Chapter 19

We stepped off the shuttle, and my fingers tightened around Kal’s. I hadn’t wanted to come, but he’d asked, and honestly, this would probably be my one chance to explore a foreign world. So I’d forced myself to leave the comfort of our apartment, get on the shuttle, and travel to the planet.

Ships filled the port, which spread over the sandy expanse at the base of a plateau covered in green ferns and palm trees. Several shuttles resembled the one I’d ridden in—sleek silver with elegant wings—and many others looked like defunct ships. For all I know, they were.

I’d asked before we left why we didn’t directly transport to the planet’s surface. I mean, Kal had snatched me from the street on Earth. According to him, using shuttles was easier, safer, and cost less energy, and bringing supplies back was simpler by shuttle. Not to mention, Pet-something—I couldn’t recall the name—technology wasn’t compatible with Drakcon systems because it was mainly underwater.

Kal squeezed my fingers. “We can stay on the shuttle if you would prefer.”

I shook my head.

The commander stood with two security officers, talking, but when we approached, he said, “Pest, if you and your mate would like to go to the market, you need to take a security officer with you.”

“If we must.” His voice was rough and laced with annoyance. I rolled my eyes. Kal was clearly unhappy with the guard.

I tugged him toward the buildings in the distance. Some sat on the water with stilts elevating them above the waves, while others scattered over the land. Kal gave no resistance, though he did glare at the security guard following us. A crowd, filled with even more aliens that I didn’t recognize, moved through the street framed by circular wood huts with tall palm trees in the center. The support trees had deep green bark and paler green leaves.

Kal ushered me to a hut with jewelry of all kinds. I peeked at him, hoping he wasn’t about to clear out the shop for me, though he’d gotten better about buying me gifts. After a moment, he directed me on.

Plateaus loomed in the distance. The closest one had ramps and staircases winding around, leading into caves. Greenery of bushes, palm trees, and vibrant flowers grew around the tropical jungle. The humid air made me sweat while my lungs burned with each breath.

It was so green here, almost how I imagined the Caribbean was like. I loved it, though I wished it wasn’t so hot. Me and heat were not friends.

The further we got into the market, the busier it became. People were everywhere, pressing against us in a suffocating manner. I clung to Kal, even though sweat coated me.

Kal asked, “Are you ready to go back to the port? Or maybe the beach?”

“The beach sounds nice.”

He turned to speak to the security guard, but I didn’t listen, because an odd alien appeared in front of me. They were short, reaching my waist, and had a dome-shaped head that glowed with hundreds of luminous eyes. Their light pink tentacles slithered over the ground.

I tried not to gawk at the jellyfish alien, but I couldn’t help it. Their graceful movements made the alien appear as if they were swimming through water, not walking on land. When they passed by me, I turned to watch, moving further away from Kal.

Shouts sounded, and I jerked. Extremely tall blue aliens yelled at another group of aliens, who were covered in shaggy fur like a sheepdog. The blue aliens shoved one of the sheepdog aliens, who then bit the blue alien with sharp teeth. Black blood spurted from the wound.

Another blue alien unholstered some type of weapon, and the crowd surged around me. Kal’s tail snapped from around my ankle with bruising force. I tried to get to him, but the sea of people was too thick.

“Kal,” I yelled.

A beam of light went over my head and smacked into a palm tree. Bark and palm fronds rained down moments before the tree crashed to the ground, taking another tree with it. More shots of purple went over my head, randomly smacking into trees and buildings.

Screams tore through the air, and the crowd shoved me. I couldn’t break free. People were all around me, shoving, pushing, and suffocating me. I focused on staying upright so I wouldn’t be trampled. Panic edged my mind, and black spots danced before my eyes.

I floated along with the crowd as shots continued to arc in the sky and screams rang in my ears. There was no escape from the fleeing masses.

A lifetime passed before the crowd stopped and began to disperse. As soon as I could, I broke free and sagged against the trunk of a tree, gasping for air while I clutched the front of my silky shirt—one that Kal had bought for me. The cold silver of the chain I wore dug into my palm.

