by Ivy Cross
Dekkar creeps toward the Valat, spear at the ready, and I dance along at the backs of his heels. As we approach, it becomes clear that injured is something of an understatement. It’s not immediately clear what happened to the creature, but it is clearly suffering from multiple wounds.
Like this, the man-beast is much less fearsome, and I can’t help but pity it in what are surely its final moments.
“What do you think happened to it? Did his own people do this to him?” I look around the space again and can’t manage to shake the feeling we’ve stepped into a haunted house. “And where are the rest of his people, anyway?”
Instead of answering any of my questions, Dekkar lowers the blunt end of his spear and prods the Valat gently at the shoulder. The creature lets out a low, wretched moan but rolls over, giving us a better look at the damage that has been done to it.
“Fuck.” Dekkar’s tone is full of anger and disappointment.
“What is it?”
He uses the spear to point out a blueish feather on the end of a slender shaft that protrudes from the Valat’s chest. It looks like the back end of a short arrow or bolt.
“These darts are used by the Calji rangers.”
“And that’s bad?”
“The Calji are another tribe of warriors. One with which we do not have friendly relations.” He sighs deeply. “We should press on into the warren, but I fear this means your friend is no longer here.”
“What are these Calji like?” I ask. “Would they have hurt Bailey.”
“I know little about them,” he replies, leading the way from the room. “They are highly secretive and keep to themselves. What few run-ins I can recall have led to bloodshed on both sides.”
“That doesn’t exactly reassure me, Dekkar.”
“I understand, but I would never lie to you. Not even to spare you pain—you have a right to know the truth.”
A sudden cold knot tightens deep inside my stomach.
“But if it makes you feel any better, I cannot imagine any civilized Vanthae would kill a Naia, no matter how cut off from the rest of us they might be.”
That does help a little. But would these Calji mistake Bailey for a Naia too? At least there’s some hope.
As we wind our way along several more of the dirt corridors, I can’t keep my mind from going to all those other women in the rest of the escape pods. Lisic showed us a good deal of mercy in releasing us to this planet instead of shooting us into space like he was commanded, but it’s hard not to wish he had been able to land all of the pods in the same area. These are likely the only humans I will ever see again… if I ever get to see them again.
We push into another of the larger rooms, this one shaped as a rough circle and with none of the depressions on the floor.
It’s also where the rest of the Valat are.
“Jesus,” I say, pulling the collar of my shirt up over my nose and mouth. “This was a massacre.”
Four Valat bodies are piled atop one another against the back wall. On the dirt floor in front of the gruesome display, someone carved a large triangle with smaller circles at each point.
“It is as I feared,” Dekkar says with a deep sigh. “But we needed to see to be certain.”
I just stare at the mound of bodies, my mind almost blank. Since landing on this strange world, I’ve pretty much only been focused on finding Bailey—my friend and tenuous link back to humanity.
But with this obstacle in the way, I can’t even process how to go forward. Or where to even start.
Dekkar drops suddenly to his knees in front of me. Even kneeling, he is taller than me and blots out my view of the pile of bodies.
“Do not despair, goddess. I still know my duty and the contract you have given me.” He smiles and, in that moment, I can still believe things might work out the way I had hoped. “I will get you your friend or die trying. This I promise you.”
“Thank you.” It’s all I can think to say.
“No, it is I that must thank you. With you as my promised reward, nothing will be able to stand in my way.”
Uh, wait. What now?
Chapter 10 – Dekkar
“Here,” I say, handing some roasted meat to Talia.
“Thanks.” The word is mumbled, and she cannot seem to bring herself to look at me.
I sigh and drop down onto a fallen log. The food in my hand does not appeal to me, but I force a chunk into my mouth just the same.
It is the second night of camp on the way back to my village. A calculated risk, for certain, but if we are to have any hope of retrieving Talia’s friend from the Calji, we are going to need support from my tribe. I do not expect a warm reception.
“Eat,” I say, then regret the terseness in my tone.
“I’m not very hungry,” Talia says, leaving her meat on the ground beside her to go cold.
“You will need your strength for what’s ahead.” I try to keep the irritation out of my voice this time, but I doubt I am very successful.
Every step away from the Valat warren has been a step farther Talia has pulled away from me. At first, I thought it merely to be her disappointment at coming up empty-handed, but, over the last two nights, it has become clear that it is more than that.
Before, like when I massaged the healing muds into her delicate, sexy legs, I could see her desire for me written upon her face. It was unmistakable because it mirrored my own craving for the goddess’s flesh.
But now, she can barely look at me, and she refuses to meet my gaze.
I feel I can read her expression, but what I see there burns me to the core. She is ashamed.
And the only thing for her to be ashamed of is me. She regrets choosing me for this quest, and she sees this trek back to my village as a retreat—as cowardice.
I tear off another chunk of the meat, study it for a moment, then toss it into the fire.
“There are some things you need to know for when we get to my village tomorrow,” I say, trying and failing to catch Talia’s gaze.
“Like what?” Her tone is only half-interested, but it’s a little better than before.
