Guardian [New World Book 6] (14 page)

“And you.” Her tone was so loathsome Roam winced. “Was it you who stole my sister? Back for the other one now?”

“I don’t know who your sister is,” Roam said quietly. “I promise you, if a Castian warrior has her she is safe and unharmed.”

“
Liar,”
she screamed. “She begged him to let her go. I can still hear her screams in my mind, how terrified she was.”

“I know we are frightening when shielded. If you let me explain,” Roam said.

“What’s to explain? The Tonans murdered my father, the Castians stole my sister. That about covers it.”

“I didn’t murder your father,” Taz said.

Jinx was shaking; she narrowed her gaze onto Taz. “How do I know? You found me. You have tried to control everything I do from the time I met you.”

“It’s to keep you safe,” Taz said.

“From what? A Tonan? A Castian? Yeah, good job.”

“Jinx, I wanted you to get to know me,” Roam said. “But something awful has happened. My leader is coming for me, for his warriors. There is an evil far worse than what you think Taz and I are. This planet isn’t safe. I’m uncertain anywhere is safe. I feel your hurt, sense your feeling of betrayal. Look at me. I’m a Castian warrior; Taz is a Tonan warrior. By rights we should be enemies but for you, for your family we bonded to keep you safe.”

“Your sacrifice is dually noted.” Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

What bothered Roam the most was her terror of him, of Taz. She loved Taz, she hated Taz. When Cobra came it would take a miracle to get her on the ship. If she didn’t come, she would die. Jinx rose from the ground and ran, her flight was erratic.

“Go get Macey,” Roam said to Taz. “You need to tell the others it’s time to go.”

Taz nodded, his shield was up and he was in motion. Roam went after Jinx.

Chapter 7

Jinx ran until her chest felt as though it would burst. She was surprised her heart thumped so loudly with life when it was shattered by betrayal.
How could they? How could he?
Two sentences ran through her mind terrorizing her thoughts. She loved Roam, how could he do this to her? She had given herself to a beast. The agony dropped her to her knees. For the first time in four years, Jinx cried.

Heart-wrenching sobs tore from her throat. A river of tears trailed down her face and she watched them splash onto her hands, curled on her thighs. Roam was a Castian, a killer. Taz was a Tonan, a heinous evil alien. Did Macey know? How could she not? Was Jinx the only one who didn’t know; did they really consider her part of their family?

Jinx leaned forward and settled her hands into the sodden earth; she thought she might vomit. Wet, cold dirt soaked into her pants at the knees. A shiver rippled down her spine indicating she wasn’t alone, when all she felt was aloneness.

He was standing behind her, she felt Roam’s presence. The rain began to drop, slowly at first, then harder. Jinx was drenched; the jungle floor began to pool around her legs as she took deep breaths and sat back onto her thighs. There was nowhere left for the water to go. The jungle floor was too saturated to accept anymore. Jinx felt the same, too saturated with pain to be able to handle anymore.

Please go away.

“Taz went back to the cave. He’s telling the others what you discovered.” Jinx didn’t care.

“Go away.”

“I won’t leave you alone in the jungle.” Came his loathsome voice to her ears. “My leader is coming for me—us. I’m sorry, Jinx. I wanted to tell you, but after what you have been through, Taz and I felt it would be better for you to get to know me.”

“
I know all about your kind
,” she screamed.

“You don’t understand my kind.” Damn him and his calm, gentle tone. “The Castian warrior who took your sister was saving her. You said it yourself, that night was death. Yes, if the warrior knew you were there, you would already be on Bagron. He would have healed you, like Taz healed you.”

Jinx was so confused. How had Taz healed her? It didn’t make any sense; she just hadn’t been as injured as she once thought. Taz was no doctor. Filthy Tonans didn’t help, they hurt; they maimed and killed. But Taz was a Tonan, he had never harmed her or any of the others. Roam was evil. Taz had kept their family safe, but Roam pretended to love her to get her to go home with him. To a planet filled with evil Castians who kidnap defenseless women.

