by Liz Paffel
“I should probably take my top down so I don’t get blood on the dress.”
Hahn nodded and reached behind her neck to untie the fabric that held the top across her breasts. He paused before lowering it, waiting for her cue. She shifted and gave a small nod. Lowering the fabric, he willed himself not to stare at her nakedness. But she had to move back slightly so he could get the top of the dress all the way down.
And her breasts were full and perfect, too hard not to view. The thought of taking her while another male watched set his anger on fire. Her passion, her beauty, it belonged to him and him alone.
Tempering himself, he withdrew the metal keycard he’d stolen from Lorelt after putting him to sleep. One edge was sharper than the others, the slightly rounded corner just sharp enough to do the job of splicing her delicate skin.
Smoothing her hair from the back of her neck, he took a moment to enjoy the feel of the long, silky strands on his fingers. She was tense, but not from his touch. No, he’d learned very quickly that she enjoyed that. The anticipation of pain made her heartbeat faster and her muscles tighten.
“Do you know why I call you Sash?” He ran his fingers lightly up and down the delicate line of her neck until little bumps raised in the wake. He could use his parasympaths to relax her, even take the quick discomfort away. But he wanted it to be him that steadied her. His voice. His touch. The way that he cared for her.
“No.”
“Axxeon warriors are given a battle name that resonates with their strength. It’s… like a sound that can be made to speak to a warrior’s courage. My brother Tryllin, for instance, is called Rah. It is a rush of sound to mimic his charge into battle.” He lifted her hair and let it fall again as he brought his other hand with the key card’s edge against her skin.
“Some names already include the coveted sound. Like yours. And mine. Sash is the sound of you slaying your fears. While Hahn said hard and fast is the sound of me smashing my way through anything that stands in the way of what is mine.”
He pulled the bladed edge across her tender flesh. It gave way easily, blood welling up and over his fingers. Pain flashed across her face, but she didn’t make a sound. The blade hadn’t gone deep but had disturbed the vessels enough to produce a surprisingly steady flow.
Her hand trembled a bit as she felt the wound. “This is good. Thank you. You can, um, you can go out there.”
The sight of her blood was unnerving. As if someone had hurt her, yet the blood was on his hands. He rinsed off in the basin, then stepped out into the open room. She came out a few moments later dressed in the clothing he had given her. She had a hand to the back of her head, applying a cloth he imagined. She rubbed some of the blood on the fabric between her legs. The bright red stain was impossible to miss.
She startled and came to a full stop, her eyes straying to the corner. The tremble in her jaw worried him. Why did she keep doing this, as if pulled by something he could not see?
“Hahn, what you said about my name? Thank you. I don’t think of myself in terms of strength and courage. I was working through some things on Earth that I never fully came to terms with.”
He approached and brushed his fingertips over her forehead just close enough to feel the heat from her skin without touching her. Energy crackled against his finger pads. “I’ve never felt such tightly controlled stress from another before.”
“You can feel it?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve often had the urge to soothe it and take it away for a while.”
“I’m the only one who can take it away.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “When they probed my brain, they unlocked my deepest fear. And now he follows me around like a ghost. I see him, Hahn. I see him right now.”
She sat on the edge of the bed. Hahn spun, knowing he wouldn’t see anything, but he still had the expectation that he might. She was hurting and he wanted to make it better. Even more, he wanted to crush the male who’d hurt her.
“What did this ghost man do to you?”
“Something people should never do to each other.” Sasha clenched her eyes. “Let’s get through all of this and I promise that I’ll tell you another time. Right now, I need to focus on getting rid of him. For good.”
He was eager to know what had happened to cause such turmoil inside her. If she wasn’t ready to talk about it, he wouldn’t push. There was a cursory rap on the door before it opened. Lorelt stood there with a cocky grin on his tight, reptilian face. Next to him was a smaller male, his elongated face and exaggerated down sloping features gave him the impression of melting.
