Cosmic Bliss (12 page)

“It’s really good advice. You have never hesitated to enter
a battle before. Why do you hesitate now?” Cheris touched her hand.

“I—” Words would not come.

“Exactly. Now we need you to get well so I’m going to give
you this shot of
buron
.” She stood and went to a table nestled against
the wall.

“I’m going to be out of it.” Complaining wouldn’t save her.

“Yes, but in two risings the minor damage you have left will
be all gone. We didn’t give it to you earlier because it would have been
dangerous while you were unconscious.”

Acia crawled out of the bed and headed slowly for her
bathing area. She was going to the bathing room and brushing her teeth no
matter how long it took her tired body to get there. The
buron
would
make her forget even those simple tasks. Cheris made no comment. She waited
patiently and quickly administered the shot once Acia stumbled back to bed.

Shunyuan glanced ahead. In the distance he spotted what was
obviously a village. He hadn’t really paid much attention when they arrived.
His only thoughts had been to carry Acia somewhere safe and to get her well. It
was going to kill him to leave her. Already he dreaded the day he would no
longer get to hold her. He forcefully pushed those thoughts away.

He stopped on the orange dirt road. Everything had a faintly
peach glow. Cheris explained the outer atmosphere of Dovia contained elements
that reacted together to tint the sky. The day he’d arrived on Dovia the sky
had been tinged lavender.

Along the path he took, the grass seemed to be having the
same problem choosing a color. As the wind blew, the emerald-green grass
undulated and sparkled with tiny dots of gold, silver, crimson, vermilion and
azuline blue.

There was a rumble in the distance and Shunyuan pulled his
blaster from his belt. He searched the area, disregarding what appeared to be
trees with multicolored foliage. The leaves reminded him of cotton candy.

From his left, orange dust billowed as the rumbling sound
became more prominent. Two creatures bounded toward Shunyuan. They were both
large and running on two legs. Their arms hung lower than their knees. Each
creature’s body was covered in strands of fur. One was pastel pink and the
other pastel blue.

Their eyes were black and wide set in their flat faces. They
had two slits for nostrils and pink tongues that lolled between sharp pointed
teeth. He’d seen so much since aliens had invaded his planet and yet here was
more strangeness than he’d ever thought possible.

They slowed to a stop ten feet away from Shunyuan. A man
rode on the back of each of the beasts. The creatures shifted and dropped
forward until they were on all fours. The beasts snorted and sounded a loud
nasal call, as if a roar was strained through a synthesizer.

A man slid from each of the beast’s backs. One had
close-cropped hair the color of a yellow crayon and the other’s was a bright
purple. They were each extremely short and had sparkling skin. Even though they
didn’t carry visible weapons, Shunyuan didn’t lower his guard.

“Alien, I am Gras and this is goodman Plaun. How is
goodwoman Acia?” the purple-haired man said.

“Does she know you?” Shunyuan asked.

The men finally looked down at the blaster Shunyuan held
loosely by his side.

“We mean you no harm, alien. Goodwoman Acia is my father’s
brother’s daughter,” the yellow-haired Plaun said.

“We are on our way to her dwelling now,” Gras said.

Shunyuan eyed the men. If there was danger, he could take
the men, but the beasts might prove to be a problem.

“What are these creatures?” He jerked his chin toward the
pacing animals.

“These are
kardas
. They are sentient. We have an
understanding with most beings on Dovia. We treat no animal as prey and they do
not treat us as prey. Only the green aliens come and do so.”

Yes. Shunyuan understood. The Gastronians had purchased
Shunyuan to be an arena slave fighter. Shunyuan motioned for the men to pass
him.

“I’ll go with you,” Shunyuan said.

The Dovian men made a series of nasal noises and the
kardas
sounded another synthesized roar before ambling off.

They were back at the cottage quickly. Cheris opened the
door before Shunyuan could. She stepped out and closed the door behind herself.

“Goodman Plaun, goodman Gras, it is a pleasure to see you
again,” she said.

Plaun nodded to her. “Goodwoman Cheris, we have come to see
about the welfare of my kinswoman, goodwoman Acia.”

“She is mending. I have seen to her care today and she
cannot possibly see visitors until week’s end. Shunyuan, I need to see you
inside.”

