Ovation (Galaxy Circus #9)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Tirrian

L ila has Link and Mark meet her in the spaceport, where the three of them take care of the crew member Smith shot. Brannock and I go with her when Brannock suggests we should question him before we leave. The others go back to the suite to change into battle gear.

I watch patiently as Link digs out the bullet with his tools, and Mark then uses his power to heal the remaining wound.

“Luckily Smith had an Earth gun and not one of the ones we use,” Link says to the crew member, holding up the small metal projectile. “Otherwise, you would be dead.”

The pale male blanches further and sways on his feet. Mark grabs his arm to support him. “Maybe a blood transfusion would be a good idea,” he suggests to Link, who agrees.

“We will take him up to the med bay to administer it and keep him overnight for observation.”

I put my hand out before they can leave. “Did you hear them say anything?”

The crew member blinks at me, slightly dazed from residual pain and blood loss. “Not really.” He shakes his head.

Damn, I was hoping they would have given a hint about where they were going. We still haven’t been given a location, because Brannock hasn’t informed them that he has the orb, only that he knows the location. We plan on relaying that message once we finish rescuing Chloe, his daughter.

They move away, Link and Mark supporting the man, but then they stop. “I heard them arguing as they were getting on the shuttle. The man who shot me said they needed to go to Grichi 517E. Lester said it couldn’t be that location because the planet has been desolate since the Aaz’axian and Una’s war. Only ruins remain, and no sentient life-forms.”

I don’t have to be a warlock to feel the rush of shame that hits Brannock when he mentions this.

“Are you okay?” I ask the man, even though I know it’s a stupid question. The guilt he’s feeling would be pretty fucking bad.

“That was one of the planets our leaders ordered us to decimate. They thought the orb had been hidden on it. Our military leaders were reluctant, since there was no credible evidence that it was on the planet, but they did mine a mineral that our leadership wanted to get their hands on. I always thought it was a convenient excuse to invade.”

He hangs his head in shame and walks away from Lila and me. We follow him, but as Lila reaches for him, I stop her. “Give him a moment,” I caution her.

I’ve been in battle, and I know what it’s like to relive those memories. That planet had done nothing to deserve the invasion, they just ended up on the radar of bad leadership, and both they and the actual people who were forced to attack suffered.

Our soft-hearted mate can’t let one of us suffer in silence. “No,” she says with a stubborn set to her jaw. “Our family doesn’t suffer alone.”

She hurries after him, putting her hand on his arm. “Hey. You aren’t to blame.”

He jumps, so lost in his memories. “Aren’t I? I helped in the genocide of that species,” Brannock snaps harshly, but instead of recoiling, Lila just shakes her head.

“Unwillingly. Are you telling me that if you weren’t being controlled by the chips inside your heads, the one that has now been removed, that you would have done any of those things you were ordered to do?”

“No, of course not.”

“Exactly. You have nothing to feel guilty for, but if I ever find where your leadership went into hiding, then I can assure you, I will cause an incident of mass destruction that they’d wish they had been able to cause. Remember, I will be the goddess of death, and they will answer to me as a death creation.”

Her eyes blaze with righteous fury, and her body practically vibrates with her intention. She never looks sexier than when she is trying to gain retribution for one of us. I am truly blessed she forgave me for all my idiotic actions.

Brannock looks at her with stars in his eyes. “You have no idea how thankful I am that you don’t judge me for my past. I don’t like the person I was then. I should have fought harder to disobey our orders. We all should have.”

“You couldn’t have, otherwise you all would have died,” I argue, and Lila nods.

“You’re right. We would have died. They didn’t hesitate to use the kill switches in our brains if we defied orders. The Aaz’axian Death Squad was quick on their trigger. They were the team responsible for keeping us all in line. Our superiors, who were right below the council, didn’t want to directly stain their hands with blood.”

“What happened to them? Do we need to track them down and kill them?” Lila asks, baring her teeth as smoke drifts out of her nose. Her dragon is very close to the surface, and mine is getting turned on by her bloodthirsty ways. Having a dual soul can be terribly inconvenient when you get aroused at inopportune times.

“No, they were captured by the warlocks and Vilaxians in a joint operation and were sentenced to death. It was telecast across the galaxy. At that stage, I still had not settled on Earth, and me and my team watched the execution on a screen in a dirty, backwater tavern on some desolate planet at the edge of the galaxy. We celebrated for three days straight. It was one of the best days of my life, apart from Chloe’s birth and mating you,” he tells her, and she smiles sweetly at him.

“Unfortunately, the ten men and women on the ruling council who started the war escaped. I doubt the women survived, because they would have succumbed to the illness that affected all the females of our race, but that still leaves six monsters unaccounted for. With our ability to glamour, they’ve managed to stay hidden all this time—much like me and my team on Earth, or we had until one of us turned into a traitor and gave me up to Smith. I think I was the only one who was captured. I never saw any of my team in the facility.”

“We will find out soon, and if they are there, then we will help free them. If we run into the traitor, we will take his head for you,” I promise, and the grin he gives me sends shivers down my spine. I can see the Aaz’axian berserker gleaming in his eyes.

