Page 92 of Unleashed

They are trapped.Thoseare the calls of missing tribesmen.

The muscles of her neck strained as she cast her mind out toward the beasts, narrowing her focus and bolstering her shields to protect against the unrelenting onslaught of demanding voices.

She turned her head to the right and opened her eyes. Though the plants adorning it were different, she knew the street well. It was the road that led to the gardens…

The road that led to what Quinn calledthe Zoo.

To this day, Quinn had set foot in the Zoo only once, during her early days in Bahmet. She’d declined to accompany Orishok and Nina to the place afterward; just thinking about it had conjured powerful, frightening memories in Quinn’s mind of her captivity on Earth and aboard theConcord.

“I found them,” she said, looking at the others. “I found your people.”

“They are not here,” Aduun said firmly.

“Nothere.” Nina lifted her arm and pointed down the dark street. “There.”

Aduun’s gaze followed her gesture. He nodded once. “Let us go, then. I do not wish to linger here.” With a final glance at the crystal pyramid, he stalked in the direction she’d indicated.

She and the valos set a quick pace and moved in a tight group. The voices slammed into Nina’s mind again, crashing into her barrier with enough force to produce sharp pains in her skull and make her steps falter. They weren’t crying for help anymore, weren’t requesting or demanding; they were attempting to psychically compelher to return.

She reached to the sides, grasping Vortok’s fingers to the right and Balir’s to the left.

“I need your strength,” she rasped.

All three valos opened to her, pouring their strength of will into her mind. Their protective instincts washed over her, knitting together to bolster her shields and hold back the assault.

She led the valos to the Zoo; the space was surrounded by a high wall, not unlike the preceding gardens, but this wall was adorned with sculptures of alien creatures beyond Nina’s imagination. As wild as many of them looked, she didn’t doubt that somewhere in that infinite sea of stars, they were all real.

They entered through a wide archway and followed the path toward the center of the Zoo. Light stones activated as they moved, casting gentle illumination on the stones beneath their feet, but the surrounding area remained dark. The silence of the place only heightened Nina’s anxiety; it was in direct contrast to the frenzied beast-minds she sensed nearby.

Broad steps led them up onto a wide central platform, putting them that much closer to the starry, illusory sky. Warm light bathed the platform, but only shadow remained beyond.

Aduun alone strode forward, swinging his gaze from side to side. “Where are they? Their scent is in the air.”

“They’re all around us,” Nina said between heavy breaths. The physical exertion of their hurried pace seemed insignificant compared to how taxing it was to maintain her mental defenses.

“In the dark?” he demanded. “Why can’t we hear them, why haven’t they called?”

“Aduun, they’re in—”

A bright flash cut off Nina’s words. She released the valos’ hands and threw up her arms to shield her eyes from the intensity of the light. Slowly, her vision adjusted, and the world around her came into focus again.

“Oh,” was all she could manage after she lowered her arms.

The platform upon which they stood was raised above everything else, giving them clear view of the surrounding cages and pens. Each one seemed to contain an animal. Many were familiar, creatures she’d learned about from Orishok, and all were deadly.

The animals looked ragged, emaciated, and many paced their cages restlessly. Those closest to the platform slammed into the invisible walls of their cages, jaws agape in silent roars, splattering saliva and blood on the unseen barriers.

These were the beasts she’d felt. These malnourished, maddened creatures. If there was anything left of the people these creatures once were, she couldn’t sense it now. Not without opening herself up to the other voices.

“Aduun, I’m sorry.”

“These are our people,” he said solemnly, without the tiniest shred of doubt. “This is our tribe.”

Chapter Twenty

Aduun moved his gaze over the caged beasts — over his clan, his kin, his friends. They’d been here all along, trapped as beasts. Whatever suffering he’d endured was nothing compared to what they’d been through. They were wild, ravenous, their bodies wasted away but their ferocity heightened.

They stared up at him with no recognition in their eyes. Their mottled fur and flaking scales only enhanced the outlines of ribs, spines, and hips over which their skin was stretched. Many of the cages were riddled with gouges in their dirt and stone, as though the desperate prisoners had attempted to claw their way to freedom.

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