Alien Knight Steals the Bride: Lumerian Knights, Book 2

Prologue Planet Caldor. 15 Years Ago. “Why not come with me?” Torrin Bashall urged his twin, his deep voice strained as he stretched to reach the last fingerhold before reaching the top of the cliff. His muscles shook with strain. Burned. A gentle gust of wind cooled his sweat-dampened hair as he edged over the top. He pushed himself harder, determined to beat his own record since this would be his last climb. The cliff face was steep. Vertical in places, the massive butte casting long afternoon shadows over their village nestled deep in the valley. The climb was dangerous. Too risky for most Caldorians. Torrin and Sevron loved the challenge. They could see for miles from the top. They especially enjoyed watching the ships take off and land from the nearby spaceport. “Finish your mission,” Sevron replied without looking up, equally focused on reaching the top. They climbed today without ropes. Without a safety net. Mistakes would be fatal. “Always. We’re talking about the Lumerian Knights. We’re going to die together anyway. It’s the mirror twin way. The Knights exist. I know it. We can find them together. Fight together. Your skills are as sharp as mine. Other than our markings, which we can cover up with a shirt, no one can tell us apart.” Torrin laughed, “Not even our mother. You know that s**t comes in handy.” “Yep.” Sevron grinned, his twinkling eyes shifting to focus on the next difficult foothold. “Someday, I’m going to have my own command,” he vowed. “Go to other worlds.” He blew out forcefully, then breathed deeply again, using the practiced breathing technique to maintain the grueling pace his brother always set. “You’ll see. Besides, if anyone can find the Lumerians, it’s you.” Torrin countered, “You always fight harder and longer than anyone else. You never give up. Ever. It would be easier together. I will endure the pain of your cuts. Your bruises. At least I’ll know you’re still alive. Have a way to track you if you get your ass in real trouble,” he grouched. “Besides, you know how upset mother will be when she finds we’ve gone looking for them. That’s why you want your own command. She gets that weird look on her face every time you bring it up.” Sevron shook his head, unwilling to reconsider, too eager to go. Too excited. He glanced at his brother as he rolled to a stand. Only the thought of being separated gave him pause. “We have different paths leading to the same place. She doesn’t want us to go, but she’ll understand.” “She would forgive me for dragging you along. She knows how much we hate to be parted.” “You hate it,” Sevron laughed mischievously. “I rather enjoy it.” Torrin glared. “Asshole. Oh, and while we’re on the subject, don’t think that I don’t know the real reason you try to beat me home. So you can grab the best pies,” he teased with brotherly affection. “Loser.” Sevron closed his eyes and breathed deeply as if he could smell the freshly baked treats, his mouth watering in anticipation. “Totally worth it. The real ones she makes without the food synthesizer.” He took a breath to continue, then hesitated, cleared his throat. Doubt shadowed his youthful face for the first time. “Why didn’t you tell me our twin bond was getting stronger? Is that why you’re leaving, too? You know I can’t sense your emotions as easily as you sense mine. You should have told me our bond was interfering. That hurts, brother.” His shoulders tightened imperceptibly, pausing to hear the answer before making the next move up the cliff. “Mother shouldn’t have said anything. She doesn’t fully understand. It doesn’t matter now. We are who we are, Sev. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Leave it at that.” Torrin cut his brother off from saying anything more. He sighed. Ran his fingers through his hair and pulled the strands in agitation. He loved his brother. Sevron’s pain was his pain. Torrin was much more sensitive to their twin bond. He had always felt everything more deeply than his brother. No one knew why Torrin was the more sensitive of the two. There was very little research, since mirror twin births were extremely rare on Caldor. Other twins were commonplace. Mirror twins were special. Linked in ways no one understood. Even Torrin eventually hid the depth of his growing sensitivity from others, especially his brother. Lied when necessary. He would never tell Sevron that he’d become so sensitive, if he closed his eyes and concentrated really hard, he could feel the brush of his mother’s fingers through Sevron’s hair at night when they were little. He’d had to toughen up fast so he could keep his emotions from showing on his face. “I don’t like secrets between us, Tor. I’ll never lie to you,” Sevron vowed somberly. “I know. In the meantime, let’s focus on the plan.” Sevron nodded in