by Ella Maven
Two
Jennie
Bezmir usually left me alone so I could retreat to my daydreams where I wasn’t locked in a cage. Daydreams where I could sing and laugh. But today he’d been on edge.
He’d peeked at me numerous times from under the smelly cloth he used to cover my cage. And now, he’d thrown it off altogether. I hated when he did this, because it always meant he wanted to show me off, and others gawking at me made my skin crawl.
I hadn’t been sure what to expect when I’d been revealed this time, but it wasn’t to be captivated by a set of deep violet eyes. Frozen, I took in his massive form, most of it hidden beneath a heavy cloak, but the breadth of his shoulders and height was unmistakable.
In his thick boots, he’d crouched on the balls of his feet, never once taking those vivid purple eyes off me. His skin was blue, with a distinct camouflage pattern. He had no eyebrows, and a series of nubs on the heavy ridge of his brow.
Horns curled out from the side of his head, making the hood of his cloak stick out a bit so I could just see a few strands of bright orange hair at the top of his head. He flexed his hands, which were covered in thick black gloves.
I was glad my parents couldn’t see me now. As second-generation Korean Americans, they wanted nothing but success for my sister and me. While she pursued her studies as an anesthetist, I entered the mental health field. I’d been in school for my doctorate when I’d been snatched from Earth in the middle of the night only to wake up on a spaceship. I’d been brought to this desert planet and given to a bunch of scary caped aliens before Bezmir had stolen me.
I barely remembered when I was sick. Bezmir had tossed me on a fur and left me there with a stale jug of drink. Covered in sweat, I’d drifted in and out of consciousness as my mind played tricks on me. I’d seen my parents in front of me clear as day, then my sister, and for what felt like days, flames licked at my feet and my hands, a comforting blaze that sometimes I begged to just take me.
Then I’d woken up and I hadn’t heard my own voice since.
As soon as Bezmir told the Drix I couldn’t talk, his eyes went pitch black before he rose to his feet with the fluidity of a cat and turned on Bezmir. His coat swirled around his thick legs as he took a step toward the smaller alien. “She lost her ability to speak?”
Bezmir’s crew shifted at his back as a flash of fear entered the alien’s eyes. “It’s not my fault she’s on this planet and caught the virus.”
“Humans are much more fragile, and—” The Drix cut himself off and closed his eyes before inhaling deeply and letting out with the breath on a slow exhale. “If you find her so valuable, you should have done a better job of protecting her.”
“Her voice has no value, so it doesn’t matter,” Bezmir snapped. Those words shouldn’t have cut me to the core, but they did, and my hands drifted to my throat as I tried to get one word out. Just one. Sometimes I managed a whisper, but today everything felt paralyzed.
“You have a deal,” the Drix’s voice was low and strong. “When do you need me?”
Bezmir walked toward the table and once again took his seat. He tapped a clawed finger on the surface and one of his servants hurried over with some mugs of brew. “Sit, we’ll talk about the details.”
The Drix seemed reluctant to leave me. His body swayed in the direction of the table before glancing back at me. With a heavy sigh, he turned away to take a seat at Bezmir’s table.
They spoke in low tones, and I couldn’t make out all their words. A few here and there, but nothing I could piece together. So, all I knew was based on what they’d said at my cage—that this Drix would deliver me to my next buyer in exchange for a large cut of Kixx.
He didn’t look like most of Bezmir’s customers. I didn’t judge most of the villagers who were hooked on Kixx. I’d heard enough to know that Bezmir preyed on all of them and made them think it was harmless like the racco sticks they all smoked. But Kixx wasn’t harmless, not at all, and the only saving grace I had was he hadn’t wanted to waste product on me, so he left me alone. I’d seen what Kixx withdrawals were like, and it wasn’t pretty.
This big blue alien seemed steady and sure. His eyes didn’t have that Kixx redness to them, and his skin was still vibrant, while the drug turned most into jaundiced shells. He flexed his fists on his thighs as he sat with Bezmir, and I wondered for a brief moment what lay beneath those black gloves.
