Page 93 of Dark's Savior

"Do you see this person here?" Korzien placed his hand on her shoulder. "This girl is called a human. They came to Xolis not long ago from traders. Through interrogating these traders and studying the few things they took, we know about their human ship and which planet it was found on. With the help of oracles and silion scientists we have charted a possible path that could potentially lead to human territory. Your job is to explore that territory and bring back what you find. Specifically," his hand squeezed her shoulder as he pushed her forward, "more human girls like this."

Aly looked up at him, wide-eyed, speechless. The purple alien drew out a blade from a sheath at his thigh and looked it over carefully. "That could take a long time, assuming your scientists are right," he said in a low but smooth voice.

"You'll be given all the necessary provisions," Korzien said, giving Aly a warning glare not to interrupt him as she shook her head continuously. "And we are confident that you will find something, at least a trace if not more. You will be rewarded depending on what you bring back, whether that be information or actual humans." He looked back over at them and nodded. "I am confident one of you will at least find something." His eyes drew over to the purple alien. "Especially from you, Nezka. From what I have heard."

Nezka's mouth curved ever so slightly as he flipped the blade in his hands. "And what have you heard?"

Korzien smiled back at him. "The rumors abound. The bounty hunter from nowhere who always finds his prey. Vesra's greatest killer, who likes his drink and his women even more. Who those call Voidstorm. Or so it goes."

Nezka stopped playing with his blade and slipped it back to his thigh. He looked over at Aly then back at Korzien. "I want half now and repairs done to my ship."

"We can discuss a deal after—"

"That is my deal. Take it or don't."

Aly waited nervously for Korzien to react, expecting a nod and one of the guards standing by the wall to cut the alien's head off for interrupting. Instead, he only grinned and laughed. "Fearless. I like you. Stay, then, for the day and we will talk. Same for the lot of you," he said to the others. "And because I am nice, I'll repair your ships while we do so, whether you agree to go or not."

'In other words,' Aly thought. 'Say no and we will blow your ship out of the sky as it leaves the atmosphere. Just because we can.'

The others seemed to know it. Only Nezka was unphased. He stood up, his legs slightly bent as he walked across the courtyard. The others followed suit.

"Oh, but one thing," Korzien said, stopping him. "You can treat yourself to the servants if you wish, but nillium women are off limits. And if I see you even touch one of our human girls, I will have your insides stripped out and hung off the outer gates. Do you understand?"

Nezka twisted around to face him. He glanced back at Aly, his eyes flickering down her body then back up. He smiled, and Aly caught a set of curved fangs poking out from his mouth. "Tempting," he said and disappeared.

***

Aly saw the hunters roaming the grounds throughout the day, a constant fear gripping her every time she encountered them. She wished she had done something, even if all she did was scream or shout or beat her fists, cursing them and Korzien in that courtyard. But if her silence seemed like cowardice on her part, she told herself it was the smarter thing to do. After all, what good would it have done her? No amount of screaming or shouting would stop them. All she might receive in return was a good solid cuff to the face from Korzien, silencing her for good.

But the more she watched the hunters walking around or talking to one another or even fighting in one of the courtyards, she wished she had at least put up some kind of fight.

Because the idea of them finding more humans and hunting down other girls for the nillium was sickening and horrifying.

In fact, she thought she might be sick now as she watched the pair of grex dueling in the wide courtyard close by.

Covering her mouth, she rushed down the passage, desperately looking for a bathroom. Unable to make it in time, she found a plant pot instead and vomited inside it. As her vomiting turned into a dry heave, Aly thought her nerves must finally be shot for good. She was at least impressed she had made it as long as she did.

When she was finished, she straightened and wiped her mouth with a shaky hand. Something had to be done. They had to be stopped. Someone had to stop them. She could mention to the others about the hunters but feared that sort of news might just be the tipping point to completely undo them. And even then, what could they do? There was no means to communicate with anyone, no one who would be able to help them. They couldn't get to the ships, they couldn't run, and they couldn't hide.

As the sun began to drop, servants lit lamps inside and opened curtains. One came to her now, ignoring the fact that she had just thrown up in one of the pots, to tell her that dinner would be served soon, and Nihl Korzien expected her by his side.

Aly took her time walking back through the house, clutching her stomach, which now throbbed with a sort of dull pain. The servant led her to a private room on the second floor, and, once admitted inside, she found Korzien, Zyr, and the hunter, Nezka, sitting by a table on the balcony, sharing some bluym in a pipe.

"Ah, there you are." Korzien gestured for her to take a seat beside him.

Aly hesitated before she stepped into the room and sat down, trying not to cough from the spicy smoke wafting in the air now tickling her throat. As soon as she took her seat, she was ignored, save for Nezka's eyes drifting over briefly, showing obvious curiosity.

"We can give you a pulse tracker. That should make it even easier to find them," Korzien said, continuing their conversation. "We've already taken samples of their DNA and synced them to those we have on-hand." He took a hit of his pipe, the burning glow of the tip catching in his eyes. "As we said, we don't want the males. You could dispose of them for all I care. Any defenses they have shouldn't be a problem, but it would probably be wise to be stealthy."

"I'm not worried about that. My ship has shadowcast siding and several detection blockers," Nezka replied, lounging back in his chair and blowing out a lazy trail of smoke. "But I'll need at least two ionx capsules. I can convert them easily enough into the engine bank."

Zyr grimaced. "Two capsules is a stretch, don't you think? By Nihl, you could be across the galaxy and back before using up even half of one."

Nezka shrugged. "A better precaution. Those traders probably had a decent store of their own, I imagine, if they made it to another system altogether to find these humans. And who knows how much these humans traveled before reaching the planet, if it is assumed that they were exploring. Which could mean they didn't get far or they had been sailing for a long time. Better to assume the latter." He tilted his head and glanced at Aly. "Just in case."

Zyr scoffed, but Korzien held up his hand.

"He has a point, Zyr. We can give him the capsules. We aren't hard up for them, and more will come in time."

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