by Leslie Chase
“Wait!” The verkesh’s cry was high pitched, plaintive. I looked back to see him staring at a data slate, shifting from side to side. “I bid fifteen thousand bezzik.”
As soon as the words were out of his beak, he snapped his gaze up to look at me. Hate filled his four eyes and I knew that he would stop at nothing.
Ten thousand was a big bid for a fresh slave. Fifteen was verging on ridiculous. I growled, meeting his glare and stepping forward. The scavenger scuttled back, to the laughter of the crowd.
“Ten missiles and the cash,” I snapped. That was all the missiles the Shadow Hunter carried. It was everything.
“That only equals my bid,” the verkesh objected.
“Fine, seven thousand three hundred bezzik and ten missiles,” I said. “And we all know the missiles are worth more than eight hundred each.”
I kept stalking forward, and he was running out of space to retreat into. Looking around in nervous darting motions, the creature chittered something desperate.
“I’ll accept the bid,” the auctioneer said, sounding as though he wanted this done with. Violence amongst the buyers would be bad for his business.
From somewhere, the verkesh found a spine. He stopped, shot the auctioneer an angry look, and threw his data slate down onto the icy floor.
“Then I bid twenty thousand,” he spat, folding spindly arms across his chest. “Let’s see you beat that.”
The crowd murmured around me, and I felt my rage boil up. That was an insane amount to offer just for spite… but then, was spite ever rational?
“You don’t want her that badly,” I said to him, and the verkesh clacked its beak.
“You’re right,” he agreed, a vicious tone in his voice. “But between getting her and pissing you off? Yes. Yes, I want that very much.”
That provocation was too much, and I jumped forward, my fist raised. The verkesh squealed, scampering back with surprising speed, and someone caught my arm before I could follow.
I shrugged free, snarling, but the delay had been enough. The auctioneer’s guards leaped between me and my prey, professional-looking muscle with stun batons in hand.
Fighting them won’t save her, I told myself. If anything, it’d make things worse.
Straightening out of my fighting crouch, I forced a smile and nodded to them. Warily their leader nodded back. “Don’t need any trouble, friend. It’s just a slave.”
That was almost enough to push me into hitting him, but I resisted the urge. Fighting this man wouldn’t get me closer to the human.
“No trouble here,” I agreed, voice as friendly as I could make it.
Behind me, the auctioneer confirmed the sale, and the human sank back to the ground. It was over.
I’d lost.
7
Emma
The light cut out and I fell to the freezing floor, landing on all fours as the crowd of aliens laughed. For a moment I’d allowed myself to hope that things would turn out okay. That the red-skinned alien would win and would have my best interests at heart.
I didn’t know why I trusted him. For all I knew he was as bad as the rest of them, but at least he’d tried to stop me getting hurt. Or had that just been so he could get his hands on my uninjured body? I didn’t think so, despite what he’d said. There was something about the way he looked at me that seemed different, caring.
Stupid. With my luck, getting sold to him would have been even worse than belonging to this… thing.
The creature that bought me scuttled forward on its spider legs, grabbing the offered control from the guard. Four beady little eyes looked down at me over its beak.
“Mine now,” it said, voice a cruel high-pitched buzz. “You’ll pay for hitting me, yes. And you’ll pay back every bezzik I spent on you.”
I scrambled backward as the creature reached out for me, but before I’d gotten any distance, it pressed a button on the controller.
PAIN.
When my vision cleared, I was lying on the floor and shaking. The alien looked down at me, and I knew it was enjoying my suffering.
“Follow,” it said after a brief pause. Turning, it scuttled away leaving me to stare after it. Really? It expects me to just come when it calls, like a dog?
No one seemed to pay attention to me and I wondered what would happen if I just ducked off in another direction. I found out soon enough.
Once the slaver was about twenty feet away, my body started to burn. Not the sudden agony like when he’d hit the button, but a growing pain that spread through my body. I scrambled after him, closing the distance, and it faded as quickly as it had arrived.
