Frankie’s heart broke for her. For all the women who cried in earnest as they called out their losses. Gradually, the women’s voices raised as they recounted the eggs they’d born and never seen again. Emagul dutifully called out the numbers for the males to hear as he recorded them in his comm.
Frankie was relieved that he was the one to do it. A lump had formed in her throat and she didn’t think she could speak at that moment. Instead, she observed the reactions of the males surrounding them.
They had fallen silent and the sounds of grief eclipsed their angry buzz, and Frankie could tell by every face that the males were horrified by what they heard. Several males dropped to their knees on their perch, their faces ravaged with the sorrow of shared pain. Others wept openly and bitterly.
Gorul, at last, turned sad eyes to his mate.
“How many did you lose, agishi?”
Alisha swallowed painfully, and Frankie’s heart went out to her sister.
“Eight,” she whispered. “Eight times I’ve gone through that nightmare and had it ripped from me, and now, never again will I know the joy of having my own children after what that brute did to me.”
In a choked voice, Frankie whispered her sister’s reply and teared up as she watched the words rip into the proud male. Gorul’s eyes closed, the lines of his face deepening with sorrow as he drew his mate closer and curled his huge frame over her.
“It doesn’t matter, agishi,” he said, his voice thick with sorrow. “You are my mate. You have born eight young and I would be honored to call each one mine because they came from you. You are the greatest of treasures. Not one of those males deserved young brought forth by you. Your value is not in your womb, but in the spirit of your heart that makes all the world come to life before me.”
Alisha cried louder and clung to her mate as they shared their mutual sorrow. Looking around, she noted the other males finally dropping from the trees to curl around their own mates. The women sought their embrace, taking comfort from them as they grieved, perhaps truly for the first time.
Frankie’s eyes slid over to Emagul.
“I think this answers your question about the mated women,” she said.
He inclined his head and made note in his comm as a sort of wistfulness entered his expression. Frankie understood. Seeing love thriving after years of suffering, it did something to a person. Even Rodriguez wiped his eyes on a folded cloth borrowed from Grish, who in turn had his giant fists clutched to his heart as he fought back his own tears. Of all them, Kaede’s reaction surprised her the most as he stepped over to the couple and inclined his head respectfully.
“Alisha, I do not know if you recall me...”
Her eyes searched his face and then lit up with recognition.
“Yes, I remember you. You were there for information. How did your efforts go?”
His lips twisted in a smile.
“More than they would have liked. The raniks below the greater four began rebelling quickly after the news I brought them.
A pleased smile crossed Alisha’s face and she nodded thoughtfully.
“Then it was worth it,” she murmured.
“I just wish to pay my respect to you by sharing with you the information I am privy to. I have a tablet liberated from the facility with the names of all the breeders and young taken. Should we succeed in taking the dome-cities, I would like to reunite you with your young. You speak of eight born, but a quarter among them were twins. All of them survived and are thriving. In truth, you are the mother of ten hatchlings.”
“You can find all of them?” Gorul demanded, once again in control of himself and looking sternly upon Kaede, demanding a truthful answer.
Kaede met the noswal’s eyes and inclined his head.
“I can,” he agreed.
Gorul rumbled and stepped back, his spines bristling.
“We will speak among the elders, then, Kaede of the bright hive Aminae.” He nearly spat the name of the city with contempt. “Once we reach agreement, we will contact our brethren and they theirs. We will spread word among all the tribes to make war once again upon the bright hives and our cousins from whom we broke away long ago. We will topple the abomination of your hateful raniks and make ourselves one people again, and our people will have mates, and our mates will have their young. We will heal Agraadax, starting with our human agishis.”
Males who had stopped to listen raised their fist and roared their approval, the sound filling that corner of the village with a tremulous rage. Frankie felt hope stir within her breast that had withered over the weeks. A revolution was brewing.
Chapter 24
The village was surprisingly large. The clustered islands were almost deceptive, making it hard to see how many homes were nestled among the trees until they were walking the platforms. It was like a massive web. Frankie knew that if she were unaccompanied, she would have gotten turned around on the network. Everything looked so similar.
The healer’s hut was fortunately easy to find. Near the noswal’s hut at the center of the village, it was at a point of easy access for everyone in the tribe. Although Mi’yar and Borth had been the only ones significantly injured, most of her team ended up there. Rodriguez sat on one raised platform having several lacerations on his arm seen to by one of the apprentices who smeared an astringent poultice over it. Frankie could smell it on the other side of the room, so she understood the pinched look on her squadmate’s face. It was some pretty powerful stuff.
Borth lay stretched out on another platform, his breathing slow and steady. Grish sat next to his brother, his head hanging as he watched over the other male. Frankie set a hand on his arm.
“How’s he doing?”
“According to their healer, he will live. He sustained life-threatening injuries to his internal organs, so they are keeping him sedated for this first twenty-four hours. I told him that Teril heal very fast, but apparently not fast enough. Unfortunately, they do not possess any of the tech that would restore him, and his condition is too serious to move him again. They say it is a miracle that he lived through transporting him to the village.”
