by D T Dyllin
I had so many questions, but I refused to ask them. Ambassador Aralias seemed like the type who would enjoy talking about himself and his plans so I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. He hit me a few more times before he spoke. I remained stoic, managing to only scream on the inside.
“Jane, you keep surprising me. I would have thought you’d be giving me the third degree by now.” I let the hatred for him shine through from my eyes as my only response. He chuckled. “If you won’t speak, I’ll make you scream.”
He reached behind him, drawing out a long, thick leather whip. Fuck. Just my luck. He’s some kind of sadist. Now it made perfect sense why he was interested in me sexually even though he’d obviously disliked me from the beginning. I guess a sadist might prefer getting someone they didn’t like in bed so they could feel doubly good. But who knew? I really didn’t know much about what made a sadist tick. I would just have to make sure I didn’t scream. The thought of him being turned on by my pain both sickened and infuriated me.
“Do your worst.” The words rushed out of me against my will. By the gleam in his eyes, it only served as a challenge. I silently cursed myself out and swore that those words would be my last in his presence.
The whip sang through the air, landing on my leather-clad thighs. It stung, but hardly had the kind of impact that would be dragging any screams from me. “Oh dear. You have too many clothes on. We need to rectify that immediately.” The ambassador smirked.
I tried not to roll my eyes. I mean … seriously? I’d seen that coming a few hundred miles away. As if any decent villain of any kind can do proper torture when their victim is fully clothed, and wearing protective leather to boot. He was merely playing with me and we both knew it. I bit my tongue to remain silent.
With the same blade that he’d given me to steal Ash’s life, Ambassador Aralias cut off my pants and top, leaving me in only my undergarments and boots. When he was finished, he roughly flipped me over with ease, the laser chains keeping me completely at his mercy.
A string of foul obscenities filled the air when he got a gander at my back. I knew what was causing his reaction: Ash’s mate mark. “You mated with him. I knew you were part phoenix, that you were a hu-mutt, but for this to be possible … I can’t soil myself with you.”
Did I just hear that right? Had just the sight of the mate mark saved me from sexual torture and rape? I turned my face into the bedding to hide my grin.
Fire licked up my spine and I screamed into the mattress, taken by surprise. “I’m going to peel it from your flesh,” he snarled, raining blow after blow down on my skin.
I’d lied to myself. I couldn’t contain my screams. The pain was on a level I’d never been able to imagine. It was raw and sharp, never receding in intensity or shifting to a dull ache. Nor did it fade to numbness. Every new hit was worse than the last, and I was positive that my back had to be completely ripped open, the flesh hanging from my bones.
Tears streaked down my cheeks and I struggled to breathe around my pain-addled wails. I would have cried out for Ash, but I knew he couldn’t come without risking his life, and if this was going to be the way I died, I didn’t want him to experience it on any level. I didn’t want him to know the agony I suffered in my last moments in this mortal coil. I wanted him to remember me from our short amount of time together on The Pittsburgh, when nothing had been written in stone and I hadn’t screwed everything up beyond repair.
Despite my unwillingness to summon him, as darkness pushed around the edges of my vision and the pain became too much for my body to bear, I heard him screaming my name. I should have listened to him … about everything. It’s too late now.
Warm water trickled down my spine, and I groaned as I came to. I was no longer chained to Ambassador Aralias’ bed, but instead my arms were stretched over my head and my face pressed into a wall. I wriggled a bit, realizing after a moment that I was completely naked. I wasn’t digging that fact one little bit.
“Be still,” a female voice commanded from behind me. “I’m merely washing the blood off of you. No harm will come to you … while you’re in my care.”
Ah, so whoever she was knew that the same couldn’t be said with Ambassador Aralias. I decided to try to get some information out of her. “Who are you?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“What’s going to happen to me after you’re finished cleaning me up?”
“Probably more of the same of what you experienced before. The ambassador has a predilection for giving pain, and you are half human and half phoenix.”
