Vaka Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Also by Keira Conrad

  1

  Callie crept to the edge of camp and tipped her head to the stars. Her escape from the mess hall had been carefully timed. She doubted anyone saw her sneak out. Even if someone had, the fresh air was worth any punishment she might receive. They had been breathing recycled air for years aboard the Sentinel, and she longed to inhale air untouched by metal ductwork.

  Callie, and all the other intergalactic colonists onboard the Sentinel, were on lockdown since they’d reached their destination a week earlier. From what she could tell, PHP37, the thirty-seventh potentially habitable planet identified by NASA scientists, was a bust. The security team claimed it wasn’t safe outside the spacecraft, but Callie took her chances. Their caution rubbed her the wrong way. They should have been exploring their new home — not hiding from it. After all, they couldn’t pack up and head back if things didn’t work out.

  Lockdown was killing morale, too. The communal mess hall resembled a tomb. No talking. No smiles. No laughter. The optimism they felt at launch all those years ago was long gone. Now, still shaking off the fog of hyper sleep, the realities of their mission weighed heavily. The only rations served up, besides emergency protein loaf, were generous helpings of desperation and regret. Things would be different if one single thing had gone as planned since the ship roused them from their slumber. But they hadn’t been able to catch a break.

  Panic would break out soon. Callie had seen it before, and she knew the keys to survival. Keep your head on straight. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. Don’t count on anyone else to save you. Save yourself.

  She shoved her emotions aside, took a long cleansing breath, and focused on the brilliant pinpricks splashed across the night sky. Earth was thousands of light years away, too far to be visible to the naked eye, but that didn’t stop her from pretending one of the tiny specks was her birth planet. Her eyes closed as she remembered the lush green and blue orb. At least this lemon of a planet has a human-compatible atmosphere, she thought. If I had to wear a survival suit outside the ship, I’d go mad.

  Footsteps crunched behind her in the rocky soil. Her shoulders tensed and she held her breath. She prayed the visitor was a friendly one. She knew it wasn’t Captain Hudson, leader of the security unit tasked with keeping the colonists safe, because she didn’t hear yelling. That man never stopped yelling.

  “How did I know you’d be the first one to sneak out?” Juno asked. Callie relaxed her shoulders, exhaled, and turned to face her friend and roommate.

  Callie hadn’t had many friends growing up. Female friends, in particular, were few and far between. That made it all the more delightful when she and Juno clicked on the first day of training at the NASA regional center in Chicago. It was a happy accident when they were both assigned to the same sleeping quad aboard the Sentinel.

  “You know me so well.” Callie smiled. Juno knew everyone well. She was like a mother hen who took everyone under her wing. She cared about people and was a great listener, but there was another side to her, too. She said what she meant and asked for what she wanted. A lot of people found her overbearing and wished she would mind her own business. Callie found her directness refreshing.

  “You miss Earth already?” Juno asked.

  The two women stood side by side with their shoulders almost touching. Callie's eyes filled with tears and she struggled for the right words. Juno noticed. “Don't feel bad. I miss it, too.” She leaned over and bumped her upper arm against Callie’s. They both stared at the flat, stony terrain beyond the security perimeter, illuminated by the ship’s enormous flood lights.

  “It makes me disappointed in myself.” Callie’s voice was barely a whisper. “We’ve only been here a week.”

  “Yeah, but it’s been years since we’ve seen Earth.”

  “It doesn’t feel like it.”

  “Time flies in hyper sleep,” Juno said.

  Callie's brows scrunched together in a worried crease. “It’s so odd. It's like we just left, but everyone we knew back on Earth is years older.” She fully understood the realities of modern space travel when she signed up, but the experience still threw her for a loop.

  "It’s different than I thought it would be." Juno dug the toe of her boot into the loose gravel. She was just as uncomfortable thinking about what they left behind.

  "You know what I miss most?" Callie asked. “I miss how easy everything was.” She looked relieved to have admitted it out loud. “Our perfectly designed home. Rivers with clean, cool, drinkable water. Forests teeming with deer, red raspberries growing in the brush. Sure, we had thousands of years of human experience and expertise to build on, but even without that, even if someone dropped you off in the wilderness with a few basic supplies, you could eke out a living.”

  “You could survive. The rest of us wouldn’t be so lucky.” Juno was one of the few people who knew about Callie’s messed-up childhood. It had been a perfect preparation for surviving, but that didn’t make it any happier. “You don’t think this lovely hunk of rock is going to be so accommodating?”

  “Nothing is going to be easy here,” Callie said. “There’s a good chance this planet wants to kill us.” She fought the urge to sink onto the ground. She was just so tired. There was so much to do, and it would be a battle every step of the way.

