Hyperspeed Dreams by Anna Carven

Chapter Thirty-One

The black nanitessnapped and writhed under Lodan’s skin, craving blood and protein. He willed them to remain in his body as he drew Tasha into his arms, because he didn’t want them going anywhere near her precious body… not when they were depleted from sustaining several vicious rounds of plasma.

His nanites were hungry. Soon, he would let them feed. Soon. There was enough flesh and blood around here now.

Fucking humans.

They’d thrown everything they had at him; at Tarak. If he and the boss were ordinary Kordolians, they would have gone down, but they were First Division.

A barrage of plasma fire might wear down their armor and burn their flesh, but it couldn’t kill them… not before they reached the platoon of modified human soldiers that had fired upon them and slaughtered every single one of them.

Lodan didn’t have time for fucking idealism. Tasha was dying. His mate was dying. All because these stupid humans had gotten her hooked on a cursed drug that shouldn’t even exist anymore, and he was almost certain they’d gotten it from the scheming, plotting cowards of the Noble Houses.

No.

No.

This ended now.

“Take her and go,” Tarak ordered, his voice hoarse. “I hear another attack coming. I will hold them off while you retrieve the drug. Go, Lodan.”

Lodan didn’t waste time. He just nodded and ran, ignoring the pain coursing through his body; ignoring the fact that half his fucking face was falling off.

He followed Tasha’s directions, which he’d memorized perfectly, until he reached a large chamber. Instantly, he knew this was the so-called treatmentroom, because underneath the harsh smell of chemical cleaning agents, he detected the residual stink of human blood and sweat and piss.

In the center of the room was a white padded contraption; half bed, half chair, to which were attached various monitors and controls. Lodan growled as he spied restraints hanging off the headrest and armrests and footpad.

This was where they had tortured her.

He should burn every last thing in this place until there was nothing left but ash and dust.

Calm down.Focus.

Anger threatened to overwhelm him, but the delicate creature in his arms held it at bay.

“Tasha,” he said gently.

No response.

“Tasha,” Lodan pleaded.

She was silent. He opened her armor again. The damn dokari was still purple—only just. Any moment now, it would change to red…

No.

Lodan gently lay her down on the bed-chair-thing. Sorry to have to put you back on this detested thing. It will be over soon, my love.

He drew his sword and stalked around to the back of the room, where he yanked open a storage door.

“Get out,” he snarled. “No point in hiding. You think I can’t hear you?”

Trembling with fear, a human female emerged from the compartment. Lodan’s vision was still a little blurry—the nanites hadn’t yet finished rebuilding his eyeballs—but he could see well enough to make out the human. Small and dark-haired, she wore a simple white uniform. Her eyes were hidden behind glowing blue datalenses.

“If you don’t want to die right now, you will show me where the Enqua is.”

The human shuddered. Her jaw dropped. Her eyes were as wide as moons. She looked like she was about to die of fear. “E-enqua?”

“Ambrosia,” Lodan hissed. “That’s what you humans call it. Give it to me now!”Lodan brought the point of his blade to her neck. “It had better be the right one. If she dies, I will cut your head off.”

It was as if someone had lit a fire under the human’s ass. Clearly, her sense of self-preservation was stronger than her fear. Without asking questions, she moved, almost tripping over herself as she led him toward a pair of solid metal sliding doors.

She paused for a moment. Lodan heard a beep.

Then the doors slid open with a loud creak.

Ah. This must be the so-called retina scan Tasha was talking about. He was grateful for her clear, concise instructions amidst all the chaos.

He knew exactly what he was looking for.

The female rushed toward a series of metal storage modules. She fished something out; a metal autoinjector with bright yellow liquid in the vial.

At least you aren’t stupid like some of the others. Lodan decided that this woman wouldn’t die—yet.

Fingers trembling, she held it out, opening her mouth to speak. Lodan simply willed his body to move faster than was physically possible. He became a dark blur of charred flesh and fury and agony as he snatched the device from the human’s hand and rushed to Tasha’s side.

No!

The cursed dokari was red.

Her eyes had rolled back into her head.

Her body writhed and convulsed, in the grip of a terrible seizure.

“No!” Lodan cried as he plunged the device into her chest. He heard a faint click as the needle-tip hit her flesh. The yellow liquid in the vial quickly drained into her body.

The seizure stopped.

Her body went limp.

“No,” he whispered, his voice cracking as he cradled her. Nanites swarmed all over his fingers, repairing his damaged flesh. He willed them back into his body and caressed the side of her beautiful face with his bare fingers. Her eyes were closed. Amidst the blood and chaos, she looked so serene; all the tension and worry was finally gone. The hard outer shell she usually wore had slipped away to reveal a side of her that looked youthful and innocent.

