The Prometheus Promise Read online

  Dedication

  Kiba, thanks for spending long nights by my side.

  Chapter One

  It wasn’t the steady slow drip of her own blood running past her ear and onto the ground that woke her. It wasn’t even her finger, had she looked, that was twisted at an odd angle that brought her to consciousness. It was the screaming headache which seemed to pulse with the intent of splitting her head in an infinite amount of pieces.

  Utopia, her father had called it. Bullshit! This planet was nothing but trouble since they landed. Her heart did an unplanned lurch when she realized others were probably hurt. Wincing she opened one hazel eye then the other. Lot of good that did. It was still pitch black. She had been in perpetual darkness forever it seemed. Slowly, she lifted her hands to gently search the ground around her for a body. Any body. She didn’t want to be alone on this hellhole. Her right hand protested, her middle finger was slightly out of socket, and she knew with a certainty that she would have to pop it back in place. More pain, that’s what she needed, because apparently fate didn’t feel as if she’d suffered enough. She held her breath and cradled her right hand with her left and with a quickness, which on any other day she would have admired, pushed her finger back in place. She howled bloody murder and passed out again. Pain overload.

  “Did you hear that?” Bri’aque asked, cocking his head in the direction of the sound. He needn’t have asked. Nothing got past Torin.

  “Aye, sounded like a wounded animal” he stepped carefully over the body part he had been examining. “Let us put this animal out of its misery.”

  “Where did they come from?” Bri’aque asked surveying the bloody mess. He gathered three maybe four humanoids had been slaughtered here. It was hard to tell—there were so many body parts.

  “I cannot begin to guess. Why would anyone try to settle here? Surely they knew Gaurans inhabited this place.” He cocked his weapon, making sure it was ready to fire. “The Gaurans feasted well here.” he said grimly.

  “It is not your fault, Torin. You sent out a missive many complete rotations past warning not to settle here. You’ve regularly patrolled. But even you, Brother of Heart, cannot save everyone.” He clapped his friend on the back urging him toward the sound. Torin did not respond. He did not have to. The set of his jaw told Bri’aque if there were any Gaurans left on this planet, they were as good as dead.

  Small cessation, Karia thought to herself. Well at least her finger was in place, throbbing as it was. The blood had stopped flowing. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe her body had started healing or maybe she was just plain out of blood. Something had awakened her—what, she couldn’t begin to guess. Karia began to wonder if she were perhaps dead. It seemed in answer to her musings, a thin piercing light blinded her. She groaned at the pain. She tried to shy away from the light. It was too much, too soon, too bright. She heard the heavy thud of feet and hard voices. She didn’t understand them and she felt herself going under again. It was mercy, she thought warily to herself, at least when the monsters ate her she would be unconscious and unaware. She felt a large hand grab her shoulder and turn her over. She tried to focus on the face but it blurred then it was replaced by darkness.

  After briefly arguing, Torin and Bri’aque decided it was best to see if the wounded Gauran was in the cave blocked by the heavy boulders. Torin argued that Gaurans weren’t capable of thinking enough to try and hide their lair, not to mention they could not possibly move the boulders in place from the inside, wounded. Bri’aque argued, what if it were the leader they were trying to protect then of course they were capable of such acts and it would explain how the boulders got in place. Torin argued Gaurans had no feelings of protection toward anyone, they were savage animals. In exasperation and to save time arguing further, they agreed to check out the cave. In no time at all, the two big men got one boulder moved enough to allow them access. A thin beam of sunlight filtered into the cave.

  Immediately Torin knew something was not right in the cave. It appeared someone or something had been in it for some time. Strange belongings littered the cave floor. His excellent night vision allowed him to see in the poorly lit cave. He saw a small bundle move in a far corner and guessed this creature made the sound.

  “Over there” he said to Bri’aque heading in the direction.

  “There is something over here as well” Bri’aque answered going the opposite way.

  Torin stood over the small bundle and realized it was a small humanoid. He tried to grab its shoulder gently to see what he was dealing with. His breath caught at the sight of strangely colored eyes that seemed to look at him but not quite. Then the beautiful eyes closed. Allowing him to see the dirty face of a creature he had only heard about. She was badly injured. Caked blood ran down the side of her face. Her clothes were torn and filthy. He peered closer, examining her for injuries but out of curiosity as well.

  She was made much like the women on his planet. He guessed the swollen finger on one of her hands was a result from injury and not genetics. He lifted one. He could only guess the scratched and bloody fingers were from trying to keep the boulders in place. Trying to keep the Gaurans out. Why would these humans come to Lathaeon? He glanced over at Bri’aque and realized he too had found a humanoid female. By the grin on his face, he could only guess she was as beautiful as this one. He stood and surveyed the cave. One other bundle lay not too far from the female he found. He knew before he got to her she was dead. She had been beautiful as well. Did this place where the humans come from only make beautiful females? Surely that was a planet worth visiting.

  “We must get them back, let Bela heal them.”

