by T. S. Ryder
Taliga held the food out to her. "We will be arriving at our destination in a few hours. You had better eat."
"What do you care?"
Vanessa twisted her hands. They were still tender from the hours she had spent banging them against the door, but a few rounds with the ancient regenerator the T'shav had on board had reduced the bruising and swelling to a minimum. Not that she was going to thank them for that. They weren't doing it from the kindness of their hearts, it was only because they were protecting their merchandise. The same with Taliga's insistence that she eat.
"Do you really think starving yourself is going to help you out at all?"
"Oh, yes, I think that it's going to make me thin and so beautiful that you won't be able to bring yourself to selling me to your mysterious third party." She couldn't help but be sarcastic.
Taliga's brow creased as he set the food down. "How would being thinner make you more beautiful than you already are?"
If he wasn't a kidnapping mercenary, that might have actually been romantic. Vanessa turned her face away, clenching her jaw. The T'shav stared at her a moment longer. He opened his mouth, then shook his head and left her alone in her cell.
The food smelled and looked mediocre at best, but Vanessa's stomach growled, so she ate. As she did so, she hiked up her long skirt and pulled the small silver cross she had hidden in her garter. It was the last thing she had from Earth, a gift from her mother when she was eighteen (despite the fact that Vanessa had stopped going to church and had no intention of returning). Wearing it during the dawning rites had been strictly forbidden, as were any religious items not directly related to the rites, but Vanessa always kept it with her.
If her mother was here now… well, she would have words for her daughter about the feelings she had been having of late.
Despite the fact that he kidnapped her, Vanessa's heart lurched a little every time she saw Taliga. She knew it wasn't right. Maybe even a little Stockholmy, although maybe it was a little too quick for that. Whatever the reason, she couldn’t help herself. Whenever she was around him, her heart would hammer, her breath would quicken, and she'd have a spinning sensation in her head and a tightening between her legs.
And that wasn’t the worst of it. When he was gone and she found herself alone, her thoughts were inevitably drawn to him. He was a gorgeous specimen. A terrible, criminal, kidnapping person, but oh so gorgeous. More than once she woke with her heart racing from dreams where he was laying over her, gently undressing her.
In any other situation, she would have a much harder time not finding a way to make it come true.
The image came into Vanessa's mind again, of Taliga's mouth on various parts of her body. Her core tightened. And guilt rose in her chest. She had always been taught that sex was something sacred that should only happen between married partners. It didn't matter if she had rejected most tenants of the faith she was raised in, that one stayed. It was wrong to have these lustful thoughts about a man she had no intention of being with, especially about an alien that had kidnapped her!
"It must be because he's in musth," she whispered. "It's his pheromones playing with my head."
But was musth really that specific? Yes, she was having desires for Taliga, but the other T'shav left her cold. The sneers, the open ogling. He made her skin crawl. He was the one that had mentioned being in musth. So shouldn't she be drawn to him, or at least both of them? If only she knew more about musth…
Vanessa slid the necklace over her head, tucking the cross hidden into her cleavage. Now was not the time for the feeling of lust or guilt over her lust. It was a natural bodily function, no need to feel guilt for it, but it was distracting her from the real problem she had.
Getting away from these two before they sold her to their mysterious buyer was the real problem. Because anybody who would hire a couple of mercenaries to get her certainly would not have her best interests at heart. Maybe they were going to ransom her, but chances were they had a much darker purpose.
So how could she convince them to release her?
***
The planet they landed on was a dark, cold place. Its orbit was synchronized with a larger one closer to the sun, casting it in near-permanent shadow. The grass that grew here were tall and spindly, and so pale that they looked skeletal. They spread out in every direction. The ship's landing propulsions had flattened the flora in a large circle around them, but beyond that it was just tall enough to be past Taliga's head.
Vanessa fought to stay calm as Taliga pulled her out of the ship. She had no plan to get away from here, but she knew she had to act.
"The restraints are too tight," She said, holding up her wrists. They were bound together by circles of blue energy, projected by small silver clasps stuck to the back of her hand.
