Forced Handfasting (17 page)

“Can you trace where the signal came from?” he thundered.

Silence filled the room, and no one moved at first. Everyone was stunned by the news that Lady Keena was dead, and Lady Samantha was taken prisoner. The sound that finally cut through the thick air was one filled with anguish. Marco fell to his knees in front of the screen sobbing his heart out. There would be no amount of consoling that would ease the man’s pain.

Jahan came out of his stupor and kneeled beside his brother. Their other brother, Vito, moved to stand over them as the three brothers grieved as a family. The loss of Keena would hit the family hard
,
but it was Marco, and little Daneel who would suffer the most.

“Let us go to your quarters, Marco,” Vito said as he tried to help his brother up off the sandstone floor.

Marco jerked his shoulder loose from his brother’s grasp. “Leave me be!” he shouted at him. “I can get up on my own!”

“I meant no harm or disrespect, brother,” Vito replied with a saddened heart.

Marco drew in a deep breath and looked at both of his brothers. “I apologize, brother.” It was barely a whisper that edged out of his downturned face. The tears that dripped down his face fell silently to the ground. “I will avenge her death,” he hissed out then looked at the screen.

“We all will, brother. For now, go to your son.” Vito guided him out of the command center. Daneel would be too young to realize what had just happened to his beloved mother. It would be up to Marco now to let his mother’s memory live on inside his little boy.

“I will join you as soon as I can,” Jahan said as his younger brothers moved past him.

Vito nodded in response then left the command center. Jahan turned his attention back to a blank screen. He needed to come up with a plan so that he could get his Samantha back. By the looks of her in the transmission, she had been injured badly in the supposed crash that killed Keena. He could see that her beautiful face was swollen, and purple on one side, and that one of her legs appeared to have suffered damage since it was bandaged from foot to thigh. Whatever injuries she might have sustained he couldn’t tell, but he needed to get to her as quickly as possible.

“Anything yet on the trace?” he asked.

“I’m working on it, my lord,” Tully said as his fingers flew across the keyboard. “It might take some time.”

Jahan nodded but stayed standing before Tully. He wasn’t going to leave the room until he had his plan in place. He just prayed that Tully would be able to trace where the transmission came from.

An hour later Tully successfully traced the area where Rahman had broadcasted his call.

Traitor. It was approximately two hundred, and seventy-three miles from their current spot, and would take a couple of hours to get there. Jahan had Tully pull up a map of the area in question so that they could study it, and find their best way in undetected.

“This area is nothing but water. It surrounds a large island, until recently, was deserted. I’ve never been out there, so I don’t know what to expect.” Tully pointed to the said area on the digital map stretched out on the table before them. “I can send a three-manned team to see if there is anyway onto the island. “

Jahan stood glaring down at the map with his arms folded across his muscled chest. His hand unconsciously rubbed his chin that sported an unshaven beard. His eyes which were normally dark purple fanning out into blue were completely dark, not a hit of the blue showed. Every muscle in his body was so tense that his body was beginning to ache, but he shoved back the nuisance, and focused on the map.

“What about here? It that a land bridge?” Jahan asked. It looked as if there was a small strip of land that jutted out near the main island. It might be their only hope of gaining entry onto the island without being noticed.

“The only way to find out is to go out there. This map is old, and the landscape could have very well changed. Plus, there’s no telling what kind of improvements Rahman may have done to the area. If he had been planning this war for some time, the damn place might be a fucking fortress.” Niko spoke up.

“Fine. I want to leave as soon as possible. Get every Roamer cycle ready, and make sure they are all equipped with silencers. Rahman might not be expecting us to show up on roamers, so we need to be as quiet as possible. We’ll take a few ships with us but stash them somewhere out of sight until we have gained access to the island.” Jahan paced around the table as he delved out instructions. “I want the men prepared to march on the island as soon as I give the order.”

