Ulfar (Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency #4)

2. Faustian Bargain

FAUSTIAN BARGAIN

SARAH

N o matter how much I thrash against my captor, he holds me in a vise-like grip that leaves no wiggle room. I look with terror for my father, regaining his feet and throwing his hands up in surrender.

“What’s going on here?” I hear myself yell, but it doesn’t even sound like my own voice anymore.

My father’s on his knees now, practically in tears. I’ve never seen him so distraught. “I can explain, just don’t hurt her!”

The sound of footsteps on tile echoes from down the hallway, and then I hear an unfamiliar voice. A female voice.

A tall, severe-looking woman walks in, her piercing blue eyes scanning the room with a practiced indifference. She takes in the sight of my father on the ground and the hulking alien with his hands around my neck.

“Yes, Areo,” she purrs, “why don’t you explain to little Sarah here the deal you made so many years ago.”

“Deal? What deal? Who are you people?” I ask frantically, my voice shaking with fear. What had my father done? Who was this woman? And why did she know our names?

The female laughs. “You really didn’t tell her anything, did you, Areo?” She turns her ire on my father, who flinches away instinctively. “Turns out you’re just as pathetic as I thought.”

“What are you talking about? Dad?!” My heart thuds fearfully in my throat as I look to him for answers, but he just shakes his head in shame.

“Why don’t I help fill things in, then.” With a click of her heel, she rounds on me. “My name is Atraxia, and I’m here on behalf of the Syndicate. Surely you’ve heard of us?”

The Syndicate. I’ve only heard of them in hushed murmurs, so little and so secretly that I thought they were a myth.

But now, standing before me, is a woman who claims to be working for them. My mind races, trying to piece together what I know about the organization. The Syndicate is a shadowy entity that operates outside of the law, with tentacles that reach into every corner of the galaxy. They’re known for their immense wealth, but also for their ruthlessness, never hesitating to eliminate anyone who crosses them.

“What do you want with me?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

She folds her fingers together, leaning forward until we’re face to face. I don’t like how shiny her eyes are up close. How foreign . A faintly floral scent pours off of her, but it’s a sharp, artificial smell. “You see, your father took something that belonged to me. Something that I am willing to do anything to get back.”

“Y-you! Liar!” My father gasps, his face contorted in panic.

“Hm. Funny you would be the one to call me a liar, when it is your own lies that landed you this fate.”

“Don’t listen to her!”

Atraxia pulls away from me long enough to step between me and my father, looming over him just as she did to me. “What would Phuong think if she could see you now? Disgusting. How disappointed she would be.”

The name stops me in my tracks, tilting my world on its axis all over again. Phuong was my mother.

“How dare you speak of her.” My father quakes with rage.

“She failed to meet her end of the bargain too, didn’t she? And now she’s not here anymore. What makes you think you won’t meet the same fate?”

“Please!” My cries fall on deaf ears.

“Your father knew exactly what he was doing when he stole from us. Phuong knew that too. Now you must pay the price, just as she did.”

My breath catches in my throat. “What does that mean?” Nothing makes sense to me right now, but the only thing I can do is keep fighting.

“What it means,” she growls, “is that your father is a thief just like your mother was. He stole something of great value from the Syndicate, and he thought he’d get away with it. But he forgot one very important thing. The Syndicate always gets what’s theirs.”

I cast a frantic glance around the empty living room. We have nothing of value here—no jewelry, no family heirlooms. “What could he have possibly stolen?” I dare to ask. “We’re poor, or don’t you see that?”

Atraxia strides forward and kneels in front of me. She takes my chin in her hands, and her fingers feel like claws digging into my skin. Her words are cold when they finally come out: “What he stole... is you.”

“Your father, Areo, was once a guard at the Syndicate. In violation of his duties, he formed an attachment with a woman named Phuong—one of the prisoners he was meant to be guarding.” She pauses for a moment, her lip curling in disgust, before continuing. “They escaped together with you when you were just a child. Both of them knew that they’d pay dearly if we ever ran into them. And now you have to pay for their cowardice.”

“Don’t hurt her!” my father shouts from behind Atraxia. “You can take me instead, but please don’t hurt her!”

“Silence!” Atraxia barks. She flicks a hand in his direction, and something flies out from a bracer at her wrist, striking him in the chest. With a yelp he goes rigid, falling to his knees while the burly guard trains a blaster on his neck.

“No!” I scream, praying that it’s not too late. My mind whirls, trying to remember everything that I can about the Syndicate. “You like to make deals, right? Let’s talk. We can work something out. A deal of our own.”

“Oh?” She raises a brow, genuine surprise painting her features. “Maybe you’re not as dull as you look.”

“Don’t do it,” my father mutters. He’s hunched over in pain, but I am grateful that he is still alive. “They’ll trick you just like they tricked me. Just run—get out of here while you still can!”

“No.” My voice comes out surprisingly calm. The immediate panic and confusion fade away, in their place a resolute clarity rises. “You would gain nothing by taking me. I know how your kind works. You want puppets. Lackeys you can control. That’s why you want the babies, isn’t it?”

“You know nothing about us,” Atraxia spits, but the venom in her voice has noticeably lessened. “Where are you going to get a baby?”

My stomach churns, and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but the words tumble out of my mouth before I can help myself: “I’ll join the ISA!”

She blinks, pauses. An eerie silence fills the chaos. “You’ll what?”

The alien holding me lessens his grip and I wiggle free, stepping forward until we’re face to face. “The Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency. They hire human women to serve as surrogates for alien males. I can sign up, go there. Have some alien’s kid, and then when it comes due...” I cast my eyes downward. “It’s yours.”

“No!” my father shouts again. “Don’t do it, Sarah! You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!”

Atraxia groans. “Shut him up already.”

The guard claps a hand over his mouth. I know I have to act fast if I want to prevent him from getting hurt any further. Atraxia returns to me, a faint muscle twitching on her forehead.

“Now what about this deal of yours? You will really go through the trouble of having a child through the ISA, just to bring it to us?”

“Yes,” I pant, unable to meet her gaze. “Please, just let my father go.”

“You will follow all the ISA protocols and meet a prearranged transport when you are confirmed pregnant?”

“Think about it,” I beg. Because I don’t want to . “Those aliens that can afford a deal with the ISA are strong and powerful warlords. Alphas. They will produce a much stronger child than simply taking me will.” I hate how much it makes sense, but it’s my one chance to save both our skins.

“All right, I’ll admit you have a point.” She extends a gloved hand, and I take a deep breath, heart shuddering, before clasping it and sealing my fate. “Kelnar, take this one to the ship. Don’t hurt him, but we’ll need to keep him close by for insurance. And as for you, my little deal maker...” Atraxia leans in, placing a finger under my chin. I’m left staring up at her Cheshire-cat grin, a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. “You’re coming with us.”

Slowly, too quiet for anyone else to hear, she whispers in my ear when I draw close: “And if you so much as breathe a word of this to anyone, you will see what the Syndicate’s wrath really looks like.”