by Presley Hall
Much to my annoyance, the docks are situated on the far side of the city, Tanu, with the auctioning quarter on the other side. We’ll have to trek through Tanu to get there, especially since we want to choose lodgings close to the area where the slaves are kept to keep an eye on things.
This city is dangerous, and it worries me more than ever to have Cora here.
Before, I worried about her in the same way I would about any warrior on a mission. As the leader of this rescue operation, it’s my responsibility to see that all the members of my team make it back to Kalix safely. But now that I know Cora is my mate, I like her being on such a dangerous mission even less.
I know we’ll need her help. The argument she made for joining us is as sound as ever. And I’m proud of her for her strength and bravery.
Still, my protective instincts flare as we make our way through Tanu. I keep her close to my side, my body relaxed but alert, primed to leap into action at any moment to defend my mate should it become necessary. We pass several aliens on the street, their shoulders hunched against the cold. Most of them barely even look at us, probably hoping that if they pay no attention to our group, we’ll ignore them in the same way. A few people eye us as we pass, and I have to suppress the growl in my throat when I notice several males stare openly at Cora.
I’m so caught up in protecting my mate that I almost don’t notice when a small alien girl darts into the street a moment later, racing directly toward us. She’s running so fast that she doesn’t see us either, and she runs into Cora, smacking against her legs and nearly tripping us both.
The little girl looks up, her already big eyes going even wider with fear.
And then, before any of us can move or say anything at all, she scrambles across the street and into a stack of crates, hiding her small body in the shadowy recesses.
17
Cora
I’m so startled by the sudden appearance and then disappearance of the little alien girl that it takes me a second to register what’s happened. My first instinct is to go over to the crates and tell her that we won’t hurt her, but before I can move, the sound of heavy footsteps and loud voices echoes from around the corner up ahead, accompanied by the sound of clanking weapons.
Druxik tenses next to me as I turn in the direction of the voices, and I can sense the other warriors around me reacting too. In an instant, everyone goes from wary caution to high alert. We remain that way as several alien men round the corner.
They must be guards of some type, because they’re all the same species, and they’re all dressed the same. Maybe they work for the government of Tanu, if there even is one, or for some wealthy private citizen.
All of them are hulking, muscular aliens with pale blue skin and knobs of bone protruding from their shaved skulls. Their eyes are black, dark, and angry-looking, and I feel a chill of fear wash over me as they approach. They’re shirtless, wearing leather pants and chest armor made of a dark metal underlaid with some kind of fur that I don’t recognize, with arm and leg armor to match.
One would think they’d be cold—the temperature on Nierra is near freezing. I’m bundled up in a heavy coat, and even the Kalixian warriors have thrown fur-lined coats made of a heavy waxed material on, though they remain stubbornly less than clothed beneath those, wearing only their loincloths. But the guards show no sign of noticing the cold as they stride toward us, glancing around before fixing those flat black eyes on our group.
“Have you seen a girl come running through here?” one of them demands. He’s the tallest of the guards, with an air of authority that suggests he’s their captain. He directs the question at me, then looks around at the gathered Kalixians. “What about any of you? Have you seen a small female child? Greenish skin?”
I open my mouth to tell him no, but before I can say anything, Druxik steps forward with his chin raised, looking flatly at the guard. He’s as tall as the pale-skinned alien, although the guards are even larger than the Kalixian warriors.
“No, we haven’t seen any such thing,” he says calmly, putting himself between me and the guard.
The guard frowns, looking suspiciously at Druxik. “Search the area,” he tells his men, keeping his eyes fixed on us. “All of you, stay put.”
Ostensibly, we all do as we’re told, but I see a couple of the Kalixian warriors subtly shift, standing in front of the crates to make them less noticeable and more difficult to get to, shielding the opening so that the guards won’t glimpse the little girl through it. It seems to work, because although the guards poke around the building and the transport pods parked along the road, they miss the crates.
The captain glares at Druxik, clearly not quite ready to give up. “You know that harboring fugitives is a crime?” He eyes Druxik and the other warriors, sneering at them. “I don’t care if you’re from another planet or not, Nierra does not take ignorance as an excuse to flout our laws. Nor do we take kindly to females who disobey.”
He looks at me as he speaks, and Druxik stiffens next to me. I can feel that my mate is at the end of his patience, and I hope against hope that the captain will give up soon. A fight here wouldn’t be good for the success of our mission. I know that’s the only reason Druxik hasn’t lost his temper already.
“We never saw a little girl,” Druxik says evenly, his voice hard as steel. “We’ve seen nothing other than ordinary traffic and you.”
The guards have gathered again after completing their search, circling behind their captain and staring us down. It’s clear they’re itching for a fight, and I can feel that the Kalixians are on edge too, ready for a battle if it comes to that. I don’t think the guards would win this fight—they might be massive and well-armed, but they’re outnumbered. And I saw the gladiator fights in Monri. I’d bet on a Kalixian against anyone, any day.
Finally, after several excruciating seconds during which no one seems to breathe, the captain shrugs.