The next several hours were filled with preparing to leave. Roamer cycle after roamer cycle lined up in the garage to wait for its turn to be fitted with a silencer. It only took a matter of minutes to fit the special tube onto the outtake system, but there were over one hundred cycles to be fitted. Soldiers filled every nook and cranny as they waited to be loaded onto the ships. As they waited, weapons were cleaned and check then rechecked for accuracy. Mechanics ran around the extremely busy garage getting everything ready. No one sat around idle; even the younger children did their part by staying out of the way for once. The older girls, and boys, who were not yet old enough to train to be a soldier kept all the youngsters occupied so that even the females could participate in getting things ready.

The hour finally arrived when Jahan called the soldiers to load up. The ones assigned to the roamer cycles put on their helmets and started up the engines that purred quieter than a newborn Leema.

“Alright men! The time has come to move out. No one, I repeat, no one is to do anything with my permission. We have to maintain an element of surprise! Let’s move out.” He mounted his roamer cycle and was about to put on his helmet when he noticed Marco mounting his own cycle. “Marco! What are you doing?”

Marco turned puffy eyes in his direction. “What does it look like I am doing?”

“I didn’t ask you to come on this mission. Maybe, you should stay…”

“Don’t even think about leaving me behind!” Marco shouted at him. “Do you really believe I would stay behind while you go after Keena’s killer? No, I will be part of this.” He swung his leg over the seat of the roamer cycle.

“I just thought…you might not be up to it,” Jahan replied. He knew his brother would have never stayed behind even if he had commanded him to do so. The man had every right to seek out justice for the death of his beloved wife.

“I don’t need your pity, Jahan.” Marco started his cycle then took off without another word.

Jahan’s hearts were breaking for his brother. Marco and Keena had been childhood sweethearts, and her death had devastated him. It would take a long time for Marco to accept Keena’s death if he ever did. His wife was an injured prisoner, but at least she was still alive. He had a chance to get her back, and nurse her back to health, whereas Marco did not. The only thing that was going to help them, all of them, to recover would be a big move off Uxslore. In time, he, his brothers, and all the survivors of his people would recover, and move on with their lives. First though, they needed to eliminate a major obstacle that threatened all of them.

Chapter 16

Samantha came to again with the sound of talking near her. This time she felt even worse than the last time she had awoken to find herself strapped down in an unfamiliar bed. Her head pounded; her leg throbbed, and her heart ached.
Does Jahan know where I am? I should have never asked Keena if she wanted to participate in my little scheme. Now look what I’ve caused.

She couldn’t hold in the sob that boiled to the surface. It erupted from her mouth in a heart rendering tear so loud that the medic, or whoever he was, came into the room to check on her. He took one pitying look at her then did an about face and left her alone again.

Good! I didn’t want you in here anyway! Just leave me alone!
She had no idea how long she lay there crying her eyes out, but the sound of a woman’s soothing voice her calmed her down almost instantly.

My child, it’s not your fault.
The soft voice filled her head. She opened her one good eye to search for a face to match the voice.
You can’t see me right now, my love, but know that I am with you.

Are you in my head,
she asked without speaking.

Only you can hear, if that is what you are asking. But, yes, I am in your head.

Who are you?

I am the Goddess of Life. I have been watching over you for a long time now. I know your heart is troubled, and I am here to offer you comfort.

But, Keena is dead, and it’s all my fault!

No child. Keena made her choice. Unfortunately, her choices lead to her death.

But if you are a goddess, why couldn’t you save her?

I may be the Goddess of Life
,
but I do not interfere when one is called home to the gods. It is beyond my control to stop the death of one of my children. If it is destined to happen, not even I can change the course. But, lighten your heart, Samantha, Keena is happy and sends a message to you. She wants to let you know that the accident was in no way your fault. She readily admits she was wrong in taking you out farther than you wanted to go, even though you were both wrong in leaving the safety of your husbands’ home.

Sam sobbed again. She felt totally responsible for Keena’s death. How in the world was she ever going to face Marco?

But she is gone now, and Daneel is without a mother, and if I hadn’t asked Keena to come with me, she would still be alive!

Child, you torment yourself for no reason. Keena had plans on searching for her parents no matter what. You just happened to be the one who set her plans in motion. Daneel will grow up to be a fine man, and he will treasure the memory of his mother. Marco will grieve but in time he will accept the loss of his wife, and move on.