“So it shall be,” he agrees.

“Come on. We have a daughter to rescue. Do you think once we get her back, she would like her own room? There is a spare at the end of the hall next to the nursery.” She tucks her arms into ours, and we walk back to the elevator. She babbles on about Chloe, giving Brannock a chance to pull himself together.

I am so grateful to fate for putting this wonderful woman in our path. She is everything I wanted and so much more.

“I doubt she’s going to want to sleep in the nursery with the babies, but maybe she will want to sleep in your room,” she continues, and Brannock murmurs.

“I’m worried she’s going to be so traumatized, she’ll never recover.”

Lila pulls us to a stop and throws her arms around the male.

“She probably will be. Who knows what kind of treatment she has been suffering through? I know if we are patient and give her love and time, though, she will get through this. We also have the Celestian royal family in our pockets, and Queen Tabbris is not only an excellent physical healer, but she also excels in healing trauma of the mind.”

“How do you know this?” I ask her, surprised by the information. I knew they could heal bodily ailments, but I didn’t know about mental ones.

“I asked Mark. I’ve been worrying about the mental state of all the alien captives, but mostly Chloe’s. I’ve actually arranged for them all to spend time on Celestia to be assessed before they will be allowed to return to their normal lives. The royal family not only agreed, but they also promised to heal the captives themselves. When Chloe is ready, the three of us will travel there together and make sure she is okay too,” she promises Brannock, and he snatches her up and swings her around, tears streaming down his face.

“Thank you,” he whispers as he puts her down. “Thank you so much.”

I turn away for a moment, giving them their privacy.

She pushes him away, and her face is bright red as she starts toward the door again. “Now give me the four-one-one about your daughter. I need to know what kind of bribes… I mean special things she may like before we leave Earth.”

I laugh at her less than subtle change of subject as we use the elevator to take us to our floor and head to our suite to get changed as well.

I ’m pacing back and forth in our suite, waiting for the others, when there’s an alert at our door. I frown, looking at Saxon. “Are you expecting anyone?” I ask him, and he shakes his head.

“No. Cas, Maxsim, Silac, Nikos, and Link headed down to the circus to make an appearance. Echo is in the nursery with Kinga, getting the babies ready for bed, and Andre went back to their quarters to grab a change of clothes. His got wet while the kids had their baths. He got too close to the tub, and the krakens decided it was funny to splash him with water. He was dripping when he left.” Saxon chuckles.

I know Xavier and Brannock are fetching weapons for us from the armory, and Zeydan was up in the bio level recharging, muttering about not being able to wait until he has his full powers back.

“I’ll get it.” Ghosie appears from his room. He’s wearing the same protective leathers as us, and they cover his fur from head to toe to avoid any accidental seduction during the mission. The only bit of his fur that shows is on his face, and it’s kind of jarring to see him fully covered like that.

He activates the door, and it slides open. Magenta and Saxon’s cousin, Vanity, are standing there, holding hands.

“Ah, come in.” He steps out of the way and lets the two women in.

“Van!” Saxon gets up off the sofa and goes over to his clan sister. “Congratulations.” He gives her a big hug, kissing both cheeks before turning to Magenta.

“Welcome to the family, sister.” He hugs and kisses Magenta too, who blinks with surprise before giggling.

“Thank you,” Van says as Ghosie and I also give them our congratulations. “I am very happy. I can’t believe I was so lucky to find my blood rose.” She looks at Magenta with hearts in her eyes, and Magenta blushes.

“What’s going on?” Magenta asks, tugging her Vilaxian over to the sofa and taking a seat. They snuggle so closely together, they appear joined. It’s cute, and I can’t help but feel happy for them despite the danger we’re about to walk into.

“When did the pod leave?” Magenta asks.

“An hour or so ago,” I tell them. Magenta and Vanity haven’t been read into our mission, just because we wanted to keep it within our inner circle, but now that they are here, I think it would be the perfect time to include them, especially Vanity. She was Saxon’s second-in-command on his battleship when he was in the military. He must have the same idea.

“We are about to raid Area 51 and rescue Chloe, Brannock’s daughter, and all the aliens being held captive for their breeding program,” he explains, and both girls’ mouths drop open in shock.

“He has a daughter?” Magenta looks stunned. Obviously Lila hadn’t shared that little tidbit.

“They are breeding aliens?” Vanity growls.

“Yes. It’s one of the ways Smith was able to capture Brannock and make him wear the control collar he had on when he was first deported. He wanted him to spy for him and used her to manipulate him,” Saxon shares.

“He’s been feeding him information?” Magenta asks with worried eyes.

“Fake information,” I assure her. “Just enough to keep his daughter safe until we could return to rescue her, which is what we are doing now.”

“Oh, that poor thing, having to wait so long to do it. Is there anything we can do to help?” Magenta gets up and comes over to me, putting her hand on my arm, and I see her distress and need to help. Before I can answer, though, there is a rumbling growl of discontent.

“You should back away from the dragon very slowly,” Saxon says quietly, and I look at Vanity. Her eyes flash red, and her fangs are exposed as she snarls at me.

“And take your whore hands off my husband,” another voice adds, and Magenta and I jump apart.

