Page 67

Chapter Nine

D evolose

I stride over and brace one leg behind me, bending the other knee to effectively make a step.

“Thantose, use my leg to climb through that archway.”

He scrambles up the shear wall.

“What do you see?”

“It’s a long corridor, definitely not a natural formation.”

“Help Tawny up.” I motion for her, she steps on my bent leg, and he lifts her to safety.

“Doc?” I pat my thigh and motion for him. He joins the others above me.

I look up to see both the males lying on their stomachs, arms outstretched to assist me. With their help, I scramble up the wall and under the arch just in time to see water raging into the cavern below.

“Hurry!” I shout. We all run up the corridor at top speed.

I’m happy to note this hallway is at a steep incline. Every step higher gets us farther from the water’s reach.

Everyone is stopped fifty fiertos ahead. At first, I assume we’ve reached the end of the line—no more excavated rooms—no place left to run. But they’re at the opening of another arched doorway. The males go through, but Tawny stands paralyzed. She’s looking back at me, the whites of her eyes showing all around her irises. She’s shaking her head “no” as her breath puffs out in clouds.

When I get close to her, she grabs me tightly and shelters under my arm. I understand perfectly. In front of her is a long row of cells opening onto a walkway, just like our little home away from home on Emirus.

The walls are dusty beige rock instead of dark grey stone, but a cell block is a cell block. I’m certain we both thought our days in captivity were over.

“It’s okay, Sprout.” I kiss her brown curls, which are crusted with ice. Pulling her in front of me, I place my hands on her shoulders, then bend to put my face in front of hers.

“Look at me, Tawny.” She struggles to open her lids, then must find reassurance in my gaze, because her tension loosens.

“I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Everything.”

She nods and her shoulders relax a bit more.

The sound of other voices filters into my consciousness, and I realize I need to pay attention to our surroundings to keep Tawny safe.

Moving down the corridor, I see Thantose and the doctor talking to someone inside one of the cells. Tawny keeps her hand around my waist, not wanting to move from my side.

We arrive at the last cell on the hallway, maybe twice as big as the one we were imprisoned in on Emirus. There are three females cowering there. They look like Tawny's species.

I remember that their race thinks my race looks like devils. I’m certain they won’t believe we mean no harm. They must be scared to death.

“Tawny, try to calm them. We’ll look for the keys.”

Tawny

The males head back to rummage through the cells we just passed, and I step to the bars. My muscles are screaming from all the exertion. I’m freezing; even my t-shirt is frozen stiff. I almost drowned about ten times in the last ten minutes. And the panic of being deep inside this cellblock clenches my stomach like a tight fist.

I push all that into the recesses of my mind as I focus on these women.

“Can you understand me?” I wonder if they’ve been implanted with the subdural translators most people in the galaxy wear.

“Yes,” they say, nodding their heads.

“Speak English?”

They nod again, relief blooming on their faces. Two of them cast their eyes down the hall, perhaps in the unspoken question of who are the scary-as-hell red-and-black devils.

“We come in peace,” I can’t believe I just said that. “The guys are searching for keys.” I take a look at the lock. The cell door is not only secured with what looks like an ancient metal lock-and-key system, but there’s a thick chain wrapped around the door and bars, secured with a more modern mechanism. “Do you know where the keys are kept?”

Two of the girls point to a door positioned directly behind my back. My heart starts beating like a jackhammer as I realize we have no guns and there might be a garrison of well-armed soldiers on the other side of the tall, thick, metal door.

“Where are the guards?” I whisper, terror tightening every muscle in my body.

“I don’t think they stayed on this planet.” One of the girls, a gorgeous redhead, points to a stack of provisions in the corner. It looks like there are enough nutrition bars and water to last three women a month.

“They provide food and water and then leave?”

“We’ve only been here ten days,” a fortyish blond says. “We haven’t seen them since they dropped us off. We have translators.” She points behind her left ear. “From what we pieced together, they were going to find the highest bidders and come back and get us. I’m Carrie.”

“I’m Tawny. The males and I will do everything in our power to rescue you. I don’t know what’s happened to the planet, but the river out there is flowing backward, which means water will be filing this cellblock in minutes.”

“I hope they find the key,” the redhead says, her voice tense. As an afterthought, she adds, “I’m Brin.”

“Tell them to hurry,” the short brunette practically orders.

“Her name is Lexa,” Carrie says.

“Guys!” I call down the hall. They join me, Dev putting his arm protectively around my waist. “The women don’t think there are guards on the planet.” I point to the stack of supplies. “They dropped the women here with food and water, then left to find buyers. We think they may keep the keys through there.” I point to the doorway.

They barge through the doorway. Every cell in my body is on red alert, waiting to hear the sounds of a scuffle or laserfire, but all I hear is their muffled voices as they rummage for a key, perhaps also searching for a way out. When I glance back into the cell, I notice a small pile of clothing near the food.

“Are there pants in there?” Please, dear Lord, I hope there’s something I can wear. It couldn’t be above freezing. My teeth are chattering.

Carrie rummages through the pile and tosses me a tunic and some pants made of soft leather that match what all the females in the cell are wearing. I tug them on, pull the drawstring at the waist and hope they’ll keep me a bit warmer.

“How’d you find us?” Lexa asks.

“We were on the planet for...a little R I know we can get them out.”

We keep working, the water keeps rising. I haven’t been able to feel my fingers on the cold bar for long minimas . The fingers and lips of the females with pale skin are turning blue. I can only work by feel now; the dirty water has completely obscured my view of the floor.

And then the bar slips loose. Just like that.

“Females, slide through the opening! Hurry!”

The water is to our knees, the hole is about one fierto wide and two fiertos tall. The females have to crawl down under the water and shimmy through. They’ll all be drenched completely then have to run back to the pickup site in the frigid air. Better than drowning!

Two of the women are through the hole and outside the cell when the redhead panics.

“I can’t swim!” Her voice is high and thin. She’s shaking.

“Someone convince her to crawl through that hole. A minima of pain now, or death for eternity!” I put the sound of fierce command into my voice. We have no time for this.

“Now female!” I order her, hating to use the voice I used on Tawny many times in the dungeon. I need to put her worries in the back of her mind and simply have her follow my orders.

She hesitantly comes forward, dives under the murky water and pops up inces from me.

As soon as we’re all on the same side of the bars I yell “Run!”

Tawny explored here earlier. We all follow her as she leads us down several hallways to safety.

We get outside, and the cold steals my breath away. It’s blowing snow. We’re all soaking wet and poorly dressed. The valley looks completely different than when we arrived only a few hoaras ago. It’s a harsh winter landscape instead of a tropical paradise.

Tawny’s in the lead, I bring up the rear, making certain we leave no stragglers. The females’ hair is white, caked with ice particles. None of us have shoes. It’s snowing heavier even in the few minimas we’ve been outside.

I see bloody footprints in the snow ahead of me. We’re all walking on broken stalks of foliage and bushes, also sharp rocks. None of us can feel our feet. It will be a miracle if all six of us make it to the ship alive.

And then I see it. The Tranquility has made it through the trees and is hovering above the now-frozen pool of water. It’s clearly visible even in this driving snowstorm. Maneuvering closer, she sets her ramp down less than one hundred fiertos away.

Thantose, Sextus, and Griff hurry to meet us. They each grab a female and help them onto the ship. After another trip, we’ve all been helped aboard.

A few minimas later, everyone on the vessel but Marcus, the pilot, is crammed into the kitchen. All those who were rescued are covered in blankets, tea is brewing on the stove, and the engines are thrumming. As we enter hyperspace I say with conviction, “I never want to visit Paradise again!”