Chapter 6
The little female stood in front of the other two, holding her arms out in front of them as though it would protect them.
It was laughable, and I smirked. Still, it was brave.
Braver than the other humans who had boarded the spaceship and left the planet without so much as an attempt to get all of their people safe.
Vorpyr would never act in such a cowardly way.
“I’m sure we can work out an agreement.” Her voice was slightly breathless.
She was still trying to get out of this.
“We’re simple, uh,” she seemed to rack her brain for the word, her accent thick.
“Scholars. We were here because we believed that we could study other civilizations and that this place was abandoned, that no one claimed ownership of the area.” She took a shaky breath, peering up at me.
Not everyone could hold my gaze. Perhaps she just didn’t know any better. She would soon enough.
I laughed harshly and noticed with satisfaction that she shivered at the sound.
“Perhaps you’re not translating properly because you seem to keep missing the point.
These shrines, this place…” I gestured wide to encompass the entire area, “is a place for my people to honor their loved ones after death.
It's off limits to all those except vorpyr.”
Her face, though pale already, seemed to lighten further.
“We didn’t know.” she whispered. Her eyes were growing wild. The scent of her fear intensified. Good.
“Cease your lies, female. You will be punished in accordance with our laws for violating our sacred grounds.” I snarled, stepping forward. She straightened as I invaded her space but didn’t step back. Her head tilted so she could keep her gaze on my face. Her gaze cleared, the wild look fading.
“Killing a group of humans like this is a waste of life and politically unwise."
I raised a brow as a ripple traveled through my right wing. Leaning down so we were face to face, I smiled, showing her my fangs. Her lips parted and a tiny gasp escaped her.
“You are right, little female.” I tilted my head as I decided how to make use of them.
“You will do the work to provide an honorable after-rest for the guardians of the shrine that you slaughtered, and you will come with us away from this place. And then,” I lowered my voice to a growl, “you will tell me what else your humans know, and you will tell me all about your military.”
Her breathing was ragged, as though she’d just expended great physical effort. Yes, she would be easy to break.
I nodded at the humans. “Bring them.”
When Zyvar reached for the mouthy female, I stopped him. I held her gaze. “I’ll deal with this one.” The pulse at her delicate neck quickened. I smiled, keeping my fangs elongated, purposefully showing more than I had to.
We herded them forward, following Zyvar. The female said quick words to the other two in their language, and I prodded her ribs. She flinched. “I was just translating.”
“Be silent.”
Sorkyl rejoined us and we arrived at the pile of carcasses that had snarls of rage tearing from me and Pyravor at the sight of the massacre and desecration of the magnificent beings.
The little female balked and made a sound in her throat, her hand going to her mouth when she saw them.
Let others do her dirty work, did she? The male said something to her in their language.
“Get to work.” I pushed her forward, not hard enough to make her fall. The others followed.
She turned to me, her eyes glossy. “What do you want us to do?”
“Wash each one in the stream, wrap them in the cloths we give you, and lay them along the edge of the cliff side by side.” I had Sorkyl collect cloths that were blessed by my vorpyrren during the last vyqua and had been brought and stored here to clean the shrines when family came to honor their loved ones in the other realm.
The other female made small noises and tears traveled down her cheeks. Their species had tears as well. I idly wondered if they fell for the same reasons vorpyr tears fell. She jerked away from the carcasses and said something in her language.
Zyvar watched her, his red gaze flicking to mine before hardening back on her.
Despite the rake that he’d been in our growing years—and still was—he was uncomfortable with upset females.
He wouldn’t be if he hadn’t fled and made me deal with the females he’d rutted and then ignored when we were young.
I’d complained to my father about it once, when he’d taken me on a hunt.
He’d had a hearty laugh and told me it was a good way to prepare me to deal with my vorpyrren during hard times when I became the Vorazyr.
Now Zyvar was my second, my thalrikar, and he had to clean up my messes, which was something I smugly reminded him of often.
But right now, it bothered me. He should not have thoughts of sympathy for the humans when we would execute them soon enough after interrogation. I would discuss it with him later.
