Heart's Prisoner (Dark World Mates Book 1) Page 10

  "We have a situation in the forest, something is moving within, requesting backup, over."

  A second later someone responded, "We don't see anything on our scans, private, are you sure it isn't just–"

  The forest turned white and the sky lit up. There was a brilliant blast after and a cloud of flames erupted down by the camp.

  Another blast then another and the soldiers hurtle themselves to the ground.

  There was a lot of screaming and roaring and gunshots. The feed was a dizzying image of foliage, the night sky, and fire.

  The soldier weaved through the camp as contents flew around him, his gun going off in different directions. When he made it to the center of the camp his light caught the end of a spiked tail as it slipped past an armored vehicle.

  "Camp to base," the soldier yelled into his communicator. "We are under attack, need back up immediately!"

  Another explosion and the soldier twisted around to see a menacing looking silhouette against the flames. The silhouette turned and ripped open one of the gas tanks with its tail. Then it leaped into the air and landed on one of the testing units. It tore the roof open and dropped inside.

  Breathless, the soldier sprinted away, avoiding the fires and the rush of bullets. He ran for the air pads where the ships were stationed. One ship was already starting to take off but as it began to ascend, a flash of blue hit its right wing and it burst into flames. The ship swerved and began to fall.

  The soldier stumbled back and retreated to hunker down behind a metal crate. For a moment there was only darkness, then the soldier looked around and, from the side of the air pad, a creature stalked passed.

  Lana's stomach dropped and her heart leaped as she watched Xerus on the feed. His eyes glowed red in the darkness, reflecting the fire's light. He looked lethal. Feral. He stopped beside one of the lab containment pods and sliced it open, letting whatever contents inside spill out.

  A scraping of metal sounded nearby and out from one of the units, a man in a lab coat stumbled into the clearing, toward Xerus. The way he walked seemed to indicate he was injured. His limbs shook and black blood trickled down his nose and mouth.

  He stopped in front of Xerus and started to speak at him, but the soldier was too far away to hear.

  Xerus stood towering over the man, his nostrils flaring, his eyes narrowed into slits. His mouth grew wide with fangs bared. He looked enraged. Maddened by hate. A beast with no other purpose. He hissed and growled and bent low and Lana almost had to look away because she knew what was coming.

  As quick as a spider, Xerus lunged at the man and bit into his neck. Dark blood gushed and sprayed them both but Xerus didn't let go.

  "Oh, fuck! Oh, Christ!" whimpered the soldier.

  The blood covered the alien's face and neck and chest. Xerus twisted his head like a wild dog until he ripped the man's head off with his teeth.

  Lana clamped a hand to her mouth to stifle her cry.

  The soldier screamed and stumbled up and ran in the opposite direction. He ran through the camp and into the night.

  Torrence stopped the video and stared up at her with his black eyes. "Really extraordinary, huh?" Torrence leaned in towards her and grabbed a container by the computer, "Sorry it had to come to this but I think you needed a little dose of reality." He popped open the lid and dropped a piece of gum in his mouth, chewing slowly.

  Lana dropped her hand from her mouth. "Where...where did you get this video?" she asked. There was no way he had the authorization to access the files from the night of Xerus' capture. Only top security officials should have that data.

  Torrence shrugged. "I have friends in high places."

  She shook her head, trying to keep her composure. "I don't..."

  Torrence tried to take her hand and Lana flinched back. Torrence put up his hands. "Hey, listen, no need to get all hysterical. I'm just trying to save you the time and effort. This way it's easier. Just leave the demon to us. I can convince Cole that it isn't working out and you can be on your way before–"

  "No." Lana took a step back. "I want into unit three."

  Torrence looked at her like she was crazy. "You aren't serious. After what you just saw you still want to do this?"

  Lana looked at him squarely. "Yes."

  Torrence clicked his tongue. "You're an idiot then."

  Lana bit her tongue to keep her response to herself, colorful as it was. No, she must remain professional.