Something about him rang genuine to me, and I wasn’t sure why. I’d always considered myself to be a good reader of people, and I always had a sixth sense of what lay in their soul—good, bad, or complicated. This Drix was definitely complicated but beneath that was something pure.
I wondered what Bezmir meant about the Drix being bound to protect females. Would he be kind to me? Would he treat me with humanity? But I stopped short of letting myself trust him. He was still in league with Bezmir and willing to trade me like property for his own self-interest.
I poked at my ankle. The scabs kept ripping off before the skin was healed, and I knew I’d have a permanent scar there if I was ever let off of this chain. It felt overkill since I was already stuck in a cage. At night, Bezmir locked me in a small room by myself where I had a bundle of furs to sleep with on the floor. It was better than, say, in bed with him, so I told myself I could always have it worse.
My body ached, and my stomach growled. I lifted my head to look out the grimy windows of the shop to get an idea of when my one mealtime of the day was, and just then a servant—a small alien with nearly white skin, a slimy lower body and two hands, shoved a thin covered tray between the bars of my cage before slinking off, leaving a trail of mucus in her wake.
Grimacing, I plucked off the lid, which also had mucus remnants on it, to reveal what I ate every day—a brown gruel that tasted as bad as it smelled. My stomach protested every time, but I ate it anyway. I refused to give up or go on some sort of hunger strike. Maybe it was foolish, but I held out hope I could outsmart one of these aliens and somehow get free. I didn’t have any illusion I’d ever get home, but there had to be some place on this planet … in this galaxy … where I could be happy, right?
As I picked up the lumpy gruel with my bare hands and shoved it into my mouth, I thought yeah, maybe I was foolish.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I glanced up. The Drix was watching me, his eyes a nearly bottomless black, nostrils wide, and his body vibrating while Bezmir droned on. Anger rolled off him in waves, the emotion so powerful and evident in the tightness of his muscles I went still with fear. Was he angry with me? It was clear he didn’t like Bezmir, but what happened to make him this angry so suddenly?
I began to eat more hurriedly, worried something was going to happen and my food would disappear before I could fill my belly. And that only seemed to make the Drix angrier. A burning scent filled the air, like a snuffed-out candle, and Bezmir went very quiet as he eyed the Drix. “What’s going on?”
Finally, the Drix took his gaze off me to level it at Bezmir. “Why’s she eating that?”
Bezmir looked honestly bewildered. “Who?”
“The human,” the Drix said through gritted teeth.
“What’s wrong with podge?”
“It’s for chits and elders with no teeth.”
“It’s a perfectly acceptable meal.”
The Drix slammed his fists down on the table with so much force a leg cracked and bent, tilting the top so all the mugs and sabers on the surface crashed to the floor in a loud cacophony. He jumped to his feet, and his hood fell away to reveal a fiery orange mohawk on top of his head. “Why is she eating with her hands?” he roared.
The door flew open, and another Drix stepped into the room. This one had long straight black hair down to his waist and nasty scars at his neck and wrists. “Fenix?” He asked.
The orange haired Drix, who must have been Fenix, whirled on the new arrival. He didn’t speak, only pointed a claw-tipped finger at me. The long-haired Drix took in the room before let
ting his gaze fall on me. He made no reaction to my presence except for a thick swallow that made his Adam’s apple bob.
Bezmir now stood, a crew of his five most loyal men at his back. Hands on his hips, he puffed out his chest, but he was no match for the stature of Fenix and his friend. “Don’t do anything stupid, Drix. Either of you. You kill me, and you don’t get your Kixx supply. And if you think anyone else is going work with you after you kill your dealer, then you’re out of your mind. Think this through… Fenix,” he said the name on a hiss of warning. “And you don’t know where the handoff is. Only I do.”
“Fenix,” the long-haired Drix said in a low, patient tone.
His chest heaving, Fenix continued to glare at Bezmir, but made no move to advance on him. I sat completely still, my gruel tray empty. This fight… seemed to be over me, and I didn’t want to throw any more fuel on this fire.
