by Sara Page
I glance up just as one of the mercenaries from the market steps into my space. All the gadgets attached to his breastplate blink and flash randomly, lighting up the darkness.
His face and the many neon colored tubes attached to his skull glow eerily in the light.
I open my mouth to scream and the mercenary moves with surprising speed. He grabs me and slaps a hand over my mouth while yanking me into his chest.
“There is no need to scream,” he says unemotionally.
And he’s right, there is no need to scream. I can just reach out to Maul through our link. Forcing myself to relax and go limp in the mercenary’s arms, I push my distress toward Maul and instantly feel his alarm flowing back to me.
“What is it?” Another robotic voice asks.
Suddenly the one holding me breathes in deeply. “It is…” There’s a pause and then my hair flutters as another deep breath is taken.
Shit. Is he sniffing my hair?
“Well?” The second robotic voice asks impatiently.
“Race unknown, but the female smells…”
Yet another deep sniff of my hair is taken and I squirm in the cold, metal grip of the hands holding me. This is getting seriously creepy.
“The female smells?”
The mercenary holding me groans a very male groan and I start to twist and turn, trying to escape in earnest.
“The female smells delicious.”
Delicious? Like they want to eat me, delicious?
“Let me smell,” the second robotic voice demands.
My squirming and fighting are completely ignored as I’m passed from one set of cold hands to another.
My hair is sniffed again and then the new mercenary shudders and groans. “Yes. The female smells delicious.”
The second mercenary is so intent on holding me and sniffing my hair that his hand slips down, uncovering my lips. Twisting and fighting, I get my feet up against his steely thighs and push with everything I’ve got.
“This female has a name,” I snarl, arching away from him. “And it’s seriously rude to sniff someone without their permission!”
The first mercenary’s red lights flash so bright it’s almost blinding and then he’s stepping close, trapping me between them. Great, now I’m trapped in a freakin’ mercenary sandwich.
“She’s feisty,” the second one groans and shudders. “I like it. Shall we share her?”
Before the first one can answer, I cry out, “No!” Oh, hell no. “There will be no sharing! Put me down, you big brute.”
“Very well,” he responds, sounding completely unfazed by my reaction. “I shall keep you all to myself.”
God help me, with all the tubes and wires these guys have coming out of their heads, they must be brain damaged or something.
“No, you shall not keep me all to yourself,” I grit out from between my teeth. “I’m not yours to keep. I belong to another, and I really don’t like you touching me. Now, put me down, please!”
I can feel the second mercenary’s hesitation. “Belong to another?” he repeats as if he’s just not computing it. His hands begin to relax and for a moment I’m hopeful he’s actually going to put me down.
Then a new robotic voice joins the mix and his hands tighten again. “What do you have there, Moreslin? Is that a female?”
“Yes,” the mercenary gripping me from behind answers. “She smells compatible.”
“We should breed her immediately,” the first mercenary pipes in. “It will take many years to replenish our ranks.”
“Breed?” I repeat incredulously but everyone seems to be ignoring me. “There will be no breeding!”
“Let me smell,” the third mercenary almost groans out and then he’s pushing himself into the already cramped space and shoving his nose into my scalp. “Yes,” he nearly hisses after a small sniff. “She is compatible. I agree, we should begin breeding immediately.”
I never realized it before, but I really, really hate being sniffed. There’s just something about it that really gets under my skin. As the third guy sucks in a breath, smelling my hair, I just can’t take it anymore.
Consequences be damned.
I throw my head back, head-butting the newcomer in the face.
He grunts and jerks away.
The first mercenary remarks, “She’s very feisty.”
The third mercenary grabs his bleeding nose and grins as he looks at me. “She will give us strong, feisty offspring.”
I stare daggers at the two I can see, and I really, really want to tell them they better keep their dicks away from me, but I’m just too much of a lady to actually say it. Besides, they seem to ignore everything I’ve said so far, so what’s the point of wasting my breath?
I reach out through the bond link. Maul, where are you, dammit? There are creepy, cyborg men sniffing me and talking about breeding me…
I continue to stare at the mercenaries, at all the weird mechanical pieces and devices attached to their bodies, and wonder for a perverted moment if they’ve also got things attached to their dicks. Then I shake that thought away. If they do, I certainly don’t want to see it. They’re already pretty freaky looking as it is. They kind of remind me of futuristic punk rock warriors who got a little carried away with the body modifications.
“Release my mate!” I hear Maul bellow and I’m so relieved I could cry. I was beginning to worry he was hurt or worse.
“Your mate?” The second mercenary says slowly as if he’s confused by the notion. He looks down at me then back at Maul with a look of skepticism on his face. “I think you are mistaken. This female is not Rathturian.”
“She is mine,” Maul growls so harshly the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. His claws snap out and his beautiful eyes begin to darken. “Release her.”
“Maul,” Marketh says, circling around him nervously. “Now is not the time to unleash oblivion on the Vicarions. May I remind you of what happened in the slaver’s market? If you lose control now, we’ll never get off of this orbital.”
