Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Come on,” I shout.
“I’m injured! Fetch a medic!”
The one I stabbed first in the gonads is in agony, and the crowd around rumbles and pushes.
And for a split second, the attention is off Enya.
It’s hardly the graceful thing I had hoped for, but I grab her, her hands still bound, and then stumble, the pain in my ribs making me tear up. “Oh, Mother Earth.” I manage to get my cape off and toss it over her head. “Run,” I urge her. “I’ll…”
The pain in my side is a knife of fire. “Just go,” I wheeze, falling to my knees.
“No. Not without you. If you want to save me, you save yourself,” she orders me, her voice stronger than I’ve ever heard it.
She stands still and my heart freezes. “Enya,” I start. “My leg.”
“Zina, we go together or not at all.” She pulls at my hands. “I’m not losing the only family I know.”
There’s no time to argue, so I force myself to my feet, and dizzy with the pain, stagger beside her. “As soon as they notice us, I’ll create a distraction,” I gasp. When I touch my mouth, it comes away with blood. I wipe it on my breeches and a sudden surge of need gives me energy.
“This way.” I pull her arm toward the wall, where there are no daises with slaves and the crowd is thinner. Beings are still rushing toward the place where Enya was, and then a cry—“She’s escaped! Find her!”
“Mother Earth, we must hurry.” I swallow a mouthful of blood, iron and earth. “Enya.”
Adrenaline dulls the pain and together we weave and dart, and it’s like we’re back in the fields on Ocretia, doing the training I created. It’s almost beautiful how we work together, and soon we’re almost at the door.
We dodge a pair of Ocretions, only to run directly into two hard chests.
“Pardon,” I mutter, putting up my hand, keeping my eyes down. “Excuse us.”
Enya’s well-hidden under the voluminous cloak, and if we can just get past these two, we will have line of sight to the airfield—
“No. Wait.”
The first of the two speaks, his voice deep and commanding. “Let me see your faces.”
“Keep going,” I whisper to Enya, and we try to sidestep.
The second one grabs our arms, his hands so large and powerful that even my muscular bicep is like a twig in his fingers. “I said, let me see your faces.”
He pulls up my chin. Horrified, I gaze at his face, which is silver and purple, warty. A Mauk. His eyes, though, don’t match the other Mauks I’ve encountered. They seem far more intelligent, inquisitive. Interesting color, too.
“A human.” He turns to his companions and says something in a language I don’t understand.
“The other one?” He taps Enya.
“Let us go.” My voice is strangely firm.
“You are runaways from a slave auction.” He regards me and his grip does not loosen. “You are either escaped slaves, or avenging warriors.” He looks me up and down. “And I tend to doubt that you are the latter.” A small smile twists on his gray lips. “Although you come close.”
“Check her code. And do it fast.”
“Keep your head down.” The first one slides the cloak from Enya’s head, and the two of them block her body from view as they check the numbers tattooed onto her delicate neck. I assume they want to keep this sudden bounty to themselves, but I’m curious about their strangely respectful touch—if you can count their demands and inspection as respectful. Still, there’s something oddly gentle about it—
“It’s a match. Stars, we need to get her the veck out of here.” His tone is urgent.
“You’re coming with us.” The first warrior flips Enya’s hood back up over her face and scoops her up into his arms. “Keep your face hidden.”
“No!” she screeches.
He growls. “Look, we’re not going to hurt you, all right? You just need to stay quiet or we all die.”
My mind races. Mauk are less violent than other species, certainly better than the ones who were bidding on her.
“Enya… go with them,” I implore her. “It’s better than… what’s here.” I look around the room, the vast expanse of misery, and my eyesight begins to go black. “And I can’t…” I suck in air. “Help… any… more.”
I fall to my knees. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I won’t go without her. I won’t!” Enya’s voice quivers and rises to a scream and the first one slaps a hand over her mouth.
“Veck, she’s loud.”
“Take the other one too.”
“Of course. We never leave a human behind.”
Chapter 3
Tarek
“Mission complete, get us out of here—immediately,” Captain Drayk orders as he and Zane board the craft. I can’t see them, but my sensors pick up the forms of the two warriors, each carrying a small human female.
I turn my attention to the controls and set the instruments for take-off.