Hyperspeed Dreams by Anna Carven

Chapter Five

“Let’s go.”The alien took the lead, setting a punishing pace as they trekked through the jungle. The rain had tapered off, leaving mud and wet leaf litter and stifling humidity in its wake. If Tasha were any other human, she would have struggled to keep up.

But she was a Helborg—part organic, part machine. Even with the Ambrosia withdrawals starting to cause tremors, she was able to match his pace without much effort.

Tasha didn’t even think about trying to run. She wasn’t an idiot. This guy would chase her down in a heartbeat.

Still, it bothered her how easily and silently he moved, like an obsidian specter clad in strange armor that seemed to suck all the light from its surroundings. What kind of tech was this? She’d seen the way his armor changed shape, seemingly in response to some silent mental command. Holsters had appeared from nowhere, the black stuff of his armor becoming liquid and then solidifying into a precise form—as if it were a living, sentient thing.

He’d taken her damn weapons. She could see them right now, secured at his waist—two guns and the serrated blade. Compared to his own gear, they looked clunky and antiquated. Alongside his long curved blade, which reminded her of a Japanese katana, he carried two sleek plasma guns and countless other small blades, which were partially hidden in the black material of his armor.

Really, he was armed to the fucking teeth.

And she wasn’t.

It grated on her nerves. He grated on her nerves. It probably had something to do with the fact that his presence made her feel completely powerless in a way that not even her handlers in the Praetorian were capable of.

After all the insanity she’d gone through to break away from Praetorian, she’d landed in the jaws of an even bigger monster.

It confirmed something she’d always suspected.

In this life, freedom didn’t exist.

Especially for someone like her.

How could she escape all the terrible things she’d done?

All those people she’d killed, just because they were the target of someone’s revenge, or even worse, because they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; a witness to something they weren’t supposed to see.

Some of them probably deserved it, but many had been innocent.

The worst thing about it all was that she didn’t feel any guilt. She knew she was supposed to, but there was nothing there. It was as if her heart had been disconnected from her soul.

If Alexis and her brothers and Mama knew what she’d become, they wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her.

It didn’t matter. As long as they were safe.

That was all that mattered.

Her life was already forfeit.

Trying to vanquish her dark thoughts, Tasha distracted herself by staring at the Kordolian’s back; at his wide shoulders and rippling muscles, at the fluid way he moved, like liquid in the physical shape of a man—no, alien.

Grudgingly, she had to admit that his ass was very fit and very toned. It was the most perfect ass she’d ever seen on a male specimen in her entire life. In fact, his entire physique was irritatingly perfect. Tasha had spent most of her life working with trained killers, so she’d seen all kinds of elite warriors and fighters from all kinds of backgrounds—military, enforcement, Syndicate...

None of them had come even close to looking as lethal and honed as these Kordolians.

If god existed… and if he or she wanted to create the perfect killer, it would be this silver-and-dark creature.

Not her.

She barely noticed a low-hanging thorny branch as she instinctively sidestepped it; she was too focused on his lithe, sinuous form.

Somehow, he was a little bit mesmerizing.

Somehow, her heartbeat quickened and the tremor in her hands worsened. A tendril of warmth unfurled in her chest, threatening to betray her by spreading throughout her entire body.

She felt… funny.

No, no, no.

You idiot.

What the hell is wrong with you?

She could not give in to stupid shit like this.

It was probably another unwanted effect of the withdrawals. Aside from the tremors and the nausea and then the sweats and the pain—which would inevitably come later—the thing she hated most about Ambrosia was that it did strange things to her libido.

With the withdrawals came a desperate, almost painful kind of need; a terrible emptiness that would make her curl up on the cold, hard floor and rock back and forth.

It was the worst feeling in the world.

She’d experienced it so many times before. If she displeased them, her handlers would keep her hanging, drawing out her suffering until she was forced to beg.

But she hated begging, so through sheer stubbornness, she prolonged her own pain as much as she possibly could.

Sometimes even until she blacked out.

Then, when she was on the brink of going into a coma, they would give her the shot.

At last.

If she was conscious, she would feel it—that terrible little pinprick in her arm.

A tiny scratch, and moments later…

Relief.

Euphoria.

Total insanity.

Ambrosia.

