Citun’s Storm Read online

  “No wonder you and Ashala were able to make storms; it’s how you feel inside.” Citun went to sit on a chair and grimaced when his wet ass squished into the seat.

  Fucking chocolate.

  “I haven’t been kissed in a very long time. I guess I got scared. I thought I was pissed but that wasn’t true.”

  “You’re the first human female I’ve kissed.”

  “I couldn’t tell. My entire body reacted. I was taken by surprise. I’m sorry I made you sick. I’m sorry I tried to make you feel less of a warrior. I thought you’d leave the planet and me. This entire time I’ve been angry for you going to the planet and then taking me hostage. Then, being scared. What if I did end up liking you and ended up lost and alone again. I wasn’t seeing the big picture. You saved my life. You saved the beings on the planet. My other friends will be safe. But what about Lano?”

  “Can Lano appear on any planet?”

  Citun wanted to jump headfirst into telling Storm he would never leave her alone, never abandon her, but she wasn’t ready to hear that yet. Her forlorn expression melted his heart and at this very second, thoughts of spankings were replaced with wanting to find her a fucking pony. He looked them up, their images, adorable creatures. He bet they’d make more of a mess than a pet toff. Her sad story made him wish he could give her a hundred ponies.

  “No, she can appear anywhere on the planet she’s on, or anything she can concentrate on to a degree. She must have seen your ship and watched everyone disappear. Poor thing, I’m guessing she was wondering if she was left all alone. This ship must scare the crap out of her. Males terrify her. On her old planet, females were beaten when it was discovered they could disappear. Only one in a thousand are born with the ability. But beating her only made her condition worse. At least that’s what she calls it, a condition. I thought her talent was cool. To hide when scared. I know a lot of people who were on Earth who wished at one time the ground would open up and swallow them, me included.”

  “My warriors won’t beat her for being scared, that’s stupid. You can’t conquer fear with violence. You can hurt someone who is afraid, but it won’t make them less afraid. Her ability is intriguing.”

  “Lano can’t mind-battle. When the Gorgano showed up she was gone the second the creeps landed. She’s not dangerous, skittish. Her mother hid her ability as long as she could. Her father beat her when he found out, hoping to save her from a worse fate. Why would a man think beating his child would help?”

  Citun agreed, he couldn’t imagine harming anything defenseless and beating a child was incomprehensible. It was no wonder she was so afraid. If her own father would beat her, he wondered if she was ever able to find any safety while on her planet. A sad thought. Although, her wandering was still a problem.

  “Will you tell her to contain herself? She’s in no danger here. With her popping in and out of rooms I bet she’s only seen the worst of my warriors who would have had no idea they were scaring the shit out of her. They can scent her, and it makes them a little edgy and irritable. I can find her a room if she likes, and I swear no one will enter.”

  Lano appeared and solidified. “Yes, please.” She remained standing in a far corner.

  Startled, Citun jumped to his feet and relaxed. The little alien was cute when not popping in and out.

  “You could find safety in a warrior’s arms little female. I promise you no one here would beat you.”

  Lano went red. “Has he seen me?”

  “Who?”

  “Jari. I’ve watched him while he sleeps. He smiles. I like when he smiles. Males I’ve known never smile, they’re only angry, and I’m usually the cause.”

  Citun now understood why Jari was always growling. If the little alien female stayed in a room with him at times, the warrior would be about ready to gnaw on furniture. He gazed at the beautiful female before him. Theirs wouldn’t be a bad match, as long as Jari could keep his hands on her. Her ability would be handy during battle. She was a fast little thing.

  “Next time, you visit with Jari make certain he’s awake. He’s a strong warrior, a good listener. You have my word he won’t hurt you. Your ability isn’t a condition; it’s remarkable. Impressive. I bet Jari would love to ask you a million questions,” Citun said. He had a few questions of his own he wouldn’t mind asking.

  Before he could say another word, Lano vanished and a commotion erupted on the console coming from the bridge.

