Bad Panther (Alien Guardians of Earth Book 1) Read online

  Feeling like a true idiot now for letting her imagination run wild, Sugar groaned in mortification as she knelt on the cold cave floor.

  She really, really needed to get some fresh air into her lungs. There had to be carbon monoxide in the cave.

  Poisoned air was the only way to explain her having such a vivid, colorful dream like that, especially when she’d obviously knocked herself out on the pile of rocks beside her.

  Her disappointment over not finding any ancient artifact was keen, but the flashlight sweeping the cave walls confirmed her search was done. The cave ended abruptly just behind the tower of stacked stones.

  Damn it all to hell.

  There’d be no Indiana Jones glory for her today.

  Sugar checked her watch to see how long she’d been unconscious, but it didn’t seem to be working correctly. The last time it showed was six hours ago. So much for buying a top of the line model. The watch must have broken from shock when she fell.

  As Sugar stood on wobbly legs, she inspected the cairn and saw a clean spot on top. Had she touched it before she fell? She reached out her fingers to feel the smooth area. Her brain reached for a memory, but none came.

  “Get some damn oxygen, Sugar,” she told herself sternly.

  Head hurting, Sugar retrieved her hiking pack, pulled it onto her sore shoulders, and started the dirty trek back out of the cave. She walked head down while fighting hard not to feel super sorry for herself.

  Coming into the cave, she’d been so sure that she was going to find something valuable—something that would make her career. Now? Well, now she’d be starting all over again. Failure hurt, but she’d survived that before.

  At the cave entrance, Sugar stopped completely. Breathing fresh air, at last, was fantastic, but the sunlight did nothing to ease her pounding head.

  Blinking several times to adjust to the brightness, Sugar suddenly felt her entire chest vibrating like it had turned into a giant cell phone.

  There was pain too—pain she couldn’t identify. It went deep and radiated to all her bones.

  Maybe she’d hit those rocks harder than she thought when she fell. She looked down at her clothes and was shocked to see her shirt was shredded in the front.

  “Damn it, Sugar. What in the double-L hell happened to you in there?”

  She spat the question as she searched her destroyed shirt for the source of the damage. Then she noticed a golden spear end pointing up to one shoulder. Touching it hurt, but the smooth vibrating metal beneath her exploring fingers told her it wasn’t any sort of tattoo.

  She looked on the other side of her chest and found another metal spear-like point matching the first.

  Peering down between her breasts, she saw there was one in the middle of her sternum as well, but it stopped midway between her generous cleavage that blocked the view of the rest of it.

  It looked a bit like she’d fallen on Poseidon’s trident and accidentally pushed it into her chest. She couldn’t see it without a mirror but she felt some sort of metal band wrapped around her rib cage from front-to-back… and well… it was vibrating too.

  Wanting to stop the pain any way she could, Sugar pulled her nearly destroyed shirt together and clenched it closed with her fist. Once all the trident was covered, the vibration immediately stopped, as did the incredible pain in her head. Whatever it was it didn't like the light.

  “What the ever-loving fuck happened in there?” Sugar demanded as a fresh panic of biblical proportions swept over her. She turned and glared behind her.

  Holding her mangled shirt closed with one hand, Sugar ran all the way back to her rented vehicle, her anxiety growing with every footfall on the ground. It was only when she was driving back to her motel that she realized she’d just run the four-hour hike to the car in a little over thirty minutes without ever once getting tired or winded.

  “I’m officially changing careers. Screw having freaking adventures,” Sugar declared. A golden vibrating metal parasite was now taking up residence in her chest.

  The science fiction stories she’d loved all her life had never come close to shit like this in reality. However, memories of every horror movie she’d ever watched were now playing non-stop in her mind.

  She couldn’t recall anything about what had happened in the cave before she got knocked out, but for damn sure, she’d found something while in there.

  Or something had found her.

  Now what was it intending to do with her?

