First Awakenings

  “Tallei is strict. I nearly died under her hand more than once,” Kella said with a hint of pride for her mentor’s strength and her own strength derived from those experiences. “It did not happen often of course. I learned not to fail. I became one of the best in training.”

  Ash’s mouth tightened and his eyes flashed with an uncharacteristic anger. “My grandmother didn’t believe in using physical violence, especially against kids,” he said.

  Kella looked at him with a puzzled frown. “But… how could you be trained if you were not beaten? Surely you must have failed, at least once. How could she control you if you did not fear her?” she asked.

  “I failed plenty of times. Heck, probably more than I needed to. Grandma felt that failure was just as important as success. If I had succeeded all the time, I wouldn’t have learned as much, or become the man I am,” Ash explained, reaching across to touch her hand.

  Kella started to pull her hand away, but stopped when she realized he wasn’t trying to grab her. He turned his hand so that his palm was facing up. He felt an unfamiliar tug in his chest when an expression of uncertainty crossed her face.

  She glanced up at his face before looking back down at his hand. He wiggled his fingers and waited. It took a minute before she finally slid her hand into his. He didn’t close his fingers around her hand. Something told him that this was all new, unfamiliar territory to Kella and it broke his heart. Instead, he gently caressed her hand as if stroking a small bird.

  “My love for my grandmother controlled me. I didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes when she looked at me. If I tried something and failed, she looked at me with love and compassion and then encouraged me to try again and again until I succeeded. If I did something bad, she would become quiet. She still looked at me with love, but I could see the disappointment, even when she tried to hide it,” he murmured in a soft, gentle tone.

  Kella stared at him, unblinking. “Tallei does not love. Love is a weak emotion. To love something or someone gives that person power over you and makes you vulnerable. Your enemies will attack that vulnerability. You should not treasure anything, for it will be your downfall,” she replied, pulling her hand out of his and clenching her fist.

  Ash was about to reply when the door behind them opened. They both rose at the same time. The difference was he wasn’t holding a gun aimed at the person who entered.

  Ash swore if Abeni could turn any whiter, there wouldn’t have been a shred of color on the boy’s face. He was holding several bags in his hands and remained frozen on the doorstep. Ash could see Noma behind her grandson. The boy must have found Noma on his return from searching for Hutu.

  Deciding he needed to take control of the situation, he stepped around the table and walked toward the door, placing his body between Kella and Abeni. He just hoped Kella did not get a twitch or have to sneeze. If she did, he would be visiting hell a lot more quickly than he wanted to.

  “We… have food,” Abeni said in a slightly strangled tone that was not completely due to the bruising on it.

  “Thank you, Abeni. We’re glad you both made it back safely. Aren’t we, Kella?” Ash responded with a pointed look over his shoulder.

  “Yes, I am still hungry,” Kella admitted, lowering her gun and replacing it at her waist. Ash stepped aside so the other two could enter and cleared his throat. Kella flashed him a confused glance before she rolled her eyes in exasperation. She was so cute, Ash had to grin. “Thank you,” she added in a stiff voice.

  Ash was not sure who looked more startled, Abeni or Noma. It was obvious they were not expecting the polite words from Kella. He followed them back to the table. Abeni placed the bags on the counter before turning to pull two large crates over to the table to make additional seating. Noma quickly unpacked the bags and began preparing them all a more substantial meal.

  “Do you need any help, Noma? My grandmother made sure I knew my way around a kitchen,” Ash asked.

  Noma quickly shook her head. “No, thank you, Ancient Knight. This will not take long,” she assured him, peeking over at Kella before turning back to her task.

  Ash took up a position on the crate to Kella’s left. The position kept him facing the door. Kella recognized what he was doing and moved across to the seat he vacated.

  “Were you able to find Hutu and the others?” Ash asked, leaning forward on the table.

