Alien Read online

  Agitation riddled her words. “Then the Kiengir must be told.”

  “They wield no power right now.”

  “They control the universe.”

  “They control nothing. They are prisoners.”

  She was totally confused. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “The reason I was locked away.”

  The roar of a boat motor made them both look toward the lake. A speedboat bounced along the water until it beached instead of docking at the landing. They jumped up, readying for a fight. Dio hit the ground running straight at them.

  “We’ve got to go. Spotted a vimani.” He tossed a bag to Kal.

  “Thought we were invisible?” Shia scouted the skies but saw nothing.

  “We’re supposed to be. But it kept hovering over the lake, almost directly over the house, as if it knew exactly where we were.”

  Kal stepped into a pair of gray sweats from the bag and jerked on a T-shirt with the words Ancient Aliens on it. Kal arched an eyebrow at Dio.

  “If the logo fits.” He gasped, tossing a smaller bag to Shia.

  “Where is the vimani now?” Shia asked.

  “Don’t know, but I’m not hanging around to find out.” Dio wheezed, out of breath. “Think you can make the repairs in air?”

  The hairs on the back of her neck rose and her muscles tightened. She nodded. “Yeah.”

  Kal sat at the helm of the Cerulean XLT. Space. One place he thought he’d never see again. He leaned back in the chair, scanning the vast darkness. Once they’d cleared Earth’s atmosphere, it was wide-open skyways. He breathed deep then released it, seeing it mist as it left his mouth. Shia was below, fixing the climate controls. He liked the chill of space. It was far better than the intense heat of hell. But he knew it would only get colder the farther from the sun they got, too cold to survive without heat.

  An angry curse rose through the open floor panel followed by the pound of metal on metal. He grinned. Shia intrigued him—Paoni warrior, mechanical genius, great cook and above all one sexy, beautiful female. She was the most well-prepared individual he could ever remember. The arsenal she’d produced from the heavy bag she’d carried onboard had astounded him. “You okay down there?”

  “Yes.” Her head appeared in the opening. He stood and helped her out of the hatch leading to the forward engine room then closed it. “Sometimes you just gotta beat ’em to make them work.”

  As if on cue, warm air filtered through the vents.

  “Nice work.”

  “Thanks.” She motioned to the VIS screen. “Determined to get us killed.”

  “I can drop you on the next closest star planet, Paoni.”

  “Paoni? What happened to Shia?” She stood with her hands on her hips, one eyebrow arched, giving him a hard-ass glare. He’d hurt her. He heard it in her tone even though she tried to hide it.

  He ran a hand through his hair. He’d hoped to distance himself from her by sticking to Paoni, keeping this thing between them impersonal, but she was getting to him, making him like her. His dick thickened. It most definitely liked her. She flipped her braid over her shoulder. He wanted to unwind it, feel her hair slide between his fingers. Kal spun to stare out at the darkness before he acted on the desire.

  Women can’t be trusted.

  “Where’s Dio?” Anger quavered her words.

  “Galley.” Kal hunched over the VIS. A large ship appeared out of nowhere, approaching fast, directed at them. “Damn.”

  He attempted to take over flight control but he wasn’t fast enough and neither was the relic at his command. The ship violently jerked to a halt, sending Shia toppling forward. Kal caught her before she face-planted the console. Shia pushed away from him. Each drew their weapons instantly.

  “Pirates,” came out of their mouths simultaneously.

  Readings on the VIS screen showed the ship’s system being overridden remotely. A deep voice reiterated what they already suspected.

  “Prepare to be boarded.”

  Dio ran in. Kal tossed him a weapon. “You know how to use that?”

  He grinned. “Yeah, but we don’t need them.”

  Dio entered a command on the VIS, causing a portal above them to open. A round metal tube dropped down. A door slid open and a man stepped out of the portal elevator. Shia and Kal held their weapons pointed directly at the intruder. Dio stepped into their line of fire, back toward them before either took a shot.

  “Father,” Dio proclaimed with a tilt of his head toward Kal. “Mission complete.”

  Kal’s eyes widened, gaping in disbelief at Dio. He no longer looked like a scared kid as he stood tall, shoulders straight. “Mission complete?”

  “When we discovered a way for you to escape, my son was deliberately sent in to get you out.”

  “I never stole a ring.” Dio wagged his eyebrows. “I stole a port-o-pod and this.” He tossed a small square object to Kal. “A seismic stimulator. The only problem with this device is I had to locate a source of increasing volcanic energy in hell for it to work properly, and that took time. It intensifies a volatile lava formation and drives it to the surface, thus providing its holder with a controlled eruption.”

  The whole scenario hit Kal hard. Riding seismic energy to the surface had been Dio’s idea. He claimed he’d heard about it from another prisoner. Looking at the object, he realized Dio had created the escape route.

  “The Aludra woman?” Kal stared directly at Dio. “The vimani you saw over the island?”

  “Not a vimani, just a signal from Father they were in place for our rendezvous. And the woman…” He shrugged. “She caught me searching for an energy pocket and figured out we planned to escape. Couldn’t leave her behind to alert others. Cozying up to her added validity to that lovesick puppy crap Syros created as my cover.” He snorted in disgust.

  “You’re welcome,” a male voice stated teasingly through the com system. Dio growled, which received a howl of laughter.

  “Sons, enough.” The laughter instantly died at the stern command. “Is she loose?”

  “No.” Dio shook his head. “She’s dead.”

  Kal was at a loss. Had he been incarcerated so long his deductive skills had gone awry? He’d misjudged Dio completely. He wasn’t a lanky love-addled kid, but a competent young man with unique skills and a mission, which he accomplished.

  “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” Suspicion kept his hand on his weapon.

  “Would you have believed him?”

  Kal turned to the man Dio called father. He stood at least six feet. His brown hair hung loosely around his shoulders. His facial features closely matched Dio’s. Their brown eyes were exactly the same. He wore a one-piece black suit similar to leather and had a zipper-like closure down the front. There was no missing the large weapons strapped on each hip. If Kal had to guess from looking at him, a multitude of weapons were hidden upon his person. A deadly fierceness exuded off this man.

  “It’s doubtful.”

  “Then we chose correctly by keeping it covert. Kallikrates Valerianus, I’m Atrem Dingarios. It is good to finally meet you. Freeing you has been a long time coming.”

  “Dingarios?” Kal kept his stare leveled on the man and his hand readied on his holstered weapon. Now he remembered where he’d seen the winged-dog emblem. It belonged to the Sirian nation and it was staring at him from a patch on the man’s left arm. “The Sirian representative to the High Council?”

  Atrem smiled, showing sharp canines. “That is the face they need to see. It has given us greater access to information needed for the coming war. I prefer POWR, which stands for the Paoni Organized Warrior Rebellion.” He turned his attention to Shia. “Shikoba Saturnina. First woman to complete the rigorous training, I’m impressed.” His gaze wandered over her. “I thought you’d be bigger. One of those Amazonian-type women.”

  “Don’t underestimate her, Father. I’ve seen her in action. Nearly killed Kal.”

  “Impressive indeed.” He