by Poppy Rhys
“You’re never going back to Dor Nye, yet you still live in this delusion that your place here is temporary.” His voice was chilling as he took a step toward her, eyes lit with an outrage that scared her.
“Your ego is destroying any chance at happiness I could possibly find with you!” She shouted at him.
His finger tapped her temple. “Leeshi has saddled me with a female of inferior race, and The True One didn’t stop there. Oh no. But this female, you, are incapable of bearing my young!”
Something snapped inside Fin.
Broke. Shattered.
Her vision swam with unshed liquid, her body shaking with a fury that burned her from the inside out.
Gaze falling upon her scars, he growled, “Worst mistake of my life.”
Feeling the scalding saltwater roll down her cheeks, she whispered, “I hate you.”
“I hate you!” Fin shrieked.
Hunter laughed and walked away.
****
Finley ambled beside Brinn, empty reed basket dangling from her hand as she moved with the throng of women along a dirt path. The group chatted and chittered amongst themselves, but Fin was stuck in her own head.
“Okay?” Brinn asked, worry pinching her sleek, black brows.
Fin made an effort to force a small smile and say, “I’m fine. Just enjoying the weather.”
It wasn’t a complete lie.
It was considerably cooler than it had been, and she figured it was due to the oncoming cold season. Not that she’d complain.
Fin’s gaze roved over the landscape, taking in the scents and sounds. A plethora of small creatures and plants moved, and dotted the surroundings. It was peaceful, she realized. A peace she liked.
By the time they got to their destination, she realized it was further away from the village than they’d ever traveled.
She was taken aback by the scene before her. The meadow was surrounded by willowy trees that swayed and danced in the breeze, the pink, shoulder high growth moving in waves with each gust. Small yellow and blue flowers dotted the field as far as she could see.
They were there to harvest those flowers, Loten as Brinn explained, because apparently they were good for tea.
Fin set about wandering through the field, idly picking as her mind raced with thoughts of Hunter.
To say she was upset was an understatement. She was furious.
How dare that pretty skinned bastard stomp all over her heart like that! Fin wished she could rewind time, go back, and clock him in his smug face.
Broken knuckles would be worth it.
Seeing as how she had no nifty mystical stopwatch, she stewed, and took out her anger on the poor tea flowers.
Pluck! She snatched another one off its stem.
Pluck! And another, imaging it was Hunter’s head popping from his shoulders.
She’d filled half of her basket, and still, her rage simmered her blood.
Ugh. The flower massacre wasn’t helping.
‘Worst mistake of my life’, echoed and re-echoed through her mind until she thought she might yank her hair out.
In the heat of the moment, she did mean her words. Fin hated him for what he said to her. Hated that he thought her so inferior. Him! Of all people.
Fin heard herself growl.
If technicalities counted, Hunter had it backward. He wasn’t the one ‘saddled’ with an inferior mate.
She was.
Who’s the one living like a caveman?
She snatched more flowers off their stems.
Who’s the one without indoor plumbing?!
Fin kicked a pebble.
Fucking asshole.
Something caught her attention, and she stopped mid-decapitation of another flower to get her bearings. She’d wandered along the outskirts of the field, further away from the others.
Fin looked down into her basket, surprised it was nearly full. Apparently flower decapitation was therapeutic.
Hauling the basket off the ground, she turned to head toward the middle of the field near Brinn.
Before she could take a step, Finley felt a prick at the back of her neck.
She reached for her nape, all prepared to discover an alien bug, but before she could find out, she felt her legs weaken.
The basket of tea flowers bounced to the ground, toppling over as her knees hit the soft earth. Her body swayed and collapsed to the side as time slowed and her vision blackened.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Brinn placed one last flower into her basket and smiled happily to herself. She had managed to fill her basket, which meant plenty of tea for the nearing cold season.
Looking around, she cast her gaze for Finley, but didn’t see her.
“Finley?” She called, turning and slowly spinning in a circle as she panned the clearing. “Finley?”
There was no reply.
Brinn picked up her basket and headed in the direction she had last seen her friend, calling her name.
“Finley, where are you?” She called again.
Brinn was starting to worry.
The area was relatively safe, but if she had wandered too far away and gotten lost, there were many dangers.
She listened quietly, her ears searching for any sound that might indicate where her friend had gone off to.
Just ahead, laying on its side, contents strewn on the ground was Finley’s basket.
Something was very wrong. There was no sign of Hunter’s Mi’ska. Not even a footprint.
A glint of light near the spilled flowers caught her attention. Slowly, Brinn bent down, grasping the cold object. A sharp needle protruded from a thin, empty vial.
Panic set in and Brinn called and called for her friend in vain. Nothing but silence answered her. Even the animals were unusually quiet.
It made her very nervous. She had to tell Hunter and get help.
Quickly she spun and ran, forgetting the baskets as she flew from the meadow and back to the village.
