by N. I. Snow
Zaharak scratched at the bottom of his snout as he pondered the offer. “The girl is far more valuable than that; but, I am willing to make a deal since you paid a generous sum for her before. Three hundred thousand and the human boy, if he is still alive. I am sure I can sell him for a good price as an exotic pet or a slave.”
Salianos growled with suspicion, “How do you know about him?”
“I am surprised by your question, High Elder. Have you forgotten who I am?” Zaharak folded his arms across his chest. “I know the boy was traveling with Kahluna to rescue his sister. I also heard he was seen with her and Lutianist on Cor. Now is he alive or not? If he isn't I'll raise my price to four hundred.”
Salianos’s jaws tightened, despite the relief he was feeling. “Of course he is alive, whether well or not is determined by Tarline.”
“Then tell the torturer to keep the boy in a sellable condition. I would like to make up for the two hundred I am not receiving.”
“I will have Tigret warn Tarline now.” Salianos nodded to the bronze Seeker. She slid through the shadows while Salianos continued talking to Zaharak. “Tell me, Seeker, where shall we meet for this little exchange?”
Zaharak's clawed hand pressed an image on his holoscreen bringing up coordinates for a rendezvous on Salianos's screen, “I will be waiting aboard the abandoned smuggler's station in Ta Almania. Don't keep me waiting too long, High Elder, or I may decide to sell the girl for a much better price.”
With that Zaharak cut off the transmission. Salianos clenched his fangs. He knew of the station located in the galaxy's heart. Once used by smugglers and slave traders to hide their wares from prying eyes, intergalactic authorities quickly caught onto the station and shut it down. It had remained unused for hundreds of years after. Though Salianos could only wonder why Zaharak had chosen Hel Ta Almania, he was certain about one thing—Zaharak was buying himself time. The Seeker was making sure he had the upper hand in this deal should Salianos try and break it. Unnerving as it was, it was not unexpected of Zaharak.
The door to Salianos's side opened and an irritated Tarline dragged a semiconscious Jonah into the room. The bronze Elder's emerald eyes did nothing to hide his annoyance; a stream of Tazalian curses escaped his thin jaws as he threw the boy towards Salianos's feet. Folding his arms across his chest, Tarline's brazen voice growled indignantly, “Akte tel Dehm! I have barely started my work and now I am told not only am I to keep this creature alive, I have to be lax with my tortures? Then why, tell me, did you bring him to me in the first place?”
Salianos nudged Jonah's body with a foot ignoring the soft murmurs coming from the boy's mouth. The High Elder's violet eyes gazed calmly at Tarline. “Circumstances have risen. Zaharak wants the boy in a sellable state. I'm sure the Seeker can still fetch a good price with the boy in his current condition. What exactly did you do to him?”
Tarline shrugged and spoke dryly, “All I did was give him a nice little jolt in the Elkta. Nearly passed out on the first shock. I've seen little cubs with better resistance than him.”
“The poor fool should have never left his planet. I see no reason why you cannot test him further. As long as he isn't missing a limb I am sure Zaharak will still profit off of him,” Salianos spoke casually peering down at Jonah, who fought desperately to keep his eyes open.
Tarline snorted, “I hate limitations on my tortures.”
Salianos snapped at the wiry Elder, “You will have the same limits on the girl when we retrieve her. Consider the boy an experiment for how well you can hold back. After all, it will do us no good if the only being capable of finding the Gaia was made incapable of doing so because you got out of hand with your little pastime.”
Tarline picked up both of Jonah's feet and began dragging him back to the doorway. The bronze Elder muttered a number of curses before he and Jonah disappeared from Salianos’s violet view. The High Elder gave a small, dark smile. Everything was beginning to unfold. Soon, very soon, he would have the Gaia's power in his claws.
Emma sat uncomfortably on the floor in the Valkyrie's lobby. She picked nervously at a plate of fruit in front of her. Zaharak had left her alone shortly after the transmission, disappearing into a room to her right. She had neither seen nor heard of him since. He had the plate set out for her on a nearby counter. Emma grabbed it hoping the food would bring some comfort. Unfortunately her appetite was nearly nonexistent. Too many events were running through her mind. No matter what the Ancients or Zaharak said she could not bring herself to believe that the Seeker truly meant to help her.
