Nikhil (Kaliszian Book 1) Read online

  Nikhil

  By M.K. Eidem

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Additional Books

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank my family for all their support. I would also like to thank all those that have been there to answer questions and help guide me; Julie, Sally Fern, Beth, Narelle and my sister Annie, thanks Ladies!

  I also want to send out a special thanks to Michelle Howard who made me realize Nikhil and Mackenzie's story needed to be told first.

  Nikhil: Kaliszian Series

  By

  M.K. Eidem

  Copyright © 2016 by Michelle K. Eidem

  Cover Design by Juddy Bullard

  Edited by: [email protected]

  All rights reserved: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electtronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without the express written permission.

  All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictittiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to acttual persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is strictly coincidental.

  License Statement

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to *crane share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Synopsis

  As the Squad Leader of the Elite Warriors, Nikhil Kozar was the largest warrior in the Kaliszian Empire. When a shuttle crashes on one of their planets the search and rescue mission turns into something much more complicated.

  Mackenzie 'Mac' Wharton had agreed to guide a group that had wanted an adventure on her mountain. They got more than they bargained for when they were all abducted by a group of aliens called the Ganglians. Badly beaten and barely alive Mac found herself in the arms of the largest male she’s ever seen. She should fear him, should be fighting to get away from him, but there was something about the massive male that called to her.

  A traitor threatens the Empire... Someone wants Nikhil dead.... The Zaludians want Mackenzie back... And then there was the secret she's keeping.... Would it be the one thing that finally brought down the Kaliszian Empire? Or would it be the first step in its rebirth?

  Chapter One

  Warrior Nikhil Kozar didn't hesitate to fire his blaster, killing the Zaludian that was attempting to stop him from gaining entrance to the cave. He had never cared for the Zaludians. They were a race of scavengers that traveled the Known Universes looking for discarded resources that they could use and sell. And it seemed they had decided to mine the weak energy crystals that remained on Pontus while the Kaliszians’ attention was focused on the other side of their Empire, repelling the Ratak threat there.

  He might have been able to forgive them as they were an opportunistic species, but he couldn't forgive their brutality. Six weeks ago, Emperor Wray Vasteri of the Tornian Empire was returning home from a meeting with the Kaliszian Emperor when his ship encountered Ganglians crossing between the Empires. Ganglians were banned from the Tornian Empire, so Emperor Vasteri fired on them, and then detained the Ganglian ship.

  It should have ended there, but as the Emperor was traveling back from inspecting the Ganglian’s ship, with the abused female he’d discovered on it, a Zaludian ship attacked and caused the Emperor's shuttle to crash on Pontus. It took nearly a week for the combined forces of the Tornian and Kaliszian Empires to locate the Emperor due to a Pontus ground storm. Once the storm ended, the Tornian Emperor and the female he'd placed under his protection left Pontus. It was then that Nikhil's Emperor, Emperor Liron Kalinin, had ordered General Treyvon Rayner, the Supreme Commander of Kaliszian Defenses, and his Elite Warriors to investigate why the Zaludians had attacked. Nikhil was one of those Elite Warriors.

  What they discovered had been shocking even to seasoned warriors. The Zaludians had reopened the old power crystal mines on Pontus, and were using illegal slave labor in them. This was the sixth site they had found, and with each one they were finding more and more bodies, telling them that this had been going on far longer than anyone had imagined.

  Ducking into the next opening, he fired again killing another Zaludian. This one wore the red beads of command around his neck. Nikhil would have preferred to use the sword strapped to his back. He wanted the Zaludian to suffer just a portion of what their victims had at their hands, but in the close confines of the mine, he couldn't do that. His gaze traveled over the room, making sure he had eliminated all threats. He was about to move on, when he noticed a still form lying on a stone platform.

  Moving closer, he felt his breath catch. Lying there so still was a restrained and severely beaten female whose coverings were barely held together. What in the name of the Goddess were the Zaludians doing with a female, especially one like this?

  Zaludians resembled Kaliszians in that they walked on two legs and had two arms, but that was where any resemblance ended. They had no hair on their head, had no honor, and more importantly, could not join with any female that wasn't from their own species because their reproductive organs were in an entirely different location. They would have had only one use for a female such as this. To sell her to a pleasure house.

  Reaching for his comm, Nikhil called for assistance.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  "What have you got, Nikhil?" Commander Gryf Solaun entered the room to find Warrior Kozar, a Squad Leader, standing completely still as he looked down at what appeared to be a small creature on the stone table.

  "A female," Nikhil told him.

  "What?!!" Gryf hustled to Nikhil's side, looking down at the creature in disbelief. "Why in the name of the Goddess would they have a female? Are you sure it's female?" Gryf wasn't sure Nikhil had been around many females, no matter the species, for Nikhil’s appearance put many off. Nikhil was a massive male by anyone's standards. Not so much in height, as both Gryf and the General were taller, but neither had Nikhil's girth which was all muscle. Because of his looks many avoided him, especially females. It didn't help that he rarely spoke, preferring to let his sword do it for him.