No.

Not now.

He put his hand on her chest. Her heart was still beating. It was slow and faint, but she was alive. Her chest rose and fell. She breathed.

The sinister shade of red in the dokari started to fade, turning back to purple… then green…

Relief surged through him, mingling with frantic worry.

Why wasn’t she stirring?

“Wake up, Tasha.” His hearing wasn’t yet completely intact—the nanites were still regenerating—but it was good enough for him to detect a presence behind them.

Not Kordolians—the pattern of movement was different.

Humans.

Enemies.

“Sweetness, we have to move.” Wake up. He wasn’t going anywhere without her. He would tear these humans limb from limb if they dared to lay even a finger on her.

Lodan slid his arm around her waist, preparing to lift her off the examination chair. With his other hand, he drew his plasma gun, curling his fingers around the trigger, preparing to fire at…

Her eyes snapped open.

He looked down into glorious blue.

The color of seas.

The color of skies.

Only on Earth.

He wasn’t supposed to have this…

But she was his now, and he would do anything to protect her.

“Wait,”she whispered, her eyes flicking to one side.

“What do you see?”

Before Lodan could react, Tasha reached up and pushed his head to one side.

A tiny projectile shot past, flying through the air where his neck was only a heartbeat earlier.

His bare neck.

His armor was still stretched thin as the nanites regenerated his skin and internal organs.

They would dare shoot at him? At his mate? Filled with fury, Lodan raised his gun and fired, releasing a torrent of plasma.

Tasha’s hand clamped against his neck. She grabbed him and pulled him close. “Wait.”

Lodan turned to face the attackers, pointing his gun in their direction, shielding Tasha with his body. A small army of humans stared back at him; around a dozen in total. They were outfitted in primitive metal armor, armed with plasma guns.

“He’s the only one? I thought there’d be more.”

“They’re holding off Captain Greene in the West Tunnel. We’d better hurry the fuck up. Greene and his mercs are gonna be dead any second now. Grab the subject. We’ve got five minutes before they seal off this area.”

“How the fuck are we going to do that? He’s one of them. Look at him.”

“Figure it out. Use the darts. Boss wants this one sedated. Alive. You can waste the Helborg. She’s outlived her usefulness. She’s a traitor.”

Wasteher?

Red crossed Lodan’s vision. How dare this human even speak of such a thing?

He raised his gun and blew the bastard’s head off. The human’s dark helmet exploded in a shower of black metal and crimson. Lodan trembled. He never got this angry.

“Wait!” Tasha sat bolt upright. She hooked her arm around his shoulders and tried to pull him down.

It was too late.

Something struck Lodan in the uncovered part of his face his face—something pointed and sharp, just above his cheekbone; just below his eyeball, embedding deeply into his flesh.

He growled and pulled the thing out, examining it as his nanites swarmed over the puncture wound, knitting skin and bone and flesh back together.

Some sort of dart… poison?

He raised his arm to fire…

But it wouldn’t respond.

Something was seriously wrong. He couldn’t move!

What was this feeling all of a sudden; this terrible lethargy that crept into his bones and muscles, rendering him utterly useless?

He’d never felt anything like this in his life.

It was worse than death.

Tasha swore viciously in her native tongue.

“Hold on,” she whispered. “I’ll get the fuckers.”

Lodan started to drop… but then she was there.

She hooked her arm under his and held him up as she pulled his other plasma gun from its holster.

The humans fired.

Blam!

Plasma hit Lodan point-blank in his chest. So much for them trying to take him alive. Bastards. If not for the armor covering his heart, that blast would probably have killed him. His nanites worked even harder, cannibalizing his own flesh and muscle to maintain their energy.

He needed blood… soon…

Tasha raised her arm and fired again and again, her shots precise and elegant.

Blam! Blam!

She got one in the head, one in the chest. The humans were unbalanced from the plasma-recoil, and their pathetic armor couldn’t withstand the fury of blue fire.

Fools.

One of the humans tried to go around, but Tasha got him too.

No…he was just a diversion. There was another human, sneaking around the other side, aiming for Tasha’s unguarded back…

“Turn,” Lodan hissed, giving her a nudge with his elbow. Movement was starting to return to his limbs… but only just.

What the hell had they shot into his system?

Fucking Enqua?

To his relief, Tasha turned immediately, dragging him with her. Lodan let out a sigh that was part relief, part admiration. His mate really was strong.

She shot the sneaky bastard in the neck… although she wasn’t quite fast enough to stop the onslaught of plasma that came from the other side.

