Marcael: A Terraneu Novel, Book Five Read online

  “Your reflexes and muscles grow more impressive every day young warrior. The food of Hedal seems to agree with you.” He smiled knowingly, “But I need you to flex the most important muscle you have...your brain! Learn from our history...the glories and the mistakes.” The old man had moved to stare into his eyes and he had become unnerved by the sudden intensity in the cloudy gaze. “Because everyone, even the great Kings of Hedal make mistakes. Our King has you in these lessons for a reason. Make the most of every opportunity afforded to you young warrior, or is the Kings faith in you misguided?”

  Marcael had bristled at the thought that he might disappoint his King so had renewed his efforts into mastering everything his instructor had put before him.

  His first attempt at fighting a CABB had tested all of his abilities, and he finally understood what his instructor had been telling him. A CABB had no AI or Artificial Intelligence. The creators had not been that stupid to give them the ability to think. They were however, programmed to various levels of difficulty. His first session with a CABB set at level one had ended in an embarrassing thirty seconds with him on the mat with a broken arm. Not one to take a defeat without learning, Marcael had improved with every encounter until he was training at the highest level. It was not until coming on board the Elyon that he learned there was a safety setting on all CABBs. Knuan had that safety turned off and it was a completely new experience when a CABB was able to kill you.

  Forcing himself back to the present fight Marcael cleared his mind of everything except what he had to do. The only thing that would stop the fight was if the computer inside the CABB registered taking or giving a fatal blow. Either way it was a fight to the death. Putting his weapon before him, the CABB acknowledged the initiation of a fight and raised its weapon.

  Five minutes later and the fight was finished. The CABB had received a fatal blow and returned to slumber mode.

  “Five minutes? You are getting slow in your old age, I almost had old CABB after ten minutes the other day.” His friend Colle laughed heartily slapping him on the shoulder, “Oh wait. You are only twenty years old, barely a babe in arms!”

  Marcael just shrugged off the teasing. Anyone else would be nursing a broken bone or two, but Colle was one of the six street urchins the King had saved from the streets all those years ago. Marcael sighed when he looked at the one other remaining member of their original “gang”. It was laughable really that they had thought themselves so tough on the streets of Hedal. Out of the six the King took to the palace that day, only the two of them were still alive. Nathius and Brend had died in the battle against the warriors of Aekaetum. Stefan and Willem had died while trying to infiltrate the Queen’s guard. Only Colle and he were alive now.

  “Do you ever regret that I picked you?” Marcael whispered to his friend. He was as fair-haired as Marcael was dark. Both had the cobalt blue but Marcael’s features were chiseled and hard, whereas Colle was much softer.

  “Did that CABB hit your head harder than usual?” Colle hissed looking around at the other two men busy in simulated battle pods. “The walls have ears.” He yelled in Marcael’s mind. Aloud he stated, “I am blessed to have been picked by our Queen to help her son right the terrible wrong done to him.”

  “As am I.” Marcael agreed. “You are right, with the search starting for the Princes tomorrow I have been re-living ancient memories.” If they spoke in mind for too long someone could report them, or video surveillance would show them looking off blankly and Knuan would know they had talked in mind. He was very suspicious of any mind speak and had killed for much less than that offense.

  “Are you going to fight the CABB again as usual or can I have a turn?” Colle turned away. “You need to let those memories go Marcael they do no one any good. We chose to follow you and the others died doing their duty, you dishonor their memory with your regrets...they had none!”

  “I will have one more go at the CABB. Then you can train.” Marcael flexed his neck side-to-side. “You are right as usual my friend. I will not allow myself to wallow in those memories again.”

  Taking his weapon, he faced off with the CABB and this time it only took him one minute before giving the fatal blow.

  Chapter Two

  “What do you think Cebat is it safe?” Brennae looked at the sacath lounging lazily in the grass. When her pet just shook his golden head and yawned widely she laughed, “Okay. I’ll take that as an all clear.” She removed her gown and placed it along the water’s edge. Normally she would be wearing a swimsuit, but today she had been in a hurry to get out of Terraneu. She only had a thong on underneath and she wiggled out of that quickly enough. Placing both garments in a nice grassy patch, she ran for the edge and dove in.

  She loved to swim underwater and came up halfway across the pool. Turning to float on her back, she listened to the roar of the waterfall and watched the bugs and dust in the light as it filtered through the trees. She really loved coming to the oasis. It was one of the only times she was alone. She laughed at the irony of wanting to be alone. Before she had turned sixteen, Brennae would have sold her right kidney for the boys to notice her. Now that she was twenty-four, all she wished for was that the men would notice her for the right reason.

  At sixteen, her mother had to have the “talk” ... with her father! She had argued that he was too protective and was smothering his daughter. The celebration to honor the arrival of woman to Terraneu before her sixteenth birthday had all been the same. Dancing was allowed with her brothers, cousins, and uncles or just with all of her friends in a large group. If a male outside of the family tried to dance with her, he was quickly moved away to find a different partner. After her sixteenth birthday, everything had changed. Brennae got the freedom of her own living dome, and her family pretty much left her to have normal interactions with the males of the community. Of course, they were still looking out for her. They were just more clandestine in their actions.

