34. CHAPTER 34

It was silent, dead silent for a long time, and then his screams echoed through the halls. Dammit! I thought of Caspian and the possibility of him being in their clutches.

Small steps approached, bare flesh on stone. It was a child, a small boy dressed in a filthy white cloak. How he got inside, I couldn"t tell. He held up a fat leaf of food, showing me what was inside: something that looked like raw meat and cooked grains and vegetables. He turned around, placed the leaf on the table, and rolled it up before approaching me again and holding up the rolled leaf to eat.

"I better not be eating my fucking friend," I mumbled before taking a bite and then another until I devoured the meal. This food would recharge my jīva; then, I would break my jailer"s neck and take the key. However, I didn"t know why this child aided me.

"What"s your name, child?"

"Deuro."

"My name is Lorvian," I smiled. "So, what was that?"

"Food."

"I know, smartass. What type of meat was it?"

"I don"t know. It was in the kitchen."

"What"s going on here?" I asked to move the topic along, but it was better not to know what I ate.

"You don"t know?"

"If I did, I wouldn"t be asking you."

"These are the Rackni, and they brought us here to create many children for them," he explained, his voice trembling.

"We? You too?"

"Yes, they took me from my mother."

"I"m not creating shit," I said to myself. "Why do they call themselves Rackni when they are Valisian? Is it the name of a gang?" I then replied to him.

"The Rackni are the Rackni and I am Lucani."

"What the hell?!" This was total insanity and it was clear that this child had no idea what I was talking about.

How long have they been here?

Our systems automatically divert us from this planet, but I suppose it doesn"t work when you"re too close. Its gravitational pull was so powerful that the pods had no chance of escaping to Ashan. "Listen, you said these people took you from your mother. If I promise to free you, will you let me go?" I said, not wanting to wait around for my recharging. I wanted to leave as soon as possible. When the boy only looked at me curiously I sighed. "I can help you find your mother." This was an obvious lie. I had no intent of wasting time doing that, but if it would get him to release me, I was prepared to tell any lie to find Caspian.

"I don"t know my mother. But can I bring my friends?" He asked, his face lighting up like I told him I was taking him to a fun park.

"Yes!"

The boy ran off suddenly, and I was so enrapt in the possibility of escape that I didn"t sense the man entering the room again—the one who had become a little too fresh with me. I needed to calm down. I could achieve nothing by losing myself. My role would be the cornered animal until I revealed myself as the predator.

"I couldn"t stop thinking of you." The man approached and ran his hand over my ass and between my thighs while his free hand stroked my face and ran his fingers through my hair. He then gripped it and pressed his lips against mine, his wet tongue snaking inside. He pulled away, and I instinctively spat in his face.

"Curse you!" He slapped me, drawing blood. He pulled a small tube out of his pocket, collected the small droplets of my blood, and sealed the thing shut. "So, we can know if you truly are alpha." He stroked my face again, and this time, I fought off the urge to fight back. "You will be more willing when you eat the plants." He laughed and walked away, leaving me alone again.

I heard the patter of feet once more. "Look, I have key!" The child returned, holding up the metal key.

"Oh, thank you!" I sighed, ready to nuke this planet from orbit once I got out of here.

Cormac"s screams echoed through the distant halls again.

"Unlock me!" I demanded.

The boy complied, starting with my feet.

"I can"t reach the hands."

I gripped the chains and used them as leverage to lift myself high. "Put the keys on my feet," I said. There was no way in hell I would stay here because my savior was too damn short to free me! I maneuvered the key between my toes and lifted my legs to work the piece of metal into the hole. "Got it!" I said, turning with my feet and dropping to the floor.

My armor wasn"t inside the room nor anything I could wear. Dammit, if I had to run from here naked as the day I was born, then so be it!

I peeked out into the halls; they were empty, which was good. And I could see it was night right now. The darkness combined with these primitives using candles as their main light source made me confident in my escape.

I darted out and stayed along the walls until I reached what looked like a kitchen. The hearth was burning strong, emitting a strange smoky aroma of meats. They filled the wooden table with herbs, vegetables, and fruits, along with a basket of baked goods.

Cormac groaned from the corner, and I went to him to see how bad his injuries were. His leg was gone, and they had seared the stump shut and covered the ugly wound with a bandage.

"Those motherfuckers took my leg," he cried.

"I need you to stay silent," I warned, moving away.

"Please don"t leave me here. I swear I will fly that fucking ship to hell and back if you tell me, no complaints. I"ll tell you everything about Earth." He must have seen the tension and hesitation in my actions; he knew I would leave him. He was a crafty boy, and I"m sure he had left his fair share of possible comrades behind, including my Caspian. Trust me, I wouldn"t have left him out of malice. It was a mere question of survival, and there was no way I could sneak him and myself out of here. I owed it to him to at least tell him face-to-face what my intentions were so he could make peace.

"This is bad. You might slow me down." I grabbed a knife from the table to cut his throat. "I"ll make it quick."

