Page 323 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Eoin

It took us two days to reach Rakex. We spent a good portion of that time in our cabin, making love.

As far as the human ‘honeymoon’ custom went, it was a very short one, so I vowed to make sure we’d take off later for some well-deserved privacy.

Here, on the Varakartoom, we didn’t have the widest selection of babysitters to choose from, but at least the elusive chef had volunteered enough times to give Tori and me some moments together when we didn’t have to be so quiet.

There was nothing I loved more than hearing my mate scream out her pleasure.

Landing on Rakex filled me with a range of mixed feelings.

Being back among our friends would be good, but they’d poke and tease the moment they discovered Tori and I were now well and truly mated.

I grinned as I changed my mind, maybe I kind of liked the idea of declaring that so boldly to the motley Vagabond crew.

I’d made Tori think I was worried about what Sunder would think, discovering that his adopted daughter was shacking up with me.

The truth was, I couldn’t wait to let him know.

Sunder had known from the start that this was as inevitable as his own mating to Aggy.

The only one who hadn’t seemed to know that was Tori herself, but I was fine with that.

We had needed this adventure. It had only brought us together more strongly, and that was something worth celebrating.

Stepping out of the airlock and into the fresh Rakex air, I drew back my shoulders and inhaled deeply.

There was the scent of the trees, thick and fresh, and the little port city was a white, glittering gem of fortifications and walls off in the distance.

The thick, wild forest sprawled out beyond the city, lush and verdant.

Rakex was the perfect example of Kertinal culture, built to be beautiful as well as wild and dangerous.

A delegation of Kertinal officials was waiting a little ways off on the painstakingly leveled granite rock floor.

A huge, naturally occurring slab that had been used to create the landing strip provided space for over a dozen ships at a time.

They were here to help settle the rescued former slaves.

The Varakartoom Captain had already efficiently petitioned for sanctuary for each of them before we’d even arrived on the planet.

The only ones who wouldn’t be staying on Rakex were the humans, no surprise there.

The injured male was still in the med bay, so injured that he hadn’t even roused yet.

So injured, in fact, that the Varakartoom doctor was refusing to release him from his care.

We had assurances from the Captain that the male would be well treated if he survived, and given the choice of sanctuary in a place outlawing slavery, or even to contact the Vagabond so he could join us.

The other human, Oliver, had chosen to join us on the Vagabond.

An odd choice, I figured, considering that almost all of the humans the Vagabond had rescued had chosen to remain on Rakex too.

Maybe it was because he was one of the only males that he preferred to stay aboard a ship, where his company would be more mixed.

I still had to do a double take each time I saw him today, as he’d chosen to shave off his entire beard, and he’d gone to town on his wild hair with a knife, so now it was a short, brown fuzz on top of his head.

I kept thinking he looked naked without all the hair, but he seemed to think it looked better, so I wasn’t going to tell him otherwise.

To my surprise, Da’vi was standing with the group of Kertinal delegates, his prosthetic metal hands clasped behind his back in a typical military rest pose.

As nearly a dozen former slaves were welcomed, he backed away until he was standing next to Tori and me, watching.

He never said a word in greeting, just kept frowning at the proceedings, but I saw how he tapped his fist to his chest in a gladiator gesture of respect, and I returned the favor.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, swiveling my head around to search for the familiar shape of the Vagabond.

She was parked a little ways off, the elegant lines of the Star Class Cruiser pristine with its new hull plating and paint job.

Da’vi had done a lot of the work to fix up the ship, but I’d helped with the hull and still felt a little proud of that.

“They took the ladies shopping in town,” Da’vi said grumpily, then dipped his head just enough to turn one purple eye on the baby Tori was holding.

“They’ll probably have lots of gifts for that one when they return.

” He shrugged without waiting for a reply, gave Oliver—who was standing on Tori’s other side—a curious glance, and then stalked back into the ship.

“I guess that’s our cue. We’ve said our goodbyes and paid our dues, right?

” Tori asked. “Time to reclaim my kitchen.” She waved cheerfully at a grinning Aramon and a dour-looking Solear, then skipped off toward the Vagabond.

Drawn after her, like always—my eyes following the sexy sway of her hips—I followed her into our home.

*

Meena

I was so done with that idiot that, despite my reservations, I was choosing to stay behind on Rakex.

I didn’t trust for one second that we’d be safe there, but at least I wouldn’t have that blithering fool gazing longingly after me.

Four arms was just way too creepy, and after the couple of days I’d had, I was done with creeps.

Following the group of confused, scared women into the city, I hugged my middle and tried to blend in.

The city itself was pretty and reminded me of pictures I’d seen of Carcassonne, a city in France that had once been on my bucket list. Each time the city grew, they built new walls around it, until the town was crisscrossed all over by fortified barriers.

The Rakex port city was just like that, and I stared in wonder at it.

If not for the sight of horned, maned, and tail-flicking inhabitants, I could pretend I was actually on some kind of tour, acting the tourist. I couldn’t, though, the aliens were just too distracting.

I was going to be living here for now, on the charity of these creatures, and it just didn’t sit right with me.

Our rescuers had assured us over and over that we were safe here and that this was a good place to settle.

I just hated that there were only two options, and I didn’t like either.

I didn’t want to stay on a ship with all these happy couples and the one single, horny bachelor.

I also didn’t want to stay here, but it seemed the lesser of the two evils.

What I really wanted was for this to be a dream, a bad one.

I wanted to wake up in my own bed, in my own apartment, shrug this off as some kind of feverish nightmare, and go on living my life.

That was a hopeless thought, so I had to make the best of this.

I was determined not to let anyone take advantage of me.

I was never going to let myself be as vulnerable and helpless as I’d felt in the first days after I’d been brought out of stasis.

No, I was not going to be anyone’s victim.

Staying at the back of the group, I watched carefully as our guide, an eight-foot-tall, green-scaled alien, led the way.

I knew he had a human mate, and she was right next to him, her hand on his arm, but he still freaked me out, so I was steering well clear of him.

They were leading us to our temporary housing, where we would get a weekly stipend and therapy until we could forge our own way.

I swear, it was just too good to be true, so I was going to make sure to hoard my money, I already had a plan.

I never saw it coming. One moment I was following the nervously chattering group of women, and the next, a black hood was yanked over my face.

I started to scream, opened my mouth for a good inhale, and immediately started choking on a horribly pungent smell.

My arms were held back by the firm grips of multiple hands, and no matter how I struggled, I couldn’t manage to free myself.

The last thing that crossed my mind as I started to pass out was Shit! Did that four-armed freak just kidnap me?

THE END