The Thief's Dark (Renegades Book 3)

by L P Peace

  Zoe stepped forward and smiled, trying to project reassurance. ‘We’re here to get you off the ship,’ she called out. ‘The Tessans are on the way. They’ll be here any minute.’

  ‘Thank god,’ a voice choked out.

  ‘What about them?’ Abrami called.

  ‘These males are pit fighters,’ Zoe said. ‘They’ve been slaves. They’re here to help. I’ve known them a few days, and they’re honourable males.’

  Abrami scoffed.

  Zoe looked at Karijan. ‘How do we get these cages open?’

  ‘This way,’ Karijan said, leading Zoe into a side room. ‘I saw this when I was here eight solars ago. When my queen sold me.’ He walked over to a box. ‘Only the regular crew know about this. Not the males who come here looking for money and access to slave cunt.’

  Karijan tried to force the box open, but it wouldn’t move.

  ‘I can get that.’ Zoe turned to find the Adosian had returned. He set his thumb to a panel on the front, and the door sprung open.

  Behind him, on the main floor, Whittaker was sitting on the deck, his hands over his eyes, shaking. Despite her contempt for the man, he looked broken. She walked out and crouched a few feet away from him.

  ‘James?’ Whittaker looked up. He’d been a well-built man before. Always clean-shaven, smartly-dressed, and perfectly turned-out. His face was covered in a couple weeks of growth. He had lost weight in the cell, and he smelled terrible. When he saw her, his face crumpled. ‘It’s okay,’ she said. ‘We’re going to get you all out of here. The Tessans will be here soon.’

  He nodded, his tear-filled eyes conflicted between hope and hopelessness. However much she disliked the man for using her, she would never have wanted him to suffer this—any of them.

  The Adosian walked past her and began opening the cells, starting at the far end. Karijan handed her another key, and she started from the opposite end. When Zoe reached Abrami’s cell, the lieutenant commander stood there glaring at her.

  ‘Where’ve you been?’

  ‘About a week ago, the purple alien—’

  ‘Yeah, I remember him,’ she snarled.

  ‘Daris.’ Zoe looked her in the eye. ‘His name is Daris. He smuggled me off the ship and arranged with the Tessans to lure Tolomus, the head slave guy, into a trap. That’s where he is now.’ Zoe shivered. Her mate was confronting Tolomus right now and she had no idea how it was going. ‘He’s fighting him right now until the Tessans arrive to arrest him.’

  ‘He works for them?’ There was uncertainty in Abrami’s eyes.

  ‘He does for this,’ she said. ‘He’s friends with Makios Desares. He used that contact to arrange this.’

  ‘Are you fucking him?’ Abrami snarled.

  ‘I love him,’ Zoe said, holding her chin high. Ignoring the look of disgust on Abrami’s face, Zoe moved onto the next cage. A minute later, she and the Adosian were side by side. He looked at her oddly, then turned towards the cage Abrami was leaving. He snatched her arm and smelled her, then released her and let her go.

  ‘Hey!’ Abrami shouted. She looked at Zoe. ‘What the fuck was that about?’

  Zoe shrugged and watched the Adosian sniffing inside the cage until he was crouching. He smelled the bars of the cage, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment before he took in several deep breaths through his nose.

  Turning away, Zoe walked over to the crowd of women who were standing far from the pit fighters.

  ‘Let’s get the fuck off this ship, yeah?’

  Haunted eyes stared back at her.

  ‘Fuck yes!’ one woman said.

  Zoe saw Ensign Elizabeth Moretti. She smiled. ‘Let’s go, Ensign.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Zoe led the women to the lift. The doors opened as they approached and the rest of the pit fighters appeared.

  ‘Did you get everyone?’

  The ice-blue skinned pit fighter shook his head. ‘One got to the bridge and locked himself in. He’s warming up the engine. We have to go, little humans,’

  ‘Koden, you take the first of the females up,’ Karijan said to the pale alien.

  Zoe looked at the lift. With the number of massive pit fighters and humans, there wasn’t enough room. It would take two trips to get everyone to safety.

  ‘I’m not going in that lift with them,’ Abrami hissed. ‘I have no idea what they’ll do when we’re alone.’

  ‘Sir,’ Zoe glared at her.

