The chief slammed down his staff, the loud banging echoing throughout the room, instantly silencing the Avroxee. They were certainly disciplined enough. Pelos, who had led me here, stepped forward, holding the length of chain attached to my shackles.
“Your excellence,” he said, his words booming off the walls around us, “Today I have brought you a most pleasant surprise. I found this Earthling woman hiding herself in the marketplace. She’s Krult’s selected mate, if you haven’t recognized her yet. As you can see, she is without child, many weeks after being selected.”
The chief considered these words. I tried to think of something, anything to say.
“Of course I am not pregnant,” I argued, “a human woman carries a child for nine months before she gives birth. There is still plenty of time for me to give you what you all so desperately need.”
I heard laughter all around me.
“Foolish Earth woman,” the chief said, “Have you no idea that the Avroxee gene can make us grow at an exceptional rate, even in the womb? It is one of two traits that our species carries, other than our ability to only produce males.” I wasn’t expecting something like this, and suddenly I felt my face grow pale.
“My question is: what have you been doing all this time, if you have not yet mated with Krult?” He asked. Pelos looked at me suspiciously. He stepped closer to answer for me,
“They’ve been working on a little something, your Excellence,” he said. “What are you referring to?” The chief asked.
“They’ve been trying to create without mating,” Pelos said, as if he was tattling on us in school or something.
This whole thing made me irritated. “Who cares if we’re coming up with an original method of doing things?” I asked, completely forgetting my manners in the presence of the chief. I didn’t care about formalities right then. I needed enough time for Krult to get here, wherever he was.
“First Krult, and now you are here, telling me again what is best for our planet,” The chief said, “It’s simply unacceptable, going against Avroxee rules. Rules that have been in place since the planet’s conception.”
He tapped his staff, more lightly this time. Two Avroxee pulled a switch, and a plush carpet rolled down a set of stairs from his towering throne. He walked down them, and approached me. He circled around me, studying me. Up close I could see the harsh lines of age across his face, and his mouth was twisted into a permanent grimace.
“Now,” he said, and his eyes lingered too long on my chest. I tried to cover myself up, but Pelos pulled on my chain, yanking me forward. “We can give you two options. I generally have a specific form of punishment for a defecting Avroxee. However, this is a special occasion, since I’d never had to punish a woman before, let alone an Earth woman.”
“What are my choices?” I asked him, trying to pull against Pelos’s grip. The chief smiled a devilish grin. “Since you refused to mate with Krult…you can mate with me. Right here. If not, you’ll be instantly fed to the Wanchan.”
I had no idea what a Wanchan was, but anything sounded better than being publicly humiliated in front of an entire colony of Avroxee. Either choice promised certain doom. After having the chief’s baby, I’d be killed instantly. Maybe if I chose the Wanchan, it’d be a less certain doom. I’d still have a chance of escaping somehow.
“I’d rather take my chances with the Wanchan,” I said, almost wanting to spit on his face for even suggesting he sleep with me. I had probably just said my last words, but I was willing to take the risk if it meant I has a slim chance of surviving.
“Fine,” the chief said, sounding disappointed and bitter. He walked back up the stairs, and raised his staff. I heard the clanking of chains as they rattled near a large double doorway, nearby. The Avroxee cheered with delight as an enormous roar filled the entire hall, and in that moment I wondered whether if I had made the right choice…
KRULT
I managed to push my way through the crowd, into the great hall, but I made sure I entered through a side door, one that connected the hall to the arena. Ducking around some of the guards, I found myself in a small armory. I quickly grabbed what I could find and suited up: a spear in my hand and a helmet on my head. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it was enough for whatever I had to encounter. I needed to get to Jocelyn before the unthinkable happened to her.
I knew that I couldn’t push my way into the great hall by myself. I would have to find an opportunity to sneak in. A group of guards started running, shouting commands to one another as they opened one of the smaller doors in the armory. I’d seen the door only once before, when delivering a weapon to a friend. It led to the hallway where the Wanchan was kept. I could hear it growling, on the other side, low and treacherous. Seizing the opportunity, I followed the guards in my new disguise.
