The Smuggler's Radiant (Renegades Book 2) Page 8

Makios fired back at the Devori. In his rage, he barely registered anything about them, other than their position.

  ‘Makios, what are you doing?’ Deyuul’s voice was more desperate now.

  ‘Come out here and face me, Fedhith.’

  A ship’s engines penetrated Makios’s haze. He looked up and saw the sleek black body of Tala flying in a wide arc and settling to land.

  ‘Makios, we have to get these people out of here.’

  ‘Tolomus.’ Makios came to a halt, staring at the water fountain. ‘Are you too cowardly to face me?’

  The Fedhith rose, an angry scowl on his face. He glared at Makios and raised his gun to fire. A shot fired past Makios and caught Tolomus in the shoulder, he went down. Makios looked behind him and saw Deyuul. He was raised ten-fenth from the ground on his four extra appendages.

  ‘I’m sorry, Makios,’ Deyuul said. ‘I can’t allow you to put our people at risk.’ The Uunda swept down and grabbed him, hauling him off his feet and turned back to the ship.

  ‘Deyuul, put me down.’

  ‘I can’t do that. The ship’s almost loaded. Most of the slaves ran away, but we have the humans and a few others.’

  ‘We have to get the other slaves,’ Makios tried to turn his head. ‘Tolomus!’

  Gunfire followed them, and Makios heard Deyuul grunt. He stilled for a moment, then continued on, his footsteps uneven.

  Another series of explosions went off.

  Makios looked at the cages. They were all empty. He turned to look at the gates, at the backs of the retreating slaves.

  ‘Deyuul.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Makios. We can’t help them all.’ His voice was strained.

  The hold of the Tala swallowed them, and the ship lifted off almost immediately. Beside him, Vella hit the door control, and the hold platform closed behind him.

  Makios struggled against Deyuul’s hold. ‘We have to go back!’ he yelled. ‘Tolomus!’ The ship was already moving. Tolomus couldn’t hear him.

  Deyuul let him go, and Makios crossed to the comm. ‘Take us back!’ he yelled.

  Deyuul hauled him back and reached across, hitting the same comm. ‘Ignore that. Get us out of here.’

  Deyuul turned even though he must have seen the punch coming. His head whipped to the side. He looked at Makios. ‘I hope that got it out of your system.’

  Makios hit him again, this time with his stronger arm. One of Deyuul’s unfolded appendages buckled beneath him. Makios saw the blue blood flowing from the wound on the buckled leg and swore. Guilt overwhelmed him, and his brain seemed to snap into focus.

  ‘We could have gotten them all!’ he yelled. ‘I could have gotten Tolomus.’

  ‘We couldn’t have gotten them all because some of them didn’t want to be gotten,’ Deyuul said. ‘And you were putting the whole crew at risk for your desire for revenge.’

  ‘I wasn’t putting the crew at risk. You could have handled it.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Deyuul admitted. ‘But can Rhona wait?’

  ‘Rhona.’ Makios closed his eyes.

  ‘We tagged the ship.’ Deyuul’s voice was weaker now. ‘But they went to FTL and are getting further away with every sicri.’

  Makios looked around. If there had been people in there when he boarded, the fight had encouraged them to make a quick exit.

  ‘Dabin, Deyuul needs you in the hold,’ Makios said in the comm.

  ‘What about the Potuun?’ Makios begged with his eyes. ‘Tell me you got it.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Makios. By the time we got back, the Potuun ship had jumped.’ Deyuul closed his eyes, his face somehow conveying regret, though it didn’t change. ‘The Aavani is gone.’

  ‘Everyone, brace to leave atmosphere.’ Vanoor’s voice came over the comm.

  Makios grabbed onto one of the handholds on the ceiling of the hold, and Deyuul grabbed onto one on the wall.

  The ship shook, rattling them to their bones.

  Walking handhold to handhold, Dabin entered. ‘I take it you two are done then?’ the Zenin snapped. He passed through the room, hands over his head. As he reached Deyuul, the shaking stopped.

  ‘Clear,’ Vanoor confirmed.

  ‘I’m going,’ Makios said, unable to look at Deyuul any longer.

  ‘Makios—‘

  ‘We should have done better,’ Makios said with his back to the Uunda. He walked out of the hold.

