Barbarian's Choice: A SciFi Alien Romance (Ice Planet Barbarians Book 12) Read online

  Barbarian’s Choice

  A SciFi Alien Romance

  Ruby Dixon

  Ruby Dixon

  Contents

  Barbarian’s Choice

  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

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  The People of Ice Planet Barbarians

  Ice Planet Barbarians Reading List

  Have You Read SHIFT?

  Want More?

  Boring Copyright Stuff

  Barbarian’s Choice

  I might be the only unmated female in my tribe, but it doesn’t mean I’ve given my heart. I’m waiting. I want resonance, and I won’t settle for anything less.

  But when an alien ship lands and a handsome stranger steps out, I know he’s the one. His name’s Mardok and he’s fascinatingly different – and distractingly appealing. But Mardok can’t stay on the ice planet, and he says he can take me with him.

  Now, I must make a choice. Do I stay and lose my mate forever? Or do I follow him to the stars and leave behind everything I know?

  1

  FARLI

  “Come on, lazy one!” I say as I put my hands on my hips. “It is time to go out!” I tap my foot impatiently, though I am smiling. “If we linger here all morning all the good tree bark will be eaten, and then where will you be?”

  Chahm-pee bleats at me, his expression stubborn as he puts his head in his favorite basket and continues eating his morning meal.

  I groan and move forward, grabbing him by the harness Tee-fah-ni made for him. “Will it be like this today, then? Are we going to fight?”

  He ignores me, head down as he chews. Some days Chahm-pee is eager to get out, but today he wishes to stay and eat and wallow in his laziness. I will not let him, though. He gets too fat in the brutal season, so during the bitter season, I make sure he hunts with me. “Move,” I tell him, tugging on his harness and then giving his flank a slap.

  Chahm-pee lifts his head and bares his yellow teeth at me, showing he is displeased. I snort at this, because Chahm-pee is all show. He will bleat and drag his feet and then the moment we are in the sunlight, he is prancing and acting like a kit despite his age. At two hands of age—eight, by human count—Chahm-pee is full-grown and bigger than most dvisti. I think it is because I make sure he is well-fed. Probably too well-fed, if I go by my mother’s advice. Kemli thinks I spend too much time focused on my pet and not enough on providing for the tribe. Perhaps she is right, but food has been plentiful ever since we came to Croatoan village, and Chahm-pee does not eat the same things we do.

  I give another tug on his harness, but Chahm-pee weighs double what I do, and there is no budging him. He belches and puts his head back in his food basket.

  I know what to get him to move, though. I sling my hunting pack over my shoulder and head toward the entrance to my hut, pretending like I am going to leave. “Mmmm,” I say exaggeratedly, digging into my pocket. I carry a pouch of rakrak seeds—Chahm-pee’s favorite—for such an occasion. I shake the bag and then pull it out.

  His head immediately lifts, ears pricking. His little tail swishes back and forth. I have his attention now.

  “So tasty,” I coo, and head out of the hut a few steps, then wait.

  The dvisti trots out behind me and noses my pocket. He knows what I have. Amused, I pull a few seeds out and let him eat them from my hand, and then continue to head out into the village. He follows behind me, like the well-trained animal I know he is not.

  “Very good, my Chahm-pee,” I tell him, pulling a few more seeds out of my pocket because I have a soft heart. “We shall go and get our hunting in for the day. That will be nice, will it not? We can enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air, and some fresh food to eat. We like fresh food, do we not?”

  “Are you talking to Chompy again?” a woman calls out, laughter in her voice. “You know he still can’t answer?”

  I grin, ignoring Jo-see’s teasing. Even though it is early, the village is bustling with tribesmates. Jo-see is herding her little family toward the longhouse, where Air-ee-aw-nuh will be teaching classes to the kits, like she does every day the hunters go out. When the weather is bad, that is family time. But when the day is crisp and sunny like today? The hunters head out into the wild and the kits head to class. Warrek teaches them hunting when they are older, but when they are little—and there are so, so many little ones in our tribe—Air-ee-aw-nuh teaches them to count and how to spell in the human language. She has offered to teach me, but I have too much to do. “Hello, Jo-see,” I call out, smiling to the little mother. I wink at her small son, who is doing his best to squirm away from his mother’s grip. “Hello, Joden.”