****
Hunter and his companions left the spoils of the hunt with some of the villagers who would begin to prepare the carcass for its many stages of transformation.
The hunt was lacking for him today. Normally he found peace as he moved silently through Yari while he stalked his prey. Instead, his thoughts were filled with many things, but peace was not one of them.
Finley’s words ate at him, stirred his blood, and riled him up further.
She hated him?
Hunter snorted.
She didn’t know the meaning of the word.
A commotion behind him caused Hunter to turn towards the center of the village.
Moving past some of the villagers he made his way through to see Brinn at the center in a state of panic. She was out of breath, and her cheeks were wet.
“Hunter!” She exclaimed. “Finley’s gone.”
His chest tightened uncomfortably. “What do you mean ‘gone’?”
“I found her basket spilled upon the ground, and I called, but she never answered.” Brinn handed him a silver dart. It reeked of chemicals.
“Tell me where you found this.” Despite his best effort not to, he snapped his teeth.
The dart was not from his people. Which meant Finley didn’t just wander off into the jungle.
She was taken.
“In the clearing North of the village.” Brinn offered, just as Nik and Roki arrived.
Hunter squeezed the spear still within his fist and set off at a hard run, vaguely registering his tribe brothers trailing him.
Suddenly his harsh words of the morning filled him with regret, and he worried if his Mi’ska was in pain, if the ones who took her were hurting her even now.
“Ahhh!” He thundered his frustration as he raced the dirt path at full speed.
He would find them, and they would beg for mercy.
The meadow came into view, and the three entered the clearing, separating, looking in different directions for any evidence of what happened.
/> Tracking was the easy part. It came second nature to him.
The toppled baskets found, he called to his brothers.
“No prints.” Roki voiced as all three examined the area.
They’ve covered their tracks.
His keen eyes scanned the area for anything substantial to give him an idea of which direction they’d gone.
It took all his strength to focus, to refrain from roaring aloud.
The tipped baskets were close to the edge of the field. Finley had been easy pickings. Anything, sentient or otherwise, could’ve been hiding just out of her sight and she wouldn’t have known.
Curse her species!
Her human sense of smell, and eyesight was laughable compared to his. Had she been any other race…
He couldn’t think like that right now.
Signalling Roki and Nik, he fled into the jungle nearest the basket, praying he would find something ahead.
****
Finley’s eyes cracked open, the sharp light from a fire illuminating the inside of her skull, which was throbbing with a pretty sizeable headache.
She groaned.
Ow.
Eyelids flittered, trying to adjust to the lack of light, uncertain as to where she was or how she had gotten there.
As her vision cleared Fin noticed three aliens sitting around the fire staring at her.
At any other time, that would be normal. But these weren’t her aliens.
Attempting to move she realized she was bound, and quite stiff, likely from lying in an odd position for so long, because if she remembered correctly, -which she did- last time she was conscious, it was barely mid-morning.
She struggled for a breath, her lungs feeling heavy.
Her body betrayed her wishes and made it difficult to sit up.
One of the three aliens snorted in laughter, and the one sitting across from him got up and moved toward her.
Her blood spiked with fear, and she struggled in her restraints, trying to pull away as his clawed hands grabbed her.
“Hey!” She yelled, wriggling.
His strength easily overpowered her, taking her by the arms and sitting her upright.
Fin froze, warily eyeing the other two aliens.
And then, the same alien slowly untied her hands.
Fin quickly rubbed her wrists, suspicious gaze darting around.
What kind of kidnapping is this?
Reaching behind him, he brought forth what appeared to be a canteen, removed the cap, and offered it to her.
Ooookay…
Fin looked at the alien for a moment, not reaching for the offering, to which he touched it to his mouth and took a swig, then nudged it back toward her again.
Well, at least they weren’t trying to poison her.
Finley slowly accepted the canteen.
“Who are you people?”
Silence.
She moved the canteen to her mouth, the cool liquid passing her lips and down her dry throat.
Fin coughed, wiping her mouth and then pulled heavily at the water.
After she finished she pushed it toward the alien, who once again took it, put the cap on and then returned it to wherever he’d taken it from.
“Why have you taken me?”
Her gaze examined them, taking in what she could, memorizing their appearance.
They were lean, yet muscular, each one a different size. A species of alien she’d never seen before.
I need to get out more.
Or not. It seemed every time she ventured, something bad happened that severely altered her existence.
All of them were clad in some sort of tight black suit. The material looked like it was comprised of thousands of little black mirrors as it had an iridescent look to it. Dark, but reflective.
How had they not roasted in Yari’s midday heat?
Each one wore a holster with a firearm attached to a form of utility belt that held numerous pouches along the sides, a knife along the back, and tied around the inner thigh.
Armed kidnappers.
When the hospitable alien turned, she noticed some type of armor plating on his back, similar to a spinal ridge, that moved from the waist upwards, and connected physically to the base of the skull somehow.
