“Let’s get some rest,” said Bladen. “It will make you feel better, and you can get your thoughts together, decide what you want to do, and figure out if you can trust me.”
“Where do we need to go?”
“We can’t be seen together,” said Bladen. “Head east of these rocks until you see the last sand dune. To the right of that is a stack of boulders higher than me. Walk around them until you see the holes on one side. They aren’t deep, but they’ll provide enough shelter from the chill that will descend over the sands. I’ll follow you shortly, when I’m sure the Fraken have their attention diverted elsewhere.”
Grace blinked at him several times, and for a second, he thought he saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but then she laughed, and it vanished. “I’ll go to your lair.”
Chapter 6
Grace staggered along on the sand, her mind a whirling mess and her stomach just as unsettled. Her headache from where she’d slammed her forehead into Bladen’s nose didn’t help to clear her thoughts. What was going on in this game? She almost didn’t care, but flashes of rational thought kept sliding through her head. Could this killer be telling the truth? Or was she imagining the whole thing in a desperate illusion, trying to find salvation before death?
Grace had experienced hallucinations in the cell as her fever took hold. She’d imagined enormous mutant spiders crawling down the wall and creeping towards her along the cold floor. And she’d woken screaming on several occasions, convinced something was slithering across her skin, only to realize she was drenched in her own sweat, and it was sliding down her legs.
This could be another stage in her slipping sanity. She was imagining this Vorten warrior was here to help, but in fact, it was the opposite, and her fevered brain was too injured to realize otherwise.
She shrugged and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. It didn’t matter either way. If this was a delusion, then she’d be dead soon and could be at peace. And even if he was telling the truth, the chances of them getting out were zero. How could one warrior and a sick human make any impact on this game?
And Bladen couldn’t be telling the truth about Eloise, Jessie, and Melody. There was no way they could all have gotten out. Even if their own predators had turned against the Fraken and decided to save them, how had they done it? These games were supposed to be impossible to get out of. All prey died, and the warriors got out to fight in other games. She knew the truth; her friends were dead. Her heart clenched at the sickening thought.
Grace glanced over her shoulder but couldn’t see any sign of Bladen following her. Her gaze drifted to the sky, where she saw several drones tracking her movement. She gestured rudely and then laughed. At least, she’d given them something entertaining to watch as she'd danced around naked in the sand and then thrown up.
Despite her fever driven clashing thoughts, Grace had been aware of the strong surety in Bladen as he’d spoken to her. She’d seen how his skin camouflage had shifted with his emotions, almost as if he weren’t aware of it happening. The color had shifted from a light sand brown to pale grey and then green. She had been able to read the emotions on his skin as he’d struggled to understand her.
And the white streak in his hair was an interesting addition to his already handsome features. It made him stand out, a shock of color against the darkness of his hair and the stubble on his chin.
She shook her head and smirked. She shouldn’t be focusing on how attractive Bladen was; she should be figuring out how to take one of those weapons from him. If she had to, she knew she’d use it on him. But even if she did kill Bladen, it wouldn’t help her in the long term. She was still in the Fraken game, and her time was running out.
Grace slowed as she reached a pile of boulders. She circled around them until she saw two holes, big enough to shelter a single person. This must be where Bladen meant them to shelter. She was tempted to keep walking, keep going across the sand for as long as her legs would hold out. But her knees were already shaky from her previous exertion, and she wouldn’t get far before Bladen caught up with her. She might as well get comfortable before she was killed.
Grace dumped her almost empty bag on the ground and settled on the sand to wait for Bladen. She shifted on the sand, tilting her hips from side to side and trying to get comfortable, but she couldn’t relax. Her skin itched, and her insides kept churning. She jumped to her feet and paced backwards and forwards, glancing into the distance for any sign of Bladen.
She shouldn’t care about him; she didn’t care about him, but not knowing where he was made her nervous. A quick check of the sky confirmed the drones were no longer watching her. Perhaps they’d gone to see what Bladen was doing. And what was he doing? How did he plan to cause a disturbance?