Grish sighed heavily and shook his head. They both knew what hung unspoken between them. With his injuries, Borth would be forced into retirement.
“Does he know?” Frankie asked gently.
“No,” Grish sighed. “They put him under immediately and have kept him under. He will not be pleased. Serving in the Fleet is our lives.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do, okay?”
“You want to tell him?” he asked hopefully.
Anything but that,” she said before giving him a quick hug.
“Maybe you guys can find a mate and settle down. Wasn’t there something about wanting to get a farm on your home planet?”
“Yes,” Grish agreed. “That may be a good plan.”
Patting his arm, Frankie stepped away from him and found Kaede watching her thoughtfully. He didn’t say anything but the understanding look in his eyes let her know that he was there for her. She squeezed his arm as she passed to convey her thanks as she went to check on Mi’yar. The Edoka grinned at her as she approached.
“Martins, how is it that the smallest of our squad escaped without more than a few scratches?”
“I guess it pays to be small. Besides, those cuts hurt, I’ll have you know. I’m just glad that they weren’t deep. Although I probably owe most of it to having Kaede at my side. How are you holding up?”
“Been better. I lost a few scales around the deeper wounds, which is expected, but they will grow back. It just burns where they were pulled free. Nothing too bad though. I should be up and moving around in a few days by the way the healer is talking. The Arobi looked worse than me but were out of here after an hour... Freakish regeneration ability. It’s no wonder that the Agraak saw them as being so useful. Meanwhile, I am to remain here. Emagul was in earlier to take a report on our condition. You know how he is. Always on top of everything, even out h
ere.”
“Yes, I know.”
She glanced up as the healer came forward holding a small bowl, likely filled with more medicine for Mi’yar.
“The male must rest now,” the healer murmured in a gentle, raspy voice.
Nodding, Frankie turned back to Mi’yar.
“Okay, looks like it’s time for you to rest. Just focus on getting better and I’ll see you soon.”
“You can count on it, Martins.” The Edoka sighed. “I look forward to getting out of this bed and back into action.”
Frankie gave him a smile and gave the healer room to attend to his patient. Kaede joined her as she stepped out of the hut, his hand sliding across her shoulders.
“Your crew will recover. Now it is time to see to our needs. Let us rest while we can, agishi.”
She placed her hand on top of his, taking comfort in the simple gesture. They stood there in silence for a minute before making their way to their assigned hut. Time to rest and recover sounded good to her.
Chapter 25
The village at night absolutely entranced Frankie. As soon as the sun had begun to descend, the entire place came to life. Hunters returned, their kills roasted, and a short time later those who tended the crops during the day returned to their homes. The atmosphere turned jovial despite the hard realities of living in a fairly primitive village in the deepest parts of the swamp. Although Frankie missed certain luxuries, there was no other way to describe the village other than magical. As night fell, the entire place looked like something out of some old fairytale.
Not only that, but the people were some of the most generous she’d ever met.
She never thought she’d ever say that about an Agraak community. Certainly not after her experience at Aminae. Sure, there had been kind individuals who had put themselves at risk, but she never imagined the sort of happiness and tranquility existing on Agraadax as she witnessed in the swamp. Even Kaede, despite falling more silent than usual, seemed at peace and looked at everything with a similar sense of wonder that mirrored how she felt.
The scent of cooked food and happy voices increasingly filled the village with a relaxed atmosphere as families visited and food was shared. Frankie and Kaede sat with Gorul and Alisha at one of the long tables where several platters of food were set in front of them. Frankie eagerly ate most things offered to her. Those she was reluctant to try, Kaede managed to coax her into sampling. To her surprise, even the most odd-looking thing served to her—a strange crablike shellfish with twice as many legs and a spiral shell set just above huge opaque eyes that stared sightlessly at her from her plate—was a flavorful delicacy. She just tried not to look at it while she ate it.
At dusk, the food was cleared away, tables were pushed away, and instruments brought out as oil lanterns made from large shells of some creature that lived in the swamp were scattered to illuminate the space. Eerie, crooning melodies filled the night air. Frankie leaned into Kaede, enjoying their cadence as her eyes ran along the women seated with their mates scattered through the crowd.
She was happy to see that the good spirits of the women seemed for the most part restored. Everywhere on the communal platform couples and families sat together. Though they could not speak the language, the women seemed to fit in seamlessly among them as everyone shared the bounty provided. Among them, she saw Emagul seated with Rodriquez. The Arobi were absent, though probably not surprising since they’d look pretty worn when they retired to their own hut.
“Frankie,” Alisha murmured, drawing her attention to her twin.
Alisha stood off to the side with three women who she hadn’t met before. She suspected these were the single women, likely hoping for passage back to Earth.
Frankie set her hand on Kaede’s to get his attention. When he looked over at her, she gestured to the waiting women.
“I’ll be right back.”
He nodded, eyes lit with understanding. He gave her hand a squeeze before turning to speak again with Gorul. Despite the festive atmosphere, their conversation had turned toward the situation facing Agraadax as Kaede filled the noswal in on the events that had transpired over the years. She didn’t need to be present for such a conversation, since Kaede knew quite a bit more than she did about what was happening on the ground level, so to speak.