Lodan was nearly paralyzed, but somehow, he managed to throw himself between Tasha and the firestorm.

Agony exploded in his consciousness as he sustained blast after blast. Heat washed over him; over Tasha. She gasped in pain. He’d protected her from the worst of it, but that level of heat—it had to hurt.

Didn’t matter.

Even if he was burned to a crisp, he would protect her.

His nanites seethed and thirsted—for blood. But Lodan was a master of control, so he held them back, refusing to let them taint any part of her.

To draw on her human flesh for sustenance… such a thing was unthinkable.

She’d been through so much already. This beautiful, fragile, human body of hers had endured so much.

He wouldn’t let them touch her again.

Soon.

There was enough blood and protein around here to feed the entire First Division. Some were already dead. The rest just needed killing.

Soon, he would let them feast.

But first, he had to shield his mate.

“Lodan!” Tasha cried, and the worry and fear in her voice was enough to turn his heart cold with anger.

She should not worry about him.

“This is temporary,” he whispered, his voice cracked and hoarse. “Just trust me, Tasha. Use my body as your shield. Kill them all. I won’t die. Not when you’re here with me.”

“Jesus, Lodan. I can’t…”

“Do it,” he snapped.

“Okay.” She fired again… and again…

Then stopped.

What’s wrong?

A tremor coursed through her body. A soft whimper escaped her lips.

“No…” she whispered.

“Tasha,” Lodan growled, not liking this snap change in her demeanor.

Not now.

He tried to move, but his limbs felt like dead weight.

Damn it.

He tried to raise Tarak on his comm, but the cursed thing fizzed and crackled as his nanites tried to repair the damage.

“Natasha.” A cold, human voice said her name. “Hold fire.” He put his hand up, ordering his men to stop.

Tasha froze, and he could sense her fear and disgust.

Lodan stiffened. Who the fuck was this bastard?

He’d already decided he would kill him.

“Put the gun down, AE-5. That is enough.”

Lodan caught sight of the speaker. He was a short, muscular human male, with grey hair and a hard, weathered face. He wore the same armor as the others, but he’d left his face uncovered.

Arrogant fool.

“Shoot him,” he urged.

But Tasha didn’t respond. It was as if she’d been caught under a spell.

The male advanced. “Put. The. Gun. Down,” he snapped. “AE-5, that is an order.”

Tasha clenched her teeth. Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes. Strain tightened her features. It was as if she were fighting some terrible invisible force.

Was this the effect of some sort of psychological conditioning?

Was she compelled to follow this bastard’s commands—against her will?

“That husk of a Kordolian won’t be able to save you now,” the human said coldly. “Look at him. I’m surprised he’s still alive. He can’t move now. Ambrosia is ten times more potent to Kordolians than it is to humans. It affects them differently, too. No instant euphoria. But they will get the cravings later.” The human chuckled. “We’re taking him to the research labs. If you want to live, I’d suggest you do the right thing and lower your weapon. I can’t have you killing any more of my mercenaries, Natasha. They’re expensive, you know. Helborg. At my command. Drop the gun now.”

Bastard.Lodan strained against the chemical-induced paralysis. Every cell in his body itched to slice this asshole’s head off. Desperation like he’d never known before clawed its way into his heart. He closed his eyes and prayed to the Goddess; begged for his cursed nanites to destroy the poison in his body so he could move again.

Just give me one chance. I will never need anything more than that.

Tasha let out a choked whimper. “F-fuck you, Gage. I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Ah, I’m surprised you can talk back to me. How crude. Forget it, Natasha. You’re conditioned. Pavlovian response. If I say those words again, you will obey. At my command, turn your gun and blow that disgusting creature’s brains out. You will get all the Ambrosia you need. I promise you. That thing standing in front of you is an enemy of humanity. Kill him.”

Lodan turned to face her. He saw the horror in her crystalline blue eyes. He saw the goodness in her; the hatred for Gage; for herself—at what she was forced to do.

What she couldn’t control.

A trickle of blood touched the edge of his foot. Paralyzed as he was, Lodan’s nanites could still move. They swarmed down his leg and drew on the blood, pulling it into their microscopic machine-bodies. They begged permission to extend from his body and follow the blood-trail; to devour whatever lay at the end of it.

He granted it.

Hurry.

The nanites swarmed onto the pool of blood. Lodan ignored them, keeping his eyes focused on Tasha. The machines knew what they were doing. They wouldn’t fail him.

We never have.

Lodan blinked. Was that… had Sylthen just spoken in his mind? He wasn’t even on the ship anymore. How was this possible?

Of course. I am part of what has become you. I will not allow these weak little creatures to take what is yours.