  Abeni sat down on the other crate and shook his head. Ash couldn’t help but think the boy looked very young and tired. He was curious about why Abeni had hooked up with the other man from the alley. Probably desperation, he thought as he watched the way the boy kept glancing worriedly at his grandmother.

  “No one saw them or has heard of them, at least from what I was able to find out. It is like they vanished,” Abeni said.

  Ash released a dry laugh and nodded his head. “I imagine Hutu is pretty damn good if he is anything like his father. Do you know who was with him?” he asked, trying to hide the intensity of his need to find out which member might have survived.

  “There was a woman and a man. The woman had the markings of a Tesla Terrian. No one saw what the man looked like. He kept his head covered,” Abeni replied.

  “I saw him,” Kella said, glancing at Ash.

  “You… How…? Where…? What did he look like?” Ash asked in surprise.

  Kella looked uncomfortable for a moment before her face cleared and she shrugged. “It was outside the Sandsabar. He was pale, not a white like Abeni and Noma, more the color of the sand. His hair was a dark brown, almost the color of your skin. He… moved like you did in the alley when you fought those men and spoke words like you do. He also….” Her voice faded and grew troubled.

  Ash reached over and picked her right hand up in his. “He also what, Kella?” he asked.

  Kella gazed at him with a puzzled expression. “You say you are not one of the Ancient Knights, but if you are like him, then you must be,” she murmured.

  “Why? Why do you say that?” Ash asked.

  Kella studied his face with an intense expression. “Because he carried a staff given to the Knights of the Gallant Order. He fought with it in the way you do. He came from the stars and fell to the planet. It is just like the stories on the disk said,” she said in a voice that grew more intense the more she talked.

  Ash sensed Abeni and Noma’s sudden stillness. He glanced around at the two of them. They were staring at him with a mixture of hope and awe. He swallowed. These people thought he was something he wasn’t.

  What’s important is that Josh is alive, Ash told himself. Sergi’s hair was more of a white-blonde the last time he saw him. His accent was also different. It had to be Josh. Once Ash found him, they would figure out their next step together.

  Still, he had to at least try to set them straight. Just letting them go on thinking he was…their savior or something – no, he had to say something.

  “I know what you are thinking. Kubo said the same thing about the ancients creating a gateway and promising to come back one day when the people of this world needed them again. We did come through a gateway, but it’s not what you think,” Ash tried to explain, searching their faces.

  “Did you fall from the stars?” Kella finally asked.

  Ash turned to gaze at Kella. “Yeah. When our spaceship began to break apart, we were forced into the emergency pods on board the Gliese. The pods were ejected into space when the hull was breached. The onboard computer on each pod was programmed to search for the nearest habitable location. My capsule fell to this world. It wasn’t like we had much choice, we were dead either way – or so we thought. Those emergency pods were a prototype designed by a bunch of students, but I’ll be damned if they didn’t work the way they were designed to! We hoped we’d never have to use them because we were sure it would be certain death. None of this would have happened if we hadn’t been ordered to see if we could get the gateway working. Sergi was able to fix the damn thing, but the Gliese 581 must have been too cl
ose. The gateway activated and sucked us in. The ship couldn’t break free of the force without destroying most of the ship. We would never have made it home. Sergi was hurt. Josh refused to leave him. We were able to get them back on board, but it was too late. Josh made the decision to go through it. I don’t remember anything after we went through. I woke a few weeks ago out in the desert. I made my way across it, found the road that led to the city, and here I am,” Ash said, blinking and pushing the memories away.

  “We are glad you are here, Ancient Knight,” Noma said, stepping forward and placing two plates filled with food on the table. “You must eat and rest. The city is full of Legion soldiers. It is dangerous for you to journey now. Tomorrow, Abeni and I will learn more and bring you news. We thank you, Turbinta, for your generous credits.”

  Kella pulled her hand free of Ash’s and sat back when Noma returned with another plate of food. Her lips parted at the delicious smells and her stomach growled loudly. She glanced up at Noma with an uncertain look before she nodded her head.