“Yeah, so?” I grimaced when it felt like a sponge swiped over the raw flesh on my back.
“Your mate mark is healing you. In no time at all you’ll be good as new.”
I snorted. “I’m thinking in this situation that may not be the best thing.” Was that why the pain had been so intense the entire time I was being beaten? Was there some kind of magic in the mark that had been trying to heal me? I had so much to learn. Too bad I probably won’t be alive long enough.
“You should have killed Ash. You exchanged your life for his.”
“You certainly seem to know a lot about all of this. Again I’m going to ask you, who are you?”
I was roughly flipped around and I gasped in horror. Before me stood a small humanoid female of unknown species classification. Her face was lined with scars, the kind that I could tell were inflicted by a knife. She’d been beautiful once. And in some ways she still was. Her long, flaxen hair was still shiny with health, and her luminous blue eyes met mine with defiance. “I’m someone who understands.”
“He did this to you?” It came out as a question, but I already knew the answer. “Maybe I should be asking who is he exactly? He’s not just an ambassador, is he?”
“No, he is not. He is so much more.”
“I should have known.”
I glanced beyond her, noting that I was in a shower stall, the walls and floors metal, several sets of chains in various places hanging empty. What kind of person installs chains in a friggin’ shower stall? Of course I already had the answer: the sick and twisted kind. How many creatures had bled in the very same spot as me? Blood of different colors washed away so easily from the metallic surface. As if none of us ever existed. I stared at the drain, the pink tinged water swirling around my feet.
A sponge scraped down my arm, the female speaking again as she continued to clean me. “There would have been no way for you to know the truth. So few have that information any more. The Denards are much more clever than most think. They’ve even fooled the Galvrarons, which is no small feat.”
My heart squeezed when I thought of Zula and how I’d never see her blue, sarcastic spewing face again. Then it hit me. “Are you saying that Ambassador Aralias is a Denard?” It was possible. I had no clue what one even looked like. I guess since they were spoken of like some kind of Boogieman, I’d assumed they wouldn’t be humanoid. Looked like I’d been wrong … again.
“Yes,” she hissed. “They hide in plain sight among the UGFS. And they have plans—plans for us all.”
I hung my head in shame. I’d wanted Ash to just hand over the chip and run away from all of this. I guess on some level I never really believed it was as bad as he or Dar described.
“You can make it up to me later,” Ash whispered in my mind.
“No!” I exclaimed.
My scarred attendee eyed me with curiosity as she flipped me back around. “No, Ash! You can’t mean to come here for me. You’ll get yourself killed! I’m obviously being used as bait,” I yelled in my mind.
He didn’t respond, which made terror race through my system. Terror for him. I knew in my heart that I was as good as dead. I was a survivor, selfish to the core, but even I knew when the jig was up. There was no point in both Ash and myself dying.
Besides, maybe he really could bring down the Denards one day. He wouldn’t be doing anything if he was dead. I wouldn’t allow my involvement to mess anyt
hing else up.
I knew what I had to do, and it was going to royally suck. But hey … maybe I’d get to die with a little bit of dignity after all.
“I know what you are,” I spat as Ambassador Aralias loomed over me.
I was once again laser chained to his bed. He wasn’t even trying to hide what he was doing with me, which made me wonder how many of his crew were Denards as well. I’d been paraded back to his room stark naked, and no one had even batted an eye. It’d been humiliating.
“Ah, Nina has a big mouth. I can never seem to punish her enough, though. Her time with me may finally be coming to an end.” He perched himself at the end of the bed, smiling warmly. “You know what I am and I know what you are. I suppose that’s only fair.”
“I don’t know why you—the Denards—are doing this. Why? Why do you want to wipe out species and planets? What good does it do?”
He tapped his chin, regarding me thoughtfully. “I suppose you’re expecting some kind of full disclosure about me and my kind’s motivations. You want me to explain all of our plans, spell it all out for you?” he asked snidely.
