him.

  “I can’t lose anyone else, Duke. I can’t lose you. Please. Please.” A sob shook her body.

  “Oh shit. Are you crying? Darac is going to kill me for making you cry.” He ran a hand over her head. “Don’t cry.”

  “I’m not letting you go.”

  “Willa.”

  “I’m not letting you die.”

  “Whoa. Whoa.” Picking her up, he placed her on the counter. He held her by the arms and stared into her face. “Nobody said anything about dying.”

  “You said we’d be all right without you. You want to leave.”

  “Leave, yes. But not die. Jesus, Willa, I’m not that bad.”

  “Really?” She sniffed. How embarrassing. She hated crying.

  “Really. I just think I need to leave. I feel useless here.”

  “Okay. Okay, I can deal with that. I don’t like it, and I don’t want you to go, but I kind of get it.”

  He frowned. “You like it here, don’t you? Is someone being mean to you?”

  She grinned. “I’m not five anymore you know. I can deal with the bullies on my own.”

  “There’s a bully?” He stood straight and for the first time looked like his old self.

  “No, silly, there’s no bully. You probably haven’t noticed since you’ve turned into a hermit, but there’s not a lot of jobs for women around here. Well, that don’t involve cooking and cleaning, and we both know I’m useless at that.”

  He rubbed his stomach. “I’ll never forget the pancakes you made for my birthday last year.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You were fine the next day.”

  “I spewed until I passed out!”

  They grinned at each other, and she finally let the panic go. He wasn’t going to kill himself. He wanted to leave, and that sucked. But if he was okay, she could deal.

  Maybe.

  “I’m going to talk to Darac about going on the next job with the crew. Rye hasn’t replaced me yet.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Think Darac is really going to let you go off without him?”

  “No. But I don’t want to go without him. I want him to come with me.”

  “Do you think Darac will want to do that?”

  “He was willing to live on Joyadan and work with the crew before the Coizils attacked and we moved here. I think he’ll agree.” Maybe. He wouldn’t be happy about it. He didn’t like her being in danger. But she had to have a purpose or she was going to go insane. Her people were settling into Zerconian life. Soon they wouldn’t need her, then what would she do?

  “Uh-huh.”

  “You could come with us. Rye is always asking you to crew with us.” Duke had an amazing knack for getting people to talk. He could read people. Could tell if they were hiding something or being honest.

  “I’d be a hindrance.”

  “The only reason you never crewed in the past is because of your leg, but if Thor can fix that…”

  He scowled. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re stubborn?”

  She grinned. “Just once or twice.”

  “Fine. I’ll talk to Thor. But that’s all I’m promising.”

  “Really? Cause I kind of had one other favor to ask.”

  He sighed. “You want me to speak to Darac? All right, but—”

  “No. No, I can speak to Darac. It’s just, umm, well—”

  “Spit it out.”

  “Could you possibly shower, because you really stin—eek,” she squealed as he grabbed her, tickling her.

  “Stink, do I?”

  “Duke, stop! Stop!”

  Norman snarled. Duke stilled, looking down before letting out a huge laugh. “Well, at least my leg is good for something.”

  She glanced down, bursting into giggles.

  “Norman, let go.”

  Norman snarled again as he bit down on Duke’s leg.

  Duke sighed. “The wheel’s spinning but I think the hamster is dead.”

  “Don’t be mean. Norman’s lovely.” She pulled the dog off. “How was he meant to know you’ve got an artificial leg?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Willa paced back and forth across the waiting room. Soft, comfortable chairs were pushed back against three of the walls. A large vid screen was mounted on the remaining wall.

  “You’re making me dizzy,” Rye complained from where he stood, leaning against the wall next to the vid screen.

  She ignored him and strode across the room again.

  Zuma let out a soft snore. She resisted the urge to give him a shove as she walked past.

  Just barely.

  “How can he sleep?” she complained. “Isn’t he worried about Duke?”

  “Thor is an excellent healer,” Darac told her. “Your brother will be fine.”

  “If something happens, it will be my fault. I practically forced him to do this.”

  “Duke’s a big boy,” Rye told her. “Makes up his own mind.”

  “What if something goes wrong, though?”

  “Nothing will go wrong
.” Darac’s voice was low. “You need to sit down.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Sit down, Willa,” Zuma told her, opening his eyes. “Before the big guy gets all growly.”

