Still, Axen held onto her longer than he needed to. A quick inspection showed him the arm break was bad but clean. But he wanted to explore more of her, and that was a problem for him.
Even though Eloise was bloody, bruised, and drenched in her own sweat as the pain overtook her, Axen enjoyed her scent. He wanted to wrap himself in it, take a fistful of her dark hair, and inhale deeply. He shook his head. This was nonsense, and he couldn’t explain why he was helping her. Were his warrior skills failing him?
Eloise jerked in his arms, and her eyes fluttered open. She was fighting the drugs he’d given her. She was strong. “Do you keep your promise?” Her pupils were dilated, and her eyes unfocused. Two pink dots appeared on her cheeks.
Axen’s gripped tightened around her. “What was my promise?”
“To make my death a quick one.”
Axen found words had left him, as if his translator had malfunctioned, and he no longer knew how to communicate. He gave a sharp nod and focused on Eloise’s arm.
“Do I get to choose the weapon?” Eloise’s word slurred. The drugs were working. She was losing the fight. He wished she would; having her in his arms was torture.
“If you could, what would you choose?” Axen said softly, one hand stroking her hair, unable to stop himself.
“Your own hands.” For a second, Eloise’s gaze snapped back into focus. “I want to look you in the eyes when I die. I want to see that you understand what you have done.”
Axen swallowed. “If that is your desire.”
Eloise choked out a laugh, and a tear slid from the corner of her eye. “My desire. I desire life. I desire freedom. I desire you not to kill me.” Her head fell back as she passed out.
Axen held Eloise close to him. Freedom, something he longed for as well. Her words speared into his heart, and he realized he was breathing too shallowly. This human woman was trouble, but maybe humans and Vortens weren’t so different after all. Freedom. Desire. Life. He wanted all those things. Could Eloise Harper be the one finally to make him fight for what he wanted?
Chapter 10
Eloise’s eyes flipped open. A quick glance to the side showed a cave entrance and night sky, the air alive with the sounds of alien insects, deep thrums and purrs as they shifted through the night.
She moved her left arm cautiously. It was strapped to a solid piece of wood and wrapped in clean bandages. It ached, but it was working, and there was no more gut churning pain threatening to make her black out again. There was also a light cover over her body. She was now completely naked. Axen must have stripped her after her fall and moved her here when she was unconscious. Wherever here was.
Eloise slid out from under the cover and tested her bitten leg. It was sore but took her weight. She wrapped the cover around her chest and looked about again.
Taking a few steps forward, Eloise wobbled on her feet. The drugs Axen had given her were still making her feel woozy and vulnerable. But the cave was dry, and she couldn’t see any immediate danger. That included the notable absence of Axen. Maybe he was preparing his weapons to finish her off. She shook her head. She needed to get a grip of her thoughts. She was a negotiator, used to dealing with highly strung and difficult council members from across numerous galaxies. One Vorten warrior with an attitude shouldn’t be too much of a problem. And it wouldn’t be, if only she had a starship to jump aboard and get away from him.
“You’re awake.” Axen stood in the mouth of the cave, his huge form silhouetted by the artificial moon behind him.
Eloise forced against the fear she felt as she turned towards him. “I’m as surprised as you.”
Axen grunted and strode towards her. She struggled not to flinch as he approached. He gave off an energy she’d never encountered before, as if he was fighting some urge she didn’t understand. Eloise had met other warrior races over the three years she’d worked for the Intergalactic Council, and they’d all had a confident swagger about them when they moved, knowing how others feared them or women wanted to be with them. But none of them had been quite like Axen. His posturing was measured and careful, as if he didn’t need to demonstrate how effective a killer he was, because everyone knew it to be true.
He stopped several paces from Eloise. “You have been out for some time. I have been checking to ensure we had no more unwanted guests nearby.”
“More Fraken beasts sent to entertain the crowds?”
Axen nodded. “They do enjoy sending in their mutated toys.”
“This was the first Fraken beast I’ve seen up close,” said Eloise. “I’ve seen images of them on the comms channel, though.”
“Different when you’re face-to-face with them,” said Axen.
“It is.” Eloise studied Axen, noting, with relief, his hands stayed away from his weapons. “What others have you encountered during the games?”
Axen raised an eyebrow. “If I told you, you would have nightmares.”
“I’m interested.” Eloise gestured to the ground. Maybe if she could get Axen talking, learn more about him, she would find a way to convince him to spare her life.
After a second of hesitation, Axen squatted on the ground, and Eloise sat near him, still keeping an eye on his weapons. The second his hand moved to one of those lethal blades, she was making a run for it.
“What do you want to know about Fraken beasts?” asked Axen.
“Anything that will give me an advantage over one if they send more into this game.”
“They enjoy experimenting with existing species. The Fraken are voracious space explorers and have encountered many different animals during their devastation of other planets. They take the ones that interest them most, the ones with the greatest fighting potential, and adapt them to suit their needs.”
Eloise shook her head. “Is there any goodness in the Fraken? The few I’ve met at Intergalactic Council meetings have a serpent-like way about them. They always seem to be either on the hunt or looking out for enemies.”