“Ah, well,” he says, as if he didn’t almost start a street brawl. “She’ll show up again, or she’ll starve or freeze to death.” He nods to the guard at his right. “Set up extra detail at the holding barracks for the auction stock. If she shows up, we won’t miss her.”
I force myself to keep a straight face and not wince at that. Great. Extra security is all we need.
The guards linger for another moment, and it takes all my self-control to stay still and wait. Finally, they turn away and begin walking back the way they came. I manage to not move until they’re well out of sight, the clanking and heavy footsteps fading into the distance. Then I dart around the Kalixian warriors, kneeling down to peer into the crates where the little girl hid.
She’s crouching far back in the shadows, visibly shaking, but I can see enough of her to make out what she looks like. I can tell that she’s alien, though I have no idea what species she might be—I’ve never seen anyone who looks like this, although my experience with aliens is fairly limited. But she’s humanoid, with light green skin and huge dark eyes in her tiny pointed face, with black hair that has a greenish sheen to it as well. She looks young, maybe five years old, and my heart aches to see her cowering in the darkness, terrified.
I hope like hell that she has a multi-language chip implanted. It’s the only way I’ll be able to help her without frightening her more. If I can’t communicate with her, I don’t know what I’ll do.
“We won’t hurt you, sweetheart,” I say softly, extending my hand in a careful, slow movement. “I promise, we don’t want to do you any harm. We’re here to help.”
It’s true. We are here to help, even if the original purpose of our mission was just to rescue the stolen human women. But I can’t walk away from a child in such desperate need of protection and comfort. My conscience won’t allow it. I know there are a lot of horrors in the universe, and I know I can’t save everyone.
But dammit, I’m going to do everything I can to save this girl.
The green-skinned little girl doesn’t respond, but her eyes narrow a
bit as she watches me intently. I think maybe she did understand my words—or some part of them, anyway.
“Where did you come from?” I ask softly, careful not to make any sudden movements that might startle her. I can feel the impatience of the warriors and Druxik looking over my shoulder, but I’m not leaving here without helping her. And I know Druxik wouldn’t ask me to.
“I’m… I’m from a planet called Tarthelle,” the little girl says hesitantly, her voice high-pitched and trembling.
My heart leaps immediately when she responds. God, I’m so relieved that I can communicate with her. It would have been impossible to get her out of there and to safety otherwise without alerting someone.
“How did you get here?” I tilt my head a little so I can see her face better.
“Our ship was attacked.” She sniffles—whether from tears or the cold, I can’t tell—but then raises her chin bravely. “My parents d-died in the attack, and they… the ones who attacked us, they took me. They said I was going to be s-s-sold, that I’d make them a l-lot of m-m-m-money.”
A tear drips down her face, but she doesn’t burst into sobs. She’s a brave little girl, and my heart squeezes painfully in my chest, tears springing up in my own eyes. I’ve seen some awful things since I was abducted, but never anything like this.
Fuck. What kind of monster would do that to a child?
18
Druxik
I can feel the anxiety of the other warriors, and I know they’re eager to move along before we’re seen and questioned by anyone else.
But I also know Cora, and I’m certain she’s not going to leave without helping this little girl. It’s one of the things I love most about her—her compassion and kindness as well as her bravery—and I’m proud of her for it. I’d like to think I would do the same.
So I angle myself to stand behind my mate, guarding her and the child, and my warriors do the same without having to be told. I know they would all protect Cora to the death, just as any of us would do for our fellow warriors. She and the other Terran women truly have been entirely accepted among us, and it makes me glad to see.
I can hear the little girl talking haltingly as Cora comforts and soothes her, and I admire my mate more than ever for being able to communicate with the little one and calm her in such a way. I’m grateful all over again that she’s my Irisa, that I was given such an incredible mate for my own.
But as I overhear more of what the scrawny alien girl is saying, my stomach clenches with a mix of disgust and anger.
The Orkun aren’t the only species who take part in the disgusting practice of claiming ownership over other beings, and the anger that rises up in me at the thought is difficult to tamp down. The idea of women being bought and sold in this way is horrible enough, but a child? It makes me coldly furious to even think of it.
The villains who would do such a thing don’t deserve to live.
Reining in my anger, I stay in position behind Cora, blocking her from view with my body as much as I can to keep anyone passing by from seeing her or the little girl. I watch as Cora gently coaxes the girl out from her hiding place in the crates, speaking softly to her as she gets her to come out into the street.
“What’s your name?” she asks, still crouching down to the girl’s level.
“Miri,” the child whispers, looking at Cora and then up at me with huge, frightened eyes.
“Miri, we’re going to help you, okay?” Cora smiles at her. “These men are my friends. They won’t hurt you either. In fact, they’ll keep you very safe. Do you think anyone could get past them?”
Miri looks around at the warriors with those same big eyes. “No,” she whispers very softly.
Cora unwinds the long, wide black scarf that she’s wearing from around her neck.
“I’m going to put this over your head like a little hood, so that no one sees you and recognizes you, all right?” She smiles at the little girl. “Don’t be afraid. We’ll get inside soon.”