Maul snorts angrily and I watch the three mercenaries exchange looks. They must have some way of communicating with each other without speaking because I swear they’re having a silent conversation.
I want to cry out and reach for Maul but I’m afraid now of provoking him. I remember only bits and pieces of what happened back at the slaver’s market but it’s enough to frighten me.
“Rathturian,” the mercenary holding me finally says. “This female is not of your species, yet she is compatible with ours. Are you certain she is your mate?”
“We are bonded,” I answer, causing Maul to stop approaching in mid-step. Looking at me, his eyes seem to soften. “Now please release me so I may return to him,” I say nicely but if these guys don’t release me soon, I’m going to unleash my own oblivion.
The mercenary holding me looks to the others and from the harsh lines and frowns on their faces I’m betting they’re having an argument.
“Release her!” Maul roars after a few seconds, losing his patience. I can feel that roar he let out in the very depths of my chest.
With a nod, the mercenary holding me begins to release me, but then the third steps up, his hand reaching for me as if he’s going to stop him. “No! She’s the first compatible female we’ve discovered in over a century…”
“And she is not ours, Bencade,” the one holding me says firmly. “If she was our salvation, the stars wouldn’t have bonded her to him.”
The third mercenary looks almost like he’s going to argue but then he looks at me. I don’t know what he sees on my face but his arm drops and he turns away. There was such sadness in his expression, such despair in his eyes, that for a second I feel almost guilty about the whole situation.
But then the cold hands holding me release me and I’m free. I squeeze through the three mercenaries and run to Maul, throwing myself in his open arms.
“Don’t you ever leave me alone again!” I cry out as I bury my face in his wa
rm, familiar chest.
His arms wrap around me and I swear I feel him smelling my hair, but because it’s him, I decide to ignore it.
“I won’t, little one,” he says, his voice still just a touch harsh.
“I hate to break up your touching reunion,” Marketh says after a moment. “But in case you’ve forgotten, Maul, there are still a dozen enemies between us and our ship.”
Still a dozen? How many did Jack send?
“Enemies?” the mercenary that was holding me earlier says and the three who seemed so sad just a moment ago seem to perk up with interest.
“Yes,” Marketh says almost gleefully like he can smell an opportunity when he sees one. “There are at least a dozen hostile targets preventing us from reaching our ship…”
Out of nowhere, the three mercenaries produce blasters in their hands.
“Allow us to make amends by escorting you to your vessel,” the first mercenary says and he does something to his blasters that causes both of them to light up with a zinging charge.
Maul’s face pulls down in a scowl and I’m pretty sure he’s going to refuse their help but then Marketh zips forward.
“We would be grateful for any help you can provide,” Marketh says and Maul shoots him a death glare. “Our enemies are just around that corner…”
Chapter Thirteen
Maul
“Maul, I’m not entirely sure this was the best option for our escape,” Marketh says as the ship slides underneath the battlecruiser of the Vicarions.
“You were the one who accepted their help, Marketh,” I grumble as the vibrations from their ship’s engines don’t seem to mesh with our own.
The mad rush from the orbital to our docking station was fast and full of small skirmishes. Bezos aren’t the easiest of races to avoid. They’re like a rabid animal tracking a scent, they follow until they get their prey or die. Crazy fucking battle-ragers. How they ever stay on the Tribunal’s ladder and haven’t warred themselves out of existence is beyond me. I suspect it’s because the races above and below them use them extensively when tracking down problems. They know their worth and have never tried to change their social pecking order with the Tribunal.
“What do I call you three men?” I ask the three heavily modified men standing on my ship’s bridge.
The Vicarions take a long moment to respond, obviously speaking to each other through the communication equipment I suspect they have hardwired into their brains.
“I’m Rondal,” the tallest one says. He seems to have the most electronic modifications of the three. He’s also, in my opinion, the ugliest thing I have seen in a long time.
“I’m Bencade, and dear female I am so terribly sorry I caused you unease earlier,” the one who tried to keep my bonded earlier says as he stares at her sadly.
“It’s…” Lexi starts. Tightening my arm around her, I try to send her soothing emotions. I know it was a frightening situation we were in but for now we need to get past what happened and focus on our escape. “It’s okay, and thank you for your apology.”
“I’m Moreslin,” the smallest of the three says.
“Well met. I’m Maul, first of my house and my symbiote is Marketh,” I say as I pull Lexi and I towards the captain’s chair on the bridge.
Pushing her gently into the chair, I stand before the men.
“I thank you for your aid. You did not have to come to our defense but you did. For that, I will speak with the head of the Red Masks to give you a reward.”
Rondal raises his hand. “No reward of that nature will be needed, friend Maul. Our intention to remove you both from the station was purely self-serving.”
I feel my muscles tighten instantly at his words. We are almost at the mercy of them and the captain of their ship. If they wanted to, they could cause serious hardship for us. One on one or even one on two, I have no doubt I could do. But all three of them at once while being smuggled out of the orbital’s launching as well has us in a tight spot.
“Self-serving?” Lexi asks from behind me.
“Yes, female. We have communicated with the captain of our ship. It would bring us great happiness if you would give us the location of your homeworld and the name of your species.”
