Chapter 18
Midori ignored the pounding in her chest and kept moving forward as the small group of liberators followed the captured guard through the dimly lit corridors of the detention center. The dank, musty air felt suffocating. She stole a glance at Cael. His features hardened with determination, but his attention was focused solely on the guard and what lay ahead.
"Keep moving." Cael jabbed the guard with his weapon.
The guard flinched but complied, leading them down another twisting hallway. Midori tightened her grip on one of Cael's hands, sweat beading on her brow.
It will all be over soon. Just stay focused.
Around the next corner, they found a heavily fortified door with two burly guards standing watch. The Zebran warriors instantly tensed, their hands tightening on their spears aimed at the guards' hearts. At the sight of Cael's drawn blasters and the Zebran's weapons, the guards surrendered, relinquishing without a fight.
"Open it," Cael commanded the guard nearest to the door.
He hesitated, and Midori's breath caught in her throat. But after a tense moment, the guard complied by putting his hand on the door's palm pad.
The door unlocked, and the guard pulled it open, revealing the bodies huddled in the interior. Scattered around the dimly lit room were more than a dozen females, not all of them Zebran. But all of them shared the common traits of gaunt faces and haunted eyes. Midori felt her stomach twist at the women's condition.
"Ananika! Where are you?" Jessa cried, stepping into the room.
The females stirred, their expressions flickering with a glimmer of hope.
"Jessa, is that you?" a weak voice said from the corner.
The Zebran male rushed inside, and a thin Zebran female emerged from the shadows, her ribs protruding as she stood on shaky legs. Jessa swept her into a fierce embrace, rocking her gently.
"Ananika, my love," he whispered hoarsely. "I've found you."
The reunited couple clung to each other, murmuring soft reassurances. Midori's eyes grew misty, and she glanced at Cael. His expression was unreadable as he surveyed the pitiful scene, but she knew he felt responsible for these women and their horrid conditions.
Midori's heart ached for him. Cael wasn't responsible for his uncle's actions, but she knew he shouldered the burden anyway.
"We must hurry," he said gruffly, though his voice held an undercurrent of sympathy. "The longer we wait increases our chances of running into more guards along the way. Everyone out. Now."
At his words the other captives stirred, their eyes filled with desperate hope. A young female pushed herself up from a thin, dirty mat on the floor. She was of an alien race Midori had never seen before, with purple skin and thick red rope-like hair falling to her knees. The female's swollen pregnant belly protruded beneath her shapeless rags.
"Please," her voice cracked. "My baby. I don't want her to be born in this hell."
Midori's heart clenched at the imploring look in the female's sunken eyes. Without a thought, she stepped forward and grasped her trembling hands in her own.
"We're getting you all out of here," she said fiercely. "I promise. Come with me."
Cael and the Zebran men ushered the captives out of the cell.
Zephryn poked a guard with his spear. "You three, in there," he said, pointing to the now empty cell. The guards shuffled inside, and Zephryn locked the door behind them.
"All right, let's go." Cael took the lead and started down the hallway.
Midori fell into step beside Cael as they made their way back through the winding corridors, the captives shuffling behind them with the remaining warriors taking up the rear. Despite the oppressive dimness, hope flared in her chest. They were so close. They were going to make it.
Her gaze drifted to Cael's profile, admiring the determined set of his jaw and the intensity burning in his silver eyes. Her heart swelled with affection for this man filled with compassion and duty. She didn't know what he was like before they met a few weeks ago, but the man he'd become was a leader—someone she was proud of and wanted to spend her life with.
They exited the building to the main grounds. The entrance to the compound was merely fifty feet away. They were almost free.
The shrill blare of an alarm pierced the air and shattered the silence of the morning. Midori's head whipped around to see a cluster of guards burst from another building, weapons drawn.
"Go! Get them to the exit!" Cael roared, whirling to face the oncoming guards. He fired a volley of shots from the blasters.
Zephryn shoved Midori forward. "You heard him! Hurry!"
She stumbled ahead, ushering the captives with frantic waves of her arms. "This way! Run!"
With help from the Zebran warriors, the newly freed women broke into a desperate sprint across the compound's open yard toward the gate. Midori risked a glance over her shoulder to see Cael and the Zebran tribesmen engaged in fierce combat with the guards. Midori whipped her head back around, her heart hammering against her ribs. They were only thirty feet from the gate now, so close to escape. A few of the captives faltered, their weakened bodies struggling to maintain the punishing pace.