Okay, so I need that controller if I’m going to escape. Great. At least I knew that now. I didn’t plan to stay a prisoner any longer than I had to.
Glancing back at the stage, I wondered just how many people who’d been sold there had told themselves exactly the same thing.
Outside the auction room, the building was quieter. Not empty, but at least I wasn’t crowded by aliens and I could look at my environment a little.
Everything seemed to be made of ice. Walls, floor, ceiling, all of it white and frozen. That explained why it was so cold. Cabling ran along the corridor wall, and sometimes signs marked the doorways leading off the hall. Despite them being in an alien script, I found I could understand them perfectly. Whatever was translating for me didn’t just affect speech.
‘Charchan’s Slave Goods’ sounded bad as we passed it, but not so bad as ‘Weapons by Guilmon, Agonizers by Treff.’ I really didn’t like wherever this place was.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked the scuttling alien as I hurried after him. His hand twitched on the controller and I staggered, a burst of pain shooting through me. It was nothing compared to the earlier agony, just enough to remind me what he could do.
“You don’t ask questions,” he snapped. “And if you must talk, you address me as master.”
No fucking way. I managed to stop myself from saying that out loud, but there was no way on Earth I was going to call this thing master. Fortunately for me, it didn’t seem to expect a response. Turning away, my new owner hurried on through the freezing corridors.
Wherever we were going, I hoped it had heating. My toes were going numb as I stumbled after him.
My teeth were chattering when we arrived back at the ice cavern I’d been offloaded in. When the crocodile aliens had led me and the other prisoners off the ship, I hadn’t taken a moment to look around. Now I did, and I gasped at what I saw.
The place was huge. I’d known that already, but I hadn’t quite grasped how big the space was. Under other circumstances it would have been an amazing sight, but my attention was captured by what was in it.
Spaceships. A dozen at least. Different shapes, different designs, but all of them unmistakably inhuman. Nothing made on Earth could be that shape and fly. I recognized the ship that that had brought me here, but that wasn’t where the scuttling alien was leading me. It took me to a smaller vessel, one that looked like it was in much better condition. At least it didn’t have rust showing on the hull — that had to be a good sign.
‘Smaller’ didn’t mean small, though. As we approached, I got a feel for the scale of the ship and realized that it was at least the size of an ocean liner. A sign on the side proclaimed it the Dreams of Avarice, which seemed appropriate for a ship carrying slaves.
A ramp lowered before us, letting out a blast of warmer air. That gave me something to look forward to, and I hurried to get out of the cold.
Other aliens also approached the ship. This was not just my captor’s ship — the gold-skinned woman from the auction approached, two slaves behind her carrying her luggage. And another group that I didn’t know, big hunched-over creatures wearing armor, marched up without watching where they were going. I ducked aside rather than get trampled.
Not armor, I realized as they marched past. Their carapaces were part of their bodies, like giant crabs. The aliens were so weird I could barely keep track.
As those groups climbed aboard, more aliens of the same species as my captor scuttled down the ramp. Clicking and hissing at him, they surrounded us, keeping me shivering in the cold. Questions flew so fast that whatever was letting me understand them couldn’t keep up, but the tone was clear. They started curious, became concerned, and ended up furious as they looked at me.
I swallowed. On the one hand, they were angry at him, not me. On the other, I didn’t think that would save me from the repercussions of their rage. They swarmed around me, poking and prodding, and this time I managed to restrain myself. I had a better idea of what would happen if I hit back.
“You were supposed to spend that money on a stable of slaves, Gresh,” one of them said, finally slowing down enough that I could keep up. “Not just one.”
“She’s a human, untouched, from an uncontacted world,” Gresh answered, his tone both nervous and conciliatory. Like someone who’d been caught doing something wrong. I tried not to let myself hope — could he return me or something? Not that being bought by someone else would be great, but at least it wouldn’t be someone who actively hated me.