  “Yeah,” Juno admitted, “the scientists back home were a little off on this one.” They claimed PHP37 was an Earth twin. Everyone knew it was just an educated guess on their part, but it ended up being one hell of a swing and a miss. The colonists could breathe the air without specialized equipment, but that’s where the good news ended. They couldn't find water. Or anything to eat.

  “All those shiny mailers and commercials for SpaceColony made it seem like a big adventure.” Callie’s voice trailed off. She knew about the monotony of survival. She had lived it before. She just hadn’t expected to encounter so many problems this time, especially with all the advanced technology they lugged along. But the 3D printers were on the fritz, and the engineers couldn't get the drones to fly.

  “Good thing we aren’t quitters.” Juno snaked her arm around Callie’s and led her back toward the ship. “Now, you know you’re not supposed to be out here, right?” she asked. “If Hudson sees you, it’ll be your ass in a sling.”

  Callie rolled her eyes. “He didn’t notice. Did you see how he was tucking into the protein loaf in there? I’ve never seen anyone so excited for survival rations.”

  “I know,” she said. “Can you imagine eating – “

  SWOOOOSH

  They felt it at the same time. A gust of storm-strength wind that almost flattened them. A presence from the sky. Something big. Bigger than it had any right to be. It swooped over them, avoiding the perimeter l
ighting. They couldn't see a thing, but they sensed its size and speed.

  They cowered together, temporarily stunned and looking for cover. But how can someone hide from something that size? And what the hell was it?

  “Whoa!” Callie said. “Did you…?”

  “I felt it,” Juno yelled, “but I didn’t see a damn thing!”

  They were crouched together trying to get a better view when a mighty roar thundered down on them. Callie felt the sound in her chest and slapped her hands over her ears. She’d never experienced anything like it before, and she wasn’t eager to meet the beast it came from.

  A corner of the sky erupted in a burst of white and orange flames. They felt the heat on their faces.

  They kept low to the ground and raced for the safety of the Sentinel. They had nearly reached the loading bay ramp when Callie had a distressing thought.

  “It was inside the perimeter, but the security alarm didn't sound." She looked at Juno. They both knew what it meant.

  Their defenses were useless.

  2

  What had he done?

  Vaka hadn’t intended to blast the drone out of the sky. Or expose himself as he flew above them. He just wanted a better look at the new arrivals. The strange ship landed in his territory a week ago and made his people nervous. He shared their concern. The site the humans chose for camp was not far enough from the forests and mountains the Verakai called home.

  Why were they here? What did they want? Those were the answers he needed. He’d encountered invaders, slavers, and warmongers many times over the years. New arrivals meant danger, as far as he was concerned. If these explorers had arrived two decades ago, the Verakai would have driven them away with ease. Things were so different now, and that admission filled him with shame.

  He had failed them once, but not this time.

  It’s why he undertook the night flights. It gave him back a little of the power his people had lost. He felt invincible, almost godlike, while soaring through the sky, in his dragon form, skirting the perimeter floodlights and keeping just out of view. Like the warrior king he was. Beating his wings against the wind and sailing through the clouds made him feel untouchable.

  Worry had first attracted him to their ship but curiosity soon took over. In the daylight, he watched from the forest in his human-like form, settled among the branches. The arrivals looked surprisingly like his own people, albeit smaller and more fragile. He found that comforting. He wondered if any of them had the shape-shifting abilities so prized among his clan, but he saw no evidence of any special abilities. Perhaps they hid their talents, as his people had learned to do.

  Mostly they stayed inside the giant, silver ship and hid like scared animals.

  He wanted another aerial view of their camp and after dusk was the only option. The darkness hid his shifted form. Giant orbs lit up their entire camp, but they were simple enough to avoid. Their ship glowed like a giant beacon. They didn't try to blend in, and it puzzled him. He supposed his people hadn’t hidden, either, when the Obeday first arrived. They assumed their size, ferocity, and dragons would protect them from any threat.

  Vaka would never make a mistake like that again.

  He hoped this time would be different, but an inner voice cautioned him not to trust the humans. They had landed their ship, planted their flag, installed a fence, and claimed the land as their own, as if they were “discovering” this planet his kind had always called home. Such greed worried him.

  Still, he held out hope. Especially when he saw the one thing his people needed. The one thing that made him dare to hope that their best days weren’t in the past.

  Women.

  Females of breeding age. Dozens of them. Perhaps his people still had a future.

  They didn’t come outside much. They were accompanied by men in tactical gear with large weapons. They seemed docile and scared. He wondered if they would be strong enough to survive the birth of a dragon warrior. Or the mating, for that matter. His warriors were as fierce between a woman’s thighs as they were on the battlefield.

  One caught his eye.