“Yeah, that’d be nice,” I growled.
I knew he wasn’t going to tell me shit, but it was worth a try. If he knew so much about the phoenix then he would know that whatever he told me, Ash would be able to garner straight from my mind if I thought it at him.
Just thinking about Ash brought me full circle back to my plan. Time was of the essence so I couldn’t dilly-dally any longer. “By the way, if you think you and your Denard buddies are going to get away with whatever you’re planning, you’re full of shit. Ash is going to bring you down.” I plastered my best jovial smile on my face. My goal was to taunt him into losing his temper. If I could do that then maybe he’d end me quickly. Ash would no longer have a reason to put himself at risk to come and rescue me. I wasn’t the self-sacrificing type, but if I was going to die anyways I figured I might as well make it worth something.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” His expression said I hadn’t managed to rile him up, not even a little.
I’m just going to have to try harder.
“Just because you fooled me doesn’t mean shit. Ash knew the whole time. Do you really think he would have just handed that chip over to me without some kind of backup plan?”
The ambassador’s eyes hardened. “You seduced him. He mated you. I know how the phoenix works when it comes to such things. He wouldn’t have been able to resist you.”
I quirked my eyebrow. “Really? That’s what you think?” I smirked with satisfaction. “Good to know.”
He grabbed my chin roughly, lifting my head off the bed. “What’s his backup plan? Tell me!” He backhanded me and I recoiled into the soft mattress. The metallic tang of copper bloomed in my mouth. I merely smiled up at him as I watched a mask of rage fall down over his features. That’s right. Lose your temper and then you’ll be right where I want you.
“And is there a reason why I’m naked? I mean, we both know you can’t get it up. It has nothing to do with me being part phoenix. That’s the real reason why you like to beat women. You’re just pissed off because you’re not really a man.” Most species didn’t like their masculinity pissed on. Hopefully the Denard culture wasn’t one of the weird ones that didn’t give a crap about such things.
The ambassador’s fists pummeled into my middle. Score! I’d insulted his stupid male ego. “You’re nothing but a hu-mutt whore. I’m going to get much more satisfaction from making you bleed than I ever would between your legs.”
“Yep, that’s right. Make me bleed,” I grunted as my eyes slid shut. I just wanted it to end. “I wish I could see the expression on your face when Ash ruins all of your carefully made plans.” I forced myself to laugh. “You’re all going to look like such idiots.”
The sickening sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing met my ears. I was somehow removed from it; I forced myself to be. A twisted sort of laugh echoed in my ears. It wasn’t filled with humor but something much darker, and it took me a few moments to realize that it was coming from me. I’d obviously snapped. At least I wouldn’t beg for my life. No, my laugh was a big F-you to death itself. I just wished everything didn’t hurt so much. Not so much physically anymore, but definitely my heart and soul.
I’d experienced some tough times in my life—there were a handful of moments scattered amongst those rough days when I’d contemplated what death would be like—but I’d never contemplated suicide for even a millisecond. I refused to give up. And because of that I went from scavenging garbage at supply space stations to being the captain of my own ship.
So what am I doing now? Why was I willing to essentially commit suicide by Ambassador Aralias? I was giving up. I could save Ash and myself. No. I would save myself, save Ash, and make Ambassador Aralias beg for his life like a little bitch. Or maybe it’s the head trauma talking? I am getting knocked around quite a bit. Even if I was delusional … I’d just faced down the idea of death in my mind, so what did I have to potentially lose? Nothing.
Fiery determination blazed forth from me … literally. As soon as I’d swapped my frame of mind from suicidal to vengeance incarnate everything clicked into place internally. The ambassador’s startled scream ghosted a smile across my lips. I remained still, letting the flames spread and heal me at the same time. Within the protective cocoon of fire, my body regenerated from all of the physical damage that had been inflicted upon it. I wasn’t aware until that moment that it was possible for me to heal by fire, but I wasn’t going to question the new development that was probably saving my life.
