It didn’t really matter what these people called him and his crew. The rebellion needed them alive, and this ‘Lord Andronikos’ and his Legion wanted them dead. It was a helluva spot to be in.
Hard to believe that an Air Force brat from New Jersey was someone’s idea of a legend. The Ancients, the Knights of the Gallant Order, protectors of the galaxy, come on! He had grown up running the streets and getting into more trouble than he could clearly remember. It all pretty much blurred into the same shit. Hell, if it wasn’t for Josh and my grandmother, I would probably be in jail instead of flying planes. He was no knight in shining armor, that was for sure.
Ash meandered toward the stairs and slowly walked down the narrow steps, lost in thought. It did sound like fiction, just how much his life had changed. How did a human wind up in another galaxy, who knew where in the universe, only to be mistaken as some prophesied knight? He would have had a better chance of being sucked up in a tornado and deposited in Oz.
Stepping out onto the lower section, he looked down over the large open area. Unconsciously, he lifted his right hand and pinched his left arm. He winced from the pain and shook his head. So much for hoping he had just been dreaming the last few weeks. “Erin, where in the hell did you and the rest of the nuts from the MIT department send me?”
“Who is MIT?” a feminine voice asked.
Ash started in surprise before he turned. A young Torrian woman stared back at him with a curious expression. A slow smile curved Ash’s lips. Who knew that red might be the new sexy? Turning to face the woman, Ash’s gaze moved over her face. She had large, dark brown eyes he was sure he could drown in. Her face was a long oval shape with a small nose and mouth. Dark swirls, like tattoos, curved across her forehead and down along her cheeks and throat before disappearing under her tunic. His gaze moved back to her eyes. Long, dark lashes made them really stand out.
“Just the geeks who programmed my escape pod, darling. My name’s Ashton Haze, but everyone calls me Ash. Who might you be?” Ash asked, stepping closer and raising her hand to his lips.
The woman looked back at him with a slightly amused expression. Ash gave her one of his sexiest smiles, reluctantly releasing her hand when she tugged on it. She shifted the long staff to the hand he just kissed.
“I am called Natta, not darling. Father has asked me to guide you to the Sandsabar,” she said.
“Father…,” Ash started to say, glancing back with a frown at the stairs he just descended before he looked back at Natta. “How many kids does Kubo have?”
“Forty,” Natta replied. “Come.”
“Forty! Are you shitting me?” Ash exclaimed in shock, turning to stare up at the open balcony where Kubo stood. “Geez, no wonder the old man is blind!”
Natta’s laughter told him that she had not only heard what he said, but that she understood his meaning. Ash might have actually blushed in embarrassment if he hadn’t been so shocked. Well, not really, but forty…! Shaking his head, he turned and followed his new guide.
“Were you serious?” Ash asked when he caught up with Natta.
Natta glanced out of the corner of her eye and laughed again. “No, but it was worth it to see your face, Ashton Haze who likes to be called Ash,” she replied with a mischievous grin.
“Well, I’ll be damned. Aliens with a sense of humor. What next? Chewy and the Munchkins doing a sing-along?” Ash muttered.
6
Ash followed Natta through the crowded streets. The nights were always busier than the days. Kubo had explained that many of the desert dwellers came to the city to do their trading after the sun went down. They completed their business at night in order to avoid the hottest part of the day on their return trip home.
After his first horrendous experience with the blistering heat, Ash could appreciate the need for that precaution. He would have practically killed to have had a set of these clothes that first day. It was nothing short of amazing the difference the clothing made in protecting his skin from the damaging rays.
Between the clothing and the goggles, he didn’t have any trouble during daylight hours now. Kubo had explained that the clothing was made from plant fibers that had a natural sunscreen. The texture of the fabric also allowed it to breathe, cooling the body. In a unique process, the Torrian fabric makers also added additional protection made from the flowers of the same plants.
“Our red skin is also conditioned to the intense heat. Your skin, even dark as it is, will blister,” Kubo had observed.
