Chapter 32
Draggar
“These humans are odd beings.” Sorrin mutters as he continues to tend to the fire blazing in the clearing. The usually carefree smile that graces his face is gone and has been replaced with a bewildered scowl.
“The strangest. The female with hair that is so dark it looks like the night sky told me that I smell like cinnamon. I do not know what this cinnamon is, but it must be very bad.” Enosir tosses a small stick into the flames and sniffs in disbelief. “I washed just this morning. I do not understand how I smell bad.”
“Aria.” Maalin speaks softly without looking up from where he is busy sharpening the blade of his hunting knife.
Enosir tosses another stick in the fire and grunts. “What?”
“The one with hair as dark as the night sky is called Aria.” He names off the other females one by one, never once breaking his concentration from his task.
“How do you know that?” Enosir questions, his brow furrowed in annoyance.
“I listen more than I speak. It is why Laediriians were blessed with such capable ears.” A glint twinkles in Maalin’s eyes as he pauses his work and glances up before adding, “It might help to learn the females’ names if you hope to mate with one of them. I do not think they like being called female very much.”
There is a chuckle from the warriors gathered around the fire as we all recall what happened earlier in the day. One of the humans practically snarled at Enosir after he had gone to tell them the midday meal was ready. She had objected to him calling out, ‘Females, it is feeding time.’
Enosir’s face darkens with embarrassment as he sputters that he has no desire to be mated with one of the frail humans. It is patently obvious from the way he quickly glances over to the wrecked ship where the females are that he is not being entirely truthful.
But I must agree with Sorrin and Enosir. The females do seem odd at times, but they are an entirely different species. Differences that might seem strange to us are to be expected, and if they are anything like my beautiful mate, Haley, those differences make them special.
They may not have the physical strength or size our species is known for, but the humans are stronger than even I realized. Their perseverance and courage would put any warrior to shame.
Without my mate’s help in calming the humans’ fears, our meeting would not have gone so well. Blissful pride warms me as I think of her. The urge to seek out Haley is strong, even now, but I push it down, content to know that the echo of her inside me glows with happiness.
My mate needs this time with the other humans to laugh and bask in the relief of being reunited with her friends.
I glance over and see my cousin emerge from the wreckage with one of the humans by his side. They huddle together discussing the object that he holds in his hands. Vrenner and the female, who I think is named Isabella, have spent much of the day tinkering with the tech inside the ship after she declared she was something called a technophile. He was reluctant to accept her assistance until she assured him that she would not get in his way, but now it seems he has overcome his earlier hesitancy.
I know Vrenner planned to strip the ship of much of the valuable technological parts that might be of use and Maalin will recover any of the other materials that the tribe might need. There are already four packs filled full of salvaged goods, mostly scraps of metal, chips, and solar and lunar energy cells, waiting to be transported back to the village.
Hopefully they will finish stripping the vessel of its useable materials by the time Warrix declares the unwell female has recovered enough to travel.
Warrix has been busy tending to his patient all while having his every move watched by the loud female with the spear. He came to the fire earlier to retrieve an evening meal for himself, his patient, and the loud female who has appointed herself as a protector. He said then that he suspected Emily would be well enough to travel in two days’ time, but he cautioned that we will need to travel at an even slower pace during our return to the village and the injured female will need to be carried.
The sound of laughter breaks into my thoughts, and I watch as my mate and some of the other humans emerge from the ship. As she steadily makes her way to me, a wide smile spreads across her face as she responds to something one of her friends says.
I chuckle softly when I notice the warriors sitting around the fire sit up straighter as soon as they notice the females. It is clear they hope to find spirit mates of their own.
Haley’s smile grows when she spots me, and she increases her pace until she reaches me. The other females slow their steps as they grow near and approach much more cautiously, although they no longer seem to watch us as if they expect us to attack them like wild animals. It is a small improvement, but it is a welcome one.
As Haley settles down beside me, she leans over to join her lips with mine in a kiss that is far too short and leaves me wanting more. Her soft gaze twinkles with laughter as she pulls away, before she turns and smiles encouragingly at her friends, motioning for them to join us.