  “There’s another female on board, Citun,” Jari bellowed.

  Citun rolled his eyes. “Don’t scare her or we may never find her again. No one move; just let her see for herself we mean her no harm.”

  “Speaking of finding, Taft is off the bridge. He caught the scent of something in the air.” Jari’s tone was strained. Citun guessed Lano hadn’t vanished. It was a start, and in his mind’s eye he imagined every muscle on his warrior was bunched and stiff. If Lano had spent time with Jari, he would know her scent. It was no wonder his warrior wanted nothing to do with Ashala or Storm.

  Citun gazed at Storm. “Think she’ll let him talk this time?”

  “I’m listening to you. We’re not unreasonable, we’re wary.”

  “There is a planet we were asked to go and eradicate a noxious beast from a while ago. The war has taken up much of our time. Having three females on board has made my warriors edgy. They need a tension release. I’m notifying the planet inhabitants we will be coming.”

  “Can I go to the planet?”

  Citun was about to say no then changed his mind. “You can come to the planet when we get there. When we begin the extermination, you’ll have to go to the ship. I know you’re a strong-willed female but my warriors kill. We can be brutal and scary as shit. I won’t sugarcoat our actions. You saw some ways of how we fight on the last planet. We are well matched with Tonans.” Citun frowned. “Or a single Tonan.”

  “There was only one. The Gorgano tricked you into thinking there were many. I realized that when I saw the real and only Tonan. I wondered why your warriors were swinging at nothing. I was sad to see you battle the Cono. They are casualties of war, collateral damage. I hope the injured heal.”

  “I don’t like to kill things that are helpless, so we will assess the situation on the planet first. If the beasts are as noxious and destructive as we have been informed, we will slaughter them.”

  “What do the beasts look like?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll find out when we get there.” She looked a little pale. “What’s wrong?”

  “Well, what if they want you to kill harmless bunnies or something?”

  “Warriors don’t kill harmless bunnies,” Citun said. He was amused and annoyed. “If the creature that needs eradicating can be relocated, it will be as long as it’s harmless. I can’t introduce fighting machines on unsuspecting planets.”

  “I’d hate to see something terrified die because it’s an imposition.”

  Citun noticed her fingers interlocking. He expelled a deep breath. “That’s how you felt, isn’t it? Big bad males eradicating helpless human bunnies, because they were an inconvenience. You must have felt so betrayed. Now, here you are surrounded by warriors.”

  He went to sit beside her; tentatively, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Storm spent years hiding from males of all kinds only to find herself with him, and he just proclaimed himself to be a fighting death machine. When did he start taking stupid pills?

  “I will never hurt you,” Citun said. “If I have to tell you that for the rest of my life, I will every day.”

  Storm smiled. “Let’s hope you won’t need to remind me every day. But it’s nice to hear that today.”

  Chapter 7

  It took a week to reach their destination. During that time, Citun was kind and patient. He had a sense of humor that made Storm laugh until tears streamed down her face. His childhood antics were sometimes hair-raising. His planet sounded wacky and also wonderful. He spoke of massive cyron that sounded like tanks. Ugly creatures
called bangors with pig-like noses. Weird trees with creeping vines. Hours he spent simply talking.

  The sound of his voice was something Storm yearned for when she lay in her bed alone. Safety was a dream, but Citun made her feel safe. She loved to hear him laugh. There were times he sat close and his warmth was welcome. The ship was cooler than the planet, and he made certain her room was geared to a temperature she liked. One mention of being cold at night, and he replicated her ten blankets. She laughed telling him she would be buried alive.

  Little things like finding out her love of flowers, her favorite colors were enchanting. No man had ever done that. Citun’s cheeky grin when he unraveled a picture he had made, a Shetland pony rearing with a palomino pony to put on her wall. She knew he was courting her in a weird way. What made his actions so special was he’d never done anything like what he was doing before. Surprisingly, he was good at it.

