“I am only aware of thirty women but there could be more,” Hix answered, surprised when Rowe sucked in a shocked breath. “You were unaware of the kidnapped women?”
“Yes, other than Claudia and Maggie, no other women have been reported as leaving Earth without the proper forms.”
“The humans had the proper bridal forms.” Hix paused to swallow the fruit he had been chewing. “From what Maggie and I have discovered, the women believed they were on their way to their matches but ended up in the hands of the Verge.”
Rowe shook his head with a stunned expression. “How long could this have been going on?”
“I am unsure,” Hix answered honestly. “The leaders have been amassing shuttles and weapons since the split, and none of the new warriors have been asked for funds to support the purchase of such luxuries.”
“And you are sure there are thirty that have been kidnapped?”
“Yes, sir.” Hix pulled out his com tablet and tilted it for Rowe to view. “I have been making nightly trips to the storage fields to monitor their biocrates. When we first arrived all five pallets were present, each packed with six biocrates a piece.”
Rowe looked up sharply at the words Hix relayed. “When you first arrived…? What about now?”
“As of my last count, twelve biocrates have disappeared from the original shipment.” Hix quickened his pace as Rowe started to jog toward the area of the market where Maggie was hidden at Myrin’s.
“Twelve women are missing,” Rowe repeated under his breath. “And you said they were all brides with the appropriate paperwork?”
“Yes.” Hix kept even with Rowe as they moved steadily across the market. Others moved out of their way without needing to be told to clear a path. “From what I could learn, the women all had the same liaison. Instead of leaving for Phaeton One, they somehow ended up in biocrates on Verge Prime.”
“And the warriors of Verge stand behind their leader’s decision to kidnap and possibly cause the death of these women?” Rowe slowed down as his fingers tapped out a message on the band around his wrist.
“Who are you contacting?” Hix didn’t know how deep the Phaetons’ ranks had been infiltrated by Verge traitors, but he knew enough to be cautious. “Both Kell and Traeger have mentioned men in place on Phaeton One and Two—”
Rowe interrupted before Hix could voice his concern fully. “I trust Kaine and Wheaton with the life of myself, my partner, and my fellow Phaeton brothers. They must be informed of the situation in case something happens to us before we report back. I sent them a recording of our entire conversation for their records.” Rowe glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Just so you are not surprised, I also sent the same to Paine.”
Hix nodded once. He too trusted the Phaeton councilman. When a figure caught his attention, he jerked his head in that direction.
“There is Paine now… who is the other warrior?” Hix asked as he was still unable to place him even though he felt some familiarity with the stranger.
Rowe glanced to where Hix had gestured. “Axis.”
Rowe’s terse answer was all that Hix needed to know. Axis’s reputation was known throughout the Skrammon society for his masterful skill as an interrogator. The man was a legend as much as Paine and Rowe. Before his defection, Hix had heard rumblings of something that had happened regarding Axis and another bride but most of the rumors had been too hard to believe.
“You won this round but do not expect to win another,” Paine called out lightly as Hix and Rowe approached.
“What did he win?” Hix asked, curious about their wager.
“I said I would find you first and I did.” Rowe shrugged as if there had never been a question of him winning.
“We were sidetracked with intel that he had been hiding with one of the local cloth merchants,” Axis claimed with a shake of his head.
Hix stiffened and the hairs raised on the back of his neck. He was startled to learn how close he and Maggie had been to being discovered. He couldn’t help but feel a rush of relief that the ones tracking them had been Phaetons and not the Verge.
“What was that look for?” Axis questioned as he narrowed his eyes on Hix.
“You were closer than you think,” Hix pointed in the direction of Myrin’s shop. “You had the correct intel but the wrong shop apparently. Myrin was the merchant that offered us sanctuary.”
“Myrin?” Paine echoed before nudging Axis with his shoulder. “Was that not the name of the merchant’s store we searched?”
Hix caught his breath. “Wait…what did you say?”
“We just left Myrin’s shop—”
“Did you see the human?” Rowe asked at the same time that Hix spoke.
“Where is Maggie?” Hix’s heart dropped when he saw confusion on the other men’s faces.
“She was not there,” Axis answered as he looked to Paine to support their findings.
“We searched the entire shop and there was no human female present,” Paine agreed with a firm nod.
“That cannot be…I left her there this morning.”
“She is not there now, Hix.” Axis delivered the statement with such finality that Hix believed him.
“Where could she have gone?” Rowe asked, his eyes trained on him.
“I do not know. She was told to stay put.” Hix felt his heart race as panic began to seep into his bones. The thought of Maggie alone and exposed in the market made his stomach turn. Literally anything could happen to her now that she was unprotected. She could have been kidnapped and taken somewhere he could never find her. She could be murdered or even sold to one of the brothels operating on the other side of the landing field… the possibilities were all frightening and endless.
“Hix!”
Hix could hear Rowe shout his name as strong hands clapped him on the shoulders. “I need you to stay calm, Hix,” Rowe ordered with a shake. “You know her better than us and that will help us find her, but we need you to stay calm. Understand?”
