Betrayed: The Fallen World Series Book 3

by C. R. Jane

  "Do they not have different species on your earth?" she asked.

  We had gotten off topic, I needed to know about a million more things about this “hunt” before it started, but it was probably good for both of us to have some sort of distraction right now. It wouldn't hurt for me to answer a few questions.

  "There are a lot of different species on Earth," I explained. "But before the Vepar invaded, we weren't aware that there were any other species from different planets on Earth."

  Her eyes widened. "Really, there weren't any? So you thought…"

  "So we thought we were all alone in the universe?" I asked self-deprecatingly. "Yes. As stupid as that sounds, we did think we were alone on the planet. That obviously has changed now."

  She shivered. "Surely your leaders must have known. I can't imagine living in such a state of ignorance."

  "We really didn't know any other way," I told her honestly. Thinking of the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss.’ I think I missed being able to be ignorant.

  "I really don't think that our leaders knew either. But maybe I'm wrong about that. Our leaders are a bit lock lipped about state secrets to the common people.”

  She nodded.

  "Bruda, I would love to answer whatever questions you have about Earth and the humans, but I need to know about this situation we’re in before I can do that."

  She nodded again, and I was once more glad that I had landed myself next to her. "Stories of the mating hunt are told to all Vepar children growing up. It’s a story that our parents tell us to try and keep us in line. “Be nice to your brother, Bruda, wouldn't want to have to send you to the Vepar for the hunt," my parents would tell us. “The stories could never compare to the real thing though," she said looking around us in disgust. "Obviously everything that I've heard is rumor. But how I've been told that it works is that sometime soon, sometime this week at least, the Khonsu men who are looking for mates will gather in an arena and we will be brought in to be inspected. They examine our looks, the strength of our teeth, use their technology to look at our fertility probability… Basically take stock of our assets," she explained.

  My terror at this point was so thick that it was hard to breathe. They would know I was human. What if their technology could pick out what was special about my blood? What if I was already pregnant, what would they do? Horror like I'd never felt before swept through me.

  "You're not fainting on me, are you? You’ve got to stay strong," Bruda ordered.

  I took a deep breath, unwilling to tell her exactly why I was so afraid. A few more deep breaths seemed to calm me down.

  "Continue," I said, proud of myself for keeping my voice calm.

  “After they've showcased us to the hunters, they take us into the woods on their mountain.”

  "Their mountain?" I asked perplexed.

  She nodded. "The Khonsu have a mountain that they consider sacred. All of their important rituals are done within their woods or at the peak of the mountain. It's called Velati.”

  She turned me around and I saw where the giant mountain was located in the distance.

  "And what happens on that mountain?" I asked, dread trickling down my spine because I knew what she was going to say next.

  "There, we are hunted," she said matter-of-factly. "Each Khonsu male who is participating in the hunt would've located their favorite based on the exhibition in the arena. They let us out into the woods under the guise that there’s a chance we could escape. But obviously that never happens,” she said with a whisper. “Once the Khonsu male catches their desired mate, the woman is then taken to the top of the mountain. And there she is raped on their sacred stone or in the woods or wherever they please." Bruda delivered this news in a voice void of any emotion.

  My body felt like it was going to collapse. Raped. There had actually been quite a few times in my life where I had been touched without my permission, and there had definitely been situations that could've led to rape if I hadn’t been saved. I thought of the prison guard in the hallway where Thane had saved me.

  Who was going to save me this time though? A wave of loneliness passed over me. I had just gotten to the point where I had felt safe for the first time in my life, and then it had been ripped away.

  A thought hit me just then. What if the guys were dead? What if they had been found out after I had been captured?

  "I'd been expecting that when I learned it was called a ‘mating hunt’” I said softly, trying to distract myself from the terrifying images that had filled my mind of the guys each being tortured and killed in various ways.

  At that moment Bruda reached over and squeezed my hand, an act of solidarity and compassion that brought tears to my eyes.

  "And then after the hunt, is there a marriage ceremony?" I asked with a faint laugh.

  "According to what I've heard, by performing the...” she hesitated before continuing. "By performing the ritual, on their sacred mountain, that acts as the marriage ceremony."

  I looked around and examined all of the women in the corral, all women that at least to me didn't look like they were Khonsu.

  "Why don't they take their own women for their mates?" I asked.

  “I've heard through gossip that the Khonsu women have the same fertility problems as the Vepar women. Unlike the Vepar, the Khonsu have no problem going outside of their race. From what I've heard, the Khonsu gene is dominant to all but the Vepar and any characteristics of other species are thus not carried over during the mating process. The child is born a Khonsu then for all intents and purposes."

  I was immediately outraged upon hearing that. "If the Vepar genes are so strong, why was it so important to them then to take over Earth where the humans there have similar characteristics to them? Why couldn't they just go with another species and let the Vepar genes dominate whatever child was born?" I asked, furious at the idea that Earth could've been taken over for no reason.

  Bruda was already shaking her head before I had finished ranting.

  "Unfortunately, the Vepar genes do not work that way. The Vepar can only mate with compatible bloodlines, and your Earth is the only planet that's been found to have beings that are compatible to us.” She cocked her head, staring at me intently. "That is the reason that you are here, is it not? Even on Earth you were the only one found to be compatible."

