I grabbed them, curling fingers around bumpy wrists and sending lightning bolts of pain into the other figure’s veins. My lubrication protected me, grounded me. They felt the full force of a summer thunderstorm back on my planet. It was not a power with an endless supply, and eventually, I would need to return to the sun and stars of my own world to recharge, but it had served me well, despite its limitations.
The hands left my body, the croaking voice screaming in surprise and then groaning as the electric bolts moved through their veins to land in their heart source. It stunned them, jarring the beat of their organ.
A soft thud told me that the guard had fallen to the ground.
One down. Three to go.
I moved through the storm and could still hear the fluttering of Evik’s wings. I hadn’t told him how long to keep us shielded. I hoped he kept going until I could take down the other guards.
But, as if my thoughts had beelined to Evik and he’d misheard what I meant, the beating sound of his wings slowed… and stopped.
In seconds, the dust cloud began to settle. I raced forward, seeing a figure not far from me. I slammed my hands into his body, once again using the lightning power. He fell.
There wasn’t enough cover to hide me now though, and the other two guards bellowed, bent down on articulated legs to launch into the air to close the space between us fast. Their long, venomous tongues lashed out, trying to catch my skin. The lubrication was drying, it wouldn’t protect me from the pain their touches would cause.
They came from opposite sides, bodies flying through the air.
In a fit of genius, I rushed forward at the last minute, leaving them to slam into one another and crumple on the floor.
The other captives cheered, clamoring for release.
Bolting to the keys, I grabbed them… and the bag of stones on the table. Even if the game didn’t become a con, we could sell the stones for a pretty penny, I thought.
Evik’s eyes flashed down to the leather bag as I unlocked the cage we’d both been in. Why must you take the game?
“Always thinking of the payday, buddy.”
“Help us! Help us!” Screams for release sounded from all sides.
But the alarms were blaring again, and this time, I was sure they were sounding because of us and not because of some other unknown happening in the empress’s realm.
I tossed the keys at the nearest cell, a man with long hair catching them desperately, and then I screamed at Evik to run.
I hate running, was the last thing I felt from Evik before barreling through the exit to the slave pens and finding ourselves in a maze of tunnels.
“Mother of a Crobrit,” I breathed out, realizing that the directions I’d gotten from the other captives were basically worth a pack of Old Earth salt on the planet Danesk. Which was, in fact, one giant salt mine.
11
Evik
Alder skidded to a halt in front of me. With my upper appendages, I hit the panel to close the entrance behind us, shutting out any pursuers for the moment. In a coordinated move we had perfected long ago, Alder pushed some of his electric magick into the control system, shorting it out.
Then he turned and examined the three hallways branching off from this point. He dropped his head down for a moment, cursing colorfully.
At least this time his verbal words were tied to a scent—even if it was the rancid odor of his mammalian mating musk combined with sweat and frustration.
What troubles you, my egg sac and chitin sharing warrior as one?
He glanced at me, irritation shining in his eyes. “Those idiots back there had no idea how to get to the breeder auction from here.”
I emitted a thinking scent to let him know I was considering the problem. As usual, though, Alder didn’t want to waste time with what he often called my “overthinking.”
“We go left,” he announced, waving with the hand holding the bagged stone game.
That way will lead us to Lise’s ship, I agreed. Perhaps we can hide there until we escape.
“Wait. What? How do you know the ship’s that way?”
Our scent trail leads back to it.
“Oh, Flundavian hells. Why didn’t you tell me you can smell where we’ve been?”
I clicked my mandibles in confusion. We never had need of the information before.
Alder rubbed his upper facial area with one of his hands. “So tell me, buddy. What else can you smell?”
From outside the door came the pounding of the empress’s guards—then, more ominously, the sounds of someone working to bypass the controls and open the door.
I waved my antennae in the air, gathering the molecules around me and pulling them to my maxillary palps, taking a moment to sort through the variety of information I gathered.
“Hurry it up, would ya?” Alder tapped his foot on the ground. “They’ll be through the door any moment.”
There are predators in that direction. I waved one appendage toward the hallway that stretched out to our right. That is also the direction we should go to find many females.
“The breeding quarters?” Alder took two steps, then paused. “Wait. Can you tell which way they took Morpheus?”
I fear not, my egg sac and chitin sharing warrior as one.” The scent of my sorrow at my failure surrounded us.
“Jeez. Quit spraying, dude. Okay. Ship’s that way, girls are this way.” He pointed right. “Let’s go kick some ass and free some ladies.” Alder darted down the hallway to our right.
I dropped to horizontal so I could use all my legs, overtaking him quickly. I think perhaps we should focus on rescuing Lise at the moment.
Alder sped up in response to my comment—but for the first time since we escaped the slave pens, his joyful teeth-baring expression had returned. “Sure. But if we can sow confusion