I turn when I hear a small squeak come from Lexi. Looking at her, I watch the color drain from her already pale features.
Before I can say anything, Marketh speaks, “Maul, the transmitter embedded in Lexi’s brain has doubled in its receiving. Her mind is becoming quickly overloaded. It appears that whoever is on the other side is trying to incapacitate her while sending out large bursts to act as a homing beacon.”
Kneeling in front of Lexi, I pull her to my chest. I can feel an aching sensation race through us both as her mouth bursts open in a silent scream.
“Do something, Marketh!” I roar as I watch her beautiful violet eyes roll back into her head.
“I am!” Marketh’s voice comes out loudly. “I have the ship’s systems focusing purely on keeping her…”
I can feel her inside of me now. I can feel her mind trying to force itself down the bond that holds us and into the safety on the other side. Her fear and rage, while palpable, is fading fast.
“The transmitter is possibly trying to overload itself, Maul. She is not going to survive this,” Marketh says.
“Rathturian, I require your attention. Please release the female,” one of the Vicarions says as I feel a hand gently shaking my shoulder.
Twisting away from the hand, I shout, “Get off the bridge!”
“We cannot, Maul,” another says before I feel all three pull Lexi and I apart.
I would like to say I put up a magnificent fight, but the pain racing between our bond as the transmitter continues to send out large radio bursts all but paralyzes me to the floor.
“What are you doing!?” Marketh rages above me in the air. I can feel his anger as large as my own. I see his silver form zipping across the bridge at the Vicarions and then the fear that they were sent to hunt us down slams down into my chest. The overwhelming sense of betrayal and loss is what finally allows me to push my arms down hard on the ground. To slowly begin to push the two Vicarions holding me down away.
Rage, it’s a beautiful thing when it courses through a Rathturian’s veins and makes its way into his heart. My muscles burn with ache as the blood flowing into them almost doubles. My claws rip so forcefully from my hands that I can feel the tearing of skin.
Exploding up from the floor, the two Vicarions holding me down fly from my body and slam into the consoles around us.
“Arrrgh!” rips out of my mouth as I move toward Lexi. My lungs heave in air with each stomping step that brings me closer to my bondmate.
The one called Bencade kneels next to her, his hands forming a small circle around her skull.
“Maul…” I hear her say so quietly that the red haze clouding my mind and sight almost misses it.
I feel her there, in me. She’s shaking across our bond, her mind physically trying to soothe me. “Lexi?”
“Please my love… calm. He’s stopped Jack from hurting me.”
All of a sudden the rage and adrenaline in my body drops. I would fall to the ground from the words but instead, I stumble to my bonded. Sinking to my knees, I reach out to touch her but a hiss comes from Bencade.
“Be careful. The block I have placed around the transmitting device could become unstable if she is jostled. If you must touch her, be very careful.”
Nodding my head, I try to take her small, delicate hand in mine with the smallest of moves. “My Lexi, are you okay?”
Staring up at me, she says quietly, “Yes. That bastard who helped get this damn transmitter implanted in me went into a rage when he couldn’t get me to stop.”
“Is this the man who took you to the slaver’s market?”
Closing her eyes, I can feel her calming herself. “No, that was another man and he didn’t have a part in putting the chip in me.”
I want to
say something but I don’t know what. I don’t understand the difference between these two men or what they want. I only understand one of them tried to hurt her just now.
“Why did he try to overload you?”
“He didn’t like that we got to the ship and away from whoever he sent after us. Those red demons were part of his ‘rescue’ party.” I can hear the snarl in her voice but she keeps her head still.
“Are you in contact with him right now?”
“No, thankfully the ship and…” she rolls her eyes to Bencade, “are keeping me in a buffer. It’s… blissfully silent. The only things in my head are me and our bond.”
She smiles to me then and I can feel her love flowing.
Nodding my head, I turn back to the Vicarions who are standing around us. The two I threw off of me don’t look any worse for wear but I still feel shame for thinking the worst so easily. This whole ordeal has gotten to me; it’s broken the calm I have so keenly desired to achieve. I’m not used to these…feelings, these emotional journeys.
During the training to become a Red Mask, we subject ourselves to many tests of mental fortitude. Some societies call our training and tests barbaric because of their simplistic savagery, but to endure them until the finish is a sign of readiness to become a pillar of our society. We are the peacekeepers, the carriers of justice throughout our society, and in part the Tribunal. So when we leave the academy, we carry our sense of self pride wherever we go. We are known for our calm and for our level heads during times of crisis.
But if I cannot keep my own head during times of distress with my bondmate, I do not know what will become of me. Damnable thoughts even now flow through the back of my brain.
“Marketh, do they speak the truth?”
“Yes, I have full faith that they do. In fact, I was asking what you were doing, not them.”
“Stars above and oblivion below.”
“Yes, well… we will need to talk soon.”
“Agreed.”
“I thought we had control of the transmitter, but the issues on the orbital seem to have caused it to override my abilities,” Marketh says with a sigh. “When we boarded the ship, I thought it would also help us. But it seems her partner has taken hunting her to a new level.”
