by Lea Kirk
“We will not leave her behind, sir,” Dante responded, also in their native tongue. “As Senior Medical Chief, I have given Commander Roble orders to guard your health and welfare since you plan to retrieve your...Alex.”
Karise had stopped translating, and stared wide-eyed as the conversation progressed.
“I will not allow it, Chief.” There was no reason to risk any other lives besides his. If he failed, he failed alone. Ora was a competent leader and needed his crew. If the worst happened, they would succeed where he had failed.
Karise stepped closer. “Sir, Senior Medical Chief Dacian has the authority to supersede your orders in matters concerning the health and welfare of any member of the crew. Including the captain.”
Mother have mercy, were they all in league together? They certainly had him well and good on this matter. “How did you know, Dante?”
The chief tilted his head. “It is not difficult if one knows the signs.”
“Evasive. We will discuss this later.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Factoress, my chief is correct.” Gryf switched back to Anferthian. “Commander Roble and I,” he shot a glare at Dante, “will remain for Kotas’s personal prisoner. We will not leave her behind.”
K’rona’s face was strained. “This will be difficult, yet not impossible. I have a thought, if you will give me time to work it through.”
“We will not ask you to risk any more, Factoress.”
K’rona raised her eyebrows. “Yet I choose to take the risk.”
There would be no way to dissuade her. That much he could read in her dark green eyes. “We thank you. Lieutenant Commander Zola, please brief our Terrian friends of our change of plans.”
Karise gave the three Terrians a brief explanation. Nick sent him a grudging look of approval, but there was no forgiveness in his eyes.
At K’rona’s behest, they all removed their footwear. Shoes and boots in hand, they followed her out the door with silent footfalls. K’rona paused long enough to place a placard on it reading “Quarantine” in Anferthian. Brilliant maneuver. Gryf gave her a nod of approval at her ingenuity, and her mouth curved in a smug smile.
Their paths crossed with two duty guards, both of whom took no notice of the would-be escapees. It was as though they were invisible. As promised, Mendiko met them at the open-air shaft with a thick cord to lower them to the long wild grass below the slave ship.
Karise went down the rope first. Nick and Simone inhaled the cool night air of their home planet before following her.
Juan peered down the opening after them. “Aw. I wish we were in space.”
“That would make this a long climb down, agri.” Dante scooped up the boy then clasped arms with Gryf. “She is a gift, Gryf. Bring her to us safely, and yourself too. Ora will kill me, otherwise.”
“Remember, do not stop or wait for us.” Gryf took the compass and coordinates from his pocket and handed them to the healer. “Go straight to Ora’s rendezvous point. Safe travels, Chief.”
With a quick nod, Dante gripped the rope and disappeared down the shaft with Juan clinging to him.
“Come,” whispered K’rona. “We must do this while my people are still on watch.”
Chapter Ten
Alex rubbed her itchy eyes against her bicep. Not quite as effective as using her fingers to wipe away the dried salt of her tears, but that wasn’t going to happen with her hands held fast to the wall above her head by some sort of force field. Her feet were bound to the floor in the same manner.
Gryf and the others had escaped by now, right from under Kotas’s nose. As long as she held out, didn’t answer his questions, he’d have no reason to check on them. The soonest anyone would notice would be when food was delivered tonight. By then they’d be long gone.
How much more could she endure before she cracked? Before she blurted out the escape plans and Ora’s existence?
Holding out had become a challenge, especially when Haesi appeared this afternoon. Before then, Kotas carving his initials into the skin over Alex’s heart had been the worst. The scalpel-like instrument he’d used had been razor sharp. But Haesi had an arsenal of needles and drugs designed to loosen tongues—or so she said. And she knew exactly where to insert them to inflict the greatest amount of pain. It hadn’t been easy, but up to now Alex had kept her secrets.