  Bri’aque grunted in agreement. Both men lifted the women as gingerly as possible and headed for the transporter

  The swaying was making her nauseous. At this point, Karia didn’t care if she was dead or not; she just wanted the headache to stop and the nausea to settle down. She was curled against something hard. It spoke in a strange guttural language. Karia’s heart fluttered. Had she been captured by one of the creatures? Why didn’t they kill her right away like the others? She curled tighter in a ball, for what she did not know. It wasn’t as if her balling up tighter would stop them from eating her like they did the rest. The arms that held her seemed to draw her tighter. For reasons she couldn’t begin to fathom, she felt safe, and drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.

  Torin felt her panic and tried to comfort her. He hoped the sleeping potion he gave her would help with her pain until they could reach Bela. Whatever these two tiny women must have gone through had to be horrific. Gaurans! He grunted to himself. No doubt the bodies belonged to the colony these women hailed from. Perhaps they were the last of their colony. He would have to send out a search party to see if there were any more survivors on the planet.

  He tried to understand what made these small humans inhabit Lathaeon. Did the planet where they lived not get his missive? Better yet where did they come from? The Gaurans were becoming something of a problem. Scyrrilis Creed gave rights to all living things to live—until they became a threat to other living things. The Gaurans had become thusly so. At first their numbers were small. The fur-covered creatures at full grown only half the size of a Scyrillian adult male, they were a small nuisance. Stealing a transporter now and again, stealing supplies enroute to their destination, they were manageable.

  Until a few Complete Rotations back when the Gaurans appeared to be bigger, stronger, thinking creatures. Random acts of killing and eating citizens spread rampantly. Their numbers grew in correlation with their size and now… Torin shook his head solemnly. Now they were a threat, wiping out cities. It was up to him and his family to deal with them while at the same time upholding
the Scyrrilis Creed. If they wiped out the species, many others would get nervous wondering if, as their numbers grew, they would be wiped out as well. It wasn’t as if the people didn’t recognize the threat of the Gaurans. They expected Torin and his family to deal with it in a manner that didn’t threaten their own existence since Scyrrilis was a nation made of many species.

  Torin hated politics. He assigned them a planet of their own, rounded them up and frequently dropped supplies. But somehow they got a hold of transporters. Now they were everywhere. Torin couldn’t help a nagging suspicion that this little woman was somehow tied to his problem.

  Chapter Two

  Karia did not recognize her surroundings. Then again she hadn’t recognized any of her surroundings since she left Earth what seemed like many, many years ago. At least she believed it had been two years, most of it in stasis traveling. She fingered the gauzy royal green material that covered her. At another time in her life, she might have been bothered by the fact that someone had undressed her, seen her naked and dressed her like a child. But now, many horrific events later, she didn’t care. She could honestly say there were worse things in life.

  Painfully she sat up, her head only a dull throb but the rest of her body from lack of sleep and overload of trauma protested the tyrannical decision. Her fingernails had begun to grow back—she had worn them away, pushing at the rocks, clutching them, filling the empty spaces with anything she could find. She couldn’t let them in. Couldn’t let them… She closed her eyes willing the hazy memories to go away. They were dream-like, as if they weren’t real, or didn’t belong to her. Growing fingernails suggested she had been asleep for quite awhile. Wherever she was, she could consider it tentatively safe. If they wanted to kill her or worse they could have done so.

  As it stood, it seemed she was cared for meticulously. She looked around and found herself on a huge bed that…floated? There was no headboard. No legs to the bed, it just sort of hovered. It was quite large to be hovering and still managed to stay completely still. Pillows everywhere. She saw some had been carefully placed around her to aid in her sleep. Quite an aid, she thought wryly to herself.

  Everything in the room was in brown and shades of red. Very male colors she conceded. She had no idea what anything was, it all looked strange. She supposed the big hunk of wood, though beautifully carved, acted as some sort of bureau. It had no knobs or seams that suggested drawers. How did it open? Hell, what was in it? She hopped down gingerly off the bed and walked on gel-like legs towards it. It was made of a beautiful but strange colored wood. She couldn’t name the different woods on Earth, so she definitely was out of her league here.

  She ran her hand over the object and smiled. It was smooth but warm and it—Oh shit! It opened on its own. Karia stepped back and the small drawer protruded. Karia waved her hand over it and watched it return to its place silently. Motion activated drawers. They didn’t come up with that concept on Earth. She waved a hand again and watched the drawer open again. Biting her lip, she decided it was best she find out everything she could and, with that small consolation, proceeded to look in the drawer. Beautiful material folded oh so neatly lined themselves in the drawers. Perhaps she was wrong. Maybe this was not a man’s room. Perhaps a couple’s room. Though she couldn’t possibly figure out how she knew these were clothes, the colors were feminine. She pulled out the silk like material and if her guesses were correct the women here needed someone to help them dress. There were so many straps and oh! Did that strap really cross over her… She hastily put it back in the drawer and waved her hand to close it. The sound of a male voice made her jump right out of her skin.

  “Did you not like the clothes provided?” The deep baritone voice smoothly washed over her.

  Karia turned and caught her breath, wondering why her hallucinations always seemed so real. She blinked a few times, giving her mind a minute to clear up the misunderstanding.

  “Do you still not understand me, little human?” He frowned his perfectly shaped lips except for the small scar the adorned the top one. If anything, it made him even sexier.