  For the first few years, her boyfriends would drift off during a goodnight kiss, or during slow dances. She knew that it meant her date had crossed some imaginary line and was getting a warning to back off. You see, all of the males of Terraneu could communicate telepathically with each other and the men in her family used that ability to “monitor” her dates. The only way to tell that the males were talking to each other in mind was the glazed look they got when they focused on the conversation going on in their heads. It was maddening that her father and brothers also had the added ability to freeze someone with their mind, which meant her dates just went stiff as a board.

  Eventually though the interference from her male relatives had died down a little. Her beaus did not drift off or freeze up during dates or halfway through a kiss goodnight anymore. She had experienced her share of romantic embraces. The sad part was that she just did not feel a spark like her parents obviously had. The kisses were nice, but they didn’t leave her breathless and excited for more. She sighed loudly as she floated along. Well that is what Brennae got for being related to half of the available men, and the other half she considered friends.

  A chorus of low warning growls from Cebat and Tabec drew her attention to the bank. She was surprised to see Barrett coming out of the foliage into the clearing. She had gone out a few times with him but had stopped dating him when he had pressed for a more permanent relationship. It was obvious to her that they did not have that certain connection she was looking for.

  Ducking her body quickly under the water she had to hope that he had just gotten here and had not seen her swimming. Moving slowly she made her way until she was still covered to her chin by water, but able to stand on the sandy floor of the pool.

  “Cebat…Tabec...cease!” She called loud enough for the sacath to hear her over the waterfall. She watched as Barrett walked a wide berth around the pets to stop along the water. Everyone knew the sacath wouldn’t attack unless ordered to, so why was he so nervous she wondered? She knew that not everyone was comfortable around the large animals and tri
ed not to make judgments about those that were afraid of them. Brennae had grown up around different sacath, even choosing to work with the animals in the community. She knew she could never be interested in a male that was timid around them. She had told Barrett that she was not mate material for him, and he had taken her rejection of his proposal about the same as the others had. He was a male of Terraneu after all, bound by honor and the laws of the community to respect a female. Even when said female was telling the poor admirer she wasn’t interested. There were no passionate declarations of undying love. Barrett offered her no speeches about the fires of hell keeping him away from her. All she got was a quiet acceptance of her refusal. Brennae almost laughed at her own whimsy. She really needed to cut back on the romance books she had been reading. The only males of Terraneu that showed any passion were the ones related to her! With a start, she realized that Barrett was reaching to pull off his clothes.

  “What are you doing?” She managed to ask just as his vest came off over his head. When he ignored her and reached for his pants she yelled, “You had better be wearing a swimsuit under those pants!” To her relief or disappointment, she was not sure which…he was wearing swim trunks. When he went to join her in the water she yelled, “Stop!” She was sure that it wasn’t her voice alone that halted him. The angry growling of the sacath made up his mind for him. They responded to the anger in her voice and stalked closer to the banks of the pool, putting themselves closer to protect her if needed. Cebat and Tabec were older and getting very lazy in their golden years that was true. However, they were still deadly protective.

  Casting a wary eye on the sacath Barrett finally said, “Why won’t you allow me...or anyone for that matter to get close to you?”

  Brennae sighed so much for no impassioned speeches about undying love. Be careful what you wish for her mother had always warned her. “It isn’t that I don’t want someone in my life as a mate Barrett. I already told you we just wouldn’t suit each other.”

  “Am I not physically attractive?” He called out to her his hand reaching for his trunks.

  “If you take those down, I will let Cebat and Tabec snack on what’s inside.” She warned. “I like you as a friend and cannot see you as a physical partner. It is not that you are not very handsome, because you are. You have a nice body and any female would be lucky to have you for a mate. That female is just not going to be me.”

  His eyes flashed angrily, “They why did you flirt with me and flaunt your body in front of me?” He accused desperately.

  Brennae choked back her shocked laughter. “I did nothing to try to gain your attention or make you feel I was flaunting myself.” She tried to think of a time she might have encouraged him and could not find one. She had gotten a lot of attention since her figure had “filled out” but that was years ago and she had adapted her wardrobe to accommodate her new bosoms. In her humble opinion, her cousins Chloe and Celeste had far nicer figures. They were tall and lithe where she was short and rounded. “Why not go for a more attractive match?” Brennae yelled out.

  “You are the most attractive female in Terraneu.” Barrett exclaimed.

  “That is not what I meant.” Brennae sighed and thought he must be crazy to think her the most attractive. Her eyes were huge in her face and the violet color was not very appealing. Her nose was too small and lips too full. Her eyelashes were a dark black and didn’t match her hair, which didn’t know if it wanted to be ash blond, dark blond, or mocha colored so was an annoying mix of all three. She didn’t even want to think about her huge breasts, hips, and butt. Trying to get rid of Barrett, she yelled. “I was talking about someone more compatible as a life partner, not physically attractive.” This was the problem in a nutshell. The males her age were all about physical attraction, not true compatibility. No matter how much she tried to get her point of view across they didn’t understand where she was coming from. Now thanks to Barrett she was getting cold in the water, and wanted to go home. “You need to move away from my clothes. I am coming out.” She wasn’t entirely comfortable with him seeing her naked and warned him, “Turn around.”

