Taste of Cyn

Warlord’s Mercy – Second Scene Of The First Chapter

By Cynthia Sax on May 25, 2020

Warlord’s Mercy, the fifth standalone story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, is releasing on June 16th.

Last week, I shared the first scene from the first chapter.

You can read that scene here:

http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7115

This week I’m sharing the second scene of that first chapter.

***

“You’re dead.” She gazed down at the soft leather.

There was no ability she could obtain to undo that. Her beautiful, rare flower of a friend had been killed, squashed under the heels of Daisun’s monstrous boots.

“I’m sorry, my friend.” Lea tucked Flor’s death garments into a crack in the rock. Har, her selling partner, would retrieve the chest and ass coverings.

No one knew of her agreement with him—how he supplied the rock vulture skins to her and then sold the items she crafted using them, splitting the credits with her.

“He’ll arrange for you to wear these.” Har would bribe the brutes assigned to bury Flor. He would ensure her friend was beautifully clothed when she was lowered into the sand.

It was the final thing she could do for Flor.

“I failed you in every other way.” Lea kissed the palm of her right hand and pressed it against the stone. “But I will see you are respected in death.”

She peered into the nook. Any creature or being could discover the garments. The likelihood of that happening was low, as there were many cracks and many rock facings, but it was possible. The relay point was only utilized for rush garments, for emergencies.

Like the death of a dear friend.

“You were loved, Flor.” Lea wiped the wetness from her face. “Never question that.” She straightened. “Find peace.”

Unable to linger longer, she turned and ran between the rocks, moving silently and swiftly, watching and listening for any indication she was no longer alone.

“You took a risk leaving that last gift for Flor,” she told herself. “You’re already on Daisun’s radar.”

It irked the Palavian that she had escaped him. And his supply of sex slaves was dwindling.

“With Flor gone, he’ll increase his efforts to capture you.”

Voices murmured in the distance.

Lea wedged her form between two rocks and waited, pressing her lips together to stop herself from talking. It was doubtful anyone would hear her, and it was a trial to keep quiet, but she wasn’t taking any more chances. She couldn’t be spotted. By anyone. Daisun’s spies were everywhere.

The sounds of chatter grew louder.

“…the market.” The voice belonged to Stench. That was the name she’d given to one of Daisun’s cruelest lackeys. He never cleaned his garments…or any other part of him. Her nose twitched. He smelled like something long dead. “I’m told that fabricator cunt Daisun is looking for sometimes appears there.”

Lea stiffened. There were only five garment fabricators in the area, and none of the others were female. She must be the cunt they were hunting.

“Will he let us fuck her after he’s done?” Her name for that male was Holes. His garments were in a constant state of disrepair. “She’s small. She’d be so tight.”

She silently gagged, the thought of him touching her unsettling her stomach.

“She’s too small.” Stench’s voice faded. “Once Daisun is done with the cunt, there’ll be nothing left of her. You’d be fucking chunks of…”

Lea couldn’t hear more, and she was grateful for that. She waited until she was certain they weren’t returning, and then she ran in the opposite direction, toward the tunnels she called home.

It was a long trek. Sweat dripped down her spine, underneath her garments. But she didn’t slow her pace. Solar cycles of surviving on her own, without a ship or any other means of transport, had supplied her with lean muscles and extra endurance.

“This land has formed me.” She brushed her fingers over the boulders as she passed them.

Varying shades of color delineated centuries of soil settlement and created intricate designs on its surface, designs she used in the garments she crafted.

“I’ll take these images when I go, and that way I’ll always have a part of Chamele 4 with me.” When she found a new home, somewhere safe, she’d utilize those memories as inspiration.

She had a vision of that fresh start, the place she hoped would be permanent.

“My next home will be situated in a settlement. I’ll find a community filled with kind, supportive beings.” Her lips curled upward as she dreamed of her future. “I’ll be surrounded by friends, by a makeshift family, and no one will try to hurt me or the beings I love again.”

She stopped for a moment to study a long-dead creature captured in the surface of a stone. A chest covering crafted in that shape would appeal to one of her war-loving customers.

“I’ll have protection and art and conversation.” She resumed her trek. “Stars. I miss talking with beings—beings who talk back, beings who are not myself.” She laughed softly.

The silence was necessary to avoid detection, but it carved into her. Too many planet rotations had been spent without one word spoken to any sentient beings.

“There’s no reason to remain here.” Flor, the only other being she cared for on Chamele 4, was dead…like everyone else Lea had cherished. “I love this planet, but I might love the next planet as much, and it won’t host Daisun and his brutes.”

The danger was too great to stay.

“Once I locate a power converter for my ship, I’ll fly away.”

***

Read the next scene (available June 1st) here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7120

***

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Other Chameles view him as the enemy.

She sees the warrior hero he never believed he could be.

* * *

Tolui is a Warlord in search of a planet to rule. He has been leading his fellow clones in a stealth battle, fighting for both control of the Chamele sector and the right to exist. The brave warriors he commands warrant respect, and they deserve the best.

That best isn’t the barren, dangerous terrain on Chamele 4. When Tolui crashes on that planet’s surface, he’s determined to leave it as soon as possible. The tiny human female rescuing him might be as beautiful and as wild as the land she inhabits, but her flowing words, trusting gaze, and enthralling submission won’t stop him from rejoining the war.

After many solar cycles of living alone, Lea is overjoyed when a tall, scarred, muscular warrior falls from the sky. Her savage stranger is strong and severe, and he makes her feel safe, an emotion she hasn’t experienced in a long, long time.

He also insists they must part. Before they do, she’ll show him the splendor of her home, and she’ll enjoy his big form, collecting passionate moments she can revisit when she’s solitary once more.

Every additional moment Lea and Tolui spend together increases the chance they’ll both die. Lea is being chased by female-hating fiends. Tolui is being hunted by the best bounty hunters in the universe. War will soon arrive on their threshold, and the blood spilled might be their own.

* * *

Warlord’s Mercy is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.

It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a villain turned hero and a brave, chatty heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.

Warlord’s Mercy is the fifth of six core stories in the Chamele Barbarian Warlord series.

Book 1: Warlord Sky

Book 2: Warlord’s Bounty

Book 3: Warlord Unarmed

Book 4: Warlord Reunited

Book 5: Warlord’s Mercy

Book 6: Warlord’s Return

Pre-order Now:

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0886K65F9

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlords-mercy/id1511995733