Guardian [New World Book 6] (3 page)

“I’m not leaving you alone here with her, even if she is your mate.” This was a new dilemma which changed everything. If left alone, the human female would die without added protection. The skies were volatile with death. Roam’s mission was to save human females—even mated ones. “I’m certain Cobra would like to speak with you.”

“No doubt. I heard how he escaped confinement, released his men and has been slaughtering my race.”

“Your race
murdered
our females and your own.”

“I wasn’t the Tonan who killed your females. I watched my own mother die four hundred years ago. She was one of the last Tonan females alive—hidden in secret. My father died with her. His shield was down when my mother fell, he had no choice but to die with her. I saw all of it. It was the day my armor covered me. I was raised by a cruel male Tonan after I wandered the forest for days, alone.”

Something wasn’t right. Roam was confused. It was possible a female Tonan could have existed four hundred years ago. A slim and rare possibility. The Tonan wasn’t lying, Roam would know if he was. He could scent deception.

“What do you mean you heard Cobra had escaped? You say that like you were privy to some great secret. How long have you been on Earth?”

“Five years.”

Roam was astounded. So much so he took a step back. The Tonan before him had missed Cobra’s escape. He would have no idea Castians and Tonans coexisted on Bagron. He wasn’t wary of Roam because he was an enemy, he thought Roam was out for any Tonan blood he could spill.

“Cobra has offered sanctuary to any Tonan mated to a human.”

The Tonan stood thinking, he would know a Castian warrior does not lie, they were incapable of falsehoods. “I don’t trust you.”

Roam supposed he wouldn’t. The feeling was also reciprocated. “For your female’s sake you should consider my offer. There are worse creatures out there, hunting human females. The Gorgano can’t get past your shield, but they could murder your female with a simple thought if they come across her alone and unprotected.”

“Are they huge beasts? I ran across a beast with long white hair and red eyes. I avoided it. It was over seven feet.”

“They are the Zargonnii. They are looking for females to mate with. The Tonan overhead are no doubt in an alliance with the Gorgano. Those Tonan want all females dead to keep torturing not only Castians but their mated Tonan brothers who they think are traitors. The situation on Earth has escalated with so many hunting for females. Not to mention the encroaching waters.”

“Damn it,” the Tonan hissed.

“If your race finds you with a female, and no tail, they’ll slaughter you both—if you’re lucky, it would be a fast death, though I highly doubt it. Rogue Tonan are brutal with human females. When Cobra comes, you can come back with us. In the meantime, I’ll stay with you and help you protect your mate.”

“You can’t stay with us.”

“Why?”

“You don’t understand. I can’t allow you…What I mean is; you just show up and expect me to believe you, that all is well with Castians and Tonans.”

Roam was getting annoyed. He was trying to help the bastard. The Tonan wasn’t lying, but the prick was as sure as hell evasive. “I—don’t—lie. I am a Castian warrior, not a Tonan. Not all Tonans are welcome on Bagron, only the mated ones. All I was trying to do was offer my help for the sake of your female—just the female. I don’t trust you either.” The Tonan’s black tattoo shone bright displaying high emotion, Roam just knew under that shield he was being glared at. Roam grew angrier. “Fine then, suit yourself and let your little mate have her mind blown to pieces—along with you the second she dies.”

“Damn you.” The Tonan snarled the words, ground them out in fury. “You’ve almost depleted my shield and I can’t calm her down and heal my wounds.”

The Tonan’s shield dropped, the little female clinging to him was sobbing hysterically. Roam felt a wave of pity, as well as awash with guilt. He had forgotten she could hear everything when she was in there with him. The Tonan shield would not allow her detection, but she could see through it. Now that the shield had dropped Roam felt her anguish, her fear. The Tonan was no longer bleeding but looked strained.

The Tonan was wiping her tears away but they fell too fast. She was talking and sobbing, her words were incoherent. Roam tried to make out what she was mumbling.

“The shield is gone. She fell this morning. We were waiting for you to come home to heal the owie. What do we do?” The woman had slipped from the Tonan’s arms but had her body pressed against him.

