Chapter 7

Kleena

Kleena stood in shock as the auction suddenly dissolved into a chaotic battle and fights for survival. She realized the disarray was just the thing she needed—the perfect cover for a smart slave to escape.

Looking around to find the exits, she spotted something that made her heart sing with newfound hope. The key to her shackles had been carelessly dropped by a guard fending off his attackers.

She bit her lower lip in concentration to avoid being noticed and rushed over, deftly unfastening the chains binding her. As they fell off, her mind started to churn, keeping her focused on fleeing and not looking too hard at the chaos she left behind.

She ducked and swerved, narrowly avoiding the guards or their attackers bumping into her.

Kleena briefly noticed that the attackers were snake-like and then realized they were Niri. She didn’t stop to wonder why they were attacking the auction house. She was too busy escaping to worry about Niri motivations.

Swiftly taking advantage of the commotion, she slipped through the crowd and mayhem like a shadow, intent on getting away at all costs. She neared the exit closest to her when a fellow captive’s desperate voice made her stop in her tracks.

“Please, take me with you!”

Quickly glancing back, Kleena saw it was the younger girl from earlier, the one who had told her about the infiltration.

Her heart sank. She couldn’t just leave the poor thing like that to fend for herself. Her resolve to get out no matter what wavered, and her compassion won. She rushed back and unlocked the girl’s shackles with her key, which she had held so tightly in her hand, it had started to bleed.

Once the shackles were off, Kleena grabbed the girl’s hand, and together they ran for the exit.

“Thank you!” The girl was crying, but her voice harbored hope.

They were only a few steps away from the door when a Niri warrior intercepted them. He grabbed the girl, his grip on her ironclad and impossible to break.

Kleena pulled as hard as she could but only managed to hurt the young woman. Torn between rescuing the girl or surviving, she stared into the girl’s eyes.

Her heart ached because she knew there was no way they would get out together now. Kleena had no hopes of fighting off a Niri warrior.

With a heavy heart, she realized she couldn’t free the girl on her own, and she let go of her hand.

“No, please! Don’t leave me!” the girl screamed and cried.

Kleena felt the guilt immediately eat away at her insides.

The cries echoed in her ears as Kleena yanked open the door and ran down the hallway.

“I’m sorry!” she whispered as she continued to make a desperate escape, the din of the fight still loud enough to make her worry about being caught.

Turning a corner, Kleena nearly collided with one of the auctioneers. She swerved out of the way, but he grabbed her arm, his intent clear in the malicious grin on his face.

“Just where do you think you’re going, filthy little human?” He pulled her closer to him but she desperately squirmed, managing to worm herself out of his grip. “Nah-ah, not so fast!” He grabbed for her, but Kleena dodged, his fingertips just grazing her skin.

A look of frustration settled on his face as the auctioneer grabbed for her again, this time aiming for her neck.

Once again, she weaved herself out of his grasp, quickly stepping back to remain out of reach. Her back collided with the wall, and she stared at him, fear once more coiling in the pit of her stomach. Certain of his victory, the auctioneer walked up to her, looming over her and doing his best to look intimidating. He didn’t have to try too hard. Kleena was much smaller than him and couldn’t hope to actually fight him.

He pinned her to the wall, his hands at the sides of her head.

She breathed fast, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest. He lowered himself so they were eye to eye.

“Thought you could escape, huh?” He snickered in her face. “Not gonna happen.”

She lifted her knee with all the might she could muster, slamming it into his groin. He doubled over in pain, clutching his wounded flesh.

He hissed something at her that she couldn’t understand, but she didn’t want to stick around for a translation.

Sprinting off in the direction she’d initially been going, she didn’t look back.

Kleena had run a total of six steps when something grabbed her from behind, pulling her back by her clothes. The pull was so powerful that she fell on her back, the wind knocked out of her lungs.

Gasping for air, she stumbled to her feet, her vision blurry. She looked back and made eye contact with the auctioneer, who was already so close, she could smell him.

“No!” She tried to run away, but he grabbed her by her hair, pulling her to the ground once more.

A scream of pain burst from her mouth, but she quickly went quiet again, resolved not to show her opponent that he was winning their fight. Sheer determination helped her jump up once more, not stopping to dust herself off or check for injuries.

She would fight back with everything in her, even if she was fighting a losing battle.

The auctioneer growled angrily. “Enough of these silly attempts. Just give in already and let me shackle you for good!”

Kleena bent down and grabbed some of the dirt off the ground. “Never!” She threw it in his face, and he tried to block it with his arms.

Some of the dirt got in his eyes, but it wasn’t enough to make him give up or let her go. Instead, he blocked her path, standing in front of her with his arms held out to grab her. She attempted to run past him by making herself as small as possible and managed to squeeze past him. He let out a growl and grabbed her wrist, his grip tight enough to leave a nasty bruise. With a triumphant sneer, he pulled back, dragging Kleena to his side.

A primal scream tore from her throat as she fought back, bashing his hand where he held her with her fist repeatedly. She refused to be subdued, her spirit unyielding, and her eyes filled with the fire burning in her as her desire for survival set her soul ablaze.

She continued to hit his hand with all her might, but this only made him clasp her even tighter. Another scream erupted from her and she started kicking the auctioneer anywhere she could reach. He laughed at her attempt to overpower him.

Hearing his taunting laughter fueled her and she started throwing punches at his face. A few of her hits connected, causing him to loosen his grip a little. When she tried to pull her wrist free, he tightened his hold once more.

“It’s going to take a lot more than your feeble punches to bring me down!” He sneered at her, and Kleena felt her hope start to fade away.

She groaned, refusing to allow him to deny her hope. “I don’t care! I’ll fight you until death. Yours or mine!”

“Well, it’s not going to be my death, I can assure you.” He chuckled and looked into her eyes, pinning her with a hateful glare.

Despite her brave words, Kleena knew she couldn’t win or escape. It was hopeless. No matter how many times she tried to get away, fate somehow always made sure she couldn’t.

Tears of frustration stung her eyes, and she was overcome with a feeling of hopelessness.

The auctioneer’s grip suddenly went slack, and she watched as he fell to the ground with a loud thud. She looked up and spied a Niri warrior standing over the limp body.

Fear tightened its hand around her very soul, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Her eyes met the warrior’s, and her heart thudded. She couldn’t put her finger on the reason, but she sensed that this Niri was different.

He was startlingly handsome, for one thing. And he looked down at her not with malice but concern. His eyes softened from the warrior’s gaze to something she almost thought might be worry.

Kleena shook her head. She couldn’t get sucked into false hope now. She was so close to her freedom! No way would a seasoned warrior like him hesitate to claim her as his trophy: alive or dead.

She could feel the bloodthirst and power emanating from him, almost creating a visible aura, but something inside her spurred her not to give up now.

With a quick glance down, she noticed the blade next to the unmoving auctioneer. She bent down and picked it up, pointing the weapon at the serpentine warrior in front of her. “Stay away! I’m not afraid to use this!”