I took deep breaths and focused on the perfectly smooth bark and the muggy air. The humidity was high, and the moisture clung to my skin. My shoes scraped the hard-packed dirt. With each breath, I calmed.

Trees. Plateaus. Bushes. Wood huts with straw roofs. I had no idea where I was, and Kal was nowhere in sight.

My hand dove into my pants pocket for my touchstone, but nothing was there. Panting, I ripped through one pocket, then the other, but it didn’t matter. I found nothing but lint.

“No. Nope. This is not fucking happening.” I took a step forward, then hissed. My ankle throbbed. With everything going on, I hadn’t noticed. Kneeling, I lifted my pant leg. The skin was dark purple and tender to the touch, and the joint was swollen. “This is fucking perfect. I get abducted by aliens, and now, I’m going to die on some weird ass planet. Figures.”

I searched the thin crowd for a familiar face or a drakcol one, but I didn’t spot anyone. I was on my own. Advertising I was lost didn’t seem like a wise idea. While I wasn’t on Earth, I assumed the same rules applied. People would take advantage of someone in danger, and I wanted no part of that.

Kal. He would come for me, or at least, I hoped he would. I growled at my thoughts. He would come for me. Still, I wasn’t going to wait here like a damsel in distress for someone to rescue me.

“Are you lost, Child?” an ethereal voice said, the words reverberating in my skull. The jellyfish-like alien watched me with their unblinking eyes that glowed in the afternoon light.

“No,” I replied, my voice hard and steady.

“I think you are. I will take you home.” They came closer as a tentacle stretched toward me.

I drew back. “No.”

They floated toward me, tentacles moving over the ground. “Come on, Child. Don’t be stubborn. It is dangerous to be alone.”

“It’s dangerous with you,” I muttered under my breath. More loudly, I said, “I’m fine.”

I backed up as fast as I could, limping. When I made it around the corner of a building, I fled. I had no idea where to go, but I needed to get away from the strange alien who wanted to kidnap me.

Apparently, I could be abducted by aliens twice.

I needed one glimpse of the port, and everything would be fine. If I could get there, I would recognize the shuttle I’d ridden in. In the back of my mind, my thoughts circled on Kal. He should be fine. The security guard would take care of him. Besides, he was far from helpless.

The further I went, the less populous it became and the buildings turned scarce and one of the plateaus grew bigger and bigger. I stopped, looking back and forth. A plateau covered in greenery was in front of me, the base obscured by the tree line, but there was another in the opposite direction. The shuttle was near the base of a plateau.

“Eeny meeny miny mo,” I whispered. “Which way is less fucking horrible?” I picked one randomly and started forward. When I approached, there was nothing except jungle and huts.

Perfect.

Something hit my forehead, making me look up. Clouds had gathered over the sky, threatening to release buckets on me. I sighed. Things kept getting worse. I should’ve stayed on the couch. I was a potato after all.

With the dense treeline, I didn’t see much, so I grabbed the handrail on the staircase and stepped up, wincing. I needed a higher advantage to search for the port.

Leading with my uninjured foot, I went part way up the staircase and peered around. I didn’t see even a glimmer of spaceships, so I kept going. As I came around the other side of the plateau, I paused. The port in all its glory was in the opposite direction I’d been going.

Typical.

I started down the stairs when a high, slithery voice came from behind me.

Four aliens strode down the stairs. Humanoid in shape but they had snake scales and golden eyes. Also, the planes of their faces were far flatter than any human”s could be with two slits for a nose. They all wore black jumpsuits and had some type of gun on their hips. The leader, the only female to my gaze, spoke, twirling a baton crackling with green electricity on one end between her thin fingers.

“Can I help you?” I asked, facing them.

The leader spoke again and grinned widely, but it held no humor. A shiver of dread went through me. I might not understand the words, but I understood the tone. She reached out and played with the silver necklace I wore, her forked tongue darting out.

