Striker Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Book Details

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  STRIKER

  THE VALESPIAN PACT – BOOK TWO

  LEXI ANDER

  The peaceful respite for which Zeus and his intended, Dargon and Alpha, had been hoping is shattered when Zeus is unexpectedly drawn to the Waters of Poseidon and told that the safety they've been promised is a trap. But the Fal'Amoric aren't the only important cargo on the Oethra 7, and countless others are depending on the success of their mission. If Zeus hopes to break the silent siege on Valespia and protect those most precious to him, he will need not just powerful allies but the fortitude to survive overwhelming odds.

  BOOK DETAILS

  Striker

  The Valespian Pact 2

  By Lexi Ander

  Published by Less Than Three Press LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.

  Edited by Michelle Kelley

  Cover designed by Aisha Akeju

  This book is a work of fiction and all names, characters, places, and incidents are fictional or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.

  First Edition June 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Lexi Ander

  Printed in the United States of America

  Digital ISBN 9781620043783

  Print ISBN 9781620043790

  For Alison:

  Your keen eye and quick wit, you keep me on my toes.

  PROLOGUE

  The view of the night sky alleviated his momentary doubt and confirmed where he was drifting. A blanket of midnight blue covered the heavens, bedecked with the brilliant points of stars, shining like precious jewels. The primary moon sat fat and heavy, with a red sliver of the secondary moon peeking out the side, reminding people that two moons hung in the Atlaintician sky. The pale, white glow of the primary caused the waters to appear slick and black. Zeus awakened floating on the warm Waters of Poseidon. He did not know how he came to be there, but instinct, or possibly his deep need for home, identified where he was; the waters surrounding him soothed his longing.

  He searched for his sister, Shaneva. Only she brought him to the Waters of Poseidon. As one who was born with the Longing, the waters became her home when she turned fifteen summers. Strangely, the waters appeared empty of people. Both times he had been called here, other souls floated nearby; not close enough to disturb them, but silhouettes drifting in the distance nonetheless.

  "Shaneva sleeps this night."

  Treading water, he turned toward the masculine voice. Not an arm's length away swam a male unlike any Mar'Sani Zeus had ever seen. Zeus had never met a being as visually intriguing. Something nagged at him. He had never seen the male before, but the voice stirred old memories he wished to forget, haunting his darkest dreams. Since none had met with harm while dreaming of Poseidon's waters, Zeus momentarily put aside his anxiety and studied the being before him.

  The Mar'Sani's body was covered in a combination of yellow, leathery skin and prominent green scales rimmed with a vibrant blue-green. The scale's pattern resembled sharp-tipped stripes flowing down his neck, arms, and what Zeus could see of his back. Stunning, large, green reptilian eyes stared at Zeus from between long, thick eyelashes. Zeus decided the face of the being appeared much like his own, with a small nose and wide, full mouth. When the male smiled, his teeth were sharp, but did not resemble the needle-like ones of Zeus’s family. A thick ridge above the brow supported a spiked crest which rose a couple of centimeters tall in the front, increasing in size to as much as six centimeters at the back of his crown. A deep red membrane made an arching bridge between each spike, giving the strange impression of a royal coronet.

  "Why am I here? Shaneva only brings me here when I'm injured." Zeus’s frowned in thought. "There is nothing wrong with me."

  The male grinned. "As I am well aware. You found your life partners and soon will be a father. Congratulations, brother."

  Warm affection blossomed in his chest at the thought of Dargon and Alpha. Zeus’s fingertips skirted the edge of the dark green dot on his forehead that proclaimed him a part of an Alpha Trine and allowed him to communicate with Alpha, Dargon's symbiote.

  "You called me brother." He searched the face before him, looking for but not seeing anything familiar. The voice though; the sound niggled at his memory and yet he could not place the countenance.

  "All in good time." The male flashed his sharp teeth, humor lighting his green eyes. "I did bring you here for a reason. You need to warn our brothers that they are heading into a trap. The space over Valespia is no longer safe."

