Cosmic Bounty (15 page)

“We have the band of lost brothers. If one or more are lost in battle or war, they seek out and adopt more into a family. We learned early in our civilization we do not cope well out of our sets.”

“Then you would not do well on earth. While we seek out others for company, we have a saying: two’s company, three’s a crowd.”

Yuv
smiled. “Then let us be a crowd.”

Kat laughed at his smile.

Before he could answer, a set of quads suddenly burst through the crowd, right behind them, knocking both
Yuv
and
Tev
, standing on either side of her. More men joined in and suddenly a fight broke out.

A sweaty hand suddenly clamped over her nose and mouth and an arm wrapped around her waist. They pulled her backward through the crowd of onlookers. She fought wildly, as panic flooded through her. She couldn’t breathe. Her fingers dug into the hand over her mouth, while she struggled to suck in air. Spots started to swim before her eyes, and her strength left her. She sagged against her abductor before blacking out.

Chapter Thirteen

“I’m going to kill them!”

Ric
and
Gol
grabbed
Hul
before he attacked
Yuv
and
Tev
. “How could you have left her unguarded? Why were you not all with
her!
”
Hul
bellowed at the men who were supposed to be guarding and caring for their treasure.

“
Oul
and
Riv
took
Sarrbeem
, Kat was distressing her. It was then we were ambushed. They knocked us over and started a fight, and then scurried away, before we could get back to her,”
Yuv
tried to explain.

“We should have never left her in the hand of others. We are the only ones who can protect her properly. If anything happens to her, I swear I will tear your whole family apart.”

“Calm, brother, it will do no good in finding our Kat.”
Gol
let go of his arm, stood in front of him gripping his neck and pressed his head to his brother's.

“Do you not think I feel the anger, too? Right now, we need to stay calm. We’ll head back to our dwelling and activate the bio tracker.
Ric
did not leave us without a means of finding her, if this ever happened.”

Hul
lifted his head, glaring into his brother’s eyes. “You knew this would happen, didn’t you.”

“No, I prayed it would not, but she is an exotic and not like our females. Once the word got out such a female had come to
Galafrax
, I feared others would try to steal her.”

“Then why are we waiting here? Let’s go get her.”
Hul
, followed by his brothers, stormed out. No mercy would be shown if anyone had harmed their treasure.

****

Kat blinked against the bright lights when the sack was pulled from her head. She sucked in a lungful of stale, musty air, stained with the foul stench of sweat and unwashed bodies.

Wherever they had brought her, it was hotter than anywhere else she’d been, since her arrival on
Galafrax
. Her perspiration trickled down the back of her neck and also from her forehead.

Her throat was dry from trying to breathe through the rotten cloth of the sack, now thankfully removed.

“My, what delectable prize have you brought, this time? What flavor of skin do I see, creamy white as lily’s milk.”

Kat squinted to get a better look at the fat, red, Demos man who lounged on a large, red cushioned chair. Behind him, in the shadows, were two more men, she could only guess to be his brothers.

“I heard from one of the returned, quad soldiers a new pale-skinned beauty had come to
Galafrax
. I happened by the markets today and there she be, guarded but by two. It was an easy capture.”

She snapped her head around to glare at her kidnappers. Strange there only seemed to three of them, not four.

“Pity to those who cannot properly guard their females.
They don't deserve them.” The red boss man grinned.

Kat licked her lips. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but if you don’t take me back right now, my men are going to tear you limb from limb.”

“She has the same fire as one of ours. What is your name, pale one? I am the Great Fir, or otherwise known as the Dark Tear of
Galafrax
. I deal with the darker side of life, meeting certain needs of the Demos males.”

“I personally don’t care who you are. You obviously have no idea who you stole me from.”

“You were guarded only by lower class servants of the
Galafrax
High Lords.” Her abductors snorted.

Anger boiled in her veins. Swiftly, she got to her feet and everyone took a step back, when she jabbed her index finger at one of her abductors.

“Who do you think they were guarding me for? Ever stop to think about that, you brainless twit! I am promised to the High Lords
X’Hani
, and I know they’ll stop at nothing to get me back.”

“Silence, female!
It does not matter who you were promised to. What matters now is how wealthy I will be. No doubt, you will fetch the highest price in the history of our smallish operation. By then, you’ll be far gone from here, kept, and never to be found again.” Fir grinned malevolently.

The men laughed around her. “Until then, I’ve never had a female who was not a Demos female. What do you say, my brothers, shall we sample this one’s delights before sale?”

