Core of Confliction Page 10

  “A real fight means going against an unknown foe leading to casualties we cannot afford.”

  “Yes, that last battle saw our armada nearly cut in half. Luckily no one knows this, not even Kur.” Rass’ lip twitched into an almost sheepish smile.

  “There is no reason for Kur to return to our home world and find out either. What is the status of our soldiers?”

  “There are currently two thousand in the birthing tanks. This is the second batch and the third will be ready in under ten years.” Halfar nodded. “It seems as you destroyed one world, our fate was sealed with the near destruction of your own.”

  Halfar stepped down from his throne to floor level. “Which is why I want to make things right again. I wish you would stay with me when I find what world Chardon is on.”

  “I could not live with that race.” Rass laughed.

  “Why not?”

  “I like things a bit messy.”

  “Hmm. You’re right, it’s not a good idea. The moment they open a vortex, trace it before closes. I need to be able to get there shortly after.”

  “As you command, my lord.” A low bow and then Rass was gone. His boots echoed in the hall.

  **~**

  Mota carried Trinon by the mane swinging him lightly like a small sack as he strolled towards the giant rock monolith covered in claw marks from generations of manbeasts scaling it. As he neared it, he swung upwards towards the rock and released Trinon who went smack into it, his claws scrambling to grab a hold.

  There were strange whimpering sounds along with the scraping of claws on stone then heavy breathing from tiny nostrils. Trinon had managed to secure himself on the monolith. Mota threw his head back and laughed so loud that some of the workers in the distance popped their heads up looking around for where it came from.

  “That’s not very nice, brother.”

  His sister, Mara, walked slowly down the hill. A tiny grin spread on her face. She was wearing a sleeveless grey robe over a long sleeved white one that flowed to the ground causing small whirlwinds.

  “But look at him! It is amusing to see him struggle.”

  “You know, just because you were tormented as a baby beast does not give you license to do the same with our little siblings.”

  “What do you know? You were not born a manbeast.” He wagged his finger at her.

  “That did not stop any of you from trying even though I am older than you.”

  “But not older than Jakar.”

  Mara frowned. Their older brother was not yet ready to be awakened. She had peeked into the cryochamber and nearly gasped in horror.

  “He’s almost complete, you know.” She whispered.

  “Why is everyone so sad? He is so much stronger than any of us so let’s not fool ourselves into thinking he will need some sort of pampering.” Mota watched Trinon inch his way up.

  “That’s not what I meant! Mota, you exasperate me.” She moved a lock of hair that the breeze had whipped into her eyes. “I would have said the same if it was you in there.”

  “I WAS in there, sister.” He turned to her with softened eyes. “This was not supposed to be this way. I understand how you feel, I really do.” They hugged each other for a brief moment, disengaging when they heard a yelp followed by a thud. Trinon had fallen.

  “He is adorable.” She knelt down next to him. “Look at that face!”

  “I know, right?” Mota stood by her and they both watched Trinon wiggle to and fro on the ground until he came up on all fours. His eyes burned with anger and he shook his whole body to get rid of dirt imbedded in his fur. “I can’t wait until he starts walking.”

  Modas stood nearby watching them torment Trinon and did nothing to alleviate him from their idea of entertainment. He couldn’t wait either. Many plans went through Modas' head regarding the training he would have his children endure. He nodded his head to no one and sighed.

  She couldn’t stand to see anymore of Talas’ amazing fighting skills. It irked her to no end that he was so good at battle, yet his personality reeked like a long dead animal carcass. What made it worse was that he smiled whenever he defeated an opponent.

  “Narcissistic pig.” Ganna muttered under her breath. It was a phrase she had learned during her stay on Earth.

  “What was that, my sweet?” Talas had not quite heard her but he knew it was directed at him.

  “I am not your sweet.”

  “No,” Talas moved towards her, “you certainly are not.”

  “Stay away from me, you…”

  Talas grinned. “Betrayer? Coward? Tell me what you think I am, Ganna.” He swung his long sword with ease letting it stop short of her chest. She refused to play his game and left.

  “You know, that behavior is not gaining you any points. We all wonder if you are capable of turning against us again.” She heard his sparring partner who was older chastise him.

  “Let me make this clear, I will NEVER betray my kind again. That lesson has been learned in the harshest way.” Talas returned to him. “Let’s continue. I have a battle coming up in a years’ time.”

  Ganna frowned. I hope you get gutted like an animal, she cursed him.

  Secrets

  Her body arched high above the bed as her hands dug deeper into herself. A sharp intake of breath was the result of her fingers finding that one spot inside, making her juices flow out to drip onto the bed coverings below her. Beads of sweat covered her entire body. She thrashed about for a split moment letting out a high pitched noise. In her mind she was being so brutally violated yet could not stop herself from the ecstasy it gave her. She could feel his large member penetrating her without mercy.

  “Chardon?” A female voice called from the doorway, muffled by the closed entry.

  Her body froze, hands still deep between her thighs. She eased back down flat onto the bed.

  “Are you awake? The council has called a meeting. I am here to escort you.”

  “Yes,” Chardon managed to breathe out loudly. “Please stay a moment.”