My eyes snapped open when the process was complete, and I watched with amazement as I slipped free from the laser chains. I didn’t turn into a flame completely like Ash could, but I blinked into a less substantial form for an instant in time. It was all that was needed.
As I approached Ambassador Aralias his eyes studied me with pure hatred. No fear, though, which made me anxious. I was already aware he knew more about the phoenix than I did, and he did still have that dagger somewhere, although not in sight. I was all for getting revenge on him, but maybe it was a dish best served cold, like the Earth saying went. I really didn’t want to think I had the upper hand only to die because of overconfidence. Instead I decided to run and fight another day.
I swung around still engulfed in my self-made blaze, and dashed for the door. I moved faster than normal, but still not fast enough for my tastes. I slid into the corridor, flaming down the hallway, which was suspiciously empty. Guess no one wanted to hear what the ambassador had been doing to me. I faltered for a moment, though, not knowing what direction to go when I reached a fork at the end of the hall. Left or right? Left or right?
“Go right at every turn and then down one of the small ladders into a micro escape pod. The activation code is 365, and you’ll need this key.” Nina reached her hand out to offer me an old-fashioned, notched metal key. “You’ll fly under the radar since Ambassador Aralias meant them to be for his secret escape if he ever needed to make one.”
I stared in shock at Nina, my scarred yet beautiful guardian angel. “You could come with me,” I suggested. “I don’t know exactly where I’m going since they destroyed my ship, but it has to be better than here.”
“No.” Her large blue eyes met mine with determination. “Someone has to stay here to run a distraction just in case.”
“Why? Why would you do that for me?”
“Not for you. For those you’ll save. Now go.”
I understood. I’d turned out not to be, but Nina was the self-sacrificing type. I followed her impeccable directions, finding myself at the micro escape pods not too long after. They were definitely named that for a reason. Talk about tiny. Good thing I’m not Dar’s size or I’d be screwed.
I let my flame recede back into me as I climbed into a pod. I had to pull my knees up to my chest to fit into it properly. How the hell would the ambassador fit into one of these? Unless he
had shrinking powers, I didn’t think it possible.
I pulled down the control panel, which was a small pad no bigger than my hand, and typed in the code before sliding the key into place. The pod activated immediately. The hum of the air filtration system clicked on, and after a few moments the door slid smoothly shut. A flight helmet with a built-in breather dropped down and I pulled it over my head. I liked that I was doubly ensured to be able to breathe. That was never a bad thing.
“Destination?” a computerized voice asked in my ear.
Destination? Now that was an excellent question. I couldn’t exactly say to Ash. He wasn’t really a destination. I had no friends and no allies besides him. Or did I? I really only had one choice. “To the Gartian planet.” The pod went into motion so quickly, jettisoning me out of the ship, that I was plastered back against the wall painfully. I was still naked, after all. I wiggled, attempting to get comfortable. Nerves rode me hard. There were no windows and no way for me to tell what was going on outside of the pod, so I had to simply hope I’d end up where I wanted to go.
After what felt like only a few minutes, exhaustion took over. I let my eyes slide shut. Of course I couldn’t help but think of Ash. Did he know I’d escaped? I had to tell him.
“Ash,” I mumbled. “Ash, I’m okay. I got out. Please don’t go there. Please don’t die for nothing.”
When I heard no response of any kind, worry began to eat at me. Why wasn’t he answering me? Had something already happened to him? No. There was no way I’d escaped the ship only for him to have just missed me or something ridiculously stupid like that.
Was there?
I kept on calling out to him as I finally drifted off.
“Jane! Why does it seem like you’re always naked lately?” Tamzea stood beside an unfamiliar Gartian who was holding the door to the pod open.
I blinked a few times, and swore under my breath. “After all that I somehow died. I bet it was lack of oxygen or something. That would be ironic. The stupid micro pod should have had a third backup air system. Third times the charm and all of that.”
