Page 95 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Dropping a few of them into Othan’s hand, I said, “I have no idea what they’re worth, but please, take something for your help.

You’re risking your family by lying for us.

” He wrapped warm fingers around mine as he accepted the gems, his eyes glittering at me.

“Thank you, dear. The gesture means more than the gems themselves.”

Kitan had me sit behind him on the saddle, clutching my arms around his middle as he kicked the hoverped into gear and took us out of the barn.

I waved at Amara and her children, standing in the doorway of their warm home.

All too soon, we’d swerved around the trees, and they were out of sight.

My heart felt heavy with the thought that I’d possibly never see these sweet people again, though I was happy knowing they existed.

With my face cleaned of blood and our stomachs satisfied, things felt a little more hopeful.

When Kitan merged us into a stream of morning commuters heading from the suburbs into the city, I noticed that we hardly stood out.

There were plenty of people on hoverpeds, sometimes doubling up, and our clothing didn’t make us stand out.

I might be slightly on the small side to pass for a Sune, but sitting on the back of a speeding vehicle, plastered to Kitan’s back, that would be hard to tell.

Soon, we were inside the capital, zooming along with thousands of others on the wide-open streets.

Huge spire buildings, pale white in color, rose up around us in every direction, and the streets were lined with shops and commercial buildings.

I wasn’t sure which way we were headed, but Kitan was confidently steering the small hoverped, so it seemed he had some idea.

Were we going to the port? I could see ships coming and going in the distance, so I knew what direction the spaceport lay in.

We seemed to be heading in that general direction for a while, but when we veered off the busy main roads and swerved between tall spires into a more derelict part of the city, I wasn’t sure any longer.

The fast speed and the air whipping around us made talking difficult, if not impossible, and I refrained from trying.

I didn’t want to break Kitan’s concentration and cause a crash.

We weren’t wearing any helmets, damn it.

I had visions of us taking a tumble off the side of this damn hoverped, our heads cracking open like overripe melons.

No, thank you. I was never getting on one of these again.

Give me a good spaceship and wide-open space any time.

I noticed that those down on the streets were more often walking than flying, and there were bigger transports, like buses ferrying people around.

It was still a little strange to see a combination of huge foxes trotting down the street and people who looked almost entirely human mingling with them.

Here, the people were more roughly dressed, and soon it looked like they were mostly male too.

I had a feeling we were nearing the port again, the buildings changing from housing accommodations to big warehouses and factories.

Kitan was drifting our vehicle down to the ground, zigzagging between people and buildings until we reached a part of the warehouse district where there was practically nobody around.

I saw automated drones zooming about, ferrying large crates to and fro as they supplied the docks and the warehouses with a steady stream of goods.

Eventually, Kitan landed the hoverped, and together we got it up on top of one of the nearest crates from a stack we could tell was being ferried to the port.

“Hopefully, the drone will pick it up and take the hoverped out of here. It will shake off at some point during its journey, which should confuse anyone who finds it later.”

“Just in case they manage to connect this vehicle to us?” I asked, while squinting at the crate and vehicle now zooming away through the air. It looked very precarious, so I was certain the small vehicle wouldn’t stay lodged on top for long.

He nodded, “It’s unlikely they will, but I won’t take the risk. Come on, we’ll walk the next bit and find a place to hide out. Then I’ve got to make some calls.”

I still had no idea what we were going to do to get off the planet.

The Vagabond couldn’t come down to get us, nor could it send a transport.

We’d have to find our own ride up somehow.

This seemed like a daunting prospect, given how exhausted I felt at the moment.

Even so, I kept my mouth shut and did my best to keep pace with Kitan as he led me through the warehouse district.

By the time he’d located a likely hiding spot inside what was a rather derelict warehouse, I was so dead on my feet that I couldn’t even muster up any kind of anxiety over the number of bugs skittering about.

When Kitan spread out some of our blankets on top of a desk in what was supposed to be an office space, I simply, gratefully sank down on them and promptly fell asleep.

***

Kitan

Chloe was exhausted, and so was I, but adrenaline had kept me going so far and would sustain me for longer if I had to.

