Clan Beginnings: Clan and Crave - Chaper Two, Scene One

 

Releasing May 31. Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, print

 

When Conyod met Sletran

* * * *

Conyod, age 15 

“Nowhere to go, thief. What do you have to say for yourselfbefore we beat your ass?”

Conyod peered through the dirty strands of his hair at thejeering Nobek. His tormentor stood at the center of a group of teen Nobeks.They’d surrounded him at the edge of the berlub field they’d chased him from.They numbered five, slightly older than him, he judged. They must have comefrom the nearby training camp he’d skulked past a few miles back.

It was just his luck for them to be on leave when he’d givenin to hunger and plundered the berlub bushes of a farm. He was a thief, no twoways about it, but after two weeks on the run, five days after he’d finishedthe food he’d taken from home, he was starving. There’d been no one insight when he’d slunk into the field to fill his snarling stomach with thebright yellow berries that hadn’t yet been harvested.

Anger and shame…and a hefty dose of fear not entirely due tothe young muscled Nobeks who’d chased him from the field…brought the sting oftears to his eyes. Cornered, the evidence of his desperate wrongdoing clutchedin his fists so the juice dripped from them, he snarled, “Assault is a biggercrime than stealing. Touch me and you’ll be sorry.”

“I doubt it. You don’t look as if you have the sort ofparents who possess the rank to protest a well-deserved thrashing.” His chiefaccuser smirked at the rest.

Conyod glanced down at his clothes. They were torn fromhiding in thorny bushes from those he’d feared might be searching for him. Hewas filthy from crouching in muddy gullies thanks to a couple of days ofdownpours. His carry sack wasn’t in any better shape, one strap knottedtogether after it had caught on a branch and torn.

A slap to his cheek sent him reeling. The teen he staggeredtoward shoved him in the middle again, and he stumbled to catch his footing ashis face flamed hot pain.

“Let’s teach him a lesson,” his chief antagonist said andgrabbed Conyod by his hair. “Don’t hold back. I want to see blood. Make him crylike the baby he is.”

“Hold on, Gotas,” one of the boys gasped. “He’s a skinnykid. I bet he’s an Imdiko. We can’t—”

“I say we do.” The teen identified as Gotas bared fangs atConyod’s would-be advocate. “If you’re scared, you can run to camp. But youbetter hide well, where I can’t find you.”

There was a flash of anger, but when no one else spoke up,the boy subsided.

“Better. To show you I don’t hold a grudge, I’ll let youhave first punch, Hetnur. Step on up and—”

Conyod, who’d been alternating between trying to pull loosefrom Gotas’ grip and hopping on his toes to relieve the agonizing tug on hishair, had come to a decision. He was about to get hurt, no doubt where that wasconcerned, but maybe he could do a little damage himself. Taking advantage ofGotas’ divided attention, he swung his leg at his harasser’s crotch.

He was a good deal shorter than Gotas, and he’d never beenin a fight. He had to kick higher than was comfortable. It was a weak blow, byall accounts. However, his aim was true. His shin landed a bullseye on theNobek teen’s sensitive spot.

Conyod’s shock he’d actually attacked someone else, andsomeone so much bigger, was matched only by the shock on Gotas’ expression. Theteen’s eyes and mouth formed perfect o’s an instant before agony suffused hisfeatures. His breath left him in a curiously high-pitched whistle. He releasedConyod to clutch his assaulted privates as his knees bent and his torso curled.A line of drool ran from his lower lip.

Conyod stood frozen, watching as the bully offered a thinscream as high-pitched as the whistling breath had been. A dim part of hisbrain told him he should be running like hell, but he was too gobsmacked tohave turned the tables on his tormentor to do so.

“You know, kid, once you put your opponent at such adisadvantage, you shouldn’t just stand there. A good move when the enemy’s bentin pain would be to grab the back of his head and yank it down while you smashyour knee in his face.”

