by Nia K. Foxx
“Do not resist,” the angry voice said several inches above her head when she attempted to jerk free. On sheer strength alone he was far superior but it wasn’t a deterrent for her.
She relaxed her shoulders and bowed her head in defeat.
“Good,” the behemoth murmured before turning his attention to the other man on the ground. “You can come with me or continue rolling around like a yer hog waiting to be mounted.”
The second man turned her toward the waiting transport keeping a steady hand on her shoulder. He was obviously far more cautious than cocky. She took two steps, dropped below his hold and before he had a chance to react ducked into a one leg crouch and used her extended leg to swipe the man’s feet from beneath him. He went down hard, causing the platform to vibrate. She didn’t waste time to bound back to the door, entering another set of sequences into device the second abductor failed to retrieve. It made a series of beeping sounds. It hadn’t done that before.
She was hopeful.
Extending her hand in front of her she reached for the recognition pad again. Instead of swiping her hand over the sensor she found herself tumbling backward on the platform. Realizing seconds too late that the first abductor had regained enough composure to make good on his previous threats. She was jerked back with a force hard enough to slam her down on the surface of the platform. Her head bounced against the surface as she landed on her back.
“It appears we have under estimated you little Leila, it is a mistake which will not be repeated.” If the hard menace in the first abductor’s voice wasn’t proof enough, the fist coming at her illustrated his meaning clearly, that was until the lights went out.
***
“What do you mean you do not know her whereabouts? You are her security detail. It is your job to know where she is at every second even during your relief hours,” Remar roared staring at the stupefied faces of the ten guardsmen entrusted with the safety of his bond mate at some juncture during the day.
“We received communication that the Leila wished to work later. It is not unusual for her do so,” One guard spoke up pulling out his holopad. “It came from one of the techs she works with regularly.” He presented and the message leapt off the screen for all to see.
“Bring me the tech, the others of you locate any vessel coming or going from the facility, alert the border patrols that the sector is sealed. There will be no manner of transports permitted in or out.” Remar said with far more composure then he actually felt. As the guard’s rushed out of his meeting room to do his bidding Remar was struck with another possibility. Maybe Dal’las disappearance was not by force. She had been unhappy with discovering his former relationship with Kala. His hearts sank at the idea before he dismissed it. Dal’las had come to accept her situation with him and he was quite certain had also developed some positive emotions for him. Surely, one disagreement could not undo what they had developed.
Either way, he was going to have her returned to him.
***
Dallas was totally okay with whatever mini dancer, who’d taken up residence inside her head, being kicked out on his or her little toe tapping ass. She would even happily serve the eviction papers. Their incessant stomping made it painfully hard for her to sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, even that hurt. Especially the left eye. She groaned as the pain intensified. Maybe waking up wasn’t the best idea. She closed her eyes again, but it was too late, her mind and body had already breached the point of no return. Plus the pain in her head seemed to be spreading to the whole left side of her face. She searched her mind for an explanation behind the pain. The memory had her eyes opening again to the dark opaqueness surrounding her. It wasn’t the room she shared with Remar. The musty, dank smell was enough to alert her she was in a strange locale.
They’d actually taken her.
Although she’d known the likelihood was heavily weighted in their favor, she had really hoped there was some chance of a miracle they’d fail. Dallas wanted to scream in frustration but thought better of it. For now she’d lay on the hard surface, of what she assumed was a bed and wait for the next move of whoever orchestrated her situation. For all she knew they could be monitoring her remotely.
Time ticked slowly onward and with each dragging second she became even more painfully aware of the damage that was done to her face. The left side blazed like the fires of hell trailed a path down it. How many times had the big freight train hit her? Obviously rendering her unconscious wasn’t enough. Had he broken bones too? If the pain was any indication she didn’t want to see the actual damage done. Dallas knew for a fact that Chezarians possessed the technology to tend to her injuries. It was clear whomever was responsible for taking her didn’t care for her comfort in the slightest.
There was no way of telling time in the dark confines, no window to gauge if it were morning or afternoon. She was nearly quaking with the need to relieve herself when she heard the familiar swoosh of a door folding in on itself to open. External light poured in from beyond her head.
“If that imbecile killed her he will definitely not receive the second portion of his payment,” A female spat in discuss.
Dallas recognized the voice and resisted the urge to groan.
The outside light was soon joined by the full blare of internal ones and Dallas winced form the brightness. Shooting pain radiated from her reaction and this time she couldn’t stop the moan from slipping through her dry lips.
“So the alien whore does live, good? She is of no use to me dead,” the woman said.
Use to her? Dallas hated contemplating exactly what the bitter ex-concubine of Remar could want from her.
Flanked by two male Chezarian guards Kala came into view above her head.
“Sit up,” she ordered.