  "Yes! Give me the covering!" Nikhil demanded, impatiently.

  Frowning, Gryf handed what he'd brought to Nikhil and watched as Nikhil covered the female then carefully scooped her up, so her head rested over the heart in his mountainous chest.

  "I need to get her to Luol."

  Gryf knew he'd have a fight on his hands if he tried to stop Nikhil. He also knew he'd lose that fight. "Take Treyvon's transport. I will inform the General." Gryf turned to leave then stopped when his foot kicked something. Looking down, he saw a mangled metal restraint. He was about to ask Nikhil about it, but Nikhil was already gone.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Mac wasn't sure where she was. She knew someone was carrying her, but she didn't know who. All she knew was
that for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt safe. Why was that?

  The deep rumble beneath her ear had her forcing her eyes open to find glowing, pine-green eyes staring down at her. She saw his lips move, felt the vibration of it in his chest, but she couldn't understand what he was saying.

  "What?" she whispered back finding that one word a struggle, then cringed at the massive frown that filled her vision.

  Nikhil couldn't believe what he was hearing. The little female in his arms was speaking Zaludian, and stranger yet, she didn't seem to understand Kaliszian.

  "Do you understand me now?" he asked switching to Zaludian.

  "Yes." Mac couldn't describe how it felt to know he understood her.

  "What have you got there, Nikhil?" Onp asked.

  Mac's eyes followed where the glowing green ones went, then cowered in his arms when she discovered several large beings staring down at her intently.

  "Move on,! You are frightening her."

  "Her?" The other warrior leaned in for a closer look and Mac began to tremble. "Are you sure that's female?"

  "Move on or I will make sure all your training will be done solely with me for the next week." That threat had both males quickly moving on.

  "Do not fear, Little One," Nikhil found himself pulling her close, cooing in her ear. "I vow you are safe." He pulled back slightly and found her staring up at him intently. "What is your name, Little One?"

  Mac found herself lost in those glowing eyes, and for a moment, it was like she'd come home. "Mackenzie, Mackenzie Wharton," she whispered weakly, and then exhaustion took over and she passed out.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  "What is that you are bringing me, Nikhil?" Healer Luol teased the massive warrior storming into his medical unit.

  "A female. Harmed by the Zaludians."

  "A female!" Luol lost his teasing demeanor and quickly move to a bed. "Lay her down here. Carefully!” The last word was unnecessary as Luol watched the lumbering warrior lay the female down as if she were the most fragile thing in the universe.

  "Let’s see what we are dealing with here." Opening the cape that had been wrapped securely around her, Luol sucked in a harsh breath at what he found. "Goddess!"

  Blindly reaching for his hand-held scanner, he began running the machine as he visually took in the damage done to this small female. While her face was heavily bruised, Luol knew those wounds would be easily repaired. It was the rest of her that had him concerned.

  He had never seen a body so thin. While her face was swollen and bruised from the beating she had taken, the rest of her body was the opposite. He could count every rib, and the way her skin was pulled tightly over her hip bones... He’d never seen anything like it.

  "How long was she held?" Luol demanded.

  "I don't know."

  "Where is she from?"

  "I don't know."

  "Well, what in the name of the Goddess do you know, Warrior Kozar?" Luol demanded in frustration. He'd never encountered a female like this before.

  "I know her name is Mackenzie Wharton, and that she is not Kaliszian."

  "And how do you know that?"

  "Because her eyes are a beautiful, golden brown, but they do not glow."

  "Really?" Luol picked up a piece of her dirty, matted hair. "Then explain to me how she can wear this!"

  Nikhil's eyes widened, and he reached back grabbing the braid that held his two most important Suja beads; one meant for his Ashe, and if the Goddess blessed him, the other for his True Mate. His True Mate bead was gone.

  "I take it you didn't know."

  "No," came Nikhil's hoarse whisper. "Help her, Luol." His green eyes begged.

  "I will do all I can for your True Mate, Nikhil, but I have never treated one like her before. We can only pray to the Goddess that the deep repair unit can help her."

  Luol pressed the button activating the machine, and as the domed cover closed, Luol was astonished to see Nikhil drop to his knees and begin to pray.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  As the Supreme Commander of Kaliszian Defenses, General Treyvon Rayner was a seasoned warrior. He had been in hundreds of battles, had seen and been the deliverer of more than his share of death. But as he stood on the narrow ledge outside the mine, looking at the carnage in the crevasse below, revulsion filled him.

  "General." The call of his second in command and longtime friend, Gryf, had Treyvon turning to face him.

  "What is it, Commander?"

