by Maven, Ella
Riven nodded with a face and curled into a ball.
I tied the ends and carefully slung Riven onto my back. “Are you okay?”
“Peachy.” Her voice was muffled through the layers of fabric.
I frowned. “Peachy?”
Riven giggled and Sybil laughed. The sound immediately made my cora feel lighter. “It’s an expression I use. She has picked up a lot of English human-isms.”
I grunted and repositioned Riven’s weight. Grasping Sybil’s hand, I nodded toward the gates. “Let’s go.”
It was a short walk to the entrance of Gaulz, but each step felt like I was slogging through mud. This was the last place I wanted to bring Sybil and Riven, but my options were running out. I had no more Drixonian allies on this planet … that I knew of.
I’d spent all these cycles preparing just for this moment, imagining Graven and I walking into Gaulz and living out our days as outlaws on this planet. But now I had two females who I’d protect with my life, and who wouldn’t be safe until I got them as far away from Vixlicin as possible.
I wasn’t sure what awaited us in Gaulz, but I knew that the conversation I had yesterday with Sybil about dreams had no place here. It was all about one step at a time. One plan after another until they all added up to our escape.
It was about mid-rotation, so as we stepped through the front gate of Gaulz, the settlement was alive with activity. At first glance, it didn’t look much different from any other Vixlicin town, until I realized there were no Plikens here.
Species of all shapes and sizes roamed around. I caught a fistfight near a gambling den, and females wearing little clothing were brushing their nearly naked bodies up against males while rummaging their pockets for czens.
Sybil pressed close to me, and her sweat-damp hand squeezed mine tighter.
An older male from a species I’d never seen before limped toward us on hooved feet. He twisted his braided beard as he appraised Sybil. “A human?” He eyed me, gaze lingering on my chest and biceps. “Keep a close eye on her, warrior.” He coughed as he walked away.
“I hate this place already,” Sybil muttered in a low voice, eyes darting around.
I strode forward, and she jogged at my side to keep up. “We have to find a place to stay, and then you’re getting locked in there until I can find us passage.”
“Normally I’d disagree, but I’m not keen on going for a fun little walk—”
A half-dozen Rogastix stepped into our path. They were an intelligent species who could have used their smarts for good but instead most chose evil. Dark green scales covered their thick muscles as they watched us carefully with yellow eyes.
I stopped abruptly, red dust swirling around my feet. At my side, Sybil emitted a small squeak out of surprise before she plastered herself to my side.
“How much?” said the Rogastix in front, a younger male wearing an adorned coat.
I stared at him.
He waited a beat before reaching for Sybil. “How much for the female?”
His fingers nearly brushed her hair before I yanked her behind me.
She yelped but didn’t protest. Her fingers curled into the back of my cloak, and I felt the heat of her body seep through the fabric.
“She’s not for sale.”
He bared his teeth in a zany grin. “Everything’s for sale in Gaulz.”
His answer confirmed why I knew I needed to lie. “She’s my mate.”
He let out a long low whistle before crossing his arms over his chest and widening his stance. “Is that right? A Drixonian with a mate.” Scratching above his ear, he turned to the Rogastix directly behind him. “They’re nearly extinct, huh? I guess a mated pair is pretty valuable.” This time when he showed his teeth, it was in a creepy smile. “So that makes me wonder what you’re doing in my territory.”
“No one owns Gaulz.”
He cocked his head. “Have you been here before? How much do you know about Gaulz? Look, on every planet in this galaxy there are natural born leaders who step up in the absence of power and make life better for everyone in it.”
“This asshole is really giving a speech,” Sybil muttered at my back.
I couldn’t help but smile as I pictured her eye role, but the Rogastix frowned. “What’s funny?”
“I didn’t laugh.”
