Chapter 11 Venom
Venom
Her scent filled the room. I had trouble focusing as it overwhelmed my senses. We were finally together. We hadn't exchanged a single word yet, but this was the beginning.
I could feel her gaze on my back. I'd heard her sharp breath when she'd first laid eyes on me.
She hadn't expected me to be a naga. I supposed that was fair.
She wasn't used to being surrounded by aliens.
Her species had barely started exploring their solar system.
I had been watching her ever since the pods had been delivered to the space station.
I knew exactly what she looked like, every part of her, from her delicate eyelashes to the ring-shaped scar on her right thigh.
She, on the other hand, didn't even know I existed – until this moment. What had the chii told her about me?
My own chii guide had been just as rude and tight-lipped after we'd stepped through the portal and arrived in the Diamond Heights, thousands of miles from where we'd been.
I hadn't known that the chii even lived here.
This region of Kalumbu was rarely ever featured in the Trials.
It was too remote, with too few monsters living here permanently, and radio interference from the metals in the mountains, which impaired the camera drones.
It was the perfect place to hide from the game makers.
I shouldn't have been surprised that the chii had chosen this area for their most secret den.
Yet I hadn't expected any of the diamond hills to be hollow.
The sunshine was refracted by the diamonds, painting the walls in all the colours of the rainbow.
It was a beautiful place to finally meet my mate.
She made a strange throaty sound. My translator implant stayed silent, unable to interpret that sound.
Maybe it was time to turn around.
But I was scared. Fucking scared. What if she ran away? What if my appearance frightened, or worse, disgusted her? Nobody belonging to another species had ever described a naga as attractive. We almost always found mates among our own kind for a reason. Others mistrusted us, found us hideous.
I was a monster. She was the most beautiful female in the universe.
Fuck it. There was only one way to see her reaction. I twisted my hips, turning my torso to face her, while keeping my coils in place so I could swirl around again fast if needed.
I expected to see fear or disgust in her eyes. Instead, there was only curiosity.
That I could deal with.
"I..." My throat was suddenly dry. "I am Venom. It is an honour to finally meet you."
She smiled at me. Actually smiled. It was a small bend of her lips, without showing her teeth, but I took it as a good sign.
A thin golden mark shaped like a ring wrapped around her throat.
Evidence that a chii had mind-linked with her.
I’d heard about this before but had never seen it in real life.
"I'm Clare." She shrugged. Inside, I celebrated that our species used the same gesture.
"You must have a lot of questions, Clare." Her name was sweet in my mouth. The first time I'd said it out loud. It was the most magnificent word in the galaxy. Clare. "I am sorry I was not there when you awoke. I watched over you while you slept, but you were woken from stasis before schedule..."
I stopped when I saw her smooth forehead contract. A sign of confusion?
"Apologies. I must start at the beginning. Am I right in assuming that Jarra did not explain where you were and why you'd been brought there?"
"Jarra?"
Fuck. She didn't even know his name. "The alien who brought you to his quarters. Furry-"
"Five eyes. Black fur." She shuddered. I wanted to take her into my arms and comfort her, burn away the memories that made her quiver. "Yes. I know who you mean."
I realised we were awkwardly standing two arm lengths apart. Behind me was a pile of living moss that the chii used as beds and seating. I pointed at it with a smile that I hoped was inviting. "Do you want to sit down? There's a lot I have to tell you."
Again, she shrugged. Her gaze wandered up and down my body, as if deciding whether I was a threat. I didn't want her to be scared of me.
"Tell you what, you sit on the moss, I will make myself comfortable here. Nagas don't really need chairs."
"Nagas?" she asked as soon as she'd taken a seat.
Her back was upright, her hands clutching her knees.
It was obvious she was ready to jump up the moment she felt threatened.
I cursed Jarra and the game makers. It was their fault she'd been in danger, that she was so suspicious of me now.
But we were talking. And there had been smiles. I should be grateful for that.
"My species," I explained. "We originate on the planet Serpenthyra, but I have lived on space stations and ships most of my adult life. I will tell you more about us, but not now. We should focus on the current situation."
She nodded. "That seems like a good idea. Give it to me. Why am I here?"
Such a simple question with such a complicated answer. Instinct made me want to protect her from the truth, but she had to know.
"We are on a planet called Kalumbu, but you were first woken from stasis on the station orbiting the planet.
How you got there... I managed to piece most of it together, but there are gaps.
Somehow, you ended up on a slave ship. I assume the slavers came to your planet and abducted you, or maybe someone else did and sold you to them.
