by T. S. Ryder
Gylden twisted to see Bianca running down the gangplank. She had an armful of the cage anchors. They tumbled from her arms as she ran to him. The T'shav wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her how smart she was, but there wasn't time.
"These aren't anchored," Scarface shouted after them as the two fugitives joined hands and ran. "We'll be free before you know it!"
"This way," Bianca said, tugging Gylden's hand.
She headed for a nearby ship. The gangplank was open, unlike the ships around them, and he could only hope that this was the bounty hunter's ship and that nobody else would be aboard. There were a few people around the docks, some hiding behind crates, others with personal recording devices pointed at them.
He was being filmed in the end after all. Gylden wished he could go destroy each and every one of them.
Just as they reached the gangplank of the ship, Gylden stumbled. Blood was soaked through his robe, and the fabric he'd packed into his wound was working its way free. His head spun quite suddenly, and he nearly collapsed. He heard shouts behind him as the bounty hunters freed themselves. But Bianca was there, with him, supporting him as they ran into the ship. She ordered the gangplank to rise as she ran towards the cockpit.
Gylden let himself drop, breathing deeply through the pain. The wound, while bad, was not fatal as long as the ship had a regenerator. He felt the ship's engines start up. Gravity tugged at his naval as they took to the air. When that tug was gone, he knew that they were safe in the reaches of space once more.
Bianca joined him soon after. Her hands were tender as she looked after his wound, and he watched her silently. Without her, he never would have had the strength to fight back against the horrors of his life. He owed her far more than he would ever know.
"We'll be at the Sanctuary soon," she said, her voice trembling. "This ship is fully fueled. We won't have to stop until we're there. And then these bounty hunters will stop. Zon will protect us, and you'll never have to kill again. We can be a proper family."
Gylden suppressed a shiver. He had been avoiding thinking about that since they left the network station. He had been a gladiator his whole life… He was good at it, as he had just proved.
If he wasn't going to be a killer, what was he?
His hand drifted to Bianca's stomach, and he was bolstered once again. He was going to be a good mate to his mate, and a father to his child. He managed a small smile. There was no reason to be afraid… he was going to figure out who he was, and it would be glorious.
Chapter Twelve – Bianca
Would the warlord welcome them, or would he turn them away since they had the Rayne Five bounty on their heads? Bianca docked the ship, nerves churning in her stomach. Although maybe that was the morning sickness. Did it hit this quickly?
"Regretting the decision to give up fame and public adoration for this?" Gylden asked, the stress in his voice making his joke fall flat.
Bianca still smiled at his attempt. "Never. Well, it's time to face the music."
Gylden nodded. He held his hand to her, and she gratefully took it. Her hands trembled as they lowered the gangplank. The gladiator's sword was strapped to his back, a sign that he didn't want a fight. But the sight that greeted them as they exited the ship had them freezing. Half a dozen T'shav stood in a circle on the docks, all holding broadswords.
"Surrender your weapon and submit to a body search," one of them demanded, eyes narrowed.
Bianca's own T'shav pushed her behind himself, drawing his weapon quickly. He planted his feet firmly. "Not a chance."
"Gylden, please. They're our only chance." Bianca put her hand on his shoulder.
He gave her a tortured glance, then reluctantly lowered his sword. As soon as the first T'shav on the dock started up the gangplank, however, the sword was back in an attack stance. Their 'welcoming' party all tensed. Bianca twisted her hands. This was heading towards yet another battle. And if they didn't find Sanctuary here?
"Gylden," Bianca started again, but before she could plead for him to lower his weapon again, a seventh T'shav strode between those already there. He was tall and strong, with a few grays in his black hair. Bianca stared, but not at him.
What surprised her was the human woman that accompanied him. The woman stopped at the foot of the gangplank, and the new T'shav turned to the guards. "Put away your weapons. These two are welcome here."
To Bianca's surprise, the other T'shav sheathed their swords at once. The human smiled up at her and Gylden, taking a small step forward and raising her hands.
"You don't have to be afraid of us. I'm Lisa, and this is my mate Zon. Welcome to the Sanctuary."
Bianca moved past Gylden. He tensed, but she put a reassuring hand on his arm before continuing. She stopped just in front of Lisa. This was the first human to have been woken up as a human in this strange world. The first human to take an alien mate and have an alien child. Bianca swallowed, suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Hi," she said. "I, uh… I mean we, we're looking for… sanctuary."
Lisa smiled and put an arm around her. "We know. We've been following the events that the Rayne Five has been presenting. We were actually preparing our son and a few of his friends to go pick the two of you up."
Gylden joined the two of them. He held his sword pointed downwards. When Zon stepped up beside Lisa, his hand held out, the gladiator reluctantly passed the sword to him.
"This will be returned to you after your assessment," Zon assured him.
"Why were you going to look for us?" Gylden snapped back, eyes narrowed in distrust.
Zon's black eyes glittered with a look Bianca couldn't decipher. "It has been Lisa's personal project to stop the gladiator games for almost a decade now. I have a lot on my plate keeping this Sanctuary safe, but we both believe you could be useful in ending the games for good."