"You can make it! Just a little farther!" she shouted encouragement over the din of the battle raging behind them.
But just then, another group of guards flanked their left side and began firing.
"To the right! Behind the wall!" Midori yelled, and the group quickly followed her lead.
The wall gave them just enough cover to keep them safe, but it wouldn't last for long. Cael and the Zebran warriors joined the women, guarding them the best they could. Cael continued to fire, his blasters set to stun, trying to keep the guards back, but it wouldn't be long before he ran out of power.
The women huddled together, but their eyes didn't hold only fear. They were full of anger.
Jessa's mate, Ananika, addressed Zephryn. "Give me a spear. I'd rather die fighting these animals than be taken as a slave ever again. No one owns me. No one owns any of us."
She turned to the women, and they nodded, murmuring in agreement.
"None of us will die here," Zephryn said. "Not one."
"But how?—"
An enormous roar shook the ground, and in an instant the outer wall exploded inward in a cloud of dust and rubble. A massive gronklin rolled through the breach, leading the rest of the hulking beasts into the compound.
The gronklins rolled their immense bodies forward with alarming speed despite their immense size, flattening everything in their path. The guards retreated, terrified of being crushed by the beasts.
"To the gronklins! Everyone make for the gronklins!" Zephryn roared, motioning with his spear.
Midori sprang into action, grabbing the pregnant female's arm and pulling her up. "Come on! This way! Hurry!"
She shepherded the women toward the beasts, who began unfurling themselves into their full massive height as they neared. The Zebran warriors ran alongside, covering their retreat with a hail of spears, forcing the few remaining guards to scatter.
A gronklin rolled up directly in front of them. The warriors boosted the females up onto the creature's broad back one by one. Midori shoved the pregnant alien up, pushing with all her might until another of the freed females yanked her up to safety.
"Cael!" she screamed, whipping her head around to search for him.
He was still exchanging blaster fire with the guards near the wall, his features taut with concentration. A few of the warriors, including Jessa, fought alongside him in a furious clash of spears and energy blasts.
"Midori, get on!" Zephryn bellowed from atop his own gronklin. "We cannot wait!"
She shook her head vehemently. "Not without Cael!"
An explosion rocked the ground as a blaster bolt struck the dirt near Cael's feet. He staggered but kept firing, his lips pressed into a grim line. More guards were pouring from the buildings, swarming toward them with weapons blazing.
"Zephryn, get the women out of here!" Jessa yelled over the din of battle. "We'll hold them off as long as we can!"
The Zebran leader's face twisted, his indecision clear. But finally, with his jaw clenched, he bellowed, "Fall back! We're leaving!"
"No!" Midori surged forward only to have powerful hands grasp her arms and yank her backward. "Cael! Cael, we can't leave you!"
But the warriors were already retreating, forcing their way onto the gronklins' backs through the whirlwind of blaster fire and smoke. Cael and Jessa continued to fight, driving the guards back, attempting to clear a path.
Midori struggled against the grip of the Zebran warrior hauling her onto the gronklin. "Let me go!"
She pushed herself out of his arms and ran back to the wall. The gronklins lurched into motion, their massive forms heading toward the breach. Midori watched in horror as one by one they disappeared through the opening, taking the freed captives to safety but leaving her, Cael, and Jessa behind.
Cael was still engaged in combat near the wall, his blaster blazing as he fended off the guards who were coming back in even greater numbers than before.
One of the gronklins unfurled near them, the last one remaining. This was their chance.
"Cael, we have to go! Now!" Midori urged.
Jessa held out his hand. "Give me a blaster. I'll help Midori get on the gronklin and cover you."
Cael handed over a blaster and continued returning fire at the guards who were closing in.
Midori put her foot out, and the gronklin assisted her with its split two-trunk, pushing her onto its back. Jessa jumped up behind her. Midori was about to call Cael to hurry and join them when one of Jessa's black-and-white striped arms reached around her chest and pulled her back against him while he pressed the blaster to her temple.
Midori froze, her eyes widening in shock. What was he doing?
"Just stay still, Midori," he warned. "This will all be over soon."
Cael turned to mount the gronklin and stopped in his tracks.
"Jessa? What are you?—?"