  She was finally clean. After what had seemed like months on that damn alien ship, she was clean. The water lapped gently around her to the rhythm of the ship’s vibrations. Growing up in space made Rhona aware of the extravagance that this bath represented. Somewhere, there had to be an onboard reservoir, with a filtration system. Both were large—the amount of space it must take up which would add to the cost of fuel to launch from an atmosphere. This wasn’t the head man’s room, just a guest room; Rhona didn’t doubt there was at least one more bath on board.

  Sooner or later, she would have to get out and face this. She couldn’t hide in this tub forever. On the other side of the door, the two guards were sitting on the bed waiting for her. Resigning herself to the inevitable, and unable to shake the fear of what they would do if they came in for her, she got out and waited as the strange device above her head dried her body and hair. She looked around the room as she did. It was beige, gold and overly designed to within an inch of taste but missing the mark. It was the first room she’d bothered to look at since she was brought on board, but she’d seen flashes of gold everywhere.

  Once dried, Rhona crossed the room and picked up the white thing one of the guards had shoved into her hands before pushing her in the bathroom. She’d set it down without really thinking about it, but since one of the guards had entered a short while ago and stolen her clothes, she was now forced to look at her only other option. The dress had obviously been made for a human female. If there had been a sheet or a towel, she’d have put that on instead.

  It was a floor-length gown—first strike. Rhona preferred pants. It had a deep slit up the front of each leg, so the middle section was little more than a loincloth—second strike. The fabric was silky. It was actually lovely, and it felt pleasant as she ran it between her fingers, but it was white—third strike. It had a plunging V-neck that showed off the edges of her modest boobs and her bellybutton—fourth strike. There was no back—fifth strike.

  ‘I’m barely dressed.’ She stared at herself in the mirror. ‘If Mum saw me right now, she’d kill him.’

  The door behind her opened with a swish, and the two guards walked in. They looked over her appreciatively. Apparently, she was to be the ship’s bike.

  She glared at them with open hostility. ‘Anytime you want to provide some clothes for me to wear, that would be great.’

  They laughed at her. They’d done that a lot since she was brought on board.

  One of them walked towards her.

  ‘I can walk myself,’ she snapped at him, stepping away from him. ‘Just lead the way.’

  He grabbed her arm anyway and pulled her out of the room.

  The ship was huge and ridiculously decorated in blues and golds. There’s wasn’t a part of the vessel that wasn’t ornate to some degree. There were patterns, curves and flourishes everywhere. The floor was carpeted in thick, twist-pile blue carpet, and the walls were creams with blue and gold embellishments. As they walked, they passed a window. The damn ship was blue and gold on the outside. What the hell was wrong with this man, alien, male? The ship was pristine. Was it new? Or was he constantly having the outside repainted? Something told her it was the latter.

  Rhona was pulled inside the lift and held between the two males. They talked as the lift shunted up. The one holding Rhona’s arm chuckled and patted her arse. Rhona’s lips thinned into a line in anger. She struck out, elbowing the creature where a human diaphragm was located. A puff of air escaped his lips, and he bent forward slightly.

  ‘Oh, crap,’ Rhona said, looking into his eyes. He was smiling at her, heat on his fac
e. He stepped into her.

  ‘Don’t you dare,’ she hissed at him.

  He grabbed her chin, forced her head back to look at him and grinned down at her with a leery expression. His hand still on her ass, he rubbed it when he spoke and squeezed it before slipping his hand up her back and pressing her to him, his fingers sliding under the material of her dress at her back.

  The doors opened, and their boss stood there. Rhona could have cried with relief.

  He took in the scene, and his cool green eyes heated. He said something to her assailant and laughed. The alien replied, chuckling in response.

  ‘You guys are twisted,’ she hissed, the last of her patience finally snapping. She missed home; she missed Makios. She was actively avoiding thinking about the way she had responded to his kiss. She just wanted to go home. But she knew it was unlikely she’d ever see it again.

  The boss alien said something, and the three males laughed.

  ‘Fuck you all.’ They laughed again.