"But only as far as you are comfortable with," Lisa added. She gave Zon a half-glare. "You are here first for your safety and peace of mind, not for my projects. You will be given time to adjust to life here before I present my proposal. And should you decide that you would rather not–which I would not blame you for–then we will find other ways for you to contribute to the Sanctuary."
"I don't want to fight," Gylden said. "I'm not going to kill anybody again."
"I'm glad to hear you say that," Zon said. "Because there is no fighting or killing permitted within the Sanctuary. If you do end up fighting, then you'll be exiled. It's as simple as that. But there will be time for you to learn all our rules. Right now, we need to get you both to our medical facilities and checked over."
"And there are all the legalities we're going to have to deal with, considering they're technically slaves." Lisa looked disgusted when she said the word. "Not that we're going to hand you back over to them. But it is going to take some finagling to get the Rayne Five Network to back off without the threat of a warship or two going to sort it out."
Zon smiled at Lisa as though she was the sun to him. It was the same sort of smile that Gylden always gave her. She leaned against him, turning to give her mate a smile. He squeezed her, and when Zon started away, Lisa at his side, they followed.
***
The medical checkup showed that both of them were in good health and that the baby was strong and developing nicely. When the doctors showed her and Gylden the vague blob that the scanners picked up and told them it was their child, Bianca had nearly burst into tears.
She had never really considered having children. There had been boyfriends in her past when she was certain that she did not want to have children with, but she had never thought about when she would actually have children. Now that she was pregnant, she was over the moon with happiness. And when she saw how happy Gylden was, well, that made it all better.
"These quarters are just temporary," Lisa told them as she showed them to a tiny room with a bunk bed and nothing much else. "These are usually reserved for troops, but unfortunately we just don't have any other rooms
available right now. But your assessments ought to be processed within a standard week, and various occupations will be suggested for you. And you always have the option of going back to school, if that's what you want. By that time, we should find a permanent place for you to live."
Bianca smiled at her. "Thank you. For everything."
Lisa nodded at her and slipped from the room. Gylden glanced around, looking a little wary, but when his gaze landed back on Bianca, a grin lit his face. In an instant he had her in his arms, kissing her deeply as he pressed her against the wall. Bianca giggled, kissing him back.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what's brought this up?"
"It just hit me. We're here. We made it. The network won't get their hands on us again, and we're free from being in the public eye. My life is mine. Forever and for good. It's mine. And I have a family. You and me and the baby. I have a family. And I'm not going to lose you again."
His tongue breached her mouth and Bianca laughed, pushing herself harder against him. For the first time in a long time, she was utterly at peace.
*****
THE END
Rescued by the Barbarian
Description
He wore a kilt and nothing else. What does he want from me?
When Veronica Benson wakes up on an alien ship, she knows that life as she knew it is over. She’s always been a fan of alien romance novels and movies, but never dreamed of meeting an alien herself, let alone a totally hunky one.
Chapec can’t believe his luck when he sees the human he’s supposed to escort to the Zon Sanctuary. All curves and softness. Just the sort of woman he'd like to hold all night while they…
But never mind. He’s not looking for a mate. And neither is she. There are secrets that need to be kept at all costs. And a mission to complete.
Can Veronica and Chapec reach the safe haven of the Zon Sanctuary in time? Can they keep their enemies at bay? And most importantly, will they find a way to trust and love each other?
Chapter One – Veronica
Her lungs felt like they were full of water. Veronica Benson coughed violently, unable to pull in a proper breath. Her head spun. She felt her legs beneath her, but couldn't seem to make them work. Where was she? Flashes and bursts of color came from every direction. Nothing made sense. She lay flat on the cold floor, trying to get her mind and body under control.
Breathe first, think later, she told herself, screwing her eyes tightly closed.
She forced herself to take a few deep breaths, ignoring the uncomfortable full feeling of her lungs. Nausea churning her stomach diminished and her head stopped spinning as much. Veronica shivered. What had happened? What had she been doing just before she got so suddenly ill?
I was walking home from the fertility clinic.
It had been a rocky appointment. The doctor had spent half the appointment trying to convince her that she should settle down and get married instead of trying to have children on her own. He eventually did give her the treatments she had paid for, but only with a great show of reluctance. This was despite the fact that she was over thirty, had all of one boyfriend in her life, and hadn't even had a date for about five years. She suspected it was more that the doctor thought she was too fat.
Veronica's job as a financial advisor was going well. With a steady, sizable income, she could support a child. She already had looked at what she needed, had begun stockpiling diapers and was looking at the best nannies to hire.
Not to mention she had lots of family around that would shower the baby with attention, and three brothers who were ready to be positive male influences in its life. She explained this to the doctor, but he kept acting like she was going to end up making her child a drug addict because she didn't have a husband. By the time the appointment was over, she was so angry that she decided to walk back home instead of taking the bus, just to cool her head off.
But what happened next? Veronica opened her eyes, only to be blinded by a bright light. She closed them again.