Not allowing myself to think, I shoved her, which sent her crashing into her compatriots. I raced down the stairs as I tried to ignore the pain in my injured ankle. I slammed down on the wooden step, and my ankle suddenly gave out. I staggered, trying to snag the railing, but it was too late. I fell forward and rolled down the stairs.

Sprawling on the ground, I moaned. Everything hurt, but I had no chance to recover because snarls came from behind me. I limped away as fast as possible in the direction of the port.

Shouts came from close behind me.

Shit. They weren’t going to give up. I searched for something, anything, to use as a weapon. I snatched up a plank of wood that wasn’t particularly heavy or thick, but it was all I had.

One of the snake-like aliens barreled toward me. When he got within reach, I swung, hitting him in the chin with the board. The plank splintered, breaking in half, and the man went down. Dropping the broken hunk of wood, I ran away as fast as I could manage. As I ran past another building, I snagged a long metal bar with a nice heft.

Someone grabbed my shoulder, jerking me. I spun around and whipped out with the bar. The woman grunted as I hit her in the arm, but I was too close to swing the bar at its full length, so the strike was rather pathetic. I yanked my arm from her grasp, her claws slicing my forearm, which tore a scream from my throat. I swung again, and she ducked, then punched me in the gut. I yelped, bending over instinctively. She punched me again, this time in the jaw. Stars danced before my eyes.

I blindly swung the rod. The metal caught her on the side of the neck, and she went down.

Breathing hard, I limped, hopefully in the right direction. Another snake alien leaped from behind a tree, and I jumped back.

“What the hell do you want with me?” I swung the metal rod like a baseball bat and caught him full in the shoulder, which crunched sickeningly. He shrieked and fell to the ground. I didn’t waste any time and ran.

My ankle throbbed, my forearm stung from the slashes, and my muscles were tight from falling down the stairs. Despite everything, I went onward, eyes peeled for the snake-like aliens.

It took a few minutes, but I made it to the marketplace.

Kal was in the middle of the street with a mass of security officers behind him. His expression was fierce and his wings were unfurled. He was speaking to the jellyfish alien who’d tried to kidnap me.

“Kal.”

He whipped in my direction and something calmed in his expression. He dashed toward me. I dropped the pipe, opening my arms. Kal swept me into his embrace, wings going about me and tail hooking around my ankle. I hissed in pain, and Kal released me.

His thumb trailed along the bruise on my jaw. His words came out in growls and snaps I didn’t understand, though I caught my name.

“I lost my touchstone.”

More unknown words spilled out of his lips as he stared at the bruise on my jaw. I didn’t have to speak Drakconese to know what he was upset about.

“It’s just a bruise.”

Breath harsh, Kal’s features tightened and his scales started to glow. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hauled him close. “I’m okay.”

Slowly, his arms came around my waist, and his wings surrounded me, engulfing me in heat. Kal was hot, even more so than usual, and his scales glowed with his inner fire. I tightened my grip, and he took a deep breath before his head settled against mine, nuzzling my hair.

He whispered something softly before he kissed the top of my head, then proceeded to rub his forehead all over my hair, face, and neck. A blush surged from his attention, but I didn’t move because I felt him shaking.

“How did you find me?” I asked when we started back. At least he could still understand me.

He gestured to the jellyfish alien.

“Thank you,” I told the pink alien.

“Of course, Child. I saw you separated from your caretaker,” they said in an airy voice perfectly suited to them.

“My what?” I asked, then realized I understood them. “How do I understand you?

“Gaptu speaks all languages.”

I had no idea if that was their name or species. “Thank you.”

“So small,” they said, patting my head.

“They think I’m a kid,” I whispered.

Kal grumbled something before speaking to Gaptu again.

The alien patted my head again with their slimy tentacle.

Shaking them off, I glanced at Kal—his expression hadn’t softened in the slightest. “Thanks for coming for me.”

He held me close and took a shaky breath.