  Abrami glared back, her jaw muscles flexing in anger, but she stayed quiet.

  ‘I’ll stay in the lift, supervise both journeys. Just to point out, sir, these males were huge. If they wanted to hurt us, we’d already be hurting.’

  The lift loaded up. Abrami got in beside Zoe and used her as a shield against the aliens. Zoe rolled her eyes.

  The lift rose to the bay, and the humans darted out. The alien men walked up towards the end of the hanger.

  ‘Ladies. The ground is several feet down. You’re going to have to trust the guys to help you.’

  ‘No, I fucking don’t,’ Abrami argued.

  ‘Sir, it’s about time you grew the fuck up,’ Zoe said as the lift doors closed.

  Tolomus was a better fighter than expected. Using his daggers, he parried Daris’s claws with expertise. Still, Daris knew he was winning, having opened up several wounds on Tolomus from claw strikes, while he sported a small nick to one cheek and a shallow wound easily deflected from his rib, catching little more than skin.

  Daris glanced at Edan, who was at the centre of three of Tolomus’s men. Several orange wounds marred his body, but the three males he was fighting looked close to done. Nearby most of Tolomus’s men were taken down. In contrast, most of Edan’s were watching Edan fight, clearly enjoying the spectacle as Edan growled low in his throat and launched at one male. Daris heard his neck snap from where he stood.

  Tolomus glanced and saw another of his men drop to the floor.

  ‘Where is the female you promised me?’ Tolomus hissed. ‘I trusted you.’

  Daris scoffed. ‘No, you didn’t. The female is mine. My mate. Mine.’

  Tolomus stepped into Daris, swiped at him twice with his blades, then skipped back across the sand.

  Daris didn’t give Tolomus the space he was looking for; instead, he chased him across the sand. He elbowed him in the face before he punched him, trying to force Tolomus off his feet. The Fedhith snarled at him, dark red blood coursing down his chin and chest, soaking into the white pants he wore.

  ‘I’m not even going to keep her,’ the Fedhith spat at him. ‘I’m going to vrok her, pass her around my crew, let them vrok her, then sell her as the used goods she is.’

  A red mist descended over Daris’s vision at Tolomus’s words. He crossed the space, ignoring the stabbing of blades, and aiming a flurry of clawed strikes at him.

  He would never hurt Zoe. He’d never get close to her. Daris would stop this now! Moments passed where Daris was little more than instinct and claw. When he heard the sound of engines overhead, he looked down at a bloodied and bruised Tolomus, lying in the sand. The Fedhith looked up, frowning. Daris followed his gaze.

  Three massive Tessan ships cruised over the pit, headed towards the port.

  ‘Your transport is here,’ Daris hissed.

  Tolomus’s eyes opened wide. He reached for something in his pocket. Daris dove to grab it, sure it was a weapon, but instead, he found the Fedhith activating a beacon.

  Daris snatched it, watching the blue light and the top blinking. He looked down at Tolomus.

  ‘What is this? What did you do?’

  The Fedhith grinned up at him. ‘Not long now,’ he snarled, before spitting out a hock of dark red blood.

  Zoe arrived back at the cage level, and the lift filled with the last of the women and aliens. Vandimir was still supporting Varid. Thelan, the Adosian, was supporting Whittaker.

  Karijan settled beside Zoe, a moment later Elizabeth pushed to the other side of him. She looked up at him. ‘Hey there, big guy.’ She rea
ched out a hand to him.

  ‘Hello, little human.’ Karijan looked from her to the hand, clearly confused.

  ‘It’s how humans say hello.’ Elizabeth grinned at him.

  Still confused, Karijan held out a hand. Elizabeth grasped it in hers and shook it.

  Zoe looked around the large black and grey figure of the Dauvin to Elizabeth and cocked an eyebrow. Elizabeth smiled at her and shrugged.

  When the lift doors opened, Zoe was gratified to see the women at the end of the runway, allowing the alien males to gently lower them to the sand below.

  The hum of the engines lent an urgent air to things as Zoe and the aliens led the remaining humans to the edge of the platform.

  ‘The sand is teal!’ Elizabeth gasped. ‘I love that. Teal’s my favourite colour.’

  Karijan turned to watch her, the confused look still fixed to his face.

  ‘We’re taking them to Edan’s hanger!’ Koden shouted.

