“Crap!” I smacked his chest. “So help me God, if you get me pregnant, I’ll neuter you.”
“You don’t want children?”
“I do. Down the road. Not now.”
“Relax. My semen is converting you, not impregnating you.”
“Oh yay, I’ve always wanted fangs.” I sagged against the bed as tremors of bliss continued to rock me.
Jake kissed me gently. “I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”
“I don’t need protection.”
“Yeah, you do. Cantor wants you dead. Females with your abilities are highly sought after not only by Coletti warriors but other species.”
“What other species?”
“The Askole and Nal Rishi warriors are just a few who would eagerly steal you,” Jake explained.
“Let me get this straight. You’re converting me to keep me safe.”
“I am.”
“And the hot sex has nothing to do with it?”
“It’s a nice side benefit,” Jake answered.
“Un-huh.”
Elder Benally’s ghost appeared in the room. “If you’re mating ritual is completed, I have news of the Coyote.”
“Fuck!” I bolted upright and yanked wildly at the sheets. “I thought you had passed over.”
“Death only freed me. I am now able to see and do things that were once denied me.”
“Like being a peeping Tom?” I mumbled.
Jake calmly tapped my bracelet and within seconds black armor covered me. “You know where Cantor is?”
“He is in Pinon, Arizona. He has used his mental powers to enslave the members of a gang called the Red Kings.”
I frowned. “Damn. We just arrested their leader for murder and we’re in the process of rounding up the rest of the gang.”
“The Coyote has them actively hunting for you, CeeCee. Your talents have drawn much attention and many wish to possess you. He plans to sell you to the highest bidder,” Elder Benally warned.
Jake bared his fangs. “Cantor’s a dead man.”
“Yes, he is,” I agreed. “Father was severely injured by the Coyote, and we haven’t told him you were murdered.”
“Samuel is aware of my death and that the Coyote wants to claim tribal land as his own. You must stop the slaughter of our people,” Elder Benally advised.
I entwined my fingers with Jake’s. “We will hunt that bastard down and end him.”
Elder Benally vanished.
“Pinon’s one of the most isolated towns on tribal lands. The Red Kings had tried to turn it into their own private fiefdom until Father and I shut them down.”
“Time for that memory download of all things Navajo,” Jake said, merging with me. Thousands of images and memories suddenly spun through my head. My knowledge became Jake’s and his mine. I now knew how to field strip a laser canon, fly a warbird and Coletti battle strategy. Whoa! Zarek made the Apache look like pussy cats.
“Sepulcrum ibidem solus novum. Vem Hum. Domum rotundam,” Jake chanted. A tiny black cloud formed overhead. “Miraculin. Vivtorie construxit!”
I giggled as a few drops of rain fell on the bed. “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Jake’s forehead knitted in concentration.
I felt a wall of energy abruptly wrap around me and I couldn’t move. “You’ve got the freeze ray down pat.”
“Uncle Saul’s gonna love it.”
“Yippee. Another weapon in the Coletti arsenal,” I groused.
Jake caressed my cheek. “Think of all the lives it’ll save.”
“True. Try calling lightning.”
With a thunderous cracking boom, boiling black clouds filled the room. Electric blue flames danced around us.
“Shut it down! Shut it down!”
“Trying,” Jake rasped.
I seized control of the storm and quickly dissipated it. “Shit! From now on, we practice outside.”
“An excellent idea,” Zarek said drily. Smoke rose from his battle armor.
I stared at him in horror. “Sorry, sir. Next time you might want to announce yourself.”
Zarek raised an eyebrow. “Announce myself? On my own ship?”
Jake pushed me behind him. “The fault is mine, my lord. The storm got away from me.”
I inserted hastily, “We know where Cantor is.”
“Excellent. I will call a war council.” Zarek vanished.
I blew out a long breath. “Whew! War council?”
“Unfortunately, women aren’t allowed. Wait for me here.” Jake teleported away.
“Like hell.” After a quick shower, I was going to visit my father.
Chapter Nine
I walked into my father’s private room and my stomach clenched. It was empty. I linked with Jake. “Has something happened to my father?”
“Relax. He’s fine.”
“Where is he?”
“Zarek wanted his input on the Red Kings,” Jake answered.
“Ah! I got it. Since he has a penis, he was invited to the war council.”
“We’ll talk later.”
“You bet your ass we will.” I headed for the mess hall. Some German Chocolate cake sounded pretty damn good. The doors slid open and I gaped at two seven-foot-tall medieval knights standing in front of a food replicator. Each wore black horned helmets and battle armor.
I accessed Jake’s memories. I’ll be damned. They were Askole.
The warriors turned and studied me. Their black armor seemed to absorb the light until all you saw was their glowing yellow eyes.
A deep growly voice asked in my head, “Where is your male?”
“War council.” I fingered my ownership band nervously. If I had to fight them, I’d end up damaging the ship big time.
The knight pushed an emblem on his gauntlet. The helmet shrank away revealing an alien nightmare. Tentacles squirmed about his snakelike features. Holy crap! His black skin was armor-plated. He bared some nasty looking fangs at me. “I am called Trayon.”
Was that the Askole version of a smile? God, I hoped so. “I’m called CeeCee and my male is Jake Jones.”
“We have fought beside him against the Tai-Kok. We were not informed he had taken a mate.”
“Really? How odd,” I replied. Of course, we’d only be officially mated for about an hour, but they didn’t need to know that.
The other warrior picked up a bowl of squiggly things. “She is the female everyone is talking about.”
Trayon’s eyes brightened. “You can summon lightning?”
Wow! News traveled fast on this ship. “I can.”
“Are there more females like you?”
“Not that I know of. It’s a rare talent.”
“There must be, and I will find her,” Trayon stated.
“Before you start hunting, you might want to check with Zarek