  They had a main hall on the ship where the warriors gathered for recreation, and when she ventured in on Citun’s arm, the entire room quieted until she fidgeted. Citun glanced around, growled and seated her. They were left alone, but she was able to study his warriors, and they studied her. She was as curious about them as they were about her.

  The warriors looked the same at first until she noticed the subtle differences of each. Citun had a charming smile he flashed often. There were males of all sizes, none as big as Citun but there wasn’t one under six foot six. They were definitely a race of power, built like tanks. When one warrior came too close, Citun was up and had the warrior off his feet in seconds. Storm didn’t think they battled for leadership; Citun wasn’t challenged. He let his warriors know Storm was welcome, and they were to treat her with respect. He encouraged her to try strange new games. The tabletop was covered in a variety of wood pieces and colorful stones.

  Storm caught on to what Citun called ‘quibs.’ The wood and stones were used as building blocks to design homes and when completed, you were rewarded with an actual reconstruction of the perfect house you built as the wood and rocks shape shifted to fill in holes. Warriors ventured closer to watch but kept a few feet between them and Storm. Soon she was laughing with them as Citun made cute animals that came to life and raced across the tabletop in holographic forms.

  She saw much of Ashala until the female began spending more time with Taft. He stopped hounding her, and she went to him willingly. Lano was enamored of Jari. Storm was happy for them; she liked the warriors her friends chose. Citun was growing on her as well. He hadn’t attempted a full-blown kiss again, but when he took her for strolls, he held her hand. Storm didn’t mind, the ship was huge and one wrong turn would have her lost forever. When Citun returned her to her quarters, he kissed her cheek or forehead.

  When he declared them to be at their destination, she was anxious to see the new planet but wondered what lay ahead for them. The next stop would be his planet and a new life once the warriors finished their business. Storm didn’t know what to think of the planet Citun took her to. He scooped her up and nestled her into his embrace, telling her humans had some difficulty at times with the transport. She wondered if he thought there might be trouble, and it was his way of keeping her close. After setting her down onto the unfamiliar terrain, she pressed against him. This was the third planet she had ever been on, Earth being the first. She had seen all kinds of weird aliens, some intelligent, some not, some cruel, some evil, many indifferent.

  Her arms were dotted in goose bumps and the fine hairs on her nape stood tall. A rolling sensation in her belly made her wary. The planet was spooky; it wasn’t any one thing she could put her finger on, but the many sights made her want to recoil.

  Casting her gaze around, Storm scrunched her nose. The air was putrid with the scent of burning meat, but there was something more. Her skin crawled. Dead trees littered hard flat earth. There was no color to the ground except to say it was dull, lifeless. Storm thought for a moment, and one area of Earth came to mind, a garbage dump. The area they landed was filled with plant garbage. Wilted leaves, brown grass, dust. Death of autumn would describe her scenery. She hated it here.

  The aliens who met them were blood red, including the stripe of fur that ran from under their ass to the top of their heads. Otherwise, they were bald. Indigo eyes were sunken. Flat noses with a single nostril, and a triangular mouth. All were thin with gangly arms and legs. The stench radiating from them was noxious; their teeth were decayed. There wasn’t a water source in sight.

  She stood holding Citun’s hand. She was the only female, Ashala and Lano refused to join them. Both Taft and Jari remained behind to calm their fears. Storm was glad the four connected finally. Her friends were still wary but realized the warriors were safe and wouldn’t hurt them. The aliens before her would have frozen the other females to the spot. Storm wondered if Lano might have fainted.

  The party that greeted them was all male, bare foot, Storm’s head coming to just above their chin making each exactly six feet in height. They cocked their heads at Storm, tittering in an ominous language that took her a moment to figure out. When she did, her hand tightened onto Citun.

  “Citun, do these aliens understand your language?”

  “We have a communicator that translated.”

  “We need to leave. Now,” she said.

  Citun gazed at her curiously. “What’s wrong?”

  “While discussing you, I think juicy-looking and a meal to feed a tribe isn’t the best indication of friendly. They sound like their planning dinner or a cookbook.”