Her thin fingers began tracing the scar on her left arm. Just six months earlier Zaharak would have killed her without question. Six months ago he had sold her off to Salianos. He may have saved her life on Cor, but that was not enough to change her judgment. Emma shivered. Yet, in her mind, the image of the calm, golden gaze that had been in the Seeker's eyes burned through her vision. How Lutianist managed to keep Zaharak a secret was beyond her. Then again the two were highly different from each other. Lutianist was the kind-hearted scholar while his son was a cold-blooded monster.
The young girl pushed the dinner plate away and lay back on the cold, metal floor. Closing her eyes she felt exhaustion rush through her. She had not realized how much the day had taken out of her. She felt as though she had run through Neapolthia again.
Emma couldn't remember ever falling asleep, but she jolted awake as she felt something being pulled over her. Heart beating hard she pulled back the gray blanket to see Zaharak with his back to her. The girl sat up and rubbed a hand across her tired, gray eyes. Zaharak remained still, acting as though he did not notice her waking. Looking him over, she cringed at the three scars across his bare back.
Keeping the blanket wrapped around her she asked in a quiet voice, “How long
“You have been resting for ten standard hours.” Zaharak finished keeping his back to her.
Ten hours! She couldn't have been that tired. She rubbed her hand across her eyes again, trying to rid herself of any lingering weariness. Narrowing her gaze, she began questioning the Seeker, “So what now? Do you expect me to be fine with you? You may be willing to stop Salianos, but what happens after? What's to stop you from selling Jonah and me afterwards? How can I trust you?”
Zaharak turned his head slightly so his emotionless eyes could see her. “You can't, and I do not expect you to. However I need your cooperation if Salianos' reign is to come to an end.”
Emma folded her arms on her lap. “Fine. But why are you drawing Salianos there?” Emma’s brow furrowed with the thought that Salianos was being led to the place where the secret location of the Light might be revealed.
“It’s a good place to lay a trap,” the Seeker responded. “No one has been there for many galactic years, so Salianos and the others don’t know the layout or the resources. Nor does he realize its connection to the Ancients or the Light.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Emma said grudgingly. “How long until we arrive at the galaxy's center?”
Zaharak walked over to the pillar in the center of the room. Pressing a claw on a holopanel, he brought up a large image of the galaxy above the pillar. “As of now we are at the boundaries of the Scutum-Crux and Norma arms. We should arrive at Hel Ta Almania within a standard month.”
“And Salianos?”
“They will arrive a month after us. That will give us time to prepare, but keep in mind this will not be a simple task even for me. There are many factors playing against us. First, we have to safely secure your brother and then there is the matter of two unaccounted for Elders. Soforin and Shadonel were not with Salianos, and I have a feeling they will be waiting for us.”
“How do you know?” Emma asked skeptically.
Zaharak didn't move from the holoimage. “Just instinct.”
Emma frowned; she knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer from the Seeker, “Ok then,” she stood up letting the blanket fall to the ground. “Teach me how to fight.”
Zaharak's tail twitched, and he turned around to face the girl. A look of amusement played deep in his eyes, just below their cold surface. “For what purpose.”
Emma folded her arms across her chest and put a serious look on her face. “You said we have two months before we meet up with Salianos. That gives you time to teach me how to fight or at least how to fend off Salianos and the other creeps.”
“You do not believe that I am capable of keeping them from you?”
Emma shook her head. “Hey you may be the greatest Seeker in the entire galaxy, but there is just one you and five of them. Three being Elders. One of them is bound to slip past you.”
Zaharak shook his head and began walking towards the doorway on his right while replying coldly, “Training you would only be a waste of my time.”
Emma balled her hands into fists and marched towards the Seeker, “Like you have anything better to do.”
