Page 5 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

The journey took at least two weeks, wherever it was they were taking me.

They’d tossed me tough, tasteless ration bars and slabs of unprocessed meat.

I hadn’t touched the latter until I’d crisped them good with my firestarter.

That had cracked up the evil guy who came to inspect me everyday.

He seemed delighted to talk to me, and each time, I’d pretend I didn’t understand one bit—rattling against the bars of my cell, growling, and just behaving like an absolute Beast.

I could hardly care less what they thought of me, but I figured that as long as they believed I didn’t understand, they might slip up—especially when they dared to let me out of the cell after two long weeks, prodding me along with their shocksticks and well-timed bursts of pain inflicted through the collar.

They were leading me outside, and I pretended to make a break for it—just enough to make it seem believable.

Their pain-collar wasn’t as bad now as it had been the first time; my scales were thicker, and my endurance for it was growing.

I was hopeful that I could really make a break for it once my endurance surpassed their expectations.

As we neared the exit of the ship, the bastard with his pointy, gold-capped chin was waiting for me.

A heavy gold chain was in his hands, which he ran between his fingers, a very smug grin on his face.

I knew I wasn’t going to like what was about to happen, I knew it.

But when he held up the clip at the end of the chain, the blades on my spine were already rising.

Oh, no, you sick bastard, leashing me? Wasn’t the pain-collar enough?

My body language must have clearly telegraphed my dislike for that thing, for just as I was about to react, the guy flipped the switch on my collar, holding up the control on his wrist so I could see he’d dialed its setting way up.

This was far worse than what I’d experienced before.

I roared in rage and pain as it lit up all my nerves.

I fought, lashing out with my tail at the nearest guard, a Krektar with a shock stick.

He went flying into a wall, but from behind another jabbed me with one in the back.

I sank to my knees, the pain too much to control my muscles.

Trembling, I couldn’t even draw in enough breath to click my firestarter.

When I was panting, braced on hands and knees, the male approached, his expensive robes swirling around his legs as he confidently stepped right up to my head and clipped that damn chain to the nose ring I wore.

The one I’d gotten with my friends when I’d graduated school and gotten my anthropology degree.

I growled, hate filling me as I stared into his red eyes, but my muscles were shaking, unable yet to obey.

THE END