She bowed, turned and entered the cottage. Shunyuan
followed.

He closed the door. “Are they a threat?”

Cheris laughed. “No. Dovians are the mildest-mannered men in
the United Universe. Acia wouldn’t appreciate them inside her space without her
being conscious. I gave her
buron
to speed the healing and she will
sleep for the next two risings.”

“She just woke up.” Shunyuan frowned.

“Trust me. This will make her heal. All you need to do is
worry about her heart because it will be broken if you reject her.”

“Cheris.” He didn’t know what to say.

“I’m leaving now. I’m trusting you with my girl.”

Acia awoke completely alert, lying next to Shunyuan. She
eased slowly out of bed and went to the washroom, brushed her teeth and ran a
warm scented bath. She was sore from so much sleeping and felt hideous and
grubby.

Afterward, she grabbed a
pegal
from the closet
outside the washroom and quickly dressed. When she returned to the main room,
Shunyuan was up and placing new linen on the bed. She walked over and bent to
help.

Shunyuan turned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer
until she was flush against his warm body. Acia closed her eyes and opened the
mate link wide. Since she had been a girl she had never given up without a
fight. She wouldn’t start now.

“I’m happy you are awake finally. How do you feel?” He
kissed her newly washed hair.

“The
buron
has healed me completely.” She pulled away
a little and looked up at him. “Let’s explore some and have a picnic before the
entire village shows up to check on my welfare.”

“Too late. I’ve been turning them away.”

Acia smiled at the concern from her community. She’d needed
to come home and rejuvenate. Being here with Shunyuan was a joy she couldn’t
express in words. She quickly found her basket and filled it as Shunyuan
disappeared into the washroom.

As they exited the cottage, he took the quilt and basket
from her. The day was tinted blue. Insects and small animals scurried out of
holes or from behind
lowey
trees. It was strange to be in the open air
and not the confines of the
Dovian Heart
.

She took him to her favorite place. The flowers there grew
in waist-high patches in every color known to Dovia. Shunyuan spread the quilt
next to the pond and Acia stretched out and patted the space next to her for
Shunyuan to sit. What would it take for him to remain with her as her mate?

“Why are you sad, Acia?”

She sat up and hugged her legs to her chest. “I’m sad
because I almost let you go without telling you I want you to stay.”

His hand touched her back gently. “Acia, my entire planet is
suffering. I have information that could help them. I must return.”

“What can you do from your planet? We could find contacts
for you from the resistance. Aliens like Vender and Anit, who do this work
daily. Anit even works with the Earth rebellion.”

“Acia, my fight is on the ground.”

She turned her head away so her forehead rested on her
raised knees. Her hair made a curtain, shielding her from his gaze.

“You will find another, Acia.”

She lifted her head, for the first time she let her anger
show. “There can never be another, Shunyuan. We are joined. My body, heart and
emotions are set to yours. Without you I must be solitary. Forever after, I am
Shunyuan’s mate.”

He surrounded her with his arms and legs. Acia felt both
rejected and comforted. His link was closed, but she could feel the regret in
his touch.

“Please stay, Shunyuan.” She poured all the love she felt
for him along their link. She held his gaze, willing him to see the gift they’d
been given through the mating. She needed him to want to be with her.

There was a rustle in the grass. Small
ake
scampered
from their leisurely spots in the grass to find holes to hide.
Ake
weren’t afraid of much.

“Shunyuan, danger is near,” Acia whispered.

They moved as one, grabbing the items they’d brought to the
lake. They dropped low and hid in a nearby patch of tall flowers. Acia shoved
the quilt in the basket and pulled the weapon she’d strapped to her thigh from
under her
pegal
. She looked over at Shunyuan, who also had his blaster
in hand.

All was quiet. It seemed as if every animal in the area had
taken the opportunity to hide. Leaving the basket hidden, they slowly moved
from patch of flowers to patch of flowers until they neared Acia’s cottage.

Gastronians were everywhere.

“They’re trampling my flowers,” she whispered.

The back door swung open and slammed against the side of the
cottage. A female Gastronian appeared. She was just as broad and muscular as
the males, but dressed in an ankle-length dress, fur vest and boots. Acid
churned in her stomach at the sight of the Gastronian woman.

“That is Zon’a. The sister of Tag’u, the man I killed as a
child.”