Hix licked his lips and swallowed back the bile that was threatening to bubble up out of his throat. “I understand.”
“We will find her,” Axis vowed.
“We must.” Hix breathed roughly. His chest felt as though it had a band tightened around it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
What the hell had she been thinking?
Maggie narrowly dodged tripping over a forgotten cart in the middle of the path as she tried to blend in with the throng of vendors and their patrons. She had been totally fine for the first five minutes outside of Myrin’s shop…then she began to panic. Apparently, it only took five minutes for her to come to her senses.
She had no weapon, no food, and no way to communicate with those around her. And, she was pretty sure the crowd she was walking in would just as soon rape and kill her as help her.
She was scared. Not only scared, she was scared shitless.
Maggie jumped out of the way when a large alien croaked at her loudly as she edged too close to him. It wasn’t as if she wanted to be up close and personal with the foul-smelling toad-like alien either. She was simply trying to blend in and go with the flow. Maneuvering so she was farther away from the croaker, she peeked from under her hood.
When she first began walking, she had simply fallen into step with those moving through the market. There had been no destination in mind other than away from Myrin’s and whoever had been searching the place.
Now she had a plan…well, a little bit of a plan.
Hix had said that he was going to the landing field before hitting the storage area where the women were being held. Keeping an eye on the sky, she could easily see low flying shuttles heading in one direction. Making an executive decision then and there, she decided to follow in their direction hoping that they led her to the landing field.
Of course, she could always have it backward and they were taking off, which meant she was going in the wrong direction… She didn’t want that thought to linger less she lo
se her mind right there in the middle of the market.
Nope, she thought as she kept moving along the path of the shuttles, that she was going the right way. Any minute now, Maggie was going to find Hix and they were going to blow this pop stand.
Maggie had been walking for at least thirty minutes before she reached what she assumed was the edge of the market. Even now she was still reeling from everything she had seen. Crowded vendor stalls lined the streets, most of them with large hooks holding various meats that dangled from the awnings. Dozens of tables littered the space piled high with fabrics of every thread count and color imaginable. She had even found the culprit of the awful odor she had smelled her first time they walked through the market. Turned out the ramu breeders weren’t picky when it came to where they disposed of the extra parts they had after butchering the poor beasts.
Maggie had never had a problem eating meat before but now…well, there was a pretty big possibility she was going to go vegan after her time here. Especially after what she had seen and smelled around the area the slaughterhouse occupied. Shaking off the memories of how gross that entire experience had been, Maggie took stock of her surroundings. The crowd had almost completely dissipated, which left her feeling more exposed than ever. Vendor stalls had also become few and far between the farther she walked. The storefronts were mostly quiet. Many seemed empty the farther she walked out of the market square.
That was when she found exactly what she sought. Spread out before her, with small shuttles landing and lifting off sporadically, was the landing field.
Maggie shuffled closer and scanned the large aliens moving about their business. She didn’t see Hix but that didn’t mean she was ready to give up. Moving steadily closer and closer to the large field, she kept her gaze constantly moving, only pausing her search when she spotted an overly tall figure amongst the creatures.
Maggie squatted next to a pile of old shuttle parts that had been heaped into a mound at the edge of the field. Pretending to inspect the bits of spacecraft that was providing her with partial cover, she let out a hiss of excitement when a sharp object caught her eye.
“Yessssss…” Maggie pulled out a discarded knife that had been tucked underneath a dismantled shuttle seat. Tapping the blade against the arm rest of the seat, she knocked off the bits of grass and dirt that had been clinging to the old forgotten metal. It wasn’t pretty with bits of rust clinging to it, but it was at least something she could use to defend herself if needed.
Maggie tucked her newly found weapon into the outer pocket of her cloak. She would have preferred to keep it closer to her body but couldn’t risk exposing her form much more considering the giants wandering about. Right now, they weren’t paying a much attention to her…that didn’t mean it was going to last forever though.
Maggie jumped when a string of low grunts came from close behind. Turning slowly, she maintained her stooped posture as she eyed the creature that approached with every grunting step. Oh, dear lord, this one was not only big but really ugly as well. With the face of a toad and bushy overgrown eyebrows, the alien grunted and wheezed as he tossed a sack on top of the pile she had been scavenging.
Maggie whipped back at the rotten smell wafting from the bag, and swallow back a reflex gag.
“Ghuh-huh-huh,” she grunted in the most gravelly voice she could muster as she edged away from the stinky mess. It wasn’t that hard considering her throat was dry and there was an orange dust floating in the air kicked up every step she took. After a few moments of her grunting and groaning, Toad-face moved along slowly, and with each step she breathed a little easier.
A loud argument on the landing field caught her attention where shouts were filling the air. At least she assumed it was an argument considering she had no idea what was being yelled from one group to the other. Keeping her distance from the growing crowd, Maggie focused on those moving on and off the field.
Hix had said that the warriors picking up the women would have to be flying a shuttle large enough to transport the crates. Considering she knew firsthand how large one biocrate was, she had a vague idea of how big he meant. Considering this knowledge, she realized that not many of the ships in front of her would qualify. The ship would need to be able to hold more than thirty crates, and from what she could see, only one of the shuttles could do the job. Parked off to the side, the larger ship was the only one of its size on the field.