He tried to peer around me at Sybil, but I turned my body. Sucking his teeth, he sighed. “Anyway, I’m that natural born leader. My name is Tajarie, and I run Gaulz. Therefore… you entering with your human mate means you’re fair game. I’ve always wanted to try a human, so how about—”
I handed the pack holding Riven to Sybil, who accepted it with a grunt. Turning to Tajarie, I unleashed my machets and whipped my tail on the ground. Every Rogastix except Tajarie took a step back.
“This is not a game to me, Rogastix,” I said, showing my fangs.
“Did I say it was a game?”
“We’re just looking to pass through and then we’ll be on our way. I don’t want trouble, but I will do everything in my power to protect my mate. I suggest you not find out just how powerful I am.”
Tajarie didn’t move for a long moment, and I prepared to slice into this skin just before he dropped his arms and gestured to his crew. They skirted around us and made their way toward the front gates. Tajarie remained behind, his gaze locked on me. “Then make your visit as brief as possible, or you’ll find out just how powerful I am, too.” With a nod, he knocked my shoulder as he walked past.
I stayed motionless, watching him leave because I didn’t trust him not to attack me from behind. When he and his crew melted into the crowd of the marketplace, I let out a breath.
“Wow,” Sybil said. “You were pretty awesome.” She lowered her voice and puffed out her chest. “I suggest you not find out just how powerful I am.” Fanning her face, she blew her hair off her forehead. “That was like a movie scene.”
I had no idea what she was talking about. “Let’s go before we draw any more attention.”
* * *
Sybil
I felt like we’d stepped into a Mad Max movie. Gaulz was a dirty, violent place that was no place for Riven. I was so glad she currently resided in a pack slung on Zecri’s wide back.
I kept stealing glances at him.
Graven had been handsome in an objective way, but Zecri was … something else. Something which stirred my blood, flushed my skin, and made me feel a warmth deep in my belly I hadn’t felt since… Well, since my college boyfriend. And even that had been little more than mere interest while what I felt for Zecri was lust mixed with desire mixed with longing. Or something. It was all jumbled up inside of me like a knotted rope.
For so long, I’d been the one standing between Riven and anything that could hurt her. I was the shield, and I’d been okay with that. Now we had a much bigger, better, and deadlier shield standing in front of us. As we strode through the crowd, they parted like the Red Sea to let us through.
Zecri still wore his cloak, but he’d lowered the hood, so his blue skin, violet eyes, black horns, and long dark hair were in full view. He cut an impressive figure. He’d worried about me drawing attention? All eyes were on him. I heard whispers as we passed. Drixonian. Drixonian. Drixonian.
At a small stand near a food market, a tall, slim alien with purple hair sold cloaks. While Zecri constantly scanned our surroundings, nothing drew his attention until her stand. He made a beeline to it, tugging me along. Grabbing a long dark blue cloak from a rack, he shoved my arms into it and pulled up the hood to hide my hair. He took a step back, eyeing me, before nodding to himself. “Better,” he muttered.
He tossed the seller a bag of coins and didn’t bother to wait for change.
“Why did you get me this?” I said, jogging to keep up with him as we continued on.
“Everyone is looking at you.”
“They’re looking at you,” I murmured.
He glanced at me with his eyebrow nubs raised.
“What
? They are. You’re the one stomping around with your big muscles and perfect skin. I have pimples and my hair is greasy.”
“Pimples?”
“Never mind.”
We made it to a building with lodging rooms without any more incidents. The building rose about five stories in the air, and wasn’t much better than Wargo’s business, but at least this one didn’t involve chains. At a desk on the bottom floor sat a squat yellow alien with a triangular-shaped head and three eyes. When he blinked them all at me, I shivered and looked away.
Zecri plunked down a bundle of czens to get us a room for a few rotations, plus a tray of food.
We rode a lift to the third floor, which I balked at because the last thing I wanted to do was get stuck in an alien elevator, but Zecri tugged me inside and slammed the doors shut despite my protests.
When we were finally locked safely inside our room, alone, Zecri opened Riven’s pack. She emerged in a whirlwind of black hair. Her body went into full motion, hopping around the room while she shook out her arms and legs. “I was getting cramps in there,” she breathed with a laugh. “And I heard everything! Zecri was so badass back there.”