A shudder ran through Ash as he remembered the torture of the blisters. If he hadn’t found that group of rocks and the shallow spring nestled among them, he had no doubt he would have been a burnt corpse. At the moment, he was enjoying the cool, almost chilly breeze flowing through the tunnels that were cut deep into the mountains.
“The tunnels help cool the valley,” Natta explained when she saw him shiver, thinking that he was cold. “During the day, the heat rises. The tunnels are very long and are cooled by the water that seeps from them. When the dry air blows in from the desert, it is channeled through the tunnels, cooled, and flows down along the valley floor, pushing the heat up. It becomes trapped and helps to keep the city at a temperature where even in the height of the day, many visitors can venture out of the buildings.”
“I noticed that. It’s a lot like nature’s own air conditioning system,” Ash joked.
“I do not know this air conditioning system,” Natta replied, stopping to stare at Ash with a critical look. “You must cover your face better. There is a gap between the goggles and your head scarf. We do not normally wear either at night in the city. Hopefully, you will be mistaken for a sand dweller.”
Ash adjusted the head scarf. He waited until Natta was satisfied before he dropped his hands back to his side. His hand wrapped once again around the grip of the laser rifle he had taken.
Natta’s eyes widened, and she reached out to grip his arm. Ash started to glance over his shoulder to see what startled her, but she hissed and gripped his arm tighter to keep him from looking back. She wrapped her arm around his and pulled him back the way they had come. When they passed a section of merchant carts, she pushed him behind one. Raising a slender finger to her lips, she nodded to a large group of Legion soldiers that were stopping people.
“Something is going on. Stay here while I find out,” she ordered in a barely audible voice.
“Natta,” Ash protested, his fingers curling around her arm to stop her.
Natta shook her head. “I will be fine, Ashton Haze. If we get separated, the Sandsabar is at the end of the street and on the left. It is the only building with a domed roof. Do not enter through the front. Instead, take the alley in the back, but use caution if you do. Legion forces will be out front,” she instructed.
“Won’t the soldiers search the back alleys?” Ash asked with a frown.
Natta shrugged. “Perhaps, but very few merchants would travel the darker, more isolated alleys. It is not safe. At night, raiders and cutthroats from other worlds search for the unsuspecting to rob or kidnap. It is too easy for someone to attack you at night. There is safety in numbers, so those who are smart stay to the main streets. If you need to travel that way, be prepared and check carefully before you move. Perhaps, it would be better to return to the underground city.”
“No, I need to know if any of my friends survived. I can handle a dark alley, Natta. I’ve been down a lot of dangerous ones in the past,” Ash assured her.
Natta hesitated for a moment, searching his face before she reluctantly nodded. “I will go see if I can discover what has happened.”
Ash dropped his hand when she stepped back around the thick curtain of cloth hanging on display. He moved a couple of steps to the left so he could peer through a gap in the fabric. Natta was pretending to look at some merchandise while moving closer to the soldiers.
She was almost to a small group of them when they suddenly turned and began pushing through the crowd. They were heading in
the direction of the Sandsabar. Natta fell back against the table across from him when another group of soldiers ran by in formation.
“Shit!” Ash muttered.
Turning on his heel, he cut through the back of the shop. Pausing, he carefully opened the back door. Several buildings down, he counted two… four… five movements. The sounds of yelling out front told him that whatever was happening was heating up.
“Ash!” Natta hissed, coming up behind him.
Ash turned with a muted curse, his hand freezing just shy of Natta’s neck. He clenched his fingers and let his hand drop to his side. She stared at him with wide, startled eyes.
“Don’t… It’s not a good idea to startle me, Natta,” Ash warned. “What’s going on?”
“General Landais is here!” she replied.
“That’s the Director’s guy, right?” Ash asked in exasperation.
“Yes. He is very, very dangerous, Ash. You must not let him see you. I must get you to safety. We should return to my father,” Natta whispered in an urgent tone.