The door Zaharak was approaching slid open to reveal a weapon-filled room. Emma drew back with a look of horror on her pale face as her gray eyes moved from the blue blood-encrusted long knives to the table with its mechanical arms. In that moment she remembered what kind of creature Zaharak really was. The Seeker gave her an empty look before disappearing behind the doorway. Emma remained staring numbly at the metallic barrier.
“I wouldn't stand there for long, Ms. Emma,” a wheezing voice spoke from the hull. “That room isn't for the light hearted.”
Emma turned and looked up at the roof of the hull, her voice echoed her surprised look, “Valkyrie! Your A.I.”
The Valkyrie's A.I. stuttered, “Ah, yes! Zaharak reprogrammed my personality to its original state. I believe he said it was so that I could keep you occupied and away from him.”
Emma walked over the pillar in the center of the room where the holomap still hovered above it. “That sounds like him.”
“As strange as this may seem, it has been nearly the only normal thing he has done. Lately he has been pacing around the hull; his training routines have been interrupted by odd moments of silent brooding. Not like him at all,” Valkyrie sighed.
Emma folded her arms across her chest and frowned, “You sound disappointed.”
“Oh, not at all,” the A.I. replied apologetically. “The fact that he is showing even minor signs of change is nothing short of a miracle. For a creature like him, it is simply not natural.”
“What's managed to get under his scales?. I thought a Seeker at his level was made of steel below those gray sheaths.” Emma unfolded her arms and began tracing the scar on her arm. “He nearly killed me before. Just because he saved me now doesn't mean I can trust him, even if he has been troubled.”
The A.I. hummed. “Perhaps you do not have to trust him, but believe that he will indeed keep his word.”
Emma dropped her arms to her side and grumbled, “Easier said than done.”
The young girl turned to the hallway leading to the aft. She stopped at the entryway and looked back at the door that hid the discontented Seeker. She turned her attention to another closed doorway to her left. Despite her current position she couldn't help feeling curious about what was in the room beyond. Quietly she crossed over to the door, ignoring the A.I.'s attempt to deter her. Upon reaching the door, Emma placed a hand gently on the cold metal. The door seemed to shutter under her soft touch and slid open.
The room was not as shocking as the torture room that Zaharak currently occupied, but it was still just as depressing. Emma gazed solemnly from the bare walls to what she assumed to be a bed made of rock. Like the rest of the ship, no signs of comfort were apparent, only the desolate life of the heartless reptile. How any creature could stand to live in such a barren and bleak environment was beyond her.
Emma backed out of the room slowly, stopping abruptly when she backed into an object that felt like steel. The girl froze as a heavy clawed hand fell onto her right shoulder. The hand turned her and led her down the hallway leading to the aft. Emma groaned; she knew where Zaharak was leading her. She had no doubt worn out her welcome, and now she would be spending the rest of the trip in the dull plasma cell.
As they walked down the hall, Zaharak's husky voice spoke to the ship’s A.I. “Valkyrie increase the lighting in the hold.”
Emma blinked both with confusion and to allow her eyes to adjust to the bright light filling the hold as the gray-scaled Tazalian led her to the center of the large room, where he left her briefly among the rows of cell panels as he went to each one. He pressed an image on each of the panels, which lowered them into the metal floor. Once all the panels had been lowered, Zaharak stood face to face with the bewildered girl.
His cold reptilian eyes examined Emma closely, leaving her with an uncomfortable feeling. A silence stretched out between Seeker and girl before Emma could summon her courage. Taking in a deep breath, she asked, “What are you doing?”
Zaharak stared at her for a bit longer, as though he were trying to find the right words. His golden eyes continued to gaze emptily at Emma until finally his gray jaws opened, “I have decided that it would be to our benefit for you to be trained to defend yourself.”
Emma couldn't help but give the Seeker a sly smile, “I thought you had better things to do.”
The tip of Zaharak's tail twitched and he folded his arms across his bare chest, “You have been a curious little one. Either I take it upon myself to keep a close eye on you, or,” he gave her a cruel smile, “perhaps you would prefer to return to your cell?”
