Golden Darkness

  Janessa’s bond was sold to a mining consortium. If she can make it five years, she’s free. A blood-drinking Hmrain stops her plans.

  Janessa’s bond was sold to a mining company. She had no idea if she would be administration or grunt work. She could do either, but her learning issues meant that she was more likely to end up working to death. Or there was the option of her being a reward for other workers, but she hoped it wasn’t the case.

  The transport pod is hijacked by a terrifying species. Terrans from the transport are selected for torture for entertainment, and Janessa just manages to live longer than the others. That has its pros and cons when her barely surviving self is thrown to a monster in the hold, and he starts sniffing around.

  She thought she was doomed when she saw the teeth, but he took care of her and helped her get stronger. When she realized why he was helping her, she was doomed. She already liked the patterns in his skin.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Golden Darkness

  Copyright © 2022 by Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-990635-18-2

  ©Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.

  Published by Viola Grace

  Look for me online at violagrace.com and other e-book sellers.

  Golden Darkness

  Shattered Stars, Book 12

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Janessa sat in the corner of the cell that none of the other humans could enter. She watched the door to their container open, and everyone tensed. They weren’t supposed to stop for another two weeks.

  She swallowed as the creatures came in, and they examined the males in the container. They had scanners and were looking for something.

  Sixteen other humans were in the cargo container with her, and they were all scanned one by one until one of the creatures swept past her hiding position and made some excited sounds.

  Janessa understood cackling when she heard it.

  Four of the creatures walked to her cell, and the power system went down. She tasted fear as they jabbed her with a stun rod, and the world went white.

  She heard screaming when she woke, and it was her own voice. Masculine shrieks were distant but unmistakably human. She was floating in a tank, a breathing mask over her face and electrodes on her skin. Alien hands pulled her from the tank and strapped her to a med bed.

  “Ah, you have become conscious. Interesting.” A female in a lab coat was looking over at a scanner. “Your output is very close to what he requires to wake. If we simply work on increasing your frequency spectrum, we may have a result.”

  The language was a lot of clicking and humming, but Janessa understood. She croaked, “How are you going to do that?”

  The woman with six eyes, mandibles, and a psychotic gleam in her gaze said, “With pain, of course. It isn’t as nourishing for him, but it is controllable. We need him awake, not alert.”

  Janessa tried to move but was belted to the bed in six places.

  Her head hurt, but the electrodes on her scalp were visible in the reflection of the machines.

  “You will be impressed to note that your level has increased from a one to a four. One more, and we have actually shaped Hmrain-compatible energy out of an unsuitable female. It seems where the mind leads, the body follows. When he is done with you, I am going to enjoy doing the autopsy to see the effect the changes have created.”

  “What are you doing to me?”

  A blast of agony made her scream. The electrodes on her head were not the only ones.

  When she dropped back to the surgical bed, she was panting and sweating. Her sex throbbed, and she hated that side effect.

  There was no more conversation. There was pain and a strange arousal, and then there was darkness.

  Janessa was exhausted. She felt that the pain had been going on for days, but she wasn’t connected to life support, so she didn’t know how long she would last.

  They gave her pain again, and she screamed weakly, thrashing in the fluid left on the bed under her. An instant later, there was a furious roar from deep in the ship.

  The researcher chuckled. “Excellent. He’s awake. We need him to access some secure points of the ship. Now we will feed you to him, and then we can negotiate for his cooperation.”

  “How?”

  “We will promise to reshape some of the other humans in the vessel. They don’t change as readily as you did, but they are close and certainly in his consumption profile.”

  She was too tired to shiver.

  Thudding emanated from deep in the ship, and two light torture sessions had him howling in fury. Whatever was down there was big and very angry.

  Janessa came down from the pain and hoped that Iris was having a better time than she was. To think she had fought to survive for two years and didn’t even make it onto an alien world. She was pulled out of the tank and dropped onto a med bed, gasping and covered with things that made her skin burn. They dried her off and pulled off the mask and the electrodes. All of them.

  A floating gurney was put next to the medical bed. She was moved onto a wrap and covered, and then the gurney was moving.

  Where was the monologuing? Aren’t villains always supposed to explain the details of their devious plans?

  Her brain was flitting from one thought to the next as they went deep into the ship where the thudding and growling were coming from.

  She wanted to fight. She wanted to beat her way out of the ship, but the fact that a relatively quick death in space was more appealing than taking her chances meant that she was truly around the bend. She was a survivor. She fought to live. Right now, she had nothing left.

  Janessa rattled and rocked for fifteen minutes before the gurney was shoved into a long, straight line. She heard the hum of an energy field turning off and then on again as she continued to glide along.

  She moved smoothly until the gurney slowed and stopped suddenly.

  Heat was next to her, and she whimpered. She had been cold for two years. It sucked that she was going to die that way.