We moved down a hallway, which ended in a winding runway. Below, there was a large pit. I could just make out the wild frizzed fur peeking up from the darkness. They hadn’t released him yet. I felt a chill run down my spine as I thought Jocelyn might have accepted the chief’s other option, and agreed to mate with him. I knew Jocelyn was stronger than that, and much more determined, which were comforting thoughts to me. She wouldn’t give up so easily, or risk herself for humiliation followed by death.
I heard the familiar gong sound that summoned the beast, and suddenly it stirred. The rattling of chains disrupted my thoughts, and I leaned over the railing to get a better look. I could see light peeping around the door, and the crack grew larger as the door opened wider. They were releasing the Wanchan, after all. I knew the guards wouldn’t dare to follow him out. He was a bloodthirsty beast that would eat someone in a second without thinking. I tried to think of a hasty plan. There was no way Jocelyn could fight this creature, alone. But, then again she wouldn’t have to be alone…
JOCELYN
I was alone on the floor. My chains had been removed and I faced the large door that was slowly opening up. Where the hell was Krult? He must have known by now that I was trapped here. I looked around for any sort of weapon, but the floor was empty, and there was nowhere to hide. It was just me and those doors, and whatever was hiding inside.
A gong sounded. I heard a rumble of footsteps coming towards me from out of the darkness. I braced myself for whatever this Wanchan was going to do to me. Suddenly, there was a gravely roar, followed by the pained cry of a beast. In an instant, the Wanchan had bounded into the room. It was much larger than I had anticipated, almost the size of an elephant. It looked like a hyena and a wildcat hybrid of a creature, with two tusk-like fangs hanging from its upper lip. It’s fur looked like a prehistoric tiger’s, but ruffled and torn from years of battle. It made a run towards me and the crowd went wild, waiting for it to tear into my flesh. They wanted to see the bloodshed so badly, that they hardly noticed there was something strange about the Wanchan.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small figure dangling off the side of the Wanchan, holding onto a rod of some kind. The figure wore a helmet; so I couldn’t make out who it was, but I desperately wished it was the man I’d been waiting for. The Wanchan made another pass towards me; it’s feet pounding on the tiled floor, its mouth agape. The figure cried out in fear as he struggled to hold on. Finally, he lets go of the rod, and tumbled to the ground beside me.
His helmet skittered across the tile, and relief washed over me as I saw that it was Krult. He gave me a tired smile, “I made it,” he said. I almost wanted to laugh, but I was too busy fearing for my life. I helped him to his feet.
“Any clue how to stop this thing?” I asked, out of breath from running from it. The Wanchan was circling us now, watching us like a cat waiting to jump on its prey.
“I got my spear into his shoulder, but it’s not enough to stop him,” Krult said, his eye on the creature.
“How did you even get here?” I asked, getting ready to run again.
“I jumped!” Krult exclaimed, as if he couldn’t believe what he had done either. “Just as t
hey were about to release him, I jumped!” I shook my head at him, amazed at his improvisation.
“It’s coming back!” He yelled, grabbing my hand. We made a run for it, just trying to escape to another corner of the hall. From his throne, the chief smirked at us, waiting to see his two defectors eaten alive. Pelos stood at his side, proud of himself for getting us there. I wanted the Wanchan to eat them both, though that would only create a further gap between the Avroxee and me.
“Can’t you teleport us out of here?” I asked Krult.
“I exhausted those abilities when I took you from Earth,” he explained, “It takes up to several months for me to be able do that again.”
“Well this is just perfect timing,” I said, rolling my eyes.
The Wanchan tumbled closer to us; it’s paws sounded like thunder.
“I am going to jump,” Krult said. There was a dangerous, almost nonexistent, amount of space for Krult to grab onto, which made me skeptical. The Wanchan got closer to us, its teeth gnashing at me, but I was able to dodge. However, one of its teeth grazed against my shoulder, tearing my clothes. I cried out in pain. I couldn’t see the wound, but I reached up and could feel blood already staining the rest of my shirt.