  “Thank you, Noma, for purchasing and preparing the food,” Kella said in a stiff voice.

  Ash grinned. “I’ll second that,” he said, happy to have something other than his imaginary alien knighthood to discuss.

  11

  Several hours later, Ash stepped out of the bathroom. He was surprised when Abeni showed them the room behind a curtained doorway. Ash had thought it was a storage area. He paused and listened to Abeni’s soft snores for a moment. The curtains were closed, but he could see Abeni’s foot sticking out from under it. Noma and Abeni were good people.

  It had taken a bit of convincing, but he and Kella insisted that Noma keep her bed. Abeni slept on a pallet on the floor next to his grandmother. Noma had brought out more blankets and several woven mats for Ash and Kella to make pallets on the floor in the room that made up the kitchen, dining, and living area.

  Kella lay on her pallet. His lips twitched and he stopped to stare at her for several long seconds. She was lying on her back with a laser pistol in each hand. The blanket to cover her was still neatly folded next to her. Hell, she hadn’t even taken her boots off!

  “Do you always sleep like this?” Ash asked, taking off his robe and lowering himself down to his pallet.

  Kella turned her head to look at him as he folded the robe next to him. “Yes. It is always better to be prepared,” she stated, turning her head to face up again and closing her eyes.

  “Prepared for what?” Ash asked, removing his boots.

  Kella released a sigh and turned her head to look at him again with a frown. He pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his knees.

  “In case someone tries to kill me,” Kella finally replied.

  Ash raised an eyebrow. “Does that happen often?” he asked in curiosity.

  Kella sighed again and rolled onto her side so that she was facing him. “Do you always talk so much and ask so many questions?” she retorted.

  Ash chuckled and shook his head. “No. Usually when I’m alone with a beautiful woman, I have better things to do,” he teased.

  She gazed at him with a curious expression. “Like what?” she asked.

  Ash glanced at the pistols in her hands. “You put those pistols away and I might show you,” he said.

  Her eyes narrowed and her lips tightened. Ash didn’t know why he felt like teasing her. There was just something about her that goaded him to break through the icy reserve she wore like a shield of protection around her.

  “If you try to harm me, I will slit your throat,” she warned, slowly placing both pistols on her other side.

  Ash’s eyes twinkled with mischief. What was it about this woman threatening to kill him that turned him on? He didn’t think his long abstinence was the reason. She was exotic, curious, yet cautious, and had an air of innocence that he had always avoided in women as if it were the plague. His mind was telling him to stop, that he was treading on dangerous ground while his body was doing a damn football chant!

  “Honey, the last thing on my mind is trying to harm you,” he promised, the bad boy side of him slamming the door on rational thought. “I have just one more question.”

  She suspiciously eyed him. “What?”

  “Are you sure you are ready for this?” Ash asked, twisting around so he could close the distance between them.

  He saw her swallow. Her eyes widened and a trace of hesitancy flickered through them before she blinked it away. He really liked the way she lifted her chin in defiance. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull and taunting him to do something about it.

  Ash crawled the short distance, pacing it to build the anticipation. This was going to be a true test of wills. Hers to keep from killing him and his to keep from taking it beyond the teasing. Right now, his body was clamoring to ignore the danger – and the fact that they weren’t exactly alone – and take care of his physical desires. Josh had always warned him that he better be careful of playing with fire. His friend always swore that one day Ash would meet his match and find a lady who was too hot to handle.

  “What… what are you doing?” Kella asked, rolling over onto her back when Ash leaned over her.

  Ash gazed down into Kella’s eyes. He lifted his left hand and tenderly ran the tips of his fingers along her silky hair. It was coarser than he’d thought it would be, but still soft to the touch. He continued his exploration, running his fingers along the curve of her cheek. His eyes darkened with emotion when he saw the bruising on it. Unable to resist, he bent and brushed a kiss against the discolored flesh. He made sure he didn’t press against the damaged tissue.