  3

  In Axel of Rodu’s Catskill Mountain lair…

  Like most felines he’d come across on the planet, Axel liked being where he wanted to be and only when he wanted to be there. After trying many places to live in his six hundred years of life, this private sanctuary hidden deep in a forest was the only location where he’d ever felt truly at peace with himself.

  His current residence wasn’t his favorite jungle vacation spot or the desert lands his feline mother favored. The mountain base hideout he called home in the Catskill Mountains of New York was evergreen and blessedly free of most creatures he didn’t want to see.

  “Max, fetch,” Axel demanded in a loud voice, throwing a limb he’d broken off of a nearby fallen tree.

  When the wolf didn’t run as instructed, Axel looked down at the creature who huffed indignantly at his feet.

  “We had a deal, Maxwell,” Axel said, pointing at where the stick had landed. “Do you want me to send you back to your pack and let them carry out your punishment? You know that staying here means you agree to be my pet for the duration.”

  The unhappy wolf whined, hung his head, and stared at the ground. When his head lifted, the creature sent back a reply.

  You may consider yourself a cat, Axel, but I do not consider myself a dog.

  “The full moon arrives Thursday, Max. Fetch the stick for me like a good wolf, and perhaps I will allow you to shift to human then—for a few hours at least.”

  The wolf’s head came up swiftly. Max took off running to where the stick had landed. Axel snorted as his reluctant detainee sent him a disgusted look before snatching up the piece of wood in his mouth.

  Max started back toward him, glaring his wolf eyes, then suddenly dropped the stick and ran off with a whimper.

  “Maxwell! We weren’t finished. Get back here with that stick,” Axel shouted.

  “Axel, stop yelling at that poor creature you’re tormenting. Is that any way for a Lyran prince to act?”

  Axel swung and stared at the ascended Lyran feline standing behind him. Great. How long had she been watching?

  “Queen Nyomi,” he said, dropping to one knee and bowing his head. He knew he was in more trouble when she sighed loudly.

  “Thirty hours of childbirth to bring you into this life and all I get from my son is normal deference? I get that from everyone. Stand up and hug me, Axel. Prove I chose your Earthling father well.”

  Axel rose and started toward her only to be stopped by a raised hand and twitching ears. “Not in your purely human form while we’re talking business. I can only handle your father in that condition.”

  “Right,” Axel said automatically, shifting his human skin until his face more closely resembled hers. Now they both looked like they belonged to the feline branch of the Lyran race they were descended from. At his mother’s approving nod, Axel moved forward and embraced the female who’d given birth to him. “I am glad to see you, Mother. It’s been nearly a year since you visited me.”

  “Yes, it’s been too long,” Nyomi agreed solemnly, hugging her eldest child of Rodu tightly before pushing him away. “I’ve been swamped with royal duties while you’ve been amusing yourself here in your lair. I wish this was a purely social visit, but I came today because I have another little matter I need you to take care of for me.”

  “Another little matter?” Axel repeated the request with a snort, releasing her arms to laugh. “Your little matters are never little, Mother. I almost got decapitated solving your little matter last time.�
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  “I admit I underestimated Lord Garmin’s viciousness, but I could not allow my favorite human to be killed while regenerating. Your father helped me bring a true Lyran prince to this often barbaric, ungrateful world. Of all the humans walking his planet, your father deserves as many lives as my people can give him.”

  Axel inclined his head once. “I honor the human male who helped create me which is precisely why I ended Lord Garmin’s life.”

  Nyomi purred in pleasure. “Yes, my son is the most feared creature on both our planets…” She stopped and made a face. “Or at least you were until recently.”

  Axel lifted a brow. “That’s an extraordinarily strange comment even for you, my queen. You made sure no one was trained better than me. Who is deadlier?”

  Nyomi looked off, her small ears twitching again. “No one intentionally but I think someone has found one of Athena the Ancient’s sentient blades.”

