Page 19 of Redeeming Captivity (Human Pets of Talin #7)

Chapter 19

Lena

Watching Tarquin go off without her was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. After doing so much, she didn’t like being relegated to lookout, but she acknowledged that it was an important job.

After Tarquin tucked the charge under the transport, she lost sight of him. She’d been expecting the explosion but was still startled by the size of it. He must’ve known where to put the charge to make the ruined transport a more effective distraction.

Edging closer to the front of the building, she managed to catch sight of Tarquin ducking into the small, domed comms building. She clutched the code-switching comm tight enough to make her fingers ache. While he was in there anything could happen. What if there were twenty Talins in there? Even now Tarquin could be fighting for his life.

Fear for him made it hard to keep her promise. She wanted nothing more than to follow him into that building and protect his back by putting hers next to it.

She was so focused on watching the comms building that she didn’t notice the soldiers getting closer.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!”

The statement followed by a surprised rattle startled her. She swung her gaze around to see two soldiers staring right at her.

“Is that Jafinium’s human?” one asked as they both started toward her.

For a split second she froze, but not out of fear. If she moved she couldn’t watch the entrance to the comms building. Then common sense took over. If she was captured, she couldn’t help him either!

Turning on her heels, she ran.

“We need to get her!” one said.

“Jafinium thinks she’s dead,” the other one said. “We could keep her for ourselves!”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

She could hear footsteps behind her. She didn’t have much of a lead. Turning the corner at the back of the building, she dove into the small space created by the boulders. She barely managed to tuck her legs in before she heard both Talins go running by as they talked.

“Where is she running to?”

“She probably doesn’t even know. She’s simply fleeing.”

“Poor thing is out of her mind with fear. We need to keep searching to find her.”

It was so tight she couldn’t turn around inside, so she waited even after she couldn’t hear them any longer just in case they doubled back.

When she couldn’t stand to be in the tight space any longer, she started the process of wiggling out. Exiting was much harder than shoving herself inside had been. By the time she got herself extracted, she’d added several new bruises to her collection.

Jogging back to where the soldiers first saw her, she was more careful this time when edging out of cover to look around. As she examined the area, rock-walkers and the few ground transports left all started moving. To her delight, they caused absolute chaos. The soldiers ran around trying to shut them down but couldn’t even get inside.

They were mostly trying to keep the all-terrain crawlers from running into buildings but failing. One decimated a smaller building, causing Lena to have to cover her mouth to keep from laughing as soldiers helplessly ran around it.

The rock-walkers smoothly stepped over buildings and soldiers. They might not be causing damage, but they were still adding to the confusion. It all gave Lena ample opportunity to jump on the step of one of the transports meant for single-person use on the groomed roads. Crouching low, she rode the transport closer to the comms building.

Unfortunately, the transport turned sharply. The unexpected move made her lose her balance on the step. Jumping down so she didn’t end up flat on her face, she had to take a few steps to get her balance back.

Running into something hard, she bounced backward and would’ve fallen on her ass if a hand hadn’t grabbed the front of her coat.

Looking up, she met the cold, hard eyes of Jafinium.

Unlike when she saw Gaklum, there was no freezing in terror. She was a fighter now, not a victim.

Without hesitation she pulled the gun from her belt and brought it up. Faster than she could follow, Jafinium snatched the weapon from her grip. Holding it away, he examined her with a triumphant rattle.

“I’m not surprised he lied,” Jafinium said, holding her off her feet with his grip on the front of her coat. “Or maybe he thought you were dead. It doesn’t matter. He died in my house trying to escape.”

He didn’t know Tarquin was still alive! They must’ve mistaken Gaklum’s dead body for Tarquin. That made her feel bold.

Grabbing his hand with both of hers, she tried to bite him. It didn’t do any good, she couldn't get to any of the spots with finer keratin plates where she might be able to do a little damage.

Jafinium sounded an amused rumble. “Still feral I see. Tarquin was so confident he could tame you, but I knew better.”

He shook her, making her teeth click together painfully. For some reason, that made her remember she had another weapon!

Reaching behind her, she grabbed the dagger and pulled it free. Unlike earlier with Gaklum, she went straight for the soft spot where Jafinium’s neck met his shoulders.

With an enraged rattle he tossed her away before she could finish the move. Her back hit a building, forcing all the air out of her lungs. She landed in a heap, trying desperately to breathe.

“Is that mine?” he asked, picking up the dagger she’d dropped when he threw her. Crouching down next to her, he put the tip at her throat. “You’re covered in blood and there are nicks on my very expensive dagger. You must’ve been in my home to steal this. Did you kill Tarquin? Was that why his body wasn’t in the cage when the house exploded?”

He paused, sounding a questioning rumble. “You must’ve done that. If you got into my niche to get this dagger and the weapon I took from you, then you must’ve set off the explosives by accident. Stupid human.”

He pressed the dagger down a little bit, biting into her skin. She ignored the pain and stared boldly into his eyes. If she was going to die, she wanted to do it bravely instead of cowering.

She only wished she could’ve said a better goodbye to Tarquin.

