Page 4 of Willow and the Wraith

“She isn’t here. What the fuck did you do with her?”

“I did not do anything.”

“Oh, yeah?” the second male snarled. “Your people are the only ones with the technology to transport into a closed space. If you’re trying to cut me out of this deal -”

“I am not.” The other voice turned even icier. “If you do not wish to lose your hands, I suggest you retract your claws.”

She shivered at the menace in the male’s voice, and apparently the other male recognized it as well, his voice more sulky than threatening when he continued.

“If it wasn’t one of you, then fucking tell me what happened to her.”

“I do not know, but I imagine she is still on the station. Ingenious little creatures, these humans.”

“We have to find her.”

“We don’t have time. You heard the message - we have been compromised. We need to finish erasing the data and leave before the Fleet arrives.”

“But -”

“Don’t worry. She won’t escape me.”

Oh, God. The icy menace in his voice made her skin crawl, and her hand tightened around Sooni’s. The girl returned her grip and they both listened as the two males started eliminating all traces of their presence. They even returned to the medical lab, smashing most of the equipment as she and Sooni huddled together, and she caught the faint scent of burnt wiring.

Silence eventually fell but they remained frozen in place for several minutes before Sooni finally gave her a shaky smile.

“I think they’re gone.”

Her voice was still low and cautious and Willow kept her response equally quiet.

“Who are they?”

“I don’t know, but -” The little girl broke off, listening. “We should go.”

Perhaps this wasn’t the best place for explanations. If the two males returned and conducted a more thorough search… She shivered again and didn’t object when Sooni squeezed past her to lead the way.

As they crawled through the maze of ventilation shafts, her thoughts kept returning to the horrifying conversation she’d overheard. Buyer. Slave. Product. The implications made her stomach churn, but she forced herself to keep following Sooni.

After a seemingly endless crawl, the girl came to a halt in front of another grate, this one in the floor of the shaft. She slid it aside and jumped down as easily as Freddy had jumped off the swing. Willow’s descent was nowhere near as graceful, but fortunately a bed beneath the opening cushioned her landing.

They had dropped into a small, dimly-lit bedroom, cluttered with an odd assortment of broken furniture and several carefully arranged collections. Sooni didn’t give her a chance to look around, but grabbed her hand and tugged her through the door to a larger room beyond. An elderly alien with the same green, scaled skin was seated at a workbench, tinkering with a piece of equipment.

“Grandfather,” Sooni called softly. “This is Willow. I rescued her from the slavers.”

He looked up and sighed, giving Willow a quick, perceptive look as his tongue flicked out.

“You were supposed to stay hidden, Sooni,” he chided gently. “But I suppose I understand why you couldn’t. Welcome, Willow. I am Malacar.”

“Thank you for helping me,” she said, her voice suddenly threatening to shake as the adrenaline from the escape began to wear off. “I… I don’t understand why I’m here. Did those males really abduct me to sell me?”

Malacar sighed again and set down his tools.

“I’m afraid so. They’re part of a group of slavers who showed up here several months ago. Sooni and I have been hiding from them ever since.”

Slavers. Somehow hearing it said out loud made it even worse, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to process the horrifying reality.

“Where is here?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. “Couldn’t you just leave?”

“This is an old space station, mostly abandoned, but they brought in new equipment and they monitor traffic. If we tried to leave, we would be noticed.” He looked down at the workbench, his face shadowed. “Since they arrived they have destroyed three ships that tried to dock here.”

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