She stared at the door of the well-lit room—a large closet Kotas had converted into his “chamber”. Was Kotas in quarters beyond the door, sleeping comfortably while she shifted, desperate to find a position comfortable enough to at least doze? Sleep deprivation would be her downfall. The traitor seemed to know enough to use this age-old tactic as part of his torture plan. Run fast, Gryf. Get far enough away that they’ll never find you.
She allowed her lids to drift down, shutting out the sight of Kotas’s chamber. A deep emptiness tore at her heart and soul as if a connection had been severed and she’d been cast adrift. Alone. Terrified. Her chest tightened. If only escape was a path open to her, but it wasn’t. And it wasn’t like she could wish herself dead.
“Alexandra.”
The voice was a whisper on the air. Her heart rate spiked and her eyes flew open. In the center of the chamber stood a man as familiar to her as her own reflection. Brown eyes regarded her above his aquiline nose and dark beard.
“Daddy?” Her voice cracked. She had to be hallucinating. Whatever drugs Haesi had injected her with earlier were now messing with Alex’s head.
“Hey, monkey.” Love radiated from her father’s smile. There was something different about his eyes. As if they saw so much more than they ever had before.
A fresh round of tears threatened. Cripes, she wanted this to be real. “Is mom here?”
“She’s near.”
Alex swept the chamber with her gaze. “Where? I don’t see...oh.” Maybe this was real. Maybe Dad had come to take her away from this living hell, but she’d have to leave her body to see her mother. It would devastate Gryf, but if she were dead, then she couldn’t betray anyone.
Her father’s eyes filled with sadness. “No, Alex. It’s not your time yet.”
He wasn’t going to leave her here, was he? Fresh tears welled in her eyes. “Please, take me with you, Daddy. Don’t leave me with that monster.”
“Alexandra.” Her father’s voice soothed and calmed her as it always had. “Do you remember what your name means?”
“Yes.” She sniffled. “It means Man’s Defender in Greek, but what has that got to…?”
He held up a finger in a familiar gesture for her attention. She pressed her lips together like an obedient child.
“You are a part of a much larger plan, monkey. Soon you will be called upon to live up to your name.”
“I don’t understand.” It was like he was speaking in riddles.
Her father gave her a sad smile. She blinked, and he was gone.
Or had he been there at all? She sagged back against the wall. Not that it mattered. She was alone now, adrift in a sea of sorrow, with a dark, cold hole where her heart should be.
~ * ~
“Hurry up.” Gryf narrowed his eyes at the security visual screens. According to K’rona, Kotas had a meeting scheduled with Premiere Warden D’etta three hours before first light, which provided a small window of opportunity for them to rescue Alexandra. “He should be leaving now, should he not?”
“Patience,” K’rona murmured from her position behind Mendiko’s chair. “He is consistently late to such meetings to annoy the Premiere.”
Behind Gryf, another dissenter, Ita B’aeja, paced the length of the security station. The room was small by Anferthian standards, but larger than the prison Gryf had resided in for far too long.
Gryf exchanged a glance with Graig on Mendiko’s other side. His friend’s gaze echoed K’rona’s vocal suggestion.
“There,” Mendiko said and the others leaned closer. “Kotas’s door opens and...he emerges.”
The traitor walked down t
he empty corridor and turned the corner. Another surveillance device—what Alexandra called a camera—picked him up as he approached the conveyers.
“We go now,” K’rona said. “Keep your heads down and say nothing.”
Ita resumed her station in the chair Mendiko vacated, and began the process of recoding the surveillance devices.
More time passed than Gryf liked before they arrived at Kotas’s door. K’rona admitted them, and they left Mendiko in the corridor to run interference if necessary.
“She is in here.” K’rona opened the closet door.
Heart pumping, Gryf hurried past the factoress. Alexandra sat slumped over, her bruised and battered body uncovered. Mother’s love, Kotas had carved his initials into the skin of her breast! “Get something to cover her, now.”
