They all shook their heads.

  Crap.

  Lior stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Females! Come. Now!”

  “What? Does he think we’re dogs?” Casey quipped.

  Alarms began to wail. “Warning. Warning. Port shields have failed,” the computer advised.

  Fire ants tromped across my mind. Before I could say a word, Lior suddenly pulled his laser pistol and fired twice.

  Crackling red stun beams engulfed Detja and Kaylee. With cries of agony they crumpled to the floor. Their arms and legs slammed repeatedly against the floor.

  “Bastard!” Casey hit Lior with a telekinetic shockwave, slamming him into the wall.

  Lior staggered back and hurled a small metal canister at us.

  I caught it and lobbed it back.

  Boom! Yellow smoke filled the hallway.

  “Mothersmucker,” Casey gasped and crumpled to the deck.

  I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. Armor. I had to engage my armor.

  In full battle armor, Lior appeared out of the swirling vapor and backhanded me.

  Pain exploded in my face and everything went black.

  Chapter Sixteen

  My lungs burned. My jaw hurt. A masculine voice called to me. Pleaded with me to answer him. He loved me? Needed me? Who? I struggled to open my eyes. My thoughts spun chaotically. Something bad had happened, but what?

  “Lior!” Everything came crashing back and I bolted upright. A too tight shackle bit into my wrist, yanking me back down on a narrow metal bunk. What the fuck? One quick look at my new home and I snarled, “Who in the hell had the balls to fuck with me on my wedding day?”

  “My guess is Lilkee or Earth First,” Casey answered from the opposing bunk. She busily picked the lock on her cuff.

  “You’re right. Lior is a follower, not a leader.” I reached out mentally for Saul. “Lior took us. I don’t know where we are.”

  “Trying. Find,” Saul said faintly.

  A wave of dizziness hit me, and I fought down the urge to vomit. My link with Saul severed abruptly. I took a deep breath and reached out again, but there was nothing but a horrible, empty black void.

  “Saul?” My heart skipped a beat. “Saul? Saul? Dammit Saul answer me. Don’t you dare get dead on me.”

  “Easy. Our guys are hard to kill.” Casey said.

  “Why can’t I link with Saul or sense him anymore?”

  “The bastards shot us up with Drakash. Until it wears off, we can’t use our telepathic abilities or powers. I’m surprised you were able to contact Uncle Saul at all. Must be your magical gifts,” Casey replied.

  “Lior is a dead man,” I snapped and noticed my daggers and laser pistol were gone. An evil grin curled my mouth. But I was still wearing my Askole body armor belt.

  “Yes, he is.”

  My eyes widened in horror. Kaylee and Detja lay unmoving on their bunks. “Kaylee? Detja? Can you hear me?”

  “God, I hate Drakash,” Kaylee groaned and opened her eyes. Her limbs twitched. “Sonovabitch! Did that asshole stun us too?”

  “He did,” I said.

  “Got it,” Casey exclaimed and rubbed her wrist. “Let me check on Detja and then I’ll free you guys too.” She hurried over to Detja and took her pulse.

  Kaylee sat up. “Got my own lock pick, thank you very much.” Pulling a thin metal pick out of her bra, she inserted it into the lock and jiggled it around. Like magic the shackle fell off.

  “You’ve gotta teach me that.” I had a sick feeling I would need that talent in the future.

  “It would be my pleasure. I can’t count the times, I’ve found myself in shackles.”

  “This is a first for me.” I massaged my aching jaw.

  “That’s a nasty bruise.” Kaylee commented as she inserted her lock pick into my cuff.

  “I didn’t go down fast enough for Lior. He’s definitely our traitor.” The cuff popped off my swollen wrist. I smiled my thanks and hurried over to Detja. “How’s she doing?”

  “Her pulse is steady. Her breathing is good, but I can’t get her to wake up.” Casey chewed on her lower lip. “Any ideas?”

  “I’ve had some medic training. Let me take a look.” I opened her eyelids and examined her pupils. “She’s been sedated. My guess is they think Zarek can link with her even after she’s been dosed with Drakash. Unconscious, she can’t tell him squat.”