  “Sentient blades?” Axel repeated in surprise. “Most believe they are a myth, especially the sentient part. You’re talking about advanced artificial intelligence. My sister’s advances in that area exceed any Earth human’s or Lyran’s. Not even Gina of Rodu has found a way to make that work. ”

  Nyomi shook her regal head. “The sentient blades are not a myth, Axel. I don’t know how well your teachers covered those artifacts in your Ancient Earth History classes, but the blades are weapons from a time on Earth before the feline Lyran Guardians came here to live. Lyran records show evidence of some very sophisticated weaponry being developed long before Earth’s current history began being recorded.”

  Axel nodded that he heard. “As I recall, Athena’s blades were developed for warriors. Why would one of them want to join with a mere archaeologist?”

  Nyomi’s mouth lifted on one corner. “It’s true that Lyran records say the blades were only sentient after they were joined with the highest and noblest of warriors. However, Earth legends of the blades are not so clear on the matter. Maybe Athena’s creation was desperate to be joined to a host after twenty thousand years of dormancy.”

  Axel rubbed his chin. “Do you wish me to subdue the blade and send it back into hibernation?”

  Nyomi stared at her son and fought not to be impatient with the child who was supposed to be grooming himself to replace her. “Would you willingly return to a lifeless existence of never having been born?”

  Since he had no wish to offend his mother… or his queen, Axel shook his head. “No, I suppose not,” he said.

  Nyomi walked a short distance and glanced out into the trees. “I’m guessing neither will the blade now that it’s awake again. It’s a very powerful artifact—I fear much more powerful than even you. This situation must be handled very carefully. Current Earth may be primitive, but there is much about its technological past that we do not yet know.”

  Axel nodded once in acknowledgment though he had trouble imagining anything or anyone alive on the planet being more powerful than he was. He told himself it wasn’t arrogance to feel that way. He just hadn’t seen any evidence that pointed away from his conclusion about his worth as a warrior.

  “What would you like me to do about it then?” Axel finally asked.

  Because the matter was so serious, Nyomi turned to look in her son’s eyes as she answered. “The archaeologist who found the blade is still finding out what comes with living with such power. Every greedy group on the planet is hunting the blade’s new host—both human and paranormal factions. The blade must remain where it is until its champion has either bonded with it completely or died trying to.”

  Axel winced internally. Death from finding an ancient artifact? That would certainly be a tough break for a nosy archaeologist, he decided as he listened to his queen.

  “I’m guessing you want me to be the human’s bodyguard until the human and the blade part company.”

  Nyomi laughed. “So you do understand—thank the ancestors. Yes, Axel, I want you to guard the blade. More than that though, I was hoping you would attempt to train its human host to be a warrior. The initial joining is done. All we can do now is try to make the human at least a little worthy of the entity she carries.”

  “She?” Axel repeated it as a question, his mouth forming an ironic smile. “In my studies, they said the sentient blades were created for males.”

  “No—they said they were created for warriors.”

  “Which were primarily male,” Axel insisted.

  “Your studies were based on general information about a very advanced Earth culture that disappeared thousands of years ago. What few records we’ve found are not enough to assume any one thing is right one hundred percent of the time, especially about gender roles.”

  “Agreed,” Axel said with a reluctant shrug. “So who do you think Athena the Ancient was then? Was she a warrior?”

  “From my studies, I have come to believe that Athena was not from Earth at all. Whatever her planetary origin, it’s likely that she was considered some sort of warrior by the Earth people of her time. But even if she was just an extremely advanced human, there are always exceptions. You are an exception among Lyrans.”

  “But a woman warrior that powerful…” Axel began and then stopped to shake his head.

  He had several sisters who were brilliant and fierce, but he didn’t think of them as warriors like himself. In fact—what did he think about women fighting? Undoubtedly, nothing his queen would approve of.