A chime sounded from Jafinium’s Ident. Without lifting the dagger from her throat, he looked down at where the Ident was clipped to his belt and read one of the displays.

“Gaklum?” he said with a puzzled rumble. “Why would it be Gaklum’s body in my house?”

He turned his attention back to her. “You!” he exclaimed, sounding almost amused. “This explains so much. You didn’t kill anyone. You released Tarquin and he killed Gaklum and deliberately destroyed my house as a distraction. How could I have thought something like you could do that much damage?”

Fear for Tarquin made her act without thought. She spit in Jafinium’s face. He wasn’t close but still flinched. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to make him lift the dagger from her throat.

“I wish I could kill you right here,” he growled, pressing the dagger down. She winced and felt a trickle of blood stream down her neck. “But if Tarquin is willing to lie about you, then you might be important enough to draw him out. He must be the one causing all these issues.”

When he pulled the dagger away from her throat, she tried to move but he was quick to grab her by the coat.

“I’d tell you to behave, but you don’t know what that word means,” he mocked, standing up. The way he was holding the coat made it impossible for her to slip out of it and she couldn’t get to her pack either. But she wasn’t done yet.

The only thing she could reach was his face, so she did. Jabbing her finger forward, she caught him in the left eye.

Bellowing in rage, he dropped her and put both hands to his face. The projectile weapon wasn’t far. On hands and knees, she scrambled for it. She was almost there when a hand grabbed her foot and hauled her backward.

Rolling on her back, she kicked out with the other foot. She got Jafinium in the arm, breaking a few quills but otherwise not doing any damage.

“Stop it!” he roared, leaning over to grab her by the coat with his other hand.

She saw one of his broken quills on the ground, reminding her she had Tarquin’s quill holding up her hair!

Sitting up, she pulled the quill from her hair and rammed it at his mouth. She pierced his lower lip, making him howl in pain and let go of her. His rattles of surprise were amplified by the close buildings and made it hard for her to hear anything else.

Ignoring the standing general, she got up and ran for the gun. She grabbed it and turned around in time to see him toss the bloody quill aside.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he sneered.

Without hesitation, she fired. The round missed him entirely and exploded a wall to his right. Shifting her aim, she was about to fire again when the weapon was plucked from her hand and a strong arm went around her waist and lifted her into the air.

“I’m sorry, Lena,” a familiar voice said, even as the arm held her tightly. “I can’t let you execute him today.”

She wanted to cry. She’d been only one button press from killing her worst nightmare!

“Dieseum,” Jafinium said as he moved closer. “Give her to me.”

“I think I’ll hold her for now,” Dieseum said, shifting her body a little so he could shield her from Jafinium. “She’s wounded you twice, Standing General Jafinium. She’s not to be trusted. It would be better for her to try to hurt me than you.”

“She needs to be punished,” Jafinium growled and reached for her again.

Dieseum moved her out of his reach again. “Do you remember what I asked for when you requested my aid?”

Jafinium came up short and sounded a puzzled rumble. “Of course. You said you would demand a favor in the future and I couldn’t refuse it.”

“I’m calling in that favor now,” Dieseum said. “I want this human.”

Jafinium sounded an angry rattle. “I’ll get you another human. I want to hurt this one.”

“I don’t want a different human,” Dieseum said. “I want this one. She’s angry and fights. That’s fun for me.”

A wave of nausea swept over Lena. It might be preferable to die by Jafinium’s fists than face Dieseum’s plans.

“I only agree if you promise she will feel pain,” Jafinium said.

“That’s an easy promise to make,” Dieseum said. Although it was useless, she started to struggle. Dieseum tucked the gun into his belt and used both hands to shift her around so she was pinned to his front with both arms around her body. Her arms were trapped against her sides, so she threw her head back hoping to catch his face. He was too quick for her and moved her body a little so her head hit his chest instead. That did nothing but make her aching brain feel worse.

“You have no reason to trust me,” he whispered in her ear. “But I truly mean you no harm.”

She had only interacted with Dieseum once. He’d been assigned to care for her and snuck her extra food. They spent a total of three marks together and then was pulled away and assigned as liaison to the Ossiso. Until today, she hadn’t seen him again.

She stopped struggling but only to conserve strength. She didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust anyone except for Tarquin.

“My ship leaves soon,” he said loud enough for Jafinium to hear as he turned to leave. “I guess you get to go on a trip! Don’t worry, my cabin is soundproof. You can scream all you want.”

“Your departure is delayed,” Jafinium said. “Tarquin is out there. We need her to help catch him. When I have him, you can leave with her.”

“Of course, Standing General Jafinium,” Dieseum said, turning back to face a man she would happily hack to little pieces. She could do it too, she knew how after taking Gaklum’s hand.

“Follow me,” Jafinium ordered, leading them out from between the buildings to stand near the burning transport. Dieseum followed at a slower pace, and when Jafinium stopped, he kept a good distance between them. Lena looked around, noting the lack of soldiers. Maybe Tarquin was already gone?

“Tarquin!” Jafinium bellowed. “I have the human. Come out or she dies.”