Krult managed to grab the spear, by a stroke of luck or genius. The creature reared back from the added weight, but Krult hung on.
“Lead him to a corner!” He yelled down to me. I yelled and waved my arms at the beast. It looked over at me, scratching at the floor before chasing after me. I realized it was a lot faster than I was, but I was able to slide towards a corner.
“Go under, then jump!” Krult shouted. At first I didn’t understand what he meant. The Wanchan’s jaws bit at me, and I ducked down against the wall. It tried to scratch at me, pawing at the wall, but it missed. Krult took the spear out and stabbed a new point into its side. It growled in pain, and I took the opportunity to run underneath it, coming on the side where the spear was. Krult hung down from it, and took my hand.
“Grab on!” He said, swinging me up. There was nothing to hold onto except for a cluster of fur on the Wanchan. The creature tried to shake us off, but we held on tight, staggering as we climbed onto its back.
Krult took the spear from its side and we scooted ourselves further towards the creature’s neck. The crowd boo-ed us, disappointed at the sudden change in advantage. Krult and I straddled the creature’s neck. It ran, trying to shake us off.
“Can we kill it?” I asked him. He held tighter to my waist, his other hand clutching a handful of Wanchan skin and fur.
“The Wanchan has thick skin,” he explained, “It would take much more than a spear to kill him.” I looked around for any other possibility. I knew there had to be another way. Then, I saw it; the gong hanging above the door where the Wanchan ad first appeared. The gears in my mind started to turn. We couldn’t kill the creature, but we could at least send it back home. Apparently is was trained.
“Hand me that,” I said to Krult, pointing to the spear. He reached down, and pried the spear from the Wanchan’s skin and handed it to me.
Just as he did, the creature gave a violent shake. Krult lost his grip on me, and tried to regain his position.
“I can’t hold on,” he said.
“Let go,” I told him. He looked up at me with wide eyes.
“I‘ve got this!” I said reassuringly, even though I was not positive that I did. He let go, and tumbled back to the ground. The crowd “ooh-ed” at him as he smacked onto the floor. I looked back to make sure he was all right, and was relieved when he stood up. I looked towards the gong. I had one shot, and after a quick calculation I prayed to any Avroxee god to guide my hand as I threw the spear.
It flew through the air, over the Wanchan’s head, and hit the gong; the sound ringing low and clear. The Wanchan stopped and I jumped off. As if in a trance, the Wanchan walked back into its chambers.
The chief stood in his throne, and hollered at us angrily.
“Bring him back out!” He demanded. A group of soldiers tried to coax the beast back out, but it shrunk away, going back to a deep slumber.
“Impossible,” he said to us, furious. I went to check on Krult, helping him stand up again.
“Now that we’ve defeated-” Krult began.
“Not defeated, spared,” I corrected him.
“Right, now that we’ve spared your Wanchan, your Grace, we demand that you give us a fair hearing to hear what we have to say. After all, we’ve proved ourselves in battle.”
The chief thought for a moment.
“Only on the condition that you’ve proved yourselves. To ignore your success would also go against the Avroxee rules. Please, come forward…”
KRULT
I took Jocelyn’s hand, and led her towards the steps of the chief’s throne. Even after all we had been through, we manages a slight bow out of respect.
“Your Grace,” I said, the fear of the Wanchan was replaced by the fear of what the chief would say to us. “We’ve come to propose a new idea.”
“Your Grace,” Pelos said from the Throne, trying to interject. The chief held up his hand to silence him.
“We must honor the demands of someone who’s won a battle, Pelos,” he said. Pelos shrunk back, sneering down at us. I made a knowing face at him.
“This isn’t the same idea I came to you with, before.” I explained. I gestured to Jocelyn, who was clinging so tightly to my hand I was afraid it would fall off. “I chose this Earth woman because she is a scientist on her planet. I brought her here in the hopes she could prevent the Avroxee from becoming extinct. The way we treat females is hostile and is a disgusting practice that we’ve carried on in for generations.”
