The Scientist's Price (Warriors Book 1)

by L P Peace

  ‘I used to be a soldier, then a criminal until I angered one of the mob bosses.’ Rorak grinned and waved his hand over the scar on his face. ‘Grekking garog sold me to these vatik! I’ve wanted to do something like this for a while, but Tassian doesn’t want to draw attention.’

  ‘You want to come with me?’

  Rorak nodded. ‘I want to get back at these grecks. Even if it’s just one of them. Even if it’s not the one who…’

  Kadian nodded his understanding. ‘We’ll work quicker with two.’

  Kadian moved over to the counter to start carrying goods through when his attention was caught by something. He looked into the glass case beneath the weapons and saw a knife in a metal sheath. It was small, smaller than comfortable for Kadian to hold and use, but it was the perfect size for Olivia.

  They took their spoils into a back room, then Kadian returned and, smashing the glass, retrieved the knife and put it in his pocket for Olivia.

  There were no windows in the back room, so they shut the doors, taped up the gaps between the doors and jambs to stop light from leaking onto the street or alley and got to work.

  As Kadian sat, his whole leg exploded in white-hot fire! His muscles cramped and seized, sending lightning strikes of pain through his hips, down his calf and into his foot. He gritted his teeth, the pain forcing a long groan out of his mouth. He stretched his leg, but the pain grew worse.

  ‘You okay?’ Rorak watched him with obvious scepticism.

  ‘I had to have muscle excised a few solars back,’ he said. ‘It’s the reason I’m not in the military anymore.’

  ‘And we just ran a marathon!’

  Kadian nodded.

  ‘Here. Let’s see if this greck has any painkillers.’ Rorak left and came back a metri later with a first aid kit. ‘At least one of these blind grecks is good for something,’ he said, loading an analgesic into a medspray. He applied it to Kadian’s leg. ‘That should see you through until we get your female back.’

  Kadian set to work.

  ‘I don’t blame you,’ Rorak said. ‘Going after a human like this. I was with a human one time—a prostitute on Caras. Greck, she was beautiful. Seriously considered buying her, especially after tasting that sweet cunt.’ He looked up at Kadian. ‘Not commenting on your female, just my experience.’ He shook his head. ‘But I’m a selfish greck. Left her there. But I think about her from time to time. Remember her. I went back a few solars ago, but she’d been sold on.’ Rorak shook his head. ‘Grekking shame.’

  Kadian said nothing. Whatever Rorak said, it wasn’t the same. Kadian loved Olivia. There’s no way he’d ever leave her behind, not for a moment. What Rorak was remembering was the sex. What Kadian would never be able to forget was the way Olivia’s eyes lit up right before she laughed. The way she tilted her head while discussing the properties of amot in conjunction with radiant. The soft sway of her hips as she paced back and forth while rhapsodising over the catalytic effect of radiant fragments and what they could do about capitalising on it.

  They were two different males with two different objectives, but watching Rorak work, Kadian was glad to have him by his side for this.

  Kadian and Rorak worked quickly and efficiently, planning as they did. Before long, they had three explosive devices assembled. Packing their stolen weapons and ammo into bags, they slipped out the back and hunted the alleys for transport.

  When they found a zaki, Kadian picked the lock, and the two males got in.

  I’m coming for you, Olivia. Hang on.

  The tunnels passed in a haze of fear and panic. Olivia forced herself to ignore it. She knew Kadian would come for her; after all, he knew where Falmon was. He knew where to find her.

  The Inadiine placed her on the path and gripped her throat. His eyes were cold, his face expressionless. ‘I will hurt you if you try to escape. Do you believe me?’

  Olivia nodded. She did, and she knew Falmon wouldn’t care. More importantly, she knew she’d never get away from him. The Inadiine was well over seven feet tall, and his perfectly black skin was a deeper shade than the shadows surrounding them.

  He turned her head this way and that, examining her, running his eyes down her body. When he was done, he looked into her eyes and bit his lip. ‘It’s almost tempting to take you from this planet and keep you.’ His thumb ran over her cheek. ‘Such an interesting shade of skin. Paler than my people. I’ve heard there are humans paler than you, but I like some colour in my females.’ He leaned down and took in a deep breath, his body pinning her to the wall. ‘So tempting,’ he said on the out-breath. ‘But in truth, you’re worth too many credits.’

