The Xarren Escape (Plundering the Stars Book 2)

by James David Victor

  “A pleasure.” He lifted his hands and swiped at the strands of hair in his face. “Why, uh, why does Xarren have you rigged up like that?”

  “Well, he promised me endless torture, so I tried to kill myself a few times. This was his solution. And I suppose he thought it would do my morale good to talk to my fellow torturees. So far so good, I guess.”

  “Hmm, smart man.”

  “Unfortunately.”

  He smirked. “So, what did you do to get on Xarren’s bad side? He doesn’t just throw anyone into his own personal dungeons.”

  “Don’t know if you heard of me, but on bounties, I’m called Yan Slim Hands. I’ve stolen a lot of things from many powerful people, but I like to target Xarren Elexae and his mob the most. My crew and I got busted trying to break into his vault. We would have had it, but we were betrayed.”

  Jax nodded and pondered that information. “Well, I’ve never heard of you, but that does seem like enough to anger the big guy. People like him base their whole lives on power and money. It’s sad.”

  I shrugged. “Power is overrated, but I definitely wouldn’t mind having some money.”

  “Clearly. Hence why you’re in here with me.”

  “Yup.”

  Jax gave me a long look over and recognition seemed to spark in his colorful eyes. He pointed at me. “Were you the one behind the power outage and jailbreak a few days ago? I feel like I saw you in that madness.”

  I put my hands up and smiled. “You got me. That was me.”

  “I don’t know if I should thank you or be mad at you, since I got caught and beaten and put down here.”

  “If I’m being honest, I wasn’t even trying to cause an escape. I was just trying to knock out the security systems. That was just an unintended side effect, a happy accident if you will.”

  He laid down, his bare back against what I assumed was a cold stone floor. “I suppose it isn’t your fault that I wasn’t skilled enough to escape.”

  “Did anyone escape?”

  “Don’t know. It was a mad scrum for freedom, every sapient creature for themselves. I hope so, though. Any inconvenience for the Elexaes is a win to me.”

  “Agreed. Sorry you couldn’t make it out. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”

  “Don’t worry yourself, it’s my fault. I was trying to help some others escape, a nice Elarri couple that were in massive debt to the Elexaes. If I would have left them, I may have gotten free, but I just don’t have that in me.”

  I nodded and watched him closely. “I take it that selfless streak is what put you in here in the first place, eh?”

  He smiled, his eyes on the ceiling, as if he was staring at some far away memory. “Yeah. As you can probably guess, I was once a slave. Escaped a few years back and joined a group dedicated to fighting for slaves and freeing them. Xarren Elexae has many slaves working his operations throughout Imperial Space, so I’ve worked many years to sabotage him. Last job, though, was a bust. They were waiting for us, so someone in our group betrayed us.”

  “I guess that bug is going around.”

  He snickered. “Yeah, seems so.” He closed his eyes and tapped the back of his head against the floor. “I think the worst thing about being in here is not knowing, you know? Are my friends alive? Did they get caught? Are they coming for me?”

  I had the same thoughts. Amara, Pivek, and Ketellin were out there somewhere. Did Pivek and K get away from the imperials? Had Xarren found a way to catch Amara? Rowan knew about our rendezvous spot if things went wrong so he could have told them that they would find Amara there. She was smart, but even she couldn’t predict that kind of ambush. And Jinx…

  Oh, Jinx…

  My heart twisted just thinking her name and seeing her face in my mind. Knowing that I would never see her again. I didn’t want to believe Rowan, that he’d shot and killed her. She could be another prisoner here, couldn’t she?

  But the possibility that she was indeed dead was far too overwhelming.

  I swallowed hard. “I know what you mean,” I told him in a low tone.

  Jax breathed in and let out a long sigh. “Vaya kare hen li Materelle esquelint yoke.”

  “What on earth was that?” I asked, blinking hard at him. Which was just me messing with him. I’d heard enough of Jinx’s Old Torgoran to know he was probably reciting a prayer or a Torgoran adage or proverb.