From the back of the room, two men slunk forward, tall, lanky and not as pudgy as their brother. Their deep, almost sunken eyes made her shiver in fear.

“Yes, brother, I would like to test the heat of her fires.”

“Good, take her to our chambers. Do not worry yourself too much, little pale one. Once our business is concluded, we shall be along to keep you company, very soon.”

More laughter echoed, as her arms were seized and she was dragged from the room. She fought the men, but they were too strong. They carried her through dim, dingy halls. Crudely cut steam vents lay along the side of the dirty floors.

She didn’t doubt her men were already out looking for her. She only prayed they could find her before it was too late.

****

“What is taking so long?”
Ric
grumbled, his eyes scanning their surroundings, while they moved deeper into dark territory, home to the criminal element of
Galafrax
city.

“There is much interference in the signal; my guess is she has been taken somewhere underground.”
Gol
tapped at the scanner.

“Are you getting a signal or not?”
Hul
demanded.

“I am, yet it is weak.”

Behind them, the six sets of Quad enforcers followed, awaiting their orders, as they marched determinedly through the black, dirty streets.

The blazing
Galafrax
sun was setting, but the heat of this part of the city still remained, the air foul.

The angry tension, thickening the air around them, echoed between their minds, and they knew it would not be settled until Kat was found and safe in their arms.

“This way.”
Gol
took point, hurrying through the narrow streets. Golden eyes peered out from behind drapes. Others scrambled to shut their doors and windows, hearing the low uniform rumble of soldiers’ footsteps behind them.

Gol
smiled in triumph, when the signal grew stronger. His pace picked up, and he would have run smack into a wall if
Hul
had not grabbed him, bringing him to a halt.

Gol
glanced up. “She’s beyond these walls.” A huge
uiron
,
metal gate stood barring their way.

“I should have known.”
Hul
pulled out his Phase Disruptor. “This is the stronghold of the Brothers of the Dark Tears. The home guard has long suspected them of a running an underground market in abducted, Demos females.”

“If the scanner says Kat is in there, then we have every legal right to do a forced search,”
Hul
said.

“We must take care. If she is in there, then they may try to kill her to cover up the abduction.”
Div’s
face was a mask of trepidation for Kat’s safety.

“Soldiers forward.”
Gol
turned towards their troops. “Bring the Phase Cannon. We’re going to hit them and hit them hard and fast. There are females in there. Take care to protect them and get them to safety.”

“Yes, my lords.” The lead soldier swiftly bowed his head before he turned to the others, reissuing the orders. The men organized, taking up certain points to surround the building, making sure no one would get away during the attack.
Gol
and his brothers took point in front of the gate, while they waited for the Phase Cannon to arrive.

“You think she’s alright?”
Ric
asked.

Gol
watched his brother’s jaw clench, reflecting the tension they all felt.

He glanced down at the scanner, showing Kat’s life signs. If it stopped, then he would know she was dead. Until then, it gave him hope.

“She is strong and will fight them, if she is able. Still, she is small and frail.”
Gol
swallowed,
fear making his chest tighten
.

 
“I know, brother, she is the gift of the flames. Fate delivered her to us, and we cannot do without her.”
Hul’s
voice was solemn.

“Then, we are in agreement.”
Gol
nodded, before looking each of his brothers in the eye. “If they have harmed her in any way, nothing will stop us from tearing them apart, limb from bloody limb.”

Chapter Fourteen

It wouldn’t have mattered if she were only fighting one of them, but three? She tugged at the collar around her neck, trying to find some weak link. She growled in frustration and gave up on the collar. Instead, she began yanking at the chain. They clipped the chain onto the end of a bedpost.

There was no way in hell she was going to go down without a fight. Just when she thought she found some stability in her life, since her kidnapping from earth, this had to happen.

“Normal life?”
She snorted. “Wake up, girl.
Since when has anything in your life ever been normal?”
Kat seriously doubted there was such a thing. It didn’t mean she had to give up and take the shit thrown at her.

“
Auugh
!”
Frustration and anger made her scream. She slumped down to the floor, breathing hard, her fingers and hands throbbing from trying to pull the chain out of its hold. She wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry.

Her gaze scanned around the room, looking for some kind of weapon. The gleam of a knife caught her attention. It lay by a plate, on top of a rustic looking black table. But, it was too far away, as she couldn’t move but a foot in either direction.