“Yes. He was positively identified by members of the scouting party.” Axis tilted his com tablet so both Paine and Rowe could see the still frame shot of Traeger surrounded by goods in the market.
“Why did they not arrest him when they had the chance?”
“These photos were taken by a small group of our warriors as they were finishing their scheduled leave. It was sheer luck that they spotted him. When they sent a wave with the footage, they were ordered to observe and report only. Absolutely no contact.”
Rowe took the tablet from Axis and clicked through photos. It was definitely Traeger…and the picture showed he was looking for someone. “Did they spot anyone with him?”
“The reports stated he appeared to be alone but they were unable to verify that intel.” Axis tucked the tablet away when Rowe passed it back. “The men wanted to engage but were unprepared after seeing how well armed Traeger appeared.”
“A wise choice.” Paine frowned and shot Rowe a sideways glance. “You remember how volatile Traeger could be. If he is involved, it would not surprise me.”
“I am unfamiliar with that particular warrior. Is his file accessible on our coms?” Axis pulled out his tablet, unable to wait to review the intelligence file.
“His file is sealed,” Rowe replied with a sigh of disgust.
“Why?” This time it was Axis who frowned. “What reason would the council have to seal his record?”
“I am unsure, but I will be formally requesting that Kaine authorize access,” Paine argued. “If he is involved, we need as much information on him as possible. We were executed a mission with him, so we have no personal knowledge. Just rumors. He had a reputation.”
Rowe nodded in agreement. As paired fighters, Rowe and Paine rarely worked closely with others. This assignment was an exception to that rule. “I will send the request as soon as possible and relay all pertinent to the arriving squad of warriors.”
“Know your enemies and their weaknesses,” Axis murmured.
“If Kaine has any insights, we will know them soon enough.” Paine gestured to the vendor slicing bits of ramu off the spit only a few steps away. “Might as well sate your hunger while you can. I have a feeling that this mission will last longer than we anticipated.”
Rowe agreed with his friend and paired fighting partner. “Just do not eat so much that we need to roll you down the market street.” Clapping Axis on the back with a smile, he began moving down the path.
“Where are you going?” Axis called. His eyes bouncing back and forth between the tempting pile of meat and Rowe where he was walking away.
“If Hix is here, I intend to find him,” Rowe called back.
“I will find him before you,” Paine taunted with a grin, his competitive nature showing through clearly.
“While you two argue over who is going to locate Hix, I will find and rescue Claudia’s human friend,” Axis shot back even as he shoved a large piece of meat into his mouth drawing a chuckle from his Phaeton brothers.
“We shall see!” Rowe quickened his steps into a jog, heading down the aisle he thought he’d glimpsed Hix earlier. He was vaguely aware of Paine moving in the opposite direction to search on his own.
While Axis indulged in the taste of ramu, Rowe thrived on the taste of competition. He would find Hix and turn him over to the council for judgment…he just hoped that he could save the human as well.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Trapped alone in the small room, Maggie paced back and forth. On the other side of the wooden door leading to Myrin’s shop, she heard odd chatter every now and again, reminding her that she truly wasn’t alone.
Dropping down onto a bolt of cloth, she pulled out the bride files. She had been over and over them, hundreds of times, curious about the women but also unsure about what to do with herself without her phone or anything she could use to occupy her time that was remotely familiar.
There was only so much worrying and sleeping a person could do before they went nuts and she was barely a blink away from the edge. The sight of the women’s faces in their files was a much-needed reminder of why they needed to get out of this mess and to the people that could help.
“Juniper Sheridan, age twenty-four and only child to deceased parents at the age of fourteen.” Maggie let out a sad sigh. “Poor thing.”
Running her finger over the image of the smiling redhead, Maggie couldn’t help but feel utter sadness that this woman may vanish before they could help. She felt the same when she looked at each of the photos…how could she not?
The files had become as familiar as the favorite books she kept on her nightstand back home. They all showcased women who wanted nothing more than to find love and build a family. Their new reality was the polar opposite of what they had signed up for courtesy of the Verge. Every time she thought about it, she was filled with a mixture of emotions.
A heavy sadness filled her heart as she flipped through the files, but it was more than that. The pain she felt on their behalf was just a start of the rollercoaster she went on as she studied the now worn pages.
How dare they steal the futures these women had been reaching for? It was a good thing the liaison they had mistakenly trusted was dead because Maggie was tempted to wring her neck.
“We’re going to find you, Juniper. I promise.” Maggie sniffed, and her anger circled back to sadness as she continued to study the smiling photograph.
Turning the page, she focused on the next. This bride was only twenty-three years old but the shadows in her eyes spoke of an older soul. “Indigo Marchant, age twenty-three, only survivor in the house fire that killed her entire family at the age of seventeen.”
Maggie swallowed hard before letting out a deep breath. “Damn.”
After a few more pages, she couldn’t take anymore. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Maggie sniffed and tucked all thirty files back into the pack. Twelve of those women were unaccounted for after Hix’s latest count. She could only hope that he figured out where they had been taken because she refused to let even one of them come to harm under her watch.
