by Hope Hart
“Come out, Maxis. I know you’re here.”
“Vrex?” His voice holds a sliver of fear, and I sigh.
“Yes.”
“Thane sent you after me? After all I’ve done for him, he sent the Assassin of Agron?”
I grind my teeth at the nickname. “I’m not going to kill you,” I say. “Unless you force me to,” I clarify, and his snort reaches my ears.
“I’m not going back.”
“Thane doesn’t want you dead,” I say, my tone bored. A branch cracks, and I sigh. Maxis is attempting to escape. He seems to have forgotten that I spent most of my life in the wild. He may also be a Braxian warrior, but according to his tribe king, he prefers to spend his time in his camp.
I slowly circle, my feet soft as I use the light of the moon to avoid stepping on anything that might give away my position. Maxis chooses silence, but I’m standing downwind, and I get a whiff of unwashed male.
You should have paid more attention to hygiene, Maxis.
My senses are heightened after a lifetime of hunting in the forests of Agron, and I creep closer, finding Maxis with his back to a tree, his sword in his hand as he bares his teeth in the darkness.
I don’t feel the need to drag this out. Maxis tenses further at a sound to his right, and I use the opportunity to silently circle around behind him.
When I am almost close enough to touch him, my boot hits a rock, all of my attention on the warrior in front of me. He begins to turn, and I lunge forward, slamming the hilt of my sword into his temple.
He hits the ground, and I lift my fingers to my mouth, letting a whistle loose.
Nari appears, her feet almost silent as she moves through the forest. A lifetime of hunting with me has taught the mishua the importance of staying quiet.
She snorts at Maxis as I take his sword before deftly tying his hands and feet.
I gesture, and she hesitates.
“I know,” I say, “but there’s no other way to get him back to his camp. You’d like to go home, wouldn’t you?”
The mishua lets out a sigh and lowers herself until I can drag the other warrior onto her back. I leave him hanging over the saddle in front of me so I can stop him if he regains consciousness and attempts to flee.
Thane meets me at his camp gates when I arrive. I encourage Nari to kneel again, and she complies, drawing gasps from Thane’s warriors.
Most Braxians have never seen a mishua cooperate in this way, but Nari and I have a bond that is closer than most.
I push Maxis off the mishua, and he rolls to the ground with a groan. Thane stares down at him coldly and then meets my gaze as Nari gets to her feet.
“Thank you for your service,” he says stiffly, and I nod.
“Planning to tell me what he did?”
“After drinking too much noptri, he attempted to take an unwilling female to his furs. That female is my daughter.”
I almost wince but manage to keep my face blank. Honor is everything amongst my people, regardless of their tribe. If Thane allows Maxis to live, the warrior will likely wish he had not.
“Your payment,” Thane says, throwing a cloth bag to me. I catch it, feeling the weight of the credits. Impressive. It’s the words he will speak next that I truly value, however.
Thane raises his voice. “I swear to give you one favor, taken at a time of your choosing. Provided that no harm will come to me and mine with this favor, of course.”
I nod and turn my head. Nari moves, and we leave Maxis to his fate, with yet another assignment completed.
And another favor added.
Ivy
I shift on the cold floor, staring through the bars of my cage. I keep track of the days by scratching tallies in the wall behind it.
We’ve been here for two weeks.
Zoey’s cage is next to mine, and she spends most of her time curled into a ball.
I try to bully her into eating, but from the sweat on her forehead, she has a fever. Combine that with the rib injuries, and it’s likely pneumonia.
Frustration and rage war within me. I need to get her out of here and to whatever passes for a doctor on this planet. Unfortunately, this cage may be made from wood, but no matter how much I kick at the thick slats, they refuse to break.
We’ve been crated. Like dogs.
The Voildi ignore us for the most part. Twice a day, we’re taken to the bathroom, and every second day, one of the Voildi ensures that there is a bucket of cold water in the bathroom so we can wash.