My mind flashed to the red-skinned alien who’d almost won the auction, and I bit my lip. He’d been willing to get hurt to save me from the whip, and that was something. If I had to be sold, I’d rather get sold to someone who didn’t want to see me in pain.
Unless he’d wanted to be the one to hurt me himself. Did he want to be the one to break my spirit?
I didn’t think that was it, though. Something about the way he looked at me made me think he was different. There had been anger in his eyes, yes, but not at me. Somehow, he’d made me feel almost safe. That was probably wishful thinking on my part, I told myself, not wanting to get my hopes up. Part of me, though, insisted that he’d genuinely cared about me.
A fat lot of good that does me now, I thought. But maybe, if I was lucky, Gresh would return me and I’d end up with the other alien instead.
No one seemed to be thinking of that as the aliens bickered around me. “Yes, yes, she’s valuable. But you spent all our money on her. That’s ridiculous, Gresh, she’s not worth that much to anyone.”
“Might have royal blood,” he said, sullen now. The rest hooted with what I thought was laughter, and I didn’t blame them. Royal blood? That sounded ridiculous.
“We will never make a profit on this trip unless she is,” one of the others said. He grabbed my wrist and pulled, his spindly arm surprisingly strong. “We get aboard now, test her, and hope we can make something out of this mess.”
The rest fell in around me as I stumbled after my new captor, and I felt the simmering anger of the aliens. If I wasn’t a valuable prize, I didn’t know what would happen to me, but it wouldn’t be good.
Not that I expected it to be good no matter what happened.
8
Athazar
The guards watched me carefully as my human mate followed the verkesh out of the room, and I tried to focus on my breathing. A friend of mine had attempted to teach me to control my anger that way once, but I’d never picked up the trick of it.
I took a step towards the door, but one of the guards stepped into my path. There was a warning look on his face as he blocked my path.
“Don’t do anything foolish, sir,” he said in a low voice. “We have a reputation to maintain, and if our buyers get attacked as soon as they leave the premises…”
“I’m not going to do anything to the verkesh,” I lied, putting on a fake smile and trying not to imagine the creature coming apart in my hands. “Just going back to my ship.”
“Why not stay for another couple of lots, sir?” the guard asked with an equally fake smile. “Maybe you’ll see something else to take your fancy?”
I could take him. I knew it, and so did he. His armor wouldn’t keep me from ripping his throat out if he tried to stand between me and my mate. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. If I picked this fight, I might win it, but it wouldn’t be quick.
Better that I’m delayed a little leaving and don’t have to fight them, I thought reluctantly, nodding and hiding a snarl. All he wanted was for the verkesh to have a head start, enough that he couldn’t be blamed when I caught up to him.
“Fine, why not?” I said, turning back to the stage. The guard relaxed slightly.
“Next item,” the auctioneer called out, full of cheer. And well he might be, given how much he’d just made. “The sliven, once again.”
The room booed him, and I ground my teeth wanting this over and done with. I had a human to find, and I didn’t want to risk the verkesh getting off the station before I caught up. Once they were away from here, tracking them down would be next to impossible, and given how angry the scavenger had been, I couldn’t even be confident that she’d survive the trip.
The idea of her at his mercy made my hands tighten and the pounding of my heart drowned out the auctioneer’s words until I focused again. I had to hurry this up.
The sliven shuffled forward again, looking nervously around the crowd. No wonder no one wanted him: he was scrawny, scales dull and unhealthy, and even from a distance I could see he was missing teeth.
I sighed. Raised my hand. “One hundred bezzik.”
Around me the slave merchants laughed. I grinned at them, wishing I could tear their collective throats out. The auctioneer looked almost surprised that someone had bid.
“Going once, for one hundred bezzik,” he said after a brief pause. His eyes darted around the room, but no one else showed any sign of wanting to get into a bidding war with me this time. “Going twice. Three times. Sold!”