  ‘We’re right behind you,’ Karijan replied.

  Heresh, the Raqhan, Volder, the winged Athon, and Thedrin, the black-skinned Inadiine with his white hair, jumped down into the sand. Karijan, Varid, Thelan, and Varid stayed aboard. For Varid’s part, he had no choice as Vandimir let Varid down on the deck while he lowered the women down to the males in the sand.

  Vandimir was lowering Whittaker and Karijan was lowering Elizabeth when the ship rose. Elizabeth screamed as the sand disappeared from under her and they were suddenly over fifty feet in the air. Karijan yanked her up into his arms, his eyes wide as the two of them stared at each other in silence.

  In horror, Zoe watched as Vandimir lost his hold on Whittaker, who went plummeting to the sand beneath. Just as suddenly, Volder was in the air, catching Whittaker and bringing him safely to the ground.

  ‘Holy fuck!’ Zoe said, her stomach plummeting. She stumbled back from the edge.

  She looked out and saw the mountains behind the port fading away. That could only mean they were headed to the city.

  ‘As soon as it’s down, we’ll jump,’ Karijan shouted over the wind. ‘I will have Elizabeth. Thelan will have you.’

  The Adosian came up behind her, an inquisitive look on her face. When he took hold of her, he quickly sniffed.

  ‘Please don’t do that. My Maruzen mate wouldn’t like it.’

  ‘I understand.’

  The journey to the city that took fifteen minutes in the speeder took less than a minute in the ship. Whatever was keeping this massive ship in the air, because it couldn’t be the primary or even the atmospheric engines, was sending crushing waves to the city below. People were thrown off their feet, the awnings between buildings ripped off and flying away. She saw several houses crumble to dust under their force. When the wall of the pit came into view, she saw small sections crumbling before they were over the crowds, who were suddenly running, trying to evacuate the building.

  ‘Look!’ Thelan was pointing behind them. Zoe looked up to see ships following.

  ‘Who are they?’ she yelled over the almost deafening sound.

  ‘Tessans!’ he shouted in her ear. ‘They came.’

  ‘Told you,’ Zoe shouted before she looked down. The sand of the pit came into view. Beneath her, she could see Daris standing over Tolomus. Tolomus caught her eye, grinned and said something to Daris, who looked up. His eyes met hers as Tolomus struck out, kicking Daris in the knee and grabbing something from the ground. Zoe saw the glint of metal before Tolomus surged forward to strike at him.

  ‘NO!’ The noise tore from her throat as Daris doubled over, his hands clutching his stomach.

  The end of the ship moved past the walls and the ship began to descend.

  ‘Can this ship fit in the pit?’ Zoe’s eyes were locked on Daris as he stumbled away from Tolomus, who stood and stared at her. She looked at Karijan, who looked back at her, a wary look on his face.

  ‘I don’t believe so!’

  ‘‘How far can you jump?’ Elizabeth asked. When Karijan said he would hold her, Elizabeth had flung herself into his arms. Now they seemed to be taking it as permission to keep each other close.

  ‘Safely, thirty, maybe forty fenth.’

  ‘What’s a fenth?’ Elizabeth looked from Karijan to Zoe and back again.

  Karijan held his hands apart, a little over a foot.

  ‘Right. With me in your arms?’

  ‘With you in my arms, little human,’ Karijan said quietly.

  Zoe looked at the Adosian, cocking an eyebrow.

  ‘Not as far,’ he said, ‘Twenty safely, thirty with injury.’

  ‘Don’t injure yourself.’

  The ship tipped, nosediving. Zoe screamed as she hit the deck and rolled towards the back. A loud cracking noise filled her ears, and then the deck was level, but the deck itself was extending out of the end of the ship and lowering on massive hinges.

  Tolomus and three other males appeared, jumping up onto the deck. Behind him, Edan pulled Daris to his feet, and the other pit fighters seemed to have disappeared. Zoe thought about the crowds in the stands and realised they must have gone to help.

  Tolomus took to his feet. Two other males ran to hidden compartments in the floor of the deck and pulled out weapons. One of them threw a rifle-like weapon at Tolomus, who caught it one-handed before pointing it at Zoe. Thelan grabbed her by the neck, pulling her from the pit fighters.

  ‘Struggle, female. I’m an evil slaver, remember?’