“Your audience has arrived,” Lorelt sneered. “I’ll be waiting outside.”
Sasha recoiled as the little man hurried in with a skip in his step. Peering at them one by one, he pulled a chair near the bed and withdrew a paper.
“The Mother has ordered procreation on behalf of Prince Hahn and his slut, attempts to begin immediately. Upon conception and viability of the fetus, you will be ransomed. Until then, your generous accommodations depend on your willingness to obey, and restrain any urges to engage in behavior which may cause you harm. You are the property of The Mother and will regard yourself as a high-end commodity. Failure to comply will result in the disposal and substitution of your slut with an appropriate female of The Mother’s choosing. Do you understand?”
He folded the paper and put it back in his pocket, then lifted his chin to look at them.
“I understand,” Hahn growled. “However, I believe my female has an issue which will delay these orders.”
“And what would that be?”
Sasha grinned. Her cheeks heated to a bright pink. “I’ve started menstruation. I won’t be fertile for two more weeks.”
“Is this so?”
“Yes.”
“You shall be inspected so your claim can be confirmed.”
She stood and spread her hands wide to indicate the stain. “There’s more in the bathroom if you want it.”
The little man’s forehead wrinkled as if processing. “Ah, I see. In that case, a substitute female will be provided for your immediately, your Highness. I will have Lorelt remove this female in the interim.”
Hahn lunged forward. “The hell you will. She stays. I wish to speak to this Mother myself.”
He rose and kicked the chair back into its place. “I believe that can be arranged, your Highness. Until morning, then.” With a shuffling step and a few skips, he let himself out. Behind him, Lorelt burst in, shock wand in hand.
“I don’t want to burn up that pretty face of yours, Prince. Have the slut come to me. She’ll be returned to her quarters as there’s no sense in keeping her here with you.”
Her face paled. “No. Hahn.”
Hahn burst forward. The wand came down over his arm with a resounding crack. A zing of pain rippled through him, doing nothing but jacking his anger. He was about to fight. But then he recalled the key in his pocket and his angst cooled some.
“Go,” he said softly to Sasha. “Rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He held himself back from lunging after her. The moment this place went to sleep, he’d be gone.
Chapter Fourteen
Something was in her room.
Sasha bolted upright with a start. She’d left a light on and had slept fitfully. Darren’s image hadn’t followed her since she’d left Hahn’s side, but the creepy feeling going over her now suggested that had changed.
“Get up. The Director requests you.”
Lorelt stood next to her bed with his wide-legged stance. The scaled skin on his face was surprisingly tight as he sneered down at her. How his face didn’t crack in two was a surprise. A strange odor rolled off him, not unlike the stench of stale beer. His thin eyelids flicked down and up as he blinked, a second set of lids crossing vertically to do the same.
“Back up so I can stand.”
“Perhaps I like it when you lie as you are.”
She gripped the sheet over her body in a death grip.
“I said, back up.”
Lorelt slid one meaty hand to his crotch and fondled himself. “The Prince has no use for you. You will soon be on the slave market. My household is in need of a good slave with a willing cunt.”
“I am not willing. Now back up!”
He smiled wider, taking the last bit of give in his skin with him. A small crack started through his scales on the left side of his face. “You will be after the blending. Your only response to anything will be yes.”
The chill of fear glazed her body while making her senses hyper-aware. She thought quickly of anything she could use in the room as a weapon, but the bare, minimalist space offered little more than three pieces of furniture and some clothing.
“I belong to the Prince.” She noticed the door was open a crack.
“Not anymore you don’t. His little prize is free to be claimed by another. I wonder… there are many human females that come and go in Yala. What makes you such a prize? Is it this?”
He reached for her crotch. Running on pure adrenaline, Sasha bolted upright onto the mattress. Lorelt reached for her, but she used the mattress as a springboard and launched herself off. It offered little lift but was enough to get her to the floor just ahead of him. He spun with a wet growl, the electric wand swaying at his hip. Sasha didn’t think.
