And I was right—there is trouble.
Lanz is supposed to try and buy her outright using stein—I see him there. Mirelle, disguised as a male, is in the fallback position, and Domm is across the dome.
But the crowd is shouting and pushing, even more frantic than the mob around the green creature, and I can tell that this won’t end well.
I lock eyes with Lanz and see immediately that he’s glad I’m here. We’re going to have to take her and run, because this crowd is out of control.
As I push my way forward, two Middraxians start fist fighting, then one guts the other with his sharp claws.
The scent of entrails rises like a cloud of toxic gas and other beings cough. An Ocretian steps right into the mess with his boot, unaffected, and raises his hand to the owner. Mine.
Others step back, because he holds a long-range stunner and it’s set to high power.
The Zandian female sees me. When our eyes meet, there’s a thrill of recognition. I know she recognizes me as her own—the crystals in our cells call to each other. She’s weak, though—without Zandian crystal to give her life force energy, she’s been surviving on food alone. Which means she’s small, like Master Seke’s two daughters who survived in servitude.
I dart my eyes to Mirelle, Lanz, Dom. Stars, she follows my gaze. Smart female. That doesn’t surprise me; after all, she is Zandian. But it’s still amazing that without words she is already communicating with me.
She will make a perfect mate. Of course, we need to save her, first.
Domm turns his hand in a gesture Master Seke teaches every warrior. It’s the sign for Attack system 4. This means that on his command we’ll swarm in a pre-planned fashion, each carrying out a task. As I’m not originally part of the plan, I will add myself where necessary.
The female widens her eyes. She’s tethered by ropes and chains, but Domm has the tools to cut them. Mirelle has weapons and so does Lanz, and I have myself.
“Go.” Domm speaks in Zandian, and all of us burst into action.
It’s the work of seconds for Lanz to slice the Ocretian’s throat, the one who already has his sharp nails on the body of our Zandian. Ocretians never give up; killing him is the only option, if we don’t want him to follow us tirelessly.
“Hektor, glide the craft and meet us on the tarmac,” Domm barks the order into his comm, then whirls and drops a rabid Midraxxian.
Mirelle takes out the slaver with her roundhouse kick and a scream that has the crowd reeling.
I use my fists and my dagger to clear a path and as soon as Domm frees her bonds, I scoop her up into my arms.
She grabs onto me but swoons, eyes shutting, and I see how frail she is.
“You’re safe now,” I tell her in Zandian, and her eyes fly open. “You’re mine now. I will protect you.” My voice is fierce. “You’re mine. I will mate you and take care of you. I won’t let you down.”
She looks at me with wonder, uncomprehending maybe, then swoons back into my shoulder.
“Hurry.” I start to run, my lungs already burning. I gasp harder, and panic. The others are still fighting off attackers, and I need to get her to the ship. I cannot fail.
Suddenly I know what to do: I remember Kianna. How she talked me through the solar bands. I imagine her soft voice talking about the star. Inside my mind I focus on that bright orb, and think about nothing except making it to the ship. And I fly.
As soon as I clear the dome doors, there’s the glimmer of our craft through my eyepieces—it’s masked to everyone but us. The team follows on my heels.
Once we’re
on board, our escape is quick and effortless. Our craft, so advanced, is impervious to any pursuers, and soon we’ve jumped to hyper and are light years away.
“Are you all right? Open your eyes.” I bend over her, intent. I’m still panting, my lungs on fire.
“Here, use this mask. Heal yourself.” Domm tries to hand me something and I bat it away.
The female opens her eyes. But instead of looking at me, she glances over my shoulder. At Hektor. She gasps and shudders, then passes out, and he growls. Leans forward.
“Put her in the pod!” I’ve never heard him so fierce.
We place her into the healing pod, and crystal energy glows all around her.