Living among the Stars (Sky Riders #2) (10 page)

              He followed her into the kitchen to watch her move. She had a way about her that he loved and just couldn’t form into words. It was as if she had a magnetic force that moved with her and drug him along. “A few hours at the most. Not too long. We’ll be leaving within the hour.”

              She drained the glass of water she had filled from the pitcher in the cooling unit then sat the empty glass in the sink. She sauntered over to where he leaned against the counter watching her. “Well then, you had better kiss me goodbye and be on your way. I’ll be waiting for you to return.”

              He took her in his arms when she rubbed her body against his. “Oh, I would hope so, my love.”

              “I’ll be waiting for you in our bed…naked.”

              His cock jump at the thought of taking her again. He would have to make sure they weren’t gone to long since he would hate to miss out on another taste of her luscious little body.

              “I will be back as soon as I can.” He kissed her softly on the lips then touched her nose with his finger.

              “Be careful.”

              He nodded as he stepped away from her. “As always. Serelath, Parath let’s head out!”

              Two flashes of color zoomed by as the door to their quarters opened. Kharis followed closely behind as the dragons glided through the corridor. This trip down to the surface should be interesting with a new dragon. This was the first time in years he got to work with a new dragon. It was his pleasure to be able to shape the female into a fighting machine that would protect not only Qetera but also his mate.

******

              An hour later the team of shuttles landed on the rocky surface of Lephus. How anyone could have ever lived on such a hostile planet was beyond him. The landscape was unforgiving with its jagged rocks and dry soil. A constant, wild wind whipped over the surface causing the soil and dirt to fly up into the air. Sandstorms were a common thing and were to known to be quite dangerous at times. To be on the safe side, he made all of his men wear respirators along with their com links.

              The shuttles emptied out as soon as they touched down. There were four teams sent to search different quadrants of the planet. He and twenty of his men were in the main quadrant that housed most of the people at one time.

              “Let’s move out. Remember, report to me immediately if you see or come across anything suspicious.” He had checked his weapon before he moved out. The last thing he needed was to be caught off guard with a malfunctioning gun.

              The group left the shuttles on the outskirts of the central city, or what you could call the main city. It looked more like a village than a city in its current condition. Several buildings stood in a sad state of disrepair or were completely crumbled down upon themselves. The streets were littered with trash and with what smelled like raw sewage. Obviously, Ruehar had let his city fall into chaos.

              A moment of pity overcame him when he thought about the few women and children that had once lived in the deplorable place. The group proceeded through the streets at a slow pace searching each building as they went along. In the sky above, Serelath and Parath soared over the city searching for any heat signals.

             
Serelath, you find anything yet?
He kept his eyes peeled for any sudden movements.

             
Nothing that would indicate the presence of a Lephusan.

              The pair spoke through their mind link to keep the conversation at a minimum. If there was anyone left he didn’t want to scare them off.

              As the small group of men approached a dilapidated building, laser shots skimmed across their path causing them to run for cover. Kharis ducked into the doorway of a single storied building that had been ransacked.

             
Serelath, did you see where that came from?
He peered around the corner to see if he could place where the assailant was hiding. Movement out the corner of his eye caught his attention in the building diagonally across from him. A curtain was blowing through a broken window on the second story. The shape of a head peaked up from the windowsill giving him enough time to see where his attacker was hiding. Using hand signals to his closest men, he pointed up to the window. Two men slipped across the road and headed for the building in question. There was no way he would be able to cross the street and enter the building without being seen because of his current location. He had been the closest to the shooter and was pinned down in the doorway until his men captured the assailant.

             
There isn’t any movement that I can see. Best stay where you are
, Serelath replied.

             
Keep your eyes open and stay close
, he said back to the dragon flying overhead. He needed to get into the building to find out who took a pot shot at him. Testing his luck, he peered around the corner again. Nothing moved in the window behind the curtain then suddenly a bright flash filtered through the broken glass. He took that as a sign to make a mad dash for the building across the street. Keeping his head low, he ran for the door leading into the two storied structure. He followed the sounds of scuffling up the stairs and down a long narrow hallway. The sound of flesh being smacked then the groan of pain came out of the room at the end of the hall. Just as he was entering the room with his laser gun drawn, one of his men was throwing a boy to the ground.

              “Get off me you dirty rotten ass!” The boy struggled until his arms were forcibly restrained behind his back and he was hauled to his feet. The boy jerked his arms but was unable to free himself from the two men that held him still.

              “Here’s your shooter, Commander.”

