Page 5 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Five

DAR

When I open the side door and enter the building, the smell of so many unwashed bodies immediately irritates my senses.

Ignoring the sudden silence, I move forward, looking at the poor souls being displayed on the stage.

Everyone in this room would all soil themselves if I removed my cape.

At least some of them were smart enough to be wary as they sensed the predator I truly am.

It’s a good thing I conquered my empathic abilities as a young man, or all the emotions in this room would be overwhelming. I can still feel them all and they are like a battering ram to my senses.

I wave my hand for the auctioneer to continue and settle myself against a far wall, away from the crowd.

I hate having enemies standing at my back, especially in an establishment like this.

I watch in utter disgust as the beings on stage are all groped by those willing to purchase them.

The very thought of having to touch even one of these diseased creatures makes me shudder, let alone thinking about taking one home.

How the frack did I let SAGE talk me into this? I start to turn away and say frack it, ‘ I’m leaving’ and SAGE is going to have to fix this problem on her own. But then something soothing catches my attention, humming. One of the creatures is humming.

The sound is coming from the last one being brought up to the front of the stage.

Subconsciously , I reach out and touch her mind but it is so full of grief, it takes me a minute to breathe through her pain.

She has pulled her consciousness inward, seeking the happiest moments of her life to get her through what she perceives as Hell .

I know she does not know her mind is so strong she might as well have reached out and touched me.

I feel her grief like it is my own, her emotions are so loud.

I watch her physically struggle to keep standing there.

Her body is weak from her multitude of injuries.

There is no way she will survive long; either her mind will finally cave, or her body is going to give out.

There is no denying this one is definitely a female, with those curves and those breasts.

She has tried to cover herself up as much as she can with her hair, for what little good it has done her.

Even though she is an absolute mess standing there all alone, there is no hiding her feminine traits.

I notice as she sways unsteadily on her feet the bright red blood running down her legs and arms, and an unnaturally large pool of it surrounds her feet.

A black bruise mars the whole right side of her face, one arm hangs at an odd angle, while the other presses hard against her side.

Her long brown hair lies flat against her scalp, matted with dried blood and who knows what else?

I hear the auctioneer announce that she is the last one for today and that she is a Terran , or what her planet, Earth , calls a ‘human’.

Unfortunately , she cannot be sold as breeding stock since her reproductive organs had been removed prior to abduction.

All she is suited for is a housemate or maybe a quick profit in the local bordello.

She does not respond to a single word the auctioneer says and this makes me wonder if they have given her a translation implant.

She rocks back and forth on her heels, humming what sounds like a lullaby.

I can see her eyes are vacant as she stares out into the crowd.

The more I look at her, the more things I notice.

She is definitely older than most of the slaves sold here, and she is also quite small compared to the other females in the room.

I start to raise my hand to bid on her, but suddenly, a fight breaks out for her in the front row.

Irritated , I begin to turn away but I find my feet moving toward her instead. Before I know it, I am standing in front of her, reaching out for her arm .

I pull her gently to me. She stumbles forward, and I gather her against me.

In one final scoop I hold her against my body, comforting her like one would a child.

She does not try to fight me at all; she just stares up at me as if she is looking at someone else.

The room goes silent as I turn with her in my arms and head back for the rear door. “ She is mine! Send me a bill.”

I know no one will dare to try and take her away from me.

I hear the auctioneer apologizing to the crowd behind me, saying something about more will be available next month.

We will see about that! I approach the exit on high alert.

I have not even taken the time to look down at the female since I gathered her close.

I can feel the ‘ Rage ’ working its way up my spine, and if anyone knows what is good for them right at this moment, they will not approach me.

A pair of guards step in front of me at the door and I grin. The Rage inside of me is already looking forward to the fight.

One of them holds up his hand. “ Master DaR , please excuse us for the momentary interruption, but our planet’s laws will not allow you to take a slave off the planet without a collar and the mark of its new owner.

If you would step over here for just one click …

I … I mean we …will get this done quickly, and you can be on your way. ”

“ So , you know who I am?”

“ Yes Master , we were made aware of your presence right after your arrival on Sybrus One . We are honored by your appearance here. Please , Sir , if you would kindly step this way.”

I watch the young guard’s hand tremble when I stand there for a moment. I know he is terrified of what I am going to do.

Taking a deep breath, I reply, “ Lead the way.”

The young male lets out a shaky breath and then stumbles as he tries to guide me over to a scanner set up on the side of the building.

“ Sir , if you would simply sit her inside, we will get this done quickly. I know you have more important things to deal with than a worthless slave.”

A growl leaves my throat. “ Watch your tongue unless you want me to remove it, youngling. What is worthless to one is priceless to another. I will not put her down. This poor being has been through enough.” Her body trembles in my arms, but she is so light it is like holding a child.

“ Yes Master , please forgive me for my forwardness. You will need to lean down some for me to put the collar on her.”

I bend my knees, lowering her down to his level when I become aware of something wet and hot seeping through the sleeves of my cape. As he starts to reach for her neck, he shoves her hair out of the way roughly, and I hear her whimper .

“ If you still want that hand when you are done son, you will ease your touch with her immediately. Do not make me warn you again.”

He nods and gently lifts her neck and hair up out of the way of the collar and snaps the ends together. A small chain is attached to the ring in front, and he holds the chain out for me to take. I motion for him to lay it on her stomach.

I am so focused on him putting the collar on her, I almost miss the large brown eyes staring up at me through all her matted hair. She is absolutely filthy, and she smells like she has been lying in her own shet for days. However , for a moment her eyes are vibrant and full of mischief.

She doesn’t look scared, and she doesn’t scream when she sees my face.

She simply shuts her eyes and goes back to humming.

