Chapter 44
DALOX
Ithought Deus was going to bolt, to risk a pulsar disruptor injury which is never fun to heal from, but he looked at me, and he shrugged instead.
At pulsar point, we are marched back through the jungle until we reach a wide clearing.
Overhead, there are still tall plants, shielding the area from the sun and from view, but all around is a clever encampment.
Some of it is salvaged from the ship or so it seems, some made from the organic surroundings in wood and stone.
It is well kept, and there is the soft smell of smoke.
As we enter, more and more females come out to stare at us.
“How many female crew did you have?” I murmur at Deus.
“Most of them,” he replies. “I always preferred female warriors. They fight harder.”
Nev it to the ancestors, he must have lost so very much when we arrived. No wonder the nevver went mad.
It would appear many of his warriors survived, whereas none of ours did. My chest squeezes because the one female I thought I would see here is entirely absent.
“Where is your mate?” Deus hisses, as if echoing my internal thought.
“Where is my mate?” I roar at Dyana.
“She’ll be here, Lord Dalox,” Dyana sneers. “And you’re going to behave yourself or either you’ll get another bite or she will.”
I seethe silently as we’re led to one of the larger buildings which looks like it might once have been an escape ship, now overgrown and surrounded by wooden stakes.
Pointed wooden stakes. I trace over them with my eyes and see the metal wire strung from one side to the other. Could this be a working ship?
I give Deus a glance and see he’s also studying the ship. Dyana barks an order at one of the warriors who runs off into the jungle, and we both avert our eyes.
“Come,” she says. “You must want some refreshments after your travails.” She smiles, and it’s a smile no male should ever trust.
I’m poked in the back by a pulsar disruptor to follow her inside. As much as Sarkarnii are good healers, the damage a disruptor would do from this range would be extraordinarily difficult to heal from and certainly render me useless to assist my mate.
A mate who is most likely not going to be a creature Dyana cares for, other than to use her against me.
Staying both alive and intact is therefore my main priority. Escape being a close second, as soon as I clap eyes on my Gillian.
“Sit,” Dyana exhorts as we take in the inside of the ship.
Although many of the walls are covered in woven hangings, it is becoming clearer this is an escape flyer from the main ship, and it looks in pretty good shape.
I sit down on one of the low stools, Deus doing the same, and goblets are placed in front of us.
“Not ale wine,” Dyana says with a half smile. “Something better, a brew of our own devising. A wine made from the flowers which grow in abundance here on the second continent.”
Deus grabs his goblet and sucks the liquid down in one before he puts it back down with a thump. His tongue comes out and licks over his lips, yet it still drips off his chin.
“More,” he says.
Dyana curls her lip.
She nods at one of her warriors who refills the goblet from a large metal pitcher. The contents are gone almost the moment it is refilled.
“Keep them coming,” Deus says, stretching out his legs under the table and lifting his arms behind his head.
I lift mine and sniff at it. It has a bitter odor. I take a sip.
Whether only mine has the additive or Deus simply doesn’t care, I’m not sure. I put it back before I take any more.
Being envenomated is more than enough involuntary incapacity for me for the entire nova-year. Possibly the decade. I do not need to be drugged too.
“Please,” Dyana says in a wheedling voice. “Accept my hospitality.”
“Will do,” Deus says, downing another goblet of the unpleasant wine.
“I am satisfied for the time being,” I respond. “I wish to see my mate, then I will take refreshments.”
Dyana growls under her breath as Deus empties out the rest of the pitcher into his mouth.
“Go see where Dyris and the others are with Lord Dalox’s mate,” she growls at another warrior. “Tell them to hurry.”
I watch the warrior leave out of the rear of the ship, my eyes wandering over the metal hull.
“Food,” Deus says.
Dyana snaps her claws, and several large platters are brought in, covered in a selection of fresh meats.
Deus doesn’t even look up, ploughing into the food as if he hasn’t eaten in a nova-century.
“You might like to see something,” Dyana says to me before shooting Deus another disgusted glance.
I suspect I probably don’t, but there are still pulsar disruptors trained on me, and in this confined space it would be very messy if one went off.
I get to my feet and follow Dyana to the front of the ship.
Around halfway along, there is a heavy curtain of metaled fabric, the type used in insulation on a starship.
With a smile I could cut myself on, she pulls the fabric aside and reveals a pit filled with cushioning.
“For mating,” she says. “I know what males like. All of my warriors are prepared to be mated in Sarkarnii form if that is your preference.”
Accelerant fills my sacs. I want to burn this place to rivulets of metal. I can’t even look at Dyana. This is an abomination of everything the Sarkarnii are.
But she has my mate, and until I see Gillian, until I know she is unharmed, I have to play along.
“Very good,” I respond.
“And you are to be the first male to service my warriors,” Dyana says. “We will use the…other…when necessary.” She glances back to where Deus is still eating like a horc.
“Once I see my mate,” I respond.
“Then you will do anything I ask of you.” Dyana lifts her chin in triumph.
I repress a snarl and instead incline my head. “I will do anything you ask.”