Dallas complied gingerly not wanting to be manhandled by either of the male behemoths. She squinted up at the trio. “What do you want from me?”
“Shut up, you do not get to ask questions. Things will go much easier for you if you do as you are told,” Kala said cruelly before tossing a bundle of cloth on her lap and stepping back from the bed. “See to it she has a proper cleaning, I want her to be a presentable offering.”
“Should we call a medic?” One guard asked.
“No, he requested no relief from her physical injuries. She brought it on herself so she will have to live with it until he sees fit.” Kala shot her a knowing grin before sweeping out of the room with her head held in high triumph.
He? A picture of the evil faced Chezarian Kala had attached herself to came instantly to mind. One of the guards stepped forward and jerked her to her feet by her bound hands.
“Know this alien female, there is no place for you to escape to. Your High Commander does not make the laws here. I am going to unbind you and allow you to freshen yourself but I have been authorized to subdue you if necessary. Is that clear?”
She nodded slowly and extended her arms forward under the pair of the male’s watchful gazes.
“The bathing room is through there,” he jerked his head towards an opening only a short distance away.
The room they were in was small, and made even tinier by their hulking frames. Gathering up the thin cloth she rose from the bed on wobbly legs. Dallas took quick stock while making her way across the width. It wasn’t quite a dungeon but definitely a sad little space. She noted places that looked like they once might have been windows but were now filled in. The bed seemed to be the only bit of furnishing in the interior and it was considerably small by Chezarian standards. She wondered who had inhabited it before her. The bathing room was just as pathetic but it held the basic essentials needed at the moment. Dallas waved her hand over the pad at its entrance, glad when the door expanded to close out her jailors. She didn’t fool herself into believing that either of the men couldn’t barge in whenever they wanted but she tried not to focus on that point.
Fearful of who might decide to pop into the bathing room she quickly took care of the business of reli
eving and washing herself before sliding into the garments given her. She didn’t think female Chezarian attire could get any more revealing but the outfit she was given to wear proved her wrong. The thin fabric was sheer white and her dark skin could easily be seen underneath. Instead of the long flowing fabric she was use to the skirt provided could only be considered incy wincy. The concept of underwear eluded Chezarians which left little to protect what modesty she could muster in the getup. The tiny strips of crisscross material made it easy for the undersides of her breasts and a little extra to be seen.
She stepped back into the room and found the guards facing her. Their stoic expressions shifted. One lowered his gaze while the other let his drift slowly over her.
Dallas cleared her throat. “What now?”
***
Remar’s rage had no limits.
Although the border closures remained in place and he’d tripled patrols to ensure no one could get in or out of the sector he was no closer to finding Dal’las. Her trail ran cold at the engineering facility. For the first time in his life he understood what it was to experience fear. The unknown was the worse. Who had taken her? What was happening to her? Was she injured or…
He forced his thoughts from the dark path they began to travel down.
The technician who was initially thought responsible for the delay message denied any knowledge of the transmission and after a brief interrogation, due to the injection of some Q’ema root, Remar was satisfied the man had no involvement.
The message had to have been sent remotely.
“High Commander,” a guardsman interrupted as Remar went to check the platform which had been determined as the abduction point. “Patrol is holding a technician from Keltar’s delegation at a border center. He is insisting on leaving and his behavior is very curious.”
“Take me to him.”
Even at first observation Remar could see the nervous agitation pulsing through the male who sat in the Patrol Commanders office surrounded by four patrol guards.
“High Commander, these… these men have detained me for no purpose. I was in the sector on official business and it is imperative that I make it back to my own sector.”
“These men are acting on my orders,” Remar started calmly before taking up residence in the Patrol Commander’s seat. Have you not heard, the sector is sealed?”
“I-I believe I heard something about it but did not think it applied to delegates.”
“And why would you consider delegates exempt?”
“I was told… I assumed the seal was a sector two matter.”
“What do you know of the matter?”
“Nothing, nothing at all,” he answered too quickly.
“So you were not aware the Leila has been abducted?”
“I-I had not heard.” It was an obvious lie. There was no surprise in the man’s face or words at the revelation. In fact he looked more uncomfortable with each passing moment, his gaze jumped anxiously around the room.
In no mood to play games with the male, “Let us speed this up with a dose of Q’ema root,” he said to one of his personal guards.
“No. Please. I will tell you all that I know.”
“Yes, you will,” Remar said as the guard plunged a concentrated dose into the technician’s neck. “And once I know all that you do, you will spend the remainder of your days in the dregs.”
“It was not supposed to end this way,” the male began mumbling over and over. Perspiration beaded on his face before dripping down his flesh.
Only warriors were trained in the resistance of the Q’ema root, which could require multiple exposures and hours of gruelling interrogation. The dosage given to the technician would tear away at any remaining resistance quickly.
