Chapter Twenty-Three
Mia
I reacted without thinking, whirling around and ducking beneath the arm. I got in close to the giant’s stomach and punched him.
“Ow!” I yelped as my fist hit what felt like steel, even as the alien-man grunted in surprise and lost his grip.
Seizing the moment, I slipped past him into the basement hallway and ran for my life.
“Thief!” the shout came from behind me.
Thief?
What did they think I had stolen? Or was trying to steal? There was nothing in the crusty old mansion worth stealing other than the cars, even if I had been a robber. It probably would have cost more in gas to get out there and back to the city than I would have made in profit.
Footsteps pounded on the floor as the aliens gave chase. I doubted I could outrun them. I surrendered a solid foot of height to the invaders, not to mention they’d all chosen bodies in perfect shape. Tall and fit would catch short and pudgy in every scenario I could think of.
My only hope was my slight head start, which shrank by the second as I hurried up the stairs as best I could.
“Leave me alone!” I shouted back at them. “I’m not going with you. You can’t abduct me. I belong on Earth, not in a spaceship!”
There was a grunt of surprise, or perhaps confusion, from my pursuer, but he kept coming, the heavy footfalls growing closer as he took the stairs in bounds. I turned right at the top, away from him, and raced for the door at the end.
“Get back here!” he bellowed from right behind me.
“Never!” I shrieked, pausing just long enough to snatch a painting from the wall and throw it behind me like some sort of insane Frisbee.
“What the fu—Oof!” The sound of my throw hitting him was satisfying, even if it only slowed him a fraction of a second.
It was enough for me to reach the door and push it open. I slammed it closed and fumbled with the lock, eternally grateful that it had one. The door shook as the alien crashed into it, then he was silent for a second or two.
“That can’t be good,” I muttered, backing away and snatching up a black statuette from a table nearby, holding it up like a weapon.
There was a massive crunch, and the door swung open, breaking at the latch, wood splintering in all directions. The giant filled the doorway, his eyes immediately landing on me.
“Stay away from me!” I said, swinging the statuette wildly. “I’m not going with you! I will not let you anal probe me!”
The man paused, his face wrinkling in confusion. “By the God-King, what the fuck are you talking about, little human?”
“See!” I shouted. “You’re not human. You’re aliens. You aren’t taking me back to your spaceship and putting things up my ass.”
My outburst left him puzzled. He stood there, in the middle of the doorway, staring at me. “Why would I put things up your ass?”
“‘Cause … that’s what aliens do?” I said nervously. “Either that or fry me with your death ray. I’d prefer you not do that either. Just let me go. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Not going to happen,” he rumbled. “You’re going to stay here until we figure out what you were trying to steal. Or did steal, and where you stashed it. Whatever it is you’re up to, we will find out.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I protested, the statuette wavering as he stepped toward me. “If you would just let me go, I’ll be on my way.”
“Can’t do that,” he growled.
I wildly swung as he came at me, but his hand easily intercepted and held my weapon still. I struggled to pull it back, but his arm didn’t budge. Superhuman strength. Yet another piece of proof that he was an alien. They were all aliens.
Even Tor had to be an alien.
“Oh, my god,” I whispered, my stomach suddenly churning.
I let an alien get me off. A lot. Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god. Ew. Ew!
Desperate now not to get caught, I slowly relaxed my arms, letting go of my grip on the statuette. Acting like I was giving up.
The big man turned to set my makeshift weapon down—and I kicked him in the balls.
He choked out a gasp of pain, doubling over, while I darted past him for the doorway. They were not going to get Mia Cherryson that easily, that was for sure!
I reached the busted door, only to backpedal frantically as a second behemoth came through it. He was huge, bigger even than Tor, to the point he had to bend slightly to fit under the doorframe. His biceps were the size of my legs, each of his pecs big enough to be a tiny house.
“Eep,” I squeaked, still moving backward as he drew himself up to his full height.
“Enough,” a voice said from behind me a moment before my shoulders hit something firm but warm. Hands gripped my shoulders, fingers digging in deep enough to be painful.
I squealed as his right hand found my bruises from the seatbelt of Tor’s car, my legs buckling as tears sprang immediately to my eyes. “Ow! Ow! You’re hurting me!”
He loosened his right hand, then grabbed my upper arm instead. “Come with me.”
“To where? Your spaceship?”
“We don’t have spaceships. We’re not aliens,” the man grunted in exasperation. “And your ass is safe before you start shrieking about that as well, goodness.”
I frowned, trying to figure out what it all meant.
The man propelled me out of the room and down the stairs.
We paused at a blank piece of wall. He reached over and placed his palm against one of the stones.
There was a little flash of light beneath his hand.
Then the wall slid open smoothly and silently.
Beyond the door was a straight hallway with smooth, steel-paneled walls and ceiling. Lights flicked on as we crossed through the hidden doorway.
“Secret passageways. Those are always fun unless you’re being dragged through one against your will.”
“Do you ever shut up?”
“Do you ever eat fatty foods? No, seriously, you all have the bodies of gods. It’s not fair.
Like, I could probably count each one of your abs individually.
All sixteen of them. Or however many there are, I don’t even know.
Eighteen? There’s a lot, and I could probably see most of yours if you had a shirt off.
But it’s not really even your body, is it? ”
“How did you know?” the man asked, surprised.
I stiffened. “So you are aliens.”
“She has no idea what she’s talking about,” the biggest alien said from behind us. “Just let her talk, don’t indulge her.”
“Whatever you say, Temp,” my captor said with a grunt, falling silent.
“Where are you taking me?” I finally asked as we came to a stop halfway down the hallway.
In response, the man pushed open a door, the thick steel swinging wide without a squeak, indicating very well-oiled hinges.
“A jail cell,” I said, answering myself. “How original. Where’s the operating table? Are you going to cut me open, study my guts? Or maybe make a battery out of me? Do you have a cookbook on how to prepare humans?”
“Whatever it is you do in your spare time,” the one named Temp said, “you do too much of it. You should cut back.”
“Never tell a lady how much to read,” I said, the last word coming out as a half-grunt as I was shoved into the cell. “How long are you going to keep me in here?”
“Until we figure out what to do with you,” Temp replied. “And figure out what you stole and who you told about it.”
“I didn’t steal anything! No crime was committed here.”
“You were in a part of the manor you shouldn’t be,” the man growled. “That is a crime.”
“Ah, right, that. Well, it’s not a law by human standards. Since you’re on Earth. Therefore, I’m innocent, ipso facto, by de Juris, you should let me go, mea culpa.”
“You’re just saying words now. None of that makes sense.”
“Damn. Okay, just let me leave, will you?”
“No,” Temp said, pulling the door closed. “You will await the mercy of the Prince-Assumptive, and then we’ll decide what to do with you.”
The door clanged shut.
Prince-Assumptive?
“Do you mean Tor?” I called. “I know Tor! Get him down here right away. That alien has some answering to do!”
There was no response. I doubted he could even hear me through the steel.
“Lovely,” I muttered, surveying my surroundings.
There was a metal slab sticking out from one wall, obviously my bed. A square seat with a hole in it would be the lavish bathroom facilities. Two lights glowed overhead, keeping the place illuminated but not bright.
“Not even a courtesy library to help pass the time,” I said with a sigh, settling down on the bed.
My courage and attitude fled me, as if by lying down, I was admitting that things were truly dire, and I had no hope of going anywhere.
Tor’s men had me in prison, and they weren’t about to let me go. Not when I knew their secret.
The only thing that remained to find out was whether or not they would let me live.