  "We discovered another pocket of survivors."

  "Jerboaians?"

  "No. I... I have never encountered a species like them before. They are similar to us only much smaller, but not as small as Jerboaians. Their eyes do not glow, and their hair covers all their head like the Tornians but in different colors. They also have hair on their faces like the Ganglians, and some even have it on their bodies."

  "What?" Treyvon frowned at his second. He'd never heard of a species that was a mix of the three most powerful ones in the Known Universes.

  "I know, it is very confusing. Until we can get them to use an educator with the Kaliszian language, we can only speak to them in either Ganglian or Zaludian."

  "What are you talking about?" Treyvon demanded.

  "Ganglian and Zaludian seem to be the only languages they understand. I spoke with the one that seems to be their leader, and he says the Ganglians captured them on their home world. A place they call Earth. Those were the only languages they were taught. I don't recognize the language they speak among themselves."

  "That's impossible. Our educators are programmed with every known language. For it to not recognize theirs can only mean..."

  "That they are a previously undiscovered species," Gryf finished for him.

  "Take me to them."

  “Yes, General." Gryf nodded then turned and led the way to the cave. "There's one more thing, General."

  "What?" Treyvon demanded.

  "There was an injured female that Warrior Kozar discovered in one of the outer caves. I ordered him to take her back to base for treatment. In your transport."

  "In mine?"

  "Yes, it is the fastest, and she seemed in bad shape."

  "Alright, so what is the problem?"

  "It seems the female is one of the unknown species, and they have been demanding to know where she is."

  "What did you tell them?"

  "That she was being treated for her injuries. It's this one." Gryf gestured to the cave opening to his left.

  Ducking down, Treyvon stepped into the cave Gryf had indicated and was grateful he was able to stand to his full six-foot, eight-inch height once inside the room. The Kaliszians created these caves as they mined the powerful and abundant energy crystals that Pontus once contained. The crystals began to disappear five hundred years ago until only very weak crystals remained. They stopped all mining on Pontus hundreds of years ago as there was no market for the weaker crystals. It seemed the Zaludians had found one.

  Before him, huddled together in a corner, stood the males Gryf had mentioned. They were just as Gryf described, only he left out how filthy they were or that the coverings they were wearing would be considered rags on the best of days. There was no way they could evacuate them with what they were wearing. The Pontus sun was setting, taking with it the heat of the day, and he didn't know if these creatures’ bodies could compensate for the temperature change as the Kaliszians could.

  "Have capes brought," Treyvon ordered over his shoulder.

  "Yes, General." Gryf pulled his comm from his belt relaying the order.

  "I am General Treyvon Rayner, Supreme Commander of Kaliszian Defenses," Treyvon spoke in Zaludian, his gaze moving over the sorry-looking group. "Who speaks for you? Who is your leader?"

  A thin male with dirty, matted hair on his head and face separated himself from the group. "I am."

  "What do you call yourself?"

  "Craig. My name is Craig Collins."

  "And your species?"


  "Human."

  "How long have you been here, Craig Collins?" Treyvon knew it couldn't have been long, not with how small and weak they appeared. The amount of work the Zaludians would have demanded of them would have killed them within days.

  "We have no idea." Treyvon saw the others nod their heads in agreement. "Where is Mac? What have you done with her?"

  "You speak of the injured female we found?" Treyvon asked.

  "Yes."

  "She is currently being transported to our base so our Healer can better treat her injuries."

  "Why should we believe you?" another male demanded.

  Gryf's deep growl had all the males moving fearfully deeper into the cave. As it should. The insult the small male had just delivered to his General brought into question the honor of a Kaliszian Warrior. No one did that and lived. Treyvon put a restraining hand on Gryf's arm as he went to draw his sword, and then Treyvon turned his head toward Gryf.

  "It seems you were right, Commander, they know nothing of us. Just as we know nothing of them." Treyvon's gaze returned to the group. "They do not understand that insulting a Kaliszian Warrior's honor in such a way is tantamount to challenging him to a death bout." He watched as the males sank even deeper into the cave.

  "We shall be generous to them, this one time," he stressed the word 'one.' "That it was the male’s ignorance that had him speaking and not that he was issuing a challenge." When no one spoke, he continued. "Good. Now as I said, your female is being transported to our base. Is there one among you that is her mate?"

  Silence reigned for several moments before Craig stepped forward again and answered. "No."

  "Then after our Healer has cleared her, if she wishes to rejoin you, it will be allowed. Now," Craig's mouth snapped shut at the General's glare, "outer coverings are being brought for you. They will protect you from the conditions here on Pontus. Once you put them on, you will be escorted to the loading area where the other survivors are waiting. You will be taken to our base," Treyvon paused, letting his gaze travel over them. "Unless you wish to remain here."

  "We don't," they immediately responded.