  "What do you mean? What waits there?" Zeus asked in alarm. How did he know where they were heading? Zeus should be suspicious of anyone other than the crew of The Gorgon or the Oethra 7 knowing their destination. And yet, the sense of familiarity, the knowing that came from his gut caused him to want to trust his male because—brother—did he dare to hope?

  The male continued, unaware of Zeus’s inner turmoil. "What, indeed. V'Saar are slipping through the defense grid near the Milky Way, and they have partnered with one of the four Terren companies."

  The V'Saar, commonly called ‘bugs’, voraciously consumed all in their path, and should be trapped behind a grid built by the Ancients. A long-ago treaty reinforced an uneasy truce between the Ancients and the V'Saar queen, Isolt. The Valespian Pact brought together the peoples of the galaxies on this side of the grid, requiring a triad of galactic emperors to power the grid that kept the V'Saar from overrunning the galaxies and destroying more innocent lives. But the galactic royals were old, causing the grid to weaken in places as their power waned. The control of the grid should have passed to the crown princes, allowing the next generation's youth and vitality to renew the shields, but the third crown prince, the Bespoken, had disappeared.

  Zeus moved to float on his back as he turned the information over, the sky lightening with the colors of the coming dawn. For some reason, he trusted the male next to him, who seemed more than simply a strange Mar'Sani. If what he said was true, then the V'Saar had gained allies and Valespia lay under siege.

  The male rested in the water next to him. "The V'Saar destroy or enslave all races they encounter. Why, then, have they not overrun the human's solar system? You and our brothers will need to puzzle out the answer. What I do know is you need to seek the Feteine's help. If you decline to do so … no, you must. With their assistance, you can survive what will occur when you reach Valespian space."

  Zeus turned to the male and stared hard, and his heart squeezed with sudden recognition. He now recalled where he had heard the voice before. Many years ago, when he had been thirteen summers, Shaneva brought him for the first time to the Waters of Poseidon in an attempt to save him as he suffered at the hands of Chtichlians. After being attacked and seriously injured, his father had insisted on repairing his blindness. But the Chtichlians used the procedure to steal somet
hing far more precious to him than his sight. Shaneva had not been alone. A male had accompanied her. Certain of his identification, Zeus slid his fingers through Canry's slightly webbed ones, careful to avoid the wickedly sharp claws.

  Zeus’s hesitancy to trust the information given to him slipped away. "Is there anything else I should do?"

  Canry drew in a shuddering breath. "You believe me?"

  "Of course; you are our brother." Zeus shook with barely-controlled elation. He could not wait to tell his brothers and parents.

  The sun kissed the edge of the ocean, washing the sky with brilliant shades of red and orange. "A storm is coming." Zeus glanced at Canry, who echoed his words.

  "You are more sensitive than you know, Zeus. If you must fight on land, find a pool of water. It can be as small as the size of my palm. Submerge your fingers and call my name. I will come to your aid. Promise me that you will." It was less a question than a demand.

  He moved to tread water once again. "What do you see?" Zeus suspected Canry was touched by Poseidon. He may have more information that would help Zeus on this quest to seek out the Feteine, or provide assistance on how to navigate Valespian space safely.

  Canry mirrored his movements, his expression one of concern. "Only possibilities: ever changing, ever evolving. There are only a few constants. Please believe me. If I could tell you more, I would."

  Zeus regarded Canry's earnest expression, realizing that despite the years of separation, he trusted Canry—completely. He remembered the last time Canry had come to his aid, and he knew he had nothing to fear from his brother. "I swear. If I am in need, I will call upon you."

  "Thank the gods!" Canry breathed out as he pulled Zeus into a firm embrace. Zeus held onto his brother, hundreds of questions on the tip of his tongue begging to be asked, but his time on the waters would soon come to a close.

  "Can you not come with me now? Our parents … the twins … they miss you so much. Why have you not come home?"

  "Because his service is to Poseidon."

