by Anna Hackett
“What is it, magic man?” Saff whispered.
“If it works, then the incoming guards will just see a projection of the rock wall behind us.”
“If it works?” Raiden said.
Lore shrugged. “I haven’t had a chance to test it.”
Harper tried to calm her racing heartbeat. Then, the Thraxian guards appeared. She slipped her hand in Raiden’s, squeezing tightly.
All the gladiators were tense. She knew this kind of operation went against their nature. They all liked action, not hiding and waiting.
A guard glanced their way, but apparently didn’t see anything wrong. They were all crouched now, studying the nets. A few of the prisoners stood at the cell bars, watching sullenly. God, she hoped none of them would do anything to cause trouble. If they gave them away…
After a few more minutes, she could tell that the guards had completely relaxed.
“These nets are worthless,” one guard growled.
“You’re right, they never work properly.” Another guard nodded in agreement.
“Let’s go,” the first guard said, kicking the nets against the wall. “Nothing down here worth worrying about.”
That was their first mistake.
“Let’s see if the guards can tell us where the women are,” Raiden murmured almost soundlessly. “Ready?”
Raiden lifted his hand, then brought it down in a hard slash.
Before Harper could draw her swords, Lore dropped the illusion, and the gladiators rushed forward. The bewildered guards barely had time to draw their weapons before the gladiators attacked them. Metal rang on metal.
Unlike their fighting style in the arena, this time, the gladiators fought silently, using swift, efficient, and lethal moves. Thorin still packed a huge punch, but there were no shouts or cheers. Kace was quiet, working with the drive of a military commander. Saff and Nero took down their opponents as quickly as they could, while Lore was completely devoid of showmanship and tricks, just attacking with dangerous skill.
And Raiden was Raiden. He was no different whether he was fighting in the arena, or fighting in the darkness of a secret mission. He did the job and was deadly.
They showed no mercy, and Raiden only kept one guard alive. He pressed the blade of his sword to the alien’s throat, the inscriptions on it glowing softly. “Where are the women from Earth?”
The guard made a gurgling sound.
Raiden shoved the blade harder into the Thraxian’s tough skin. “Where?”
“Torture cells,” the alien coughed out.
Torture cells? Harper felt her stomach drop away.
Raiden removed his sword and slammed his elbow down into the guard’s face. He slumped to the floor.
“This way.” Raiden waved them down another tunnel.
Harper moved in close, falling in behind Raiden.
“The House of Thrax has some cells they use for interrogation and torture, as well as solitary confinement.”
“If they’ve hurt them…” Harper said, her tone fierce.
“Likely the Thraxians were just keeping them separated from the general population before transfer.”
Ahead, she saw a dim glow of light. A single Thraxian guard was sitting on a stool in front of a door, looking bored.
“Mine,” she said.
Raiden looked down at her and smiled. He waved her forward.
Harper moved quickly, raising her swords. The guard spotted her at the last second, surging to his feet. But he was too late.
Harper sliced one sword across his belly and sunk her second blade into his shoulder. Blood splattered the rock floor. He cried out and she leaped on him, riding him to the ground.
When she stood, the others were by her side. She turned to face the door. It had a small metal grate built into the top of it.
“Who’s there?” a quiet whisper.
Harper hurried to the door. “Regan? I’m here.”
A slim hand gripped the grate, a face appearing from the shadows.
Harper froze. The woman looked almost human, but had pointed ears and slits on her forehead.
“Your friends are gone,” the woman said.
Chapter Seventeen
Raiden watched Thorin wrench the door open. The Gallian woman stumbled out.
Harper shifted impatiently. “Do you know where Regan and Rory are?”
The woman’s face fell. “They took them. The one called Rory was taken to another location. She’s to be sold to someone local. The other, Regan…they took her not long ago. They said something about a ship.”
Harper’s hands tightened on the woman. “I have to find them.”
Raiden frowned. “We can’t go after both.”
Harper’s face twisted with the agony of her decision. “If the ship leaves the planet—”
He nodded. “We’ll find Rory after we get Regan.”
“We have to move. It won’t be long before the Thraxians notice something is wrong,” Thorin said. “We’ve got to go now.”
Raiden nodded, touching Harper’s shoulder. “Come.”
“Please,” the Gallian woman whispered. “Take me with you.”
“What’s your name?”
“Darla.”
“Saff,” Harper said quietly. “Can you get Darla back to the House of Galen?”
Saff nodded, turning to the woman. “Of course.” The female gladiator’s gaze flicked up to Raiden’s. He knew she’d hate to miss a fight, but he knew she was just as protective of those who were weaker.
He looked at Kace. “Go with them. Stay safe.” The gladiator nodded.
When they reached the exit tunnel, Harper turned to Darla. “These are my friends, Saff and Kace. You need to go with them. They’ll get you somewhere safe.”
“Where?” the woman asked.
“To the House of Galen.”
Darla blanched, taking a step back. “Another gladiator house? Where I’ll be a prisoner again?”
“No, you won’t.” Harper shook her head. “I can’t explain right now, but I need you to trust me.”
