Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) Read online

  He sent her a command to take a deep breath and not try to help as he lifted her, wrapped in the thin blanket, and held her to his strength and warmth. One of his men moved to pull Hunter’s cloak around her, so that she was further sheltered from the rain and his body heat was captured. The warmth was such a welcome relief from the chilly air that she whimpered.

  Hunter carried her over to where the women were being corralled. Some of the girls, mostly the ones who were unconscious or too weak to fight, were wrapped in the men’s cloaks. Arianna was pleased to sense that Bev was one of those who had wisely accepted a cloak without being forced. The girls who had fought being covered were huddled together, naked in the rain, covered with mud and debris from the forest floor and some of them had blood streaming from various injuries. Amy stood defiantly before those girls, glaring at the women who’d accepted help, as though they’d betrayed her.

  God, they were so young. Ri was definitely the oldest and she had a wee bit of a clue as to what was going on, even if the girls didn’t. It didn’t seem that any of the other women had the ability to touch the men with their minds, as Ri had been doing, either. Then again, perhaps Hunter was the only one who could do that among his people?

  Amy’s small army of followers had to be freezing. Ri sent a shaft of thought to Hunter, imagining the women covered and protected from the weather and the men’s eyes. He hesitated, as though unsure about the wisdom of that, but called an order to his men. Almost as one, the warriors stripped their cloaks from around their bodies and wrapped them around the girls who were still unprotected.

  But when the men took off their cloaks to cover the wet, shivering girls, all hell broke loose. From the front, the men seemed to be just that… men. From the back, though, they were sleek, muscular, furred creatures. How had she missed that? Oh, right, she’d been dealing with debilitating pain. She shivered, trying to take it all in. They looked almost like cats, from behind, but without tails. All colors and patterns of cat, too, including some she’d never seen on her planet.

  Realizing that their saviors were aliens, some of the girls screeched and squealed, renewing their attempts to get away. Arianna sensed a collective sigh among the men and nearly let loose a slightly hysterical giggle at their patient efforts to keep the girls contained. Fortunately, with the cloaks surrounding them, the women were actually easier to hold, since all the men had to do was wrap them securely in the cloth and hold it tight with one arm. Arianna thought the much-smaller women looked like little brown cocoons. She dizzily wondered what kind of butterflies would emerge. The inane thought made her decide that she must have brain damage.

  The mental image must have broadcast to Hunter, because he stifled a chuckle and arched an eyebrow down at her in amusement, his eyes warm and appreciative of her humor. He tilted his head toward the group of girls and sent a gentle shaft of urgency at her. She colored and turned her attention back to her companions. She might know that the men meant them no harm, but obviously, the little idiots with Amy did not. Arianna knew that she had to get the girls to understand that they needed to cooperate so they could all be taken to safety.

  Drawing in as much air as she could, ignoring the blinding pain in her ribs for a moment, Arianna tried to get their attention. Perhaps the fact that she had taken charge before meant that she might get them to listen long enough to get to safety. Drawing on years of dealing with rowdy youngsters, she put on her best ‘mom’ voice, as she had before, along with the mental impulses to quiet and reassure them.

  “Ladies,” she said, over their soft weeping and sniffling. “Hush.”

  She waited for them to quiet down a bit, which, surprisingly, they did. She supposed that with the lack of a decent leader, any older person of their race with a hint of authority would do. Either that, or she really was more psychic than she’d been back home. Taking as deep a breath as she could and augmenting her physical voice with a mental nudge, she said, “These men are here to help us. Please be quiet and do what they ask. They are trying to get us to safety.”

  “But they’re animals!” one of the girls wailed, sounding like a five-year-old. Arianna cut her eyes to Hunter. His jaw tightened at the tone, if not the words, but she sensed that he understood that the girl had just insulted him. She had to admire that he took the name-calling fairly well.

  “They’re fucking aliens!” Amy spat, glaring at the nearest warrior, who curled his lips at her in amusement. Hunter’s arms flexed around Ri at the slur.