He sounded relieved more than anything else. Now he could get to the next group of slaves. More importantly, now I could leave.
The sliven shuffled to my side, a curious mix of relief and fear on his face. I remembered a similar feeling from my own sale — relief that I wouldn’t have to face the seller’s anger, but fear of what my buyer might do to me.
In my case that fear had been justified. I’d have to make sure that his wasn’t.
“Come with me,” I said, snatching the controller from the auctioneer’s hand and turning to the exit. My fingers itched where they touched the hateful device and I shoved it into a pouch on my belt as quickly as I could. “What’s your name?”
“Ssarl, master,” the sliven said, hurrying to keep up with my long strides. I growled at that and he flinched back before I got myself under control.
“My name is Athazar,” I told him, trying to keep my voice gentle. He was frightened enough already, and if he thought I was angry with him I’d only make things worse. “And I’m no one’s master. Not anymore.”
Ssarl blinked, big eyes clearing as he looked at me. A forked tongue darted out to taste the air and he stayed quiet. Smart choice. I turned and started to walk again, hoping that I could pick up the verkesh’s trail. It seemed impossible, but I didn’t have a choice.
“You were next to the human,” I said as we walked quickly. “Do you know her? Can you tell me anything about her?”
“I only met her briefly, mas—Athazar,” he caught himself, hissed, and continued. “Her name is Emma, and she tried to escape as soon as she woke up on the Firebearer. I don’t know much more than that.”
I shook my head, both worried and impressed. Most new slaves resigned themselves to their fate quickly. That she’d tried to escape straight away was admirable, but it was also dangerous — if she tried again and failed, she’d get herself killed before I could reach her. I prayed that she’d be able to restrain herself long enough for me to reach her.
Flicking open my communicator, I connected to the Shadow again and summarized the situation. “I’m going after her.”
The AI squawked in protest. “Sir, you can’t do that. What about me?”
I shook my head, trying to keep my calm as I stalked through the icy corridors with Ssarl trailing behind me. The AI raised a valid point. A computer couldn’t pilot a ship alone — at least, not through
hyperspace. Without me, the Shadow would be limited to this system, or it would have to go wherever the Firebearer took it.
And given that the ship contained everything I owned in the universe, that was an issue.
“Ssarl, can you fly a ship?” I asked. Not much hope of that — piloting skills were valuable in a slave. He shook his head and I sighed.
“You’ll have to learn fast then,” I told him. “I’m going to put you aboard my ship, the Shadow Hunter, and you’re going to follow me if I leave the system.”
Ssarl looked at me as though I’d gone mad. Maybe I had. I was entrusting all my possessions to someone I’d only just met, but I didn’t care. If I lost everything else catching up with my mate, I’d call that a bargain.
“This is a spectacularly bad idea,” the AI said, voicing the thought that was plain on Ssarl’s face. “I can handle flight in realspace, but I’ll have to shut down for the transition from hyperspace. He’ll have to handle that alone.”
“It’s not that hard, and you’ll have days to teach him,” I said. “And if I can catch up with Emma quickly enough, we won’t even enter hyperspace. Don’t worry.”
That didn’t convince either of them, but there wasn’t time to argue. We’d returned to the space dock, more crowded now than it had been before. I looked around, hoping to catch sight of Emma, but there was no sign of her. I’d delayed too long.
“She’s aboard the Dreams of Avarice,” the Shadow’s AI told me unprompted, sounding resigned to its fate. “At least, I think it’s her. The only human to arrive since you departed was taken aboard by a nest of verkesh.”
Suddenly I was glad I’d paid extra for a computer that could think. “I could kiss you,” I said, hurrying forward. It looked like that ship was getting ready to depart, and I didn’t want to miss it.
“Please don’t, sir,” the AI said. “If you want to repay me, come back for me. I have no desire to orbit this grace-forsaken star until my reactor gives out.”