  Zeus started at the sound of the deep voice. Instinctually, he turned and put himself between his brother and the newcomer. The being swimming towards them exuded a tremendous amount of power, and not only in strength and size. The air about the newcomer zipped with electrical pressure.

  "I have permission to bring him here, Nethus." Canry sounded hard and angry. Zeus’s mind raced over their options as he warily regarded the stranger.

  The closer Nethus came, the more imposing he became, dwarfing Zeus and even Canry, who Zeus thought of as large. Nethus had what appeared to be a thick, leathery skin painted in varying shades of blue, as if he represented all of the various colors of the ocean. Nethus, like Canry, looked humanoid in appearance. There were gills on the column of his thick neck, but Nethus also had a nose, somewhat broad and flat, and a wide mouth with full lips that flashed a hint of sharp teeth. Although Zeus had yet to see any sea race with hair, Nethus had a full head of tentacles flowing down to his waist. Some were perfectly smooth, while others sported suctions cups or bumps, tipped with sharp, pointed barbs. Zeus suspected Nethus spent an equal amount of time out of the water, since he treaded water on a pair of strong, long legs.

  Nethus met his stare with eyes so golden they resembled twin suns. The color of the irises matched the runes on the trident strapped to Nethus's back. Zeus had never seen anyone in the Waters of Poseidon carry a weapon.

  "What do you want?"

  Nethus ignored Zeus’s question and glance behind him to Canry. "You need to come with me now."

  The tone Nethus used raised Zeus’s hackles, reminding him that the very same demand from Rathmar that had caused him to end up trapped by the head of Noble House of Cordyl, Timsah Gadrius. His ex-lover had given him into the sadistic hands of his father, although Rathmar later freed him when it appeared Timsah would murder him. Nethus's tone and words stirred to life the memory of that terrible night, causing his protective instincts to push forward.

  "Canry is a prince of House Vondorian and you will treat him with respect." Nethus could ignore Zeus’s presence, but no one spoke to his brother in such a way.

  "Do not dictate to me, Mar'Sani, on how to address my acolyte." Nethus's eyes narrowed as he regarded Zeus. "He meddles in affairs he should not. I am here to take him home."

  Zeus’s temper flared to life as he voiced his rising suspicions. "It was you. You took him! How could you remove a youngling of only two moons from his family? His disappearance devastated Meme. He should have grown up with us, and been a warlord to Azaes."

  He did not flinch at Nethus's furious glare. "Poseidon heard their mourning. Be grateful he led them to you, or you would simply be bones floating in space now."

  "Zeus …" Canry's voice held a bleeding note of sorrow. The fear pouring off his brother only inflamed Zeus’s familial instincts.

  "You stole him from his family." Zeus hissed. The noise was a warning: a precursor to a Mar'Sani warrior's strike.

  "He has had a better life with me than he would have ever had on land," Nethus snapped.

  Zeus struggled to control his rising anger. The loss of Canry had wounded his family deeply. Years later, they still mourned for him in small, but noticeable, ways. Especially Meme, who devoutly believed Canry lived and continued to yearn for the youngling taken from her. When they swam in the Waters of Poseidon, their gazes ever searched for the lost son, hoping for, praying for, a single glimpse of hope. Zeus struggled to understand why his family had endured the senseless pain.

  "Why was he not allowed to visit? Why has his wellbeing been kept from his blood? What purpose could that have served? Explain yourself!"

  Nethus lifted his lip in a sneer. "His destiny is greater than you can ever comprehend. His concept of family must be broader than your little Vondorian pod, otherwise he will falter in his duty. Do not think you can judge us for what you believe you know. I do not have to give an accounting to you."

  Nethus swam closer to Zeus, his inexorable gaze boring into Zeus. It was an expression of haughty indignation. Regardless of the power he sensed in Nethus, and his weaponless state, nothing stayed Zeus’s hand when Nethus attempted to reach past him for Canry. Infuriated, he launched himself at the smirking being in defense of his brother.

  "Zeus! No!" He heard Canry's cry, but the call sounded distant over the rushing blood in his ears.