Or, maybe she did. Something flashed inside of her, like the bulb of an old camera. Enough of the violence. Enough of the fear. No more feeling helpless.
It can’t control you anymore.
“Sasha.” Darren called her name, his form standing directly in front of Lorelt. “We’re both coming for you. Are you ready?”
“Fuck you,” she spat. And then her baser instinct kicked in and she made one wide lunge forward. Her hand went through Darren to grab the wand from the Lizard’s belt.
He looked down and snarled. The wand held tight. Lorelt skittered to his left, pulling Sasha with him. She wasn’t letting go. Not until she had it free in her grip.
“He’s going to get you. Better watch out.” Darren laughed.
Sasha twisted the wand and it popped free. The sudden disconnect from Lorelt drove her backward where she fell on her ass. Scrambling to her feet, she held the want in both hands and pointed it at the lizard. Darren was standing in front of him again.
She depressed a button on the side of the wand. It sparked electricity like a tiny lightning storm at the tip.
“Stay back!”
Lorelt scratched the side of his bald head. “What you going to do with that, slut?”
“I’m not talking to you,” she whispered harshly, her eyes trained on Darren’s sunken face.
“What’s this?” Darren taunted. “You’re growing some balls now?”
She moved toward the door, keeping her finger on the button. “My therapist said something I thought I could never do. Not after you tied me up, beat me, burned me, terrified me while holding me captive in my own apartment for twenty-six hours. I thought she’d lost her mind when she suggested how to ease my mind of you.”
“All I hear is blah-blah-blah.”
A surge of power rose up through her body from her legs to her head. Her scalp tingled, her core, energized.
“I forgive you, Darren.” The words echoed in her head. “I forgive you. I’ll never forget what you did, and there may be times when it haunts me. But the only way I can move on is to forgive you. So, I do.”
His evil smile wavered. She’d struggled so long with the ability to move past the trauma. There might never be acceptance, but if she could heal a small part of herself with forgiveness, it was worth it.
There is freedom in forgiveness.
Maybe. Time would tell.
“I’m not your victim anymore. And I’m doing being afraid of everything because of you. Hahn is good. I want to let him in, so I need gone. Go, with my forgiveness.”
“Enough of this.” Lorelt burst forward, both hands outstretched.
Sasha speared the wand into the side of his head and went wild on the trigger. The lizard’s body shook, his eyes rolling in the back of his head. Darren’s ghost crackled and shook until it dissipated, and Lorelt fell to the floor.
She’d done it. She gave herself a quick once over, almost expecting some sudden change, but it was just her, the way she’d been a few moments ago. There was no relief, no sudden lightness in her soul. It would take time. Her therapist's constant mantra: It's going to take time.
She didn’t have time to wait right now. Keeping a hard grip on the wand, she hurried to the door and peered out. The hall was dark, quiet. Lorelt had said the Director requested her. Assuming that was true, she needed to find her way to medical.
Keeping tight to the wall, she trotted down the hall in the direction they’d gone last time. It was difficult to see in the dark as she navigated a series of hallways until she found the stairs. She pulled up short when she spied a figure on the staircase. Quickly pulling back to the wall, she held her breath, listening for the sound of footsteps going down.
A shadow caught the corner of her right eye from the top of the stairs. She jumped back, holding in a cry as she brought the zapper up.
“Sash, it’s me.”
The rod fell from her hand and clanked on the ground. Hahn! She let out a few hard breaths as his hands gripped her shoulders.
“Your energy is chaotic. What happened?”
“I zapped Lorelt. I think I killed him.” She touched his face to make sure he was real. After everything that had happened in the past few minutes, she was questioning her sanity. “What are you doing out here?”
“I picked the lock on my door and was heading to the intake room where I was brought in. I need to find my comlet. It was put into a storage box there.”
“Lorelt said the Director wanted to see me. I need to check on her. Maybe she can tell us more about getting out of here.”