  "Think what you like," she whispered. "I still want into unit three."

  Torrence's lips thinned. "Fine, do what you like. But you should know something. If you fail on this, I've been given permission to take out the asset."

  Lana's body went cold. "What?"

  "Yea, it was a hard decision for some. They really were hoping to gain something from the beast. Were willing to be patient. But that patience slipped after the incident with the Scibot. I'm afraid it's looking pretty grim. So if you can't convince those generals when they come, Asset X will have to be put down. I've volunteered to do it. They are even going to let me keep one of its horns as a souvenir." Torrence sat back in his chair. "I wanted the tail but they said they wanted to keep the rest of him to study."

  Her body went from cold to boiling. "I won't let you near him." She shook.

  Torrence raised his eyebrows. "Don't think you've got a choice, Ms. Hart. But, hey, just think, if you are somehow successful, he gets to stick around a little longer, eh?" Torrence turned back to his computer and put in the code for unit three. The door began to slide open. He looked back at her and gave her that nasty smile. "Good luck, Hart. No pressure or anything."

  ***

  Lana sat in her chair, staring at the milky orange cloud before her. Her thoughts wavered in and out of dark places as she contemplated whether to lift the screen.

  'How could he do it,' one part of her subconscious cried.

  'He is a killer,' another part said. 'You knew this.'

  That one stung. But she came back over and over to remind herself of what she also knew. That Xerus had given her trust, and through that little kindness, there was hope. She knew he wasn't a complete savage. Wasn't just some baseless animal whose only purpose was to hunt and kill. She had said it before and she'd remind herself once again that, even though he had been put on a mission, he could still make his own choices. He could choose to stop. There had to be other ways to win his war.

  Lana lifted the screen and found Xerus sitting before her as if he had been waiting.

  "You take your sweet time changing the glass. Don't tell me you're turning shy," he teased.

  Lana couldn't help smiling. "Just needed a minute."

  Xerus looked at her curiously, his tail swaying lazily beside him. "Something bothers you."

  Her eyes fell to her lap. "Yes."

  "Is it something I did again?"

  Lana laughed. "Isn't it always?"

  Xerus tilted his head in a shrug.

  Lana's smile disappeared. "No, It's just..." Lana couldn't bring herself to tell him about what they planned to do to him if she failed. Not yet. She would rather see to it that it wasn't something to even worry about. Because she was going to get through to him.

  And even if she did tell him the truth, she knew what his response would probably be. He didn't fear death.

  Lana raised her eyes to meet him. "I wanted to tell you. When I was barred from seeing you after the...incident. I started to study your language on my own. I'm not very far and I'm afraid even using the data from the QS translator isn't the most effective but...even with my best efforts I really need someone who can teach me..."

  Xerus' pupils dilated and he blinked. He rose from his sitting position and walked the length of the window as if thinking. He paced for a moment then he stopped to look back at her. "Yes." He bowed his head. "I will teach you."

  Chapter Eleven

  It took some time to find a way to properly program the translator so that when Xerus spoke he wouldn't just repeat his words in E
nglish when trying to teach her various meanings and phrases. She went to Ben for assistance who knew the QS translator's coding and system. The best they could think was to utilize Xerus' useful talent at changing the pitch and tone of his voice. When he spoke a specific way (his voice a little higher and more clipped than usual), the translator would stop for a brief time until he changed his voice back. This allowed him to still speak both in his native tongue and in hers.

  When she informed Cole of her plans, she was relieved to find he was supportive for once. After all, if they had someone who could understand his language without the translator it could be helpful in learning more useful information about the subject. Or if at some point they needed a translator when encountering more of Xerus' kind.

  When they finally got the updated QS translator running, Xerus was adamant about starting right away. They linked the translator's data to Lana's tablet so when they used the window like a dry erase board, whenever Xerus wrote a word out on the glass in the slashes and dashes of his language, the English equivalent would pop up next to it along with an image if it were an object.

