Page 22 of Warrior Enchanted

Sitting with our backs against the wall, side by side, Meena and I tried to figure out what our best course of action was going to be. Right now, with the pain collar around my neck, I wouldn’t be any help in a fight and I hated it. At least she’d pulled me back out of my spiral of dark thoughts and into the here and now. I was still grinning about her methods. Those definitely worked.

Just the brush of her shoulder against my own was enough to center me at this moment. I had to put all my focus on her, on getting her out of here before that rich asshole came down here. She still wore the jewelry I had made for her, but I knew she wouldn’t have those once he’d taken her. They might not even bring her back to this cell.

What could we do now? My eyes fell back on the beads I’d painstakingly carved and painted, laying against her silky throat. The clasp, would it be strong enough to pry the lid off my pain collar? These things were meant to be tamper-proof, giving immense pain to anyone touching the thing if you messed with it in the wrong way.

I could try one of my sharp claws, but it was too thick to really work for prying off the lid. Once it was off, I could use it to cut the wires though… It would just be really painful, possibly so painful I’d pass out before I could finish the job. That’s usually how it went. I’d seen more than one male attempt it, but often they weren’t just rigged to be painful. An alarm would go off, and guards would converge on the unlucky bastard in seconds.

I knew Ziame and Abigail had managed it. That’s how we’d successfully rebelled against our captors and freed ourselves. I also knew that they had had to transfer us to a new ship that wasn’t rigged for said alarm system. On top of that, the guards were down more than half their number from a pirate attack. They wouldn’t have managed it if not for those circumstances.

Scanning the dark hallway, I once again looked at the three cells across from ours. I was pretty sure they were all empty, but I couldn’t tell if there was anyone in the cell on either side of us. I didn’t care one way or another if anyone had heard us, but for Meena’s sake, I hoped they were empty too. That did mean that we were sorely lacking in potential allies. Why did this guy have all his cells empty on his ship?

I opened my mouth to suggest to Meena that we’d try breaking my pain collar. I knew she was tough; she could probably work through the initial shock just like me. The sound coming from the end of the hallway made me snap it shut again, dread pooling in my stomach; too late, they were here.

Meena shifted even closer to me, curling both her arms around my lower arm, and hanging on tightly. “Oh no, please don’t let them be here for me, Jakar,” she whispered against my skin, her words barely more than a soft breath. She knew I couldn’t answer that question. That was the most likely reason they were here, and I hated it as much as she did. The woman I loved was about to get terribly hurt and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

They turned lights on, flooding the hallway and the cells with a glaring whiteness that revealed every dirt stain that covered the floors and walls. Two men walked up to the front of our bars, but I didn’t move to get up. I could leap into action at a moment’s notice; I didn’t need to stand to be a threat to them. Let them think we were down and out.

I recognized the first male as the cheating Kertinal bastard I’d fought with down in Exka at the port. His left horn was chipped at the tip now from one of my blows and I took pride in seeing that. Kertinal could get really vain about their horns and I’d damaged his. He was sneering down at us, his green uniform tight over his bulging muscles, his chest all puffed out. Posturing because he knew he’d actually lost against me, he was smarting, and trying to make up for it.

It was the other male that was the real threat. This one was smaller, an Elrohirian with his Caratan chain shining with medallions. My brother Thorin was the same species, and I always heard Camila call him her elf. Thay had banished him and stripped him of his medallions, his sigils. Then they forced him to wear a pariah one to remind him of his supposed crime. This male… he clearly still held a place of pride in his family. They still claimed him as their own. Yet he did despicable things like owning slaves, females in particular. This was true evil, wrapped up in a beautiful, sophisticated package, and hiding in plain sight.

Dressed in a fancy robe that was open over a soft pair of pants, his skinny chest was on display, skin a pale, milky white. Long pale hair draped around his shoulders in silvery strands so fine and pretty they glowed like actual silver. His delicately pointed ears stuck through his hair, a crown of gold circling the top of his head. Not a big ostentatious crown, but a fine one made to look like thorns and vines, glittering with green gems.

His eyes were glowing green too, a bright light that shone like a beacon as they latched onto Meena’s face. Then the expression turned from gloatingly excited to furious in a heartbeat. “You miserable idiot!” he spat out, turning away from Meena and me to face his companion. “What did I pay you for, Dar’kol? My female! This isn’t my female!”

The Kertinal male, Dar’kol, took an actual step back from the rich asshole, his expression worried. Ah, so he was scared of this guy; he wasn’t the biggest bad in the room. That was right, Meena had mentioned that they had wanted Katja, but took her by mistake instead. Maybe that would buy us some time.

Watching avidly, Meena and I didn’t say a word. We just watched with bated breath what was about to happen. Fancy asshole was spouting a lot of venom as he tore into his hired muscle with words alone. But I could see that his hand was on something beneath his robe. He was holding a weapon at the ready, and Dar’kol was fearing for his life right now.