Maggie flopped back on the pile of fabric and stared at the ceiling of their hideout. Closing her eyes, she drew deep breaths, in and out, overwhelmed by the feeling of helplessness. One month ago, she was hanging out with Claudia and Max with her life’s biggest issue was debating whether or not she should cancel cable.
Now, look at her.
She had been drugged and kidnapped. Her dog had been murdered by some psycho with a grudge against humans. Now, Hix, the alien who rescued her, was basically her fiancé. And they were trying to find a way off an alien planet while trying to evade a group of human traffickers and rescue their women captives.
Her life sounded like either a really bad sci-fi movie or a really good one…she guessed the answer came down to whether she survived or not.
Maggie whipped her head toward a loud crash. Eying the door leading to Myrin’s shop, she was staring at the heavy wood when another bang sounded. This time it distinctly sounded as though someone had fallen against it. Maggie sat up quickly when Myrin’s loud clicks came from the other side followed by two more bangs.
Whatever was happening didn’t sound good. Another two bangs rattled the door on its hinges.
Nope…that didn’t sound good at all.
Maggie stayed silent as she moved off her makeshift cot and crawled to the door only a few feet away. Laying down flat, she flattened her cheek against the floor so she could peek through the crack at the bottom.
Myrin’s small boots were easy to spot, no bigger than a child’s, which she noticed when introduced to him earlier. The other boots she saw were much bigger and by her count, as long as she was working with the two feet per person rule, indicated Myrin had two others in the shop with him.
Maggie wiggled her nose when it began to itch. Rolling around on the dirty floor probably wasn’t a good idea she thought as her nose tingled with an impending sneeze. Covering her face with her hands s
he rubbed the offended area, hoping the vigorous motion would knock out the annoying feeling before it worked its way out.
Sniffing hard, she went completely still when the sound seemed as loud as a shotgun blast in the quiet space.
A puff of dust came out from under the door, most likely from someone walking up to the opening. That couldn’t be good, right?
Holding her breath, Maggie leaned back down to look underneath it again. She choked back a cry of alarm at the sight of both pairs of boots now dangerously close to the door. Carefully crawling back to the mat, she made sure to be as silent as possible as she looked around the room for something to use as a makeshift weapon. The storage room was simply that…a storage room. Other than shelves holding bolts of cloth in rows against the walls, the only other things in the room were the doors. The one that led to the shop and the other that led to the back alley.
“Fuck!” she mouthed silently as she became more frantic with every beat of her heart.
There was a series of sharp knocks against the shop door, making her jump. Knocks which Maggie knew better than to answer as she continued to hunt for a way to defend herself. Circling around the room, she searched for something, anything, that would make a decent weapon with no luck. It wasn’t until she heard the obvious panicked sounds of Myrin that she started to become really worried.
Yep. That was definitely not good.
With no weapon available she could only see one choice. Maggie quickly pulled on the cloak she had discarded earlier and shoved the pack over one arm.
The handle behind her started to jiggle just as she was reaching for the one that opened the door to the market. Ducking her head, Maggie drew a deep breath and stepped outside before quietly closing the heavy door behind her.
Maggie shuffled a few steps away, leaning against the brick wall of the building for support as she realized what she had just done. Hix had told her repeatedly to never venture out and into the market, reassuring her that he would always be back for her and not to worry while he was gone.
“There are scarier creatures than the Verge wandering the market square,” he had warned.
What if he came back and couldn’t find her? What if the guys that were talking to Myrin were friendly and hadn’t been a threat at all? What if Hix came back to Myrin’s and walked right into a trap? What the fuck was she doing?
Just as she was about to turn back, Maggie stiffened at the sound of the door being opened. Bent over, she pretended to use the wall as support as she shuffled away with an exaggerated limp. Hopefully whoever was on the other side would think that she was an unassuming old lady walking through the market.
Maggie breathed a little easier when she heard the door close. Turning slightly, she looked under the fall of her hood to make sure that she was indeed alone in the alley.
From what she could tell, she had two options.
She could go back to the door and hope that the men wouldn’t return. An idea that made her feel like a sitting duck. Or option two…she could keep moving and hope to come across Hix before he stumbled into a trap.
As far as she was concerned, there was only one viable option. Especially if she could somehow manage to keep Hix safe for once instead of the other way around.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hix knew that he needed to decide sooner rather than later…the one thing holding him back was the fact that Maggie’s life hung in the balance. A mistake could easily mean the death of them both.
Concealed from Rowe’s searching gaze, Hix studied the warrior whom he hoped he could trust. When he had spotted not only Rowe but also Paine, it had caught him by surprise. That surprise quickly gave way to the questions that flooded his mind at the presence of the paired fighters.
Paine and Rowe were well known within the Phaeton’s Skrammon ranks, and their skills were beyond compare when it came to their effectiveness on the battlefield. The men were often called on to handle delicate situations for the Council. At one point in his training, he had been sure that Traeger would make an effective partner if they were accepted into the paired fighter program. Hix himself had easily passed the exams given by his trainers but Traeger had failed horribly, leaving the men to continue on in the standard ranks of their class. His superiors had not shared what part Traeger had failed but looking back now he could only assume it was the psychological portion. He made a mental note that when Maggie and he got out of this mess, he would look into what his superiors had learned during those grueling tests.