  With a sigh, she sat. She wished Norman was here, but Thor had refused to have that ‘hairy, smelly beast’ in his waiting room.

  Darac moved next to her. He placed his large hand on her thigh, stilling her leg. She hadn’t even realized she was bouncing it until he touched her. She knew it was ridiculous to be this nervous. Thor had explained that there was very little risk in this operation.

  “I just want this to work.”

  “We all want it to work, sweetheart,” Zuma told her as he stood and stretched. “But it’s not up to us.”

  They’d all sat down with Thor, had him go through everything. The risks, the advantages. He’d made a compelling case. She still hadn’t thought Duke would go for it, but after a few days of thought, he’d agreed. Thor made the arrangements for the next day.

  Today.

  “Where’s Kyle?” Zuma asked.

  “I told him about the operation. I even reminded him this morning. You know what he’s like when he has a project.” Kyle was working on something for the Crown Prince. He’d been given limitless funds and a huge lab with the latest equipment. To say he was in heaven was an understatement.

  A door opened, and she glanced up as Thor walked through. After taking in his serious expression, her stomach dropped.

  Oh God. Oh God.

  Then a smile broke out on his face. “The operation was a success. He should wake up shortly. Of course, he will need to—oomph!”

  Willa, who had thrown herself at him, ignored Darac’s protests as she hugged Thor.

  “Let her go!” Darac snarled.

  “I am not actually holding her,” Thor pointed out reasonably. Although he did pat her back a few times.

  “Hush, Darac. I’m thanking him.”

  “You can thank him from a reasonable distance.” Darac tugged her away, pulling her against him as he glared at Thor.

  She rolled her eyes. Darac had a thing about her touching other males, even her own brothers. But she didn’t complain. Too much. Because she kind of felt the same way about him.

  “Like I was saying before, Duke’s operation went well. Of course, we will not know the full extent of the operation’s success until he awakens.”

  “Can we go in now?” she asked.

  “You may sit with him for a moment. But only a short time. You need your rest as well.” Thor gave her a stern look, and she just smiled. These overprotective Zerconian males were something else.

  ***

  Forty minutes later, she clasped hold of Darac’s hand as they walked towards their house.

  Suddenly, Darac paused, tugging on her hand.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Darac?”

  He pulled her around, staring down at her. “Do you like living here?”

  “What?” she asked, frowning. Where had that come from?

  Glancing around, he pulled her over to a rocky area at the side of the path. “Let’s sit up here.”

  He climbed up the rocks then leaned down to help her up. As if she needed any help climbing a few rocks. But she let him help her because it made him feel good. Darac needed to be needed.

  He sat on a flat, large rock and pulled her in next to him. The height gave them an amazing view of the beautiful ocean below.

  “So, you do not think it was a mistake to come here?”

  “Do I miss having no running water? Living in searing heat? Having all my food cooked over an open fire so it was burnt on the outside and raw in the middle? Sure, it was tough to leave all that luxury,” she teased him.

  “I do not mean that.”

  “I know. I’m joking around. It wasn’t a mistake to come here. Our people are safer. They’re protected. They have access to amazing medical care. My brother now has a bionic leg that is going to change his life. No, it wasn’t a mistake.”

  Darac cupped the side of her face, turning her to look at him. “But are you happy?”

  “As long as I have you I will always be happy.”

  “I feel the same. But I know life here is different. Our women are very protected. Sheltered.”

  “Boring.” She snorted. “Except for Zoey and Mila, of course.”

  “I am glad you have made friends with them.”

  “I do miss going on jobs with the crew, though,” she admitted. She had waiting for the perfect moment to bring this up.

  “I know. I have sensed your restlessness through our bond.”

  “Then why didn’t you say something?”

  “I waited for you to talk to me. I do not wish you to be unhappy, Willa.”

  “I’m not. Really, I’m not. Things are just different here. I like to be busy. I guess I miss the excitement. I miss being useful.”

  “Then perhaps you should go with your brothers and crew next time there is a job.”

  Surprise filled her. This was completely unexpected. She’d thought he would try to convince her not to go. Maybe even find something to keep her occupied.