“Your sister will be happy to see you.” His words made her stiffen.

“I won’t go anywhere with you.”

“Earth is dead. There is nowhere safe from the rising waters.”

“You’re a lying bastard.”

“A normal Castian warrior can’t lie. I will never lie to you.”

Furious, Jinx jumped up and spun to face him. He stood there, dripping, in his tight black pants, no shirt, just those idiotic sandals he wore on his feet. He was fast, she’d give him that; he had changed his clothes.

“You have been lying to me for weeks,” she said through gnashed teeth. “You have been pretending to be a human man. Deception is a lie.”

“I never once claimed to be human. You didn’t ask.”

“That’s supposed to make everything all better? Because I didn’t ask? What was I supposed to say? Hey, how’s the weather, are you human?”

He sighed. “And what was I to say? Hey, how’s it going; I’m a Castian whom you despise because you think we are all the same without knowing any of us.”

“You’re an alien.”

“Technically, so are you—to me. Think about it, Jinx, think back to that dark night four years ago. The Castians were fighting the Tonans. The Tonans were murdering the males, such as your father. Did you once see a Castian kill any human? They were there to help.”

“They—stole—Jade.”

Without fear, she stood so close to him they could touch one another. The pouring rain dripped down his cheeks onto his nipple-free chest. It made sense now, why he never took his shirt off. Yet another lie, another deception. For a race who claimed they couldn’t lie, they sure did their fair share.

“Taz is a liar, he said so himself all Tonans are liars.”

“Taz only lied to you once, about me being from Florida. He paid for it. I love you, Jinx.”

“
You don’t get to say that
,” she screamed.

“I can’t help but say it. It’s true. I just lost one of my best friends; please, I can’t lose you too.”

“They stole my sister,” Jinx hated the whimper in her tone. She hated more he was a liar and she loved him.

“I will get your sister back. I swear it. You can ask her if she’s unhappy. I bet the only thing keeping her from being truly happy is knowing you’re on this Godforsaken planet, alone, or dead. While she is safe and being loved. I can feel how confused you are. You love Taz and it’s killing you to hate him. If one single person in a family is a cold-blooded killer, don’t blame the entire family. Each person is an individual. He is nothing like the other rogue Tonans. You can’t begin to imagine how hard this has been on Taz.

“I respect him. My sworn enemy is now my warrior mate. I’ve seen his memories; you have no idea what he had to overcome. The only way I could go near Macey was to become part of him; I wouldn’t have done that, not even for you, if he was vile filth. You are right, she’s pregnant.”

“How can she carry a filthy Tonan bastard’s baby?”

“Do you feel that way about Ally? She doesn’t know she’s half-human, half-Tonan. All she knows is that you love her. You still do, don’t you?”

Of course she loved Ally. A horrible thought entered her mind. “Oh God, no. I’m not carrying your baby, am I?”

Roam looked wounded. He bowed his head. Jinx wondered if the water streaming down his face were mixed with tears. But then she remembered Taz had told her Castians and Tonans can’t cry. So many little things now fit into place and made perfect sense. There was always something bothering her, all the little information Taz leaked, but she shoved the feeling away because she loved Taz so much. He was her hero. A Tonan rogue was her hero. The two beasts she hated were her heroes.

“I wanted to tell you what I was last night. I should have. We could have made a baby, I wanted to, but I love you and it has to be your choice. My seed, my shield spilled onto the cave floor. You carry no baby.”

“Your shield?”

Jinx didn’t understand. Roam was shielded in the jungle, now he wasn’t. Where did the shield go? Roam held out his hand and Jinx’s eyes widened in stunned surprise. Black armor dark as ebony oozed out of his palm to cover his hands in armor. His fingers grew into long talons; one white talon bore a hook. When she looked up to gaze her wary eyes onto him, she stepped back a pace. His face was shielded. A glowing green tattoo pulsed high on both cheeks.