“Well, Naia or not, outsiders, female or otherwise, are expected to behave in a certain way. You will not make eye contact with any of the warriors. You will not speak unless someone directly asks you a question. And you will defer to me on all matters, as I am the one bringing you before my people.”
Talia meets my eyes for the first time in two days. There is fire there and it lights her beauty from within. It takes all of my will power not to rip the clothes from her and seal our mating right here and now.
“Is that what I’m going to do?” she replies, a note of challenge in her voice.
“If you do not wish to die for your insolence.” My tone returns her challenge. It is true, the price of an outsider’s disrespect would normally be dealt with most harshly. But I cannot imagine even Regar killing a Naia for such disobedience… My words are meant to frighten her—maybe snap her out of this sullen mood she is in.
It does not seem to work.
“Okay, I guess I can do that much,” she sighs, then sets her gaze back on the cook fire.
It is more than I can take.
I stand with a roar. “Just say it!”
Talia skitters back and stares at me with obvious fear.
Good… better fear than that damned sullen look in her eyes. She should see me for the fierce warrior I am and know that I have this situation with her friend handled.
“Say—say what? Have you lost your mind!?”
“My mind is right where it is supposed to be,” I spit back. “But it is full of the signs of disrespect you continue to show me!”
“Disrespect…”
“Do not deny it. For two days I have seen the truth in your eyes—in the way you look at me even now. I know the truth, Talia. Do not insult me further by pretending—”
“Oh, god. I knew you would figure it out…” She stands suddenly and begins to back away. “I—I di
dn’t mean to take advantage of you.”
Take advantage of me?
I narrow my eyes on her but remain silent.
“You thought I was a Naia, so I just played along. I mean, without your help there’s no way I could go after Bailey. But it’s been killing me lying to you, especially now that I know you thought there was some reward at the end of all of this.”
Her eyes brim over with silvery tears. “I’m just a human. I don’t have any special decrees or magical contracts to bestow on you… I just needed help.”
I stare at her until it feels as if my heart will pound out of my chest. My hand drops uselessly to the butt of my spear, but I do not know what I plan to do with it. Perhaps attack the ghosts of my humiliation that seem to circle us ever closer.
“That’s… not what you were even talking about, is it?” Talia takes another tentative step away from me. Her fear that I might attack her is an even greater insult than that which I have brought upon myself through my stupidity.
I take my own step back. Then another.
When I am mostly out of the little ring of light from our cook fire, I turn and stride out into the darkness of the forest. With each step, I increase my speed until, when she finally calls after me, Talia’s voice is barely a whisper on the wind at my back.
I hesitate in the inky blackness under the trees. Part of me desires to run back to her. Maybe even more than a part of me. But how can I? It is this hoo-man’s fault that I am at such odds with my tribe. Had she not fallen from the sky, my Proving would have gone forward, and I would likely already be the leader of my people.
I continue farther into the woods, picking up my pace once again.
And she lied to me—used me as a tool for her purposes. Had she only told me the truth and explained her situation to me, I would have helped her find her friend just the same.
But is there any truth to that?
I pause by a moss-covered boulder and turn back the way I came for the first time. The light of the cook fire is gone, swallowed up by the dark, moonless night.
What would I have done if she had told me the truth in those first moments when we met? My anger wants me to believe I would have taken up Talia’s quest all the same, asking nothing in return. But the rational part of my mind tells me another story.
After saving her from the Valat’s clumsy attack, I would have scooped up my trophy and carried her back to my village. Presenting the tiny female hoo-man to Regar and the others would have validated my decision to break from command and go off on my own. Our leader may not have liked it, but he would have seen the value in what I did.
And perhaps he still would.
It has been days since I left my tribe and my leader, but if I were to return with Talia as my trophy…
No. That is not the way either.
I take a tentative step back toward our camp but am quickly halted again when Talia’s voice reaches me—quite an impressive feat given the distance between us.
Her voice is shrill and full of fear and panic.
I bolt in the direction of her screams.
The blackness of the night will make real speed difficult, but I abandon all caution and throw myself across the uneven and obstacle-ridden terrain.
Talia is in danger and it is my fault.
Chapter 11 – Talia
Well, that could have gone better. Wait, scratch that. That couldn’t have gone any worse.
I call after Dekkar one last time, but I know he’s not coming back. I saw the look on his face. Betrayal, pure and simple.
A twig snaps somewhere in the darkness behind me, and I huddle in closer to the small fire.
“Well, excellent work, Tal. Now you’re all alone at night on an alien planet.” I pat my trusty nondescript rod that’s hanging out of the side of my cutoff slacks. “At least I have protection if this roasted brisna’s big brother decides to come and gore me in my fucking sleep.”
I grab a flimsy twig and use it to prod the cook fire. The orange flames leap up even higher, kicking out bright firefly sparks into the air above.
I sigh and drop the twig into the fire to burn with the rest.
The sad thing is, I was honestly beginning to like Dekkar. I mean, more than just crushing on his half-naked warrior bod. And more than just liking him for what he was doing for me.
