Chapter 24 Varok
VAROK
My breath caught as I watched my beloved Penny stride out onto the lilac sands of the arena.
Her head held high, a long spear in her hand and a small sword belted to her waist, she looked like a proud warrior ready to die for her cause.
Even her ridiculous, skimpy armor couldn’t take that dignity from her.
Hyperceramic greaves shielded her legs from ankle to knee, leaving her thighs on display.
Ornate articulated armor covered her right arm from the shoulder down, though her left was bare, and her torso armor was a terrible joke.
Small plates on her breasts and something like a chain miniskirt did nothing to protect her vital organs.
Worst of all, no helmet. Nothing to stop a vicious monster from crushing her skull. I snarled, every muscle in my body tensing. The Collectors claimed to treasure beauty, but they would let the most perfect female in the universe die for their amusement and for the education of their guests.
As close as we were, we could have been lightyears apart. The forcefield between us kept me from her side, kept me from protecting her. Instead of saving my mate, I would watch her die.
As though she sensed the intensity of my stare, Penny looked up at me and smiled. There was no joy in her expression, but I saw a grim satisfaction. I understood why—she’d saved my life, at the cost of her own.
Driin yelped wordlessly as my glass exploded, showering him with crimson liquid and shards of flying glass. I looked down at my fist, clenched tight on the glass I’d crushed, and forced my fingers to open.
“Apologies,” I said to the proto-Collector, his elegant robes now stained with my drink. “An accident.”
“No, blessed, do not be concerned.” He waved off my apology with a gesture so expansive, it clipped through the forcefield.
“She is quite something to look at, I admit. I acquired a taste for human females during the occupation of her homeworld, and while this isn’t my preferred use for one, it promises to be quite a show. ”
Taking a deep breath, I made myself ignore his words. Killing him wouldn’t help Penny, and neither would getting distracted by my rage.
A servitor from a species I didn’t recognize appeared at my side to gather the broken glass and wipe up the spill. Another replaced my drink with silent efficiency. And below, the arena flooring opened up, revealing monsters.
The first to emerge stood as tall as a human, though it walked on four legs.
Two limbs reached forward, cruel pincers snapping at the air.
Long jaws lined with diamond teeth snapped at the air as it turned, letting the audience admire it from all sides.
The second floated up from the trapdoor, a blue-glowing gas bag lifting it into the air, a dozen nine-foot tendrils dangling from it and flicking from side to side.
A single enormous eye looked down from under the gasbag, locking onto Penny.
The whole creature quivered, as though it couldn’t wait to get its tentacles on my beloved.
“These are the youngest Collectors,” my companion told me, validating my decision to let him live.
He still had useful intelligence to impart.
“We control the bodies remotely, you see. They tell me it’s a hard trick to master, so the least experienced get first go.
If she survives them, more experienced Collectors will join the fight. ”
“Shouldn’t you be down there, then?” I asked. “You’re the newest member of the Hive, after all.”
He laughed, loud and hard, as though my question was the funniest joke in the Reach.
With tears in his eyes, he got control of himself and answered.
“Blessed, I wish I could. Tearing that human apart would be enjoyable, but I am yet only a candidate. It will take years to remake myself into a full Collector and master my new abilities. After that, I’ll be able to borrow servitor bodies.
For now, I’ll make do with watching—oh! They are beginning. ”
My attention snapped back to the arena and the monsters.
He was right. The creatures advanced cautiously, flanking Penny, who stood her ground in the center of the arena.
The crystal spearpoint flashed in the light as she lifted her spear high in both hands, turning it to point at one, then the other.
Despite how scared she had to be, her grip was steady, and her stance solid.
Pride leaked into the swirling maelstrom of my emotions.
Penny might be doomed, but she didn’t intend to go quietly.
“No.” I didn’t intend to speak aloud, but the word slipped out. Driin looked at me with a curious expression, and a desperate plan flashed through my mind.
Well. Not a plan, more a Step One with nothing to follow it. Exactly the kind of thing Penny would hate. My lips twitched into a smile at the thought of her shouting at me for saving her, and I grabbed Driin by the collar.
He is only a Candidate-Collector, but the forcefield didn’t stop his hand. So maybe he’s close enough…
Ignoring his squawk of protest, I swung the Bauran general at the forcefield, leaping with him and hoping his immunity would carry over to me.