Finally, Fenix took a step back. Just one. “I’ll be back tomorrow to do the job you’ve asked me to do. In the meantime, take her out of those chains and get her a proper meal, you flecker.”
With one last look at me, he turned on his heel and stomped out the door. The long-haired Drix remained behind for a long moment, his gaze on me before he nodded once at Bezmir and followed Fenix out the door.
As soon as the door closed, Bezmir kicked at a mug on the floor. “Clean this shet up!” he hollered. Three of the snail-like aliens came sliding into the room and quickly took care of the mess. Bezmir walked over to my cage, eyes a mean yellow and lips curled back. He hadn’t been very physical with me yet, other than locking me in a cage, but he’d never been this angry before either.
The flee instinct hit me hard, but I had nowhere to go, so I huddled into the corner of the cage. He dropped down to a crouch in front of my cage and gripped the bar with a scarred-knuckled hand. “You better be worth this, because if I don’t get what I think you’re worth, I’ll send you and that Drix out of the airlock without a moment’s hesitation. Do you hear me?”
I nodded. I heard him, but I had no idea how I could possibly do a thing to be … worth this.
“So far, you’ve cost me a lot. First, I had to steal you, then keep you while you almost died, feed you, and now I have to find a bodyguard because you’re too fragile.”
Or you’re too weak to protect me, I wanted to say.
“It’ll all be over soon. You’ll be the property of the wealthiest Rogastix clan in the galaxy, and I’ll be rich in Kixx.” He smiled, but nothing about it was friendly. “Just wait. You think I treat you bad? You’ll be begging for me to take you back once the Tristax clan gets a hold of you.” His tongue snaked out of his mouth to wet his thin lips. “I heard they like to play with their toys, and I know you’ll be their favorite.”
Three
Fenix
Every step I took away from the female felt like wading through mud. Zecri walked as close to me as he dared, frequently glaring at me out of the corner of his eyes, as if he expected me to turn tail and run. His suspicions were well-founded.
She’d been eating podge with her hands.
In a cage.
Chained.
The image of her wouldn’t leave my mind, when normally a memory like that would be fleeting. I almost wished to forget it, because with every beat of my cora, the anger in my gut festered.
My meager supply of Kixx felt too light in my pocket. I’d have to ration it more than usual, which meant more pain. More unbearable heat. More wishing to end it all. Except I had something to look forward to now. Seeing the female again.
“Do you think he unchained her?” I asked Zecri. “The skin of her ankle was torn. She looked thin. Had Rian been that thin?” Already the image of the female Mikko had saved was blurry in my mind. “She can’t live on podge. How long has it been since she had proper sustenance? What would she have said if she could have talked? Would she have been afraid of me?”
We reached the exit of the village and slipped out on our way to our small camp where we’d been staying since leaving our base.
I shoved off my hood and ran my gloved palm over my hair. “Do you—”
“I don’t know if he unchained her. Rian hadn’t been quite that thin. I don’t know how long it’s been since your female had proper food. If she talked, I’m sure she would have had a myriad of things to say. She probably would have been afraid of you, because you were quite angry in that room.” Zecri turned to me with his nubbed brow raised. “Did I answer your questions?”
His tone was patient, and I felt guilty. After Rexor and Mikko left, Zecri had been left with me, and I’d spent a majority of our time together talking what I felt was too much.
I couldn’t help myself. Sometimes I forgot someone was even listening. I’d spent so long hearing only my voice, I often couldn’t differentiate between my thoughts and what I said out loud. That got me in trouble a time or two with Mikko, since I tended to think he was an impulsive flecker. Despite that, I still missed him.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Thanks. And thanks for being the voice of reason back there. I almost took off Bezmir’s head.”
“Tell me more about this deal.”
I explained to him I had to protect the female during the journey in which she’d be exchanged for Kixx. I’d get a significant portion of the supply as payment. I pulled out the small packet of green powder. “This is all he had for me.”
Zecri eyed the contents. “That’s…” he swallowed and met my eyes. “That won’t last you long.”
