Page 11 of Courting Mayhem

“My fathers…”

Zarek cut me off. “Training program is not sufficient, nor are they strong enough psychically to stop you. I am. Derek is.” His voice became low and dangerous. “Drop your shields or your fathers will be transported to Vesta penal colony for the rest of their lives.”

“And who will retrieve the Shebu?” I countered.

“I have hunters capable of recovering the sphere.”

I smirked. “No, you don’t. I bet you haven’t found a trace of the Shebu or Vrax.”

“We have not.” Zarek admitted reluctantly.

“The Warhammers never fail. Ask General Zan if you don’t believe me.”

“He has admitted your success rate is quite high.” Zarek rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I will give you and your fathers two weeks to recover the Shebu and capture Vrax.”

“Our going rate for a difficult mission is two million credits, and I want a signed contract.”

Zarek laughed like my demands were the funniest thing he had ever heard. Who knew the Overlord had a sense of humor?

His amused expression vanished abruptly. “You work for me now and each of you will receive a monthly salary of five thousand credits.”

“But that won’t even cover the cost of maintaining our ship,” I protested.

“The Warhammer is barely flight worthy. I will provide you with a proper ship and weapons, but to continue as a hunter you must drop your shields and let Derek merge with you.”

I eyed Zarek suspiciously. “Isn’t that a precursor to a mating bond?”

“It can be,” he said evasively.

I chewed on my lower lip. Vrax had to be stopped. If the Rodan got their hands on a Shebu, they would make the Tai-Kok look like harmless kittens. Could I let millions die? No. Plus, I didn’t want my fathers to spend any time on a penal colony. Zarek had me right where he wanted me. Before I agreed to his terms, I wanted to know if he was as invincible as everyone thought. He probably didn’t expect me to fight him shirtless either. My right foot connected solidly with Zarek’s crotch.

He smiled at me.

Uh oh. I flipped off the table, spun and hurled the sheet over his head.

He vanished. The sheet floated to the floor.

I sensed him two seconds before he reappeared. Dropping to my back, I kicked out. My boot slammed into Zarek’s left knee.

His left eyebrow rose in a silent challenge. “Is that all you have?”

Ballock’s balls. I had used every ounce of strength I had. On a normal warrior, the blow would have shattered the kneecap. Zarek hadn’t even winced. Keeping the examining table between us, I asked, “What do you want?”

“For you to accept the inevitable.”

“In my place would you surrender?”

“No.”

“There you go. I am as much as a warrior as you are. I’m not letting anyone into my mind, so have at it.” Dread knotted my stomach. Challenging Zarek was an incredibly bad idea.

“As you wish.” Poof. Zarek was gone. I felt him an instant before he popped back in and evaded his blow.

And he teleported again. Our little dance went on and on and on. It was almost as if Zarek was testing me. He was also wearing me out. The poison had drained my strength. I couldn’t do this much longer. I detected a slight movement behind me and whirled around.

Moving faster than humanly possible, Zarek grabbed me and the next thing I knew, I was pinned face down on the examining table. Fuck! No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t break free.

“For a youngling, you are an excellent fighter and with the proper training, you will be unbeatable.”

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