Page 14 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Jasmin

My heart ached for Yashan and what he’d gone through.

We had to get out of here somehow, we just had to.

I couldn’t bear being forced to endure sexual slavery with some rich bastard, knowing that Yashan was condemned to die in the arena.

We had to get out of here before any of that could happen. Tonight, if we could.

So I got up and paced around the cell, trying to figure out how the mechanical lock that kept us in here worked.

I fiddled with Yashan’s manacles, hoping to find a way to open them.

They were banded tightly around his thick wrists and weren’t budging.

I couldn’t see a locking mechanism, but I figured they were magnetic.

Following the chains back to their moorings made me a little more hopeful, they were just stuck into the rock mortar with eye-rings.

Curling my fingers around one of these, I tried to see if I could twist it free, wiggling it back and forth.

There wasn’t much movement to gain in that one, so I switched to the next.

That one was better, so I started pushing and pulling in earnest. “If we can get out of these damn cells, I can get us off-planet. I’m sure Bev’s still on the tarmac.

Okar is not a planner, he wouldn’t have a pilot lined up yet and is probably partying his ill-gained money away right now. ”

There was a sudden scuffling noise, and then a growling kind of sound.

Startled, I spun and pressed my back against the wall—and Yashan’s two arms on that side.

The creature in the cell across had moved, finally stepping into a spot where I could see it.

My immediate response was the urge to flee, but, trapped, I’d gone with freeze instead.

It was massive—eight feet tall—looking much like a crocodile on two feet.

The huge, horned head was shaped much like a bull’s, including a gold ring through his nose.

A long tail swept out behind his back, studded with a row of blades that ran from the top of his skull, like a mohawk, down his spine.

The tip was spineless, curled, and twisted, leading me to think he could use it to grip things.

Beneath his horns was the only soft feature on his entire, heavily muscled, green-scaled body.

Two cow-like ears, shaped like corn husks, flared to each side.

Dark green, they had a latticework of pretty emerald decorating them, and as I looked at him in fear, both ears dipped low and back in what almost looked like dejection.

Bright green eyes were focused on my face; then they dipped down to appraise Yashan.

My skin crawled uncomfortably, that keen gaze was far too intelligent.

“Are you sure he’s not sentient?” I hissed at the male at my side.

He’d frozen too and was staring at the beastly male across from us with something like fascination.

“That’s what the guards say. I realized who they locked us up in here with when I saw him.

Drameil recently captured him. He can’t talk, they’re just calling him Beast.”

The male across from us stood stock-still, just watching.

I felt heat crawl across my face; Yashan might have believed it was a non-sentient creature.

I still felt incredibly uncomfortable, realizing I’d just had sex in front of him.

When I heard the word “beast,” I expected it to be like a dog, or maybe a tiger, or something. Not this.

The Beast made a snorting sound, lips tilting and ears flicking in what almost looked like amusement on his highly foreign features.

He curled massive, clawed fists around his cell door and twisted his head until one horn tip pressed just so against the hinge.

With a grunt from him, and a groan from the metal, it bent, then lifted free.

My surprise must have been clear on my face, because his emerald eyes almost seemed to twinkle. The tip of his tail curled around the top of the door as he squatted and repeated his process on the lower hinge. Just like that, he could bend the entire door out of its frame and step outside.

Mouth dry, fear still simmering in my veins, I pressed myself more tightly against Yashan.

There were no options in this small cell to use as a weapon, no handy stick or bar.

Not that any of it would have made a difference against this massive creature.

He didn’t appear to have a single vulnerable spot on his body.

I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen next, but I certainly didn’t expect the creature to tilt his head, listen closely, step up to our cell door, and repeat his door-breaking process.

Our door groaned and creaked much louder when it came free.

The beast froze, appraising the situation for several long minutes.

Its ears flicked this way and that as it listened for a sound.

There was still the steady thudding of a torrential downpour to muffle everything; it was covering the noises really well.

“Jasmin, I’m so sorry. I can’t even protect you!

” Yashan lamented under his breath, his insecurities rearing up.

“Shut up,” I hissed at him. “Not your fault you’re a little tied up.

” My heart was still pounding in fear, but he needed to shut up and get over his insecurities.

This monster of a guy in front of me wasn’t moving, he was standing in our now open doorway, spines flattened against his back, ears drooping.

Then he took a slow step inside and waited again.

Yashan was trying to yank on his chains, getting his legs under him to press against the wall.

He was going to hurt his shoulder like that.

I could see all his beautiful muscles go tense, saw how his mood ring dots had turned bright green and orange, and wondered if it was an indication of pain.

“Please stop,” I begged him. He dropped back, sagging in the chains, silver eyes flashing with anger and frustration.

The green-scaled male was edging closer, but he was doing so with his back to the wall.

He was also shuffling along on the side that I wasn’t.

Palms out and low at his side, everything about his posture—massive as it was—conveyed non-aggression.

I lowered my shoulders a little. “I don’t think he wants to hurt us. Look.”

Yashan did as I said, looking at the monster in our cell, his body instinctively going tense and battle-ready again.

My hand was on his shoulder in a flash, rubbing at the thick muscle.

The beast had frozen in place, watching us warily.

Only when Yashan relaxed another fraction again did it move closer.

One clawed hand reached out to one of the pins anchoring Yashan’s chain into the wall.

It made eye contact with me, ears flicking up, and with barely a grunt, the pin was pulled free.

Oh sure, of course, he makes it look easy.

He did the second pin, freeing both of Yashan’s left arms, and I saw how he quickly pulled them to his side, hiding a wince as he rotated his shoulders and moved them to encourage blood flow.

That arm position had to have been seriously uncomfortable, not to mention bad for his shoulder.

I quickly moved to the side when the Beast eyed the pins I was standing next to.

Yes, free us, please! It was as if he’d heard our conversation and decided to get in on the action.

As soon as Yashan had all his arms free, if still weighted down by the dangling chains, he rose to his feet and curled me in at least three of his arms, tucking me against his chest. “I’ve been wanting to do that all evening,” he murmured into my hair, his eyes warily following the eight-foot-tall monster as it headed out of our cell and down the corridor towards the exit.

I sighed, sagging into his warm grip, briefly allowing myself to enjoy this spot of warmth and affection.

He was such a good guy; he had already saved my life and kept my spirits up.

“What are we doing next? You know the layout of this place?” I asked him.

I hadn’t seen shit when I was brought in, and the Beast was just waiting for us at the next door—ears pointed back in our direction, listening.

Briefly, I watched the struggle on Yashan’s face.

Then his shoulders squared, and he gave me a firm nod.

“Yes, I can get us to the landing pad with your ship.” He picked up each chain and spent a careful moment wrapping them around his wrists so the loose bit didn’t dangle and make noise.

Now he looked like he had badass braces for protection.

“Let’s go.”