Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“I hope they’re all right.” Lan’ara looked troubled. “What if they sold Nate to the Blood Circuit? He’s a warrior—they would be happy to have him there!”
“Haven’t you had any more dreams of him?” Davrik asked, frowning.
She shook her head.
“No—not since the one I had where he had broken loose from his chains and was going after the slavers on the ship. That dream faded to blackness and then…nothing.” She bit her lip, looking troubled. “I would worry that they killed him but I can still feel him out there, somewhere—it’s just that his emotions are so faint now. Barely there at all.”
“We’ll find him—we’ll find both of them,” Davrik said, trying to comfort her. She was a quiet female and not very talkative, but they had shared some with each other in the weeks they’d been traveling together. Mostly he talked about Sonya and she talked about Nate. And both of them spoke of their longing to see the mates they cared for so desperately.
“Have you dreamed of Sonya at all?” she asked as he locked down the ship and they prepared to exit it and enter the atmosphere bubble that encased the immense complex which was the Flesh Bazaar.
Davrik shook his head.
“Afraid not. I wish I could but I didn’t Dream-share with her—or with the Sonya in my world—either. I think it had something to do with the night terrors she experienced sometimes—they blocked any other kind of dreams from getting through.”
He wondered if the Sonya of this universe also had night terrors. If so, was there anyone to hold her and comfort her? To wake her from her dreams and cuddle her in their lap and kiss away her tears? He wanted so much to do that for her again—to care for her and love her and cherish her and call her “baby girl.” His arms ached to hold her.
Lan’ara put a hand on his forearm, her lavender fingers cool against his skin.
“I can feel how much you miss her,” she said simply. “And you know how desperately I want to find Nate. Let us say a prayer to the Goddess that we may find them before we go into the Bazaar.”
“Good idea.” Davrik nodded and bowed his head. “Goddess—you know how badly we need to find our mates—the ones you set aside just for us. Please help us in our quest—let us get to them before harm befalls them.”
Lan’ara murmured agreement and when she raised her head, her dark purple eyes were bright.
“I feel better,” she said. “Let’s go find them.”
Davrik nodded and felt his heart swell. The Goddess might not have answered their prayer directly, but he still felt that her hand was on this situation.
He and Lan’ara left the long-range shuttle together.
SIX
LAN’ARA
“Hoo-mans you say?” The Listherian Slaver blinked both sets of eyes owlishly as he looked down at them from his great height. Listherians had short, round bodies but their necks resembled those of the Earth animal called the “giraffe.” Luckily, Davrik was tall enough to speak to the slaver, Lan’ara thought. Or else they would never have gotten anywhere.
“Yes—humans! We’re looking for two human slaves sold to you by a slaver named Grieb’lick around three solar weeks ago!” Davrik bellowed impatiently.
The Listherian seemed to be slightly hard of hearing. Or maybe it was just the fact that his head was so much higher than theirs. But his stall was the place where the Saurian slaver, Grieb’lick, had sold his slaves—they had verified it by checking the records of sales for the past three weeks, which all incoming slavers were required to fill out. So he must know where Nate and Sonya were.
Lan’ara hoped, anyway. She looked around the crowded main area of the Bazaar. All around them were slavers shouting their wares. If they were to be believed—the most beautiful, the most muscular, the most talented, the most agile and the most intelligent individuals in all the galaxy—were located right here. And of course, all of them were for sale.
But Lan’ara only wanted one—she wanted the male she had never met in person, though she had seen him so often in her dreams. She wanted Nate—but could they find him?
“Ahhh, yes—Grieb’lick.” The Listherian nodded, his long neck bobbing. “Yes, he is one of my best suppliers.”
“Did he bring in a human woman who looked like this?” Davrik produced his holo coin again and showed the image of Sonya which he carried with him everywhere. Lan’ara wished that she had something similar to show the slaver what Nate looked like, but as yet, she had only seen the big human in her dreams.
The Listherian leaned even further down and Davrik held his palm up so that the holo image was right in front of both sets of the slaver’s eyes.
“Ah yes! Yes, I know this one!” he exclaimed.