Emma frowned and balled up her fists, “All right. I'm ready.”
Zaharak scoffed. Quietly he began slowly circling her. “Your body is too stiff, relax. You need to be able to move with fluid motion.” He watched as the young human girl relaxed. “Good, now,” he stood in front of Emma, “when I strike, mirror my attack with a block from your arm and duck underneath me to escape. For now I will use a closed hand to attack until I am sure you are ready for an open claw.”
“Open claw?” Emma's pale face was filled with concern.
“The Elders will attack without discretion. They will try to harm you in order to make you easier to capture. Until I know you are capable of fending off my moves, I will use a closed hand to spare you from any unnecessary injuries.”
“How considerate of you,” Emma's voice was lined with sarcasm.
Zaharak's paid no heed to Emma's retort. “It would harm our chances of rescuing your brother if Salianos became suspicious of any new scars on you.”
Emma frowned, “Don't you have medical equipment that heals wounds without scarring?”
Zaharak remained impassive. “As I said, we will avoid any unnecessary injuries. I will not be wasting time nor supplies. Now,” Zaharak shifted his body around posing himself like a wildcat ready to pounce, tail held stiff behind his body, “ready yourself.”
Emma balled up her fists and brought them up to her chest, her gray eyes fixed on the Seeker. She tensed herself waiting for Zaharak to move. The gray Tazalian remained motionless. A great weight began to form in the pit of Emma's stomach. With each moment that passed between her and Zaharak, the anticipation grew heavier. Then without warning Zaharak moved.
Emma let out a shout and tried to jump out of the large reptile's way but instead she was greeted by a heavy blow from the Seeker's tail. The girl stumbled to the ground stretching out her arms to break her fall. Taking a deep breath, Emma looked up to see that Zaharak had returned to his place across the room, crouched once more. Gritting her teeth, Emma picked herself off the metal floor. She looked up at the Seeker and gave him an angry glare. Zaharak did nothing to apologize; instead he remained in his motionless stance.
Emma stood and braced herself for another strike. This time when Zaharak moved she managed to hold her ground, however she could not bring her arms up fast enough to block Zaharak's gray-scaled fist. Emma cringed expecting pain to lance through her head; instead Zaharak did the unexpected. The Seeker gently brushed his fist along her cheek then quic
kly leapt back across the room.
Emma gaped in surprise at Zaharak, her eyes wide with amazement. Slowly her opened mouth closed into a roguish grin. Zaharak snorted and Emma could have sworn she caught a glimpse of a brief ghostly smile cross the Seeker's snout. The next month would indeed be incredibly different from the last month she had been forced to spend with the frightening Tazalian.
Pain, he could feel nothing but pain coursing through every muscle. Weakly he opened his eyes only to find that he could hardly make out one figure from another in the cloud of agony that filled his vision. He tried to move his head, but a burst of searing pain shot through his neck.
A brazen voice echoed into Jonah's fog-filled mind, “Still holding onto the realm of consciousness, are we?” That voice, that cruel flagrant voice brought only torment to the young man. For him that sound had become the voice of death itself.
“You are fortunate that they want you in one piece. With how bored I have become with you, I would already be taking tiny bits of you off. An eye here, a finger there. Nothing that would kill you, of course, well, at least not until they gave me permission.” Somewhere in the recesses of Jonah's mind, he could imagine a cruel smile playing on the thin lips of a scarred bronze snout. “Now be a good boy and hold still while I inject this little serum called Heltium into your veins.”
Jonah yelled out as fire seemed to course through his veins. The voice continued as though its owner did not notice that the boy was in agony, “I would refrain from becoming upset if I were you. Anger, rage, even contempt can have interesting reactions with Heltium. The more your anger grows the more powerful Heltium will become.”
Jonah gritted his teeth and tried to hold back his agonized cries. Had his own eyes been able to focus, he would have seen gleam of pleasure blazing through emerald eyes.
The voice became chillingly polite, “I wonder, do you think that little female cub could survive long in my hold? Seeing as she is of kindred to you, I can imagine that she could last to this point before I break her.”