Ash reached up and touched Natta’s cheek. “No, sweetheart. If this guy is after your brother – and possibly one of my friends – I need to go. I’m a soldier too, Natta, and a damn good one. Go warn your father that General Landais is here. I hope your brother can handle himself,” Ash said, turning away.
“The guards will have already warned Devona. She will send Hutu and any others through the factory behind the Sandsabar. There are many ways to exit the building that will lead them away from the Legion forces. Here, take this. It will get you in through the doors,” Natta instructed, reaching up and removing the crystal from around her neck. “Be safe, Ashton Haze.”
“No worries, darling. I was born for trouble,” Ash retorted with a wink.
“My name is not…,” Natta started to say before she shook her head and watched Ash step out of the building. “I hope Father is right, Ashton Haze. Our world and many others need to know there is hope against Andronikos and his forces.”
Ash moved cautiously along the wall, pausing in the shadows and listening for any sound of movement or voices. Shooting the rifle would not do him much good in a close fight, but he could still use it as a weapon. Thanks to Josh’s dad and his grandmother, he and Josh had taken martial arts classes after they were caught spray painting railroad cars. Ash didn’t know which parental figure he had been more afraid of, Josh’s dad or his own grandmother, when they came to the police station to pick them up. Being handcuffed at the age of eight had convinced Ash that it was not the way he wanted to spend his life. His grandmother’s silence and the disappointment in her eyes was his undoing. When Josh’s dad appeared three days later with a brochure on Judo and Taekwondo classes available on the base, his grandmother had taken one look at him and signed the permission form.
For the next nine years, he and Josh attended classes seven days a week, practically through every rain, shine, and sick day. It helped that the two of them did it together. After getting their asses handed to them on a platter during their first competition, they had made a deal to keep training until they were the best.
Those extra years honed their senses and toned their bodies. Ash quickly learned the ladies liked seeing ‘his moves’ both in and out of the bedroom. He wasn’t opposed to flexing a little muscle if it meant a nice night of mad, passionate, no-holds-barred sex. Of course, it helped that he wasn’t as picky as Josh was either.
Ash sent a small thanks to both Josh’s dad and his grandmother for not giving up on him and pushing him to be the best at whatever he did – well, the sex wasn’t part of it, but they didn’t have to know that. He was ready for whatever came his way. Ash felt his muscles tense before he forced them to relax. There were two men on either side of the alley. The only way past them was going through the middle.
Drawing in a deep breath, he forced everything from his mind, searching for his center of balance. Once he found it, he stepped forward and waited. He didn’t have long to wait.
Just as Natta warned him, the two men moved in on each side of him. Ash didn’t wait to ask what they wanted. Swirling the rifle in his hands, he slammed the end of it into the throat of the man to his right. He didn’t pull his punch. The blow knocked his attacker back into the shadows of the building, leaving the man choking and gasping for air.
Twisting around in a graceful arc, Ash knocked the legs out from under the assailant coming at him from the left. This one was more nimble than the other attacker. He hit the ground and rolled back to his feet, a long blade in his right hand.
“You’ll be a good one for the fight rings,” the man snarled.
Ash shook his head, understanding about half the Torrian words the man spoke. “I’m a lover, dude, not a fighter. Just ask the ladies,” he replied in English deciding it was too complicated to speak it in Torrian.
“You can be sold for that, too,” the man retorted, charging him.
Ash blocked the jab and struck the man’s chest with lightning fast moves before bringing the butt of the rifle up under the man’s chin in a tooth-shattering blow. He finished his offense with a crushing strike to the attacker’s right cheekbone. Ash grimaced when he heard the bones snap. That was going to hurt like a son-of-a-bitch in the morning.
The second attacker crumpled at his feet, knocked out from the blow. Ash turned back to the other man who he had throat punched. He was still lying on the ground holding his throat. Soft, muted sobs escaped him. Ash muttered a curse. He hoped the blow wouldn’t kill the guy. He didn’t relish dealing with the alien version of a court of law.
