He turns and places the flat of his palm on my upper chest, a clear message for me not to take another step forward, then he strides toward the group of armed aliens. Skirting them, he keeps walking until he reaches someone or something.
Bending down, he reaches out his hand and emerges from the miasma with a tiny, four-armed female in tow. Dear God, he has It. She must have escaped from Sooma Ryone.
I hear a rumble far off to the right. The worms are slithering under the surface of the soil again.
“Slag, come on,” I yell. He’s the one with the best sense of when we’re on rocky ground. I need him to safely get us all to our cave.
Slag and I grab hands. At first, he pulls me, but by the time we near our cave, I’m pulling him.
He motions for our company to have our bed, but I shake my head and order him to lie down.
“He was pursued by some huge animal earlier today,” I lie. I don’t want these strangers to know just how defenseless we are. “He shouldn’t have run so hard.”
After quick introductions, I get a good look at the crew in our cave. There’s It, as well as Elyse and her mate Wrage. The two black and red males say their race is Primian. Thantose is the captain of their ship, Devolose is his cousin. Sextus is the big sky-blue male with cobalt-blue tribal markings—he looks like pure muscle. He has more weapons than the other guys put together.
Glancing at Slag I see he’s looking at me. I know he’s feeling terrible, but he’s using tremendous effort to stay awake. Grabbing my hand, he brings it to his lips.
“K,” he says. It’s the first sound he’s uttered other than moans of pleasure since I’ve known him. As certainly as I know that two plus two equals four, I know he’s trying to say my name.
“Yep. KJ,” I whisper, my lips turned upward in a smile despite the shitty circumstances.
I lean, my lips touching his ear, “We’re going to get you better, Slag. One day you’re going to say my name. Maybe when you come.” I scrape my teeth along his earlobe. When I pull away and glance at him, though, he’s already dozed off.
We hear the underground worms outside our little safety zone. It’s like they’re butting their rounded heads against the very stone that protects us, trying to pound their way through.
“Wraiths,” It says.
“What?”
“Master . . . Sooma Ryone called them wraiths. Said they’re always writhing underground, but every seven annums they mature and rise up and race underneath the planet’s crust looking to feed. He said they’re relentless. He thought they were coming next annum. He’d planned to be off-planet by then, after he’d made his fortune.
“He threatened me with them. Said if I didn’t do better he’d leave me here to be eaten.”
“The fucker’s dead,” Thantose says with satisfaction. “My mate was treated badly by males like him. I’m glad Wrage killed him, just wish it had been me.”
A month ago I would have found his comment tasteless. Today I’m glad. I had been terrified he’d eventually come after me.
“What’s your name?” Elyse asks It. “We can’t call you . . . the other name one more time.”
Her gaze dips shyly to the ground as she says, “Allura.”
I’ll bet it’s been a while since anyone has called her that.
“Welcome, Allura. Allura’s a beautiful name.” Elyse turns to Thantose and asks, “Is Allura welcome aboard your ship?”
“Absolutely. Allura, you’ll be safe aboard. We have three females there who will be happy to have you.”
Every head in the cave snaps toward the entrance when the wraiths increase their scuffling and pounding.
Elyse explains that she and Wrage were prisoners in Sooma Ryone’s fighting Pits. By a stroke of luck, they were out of their cells and in the mansion when the wraiths converged there earlier today. The three pirates happened to be visiting, selling a valuable antique sword to Ryone. Wrage killed the walking snake, Sextus killed the guards, and they ran for their lives until we all met up.
“And us, Captain?” I ask. “Are we welcome aboard your ship?”
Thantose’s eyes narrow and his jaw hardens as he pointedly inspects Slag.
Slag might not speak, but he’s woken up and right now he seems to hear and understand perfectly. He shakes his head and motions as he tries to press himself into the rock behind his back. His meaning is clear—‘You go, I’ll stay.’
“He’s been like this since you’ve known him?” Thantose asks.
“By ‘like this’ you mean kind? Protective? Putting my needs ahead of his? Yes, yes, and yes.” I spear Thantose with an accusing gaze. “Please take us both with you, Captain. I’ll die here, and I can’t leave him on this planet alone. He’s done too much to help me.”
The captain considers for long moments, then says, “Yes. You’re all coming aboard. We have a brig and I’ll put anyone in it who threatens the safety of my ship or her crew. Clear?”
I nod, then glance at Slag. He’s already dozed off again. The trek to rescue these people was too much for him. A lesser male wouldn’t have left the comfort and safety of our cave. I grab his hand. He’s not a lesser male.
I always thought pirates were thugs and opportunists, but this bunch seems to mean us no harm. And frankly, no matter who these people are, they’re our only ticket off this rock.
“Marcus,” Thantose barks into his wrist-comm, “when can you get us off this fucking planet?” He turns to us while he awaits an answer and winks as he says, “There’s something I love about your Earther curse word.”
The winds howl