  She heard snuffling above her, and it moved down her body. When it got to her thighs, she muttered, “Hey. Eat me or fuck me, but pick one.”

  It reared back and then chuckled. “You choose, pet.”

  She muttered weakly, “Which one is faster?”

  He let out a surprised huff and said, “They take about the same, but fucking you, I can do more than once.”

  He was speaking high Hmrain, and she felt his hand moving over her above the wrap.

  He opened the wrap and looked at her face.

  She saw a huge head, gaunt cheekbones, a lot of Hmrain patterns on his forehead and huge canines.

  He unwrapped her torso, and she acted. She lunged toward him and kissed him, her lips mashing against his. Her weak arms clutched his shoulders, and he brought a hand up to caress her head and smiled against her lips.

  She shivered, and his tongue darted out to taste her. She tried to pull her head back, but his hand easily palmed her head and held her for him.

  The kiss was so sweet her eyes teared up.

  She reached out and grabbed his cock. Getting this over with was all she could think about. His kiss paused in surprise, and he lifted his head.

  “What are you doing, pet?”

  She gasped and didn’t make eye contact. “Trying to get it over with. Two years of fighting to end up here as your snack. I don’t even have enough strength to put up a fight. And if I can’t fight, I am not worth anything in my own opinion. I am no longer me.” She swallowed but felt her tears. “It’s time to go.”

  He growled. “What if I can help you get your strength back?”

  “How? They bragged about not feeding you.”

  He moved, and the shadows around flared and shifted. “That is true, but it wasn’t physical food they deprived me of. They deprived me of the possibility of gaining psychic sustenance from those around me.”

  “Oh.” She was humiliated that it was his hands holding her up.

  “Remain here.” He eased her down to the gurney.

  “I don’t have a fucking choice.”

  He sighed. “I will get you something suitable, and we will get some fluids into you.”

  She flinched.

  His smile was soft. “Not that way. Not yet. I prefer lovers who don’t pass out when I am inside them.”

  “Lover? I thought I was food.”

  She lay back and tried to wrap herself in the tarp she had been dumped in.

  He came back to her and crouched next to her. There were four large cylinders in his huge hands. He set them on the floor and eased her off the gurney.

  “What? What are you doing?”

  “You can’t drink lying down.”

  He settled her against his shoulder and picked up a cylinder. He held it against her mouth and tipped it slightly. Something that was watery and fruity at the same time.

  She took a mouthful and slowly let it trickle down her throat as she held her breath. To her surprise, he stroked her throat with his thumb, and the fluid went in in a rush. She swallowed.

&nb
sp; He kissed her temple, and she realized that the probes were gone.

  “You are being really careful for someone with teeth like yours.”

  He sighed and held the cup to her lips again. “Hmrain instincts are peculiar. The hunger is incredible, but the urge to maintain our companions is stronger.”

  She focused and swallowed again. “Not that I don’t appreciate the care, but I am not companion class. Not even close.”

  He smiled slightly. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I know what companion class looks like. My friend Iris was companion class. Hopefully, she’s safe in cold sleep halfway around the universe.”

  He tilted the cup again. “So, what does companion class entail?”

  She swallowed again. “A body that’s easy to please, a mind frequency that feeds something in you. And... uh... nice table manners?”

  He chuckled and got her to take another sip. “And what makes you not companion class? Your pain rippled through the ship and woke me. I can feed off your pain, but it is a harder energy. Pleasure is softer and more filling.”

  She blinked and absently took another sip. “I am not delicate, dainty, or pleasing to the eye. That is what the station said was necessary. Well, in addition to the other energy output stuff.”

  “You are delicate and petite to me. You are too thin and grey to be pleasing to the eye, but that can be fixed with care and attention. I am sorry for what they did to you to alter your brain and the frequencies it uses.”

  “I am sorry for it as well.” She snorted. “We were on a transport container, and they broke into it, sniffing for me for lack of a better descriptor.”

  He tilted his head and kept his calm ministrations.

  Her belly felt full, and she turned her head. “I’m full.”

  He nodded. “You have gotten one cylinder in. That’s good. Now, rest.” He tucked her head toward his chest.

  She wanted to argue, but her body was sleepy, so she nodded off. He wasn’t going to try to take anything from her in that state. She fell asleep dreaming of Hansel and Gretel in the witch’s house.

  * * * *

  Kethen looked at the limp bundle of skin and bones in his arms. He finally had a proper mate, but she was going to take a lot of repairs.

  He stroked her dark brown hair and her forehead with scorch marks and burns. Her arms had signs of the same.

  He remembered her screams waking him from his sleep. The pain touched the lobe of his brain that consumed emotional output from compatible living things. The pain continued day after day, but it changed from a bright spear to an open wave that made his wings flex, and his mind woke hungry. She screamed, and he roared in hunger.

