Page 20 of Keeping Freya
“Ey, boss!” One of them shouts, before they take their seats at a table filled with bottles, wrappers, and a deck of cards.
He takes a swig from one of the bottles before he picks up the cards, and the two start playing as if they do not have a care in the world.
Their boss exits the cruiser and walks towards them. “Nothing?”
“Nope boss, nada. No humans, no other aliens.”
“Did you find the ship she was on?”
“Yeah, a Sternotheri cruiser. I’m curious about how she got hold of that, though.”
The boss waves his words away. “That can wait. We have to set a course to get to market. We have enough material to sell.” They all cackle after that, making my blood boil. As if they are not talking about people, living, sentient beings.
The boss walks back into the cruiser and looks over his shoulder at the door. “We leave in two hours; be ready,” he says.
The henchmen grumble, but continue drinking and playing cards. I have to take them out first. I can use myknife, I’ll be quick and slit their throats before they even know what hit them.
I sneak back to my mate, who’s anxiously looking in the direction of the aliens. “What’s the plan, Jan?”
“Jan?” She sighs, so I ignore it. “You will stay silent, I will kill them with my knife, then proceed with their boss.”
“Stealth-op it is!” she whispers.
CHAPTER 13
T’Rak
Taking a knife in both hands, I creep around the cages, making a wide berth across the tables. The guys are sitting opposite one another, which could pose a problem. I am well prepared, though, so I am just going to see where the situation takes me.
Crawling up from behind, luck is on my side, because the males are too busy with drinking and gambling to pay close attention to anything around them. Why would they, when they believe they are safe?
I am crouching now, taking cover behind the one I am facing. His tail is slashing across the ground, reminding me to act carefully. Slowly, I rise. I have one chance to take them both by surprise—one chance alone. The Krait facing me suddenly looks up, and we lock eyes. I can see the surprise in his eyes. He is too astonished to act, and I throw my knife into his throat. I do not wait to see how he goes down; his gurgling sound is confirmation enough. Quickly, I grab the other’s chin and lift his head. I look him in the eye when I slithis throat. The same surprise echoing in his eyes as his companion had.
Stepping back, I notice my hands are stained with the dark green blood of the Krait—nasty creatures. I look back and see my mate staring at me. I cannot make out the look in her eyes; I can only hope it is not disgust or fear.
I check to see if the Krait are truly dead, and when I am certain, I make my way to the cruiser. It is a small one; mostly, it is just a large cargo area with chairs for the pilot and a small crew. Methodically, I search the space, but find nothing. When I arrive at the tail of the ship, I see a small opening. Fuck, he must have noticed something and gone out the back.
Pulling out my gun, I follow his tracks. When I round the ship and face the cages, I come eye to eye with my worst nightmare. My mate is being held by a big Krait, who points the tip of a blade under her chin.
“Drop the gun, or the female dies,” the alien hisses. His forked tongue slithers through the air as he talks. I hesitate. I do not want to give up my advantage, but he is holding my mate. That hesitation costs me dearly, because in a fluid motion, he yanks his blade up, turns his hand, and hits Fr’Ya with the handle, straight in the eye. I hear cracking and she bellows out in pain.
The knife is firmly at her throat again, so there is nothing left to do for me but drop the gun.
I growl. “What do you want?”
“Your surrender,” he spits.
I hold up my arms. “It is yours.”
He eyes me, then my mate. “It appears we are at a standoff.”
With a snarl, he shoves Fr’Ya forward, the knife at her back. “With one slice, I will sever her spinal cord. We two-legged ones all seem to have that in common.” He cackles,and I do not want to know how he came to that conclusion.
“Turn around,” he commands, but I refuse.
“So, you can stab me in the back, I do not think so.”
Fire spews from his eyes, he knows he made a mistake. He cannot remove the knife from Fr’Ya her back, and he knows it. I will be coming for him when he lets go even an inch. So, he keeps coming closer until he reaches my gun.