"No, they're not," Taliga said, not looking at her as he pulled her along. He glanced around. "Looks like our buyer is just arriving."
Vanessa saw the bright lights of a second ship just through the pale grass. Her stomach cramped. This was her only chance. If she could get into the flora, then perhaps they would lose her. Her white dress would blend in if nothing else.
She yanked her arm away from Taliga and dashed towards the tall grasses. She managed five feet before both T'shav were on her again. Kulog grabbed her first, arms circling her chest. Taliga tore her away from the other T'shav and threw her over his shoulder.
"I could handle her," Kulog growled.
"And I'd rather not waste time while you threaten her," Taliga growled back.
Vanessa kicked her feet. "Let me go!"
He ignored her, as expected. They headed towards the other ship Vanessa fought the best she could, but there was no freeing herself from the strong T'shav. When he finally put her down, he spun her to face his buyers. Vanessa froze as fear flooded her.
Half a dozen men stood in a semi-circle around the gangplank. Light spilled out from their ship, casting their faces into shadow. But the light blue robes with golden trim, matched with collars of purple and black, told her enough. They were priests from the Wytsian Order. Their creed was that the influx of humans found in the stasis chambers weren't 'real' humans, and needed to be wiped out.
Taliga was selling her to be slaughtered.
"Our human at last," one of them, a blue-skinned Aphrosian said, greedy golden eyes locked on her.
"Untouched, without a bruise on her," Taliga said. His hand was clamped hard on her shoulder.
Vanessa glanced at him. While he may not have shown kindness to her on their way here, he hadn't been cruel, either. His desire for her had been obvious as well, terrifying her as much as it drew her in. But he hadn't acted on it, had even protected her from Kulog. She hadn't expected this. Out of everybody he could have stolen her for, why did they have to be people who would kill her?
"Payment, as promised," the priest said, waving his hand. One of his fellows stepped forward with a box.
"Please." Vanessa turned to Taliga. She grabbed his hand but he pulled it away. "Please, don't give me to them. You know they'll kill me. Please. Please! I haven't done anything wrong."
Kulog yawned. "So? We're not in the business of taking in strays, you know. We spent good money getting you, and now we're getting a profit off of you. It's just business."
Vanessa reached for Taliga's hand again. Fear was so thick in her chest she thought she might choke on it. Her whole body trembled as the priest came forward with the payment. If she couldn’t reach this T'shav somehow… shew as finished. There would be no getting away from the Wytsian Order.
"Please," she begged again. "I'll do anything you ask of me. I'll be your slave for when you go through musth if that's what you want me to do. Please."
Finally, she had a reaction from him. The cold expression on his face faltered and he shook his head.
"I don't want a slave for such purposes," he said quietly.
"You know they're going to kill me. Don't you have a heart?"
He turned her away
from him and pushed her towards the priests. "What will you do with her now?"
Oh, so he cared, did he? Vanessa wished she had a knife. If she did, she'd stab him in the heart he didn't have. Her lip trembled. Why? Why did this have to happen? To feel that draw to him, only to have this happen? As if it wasn't already enough of a betrayal for her body to long to be twined with his.
"We'll take her back to the place where Humans first roamed and preform a sacrifice to appease the angered spirits of our ancestors that such a creature was allowed to live."
"I'm human," Vanessa cried. She tried to shy away from the priest as he handed the box to Kulog, but Taliga's hand was firm on her shoulder, stopping her from moving in any direction. "Please, I'm human. I was born in 1989 in Toronto, Canada, Earth. My parents were—"
The priest cut her off with a terrible glare. "You are an imposter."
"How will you kill her?" Taliga's voice was flat. "Quickly?"
"What does it matter?" Kulog gave him a disgusted look. "We've gotten our payment, just give them the woman and we can be on our way. If it's so hard for you, just imagine that she's Edala."
Taliga grunted. His grip on her shoulder tightened.