  “Her link with Zarek is unbreakable,” Kaylee confirmed.

  “The first thing we need to do is find out where we are.” I kicked the dirt wall. “With any luck we’re still on Earth.”

  “I got a brief look at the scanner on Lior’s warrior’s bracelet. We’re somewhere in southern Nevada,” Casey said.

  I kicked the wall again. “That mean this is probably an Earth First base and we’ll have to fight our way out.”

  “Works for me,” Kaylee said.

  A three-dimensional image of a tall, stick thin woman wearing a pointy metal hat and a bronze breastplate over a screaming scarlet battle suit appeared in mid-air. She surveyed us with icy contempt.

  The pictures of Lilkee didn’t do her justice. She was even uglier in person. Surprised she didn’t say anything about our lack of cuffs; I waved all friendly like. “Is it Halloween already?”

  “You will regret your insolence. I am your Queen. Bow down to me you filthy, little primitives.”

  “No, you sick, demented bitch, we won’t.” Casey gave her the one-finger salute.

  Kaylee glared at Lilkee. “You do realize you’ve signed your own death warrant?”

  “Enough,” a raspy voice commanded and ten seconds later a person wearing oversized, glossy black armor tottered into view.

  “Oh lookie! It’s the Supreme One,” Casey hooted.

  I watched in fascination as the loose armor moved this way and that. “Nah, that’s an impersonator. The real one is still locked up. Betcha it’s Waewae trying to grow a pair.”

  “Silence!” The Supreme One roared. His too-large armor shifted, and he staggered to the right, crashing into Lilkee.

  Lilkee’s arms flailed wildly as she fought to keep her balance.

  The Supreme One grabbed her right arm in a desperate attempt to keep himself upright. Boom! Down they went, in a tangle of arms and legs.

  “Get off me,” Lilkee cried.

  The Supreme One shouted, “I can’t. I’m stuck!”

  “They should take their act on my road,” I whooped.

  Kaylee chortled. “What a maroon.”

  Casey burst into laughter as two Legionnaires struggled to get them back on their feet but kept dropping them.

  Two more Legionnaires rushed in to help and finally got them upright.

  Lilkee straightened her helmet. “Brother dearest, you and father have two days to surrender to my Legionnaires or your females will be given to the Rodan.”

  Talree’s distorted voice growled, “Harm them and you will beg to die.”

  “When Talree gets that malevolent tone in his voice, most sane folks plead for mercy,” Kaylee advised loudly.

  Casey exclaimed, “And if his eyes start glowing, you’re already dead and just don’t know it.”

  “Well, you know, those two aren’t exactly the brightest bulbs in the universe,” I said at the top of my voice.

  Lilkee gave us the stink eye.

  “You have your proof of life. Meet our demands or they die,” the Supreme One barked. The image vanished.

  I frowned. “What did they promise Lior to get him to join their merry band of idiots?”

  “Me,” Casey said with a shudder. “The gas temporarily paralyzed me, but I never lost consciousness. He put his hands on me. Touched me in places he shouldn’t. Put his tongue in my mouth.” Angry tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “He didn’t…?” I couldn’t finish the question.

  “No. His exact words were, ‘An honorable warrior waits until the bonding ceremony is completed’. Honorable? My ass. God, he makes me sick to my stomach. The entire time, Lior kept babbling on about how the Overlord had cheated him out of his own command and a female. Lilkee promised him his own ship and me. Did you know unclaimed Jones’ females are considered a great prize?”

  “Oh God, Casey.” I gave her a hug. “Hothar is going to rip him to pieces.”

  Casey bared her teeth in a snarl. “Not if I get to him first.”

  “We’ll help you cut off all his little squiggly bits.” Kaylee embraced her.

  I stroked Casey’s back. “After we’re finished, we’ll let Hothar play with him.”

  “As unstable as Lior is, I have a bad feeling he won’t wait until the ceremony to claim his prize,” Kaylee warned.

  “I agree.” I walked over to the cell door and examined the security panel. “Time for the great escape.” Closing my eyes, I concentrated on summoning my electrical abilities and when my hands began to tingle, I zapped the control panel. The door slid open.