“Badass?” he queried.
Did Drixonians have a thing against cussing? Was I going to get mom-shamed for letting Riven curse? I had never really censored myself. And I had told Riven she could call Wargo a bitch, which I didn’t regret. I cleared my throat. “It’s a compliment.”
“Badass,” he murmured to himself, flexing his fists. The machets on his arms rippled before settling back under his skin.
Riven immediately attacked the tray of food, and I joined her while Zecri surveyed the room like he was checking it for bugs. I eventually got him to sit down and eat something, but he seemed troubled.
“Are you worried about Tajarie?” I asked him.
He didn’t react.
I shifted closer to him. “Zecri?”
He jerked to attention. “What did you say?”
“I think that answered my question.” His eyes narrowed, and I sighed. “I asked if you were worried about Tajarie.”
His dismissed my question with a wave of his hand. “I’m not worried about him.”
“Why not?”
He took a long gulp of qua and swished it around in his mouth before swallowing. “I rather protect what I already have then try to steal something that isn’t mine.”
I barely suppressed a shiver at his possessive words. “Then what has you thinking so hard?”
He leaned back and Riven curled up at his side with her head on his lap. At first, he was startled, but then he gently brushed her hair out of her face. “I couldn’t help that you were seen, but unfortunately that means when I leave this room for any reason—food, supplies, and to barter passage off planet—I’ll have to take you with me. If anyone suspects you’re here alone, they will try to find you. And I won’t be here to defend you.”
“What about me?” Riven asked, peering up at him with her wide purple eyes. “Will I have to be carried around in that pack all the time?”
His face softened. “No one knows about you, so you can stay here.”
My heart pounded. “Are you sure?” Riven had been a constant at my side since she was born. The thought of leaving her behind in his room felt like removing my arm from my body.
“I don’t want the risk of her getting discovered until we find a way to leave the planet.” He reached for me and circled my wrist with his long fingers. “I’ll get her a signal device from one of the vendors. If anything happens, she can let us know.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Riven?”
“I’ll be okay, Sibbie,” she said with a yawn. “I know Z will protect us.”
He patted her slim shoulder before gesturing to me. “Get some rest. We’ll need to head out soon.”
I didn’t feel tired. But when I crawled to the bedding pad and covered myself with a blanket, I was asleep within minutes.
Eight
Sybil
Walking around without Riven was a weird feeling. I kept reaching for her hand, but her little body wasn’t next to mine. She was back in our lodging room, clutching a small device with a button which would alert a watch on Zecri’s wrist in case of an emergency. She had food, fresh bedding, and a small single-player game that Zecri had picked up from a vendor in the Gaulz market.
The cloak I wore was so long the ends brushed the red-sand ground, turning the dark blue fabric a dusty purple. Zecri strode with his arm around me, his massive hand cupping my shoulder. We were on our way to the drinking establishments of Gaulz. Zecri said that was where the crews with spacecrafts gathered most often.
In the distance, I could hear the din of a crowd cheering. “What’s that sound?” I asked.
His eyes slid to me. “Fights.”
“Fights?”
“At least here most of the fighters have chosen that way to make their czens. Outside of Gaulz, gladiators are bought and sold, forced to fight to the death.”
“Did … did you have to do that?”
He shook his head. “Rexor did.”
“Who’s Rexor?”
His hand flexed on my shoulder as we brushed past a few aliens with a sickly gray skin. “Rexor, Mikko, and Fenix are Drixonian warriors like me. Once I escaped from Wargo the four of us found each other.”
“Where are they now?”
His gaze drifted up to the smoky haze in the sky over Gaulz. “Hopefully, they are home.”
“Why didn’t you join them?”
“We all had our separate missions.”
“Graven,” I murmured.
“Yes.”