"Come on." Kulog rolled his eyes. "You know as well as anybody that women can't be trusted. I bet she's led on dozens of men, then turned around and accused them of horrible things. Getting sacrificed is no more than she deserves."
"How will you kill her?" Taliga repeated.
The priest didn't move his eyes from Vanessa's face. "We'll cut her heart out and feed it to the Earth."
Vanessa cried out in horror. Behind her, Taliga tensed.
Chapter Four – Taliga
Why should he care?
It wasn't like he knew her. Kulog was right. A woman like her, with all her delicious curves and that beautiful face, could have a choice of any man she wanted. Just like Edala, using her beauty against him. And even if she wasn't, she was cargo. He was getting well paid to deliver her to these priests.
What they did to her after they had her was their own business. He had known from the start that they were going to kill her. It didn't matter what method they were going to use. It didn't matter that Vanessa was pressed against him, shivering, tears pooling in her eyes. It didn't matter that she was the furthest thing from Edala Taliga had ever met.
It didn't matter that he wanted to tear apart all of these priests for daring to even think of hurting her.
His hand gripped the butt of his blaster. Even if he wanted to try to save her, he wouldn’t be able to do it. First, he'd have to shoot Kulog, or the other T'shav would get in his way. Then he'd have to lay down a cover fire at the priests while pulling Vanessa back through the grass towards the ship and hope they didn't return his fire.
He cast a glance over them. They didn't appear to be carrying weapons, but that didn't mean much. Their loose robes could be concealing dozens of smaller guns, not to mention bladed weapons.
"Please," Vanessa whispered again.
Even if he did shoot Kulog and got away from the priests, there was his piloting skills–or lack of–to contend with. Would he be able to outfly the priest's ship?
Did it matter? Could he leave Vanessa to her fate? Even if she was Edala rather than the clueless, innocent human she was, would he really be able to hand her over to such a cruel fate? Was that the kind of man he was? Was it the kind of man he wanted to be?
"Are you sure you need her unmarked and untouched?" Kulog asked the priests.
He turned and looked up and down Vanessa in a very deliberate, violating way. She shivered, shying away from him and closer to Taliga. The T'shav tensed, glaring at his partner.
Kulog grinned at her. "Can't we have a little fun with her first?"
Taliga had fired his blaster before he even realized he had drawn it. The bolt of energy hit Kulog square in the chest, lifting him off his feet and throwing him backward. There was a sizzling and popping sound; a shower of black dots sprang from Kulog's chest. Nanite armor. Invisible, but effective once against almost any attack.
Kulog stumbled. His face twisted in a snarl as he reached for his broadsword. Taliga grabbed Vanessa's arm and pulled her back the way they had come, running half-turned, shooting at the priests as they chased after the two fleeing figures.
"Taliga!" Kulog's voice boomed over the sound of the blaster-fire. "You traitor! This is the repayment I get for saving your life all those years ago? I should have cut your head from your shoulders and used the human to my delight from the start!"
"What are you doing?" Vanessa gasped.
"Trying to save your life! Run!"
She stumbled, but Taliga still urged her faster. The sound of Kulog's screaming was getting ever closer, and if they didn't get to the ship before the other T'shav, it would be all over. Taliga didn't have nanite armor to protect him, and Vanessa's flimsy white dress certainly would do nothing to stop a blaster bolt from tearing through her soft, feminine body.
"Taliga, face me, you coward!" The rage in Kulog's voice was reaching levels of madness. He never could control his temper, even when not in musth. "Fight me! I'll make your death swift!"
Taliga cursed. He dragged Vanessa closer and threw her over his shoulder. The extra weight slowed him slightly, but he could move smoother now and didn't have to worry about Vanessa stumbling over her dress. Unlike the other times he carried her like this, she remained still. Her panting was louder than his own breathing.
"He's going to kill us," she whimpered. "He's going to kill us."
They emerged from the long grass, the ship in sight. Taliga's heart rose. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that they would get out of this alive…
"I prepared for the chance you'd betray me," Kulog shouted again, still in the tall grasses.