As the drug kicked in, her awful need would intensify—to the point where she had no control over herself, and she would hate herself for it, because in that moment, she was helpless against her own body.

That’s when he would come and take advantage of her.

Gage. That smug fucking asshole.

If she saw him again, she would kill him. Slowly and painfully. She would cut off his balls and stuff them down his throat.

Disgust rose in her, bringing the taste of bile to her throat, obliterating any strange thoughts she might have had about this deadly-but-annoying Kordolian.

And yet her need lingered. Desire. Revulsion. Desperation. Fear. All melding with her constant craving for Ambrosia, which was growing worse by the minute. She could usually ignore it, but the longer she went without a dose, the weaker she got.

Soon, she would reach a point where she would do anything… anything for another shot.

Tasha stopped cold as the warrior whipped out his long obsidian blade. Fear rippled through her.

If he really wants to kill me, I can’t do a thing. The difference in power is just too…

The Kordolian didn’t say a word; didn’t even look at her. He just hacked through a thick tangle of vegetation, his blade slicing through vines as thick as her arm as if they were butter.

Oh. He’s just doing some radical gardening.

She felt slightly ridiculous—and annoyed at herself for being so easily scared. What, was she nine years old again? She never got like this.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when his sword met actual flesh and bone, but she didn’t have a chance to complete that delightful thought, because suddenly, the way was clear.

He glanced over his shoulder as he sheathed his blade. One corner of his mouth quirked upwards, softening his appearance ever so slightly. “Come. It is probably a good thing that you’re here right now. One of your brothers is starting to awaken. The other will probably stir soon too.”

“What are you talking about?” Brothers? Felix? Kylian? Waking up? How do you even know? Tasha was so confused. There was nothing here. She couldn’t see anything except for a small clearing; a break in the dense canopy that was illuminated by a shaft of afternoon sunlight.

“Follow me.” The Kordolian stalked forward, uttering something soft and melodic in his own language.

A gaping black hole appeared in the middle of the clearing.

Tasha stifled a gasp.

What the…?

The hole was about the size of a door; easily big enough for a person to step through. The alien strode across the clearing and walked up to the black hole, ascending on thin air.

As he reached the black portal, he turned and stared down at her. His obsidian armor appeared to meld with the darkness, becoming it.

“This is my ship,” he said simply. “You can’t see it because it’s cloaked. Come, human. Your brothers are inside, and I need you to explain things to them, because they will not take well to one such as me. Don’t worry, Alexis will be here soon.” He stepped backward into the darkness, and Tasha realized that there was actually a faint blue glow around his feet from some sort of interior lighting. As shadow fell across his face, his black visor-thing retracted, revealing his golden eyes.

“Where are you taking us?”

“To Silence. It is the most powerful and secure warship in our fleet. It is invisible to human surveillance. There is no way your enemies will be able to locate you. It doesn’t matter anyway, because we are going to destroy them. You should be grateful that we found you.” He flashed a wolfish grin, revealing sharp, gleaming fangs.

Fangs? Holy hell.

Was he trying to be reassuring? Because he sure as hell didn’t look reassuring. No human on Earth could unsettle her like this.

It felt like a warning wrapped in a smile. Like he was saying: trust me… at your own risk.

Screw that.She didn’t want any part of this.

Leave me here,she wanted to say. I’ll wait here and take down any asshole that tries to come for my family.

But there was no way she was going to leave Felix, Kylian, Mama, or even Alexis alone with these Kordolians.

Time was running out.

There had to be a way out of this.

There were only two other alternatives. Die, or go back to Praetorian HQ and beg her handlers to take her back.

No. She would rather die, but that wasn’t an option anymore.

“Just so we’re clear,” she snapped. “Alexis is the last person in the Universe that I would ever want to hurt. I came here to protect my family. Up until now, I thought Alexis was dead.”

The alien uttered a command in his melodic language. A dark ramp appeared at his feet, materializing out of thin air. “If your intentions are as you say, then we have no reason to be enemies.”

“Fine,” she growled, throwing caution to the wind. She stepped forward and strode up the ramp, holding the alien’s gaze. As she reached the doorway, she realized that the nothingness around it was actually a mass of shimmering air, like heat rising in the desert.