  With that, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. He climbed a ladder Olivia hadn’t noticed and they emerged on a quiet street above.

  Putting her down, he gripped her shoulder tightly and pushed her towards a flyer. By the time she was inside, she was shaking. This was really happening. She was really being taken to him. To that house. To that room.

  The flight lasted a couple of hours, but to Olivia, it felt like minutes before they were descending into the yard of Falmon’s mansion.

  As the flyer touched down, the front door opened and the massive Myardahl appeared.

  ‘Oh god, oh god,’ Olivia whispered the words quietly. The Inadiine turned to her with an amused smirk.

  ‘I wonder if he’ll let me have fun with you.’ He touched her face.

  Olivia flinched out of his grasp simultaneously, the door to the flyer opened, and she was hauled out by Falmon.

  His touch still turned her stomach. His sightless face was suddenly close to her; his strange, lipless, rictus grin revealed his sharp teeth and large canines. He leaned into her. Olivia backed away, but with her trapped within his arms, there was only so far she could go.

  ‘You stink of the Todaal.’ Falmon grimaced. ‘I can smell his seed on you.’ Without warning, he turned and strode into the house. His hand grabbed the back of her neck, he pulled her along.

  ‘Halius, come.’

  Instead of taking her up the stairs, Falmon stepped into his office. Within, several aliens stood around the large room. Three of them were Myardahl, but the other four were from different races.

  The largest one was over eight feet in height. He had long black tendrils falling from his head, like dreadlocks. He stood on digitigrade feet. His skin was dark, almost as dark as the black tendrils, and Olivia got the impression of a deadly predator. Someone who even the Myardahl should be afraid of. His yellow eyes watched her as Falmon walked over to his desk, pulling Olivia behind him. When he sat, he grabbed the back of her head in one large hand, his elbow resting lazily against the arm of his chair.

  Behind the aliens, Halius, the Inadiine, entered the room.

  ‘I hope you didn’t kill the Todaal?’

  ‘He wasn’t there.’ The Inadiine walked into the room and took a chair, kicking his feet up on the desk. If Falmon was angry at his impertinence, he showed no sign.

  ‘Good. I want him.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘I intend to breed her. I believe her offspring will fetch a good price on the slave market.’

  ‘Oh, that’s a shame. I was hoping you’d allow me use of her.’

  ‘If she’s not already carrying his offspring, yes. I think it will take time to break him for the purpose. But I reserve the right to sell any resulting child.’

  The Inadiine shrugged. ‘Fine by me.’

  They were talking about her like she was a broodmare! She thought about what the Myardahl had said about Kadian. About breaking him to breed them and shivered.

  Falmon laughed. ‘My little slave doesn’t like this conversation.’ He turned so that she was facing him. She looked at the blank spot above his nose slits, where his eyes would be and shivered again.

  ‘There’s going to be a lot of things here she doesn’t like.’ The Inadiine grinned.

  ‘Indeed.’ Falmon’s face stretched into his horrific version of a smile. ‘You�
�re not required to like anything, human. In fact, I’d be disappointed if you did.’

  Falmon turned back to the bodyguards but left her facing him.

  Olivia looked at them from the corner of her eye and saw covetous looks and sneers. There was no empathy there. No concern. None of these males cared about the things being discussed in this room.

  It didn’t matter. Kadian would be here as soon as he could be, and when he arrived, they’d all die.

  She looked at the yellow-eyed giant. He was the one she was most scared of. If Kadian had to fight him, she wasn’t sure what the outcome would be.

  ‘I want constant patrols now. Keep your eyes open. He’ll come soon.’ Falmon turned back to Olivia. ‘He cares about the little human. He won’t be able to help himself.’

  The aliens filed out of the room, the door closing behind them.

  Falmon took in a deep breath, his eyes not leaving her. ‘Let’s make you comfortable.’

  He stood and, keeping his hand on the back of her neck, crossed the room. ‘Halius.’