Had her mother called? She remembered a ringing sound. And a light. Had she answered her phone, and stepped out in front of a car? There was a scream. Pain in the base of her spine…
Something bit into her behind her right ear. It was a sharp jab, like the bite of a black fly. Veronica jerked, her hand flapping at her ear. Another hand caught her wrist and pushed it down to the floor. Her eyes snapped open, adjusting quickly now that the light wasn't shining into them. Another bite just behind her left ear.
"Translators in and functional," a voice said from somewhere.
"The sedative is wearing off," another voice said. "Give her some more."
"I've given her enough. She has been in stasis for billions of years. It would be too easy to overdose her in this state. A dead human is worth far less than a living specimen. Let her adjust a little. If need be, I'll give her something to make her more complacent in a few minutes."
The hand released her and she whirled around. Her eyes widened and her heart jumped to her throat. A gray face stared into hers, tentacles squirming around its nose and mouth like a living goatee. Pale white eyes with no pupils stared down at her. Her jaw dropped open to scream, but nothing came out.
"Ah, it appears she's more aware than I thought."
The mouth moved, the sound coming from the gray face, but it didn't match up. Like watching a badly dubbed movie. And yet she could understand it. Veronica's panic pushed to the back of her mind. This had to be a dream. She often had vivid ones, although she could usually tell when she was dreaming right off the bat.
But gray tentacle-faced creatures weren't possible, so this had to be a dream. Which meant she was safe. Right?
"We're lucky we were able to find a ship that still had a living specimen on it," the gray face said. "These days it's difficult to get them before the Zon Sanctuary arrives."
"That T'shav thinks he's the creator incarnate," a voice said from the side, full of disgust.
Veronica turned her head towards the speaker. A blue person with gold eyes stood there. It was a he, as far as she could tell, with a tall, lean figure. He held a long stick in his hand that looked like a fire poker. Just behind him was a coffin. Or at least, something that vaguely looked like a coffin. Or one of those little fish oil capsules, only blown up a billion times bigger. A combination of the two, maybe. Thick yellow goo dripped out of it.
She looked down and saw she was covered in the same icky stuff. She could feel the weight of it, a slight chill on her face, and her head spun again.
Just a dream.
It didn't feel like a dream. She jerked upright, slapping away the gray creature's hand as it reached for her. The blue creature straightened, the stick in its hand pointing towards her. Veronica pushed herself backward until she was pressed against the wall. Her heart faltered. This was no dream. An elaborate prank? Had she been kidnapped?
"Who are you? What sort of sick joke are you playing? What do you want with me?"
The blue creature laughed, and the gray one shot it a look that may have been disgust. "Do not be afraid, Human. My name is Kena, and I am a Wlobq. You were taken from Earth some billions of years ago and then put in a stasis pod on a ship traveling at light speed. The temporal distortion allowed the ship to survive all these years."
One phrase stood out. Veronica swallowed down bile. "Billions of years?"
The white eyes were unmoving in the gray face, making shivers climb up and down her spine. "The Earth you knew is dead. Humans have long since left its ground and traveled to other worlds, evolving into new species. You wouldn’t think it seems like it, but both Wlobqs like me and Aphrosians such as my companion are your distant descendants."
Veronica's head spun. She wished she could pass out again, but had no such luck.
"Kena, her new owners will tell her all this, you're wasting time. Can we take her to the buyers or not?"
Buyers? New owners? "What are you going to do with me?"
The blue creature smirked, stepping
forward. "Humans are rare commodities. Since all species are descended from humans, your kind can breed with anybody. Even squidface here. Best thing is, humans pass down very little of their traits to the offspring. You're also very useful in disease research and other sorts of testing."
Veronica felt the blood drain from her face. She opened her mouth, but there was nothing she could say to that.
Two sets of footsteps clicked from behind her, and she turned to see two devils striding up a long, shiny corridor. Both had deep red skin, black hair and black eyes. All that was missing were the forked tails, horns, and pitchfork. As they got closer, Veronica processed that one was male and the other female. He wore a kilt and nothing else. She wore a flowy, strapless dress. Both had the hilts of sword peeking out over their shoulders.
The blue creature–alien, Veronica's brain was beginning to process–straightened with a frown. He pulled a gun from his waist and pointed it at the newcomers. Veronica scrambled to her feet, her heart pounding.
Just a dream. A trick. A prank. This isn't real. This can't be real.
"What are you doing here? You'll have your chance to bid on the human like everybody else."
"My brother wants to test out the product," the female said. "Chapec?"
The male stepped toward Veronica. She shrank back–until their eyes met. A spark of electricity ran up and down her spine. His eyes were deep, with so much conflicting emotion in them that she wasn't sure how to take it. Those weren't eyes looking at her as if she was a product; they were seeing her as a person and for that alone, she was drawn to him…
Or maybe not that alone. Veronica had always been a fan of alien romance novels and movies, and right now she could have been looking at a Hollywood hunk painted red. Broad shoulders, symmetrical features, strong chin, muscles everywhere. He stepped closer again.