Page 18 of Hooded

I need other ships within range.

The gas cloud is not as big as I’d hoped, and no sooner are we inside it, we’re bursting out the other side, where a second Tormelek ship is waiting.

I release a stream of expletives as they fire grappling beams at us, pushing the engines to the max in the hope they can break away.

“We’re not going anywhere, Fern,” Klynn says, standing stock still in the center of my bridge, staring at the carnage unfolding outside. “If you want your ship to stay in one piece, I suggest you stop resisting.”

“I’m not letting them take us,” I grind. “We’re not slaves, and if we can get closer to the space station, we can call for help.”

“I’d rather escape their clutches than be fired into the vacuum of space, little female,” Klynn says, almost kindly.

“You might be able to escape, but I won’t, and fuck knows what will happen to me,” I shout at him.

In two short paces, he has me by my upper arms, his eyes tranquil pools as they gaze down on me.

“Nothing will happen to you, little fury. You have my word as a gladiator and a Gryn warrior.”

I stare up at him. I really think he means it.

Which is when the gas hisses into the cabin as the oxygen is drained. I do my level best to remain upright and conscious, as does Klynn, but we both know we’re fighting a losing battle.

So, when it comes, the darkness is not a surprise. But it’s certainly not welcome either.

KLYNN

On balance, this isn’t the worst cell I’ve ever been in. The ones at the amphitheater were disgusting, and the ones used in the dome were damp and filled with mold. And the one my little fury held me in was clean and, of course, smelt of her.

This place is roomy. It also smells of myeregribecause she’s lying a short distance from me, still unconscious. My wings and legs don’t want to co-operate at the present time, so all I can do is lift myself up on my elbows and inspect our surroundings.

The face of the cell is a clear forcefield. I feel it’s hum and buzz in my skin, but the algorithm which drives it is unknown, and it will take some time for my body to tune into it. There is a shelf which could pass for a bed, and behind us there is a sanitary area.

It is a cell made for two.

It is also a cell made for observation, as above us is a large open space, again filled with a forcefield, and a couple of Tormelek guards pace there, holding pulsar rifles.

Even with the forcefield, I can still smell them. Overpowering, rotting, foul. They smell how they behave, despicable and without honor. Not that I have much honor left, but then I don’t go round enslaving other species.

The question remains as to what they want from us.

Whatever it is, they won’t get it from me. I’m done with being indentured and a prisoner. I want my life back, and I want to claim my little Fern, nest for her, and produce so many younglings.

A shiver runs through me at all my thoughts, ones which are completely strange, completely out of nowhere. I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted such things.

But I do now.

And no one is taking any of that from me.

My wings twitch, the feeling returning to them along with my legs, and I heave myself upright with a growl, making my way over to my little female. Her face is pale, and her lips have a tinge of blue which instinctively I know isn’t right. I put my head closer to her mouth to hear her breathing. It’s shallow but there. When my ear brushes her lips, they are icy cold.

I might not know much about humans…or females, but I know they shouldn’t be so cold. I gather her in my arms, wrapping my wings around us both. She draws herself into my body, and my heart does something odd in my chest. Like a flutter. Like there’s something wrong. Maybe whatever gas the vrexing Tormelek used has caused me some damage.

If they have, I will make sure they die before it overtakes me. I will kill them before they touch my sweet female. I will kill them until I drop down dead.

“You do know you’re growling, don’t you?” A soft, hoarse voice comes from within my feathers. A set of small pink fingers pushes through the darkness, and I move my wing to one side in order to see her face.

“I always growl,” I respond.

“Where are we?” she asks, her blue eyes staring around.

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