Page 7 of Bela's Bounty
CHAPTERFOUR
Treto
When the Xar’ads finally drop out of hyper, I find myself at the edge of an asteroid belt. You would think the smaller shuttle would make dodging the space rocks easier than their clunky cargo ship.
That is not the case.
The Xar-ad’s are far more familiar with the route than I am and it’s not long before I lose the slave ship among the space debris. In the end, it’s a strike of luck that I catch sight of a ship leaving one of the moon-sized asteroids, otherwise I would have never found the right one.
I’ve heard stories of the asteroid auction house. Nestled deep within the neutral zone, it’s considered to be nigh untouchable, as are any of the nefarious activities that go on inside of it.
Once I make my way inside the asteroid, it takes me far longer than I expected to find the Xar’ads’ clunky cargo ship, only to realize I’m too late, and they’ve already disembarked with the females.Kurving great.
With no time to waste, I set my shuttle down in the nearest open bay and run like hell hounds are nipping at my heels toward the sounds of a cheering crowd.
My only plan is to go in, get her, and get out. Easy. Except I have no idea how to make that happen. I figure I’ll worry about the fine details later. My first priority is to get eyes on my—I mean, onthe—female. I need to stop thinking of her as mine because I’m only doing my job and rescuing her from a life of slavery.
But sheisyours, a not-so-helpful voice whispers in my head.You knew it the moment you saw her.
I absently rub at my sternum, where an ache has settled. I don’t understand the pull I feel toward her, but I’m sure there must be a logical reasoning behind it. A sense of purpose, perhaps. A favor to Anna, my friend’s mate, by helping her people.
When Sone and I joined Rovos and Igid’s crew, it was for the purpose of doing what we could to end trafficking and slavery—something that was very important to Igid, for reasons she has never revealed to me, and I have not asked. So I’m only doing what I’ve already vowed by saving this human.
The tunnel leading from the docking bays is pitch black. Anyone without decent night vision would quickly become lost. Luckily, my vision is better than average, and I’m quickly at the door leading into the—
I’m hit with a wall of sound and light.
Cheering. Screaming. Crying. Sobbing.
“…this luscious specimen is worth far more than that, sir,” a voice over the loud speaker chides, and the cavern erupts into laughter.
I come around a corner where I freeze in mid-step. Because I see her. My female. And she’s up on that stage, bare for all to see what is mine.
The announcer has a glinting chain gripped in his fat fist, and he’s pulling her after him like a pet as he prances back and forth across the stage.
“180,000 credits and this beauty will be warming your furs within an hour.”
The audience lights up with bids.
“Do I hear 190,000?”
More lights.
The announcer comes to a stop, and the female nearly walks into him.
“500,000?” The announcer’s lips peel back from slimy gums in what must be his species’ version of a smile.
This time there is a groan, and only a handful of bids light up.
Kurva!How am I going to get to her?
I would bid, but she’s already out of all but the galaxies’ most wealthy’s price range. And bad things happen to people who can’t pay.
The bidding keeps going on like that until it’s narrowed down to two. One I recognize as the famous Madame Athea, from the pleasure station Lux. The other is Kurrahstka, who owns an equally famous but far less reputable brothel.
The announcer is pacing once again, pulling my female along in his wake. She’s given up on trying to hide her nudity, instead holding on to the leash attached to her collar in an attempt at keeping it from jerking at her fragile neck. She looks pale, sick, with sweat slicking her skin. Her lips are bloodless and pressed together into a tight line. My stomach flips, and my hands clench into fists.
When I last saw her being taken from her planet by the Xar’ads’ tractor beam, she looked healthy. Nothing like what I see before me now. What have they done to her? It takes all my strength to keep from storming through the crowd to the stage.