“But you said there are more Drixonians on another planet. Why were the four of you sold here?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked and his pace seemed to pick up.
I broke into a light jog, but when he realized I was running, he slowed down. “I’ll explain another time.”
I wasn’t stupid—I was sure whatever the reason, it was a source of pain for him. So, I let the subject go for now and focused on keeping up with Zecri as we walked through the back alleys of Gaulz.
The place was full of aliens of all kinds. I spotted a few Gattrix like Kilzer, but mostly it was a melting pot of aliens. Several were large, but none had the commanding presence of Zecri.
While I kept my hood up and face covered, Zecri kept his hood down.
His long dark hair, cerulean skin, and black horns stood out in the crowd. He was broad, heavily muscled, and wore a face like thunder. While some aliens tried to catch glimpses of what I was beneath my clothes, one glare from Zecri had them skittering away. I heard whispers of “Drix,” and “mate.”
We entered bar after bar.
They were loud and raucous, the floorboards cracked and stained.
Zecri never let go of me. He either kept his arm around my shoulders, a palm on the back of my neck, or a firm grip on my wrist.
I’d avoided any touch but Riven’s for a decade, so at first the heat of his skin gave me goosebumps. But by the third hour or so of our search, I found myself craving his possessive hold. I wondered if he felt the same way. Was this only for show? Did he enjoy his hand on me?
Even when I needed to use the expeller, he stood outside the stall, barking a warning at any other females who came near us.
Each bar, he asked around about passage, but was continually turned down. No room. No Drixonians. No mated pairs. No matter how many coins he offered, it wasn’t enough.
By the time we left the sixth place, Zecri was grinding his molars, and his grip was so tight on my wrist I felt my bones creaking. I winced and flexed my fingers. “Z… you’re hurting me.”
He immediately released me and spun away. His back hit the side of a building, and he grunted before lowering his head between his shoulders. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey,” I rushed to him and placed my hands on his chest so I could look up into his face. “Don’t apologize. I know you’re frustra
ted.”
He didn’t meet my gaze. “You asked if I was worried about Tajarie.”
I went still. “Yeah?”
“I am now,” he murmured. “I think he’s spreading the word to block our escape.”
I let my forehead hit his chest. “Well damn.”
He sighed, and I listened to the steady beat of his heart. His arms slowly wrapped around my shoulders. “We will find someone who isn’t swayed by Tajarie. I’m sure of it.”
I believed him, but I worried how long it would take. I hated leaving Riven behind in that room, and the longer we were in Gaulz, the more risk we took. A slight rustling reached my ears, and I jerked up at the same time Z let out a rumbling growl. He shoved me behind him, so I hit the wall with an oomph. “Who’s there?” He spoke through fang-gritted teeth.
The air seemed to shimmer for a half second, but it was so fast I told myself I imagined it. There was no sound in respond to Zecri’s words. No movement. I peered around his big body. “Do you see anything?”
“Stay back,” he hissed at me.
“I am,” I retorted.
He stood with his machets out, the blades shimmering in the light of the setting sun through the slits in his coat. After a long moment, he seemed convinced we were alone.
“Maybe it was just a rodent or a kid,” I said.
“Maybe,” he murmured. Grabbing my hand, he tugged me toward the mouth of the alley. We were almost out on the main street when a trio of figures stepped in front of us. I squinted to determine who they were when Zecri went solid at my side.
The gray-skinned aliens stood on three-toed feet. They had very round eyes and high cheekbones. The one in front wore a simple uniform, but he gave off a dignified, sophisticated air that reminded me of royalty.
Zecri let out a low growl and for the first time that day, he left my side. With a lunge, he grabbed the first gray alien and hauled him against the wall of the alley. The other two made a move to protect their companion, but Zecri sent them flying to the ground with a mighty slash of his tail. With his forearms machets pricking the skin of the alien in his arms, Zecri’s nostrils flared as he spoke in a deadly voice inches away from the alien’s face. “How dare you show yourself in front of me?”