They were almost to the ship. Just a few more steps—
The ship exploded. The force picked Taliga up and threw him backward. Red and yellow flames burst from the hull, sending shards of debris all around them. Taliga tucked Vanessa into a ball and shield her with his body, covering her ears and face with his arms. Smoldering pieces of metal fell onto his back, making him grunt with pain.
Once the shockwave had passed, he scrambled to his feet. His back felt like it was on fire. Kulog and the priests emerged from the grass. Taliga threw Vanessa over his shoulder again and ran. A bolt flew by his ear.
"No, you fool!" roared one of the priests. "You'll hit our sacrifice!"
He darted into the grasses, knowing that speed was his only chances now. Just beyond the tall grasses were pale shades that might be trees, so he headed towards them. There might be a chance to hide among them. The sounds of pursuit faded behind him, though he knew it wouldn't last long. These grasses might hide where he was, but the trail he was leaving was plain as day, even in this dark world.
"I can walk," Vanessa said after some time.
The T'shav grunted. It would be better that way–they could still move, but he would also be free to fight. He slowed and stopped before setting her down. She was shivering violently, but that was only to be expected. The blue crackle of light from her restraints lit her face. Her eyes were wide.
Taliga couldn’t help himself. He brushed his fingers against her cheek. "It's going to be okay, Vanessa. I won't let them hurt you."
She hesitated before nodding. Trust shone clearly from her eyes, making it difficult to breathe. He had never had anybody look at him like that before.
The desire to kiss her welled up in him, but he shoved it away. This whole situation was a mess, and he wasn't going to make it worse. He ought to have just handed her over. He had ruined his own chances now. Where in the galaxy could a mercenary go where he would be safe from the likes of the Wytsian Order?
"Here." He flicked his thumbs over the restraints, turning them off. The small silver clasps fell to the ground. He grabbed his knife and grabbed a handful of Vanessa's skirt. She yelped as he ripped a strip off at the knee, then tied it around her waist. "We migh
t need to use that for bandages. Are you hurt?"
She shook her head mutely.
Taliga grunted. What had he been thinking? Risking his life, giving up everything, for a woman. This woman. Hadn't he learned his lesson with Edala? Love was a weakness. Worse than that, it got people killed. And yet when Vanessa put her hand on his arm and peered up at him, his anger at himself melted away.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Don't thank me yet. There's a settlement five clicks that way if I remember correctly." Without a compass, it was impossible to know for sure. "Hopefully we'll find a United Species Corps base. They'll be able to hold off the Wytsians."
If the USC decided to help him at all. The Corps wasn't known for treating T'shav well, and whatever officers they found here–if any at all–might just end up handing them both over to the Wytsians with the right monetary encouragement.
He started walking, a steady pace but not one so fast that Vanessa would wear out quickly. Vanessa's hand slid into his, for comfort or to help her keep up, he didn't know. In any case, it felt too familiar, too intimate, and he shifted it to his shoulder instead.
The only ground-level indication when they entered the pale forest was that darkness became even deeper. The grasses barely thinned, although shades of the trees stretched out above them.
Taliga frowned as they walked, searching for some small niche that seemed impossible to find. Was there no way to hide from their pursuers? Vanessa's breathing was becoming labored, and though he slowed a little more, he knew she wouldn’t be able to keep going for long. They needed to rest but were too vulnerable out here.
"Once we get to the settlement, what do we do if there isn't a USC base?" she asked.
"Steal a ship and get off the planet."
"And go where?"
Taliga shrugged. "Somewhere safe."
"I'm from Zon's Sanctuary. If we could contact him, I know that he'd send somebody to come pick me up."
Taliga glanced at a nearby tree. It was spindly, but the darkness swallowed up the canopy completely. Any number of creatures could be up there and they'd have no idea. And neither would their pursuers. If he put Vanessa up a tree and then continued the path to some sort of cliff or river, he could throw Kulog off his trail, at least for a little while. Long enough to buy them time to rest, at least.