Page 42 of Warrioress

Uma’s fingers brushed his fur, and Vrin’s head craned to peer over at her as she circled around him to stare at the male twitching in his death throes. He watched her carefully for shock, but her mouth simply hardened as she watched his dying breath.

“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” she hissed. “That’s for Katiera and Jessie, you son of a bitch.”

Dark Fathers, how Vrin loved this female.

Chapter 30

Uma sat in the cell, staring miserably into space. The stench of Adrin’s drying blood and slowly decaying corpse was starting to get to her since Drake hadn’t bothered to have anyone remove the body yet. That definitely prevented any case of arousal from reoccurring as the hours passed. Not that they could have done anything about it since their chains kept them outside of touching distance.

“What a sadistic ass,” she grumbled. She rubbed her eyes with one hand. “But who else would be involved in a plan that came up with fucking Heat of all things? That is beyond the scope of the Order. Just plain inhumane brutality.”

Laro grunted in agreement at her right, his hand stretched as far as it possibly could in her direction as if just the promise of contact comforted him in some small way. “We will need to escape before they can do this.”

Uma nodded, her lips pinching angrily. “And destroy their supply of Heat while we are at it. Not to mention stealing a sample to bring back to the citadel as proof of what they are up to. And oooh, I am going to kick Ava in the ass so hard she is going to taste my boot after this.”

“So fierce.” Laro chuffed softly, bringing a smile to her lips.

She glanced over at him fondly, scarcely able to believe that the large scarred Ragoru whom everyone in the tavern had been terrified of possessed such a mild personality. It seemed that he reserved his scary side for huntsmen and potential rivals to a certain degree. With her, however, he was incredibly gentle. It truly made her feel special. Even Vrin had proven to be incredibly affection and protective despite his mouth and aggressive demeanor. Her gaze slid over to Vrin and she grinned at the sight of the male stretched out along the bars of the cell, his head tipped back and his ears flicking faintly where they poked through the bars as he slept like a rock. Even Kam was asleep, his body curled in on itself as if missing the warmth of his brothers.

“I have no idea how we are going to get out of here,” she admitted.

“Good thing that I have an idea,” a voice whispered so close from the other side of the bars that Uma nearly jumped out of her skin.

Laro shot to his feet with a growl, promptly waking the other two males who took on defensive positions. “Who is there?”

“Relax,” the voice hissed. “Damn Ragoru. You three are going to bring every huntsman in the outpost down on our heads if you are any louder. Are you sure you want to save their hides, Captain?”

Uma blinked rapidly against the gloom but slowly smiled as recognition dawned. “Katiera! What are you doing here? Adrin said that you disappeared.”

“Adrin is also a grease smear on the ground,” the guardswomen countered as she stepped into the room from a side chamber. “I followed his dumb ass... with some help, I might add. Not exactly thrilled help but they were willing to give me a hand in saving you as long as I did something for them.”

Uma groaned. “Don’t tell me you are running off to mate some unknown triad in exchange for helping me.” She squinted at her. “They didn’t kidnap you, did they?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Kidnapping is such a strong word. Besides, I can’t exactly blame them, all things considered. There is a rog being held in a human settlement, and they came to the citadel to find help to negotiate with the town to return the rog to her fathers.” Katiera shrugged. “You know I’m a sucker for kids, and we just happened to run into each other at the right time. I knew Adrin had something nasty planned, and I didn’t want you to walk into a trap. But it seems that I got here a little late.”

Uma scooted closer to the bars. “What are the numbers like for the huntsmen?”

“Bad,” the other woman admitted. “Two hundred at least. This is a larger outpost, but it is still not big enough to accommodate all of them. They have set up a camp around it. Thankfully, regardless of how much my dad disapproved of it, my mama was a thief and taught her daughter well. No one saw me. I am confident that I can bust you out of here. The guys are just waiting for my signal to create a distraction.”

“I’m afraid that is not all we have to be worried about.” Uma bit her lip nervously. “Have you seen anything that could qualify as a storage area in the outpost?”

Katiera frowned thoughtfully. “Most outposts have an armory. I think I passed it when I entered, it is on the left wing of the outpost. I am assuming that is where the weapons are stored.”

“Did you see anything that looked unusual in there when you passed it?”

“Unusual?” Katiera slowly shook her head. “There were some crates stacked in a corner but I know that some huntsmen get a little dynamite happy.”

“That might be it,” Uma whispered excitedly. “Look, I think that what they are storing in there is not dynamite... or at least not only dynamite. I think that they are storing a drug that affects people in a gaseous or smoke form. It has a disgustingly sweet smell, and I think pheryne dust may be a component. Whatever it is, in concentrated amounts it screws with Ragoru hormones. And in an even more direct dosage, it apparently makes them crazy enough to kill their own triad members in a lust rage.”

Katiera whistled quietly, her eyes shooting over to the Ragoru silently watching their conversation. “I suppose that means that there is no waiting on this. We need to get you guys out of here.”

“I need a sample though,” Uma whispered. “It is the only evidence that I will have to take to the Council, and to prove to the guild that my triad isn’t guilty.”

“Your triad, huh?” Katiera’s eyebrows arched as her lips tipped in a smug smile. “I knew that you had to admit it sometime that you fell hard for the fuzzballs. You know you will risk your career trying to get the guild’s decision overturned.”

Uma shrugged. “I devoted years of my life to the guard. If they throw me out, I can always go live it up elsewhere with my mates.”

“Wow, mates even.” Katiera’s smile widened. “Okay, let’s bust you out of here,” she whispered gleefully as she removed a key from her sleeve. “Just to warn you that we are likely going to have to fight our way out of here. It sounds like a good time to me, but I figured that you would appreciate the warning.”

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