“I wanted the one I bought! I paid for you to get her! The black-haired one with the fair skin!” he yelled out, and I looked sideways at Meena. Her soft, silky skin was indeed not pale, but a lovely shade of tan, which was not a color that occurred among Elrohirians. They were always pale-skinned, with even paler shades of hair. It would make a female like Katja extremely attractive to a guy like this, exotic, but close enough to pass for his own kind. His loss, nothing compared to Meena.

“But Sir… This one matches your description. This was the only one my man saw,” Dar’kol dared to defend. “We already smuggled her off Rakex through your diplomatic friend. We can’t go back.” It just enraged the male more. I knew his type; he’d throw a massive tantrum because he hadn’t been given exactly what he wanted. Then he’d make everyone he felt had caused his distress pay for it. We wouldn’t have long until he turned on Meena and me.

“I don’t care! Fix this! What the fuck do I pay you for, anyway? Do I need to get someone else to fix your freaking mess?” The male’s hand finally came out from beneath his robe, holding out a slender, flashy-looking laser pistol. I didn’t know much about this type of weapon, more since I’d gained my freedom, but not enough to recognize what this one did. I could tell from the expression on the Kertinal’s face that it was a bad one, despite its tiny size. Not just your average laser weapon then, no wonder the asshole felt so empowered while holding it.

“What’s happening?” Meena whispered, her fingers digging into my skin where she clung to me. I liked that she was seeking me out for protection now, but I hated that she was scared. That male was a loose cannon, at any moment he could pull the trigger in a fit of rage, killing not just Dar’kol but us too. Our best bet was to stay as quiet as we could, to not move, and not draw his attention. It wasn’t the warrior’s way, it was a little cowardly even, but I hadn’t survived in Drameil’s slave stables for as long as I had without knowing when to hide. There was no shame in that.

“Sssh, don’t draw his attention,” I whispered back under my breath. Meena gave me a nod and leaned in even closer, practically crawling into my lap. She kept her movements slow, following my advice, but I had this feeling that it was going to be inevitable. That asshole would turn on us sooner rather than later.

“Sir Firxyrran,” Dar’kol tried. His orange eyes darted once from the Elrohirian male to me, tightening his features. It was making him furious that I was witnessing this. “I will go back and personally fetch the right female. Please, let me show you that this can be fixed!” It was the words the spiteful male wanted to hear, and he finally paused his advance on the much bigger guard. Green eyes narrowed to slits, their brightness muted. A regal nod was the only answer but the Kertinal male didn’t wait for more. He spun on his heels and ran from the cell block like a shot from a bow.

I held my breath, waiting to see if this rich toddler was about to turn on us or if he would forget we were even here. His shoulders lowered, the pistol disappeared back beneath his robe, and then he was smoothing out his hair. Sailing from the cell block with his head held high, completely oblivious to our presence. That wouldn’t last. He’d be back, but I drew out a relieved breath. We had a little more time.

“Now what?” Meena asked as soon as the door slid shut and the lights dimmed. “We have to get out of here, Jakar.” There was panic in the tone of her voice. She didn’t have spots like mine to show her moods, but I knew them anyway. It wasn’t hard to guess in this case, as soon as they split us up, it would be all over for both of us. I’d fight until I was dead, I wouldn’t be able to curb my instincts, and she’d fight until she either killed that asshole or died trying. We were much the same in that way. No wonder she was my mate.

“Now,” I said with more confidence than I felt, “You help me disable this collar and we break the fuck out of here.”

*

Meena

Perched on my knees next to Jakar’s prone body, I apprehensively eyed the black collar strapped around his neck. He seriously wanted me to get that thing off him with nothing more than the little metal clasp from my necklace and his freaking claw? I didn’t think that would work. I remembered trying to pry off the lid on my own collar and getting shocked to hell and back by it. I wasn’t looking forward to it, to be honest.

“You can do it. Don’t worry about hurting me. Do it as quickly as you can. You got this, my little warrior,” Jakar said, a smile on his face, eyes gentle and soft. His stubble was already growing back, and I tried to focus on that, on how it always made him look so rakish, so pirate-like. I might call him Tarzan, but damn it, I’d melt if he ever put on a pirate hat and coat and ravished me like in a romance novel. I knew he’d be up for that.

Okay Meena, focus on that sexy role-play in the future. Tons of it. Just a little shock first, but I could handle that, just a tickle, nothing too bad. I didn’t believe my own thoughts but I was going to have to bite the bullet and just do it. Jakar was a sitting duck as long as he had that thing on. I couldn’t have that. I needed him to make it out of here with me. This life out here in space wasn’t going to work for me if he wasn’t in it.

Pinching the opened clasp between my fingers, I titled his head with my other hand to angle him the best way. We had very little light and I needed as much of it as possible so I could find the edge between the lid and the tiny box of electronics attached to the collar. For a while, I studied what I was looking at, shoving my nerves to the back of my head so I could analyze what I needed to do.