He seems like a genuinely good man… or Vanthae. Whatever. If I’d just had the brass lady bits to tell him the truth in the first place, maybe things wouldn’t have gone to shit like this. And maybe we’d be well on our way to save Bailey.
Or maybe things would have gone to shit in some other way. Who the hell knows?
Another twig snaps behind me, this one much louder and much closer.
“Dekkar?” Of course it’s not him. He went off in the other direction.
I strain my eyes into the darkness of the surrounding forest, but I might as well be looking into a vat of black paint. I keep staring anyway but give it up when the sound doesn’t come again.
I turn back to the fire, wondering what the hell I would even do if some giant beast swooped down on me from out of the night. Who the hell knows what kind of animals are lurking out there? I just really hope they’re all afraid of fire.
Dekkar has only been gone for a matter of minutes, but it’s starting to feel like I’ve been alone out here for hours. I haven’t even considered a scenario in which I go this alone, without Dekkar by my side. What does that look like? Tomorrow morning, should I just strike out on my own and hope to stumble ass-first into the Calji… then ask them very nicely to return my friend to me?
A beast jumping out to devour me is starting to sound like the more pleasant of the two options. At least that would be quick. And maybe that’s the perfect punchline to the cosmic joke that is my life—get abducted by aliens, get tossed off their ship for making them sick, and then get eaten by a rabid wolf-giraffe.
Sounds about right to me.
When something crunches behind me again, I don’t even bother turning around. “If you’re going to eat me, just fucking get to it already. Otherwise, I’m going to sit here and wallow in my self-pity.”
“If I eat you, it will only be after I have had my fun.” The voice is deep and harsh and makes every hair on my body stand on end.
I try to turn around, but a rough woven bag snaps down over my head before I can see who the voice belongs to. Panic takes over, and I buck as hard as I can against the heavy hands that clamp down on my arms.
“Yes, yes, tiny creature, fight… struggle. I will enjoy it more if you do.”
The hands dig in even harder and then I’m in the air. I come down on the hard edge of a large shoulder, draped across my kidnapper like a large sack of potatoes.
“I’ve never come across one such as you,” the voice says. “I thought I was going to come up empty-handed with tonight’s hunt, but you will be quite the prize. And the ease…” The voice laughs harshly. “I thought I was going to have to kill the outcast at the very least to claim you, but he just walked away and left you for the picking. I do not care what my brother says, Dekkar is a fool in more ways than one.”
At the mention of Dekkar, some of my senses come back to me. I scream until it feels like my lungs are about to burst. If a voice could kill, the asshole carrying me would be a puddle seeping into the ground right about now.
“Yes, scream for me, little one.” A firm hand smacks against my ass. “Scream!”
Part of me wants to shut my mouth and never open it again. If this fucker is getting off on it, I’d just as soon not help him out.
But if there’s a chance Dekkar might hear me…
I let out another long squeal. I can half-feel, half-hear the guy under me laughing as we get farther from the camp, but I don’t care. My only chance to get out of this is if Dekkar hears me.
I scream one more time, and the hand smacks me again, this time in the leg and hard enough to really hurt.
“Okay, Haelar grows tired of your noise now.
”
“Fuck you!”
“That is one of the many activities I have planned for you,” Haelar chuckles. “But it makes it even better for me if you scream for it.”
“I am not trying to make things better for you, asshole. When Dekkar comes back—”
His fingers bite into my lower leg until it feels like my bones are going to snap.
“You will speak when I tell you to, female. Talk out of turn again and I will begin breaking your limbs. You will not need your arms or legs for what I have planned for you, anyway.”
I clamp my lips shut. Something in his tone tells me he’s the kind of guy who would really enjoy hurting someone like me. And I’m pretty sure he’s going to get around to it sooner or later—I would just like it to be as much later as I can possibly make it.
“Smart girl.” Haelar pats me on the rump like he’s rewarding a dog for good behavior. “Continue to show obedience like that, and I will treat you in kind. Food and water every day at least once a day.” He pats me again, seems to like what he feels, and decides to give me a lingering squeeze. “Ah, you do not know how lucky you are. I am the Second of our tribe.”
He stops walking and the squeeze becomes tighter and more painful. “Speak!”
Speak?
“Ah—okay. What should I say?”
His voice goes low and icy cold. “I just told you of my station, female. Second among my tribe. I doubt that outcast demanded much in the way of respect and deserves none in any regard. But I will not be disrespected!”
What the fuck is this douche blathering about? Right now, I really don’t want to push his buttons—I’d very much like to keep my limbs intact—but I don’t even know how I’m disrespecting him.
“Uh, no dishonor intended. Haelar—uh—sir… I am not well versed in the Vanthae ways.” The words taste like bile on my tongue, but I manage to choke them out somehow. Now, if I could just find a way to choke out this lunatic, it would go a long way towards making this day a little less shitty.
Haelar’s body relaxes under me. “Of course. You will have to be taught a great deal about the proper way to act around your betters. To start, when a Second wastes his efforts on saving you from the certain death of being out here alone, you should offer your sincere and continued thanks.”