  He laughed. “Just a prayer to Materelle to protect our loved ones. It’s usually spoken when our people go on long journeys.”

  I nodded. “Old Torgoran. I have a friend that speaks it.” I looked at my feet. “I doubt I’ll ever hear her speak it again, regardless of if I manage to get out of here or not.”

  Jax frowned as he sat up and reclined with his feet together and knees out wide. “I’m sorry then, for your loss. I hope all of our friends made it out.”

  “Yeah, same, buddy.”

  “I feel like this moment needs us to toast a drink together.”

  I chuckled. “But alas, no drinks.”

  “Maybe if we ask the guards nicely…”

  “They may just be stupid enough to give us something.”

  We both laughed at that. It was good to laugh, even if in my heart all I felt was dread and depression. But Jax seemed like a good man. Maybe if we survived this, we could be friends. Long shot, though.

  A groan sounded from the shadows on the side of the cell opposite of Jax. I flinched. “What the hell was that?”

  Jax snickered at my fright. I blushed. “That would be our other cellmate. A real piece of work, that one. Doesn’t like me one bit.”

  “Hm.” I stared at the shadows, but as my eyes adjusted, I could only barely make out the silhouette of their huddled body. It was hard to tell, but they appeared to be humanoid in shape. Certainly larger than both Jax and myself.

  I was about to say more, but then our other cellmate finally stirred from their sleep with a deep yawn. They stretched out their limbs, their chains rattling, and finally rolled over and came to a sitting position where the shadows didn’t obscure them. I saw their—her—face and sucked in a breath as recognition rolled over me. The same happened for her.

  “You!” we exclaimed simultaneously.

  It was the bouncer from the Silk Lady—the high-class, Elexae-owned brothel that I had broken into to steal info from the late Baron Valrude. She was the tall, muscular, stunning bouncer who I’d flirted with to get in. Truly, I’d meant to find her again, because she was a specimen. It felt like she was from another lifetime.

  And she was not happy to see me.

  The venom in her eyes was strong enough to melt our chains. “You little piece of muckyeq. You stupid Goon! You… You…” She grunted and spit on the floor.

  I pursed my lips. “Nice to see you again, gorgeous.”

  Jax looked between us, his eyebrows raised. “You two know each other?”

  “Not really. It’s…complicated?”

  “Complicated?” she guffawed, her olive skin turning red in the dim light. “He’s the reason I’m in here!”

  I shrugged. “Not my fault you succumbed to my devilish charms so easily, my dear. Maybe you should be blaming yourself. It was your job to keep riffraff like me out of Valrude’s club, and yet you let me in because of my silver tongue.”

  Her cheeks blazed, but I could see in her eyes that she agreed. My truth, though, made her even madder. She stood and shambled over to me and without a second of hesitation, brought her bound fists to my stomach.

  She knocked the wind right out of me. It felt like my heart stopped.

  She spit on me. “If we weren’t bound, I’d bash your skull in, you lowlife Goon scum.”

  I groaned and gasped for air. When I managed to recover, I looked her in the eyes and tried to smile. “Please try your best. Being killed is exactly what I want right now.”

  “Ugh.” She rolled her eyes and sat back down. “I hope Xarren has all the fun he wants with you.”

  “I appreciate your concern
.”’

  The glare she sent my way would have made me wet my pants if I had any fluids to leak out, but I felt parched. And hungry. Xarren may have been keeping me healed, but food and water was apparently more expensive than medicine.

  I tried to smile at the bouncer, but she tucked her legs against her chest and turned her back to me, half of her covered in shadows. I did feel bad for what I did. She may have had a family waiting on her, depending on her, and because of me, she was down here and probably wouldn’t survive to see the sun again. I maintained that it wasn’t all on me. If she’d done her job as a bouncer then she wouldn’t be here, but I had fault too.

  “I’m sorry,” I told her. “It wasn’t my intention to wreck your life that night.”

  “Well, you did.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just sat in silence. So did she and Jax. Well, the pleasant vibe was positively killed. Maybe Xarren knew that she and I had a past that made her hate me, in which case, kudos to him on the foresight. Torturing us both with his mental games. Still, I was determined to win her over.