He watched me, his features contorted with anger and then sadness. There was still fight in him. Under any other circumstances, I would at least give it a try to save him, but I also had Caspian and my child to think of, and getting to them was first in my thoughts.

"I"ll tell you about the Valisian on Earth! That ship beneath the colony belongs to him! The name he goes by is Mr. Evans…Erevan Evans" Cormac cried. "Please get me the fuck out of here!"

Did I hear him correctly? "The Valisian"s name was Erevan?"

"Yeah, I swear it! And I know more!"

"How do you know my brother?" I asked, ready to drive this blade into his throat, peace be damned.

"That information dies with me!"

This fuck. I had to admit, I admired his balls and brains. If he hadn"t mentioned my elder brother"s name, a name I don"t recall speaking to him, I would have killed him and left.

Looks like the chef was checking in. I grabbed the greasy Valisian, pulled him inside, gripped my hand over his mouth, and drove my blade into his heart.

Slipping on the tunic and pants of the now-deceased chef I dragged the body to the corner. I was still thinking of leaving Cormac. I didn"t even know what my brother looked like, and I was reaching a point where I considered myself withdrawn from the race to compete for the crown. Whatever my eldest brother was up to, what did it have to do with me? Nothing. It did, however, have something to do with Caspian.

The child opened the floor hatch inside the pantry. Hm. If we could escape underground and I didn"t have to fight my way out of here, then perhaps I could handle bringing Cormac along.

"Perhaps your luck hasn"t run out yet." I grabbed Cormac and tossed him inside. He groaned but knew better than to cry out. "Come on." I jumped down and lifted him on my back and followed the boy as he led us through the small, dark passage.

He topped at a ladder. "My friends are locked up there," he said, pointing to another hatch.

"I don"t care."

"I will get them!"

"Leave them!" I ordered, gripping the boy and preventing him from climbing up.

"You"re not leaving your friend!" The boy cried too loud for my taste.

"There is no way all of them can come. Gather those you love most."

"I love them all."

This little bastard! He climbed the ladder and escaped through the hatch.

"I"m dying," Cormac sighed. He wasn"t lying. I could smell the rot and ruin of his flesh. Even if I got him out alive, he would need meds and time to recover before he could be of any use. I knew what he was thinking; he wanted to leave the boy. Sound advice, but I didn"t know how long this tunnel went on or if there were other turns or paths to take or avoid. The child seemed to know where to go.

"I left my comms on so Connor can locate us, but it"s probably out of juice by now, so I don"t know how much he got beforehand—"

The hatch above opened again, but this time, armor-clad guards accompanied the child.

"I"m sorry, they caught me! Help!" The boy cried.

Sending a wave of energy, I yanked the boy inside, causing Cormac to hit the floor. I gripped him by the collar of the dirty wet tunic he was wearing and dragged him and the child along, not looking back before pushing the boy to run ahead of us. I hoped the force of power was enough to stagger the guards at least and keep them off our asses long enough to make our escape.

"Guide us now!" I ordered, making no plans to return to my previous predicament anytime soon.

The boy ran ahead, and I followed while dragging Cormac, who groaned with pain, through the muddy waters and wastes.

The soldiers were closing in fast.

"Here!" The boy shouted and opened the small hatch that was large enough to crawl through.

I released Cormac. "The rest is up to you!" I shouted and turned to hold off the soldiers as they approached.

Lifting one up, I slammed him into the other, then charged with a burst of speed and delivered a solid kick. I ran for the crawl space and scrambled under, not taking another chance. The poison still raced through my body, and too much activity was a sure way of keeping the toxins active and flowing fast.

I felt the cool air and rain on me as I reached the outside. A crowd gathered outside a few feet ahead, all gazing up at the skies. It was my ship! The comms worked!

Cormac crawled toward the woods, beckoned by the boy. And I ran right for him, lifted him onto my back again, and helped him hide.

"I"ll be back!" I reassured them and ran off to flag Connor down, halting in my tracks once I reached the crowd. I was a Valisian, dressed no different from their own, something I had to remind myself of as I pushed through the crowd, looking up at the sky with the same wonderment until I reached a clearing and waved, drawing the attention of the others. The ship hovered above, then darted away for the clearing ahead. I ran fast, this time with almost the whole damn lot of them chasing behind.

The cargo doors opened, and it felt like I was running toward paradise.

I ran up the ramp. "Close the damn doors! Don"t let them on!"

I gathered the power and pushed out, blowing the first few back as the doors closed and the ship took off. I reached the bridge where Connor was at the helm. "I left Cormac and a child in the woods there," I pointed in their general direction. Connor took off to circle.

My legs trembled weakly as I gripped the seats. My body was nearing its limit and was on the verge of crashing hard.

The Valisians were closing in on their location, and I lowered the ramp and jumped off ahead of the soldiers to carry Cormac and get the boy onboard.

"We"re on, let"s go!"

Once I saw the clearing of the forest disappear, and the tops of the trees traded for cloudy skies, I dropped Cormac, vomited, and fell like a boulder, banging my head against the metal floor.