K’rona disappeared back into the main room, and Gryf knelt at Alexandra’s side smoothing his hand over her hair. His heart raged at the torments Kotas had subjected her to, and at his own inability to stop the traitor from taking her away in the first place.
She raised her head and blinked at him. A haunted wariness lurked in the brown and bronze depths of her eyes. “I’m dreaming again,” she rasped. “You’re not real.”
“This is not a dream, Alexandra. I am here.” His throat clogged and he cleared it. “Even had I not so vowed, I still would not leave you.” Never.
She stared at him, clearly trying to convince herself he was indeed real. “Nicky?”
“He is away with the others.”
Relief softened her face. “Thank you.” Her breathing pattern was quick and shallow, as though taking in air pained her.
“For you, compa, I will not stop.” If only he could hold her, cradle her to his heart. But that was not possible with her wrists pinned to the wall over her head.
Compa. Beloved. Would she guess that it was a term of endearment? Would she remember he had said it? It had come so naturally, and the feelings that had brought the word to his lips wrapped around his heart. By the grace of the Mother, this woman, this Terrian woman, had come to mean more to him than his own life.
K’rona reappeared, laid a blanket over Alexandra, then set to work freeing her from the energy field binding her wrists and ankles.
“Will your bio-signature not be recorded when you turn off the restraints?” Graig asked.
“Please do not fear for my safety, Commander Roble. At this time my situation is not as precarious as it seems. There is an excellent chance that I will be able to talk my way out of this situation.”
May that be the Mother’s will. Putting K’rona in mortal danger had never been part of the plan. Gryf turned his attention to assessing Alexandra’s injuries. By extending his Gift, he found the wounds on her body were extensive. Cuts, bruises, and burns. No broken bones, though, and she had not been sexually assaulted, thank the Mother. But, there was something else. Something elusive and unfamiliar.
“We must get you to the control corridor before too many others are about, Senior Captain,” K’rona urged.
Indeed they must. K’rona assisted securing the blanket around Alexandra’s shivering body. For the sake of expediency, the factoress carried Alexandra into the control corridor.
Mendiko met them at the rendezvous point. Gryf cast a glance along the empty corridor as the Anferthian male opened the access portal and retrieved two packs. “Jandi was successful, K’rona-iad. A uniform, a telum, and a several days supply of protein bars.”
K’rona received the packs and turned to Gryf. “Captain, the uniform belonged to one of your own who no longer has need of it, but Allazandra does. Your destination is remote and high in the mountains. It will protect her from the harsh elements there. The outer maintenance hatch is at the far end of the control corridor. That is your avenue of escape.”
Gryf frowned. “Factoress, why not come with us?”
“Anferthians amongst the Terrians and Matirans would be treated with distrust and hatred.” There was sadness in her voice. “In truth, I will be much more effective to our cause if I remain here for the time being. I do thank you for the gracious invitation, Senior Captain.”
She turned to Mendiko, and he touched her cheek, murmuring something that made her smile. Then she swept back down the corridor to meet her fate. It was clear, K’rona would not leave Mendiko unless she had no other choice.
Chapter Eleven
Dawn broke like red fire from the east. Scuttling clouds lit up like flames reaching for the zenith of the sky. It was by far one of the most awe-inspiring sights Gryf had ever seen.
The crisp, cold air filled his lungs—stale prison air gone, but not forgotten. If they were caught, they would be breathing the reprocessed air once again. That simply must not happen.
Supporting Alexandra against one side, he gripped the telum provided by K’rona in his free hand. The weapon was light and cool, and wholly satisfying to hold. When he had surrendered his own weapon to Haesi three weeks ago, he had had little hope of ever carrying one again.
But now, thanks to the dissenters, both he and Graig were armed. Alexandra would be too, had she the strength. Instead, her weapon remained in the pack. Telums were not difficult weapons to shoot, if one was able to raise their arm. Alexandra had not the strength to do much else other than move her legs as she leaned against him for support.
As the sun approached its highest point, they were well into a forest, sheltered beneath the fragrant trees of Terr. Every step took them away from slavery and closer to Ora.