Darla looked up at Raiden, standing behind Harper. “He looks at you like he owns you.”
Raiden stepped forward. “I would die to protect her.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open, and she was silent for a moment. “Okay.”
Harper’s mouth rose in a smile. “Go with Saff and Kace.”
Raiden waited until Harper had helped her new friend into the tunnel with the chosen gladiators. He gave his remaining gladiators a nod, and they moved into the tunnel. Raiden took a second to set the grate back in place.
“We need to hurry,” Raiden said. “They will have gone to the spaceport.”
“Quickest way is through the old town center,” Thorin said.
Raiden nodded. They moved fast, and soon snuck out of the arena. As they moved into the darkened streets, he kept his gaze sharp. Kor Magna at night could be a dangerous place. Gangs roamed the streets—former gladiators, wannabe gladiators, people the arena had chewed up and spat out.
They crossed a silent courtyard space, the benches all empty and dark. No lights glowed in the nearby buildings. Soon, they moved back into the narrow twisting streets between the buildings.
Suddenly, a group of dark figures appeared at the end of the alleyway. He muttered a curse. “Keep going,” he murmured to his team. He reached up and pulled his mask off.
As they got closer, he could see it was one of the gangs—each one wore an identical red patch on their clothing. They were starting to fan out to ambush the group, when their leader’s gaze fell on Raiden.
A second later, the gang backed up, and disappeared into the shadows.
“Thank God for that badass reputation of yours,” Harper said.
They kept moving, and soon they emerged from the alleyways in front of a high metal fence.
Beyond the wire, bright lights illuminated the Kor Magna Spaceport.
There were various spaceships parked on the hard-packed san
d. But it was the huge, cigar-shaped, spike-ridden Thraxian ship that dominated the space.
Beside Raiden, Harper stumbled. Something terrible moved across her face.
He gripped her arm. “Harper?”
“It looks exactly like the ship I was on.” Her tone wooden.
He squeezed her arm. “You aren’t on there anymore. You escaped.”
“But I have to go back.”
“No.” He swung her around to face him. “You’re going to save your friend, and this time, you aren’t alone. I’m with you. Every step of the way.”
“I’ve always been alone. Even when my family was alive, they only lived for themselves and their needs. Never for me.”
“I’m here, Harper.”
“Thank you.” She stared back at the ship, then nodded and lifted her chin. “Let’s find Regan.”
***
Harper moved stealthily as she ran along the hull of the ship. Just being near it made her chest tight, but she kept her thoughts focused on Regan.
They found a small side entry port with only a single guard on duty. Raiden took him down without a sound.
As they stepped inside, Harper had to steel herself. The familiar dark floor and corridor made her shudder.
Raiden took the lead, consulting a small computer screen that projected from his wrist. He’d managed to find a rough map of a Thraxian ship in the House of Galen archives. They were currently heading toward the holding cells.
Then they heard the rumble of voices ahead.
Raiden opened a door into a side room, which was thankfully empty. It looked like some sort of dining area. They all moved inside and pressed against the walls on either side of the door.
The voices got louder, the Thraxians lingering just outside the doorway.
“The new prisoner is being processed. I am not sure what all the fuss is about. There is not much to her.”
Harper closed her eyes. Hold on, Regan.
“Removing her is a favor to the imperator here. Commander Yoxx wants her settled, and then we will be leaving. We have a slave auction on Yandras II to make.”
Harper felt Raiden stiffen beside her. She felt the tension vibrating off him. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.
A muscle worked in his jaw. His hands had clenched into hard fists. “Yoxx.”
She waited, dread settling in her belly. She heard the Thraxians move off.
“Yoxx was the commander in charge of the assault on Aurelia.”
God. She felt a tightness in her chest. She felt all the others around them go tense. “Raiden—”
He pressed his fists to the wall. “For years, I’ve dreamed of finding him. Years, I’ve imagined driving my sword through him.”
“Raiden.” Thorin’s voice. “This ship is going to launch soon. We have to find Harper’s friend and get out. We don’t have time for Yoxx.”
Harper pressed her hands to Raiden’s chest, bleeding for him.
“Would you let the person responsible for destroying your life get away?”
Thorin’s jaw tightened and he stayed silent.
Harper barely recognized the stark lines of Raiden’s hard face. It was like he wasn’t even seeing them anymore, his thoughts focused on the commander.
Harper caught her fingers against his leathers. “If we lose Regan, she’ll be gone forever. Lost into slavery.”
“He destroyed my planet!”
The raw pain in his voice tore at Harper. She wanted more than anything for him to find the closure he so desperately needed. But she very much doubted he’d find it in vengeance.
“Will killing him bring your planet back?” she asked quietly. “Will it bring your family back?”
“No. But I’ll have my revenge.”
“Please, Raiden. I have to get to Regan. And I need your help to get her out of here.”
He was shaking his head again. “We’ll split up. Thorin, Nero, Lore, go with Harper and find her friend. I will meet you after.”
Harper pulled in a shuddering breath. He was going to leave her. She fought back her emotions. She understood his pain. She understood what it was to lose everything that mattered, but looking at him now, she realized he wasn’t even thinking of her. She realized that she wasn’t important enough to him.