  Kaylee’s jaw dropped. “How’d you do that?”

  “It’s magic.”

  “Magic? Kaylee’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. ‘Seriously?”

  Casey grinned. “Her Scottish ancestors were witches.”

  “My bit of Earth magic does come in handy,” I agreed.

  “I’ll say. Witches, huh?”

  “Yep.” I peeped out the doorway. There was a staircase at the end of the narrow hallway, but no guards in sight. “Since I’m the only one with armor, I’ll go first.” I raised my tunic and pressed the gem.

  Snikt. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Within seconds black armor covered me from head to toe. I took a couple of experimental steps. The armor fit perfectly and was effortless to move in. “This heads-up display rocks.”

  Casey ran an envious hand over the gleaming metal. “It does, doesn’t it. Even better, your helmet resembles the jackal headed God Anubis and the glowing red eyes are freaky weird.”

  “Waewae will probably piss his pants when he gets a look at you,” Kaylee added.

  I focused on the battle computer which provided an easy flow of visual data and tactical information. The only life forms showing were some lizards, a vulture and a rattlesnake. “Talk about cocky, there’s no one here, but us.”

  “Lior obviously doesn’t know about your magical abilities. Since you’re not a Jones, he probably doesn’t consider you a threat. Between the Drakash, cuffs and super-duper security system, he thought we couldn’t escape,” Casey scoffed.

  I snickered. “His mistake.”

  “Let’s go.” Casey picked up Detja in a fireman’s lift.

  We trooped down the hallway. I climbed up the stairs and stopped in front of the door. “Wish there was a way to have the armor retract from just my hand.”

  “The belt contains your controls.” Casey shifted Detja’s weight and pointed. “Push the blue insignia and you can give it voice commands. Tap it again and it goes back into silent mode. You need the proper training to use the suit correctly.”

  “Which I didn’t get.” I studied the belt. There were all kinds of emblems on it, but I didn’t have a clue what they did. “No armor right hand.” Presto! The armor withdrew. “Too bad Talree didn’t have time to give Casey hers.”

  Casey’s face lit up. “I have armor too?”

  “You do. Talree was going to give it to you at the reception, but the attack prevented that,” Kaylee said.

  “Mothersmucker.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” I fried the security system and opened the door.

  A badly weathered sign creaked in the wind. It proclaimed: Goblin, Nevada, Home of the UFO’s. I eyed the abandoned alien-themed restaurant. “Huh, we must be close to Area 51.”

  Casey laid Detja on a battered bench. “We’re twenty-seven miles from Area 51 and a hundred and fifteen miles from Las Vegas.”

  “In other words, it’s too far to walk and we can’t hitchhike.” I gestured at the empty highway that stretched across the flat desert. In the distance were red sandstone cliffs. The only sign of life was the vulture circling overhead. “Plus, there’s no place to hide and it’s gotta be 110 degrees already.”

  “We need water and transportation.” Kaylee motioned at an old tow truck with a crashed flying saucer dangling from the hitch. “Think you can get it started?”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Anyone good at breaking and entering?”

  “I’ve never found a lock I couldn’t pick,” Casey bragged.

  One look at Kaylee’s ghastly color and I pushed her down on the bench. “Why don’t you keep an eye on Detja.”

  She sighed. “Between the funny little black spots in my vision and my twitching innards, I don’t feel so good.”

  “I’ll look for food, water and weapons,” Casey said and hurried off.

  I called after her, “See if you can find any motor oil, bleach, turpentine and oh yeah, bottles. I’m going to make us some Molotov Cocktails and maybe a chemical weapon or two.”

  Casey gave me two thumbs up.

  Detja moaned and thrashed around.

  “Easy. Easy. We’re safe for now,” Kaylee said, rubbing her spasming muscles.

  “You both need medical treatment. I’m gonna get that damned tow truck started and get you some.” As I walked toward the truck, I desperately tried to link with Saul. It was like he was on the far side of the moon. I knew he was there, but we couldn’t communicate.

  Casey disappeared inside the restaurant.

