Abducted: Alien Mate Index Book 1: (Alien Warrior BBW Science Fiction Paranormal Romance) (The Alien Mate Index) (41 page)

“Just a little further down,” POC was saying as he led us around another bend in the dark tunnel. “This is my master’s accounting area…”

We were heading for an open door at the end of the corridor and passing several others along the way which all appeared to be locked. They were dark and quiet and I wondered if they were back entrances to some of the “exhibits” we had seen. Then we passed one that was different—it had a window.

Sarden had his head down, looking at his feet as he walked. I could only imagine the effort it cost him to keep up this awful charade. I, however, was looking around and so the window caught my eye—and in it, the flash of a woman’s face. A golden eye…a flick of silky, black hair… Had I really seen that?

I couldn’t be sure. It was there and gone so quickly I thought I must have imagined it. I stopped for a moment and looked again but I didn’t see anything—just a lighted square in the metal door. Just my mind playing tricks on me.

“And here I am afraid you must come in alone,” POC said, breaking my concentration. He was gesturing to the open door and talking to Sarden. “Master Tazaxx does not allow anyone but his business partners into his inner accounting sanctum.”

Sarden frowned. “I won’t leave Zoe.”

“You must, I am afraid,” POC said. “I assure you she will be quite well. Or she can go back to your Protector to wait if you like—the way back is just down the corridor.”

“Yes, do that.” Sarden nodded at me. “Go back to Grav. Stay there until this is finished.”

“All right.” I nodded and watched as he and POC went into the lighted room and shut the door, leaving me in gloom.

I should have gone back down the hallway at once—I know I should have. But something made me go look in that window we had passed one more time and that was when I saw her.

Sellah was alive.

Part Four: Captured, Cloned, and Collared

Zoe

I couldn’t believe it but there she was—the exact same girl I’d seen in Sarden’s crystal memory cube. Her smooth brown skin and large golden eyes, so like Sarden’s, were unmistakable. Those golden eyes widened when she saw me watching her and she made motions at me and said something I couldn’t hear.

“Hang on,” I told her in a low voice, which she probably couldn’t hear either. “I’m going to get you out of there.”

But how? I pulled on the door handle and it didn’t budge an inch—it was unmistakably locked.

I looked at the palm-pad just to the right of the door and wondered. Doubtless it was set to only open for Tazaxx. But then, the door on Gallana had been keyed only for someone with Ma
jor
an DNA and the Force-Locks I had opened before that were supposedly only useable by a Vorn.

Might as well give it a try.

Taking a deep breath, I pressed my hand to the pad and waited anxiously to see what would happen. At first my fingers were outlined in red and I was afraid it wasn’t going to work. Then, to my excitement, the red changed to green and I heard a soft but definite
click
from the locking mechanism inside the door.

Grabbing the handle before it could change its mind, I yanked it open and ran in to Sellah.

“Sellah!” I exclaimed, rushing to greet her. She was wearing manacles on her wrists and a cruel looking metal collar around her slender throat which was attached by a chain to the wall.

“Who are you?” she whispered, looking at me with wide eyes. “And what are you doing here? I thought…I thought I saw my big brother.”

“You did.” I couldn’t help myself, I put my arms around her and hugged her tight. I was just so glad to see she was alive!

Sellah hesitated for a moment, then hugged me back.

“Where is he?” she whispered in my ear. “You have to tell him to get out of here and you have to go too—you’re both in terrible danger.”

“We’re not going anywhere without you,” I told her, pulling back to look into her eyes. “You’re the reason we came in the first place. I’m Zoe, by the way.”

“Zo-ee?” She made my name sound exotic. “Are you my brother’s lover? Or his intended mate?”

“Oh, er…” Well
this
conversation was turning awkward fast. “Neither,” I said. “He abducted me to trade for you but then…well, it’s a long story. Let’s talk about you—we thought you were dead. Tazaxx showed us…” I shivered. “I don’t even want to say what he showed us.”

“He can take many shapes—different forms,” Sellah said in a low voice. “Please…” She looked at me urgently. “You
have
to go while you still can.”

“I told you—I’m not going without you,” I said firmly. “Now let’s have a look at this awful collar you’re wearing.”

I found the unlocking mechanism around the back of it.

“It’s no good,” Sellah said, sounding hopeless. “It’s keyed only to Tazaxx or the captain of his Gord guard. I don’t know what planet you hail from, but it’s clear you aren’t Gord.”