  “Farli, can I come with you?” Joden asks in his sweet little voice. “I want to play wif Chahm-pee.”

  “No, baby, you get to hang with Mommy and sissy today,” Jo-see says in a calm voice, even as she adjusts the kit on her hip. Joha is only a season or so old, and sucks her thumb as she looks at me with big eyes. She is quiet and gentle, unlike her squirmy little brother. I wonder what their next kit will be like. Even now, Jo-see’s belly is heavily rounded with yet another kit. The tribe loves to tease Haeden and his mate about their frequent resonances, but Haeden just takes it all in stride. I think he secretly loves the fact that he and his mate have resonated three times so quickly, but Jo-see loves being a mother and Haeden is a good father. They are happy.

  And I sigh wistfully because I am envious of their happiness. “Where is your mate today?”

  “Off spear-fishing with Hassen,” Jo-see says, smiling. “It’s a nice day and they said that means that the kas-fish will be emerging from the mud to warm themselves.” Joden bends over and picks up a stick, his little tail swishing, and then offers it to his mother. She takes it without a glance, and her son scampers off to collect more things while his mother talks. Jo-see nods at me. “Going hunting yourself?”

  I nod cheerily, watching Joden as he races over to Chahm-pee’s side to pet him. The dvisti is huge full-grown, and while Joden is not afraid, he is still small in comparison and Chahm-pee has big feet. “This fat one needs to be fed, and I am filling that cache we emptied over the brutal season.”

  “Mm, well, be careful,” Jo-see says as she shifts Joha in her arms. “Haeden said he saw tracks and to look out for metlaks. You know how dangerous they are.”

  I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Jo-see means well, but ever since Joden was born, she has tried to mother me—and everyone else in the tribe. No one has seen metlaks in this area for seasons, and I am as good a hunter as any. “I will.”

  “You taking Taushen with you? Or Sessah?”

  I shake my head, trying to slide away from the conversation without being obvious. Jo-see loves to talk, and if given the chance, she will hold me here all morning without realizing it. “I did not ask them.”

  “Oh, you should,” Stay-see says as she approaches. She holds Pacy’s hand in hers and her second little son, Tash, is strapped in his carrier on her back. Pacy watches me with a curious look on his face. He is unlike Joden in that he is a quiet, thoughtful boy, whereas Joden is currently trying to pull Chahm-pee’s tail.

  I pry the little hands away from my pet and shake my head at Stay-see. “I have not seen them and do not want to wa
it around—”

  “Sessah will be sad to miss you,” Stay-see says in a sing-song voice, and Jo-see giggles.

  I snort. Time to go, before they start matchmaking. “We must be going,” I say firmly. “And these little hunters must be off to do their learning.” I give Joden a conspiratorial wink and a pat, directing him back toward his waiting mother.

  “Yeah, we’re going to be late,” Jo-see says, glancing over at Stay-see. “You feel like making breakfast this morning?”

  “Don’t I always?” Stay-see grins. “Harlow wanted us to stop by and get Rukhar along to class, too. You know he’s a handful in the mornings.”

  Jo-see’s flexible human brow creases. “She’s still not feeling well?” When Stay-see shakes her head, I feel a bit of worry tug at me. All of the humans do well here despite the cold, except Har-loh. She has always been a bit fragile, but ever since resonating a second time to her mate, her pregnancy seems to be sucking the strength out of her. Every day she looks a little thinner, a little more faded as her belly grows. I know her mate is worried. I worry, too.

  When I return, I will bring something special for Har-loh to make her smile, then. Maybe snowcat or the hraku roots the humans love so much. Perhaps that will help her spirits.