Hahn held up the metal key card. “Watch this.” He tapped it and a map of the building populated in the air. He moved the condensed little map with his fingers. “We are here. The intake room is here, not far from medical.”
He closed the map and led the way. They trotted silently through the halls, creeping past the holding area where Blume, Angel and Fran had been. “Oh no!” Sasha placed her hand on the glass. The women were gone.
“I know it’s hard, Sash. But stay focused. One thing at a time.”
Blinking against the sting of tears, she followed him to the room where she’d delivered Becca’s baby. It was empty. Recalling the series of doors nearby, she waved him on. One of them had to be a kind of recovery area. She hadn’t delivered all that long ago. Surely, she wouldn’t have been moved back to her own quarters yet.
They were all empty.
Hahn was about to pull up the map when a soft female voice reached out to them through the dim light. “This way.”
Becca stood by the far doorway, her long gown billowing around her feet. She held the infant in her arms, wrapped in a white blanket. Sasha touched the woman’s arm. “Are you well?”
“I feel amazing, considering. Hahn, I want to ask you before I run out of time. I understand that female Axxeon children may take on some form of their father’s name. Is that correct?”
His voice came out in an awed rush. “Yes.”
“Do you think the name E’La honors her father?”
He tenderly cupped the baby’s head. “Yes. It would make E’on proud.”
Becca nodded and swallowed hard. “There are four ships leaving the docking bay one hour from now. Only one will suit you. It’s a two-passenger craft, and the pilot is alone. You can overtake him easily.”
“No, we can’t fit everyone in two seats.” Sasha shook her head. They couldn’t leave the others!
Becca and Hahn both looked at her. Dread washed down her spine. “We’re not taking them, are we?”
Hahn’s light grip on her arm did little to comfort her. She couldn’t leave Angel. Fran and Blume might be strong enough to hold out, but not Angel.
And her baby…
“I need the coordinates for this planet.”
Becca shook her head. “I’m the flight director and I don’t even have them. Hanasha-Yupa is untraceable. There is a scrambler grid powered by towers in all quadrants of this small planet that scrambles a craft’s navigation log upon exit of the atmosphere. Once a craft goes through, its navigation record is all knotted up and deletes itself. It’s wiped clean.”
Sasha ran a hand over her mouth. “Then how do we get back?”
Becca took her hand, the sad glint in her eyes apparent in the dimness. “You don’t, Sasha. You don’t ever come back here.”
“My men are here. Your mate is here.”
“Was here. He’s gone. I’ll never see him again.”
“You don’t understand the Axxeon very well if you think we’ll stop trying to get our men home. That’s all we’ve been trying to do since Axxeon 8 died. Make a home for all of us. I won’t rest until the crew of the Zeph is where they belong.”
Becca wiped her eyes and looked at E’La. “I’ve heard that the Xeno crafts, the one you’re going to take, has route recall technology that holds out for a while after going through the scrambler. We’re talking a matter of hours, maybe, before the recall deletes. If you can reach Axxeon 9 and assemble your crew fast enough, the Xeno may be able to route you back here.”
Hahn cupped Becca’s cheek. “You’ve put yourself at great risk for us. We will be back.”
She stepped back into the shadows. Hahn took Sasha’s hand and pulled her along, but she couldn’t stop looking back. Becca could be caught for helping them. What would happen to her, to the baby?
“We have to come back for them. Hahn, we have to.”
“Let’s go.”
He referenced the map, a smile cracking his face when they realized the hanger bay and intake rooms were close together. Navigating quietly, the stopped twice and sunk into the shadows as guards passed.
They reached the intake room with a clear view into the hanger bay. It was alive with activity. Cargo was being loaded onto ships to be shipped to other planets for sale or trade. Sasha crouched low behind a half wall and observed while Hahn used the key card to access the intake room. A sole guard sat on a rusted stool near the entrance.