  With sinking dread, Olivia was pushed up the stairs and down the same hallway as before. When they stopped in front of the room, Olivia was already shaking. Falmon opened the door, and Olivia fought the sob that threatened to break through.

  The room was built to inflict pain—pain of a sexual nature.

  Falmon pushed her ahead of him and over to a large A-frame. She fought as he took her hands in one of his and stretched them above her head, chaining her there.

  ‘You look good there,’ Falmon said after regarding her for a moment. ‘I wish we had time to play, but I must prepare for the Todaal.’

  Falmon walked over to the door, then turned as Halius walked over to her. He winked at her, a cruel smile on his face. ‘You stay here. There’s a good girl.’

  He and Falmon laughed as they left, switching off the light and leaving her in perfect darkness.

  Her breathing, quick and panicked, filled the void. It got louder, faster and shallower as her mind raced through everything that had happened to bring her to this point. Her memory ran in a bizarre reverse order until she was crouched over Kadian on the dance floor, screaming for help even as his attacker searched for glass.

  Against her worst fears, the doormen had shown up and dragged him away. The one who’d helped Kadian earlier, crouching beside her, putting a cloth in her hand, and telling her to hold it to Kadian’s head wound while he called for an ambulance.

  She remembered the way that same doorman had to force the ambulance people to take her. How she watched their panic because they didn’t know how to treat an alien.

  They took them to the hospital, and Olivia stayed with him throughout. The concussion was bad. The doctors monitored him, but no other symptoms arose. The doctors were amazed at how fast Kadian’s body repaired itself, telling her anything they did to interfere might slow his recovery. So they watched, documented and she stayed at his side, right until the agents showed up.

  While Kadian lay unconscious and vulnerable, they threatened his life unless she put distance between them.

  Light years weren’t enough.

  If they hadn’t come, she would have been there when Kadian awoke and confessed her feelings as she had planned. She would never have stopped working in his lab. She would never have taken the commission on Endurance and left Earth. She wouldn’t be here now. She wouldn’t be waiting for Kadian to save her yet again.

  For their prejudice, they made everything worse. Olivia didn’t believe they would be sad about that. In fact, her being enslaved on an alien planet fit their narrative that all aliens were evil. Only Makios Desares and Dairon Ethallion, the two aliens who brought returnees, amot and tech, fell outside this narrative. But Olivia knew if those aliens stepped out of line, even once, the consequences would be deadly and they would spin it that no alien was trustworthy.

  Hanging from the A-frame was painful. Olivia was hanging so that she didn’t quite reach the ground, so she was slightly swaying in place on the balls of her feet. It meant that either her calf muscles had to be engaged to take her weight, or she had to hang from her shoulders, risking pulling her arms from her sockets. She stood, swinging in place, pain slowly creeping up her legs. Her hands were going cold because her blood was being forced to travel up the length of her arms. Pain was building in her shoulders from the stressful position, and cramps radiated down her shoulders and back.

  Olivia focused on Kadian. Whatever pain she had to go through while she waited, she knew he would be here soon. She hoped that he would take the time to properly arm himself. She thought about the massive alien with the dread-like tendrils and shivered.

  Time passed, and the pain in her shoulders and calves grew worse and spread. Cramps seized her muscles. Olivia attempted to stretch them out, but the position she’d been forced into meant that the effects of stretching were short-lived.

  After a long time, the door opened. For a moment, light flooded the room and blinded Olivia. She saw a flash of black and white before closing her eyes against the assault. She heard the distinctive click of the door, closing once more. Whoever it was—and instinct told her it was Halius—they didn’t turn the light on.

  Olivia’s nerves pricked and her stomach turned in fear and dread. Whatever Halius was here for, it was nothing good.

  There was a noise of something wooden hitting the hard, cold floor in front of her. Something touched her stomach before she heard leather sliding over a wooden surface.

  ‘It’s a chair.’ There was a laugh. ‘Your Todaal hasn’t arrived yet. I’m a little concerned he might not come at all. Though Falmon seems to think he’ll be here for sure.’

  He will be!

