Page 5

“I don’t think they do it intentionally.

The food they eat doesn’t always agree with our stomachs, and sometimes, we get sick from it.

They mostly give us fruit and roots that we dig up and boil in water, but they keep the meat for themselves.

Unless…” She bites off the rest of her sentence as she glances at Maeva, who’s kneeling next to the fire.

Unless they’re selling us today. They want to make sure we’re not going to faint from hunger. That’s why they fed me when they first brought me here.

My stomach roils at the thought. And now my power is useless. I won’t even be able to save us. For all I know, I’ve sustained brain damage, and my power is permanently gone.

A Phaelix pushes me roughly, causing me to fall to my knees.

He dumps a bucket full of wiggling tadpoles in front of me and screams loud enough to make my ears ring.

Wiping away his spittle that landed on my face, I look at the other women for a clue of what I’m supposed to do, and then I almost vomit again.

They’re using flat stones to crush the heads of the tadpoles before gripping the top and bottom jaws and turning them inside out. The thick leathery skin of the tadpole detaches easily from the slippery body, allowing the women to skin the fishy sperm effortlessly.

I watch in horror as a Phaelix rips the skinned tadpoles into pieces between his sharp teeth before spitting the morsels into a bucket. Karl takes the pieces from the bucket and skewers the meat onto a stick that he hands to a trembling Maeva who roasts the meat over the fire.

Soon, the smell of barbecued chicken fills the air.

Oh, my god.

That’s what they fed me on the night they abducted me? Giant sperm toads?

The Phaelix eat first. When Sandy hands out the leftover meat to the humans, I consider giving my ration a pass, but I need my strength. Only, when I swallow my first bite of juicy meat, it comes straight up again.

The Phaelix sitting closest to me isn’t happy. He waves the pointed stick in his hand at the undigested meat on the ground and throws what sounds like a string of accusations at me. I pick up the meat, dust it off, and pretend to eat, but when he’s not looking, I throw it in the fire.

As soon as breakfast is over, we’re shooed into the bushes to relieve ourselves while two Phaelix stand guard. The fire is quickly put out and the clearing covered with branches, presumably to hide it. Then we take off along the same path to the lake.

Instead of crossing the water in a barge as I was expecting, we walk along the shore to the other side before cutting through the jungle. Yellow, red, and blue flowers with glittery anthers grow everywhere, competing for space with black, spongy ferns.

A rocky mountain leers up in front of us.

A broad river divides the landscape. A barge similar to the one from before waits in the water.

Once we’re all inside, two Phaelix row us downstream with paddles.

At the mouth of the river, we enter a lake.

The mountain rises from the water with a halo of smoke hanging over the top.

Holy cow.

It’s a live volcano.

At the foot of the mountain, we enter a cave with a ceiling that’s so low we have to lie flat in the barge to prevent our heads from bumping on the rock ceiling.

On the other side, the cave opens onto a tropical beach in the middle of the mountain. Cliff walls surround the beach from all sides, cutting us off from visibility. It’s a brilliant hideout. Under different circumstances, I’d call this secret beach in the hollow of a volcano paradise.

A big wooden platform stands in the middle of the beach. The circular stone benches surrounding the stage are packed with Phaelix.

Oh, shit.

A Phaelix runs up to pull our barge onto the sand. We’re promptly escorted off the barge and lined up behind the stage.

“This is it,” Sandy says, spitting on the sand. “We’re being auctioned.”

“What are they going to do with us?” Alexa asks in an unsteady voice.

“Your guess is as good as mine, hun,” Sandy says.

The Phaelix who brought us here are on the stage, making some kind of speech while the crowd goes crazy. It all happens in a haze. I blame it on my concussion, not quite realizing what’s going on when a Phaelix shoves me between the shoulder blades and orders something I don’t understand.

I look at the other women and Karl. They’re all naked. We’re definitely not being sold to work. Well, not only. If these assholes want to glare at the goods, it can only mean one thing. They intend to rape us.

When I don’t move, the Phaelix grabs my shirt and tears it down the middle. There’s a flash of claws, and then I’m naked too.

Maeva is the first one to be manhandled onto the stage. Strangely enough, she’s not crying but only staring vacantly in front of her.

The other women are shivering on the wet sand, looking on with terrified expressions.

Karl stands helplessly, his jaw bunched in powerless anger.

My turn is next. I stumble, nearly going down onto my knees.

I sway on my feet in the center of the stage, barely hanging on to consciousness.

I don’t want to pass out now. Who knows what these fuckers are going to do to me?

If only my power would return… Unfortunately, I’m as powerless as the day I arrived on Zerra.

Someone calls out something from the audience. I turn my face toward the sound.

What the…?

I blink twice to make sure I’m seeing right.

Shit.

Not all Phaelix look alike, after all. The one who’s standing, pointing a flabby arm adorned with shiny bangles at me, is enormous. His head is the size of a yoga ball, and his red glowing eyes are bulging out of his head. The folds under his chin wobble as he says something.

The Phaelix on the stage, who’s digging his claws into my arm, calls something back.

The Phaelix in the audience laughs so hard his big stomach shakes.

He lifts the folds that hide his groin in both hands to reveal a red tongue-shaped dick with a forked end snaking from somewhere.

With all those scaly layers, it’s impossible to tell where it’s attached to his body.

He makes a vulgar thrusting gesture with his hips, causing raucous laughter to break out in the crowd.

I can only imagine what he’s saying, but I’m not staying to find out. Concussion or not, one look at that dick dripping with sticky, green goo is enough to propel me into action.

I jam an elbow into the ribs of the Phaelix holding me, catching him by surprise. He lets my wrist go and utters a cry of pain. I kick him between the legs for good measure, taking no small satisfaction in how his eyes cross as he cups his groin and goes down on his knees.

My best bet is the water. I’m sprinting for the side of the stage, knowing that with my head injury, the jump has a good chance of killing me, but I’d rather die with my face in the sand than between that Phaelix’s legs. Or worse, with that red dick down my throat.

I’m almost at the edge when my run is broken violently. A claw locks around my ankle, plucking my feet from under me. My wind is knocked out when I hit the wooden surface.

For a moment, I can’t breathe. All I see are fireflies. They’re everywhere—on the beach, in the sky, and behind my eyelids. I’m blinking through the fog, trying to clear my head when the big Phaelix drops the folds around his middle and raises his arm triumphantly in the air.

A chorus of cheers rises among the Phaelix.

Oh, fuck.

I think I’ve just been sold.