Watching Rowe, he noted that the man was armed but not overly so, a fact that did not necessarily mean he was here on a pleasure mission. The fighter was deadly even without a weapon in hand. His training had been so effective that he had succeeded on every mission he had ever been assigned. The men were essentially celebrities in their sect, the face of what every Skrammon strived to become.
Hix didn’t know what exactly they were doing here but he did know one thing.
They were loyal to the Phaeton Council and everything it stood for. That fact was the only thing keeping him from taking Maggie and fleeing as far away from the skilled warriors as possible.
Hix swallowed hard and wiped his sweaty hands on his breeches before he stepped from behind the vendor booth he’d used for cover. Rowe looked unsurprised to see him, and Hix narrowed his eyes with caution.
“You are too big to hide effectively,” Rowe said as he tilted his head in greeting.
“You knew I was there the entire time?” Hix tried not to let his disbelief leak into his tone.
“Yes.” Rowe nodded before a smile tilted his lips. “I could sense your conflict on whether or not you would reveal yourself. So, I decided to see how it played out without interrupting.”
“And did you receive the outcome expected?” Hix couldn’t stop himself from asking.
“Yes.” Rowe tossed him a small jobi fruit from the vendor he stood beside. “You look like you could use this.”
Hix caught the blue fruit in one hand, and his mouth watered at the thought of its sweet taste. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome.”
Hix waited for Rowe to continue speaking and was frustrated when silence was his only contribution to the tense interaction.
“What are you doing here?” he finally asked, unable to wait any longer for the answer he needed most.
“You know why I am here,” Rowe answered cryptically. “The question is, what are you doing here?”
“I am here waiting for the Phaetons and trying to right a wrong.” Hix couldn’t help but tense when Rowe moved closer to within striking distance.
“Then you do not need to fear either myself or Paine for we are here to carry out the wishes of the Phaeton Council.”
“And what are their wishes?”
“To find the human female called Maggie and return her to her people.” Rowe shrugged before looking around the market.
Hix almost growled at the mention of returning Maggie to Earth. There was no way that was going to happen so long as he drew breath. “She is mine.”
“She is yours?” Rowe asked with an expression showing both shock and amusement. “You do realize that humans are sentient beings that decide their own fates, do you not? Saying that she is yours means nothing if she is not given a choice in the claiming.”
“She was given a choice and has chosen me,” Hix fired back, insulted that Rowe would think otherwise.
“No offense was intended.” Rowe held out his hands in a calming motion, showing his hands were weaponless. “Where is the human, Hix?”
He hesitated. He wanted nothing more than to trust Rowe, but Trager’s betrayal had left him unable to truly know who to trust.
“We will protect her together. I vow it,” Rowe answered, as if he had read Hix’s mind. “We would have arrived sooner, but your original message was scrambled and took longer to decipher than we intended.”
Hix nodded and relaxed his posture, slightly. If Rowe was aware of his scrambled message
to Phaeton One, it was proof enough that Counselor Wheaton had a hand in the warriors’ appearance in the Pleasure Sector. “I am glad you are here to help. I was beginning to worry that I would be unable to keep my bride safe much longer with our resources depleted.”
“That is obvious.” Rowe jerked his head toward the vendor stacking fruit a few feet away. “Grab what you need. I will make sure the credits are supplied to cover whatever you desire.”
Hix was so hungry that he didn’t need to be told twice. Scooping a handful of fruit into the inner pocket of his tunic to share with Maggie later, he selected one that threatened to tumble out and bit into the fleshy fruit. The sweet juices were such a treat he had a hard time holding back a moan of delight at the taste of sustenance.
“Why did Wheaton send you and Paine? And who is the other warrior with the two of you?” Hix asked between bites of the fruit as his hunger had overruled his manners.
Rowe clapped him hard on the back, and he almost choked. “I can only assume we were sent because we always succeed…and when it comes to humans, the Phaetons want no more losses.” When Rowe began walking down the cobblestone path, Hix had no choice but to follow.
“How long have the Phaetons known about the kidnapped brides?” Hix bit out, feeling upset to hear that Phaetons were aware of such ‘losses.’
Rowe stopped in his tracks in the middle of the street, causing a passing ramu to bump into him where he had stilled. “What do you mean ‘kidnapped brides?’” he asked, his tone one of confusion. “Maggie was never a bride and Claudia was only kidnapped by Finch to save her life. If she had been present on Earth, her life would have been extinguished without a doubt. The council approved her bridal status to avoid more conflict with your country’s government.”
Now, Hix was confused. “I am not talking about Maggie or Claudia.”
“Then who do you refer to?”
Hix grabbed Rowe by the shoulder, unable to control himself. “I am talking about the brides that were kidnapped off of Earth by the Verge.”
Rowe opened and closed his mouth several times without speaking. “How many?”
Warriors of Phaeton: Hix Page 15