Grace tilted her head as she heard faint popping sounds in the distance. Was that the Fraken or Bladen up to something?
She moved around the boulders and squinted into the growing gloom. She could just make out the faint glow of a fire but had no idea who or what had caused it.
Grace did a complete circle of the boulders again before sitting back on the sand and running handfuls of it through her fingers. Her nerves wouldn’t settle, and her head pounded. She looked in her bag and extracted a Medi-patch and slapped it on her forehead. Instantly, the ache lessened, and her eyes stopped watering. She must learn how to head-butt better. That was the first time she’d done it, and she was certain there was a knack to doing it without knocking yourself out.
A gasp of surprise shot from Grace’s mouth as Bladen slid around the boulders. She hadn’t realized he was so close until he was almost on top of her.
“Curl your legs in, so you’ll be harder for the Fraken to spot,” instructed Bladen.
Grace did as instructed, ignoring the thread of irritation that ran through her at being told what to do.
“Make yourself as small as possible,” said Bladen. “The drones will be hunting for both of us now.”
Grace squashed herself against the boulders as much as possible. “What did you do? I thought I saw a fire.”
“I have a number of devices that will act as distractions, so we can move around a little more freely,” said Bladen. “And we’ll need all the help we can get. A fire will not distract the audience for long. And the Fraken will quickly grow wise to what I’m doing.”
“You mean the whole saving me from the game rubbish?”
Bladen shot her a sharp look. “Exactly that.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Grace.
“I will only be able to achieve it if we work together,” said Bladen. “Don’t expect me to perform a miracle if you’re going to fight me every step of the way.”
Grace looked at the dried blood on Bladen’s nose. “Does that mean I don’t get to head-butt you anymore?”
“That was a lucky shot.” His fingers moved to his nose, and he winced as he touched it.
Grace stared across the sand dune. “When’s the rescue party getting here?”
“I’m your rescue party.” Bladen pulled a ration pack from his bag and offered it to Grace.
She waved it away as her stomach rolled uncomfortably. “Still not feeling so good. Need to pace myself after my month-long enforced fast.”
“You should still eat,” said Bladen.
“Save the food for yourself,” said Grace. “Someone your size must need plenty of energy.”
“I eat plenty.” Bladen’s gaze dipped to the sand. “It looks like you haven’t eaten for some time.”
“A Fraken nutrition pill once a day,” said Grace. “They should market it as the latest diet. Those pills were never going to turn me into a curvaceous sex goddess.”
“You look more athletic than sexy,” said Bladen.
Grace choked out a laugh. “If that’s your idea of a compliment, you need to get more practice. Any woman who falls for that line is an idiot.”
Bladen cleared his throat. “It wasn’t a compliment or an insult. I’m just saying you look lik
e you train hard.”
Grace shot him a sideways glance and thought she saw sincerity on his face. Why would he care about what she used to do? “I was on my feet a lot in my job. I worked the battlefields. I was always running backwards and forwards, carrying the wounded and looking for a space that wasn’t too grimy to treat them. I got good at lifting men twice my size, so I guess that’s where the athletic look comes from.”
Bladen shifted in the sand, making an indentation with his heel. “However you got it, it suits you.”
“My muscles won’t be much good against the Fraken,” said Grace, “or you.”
Bladen’s gaze shifted from left to right as he scanned the horizon. “You have nothing to fear from me. I was speaking the truth. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to help. I was planning on trying to convince the Fraken I was truly hunting you, but your behavior prevented that.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I found you naked and vomiting, I had no option but to assist you.”
“You could have killed me.”
Bladen scrubbed a hand down his face. “That was never an option.”
Grace shook her head. “I still don’t believe you about my friends. You’d have access to information about previous prey, so it would be simple for you to feed me lies and gain my trust.”
“Why would I do that?”
“To make me easier to kill.”