  Nethus's triumphant expression turned startled as Zeus’s legs wrapped, snake-like, around his slick waist. Grabbing a barb-pointed ear, Zeus jerked back before delivering a hard chop to the side of Nethus's gilled neck. Nethus bellowed, his skin going from light blue to a tint so dark that the color appeared almost black. Canry's frantic yelling was the last thing Zeus heard before he and Nethus plunged into the deep Waters of Poseidon.

  Tentacles attacked his face, suckers pulling and twisting, the barbs clawing at his cheeks and neck. Nethus struggled to remove his locked legs, claws gouging at the flesh of his thighs, darkening the water with blood. Grabbing a handful of tentacles, Zeus yanked them backwards, arching Nethus's neck as Zeus attempted to gouge Nethus's eyes with his free hand.

  Canry's yellow fingers grasped Zeus’s wrist. When he glanced at his brother's pleading expression, Nethus managed to land a strike on Zeus’s temple. Stunned by the blow, his legs loosened and Nethus turned him around, pulling his back into Nethus's chest as strong arms secured his limbs to his sides and tentacles wrapped around his throat, strangling him.

  Zeus gritted his teeth as he kicked and thrashed about, attempting to strike Nethus in the face with the back of his head. A tentacle strayed across his lips and he bit it, his mouth filling with foul-tasting blood. Canry appeared before Zeus in the blood-stained water, with frightened large, green eyes, and his clawed hands pulling at the appendages strangling Zeus before more surrounded Zeus’s head, again, covering his eyes.

  Even as Nethus squeezed Zeus about the neck, cutting off the blood flow to his head and weakening him, Zeus continued to fight, refusing t
o give up. Suddenly freed of Nethus's death grip, Zeus was pulled into Canry's embrace as he swam frantically away. Canry stared past his shoulder, his eyes impossibly wide, his mouth forming a huge O. Zeus craned his sore neck around to glance behind him, following Canry's awed gaze.

  Azaes and Mestor, Zeus and Canry's older brothers, circled Nethus. The twins worked in concert, their black, scaled tails battering Nethus mercilessly as they slithered, serpentine-like, around their quarry. The water frothed with bubbles, clouding the water and making it difficult for Zeus to track what happened.

  A movement to the far side of the three combatants told Zeus they were not as alone in the waters as he had originally believed. Something massive approached at great speed. Grabbing Canry's attention with a wave of his free hand, he pointed to the oncoming figure. The worry on his brother’s face became absolute fear and Canry tugged Zeus further away from the conflict.

  He attempted to twist out of Canry's iron grasp, refusing to leave his brothers with an unknown threat coming. His struggle seemed to catch Mestor's attention. Zeus quit fighting Canry's hold and began to gesture wildly, hoping that Mestor would notice the dark mass rapidly heading toward them.

  No longer fighting Canry's hold, Zeus’s gestures became wilder as Canry pulled him further away. Mestor broke from the attack on Nethus and gave pursuit. A piercing cry, louder than any whale Zeus had ever heard, caused his heart to pound. The fighting halted, Mestor paused in his pursuit, and even Canry came to a stop, only to draw Zeus into a protective embrace. Was it too late to escape? Zeus focused on the approaching being.

  Gray and white appendages, thicker than his waist, wrapped around him and Canry from below. Simultaneously, Mestor, Nethus, and Azaes were similarly ensnared and all of them were carried upwards, lifted high above the water. The bellow came again, the sea muffling the angry call to a low boom. Large tentacles held all of them aloft, separating Azaes from Nethus where he rode Nethus’s back like a barnacle. Behind them rose a creature… a male, larger than any craft or building on Atlainticia. Like Canry, the being's skin was a mixture of thick hide and patterned scales. In addition to the appendages that secured them, four muscular arms dominated a huge barrel-shaped chest. Corkscrew curls of damp, green foliage covered the male's head and lower jaw. Dark, almond shaped eyes stared at them over a flat, shapeless nose.