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)
Enya goes mute, her eyes huge, brimming with tears.
The overseer and the guards laugh. There is some back slapping and ribald jokes. Discussion about how he’s the best at managing difficult slaves, and that’s why Master favors him.
Then we’re loaded onto a ship, toward a fate worse than death.
And I have no plans.
I’ve cared for Enya on this planet since she was just an infant, taken from her true mother, a breeder, and I love her as much as if she were my own. As a house slave, I have it easier than pleasure slaves or field workers, and I’ve shielded Enya from harm and taught her as much as I can. Together we’ve navigated life as human slaves to Ocretions, and even eked out enjoyment when possible.
I had hoped to figure out a way to get her to freedom before she was old enough to be sold.
But now it’s too late.
Tarek
“Captain, we’re clear to land. Our ship is masked as a Daglan trader.” I set the coordinates and snort. “Not that the tower cares. This planet cares little for interstellar treaties and fair treatment conventions.”
Drayk clears his throat. “That lack of concern is a double-edged sword.”
I nod, and use my mind-link to initiate the downward thrusters to our assigned spot on the tarmac. “They care neither about our provenance nor our security.”
The ship barely taps as I maneuver it to the ground. “And we’re here.”
There’s a moment of silence before our captain speaks. “Tarek will wait here and keep the ship ready to go. Zane and I will mask as traders and attend the auction.”
Part of me wants to protest. Say that I’ll go with them and help win the girl’s safety. If needed, I’ll battle our way back to our ship.
But no matter how spectacularly I can perform feats of navigation with my high-tech implants, I still falter out in the field. Lacking sight is a distinct disadvantage no matter how hard I train with our best warriors.
I stiffen my jaw. “Understood.”
“If we don’t make it back…”
“You will.” I stand and cross my arms over my chest. “It’s not even a question.”
“I agree. Nonetheless, you know the protocol.”
I’d never leave without my captain, and he knows it. Still, I give him a curt nod. “Yes, Captain.”
Another moment and they’re gone, leaving me alone. But there is much to do, and I bend over the consoles, checking and adjusting perimeter sensors. I’m handy with a stunner and any long-range weapon, as long as I can heat-sense a target in my proximity.
And I’d do anything to keep my brothers safe on this mission.
Zina
They dressed her in a diaphanous gown that shows her slender body easily, and placed a floral wreath atop her head. It’s horrifically inappropriate, because she’s still an immature child. But her dazzling beauty, despite her tears and terror, is jaw-dropping. She’s clean, her pale skin scrubbed to a healthy glow and her short black hair falls in soft waves around her pretty face. I clutch her hand, darting my gaze around wildly, looking for any form of help.
There is none.
We are in a large echoing hall with a domed ceiling so far above us it’s like another planet, with skylights that let in the harsh mid-planet rotation sun. But the distance down is so vast, and the air so full of dust from the packed earthen floor, that the whole place takes on a surreal dream-like sense. A nightmare, once you glance around and see the countless females being sold, each on her own raised dais.
Beside me, Enya whimpers. Her wrists are bound with soft rope; mine with a harder coarse weave that’s already cut into my wrists in a few places. Enya has a rope around her neck, too, a slip knot, the other end of which is attached to the standing metal pole on her dais. If she tries to escape, she’ll strangle herself to death.
They didn’t bother with my neck. And the fools didn’t check my pockets. I still have that stone.
“Any minute now they’re going to come in.” Her body trembles. We can hear the rabble outside the giant wooden doors, and the females who are free to move—some are tied down tight—all stare toward that entrance, their gazes sick with fear.
“Silence!” The master auctioneer roars through a speaker. “Any slave who disobeys orders or tries to escape will be executed. We have plenty and will not miss a few. Be grateful you are not already dead.” He chuckles.
The local floor auctioneer, who’s responsible for Enya and a dozen others, eyes us. Every male already in here, the guards and auction staff, want her. I’m sure he’d abscond with her in half a heartbeat if he could get away with it.
I swallow hard, forming my plan. “Enya,” I murmur without moving my lips. “Here’s how we’ll do it. As soon as the door opens, the crowd will surge in. That’s when I’ll make my move. I’ll use the stone from my pocket to cut your wrists free of the rope, and I’ll take off the neck guard. Then you’ll grab my cloak, toss it over your head, and run.”