Ironic, considering how badly the Voildi smell, but it makes sense considering Killis is currently in negotiations to sell us.
The Voildi is reading a piece of paper right now, his gaze so intent that I half expect him to start sounding out the words.
“They want to come here?” he asks the Voildi who I’ve mentally dubbed Hook. The Voildi is missing most of his fingers, and his remaining finger and thumb are clutched around a sharp hook, which he uses to carry out everyday tasks.
“Yes, milord. The Zintas have crossed the Great Water to trade on this part of Agron. One of their leaders has learned of the human females and is curious. He expressed his interest but only if he can see them first.”
I silently grind my teeth. One thing’s for sure: I have zero interest in crossing the Great Water. And I doubt Zoey would even survive such a trip.
Killis is silent for a moment, then turns his head, scanning us both. “He may come. Only him. The Zintas are dangerous, and if we are not careful, they may decide to simply kill us and take the females.”
I snarl at him, and he smiles back at me before returning his attention to Hook.
“I want them sold. Quickly. Before the weak one dies. I’m tired of waiting, and we need payment so we can afford more weapons.”
Hook nods. “I will make your wishes known, milord.”
I slump in my cage. If we’re sold, at least we’ll have an opportunity to escape.
Killis and Hook leave, and I move closer to Zoey, keeping my voice low even though the room is empty.
“Did you hear that, Zo? We may be getting out of here.”
“Yeah, before the weak one dies.” Zoey’s voice is a hoarse whisper, and I reach my hand between the bars, angling my arm until I can brush the hair off her face.
“Let them underestimate you,” I tell her. “‘He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.’”
Zoey shifts, getting slowly to her knees. “Is that from the bible or something?”
“The Art of War. And we’re going to take these bastards down.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I need you to promise me something,” she wheezes.
“Zoey—”
“Shh. You know what I’m going to say. The exact same thing you said to Beth. You see an opportunity, you take it.”
“No.”
“What happened to ‘We do whatever is best for all of us. If even one of us can get away, we can get help for the others,’ huh?”
I scowl. “That’s some memory you’ve got there. It’s different now.”
“Because I’m dying.”
“You’re not dying.”
“Did you forget our conversation when I told you I’m a nurse?”
I sigh. No, I didn’t. We don’t chat much, but we’ve shared enough that I know that Zoey is from New York too, and I often bring patients to the hospital she works at. It’s a small universe.
“Fine,” I say. “If I have a chance to escape, I’ll take it, and I promise I’ll bring back help.”
Zoey nods, slowly lying back down. That simple conversation seems to have exhausted her, and I pass the next few minutes by kicking at the wooden slats of my cage again.
A shadow appears in the doorway, and I freeze, my hands behind my butt, feet still poised in the air. The shadow moves, and I gulp at the huge creature, who strides into the room, unexpectedly quick given his size.
“Aroth,” Killis says, his tone surprisingly diffident
, “we believe you will enjoy these alien females.”
Aroth’s claws remind me of Wolverine’s, and his body is covered in…fur. From the way the creature is scanning my body, I’m guessing that he’s the Zinta that Killis was talking about.
I shift until I’m leaning against the back wall of my cage, but the furry monster drops to his knees, peering in at me.
“Flame Hair,” he rumbles. “Take her out.”
Killis is standing behind the Zinta, and he nods toward Hook, who moves forward, unlatching my cage and opening the door.
“Out,” Killis orders, and I stay where I am.
Aroth laughs, seemingly delighted with my defiance. He leans down, reaches into the cage, and drags me out.
I fight, but the guy probably has a solid two hundred pounds on me, if not more. As soon as I’m standing, he steps back, running his gaze over me.
His eyes are a deep green, cold and shrewd. His head is also covered in fur, although it’s thinner around the center of his face.
“Like what you see, Flame Hair?”
I raise one eyebrow. “I’ve never seen a talking bear before. Forgive me for staring.”