They looked insectoid to her.
“Listen, let me just save you the trouble.” Fin wet her lips nervously. “I’m sure any time soon, my original captor is gonna come rushing from the bushes to save me.”
She hoped.
“Truth.” She held up her right hand. “He’s uncivilized. Scary. Sharp teeth. Tall, and really temperamental.”
They stared at her.
“And he has a big ass spear.”
They blinked.
“You know, stab-stab, jabby-jabby?” She fisted her hand, raising it and stabbing the air as if she held a dagger.
One of the aliens unsheathed a blade as long as her forearm.
Fin swallowed.
“Uh, yeah, like that. Only bigger.”
Not really. The alien’s weapon definitely trumped Hunters spear.
The aliens laughed again, and he put his weapon away.
She noticed each one had a sleek looking helmet that laid upon the ground near their boot clad feet. Black in color, matching their suits, and appeared to have no face.
Fin wasn’t into the latest gadgets, but it looked high tech.
These aliens definitely weren’t from this planet.
She realized then, that as much as she’d been examining them, they’d also been examining her.
The largest one to her right voiced something indistinguishable, the other two chuckling while they all watched her.
What the hell are they talking about?
She pursed her lips.
“English? Do any of you speak English? Lotyne? Za?” At least her implant would translate the last two.
“Who do you work for?”
Every time she asked a question, they’d pause, watch her, and then carry on with their own chatter.
She had the strange suspicion that they understood her, but for some reason, weren’t cooperating.
Looking away, Fin noticed a small metallic spike in the ground a few feet from her. She watched as a little red dot slowly trailed its way around the top of the spike, and a low, barely audible beep emitted upon every rotation.
Fin wondered what these high tech kidnappers wanted from her.
Suddenly the spike rung with a sharp, steady beep, a red laser line pointing into the darkness.
Before she could even react, the alien closest to her snatched a dagger from his belt and hurled it into the darkness.
A shrill squeal from behind her ratcheted up her spine.
Fin jolted. “Holy hell.”
The dagger thrower stood, moving past her as he mumbled something, disappearing into the bush.
Within moments, he returned, some small critter under his arm. He tossed it to the youngest looking one, who began to gut the animal.
Not this again.
Fin exhaled, staring up into the canopy as she tried to block out the wet sounds of skin being flayed and guts being discarded.
She nibbled her lip, eyes slinking to the strange twirling tech that pinpointed the poor creature. Did it only work on animals?
As much as she prayed that Hunter was on his way to rescue her right then, she hoped he wasn’t anywhere near. With the reflexes of these aliens, she feared they’d impale him.
Serves him right.
Fin closed her eyes tightly. She didn’t mean that.
He’d said awful things to her, but he didn’t deserve to die. A broken nose maybe, but not death.
Fin pondered her situation, her gaze falling back on her current captors. They didn’t actually seem to be hostile. Quite the opposite. They’d given her water to drink, and freed her from her ties.
There were no bruises upon her body that she could see. She didn’t feel any different.
On the other hand, wouldn’t a
kidnapper want her healthy if they were going to demand a ransom?
Fin nearly snorted aloud.
Ransom? What could the Yarian’s have that these aliens could possibly want? Spears? Tea?
Credits weren’t used on Yari. They traded goods, crafts, supplies among themselves. Not credits.
The smaller of the three was suddenly kneeling in front of her.
Finley’s brow quirked as the alien offered her the food they had just cooked.
Again, what kind of kidnapping is this?
“Thanks…” She hesitated, taking the offered food.
“What is it you’re after?” Fin tried again.
The three exchanged glances before looking back at her for a moment, and then the alien returned to his seat and they carried on.
She slowly ate the fire roasted meat.
When the meal was over, the youngest of the trio shuffled through a bag, withdrawing a silver spike. Near the center of the camp, he shoved it into the ground, securing it.
It beeped.
The top of the spike split, unfolding into three arms that twirled in full range with a mechanical whirring before settling.
He reached into the bag once more, withdrawing a rolled up blanket that he tossed to Fin.
She thought he smiled, but it was hard to tell, since they didn’t have defined lips. Just a slit of an opening.
What confused her was their double chin. Not one under the other, but side by side, as if two faces had been merged together.
Their eyes were dark with small flecks of white, like tiny galaxies in space.
She wondered what they were.
As the aliens began to bed down, the youngest reached one last time into his pack, and pulled out a length of metallic cord.
She nearly groaned as he placed a cuff around her ankle and another around his wrist, tethering them. Whoever they were, regardless of how hospitable they’d been, they didn’t want her getting away.
Fin scanned the darkness, feeling the back of her neck tickle as if someone, or something, was watching her.
She slowly laid down, pulled the blanket over her, and hoped nothing nearby decided to go bump in the night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Tethered rage simmered just below Hunter’s skin as he watched the three males guide his mate through the bush at daybreak.