  “Seriously?” Part of her was relieved that he had agreed. The last thing she wanted was to fight with him. But being separated from him would be horrible. Had she become totally dependent on him?

  Unthinkable.

  “But there will be rules.”

  Of course, there were rules. There were always rules.

  “If there is some reason I need to stay here, then we will not be able to go. If it is a particularly dangerous mission, then you will agree to follow my lead, if—”

  “Wait, so you’ll come with me?”

  He gave her an incredulous look. “How else would I keep you out of trouble?”

  She hugged him tight with a laugh. “Jerk. I can keep myself out of trouble. But I would rather have you with me. Always.”

  He pulled her onto his lap and kissed the top of her head. “Good. It is decided. We best go home. Before Norman destroys the house.”

  Willa nodded. “He does have a fondness for chewing everything.”

  “Not everything. He does not chew your clothes. Just mine.”

  She bit her lip, holding back a smile as he helped her down off the rock.

  “Yesterday, I put my foot into my boot and encountered one of his chew bones.”

  “Now that could have been a present,” she pointed out.

  “It was stripped bare and slimy. That dog does not like me.”

  She’d warned everyone not to correct Darac about Norman being a dog. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. And truthfully, she loved Norman. Darac would find out eventually, but for the moment she was managing to keep the secret.

  As they entered their house, Norman bounded towards them. Willa braced herself as he jumped on her, his huge paws on her shoulders. He licked her enthusiastically, his yellow tongue slimy and wide.

  “Get down,” Darac ordered.

  As usual, Norman ignored him. Poor Darac, he could make grown warriors quake with that voice, but Norman didn’t even bat an eyelid. Darac moved into the house, muttering under his breath.

  “Norman, you desperately need a doggy breath mint. Yuck! What have you been eating?”

  “Norman!” Darac yelled out from the bedroom.

  “Uh-oh, you’re in trouble,” she told Norman, pushing him down and rushing into the bedroom. She froze as she saw the mess. The bedding had been pulled off the masic and chewed to bits. There were pieces strewn everywhere.

  But the worst of it was on the masic. Obviously, Norman hadn’t just been bent on destroying the bedding. He’d also ingested some. Then thrown it back up on the side of the masic where Darac slept.

  “Norman,” she scolded. “Bad boy.” She turned to Darac, who was scowling down at Norman ferociously. “I’ll clean it up.”

  Norman walked up to him with a whine, his massive tail dragging on the floor.

  “Aww, look, he feels bad,�
� she said.

  A funny noise came from Norman. Oh crap. She leaped for him right as he opened his mouth and vomited. All over Darac’s feet.

  Shit.

  Silence filled the room. She stared up at Darac, waiting for him to react. Norman, sat back, wagging his tail.

  Darac opened his mouth just as his communicator buzzed. He glared at Norman, who, seemingly oblivious to the wrath about to rain down on his head, chewed at his paw. His communicator buzzed again and he stared down at it with a frown.

  “I have to take this.” He grimaced as he glanced at his bare feet. Then shaking his head moved into the bathroom. The door slid shut behind him.

  “Saved by the bell,” she whispered to Norman. “Quick. Hide.”

  Norman stuck his tongue out and panted, looking entirely too satisfied with himself.

  She shook her head. “What were you thinking, Norman? Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. From now on, I want you to be nicer to Darac, understand?”

  “Willa,” Darac said as he stepped back into the room.

  “Yeah?” She turned from scolding Norman. Her smile faded as she saw the serious look on Darac’s face. “What is it? What happened? Is it Duke?”

  Immediately, Darac shook his head, stepping forward. She noticed he had cleaned his feet. “Duke is fine. Mila and Koran’s ship was attacked by Coizils.”

  Her stomach tightened. “Are they okay?” Please let them be alive.

  “I do not know. We cannot get in contact with them. We received an emergency message that there ship was under attack and they were evacuating. Two ships are now being prepared to rescue them. Escape shuttles are small. They only have limited communication systems. Once they land, they should send out emergency beacons. When our ships are close to where the last communication was received, they should be able to pick up on the emergency beacons and locate the shuttles.”

  He paused.

  “Is there something else?”

  “The ship sustained substantial damage, and not everyone made it to the escape shuttles. The emergency communication received,” he took a deep breath, “said that the Emperor is dead.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. Dead? The implications of his death were staggering.