Unless they have bears on this planet, he won’t get the reference, and yet he seems to understand that he’s been insulted. He grins at me, displaying sharp white teeth.
“I like her,” he tells Killis, and I mentally kick myself.
“What about the other one?”
I glance at where Zoey is curled up in her cage, making herself as small as possible.
“I can smell sickness on her,” Aroth says.
Killis lets out a low growl, and the Zinta turns to him, raising his eyebrow.
“I have business here in Nexia, and also in Malufic later today. You will take the female to Malufic, and I will take her from there.”
“I’m not leaving Zoey,” I say, and everyone ignores me. Aroth reaches out to touch my hair, and I bat away his hand with a curse. He laughs, and I realize he’s getting off on the fact that I want nothing to do with him. This doesn’t bode well for me.
Hook shoves me back in my cage as the males discuss payment. For me. I’m going to need some solid time in the dentist’s chair when I get back to Earth. My teeth will probably be nothing but stubs after all this grinding.
They all leave the room, and I pound at the wooden slats in my cage.
“What the hell did they reinforce this thing with?” I snarl. “Concrete?”
Zoey is quiet beside me, and I glance over to see her facing me, her eyes serious.
“You know what to do,” she says. “This is your chance.”
I slam my fist into the cage, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.
“Come back for me,” she whispers. “I want to die with the sun on my face.”
“You’re not dying,” I growl. “But I’ll get help and come back. I promise.”
We’re quiet for the next few hours until another Voildi returns. I haven’t seen this one around, and he seems bored as he unlocks my cage and gestures for me to get out.
I get to my feet, my head down, shoulders hunched. The Voildi reaches for my arm, and I swing my other fist at his jaw. It connects, and he shouts as his head slams back into the wall. I shove past him, but Voildi are pouring into the room. I meet Zoey’s gaze, and she gives me a tiny grin before I’m dragged away.
Ivy
Killis comes with us to Malufic. Hook keeps a close eye on me, and I grin at him, wincing as the movement stretches my split lip.
My escape attempt wasn’t productive, but it sure was fun.
We’ve been walking for a few hours now. Killis left most of the Voildi back with Zoey, and I stayed quiet enough that they must’ve almost forgotten I was here as they cursed the Braxians. From what I can tell, the Voildi can’t afford to travel in a massive pack in this area because if the Braxians find them, they’ll take them all out.
Wouldn’t that be nice.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there will be any huge alien warriors coming to my rescue.
That’s okay. My dad taught me to rescue myself.
I swallow around a lump in my throat. When you lose someone you love, you never truly get over it. You’ll think you’re doing just fine until you’re blindsided by the inescapable fact that you’ll never laugh with that person again. Never fight with them. Never tell them you love them. Never describe your alien abduction.
I snort. Dad would have a lot to say about this, that’s for sure. My father was a quiet man until someone gave him something to rant about. He taught me to fight, showed me how to live, and believed in preparation above almost anything else.
If my dad were here now, he’d tell me to wait for my chance. There’s always an opportunity somewhere—I just need to be ready to take it.
Eventually, the Voildi begin to relax, and we move out of the depths of the forest and into another village. This one is in slightly better condition than the last, and we stop at a two-story gray building that backs onto the forest.
Killis nods at Hook, who opens the door and gestures for me to go upstairs. I move slowly up the stairs, looking for any opportunity to escape, but there’s nothing. The stairs lead to a small hallway with two doors.
“Open the door on the right,” Hook says, and I comply. The room is large, with a single window open to the forest outside, although I notice nothing but the cage in the corner.
I don’t fucking think so.
Hook leans down to unlatch the cage door. I don’t hesitate, slamming my fist down on the back of his neck. He curses, landing on his knees, and I jump on his back, wrapping my arm around his neck.
Here’s hoping that the Voildi have at least a few things in common with humans. No matter the species, surely everyone’s brains need oxygen…right?