  “Why were you working for the Elexaes anyway? You don’t strike me as the mobster thug type.”

  “Oh yeah, what do you know about me?”

  “I know you find skinny little Goons with magic tongues desirable, but you didn’t answer my question.”

  She didn’t turn back to face me, but I could almost feel ferocity of her eye-roll. More silence for a few seconds, but she did give me an answer. “It was good money. It’s not like I approve of everything they do, but what am I supposed to do? People from the slums, we don’t have a lot of options.”

  “Yeah, no kidding.”

  “Life is hard,” agreed Jax. “Sometimes we have to do things we’re not proud of to survive. You worked for the Elexaes. Yan stole for a living. Me? Well, I’ve killed plenty of slavers, which is unpleasant. We all have to do what we need to do.”

  On that, we could agree.

  Our Elarri bouncer turned herself to face us, her knees still hugged to her chest and her mouth buried against her knees. Just her nose and eyes peeked out. She was cuter than I remembered.

  “So you’re Yan Slim Hands, huh?” she asked me.

  “In the flesh.”

  “I expected you to be taller.”

  I barked out a laugh. “Life is often disappointing, my dear.”

  Her eyes found mine. Those large, honey-colored orbs were just as stunning as the night I first met her. I hadn’t been lying when I told her I thought she was gorgeous back then, though she’d certainly thought so. She was a large woman, lean with muscle, larger than most Elarri women, though even the average Elarri woman was a specimen compared to me.

  “I shouldn’t have let you into the club that night,” she said.

  I pursed my lips and let out a huff through my nostrils, which turned into a sad smirk. “No, you probably shouldn’t have.”

  Her lips peeked out from behind her knees. They curled into a slight smile that warmed me. “I shouldn’t have let you in,” she repeated. “But I did, so I suppose I can’t blame you completely.”

  I was shocked. My eyebrows rose. “That’s probably the most level-headed thing I’ve ever heard out of an Elarri’s mouth.”

  Jax guffawed. The bouncer rolled her eyes. “Don’t get my words twisted. I’m still mad at you, but I understand that my actions are partly to blame for my being here.”

  “And I apologize again for the role my own efforts had in your unfortunate incarceration.”

  She snorted. “Don’t go using that tongue of yours again. I’ll have none of it.”

  “No promises, my dear.” And just like that, the heat was on again. I was happy to find that I still had it, even under dire circumstances.

  “I’m Elvonna.”

  I offered her a smile. “Yan.”

  “I don’t look forward to watching the days of torment ahead of us with you.”

  “Same to you.”

  Jax yawned and stretched out his chained limbs. “Well, hopefully we can all be friends and die with some dignity.”

  We all chuckled and settled into silence as that thought wormed though our minds. Yeah, friends down here. Who would have thought?

  5

  Chapter 5 (JINX)

  It took me three long days before I was finally able to stand on my own. Three long and miserable days where I was half-conscious and still feverish from my apparently infected wounds. For which Rayvan apologized profusely. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t like she could afford biogel or a good doctor. She saved my life with the means at her disposal and did it admirably. Besides, I did pull through from the fever dreams and infection-riddled haze.

  So on the whole, it was positive.

  Still, for three days, when I wasn’t positively loopy, I was bored out of my mind. Under the circumstances, being entertained wasn’t a priority, but Rayvan and Beleak were out of the house for long hours at a time and I was hardly able to move. Being active was a huge part of who I was, so sitting still for long periods was torture.

  Because of that, it was a huge relief when I was able to slowly push myself to my feet and stand tall without falling back down or vomiting up the contents of my stomach. Beleak stood over me, his beak upturned slightly, which I’d learned was what passed for a smile to his people. Subtle, but noticeable if you paid attention.

  “Very good, amshen.”

  I took a step forward on wobbly legs and almost stumbled but caught myself on his feathery bulk. Everything in me protested, my whole body sore and weak, but not as bad as before. It would be days still, maybe even weeks, before I was back to full strength, but I would get there. However, my friends couldn’t wait that long.