  I popped the hood on the truck and placed my hand over the battery. Three minutes later it was charged. As I shut the hood my heads-up display flashed. Incoming vehicle. Incoming vehicle. I noticed a bright red sports car racing down the empty highway.

  “Yippee!” I ran out in the middle of the road and waved frantically. “Stop! Stop! We need help!”

  The driver slammed on the brakes, skidded for a good two hundred feet before coming to a dead stop.

  I jogged toward him and frowned. Why did he look so freaked out?

  The driver put it in reverse and tires squealing, sped backwards down the interstate.

  I ran after him yelling, “Hey! Wait! Come back here!”

  The driver put the petal to the metal, spun the car around like some Indy 500 driver and took off.

  I watched until he was a red speck on the horizon. “Well, that’s just rude.”

  “He thought you were an alien,” Kaylee said, laughing hysterically.

  “Oh!” I glanced down at my armor. “It’s so comfortable, I kinda forgot I was wearing it. My bad. Hey! We’re talking telepathically. The Drakash must be wearing off!”

  “It is,” Kaylee agreed, her relief obvious.

  I trotted back to the truck. The door squawked in protest as I yanked it open. Climbing inside, I sent an electrical current through the ignition switch and prayed. The engine made a chattering metallic noise and rumbled to life. The fuel gauge was a hair above empty.

  Her arms full of goodies, Casey hurried over to me. “I’ve got motor oil, bleach, turpentine and chocolate.”

  “Good going!” I opened a storage bay and put the bag with the plastic containers inside. “Any bottles? I need glass ones. They make a better bomb.”

  “There’s a shitload of liquor bottles. Will those do?”

  I nodded. “They’re perfect. I also need a knife, some cloth, matches or a cigarette lighter.”

  “Gotcha.” Casey shoved another plastic bag full of chocolate and water in my hands and hurried off.

  Putting the bag inside the cab, I checked the back of the truck and found two metal gas cans. I quickly picked them up and heaved a sigh of relief. They were full.

  A blip appeared on my long-range radar. Dammit! It was a shuttle and it was armed to the teeth. We were sitting ducks here. Maybe we could find a hidey hole in those red cliffs. Huh? The computer couldn’t scan them because of something called iridium. If my computer couldn’t scan them, neither could the bad guys.

  I hurried over to Kaylee and Detja. “Let’s get you in the truck, we have an incoming bogey and we’re running out of time.

  I imitated Casey and used a fireman’s lift to get Detja inside the truck.

  Detja grabbed my arm. “Where?”

  “We’re in Goblin, Nevada.”

  A feral smile curled Detja’s mouth. “He knows.”

  “Good. Tell Zarek the bad guys are coming and we’re heading for the red cliffs.”

  “Done,” Detja whispered.

  “Casey! We’ve got to go,” I called.

  She hurried out of the restaurant with three bulging shopping bags and a big grin on her face. “I left them a little surprise.”

  “Good.” I took the bags from her. “You drive and I’ll sit in the back and start cutting up wicks.”

  “Don’t know how to drive a stick-shift do ya?” Casey asked as she got in the truck.

  I jumped in the back. “The few times I’ve tried, the car crow-hopped down the road and stalled out. I can’t risk that right now.”

  “Hang on.” Casey put the tow truck in gear and eased out on the road. When the engine didn’t stall, she increased the speed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I hung on for dear life as we bounced down a rutted dirt road at breakneck speed. The fake flying saucer spun wildly. I kept waiting for the tow chain to snap and send it hurtling into me or one of the tall, spires of rock that marched up to the red sandstone cliffs.

  “Whoa! Now I know how Goblin, Nevada got its name,” Casey exclaimed.

  I took a cautious look. At the base of the cliffs stood weird goblin-shaped formations and eerie skull-like rocks. “Holy crap. Would you look at that.”

  “It’s like something out of a horror vid,” Kaylee commented.

  The blip on my radar got closer and closer. “We need a hidey-hole now!”

  “The eye sockets in that skull formation are perfect,” Casey said as we left the poor excuse of a road. Bumping and lurching over sagebrush and rocks, the tow truck kicked up a boiling vortex of red dust.

  Crap. It was like a big “here we are” sign.

 

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