full agreement. “I’ll stay until you’ve been gone a year. Cover your tracks. Make sure you use a false name to protect the rest of us, and the DNA scrambler I took great pains to secure for you. That’s non-negotiable.” Sevron jumped to the right, grabbed the protruding ledge and pulled himself up, using his toes for balance as he stretched for the next fingerhold. The ledge was too narrow to do otherwise. He felt rather than looked for the tiny groove he knew from memory. “Damn. How’d you get up so fast?” He stretched a little harder, at last feeling the indentation. He grabbed on tight and pulled himself toward the next toe-hold, his body hanging free for a moment. The sounds of Torrin’s joyful laughter echoed across the canyon. Sevron smiled in spite of the danger. Torrin truly loved the climb. They both did. “You have to see it in your mind first. Trust your instincts. They won’t let you down,” Torrin said with the confidence earned through years of hard work. Discipline. Resolve. Caldorians started their warrior training early. Their grandfather had begun their training even earlier. “I had the DNA scrambler implanted yesterday. Didn’t you feel it? f*****g black market nanotech. That damned needle was as long as my arm!” “I felt only a pinch. Don’t be such a baby, little brother. And it’s not your instincts that make you faster getting up there; it’s the extra eigth of an inch in height that makes the climb easier for you,” Sevron growled. “Go ahead and tell yourself it’s skill, though, if it makes you feel better about yourself.” Torrin laughed at his brother’s old excuse as he looked down at the village below. He would miss the rhythm of home. He would miss his family. But mostly he would miss his brother. “Little brother? In your dreams. You know I’m the first born. Mom just fills your head with lies to make you feel better,” he said smugly. “Idiot.” Sevron reached the top, no more out of breath than Torrin. No one would ever accuse the two brothers of being out of shape or lazy. Their grandfather had seen to that. Both young men settled quietly on the ground and removed their packs. Sevron took out the snacks they’d brought. Torrin took a long, refreshing drink from his water recycler. They sat companionably until the sun began to set, turning the sky magnificent shades of red and orange. The air was perfumed by the lingering scent of crushed flowers after the brief thunderstorm earlier in the afternoon. Torrin closed his eyes and breathed deeply, committing the sight and smells to memory. He knew this would be his last summer at home. He was at peace. They talked, laughed, enjoyed each other’s company. Sevron threw an arm around Torrin’s shoulders as the sun disappeared below the horizon. They stayed that way for long minutes, knowing their time together was nearing an end. “Have you found any more information? I’ll make sure no one can trace you back here.” Sevron assured after the full moon had risen high in the night sky. “I know you will,” Torrin replied, finally shoving away from his brother. “The only thing I could dig up was a bunch of old legends. Myths. They’d been at war with the Vilitos for centuries.” Sevron nodded thoughtfully. “Lumeria’s military was trained beyond anything we’ve ever seen before, and that’s saying something. And it happened over two-thousand years ago? Who would have had the kind of firepower to even get close enough to take them out? Not the Vilitos?” “Maybe. I don’t know, but don’t worry. I have a plan. I still can’t believe we found that ancient journal amongst Grandfather’s old trinkets. It’s barely legible, but a good lead. The only one that seems credible. I’ll find a better hiding place for it before I leave. When I find the Lumerians, I won’t tell them we have it. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to eradicate every trace of Lumerian history in existence. Why would anyone care to do that?” “I don’t know, but their ability to actually succeed is mind boggling.” Sevron frowned. “According to the journal, the survivors were being hunted down, one by one. I did a search for Lumeria through the public database, and the only thing I could find was that the Council gave the green light to destroy the whole planet after the Vilitos filed some kind of grievance against them.” “They were here, Sev. On Caldor. I know it. The journal proves it.” Torrin’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Eagerness. “Some of them survived, and I’m going to find them. When I do, I’ll send word. Find a way to stay in contact with you.” “They’re coming.” Sevron’s voice faded out. “Be very, very careful.” Torrin strained to hear. Terror set in as his brother began to fade right in front of his eyes. “What the f**k is happening? Who? Who’s coming?” Only the shadow of his brother’s words reached through the growing fog.