  ‘But while we’ve been waiting, we’ve discussed all the things we’re going to do to you and all the ways we’re going to break the Todaal. That is where this chair comes in.’

  The chair, which had been pressing against her stomach, moved. She heard it settling a distance away before suddenly the heat of the Inadiine’s body was pressed into her. His hand grabbed her chin, his fingers sliding against her skin.

  ‘We’re going to strap him into that chair and make him watch.’ Halius’s voice was a whisper, almost like a lover’s, but hard, cruel. ‘We’re going to tie him to that chair and make him watch every single thing we do to you. So that in the end, he knows, freeing you is a dream he’ll never fulfil.’ He laughed in her face, a dark chuckle. ‘He’ll watch your belly fill with young after young. Watch them be sold and given as gifts while hacri old and know you’ll never hold them or love them and you’ll never, ever be free.’

  ‘You’re going to die a horrible death,’ Olivia hissed.

  ‘I’ve always known that’s true.’ Then his lips were on hers, hard and crushing, his fingers digging into her jawbone until she thought it might shatter under the pressure of his grip. Finally, he released her. ‘But not tonight. Tonight, I’m going to have so much fun with you.’

  Footsteps retreated. The door opened and Olivia closed her eyes. When the light didn’t go away, she opened them to look at Halius. He was watching her, his lips upturned. He winked again, then was gone. Leaving Olivia alone in the darkness, his words echoing across her mind. A dark nightmare of a promise. A future in hell.

  Kadian is coming!

  A loud rumbling noise drowned out the silence and the house shook so hard Olivia was afraid the room might collapse around her, crushing her in the process.

  Shouts and screams sounded outside of the room, and she heard people passing by as they ran to the sight of whatever had just happened.

  In the darkness, Olivia grinned.

  Kadian and Rorak flew the zaki over Onager’s mansion several times, moving like normal traffic and ensuring they were a distance away, before returning. They each watched troop movements around the small estate. There were four males outside of the property, two of them stationed at the door.

  ‘We need to take them out first.’ Rorak nodded towards the
estate, but Kadian knew he meant the males around it.

  ‘Agreed.’

  ‘Got a plan?’

  ‘I’m piloting it.’ Kadian grinned.

  ‘The zaki! How do we get away after?’ Rorak sounded shocked, but he was smiling.

  ‘My friend, Tanir. He’s picking us up at the estate.’ Kadian looked out of the window. The sky darkened as the sun was in the final metri of setting. By the time they got up to the roof, it would be dark.

  They passed over once more before making their plan. The zaki was equipped with inertial dampeners that protected the occupants of the vehicle should it crash. The outside had something similar to lessen speed so that minimal damage was done. Kadian set the zaki down and quickly disabled it.

  Pointing the vehicle back up to the sky, Kadian climbed above the traffic, above the buildings. He turned and aimed the nose at Onager’s estate. The speed increased as the zaki lost altitude.

  ‘Be ready,’ Kadian said.

  Beside him, Rorak braced himself, pushing back into his seat as the mansion grew larger in the window.

  In front of him, the two guards stood talking, immersed in their conversation. They didn’t notice the zaki until it was too late. They dove out of the way, but the zaki crashed into the front of the property, killing one of them. It smashed through the door and took down a substantial part of the wall leading into the hallway, bearing it open for Kadian and Rorak.

  ‘Ready?’ Kadian barked.

  ‘Let’s go.’ Rorak opened the door and ran over to the surviving guard, shooting him before the guard could retrieve his weapon.

  Two more guards ran around the side of the building on Kadian’s side. He slid over the seats of the zaki, climbing out on Rorak’s side and using it as cover as they fired on him.

  He looked at Rorak, who was grinning maniacally.

  ‘Having fun?’

  Rorak laughed, a low, dark chuckle as he aimed his gun and fired at the two guards.

  Over his shoulder, Kadian saw two guards approaching from inside the house, weapons raised. He could hear others coming. Taking aim, he fired on a Myardahl, hitting him in the shoulder, before firing at the Raqhan by his side. The Raqhan ducked, forcing Kadian to reacquire him before taking his head off with the second shot.