That slave ship was attacked by pirates, who took you – well, the stasis pods you were kept in – to an auction, where one of the game makers acquired you.
They had you transported to Kalumbu Station. "
I observed her closely to make sure she was processing my story. So far, she seemed to be doing alright. She'd cringed at the mention of slavers and pirates, but didn't interrupt.
"This planet is not like any others. The chii are the only sentient civilisation that live here, and most people don't even know about them.
This planet is ruled by the game makers.
They send contestants down here along with the most terrifying monsters from across the galaxy.
It's called the Trials of Kalumbu and it's big business.
Gazillions of people watch it all around the universe – it's not legal, of course, but that doesn't matter.
Contestants rarely survive. It's a fight to the death. And-"
"Wait. I didn't sign up for this. How can they enter me into these games if it wasn't my choice?"
A cold laugh escaped me. She shrank back, and I regretted it instantly.
"Viewers think that contestants are here voluntarily, but that is a lie.
They have no choice. Neither do the monsters, to be fair.
Both are transported onto this planet by the game makers – and everything is filmed.
The more bloody and brutal the deaths, the higher the viewing figures, the more money they make.
It's simple." I sighed. "I am sorry to be so blunt, but you deserve to know. "
She pushed her shoulders back and stared at me defiantly. I was so very proud of her in that moment.
"I am grateful. You are right. I deserve to know.
I need to know. It's hard to make decisions if you don't have all the information.
Are you a contestant, too? No, wait. You said something about watching me sleep, and you sent those stars in the tunnels, right, so you must be. .. No. Do you work for them?"
Fuck. I'd dreaded that question.
"No... It's more complicated than that. I was sent here as a contestant, just like you, but until the moment they caught me, I was working undercover on Kalumbu Station.
I was tasked by the Intergalactic Authority to infiltrate the space station in order to gather evidence.
The IA want to shut them down, but all previous attempts have failed.
The game makers have too much money and influence.
This time, the IA played a long, secret game.
Unfortunately, I was discovered while helping you escape from Jarra's clutches. "
"That sprinkler system that burnt his skin, that was you?"
"Yes. It was not the best solution, and I am sorry that it took so long to implement, but I had no time to prepare. I didn't realise he'd woken you from your stasis pod until it was too late. There were supposed to be other Peritans before you-"
"Peritans?"
"That's what your species is called in Intergalactic Standard. You prefer... humans, was it?"
"Yes. Human. Who came up with Peritan? I don't think any Earth language calls us that."
"I don't know. I read up on your species as much as I could, but there is not much information available. Luckily, I found language files for my translator implant, which is why we can communicate easily. Although that was before the game makers fitted you with an implant yourself."
"An implant? What the fuck? Where?"
She grasped her head, her delicate fingers searching for scars. Sadness filled me at the sight. She'd never had a choice. Ever since she'd been taken from her home world, she'd been treated as a voiceless animal.
"It's in your brain," I said softly. "There won't be a scar."
Her eyes were wide with anger and fear. "What else did they do to me?"
"There is a tracker implant near the top of your spine, but while I was still on the station, I disabled the link to it.
Unless the game makers find a very talented hacker, they can't track you.
At least not for a while. This chii den lies in the Diamond Heights, an area the game makers rarely ever send contestants to.
The camera drones don't work here, and since our suffering is their entertainment, they don't see the point in using this part of the planet for the Trials. "
She sighed deeply. "That is somewhat reassuring, I suppose. I have so many other questions, but I don't know where to start. I guess I understand now how I came to be in this place, but I still don't know who you really are."
"I'm an undercover-"
"That's not what I mean," she interrupted. "What are you to me? Why did you help me? Why did you watch me while I was in that metal... stasis pod, is that what you called it? And why did Sa'quii call you my Chosen?"
Ah. And I'd thought explaining the Trials was difficult. This would be even tougher. Should I ease her in gently or drop her right into it? So far, she had stayed remarkably calm and collected. She was just as intelligent as I had expected from reading her file.
"Please, just tell me."
I tightened my coils as my hearts drummed in my chest. "The chii call you my Chosen, but you... you are my mate."
"Mate? As in friend?"
She seemed very relaxed now. Not the reaction I'd expected.
"No. Not as in friend. I mean, I want to be your friend, but also so much more. You are my mate, my soulmate. Our souls have been searching for each other from the moment we were born, calling from across the galaxy. We are meant to be together, Clare. Now and always."