A massive man waded between the startled boys. Conyod turnedhis stunned gaze toward the muscled behemoth in the black armored uniform of aground troop soldier. Where had he come from?

A couple of the teens yelped. “Stay put!” the muscled Nobekshouted. Poised to run, they froze on the spot. Except for Gotas, who was stilltrying to learn how to breathe again.

The soldier stared at the terrified-looking youths, hisinitial nonchalance disappearing behind a rictus of fury. “What a company ofcowards and assholes,” he snarled. “Names. Now. You first.”

He appeared so bestial, none of the teens dared to refuse.As his burning gaze lit on each of the younger Nobeks, they stuttered theirnames. Conyod heard none of them, his senses overwhelmed by what had happenedin a matter of minutes.

The presence of his rescuer held him astonished. He wasn’tthe handsomest man the young Imdiko had ever encountered, but he was perhapsthe most riveting. Nearly waist-length black curls framed a body carved fromgranite. The armored formsuit had no hope of hiding the strength of his thighsor the broadness of his shoulders. He looked like the strongest man alive tothe boy.

Having gained the names of Conyod’s attackers, the soldierstripped off a thick strap circling his thigh, in which a knife had beensheathed. He tucked the knife and its pocket beneath the utility belt at hiswaist.

“Pay attention, shitheads. As it seems your instructors havebeen lax in teaching you proper behavior, class is now in session,” heannounced. “A Nobek’s first duty is to protect the empire. His second duty isto protect his clan. And his third duty, which sometimes takes precedence overthe first two, is to protect those weaker than himself.

“Am I appalled to see the opposite occurring here? To seefive Nobeks of the Kalquorian Empire attacking a smaller youth, an Imdiko, noless? You’re damned right I’m appalled. More than appalled. I’m fucking livid!”

His fangs showed as he roared at them. All five, includingGotas, who was beginning to become aware of matters beyond his abused groin,moaned in terror.

“There is no excuse. None.”

“He was stealing—” one of the boys dared.

The soldier was a blur of motion. He grabbed the teen who’dspoken by the back of the neck and yanked him to the middle of the gathered.The strap flailed faster than Conyod’s eyes could follow, though there was nomistaking the thuds of contact.

The youth squalled and fell to his hands and knees. He dughis booted toes and fingers in the ground, trying to escape the beating, butthe soldier held him fast and without obvious effort. The black strap flashedin the sunlight. Conyod and the rest cringed, but they couldn’t tear themselvesfrom the sight. Nor did the teens show any inclination to rescue their fellow.

I don’t blame them. This guy could tear us limb from limbwithout trying.

His thought was as much worshipful as terrified. He’dthought his father Vel was the be-all and end-all of the Nobek breed until thismagnificent warrior.

The soldier paused and shook the howling youth. “Now beg theImdiko’s pardon or get a second round of the same.”

“I…I’m sorry, Imdiko. Forgive me.”

The elder Nobek released the teen, who stumbled a few feet,then collapsed in a shuddering heap. The soldier glared at the remaining four.

“Look at this boy.” He gestured at Conyod. “It’s obvious toanyone who possesses half a brain he’s starving. Why else would he be thievingberries from a field? Yet it occurred to none of you supposed protectors tohelp him. You chose to bully him instead. You’re lower than thieves. You’renothing.” He spat.

The teens hunched. They looked at Conyod in shame. The soleexception was Gotas. His gaze betrayed black hatred, though he was obviouslytoo afraid of the soldier to voice it.

“The rest of you will receive punishment from me, afterwhich you’ll also beg the Imdiko for pardon. If you try to escape, you’ll getdouble. If any of you somehow manage to escape, I have your names. I’ll reportall of you to the training camp, not just the coward who runs off. Havinggraduated from a camp myself, I know exactly what you’re in for if yoursuperiors learn what you’ve done here today.”

The boys were shaking, but they didn’t move an inch. Wouldpunishment at the camp be worse than a strapping from the Nobek? Conyodcouldn’t imagine it.