That’s easy for you to say. You weren’t the one who fooled the guard in the garage so that we could go outside! I was the one who did that.

I know my child. I was with you two the entire time because I knew what was going to happen. Believe me when I tell you that Keena did not suffer when the accident occurred. The gods had taken her before she hit the ground.

Sam felt the soft caress of a hand on her cheek. Her eye popped open only to reveal that she was still alone.

You promise me she didn’t suffer?

The Goddess of Life chuckled a bit.
I do not lie
,
but I promise she didn’t suffer. Now, prepare yourself for the upcoming events. Your husband is on his way. Things will get worse before they get better, but know that things will get better. I must go now, but I will be with you always.
The soft caress had lingered for a minute before it disappeared. The Goddess of Life was gone.

Sam lay still as she thought about what just happened in her head. Was it really real or did she just dream that whole thing? There was no way a goddess would come to speak to her personally! But the feeling of it being real never left her.

The hours ticked by while she faded in, and out of sleep. It wasn’t until she heard a loud bang that brought her awake. Standing next to her bed was someone she didn’t know.

“Well, hello Samantha.”

The man standing next to her bed had cold grey eyes that sent a chill down her spine.

“Who are you?” she asked groggily.

“I am Councilman Rahman, soon to be your new ruler.” He smirked down at her.

“Whatever, you are nothing but a cold-hearted killer!”

“Ahh, such harsh words from someone so beautiful!” Rahman reached out to rub his finger down her bare arm.

“Don’t touch me, asshole!”

“Tsk, tsk. Such a filthy mouth for someone so pretty. Maybe I should have a medic come in, and give it a good scrubbing.” He laughed as he continued to rub her arm.

She jerked her arm in an attempt to get his finger off her, ultimately failing. Chills ran up, and down her body as this Rahman man continued to touch her. She turned her face away from him in an attempt to block him out.

“How are you feeling this evening?”

She ignored his question and closed her eye again, so she didn’t have to see him out the corner of her limited vision.

“You are a feisty one. I like that in a female!” He moved around to the opposite side of her bed. “I have made an important decision about you, and Jahan.”

At the sound of Jahan’s name, her eye snapped back open to look at the evil man in her room.

“I have decided I am not going to kill you. First,” he paused and smiled at her, “I am going to fuck you while your husband watches. Then after our little show, I am going to slowly kill Jahan, something I have wanted to do for a very long time. After I am rid of that problem, I am going to take you as my wife! You will be the mother of my children who will, in turn, be the heirs to Uxslore. Don’t worry my dear, we won’t have to have a relationship other than when I take your body, and use it the way I see fit.”

“I will never submit to you! I would rather die!”

“I figured you would say something like. But, see, death would be too easy of a thing for you and Jahan. I want Jahan to suffer before I take his life, and after I want him to go to his grave knowing that I have his wife. Not that I want a human for a wife, but its serves my purpose.”

“I will never let you touch me, and will not bear you any children!” she spit out at him.

“Oh yes, you will. I have it all worked out, you see. I will take you again, and again until you are with child, then, and only then, will you have a reprieve from my touch. Each, and every time you become pregnant with my child, you will be locked into a room where you can not do any kind of harm to yourself or my child. Once you deliver the child, I will give you two months to recover before I begin to seek out your body again. This process will continue until you are no longer able to produce children, at that point you may have the death you wish for.”

Her stomach turned on her. She had to fight back the waves of nausea that threatened to spill from her onto the bed. This man was a raving lunatic! He was going to keep her as his baby maker until it either killed her or she could no longer produce his children.

“You make me sick!”

Rahman tilted his head back and laughed at the white ceiling panels. “And you make me laugh! I will have to thank Jahan for buying you! I must admit; I was quite pissed off when he informed us of your wedding, but now I can see what he saw in you.” He walked off from her bedside, and towards the door. She thought he was about to leave when he turned back to look at her with a big smile on his face. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. The child that you are carrying will be my first child, so you have some time to get use to the idea of being mine. Won’t Jahan be happy to know that his child will still have a father after he is gone?” He exited the room with her staring at his back open-mouthed.

What the hell did he just say? Am I pregnant? Oh God! Jahan, please help me!