“I come from Earth,” I told her. “We’re a, uh, closed planet. Or we were, until recently.”

“You’re a Pure One?” Her eyes widened.

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me, though Sister Mary Louise back at The Sisters of the Sacred Heart high school would probably disagree,” I said. “Okay…here.”

I had been trying to find a way to open the thick, metal collar around her neck. There seemed to be several buttons but none of them responded when I pressed them. Then, by accident, my fingertip slipped into the small, smooth place between the buttons and
that
was when the lock snapped open. I pulled the collar off Selah’s neck and helped her stand.

“How did you
do
that?” She looked at me wide-eyed.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Sarden, er, your brother says I’m a
La-ti-zal,
whatever that means.”

“It means that you’re very, very valuable indeed. Even more than I had at first imagined.”

The familiar voice came from behind me, startling me. I jerked and turned to see Tazaxx in his mud-man form standing just inside the doorway. Before I could move, the door clicked shut and I knew it was locked again.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, my stomach doing a nervous twitch. “And why did you lie to us about Sellah being dead?”

“I might ask why
you
lied to me as well,” he drawled, raising an eyebrow. “The smart-fabric mask was a masterful touch—I will give you that. But it wasn’t enough to fool me, especially as I knew you’d be coming.”

“Someone warned you Sarden was coming?” I asked.

“Of course—Hurxx, who arranged for Sarden’s sister to be captured and sold in the first place.” He gave Sellah a cold smile. “He told me when he sent her to me that her older brother would never stop hunting for her until he knew she was dead.” He shrugged his muddy shoulders. “So I made certain that he knew it.”

“You bastard,” I snarled. “You have no idea the pain you’re putting him through.”

“Oh yes, I do—I simply do not care.” He grinned at me, showing muddy brown teeth—even in his mud face, the sight was weirdly disgusting.

“Let us go,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You’ve had your fun—your revenge on Sarden. Now let him know his sister isn’t dead.”

“I don’t think so.” His smile widened. “In fact, not only will I deny him his sister, he’s also going to lose his favorite concubine.”

“You can’t,” I said, wishing my voice wouldn’t tremble so much. “He’ll hunt for me, too. You can’t just…”

But the words died on my lips as Tazaxx began to change.

The muddy outline of his man-shaped body changed, smoothing out, becoming smaller and more feminine. Then I was staring right at myself—or a sculpture of me made out of mud, anyway.

“That’s creepy but it won’t work,” I said, lifting my chin. “So what if you look like me? You still look like me
made out of mud.”

“Because I’m not finished yet. This form is crude yet comfortable—but I can refine it if I wish to.”

As I watched, the mud-me became smoother and paler. The hair became red and the eyes, blue. Even the same clothing I was wearing appeared on the mud-me’s body. The Slave Leia outfit down to the last detail.

Until Tazaxx looked exactly like me.

“What…” I had to swallow before I could try again. “What do you think you’re going to do? Get on the shuttle and leave with Sarden? You’ll just be trapped with him and once he finds out you aren’t really me—” I shook my head. “You’re gonna be in for a world of hurt, buddy.”

Tazaxx shrugged. “I don’t mind what he does to my scion. I can make many,
many
of them, you see—can mold myself into whatever form I choose. And if I lose one here or there, it is no matter to me. It doesn’t hurt me anymore than clipping your fingernails would hurt you.”

“So…you can make infinite mud-men? Or women?” I could feel my heart sinking but I tried not to show it.

“More or less. Every time I molt, my mass grows and I can afford to lose more of it. Which is why I didn’t mind sacrificing some of it to assure your paramour, Sarden, that his beloved sibling was dead.” He nodded at Sellah, who was white-lipped and wide-eyed with terror. “As I won’t mind sacrificing a bit more to make Sarden think he has you with him, my dear,” he told me.

“He’ll know,” I said desperately. “You can’t fool him that easily.”

“Oh, really? Are you
positive
of that?”

Tazaxx smiled at me and suddenly I saw Sarden pass by the door that kept Sellah and me prisoner. Another me—this one also perfect in every detail—walked by his side.

“Sarden!” I screamed as loud as I could. “Sarden, help! Help—we’re in here!”

He didn’t even look up. But the other-me did. She looked up and gave me a nasty, knowing smile.