The Zebran male shook his head sharply. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you leave with the human female. The guards know who we are. They know where we live. Ananika will never be safe. All they wanted was the human female. If I give her to them, they'll leave us alone. I'm sure they'll also be interested in the Zyranthian male who has been with her every step of the way and didn't bother to turn her in."
Midori's breath caught in her throat as the realization hit her like a sledgehammer. After everything they'd just been through, Jessa intended to trade her to regain his tribe's enslaved women. Midori's heart plummeted. She wouldn't be rescued after all. She was still just a bargaining chip to be traded away.
Cael aimed his blaster at Jessa, his expression thunderous. "I won't let you?—"
Jessa pressed the barrel of the blaster against her head. "I wouldn't. Not unless you want the girl's blood on your hands. I know it's only set to stun, but from this proximity the blast might still be lethal."
Jessa whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry about this, but I have to make sure Ananika is safe. This was the only way."
Midori's heart pounded in her ears as Jessa's words sank in like a lead weight.
Cael's eyes burned with fury as he glared at Jessa, his body tense and ready to spring into action. "You can't do this, Jessa. Think about it."
"I'm doing what I must to protect my mate," Jessa replied, his voice hard. He jabbed the blaster against Midori's temple again in warning. "If our roles were reversed, you'd do the same."
Midori trembled, her throat tight with panic. She wanted to plead with Jessa, reason with him somehow, but her voice seemed to have deserted her. All her hopes of escape, of a future with Cael, were crumbling to dust.
The sounds of approaching footsteps reached her ears. She turned her head slightly to see a group of guards advancing across the far side of the compound toward them, their weapons drawn and aimed. Jessa straightened, keeping Midori pinned against him.
"You!" a guard shouted. "Stop right there!"
"I have the escaped human slave you've been searching for!" Jessa called back. "And also the traitor guard who helped her flee in the escape pod which landed in the mountains!"
Midori's gaze flew to Cael, her heart sinking at the implication of Jessa's words. If they took him too . . .
Cael met her terrified look, his expression softening almost imperceptibly. He gave a small shake of his head, a silent reassurance.
The guards approached more cautiously, their weapons still leveled. "Is that so? And what do you intend to do with them?"
Jessa's hand fisted in Midori's hair, making her wince. "I'll leave the human right outside the compound gates. She's all yours. Consider her a fair exchange for the females you took from my tribe. As for the guard . . . " He jerked his head toward Cael. "He's your own, and he betrayed you. You can deal with him how you see fit."
The lead guard narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why should we trust you?"
"You shouldn't. But if you want the human female alive, what choice do you have?"
The guard considered this for a moment, then gave a curt nod. "Very well." He turned and barked orders to two of his men, who trained their blasters on Cael.
Defeat imminent, Cael finally lowered his weapon. His silver eyes filled with desperation as Jessa steered the gronklin toward the hole in the wall.
Midori's heart pounded against her ribs as the massive creature lumbered to the breach. Terror clawed at her insides with each step, taking her farther from Cael, and for a moment she worried she might pass out from fear. She strained to keep Cael in her sights, her gaze desperately drinking in his tall blue form. The anguish etched on his face mirrored the ache squeezing her chest.
And then the gronklin exited through the hole, and Cael was gone.
This can't be how it ends for us. Not after everything we've been through.
Bile burned the back of Midori's throat as resignation set in, leaden and suffocating. She was powerless to stop the chain of events unfolding, a prisoner once more. Jessa's desperation had doomed them both.
The gronklin rumbled to a halt just outside the shattered wall. Jessa gave Midori a rough shove between her shoulder blades, and she tumbled gracelessly from the creature's back. Her knees slammed against the hard ground with jarring force, knocking the breath from her lungs. She gasped for air, struggling to push herself upright. By the time she could, Jessa was gone.
Heavy boots thudded in the dirt in front of her. Midori lifted her head to see two burly blue four-armed guards looming over her. One leveled his blaster rifle at her chest.
"Get up, human," he snarled. "Lord Krissayr will be glad to have you at last."
Midori's heart stuttered as her gaze flew over the compound interior, searching desperately for any sign of Cael. But he was nowhere to be seen amidst the swirling smoke and chaos. What had they done with him? Her stomach roiled with sick dread at the thought of him imprisoned and suffering at the hands of his own people. If she lost him now . . .
