Page 7 of Alien Knight Steals the Bride

“That’s more than one thing,” she countered absently. “And why does it matter if I’m human?”

“Human blood is very hard to come by. A rare, precious treasure on the blood market. We’ve also just learned that the Vilitos have issued a bounty for human females.”

She kept her voice from cracking with fear and tension, but just barely. “Right. I’m an alien. No human blood here. Got it.”

“Make no mistake, human,” he rumbled, “out here, ‘alien’ isexactlywhat you are.”

Juliette switchedoff the monitor with trembling fingers. A cold sense of dread pervaded her body. She was essentially on her own. Walking numbly back to Torrin and the lifeless blue Targo, she sank slowly to the floor. The past few days closed in on her, shattering her like fragile glass.

A tiny trickle of tears turned into a raging storm. She’d been on Earth when the Caldorian base was attacked. Newly hired to work on the base as part of an outreach medical group, she’d been inside the main building when the first blast came. She’d watched colleagues and friends die. Caldorians, too. Then she’d been taken. Aware, yet unable to move, they’d transported her to another alien ship. Poked her. Prodded. Assessed. She shivered through the tears. The process had been humiliating.

Then she’d been put in a holding cell next to A’Lingua. Juliette turned her head and looked at the big blue creature. A’Lingua had somehow communicated with her without speaking. Juliette had never been psychic, yet somehow the blue Targo had communicated with her. Asked for her help. She’d been unable to say no when she’d explained the reason behind her fear. So, Juliette had taken on more responsibility. Everyone was depending on her now.

She lay quietly until her tears dried, her fingers carefully monitoring the pulse in Torrin’s wrist, the steady beat reassuring her that he continued to fight for his life.

Juliette lay awake, unable to sleep even though she was exhausted. For long, long hours she lay beside Torrin, willing him not to die. Thinking about her life, her friends and family. Her future.

Turning her head slightly, she looked at the man lying next to her. He’d risked his life to save her. Below all the cuts and bruises, he was big. Really big. Strong. And he had markings like a Caldorian. Who was he?

Chapter Four

Mora Five

Juliette took a deep breath.She could do this. Disappear into the crowd. Steal a weapon. Find the maju water. Save Torrin.Just like old times. Pretend you’re back on the streets. Hungry. Desperate. You can do this. You have to do this. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Remember the rules and don’t get caught.

Checking on Torrin one last time, she placed the back of her hand against his forehead. He was burning with fever. She stroked his hair with shaking fingers, murmuring, “Hey, tough guy. Don’t eventhinkabout dying before I get back.”

She’d never dreamt of visiting other worlds, other than perhaps as a child. Those dreams consisted of arriving as a royal princess, with a full entourage. Never, ever, had she imagined slipping undetected onto the planet, then turning pickpocket to get what she needed before sneaking away again.

She shook her head at the irony and stepped through the ship’s airlock, out into the clearing. She quietly stepped down and turned in the direction of the village. The A.I. system had landed them in a small clearing about a mile outside of the largest village in the area.

Thankfully the cargo ship was faster than the Vilitos ships sent after them and built for long hauls. The evasion system had worked properly and they’d lost the reptilians following them before entering Mora Five’s star system.

Not all of the ship’s systems were fully functional. The A.I. unit had informed her that repairs were to have been made while docked on the Vilitos warship. Apparently her ship, at least that’s how Juliette was beginning to think of the cargo vessel they’d stolen, was old and badly in need of upgrades and repairs.

Evading the Vilitos hadn’t been easy. They’d gone out of their way, doubling back several times to make sure no one followed them here. Still, Juliette couldn’t help but look around for the nasty reptilians. She never wanted to see those things again, and they’d lost precious time evading the giant creatures. She only hoped they hadn’t wasted too much time; time needed to find the maju water.

If she had any hope of saving Torrin, she would have to use every ounce of skill she had to find her way to the right place, either steal the maju water or steal something worth trading for the maju water, and then find her way back to Torrin.

He could easily be dead before she returned if she didn’t move her ass. Her heart gave a sharp pang at the thought of never seeing him again. “Don’t be an idiot. You hardly know the man. So, he saved you. So he’s a good man. Honorable. Courageous. Brave. Smoking hot, if you look past the cracked lips and swollen eyes,” she mumbled to herself as she sprinted from the edge of the ship to the tree line across from the clearing. The terrain was full of sand and silt, almost like they’d landed in a dry creek bed. “Not that I was looking.”

She looked back toward the ship. The old clunker didn’t have cloaking technology, so she’d spent several minutes collecting branches and twigs to camouflage the vessel as best she could, which wasn’t saying much. She looked around, getting her bearings, taking a mental picture of her surroundings so that she could find the ship on her return.

The big blue-eyed alien had said no one would try to stop her from being there, but if she were caught, she didn’t want anyone to find the ship. Find Torrin. “Just have to rely on good old-fashioned skill to find my way back before anyone finds this place.”

Juliette turned and ran, dodging alien shrubbery and jumping over dead tree limbs. She couldn’t afford to be overly careful. Get in and get out. She didn’t pause to catch her breath until she saw a few dwellings through the thinning trees.

Her mouth felt like cotton, with a heavy dose of dust and grit added for texture and flavor. She swallowed to ease the dryness, the effort wasted as it was like swallowing sandpaper. She needed a drink but hadn’t brought any water with her since the ship had been nearly stripped bare before they’d stolen it from the docking bay. She shouldn’t complain. They’d been lucky to get away.

Juliette sank behind a large purple shrub, careful to stay hidden. The tree line was elevated, affording her the best view of the town from her vantage point. She spent precious minutes there watching the comings and goings of the various inhabitants of the small area. Some were humanoid, others not. She’d seen plenty of Caldorians since their arrival on Earth two years ago. Caldorians were the Intergalactic Council’s choice for introducing new worlds to intergalactic trade.

Caldorians were bigger, stronger, and faster than humans, but could still pass for human except for their markings. Beautiful, swirling patterns in all different colors. Some Caldorians were covered from head to toe in markings, others had almost none. She knew there had been other beings visit Earth, but she hadn’t seen any herself. Earth was slowly opening its doors for intergalactic travelers in very limited numbers. Nothing like she was seeing here.

Part of her wanted to do nothing but sit and stare. Revel in being on another planet. Beings of all sizes and shapes walked about freely. They didn’t look lost, as if they were travelers, yet they also didn’t appear to be part of a cohesive community. Many were hooded or walked with their heads down, as if they didn’t want to be seen. “Oh my god, it’s like being in aStar Warsmovie.”

While the small town was bustling with activity, people hurrying from one dwelling to another, she saw no children. No evidence of family life.Not good.

Each dwelling was different in shape and color, yet they were all made of a sandy material, much like stucco. A few buildings were slightly taller than the others, but primarily built with only one level. Small signs hung over the doors, presumably identifying the dwelling as a store of some sort.Hmm. Reminds me of cities built in earthquake zones. All low to the ground. No skyscrapers. What had the A.I. unit said on the ship? This planet was blacklisted by the Council. Civilized beings don’t visit the dusty, backwards world. Vendors traffic advanced technologies here but don’t use them because that would draw too much attention, and no decent, law abiding people travel this far from other, more modern worlds besides black-market vendors, blood traffickers, or people looking for those items.Juliette shifted uncomfortably. Sticking around longer than absolutely necessary was not advised.

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