Tears streamed down Tasha’s cheeks as she raised the plasma gun and pressed it against Lodan’s temple. “I… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he murmured. Suddenly, he could move… just a little. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She tasted of blood and salt and sweetness and light. She was sublime. If she blew his brains out now, he almost wouldn’t mind.

But he couldn’t let these humans torture her any longer.

Back to me.

Satiated and filled with malevolent energy, the tiny obsidian machines returned to his body. Lodan was hit with the all-too familiar agony as the nanites penetrated through damaged flesh and muscle and bone, rapidly knitting his body together. Now that they were infused with the blood and flesh of humans, they could break down the proteins and elements and re-form them… as him.

The look on Tasha’s face was pure agony. She was a heartbeat away from pulling the trigger.

She was trying to hold back.

Fighting.

Lodan leaned in, allowing his half-formed lips—and fangs—to grace her earlobe. “You don’t have to fight alone anymore,” he whispered.

He closed his eyes as the pain in his body intensified.

Through the agony, he found he was able to move.

He lifted his hand, sliding his fingers around Tasha’s, gently prising the gun from her grasp.

Her trigger finger was so tight he thought it would snap off, but as he made contact with her, she relaxed just enough that he could uncurl it.

He took the gun.

“What are you doing, Helborg?” the human in the background snapped. “Do you want to die with him?”

His voice became an annoying buzz in the background. Lodan ignored it. Something had been bugging him, and he had one chance to ask before the skittish humans started blasting them.

He pressed his lips against Tasha’s ear and whispered, so softly that only she could hear. “Was he the one that did this to you…. was he the one who… forced you?”

Tasha’s entire body went stiff. For a moment, he feared she would implode.

But then her expression hardened. A fierce look entered her eyes.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded.

Well, well…

That was all Lodan needed to know, because suddenly, he could move again. Back to their full strength, the nanites had cleared the poison from his system.

Zharek had engineered them to destroy certain poisons. Foresighted bastard.

He gave Tasha a tender look and smiled. “Don’t fear.”

There were three humans behind them. Three humans and the bastard called Gage, who he would kill last.

Lodan activated his full armor.

He spun around.

Blam! Blam! Blam!

Three humans died in the space of a heartbeat, their heads exploding into red-tinged vapor.

Leaving one.

This Gage.

“Fucking alien scum,” he spat, raising his gun.

Lodan recognized the model; an obsolete plasma pistol that had been superseded by the Imperial Military’s alpha-class standard-issue guns.

He chuckled.

Arrogant fool.

“I would shoot you right now, but that would be too easy,” Lodan said lightly as he turned and took a step forward. He issued a mental command to his nanites… little by little, they flowed out of his body, along the trail of blood and mangled flesh, until they reached Gage’s feet.

Gage didn’t notice. He was too hell-bent on Tasha.

“Natasha, kill him,” he hissed.

“N-no,” she growled, her feet firmly planted on the floor. Lodan couldn’t imagine how much willpower it must have taken her to hold still at that moment.

“Kill. Him.”

Unable to stop herself, Tasha lurched. She put her hands forward and crashed into Lodan’s back.

He didn’t mind. At least she understood him enough to know that he would much rather she used him as a shield.

Lodan’s nanites crawled up Gage’s armor-encased legs. The stupid bastard didn’t even notice.

“Even if you c-command me to do it, I can’t kill him,” she growled. “You fucking asshole, Gage.”

Gage raised his gun. “Fine. That was your last chance. You’re dead.”

“No,” Lodan growled. “You’re dead.”Faster than the human could move, he whipped his long sword from his back and danced forward, severing Gage’s hand at the wrist.

The plasma gun clattered to the floor, hand and all.

Blood spurted from his wrist.

The look of shock on the human’s face was immensely rewarding. The true extent of the shit he was in… it hadn’t yet registered.

Lodan stalked forward. The human staggered backwards, stumbling, falling to the floor.

Lodan ground his boot into the man’s chest.

The color drained from the human’s face. “H-how are you still alive? How the fuck did you regenerate your armor?”

Lodan bared his fangs. “You think you know a little about my kind, but you know nothing at all. And now you’re a dead man, because you dared to try and control Tasha.”

The human writhed under Lodan’s boot, shaking his head. “F-fuck you, you alien piece of shit.”

“Not wise,” Lodan snapped. He sent a mental command to his nanites.

Billions of microscopic black particles coalesced to form a swarming black mass.

Go. The human is yours.

They penetrated the metal of Gage’s armor, burrowing down into his flesh; through skin and connective tissue and muscle and bone.

The human screamed.

The pain that Lodan endured whenever he activated his nano-armor—to a human, that pain was indescribable.