I pull up on Hook’s neck, squeezing tight, and he lashes out, dragging his hook down my thigh.
Son of a bitch.
His good hand comes up to claw at the arm I’ve wrapped around my neck, while his hook swings for me again. I manage to block it with my knee, heart pounding as he slumps closer to the ground, the hook falling from his hand.
My mouth goes dry as fear makes me dizzy. If they heard that downstairs, they’ll be coming up here within seconds.
“Hurry up, damn you,” I hiss.
Hook’s face is bright yellow now, and we both hit the ground as he face-plants. I keep my arm tightly wrapped around his neck for a few more seconds just in case he’s faking, and then I pick up the hook, getting to my feet.
If I had time, I’d lock the bastard in the cage. See how he likes it.
Instead, I close the door enough that it hides Hook’s body and position myself behind it, clutching the sharp metal hook tightly in my hand.
Not even thirty seconds later, someone pushes open the door, and I jump out from behind it.
Killis whirls, but I’m already there, slashing at him with the sharp hook. He raises his hands, but it’s too late, and his scream is chilling as the pointed metal rips into his forehead before dragging down his face.
“My eye!” Killis roars, cupping his face.
I don’t hang around. I’m already moving, heading for the window. I scan the ground below me for a single second before I jump, praying I won’t break an ankle or dislocate a knee when I land.
It hurts, my left ankle immediately letting me know that it’s not happy. My thigh howls at me, but I launch straight into a limping run, my chest tight as Killis screams at his men to follow me.
I tuck down my chin, find my stride, and keep running.
Chapter Three
Vrex
War is coming.
Fortunes will be won and lost. People will die, and history will be forever changed on this planet after the events of the next few days.
I can’t say exactly why I came to Tecar’s tribe. Perhaps, in the back of my mind, I sensed an opportunity to negotiate for yet another favor.
Or perhaps I simply became tired of con
versing with no one but my mishua and occasionally the various people I pay to spy for me.
There’s a sense of excitement in the air as I make my way through the tribe, my mishua demanding a large space around her as she moves. Nari snorts at a warrior who is slow to move out of the way, and the warrior grins at me. I nod back, finally spotting Rakiz in the distance.
Rakiz lifts his brow as I dismount.
“Who sent a messenger to you?” he asks, neither of us fond of pleasantries.
“I chose to come.”
He nods, and a strange female moves closer. This must be one of the humans I have heard so much about. My assignments require me to keep up to date with what is happening on this planet, and I have heard plenty about the huge ship that crashed near the Seinex Forest and the strange, small females who were taken by the Voildi.
“Sup,” the female says. The implant in my ear translates this to mean eating, and I frown, confused, but say nothing. My silence does not appear to disconcert the female, who is dressed in warrior’s pants.
“Thanks for coming,” she says, glancing at Rakiz. He reaches out to pull her to him, and I raise my eyebrow. Even Rakiz has mated. And with an alien female no less.
“Can I interrupt for a moment?” the female asks.
Rakiz gazes into his mate’s eyes. “Of course,” he says, and the female smiles at him.
“I’d like to hire you,” the female says to me, and Rakiz looks surprised by this but stays silent.
I stroke my mishua. I think I can guess what it is this female wants from me, but I ask anyway, “What task is it that you need?”
“Karja,” Rakiz says, and I tilt my head. Karja are dangerous animals on this planet, and yet the tribe king has named his mate after them.
The female raises her hand to Rakiz’s face, and the crowd is silent as they seem to have a wordless conversation.
“I need to do this,” the female says. “Please.”
Rakiz nods, and I narrow my eyes, mentally filing away this interaction to analyze later.
Rakiz’s mate glances at another female, who steps forward. The warrior closest to her sends me a warning look, and I almost snort. These warriors may choose to fear for their own lives when I’m around, but they have no need to fear that I will steal their females. I learned young that a mate and children are not for me.
