I claw at the helmet on my head, trying desperately to wrench it off – to bring their auras back into my mind…
…but I can’t. Whatever Torelli used to attach it, it means it’s stuck there.
“Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll get that Bond-disrupter off of you when…”
It’s an Aurelian Law Enforcement officer speaking – smiling gently, foolishly believing that he’d rescued us.
However, the Aurelian stops talking the moment Lilac starts screaming and crying again.
My survival instincts take over. My grief and sorry get crushed down, and I just try to do what I must to keep my sister and I safe.
I gently motion the officer away. My sister can’t even be near an Aurelian.
As she sobs and wails, I hold her tightly, hating the panic in her eyes. The Aurelians sense her distress, and they lead her into one of the prisoner cells on their Reaver – then tell the rest of the Aurelian Law Enforcement agents to stay far away from us.
I stay with Lilac in the cell, and after an hour without sight of an Aurelian, she finally stops crying. She falls asleep in my arms, and I hug her tightly – squeezing her, thanking the Gods that my sister is alive, even if finding her took everything from me.
Over the course of the next couple of days, I sense us Orb-Shift twice. Even though I can’t see anything of where we are – not in this windowless cell – I know we’re descending down on Colossus.
Colossus is the home world of the Aurelian Empire – and, as such, it’s a planet filled with Aurelians. The species first came from here, millions of years ago, and I fear my sister is going to have a nervous breakdown the moment we leave this cell.
I might not be too far behind. It’s hard to focus my thoughts while I’m being torn between two widely different realities. Because of this stupid helmet on my head, I can’t even sense the Bond anymore. It’s like something was ripped out of me, and I’m back to feeling alone.
Alone? I don’t think I even knew what loneliness was before all this. You can’t feel any more alone than to have three other beings inside your mind…
…and then have them stolen away.
I feel alone, even with my little sister held tightly in my arms.
At least she’s stopped crying. It’s like she finally ran out of tears.
As the vessel shakes and vibrates, suggesting we’re coming in to land, I press down on the comms-link.
“I need you to find a human to escort us to a hospital,” I tell the Law Enforcement officers piloting this vessel. “My sister needs to be treated by human doctors.”
“We can get a human to bring you off the ship,” one of the officers explains, “but there’s no hospital on Colossus like that.” He pauses. “We’ll arrange for a specialist of your species – but this is Colossus. You’re going to come into contact with Aurelians whether you want to or not. I suggest you tell your sister to close her eyes.”
Lilac whimpers. I don’t know if she understands his words or not.
Finally, the Reaver touches down. We’re allowed to leave unaccompanied, and at the bottom of the steel exit ramp is a human male in his thirties. He’s wearing the insignia of the Human Federation, and he reaches out to shake my hand.
“Hello. My name’s Charles. I know about everything that’s happened to you.”
I give him a weak smile. “I’m Allie. This is my little sister, Lilac. She can’t be around Aurelians. She’s terrified of them – beyond terrified.”
He nods. “I get it. We know all about the abuse that triad subjected you to. Did they also hurt Lilac? If so, we need her testimony for the trial.”
The trial?
“What trial?”
He smiles, which I assume is his attempt to reassure me.
“I’m a representative of the Human Federation. I’ve been working on cases of abuse within Au…” He pauses mid-word, realizing it might set Lilac off. “…within harems. I’m well-suited to the relevant laws.” Charles’ eyes narrow. “What that triad did to you is a grave crime. I’ll be pushing for the death penalty.”
Horror hits me. “No! No, you don’t understand!”
Demonstrating that lack of understanding, Charles misreads my panic.
“It’s okay, Allie! Everything is going to be okay. There’s a medical ship docked in the bay next to this Reaver. It’s got all the facilities needed to take care of your sister – and an all-human crew. You’re not going to find that anywhere else on Colossus.”
I hate the idea of being separated from my sister, but she needs a mental break. So do I.
I nod, and Charles snaps his fingers. A moment later, a woman in a stern suit steps forward, her heels clicking across the steel landing pad.
“Lilac, you can go with her,” Charles said soothingly to my sister. “She’s safe.”
Lilac looks up at me with hose big, trusting eyes of hers. I nod, and my sister reluctantly follows the woman towards one of the landing bay doors.
“Now,” Charles turns to me, and his voice grows more serious. “You and I need to have a discussion. You’re Bonded to this triad, correct?”
I nod. “Yes – but it’s not what you think.”
He smiles. “Actually, that’s all the evidence we need. No further testimony will be needed – nothing other than the color of those Aurelian’s eyes. On Old-Earth they used to talk about catching thieves ‘red-handed.’ In the case of Daccia and his triad, it’s caught diamond, brown or green-eyed.” Charles actually looks quite smug. “This is going to be a slam-dunk case. Let’s go to my office and discuss it further.”
I shake my head. “I need to go to a medical bay and get this helmet off, first. It was put on me by that scumbag back on Salcus – and then I need to see my triad.”
It’s killing me that the three warriors are no longer in my mind. I’d got so used to feeling