  The alien pulled her out of the lift as their boss turned their back and led the way. They followed him up the short hall and took the first door on the right, which opened in response to their presence. Rhona examined the new space as she entered. It was a fresh pastel green. The most subtle room she had been in so far. The walls were lined with cupboards and counters on which stood alien equipment that, despite the differences, their intent was immediately recognisable. There was an examination type bed in the centre of the room. Even if she had no other clue, that alone was enough to confirm the purpose. Rhona knew a medical bay when she saw one.

  ‘Is this where I get fitted for my contraception?’ she said. ‘A chastity belt and I’m the only one with the key?’

  The boss watched with an amused smirk on his face.

  Another one of the boss’s species walked into the room. He looked at Rhona then dismissed her and spoke to the male in charge. The alien holding her tugged her over to a medical bed and lifted her onto it.

  ‘I can do that myself!’ she shouted at him.

  He kicked her legs apart and placed himself between them.

  ‘Dalus,’ the boss said in a warning voice. He said something else and the guard stepped back. There was a promise in his eyes.

  The doctor walked up to her, grabbed her head, tilted it to the side and set something to the small, protruding bone behind her ear. A sharp, painful pressure filled her head.

  ‘Ah, you mother—’ Rhona pushed him away from her and leapt from the table. She shot across the room and put her hand to the bone behind her ear. Her fingers came back slick with blood.

  ‘What the hell is wrong with you people?’

  The doctor glared at her then walked over to a console. He and the boss exchanged a few words as he worked.

  ‘…should be online now,’ the doctor finished.

  Rhona was looking from one male to another in the room. When the medic suddenly made sense, she turned her head in his direction.

  ‘Can you understand me?’ The boss stepped forward. Her head snapped to him.

  Rhona put her hand back to the bone. ‘A translator?’

  The boss nodded. ‘The pain will subside with time, though, if you allow the doctor to attend you, he can heal the wound and the pain will be gone in a few moments.’

  Rhona glanced at the doctor, then looked back at the boss. Now or never.

  ‘Who are you? Why am I here? What do you want from me?’

  The boss looked at the doctor and nodded.

  Rhona took a step back.

  ‘Sit on the bed. Allow the doctor to attend you, and I will answer all of your questions.’

  The doctor stepped away and placed vials of different coloured liquids on a tray

  ‘What are those?’

  ‘A nano graft to heal the wound. Pain killers because the pain will take time to fade otherwise and some inoculations, so you don’t die of any horrible and preventable diseases.’ The medic seemed disinterested.

  Rhona didn’t want to die of diseases. She didn’t want to die. She licked her dry lips, her eyes on the tray. ‘Like what diseases?’

  The boss smiled.

  ‘Colton,’ the doctor said. Picking up the tray and placing it on a small stand next to the bed. ‘The flesh falls off. It’s a prolonged and painful process. Once contracted, there’s no cure.’ He picked up a packet and tore it open. There was what looked like a plaster inside, complete with the paper to protect the adhesive. ‘Toban’s Rot. A muscle wasting disease—’‘Fine,’ Rhona snapped. She walked cautiously over to the bed and, staring the guard down, jumped up.

  ‘Thank you,’ The boss said.

  ‘Nano graft,’ the doctor said before placing the plaster on the bone. Almost as soon as he had it on, he peeled it off.

  ‘What—’

  ‘The nanites only need a moment to transfer,’ he said, a bored edge to his voice.

  ‘Painkiller.’ He hit her arm with a medspray. It hissed, and the pain disappeared.

  ‘That was quick,’ Rhona said, reaching up to touch the bone.

  The doctor slapped her hand away.

  ‘Amaran medical technology is the best,’ the boss said.

  ‘Is that what you are?’ Rhona asked. ‘Amaran.’

  The boss nodded. ‘I am Drexan Thalos,’ he smiled at her. ‘And you are Rhona?’

  Rhona nodded. ‘I had questions,’ she reminded him.

  He smiled. He had a kind face, but his eyes were cold. Rhona would have been fooled if he hadn’t already cut her shoulder in front of Makios earlier. She looked into his eyes then and seen how her pain aroused him; It scared her. He scared her.

  ‘Oh, yes. What were they?’

  ‘Why am I here? and what do you want from me?’

  ‘Ah, yes.’ He stepped closer to her. ‘You’re here because I bought you. Because I saw you and wanted you,’ he said, his smile twisted.