  “I must be going,” I tell them, but the two humans are barely paying attention, their minds focused on Har-loh or kits…or finding Sessah and foisting him off on me. I wave goodbye to the group and then grab Chahm-pee’s harness and hurry him along before someone else can stop and talk to me. I like chatting with the human females, but I am more worried that Sessah is going to show up and ask to join me. We hurry along, and I am relieved that my dvisti is no longer dragging his hooves and trots after me eagerly. We make it out of the village and into the gorge alone, and once there, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

  Sessah is…a problem, and one I do not know how to handle. He is just coming into his adulthood and has decided that since we are closest in age, we should be pleasure-mates. I…do not share this sentiment. Sessah is nice, but he is also still gangly and young, and his adoring attentions make me uncomfortable. The tribe finds his devotion amusing, but I do not. I have taken no pleasure-mate since coming into my adulthood, and do not plan on it.

  I am waiting for resonance.

  Perhaps I am a dreamer, but I am waiting for a hunter that looks at me with fire in his belly and stars in his eyes. I want him to gaze at me the way Haeden gazes at Jo-see, or Pashov devours his Stay-see with his eyes. I want him to have that same intense look on his face like Hassen does when he watches Mah-dee, or Rukh when he cares for Har-loh. I want what Vektal and Shorshie have—to be his partner and equal in all ways, and to finish his thoughts for him, and to occasionally sneak away to do the mouth-matings when we think no one is looking.

  I need a mate that will make my heart stir and my khui sing. And I know it is not Sessah. Nor is it Taushen, who has courted me in his own quiet way. I do not know who it will be yet, or if my mate is not yet born and I must wait endless hands of turns for him to grow into adulthood. Whatever it is, I am content to wait. My own mother is twenty-seven turns older than my father. It can happen, as long as I am patient.

  I want everything to be perfect, and it will be.

  “Farli,” a voice calls out as I head toward the end of the canyon.

  I turn, and it is my father, waving a leather-wrapped bundle in the air as he jogs after me. “Wait!”

  “Father? You are not out hunting?” I greet him with a gentle clasp on the arm and press my cheek to his. “Is everything all right?”

  “Everything is fine, Little Sunshine,” my father says with a grin. He places the packet in my hand. “I am making sah-sah today and will go hunting later. As for this.” He taps a finger on the packet. “Your mother did not want you to go out hunting without something to eat.”

  I roll my eyes and cannot resist a small giggle. I am my mother’s youngest and she spoils me as if I am still a kit clinging to her skirts. “Tell her she has my thanks.”

  “Will you be out overnight? Rokan said the weather would be fair.”

  I shrug. “Possibly.” It depends on how badly I need my space. I love to wander. Lately I have enjoyed going to the sand-covered beaches near the great salt lake, hoping to catch a glimpse of the green island that Jo-see swears was there so long ago. I have never seen it, and I think the earth-shake must have swallowed it. But I still like to look.

  “Sessah was hunting for you this morning.”

  I grimace. “I might be gone a few days, actually.”

  He seems to understand, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Then be safe, and look out for metlaks.”

  “Always, Father.” I hug him again and then wave goodbye as he heads back to the village and toward his waiting sah-sah pots. If Sessah is looking for me, then I will most certainly spend a bit longer out in the wild.

  Chahm-pee bleats at me, as if agreeing…or just mad that I have not given him more seeds. I tuck the packet of food under my arm and offer my pet a few more treats. “Come, fat one. Let us get you on the pulley before Sessah comes this way.”

  Because we now live in a gorge instead of in a cave, there was no easy way for Chahm-pee to get in and out, nor the humans, who are not as good at climbing sheer surfaces as we sa-khui. Har-loh saved the day with one of her creations. She created a pulley that balances with some heavy weights on the other side. I do not know how it works, only that I harness Chahm-pee in on his rope-covered raft and get in beside him, and then I pull on the rope, hauling us both into the air without straining my arms. Once we get to the top, Chahm-pee waits until I unfasten him and then trots off onto the ledge. I jump off as well and then send the pulley back down again for the next person.