~ * ~
Three days on the run. At least, that’s how long Gryf had said it’d been. To Alex, it was all a blur. She huddled in the blanket he’d wrapped around her before he’d left to scout ahead. The Anferthian protein bar she’d recently eaten sat like a lump of lead in her stomach.
If it had been three days, then shouldn’t she feel better? Hugging her knees, she ignored Graig’s nearby presence and stared at the river rushing down the mountain. Between the blanket, the sun-warmed boulder she perched on, and the temperature-sensing Matiran uniform K’rona provided, she should be overheating. Yet the bone-deep chill that had been with her since escaping remained untouched, sending shivers through her every few minutes.
Her malaise was slowing them down. Even parvirtu—the process by which a healthy Matiran shared their strength with an ill or injured companion by way of the Matiran Gift—hadn’t helped. It was obvious even to her that Gryf and Graig were extending themselves beyond their limits trying to help. What she needed was real medical attention, which was still several days’ journey away.
It was just sick how Kotas and Haesi got their jollies. Kotas had enjoyed tormenting Alex, kept calling her his pet. But Haesi, she had reveled in calculated, vicious torture on both the physical and psychological levels, leaving Alex hollow and spent.
A violent shudder wracked her body, and Graig jerked his head around. For the first time since she’d met him, he watched her without masking the worry in his eyes. Odd that he’d be concerned, especially since he didn’t like her.
“If you need to talk, sora, I will listen. Without judgment.”
She doubted that. And reliving her torture through words was not an experience she wanted. Besides, how could he possibly understand?
There was only one safe thing she could say. “What does sora mean?”
The emotionless mask seemed to slam down again, but then Graig’s expression relaxed. “It means sister.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I didn’t think you liked me.” At all. In any way, shape, or form.
He shrugged. “I never disliked you.”
Sure. “Then why…?”
“It is my duty to watch out for my captain,” he replied. “And now you.”
All this time his hard, crusty shell had been an act? It sort of made sense, though. So much rode on Gryf’s ability to get them off that godforsaken slaver. She’d been a distraction he hadn’t needed, offering an attraction neither of them had been able to control. Not that they didn
’t try; it just wouldn’t go away. The undercurrent was always there between them.
Graig had made himself the counter-balance to that attraction. Good grief, he’d been helping them keep it under control.
She studied her blanket-covered knees. “It wasn’t just Kotas.” Dammit, why had she said that? It wasn’t like Graig could do anything about it, and he probably didn’t care either.
Graig sat straighter, if that was at all possible, one hand fisting on his knee. “What do you mean?”
She looked back to watch the water rush and tumble over the rocks.
“Haesi.” The name hissed through his teeth, then he muttered another word under his breath that she didn’t recognize.
Swallowing hard, she met his gaze squarely. Both of Graig’s fists were clenched now. Then he seemed to force himself to relax, before standing up and crossing to her. Bracing his hands against the rock on either side of her, he leaned close.
“Then we both understand the evil of which she is capable.”
She flinched at his cryptic words. The truth was there in his grey eyes. The shadow she lived with was in him too. “What did she do to you, Graig?” Tears choked her words. Stay in control, Alex.
His jaw muscle twitched, and he stared into her eyes for so long she thought he wasn’t going to respond. “For three days after the fall of the Guardians, she kept me prisoner. Her preferred means of torture was psychological. I will not tell you what passed between us, as you know better than most how she can destroy a person.”
She did, and she even understood Graig’s desire not to relive the experience. A tear burned a line down her cheek. “I don’t know how to get past it—to move on. For the first time in my life, I look at my future and I see nothing.”
The hard look on his face eased, and he appeared to weigh his next words. “I think.” He paused. “I believe that you have an extraordinary future ahead of you, Alex, one which you never conceived. You need time to heal; once you have, I pray you will embrace that future wholly, and see it through with all your heart and soul.”