  The moment they pushed her into his cell, his fantasies of ripping her apart and draining her blood faded. Her limp and cold body had warned him his little treasure might not be long for this world. Hunger changed to desperation, and he memorized her scent first so that he wouldn’t do anything foolish if there was any action. Caring for her was something that satisfied him. He could see the strength in her but also the fatigue. She needed someone to take care of her, and as her Hmrain, he would make sure that no one came near her again. He snuffled her scent and the change in it with a full belly. Her scent was an excellent indicator of her. There was a core of scent that was rich and sweet, but the sharp tang of pain wrapped around her. His little pet was in agony and managed to nap in his arms.

  For two years, he had let them keep him in the bowels of his ship, but now, he had something precious to protect, and that was something that was going to change the situation on the ship. He just needed to get her well enough that he could feed. Pleasure or blood. Either one would do.

  * * * *

  There was a fascinating pattern under her cheek, and she turned her head to press her lips to his skin. The mark that she thought was a tattoo was a scar. She woke up and found she was gliding her tongue through the channel. She hadn’t thought she had any saliva left, but she could feel it.

  “So, sensuality is another criteria that are looked for in Hmrain consorts or companions.” A hand stroked the back of her head.

  She slipped her tongue back into her mouth. “Uh, sorry. I don’t generally lick people in my sleep.”

  “I do not mind.”

  She glanced down in the dimness. “Did you... hold me this way the whole time?”

  “Of course. It is the easiest way to link with you if we are not having sex. When you are not eating or using the necessary, you will be in my arms until you are strong enough to move around on your own.”

  She glanced down her body and tried to raise her arm. She could get about eight inches of lift, and then she started shaking.

  He shifted her and held another container to her lips. “Drink.”

  She took a swallow and then another. This container went a lot faster than the other. He reached for a second container, and when it was finished, she felt something she hadn’t been conscious of in a while. “You mentioned a necessary?”

  He nodded and got up, carrying her into deep shadows and helping her with things, including what felt like an ice-water bidet.

  She was shaking from the shock when he curled her against him and wrapped his wings around them both. The warm tent he created was scented with him, and she hummed and turned her face against his chest, napping and waking for him to help her drink again. She felt stronger after each nap.

  Janessa woke up and flexed her limbs. She had power. Energy. She could move on her own.

  A hand moved over her thigh. “You want to try and walk?”

  She looked up at him and nodded. “Yes, I think I can.”

  He nodded and helped her to her feet, holding her hands until she stopped swaying. “There you go, pet.”

  She stepped back, and he relaxed his grip on her hands. She raised her hands skyward and lowered them, shaking them loose.

  Janessa took some long steps to the end of the space and then walked back to the Hmrain. She walked out again and came back to him again. The pattern repeated over and over until her body was telling her that her energy was low.

  She walked over next to the large bulk of the Hmrain and settled against the wall and floor.

  He grunted and walked to the centre of the space, stretching his wings wide.

  “Holy shit.” Janessa looked at him. He was enormous. Seven and a half feet tall, thick with muscle, and covered with engravings that she could just make out in the dim light. He was gold and shadow. He was a monster. His groin was in shadow, but she had felt it. Two hands would just be a start.

  Her belly flipped and warmed at the thought of what she had gripped earlier. She didn’t know how much fluid she had taken in, but she was irritated at her body for using some of it for vaginal lubrication just because a Hmrain flexed his wings at her.

  His head snapped up and focused on her. He chuckled. “That’ll work.”

  He surged forward and grabbed her, pinning her to the wall with weird claws on the ends of his wings. His kiss was ravenous, and he stroked her with his fingers.

  Her breath rushed in and out of her nose and mouth as she was overwhelmed. His fingers found her clit and started to curl into her on the inward stroke. She heard a soft whine, and it was coming from her. She jerked against his hand, wrapping one leg around his hips and pulling him in.

  He laughed into her mouth and said, “Not yet, pet.”

  The wing-claws pulled her higher and higher, and his mouth was even with her slick sex. He used his hands to drape her legs around his neck, and his mouth and the heat of his tongue thrust into her. The flare of his nose nudged her clit.

  She shivered, and her nails dug into her palms. She whined and twisted against him as he drove her higher and higher until she wailed. Fingers quickly replaced his tongue, and his mouth pressed into her inner thigh. Pain seared her, and her body convulsed around his fingers.

  When he looked up at her, she saw black eyes with swirling gold stars as his throat swallowed. He released her and licked slowly at her inner thigh.

  She got drowsy and drooped on the wall. He lowered her to the pallet on the floor where he slept and kissed her as he stroked her head. “Thank you for that, pet. Now, let’s make our situation a little more comfortable. Do not open that forcefield until I come for you. Do you understand, pet?”