Page 85 of Bred by the Alien Prince

"I know, it's called Rishi. Our pods were supposed to divert from this place, but something must have gone wrong. I'm going to give you a private channel to keep in touch with me."

"That would help a great deal."

"Can you come pick us up?"

"Negative. The ship crashed, and I'm currently making repairs."

"When can you fly again?"

"In one or two hours."

"Good. Have you seen signs of Caspian's pod? Cormac is with me."

"Yes, I have. He's several miles from my location. I passed overhead of a smoking pod. However, his beacon is not on."

"I'll track him down," I said, feeling confident I could still locate him.

"Anomaly what?" Cormac groaned. "I don't like the all-powerful stoic alien panicking."

"It's a spatial anomaly, but I do not know more than that."

"I thought AI knew everything." Cormac coughed.

"I would have to study it and remain long enough on the planet for it to reenter the anomaly."

"That doesn't sound good," Cormac laughed, and I wondered if my blood was making him delirious. A known side effect other aliens reported when receiving it, which is why we customarily kill other aliens who have been injured rather than give them our blood. The last thing we needed was other aliens using our blood to get high and for their own medical purposes.

"How else would the planet have vanished and emerged? It did not fly here; it is merely undergoing its normal rotation."

Was this machine getting smart-lipped? "Look! I do not have time for your two to banter about this place. We have perhaps 72 hours to leave here or we will be trapped here for 300 years!"

"That is 3 days, Cormac."

"I know!"

"Hush," I said, hearing several heavy-booted footsteps approach. I grabbed some nearby brush and placed it over Cormac, then darted behind the pod.

Several soldiers approached, dressed in black and dark green-hued armor. The green only peeked through once light reflected on it, similar to the ship hidden under the human colony. The armor design was smooth, with a series of small jutting twists of metal forming small triangular spikes along the shoulders, arms, and legs. These soldiers were Valisian; that was easy enough to tell from their height and structure, but the language they spoke was ancient. Elder Norose, or Old Elder, to make it simpler.

Something told me not to go out there and try to talk. Something was not right. Why were our kind here? Were they Valisians from long ago who became trapped here? Whatever the case may be, I would rather not try to communicate with them. I want to find Caspian and be on my way, but that damn human would change that with a small cough.

They surrounded him and pulled the branches and leaves free. Dammit! I ran from cover, lifted two with my jiva, and tossed them back. The others reacted too fast for me to turn my focus on them. I felt something sharp enter my thigh and stomach, sending my head in a whirlwind.

The dripping of water trickling on stone was the first thing I heard when I woke up. They chained my arms, and only the tips of my toes touched the cold, wet stone floor. Slumped on the floor, Cormac looked paler than usual. Cool air swept across my body, and I realized I was naked!

"Finally awake," he chuckled. Infection was setting in; the wound wasn't healing as it needed to. His own system must have been fighting my blood.

Caspian could handle my blood without issues, but perhaps it was because of the doc's success at integrating our DNA into his body.

My head and stomach ached, and sweat rolled and beaded on my skin. Whatever poison they used packed a powerful punch, and my body was having difficulties filtering it from my system, though it was not deadly. They at least didn't intend to kill us; that was the only thing that gave me some hope.

Two men entered the room dressed in a simple tunic, cloth pants, and shoes. They also spoke in the ancient tongue as they turned Cormac's face about, and before we knew it, they were removing him from the room.

"Hey!" My grip on the old tongue was shaky at best. "Where are you taking him?"

They didn't answer. One man lingered behind and gripped my chin before running his hand across my chest a little too damn slow for my tastes.

"You are a great find," he leered at my body. "You are alpha? You will create many children and become warrior."

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