The guard reaches out for her arm and runs a scanner over the mark already burnt into her skin.

Before I realize what he is doing with the scanner, it locks onto her arm.

She screams when it burns the barcode into her skin and then goes limp in my arms.

I yank the scanner off her arm and throw it to the ground, shattering it into a million pieces. The growl that leaves my throat has the guard backing away from me warily.

I drop her knees and pull her flush against my chest. With my now free arm, I knock the guard clear across the room.

She begins shaking uncontrollably. I start to rub her back gently trying to soothe her, but she actively tries to move away.

When I pull my hand back, it is covered in her blood.

Frack , her back has been shredded! My vision turns red and if it was not for the fact that I need to get her to a healer right away, I would go back inside and tear this place apart board by board.

I would not stop until the things that hurt her were begging for her forgiveness and my mercy.

I feel her heart stutter against my chest and my own stops for a moment.

For the Love of Light , she is going to bleed out on me before I can get her out of here.

I have no idea why I care, but I put my arm back under her knees and gently pull her against me.

I make my way hastily through the crowd, and I am steps away from my ship when two Orks step in front of me.

“ You hurt our final cut back there, BOY ! You are not allowed to just take what you want. We believe you owe us a significantly larger commission than you paid for the toy you are holding in your arms. There are rules here for a reason and we believe you need to be taught some manners. You do not just walk up and take what you want here… BOY .”

They both have large clubs in their hands, and they beat them against their palms trying to intimidate me. They look at each other and laugh, thinking that the odds are in their favor.

I have no time for this foolishness. The female in my arms needs medical attention this instant.

I stand still for a moment, looking at my opponents and then I hear the hush of the crowd and people scurrying to get out of the way.

The Orks start to walk toward me and I hold up my hand for them to stop.

“ Well gentleman, if we are going to engage in warfare, let me at least put her down so we may do this fairly.”

I twist around, lowering the female in my arms to gently place her on the ground behind me. As much as I hate to do it, I hook her chain to my belt. I am not worried about her running away as much as someone trying to take her. Her brown eyes are large and full of fright as she looks around.

“ Be at ease little one,” I whisper to her, and the words shock me as much as they do her. I have never felt the need to be gentle or had a reason to comfort another.

I turn back with a smile on my face, knowing the Orks cannot see who I really am.

As worked up as I am right now, this is going to be fun!

“ So , you think I am a boy? I know not whether to be flattered or insulted. Apparently , you do not know who you are dealing with. I will give you this last chance to walk away with your lives, because no one threatens me or anything of mine and lives to tell about it.”

I can see them start to fidget as the whispers from the crowd start to reach their ears. “ Our mother didn’t raise any cowards so we don’t care who you are,” one of them says bravely.

I slowly lower the hood of my cape and watch the panic and alarm on their faces when they realize who I am .

“ Master DaR , we didn’t know!”

“ That was the whole purpose of the cape, BOYS !” I growl the last part out. “ But you were warned. Now , let us see how tough you really are.” I pull the axe from my back and smile. “ Come on now, do not be shy. Who wants to die first?”

I take a single step forward and before I can swing my axe I see them look at each other, turn, and run.

I shake my head as I watch them weave their way through the crowd.

“ Damn , I was in need of a good fight.” I settle the axe back onto my back and as I start to turn around to gather the female up, I feel a tug on my cape.

Looking down, there is a small Valerian toddler pulling on my cape. She has beautiful blue skin, and her black eyes look up at me with the innocent trust of a child. I bend down to her level.

“ May I help you, youngling? Have you lost your parental units?”

“ No , Sir . I told mother I needed to speak to you and that I would return in a moment. She is standing over there watching me. I told her it was very urgent.” She points out the female sitting on the ground.

“ I believe there is something wrong with your pet! I was very concerned when I saw it sitting in the dirt behind you. If you no longer want it, mother said I could take it home and try to nurse it back to health. ”

I hide my smile under a fake cough. “ Why do you think there is something wrong with it?”

“ She has lost all of her coloring. So much so, she is almost invisible. There is no blue left on her skin at all. Her life force seems to be soaking into the ground all around her. And to be honest, I think she needs a bath. My mother would be very upset with me if I treated any of my pets this way. It is very important that we are good to things that are not the same as us. Your Dam should have taught you that when you were little.”

I nod my head yes. “ My Sire taught me many good things too and it seems as though your mother is doing the same for you. And you are right; my new pet is in bad shape. I just purchased her from the bad ones in that building, and now I am going to take her to a healer to make her better.”

“ You promise?” The little female stands there with her hands on her hips.

“ Yes , young one, I do.” I take a step away from her and I reach down, gathering my new slave/pet/helpmate in my arms. There is no way I am going to try to explain who or what she is to the young Valerian when I do not even know myself.

Pulling her close, I hear a small whimper escape her lips.

Before I can step away, the youngster reaches up and touches the slave’s leg.

I cannot move or look away. Her black eyes stare up at me as she whispers, “ The Gods brought you to this place for a reason, DaR . Here lies the peace you have always prayed for and the answers you have sought.”

Valerians are known for their otherworldly abilities, especially reading another’s future. I know not to mock the child.

A chill runs down my back. “ I will take your words to heart, young one. Thank you for your blessing.” I watch the child turn and skip away, knowing she won’t remember the words that were just spoken. She was a conduit for something more.

I step up onto the ramp of my ship. “ Tordan ?”

“ Yes , Commander ?”

“ I need a healer at my residence the very moment of my arrival!”

“ Are you injured, Sir ?”

“ No , but the human in my arms is fading quickly.”

“ A human, Sir ? What species is this? What do I tell the healer?”

“ I am not sure, but you better figure it out before I land!”