I worried about my sweet little human, though.

She was sleeping now, but I could still see how her brow had scrunched up.

She was in pain, and she’d bravely soldiered on so far without a single complaint.

I feared that the stress of it all was making her implant degrade faster.

I sat on the floor at her side, resting my head against the edge of the table while I watched her sleep.

My body was sore and tired from all the exercise I’d gotten, on top of all my shifting.

I could feel how my muscles had stiffened from the hoverped ride; they hadn’t warmed up enough after our walk to this hiding spot, deep in the capital’s warehouse district.

I hoped it wasn’t too obvious a spot for us to hide in.

It was a huge place, so it would take them a long time to search it.

It was also right next to the port, so we could likely make our way there quickly once we’d made a plan to get off-planet.

Right now, my brain was coming up blank on how to achieve it.

The only thing I could think of was to call my brother, Kest. I had faith that he wouldn’t rat us out—not when he was trying hard to find a way to break out another true shifter himself.

Our goals aligned in that regard. I hoped it meant that, when I called him to let him know what I’d found out about the little girl, he would help us come up with a plan.

I fished out the old com the farmer had given us so generously and turned it on.

Should I send a message to the Vagabond?

Likely, they were monitoring their communications closely, so I didn’t want to risk it yet.

Instead, I tried Kest, whose contact I’d memorized on the off chance I’d need it.

At the time, I thought Kest had been overly optimistic, but now I was grateful he’d given it to me.

With my heart pounding in anticipation, I pressed the connect button and waited with bated breath for the call to go through.

Kest didn’t answer for a good three or four rings, and when he did, he sounded like he’d only just woken up.

“Who the hell is this?” my older brother grumbled. “And how did you get my contact?”

“You gave it to me yourself, brother,” I said.

What luxury—to still be asleep when morning was already well underway by now.

I struggled to remember when I’d last had a chance to sleep in; certainly not in at least five years.

Gladiators didn’t get to sleep late, and the habit was a hard one to break.

“Shit, Kitan!” Kest said, sounding far more awake now. “How did you get your hands on a com?”

I debated what to say for a moment, but my time on this com was short; the battery was bad, so it could crap out at any moment. “Chloe and I escaped. We’re hiding out. Do you think you can help us get off-planet?”

I held my breath as I asked the question, fearing that Kest would either outright reject my request or try to get me to tell him where we were.

But my brother let out an excited whoop: “You got out! Thank the shifter gods!” A moment later, he sobered, his voice going soft and furtive while rustling sounds came across the line.

Not a second later, a thud from a door followed.

“There, shouldn’t be overheard now…” he said. “Let me think about what ships we’ve got in right now. Should be doable. But, Kitan… I think there’s another way. If you and your girl can hang tight for another day, I can do some further research.”

I eyed Chloe where she slept on the table, noticing the trickle of blood that had seeped from her nose.

Getting up, I found a clean piece of fabric and gently wiped it off, my heart clenching painfully in my chest. “I don’t know how long we can wait, Kest. Chloe’s going to die without stasis or surgery soon. ..”

A shocked silence, and then Kest murmured in sympathy, “Right, her implant? Shit, brother, that makes things considerably more difficult. Maybe I can arrange for a stasis pod.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes, that could work. I’d noticed a drop of blood on the inside of her delicate little ear too.

If I’d had fur right now, it would have stood on end.

“Thank you, Kest. Chloe and I tried to get your girl out, but… she’s locked up tight.

I’m told that they struggle to get her under contract, though.

So far, they haven’t started any training, so that’s good.

” I heard in the shaky exhale that my brother was relieved to hear that.

He was clearly emotionally invested in this four-year-old, and I wondered how that had come to be.

“Okay, so I have some time. Contract huh? That’s good news actually,” he said, “Hang tight brother. I’ll drop you coordinates for a stasis pod tonight alright?

I think I can get that done.” After that, we broke the connection and I sat down next to Chloe on the table.

Gathering her into my arms as I settled down for some sleep.

Risky, but with depleted reserves and a dwindling chance that Chloe was getting out of this unscathed, I needed to hold her.

I could not lose her, the stasis pod would work.