She understood. This was everything he’d lived for, and it was far more important than a woman from Earth that he’d shared a bed with for a short time. She’d never been important enough to anyone before. Not her parents. Not her sister. Not Raiden.
Harper stepped back. “Of course.”
Something in her voice seemed to snap his attention back to her. He frowned. “Harper—”
“It’s okay. You’ve made your choice. Go. Before the ship leaves.”
His hands circled her wrists. “I will take care of Yoxx and then I’ll be back—”
She lifted her chin. “I need to get to Regan.” She gripped his hands, squeezed, then removed them from her skin.
She turned, finding Thorin’s gaze. Right now, she needed to focus on Regan and not her bleeding heart. “Ready?”
Harper turned away from the gladiator who’d made her believe in things that didn’t exist. Right now, she knew that the only person she could depend on was herself.
She headed out of the room, and back down the corridor in the direction of the cells. She heard the men walking quietly behind her.
“Harper, I’m sorry about Raiden—”
Harper shook her head. “It’s fine, Thorin.” She ignored the sympathy in his voice and she forced all thoughts of Raiden out of her head. He’d made his decision, and it hadn’t been her.
They hurried onward and when she saw the metal-lined corridor, she knew they were getting close.
Suddenly, the lights went out and the corridor was plunged into darkness.
Harper froze, her heart hammering against her ribs. “Do you think they’ve detected us?”
“Probably.” Thorin slapped his axe head against his palm.
Nero gave an unhappy nod.
She nodded grimly. “Then let’s keep moving.” She gripped the hilt of her swords harder. She didn’t care how many Thraxians she had to take down. She wasn’t leaving here without Regan.
They moved to the end of the corridor and paused at the junction. “Left or right?”
Thorin studied the map on his wrist. “I think we need to go right—”
A strange coughing echoed in the darkness.
It raised the hairs on Harper’s arms. Shit. She tried to see through the shadows. What the hell had made that terrible sound?
“Sounds like a Thraxian hunting cat,” Lore said.
“I’m guessing they aren’t cute and fluffy,” Harper said.
“You’d be right.”
Then, she saw the shadows move, and a lean, powerful body slunk out of the darkness. Her muscles froze, and she saw reflective orange eyes looking at her. The creature growled again.
It looked like a black panther, but without the fur. A long, sleek body with huge, clawed paws. It had the same tough skin as the Thraxians, and a set of horns rising up from its large head.
Then, it lifted its head and bared sharp tusks on either side of its teeth-filled jaws.
Scratch that. Not a panther, a sabretooth tiger.
There was movement behind the creature. Three more of the giant, cat-like beasts slunk forward.
Harper swung her swords out in front of her. “Here, kitty kitty.”
She heard Thorin snort. “You have large balls, Earth girl.”
Then the lead creature launched itself forward with a powerful leap.
Thorin’s big body shoved in front of Harper. He gripped the creature, his hands digging into its black skin, and he spun and slammed it into the wall.
Harper heard claws on metal and turned. The other three cats were sprinting forward. Lore and Nero rushed forward to engage.
“Bring it,” she cried.
***
Raiden carefully snuck toward th
e bridge of the ship. He turned a corner and saw two Thraxians walking toward him.
Silently, he attacked, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Thraxian blood sprayed the walls, and with two more slashes, they were dead.
He kept moving, the heat in his blood fueling him. Yoxx was close. Yoxx was a dead man.
Raiden carefully moved past an open doorway.
“The hunting cats have engaged the intruders.”
A second Thraxian gave a deep-throated laugh. “It won’t be long until there’s nothing left but bones.”
Raiden paused. Drak. Harper and the others were fighting Thraxian hunting cats. Raiden had faced one in the arena, once. The creatures were strong, bloodthirsty, and enjoyed eating flesh.
Doubt niggled at him. Thorin would protect Harper. Hell, she could protect herself.
Her face drifted into his head. The way she’d looked as he’d left her. The dead look in her eyes.
It was like she’d cut him off.
With a shake of his head, Raiden kept moving. He forced himself to think of his family. His slaughtered mother and father, his violated, dead sister. They’d never had the chance to grow old, and his sister had never had the chance to become who she’d had the potential to be.
They deserved to be avenged. He deserved to spill Yoxx’s blood.
But Raiden’s steps slowed, his sword dropping to his side. His memories of them were faded. He wondered if wherever they were now, if they cared about vengeance.
The most colorful memories in his head were of his friends here in the arena. Of his purpose in the arena to save those who shouldn’t be there.
Of Harper.
Harper, the small woman who’d gotten under his skin and made him feel so much more. She’d brought him back to life.
And he’d left her.
Just like everyone else in her life had left her.
Drak it all. Raiden turned, and started running back toward her and the others.
As he passed the guard room again, he heard the vicious snarls of the cats. He realized the Thraxians must be watching some sort of security footage.
Then he heard a familiar, deep voice. Thorin. “Run, Harper. Run!”
No. No.
Raiden charged into the room, taking down the unprepared guards with two swift moves. He charged back into the corridor and kept sprinting.