Page 26 of Alien Knight Steals the Bride

Juliette hit the ground hard. Every bone in her body ached, her breath knocked out of her. Still, she rolled to her feet, the scalpel gripped tightly in her hand.

With lightning speed, the red man was on her, ripping the scalpel from her before she could react. Grabbing the back of her hair in an iron grip, he yanked her toward her dead friend, a look of boredom and regret flashing across his face as he prodded Balinora with the tip of his very expensive looking polished shoes. “Pity. I’d planned to sell her on the black market. Her kind make excellent pleasure-pain slaves.”

He heaved a sigh then continued, “No matter. She was young. Her meat will bring an excellent price on the blood market. But you,” he said, using the back of his free hand to stroke her cheek before caressing her long black hair between his fingers, “are the real prize.”

Juliette refused to fall for the ploy. Refused to ask what he meant. She wasn’t going to play his game, whatever it was. Rape or murder. Or both. That was to be her fate. She wasn’t stupid. Glaring into his face, she sneered, “How fortunate for you.”

“Allow me to introduce myself,” he bowed his head slightly. “I am C’bor Ubrion, eldest son of Intergalactic Council Member R’Gan Ubrion of Cappra. May I have the pleasure of your name?”

“Drop dead,” she glared.

C’bor raised an eyebrow, his tone amused. “You humans are so fragile, yet you choose to antagonize those of superior strength and ability without concern for your wellbeing. Your continued existence. A quality I find extremely attractive. I knew the moment I saw you walk through the front doors that I had to have you for myself.”

He held out a hand. “Agree to be mine willingly and I will make you my bride.”

Juliette refused his hand. Instead, she closed her eyes, tried to slow her racing thoughts. Focus on options. She couldn’t make herself marry C’bor, but maybe agreeing to marriage right now would buy her some time. Time for Torrin to return to the ship and see that she was gone. Time for him to find her.

Opening her eyes, she placed a trembling hand in his. “Very well. I will be yours as long as you agree to my conditions.”

“You are in no position to make demands. However, I am feeling magnanimous. Tell me, what is it you want?” he asked.

Juliette swallowed her tears. Pushed her sorrow down deep. Right now, she had to survive. “First, you will not eat my friend. She deserves a proper burial, which you will give her.”

“Of course,” he agreed.

Juliette narrowed her gaze. His smile was patently false. The truth was there in his own beady eyes. He had no intention of honoring her request. He found her amusing and was merely humoring her.

“Anything else?” he asked when she failed to continue.

“Yes,” Juliette said, her own smile as false as his. “I want a big wedding, with a big, fancy dress and lots of flowers.”

C’bor smiled in true victory. “And whose name shall I put next to mine on the invitations?”

“Juliette Diane Rosen,” she glared, too angry to make up a false name.

“Excellent. And do you formally and of your own free will, Juliette Diane Rosen, agree to be my bride?”

“Yes,” she hissed, bile rising to the back of her throat.

“A gift of my affection then,” he nodded. From his pocket he pulled two small ankle bracelets. He attached first one delicate chain, then the other to her ankles. With an evil glint in his eye, he said, “And I, C’bor Ubrion of Cappra, do formally and of my own free will, agree to take you as my bride.”

Juliette gasped as each bracelet shrank and hardened into one solid piece, the links liquefying and re-solidifying as if by magic. She tugged at them, but they wouldn’t budge. Wouldn’t come off. “What is this? What have you done?” she yelled, her heart thundering in panic.

C’bor smirked triumphantly. “It is not whatIhave done but whatwehave done. And by Cappran tradition and law,wehave just bound ourselves in marriage. And my gift, sweet wife, are chains of obedience. I am a collector of ancient artifacts, you see. The practice of forced obedience is a bit outdated. Archaic, even, but that’s part of what makes it so much fun. One command from me and those chains will force your legs into any position I desire. I expect our first joining in the marriage bed to be..” he paused, “spectacular.”

Juliette’s fury at being tricked knew no bounds. ”That’s never going to happen, asshole.”

He laughed. “We’ll see.” In a harsh, commanding tone he ordered, “Follow me. I have a ship waiting at the space port.” Turning toward the door, he stepped nonchalantly over the guard who had passed out from the pain of being blinded by the scalpel and walked out of the room.

Juliette’s chains of obedience tightened painfully until she took a step toward the door. Toward C’bor. One painful step at a time she followed him; exactly as he’d ordered her to do.

Chapter Twelve

Torrin slammed his invisible armor-plated fist into the table in frustration, folding the metal nearly in two. Along with the orb and his new sword, they’d found a treasure trove of ancient technology, including a full suit of Lumerian armor. Unlike the other Lumerian’s armor, which was constantly flickering, his was the darkest shade of black he’d ever seen. So deep a black his eyes played tricks on him when he was trying to put it on, convinced he was reaching into a black hole instead of a solid piece of armor, the carbon nanotubes completely absorbing all sources of light. The effect had been almost dizzying, his depth perception completely thrown off kilter. “Dammit! Where could she have gone?”

“She’s no longer inside this dwelling. It’s possible she escaped through an underground tunnel. My men are searching for hidden exits as we speak,” Taeger said through his communication device inside his helmet. “In the meantime, perhaps I should remind you that spectral invisibility cloaking is only effective if we don’t purposely give away our positions.”

“I am aware of how it works,” Torrin snarled. “I hope they come. All of them. This place is nothing but a cesspool of blood market traffickers. Look around,” he waved his arm expansively, knowing the other Lumerian Knights would see his image through special lenses built into their helmets, just as he could see them. “There must be over a hundred barrels here, all full of blood and body parts. I have to find Juliette before..”

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