“Were you involved in the disappearance of Leila Dal’las?” Remar asked after only a few seconds.
Tears joined the sweat streaming down the technician’s face.
“I-I had no choice, there was a threat against my family.”
If his words were meant to invoke sympathy or leniency they fell on deaf ears. Remar was out for blood and any one with even the slightest involvement would suffer his wrath.
“Who has taken her?”
“It was your former concubine, Keltar’s new mistress.”
The answer served only to anger him more. Remar had gone above and beyond the stipulations of their contract, yet this was how she chose to repay him. “How was this accomplished?”
“Two of Keltar’s trusted guardsmen were responsible for the extraction, I overrode the system to send the communication. That was my only role. I do not know how they removed her from the sector,” he offered up quickly. A combination of fear and the Q’ema root had him fidgeting in his seat. “That is all I did. I promise.”
Remar believed his words to be true and after several more moments of questioning it was clear the technician had two roles, sending the communication and being left as scapegoat while Keltar took Dal’las back to his sector. “See what other information he has to offer, I want everything he knows,” Remar said rising from the seat.
Remar was already prepared to disembowel the loathsome leader, and if he harmed one hair on Dal’las head he would suffer a far worse fate.
***
“I do not understand this fascination our males have with you,” Kala said haughtily while marching with regal finesse in front of the trio trailing behind her, destination unknown.
Dallas half listened focusing most of her attention on memorizing the path they took through the cavernous halls. By comparison the building was more archaic than Remar’s manor. The walls, rough and uneven, had a moist sheen to them. She half expected to see patches of moss growing in some places. The air was musty and stale but as they passed through a four way intersection the design transformed from caveman chic to a familiar style. If she didn’t know better she would have sworn they were on early twenty-first century earth.
Without hesitation Kala made a sharp left which took them down a corridor with smooth plaster styled walls painted in a honey brown with white trim. They stopped in front of a massive pair of double doors that swung open with only the barest touch from Kala. The ballroom sized interior held a large hearth that blazed with a warm fire. Above it a collage of paintings were arranged to form a replica of what Time Square looked like at the turn of the century. Dallas found herself doing a double take at the rendering, the artist was definitely skilled to capture the most detailed nuances.
In front of them Kala made a huffing sound, “It is not my taste but not everyone has my discerning palate.”
Dallas ignored the comment, knowing all the trouble to kidnap her hadn’t been taken to discuss art. Across from the hearth a mini dais sat with two throne chairs, one much larger than the other. Dallas stopped with the guards as Kala ascended to the dais to take the smaller seat.
“You may kneel in front of your betters E’rther,” Kala ordered.
Dallas held her tongue and dropped slowly to her knees on the hard floor. Somewhere behind her she heard the familiar sound of a door closing in on itself. Chezarian technology.
“Come now Kala, is that any way to treat our special guest.”
Dallas recognized the voice even before its owner stepped into view and her heart froze in her chest. Long legs stepped around her, so close a slight breeze brushed her skin. She wanted to recoil from the sensation but thought better of showing any reaction. The man crouched inches in front of her. With the tip of his finger he raised her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
“Actually Kala, I think I rather like the position you have chosen for the Leila. It seems rather apt for what I have in mind.”
Where once he tried to conceal his true nature from her, there was no longer any pretence. Dallas was looking into the true face of Voren.
Chapter Fifteen
“Do not blame me if you cannot keep track of your bond mate Remar. Perhaps she has orchestrated her own disappearance,” Keltar blustered.
Remar ignored the comment. “My anger has been pushed far beyond its boundaries. If you return Dal’las to me now I might not drag your naked corpse through your sector after I conquer it.”
The holographic image of Keltar seemed momentarily shaken by the words. “I assure you Remar if I wanted to take your bond mate it would have not been by force. I am skilled in the art of female seduction.”
“Your lack of cooperation can only mean you intended this act as a declaration of war between our sectors.”
“Wa-wait,” Keltar stammered. “There is obviously no friendship between us but I would not commit this crime. I did not even take Kala to my bedja in case you desired her once more after the newness of your bond mate wore off as she predicted.”
“Interesting that you should mention Kala to me at this moment since you used her to execute my bond mate’s abduction.”
“What are you talking about? I used no one. If anything it is I who was duped by your concubine. She is a crafty one. She said you would only need to see the two of us together to desire her once more. Why not question her yourself on the truth of this?”
“You wish to make a mockery of this abduction with subterfuge? You and your concubine will rue the day you took Dal’las.”
“Remar, on the blood of my mother I speak the truth,” Keltar added quickly. “I do not have your mate, nor was I a party to any abduction scheme. If Kala has filled your head with these lies than understand she is playing you false. You need only interrogate her briefly to know the truth of matters.”