  She snuck outside when everyone else went in for the night. He marveled at her. She must be very clever to evade detection. He wondered what she was up to, but she simply walked to the edge of camp, stood under the stars, and tipped her face up to them.

  It was a face he could look at forever and never grow tired of. He found himself swooping lower and lower over their camp, risking detection to get a better look. She was perfection: plump pink lips, a pert upturned nose, and warm brown eyes. Brown hair spilled over her shoulders. He imagined burying his fingers in the silky lengths as he kissed her.

  It had been years since he had a mate. He swore he never would again. Not after last time. But this one brought back the best of his memories, the ones he kept locked away.

  He would never love again, he'd promised himself that, but he longed for the physical pleasure only a woman could provide. He wouldn’t deny himself that. The chance to continue his line? That was everything. He’d give anything for a son, as would any of the warriors in his tribe.

  He knew the risks. He wouldn’t share any part of himself with her, other than the organ that throbbed between his thighs when he gazed at her. He knew she would never willingly take a creature like him - half man, half beast – to her bed. But there had to be a way. The answer to his prayers had been placed within his grasp, and he would do anything to claim her.

  Vaka didn’t see the drone until it was almost on top of him. Disbelief surged through him. Would the Obeday really break the treaty so casually? Did they think he wouldn’t find out? He shook with rage.

  He thought of the brown-haired beauty gazing up at the stars, and he imagined her subjected to the same torture that had wiped out the Verakai women. Rage coursed through his veins. He felt the heat gather in his chest. He couldn’t stop himself. He had to release it.

  He opened his jaws and launched his terrible fire at the drone.

  The power and intensity of his flaming roar still amazed him after all these years. He felt the hot rattle deep in his chest. The sound was deafening, and the damage was spectacular. The hunk of metal fell from the sky and crashed on the rocky flats inside their camp. He wondered if the drone had time to transmit back to the Obeday base on the other side of the planet. He hoped it hadn’t, but he decided it didn’t really matter.

  He would watch from the sky when he could. From the forest if he had to. He’d keep them safe and bide his time.

  The brown-haired one would be his.

  3

  Beads of sweat broke out along Callie’s brow as she raced for the ship. Her breath was ragged and her legs burned. Every member of the crew had been in peak condition when they entered hyper sleep, but years in the pods took a toll. They were all a little out of it. Still, she was certain of what she saw, even though her mind was a little hazy from being under so long.

  “That thing was fricking huge,” Juno said as she started to sprint faster. It was like she was powered by terror. Callie was, too. Something still moved above them, cloaked in darkness, and they had a lot of open ground to cover to reach the ship. Plenty of time for it to swing low and snatch them up. To do God knows what with them. Probably tear them limb from limb.

  There was still no sign of the security team, and Callie wondered who the hell was monitoring the surveillance cameras. There were a few blind spots within the peripheral vision of the cameras, and she had carefully traveled within them when she snuck out. Now she and Juno ran in the open, trying to draw attention, and nobody noticed. It seemed the “enhanced security protocols” Captain Hudson put in place left a lot to be desired.

  They rocketed up the ramp and entered the loading bay. Juno slapped a giant blue panel next to the security door. It took only a second for the system to read her palm print, but it felt like eternity to the two of them. The door whooshed open and they hurried inside, leaning against it for support once safe.

  “Hel
p! Somebody! We need help in here!” Juno shouted so loud her voice cracked. It must have been the adrenaline.

  The thumping of combat boots echoed from the corridor and they realized reinforcements were on the way. Callie’s legs jerked like she had touched an exposed wire. She sunk to the ground and rested her head against the wall.

  Callie and Juno were still sitting there, trying to process what just happened, when the team stormed back inside. Callie knew perception of time could shift under stress, but they couldn’t have been out there for more than a half hour. She was surprised they made such quick work of whatever had been lurking. And relieved when a quick head count revealed they suffered no losses.

  It wasn’t all good news.

  The men dragged something behind them on a large black tarp, and it was smoking. The bitter odor reminded Callie of the fire at a local auto body shop when she was a kid. It had lingered for days.

  She rose to her feet and braced her hands against her trembling thighs. She wanted to get a better look, but Hudson approached the women, blocking their view and encroaching on their personal space. Callie knew he was especially pissed from the way the giant vein on his forehead throbbed and the corners of his mouth turned down in a grimace. She took a breath and waited for the yelling to start.

  “Tell me exactly what you two saw out there.” He stabbed the air with his index finger inches from their faces. They instinctively moved closer together. Everything about the Captain was intimidating. He was in his late forties but exceptionally fit. The time in hyper sleep didn’t seem to bother him one bit. His voice was like thunder and he had no patience for excuses.