  Barrett looked at the sacath on the banks their piercing stares fixed on him and turned his back to her. Brennae quickly moved out of the water, one arm across her breasts in case he turned back around. Hurriedly grabbing up her thong she bent over and quickly pulled it up her legs. She had her gown in her hands when she felt a firm grip on her upper arm.

  Startled she covered her breasts with her gown and turned to find Barrett frozen to the spot. His eyes were wide and terrified in his face.

  “Brennae! RUN!” She jumped at her brothers’ panicked shout. What were they doing here?

  “Why would I need to...?” They were running toward her pointing frantically to look behind her. When she turned to see what was there she ended her question on a breathless whisper, “run?”

  .

  Chapter Three

  Different groups from the Elyon had been searching the planet in a grid pattern for months and found nothing. Then on one away mission, Marcael had found something. On that day, Colle had been assigned to search with him. He had gone one direction, his friend the other. At first, all around him had been the usual jungle flora and fauna. Then he had heard the laughter. Moving toward the sound Marcael came upon some type of oasis. Looking around for the source of the laughter, he stopped dead. He lost the ability to think clearly. He could not make his body move...if someone had asked, he could not have said what his name was. The vision before him stole his very breath.

  She was so small compared to any female he remembered. She was talking with her back to him, and when he searched for whom she was talking to, all he saw was some type of beasts in the grass. His eyes had refused to remain away from the smaller female for long and his gaze swung back to her. He drank in the gentle curve of her back as it sloped to an indented waist and rounded hips. He did not know what kind of covering she was wearing on her lower half, but it barely covered the round globes of her bottom. Her skin was a glowing golden color that he was sure could not be natural. It had to be due to the lighting in this jungle. Her hair was in a tight braid that reached halfway down her back. He imagined what it would look like unbound and falling around her golden body. His hands fisted as he tried to regain control of himself before he did something stupid. When she laughed again, something inside him started to unfurl. Then she turned around to place her clothing on a pile his breath came out in a whoosh of sound. The blood was pounding so hard in his ears that he could not even hear the waterfall any longer.

  He had never seen the likes to compare to her loveliness and they had the most beautiful STARRs Hedal science had created available to them on the Elyon. Not to mention his years with royalty and common folk alike on Hedal before they had fled. This female before him was exquisite! Her eyes were large in her heart shaped face. The purple color reminded him of a flower they had used for courtship back on Hedal. Her lips were full and pink and even a male that was under the sexual block could get ideas about that mouth. His breathing was erratic and he knew he was going to lose control. Something about this female was waking up things inside of him that were better off asleep. He averted his gaze to get control of his thoughts. The sound of the female talking finally broke through.

  “What do you think Cebat?” He heard the female say, “Does this new gingham bikini look good? I personally like the little bows at the hips and chest.”

  Do not look! Do not do it! His conscience screamed at him. He did not know what “gingham” was and he did not need to know. Ignoring the warning his brain was shouting...he looked. Then instantly wished he had not. The words hips and chest made it so that his eyes went to those areas. At her hips were two little red bows. He swallowed hard. Blowing out two huge puffs of breath, he tore his eyes from her hips to her chest. He should not have done it. There it was. A little red bow right between the most glorious breasts he had ever laid eyes on. His mouth began to water as he imagined what the
material was hiding from his eyes. Would her nipples be small and pink like her luscious mouth? Or would they be large and coral colored? He could not help himself he groaned softly, his gaze dropping to look at the area between her legs. What color would those lips be?

  As he stood there stunned, the female had made to go into the water. The curvy blond went under and did not come up. Before he could panic, she surfaced halfway across the pool. She swam around enjoying herself for the longest time. Every now and then Marcael would catch a glimpse of the material covering her breasts as they bobbed in the water. When she started swimming back to shore he started sweating. When she rose out of the water and walked toward the grassy bank, he almost swallowed his tongue. Water was running down her body in rivulets, between her breasts and down her golden legs. She was looking around with water spiked on eyelashes that would make a STARR envious. Her eyes were a deeper purple in her confusion and concern.

  “Cebat?” Her voice was sunshine and smoke, feminine, sultry and promising. It danced along his body, waking all the nerve endings as it went. “Tabec?” He stepped forward with the intent to...what he would never know. He suddenly heard an unholy growling noise and stopped dead in his tracks.

  “Oh there you are. Here!” The little female had called. Both animals had been looking at him, which was impossible since they should not be able to see him when cloaked. “It’s time to go you two.” The little female had clothed herself and after hugging both animals she had returned to her pack animal to leave and he had let her go.

  He had spied on the tiny female a few times now. Marcael knew he only dared come to this oasis when paired with someone faithful to him. That was not very often but each time he was able, he made his way to the water in the hopes of seeing her again. Today he had been waiting for any sign of the little blond female. He had almost run out of time when his patience had finally been rewarded. She came riding up with her usual companions at her side. He had figured after the first encounter that the huge beasts were her pets since they responded to every command she gave.