  I looked at her suspiciously. How would she know that? I knew it was common knowledge for the Council and Corran’s scientists, but I didn't think that the regular Vepar population would've heard about me.

  She sighed. It was starting to get dark, and the last rays of Veon’s two suns cast her in a haunting orange glow. "As I'm sure you're aware now, the Council’s become corrupt. Your men were gone for too long. After they were gone, the Council decided that although they could not mate, they could still play."

  I inhaled a shaky breath. The pain she had endured was so tangible, I could taste it on my tongue. Bruda had suffered immensely.

  Her voice faded to a whisper, and I had to lean in closer to her to be able to hear her as she continued to haltingly speak.

  "I was stolen from my parents and used as a slave for their pleasure."

  "How did you end up here?" I asked gently, thinking that she was a beautiful woman. Whatever horrors she had been through had not affected her beauty.

  "When I was first taken as the Council's pet, I complied with whatever they wanted thinking that it would make things easier if I just went along with it. But as time passed, I couldn't keep going. I started to fight back, making it so that every interaction was a battle. Although some of the Council members were into that sort of thing, the others didn't think that I was worth it. After all, there are a million women on Veon with the same looks as me. I was sent here as punishment, a gift to the Khonsu by the corrupt Council."

  I didn't know what to say. I was shocked. I obviously had hated the Council for my own reasons but knowing the depths of their depravity took my hatred to a whole other level.

  I suddenly
remembered what she had said, that the Khonsu didn't mate with the Vepar because of the gene domination issues. Plus, the Vepar women were infertile so that wouldn’t work to begin with. I looked at her confused.

  “You're wondering why I'm here if I can't have children?" she asked, a resigned look on her face.

  I nodded, feeling bad that I was having her answer all of these difficult questions. "I'm here to continue what I was doing for the Council. But there's not a Khonsu male alive that won't enjoy my noncompliance."

  I didn't know what was worse. If they thought I was a Vepar, or if they realized I was the evidently amazing alien baby breeding machine that I actually was.

  Big ugly tears streamed down my face, garnering stares from the surrounding women. I didn't know how they were all handling this so well. If only they weren't, maybe we could all storm the walls or something and get out of here.

  I laughed a little bit hysterically. That obviously wouldn't work. Not with the Khonsu in their beast forms patrolling the area. One swipe with their claws and we would be goners.

  Then Bruda did something I would never forget. She gathered me in her arms and began to softly sing a haunting melody. Thanks to Corran’s language chip, I was able to understand it even though it was in Vepar.

  I didn't understand all the terms. Even translated some of the Vepar words were too alien for my mind to comprehend.

  But it filled me with peace. The fact that someone like Bruda, who had been through a life that was a literal nightmare for who knows how long, could offer comfort to me...Well, the world...or worlds as it was couldn't be that bad of a place.

  I stayed in her arms as the sun set. Too scared to go to sleep, we spent the night talking about Earth.

  "I would like to visit it one day," she said wistfully. "It sounds beautiful."

  I thought of Veon and how beautiful it was, even compared to Earth. I thought of the poverty I had experienced on my planet, the loss of my parents. "Beautiful things sometimes hide the most terrible things,” I told her.

  She stared off into the distance as a pack of Khonsu in their beast forms ran by. "I know all about that."

  We both somehow drifted off to sleep, but we were awakened savagely by loud horns and laughing and roaring crowds that had gathered outside of the corral.

  I sat up in alarm as did Bruda. "It must be time," she said sadly.

  I couldn't answer her. I finally saw that the other women in the pen were starting to look nervous. They looked even more nervous when at least a hundred of the Khonsu in their beast forms surrounded the pen and started to chant loud savage sounds that shook the ground. It was terrifying to see so many of them in one place, gnashing their teeth. I noticed that the ground sizzled where their green saliva fell on it.

  "Do they hunt us in those forms?" I asked in a horrified voice.

  "I don’t know," Bruda said in a worried tone. "I don't know how we would make it to the top of the mountain if they did though, so let's hold off panicking about that."

  I had become accustomed to the slight buzzing of the electrical fence, so I noticed right away when it stopped. Suddenly, a section of the fence started to slide by, creating an opening. Several of the Khonsu guards came to the opening and grunted at us to start moving. Apparently, they weren't able to communicate in their beast forms.

  One by one we started to file out. I could feel the Khonsu’s leering gazes as we walked by, and it reminded me of that first Khonsu who had looked at me like I was more food than a person.

  I couldn't help but look in the crowd for any of the guys. Despite my initial doubts, I was sure that they hadn't betrayed me. If they had wanted to use me for a certain purpose, they would've given me to the Council to begin with. As it was, they had sacrificed everything to try and make me safe. I was pretty positive that they loved me.

  Although Bruda had said that the exhibition happened in their arena, there were so many Khonsu both in beast and man forms gathered around us, that it seemed like the exhibition had already started.

  I was sure the view of the women as we walked resembled a kaleidoscope of colors. It seemed like almost every female there had to be from a different planet.