  She flung the covers away and went behind the changing curtain to wipe herself down with water. There was no time for a bath. Taking a deep breath, she forced her body to shift back into male form.

  Once complete, Chardon yanked on his council robes and stepped out into the room. He looked around to make sure there was no evidence and saw the bed drenched in sweat and other fluids he did not want to name. Throwing the covers back onto the bed to cover the mess, he headed out the door where his escort waited for him. He felt exhausted. Thinking of Halfar did that to him.

  **~**

  Halfar jolted from sleep, sitting up in a fog of images as he tried to slow down his heavy breathing. What he experienced, in what he thought was a dream, took most of the energy out of him. He remembered the last time he mated with Chardon and it was nothing so intense as that. It wasn’t the fact that he could feel, but also see what Chardon was doing while she remembered.

  His bed was drenched, he could feel it and he knew Chardon’s was even more so. If he knew what world Chardon was on right now, he would go there and drag her by that soft hair of hers back to his palace to have his way with her for eternity. The entire ordeal was maddening and he knew there was no way he could think straight today; let alone command an army.

  “Chardon, what are you trying to do to me?” Wiping his wet hair from his face, he got up.

  **~**

  The cryochamber on the other end of the medical facility glowed softly as energy pulsed through it. Inside, Jakar slept soundly while his core integrated with his now fully regenerated body. Above him, Modas waited patiently for him to wake up. It had been so long since he had talked to his eldest son and there was so much to tell.

  A beep sounded, the cryochamber’s locking mechanisms sprung and the canopy slid back filling the area with icy mist. As it cleared, Modas was able to see Jakar in his entirety. The muscles began to move and slowly, his eyes opened revealing the steely blues inherited from his father.
r />   “How was your nap?”

  Jakar glanced over at him and licked his lips. They were extremely dry and his dry tongue did nothing to cure them. Modas dipped a finger into the water basin next to him and lifted it over Jakar’s mouth to let the moisture drip down. After a few drops, his son replied.

  “I’m sure I was dead, so a nap is not correct.” Jakar strained his muscles forcing his upper body to sit upright. His long dark brown mane came up with him, the ends curving as they fell onto the chamber bed. “A robe would be nice.” Modas grabbed the spare garments from the edge of the cryochamber and laid them on Jakar’s lap. “Thank you, father.”

  Jakar swung his legs over the chamber’s edge and stood. At six feet seven inches, he was only an inch shorter than Modas with just as much muscle only slightly leaner. He dressed in silence, making sure his hair did not get caught in the fabric of the outer robe.

  “So, now you can tell me what happened.”

  “What do you remember?”

  “Playing with Hon near the sandbox and then being blown to pieces. I do believe I watched one of my arms and a leg veer into separate directions before someone snatched my core out of me.”

  Modas’ eyes darkened.

  “Sit.” He told Jakar about Talas and Kelin and the planet they were on now. Jakar listened without speaking a word or asking any questions. When Modas was done, he got up and walked out into the weak sunlight.

  “Where is he?” Mara came rushing into the medical room only to find her father sitting alone.

  “Walking.”

  “Why?”

  “I explained everything to him.”

  Mara lowered her eyes. “That would make sense.” She dragged a seat over to where he was and sat down next to him. “Was he angry?” Modas turned to her. “Of course he is, he just doesn’t show it.” She laid her head on her father’s shoulder.

  As great a fighter Talas was, he could never compare to a manbeast of Modas’ descent. He watched a figure coming towards the sparring ring where he was showing off with some of the other warriors and as the person came closer he hissed in fear recognizing Jakar. There was no expression on the manbeast’s face which meant the same as when Modas looked that way: he was angry.

  Jakar was still a good two hundred meters away as Talas tried to get around one of the men to make a break for it. It was too late as he witnessed Jakar move with lightning speed towards him, knocking his body backward twenty yards from where he had stood. Jakar now stood in the previous spot Talas had occupied on the sparring platform. He jumped down from it and walked slowly to Talas who had a hard time getting up.

  Talas raised his good arm from underneath him, the other its shoulder dislocated from the hit. Talking his way out of it was not going to work, he knew this but still wanted to try and reason with the overpowering Jakar whose claws extended.

  “Please, I know that I can never atone for my mistakes! Don’t…”

  Jakar’s talons went through his dislocated shoulder and part of his chest like liquid but the pain was nothing so smooth. Talas let out half a scream before he thought better of it and clenched his teeth shut so hard, blood trickled from his mouth.

  Jakar leaned in close to his face and whispered. “I won’t kill you.” He retracted the claws and stood back up towering over Talas, malice intent still in his eyes. “A reminder from me.”

  He walked away just as workers came running with medics to tend Talas. He watched Jakar head off into the fields. His vision started to blur as the manbeast got further away into the distance.

  Kelin must have heard the ruckus going on near the sparring ring as did Ganna because both came rushing over to see the aftermath of Jakar’s wrath. Kelin hurried to comfort him while Ganna looked to examine the wound out of curiosity and nodded approval of the mess. There was blood everywhere.