“I wasn’t…” Magenta stares at Lila, who has her hands on her hips in the entrance to the living area.

She dissolves into giggles. “You two should see your faces. That was freaking hilarious. I don’t care, hug away, but maybe wait until the blood rose bond has settled a little bit.” She points at Vanity, who is still growling.

“Oops.” Magenta hurries back to her wife and snuggles into her, and the growl dies out.

“She will be sensitive and extra growly for at least a few days,” Lila warns Magenta as she comes over and gives her own Vilaxian a slap on the ass, “but they eventually calm down. Don’t you, love?”

He starts to growl, and I grin. “Best not to poke a bear, my love,” I tell her, and she smacks a kiss on Saxon’s lips before coming to me.

“Did that slutty Skarrian violate you?” she coos, looking me over.

“Takes one to know one. Who has twelve mates? Is your vagina even still usable down there?” Magenta retorts, and the two girls giggle.

“Resilient Skarrian vagina for the win!” Lila shouts, and the two of them high five.

Vanity rolls her eyes. “Seriously?”

The girls shrug it off, and Lila sits down on the sofa with her friend and her new mate.

“Congratulations, I’m so happy for you both.” She reaches out and squeezes both of their hands.

“The guys were just telling us about your mission,” Vanity says. “How can we help?”

Lila shrugs and looks to us for advice.

“Actually, it would be good if the two of you could stay here and help guard the children and Echo. The others had to go down to Earth to keep up appearances. We don’t want anyone suspecting what we’re about to do, because there is a fail-safe which will trigger and kill all the captives if we’re discovered,” I explain.

“But who would tell them you’re coming?” Magenta asks.

“We discovered a mole. Who’s to say there aren’t others?” I reply, and Vanity nods.

“Of course. We will guard your young and mate like they are our own.”

“Thank you. I will feel much better if you are here with them,” Saxon says, and I see the relief in his eyes. I didn’t realize how concerned he was.

The door to our suite opens, and Brannock and Xavier return with weapons. Both of them are carrying an arsenal—knives, guns, swords, and throwing stars just to mention a few. Xavier, who usually goes weapons free and relies on his magic, is even carrying a crossbow on his back.

Lila gapes at them. “Are you sure we’re going to need that many weapons? Are we planning on killing everyone, or just incapacitating them?”

She sounds worried. “Lila, honey…” Brannock crouches down at her feet and takes her hands. “All of the guards at the facility are trained to shoot first and ask questions later. Smith won’t want to risk any of his precious breeding stock getting away. He’d rather they were killed. They will not hesitate to kill us, and we shouldn’t hesitate either.”

I see the fear in her eyes, and she swallows but nods her head. “Okay. Shoot to kill, okay.”

She stands up and takes the two lasers Xavier holds out to her and puts them into the holsters built into her clothing. The rest of us load up, and Zeydan pops into the room, glowing green and fully recharged from the bio level. He takes one of the large swords and slides it into a scabbard resting against his back, and then he tucks numerous knives and throwing stars into various pockets in his own clothing.

“Are we ready?” Saxon asks.

“Yes, let’s head to the teleporter room. Andre will return shortly, but don’t let anyone else into this room unless I let them touch my vagina with their dick,” Lila cautions the two females. Vanity rolls her eyes, but Magenta snorts with amusement.

“Yes, sir.” She gives her friend a sassy salute.

“Or it’s Mark, Susie, or Aarin. They are staying to lend medical support to the refugees if they need it,” Ghosie reminds Lila.

“Good luck, General,” Vanity tells Saxon. “May your mission be bloody.”

It’s a traditional Vilaxian war ritual to wish for a bloody mission.

Lila wrinkles her nose but keeps her mouth shut.

“We aren’t expecting any trouble. I’m pretty sure if there were any more moles left on the ship, they would have left with Lester and Smith, but just in case, stay alert,” Xavier says.

“Let’s go. It’s nighttime in Nevada, and I want to use the cover of darkness to slip into the tunnels unseen.” Brannock leads the way down to the teleporter room and programs the coordinates. He’s having it drop us a few hundred yards from the tunnel, and we will make the rest of the trek on foot. He isn’t sure if they have security cameras covering the tunnels and wants to be certain before we breach the compound. There is no point in setting off the alarms before we even set foot in it.

The team steps up onto the platform, and I see Lila shiver. Xavier puts his arm around her. “Use the emotions and adrenaline to fuel your righteous fury,” he tells her.

He can obviously feel her reluctance to kill and is giving her a pep talk. I grab the remote that we need to send us, and then I return again, shoving a couple of extras in my pocket just in case. They are automatically programmed to return to the ship in case of an emergency, you just hit the red button.

My heart races as Brannock steps up onto the platform, his eyes glazed with anticipation and his body primed with adrenaline. He shed his glamour, and his spines shiver with agitation. It wouldn’t take much to push him into berserker mode.

“Hold it together a little longer,” I tell him, clamping a hand on his shoulder next to one of the lethal spikes.

He nods, and we dematerialize. He’s about to see his precious girl for the first time in months, and God help anyone who gets in his way.