Page 27 of Seduction

The image followed Selena through the passages, showed her huddled against a wall.

“We’ve interviewed the lone survivor from the crew of a starship from the Consolis sector. Their ship was commandeered by a raiding party that entered their world through a star portal. The delegation was slaughtered, and the invaders took their place. They held the crew hostage, forced the ship’s captain to make the journey here and relay the codes that would authorize his vessel to anchor to the dome. Then they killed nearly every one of them.

“The lone survivor managed to evade detection by crawling under a pile of dead bodies. He stayed there, unmoving, until they left the ship,” David continued. “When they arrived here, the invaders disguised themselves as Tridacians, obese creatures who dress in formless long gowns with hoods. They tracked Doctor Reston to the substructure through the rare element her medallion was made from.” He waved a hand again, and half a dozen blobs appeared on the screen, moving steadily closer to their prey.

The entire room fell silent, watching as the creatures overpowered Selena. They saw her struggle briefly then collapse when a needle was jammed into her neck. The scene ended as the creatures loaded her body into a large black bag and dragged it along the floor behind them.

“We tracked them back to the vessel they arrived in,” David said. “We’ve been in contact with officials from Daan 33, a minor planet in the Consolis sector where the ship originated. As best we can tell, the invaders came from the other side of the universe, an area that remains largely unexplored and one where we have no diplomatic relations.”

He stopped, as though the worst was yet to come.

“According to the Daan, they referred to themselves as Tabun.”

Chapter Fifteen

“Tabun!”

Haldor shook his broadsword at the heavens and bellowed with rage. Would his fate be ever linked with those cursed beings?

When he was a child, the Tabun had invaded his homeland, slaughtered countless Gadolinians, including his mother and father. A young King Sigrun, newly ascended to the throne, assembled his warriors and drove them back through the portal, only to have them return a generation later, led by Lord Balam.

Balam’s army stormed the palace in Trondheim and took the king prisoner. The Tabun leader had planned to auction him off as a slave, along with dozens of other prisoners, including Talia Anderson, the newly arrived ambassador from Earth.

Haldor and Sigrun’s son, Prince Kylar, snuck into the auction in disguise and rescued Talia, along with three other Viking women held hostage. But Sigrun remained a captive, until a daring rescue plan hatched by Talia freed him. During the fierce battle with Lord Balam, Haldor had thrown himself in front of the sword meant for the man who had been not only his king but also his foster father and suffered the wound that nearly cost him his life.

Now the Tabun had taken another from him. He hadn’t admitted to himself how much Selena meant to him until Mia told him she’d been abducted. At first, he’d treated their dalliances as a game. Seducing a beautiful, innocent virgin. Introducing her to the pleasures of the flesh then mastering her. He loved her shy hesitation. Loved watching her blossom into a passionate woman, discovering her own dark desires as he demanded her submission.

But now that she was gone, he realized it was Selena who had mastered him. Subtly, over time, taken control of his heart. Haldor, the proud Viking who bowed to no man except his king, lived for those moments when he brought her to the peak, crying out his name as she melted in his arms.

He’d had wenches aplenty over the years. For one or two, he’d nearly brewed a batch of bridal ale. Then another buxom beauty would saunter by and swish her hips, driving all thought out of his mind but to have her. Maybe age had caught up with him. Maybe good sense. Maybe you’ve finally found the one the Norn chose for you on that dark night when you came wailing into the world. Whatever the reason, he was ready to lay his life down for the woman who had given life back to him.

The Earthers around the table gaped at him, frozen in fear.

“The Tabun have taken Selena? Where is your army?” he roared. “I will lead them into battle!”

“The ministry has begun the process of negotiations, Haldor.” A trained diplomat, David’s tone remained even. “As I said, Daan 33 is a minor planet. We don’t have an ambassador there. But our envoy in the Consolis sector has sent a message through the portal demanding the immediate return of Doctor Reston. The ministers have been here since we found out, weighing our options while awaiting the Tabun response.”

“You sent a message?” Haldor let go of Symon so abruptly, the minister fell to the floor. He wrapped both hands around the handle of his broadsword and raised it over his head then brought it slashing down where he stood midway along the priceless antique table. With a loud crack, the wooden table split in two. The ministers scrambled back as the splintered halves crashed to the floor.

“This is the only message the Tabun understand!” he roared. “You say they’ve taken Selena to cure someone? The Tabun value very few lives enough to take such a risk. Invading a gathering. Incurring the wrath of an entire Federation. Now that they have her, they will never give her back. They would look upon it as a sign of weakness.”

He stared around the room. Most of the ministers crouched in their chairs. A few had thrown themselves onto the floor when he shattered the table and still lay there, too frightened to get up.

“By the time you wait for their answer and then argue over your options like a roomful of old hags stirring your kettles and quarreling about whose potion works best, they’ll have finished with Selena. I know the Tabun. If she manages to save the man’s life, they’ll reward her by selling her to the highest bidder, as far away from our universe as possible. We’ll never find her. Her new master will likely be the pox-ridden overlord of some distant world. She’ll be forced to spend the rest of her days either on her knees sucking his withered prick or trying to cure him of whatever vile disease he’s contracted from his newest intergalactic whore.

“But if the one she’s been stolen to save dies –” His voice broke. “If that happens, they may well send her back after all. In pieces. After they torture her to death.”

David translated, although from the horrified looks on their faces, most of the ministers had already gathered the gist of his words.

“Tell them I want a starship and a crew to take me to this Daan 33. And I ask that they find three good men here on Earth to come with me. Brave men willing to lay their lives down to save this woman your world saw fit to honor. Warriors ready to step through the star portal and fight the Tabun. To the death, if they must. Whatever it takes to bring Selena home.”

As his message was relayed, Haldor gazed around the room, stopped at each face. Memorized it. Then he turned to David.

“Tell them one thing more. If Selena dies because they chose to sit here and do nothing, I will return – and hunt down every one of them. And even the Tabun tremble at the wrath of a Viking warrior.”

* * *

“Wake her.”

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