It also happened to be the only one with guards stationed outside of it. Overly large men, obviously alien but not unattractive like some she had been walking among earlier, were positioned around the shuttle’s perimeter. With similar facial features to humans, they could have easily passed for Phaetons with their overly muscular bodies towering above the other aliens. Even their skin tones were close, a deep brown color that had a hint of red to it as if the warrior had a common sunburn. The one thing holding them apart from Phaetons, and the Verge for that matter, was that they were dressed in animal skins. They weren’t garbed in sleek leather tunics and breeches. Instead, their clothes were rough with fur and tattered edges.
Maggie hustled closer and tried to appear to any observer as someone merely wandering about the field and not scoping out their shuttle. She counted ten guards on the perimeter and clocked two more pairs of boots at the top of the ramp before one of the men peeled away from his post and approached her.
“You there!” the man called out. His use of English shocked her enough that she almost stopped and turned to face him. Keeping him to her left, she watched him approach out of the corner of her eye. The closer he came the more she began to panic.
“Fuck.” Maggie whispered the curse before dropping down onto her haunches and pretending to find the rock next to her foot fascinating. Hopefully, the guard would move on if he saw that she wasn’t a threat…if her ruse didn’t work then she at least had a rock to use as a weapon if he got close enough.
Maggie patted the pocket of her robe and took comfort when the knife bumped her hip where it was concealed. Grunting and huffing, she kept her gaze low enough to shroud her face but still watch the animal skin boots as he moved closer.
“Kafur!” a voice shouted, causing the man to stop in his tracks only a few feet from her.
“Yes?” the man responded and turned his back to Maggie.
“We must prepare for takeoff,” the newcomer ordered. “K’hor has the cargo and is on his way. We will be leaving as soon as it’s loaded.”
“That was fast,” Kafur mentioned as he walked away. “I expected we would be here longer.”
“K’hor has the rest of the shipment and wants to take off before the storm on Djaromir interferes with landing. Plus Traccorians—”
“Traccorians?”
“Yes, they have been…”
Maggie strained to hear the rest of what was said but was unable to make it out as the men moved closer to the shuttle. She hadn’t heard much but did hear that the men were heading to Djaromir, which Maggie could only assume meant that these men were from the mining planets Hix had mentioned earlier.
Once their shipment was loaded, they planned to take off immediately. Something she had to stop from happening.
“How the hell do you expect to do that, Mags?” she asked herself, and her stomach dropped at the lack of options that came to mind. Skirting the Djaromir cargo shuttle, Maggie made a show of grunting as she moseyed a safer distance away.
Kicking dust with every step, Maggie licked her dry lips before grimacing at the taste she found there. Her mouth had watered earlier at the smell of cooking food in the market but now it was as dry as this planet.
She jiggled the pack nestled into her side under the cloak. Maggie knew the canteen was empty but still strained to listen for even one or two stray drops as they splashed in the metal disc. The bulk of the pack reminded her that she had a few crackers tucked away if she got really hungry, which was about as appealing as swallowing a mouthful of sand.
“Think, Mags,” she muttered as she se
ttled against an old abandoned shuttle. It was stripped down to nothing but nuts and bolts holding warped metal together. She knew what she needed to do, but she just didn’t know how.
Maggie made a list in her head and began sorting the tasks out the only way she knew how. The Djaromir were on their way with the shipment right now, which meant that she was working against the clock. That meant leaving to search the storage field for Hix was a no-go. It would be too risky to leave hoping to find Hix and not making it back in time to stop the Djaromir from taking off. No, Maggie needed to stay here and keep watch. If the Djaromir did show up with the biocrates, she had to at least try to stop them from leaving.
She snorted, the sound sad and desperate as it left her body. How in the hell did she plan on stopping them? With a stale pack of crackers and a rusty knife she had no idea how to use?
Maggie wiped her sweaty palms against the overly long sleeves of her cloak, grimacing at the dirty feel of her palms as they scratched against the rough fabric. The idea of sneaking on board the Djaromir spacecraft shuttle entered her mind for a split second before she squashed it. Getting herself kidnapped along with the other women would do absolutely no one any good.
No, she needed to think of something…anything to stop the shuttle from leaving while staying safe herself.
A commotion at the edge of the field caught her attention. There, entering the landing field, began a line of carts pulled by some of the large hairy beasts she had seen working the market. The man driving the wagons was large and imposing, almost as large and imposing as the huge rumbling animals straining to pull their bounty.
Maggie stood straight, almost vibrating with energy at the sight.
It wasn’t just the strange buffalo-like animals that stirred her emotions. No, it was the large wooden crates that weighed down the wagons that sent a wash of butterflies through her stomach.
The shipment had arrived. The women were here.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hix tried to calm Myrin as he swung his sets of arms in panic at the sight of Axis and Paine as they followed him into the small fabric shop.
Warriors of Phaeton: Hix Page 16