“You both are persistent about killing each other.”

“Well, we strike at the family specifically. We won’t ever
forget. We don’t let them forget.”

Zon’a had been there when Acia and her friends were being
abused. In fact, Acia could still feel the woman’s booted foot in her back as
Zon’a had recited for the “little beast” the duties each day. Now the horrible
woman had been in her cottage, likely pawing her things and destroying her space.
She pushed away her anger.

“We have to get around them and lay some type of trap. There
are too many of them for just the two of us,” Shunyuan said.

“I also don’t want any unsuspecting Dovian to walk into this
nest of Gastronians,” she whispered.

“I know you have a hidden stash of weapons somewhere, Acia.”

She did. She led the way slowly. No Gastronians followed.
Her hiding place wasn’t far, but it was out of sight of her cottage. Her first
trip back to Dovia, Acia had painstakingly dug an underground chamber, giving
thanks to Dovana, the earth, as she did so.

She stood over the spot. Acia quickly made the sign of
Dovana, a sweep of valley and mountain, before beginning to clear the dirt from
the hidden entrance. Grass and flowers had taken root in the soil she had used
to hide the door so she and Shunyuan had to work hard to reach the latch
underneath.

He pulled the door open and Acia descended into the room by
the rope ladder. She activated the lights and grabbed a spare communicator. She
attempted to secure a line as Shunyuan began to pull weapons from the walls.

“Got it.” Acia began to enter the communication codes for
her crew. She hoped the women not in fervor would have their coms available and
respond.

“DH One to DH Two, green terror on the loose.” She attempted
to reach Cheris through the communicator.

She felt Shunyuan pull her
pegal
down and off. He
held open a pair of pants. She kept clothes for emergencies here. She stepped
into the multicolored camouflaged pants. They would blend in with the colors on
Dovia, unlike the black she wore on ship. He secured the waistband and kissed
her breast. Her body gave an involuntary shiver.

“DH One to DH Three, green terror on the loose.”

She paused while Shunyuan quickly helped her into a matching
camouflage top made from a hard-to-grip material. She continued to try each
crew member as Shunyuan strapped weapons to both of their bodies.

“This is DH Four to DH One, message received. Tactical
maneuver fifteen. DH Four, out.”

“Berisa?” Shunyuan asked.

“Yes.” She began loading a knapsack and put on her boots.
“Let’s go. She’ll be getting everyone into place.”

Acia transferred the communications signal to an earpiece
and picked up one for Shunyuan and did the same. Shunyuan grabbed her hand and
pulled her close. He kissed her. His tongue swirled and danced with hers.

“Kick ass, but be careful.” He stared into her eyes.

She squeezed his hand before pulling away and heading for
the ladder. She wouldn’t promise him anything. Careful wasn’t a consideration
for her when both her people and her mate were in danger.

“You’re right. There is no way we can win if we just walk up
to them and try to blast as many as we can,” she said. They replaced the lid to
the hiding place.

“The plan?” Shunyuan asked.

“Camouflage and pure trickery.”

They worked quickly and quietly, setting up the multiple
shot blasters on camouflaged posts in various locations. These were set to the
control grid Acia would use to operate them when the time came. Her cottage
would be full of holes and burn marks when she was done, but it would be worth
it to be rid of the Gastronians.

She admired the way Shunyuan worked. As Berisa had reported,
if you showed him something dealing with technology or weapons once, he could
perform the task almost immediately. They fell into an easy rhythm. She didn’t
want to startle him, but they were using their bond to communicate without
words. Nods, glances and hand gestures carried an entire conversation’s worth
of meaning to a mated pair.

Now they hid in the lower branches of a beautifully
overgrown
lowey
tree. The foliage was so dense they would only be
spotted by someone who knew to look for them there. She watched the activity
around the rear of her cottage with a tight mouth. Zon’a’s men needed to be
expelled from her dwelling.

There was no sign of Zon’a. The men lounged around Acia’s
cottage with blasters in hand. Their big feet trampled her grass and broke the
blades. She watched as one man grabbed a handful of vegetable leaves and pulled
the roots from the ground. He tossed a few to his comrades. They ate and tossed
the remains to the earth. Another Gastronian pushed over her altar to Dovana.