The females look reluctant, but they slowly move closer and take their places near my mate. Frowns line most of their faces, except the two younger ones. The small kitling and the youngling are busy studying us with bright, curious gazes that remind me of the young members of my tribe.
Beng leaves piled high with cooked anuroi meat are passed around to the females. Maalin found a large bed of casae tubers nearby, and he dug them up and roasted them over the fire until they were soft inside. Enosir and Sorrin built a second smaller fire, and they have a portion of the meat drying over it, so that we will have plenty of food reserves for our journey in case we cannot find any fresh game. In addition to the meat and the tubers, the males pass around a bag of bilb berries that I picked earlier in the day.
Unlike earlier today during the midday meal, the females do not eye the food with uncertainty. Instead, they all devour the food like hungry scrof and my chest clenches at the thought of what was done to them. What was done to my mate.
I look up as Vrenner and Isabella finally finish their discussion and stride across the clearing towards us. One of the data pads our ancestors brought to this planet is clutched tightly in my cousin’s hands.
“We have a problem,” Vrenner speaks as he and the human draw near. They come to a stop at the edge of the circle, and I am shocked to see a hard scowl darken the face of my normally unruffled cousin.
“Isabella . . .” He nods to the female standing beside him. “Found a small control panel hidden in one of the walls. We were able to download some files from it. Files such as the itinerary and the route. Just as suspected, the files contain the Zyfeliks’ plans to sell the humans to be used as slaves for reproductive purposes. As incubators. Their owners would impregnate them over and over. The younglings, both future and the two here. . .”
He nods towards the two younglings, then continues, “Would either be raised by their owners or sold. From what we can decipher, this was not the first time they have done so. The Zyfeliks have been selling humans for a long time, and they have grown wealthy from it.” Some of the females gasp, while the rest sit in stunned silence at Vrenner’s words. The stench of their fear is heavy in the air.
I think of how much my mate has suffered at the hands of the Zyfeliks. If they hadn’t decided to make a detour to sell my mate somewhere else, Haley would even now be consigned to life as a slave. A red mist clouds the edges of my vision. My second heart speeds up demanding I search the universe and round up the sardos who stole my mate from her home and make them suffer for the hurt they have caused her and others like her. I want to make them pay for what they did to her. To all of the humans, but most especially Haley.
I can feel the need for vengeance growing in my chest and spreading as it threatens to drown out everything else. But before it can, a soft touch lands on my arm and breaks the spell. My forearm twitches as my mate’s warm hand strokes my skin. A calm, loving presence emerges in my chest, growing bigger until it overshadows the need for vengeance that I felt. It is her.
It is my mate, Haley. I stare down into her upturned face, and I am transfixed. Her bright eyes shine with love for me and hope for our future together. That is all that matters, now.
Vrenner looks down at the data pad he carries and with a single swipe, the screen brightens, and he types away on it in search of something. He grunts in approval when he finds it, and he holds the pad up so that we can all make out the image on the screen.
It looks like a layout of some sort.
“What is it?” Enosir questions, curiosity in his young voice.
“This is a layout of the primary ship this vessel was attached to. It was in the files we were able to download.” He uses his fingers to zoom in on the image on the pad before displaying it to us again. “I cannot decipher all of the writing, but Isabella and I believe this. . .” He points to a section of the image that he has enlarged even further. “Is a second cargo hold that was positioned on the opposite side of the primary vessel.”
On the screen is a large boxed in area with text next to it that looks similar to Galactica but slightly different. There are six smaller boxes lined up that stretch along one side. Six smaller boxes. Six cells.
Cells just like the ones in the ship that sits just over Vrenner’s shoulder. Which means. . .
My mate speaks first, her voice rising in the shocked silence that has fallen over the group.
“There are more women here.” Haley looks out at the darkened edge of the dense jungle, and I can see the shiver that runs down her spine. “Somewhere out there.”
I place my arm around her, and she leans against me, burrowing her face against my neck as I vow, “We will find them.”
And we will. No matter what it takes. We will find the other humans.