Page 43 of Commander's Slave
* * *
On the twentiethday of training it poured rain and Edek was late arriving home. His new pilot landed on the roof, and Edek hurried inside, seeking the dry warmth of the house. Perhaps he’d invite Betsy to visit the hot springs with him tonight. As he descended the winding stairs from the rooftop, he shook the water from his hair, his thoughts on his sweet little human.
He paused. Something wasn’t right.
No sounds drifted up from the kitchen, no voices from the dining room. Edek descended a few more steps and paused again on the stairs, listening. An eerie quiet filled the house.
He raced down the steps and into the dining room.
The sight that greeted him caused all the air to rush out of his lungs.
Blood was splattered on the table and against the wall. Several chairs were toppled over, evidence of a struggle. He hurried into the kitchen but found it empty, no sign of the servants. Panic started to set in.
“Betsy!” he called, sprinting through the house. “Draken! Betsy!”
A spot of dark red on the floor by the entrance hallway caught his attention. He knelt and dipped a finger in the cold liquid. Blood, though much darker in appearance than spilled Kall blood, and it didn’t smell like Kall blood either. His heart lurched. Human blood. Betsy.
A tiny slim object caught his notice and he lifted it from the blood. It was a tracker, the very same kind of tracker that was embedded in a slave’s upper arm.Gods, no.
He ran out into the night, shouting Betsy’s name. Full darkness had fallen as he’d searched the house, and the moons shone down to illuminate the terrace and outbuildings. He scanned the perimeter of the house, his heart pounding. What could’ve happened? What would drive all the servants away, and Draken and Betsy too?
And the blood. He stiffened as grim possibilities spun in his head. Betsy was hurt. She hadn’t lost a lot of blood, but she’d been wounded. None of this made sense. If she’d indeed gotten hurt, Draken would’ve had her flown to the mountaintop to visit the Holy Ones. He’d always favored their natural medicines over the traditional Kall doctors. Except that didn’t account for the missing servants, or the fact that Betsy’s tracker had been removed.
Edek raced to the hangar where his pilot had already parked his ship. The pilot’s small land craft was missing from its space, and Edek knew the young Kall had already departed.
Footsteps and heavy breathing broke through the silence of the night. Edek spun and squinted at a figure moving down the mountain. He extracted the battle-ax affixed to his belt. Moonlight reflected on the sharp edge of the blade as he raised it high.
“Commander Edek!” The cook’s voice rang out.
Edek reattached his ax to his belt and gripped the cook by the shoulders. “What’s happened? Where’s Betsy? And Draken?”
“Draken’s hurt badly. A few of the servants were hurt too. We took them to the Holy Ones.” Pale moonlight streamed across the cook’s ashen face. His lip was swollen and purple.
Edek shook him, his fury rising. “Betsy! Where is she?”
The cook’s eyes widened. “She was taken by a group of Kall. Draken told me to tell you one thing.” He tapped the side of his head and blinked. “Ah yes. It was a name. Teyya. He said to tell you Teyya.”
Holy Fires. Teyya. The scoundrel who had a long-lasting feud with Draken. The one who’d tried to bid on Betsy and lost. Edek simmered with rage. He released the cook and bounded for his ship. He hadn’t operated it in years, not since his status had elevated to High Warrior, but he needed to get to the town and fast.
He powered up the ship and pulled up the town database on the front screens. Teyya owned several properties, the largest of which was located on the outskirts of the town and surrounded with massive walls, higher even than those that encircled the town. Edek suspected Betsy had been taken there. He sent a message to fifteen of his most trusted warriors, instructing them to search all of Teyya’s properties, aside from the enclosed property.
Edek shot out of the hangar, saying prayers to all the gods he’d ever heard of.Please let Betsy be safe.
He zoomed across the town and finally hovered over Teyya’s compound, keeping the ship lights dimmed. He waited as new messages streamed in from his warriors, one by one confirming Teyya’s absence from his smaller properties. After ordering his men to converge on the compound, Edek silenced his engine and drifted to a quiet landing behind the tallest structure inside the towering walls. The ship creaked faintly as it settled on the ground, but no one inside Teyya’s house would have heard the landing through the thick stone walls. He prayed no one had been outside to witness his arrival.
Fear twisted his insides as he imagined the terrible things the scoundrel was doing to Betsy at this very moment. He needed to move faster. He exited his ship and ran to the house, his boots crunching over the dry ground. Light spilled from several windows, and he crept around the structure to peer inside each opening. He saw empty hallways and rooms. No sign of Betsy or Teyya or the men who’d taken her.
Strong currents of wind hit Edek in the face, and he glanced up to see several black circular shapes blocking out the stars and moons. His men were starting to arrive. He swallowed hard and yanked his ax from his belt, using it to pry a window open. As it slid up, he looked over his shoulder and spotted ten bodies moving through the darkness. Moonlight glittered off their swords, axes, and knives. He had no doubt the remaining warriors he’d called would arrive shortly as well.
He crawled through the window and two of his men followed on his heels. The others would find another way inside, and at least two would keep guard on the perimeter lest Teyya attempt an escape. Edek had trained them well. They weren’t afraid to face down aliens twice their size on the battlefield, and they certainly weren’t afraid to infiltrate the house of one criminal Kall and his associates.
“Draken is dead?” A loud voice boomed from a nearby room.
Edek paused in a doorway to listen to the exchange, holding his ax at the ready.
“Yes. Draken is dead. I swear it. I slit his throat myself,” said another voice.
“His warrior brother? Edek? Did you end him too?”