  Xerus was a demanding yet patient teacher. Every session was dedicated to her learning and nothing else. He was always prepared with some new subject when she arrived and when she left she was given a night's worth of homework. Lana didn't mind. When she didn't understand a phrase fully and it took her longer to get the esses and arrs right, Xerus was happy to repeat a lesson until she understood fully.

  Thankfully his language wasn't too complicated. He sighted this reason being that it was ancient and rarely changed from its original form. This was because Rikasha and Veradis willed it so. To remain as pure as possible from their first making of the words.

  "Are they your gods?" Lana dared ask after taking a break from their lesson. She had theorized for some time that they were.

  Xerus shook his head. "No. But they were the first of us. And thus are treated as such."

  "So they created your language together? Just the two of them? That's really impressive."

  "It was said Rikasha had more of a hand in it then Veradis but, yes, he did aid her. She had more of a say on the final language."

  "Why was that?" Lana asked.

  "She was a queen," Xerus said.

  Lana's eyes widened. "Oh." She paced the window, stretching her legs. Her brows tightened in confusion. "But wouldn't the king be more inclined to have a say? Or does the queen hold more authority?"

  Xerus huffed. "Veradis was not a king."

  "Oh, I'm sorry, I assumed since they were the first that...you know...they were together. And therefore he would be her..."

  Xerus' mouth twitched. "They were mated yes. But we do not have kings, only queens."

  Lana made a silent oh and nodded her head. "So what was he then? Just her mate?"

  When Xerus didn't speak, Lana looked over at him and saw him standing straight with his hands behind his back, like some military official.

  Lana pursed her lips. "Sorry, too many, questions." She turned away.

  "He was her Predomis."

  Lana froze and frowned, remembering that word. She looked back at him. "What does that mean?"

  "It is the guardian of the queen."

  Lana turned her gaze away and cleared her throat. "So do all Predomis...do they all mate with a queen."

  "Yes."

  For some reason Lana felt a jab in her chest; like someone had poked her with a long, sharp nail. She twisted around to face him and smiled. "Wow. So that's what you are to become. That's amazing."

  Xerus watched her response carefully. He showed little expression of his own. She had no way to gauge if he was happy or not with the prospect or if it was just a matter of duty.

  His eyes never left hers as he said, "It is an honor to be chosen and I will serve my queen well."

  Lana went to say more when Xerus held up his hand to stop her.

  "No more questions." He tapped on the window. "Only words."

  ***

  "I've spoken with General Hartin about Asset X's evaluation," Cole said to Lana as she worked at her desk in the central lab, filing another report for the evening. She nodded her head but didn't look up at him. She could only guess he had agreed to the orders to have Xerus killed if this so-called evaluation failed. So much for the preservation of the species.

  Cole shifted beside her. "And you should know that for Xerus to pass he will have to perform a test of our choosing."

  Lana took a deep breath and held it. "What sort of test?"

  "That will be determined on the day of."

  In other words, she wasn't going to be told about it. Lana exhaled. "Fine."

  "It will be simple enough," Cole said. "If Asset X is cooperative it should be a fairly easy test. If not..."

  "I know." Lana frowned.

  At the corner of her eye, she saw Cole place his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry it had to come down to this, Lana. But ever since the destruction of the bot...Asset X may be too much of a threat to be helped."

  And that was utter bullshit if he knew everything that she knew. But it didn't matter. They would only see him for what they believed he was. A cold-blooded monster.

  Lana turned her gaze up to him to speak her mind but instead fell silent, her eyes widening. "You're bleeding," she said.

  Blood dripped onto Cole's uniform, spilling from his nose. Cole drew his hand from his pocket and wiped the blood away with his sleeve.

  "Damn nose bleeds." He chuckled. Something was up with his eyes too, Lana noticed. They were bloodshot.

  Lana turned in her chair. "Maybe you should visit the medical bay."