              Kharis slipped his gun into the waistband of his uniform pants as he stepped closer to the boy. The kid couldn’t have been more that fourteen or fifteen years old and was small for his age. By the looks of the boy’s complexion, he was definitely Lephusan but why was he alone in a building that was now falling apart.

              “What’s your name boy?”

              ‘I’m no boy! I am a man, a warrior!” The boy glared at him with eyes that could have burned straight through him.

              “Ummm…a warrior you say. If you are a warrior then where are the rest of your troops?” Kharis folded his arms and waited for a reply.

              “I…I am the only one left.” The boy stilled and a look of sadness fell over his young face.

              “Where is everyone else?” He hoped to gain some information from the boy no matter how small or inconsequential it might be.

              The boy refused to answer the question. He just stood there glaring at Kharis as if he expected Kharis to suddenly put him to death. He needed to find out what this boy knew but how could he get it out of him without scaring the crap out of him?

              “Look, I respect you for being a warrior and for trying to protect yourself. But staying alone is not the answer. If there isn’t anyone left here, then why are you still here?”

              “They left, they all left and I didn’t want to go.” The boy held his head up high as if he was trying to prove his point.

              “But, tell me why you didn’t want to go. You have to have a reason,” Khari said.

              “I,” the boy was stalling. “I didn’t want to go with them because I don’t want to be a Lephusan anymore!” A tear slipped down the boy’s dirty, pale cheek.

              The boy’s answer took him by complete surprise. He thought maybe he had been left behind by mistake or something, but not this!

              “Let him go,” he said to the men holding the boy’s arms. One of the men cut the boy free then stepped away. “Come here,” he said. The boy had hesitated for a moment before he took a tentative step towards him. “Tell me what happen. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. First, tell me your name.”

              The boy looked up at him then said in a low voice, “Luco. My name is Luco.”

              “Well, Luco are you hungry?” He snapped his finger at one of his men who produce a silver wrapped protein bar from inside his uniform shirt. He took the bar and unwrapped the top portion then handed to the boy.

              Luco eagerly took the offered food and began to shove the entire thing into his mouth.

              “Whoa there. You are going to choke. Slow down, we have plenty more.” Kharis took the boy by the arm and steered him to an overturned bench. “Now tell me why you didn’t want to go with your people. You have to have a reason.”

              The boy chewed then swallowed the mouthful of the protein bar. “I…I didn’t want to part of another madman’s idealistic dream! That’s why! There aren’t many of us left. I want to live a free life and make my own decisions, not be told how to live and I definitely want no part in raping females just to supply troops for a war that we cannot win!”

              “War? What war are you talking about? Ruehar is dead.” Kharis was confused with the boy’s words and actions.

              “I know he is dead! It’s Captain Zol’tsa who has taken control of us. He’s even gone as far as to find us a new planet to live on, but I didn’t want any part of it. I want to live a free life, not one controlled by another dictator.”

              Kharis’ problem was growing bigger by the second. If the Lephus people had a new leader, which he had already suspected, then their problems hadn’t ended with the death of their previous leader.

              “I tell you what,” Kharis addressed the boy, “You can come with us, not as a prisoner, but as a new citizen of Qetera.”

              A procession of emotions played across the young boy’s face and Kharis could see the boy was torn between his two options. It was not unheard of for a Lephusan to defect from his or her culture and join an entirely different one. There were the rare ones that believed there was more to life then warring with different races, but not many.

              “What will it be then, son?” Kharis asked again. The boy stood still as if he was weighing his options. He would like to have the boy join them, that way the boy could be trained as a Qeteran warrior and grow up to the man he wants to be.

              “I will come with you,” Luco replied. “But, may I bring some of my things with me?”

              “Of course. Tell me, Luco, are there any others like you hanging around?” Kharis hoped Luco would tell him the truth so that he could cut their time short on the planet.

              The boy shrugged his shoulders. “As far as I know I am the only one. It’s been a few days since they left and I haven’t seen anyone else.”

              “Ok then, let’s go.”

              Kharis, Luco, and his men went back outside to find that nothing had changed. Everything was still just as quiet and deserted as it had been before the group had been fired upon by the lone Luco.

             
Serelath, take another fly around with Parath just to be sure there isn’t anything we missed
, Kharis sent to his dragon.

             
As you wish
, Serelath said.   

              The group started to walk again on the street to out the remaining area before turning back. Kharis wasn’t easily spooked, but walking down the empty street was creepy. Trash blew in the breeze that had been stirred up, animal searching food occasionally ran across their path, and the abandoned building continued to give the feeling he was being watched. He would be happy to get off the Lephusan planet once and for all and never return.