“It’s an accurate description,” said Axen. “The Fraken evolved from a now extinct species of reptile. They’ve kept many of their ancestral traits, including their predatory ways.”
“A different evolutionary path to my race,” said Eloise.
“And mine,” said Axen. “Vorten and humans are not so different, genetically.”
“I thought you didn’t know much about us?”
Axen grunted. “I know humans rioted and fought when the Intergalactic Council provided you with evidence to show how humans evolved.”
Eloise nodded. It had been a terrible time on Earth. Religions had collapsed, and there had been mass suicides as people couldn’t accept their origins. “It took people time to realize and accept we weren’t a special race looked over by a single benevolent God.”
“You still have troubles on Earth because of this?”
“Many people still don’t believe the evidence provided to them. There are underground factions, who spread fearful messages about the origins of humankind.”
“On Vorten, we would have silenced them.”
“Perhaps we aren’t so similar.” Eloise’s shoulders hunched.
Axen shrugged. “As for other Fraken beasts, I have done battle with mutated bears, many different types of reptile, including one whose saliva was venomous.”
“We had those on Earth,” said Eloise.
Axen sat fully on the ground, extending his legs out in front of him and leaning back. “Did you also have giant cats on your Earth? The Fraken like those in particular.”
“We used to,” said Eloise. “But they died out a long time ago. The Fraken must have gotten their hands on some big cat DNA and used it to recreate their own versions. Humans used to hunt them for their furs, so they died out.”
Axen frowned. “What did they use their furs for? To keep warm?”
“As trophies.”
“To impress whom?”
Eloise sighed. “I have no idea. As you said, humans can be a destructive race.”
Axen nodded. “Vortens have their own destructive ways. But we respect power. We have similar beasts on our own planet, but we protect them. We give them their own environments to hunt in.”
“Then you definitely are more evolved than humans.”
“That goes without saying.”
Eloise suppressed her irritation. What Axen was saying was true. The devastated planet she still called home had not been destroyed by another race flying in from the stars and shooting them with lasers. They’d destroyed it quite nicely on their own.
“How is your arm?” asked Axen.
“It feels better.” Eloise lifted her arm slowly. “You’ve set it well. It still aches, but I can use it.”
“The bandages will speed the healing. You should be able to remove them in a day or two. But be careful with it,” said Axen. “My medical skills are not as advanced as some.”
“They’re better than mine.” Eloise regarded Axen, not sure if she should say her next words. “And here I am, still alive. And you’re not trying to kill me.”
Axen’s eyes narrowed. “So it would seem.”
“For how long?”
“You mean, how long until I get so irritated with all of your questions, I decide to kill you?”
Eloise swallowed. “Yes.”
Axen shifted away from her and focused his attention on the cave entrance. “I have not decided yet.”
“What’s stopping you from ending the game?”
Axen pulled his bag towards him and extracted some food. He handed half a ration pack to Eloise. “Eat something. You’ll use up more energy as your wound repairs.”
Eloise took the food from Axen and sniffed it.
“And before you ask, there’s no poison in it.” He placed a large piece of food in his mouth and chewed swiftly.
“You told me you don’t use poison on your victims.” Eloise bit into a small piece of the food. It was the usual meaty texture of all ration meals. And it was a million times better than the grainy nutrition tablets the Fraken had fed her. Her spell in their prison seemed like such a long time ago, even though less than three days had passed.
They ate in silence for a moment, but the set of Axen’s shoulders suggested to Eloise he was struggling with something.
“If you’re not going to kill me, you may as well talk to me,” said Eloise. “It’s something I’m good at.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
Eloise shuffled closer to Axen. “In here, I doubt the Fraken can see what we’re doing.”
“Most likely,” said Axen. “Fraken place viewing portals throughout the games. But they cannot have them everywhere. They could fly a drone into the cave and watch us or send in another beast to see what we’re doing.”
“So they’re blind?”
Axen nodded. “For now, I think they’ve lost sight of us. They will not be happy that we have disappeared from view. It will cost them viewers if I do not complete the game within a certain amount of time.”
“You mean, the people bet on how quickly you will kill me?”
“Exactly that,” said Axen. “Some would have bet you’d be dead within the first hour of the game.”
“Glad they’re not going to win anything,” said Eloise.
Axen looked at her and smirked. “The Fraken will be furious that we are in hiding. When I moved you, I made sure to keep low and stick to the shadows. The darkness helped. And I’d located this cave previously. I knew it would be a good shelter. They will know roughly where we are, but they will have to hunt for us for a while.”
“And you did that because...”
Axen’s shoulders tensed, but then he let out a sigh, and they eased down. “I have been considering these Fraken games.”
Eloise finished her food and brushed her hands together, giving Axen time to gather his ideas. “What are your thoughts?”
“They need to stop.”
Eloise’s breath quickened at the thought of the Fraken games coming to an end. “How do you plan to do that?”