Was this the so-called cloaking he spoke of?

The warrior moved to one side, tipping his head ever so slightly as he made way for her. “One more thing,” he said lightly, his hand dropping to his sword hilt just as she crossed the threshold.

Tasha didn’t miss the subtle threat. Shit. Now she was within striking distance of him. “What do you want?” she hissed.

“You will tell me where you have sent the elder. The one Alexis calls Mama.”

She’smy Mama too. “She’s safe where she is, but if you have to go and get her, it’s probably better if you don’t suddenly show up with your guns and swords and invisible ships. She’s an old lady. She needs a little more time than us to process things.” Virginie was old-school. She’d never been off-planet, and she’d probably never seen aliens before. Tasha couldn’t imagine how overwhelmed she would be right now.

She cursed Felix and Kylian for being stubborn hotheads; for leaving Mama alone. She could only hope that this Isla person was as resourceful as Felix and Kylian claimed.

“We have dealt with human elders before. Believe it or not, we are not complete savages. If you want her to be safe, then you will tell me her location. Is it so hard for you to understand that nobody in the Universe can do protection better than us?”

“Protection? Some protection. You’re threatening me right now.”

“I am not.” He moved in closer, and she couldn’t help but become transfixed by his golden stare. His eyes narrowed. His pupils constricted. “I’m just trying to make you understand that you have no choice in this. You will give me the location.” A thread of tension entered his voice. His expression became a little scary.

Tasha tensed.

Abruptly, the warrior shook his head and let out an exasperated puff. “Stop being so difficult, human. How many times do I have to tell you that we are not interested in harming your people? Alexis is my brother’s mate. Do you even understand what that means? Of course you don’t. You’re human.”

Tasha gritted her teeth. “Well, explain it to me then, Kordolian. What does it mean for someone to be mates with a Kordolian like yourself?”

The Kordolian’s expression became very, very serious. “The Mating Fever is only ever triggered once in a male’s lifetime. We only mate once, and we mate for life. And once a female becomes ours, we will do anything to keep her satisfied. We will protect her at all costs, even if we have to destroy the Universe. We are selfish like that, you see.” He leaned in, his golden eyes burning right through her. Instead of distracting her from the fucking craving, the awful feeling intensified, extending through her body like a growing void, setting her blunted nerve endings on fire. She caught a tendril of something dark and intoxicating; musk and spice wrapped in a sunless winter morning.

“Several of my brothers are mated now,” he continued. “All of them to human females. They treat their mates like empresses and receive everything they never knew they needed in return. They are not my blood-kin, but I consider them as such, and by extension, the happiness and protection of their human mates is my direct responsibility. Their human mates become my kin. That includes Alexis. So do not waste my time, Tasha. Tell me what I need to know.”

Tasha…

The way he said her name…

It rolled off his tongue like water. As if he’d said it a thousand times before. And his words were so forceful; so vehement, so sincere that she had no choice but to believe him.

And… why was he still staring at her like that?

Keep it together!

She zeroed in on his scent. For some reason, it made her nausea a little better.

A soft human-sounding groan reached her ears, coming from deeper inside the ship. Was that… Felix? Waking up?

God, if the boys were the hotheads she remembered them to be, they were going to go insane.

And now she had this mad, intense, irritatingly insistent Kordolian on her case.

She remembered Alexis’s words.

They just want to make sure we’re all safe.

Could she trust that her sister was as smart as Tasha remembered? That she wouldn’t get fooled or seduced by a bunch of silver space-elves?

“Fine. I’ll tell you the ship’s registration number. If you’re as advanced as you appear to be, you’ll be able to get into one of Earth’s flight tracking systems and use it to find their location.”

The warrior didn’t say anything. He was still staring at her like that… almost like he wanted to devour her or something.

But his eyes were distant. He seemed distracted.

“Hey,” she said softly.

He blinked.

“Hey,” she said again.

“You…” He bared his fangs. His nostrils flared. His expression turned perfectly inhuman—she’d never seen anything like it in her life.

He looked utterly terrifying.

He uttered something in his native tongue; a low growl of a word that sounded a command.

His hand started to move… toward her.

He’s going to kill me!

Her mind was no longer rational.

And in that instant, Tasha’s body spun out of control.