  “Well, to them, we’re the aliens who crashed on their world. Ri, ask him where we are,” Bev suggested, her teeth chattering with cold and probably a bit of delayed shock as she looked around the forest. When she shivered, the tall, handsome man beside her tentatively wrapped an arm around her cloaked shoulders and pulled her to his side, his hand moving up and down her arm when she didn’t protest. Arianna tried to smile at her, grateful for Bev’s staunch support. She looked toward Hunter, asking him the same thing mentally.

  Hunter’s eyes met Arianna’s, narrowing as he sensed her lagging energy. He leaned down to touch his forehead to hers. His energy flowed into her, shining and hot, renewing her for just a bit longer. The girls emitted a collective squeal of alarm when he touched her, as though they feared he might eat her or something. He rolled his eyes and Arianna would have chuckled if she could. Apparently, the reaction to high-pitched squeals from young women was universal. Holding Arianna a bit closer to him, his gaze went back to the girls, but he sent his thoughts to the soft woman in his arms. She translated as best she could, from the images he sent her, and just hoped she got it right.

  “His name is Hunter,” she told them once they had calmed down again. “He seems to be their leader. He’s talking to me, kind of, psychically.” Some of the girls murmured at that, but she doggedly kept going. “From the mental images he has given me, we must have been on a space ship, which crashed in this forest. Their home is near here, and they came to help us as soon as he heard my mental call. They want to take us to their… village, so they can help us.”

  She paused a moment, gathering his thoughts and her breath. “He wants us to be quiet and… follow their directions. Those creatures that attacked us will be back with reinforcements, now that they’ve tasted blood. The men need to be able to concentrate, so they can protect us until they get us to their compound. Please try to let them do what they need to do. I don’t sense that they plan to hurt us, either now or later.”

  Several of the girls nodded slowly, but the rest simply gawked at Arianna, then the men’s leader.

  “How do we know that he hasn’t used his mental powers to trick you?” Amy smirked at her, the tone of her voice mocking. Ri and Hunter both shot her twin looks of disgruntlement.

  “You don’t,” Ri said shortly. Something about that girl rubbed her the wrong way, making even her normally sweet nature come out a little acidic. She fought for calm, knowing that Amy was trying to start a fight, perhaps a power play to get Ri out of the temporary position of authority that Hunter had given her. “Look, if anyone else can talk to these guys and figure out what they want, now’s the time to step forward. Lord knows, I don’t need the stress. But until you can communicate with them, I seem to be all you’ve got.”

  A loud clap of thunder sounded and the rain started to fall faster, harder. Ri sensed Hunter’s alarm as he bit out orders to his men, who moved quickly to take the girls up onto their riding beasts. She got the impression that thunderstorms could be extremely dangerous here, such was his level of concern.

  “Just stay calm, let them get us to shelter, and we’ll figure out the rest once we’ve been settled, okay?” Ri called out as the men went into motion. She sent a shaft of obedience at Amy, who was stunned enough for one of the warriors to wrap her in a cloak and toss her onto his mount. She wiggled and fought, but was wrapped up nice and tight.

  Looking down at Ri, Hunter sent a picture of her sitting with him on his beast, riding, then arched his brows in question. Could
she ride far enough to get to shelter? Her leg was killing her, as were her ribs, neck, and head, but she wanted to be warm, clothed, and hopefully in a medical bed under heavy blankets, with a blood-stream full of hard-hitting pain killers. And she’d like that doctor to spend a little more quality time with her leg. She’d feel a lot better when it was encased in plaster and elevated where it couldn’t get hurt again.

  “I think so,” she murmured, forgetting that he couldn’t understand her. Clenching her teeth at the various aches and sharp pains stabbing at her, she sent him the thought, along with a bit of the pain she was in. As he strode toward his riding beast, she closed her eyes and tried her mantra one more time.