  A Khonsu near me made strange moans as I walked by. Just like some of the more despicable men on earth, the Khonsu grabbed themselves and started rutting their hips like animals as we walked by.

  I was going to be sick.

  There were females sprinkled among the crowd, and I assumed they were the Khonsu women. They looked worn down, unhappy, and resigned with their lives. I didn't think that bade well for any of the women marching in this line.

  I was still dressed in the hospital gown that I had been put in, and I was sure that my hair was all over the place. It didn't seem to matter though as the Khonsu’s eyes seemed to always find me. And it looked like they liked what they saw.

  It became easier to try and ignore their looks, and I concentrated on studying the Khonsu city. It seemed like unlike the Vepar, who preferred to have space between their dwellings, the Khonsu didn't mind living close to one another.

  They didn't seem to have the technology that the Vepar did to cook food, as I could see smoke coming out of the tops of some of the dwellings. Most of the buildings were plain, but occasionally we would pass by some that had silvery markings all around the entrance.

  Bruda leaned closer as we passed by an especially elaborate one. "Those markings denote the elite of the Khonsu culture. The ink used to make the markings is very expensive, and only certain families possess it.”

  I nodded; thankful she knew so much about the Khonsu.

  I came to a screeching halt a moment later when we passed by what looked like a courtyard. There were five very human looking Khonsu playing with the black whips that had been used to torture me. My mouth opened in a silent scream as I saw that they were using the whips on a dozen tiny creatures that possessed shiny white fur. The little creatures were emitting shrieks of pain that threatened to burst my eardrums.

  Losing my head momentarily, I took a step forward to go to them. I was only stopped by Bruda grabbing my arm tightly. "You cannot intervene. Do you want them to use those whips on you?" she hissed urgently.

  Resuming my slow walk in line, I shivered as we left the screams behind us.

  Bruda was silent for a moment as we marched. "What was that back there? Do you have no sense of self-preservation?" she asked.

  "I know exactly what those whips feel like. Forgive me if it was hard to see them using them on such innocent creatures," I said softly.

  "You're going to need to toughen up if you are going to survive this next part," Bruda said matter-of-factly.

  I could see what had to be the arena rising in front of us in the distance. Unlike the dome like structures that made up their dwellings, the arena looked to be a perfectly square copper colored box. I had never seen anything like it.

  "From what I've been told, the Khonsu will do whatever to get their prey in the hunt," Bruda continued urgently. "If you're going to fight, be prepared to have those whips used on you again."

  The thought of those whips touching me again almost made me want to just give in. “Almost” being the important word.

  We arrived at the arena. Unlike the crudeness of their dwellings, the arena’s outside walls were perfectly smooth. A few of the guards at the front of the line made some grunting noises, and the wall in front of us began to slide open.

  I gasped as we walked inside. There had to be thousands of Khonsu in both beast and their human looking forms sitting on stands that appeared to be floating in the air. The bottom two rows of the stands held only human looking Khonsu, however. They were all dressed in dark purple tunics. The fact that their eyes were lit up in anticipation let me know that these were the Khonsu who would be taking part in the hunt.

  “I bet their dicks are small,” I muttered to Bruda, who let out a surprised snort.

  The guard ahead of us looked backwards to make sure we were following him an
d must've seen the smirks on both of our faces. He rolled his eyes. "Pay attention," he barked at us. We immediately sobered up.

  In the center of the arena was a large open space with packed dirt that was so smooth it almost looked like a giant basketball court. A pedestal stood in the very middle, where I presumed we would be put on display one by one for observation by the crowd.

  The beastly guards at the head of our line made a roaring sound and the women in front of me all stopped. A Khonsu with oily black hair that reminded me of the first Khonsu that I had met, dressed in crimson robes, appeared from behind us and walked towards the pedestal, paying no attention to the prisoners he passed by.

  He stood up on the pedestal and tapped his throat three times. The arena immediately went silent.

  "Let the Tangazi begin,” he said in a voice that reminded me of a hissing snake. The crowd immediately began to roar again. The Khonsu dressed in the purple robes stood in unison as if they had practiced the movement. They began to beat their fists over their hearts. The loud thumping sound echoed across the arena, sending shivers down my spine.

  The Khonsu on the pedestal stepped down and impatiently signaled the first female prisoner to step up on the pedestal. Another Khonsu male stepped forward with some kind of device in his hand. He waved it in front of the terrified looking female, a beautiful alien with gold looking skin and green hair that shimmered down her back. A series of numbers appeared above her head.

  I leaned toward Bruda. "What are those?" I asked, gesturing to the numbers.

  She looked at me wide-eyed. "I have no idea. But it can't be good,” she admitted, and her response terrified me.

  The Khonsu with the device said something to the female and she opened her mouth, displaying her teeth.

  I again leaned towards Bruda. "What’s their obsession with teeth?" I asked. I must have said something humorous because a smile crossed her face despite our dire circumstances.

  "Are good teeth not important on your planet?" she asked.

  "I mean I guess they are, but not to this extent,” I replied, listening as the crowd cheered at the beautiful alien’s display of her shiny, shark-like teeth.