  If they are even still alive to wait…

  I shook my head. No, couldn’t think like that. They were alive and I would find them.

  Beleak put his talons on my shoulders to help me balance myself before he stepped back. “Deep breath. Try again. I will catch you.”

  “Okay.”

  I stepped forward tentatively, my leg shaking. The wound in my stomach flared, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through it. It wasn’t unbearable anymore, but I couldn’t imagine walking the distance I needed to go to find Amara. Still, I placed my foot on the ground without incident, then took another step and another.

  Beleak cooed. “Very good. You’ll be walking with ease soon enough.”

  “I hope so. I can’t stand to be cooped up in here for too much longer.”

  “Well, you won’t have to,” said Rayvan suddenly from behind. I jumped and almost crumbled to the ground, but Beleak was fast and caught me around my waist. That of course put a strain on my wound, but it subsided quickly.

  “Oh my, so sorry, didn’t mean to startle you!”

  “It’s no big deal.” I turned and found her in the doorway. I hadn’t heard her come in.

  “I’m glad to see you up, though,” she said with a smile as she closed the door. She had a bundle tucked under one arm. Without another look, she crossed the room to the counter along the wall and went through whatever she brought with her. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better. Still sore, can barely stand, but it’s progress.”

  “Good.” She spun around suddenly and tossed me something. Under normal circumstances, I would have caught the object easily, but now I was barely able to get my hands up before it hit my shoulder and clattered to the floor.

  I blinked. “Uh, yeah, that isn’t going to work with me.”

  Rayvan chuckled. “Sorry.” She walked over and bent down to pick up whatever it is she threw. When she stood, she grabbed my hand and placed something into my palm. It was a clear, divided plastic bottle of pills. One side had small orange ones and the other had red and white ones.

  “Wha—”

  “I gotcha something. These are antibiotics, and the orange ones are painkillers. Don’t ask how I got them. They were not easy to get.”

  My mouth hung open. I did
n’t know what to say. “I…” I smiled and inclined my head in thanks. “Thank you, Rayvan.”

  Her grin went from ear to ear. It was so sincere that it made me blush. “Don’t mention it, Jinxy.”

  “I hope you didn’t spend too much on these.”

  She put her hand out to shush me. “Ah-ah. I said don’t ask. Don’t worry about it. They weren’t cheap, but they were well worth it. Now take them. I’m sure you’ll love the painkillers.”

  I hoped so. I missed not being in some degree of pain every waking moment. Beleak brought me a glass of water so I could take the medicine. I did so. Obviously, the effects weren’t immediate, but it was good to know that I’d have some relief soon.

  Beleak helped me down onto my sleeping pad and then sat cross-legged near the fire, his side facing me. Rayvan started to rummage through her pantry for something to eat. Which wasn’t much, if the last few days were any indication.

  “So,” she started, “What do you plan on doing now that you’re well?”

  “I wouldn’t call myself well, but once these painkillers kick in, I want to try to find my friend Amara. As I mentioned, we set up a rendezvous point outside the walls of the Koreth District in case the plan went to hell. And as you know…the plan went to hell.”

  “Yeah, you mentioned that, and I told you that the Elexaes might be watching the spot.”

  I crossed my arms. “Well, what do you want me to do, Rayvan? Just give up on them? They wouldn’t give up on me, and I certainly won’t either.”

  “I didn’t say that, Jinxy.” She opened a rusty can and poured the sloppy contents into a deep pan, then brought it over to the fire and put it on a spit. If it was the same mush I’d been fed the last few days, I wasn’t looking forward to it.

  “Well, I can’t wait anymore.”

  “Nor should you, but you need a plan. It’s dangerous in this city.”

  “Yeah, you’re telling me.”

  Rayvan flashed a grin. “I hate to break it to you, but we are very far from Koreth.”

  I shrugged. “So?”

  She returned to whatever she was cooking, took a whiff, smiled, and grabbed a ladle and scooped the contents into some bowls. “Your friend Rowan told them everything most likely. They’ll be waiting. I’m not excited about that.”