  ‘I—I understand” she stammered. Angry at her brain for not telling her it was not an illusion. Tawny eyes looked at her curiously, like a child would a three-legged dog. He was tall. Damn tall, at least six and half to seven feet. But the hair. Who has hair like that? What has hair like that? She thought again. It was black. Not just black but iridescent black. Like millions of colors lay just under the surface. It shimmered past his shoulders. Oh, that perfectly sensuous mouth was saying something again.

  “W—What?” She shook her head, determined not to be the idiot she no doubt looked to be.

  “How are you feeling? Bela said you were healing nicely.” He walked further into the room. Tight, but not too tight, leather like pants gripped his powerful legs. What she wouldn’t give to be a pair of leather pants right now.

  “I am fine, thank you. I, er, sorry about snooping. I was curious. I mean, I don’t know where I am and I thought…” She stopped because even to her own ears she sounded lame.

  “The clothes were for you.” He waved his hands to dismiss her discomfort. “I will send for a servant in a moment to help you dress. Please sit down. Are you in need of sustenance? There is food near the sleep pod.”

  “Sleep pod? Oh! The bed. No, thank you, but uh no, I’m not hungry. At least I don’t feel like I am right now.” Karia sat down, partly because she needed something to do other than the blabbering that seemed to have taken over, and partly because the sudden interest in his eyes as he came closer made her aware, the material she was wearing was fantastically see through.

  “I need to speak to you and your friend about your circumstances.” He leaned against the bureau- like furniture and eyed her closely. Karia tried to casually draw the covers around her. She perked up when she realized what he had said.

  “Some one else is alive?” She couldn’t keep her voice from cracking. Dear God in Heaven, she was not the last human from Earth after all.

  “Another female with golden hair,” he supplied, smiling as he realized her relief at not being alone.

  “It has to be Brietta!” she squealed. “Is she okay? Is she awake? What about Fiohn, the other woman in the cave…” Her voice trailed off when she saw the stranger shake his head.

  “I am sorry, little one, there was only you and the golden- haired female who survived.” He gentled his voice, trying to comfort her. “She is not yet awake, her injuries were extensive as well. Bela said she shall be fine.”

  Karia perked up. Giddy now at the thought of having her friend here and alive.

  “What is your Calling?” he asked, shifting his weight to the other leg.

  “My Calling?” Puzzled, she looked at him. She knew he was humanoid and looked human, but clearly he was not. “I do not understand.”

  “You said the golden-haired female is Brietta, what is your Calling?”

  “Oh, my name!” Karia laughed. “I am Karia, and you?” She twisted the sheet nervously in her hand. Lord, don’t let him have a name her tongue couldn’t possibly pronounce.

  “I am Torin, First Order of Scyrrilis.”

  “Your name is Torin, what does the other stuff mean?” She knew he thought her strange; he gave her that three-legged dog look again.

  “I am First Son to the First Order, the ruling governing body of Scyrrilis and its Federated Planets. Are you titled where you hail?”

  Karia hesitated. How much should she divulge of her situation? While it’s true he saved her and Brietta, they were the last of their kind. This man could sell her into slavery for that novelty alone, if they did that here. Hell, she knew nothing of her surroundings or these people. She wasn’t quite ready to give out vital information.

  “No.” she answered simply. It wasn’t like he was a living lie detector.

  The little woman was lying and he knew it. She was hiding something. That same something probably had everything to do with why her and her foolish comra
des were on Lathaeon. He would deal with that later. He studied her, refusing to be taken in by her exotic beauty.

  She was dark. Naturally so, not from toiling out in many suns. Her frame was small but compact with muscle. She definitely liked physical work. Strange in itself. Women on Scyrillian did not like physical activity unless it was spending credits or having sex. Men didn’t complain however. This one had high angular cheekbones, which made her look regal. Curly hair, pulled back now and bound, rested just past her shoulders. Dark earth-colored eyes stared right back at him. He knew at that moment he was looking at trouble that reached just under his chin. Her aura pulled at him. He shifted again, and his manhood twitched in apparent sustained interest.

  “Why were you on Lathaeon?” He watched her closely.

  ‘Lathaeon? There must be some mistake. My father—I mean, my crew believed we were on an uninhabited planet named Fallon One.”

  “Fallon One? Uninhabited? Lathaeon has been inhabited now for some time. I gave that planet to the Gaurans.”

  “You give planets?” Her lips twitched. From what he didn’t know but it didn’t bode well for him.

  “I sent a missive to all of Scyrrilis and its Federated Planets not to go there. From which are you? Did you not get it?” Again, he watched her squirm, she was hiding something.

  “What message did this missive contain and when did you send it?”

  Excellent evasive procedures by asking a question. He would let it go for now.

  “It said to avoid Lathaeon at all costs. I sent it three complete rotations of the seasons ago.”

  “Well, my crew and I are most sorry for not having access to this missive, perhaps it came at a time when we were on, ah, vacation.” She smiled obviously pleased with herself and her apparent lies.

  “What is a vacation?” Torin asked, never having heard the word in his language before. She looked startled before she tried to explain.