Several minutes passed as they transported nolykh to the stream. The female I stood over clenched her jaw as she washed the soft feathers free of blood and grime. Her breathing was shaky.
Sounds had me raising my gaze as the other female let out a sob and stumbled away from the animal. She struggled and shouted something when Sorkyl prodded her to go back. The female I realized must be the leader got to her feet and tried to go to them, saying something in their tongue.
I grabbed her, pulling her around. “Finish.” I pointed at the nolykh whose blood had finally washed clear from its fur.
“She’s scared. Let me calm her.” She tilted her head back to look up at me, to meet my gaze. “Please.”
I flicked my glance up at the other female. Zyvar had her pinned against his chest and she clutched at his shirt, fisting it as she cried. I sent him a warning glance. He rippled his wings. He knew they were the enemy.
“Finish.” I said again. A sound of frustration rose from her throat and would be amusing if not for the circumstances.
It took them nearly two hours to finish the work carefully, the way we instructed. When they were done they all looked haggard and sadness deepened the lines around their eyes. For their misfortune at being caught? They had better hold their self-pity, there was a lot more to come.
“Time to fly.” I told my warriors. They gathered up the bags and equipment the humans had left.
I snaked an arm around the female’s tiny waist, pulling her soft body against me.
She made a little noise in her throat at the contact.
Her body molded to mine, all soft little curves giving way to my hard edges.
Everything about these humans was soft. She tried to push against me, attempting to put distance between our bodies, but I cinched her tighter to me.
She would not be pushing me away when we were in the air.
Her breasts, though small, brushed against my chest, her nipples were pebbled and I had the urge to run a claw over one.
I pushed away the strange thought and without giving her any warning, I launched us into the air.
She cried out, snaking her arms around my neck, clinging to me.
When we reached the height where we could fly most comfortably, she craned her neck around to look down.
With a gasp, she jerked her head back toward me and wrapped her legs around my waist. I would have laughed, but with her thighs clenched around my hips and the apex of her body pressing so close to mine, I found my cock hardening instead.
Duty had kept me so busy it had been a few weeks since I had rutted a female, that was the issue.
Not that this human was attractive. She was small and weak, and the enemy.
At least she was blessedly silent as we flew.
It took us several minutes to reach the ship that would take us home, and by the time we got there the little female was trembling from the strain of clinging to me like an ishigah’s newborn. She grunted as I landed, the sudden contact with the ground jolting her.
Twisting her body, she looked around. Those strange eyes of hers, the darkest brown like the sweet nectar the little pyrolih made, were wide with…more than fright? She actually looked curious.
I grunted. “If you’re going to keep your legs wrapped around me like this at least take off your clothes so I can enjoy it too.” My words had the desired effect, and she nearly fell on her ass as she scrambled to get away from me.
I smothered a smirk. Gripping her arm, I pulled her along toward the ship.
“Wait.” She tried pulling back, digging in her heels, a laughable attempt when it was a human versus a vorpyr. “Where are you taking us?”
I tightened my grip, giving her a warning pinch with my claws before retracting them again. She flinched, but it unfortunately didn’t deter her. “At least tell me your name. Mine is Jacqueline.”
“The name of a dead human is of no importance to me.”
“Then tell me yours.”
A yelp and sobs got my attention. The other female was on the ground, crying again. Sorkyl looked uncomfortable, his hand out as if he would grab her, but he didn’t move.
A series of derisive sounding words came from the human male, the fool who we’d dragged out from under the rock and had jumped to his feet, swinging his fists at us. He struggled against Pyravor, who looked like he was wondering it if would kill the human if he cracked him over the skull.
Zyvar stepped over to the little female who was still crying for whatever reason.
If I thought she had information I needed, I wouldn’t even need to interrogate her with persuasive methods.
I could just glare at her and she’d tell me whatever I desired.
As it was, I was keeping her to ensure cooperation of the female in my arms, the leader.
The female jerked away as Zyvar reached for her, scrambling away and crying out something in her language.