Page 30 of My Alien Sunshine

“Truth be told, I don’t care who you are,” he continues, hiding his fear behind a mask of disdain. “I’d beat it out of you, but it won’t matter, so why bother? Actually, I’m glad you’re here. You’ll make my trip more profitable. Shitty hybrids like you are usually in low demand, but you look strong. An arena stable will surely jump on the opportunity to buy a new gladiator. They’ll teach you obedience,” he adds, displaying his sharp teeth in an evil grin.

A sharp retort dies in my throat when I hear the rest of the guards return. It’s not their footsteps that make the blood in my veins freeze, though. It’s the sound of a child crying.

They found Ellen.

“We caught her, sir,” they announce.

Drayth snorts. “Amazing. You managed to capture a fucking four-year-old. You want a raise for that? Fuck you. How did you catch her?”

“Well, we couldn’t fit into the vents, so we opened the hot air valve. She ran out, screaming,” the guard adds, grinning.

A growl reverberates through me. I want to destroy the bastard who dared to hurt Nala’s child. I want to punch his face and keep beating him until there’s nothing but bloody mush where his head used to be.

Before I drag myself up off the floor, however, Drayth steps in and holds the shock stick to the guard’s chest. For once, we seem to be on the same page, even if it’s for different reasons. “You did what?!” Drayth screams, shocking the guard even as he collapses onto the floor. “You idiots! I told you not to damage the fucking merchandise! And you do what?! Hm? You try to boil her alive?! How the fuck am I supposed to sell her if she’s dead?!”

I only make it to my knees. I’d tried to stand but my legs simply wouldn’t hold my weight, so I remain on the floor and gesture for Ellen to come closer. She runs over and throws herself into my arms, nearly knocking me back down.

Her tiny body shudders with sobs and her tears soak into my shirt. I crane my head to look at the arm she cradles to her chest, my worries easing a little. She has a few blisters on her forearm but nothing more serious. Still, it must hurt.

“Shh,” I soothe, wrapping my arms around her while being mindful of her injury. “It’s going to be alright, I promise. Close your eyes now.”

Drayth is still holding the shock stick to the guard’s chest, even though the Okri’s body is no longer moving, aside from the occasional reflexive twitch. At this setting, the sticks can be deadly if used for too long and I don’t want Ellen to witness a murder.

The other guards exchange worried looks, but none of them do anything to help their colleague. Only after Drayth is done and tosses the stick aside do they rush in to check on the male’s pulse. Unsurprisingly, they find none.

Drayth smirks as he watches them drag the body away, then returns his attention back to me, and then Ellen. I can see how his gaze turns calculative as he observes me holding Ellen, and I know that I’m betraying my weakness, but I can’t bring myself to push her away.

“You came here for the kid,” Drayth concludes, as if it wasn’t already obvious from how I tried to get her off the ship. Some genius he is. “Did that cunt Nala put you up to this? Unbelievable. I should have gotten rid of her a long time ago. The bitch was too much trouble. Not a bad fuck, but in the long run… I clearly gave her too much freedom. Well, that ends now.”

Ellen whimpers and I realize I’ve been clutching her too tightly. I ease my grip without letting go of her. “You’re not getting your filthy hands on Nala again,” I say through my gritted teeth. I want to tell him much more, but I can’t find words that aren’t filthy expletives and I don’t want to curse in front of Ellen.

“I will end you, Drayth,” I promise him, putting all my fury and hatred into my words. “I will watch you take your last breath and the life drain from your body. Remember this. I will be the one to kill you.” I put a hand over Ellen’s exposed ear as I make my declaration. I don’t want her to be afraid of me.

Drayth smirks. “No, you won’t. Let me tell you what’s going to happen. In a few hours, we’ll get to the Arcade. There, you’ll get a new master. I think I’ll come watch them break you. After I’ve sold this little bitch, of course,” he adds, sneering in Ellen’s direction.

“Farpoint Gateway’s security will have arrested Nala by now and will hand her over to me,” he continues. “I’ll have some serious fun with that pathetic cunt before selling her to the highest bidder. Humans are quite coveted, you know? I’ll make a fortune. Even the little one will yield a hefty profit even though she’s only half human. I didn’t know what Nala was having, you know? The sellers told me it could be almost anything. The idiots all fucked her, not caring that a half Ataxi offspring would be worth much more than a half Syndoran. They were thinking with their cocks. Unlike them, I use my brain. That’s why I never lose.”

Even as I imagine tearing the bastard’s throat out and slapping him with it, I shove my rage down deep. I put it away for later use, so to speak. For now, I have to remain calm and make sure Drayth’s focus is on me and not Ellen. I can take anything, but if he starts hurting her… I don’t know what I’ll do.

“You say you never lose, but you definitely lost me,” I argue, pretending to yawn. “I got bored halfway through your tedious monologue. You sure love listening to yourself. You should have become an actor. Or an insurance agent. Ooh, or one of those street promoters who try to talk people into going into those filthy, low-cost brothels where you’re guaranteed to get an STI. Mate, you’d be brilliant at that! You—”

Drayth yanks a shock stick from the nearest guard’s hand and swings it against me. He’s aiming for my head, but I twist out of the way, so he only hits my shoulder.

I’m ready to shove Ellen away from me if he starts shocking me, but it seems he’s so beside himself with rage he forgets he can do that. He just keeps hitting me as if he was holding a simple club. And he says he uses his brain? I smirk to myself, even as another hit lands on my temple and I’m falling on the floor. My last thought as I lose consciousness is to shift my body so I won’t crush Ellen underneath me while still shielding her from the blows.

Chapter 17

Nala

I gawk at the woman who’s entered the brig.

I shouldn’t be surprised, Faelin told me they had humans on board. I just can’t help myself.

I haven’t seen another human in almost five years. I never thought I’d see one again, especially one that isn’t collared. And this woman is certainly no slave. She confidently pushes the scowling Syndoran aside and steps closer to my cell. She’s not smiling, but she isn’t glaring at me either, so I take that as a win.

“Yes, I’m human,” she confirms my brilliant observation. “I’m also Faelin’s friend and I want to know what’s going on. Lyriana claims that you’re some evil mastermind who manipulated him into a trap and now you’re trying to do the same to us. The rest of us aren’t as convinced. You wanted to talk? Talk.”

“I…” I did want to talk to someone, but now I don’t know where to begin. “Faelin is on Drayth’s ship. He went there to rescue…a captive. He told me to come here and make sure you come help him. Please, tell me we’ve at least taken off?”

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