“What do you suggest we do, then?” The chief said. “This is all we’ve ever known.”
“We’ve tried to find a better way,” Jocelyn chimed in, “At first we tried to develop an Avroxee fetus using only Avroxee and polyfrog genes. We were able to successfully create an embryo, which we planned to show you, but unfortunately it was destroyed… by Pelos.”
The crowd gasped at this, and a thousand heads turn towards Pelos. The chief grimaces,
“So what do you propose now?”
“Well, we’ve managed to discover something else,” I said, “as a result of…well, as a result of mating. Jocelyn and I did not mate for reproduction. We discovered…a rather incredible ability, through our sexual connection.”
The chief looks skeptical at this point. “Demonstrate,” he said.
I nodded, and asked for a guard’s spear. I took the spear and cut a long, jagged line down my chest towards my stomach. The crowd mumbled, probably wondering if I was wrong and going to die in front of them. The chief still isn’t sure what to expect.
“Watch,” I said, taking Jocelyn’s face in my hands, and pulling her close for a kiss. Jocelyn shook under my touch, and I realized she was just as nervous as I was. I pulled away a bit. “It’s okay,” I whispered to her, “just relax.” She did, leaning more into our kiss. As I pulled away, we waited. Suddenly, warmth passed through my body, and I could feel every cell inside me vibrating. The crowd fell silent as they heard the hum emerging from me, and soon after that my skin began to glow the same color white from the night before. The crowd “ahh-ed” as the skin around my wound grouped together and healed itself. To my surprise, the glow spread down my arm and up Jocelyn’s, healing the bite she received from the Wanchan. I looked at the chief, waiting for his response. His face had changed now, from a look of annoyance to one of surprise.
“Krult and I, we’ve established a connection with one another. A romantic one,” Jocelyn explained, “Once we’d professed our feelings for one another, we found that the connection brought out a hidden ability within an Avroxee. We discovered that through sexual connection, a ‘true love’ effect as we’ve come to call it…or, what I called it, I know it’s silly-”
I put my hand on her shoulder to stop her from rambling. She smiled shyly. “Through this, we ca
n find mates as we always have, but perhaps go about it with a different approach,” I suggested, “Avroxee can find mates, but permanent ones. They can strengthen us as warriors with their companionship, and literally heal us…with something that Avroxee have never truly encountered before. Love.”
We waited for them to laugh at us. It all sounded so ridiculous, but we had proven it to them. They had seen what we could do if we exposed our hearts to one another. The chief approached me, and touched my chest where the wound was.
“It’s not a trick,” he announced, “nor any type of magic. This is something we’ve never discovered before.” He looked into my eyes, and I saw a glimmer of hope. “You have truly advanced our people forward, towards a new horizon. We have always followed our code, but today, for the first time, I am willing to change the rules.”
Jocelyn and I beamed with pride at this. The chief waved his arms at the crowd. “I am pardoning these two,” he announced, “from this day forward, we will find suitable mates, ones that we can keep for life, to keep us strong in battle and to keep our hearts strong as well. I will spread this word to the other colonies of Avrox.”
The crowd cheered, to my surprise. I almost wanted to collapse into Jocelyn’s arms. I held her, both of us relieved. She almost looked as if she was about to cry. “I can’t believe it,” she said, choking up. I kissed her, long and lovingly, “Thank you,” I said, and then I pointed to the crowd, “They’re thanking you too.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Pelos creeping towards the front door, attempting an exit. The guards at the front stopped him.
“Pelos,” The chief yelled over the crowd. For your crimes of sabotaging the Avroxee people, I am sentencing you to death.” Pelos’s eyes widened, and he fell to his knees, to beg for forgiveness. “He has caused enough pain here,” The chief told a guard, “Feed him to the Wanchan instead.”
The Avroxee Mates Series: Boxset Bks 1-3 Page 6