Page 44 of Kazzon's Human Bride
The word echoed inside her, a deep reverberation and yearning that called out for Kazzon.
Love. I love him.
I love Kazzon.
She stopped to peer out the nearest viewscreen, her gaze scanning the forest below.
Her breath caught on a gasp and she placed her hands upon the viewscreen, her heart lurching into her throat. A thick plume of smoke rose from the center of the trees.
Seconds later, the ground shuddered and she braced herself against the wall.
Kazzon. Where are you?
* * *
Smoke burned Kazzon’s eyes.He coughed and gripped his blaster harder. He didn’t normally carry a weapon, but he’d decided to make an exception for this planet.
Tarrkuan guards surrounded him on all sides as they rushed through the underbrush, struggling to see through the thickening smoke. Voll, the leader of a prominent Xollnaxian tribe, had recently informed Kazzon that Stonnas was being held in a grotto nearby, claiming to have glimpsed outcasts dragging the ambassador into the underground cavern’s entrance, as well as many other Tarrkuans.
No black mist had appeared around Voll’s face as he spoke and Kazzon hoped to secure the missing diplomat and his crew soon. After two days of investigation, traveling from tribe to tribe through the dangerous forests of Xollnax, he would be glad to rescue Stonnas and return to theCorranneliasoon. To return to Caylee.
An explosion rocked the ground, sending debris hurling toward him. He threw himself to the forest floor alongside his comrades and shielded his head. So much for diplomacy, he thought.
No known tribes lived in this section of the forest, close to the grotto, only the outcasts, traitorous Xollnaxians who’d been exiled from their respective tribes.
He growled and jumped to his feet, holding his blaster at the ready. Figures moved through the smoke, war cries echoing amidst the trees. Apparently, the outcasts had decided to strike first, to keep Kazzon and his guards away from the cavern.
It would be their undoing.
Blaster fire zipped past Kazzon’s head, quick flashes of red light, as the guards behind him shot at the outcasts. Two huge green Xollnaxians rushed straight at him, but he aimed his blaster at the one on the right, felling the male, then quickly killed his companion. Others tried and Kazzon continued shooting.
Xollnaxians carried spears and possessed rudimentary explosives, but they didn’t have weaponry as sophisticated as blasters. But the huge forest worked to their advantage, particularly when they knew the best hiding spots, as well as which deadly animals and vegetation to avoid.
Navigating through the smoke, Kazzon hoped he didn’t walk too close to one of the flesh-hungry trees. He’d spotted a few such trees earlier in the day as they’d begun their journey for the cavern.
Another blast, this one closer than the first, rocked the ground. Kazzon and his guards dove behind a downed tree, using the large trunk to protect themselves from the debris.
Thankfully, not long after they resumed running through the forest, the gaping entrance to the grotto suddenly appeared ahead as the smoke began to dissipate. Kazzon and his comrades rushed for the cavern, shooting down several more outcasts in the process.
Finally, they entered the grotto and rushed into the cool damp depths. His thighs ached under the steep descent of the cave. The passageway became narrower the longer they traveled, until it abruptly opened up into a huge, cavernous area that contained massive, twisted crystals gleaming from above.
The grotto was lighted, perfectly illuminated, in fact, though he spotted no light source. It was as if every surface of the cavern was made of a luminous material.
Screams echoed behind them, as the surviving exiles followed them back into the cave. Before turning around to face the approaching outcasts, Kazzon scanned the open area quickly, making sure no enemies lurked within the depths of the cavern. But the grotto appeared empty, at least this part of it, and he spun around to face the screaming outcasts.
He released a fierce growl and lifted his blaster.
Chapter 33
Something was happening.Something bad.
Caylee stared at the smoke rising in the distance, blanketing the trees. It was far away, too far to offer any immediate help. Not that she could probably leave the ship, even if she tried. Since Kazzon’s departure to search for Ambassador Stonnas, every time she’d walked past the exit door of the ship, she’d spotted at least two huge Tarrkuan guards standing there, fully armed and wearing stony expressions.
She remained at the viewscreen, watching the smoke as the worry clenching her stomach tightened. Feeling helpless and frustrated, she wracked her mind for a solution. But before she could come up with anything substantial, a blast rocked the ship and she fell to her knees.
Alarm filling her, she shot to her feet and stared at a Tarrkuan guard who rushed toward her. He stopped in front of her, his eyes wide.
“Please return to your quarters, mate of Kazzon,” he said.