Shunyuan laid a gentle hand on her back. She was nearly
vibrating with rage.

“All they do is destroy,” she whispered.

“We’ll fix everything after we bury their remains.”

“DH Two to DH One, countdown in five.” She heard Cheris
clearly through her earpiece.

“Copy, DH One and,” Acia looked at Shunyuan, “E One ready.”

He smiled and she smiled back. They had already sent out the
signal for the wild life in the area to remain hidden. Dovians had been warned
to stay away.

She counted down the time in her head. She typed the code
into the remote.

“Now,” Shunyuan said.

She pushed the start initiator. Immediately, blaster fire
rained down on the Gastronians surrounding the cottage. The unprepared fell to
the ground wounded or dead. Others took cover and returned fire. It seemed as
if the green men were surrounded by a large force. All sides of the cottage
took blaster fire.

It wouldn’t last long. The blasters could only be set to
fire automatically for a short amount of time. The sounds of the multiple shot
blasters tapered off gradually. They didn’t allow the Gastronians to regroup.
Shunyuan and Acia dropped to the ground and ran to the courtyard. Berisa,
Cheris and all the crew of the
Dovian Heart
swarmed from the front.

“Inside.”

Acia agreed as she followed his much longer stride inside
the cottage. She wanted Zon’a. She wanted her badly. Holes and burns peppered
the walls. The other women would take care of any Gastronians who were only
injured and not dead. Acia narrowed her eyes as she observed the destruction in
her home. Her sheets were scattered on the ground. Dishes were broken and
strewn across the floor. Her clothes were ripped and thrown everywhere.

The front room was empty of Gastronians. She headed for her
bathing room. Shunyuan pulled her back and led the way. She didn’t protest.
They needed to be quiet, but she sent her displeasure along their link. She
stopped at the end of the short corridor so he would have room to move if the
room was occupied. He pushed the partially opened door with his foot. The room
was empty. They headed for the front door.

Shunyuan pushed open the door. He leaned back as a muscular
green arm reached in to grab him. She watched as Shunyuan’s arm came up swiftly
to capture the Gastronian’s wrist. Shunyuan pulled sharply, forcing the
Gastronian to smack against the outside wall. Shunyuan twisted the arm and
dragged the dazed Gastronian to the doorway, positioning the man’s back to his
front as a shield.

The man had a blaster in his other hand. Shunyuan grabbed
the hand and the blaster and pushed the door farther open with his shoulder.
Gastronians stood at the foot of the stairs. Shunyuan squeezed his captive’s hand
and shot the waiting Gastronians in the head. Then he turned the man’s blaster
on its owner, shooting him in the temple. He pushed the man away and off the
side of the steps.

“You might need a whole new place,” he said. “Bad luck.”

“You think?” The sarcasm in her tone was undercut by the
smile she was trying to hide. “I like a man with moves.”

He laughed briefly. She scanned the area as they descended
the stairs. Shunyuan kicked a corpse out of the way and she watched as he tried
to keep his body between her and danger.
Silly man.

Cheris and Berisa came strolling around the cottage from
different sides.

“All clear in the rear, Acia,” Berisa said.

“Zon’a wasn’t among the dead.” Shunyuan was still scanning
his surroundings. “They all kind of look alike to me and we didn’t get a good
original head count. There could be two or twenty still out there.”

“Ruvia and Figia are taking Ora and Juni home. They have
more days of the fervor left. Ora’s mate had to be subdued so she could come,”
Cheris said.

Acia reeled back. “Why would she venture out in fervor and
with a Dovian mate who wouldn’t understand what we do?”

“She came for you, Acia. We are a family,” Berisa said.

Acia looked up at Shunyuan. He gazed back steadily for a
moment before continuing his check of their surroundings. He’d told her she was
the reason they continued to risk their lives. Acia knew what it was to
disappoint a mate. Ora had to be feeling awful.

“We can’t stay here,” he said.

“Little beasts, I’ve come back for you.”

They scattered for cover. Shunyuan pulled Acia behind a
bush. There was nothing to see and the area was unnaturally silent with the
animals all hiding. Acia remained quiet and waited for Zon’a to reveal herself.

“But I really want the little redheaded beast. Let her face
me in combat. It is time I avenge my brother now that I’ve run you to ground in
your little hovel.”