The sooner the better, I think as I watch Cora drape the fabric over the girl’s head and wind it around her shoulders, disguising most of her features and skin. Miri is shivering from the cold, and I know without the scarf that Cora will be cold soon as well.
Once Cora has the little girl in her arms, her coat open to tuck around her for extra warmth, we look around for any additional guards and then hurry down the street. We need to find accommodations quickly before we’re seen again. I wouldn’t allow anyone to take Miri out of our custody, but the last thing we need is a fight to draw attention to ourselves or put us on anyone’s radar. It’s bad enough that there will be greater security at the auction warehouse now.
We find lodgings not too far from the auction district, in a busy enough area that we’ll blend in with the other guests and not be noticed. It’s close enough to the auction house that we can do some recon on the area and figure out the best way to free the women, but with enough distance between us and the warehouse that we won’t be seen by guards. The building is large, and the pods are cheap and plain, but I don’t care. We won’t be here long, and I don’t need luxury.
What I need is Cora safe.
The thought of anything happening to her is making me itch to complete the mission as quickly as possible and get us back to Kalix. Every moment that we’re on this planet is a moment we could encounter danger.
I ask the tall alien male who runs the lodgings for an extra cot for our room, implying with barely concealed distaste that it’s for a slave I’ve brought with me. The last thing I want is for anyone to know we have a child with us—I see no other children around the place, and I’m certain the guards are still searching for Miri. It makes my skin crawl to even hint that I would traffic in slavery, but I know it’s the best way to avoid questions I don’t want to answer.
We split up since the pods are so small, several men to each pod and Cora and Miri with me.
There are two rooms to our pod—a bedroom with a plain mattress on a bare metal frame, and a tiny living area with two chairs, a rickety-looking table, a countertop with a heated surface for cooking, and a small basin for washing plates. There’s a bathing room off to one side, if it can even be called that. There’s no pool, only a tiny cubicle with a shower head and a ball of soap that looks as if it’s seen better days.
While I set up the cot, Cora talks softly to Miri, trying to keep the little girl calm. Miri sits on the frayed carpet and chews on her lower lip, looking at Cora curiously as my mate explains to her that she’ll be safe here, but that she has to stay in the room and be very quiet.
“What are you?” Miri asks finally when Cora has stopped talking. “I saw other ladies like you. They were very pretty, but not happy like you are. They were sad and scared like me.”
Cora frowns. “You did? Where did you see these ladies, Miri? I’m a human—er, a Terran. Did you see other Terran women?”
Miri is quiet for a long moment, and I stop what I’m doing to listen more carefully as Cora repeats her question. I can tell she’s trying to keep the excitement out of her voice, but I know her well enough by now to read it in her expression.
Unless there was another recent sale of Terran slaves, those must be the women we’re looking for—the ones sold by the Orkun.
“I saw them in the big place where I was being kept, with lots of others,” Miri finally says, looking up at Cora with her big eyes. “Where they were going to sell us.” She sniffles. “But I don’t want to be sold. So I snuck away.”
I hear Cora’s quick intake of breath, and I immediately realize why. It’s possible that Miri might know a way into the warehouse where the other Terran women are being kept, awaiting auction. She obviously managed to slip out of there, so clearly she knows of some secret way in and out.
Catching Cora’s gaze over Miri’s head, I give a small nod, satisfaction burning through me. Tomorrow, we’ll see if we can use what Miri knows to our advantage.
We arrived on Nierra late in the day, and after our
encounter with the guards on the street, I think it’s best for us to lie low until tomorrow. The sun set while we were negotiating with the proprietor for our pods, and now even the washed out gray light that seems to be all this planet ever gets has faded away.
I finish putting together the cot, making it up with a pillow and blanket, and nod to Cora. She gently lifts the little girl, setting her on the cot and stroking her hair.
“Here’s a bed for you,” she says. “We’re going to make some food. You can have some too, and you’ll be nice and warm here. No one will hurt you, I promise.”
Miri nods, and I can see some of the wariness leave her face. She looks less frightened now, and I’m glad. No child should have to be terrified like that.
Cora helps me prepare food once Zhori and Vrexen come back from the market district, talking quietly with me so that Miri won’t hear.
“It’s too late to do anything tonight,” I tell her. “We’ll make a move tomorrow and try to find out more. The child can help us, I think, but I don’t want to put her in any more danger.”
“I agree,” Cora says, her lips pressing into a determined line. Her protectiveness makes me want to sweep her into my arms and kiss her.
She truly is my perfect match.
We eat dinner quietly. Miri watches us warily for a moment before seeing that no one is taking the food away from her or punishing her for reaching for it. She eats quickly then, shoveling the hastily prepared food into her mouth as if she hasn’t had a real meal in days.
I can tell Cora is glad to see that she’s eating, and as I watch her gently urge Miri to finish the steamed vegetables, I feel a moment’s sadness that my mate will never be able to have children. Not because I feel that it’s necessary, but because I’ve never seen anyone so natural at it as she is.