  Now that we are back ‘up,’ the wind blasts into my face, ruffling my hair. I miss the wind and the sunlight down in the gorge. It is safe there, but it feels a bit like living in a hole on cloudy days. Today the suns are shining brightly, peeking out from behind the clouds, and the snow glistens blindingly bright. I give a happy sigh and close my eyes, drinking in the feeling. I could live up here all the time, I think. Just lie down in the snow and let the sunlight bake my bones.

  I do not, of course. The day is wasting and already the suns are high in the sky. I do, however, strip off my tunic and my leathers until I am down to nothing but my loincloth and my boots. I stuff them into my pack and sigh happily. There is nothing quite like fresh air on my skin. The human females would squeal in distress at the sight of me, but they like to cover their bodies with furs. I think it is because they are always cold. To me, this weather is perfect.

  I hop forward. “Come, Chahm-pee. Let us go see what our traps hold.”

  He bleats and moves to my side, keeping pace with me.

  Chahm-pee grazes as I walk, nipping at tree bark and pulling at shoots as we move through the valleys and the steep cliffs. I see no one else out, but their tracks are everywhere. Not surprising—the hunters do not like to spend as long out on the trails as they used to, not now that so many of them have mates and small kits waiting for them to come home. It is the unmated hunters—myself included—who take the more distant trails. I do not mind; I like the exploring. Sometimes it feels like I am the only one out in the big wide world, and it is fascinating to me how empty and yet gorgeous my surroundings are.

  I love this place.

  I know the humans complain about the snow and the cold. I know there is more rock than they are used to, and No-rah has mentioned that their old home had many more trees. But when I look around, I see home. I see snow that hugs the world like a blanket. I see spikes of color where foliage has pushed its way through the snow, reaching for the sun. I see ribbons of blue as the streams wind through valleys, and herds of distant dvisti as they churn trails in the snow, seeking food. It is all fascinating and lovely and I could spend every day exploring and learning new things. Most of the humans are content to stay in the village. A few of them hunt, like Leezh and Li-lah
and Mah-dee, but most are happy at home.

  But I love the adventure of exploration. I crave new experiences. I want more than just sitting around a fire and chatting. I want to see everything I can.

  As I walk, I contemplate this. I want to get away for a few days, I think. Let Sessah focus on something else for a change. But where? To the great salt lake, with its long scaly monsters that swim in it? To the human cave with the flashing red light that burns at a touch? Or somewhere else?

  I think of Har-loh and what she would like. She likes plants better than meat, I think. Maybe…maybe I could visit Tee-fah-ni’s fruit cave and bring her home a few things from there? It is not far from the Elders’ Cave, and the grounds are familiar, if far away. It is a long journey, but I think of how Har-loh will smile at such a thing.

  And I set off in that direction, Chahm-pee chewing as he moves beside me. He likes the fruit, too. And maybe when we are there, we can see if the Elders’ cave is still tipped over.

  All afternoon, I hike in that direction. The plants thin out atop the ridges, so I descend the cliffs and walk in the valleys with Chahm-pee. There are snow-cats around, and other dvisti herds, and I see the shadow of the occasional sky-claw, but they do not concern me. I am much larger than any of the small humans and it will not bother me, and Chahm-pee is far too fat to worry about the scrawny snow-cats. When the suns begin to move lower in the skies, I eat a few bites of the dried meat my mother sent along and contemplate where I shall sleep. There are two hunter caves close to me. One is but a short walk from here, but it is tiny and ill-suited for both sa-khui female and dvisti, and I will have to smell Chahm-pee make wind all night. Better to continue to the farther cave, which is larger…but it means journeying after dark.

  I shrug off any concern. It is the bitter season, and I am strong. I have a knife and spear, and nothing should attack an adult sa-khui, especially not one accompanied by a large dvisti. It will be fine. But when I cross the next ridge, I see…something.