The guard seized her arm in a bruising grip and pushed her into the compound's interior. His partner moved behind her, the cold muzzle of his rifle jabbing into the small of her back. Midori stumbled between them, stunned by the rapid turn of events which had ripped her future away in one agonizing moment. She squeezed her eyes shut, a wave of anguish crashing over her. This couldn't be the end.
"Where are you taking me?" She forced the words from her throat.
"The commander will want to see you right away," the guard at her rear said. "I'm sure he's taking care of the traitor right now."
The guards shoved Midori forward, their blaster rifles digging painfully into her back. They marched her deeper into the compound, past rows of uniform buildings and stern-faced sentries. Dread coiled tighter in her gut with every step. At last, they halted before a heavy steel door set into a featureless gray wall. A guard pressed his hand against the palm lock, and the door slid open with a hiss. They pushed Midori through into a dimly lit cell.
The door slammed shut behind her, and Midori was left all alone.
Minutes turned to hours as she waited, paced, screamed and cried alone in the small room. But no one came. Exhausted, she slid down the wall and sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.
What are they doing to him? Is he even still alive?
Fear gripped her, and a familiar pull of falling into a bottomless well of despair threatened to take over her entire body. No. Stop thinking this way. It's not going to help anything. Cael's alive. You know he is. Her heart wanted to believe it, but her mind wasn't so easily convinced. If he's truly gone, you can fall apart then. But for now, you're going to hold yourself together and fight.
A clanging sound echoed through the room, and the door opened.
"Come with us," the voice of a Zyranthian guard ordered.
Midori pushed herself up off the floor and walked into the hall, where two armed guards scowled down at her. One grabbed her arm and led her through the dim halls until they came to a stop at another steel door. He pressed a hand against the palm reader, and the door opened and the guard shoved her inside.
Midori fell to the ground, her hands stinging as they slapped against the cold floor. The door closed behind her with a click.
Midori lifted her head, and her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of the figure chained to the far wall.
"Cael!" She jumped to her feet and ran to where he was chained.
He hung against the wall, suspended from manacles around his four wrists, his feet barely touching the floor. His head lolled forward, lank blue-black hair obscuring his face, and mottled bruises marring his exposed skin. As she took a halting step toward him, he stirred feebly.
"Midori . . . " His voice was a rasping whisper. He lifted his head with obvious effort, revealing one eye swollen shut and a split lip. "I'm . . . sorry."
Anguish ripped through her at his battered state. She opened her mouth, desperate to reassure him, but the cell door groaned open again behind her. Midori whirled to see a powerfully built blue-skinned male stride in, his face twisted in a sneer of contempt.
"Well, well. If it isn't the little human pet my old friend seems to have acquired." His cold eyes raked over Midori in a way which made her flesh crawl. "I can see why he's so enamored."
Cael raised his head higher, surprise flashing in his remaining eye. "Baelor? What are you?—?"
The newcomer's lip curled. "I wouldn't bother trying to appeal to whatever shred of decency you think I have left, Cael. That died a long time ago, when you abandoned me."
Midori stared between them, realization crashing over her like a wave of ice water. Baelor—Cael's oldest friend. The personal guard he'd been searching for. And now . . . his enemy? Baelor turned his attention back to her, his eyes glittering with dark amusement.
"I must say, you've caused me no small amount of trouble these past few days. We knew the escape pod landed up in the mountains, but the blizzards made it impossible to send teams to fetch you. I'm so grateful you eventually found your way to us. I can see why Lord Krissayr wanted you in the first place, and why my friend seems to be so captivated with you as well."
His hand came up, and his thumb traced the curve of her jaw. She flinched away, revolted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cael's bound fists clench, his expression murderous.
"Don't touch her," he snarled through a shredded voice.
Baelor's gaze flicked to him in mock surprise. "What's this? My old friend is issuing orders now?" He tutted, dropping his hand. "I'd be careful who you speak to that way, Prince Cael. Especially given your . . . compromised position at the moment."
"I swear, Baelor, if you harm her?—"
"You'll what?" Baelor cut him off with a harsh laugh. "I think it's time you faced facts, my friend. This pathetic little fantasy you've constructed for yourself is over. In your absence, your uncle has declared himself king. I'm sure he'd be very interested in knowing you're still alive. It's time to return to Zyranth, your highness."