When completely shielded, he was hideous. On his feet were claws like a velociraptor. He looked larger than his six foot four, but she supposed it was because he was so terrifying. Her confusion grew. Ally never looked like Taz in this way. She looked like a normal little girl. A normal little girl who never once had an accident before the age of four.

“Does Ally have this shield?” she asked.

The rain was tapering off. Roam stood motionless for a few moments more before soaking his armor back into his body. Jinx understood why he was so heavy; he had to weigh hundreds of pounds. Where did the armor go?

“Ally had a baby shield. Once a child turns four, or sometimes shortly before or after, the shield is gone. A warrior can shield any child up to the age of twenty-one as long as she is female. It’s how Taz healed you. He pulled you into his shield until you were healthy.”

“What about boys?” She thought she knew the answer.

“Around the same age as the female children, a male develops the same armor you saw on me. Castian and Tonan males grow very fast, we need to because we are warriors. By the time we are six we can hold our own on any battle field. We are immortal, indestructible. The bond between families is strong. A brother can shield a sister, his mother, his warrior mate’s female, not to mention his own female mate.”

“But you said your friend died.” Another lie for sympathy?

The sadness on Roam’s face was enough to tell her he spoke the truth. His pain was real. “When a warrior mates, he mates for life. If his mate is killed, she takes too much of him to survive without his shield up. Slay chose to be with Tia in death.”

“How can you possibly know this?”

Roam suddenly looked up. He pulled her into his arms, his shield went up. “I’ll answer anything you want, later. Don’t be afraid, Jinx. I swear on my life nothing will harm you.”

Jinx screamed when a black hole appeared. It looked like the same hole that the Castian had taken her sister in. She cried out, beating at his armor. Roam scooped her up and strode into the hole. Jinx couldn’t breathe. They were suddenly on a massive space ship. Everywhere she looked armored Castians walked. Many stared at her. They looked like the black sea of death.

* * * *

Roam strode straight to Cobra with Jinx hiding in his arms. Her terror could be scented by the closer warriors. Cobra looked at the female then dismissed her. His taloned hand rested for a moment onto Roam’s shoulder.

“We all mourn your loss,” Cobra said.

Sadness engulfed the hanger. Loss of life devastated them all because they could feel Roam’s emotions.

“How?” Roam asked.

“The Gorgano. As we speak, Rask is coordinating a battle plan. I’ve already sent the other ship home, we returned early to retrieve our warriors; the situation on Earth is growing steadily worse. Only the colder continents aren’t in imminent danger. The bastards attacked Bagron once I reached Earth. The rogue Tonans and Gorgano are working together. We were lucky Slay and his mate were our only losses. I have come to bring my warriors home.”

“Scarlet?” Roam asked.

“The child lives, she wasn’t with her parents when the tragedy occurred. She is going to need you.” Cobra peeked closer at Jinx. “You have done well.”

“There are others, Cobra. I’ll take you to them. My warrior mate is expecting us.”

“Your warrior mate?” Confusion radiated from his leader.

“I had to warrior mate with another to keep six females safe. They all fear us. Including the Tonan warrior I warrior mated with.” Roam held out his curled white talon. Cobra raised an interested eye in response.

“I always wondered if a Castian could warrior mate with a Tonan. I guess I have my answer,” Cobra said.

“He’s a good warrior. He kept his little family safe on Earth for the last five years.”

“Five years? How the hell did he get there?”

“That’s a long story, best suited for a different time. I need to get my little female somewhere she can feel safe.”

“Take her to your cabin. We’ll be ready to move out when you return.”

Roam pressed Jinx closer to his chest and leaped at the ship wall. His talons and claws found easy footing as he scaled high into the ship void of stairs or elevators. Every time Jinx stole a peek of her surroundings her heart raced faster, she gripped him tighter. Roam needed to get her settled, he needed to get to his room and take down his shield. Her terror was hurting his soul.