  Cole waved his hand. "It'll be fine. Nothing to worry about. We will talk tomorrow." He moved away and Lana watched him as he left the lab. When he was out of sight, Lana brought up her email on her computer and began a message to Nicole. When she finished the message and sent it, she logged off her computer and went over to a large walk-in refrigerator tucked to one side of the lab. Since the Scibot was gone it was up to Lana now to prepare Xerus' food. The food was already prepared; it just needed to be heated. Lana took out his specialty cut meats, making sure there were no bones, then cut up a mango into slices and disposed of the seed. She placed the meat in a special oven and waited.

  "So you are in love with that thing?"

  Taken back, Lana twisted around and saw Officer Galger leaning forward on a table, watching her.

  "Excuse me?" Lana said.

  Galger shrugged, giving her a wide grin. "You smile when you go through that door," he pointed at unit three with his thumb, "and are smiling when you come out. Like a little girl returning from a candy store. It's cute."

  When Lana didn't say anything Galger laughed, pushing himself from the table. "Aye, a joke, eh? That's all." He got closer and Lana stiffened.

  "Just weird to see a lady like yourself so excited to be working with something so nasty, ya know?" Lana took a step back as Galger got close enough she could smell his alcohol-laced breath. He leaned against the table with Xerus' food and stared at her, his eyes dropping to her chest and then back to her face. "What's it take, eh? Do I just need to sprout some horns?"

  Lana clenched her jaw and fixed her eyes with his. "No, you just have to be intelligent."

  Galger's brows raised and his smile widened. "Ouch, and she shows her fangs. It's ok though I like 'em feisty."

  The oven beeped and Lana took out the meat, setting it on the tray with the mango, making sure to avoid Galger's gaze.

  "I'm just playing with ya, sweetheart, no hard feelings, eh?" Galger moved behind her and Lana gasped and nearly dropped the tray as he gripped her shoulders, pulling her to him so she felt his chest against her back. "Ya just need to relax."

  "Please take your hands off me," Lana said, gripping the tray.

  Galger let his hands fall from her shoulders to her arms, then he dropped them and shifted away from her. When Lana turned around she had to squeeze passed him with the tray.

&
nbsp; "No need to be so uptight, sweetheart. Men don't find that shit attractive." He laughed. "Just some advice. But it's cool, I still like ya."

  Lana didn't stop as she walked across the lab toward unit three. She realized she was the only one left before the night shift arrived. She glanced at Torrence as she went by and he gave her a cold stare before opening the door.

  Once inside Xerus' unit, Lana went over to the transfer box and opened it.

  "Not even a hello? I am a little hurt."

  Lana paused, then set the food inside and closed the box. She put the tray on the table and went over to the wall controls and lifted the screen from the window. Xerus looked down at her curiously, his arm raised to the glass as he leaned against it.

  "Sorry I, um, I'm just tired, is all, and..."

  Xerus stiffened. He lowered his arm and his nostrils flared. "You have a mate."

  Lana was dumbstruck. "I'm sorry...what?"

  Xerus turned from her and moved from the window. "I can smell the male on you. Are you newly mated?" His tail curled behind him and Lana thought she caught the black shine of his fangs. His voice was clipped, almost cold.

  Lana almost laughed. "No, no, you are wrong. Dead wrong."

  Xerus glanced back at her, confused. "Dead wrong?"

  "Yes. Really wrong."

  Xerus turned back to her. "Then why do you smell like one of those males? His scent is all over you so he must have touched you."

  Lana couldn't believe what she was hearing. She made a noise of frustration and picked up the tray. "Yes, he did touch me." Lana's stomach twisted remembering the feel of Galger's heavy hand on her.

  If Xerus had fur Lana suspected his hackles would be up. Then he seemed to calm. "Forgive me, I am not used to human customs. It confuses me. Do you not take mates?"

  "We do and that's not something we need to discuss at this moment."

  Xerus tilted his head down and his eyes darkened. He looked like he was about to say something but thought against it.

  "Now, I really am tired." Lana moved to the wall controls. She gave Xerus one quick glance, meeting his intense stare, before putting back the screen.