Page 28 of Time Forged

“Drug her,” Criass said, striding in as if he’d just enjoyed a leisurely tea break.

Nice Guy slunk past her, his gaze averted.The coward.His back was to her while he fiddled with vials.Swish went one purple liquid into an injection gun then the gurgle of another.She squirmed, shifting to the opposite side of the table, as far as the straps would let her.

She cast a pleading gaze at Nice Guy, but he pretended not to notice and kept his chin down.

The cold of the gun’s nozzle on her neck made her yelp.She had nowhere to go, nothing she could do to stop this.She was alone.Definitely not the way she’d expected to die.

At the sharp bite of the needle, she hissed.Fire blazed outward, clenching her teeth.She keened, arching off the bed with her heels hitting the table in a rapid beat.When the burn traveled to her chest, she screamed.Dying sucked.

“Wake her,” reached her through the fog clouding her mind.Thoughts followed, too fast for her to grasp.“Return her to the others, and bring the next one.”

She vaguely registered the releasing of her limbs.When Nice Guy tried to help her, she threw out a hand and glared at him.She staggered to her boots.Yes, she’d kill these fuckers, and she’d use her knife to get a gun.Her determination hardened when the dampness between her legs told her she’d wet herself again.The indignity of it.The urge to stab them both gripped her when her fingers brushed the hilt.

Could she do it?

Nice Guy held the door open.Criass had his back to her.So arrogant.

She hesitated.Her veins blazed with whatever shit they’d put in her.And they were about to do it to the other women.She made to follow Nice Guy, wrapped her fingers around the hilt, and swung it.The blade sank into the back of Criass’s neck like a fork through cake.He slumped to the floor, his face contorted, his mouth opening and closing without a sound escaping him.

She blinked at him then faced Nice Guy.“Get in here, or I’ll stab him again.”She nudged Criass’s prone form with her toe.

Nice Guy obeyed, sliding inside the room and shutting the door.

‘Kill him’ zinged across her mind.She tried to silence the shock, to focus.“Help me escape, or I’ll kill him.I mean it,” she snapped.

Nice Guy inched deeper into the room.“There is no way to go.”He pointed at Criass with his chin.“We will just heal him.”

“Shit,” she muttered.“You’re immortal?”

“No, but he is losing blood, nothing more.”A smile teased his lips.“Our hearts are where your livers are.”

She scowled.“Why are you telling me this?”

“I despise him, and the longer we wait, the more he will bleed out.”He tapped a spot on his torso.“Here.”

“And you don’t think I’ll use that knowledge on you?”She eyed him, trying to ascertain whether she could trust him.

“No, because I can get us out of here.”

Her brow furrowed.“Why?”

“He is my uncle.”His gaze showed not an ounce of love.“A male I have hated, resented, and served all my life.I am nothing more than a slave to him.”

“Hiossu,” Criass croaked, green blood spilling through the fingers he pressed to his neck.“Fetch the med-gun.Now.”

Without warning, Hiossu snatched the dagger from her hand and plunged it into Criass’s heart.“Done,” he said, offering her the knife.“I shall escort you to your females as if nothing has happened.”

“But aren’t there others like your uncle?”

Hiossu winced.“Yes, I am sorry.Some of your females would have already received Gamma 7.Let us hope this is a good batch.If you wish to save them, we need to ‘follow’ protocol.”

“Get me a gun and a ship.”

He blinked at her.“First, we must kill any who oppose us.”

She eyed him, not sure she could trust him.But what choice did she have?

“What about a distraction?A way to spread them out and give us a fighting chance?Taking out so many all at once…” She stared at the door, half expecting company.“I’m not one for killing.”She swallowed hard and focused on Criass.“Can’t we just…sneak out?”

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