Chapter 4
Ak'kel watched the human female leave the brig, his sharp eyes narrowing on her hips as the doors closed behind her.
He hadn't been lying when he'd threatened to rip her head from her shoulders.
Not in anger. No, but in the cold-hearted certainty of a predator.
Every time she entered the room, his conviction on the matter grew.
He hated being confined, especially by a human female. A fragile and insignificant creature. The stupid female had no idea who she had captive in her brig. No inkling of the true threat he presented to her ship. Sadly, she wouldn't have time to comprehend it before he ended her life.
If the universe thought one crazed Vrak’rir running around was bad. Then they'd hate to hear there were two.
Ak'kel’s history with Haldon ran back many years. A friendship turned rivalry. And to piss Ak’kel off further, the bastard had somehow found his mate. A weakness Ak’kel intended to exploit the moment he got the chance.
Haldon didn't deserve happiness, not after he bit Ak’kel in the ass and stolen territory from him.
The black hearted fool probably hadn’t thought he’d find his mate, a glaring weakness that any enemy would take a stab at.
A mate. A vulnerability like no other. Though some might say it was actually a benefit as it heightened a male’s senses, but if a mate was killed the other would soon follow.
A cruel smile spread over his face as he thought about finding Haldon and killing his mate in front of him.
The devastation would be exquisite. It would force his rival to die in the worst way.
He chuckled at the thought, the sinister sound echoing off the walls of the brig. Yeah. This would be good. Perfect even.
A sudden hissing noise snapped Ak’kel's attention out of his dark reverie. His senses tingled as he shifted, glancing over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed on the vent above his cell. White mist seeped into his cell, curling like silent fingers trying to find him.
"Fucking human!" Ak’kel hollered at the top of his lungs. "Cease this at once!"
He raised his clawed hands to the walls and scraped them against the metal before slamming a fist against one of the walls. Did she intend to kill him? What was being released into the air? Or maybe this wasn't her and something lethal from the ship was leaking into his cell.
"Human!" He hammered a fist into the wall trying to bring some attention to his predicament. “Stop this!”
"I already gave you my name." The human female’s exasperated voice came through a comm system. “And it isn’t human.”
Ak'kel growled low in his throat as he sank to his knees to get further away from the white mist slowly gathering above him. It slowly pressed down toward him, filling all the breathable air.
"Still there Vrak’rir?" She cooed in a sickly-sweet voice.
"I will kill you, female. You've sealed your fate.” Ak’kel promised darkly.
"Promises. Promises." She clucked her tongue.
Did she think he was all bark and no bite? She was a damn fool.
"Breath deep, Vrak’rir and it will all be over soon." She murmured.
"So, you are killing me." He growled through clenched teeth as he eyed the swirling white above him. He was almost laying on the floor now.
Her laughter filled his cell and for a moment his heart sped up and a flicker of delight filled him at the sound. The sound sparked a dark corner of his mind, but then he scowled. The female was an irritant. There was nothing to enjoy about her.
"I'm not killing you." She sighed. "Breath deep, Vrak'rir. You will wake alive and well in a little bit." Then the comm crackled as she ended it.
Gritting his teeth, Ak’kel fought to hold his breath, desperate to outlast this white mist. Damn human.
Sucking in a quick breath, surprise shot through him when the mist didn't cause him any breathing issues.
It filled his lungs as easily as air. His eyelids drooped until he finally passed out.
His last thoughts were violent images of ripping her head from her shoulders and laughing while her blood coated his hands.
____________________________
"Did you get it?" Sara asked Hunter from her position on the bridge, her tone sharp with anticipation. She leaned toward her comm, resting her elbows on her knees.
Hunter’s voice crackled through the comm, calm but efficient. "Got it. Force field is back up, and we should expect a very irate Vrak’rir to wake in an hour or so."
"Good. Now get his blood tested and let me know when we have a match." Sara met Cat's eyes. "Damn, Vrak'rir, would have had it easier if he'd just given me his name."
"Would you have trusted him to have given you the correct name though?" Cat raised an eyebrow. "I know I wouldn't trust him."
"No, I probably wouldn't have trusted him." Sara confirmed.
"Then it would have come to this at some point." Cat shrugged.
"Yeah." Sara shifted in her captain's chair, a little uncomfortable with the whole situation they were dealing with. "We normally deal in stuff, not people. I guess thinking about finding a buyer for him... well it puts me off a bit."