“Aw shit, I don’t need this,” Ash groaned, walking over to the guy and pressing the rifle against his chest. “If you are fucking pretending, I’ll blow a hole through your chest, do you understand me?”
The man nodded. Ash knelt down next to the attacker. It wasn’t until he looked more closely that he realized the ‘man’ was really just a boy. The boy’s face was long and thin, as if he hadn’t had much to eat. His face was a powder white with dark orange and black stripes on it. His white hair was short and spiky. Yellow, cat-shaped eyes stared up at him fearfully. Shaking his head, Ash touched the boy’s throat with gentle fingers. The boy winced, but remained perfectly still.
“You’ll be alright, son. You may be drinking liquids for a few days, but you’ll live. You need to find better company to hang out with than that jackass over there,” Ash told him with a reassuring pat on the boy’s chest.
The boy’s eyes widened and he nodded. Ash stood up and glanced over at the other attacker. There was no doubt that the man was an adult and not a greenhorn like the kid. With a shake of his head, he glanced down the alley. The other three he saw had disappeared. He didn’t know if the fight scared them away or if they decided to take their nefarious activities someplace else.
Ash gripped the rifle close to his side and took off at a sprint down the alley. He was still several blocks from the Sandsabar if he had to guess. Three buildings down, he veered to the side and into the shadows. Dozens of Legion troopers were beginning to swarm the buildings and alleys.
“Shit,” Ash whispered, backing up into the doorway and watching.
His stomach clenched when he saw the first body they carried out. It was only when they passed through a shaft of moonlight that he saw the Legion uniform on the man. His gaze moved to the top of the building when he saw lights flash from above. It would appear whoever they were looking for had escaped.
Ash fumbled for the door behind him when he noticed a group of soldiers glance in his direction. They wouldn’t be able to see him in the shadows from their location, but at the rate they were moving, it was only a matter of time before they would be able to. He mouthed a silent curse when he realized it was locked.
The sudden memory of the crystal Natta had given him flashed through his mind. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out and waved it in front of the control panel. Almost immediately he heard the click of the lock disengaging, and the door slid
open. He stepped backwards and watched the door close.
He decided it was time to blend in with the crowds again out front. He might be able to get close enough to the Sandsabar to discover what was going on. Ash pocketed the crystal and adjusted his head scarf and goggles again. Clutching the rifle against his side, he strode toward the front of the building. The merchant looked at him, held up a hand, then waved for him to move out into the crowds once several Legion soldiers walked by.
Ash didn’t know how the Torrians’ network was so good, maybe they had some kind of communication system set up, but he could feel the gazes of the other merchants following him as he walked past them. He paused across the street from the Sandsabar. A Torrian woman was standing in stiff defiance, glaring at the soldier in front of her.
Ash turned when the crowd suddenly became quiet and parted, as if by some invisible force. He couldn’t help but think it looked like waves parting in a biblical sense when the line of soldiers stood at attention in two perfect rows, and the crowd around them came to a standstill. A tall, dark-haired man in a black uniform strode forward. Ash saw enough generals and admirals during his military career to know this was someone of high rank and importance.
This must be none other than the dreaded Count Landais, Ash thought.
Okay, maybe classifying the guy with the same lines as Count Dracula might not be the best way to think of him. After all, Ash was on an alien planet so anything could technically be possible. It also didn’t help that while Hollywood tried to glamorize the guy, all the history books pretty much stated the same thing – you didn’t want to piss off Dracula if you wanted to live.
General Landais must have felt Ash’s intense gaze on him because he slowed to a stop and carefully scanned the crowd. Ash stepped behind a slab of hanging meat. He hoped the guy didn’t have x-ray vision. Several tense seconds passed before Landais turned and continued walking by the woman and the group of soldiers and entered the Sandsabar. Only when Landais was gone did a collected sigh of relief echo through the crowd.