  Sighing in frustration, Nyomi’s disappointed gaze slid over her mega-intelligent, but clueless son. “I see skepticism in your eyes and it makes me very angry at you. The Lyrans—our people, Axel—chose me to be Earth’s primary guardian, not any Lyran male. They chose me because I was an intelligent, fair-minded warrior who was willing to do whatever it took to see the humans of Earth progress in a way that fosters planetary peace in our shared galaxy.”

  Axel lowered his gaze. “Forgive me, my queen. I meant no disrespect to you or your talents.”

  Nyomi huffed. “I always do forgive you, but perhaps that is your problem. I should have insisted you mate Rian centuries ago. Living with a full Lyran female mate might have corrected that gender-biased selfishness you’ve developed from consorting with those weak-minded human females you favor.”

  “Despite the genetics of my human father, my sexuality is Lyran. I prefer brief partners who serve a practical purpose when sharing my bed. I do not think my DNA includes the ability to love any female—Earthling or Lyran—the way a human male like my father is obviously capable of doing.”

  Queen Nyomi snarled in disbelief. “Really? What about the human female who runs that agency you align with? You felt something more than lust for her.”

  Axel grunted and turned away. “It fluttered through my chest briefly and passed before I even recognized it was a genuine attraction. I do think it was a pity that she chose those two stone idiots as mates. What a waste of womanhood.”

  “Gargoyles aren’t real stone,” she reminded him. “Remember that each gargoyle’s soul remains human regardless of the change to the original container. The ancient magic that created their bodies is to be respected just as much as the incredible power that forged the sentient blade you’re getting ready to encounter. Disrespect of such power is for ignorant humans. It is not something a Lyran Earth Guardian can indulge in, not even in jest.”

  “I concede to your greater wisdom about ancient Earth magic, but I know my mind quite well when it comes to my sexual needs. I have no urge to mate permanently with any female and I find no fault with the way I have chosen to meet them,” Axel said, bowing his head.

  “Oh, my dear boy, your sexual selfishness is nothing but male self-delusion. One day you will learn that truth. I hope it happens soon.”

  “And I hope that it never happens at all,” Axel said calmly.

  Tired of her and Axel’s debate, Nyomi pulled her mind back to the real reason she came to see her son. “We could argue your eventual epiphany for hours, but unfortunately, we h
ave more important things to discuss today. That agency you pretend to work for is going to be calling you soon.”

  “Are you for certain?”

  Nyomi glared at her son. “Yes. The archaeologist who found the blade has gone to them for help. Take the assignment and bring the blade’s host here to your lair. But do not seek to sexually dominate the female host of the blade, Axel. If the blade sees you as its host’s enemy, it will likely not hesitate to end your life.”

  “What happens if I fail to keep its female host alive? Will I have to fight the blade on her death?”

  “I do not know what would happen in that instance. The ancient records say when a blade’s host expires, it returns to Athena’s original form for it. Now that so many know the archaeologist discovered something that gives its owner enormous power, hiding the blade will be next to impossible. The new host must be kept alive and trained if possible.”

  “You say she’s still bonding with it though?”

  “There are layers to the symbiosis process. She’s survived the first few so far. You must take special care of her until it completes.” Nyomi paced away and looked off. “If this seems too much to bother with your wolf-sitting schedule, I can have the female collected by your father. I am willing to train her myself if there’s a chance to align our people with the host of the blade.”

  “There is no need for you to risk yourself, Mother. When have I ever refused a request from my queen?”

  “Should we discuss Rian again?” Nyomi asked with a smirk.

  Axel frowned and shook his head. “No, but I do have one other question. Why must we accept responsibility for the trouble this human has gotten herself into with her curiosity?”

  Nyomi lifted a hand. “How can a naturally curious feline ask such a ridiculous question? That must come from your human side. This is an example of the exact selfishness I keep hoping you will one day outgrow.”

  “I fail to see how preferring to mind my own business is selfish. I think it’s smart.”