  Zoe cried out, struggling to get her hands free from the light grip the Adosian had on her.

  Tolomus took one look and reoriented the gun on the pit fighters.

  ‘Tolomus!’ Edan had helped Daris on to the deck. Now he stood unaided, staring at the Fedhith.

  ‘Give her to me.’ Tolomus reached out a hand to Zoe.

  ‘I’m going to pretend to push you. Fall to the deck. I have him.’ Without waiting for confirmation, the Adosian stepped forward and pushed Zoe at Tolomus as he got closer. Zoe took a few steps, and when the Adosian rushed past her, she dropped to the deck. The rest of Tolomus’s men stood shocked at the betrayal of one of their own. Taking advantage, Karijan led the pit fighters.

  Behind the slavers, Daris crossed the deck and pulled Tolomus onto his feet, away from the Adosian. Edan crashed into one of his men a moment later.

  Zoe looked out and saw the Tessan ship was manoeuvring beside them. They were preparing small vessels in a hanger, to cross the space. She turned her attention to Daris, whose claws were catching the light as he slashed at the slaver over and over, a feral look on his face.

  Tolomus fell to the ground, bleeding heavily.

  ‘Zoe!’ Daris searched for her when he saw her, relief filled his eyes and he crossed to her. She climbed to her feet, then he was pulling her in his arms.

  ‘What did you do?’ His voice was stern but there was a frightened, panicked look in his eye as he stroked her face, his eyes taking in every inch of her face. ‘Do you know how long I’m going to have to punish you for this?’

  ‘There were only twenty-four left, Daris,’ she said, holding onto him tight. ‘He sold everyone else.’

  ‘We’ll find them, my ahdali,’ he whispered. He pulled back and stroked her face again. Zoe could feel the blood from his claws smearing on her face, but she didn’t care.

  ‘I love you,’ she said, reaching up and pulling his head down, his lips crashing on hers.

  ‘I love you too, ahdali,’ he whispered when the kiss broke.

  Behind him, the Adosian was hauling Tolomus up.

  ‘What about whoever’s flying the ship?’ she said. Then the world tilted and she was falling once more. Daris wrapped himself around her, arms and tail, and they were rolling across the deck. She saw the teal sand coming towards her before she buried her head in Daris’s shoulder. Then they were falling. They impacted on the sand moments later. The wind was knocked out of her before he spun them, his body covering hers. She looked up, over his shoulder at the two ships. The small Tessan ships were leaving
the hangar when The Crucible folded like an origami ship before it disappeared right in front of her eyes.

  It jumped.

  That single thought was all she had time for before the massive forces from its atmospheric jump rushed over the stadium. It pushed the Tessan ship and sent it flying out and away from the pit. It hit them a second later. Daris’s body felt like it weighed five hundred pounds on top of her. She closed her eyes to protect them. Slowly, she became aware that Daris was screaming above her as he desperately tried to raise himself on his arms to prevent himself from crushing her beneath him.

  Almost as quickly as it came, it was gone.

  Zoe and Daris looked at each other before he collapsed, this time forcing himself to drop to the ground beside her. Zoe turned on her side, reaching out to him. His eyes were closed and he seemed to go completely lax. Zoe remembered Tolomus stabbing him in the stomach.

  ‘Are you okay? Daris? Are you okay?’

  ‘I am fine, ahdali.’

  ‘Your stomach?’

  ‘It hurts, but it is not a serious wound for a Maruzen.’

  ‘Thank god,’ she whispered, before kissing him once more. Remembering the fighters and Elizabeth, she turned to find them lying in the sand. Karijan had protected Elizabeth with his body as well, and the young ensign was watching him with undisguised adoration in her eyes.

  Thelan was standing over Tolomus who, abandoned by his men, was writhing on the ground in agony.

  ‘What the vrok was that?’ Edan said, getting to his feet and stalking over to them. ‘What the vrok are the Tessans doing here?’

  Another crack filled the air, making them go quiet.

  Zoe, Daris, Edan, and the pit fighters looked around. Zoe saw it first—a massive crack appeared in one wall of the pit, one that had to be at least forty feet long.

  ‘There,’ she pointed. Before their eyes the crack widened, splitting the face over a hundred feet before it finally tilted and fell down into the now, empty stands.