  “I should have killed the men like you said,” Ash murmured against her skin.

  “Ye… yes… you… should have. Leaving… leaving them alive… leaving them alive…. Ash….”

  Kella’s hesitant, disjointed words told him that she wasn’t any more immune to him than he was to her. It would appear that nature, and their pheromones, were in sync. Whatever in the hell was going on, he liked it.

  “I want to kiss you, but I don’t want to hurt you,” Ash groaned in frustration.

  Kella turned her head. The move placed her lips almost directly under his. He could feel her warm breath against his lips.

  “How would you hurt me?” she asked.

  “You have a busted and bruised lip. The way I want to kiss you – well, let’s just say gentle isn’t part of what I want to be at the moment,” he replied.

  She touched her bottom lip where it was bruised with the tip of her tongue. Ash bit back the muttered curse he wanted to release. She was not making this any easier on him. The bad part was: he suspected she wasn’t even aware of that fact.

  “It doesn’t hurt,” she whispered.

  “You probably shouldn’t have told me that, Kella,” Ash moaned.

  He lowered his head and captured her lips in a heated but tender kiss. Her lips parted in a gasp and he took advantage of it, running his tongue along her smooth teeth before tangling with her tongue. In that moment, Ash knew he was in big trouble.

  Kella didn’t know what to expect, but this was not it. She had seen men and women together before; it would have been difficult to work in Tallei’s bar and not see those who came to relieve their needs, but confusion swept through her at the magnitude of emotions stirring inside her. How could the touching of lips cause so much reaction?

  She lifted her hands to his chest. Her intention had been to push him away. That thought faded when he touched his tongue to hers and her hands encountered a warm, hard, muscular chest hidden under the soft, thin shirt. Tallei had always warned Kella that her curiosity would get her into trouble. Kella pushed the thought of her mentor away. Tallei was not here and Kella didn’t want to stop. She wanted to explore these new feelings raging inside of her.

  Her hands slid up his chest and along his shoulders. Her fingers touched the skin at the back of his neck, enjoying the warmth radiating from him. There had been so many nights when she shivered
in the cold. Tallei had told her it was to condition her. Tallei had told her many, many things over the years.

  But, Tallei isn’t here now, she vaguely thought, pulling Ash closer to her.

  Ash pulled hard on the reins of his emotions. Warning bells were blaring inside of him. He swept his hand down along Kella’s side, bracing most of his weight on his right hand. Her slight wince reminded him of the blows she received to her side and helped him regain a small fraction of his self-control.

  It was several minutes later before he reluctantly released her lips. They were swollen and glistening. He closed his eyes and willed his body to listen to him.

  “Damn girl, you are hot,” Ash murmured before he opened his eyes and pushed back up onto his haunches.

  Kella blinked up at him, her eyes dazed and unfocused. “I am not hot. It is very cool in here,” she replied.

  Ash chuckled and shook his head. He glanced over toward the curtained alcove when he heard Abeni release a series of short snores. Nothing like a chaperone and a bruised heroine to keep the hero in line, not that he thought of himself as much of a hero.

  With a grunt, Ash pushed up and out of Kella’s reach. He turned and gathered his pallet, robe, and blankets. He left his boots where he placed them.

  “Where are you going?” Kella asked, sitting up to stare at him.

  Ash rolled his shoulders and drew in a deep breath to calm his body and mind before he turned to look at her. He dragged the pallet closer to hers and lined it up. If he was going to apply for superhero status, he might as well go all the way.

  “Well, I can’t have you catching a cold after saving your life, now can I? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and you need to get some rest so your body can heal. I don’t know about you, but I hate being cold when I’m trying to get a good night’s sleep,” Ash stated

  “What are you doing?” Kella asked in confusion when he reached down and took the blanket she had set to the side.