  Just him being this close to her made her feel sick. ‘So I’m not going to be the…‘ she looked up at the two guards, ‘the town bike?’

  Drexan frowned. ‘I don’t know this term?’

  ‘You’re not going to let…’ She glanced at the guards again, then back to Drexan. ‘You’re not going to let all and sundry fuck me?’

  He grinned, then let out a little laugh.

  ‘I assume that word means vrok. Oh, Rhona,’ he looked back at the guards, who were both chuckling, ‘Dalus, Coll and Phenan here,’ he indicated the doctor, ‘are all going to vrok you. My adalan are both going to vrok you. Every crewman on this ship will vrok you. I’m going to hold job interviews for males to come vrok you.’ He took in a deep breath and looked down and up her body. Her skin crawled. ‘I’m going to enjoy watching you get vrokked immensely,’ he said in a heavy breath.

  ‘I have no issue with how anyone wants to live, but I don’t want any of this.’

  Drexan’s smile widened.

  There was the hiss from an injection as a cold sting flashed through her skin at her neck.

  ‘I don’t care.’ He moved closer to her, pushing her legs apart. Rhona placed her hands against his chest and pushed at him, but he was much stronger than her. His cruel smile widened; he seemed to enjoy her struggle. ‘I prefer it if you don’t,’ he breathed in her ear, pulling her against him.

  Another hiss, another injection.

  ‘Get off of me,’ she struggled against him as his arms clamped down on her.

  ‘Sir, you need your adalan to help her ovulate,’ the doctor said next to her.

  ‘I don’t need help ovulating. I ovulate just fine on my own.’ She struggled against Drexan’s hold, feeling a surreal quality edge into her awareness.

  ‘Once every twenty-eight cycles,’ the doctor scoffed. ‘They will have you ovulating in a few hacri.’

  ‘They?’

  Drexan pushed against her. ‘They will have to wait. I want her now.’

  For a moment, everything sped up as her senses slowed down. One of the large guards was at her back, grabbing
her hands and holding them behind her back. The other gripped her throat, staring into her eyes a look of anticipation on his face.

  Drexan seized the edge of her dress when a noise interrupted.

  ‘Sir, this is the captain. You have a call from Amara.’

  ‘It can wait.’ Drexan’s voice was rough, husky.

  ‘Get off of me.’

  ‘Sir, it’s the Ilan.’

  Drexan froze and swore. ‘I’ll be there in a metri.’ He leaned back and looked at Rhona. He fisted her hair and pressed his lips to hers. Rhona bit him. He groaned and kissed her deeper. ‘Hmmm. You’re going to be fun. Take her to my adalan.’ He turned to walk away, then stopped and looked at her. ‘As soon as you’re pregnant, I’ll stop hurting you. You might want to vrok my adalan when you arrive, speed things up a little.’

  ‘Dalus.’ He looked at the guard who had grabbed her ass earlier. ‘No vrokking her ‘til I’m there.’

  The guard nodded, obvious disappointment on his face.

  Drexan left.

  Another hiss, yet another injection.

  ‘Just a few more,’ the doctor glared.

  Everywhere Makios tried to go his path was blocked by those they’d rescued from auction. Strangers stared at him waiting to be told where to go, milling while the crew found them somewhere to stay.

  Tala was a Maruzen F-class private cruiser that Makios’s father had converted for their purposes when he first bought her. The three private suites were turned into storage, the largest above the bridge, the smaller two below and there were only eight crew quarters on board. Including Sidha, it meant they were almost at full capacity, and the final room was filled with equipment Thanesh had supplied for them so they could complete their mission.

  They’d managed to rescue all fourteen humans. Several Mvari, four Ualha, a young Hieladan teen who Makios suspected the Hieladan people had been there to buy, an unaugmented Surilan girl. She must have been taken weeks before she came of age and began her conversion process. There was also a Temerin girl, who Makios had instructed Vella to keep a close eye on.

  Temerin space was ‘administrated’ by the Bentari. When they invaded, most of the planet had evacuated into space and were now well-known for their piracy, theft and the trade of illegal goods. Most of them were members of the Calidon crime syndicate, which was run by Hieladan.