  “Nicely done. The wound should heal perfectly but it will leave a scar.” Ganna had a smirk on her face that neither liked, but Talas was awe struck when Kelin backhanded her with rage.

  “You filthy..!” Kelin was about to stand up when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

  “No need for more violence.” Chardon had arrived as well.

  “I demand that he be locked in a room of solace!” Ganna shrieked, holding the side of her face. Her expression crumbled as Chardon’s gaze bore down on her in disgust. Talas had never seen such a look from Chardon.

  “Kelin,” he redirected his eyes towards him, “go and make sure everything goes well with the medics.”

  As everyone dispersed, Chardon swung around to face Modas coming up the hill, in no hurry to explain, with Mara in tow. He watched their eyes follow the entourage of medics and soldiers helping Talas.

  “Was my decree not clear?” He also glanced back at Ganna still on the ground.

  “My apologies.”

  “That is not acceptable, Modas!”

  Even Mara flinched from the hostility in Chardon’s voice. Ganna crept further away from him.

  Modas and Chardon stood face to face a few inches apart and a silent battle raged. Jaron, Mota and three council members stared in awe at the six feet eight inches tall manbeast and their leader, who was just above six feet three, square off. Chardon’s power was just as deadly as Modas’ fighting skills.

  “If my apology is not to your liking, we can accommodate.” Modas dead panned.

  “Will your children mourn you when I flay your corpse?” Chardon’s eyes did not waver.

  Just as they stepped back into fighting stances, Jaron and Mara threw up an energy barrier between the two. The look of fright and horror on their faces made Modas and Chardon stop. Everywhere around them, people had halted their activities ready to run if necessary. Both men felt ashamed at their display.

  “I am sorry, your apology is more than enough. I know Jakar does not forgive easily.” Chardon stood up tall.

  “Understood.” Modas retracted his claws, also straightening his stance.

  Jakar came back after some thought and realized his error, witnessing the near showdown with his father and Chardon. His eyes widened with fear, then relaxed as his mother and sister put an end to it. All of this happened because he could not contain his temper. He saw Chardon, fist clenched in obvious frustration, leave the area and head towards the commons.

  “My apologies, I didn’t mean to cause such a mess.” He bowed to his father.

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “But…”

  “You did what I wanted but could not.” Jaron went to him. “Because of Chardon’s decree to accept them back into our good graces, we are not allowed to touch them, but you did not now this.”

  Jakar turned to his father. “So, I was not told everything?” Modas did not reply. “It was intentionally omitted in your recital.”

  “Father!” Mara spun on him. “That’s irresponsible!”

  “But,” Mota slapped his older brother on the shoulder, “it was so worth it!” he laughed heartily.

  Jakar felt a pull at the corners of his mouth. “It did feel liberating. It was the first time I was able to use my claws since waking up.”

  They all laughed loudly for a moment then stopped, noticing Ganna was still there. She picked herself up feeling distraught. Seeing them, she understood her anger and meddling was petty compared to what they had gone through.

  “Excuse me. I have to go check on Talas to make sure he is comfortable before surgery.” Her steps were a bit unsteady so she corrected her center of balance.

  She could feel Jaron watch her with disdain. She knew the woman only tolerated her for her medical expertise but nothing more. After seeing and hearing what she had done Jaron probably thought it served her right when Kelin knocked her around. There was no love lost between them. Ganna had lost no one important because she had always been alone. She liked it that way; sometimes.

  A final backwards glance revealed Jaron stepping closer to her eldest son and craning her neck to look up at him. “This can never happen again.”
/>
  Like his father, all Jakar said was, “Understood.”

  Feeling lower than she had ever felt in her life, Ganna made her way through the crowd surrounding Talas in the medical chamber. She shooed everyone out except two medical assistants, even forcing Kelin to leave. She set herself next to the surgeon’s table Talas had been placed on.

  He was pale and shaking uncontrollably but did not reflect pain in his half-closed eyelids. She knew how excruciating that wound must be but said nothing. He turned to her, his hair drenched in sweat, plastered against his cheeks. She gulped.

  “Come to finish me off, my dear.” His voice cracked a bit. His licked his lips, tasting his own blood.

  “No, Talas. I am first and foremost a surgeon.”

  “Really? You seemed to be entertained by my injuries.” His body shuddered.

  Ganna placed a hand on the bloodied arm bent against his side. “I apologize for that. It was wrong of me and I am ashamed. Now,” she motioned an assistant to hand her the sealing tool. “This may hurt a bit since we are going to be forcing the wound closed. Are you ready?”

  “Hah!” Talas took a deep breath. “You’re going to have to do better than that to threaten me.”

  “Close the doors.” She instructed the assistants.

  Talas may be strong but he would scream through this, she guaranteed it. A wound from a manbeast was no easy fix. Even with the doors sealed Kelin, and the others, would still hear the muffled sounds of Talas screaming. Ganna forced herself to ignore it as it rang in her ears. She continued on with the operation. This was definitely going to leave a scar.

  **~**

  Scanning the area, Halfar noticed with disdain the nearby strip mall. It never failed to make him question humans’ logic when constructing those things. The concept of currency was mind boggling as well. What need was there for such a thing when you could just take what was needed.