“Everything will be fine, Macey, sweetheart; don’t cry, please. Ally will be okay.”

Roam was once again astounded. “Ally is your daughter?”

“Yes.” The woman was still sobbing amidst the Tonans attempt to soothe her. “Taz, the Tonans are bad enough, you told me about them, their cruelty, but now Zargonnii and Gorgano and this Castian. What’s next? Weren’t the storms bad enough? Why do we keep suffering? What will hunt us next?”

“This is a Castian warrior. He won’t hurt you.” The Tonan, Taz, said, he cast a grudging glance at Roam. Roam relaxed when the Tonan’s armor didn’t go up and no tail appeared. “A Castian warrior would never harm a child.” Again the grudging look, but still no tail.

So the bastard may not trust me, but he knows I’m no monster.

“Where is the child?” Roam asked with some worry. “You didn’t leave her all alone did you?”

“Of course not, she’s…”

Macey slammed her lips closed. Roam knew immediately what she had been about to say. “There are others.”

“They are all human and have no idea what I am. You can’t come back with me in your armor. You’ll scare the shit out of them,” Taz said. His back was ramrod straight. His jawline twitched. Roam narrowed his eyes onto him, how could he have no tail, yet the humans didn’t know what he was?

“If you have a child they must have seen—something.” All Castian and at one time Tonan children received a piece of their father’s shield to keep them safe from any harm. There was no shield stronger. At four or a little earlier a female child lost her shield but was able to be shielded by any male Castian or Tonan. It fostered a deep protective feeling toward males, and the females who lost the ability to be shielded at twenty-one would search for a mate. When males became of age, around four as well, they developed their own shields which stayed with them for life.

Most Tonans were too selfish to give their children a piece of their shield. That Taz must have, said something about his honor, in fact it spoke volumes. Living in this nightmare of a world, the girl would need what added protection she could get. If the shield was gone, Roam’s help would be doubly required.

“They think little Ally is a miracle baby,” Macey explained, her sobbing subsiding to a hiccup and sniffles. “The first time her shield went up for protection it saved her during a storm we had gotten caught in. A tree fell on her, but when it settled she walked out from under the branches and leaves harmlessly.”

“How many others?” Roam was excited. If that was the only time the baby shield had been seen it meant only one thing—no males were part of their group. Unless related, a baby shield wouldn’t allow any males near her or her mother when it came up.

“Four not including me, Macey and Ally,” Taz said.

“Four females?”

“Four scared females. I sense your distrust of me but I assure you, none know what I am. It’s for a good reason. One is a child, thirteen. Her sister is in her early twenties. They lost loved ones to Tonans and are terrified of my species. So terrified I was afraid to tell them what I am. Also afraid if they knew what I was and if I was decent so too would the others be, and we both know that’s not the case. I love them and would do nothing to hurt them. One woman is in her sixties and the last one is, well, she’s…”

“Her name is Jinx, and she’s a lovely young woman.”

“Yeah right,” Taz muttered.

Roam was feeling uncomfortable. He had come close to killing a Tonan responsible for six lives. No wonder his shield was so weak. With Taz’s shield down Roam could sense everything from him, worry, helplessness, confusion. Trusting a Castian warrior would go against everything Taz had learned. But so many females were precious. The humans Taz protected would be invaluable. The Tonan children on Bagron were valued just as high as any other female. They too were half human and would make good loving mates.

Roam had to see those human females. His heart raced for a moment until being calmed by his shield. Taz might not trust him, but knew a Castian warrior to be honorable with females. Roam didn’t trust Taz either, but the look on his mate’s face was so sorrowful.

“I’m sorry I attacked you, Taz. I had no idea. I can only imagine what you think of Castians. But I swear Cobra has taken any Tonan with a human mate under his wing. You and the others will be safe on Bagron; you have the word of a Castian warrior.”

Roam wouldn’t offer his word lightly.