Pushing to her feet, she approached the small group with a friendly smile. Alisha was quick to make introductions.
“Frankie, this is Claire, Erika, and Marissa.”
Claire, a young woman with short blonde hair, gave her a hesitant smile. “Alisha said that you are here to help those of us who want to return to Earth?”
“Yes,” Frankie reassured her and pointed to Emagul. “See that Itashvanda there? He’s my squad leader. He’s keeping notes on everything going on here as well as any women who want to leave.”
She paled and twisted her fingers nervously.
“He’s awfully... big,” she whispered.
“He’s huge, all right,” Frankie agreed. “But he also comes from a matriarchal society, and trust me, the last thing he would ever do is anything that would make you feel uncomfortable.”
Claire nodded slowly, her gaze transfixed on the male. She still looked a bit uncertain, but the reassurance seemed to at very least bolster her nerve. Frankie patted her arm gently.
“How you three holding up?”
Erika shrugged, her dark curls bobbing with the movement.
“As best we can, I suppose. It was hard when we first got here. Alisha was still being seen by the healer and none of us knew what to expect, just that these other wild men came rushing in and took us. We didn’t know if it was going to be better or worse. We were terrified, especially since, unlike the other ones, these guys didn’t understand us. I’d say most of us cried and hid in the huts they provided for us the first couple of weeks. But after that, we just kinda had to get it together—you know—start living again.”
“If you call it living,” Marissa piped up, her eyes rolling in exasperation. “We work all day long just to keep busy if nothing else, so we don’t go mad from boredom or our own memories trying to eat us alive. Fucking would be a nice alternative, but these guys are the forever sort. Ask Tasha about that,” she said, nodding to a dark-haired woman giggling as a grayish-green male slid his claws over her intimately. “She let that male woo her because ‘he was sweet’ and the moment she decided to do the deed she’s mated to him and has lost her mind. Now she’s pregnant and he still can’t understand a word she says.”
Marissa almost sneered the last bit.
“How soon do you think we’ll be able to leave?” Claire looked almost hopeful as she posed the question, clearly desperate for a change of topic.
Frankie hesitated, not wanting to disappoint her.
“Right now, it’s not that simple. The fleet is overwhelmed by the warriors of the dome-cities. However, we’re hoping that we can get the help of the tribes so we can turn the tide in our favor. After that point we will have an idea of when we can get you off the planet.”
Marissa snorted.
“So basically, we’re stuck here in this hellhole for who knows how long.”
“It’s not a bad place to live,” Alisha argued, her face flushing.
Frankie got the idea from the look on her sister’s face that this was not a new disagreement between them.
“Sure.” Marissa laughed. “I bet a bit of regular dick from the guy in charge, and who gives you all those pretty little things,” she made a sweeping gesture of her hand at the gorgeous painted beads that Alisha wore, “makes things a whole lot better.”
“All right, whoa,” Frankie said, setting one hand on the other, signaling a time-out. “I don’t care what’s going on, but we aren’t going to start attacking each other. We are on the same side, even those women who have decided to stay.”
Marissa snorted in disbelief and jabbed a finger in her direction.
“Look, honey, you haven’t been through what we have. All these wome
n crying about their babies... Please! I was raped and had to push those horrible eggs out—two of them before they stopped bothering me. Believe you me, I don’t want to see a single one of those little bastards that were forced on me. When you’ve experienced it, then we’ll talk. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go visit with that fella you pointed out. Maybe he’ll be more interesting company.”
Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she stomped away, pushing past Claire. The blonde scurried out of her way and stared after her as she headed toward the Itashvanda. Frankie glared at Marissa’s back. If it weren’t for the fact that she was a representative of the fleet, she would have dragged that bitch back by her hair and made her apologize to Alisha and Claire both. And she thought she was going to be able to seduce Emagul?
“Good luck with that,” she muttered. Emagul would never hurt a woman—that was how he was raised—but he joined the fleet to get away from abrasive, dominant women.
Frankie watched with a small smile on her face as she approached him. Cue all basic flirting. Emagul didn’t seem to have a clue. He responded to her with a pleasant smile until Marissa leaned in suggestively. The smile on his face faded and his eyes narrowed on her warily. He continued to talk to her, although noticeably less enthused. It wasn’t until she attempted to crawl into his lap that he dumped her on the hard platform and, seeing Frankie standing with the other women, quickly made his way to them, his wings vibrating with agitation. Claire immediately backed away from him, nearly trembling.
He seemed to forget all about Marissa, as he focused on the human shaking in front of him. Slowly, he uncurled one clawed hand in her direction.
“Do not be afraid, little one,” he murmured in a low, deep voice. His bright crest flared, and Claire stared up at it, fascinated. “I will not hurt you.”
Frankie lingered a bit longer, making certain that she was no longer needed before slipping away. She didn’t get far when she felt a tail snap around her, pulling her flush against Kaede’s hips. His breath was warm where he nuzzled her neck.
Heart of the Agraak Page 18