“You’d be easy to kill no matter what I told you,” said Bladen. “Don’t think I go into these games and talk to the prey. I like to go in, get the job done quickly, and then leave.”
“The job being you slaughtering innocent individuals.”
Bladen looked at the ground. “They weren’t always innocent. The Fraken sometimes use criminals in their games.”
“But they were mainly innocent,” said Grace, “most likely, captured in the same way as my friends and me.”
Bladen didn’t meet her gaze. “Most likely, which is why we’re changing things.”
Grace looked at the solid set of Bladen's shoulders and the weapons adorning his chest. It would be so easy for him to kill her. And he was right; he wouldn’t waste his time gaining her trust. There was no point. He was a silent, capable killer.
Grace dumped the handful of sand she held. “I wish I could believe you. I want to.”
Bladen let out a sigh. “What do I need to do to convince you I can be trusted?”
***
“Tell me more about your warriors and my friends. I want to know about them.” Grace’s fever glazed eyes stared at Bladen.
“I can do that.” He ground his teeth as he struggled to stay calm. Everything he said to Grace, she knocked back. He had to get her to believe him. If she didn’t trust him, she wouldn’t follow him through the game, and he would need to watch his back against not only the Fraken, but also her.
And he didn’t want to do that. Behind her wild expression and nervous jitters, he got the sense of someone strong and capable. And she was fast. He hadn’t seen her coming for him when she’d bashed him in the nose. Bladen wanted Grace’s trust. Here was someone he could like, if only she gave him a chance. And he didn’t attempt to deny himself the pleasurable memories of seeing her naked.
Grace was too thin, but she’d fill out nicely when she’d had a couple of weeks of good meals and rest. The thought of seeing her figure again sent a thrill of excitement through Bladen. This human woman was beautiful, smart, and capable. And if her mind hadn’t been lost to the Fraken, he wanted to know more about her.
“Make it good,” said Grace. “Be specific, so I know the Fraken haven’t fed you this information.”
Bladen nodded. “You’ll get to see them soon enough. They all fought well in their games. Eloise encountered Fraken beasts but escaped from her predator, Axen, by swimming out of his reach.”
Grace snorted a laugh. “You’re telling me Vortens can’t swim?”
“Not that well,” said Bladen. “Our planet doesn’t have much water, so it’s a skill we’ve never honed. And the seas on Vorten aren’t safe for swimming.”
“Are you scared of sharks?”
“We have the proper respect for other predators.” Bladen watched a trickle of sweat run down the side of Grace’s face. He lifted his hand to wipe it off but stopped himself.
“Go on; entertain me some more,” said Grace. “Tell me about Melody and Jessie. I bet Melody fought like a hellcat.”
Bladen smiled. “She gave Lazet a hard time. The first time they met, she strung him up.”
Grace’s eyebrows shot up. “Maybe you Vorten aren’t so tough, after all.”
“We’re tough,” said Bladen.
“And Jessie?”
“She drugged my warrior brother. Thunde was out cold for a long time, and she stole his weapons from him. She almost died when a dragon hybrid attacked them, but then ended up saving Thunde from the dragon.”
Grace laughed. “Jessie is smart. She wouldn’t save her killer.”
“She would if he wasn’t her killer but, rather, her protector.”
Grace inhaled deeply. “There is one way you can gain my trust.”
“Go on; what do I need to do?”
“Give me a weapon.” Grace held out a shaking hand.
Bladen instinctively grabbed the hilt of a blade. “You will feel safer with one?”
“Of course. If I have something to defend myself with, I’ll feel better.” Grace’s dark eyes sparkled.
It was a dangerous thing to do, hand over a weapon to someone who obviously didn’t trust him. But Bladen needed Grace’s trust, and if this was the only way, he was willing to take the risk. And if she attacked him, she’d be easy to disarm.
“Scared I might stab you in your sleep?” Grace wiggled her fingers.
“It crossed my mind.”
“So it should,” said Grace. “Are you really too scared to give me one tiny blade?”
