Phek.
He was hoping they’d remain solely in the cargo hold, but he was wrong.
Herza probably had them doing all sorts of jobs that required they man the whole ship.
Ka’Cit let out a breath.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
As soon as he dropped down there, they were going to attack, he was sure.
He was an intruder, and they’d be bound to protect the ship and Herza.
He had two blasters on his hip with enough firepower to get him to the human and out the ship. He hoped that would be enough.
He suspected Herza would have put her in one of the holding cells in the upper sector.
As he stared at the Niftrills down below, he tried to find the one that had the information he needed.
No such luck.
They all looked the same from overhead.
Once he went in, he just had to hope that he saw the Niftrill he needed in the process.
If not…
Well, he’d never failed to deliver on a job before. He’d find a way.
Plus, he wouldn’t think about that right now.
One thing at a time.
The ship jerked and he almost lost his balance and slid off the side of it.
As he clung on to the ship and regained his balance, a chuckle developed within his belly.
He must have a death wish.
The last time he’d hung on to the side of a ship, he’d told himself it would have been his last.
So much for keeping promises.
He could feel the vibration beneath him, a dull hum.
He didn’t have much time.
The ship was already starting to hover off the ground.
Ka’Cit pulled a smoke canister from his pocket and held it in one hand.
With the Niftrills’ poor eyesight, he could probably get away with using the dimness of the ship to his advantage, but he’d use the smoke canister anyway.
It would make his plan foolproof.
He’d open the hatch.
Drop the canister.
The smoke would fill the lower sector. He’d then have to trigger a lockdown of the lower sector and shut the Niftrills in. Ships of this make were originally built to carry prisoners. Each sector had a lockdown mechanism the guards could trigger easily. When the ships were converted to carry cargo, almost all of them kept the lockdown triggers for one simple reason—it was cheaper to do so.
The lockdown would last for a few minutes—giving him time to head to the upper sector, where he knew Herza must have put the human.
All he had to do when he found her was escape through the cargo drop in the upper sector. There was a chute there.
And the Niftrill he needed to speak to…
Phek.
He’d figure it out later.
Right now, the most important part of his plan was closing that lower sector down.
He’d do that first and think about the rest later.
8
Nia sat in the cell seething.
It must have been at least half an hour since she’d been placed in the cell—or longer. She didn’t really know.
Time moved differently in dire circumstances.
Her gaze was still on the door, but it hadn’t opened since they’d put her in and apart from the two aliens standing guard inside, no one else had entered the room.
She was still gripping on to the bars of the cell. She hadn’t moved, and neither had they.
“What do you think Herza will sell it as?” The henchman’s question seemed to echo in the small room.
“Don’t know. Felt soft when I held it. Soft and small.”
Nia watched them. They were speaking about her, she knew.
“Maybe a pleasure pet?”
The other one grunted.
“Unfair,” he finally said.
“Why?”
“We never get those things.”
“Of course not, idiot. They’re expensive.”
A moment of silence.
“Ever been close to a pleasure pet?”
The henchmen looked at each other before turning their heads back her way.
“No. You?”
“No.”
As if they had some unsaid agreement, they both stepped forward.
Facing them now, Nia realized that she could see underneath their hoods.
Their skin was dark and filled with cracks like lava underneath scorched rock and their eyes were dark too.
She shuddered a little and moved farther within the cage.
Her foot hurt—there was still that pebble inside her shoe—but she didn’t have time to take it out. Instead, she scrambled farther backward and away from the advancing aliens.
“Looks soft…” one said.
“Yes. I just said it was.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Yes…wait, what are you thinking?”
The other glanced toward the door. “No one would know…we could do it before we arrive at Port Six.”
“What if Herza finds out?”
The other shrugged. “She won’t care. As long as we don’t kill it, I think.” He paused. “Just a bit of pleasure.” And then, as if trying to convince himself, he continued. “We deserve it. When was the last time you had some fun?”
The other grunted. “Too long.” His head cocked to the side a little. “He will do.”
The other made a sound in his throat. “I am already engorged.”
Nia’s stomach turned immediately at the words that came from the alien’s mouth.
“Oh, no you’re not,” she murmured, backing up a few more paces till her back hit metal. And they thought she was male too. They didn’t even care.
“He’ll fight.”
“So?”
“Guess it’s not the first time we’ve had to use force…”
The other chuckled. “Won’t be the last either. We deserve it.”
“We deserve it,” the other agreed.
Fuck.
Nia glanced around.
The room was bare.
The cage was bare.
There was nothing she could use to defend herself if they entered the cage.
Her foot hurt as she leaned back against the cell wall and an idea popped into her head.
The pebble.
She could use it somehow.
Throw it at them?
She knew she could hit the alien smack in the eyes, she was sure of her aim, but that would only briefly disable one of them and she’d have the other to deal with. Plus, he would only be blind in one eye. He’d be fine otherwise.
Still, as they advanced, she bent and slipped her hand under her robe and into her shoe.
Her fingers closed around the pebble. The stone was warm from being underneath her foot for so long.
She
