Page 33 of Rescuing Mara (Warriors of Arracate #2)

CHAPTER 33

O’Rec

T here is something clouding my mind. I feel groggy, and it takes a lot of effort even to open my eyes. Lifting my head, I try to open them again, but my head wobbles and falls back, feeling way too big for my body. What the fuck is wrong with me?!

Instead of trying again, I use my other senses to scan my surroundings. Silence hangs heavy in the air. I cannot hear a thing, not even the rustling of engines. I slide my fingers over the floor, it feels cold and smooth, similar to my cage in the ship. I use my tail to explore a bit further, and it hits a soft wall. Definitely not in the cage on the ship anymore.

“Marra,” I try to reach out to my mate.

“O’REC!” Comes the immediate response, combined with a wave of desperation. “Are you okay?”

“Where are we?”

“At the Mothership, oh O’Rec, I couldn’t reach you for at least a day. Please tell me you’re okay.”

“Yes, I think they drugged me. I do not remember anything of travels or torment. They gave me a bottle of water to drink…”

“That must be how they drugged you, okay, don’t trust the food or water again. I need to figure out where you are and see if I can smuggle something to you.”

Despite my predicament, I smile. “You are a very clever mate, my Zarra. How are you? Can you tell me what happened?”

“Well, uhm, we landed on the Mothership. The High Commander welcomed Ananta. He is feeling extra proud and pompous these days.” She pauses. “O’Rec, almost the entire Sternotheri force is here. I have never seen anything like it before. They have planned a public execution for you, beheading, I think, it’s going to happen in two days. TWO DAYS O’REC!”

“Ssssh, it will be okay, Marra.” I try to comfort her.

“I hope so. Having all those footmen here will definitely make it a lot harder to get away. I have been locked away in Ananta’s quarters since we came here. I know how to sneak out, but I didn’t want to risk it without knowing where you are. So other than we are on the Mothership and we are fucked, I have no update for you.”

“You sound quite fierce, my mate.”

She gives me a little mental huff. “That’s entirely your fault, you know, now try to describe your surroundings. Every single detail.”

I take a deep breath, reaching for my calm. When I am centered, I try to open my eyes again, this time successfully. The light is blinding, and I need to blink my eyes a few times before I can see clearly. I try to move my limbs, and I manage to sit up straight.

“I am in a rectangular room. Bright lights are shining, and I am sitting against a padded wall.” I look around, soaking up every detail.

“One of the walls is made of glass. I cannot see what lies beyond the glass, so I guess they are either one-way see-through only, or the lights are out in the next room. There is a door on my left, which is also padded. A green light blinks above it, which makes me feel like I am being recorded.” I look around again. “The room is white, and everything is white. It is also completely empty.”

There is no response, and I begin to doubt my connection.

“Marra?”

“Sorry, yes, I’m here. I know where you are, and it’s not good, but it could be worse. They have put you in research cells. Which will probably mean they will torture you some more, but this time in the name of science. Do you think your tracker will stay unnoticed if they submit you to tests and other… stuff?”

I shiver. She does not paint me with a bright future. “Yes, I am positive. It is a very advanced stealth technology we developed on the Ring.”

“Okay. The research cells are much more accessible. I know how to reach them, and if I steal an access card, I can easily break you out. We need to find out when they’re going to execute you. It’s the last unknown and a flaw in the plan.”

I understand what she means. If we do not know when they will come for me, she cannot sneak in just a little earlier to free me. They could be heading towards me right now, so maybe we should move as soon as possible.

“Could they be on their way now?”

She is silent for a while before she responds. “No, I don’t think so. The High Commander was boasting about getting some special guests who were to arrive soon. It’s late in the evening now. I will explore when Ananta sleeps and see if I can figure it out.”

“And if you are wrong?” I cannot help but paint the worst-case scenario.

“If I’m wrong and they come for you, you shout out, okay? I will come for you at your cell, and you will kill all the guards that came for you.”

“You have developed quite the bloodthirst, my mate.” I grin, pride shooting through our bond at her fierce protection of me.

“Well, you have shown me that when something is worth fighting for, you give it your all. I’ll check back in later.”

She leaves me to my lonely cell after that, giving me time to plot. I cannot leave her to figure out the plan by herself, so I have to step up. Usually, T’Rak does all the planning, but this time, it has to be me. One thing is absolutely clear to me: we need to get off this ship as soon as possible. If this cell is easy to break free from, we should go before morning.

As I think things through, a plan forms clearly in my mind. Immediately I reach out to Marra, hoping to catch her because it must be the middle of the night.

“Marra,” I try. When she does not answer, I try again, but this time, I push more urgency through the link.

“O’Rec?” A groggy thought returns. “Sorry, I was sleeping. Are you okay?”

“We need to go as soon as possible, Marra.”

“How do you know?” The grogginess from earlier is replaced by seriousness.

“I have this feeling, this urge. Things are going to get out of hand. I just know it deep down. We need to move and move quickly.”

“Okay. What do you need?”

“I need you to get here as soon as you can. We will sneak out before the Sterno are fully awake. You guide us to the landing bay, and I will pilot the ship.”

“Okay. It may be a while because I have to remain unseen and steal an access card. But I am coming. If anything happens, you’ll let me know, right?”

“Of course, my mate, be safe!”

* * *

The waiting is excruciating. The silence and bright lights are messing with my head, which is probably exactly what the creator of this cell had in mind. Minute after minute passes until suddenly, I feel the bond pulse. Marra is close.

“Marra?” Her response comes immediate.

“Yes, I’m here. Go to the door. I don’t want to turn the lights on in the hallway in case it alerts someone.”

I rush towards the door, and when she opens it, I quickly pull her in my arms. “You are safe.”

“We are safe,” she sniffs. She straightens immediately. “We have to go. It’s still silent, but I don’t trust anything on this ship one bit.”

I agree, and when she takes my hand, I let her lead me. We walk silently through hallways and hidden corridors until we arrive at the landing area. We are hidden in an alcove where the secret passageway opened.

“There!” she whispers and points towards sliding doors. “When we get through those doors, we enter the landing area. I have no clue of the outlook, but I think we need to sneak towards the outskirts - flying out will be easier if we’re already halfway there.”

“I agree on that one, but there is no way of predicting if we need to take cover or fight?”

“No…” Marra bites her lip, and I squeeze her hand.

“It will be okay. Are you ready?”

She nods, and we run towards the door, her hand firmly tucked into mine. She swipes the access card she brought somehow, and the sliding doors open with a hiss. The landing area seems strangely desolate and I get a bad feeling, something feels off. Marra tugs on my hand and points towards a cruiser that stands a little to the side. I look around the cargo bay, but the area is still quiet, too quiet to my liking. I cannot smell anything, and the stench of foul musk taints everything.

I look at Marra, squeeze her hand, and tug her against me as we creep through the landing area toward our goal.

When we reach the ship, I move toward the side panel and pry the stolen access card under a corner. I grit my teeth as I wriggle, and I wreck the panel's front and pull out some wires. It takes me a hot minute to reroute the wiring, but the door opens smoothly. The landing plate lowers, and I can almost see our freedom. But before we can set foot on it, I hear a very familiar and unwelcome voice calling out from behind us.

“Where do you think you’re going, Mara?”

We freeze, and I turn around. Ananta is standing right behind us, flanked by two dozen of her soldiers. Fuck, those are too many if I also have to protect Marra, whom I quickly push behind me. Ananta starts cackling, and when Marra shouts out, I look behind us.

My blood freezes when I see the High Commander, who also has a small army at his back. And in his arms, struggling and biting out profanities, he is holding my mate.