"Again, he would have died if we hadn’t rescued him,” Cat pointed out. “If someone does buy him and kills him, does it really matter?"
Sara scowled. "Yeah, because this time it would be my fault he's going to die."
Berg snorted, breaking the tense mood. "It wouldn’t be your fault. None of us would shoulder the entire blame. If he dies, we all share it.”
"Not really making me feel any better." Sara murmured as she rubbed her temples. The closer she got to finding a buyer for the Vrak’rir, the more she had a crisis of conscious. Like she’d said, she sold objects not people. She wasn’t sure she had the stomach for this.
"Once you see the credits,” Cat assured her, “you'll forget about it."
Sara wasn’t so certain that was true. She supposed they would see once it happened.
"How long for Hunter to perform his blood test?" Berg asked. "Wondering if I have time to grab a snack before things get interesting."
"I think you have time, yes." Sara rose to take his seat as he left the brig.
"Fetch me something." Cat called out right before the lift doors closed behind Berg.
Sara rolled her eyes. Her crew cared about credits, food… and well alcohol.
Suddenly her comm crackled back to life. "Captain."
Sara blinked down in surprise at the console down. She hadn’t thought to hear Hunter's voice so soon. Poor Berg. Guess he didn’t have enough time to grab a snack. He’d be so disappointed to learn he missed the big reveal.
"Problems?"
"No.” Hunter assured her. “I have an answer for you regarding the Vrak’rir’s name."
"And?" Sara turned her seat so she could see Cat as they waited for Hunter to fill them in.
"His name is Ak’kel Drokenal."
Sara shrugged and Cat returned the gesture. "Never heard of him."
"Neither have I, captain." Hunter said, sounding just as disappointed.
Sara rose from the chair. "Well, sounds like I need to ask around and see if he's anyone worth selling or if the Friren arena is the place to get rid of him." She headed for her ready room. "Doug, take Berg's seat.”
Sara entered her office right off the bridge and took a seat behind her desk. Tapping on the screen on her desk, she waited for Voro to answer her call.
"How are you, my dear? " Voro asked as his grey skin glistened with slime through the holo-screen.
"Good." Sara smile. "And I've figured out who I have in my brig."
"Oh?"
"Ak'kel Drokenal."
Voro’s grey face darkened, a sign of shock for his species. His tentacles seemed to ripple with unease, twitching this way and that.
"What is it?" Sara asked as she leaned closer to her screen.
"Do you have any idea who Ak'kel is?" Voro asked as they raised two of their four tentacles in a gesture of warning.
"No. That's why I'm calling you."
"Sara, you need to get him off your ship." Voro said urgently. When she hesitated, they added more firmly, “Now.”
"Not until I know more." Sara crossed her arms in front of her chest as she leaned back. "Who is Ak'kel?"
"You've heard of Haldon, surely."
Sara nodded. Who hadn't? Haldon’s daring escape from prison had made every single news feed in the galaxy. Only the most secluded of planets wouldn’t have heard. As long as someone had some sort of device, they’d have heard.
"Ak'kel is like Haldon.” Voro explained. “Lesser known, but just as dangerous. Until he's off your ship, you'll never be safe."
Sara shrugged as she glanced around her office. "There's nowhere to drop him off for a couple of days. Do you want me to dump him into space?"
"Do something!” Voro’s voice snapped, and Sara jerked back, surprised by this sudden outburst of emotion. “Take a key from Haldon’s book and toss Ak’kel out an airlock."
Before she could respond to this crazy suggestion, the ship rocked violently, and Sara flew out of her seat.
She managed to catch herself against the edge of her desk and pull herself back into her seat.
"Got to go!" She ended the call with a slap of her hand on the desk and darted for the bridge, only to be knocked off her feet.
"Berg!" Sara yelled as she finally managed to claw her way into the bridge.
Clutching at anything she saw to keep her steady, she glanced up to see a ship filling their view screen. The ship shuddered again, the metal walls groaning in protest.
"What's going on?" Sara asked as she scrambled over to her captain's chair and plopped down, gripping the arms of her seat as the ship shuddered yet again. Gritting her teeth, she prayed that her rust bucket would stay in one piece.
"Engines are down." Berg called out grimly, smacked the console in front of him with an open palm. Then he growled as he turned and faced her. "We're dead in the water, Captain. And we're about to be boarded."