It must have been true, because one by one, they submittedto his harsh discipline. Their cries rang out over the field, and they beggedConyod’s forgiveness long before the punishment ended.

The fourth youth, he who was named Hetnur and had tried toreason with Gotas, tried to negotiate a lesser penalty when he stepped forward.“Nobek, I tried to tell them, I really did, I said it wasn’t fair for us tojump him—”

“You spoke, but you did nothing. A true Nobek isn’twary of the numbers against him if an injustice is being committed. A Nobekwould rather his breath stop than allow harm to someone who doesn’t deserve it.Except for this piece of dung with the bashed cocks who led you, you’re theworst of the group for your failure to stand up for what you knew was right.You’ll be strapped harder than those who came before you.”

The soldier was true to his word. Hetnur’s punishment wasthe severest thus far. Conyod couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Then the soldier turned to Gotas. “Do you think I’ll spareyou because you’ve already suffered the greatest damage? I see plainly you feelno remorse for what you’ve done. You’re the leader of these worms. You’ve setyourself up as their superior only to terrorize the weak. Who else have youconvinced them to gang up on? How many innocents have been hurt because youdecided power was better than defending those who’d look to you for help?”

The soldier’s furious glare raked the others. “This is whoyou’ve chosen to fear…a spineless weakling who uses you to intimidate those hehasn’t the strength to overcome alone. He couldn’t even defeat an underfedImdiko. Are you truly so pathetic as to follow this pretend Nobek?”

Gotas said nothing, but he’d gone pale. He went paler as hishowls were added to those of his fellows.

When the soldier had finished, he waved them off as ifshooing flies. “Get out of my sight before I decide you deserve more than I’vegiven you.”

They clumsily slunk to the dirt road leading to the trainingcamp. Gotas was still hunched, and he moved slower than the rest. They left himbehind, and Conyod had a feeling the bully would find himself friendless for along time.

He pulled his sight from the retreating youths to discoverthe soldier stared at him. “Now for you,” the man said.

Conyod’s heart skipped a beat as his gaze skittered to thethick strap the man held. He grew dizzy, and not just from hunger andexhaustion.

“Ancestors, I won’t beat you, kid. You look as if you’vebeen through enough.” The soldier stepped close. His tone was shockingly softfor such a terrifying person. His expression too. “I’m Nobek Sletran. I want tohelp you. What’s your name and where do you live?”

Conyod hunched, hating the idea he might invite the youngman’s ire as the bullies had. He didn’t dare answer his rescuer, however. Hesimply stared at the booted feet in front of him and shook his head. Then hewaited for the blows.

* * * *

Heneeded a hero and found two. Can love rescue him again?

NobekSletran never took Imdiko Conyod’s infatuation seriously when he rescued himyears before. When Conyod shows up in his life again as a strong and successfulman instead of a traumatized victim, Sletran has to reconsider the one he oncerejected and now can’t imagine life without.

Conyod hasnever given up on the man he considers his hero. Sletran is all he’s everwanted for a clanmate, and he’s determined to win him at last. But the past refusesto be laid to rest. When Conyod convinces Sletran to see him for who he’sbecome, will who he was resurface and destroy the love they’re building?

Sletran’scommanding officer Dramok Erybet is instantly fascinated by Conyod when thesoldier brings his love on base for a visit. However, Sletran isn’t the NobekErybet feels is right for him. When he rejects the Nobek, he risks losingConyod too.

Againstthe backdrop of heartbreaking childhood tragedy, a ghost who haunts Conyod andhis grief-stricken family, and military brass determined to oust Erybet fromthe rank he’s worked so hard to reach, three men must come to terms with whothey are. When tragedy strikes, the nightmares of the past must be faced andburied once and for all. Conyod, Sletran, and Erybet must dare everything tofind redemption and hold on to each other.

Releasing May 31.  Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, print