You… you forced my precious mate against her will? Unacceptable.

A fury like no other ripped through him.

She is mine. You will never touch her again.

Lodan let the exo-armor ripple away from his right hand.

His claws flicked out.

He reached down and tore the armor-plate away from Gage’s chest.

At last, true realization dawned on the human’s face. At last, he understood.

How Lodan relished that look of pure horror.

He reached down and tore through the human’s chest, claws ripping through skin and bone, fingers curling around the creature’s still-beating heart.

It was weak. The human was barely conscious. Lodan squeezed.

Gage’s eyes went wide. They started to quiver and roll.

Lodan knew that look. It was the human’s last dying breath.

“You never should have touched what is mine,” he hissed.

Then he ripped the human’s heart out of his chest. He drew his nanites back toward him, and his rage fed their seething hunger.

So he devoured it; the dead heart of his mate’s tormentor.

And when he was finished, he turned and met her beautiful eyes.

She wasn’t afraid. She returned his vengeance with a look of triumph and astonishment…

And something else.

Something he didn’t quite understand, because he’d never seen it before.

She was radiant, like Earth’s sun.

She was not afraid.

Her warmth engulfed him, dousing his anger.

“You did that,” she said, her voice full of wonder, “for me?”

“Tasha,” he said hoarsely, explaining what was most obvious to him. “You are my most precious and treasured mate. I don’t care what they made you do. If anyone tries to force you to do anything against your will, I swear by the Dead Sun that they will become my mortal enemy… and now you understand what I do to my worst enemies.”

“I… I already knew that,” she whispered as she walked slowly toward him. “I just didn’t think that a stupid bastard like Gage was deserving of your very best revenge.”

He forced himself to stillness as she stopped in front of him and placed her hand on his chest. “No. He deserved it. Every last drop of agony.” He brushed his bare thumb against her cheek, wiping away a stray fleck of blood. “They won’t touch you ever again.”

“I know.” Her voice wavered. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, caressing the side of his face. “I know. You sweet, sweet man.”

Unable to help it, Lodan laughed. “Only you could watch me devour a man’s heart and think it was sweet.”

Tasha shrugged. “I’m atypical.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“I suppose we are. Can I kiss you now? You done devouring?”

“Him, yes. You, never. But look, the unwanted blood is all gone.”

“You clean up all right… how did you manage that?”

Lodan smiled. “There are tiny black machines in my bloodstream that like to feed on flesh and blood, amongst other things.”

“Huh. I figured it would be something like that. They behind the magical healing thing too?”

“Correct.”

“As if you couldn’t get any more terrifying. Next time, will you warn me beforehand?”

“But now you already know.”

“I guess I do. At least next time, I won’t have a thousand heart attacks because I’m worried that you’ve gotten your face burned off by plasma and you might die…”

“I told you not to worry.”

“Yeah, but when it’s you, I can’t help it.” Tasha leaned in and kissed him, tugging playfully on his lower lip, which was perfectly intact again. She tasted of blood and darkness and euphoria. “You… you protected me. I can’t remember the last time anybody did that.”

“For now and evermore.”

“So dramatic. But I’ll accept.”

Lodan chuckled. “You protected me too. If not for you… those humans might have given me some serious trouble.”

“You? No way.” She kissed him again. “But you’re welcome.” Amidst death and blood, she kissed him.

Again and again, growing more feverish; more frantic.

Her intensity surprised him. He hadn’t been expecting it… not after all this horror.

“I’ve just had a shot of fucking Ambrosia,” she gasped, as if reading his mind. “Stuff makes me horny as hell.”

Oh?

Lodan stopped. Slowly, gently, he pulled away from her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Let’s get out of here,” he said softly. “I don’t want to… not like this… not here.”

Not when the stench of death hangs thick in the air. Not when you’re under the influence of that cursed drug.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You’re a horrible tease, but I get it. I really do. And I appreciate it, even if I don’t.”

Lodan tugged at her lower lip with his thumb, parting her lips to reveal the soft, tantalizing pinkness inside. “Patience, my Tasha. We have all the time in the Universe to make sure you’re satisfied. But for now, let me take you home.”

“Home?”

“Yes.” He wrapped his arms around her and swung her into his arms. “Home, Tasha. You belong with me.”

“I know.” Her lips curved. He caught a glimpse of her glittering white teeth. Dimples formed in her cheeks.

She smiled.

Lodan was floored. He almost dropped her then and there. Her bright, radiant, mischievous, and somehow innocent face was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

You don’t belong here, my sweet little human. You never did. I will make sure that you never have to set foot in this place ever again.

Now, she was truly his.