“Is there really a safe place for us?” Macey asked, her sad eyes looked at Taz so hopefully Roam scented his restricted disbelief falter. “What did this warrior mean about the rising water? How much more danger are we in?”

“I know what this world is like,” Roam said. He immediately sensed Taz’s discomfort. He obviously had kept the information from his mate. The worry must be astronomical, knowing his mate and the others would eventually drown. Perhaps he should let Taz explain in his own way their impending demise. Roam, after all, had given them a lifeline. There would be no more concern—after they actually boarded the ship.

“The destruction and the uncertainty on this planet is great. Every area has cause for concern. Macey, your child would have others on Bagron just like her to play with. Unconditional acceptance. There are others like your mate, who mated human females from Earth, from here, Macey. You would be protected by many warriors who respect and value females. I’m certain Taz has told you your child is unique; all children are in their own way. But where I come from there are many four-year-old females who are half human and half Tonan. All of the children are coveted, and loved. Your little one would be embraced by welcome arms. Including mine.”

Roam knew Macey was immediately all for the idea; her scent of excitement was profound. He had offered her and her family a better world; more importantly, he offered her child acceptance and hope. Taz was still distrustful, but Macey’s scent would be too hard for her mate to ignore.

“The others don’t know what I am,” Taz said. “They are my family; at least I consider them to be. When the time is right we can tell them, but not yet. They have seen Tonan warriors slaughter family members.”

Roam was astounded with the scent engulfing Taz. The proud warrior was afraid of losing his loved ones to deceit. More so was the fact he couldn’t stand the idea of any of them fearing him. Grudging respect built. The proud warrior before him was vulnerable. A strange and yet appealing aspect in a Tonan.

“I will also tell you Jinx watched a Castian take her older sister away, Taz continued. “She hid, not knowing what to do. The Castian had no idea she was near or he would have taken her too. Tonans and Castians were battling, it was chaos. Human men were slaughtered. Human females scattered into the wind. Jinx was half dead when I found her. At the time, she was of an age I could heal her in my shield without her knowledge. To say she hates both Tonans and Castians wouldn’t begin to explain her feelings. Both our species ripped everything away from her in a single night. I healed her body but her emotions were a train wreck for a very long time.”

Roam was appalled. “A Castian kidnapped her sister? And never came back for her?”

Most assuredly a Castian would have come back for her sister once the older sister realized she would be safe.

“I don’t know if he did. The area we were in was too explosive. I had to move my family to where it was warmer, where the sun shines and I can regenerate and keep them safer. That was another continent ago. If he came back, Jinx would have been long gone, she couldn’t stay and wait alone. I couldn’t allow that to happen.”

“How did you get everyone moved?”

Taz smiled sheepishly. “I bit them and knocked them out, the same way I healed Jinx. Macey was easy, she knows what I am. I can shield a child until they turn twenty-one and as I said one is thirteen; her older sister recently turned twenty-one and can’t be shielded anymore. Jinx is twenty-three and I was able to move her four years ago.”

“You said one was in her sixties.”

“Macey’s aunt. It seems any female family can be shielded by a warrior. I was surprised to say the least. Before Macey, I had never shielded any female. I had to bite them and move them all within a twenty-four hour period. It was hell. I hid them well in a cave, sealing them in like a tomb, knowing if I didn’t come back their fate was sealed. I made certain I went back.”

There was passion in Taz’s voice. An entire continent in twenty-four hours on a planet with barely any sun at the time. It could have killed him. Roam’s head was spinning. Taz actually moved them over a continent to get them to safety. There was no doubt in Roam’s mind, Taz’s armor didn’t go up; his tail didn’t grow. No matter the research and experiments it was the one thing that vexed the Tonans—their inability to stop their tail from growing when lying.

Taz could have taken Macey, their child and the girl who would have been only nine at the time all at once, but he would have had to make another trip for the two young women, and yet another for the older female. The velocity he would have had to move at a continuous pace was mind numbing. It was humbling. Roam found himself thinking he had no other choice but to comply with Taz’s wishes. It would be the only way Taz would let him near his females.