Page 19 of Murgul
Gwendolyn’s voice drops to a whisper, as if the memory still tastes of iron. “That evening when Larry came to check on me, I waited for the perfect moment to use the syringe,” she says. “He was always on his phone — talking, texting, sending emails — so I knew it was only a matter of time before he’d pull it out while gloating about how much control he had over me. Sure enough, his phone rang and he turned his back. My heart felt like it would pound out of my chest. I was terrified, but I slid the syringe from under the pillow, crept up behind him, and shoved it into the side of his neck and pressed the plunger.”
Her hands tremble as she squeezes them together. “Whatever was in it worked faster than I expected. When he turned to strike me, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.”
What a brave little female, our mate is.
Yes, that took great courage to do.
“After that, I packed a bag with as many clothes as I could and drove myself off the property. The security guys were kept in the dark about what Larry did to me, so they had no reason to intervene when I drove through the front gate. A few days later, I ended up at a truck stop and ran into a woman named Janet. I’m not sure how she knew I needed help, but she did. She took me to her women’s shelter out in the middle of nowhere, and I was safe there for the first time since I was fourteen.”
Unable to keep silent any longer, I ask one of the questions burning holes in my mind.
“If you were safe with this Janet female, how did you become a captive of the Velgriddix. It is a long way from your planet to the Void.”
“My sense of safety lasted about a month. One night, those giant snake aliens slipped into the rock house and abducted all of us.”
She must notice my confusion at the mention of a house made of rock, because she hurriedly explains. “Oh, right. A rock house is a natural rock formation found in rural, valleyed, or mountain areas on Earth.”
Nodding my understanding, she resumes her dark tale. “They held a cloth soaked with some sort of chemical over my nose and mouth, forcing me into unconsciousness. The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the stench of rotted meat and unwashed bodies. I was wearing the same clothes I went to sleep in, and was lying in a puddle of viscous green liquid. One of them picked me up off the floor by my hair and dunked me in a vat of some cleansing liquid before tossing me in a cell full of other human women in various states of consciousness. Ruby and Rowan were there, but they were on the opposite side of the room from me.”
Hissing in displeasure, I interject.
“The Jega. That is what that species is called. They are masters of infiltration, which makes them the most sought-after for specialty acquisitions. There is very little they cannot access due to how flexible their bodies are. A rumor reached us here in the Void that Commander DaR,a male of great importance, made it illegal to possess any of your species against your will. I suppose the rewards for acquiring such a rare species outweighed the risks since the Veil prevents those of Darverius from entering the Void.”
Sarcasm is heavy in her voice when she replies. “Wow, I can’t even be abducted by aliens without being used as capital gains for someone else.”
Snorting in amusement, I use a coil in my tail, keeping the bladed end away from her delicate skin, to nudge her head up and out from under my chin.
“Your sense of humor is as warped as partially heated metal.”
Her laughter fills the room at my quip and lightens the mood within our quarters.
Chapter Sixteen
GWENDOLYN
I’m emotionally drainedfrom telling Murgul my story, but I’m not quite done yet, and I really don’t want to have to repeat any of this ever again. It’s in the past, and I want it to stay there forever. The small moment of levity he created with his quick wit helps me rally, and I force the last bit of it out.
“The snakes … the Jega, kept all of us in a large cage for a while before leading us into some sort of market. They ripped our clothes off right before herding us one by one down a runway in the middle of a massive area, with monsters of all shapes and sizes surrounding the aisle. A little flying thing shaped like a ball flew all around me before it flashed red and made a little beeping sound. After that, I was hauled back down the aisle and unceremoniously against the back wall. The best I can figure is that I was considered damaged goods due to how emaciated I was. The women who got a green light and were hauled through the side doors were all healthy and robust-looking.”
I see the second the proverbial light goes off in Murgul’s mind because his eyes go wide before they narrow in ire, his vertical pupil a mere slit of black in the beautiful, electric blue of his irises.
“You are correct. Anything less than perfect is discarded for the Velgriddix. Those filthy bugs do not care what shape a body is in since they are going to use it as a breeding husk for their young. It just has to have enough flesh to feed their larvae, and internal organs more than suffice for that task.”
Shuddering in disgust at the mental image his words conjure, I snuggle into his warm chest before wrapping this pity party up. “Well, the rest is pretty simple. The auction ended, and the bugs showed up. They loaded us into smaller cages, hauled us to their ship, and tossed us in a small room. Heather, Bambi, and I are the only three who survived out of the group that was in our room. I think Ruby and Rowan are the only two from their group who made it through. You know the rest. Falon is the one who found us in our prison. All of us were in pretty bad shape and were terrified. We couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but he tossed Heather and Bambi over each of his shoulders and scooped me up in his arms before he sprinted back onto your ship through some sort of tunnel that was ice cold. I’m not exactly sure what happened after that because we didn’t have our translators yet, but Falon carried us through your ship before putting the three of us in his room.”
Murgul nods in understanding, his eyes full of emotion.
“The Velgriddix must have been able to send out a distress call without us knowing, because several of their massive swarm ships appeared out of the Void to assist them,” he replies. “Bikar was piloting both shuttles andthe Zenith at the same time. Falon and I split up to check for the heat signatures Bikar swore were still on board. He found you in one of the first rooms he checked, but not before Slavic and Einar lost their shet and took off with the shuttles and their dying Starshines. Which left Ruarc, Falon, and me still aboard the Velgriddix ship. I am not sure either of them realizes how badly they fracked us over at that time. Thankfully, once Slavic and Einar had the Velgriddix ship under control, Bikar moved the Zenith close enough to extend the cargo dock corridor.”
Horror envelops me as he fills in the blanks surrounding the events that led us to be transported onto the Zenith. It sounds like a fucking shitshow of epic proportions. Pulling myself together, I focus on Murgul’s words.
“Ruarc used it to carry Kallen across to the Zenith, and Falon carried the three of you across. I was the last to arrive back on the Velgriddix lower deck and slid the corridor hatch shut just a tic before Bikar started reeling it back in to our ship— bellowing at me to hurry the frack up the whole time. Thankfully, I am rather fast and dove into the control room that the docking corridor is attached to tics before the corridor slammed into its housing on the Zenith. I watched Bikar land first, Einar’sshuttle, and then Slavic’s in our cargo bay, with them none the wiser for how their brothers had gotten safely back aboard. Falon had already deposited you in his room, and Ruarc had Kallen sequestered in his quarters by the time I left the control room.”
Staring at him wide-eyed with disbelief, I have to take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart. “You almost died, and I never would have met you! I am going to give your shitty brothers a stern talking to the next time I see them. How could they have just left you and your other brothers on that death trap!”
By the time I’m done talking, I’m shouting. I don’t think I’ve been this damn mad in a very long time. How dare his brothers treat him like that?! Folding my arms across my chest, I fume, anger simmering just beneath the surface as I process everything I’ve just learned.
A low chuckle fills my mind before Murgul leans down and rubs his cheek against mine. It’s one of my favorite ways he shows me affection, because the sensation of his slightly scaled skin whisking against mine is comforting… and slightly arousing as well.