  Center. Open. Flow. Wait. One one-thousand …

  This time, though, instead of having to wait for the power to come welling up from within her, it came from without, encompassing her, filling her with warmth, wonder, and brightness. Sucking in a breath, she looked up, met Hunter’s intense gaze. He had felt her trying to control the pain. When she opened herself to her own power, he’d been able to add to it from his considerable well of energy.

  For what seemed like eternity, he fed her his strength, took as much pain as he could from her, and shared his unexpected joy of their mingled essences. Ri had tears in her eyes by the time he was done. His energy was so very… warm, reassuring, bright. She wanted to remain where she was, joined with him, and just drink him in until she could take no more. Lost in wonder, she raised a shaking hand to his face and traced his lips with a delicate touch.

  “Thank you,” she whispered reverently. As though he’d known her for years instead of just under an hour, he kissed her fingertip, nodded his understanding. A little smile kicked up the corner of his mouth and he sent her a wave of admiration and encouragement. He inserted an image into her mind, of her dressed in warrior’s garb of a thigh-length tunic and leather cross-garters over her chest, black leather pants and knee-high leather boots. A gleaming sword was held tightly in her hand as she stood guard over the young women, protecting them as fiercely as any general or mother would. He stood beside her in the mental image, helping her, his gaze proud as he looked down at his ‘little warrior’.

  Arianna stared up at him in utter disbelief.

  A warrior? Her? Where in the world had he gotten that impression?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Hunter called another set of orders to his men then strode to his mount and quickly gained the saddle without the use of his hands or any other assistance. Arianna was stunned. She wasn’t the thinnest woman in the world. Not the fattest, either, but she wasn’t a light-weight, for all her short stature. Yet he carried her as though she weighed no more than a child. Perhaps because he was so very tall. And muscular. His arms, when he wrapped them around her to take up the reigns, were corded with muscle. His bare chest was hard and smooth beneath leather bands that crossed his body and held his sword’s sheath in place on his back.

  He was very careful with her as he arranged her so that her cheek was against his chest, her head nestled firmly against his upper arm as he wrapped it around her shoulders to keep her from moving too much. She sighed at the warmth rolling off of his skin. The cloak he had wrapped securely around them both was also warm and infused with his scent. She breathed it in, startled that it was a clean, very exotic but distinctly masculine aroma. Smoky, woodsy, and with a bit of musk that was alien but enticing, it did things to her that, had she not been so weak and in such pain, might have led to some interesting moments on the ride back to the compound. When the beast beneath them started moving, she moaned in renewed pain and wrapped her arm around his narrow waist.

  Her fingers encountered sleek fur. She had already put the furry backs of his men out of her mind. Now, she took the opportunity to tentatively explore that aspect of his alieness, for just a moment. Her fingers slid through the fur, soft and warm but just as sleek and thick as a cat’s.

  When she felt his sigh, Arianna looked up at him. He was watching her warily, waiting for her reaction, in case she decided to try to fight and run. As if she could. She met his gaze and offered a soft smile. Accompanying the smile, she stroked his back, showing that she didn’t mind the fur. She inserted an image of her beloved gray tabby cat back home, which she’d only recently lost, and how much enjoyment she’d taken simply in petting him. Hunter’s eyes softened. He grinned, holding her a bit more securely, and clicked to his mount.

  The beast started moving again and she closed her eyes against the jolts of discomfort that each step caused. Hunter sensed her distress and made a soothing, concerned noise then clicked to his ‘horse’ in a pattern. The rider started moving faster, but with a smoother gait. He quickly made up time and within moments, they were at the head of the line of men and beasts.

  As they rode past, Ri noticed that there were a number of the beasts riding slightly apart, with two or three of the stretchers between them. The men on the riders held onto the stretchers carefully, their eyes on the girls being transported. Arianna sensed their genuine concern and her heart warmed. These men truly wanted nothing but safety for the women who’d literally fallen from the sky into their world.