If you’ve never been smiled at by your evil mud-doppelganger as she walks off with your boyfriend (or at least the guy you really, really like) well, I don’t recommend it. It sucks.

“Sarden!” I shouted again.
“Please!”

My shouting frightened my
nib-nibs
and two of them, Rhaegar and Viserys came out of my hair and went chattering down my arm.

“No, you guys,” I hissed at them. “Bad timing—back! Go Back!”

But it was too late—Tazaxx had already seen them.

“Ah—I forgot about these little creatures. Your
pets.”
The mud-me that Tazaxx had become, held out a hand. “Give them to me
now
or suffer the consequences.”

“No.” I cupped them in my hands protectively. “You’ll hurt them.”

“I assure you, I will not.
Unless
you fail to hand them over. Then I will be certain they are torn limb from limb while you watch.”

I shivered, hearing the awful words come from what appeared to be my own mouth. Looking into those eyes so much like mine, I knew he would do it.

“Fine.” I held the
nib-nibs
up in the palm of my hand and looked at them. “You guys are going to go and leave me here,” I whispered, my voice slightly choked. "Don’t worry—just go with Sarden. He’ll protect you. Or at least he won’t eat you.”

They chattered softly in the palm of my hand and I could feel my last
nib-nib,
Drogon, moving around restlessly at the back of my neck. But to my relief, he stayed where he was, even when I handed the two tiny
nib-nibs
over carefully to Tazaxx.

“Be careful—don’t crush them!” I said, my voice hoarse.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Tazaxx remarked. He slapped one hand over my mouth and opened the door a crack just for a moment.

The
nib-nibs
scampered out and the other mud-me doppelganger, who was walking just behind Sarden, reached down to try and scoop them up. They ran around her and made a B-line for Sarden and for a moment, I thought they might get his attention. And if he turned and saw me through the crack in the door…

But it didn’t happen. The mud-me was faster than I would have thought possible. She put on a burst of speed and snatched them up, chattering from the floor before they could reach Sarden. Then she gave me another nasty, triumphant smile and kept walking with the two of them cupped carefully between her hands.

The door started to swing closed and I knew it was now or never. Surging forward, I bit down on Tazaxx’s palm as hard as I could, sinking my teeth deep into his flesh…where it crumbled into a mouthful of slimy dirt.

Tazaxx held me off easily, as though I was no more than a child, and let the door snick shut and lock once more. He let me go and I spat out the mouthful of muddy dirt, completely disgusted.

“Ugh!” I wiped at my tongue as best I could. “Disgusting!”

“I’m sorry you find it so,” Tazaxx remarked mildly. His hand wasn’t injured at all—it looked like I hadn’t even bitten him, let along taken out a big chunk.

“Promise me your, uh, scion won’t hurt my
nib-nibs,”
I demanded, spitting again. I didn’t like the way she’d smiled at me when she caught them.

“I assure you, they will be unharmed. They are only there to perfect the illusion. Your paramour will never suspect a thing now…that is until he’s too far away to get back in time and do any good.”

He gave me a smirk that was unbearably self-satisfied.

“Sarden will find out what you’re doing,” I said. “You can’t keep up the illusion forever.”

“I don’t have to—I only have to keep it up long enough to sell the two of you at auction. Which will be in exactly twenty solar hours at an undisclosed location.”

“He’ll come,” I said stubbornly, trying to make myself believe it.

“Please don’t fool yourself,” Tazaxx said. “The auction site is kept secret from all but those who are expressly invited—and they aren’t notified of its exact location until shortly before it is to begin. Your Master will never find you.”

He gave me an evil grin and once more I had the weird experience of being taunted by myself.

“Could you not?” I said. “I mean, it’s
really
creepy when you use my own face to sneer at me.”

“Forgive me.” His features mutated until he was the mud-man again. “Is that better?”

“Not by much. But a little.” I lifted my chin. “Fine, so you’re going to sell us. Now that we know can you just leave us alone?”

“So that you can unlock the door with your
La-ti-zal
powers? I don’t think so, my dear. From now on, I won’t be leaving your side. Not until I can turn you over to the Master of the Auction.” He walked back to the door and stood right in front of it. “Feel free to talk but if you attempt an escape, know this—some of the attendees at my yearly auction
like
buying injured females. It makes breaking them to a new owner’s will so much
easier.”