Chapter 6
For the second time that day, I opened my eyes and wondered if my skull had a crack in it. At least last time I'd been taken down by an armed syto, not a female half my size. I groaned as I rolled over and tried to get up. My nose smacked into the ground as my bound wrists pulled me up short.
I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to pound my head against the ground in frustration. Vute, I was sick of having my hands tied.
"Hey, Mr. Koolaid," a female voice barked. "Can you understand me?"
Turning my head to the side, I squinted up at the red-haired female that had tried to kill me. She loomed over me, a long black stick clutched in one hand as she leaned against a metal vehicle. Her short-cropped hair stood out like a hot brand, and several piercings decorated her face and ears.
From the set of her wiry shoulders, to her bold expression, she looked ready to fight.
I'd seen humans at a distance before, the sytos had been selling them as breeding slaves for years, but I'd never seen one that looked this confident.
Even the curly-haired female that Adak claimed had been frozen in fear.
This female was eyeing me like a gladiator, taking my measure without an ounce of nerves.
Rolling over, I planted my ass on the hard ground and looked down at my hands.
She'd tied my wrists together with thin yellow straps.
The bindings were tight and well-wrapped, but even without testing them, I knew I could break them easily.
But now that the pounding in my head had eased and I could see no immediate danger, I was reluctant to free myself.
This human female had successfully evaded me all day, lured me into a trap, incapacitated me, and now had me tied to her vehicle. From the look on her face, I figured she was too stupid to be intimidated by me or completely sure she could take me on.
When I'd set out to find her I'd expected to find a cowering human. I'd prepared myself to coddle and coax her into coming with me. I had not expected to be captured by a tiny, determined warrior with fiery hair and a mouth made for kissing.
I was intrigued and a little hard.
"I can understand you," I rolled my shoulders as I met her determined gaze. "How can you understand me?" I was fairly certain humans didn't have translator technology yet, but what did I know?
She tapped her ear. "I took an earring off one of the dead squid heads.
" Sure enough, I spotted the familiar shape of a translator in her ear, along with several other shiny bits of jewelry.
She even had a ring through her nose, the delicate black piercing only made her feminine features stand out more.
Resourceful, if a little unappetizing. My respect for her was growing and I wondered what she had planned for me and how far was I willing to go along with her. Right now I was torn between snapping my bindings and hauling her off to the turoch encampment and playing this out.
I lifted my hands and crooked an eyebrow.
"Should I ask why I'm tied up?"
"I'm going to torture you for information." Her black stick crackled ominously and she gave me a smug smile. "Ready to get started?"
I stared at her for a long second and burst out laughing. She was serious, this female was prepared and possibly excited to force some sort of information out of me. There wasn't a hint of hesitation or guilt in her expression.
I might be in love.
Suddenly Adak's dumbfounded mooning didn't seem so ridiculous, I had no doubt my own expression was verging on besotted. I grinned at her, perversely excited to see what she had planned for me.
"Go ahead, Firebrand. I'm ready to hurt."