“I’ve no idea.” Axen dropped his gaze for a second. He did have a plan, but he wasn’t willing to share it. Not just yet. Too many things could go wrong, and there was no point offering false hope.
“Fraken thrive on gaming.” Eloise lowered her head as disappointment ran through her. “It was a similar addiction on Earth. Gamers would have implants inserted into their brains, so they could always be in some virtual reality or other. They would play for days on end. There were numerous reports of people dropping dead from lack of sleep because they’d been playing a game for so long.”
“Fraken are similarly obsessed with their games,” said Axen. “But it is different for them. They enjoy the thrill of the chase and the hunt. They thrive on seeing gore and violence. And they make most of their e-credits through their games. Plus, they get to study other races, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and use them against them in future attacks on homelands and outposts.”
“They don’t play fair.” Eloise gave a frustrated sigh.
“They design their games to terrify you into submission,” said Axen, “or make you flee in terror, so the gamers can watch and laugh at your final few moments.”
Eloise shuddered and pulled the cover to her chest. “It’s not just Fraken who are involved, is it?”
“Humans and other aliens are not so different,” said Axen. “Violence is almost universal. But there are races who thrive on helping others. I work closely with a race called the Deorg. They’re helpful and assist aliens less fortunate than them with technological advances.”
Eloise smiled. “I’ve liked every Deorg I’ve met. They’re involved in the Intergalactic Council.”
“They are decent aliens to be friends with,” said Axen. “But on the whole, there is a killer instinct within us all. To bring down the Fraken game arena will annoy a lot of powerful groups.”
“Maybe you can’t bring it down completely,” said Eloise, “not to begin with, anyway. Something like that will need resources and an army of support. But you can start by causing some problems for the Fraken. Show them they aren’t invulnerable.”
Axen turned to face Eloise fully, and she couldn’t help but take an inhalation of breath as she saw his muscles flex on his arms. He was the perfect warrior. Tense, alert, and missing nothing.
Eloise realized she hadn’t spoken for several seconds, and a blush crept up her cheeks. “I mean, you could make the Fraken games less popular. Turn the gamers and gamblers away from them. Give them less opportunity to study their prey as well.”
“I’m interested,” said Axen. “What do you have in mind?”
Eloise risked giving Axen a smile. “I’ve no idea.”
He returned her smile, and it softened the usually angry set of his face. “I would like nothing more than to destroy these games. It is a humiliation that the Vorten have to take part.”
“It’s not a choice?”
“Our Elders decree it,” said Axen.
“But you don’t agree with them?”
Axen tensed and shifted away from Eloise. “We never question the Elders.”
“They’re always right?”
“They are our Elders.” Axen offered no more explanation. “You must have similar on Earth.”
“Not in the way you do on Vorten,” said Eloise. “You rely on the oldest and wisest Vorten to decree your laws, is that right?”
“That’s correct,” said Axen. “Our Elders dedicate their lives to deciding what is best for everybody. It is how it was determined that Vorten should be a planet of elite warriors. Ever since that decision, they have been working to create the perfect Vorten. An ideal killing machine.”
“But you are more than that,” said Eloise.
Axen pinned Eloise with an intense gaze. “I am?”
A flush of heat ran through Eloise. She was risking Axen’s anger by pressing him. “I mean, Vortens in general; you don’t just live to kill.”
He nodded. “
We don’t. But it is our primary purpose. We have been designed to be warriors.”
“You sound like a robot.”
“A robot?”
Eloise grinned. “The earlier version of cyborgs. Some people still have their old robots on Earth. They grew attached to them and made them a part of their family. And some could never afford to get an upgrade. You never had robots on Vorten?”
Axen shook his head. “You humans are strange. With one hand, you destroy yourselves, and with the other, you take care of things that aren’t even alive.”
“I never said humans were perfect,” said Eloise. “But neither are Fraken. There must be a flaw in their games.”
“If there is, I will exploit it.”
“So will I.” Eloise’s eyes brightened as she watched Axen. She had just found a way they could work together. They both hated the Vorten. This was her chance to get free.
***
The uneasy sensation in Axen’s stomach refused to settle. Eloise was fascinating. Despite the fact she’d almost died several times, he’d just watched her negotiate a plan with him. Her life had depended on the words that came out of her mouth, yet she’d handled herself calmly and with dignity. And when she became excited about a subject, her eyes lit up and her cheeks glowed. She was beautiful. Maybe he could trust her with more information about what he intended to do.
“Do you know about the communications links the Fraken have around the games?”
Eloise shook her head. “I haven’t seen any while I’ve been in here.”
“It’s the way the Fraken communicate with gaming warriors. They hide the comms links in the ground until they want to make contact.” He touched the plain black collar around his neck. “And they use this.”
“What is it?”
“Essentially, a shock collar.”
Eloise’s eyes widened as she looked at the collar around Axen’s neck. “That’s how they tame you?”
Axen growled. “I am not an animal to be tamed.”
“No! I didn’t mean that. But that’s the way they stop you from rampaging through the game and destroying everything.” Eloise stared at the collar with horror. “The shocks must be painful.”
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