  One male was indicating the landing party should follow. Storm shook her head no. She tugged harder onto Citun’s hand. All eyes were on her.

  “It can’t hurt to see what their problem is. There aren’t many of them, so you’re in no danger,” Citun said. He pulled her closer, then whispered in her ear. “Don’t let on you understand them. Pretend to be skittish. You’re a female surrounded by males; it’s understandable you would be afraid.”

  “Afraid doesn’t begin to describe what I’m feeling.” Her response a hiss.

  “I’ll send you back to the ship. I’m sorry you’re scared. My warriors can handle these males. I thought you realized that. I never would have brought you, if I felt there was danger to you. You’re always so strong I forget you’re small and you can mind-battle, but those teeny arms of yours couldn’t knock a bug on its ass.”

  Storm thought he was sometimes too cocky for his own good. “No. If you’re staying, so am I. But be warned, something is off here.”

  The eight warriors and Storm were led to a small village. A feast had been prepared in their honor. The rancid odor coming from the cooking vats made Storm gag. A young female approached Storm; she was gaunt, shaking and obviously pregnant. She motioned to Storm to come with her. Storm glanced at Citun.

  Citun shook his head no and pulled Storm closer. The young woman smiled in understanding. She took Storm’s hand and placed it onto her belly where Storm could feel the kicks of the baby. She knew the gesture was meant to show her the female couldn’t possibly cause her harm. Storm pulled from Citun.

  “I can take care of myself. You know what I can do if I have to. I doubt this little thing would hurt me; she looks ready to pop. These aliens are bigger than a bug, but my puny arms know how to throw a punch if some male comes near me.”

  “Are you certain?” Citun asked.

  “Something’s going on here. I want to find out what.”

  “Stay out of trouble and stay in my sight.”

  Storm followed the female to a lean-to; it was open and she could see Citun watching her. The males of the tribe, twenty in all, sat in a circle and coaxed the warriors to do the same. Compared to Citun’s men, the tribe’s men were paltry. She bet she weighed the same as the males, but Storm couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t as it appeared to be. The excitement in the air was electric.

  Storm concentrated on the expecting female. She was malnourished; she had few teeth for someone so young. There we
re very few women in various open lean-tos she could see. After gazing around the village, Storm wondered where all the elderly were. Everyone seemed the same age. Though the female was carrying, she saw no children, no babies.

  “Was illness here?” Storm asked. She wanted to use as little words as possible. Her words weren’t spot on but enough for her to be understood.

  The female gasped and took her hands in a surprisingly firm grip. “You speak my language?”

  “Little,” Storm lied, then shrugged as though at a loss.

  The female relaxed and nodded. “No illness. No food. No rain, hard times.” Everything she said was accompanied by gestures as Storm frowned and appeared to struggle with what was said.

  Storm went to the pot obviously containing liquid. She sniffed and scrunched her nose, the ammonia was a dead giveaway. They were cooking urine. Storm had heard of such a thing in extreme survival conditions. Everywhere she gazed was dry as dust. She guessed it had been months or perhaps years since rain had fallen. Utilizing what meager means they had didn’t make them disgusting; it was a smart idea, a desperate one, too. The question was what was cooked in it? Or maybe who. The female saw her eyeing the pot. She went to scoop up what looked to be small animal bits and Storm gagged.

  “No worries for you,” the female said, again gesturing and placing a soft hand on Storm’s arm. “I am Day; you are young yet, can carry.”

  Carry what? Lunch? Oh my God.

  “Day, where little ones, old?” Storm made a gesture with her hands to indicate smaller aliens of their kind as she struggled on purpose to speak. She was also trying to get past the huge lump that formed in her throat.

  “Must be feast for strong healthy warriors.”

  Storm knew every ounce of blood drained from her face. There was no threat that needed eradicating; these cannibals already ate any threat no doubt. She stumbled from the lean-to and vomited. Citun was up as she staggered into his arms.