Rayne woke in a padded grey room, her head pounding and her vision blurry. Her wrists were manacled, and a lacy dress that barely reached past her crotch replaced her utilitarian suit. She clutched her head and struggled to banish the terrible ache at the back of her skull, tears of pain stinging her eyes. When she brought it under control, she opened her eyes and looked around at a featureless cell that did not even have a discernable door.
After several minutes of trying to remember how she had got there, she gave up and worried about what was in store for her. She wondered if Rawn was in a similar predicament, or if she had been the only target. She was sure this had something to do with the prophecy, although how anyone knew who she was remained a mystery. The crewmen who had been on Vengeance’s bridge during the encounter with the black ship were all loyal to the Atlantean Empire. She could not believe any of them was a spy; some of them were almost fanatical in their fealty.
A door appeared as it slid open, and a tall, angular woman with green eyes and sharkskin entered, revealing pink teeth in a revolting grin. Rayne recognised her race as Draycon, her heart sinking. The woman studied Rayne, gloating, then spoke in Atlantean.
“So, little pink thing. Frightened? Your sort has weak, stupid females, don’t you? Breeders. Humans. You were good at that, mind you. Bred yourselves right into extinction. How could the gods choose one like you to be the Golden Child?”
Her grin widened as Rayne stifled a gasp. “Ah, yes, I know all about you. You were supposed to have died on your miserable planet, but you survived, hidden like an animal in the ground. Those bungling idiots who said they had killed you have paid for their mistake. Our seer knew you weren’t dead. And I followed the trail of that fool, Tallyn, to find you. This universe is filled with incompetents. So I have to do the job myself, don’t I?”
She put her hands on her hips, running a red tongue over her lips. “Do you want to know what’s going to happen to you?”
“I suppose you’re going to kill me.”
“No.” The woman chuckled, a grating sound. “That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? But you are going to die. Tempting though it is, I can’t have the pleasure of killing you myself, even though it would be so easy to burn you and eject your body into space. Unfortunately, it’s only a matter of time before Tallyn finds out who took you, and gives chase. Even if he never proves I killed you, he will find out that I took you. Atlan’s sensor grid will have logged my illegal stopover.
“So, if I make you disappear, it counts against me, for then the question of why raises its ugly head. After all, if I didn’t know who you were, I wouldn’t have killed you. By denying the prophecy and ensuring Atlan’s downfall, I will most certainly earn their wrath. Even the suspicion would be enough for severe reprimands against my people. But if I sell you, it’s not such a crime at all. I just have to ensure I sell you to someone who’s going to kill you, and there are plenty of them. Don’t think your pretty face will save you either; there are many who hate such things, and long to destroy them. A torturous death awaits you, which is what you deserve.”
Rayne failed to repress a shiver, and the woman chuckled again and added, “I’ll even profit from the deal. Isn’t that justice for you?”
“Tallyn will find you.”
“Oh, I’m sure he will, stupid girl, but I’ll be guilty of no more than slave dealing, which, given my status, will be shrugged off. As far as he knows, I simply snatched an unimportant human girl to sell as a slave. Once you’re sold, he’ll never find you, and your destiny will be lost. You won’t live to fulfil it, and the Atlantean Empire will fall, as it has been prophesied. Draycons will take over their worlds and enslave them.”
Rayne looked away, unable to meet the woman’s hateful, sneering eyes. The door hissed shut, cutting off her grating chuckle.
Slave Empire - Prophecy Page 31