I shook my head as I shoved it back in my pocket. My scales itched, and the heat bubbled below the surface, gaining strength with each passing yora. Soon, it would be crippling. “No, it won’t.”
We fell silent as we walked the rest of the way to camp. My mind whirled with thoughts and plans, and I knew I muttered a few things out loud, because Zecri would glance at me, but he left me alone to think and talk to myself.
A series of rock arches rose out of the red sand, and we walked under the lengthening shadows of the formations to the remnants of our last fire pit. There, we unrolled our packs and laid out our furs.
While Zecri prepared the meat he’d bought at the market, I sat on a rock and pulled off my gloves. I flexed my fingers, which was difficult with the tight, scarred skin and opened my palm. A small flame flickered, and I watched it for a moment, ignoring the smell of my melted scales and the pain zinging up my arm.
With a jerk of my wrist, a small fireball sailed into the pit, and a few dried grasses there ignited immediately. Closing my palm, the flame flickered out. Gritting my teeth at the smell and feel of my ruined scales, I slipped my gloves back on. Out of sight, out of mind. Except for the crippling pain part.
A piece of smoked meat appeared in front of my face. I took it from Zecri, and immediately bit into it, even if the food tasted a bit like ash. I never had much of an appetite after I used my fire. I chewed and swallowed anyway, knowing I needed the sustenance.
Zecri stared into the flames while eating his own meal. When he was finished, he drank some qua and leaned back while I poked at the fire.
“She couldn’t speak,” I suddenly spoke into the silence.
Zecri leaned closer. “What?”
I gestured to my throat. “She got the rath virus when she arrived, and it damaged her voice.” A shiver went down my spine, a reminder of the tens of cycles I’d spent alone.
Underground.
No company.
Nothing but me and the pain. My mind in flames while I raged to myself. I gritted my teeth. “She can’t speak, Z.”
He closed his eyes and hung his head. “Fleck.”
“He keeps her in the cage and feeds her podge she has to eat with her hands. She can’t tell him if she’s in pain, or hungry, anything.” I fisted my hands until my claws dug into the thick skin of my gloves. “I don’t know what kind of condition she’s in.” Warm brown eyes floated to the forefront of my thoughts. “She looked at me like she was searching for something.”
&nb
sp; “A rescuer?” Zecri said softly.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “She’s looking at the wrong Drixonian.”
“Fenix,” he said sharply.
I leveled him with a hard glare. “I’m not Rexor. Or Mikko.” The words felt bitter in my mouth. “I’m not reliable. I’m dependent on a powder to get me through each rotation. What’s in my pocket won’t last long. I either keep taking it and eventually this shuts down.” I pounded my fist over where my cora beat.
“Or I stop taking it and lose this.” I jabbed a finger at my temple. “How am I any use to her? I can’t get her home without Kixx or I’ll lose my mind to the pain before we reach orbit. And in order to get more of the very thing that’s slowly killing me, I have to hand her over to a Rogastix clan.”
I kicked at the sand and sent a shower of red mist in the fire, which protested with a hiss and crackle. I dropped my head into my hands and fisted my hair. “Either way is a death sentence for us both.”
My mind twisted and writhed with the decision. I remembered back to my training days, when the elder Drixonians had ordered us to chant, “She is All,” until our throats were sore, and our voices were hoarse.
Even though our females had all been killed by a deadly virus, we were still sworn to protect females. It was why Rexor and Mikko had risked everything to save their humans. It wasn’t that I was unwilling to risk my life. It was that I didn’t know how long my mind and body would last. It felt like I was racing against time. I took out the packet of powder and flicked it with my finger. I knew what I should do. I just had no idea how to do it.
“Then we’ll work on a plan together.” Zecri’s voice startled me.
I jerked my head up to find him watching me. “What?”
“You said you knew what you should do but not how to do it.”
“Oh, I thought…” I shook my head. “I thought I said that to myself.”
“We’ll figure it out. When do you have to meet with Bezmir for the trip?”