Bladen let out a sigh as he pulled a throwing blade from his harness. He flipped the handle in Grace’s direction and held it out. “Ever used one of these before?”
Grace’s eyes widened. “You’re being serious?”
“I am. You’re right; you need to be armed. If we get separated, you need to be able to take care of yourself.”
Grace grabbed the blade so fast that she cut into Bladen’s hand as she yanked it away from him.
Bladen ignored the stinging cut on his hand as he watched her look at the blade. “Do you see now? I trust you. I trust you not to use that blade on me.”
Grace raised her gaze to Bladen's. “I’m not sure whether you’re being brave or foolish.”
“I know what I am,” said Bladen. “Now, perhaps, we should get some sleep.”
Chapter 7
Grace blinked her eyes several times, still not believing she was now holding a blade. She had something to use to protect herself. The knowledge gave her a tiny bit of comfort. “You want to sleep?”
“There’s nothing we can do, right now.” Bladen settled against the rock. “And we need to sleep together. It will get cold, now that the sun has gone.”
Grace’s fingers tingled as she gripped the handle of the blade. “Don’t you know the way out of here?”
“Not yet.” Bladen closed his eyes and rested his hands in his lap. “We need help from the outside. And we’ll need to pick our time carefully when we leave. The Fraken will be expecting something like that to happen, and if they see what we're attempting too soon, it will all be over.” He patted the sand next to him.
Grace stood and took a couple of steps back, her heart racing as she stared at Bladen. She could kill him; she should. He had to be lying to her.
She took a tentative step towards him but then flinched as he moved.
“I assure you; you are safe with me,” said Bladen. “And even though you won’t appreciate it now, once the sun is fully gone and the heat has left the sand, we’ll need each other’s body warmth.” He patted the sand again.
&
nbsp; Grace kept the blade in her hand as she took another step, followed by another. She didn’t take her gaze off Bladen as she eased herself to the ground, keeping a healthy distance from him.
“I don’t smell bad. Get as close to the rocks and me as you can,” said Bladen. “The Fraken have not made it easy for us to hide. There are normally caves and sheltered spots, where predators and prey can rest. But they want to keep track of us. And after their last failures, I don’t blame them.”
Grace smelt the hot male muskiness of Bladen and hated the fact she liked it. It had been a long time since she'd enjoyed the scent of a man. “Are they watching us now?”
“There will be drones,” said Bladen. “They were here earlier, but my fire distracted them, and I was able to slip away without them seeing me. They will know my approximate location, though. They have a way of keeping track of warriors in the game.”
“How do they do that?”
“This collar around my neck,” said Bladen. “It tracks my movements and shocks me, signaling the Fraken wish to communicate. They have recently made modifications to this one, so they can use it as a form of punishment, as well.”
Grace gazed at the metallic looking collar around Bladen’s neck. “Which makes you as much of a prisoner as I am. If they control your movements with that, it’s just like locking you up.”
“I had my freedom,” said Bladen. “But perhaps, you’re right. Recently, I have been feeling more like a prisoner. Before I entered this game, they confined me to the warrior room. They have never done that before.”
Grace shifted away from Bladen, suddenly aware of feeling his body heat. He made no move to attack her, and after sitting in silence for some time, she felt a little of the tension in her shoulders ease.
“We might as well get as comfortable as we can,” said Bladen. “We need to wait until dawn before we try to get out.”
“It's hard to get comfortable on sand,” said Grace. “But it’s a step up from a cold cell floor.”
“Only just,” muttered Bladen. “Sand gets everywhere.”
Grace watched as Bladen rested his head against the rock. He opened his eyes and kept his steady gaze on her. His arms were relaxed, leaving his weapons exposed. She could do it now, lunge at him with the blade she still gripped. If she thrust hard enough, she was certain she’d be able to break through his skin and injure him. But Grace hesitated, curiosity winning over her fear and suspicion.
Bladen Page 4