  Hunter sent her a complex thought that she translated to mean, “We must get to the compound. You will all be safe there. I know you are hurting, but it will not be long before we can see to your injuries.”

  “Thank you,” Arianna breathed against his chest. Even the feeble light filtering down through the clouds and trees was hurting her head. She closed her eyes against it, hoping to alleviate at least a little bit of the agony. She sensed when Hunter shifted some of his energy her way again, when he attempted to take a bit of her pain from her. She opened herself and allowed him to take as much as he could and still remain vigilant. Murmuring into her hair as he nuzzled the top of her head, he sent her waves of compassion and sympathy.

  For what seemed like half an hour, they rode in silence, the beasts’ feet and the occasional sniffle of one of the injured and scared girls the only noises the group made. Arianna did her best to send out reassurance to her women, but her head was aching too much for her to release much energy. She wasn’t sure how effective she’d been, but she sensed Hunter’s approval of her efforts. His stronger mental energy joined hers, strengthening her, and more of the girls calmed down. Having his energy melded with hers made her head hurt less. His arm tightened the tiniest bit around her when he sensed that. He allowed more of his power to flow into her. It was enough to keep her going for a bit longer.

  Almost against her will, she closed her eyes. She wanted, more than anything else, to take in everything about this new planet she was on. She’d always dreamed of traveling to another world, but had been realistic enough to know it would never happen. But somehow, it had happened. She was here, in a completely different star system on an unknown planet, and ironically, she was too weary to try to look at her new world as they rode through the forest. The steady rhythm of the rider beast, the comforting warmth and the strong beat of Hunter’s heart lulled Ri and she dozed as they rode.

  A short time later, Arianna sensed that they had reached a settlement of sorts. She could feel many more minds in this place, all of them male and alien, with the unique ‘taste’ of energy that the doctor and the other men possessed. She also sensed the renewed fear of the women, curiosity from the men in the compound who hadn’t been with the rescue party, and a growing personal interest in Ri from the man holding her.

  He called out something in his tongue. The mount slowed and she opened her eyes enough to see tall walls of wood and stone above her. It was the exact building she’d seen from Hunter’s mind, which reassured her that he was what he claimed to be, merely a compassionate responder to the accident that had brought her group to this world.

  People crowded into the courtyard, wanting to see what was going on. She could sense them, all male, and the growing excitement and interest pressed against her mind, bringing back some of the pain. All around her there was movement and so
und, but she could do no more than close her eyes again and allow things to happen without her participation. She felt so weak, so listless. When faced with an emergency, Ri was capable, decisive, and strong. But as soon as someone else showed up who could take over and do a better job, Arianna could fall apart, be pathetic. It was no different now.

  Her girls were safe within the walls of the compound. Hunter was organizing his men and the women were being taken either to the great hall or to the medical center. Ri was exhausted. But she had been strong when she needed to be. That was what mattered.

  Her head was about to split open. There were too many minds bombarding her, all of them open and broadcasting, all of them in states of heightened excitement, good or bad. It didn’t help that the majority of the girls were terrified, now that they had reached their destination. Their emotional ‘noise’ was almost too much for Arianna. She whimpered and burrowed her nose into Hunter’s chest, trying to block out the worst of it. He stopped suddenly, looking down at her, as he realized that her distress was from the mental state of those around her, and not just because of her head injury. He gave the girls a thoughtful look then nodded, as though coming to a decision. Moving past the main group, he walked his beast straight to a smaller building off to the side of the main compound.

  His stride was long, but not jarring, as he dismounted and carried her into what appeared to be a surprisingly advanced computer room or command center. He quickly sat her down in a stuffed chair, wrapped her in his cloak, and then rummaged around in a drawer for something. His eyes were bright with excitement as he held up a small electronic device and pressed it to her uninjured temple. There was a tiny little pinprick then she felt an odd sensation, as though something was entering her brain. She was very dizzy for a moment, but when her eyes once again focused, Hunter was watching her expectantly.