Initiation (Xylon Warriors 1) (23 page)

“It’s the woman, the assassin who came to the house. In the other cell. Diagonal to us.”

“Who?” Torque stared out the side of the cell, looking over Erik’s shoulder.

“The assassin who hurt Kam. That damn female caused us a lot of trouble.”

“Looks like she’s the one hurting now. I guess she didn’t accomplish whatever it was she was supposed to do. They’ve got her chained and collared, and it looks like she’s been beaten.”

“Forget her.” Braden couldn’t afford to worry about every prisoner on the ship. A cold attitude perhaps, but his team had to come first. He sat down on the cot. “We need a plan.”

Erik turned and went visibly rigid. “Son of a bitch!”

Braden’s gaze snapped up to the camera, where Erik was looking. The monitor beside it, which had been reflecting images of their cell, now showed something else. Leila, Rave, and a masked man.

It took a moment to register with him what was happening. Then it clicked that this was their chance. He jumped up. “Hurry, Torque. Pick the lock while they’re transmitting instead of watching.”

“On it.”

Braden’s gaze focused on the monitor, and his anger grew. He slanted a look at Erik, who had turned fire red. “Don’t watch it.”

“Like hell. I’m memorizing every second.”

Erik’s response was too low, too deadly. And too intense. He gave his friend a wide berth. Braden walked over to somewhat shield the view of his brother in case the camera switched back to record mode.

* * * * *

Leila held herself as still as she could. She was afraid if she moved, they’d view it as an escape attempt and do who knows what. She would have been able to handle her captor once his pants were down. She’d planned to damage him beyond repair, destroy the file of her Initiation, then get to the transport bay. Rave’s presence changed everything.

“I thought you’d enjoy her serving you, Rave. While I watch.”

“Yes. Always. But did we get the other breeder and Warrior?”

“We lost track of them when they entered the ventilation shaft. We’ll get them eventually.”

He sounded quite sure of himself. Leila glanced at the monitors. She didn’t see Alexa or Kam anywhere. Maybe they
had
gotten to the transport bay undetected. She could no longer see Erik, Braden, or Torque. The monitor where their images had been was currently projecting what was happening in this room.

Rave laughed. “Yes, I suppose we will. They can’t hide forever. In the meantime, I think the Healer, here, needs to take a submissive position for us. Don’t you?” She turned halfway and smiled toward the monitors, then turned back.

“Right…now!” Rave slapped Leila, and she fell to her knees. The woman’s laughter filled the room. “Ah, that’s so much better.”

Chapter Fifteen

“I’m gonna kill that bitch!” Erik shouted at the monitor. “Tear her hair out, baby. Do something! Don’t let them hurt you like that. Inflict some damage yourself. I know you can do it. You’ve busted my balls enough times.”

“Do you have it?” Braden asked Torque, glancing back at Erik.

“In a minute. In a minute.”

Erik paced, hit his palm with his fist, paced again—never taking his eyes off the monitor. He muttered, cursed, then fell deadly silent, which worried Braden more than the man’s raving.

When Erik got quiet, he got dangerous, conserving his strength for whatever fight he thought lay ahead. Braden had seen it before. He didn’t want to be around if Erik blew.

“Hurry up, Torque.”

“Don’t get your dick in a knot. I’m almost there.”

Erik growled low in his throat, and Braden’s gaze shifted back to him. No matter what his friend said, or how he often acted, Braden knew that he cared about Leila a great deal. He could only imagine Erik’s pain and feelings of helplessness.

His gaze rose to the monitor, and he cringed. If that were Alexa… He disregarded the thought. Better not let his energies move in that direction. One thing at a time. He needed to concentrate on escape. That was the most important thing, right now.

He didn’t know how, but he’d make sure his people got out of there safely and back to Xylon where they belonged.

All of them.

* * * * *

Pain exploded through Leila’s body. She would not let this happen! She couldn’t. Not again. She’d never survive it.

Her head jerked back when the masked man grabbed her hair. The back of her neck cracked, and more pain speared through her.

Rave slowly peeled off her clothes, letting each piece fall one by one at Leila’s feet. “I do so love a good come.” Her black, g-string panty topped the pile.

The man chuckled. “Yes. I know. Move closer and spread your legs.” His grip tightened in Leila’s hair as Rave positioned herself. “Put your tongue to good use, dear Leila. Make Rave, here, purr.”

They couldn’t make her do this. She’d simply keep her mouth shut tight. She tried to pull her head away, but the man’s hold was too strong.

Rave laughed and fingered herself, spreading her moist folds wide. “Quick flicks, then long licks, Leila. I’m sure you remember how I like it.”

She’d spent years trying to forget. Bile rose in her throat, and her chest hurt so much she thought she might pass out. Until her three initiators were cold in their graves, her nightmare would never be over.

“I don’t think she’s going to comply, Rave.”

“Sure she will. If you don’t do this, Leila, we won’t fulfill our end of the bargain. I know some sort of deal took place. I heard that much.”

The masked man laughed.

“Oh, and Warrior Erik will be slowly tortured over and over again. Not enough to kill him, but enough to eventually drive him insane.”

“No! You can’t do that. You can’t hurt him.” Her gut churned at the thought of Erik in such pain. She knew what Rave was capable of. “Please. I’ll…I’ll do it. Whatever you want.” She barely got the words out without choking.

Something skidded across the floor and stopped beside her hand. She stared at it in shock.

“What the crap is that?” the masked man bellowed.

“Grab it!” Rave shouted.

Leila snatched the object, a Pain Inducer, off the floor and shocked Rave on the hip before she could move far enough back.

Rave’s screech filled the room, and she collapsed.

“Rave!” the man shouted. He grabbed his disruptor.

Leila immediately jerked backwards to put him off balance and shocked him in the thigh.

“Argh!”

He went down with a grunt and a thud. The Inducer hummed, set to almost full force. Rave and the masked man lay unconscious, their bodies twitching from the shock.

“Hello?” she called out into the darkness. Someone must be there. The Inducer didn’t just slide across to her on its own. Her muscles clenched in anticipation, not knowing what or who to expect.

“Here.”

She relaxed and cocked her head back toward the shadows where the masked man had come from. That voice…”Kam?” It couldn’t be. Still on her knees, she scrambled toward the sound.

“Over here.”

It
was
Kam. She bumped into his side, and he groaned. Blood. She could smell it. “You’re hurt. Come into the light. Let me see.” She helped him to his feet and dragged him over to the chair in front of the monitors. “Your leg. What happened?”

“An Egesa. Are you okay?” He touched her face.

“I’m fine.” She jerked back from his touch, then fell to her knees and ripped his pants leg open to the hip. Ragged skin and blood came into view on his upper leg. The wounds were bad. He must be in agony. “How did you get this?”

“I found a throughway to the transport bay. Unfortunately, one of the Egesa must have seen Alexa and me enter. He came up behind us.”

“How’d you get in here?” She probed the wound for tenderness.

“Hey, easy! There’s a back entrance. I couldn’t get in the front. I was trying to locate the main monitors, so I could find the rest of you.”

“Where’d you get the Inducer?” Not that it was important, but she needed him to stay conscious, so she’d try to keep him talking if she could. She picked fabric out of the wound, cleaning it the best she could. An infection in a wound this size would be deadly for most. At least a Warrior, with self-healing ability, stood a chance. He was lucky the Egesa hadn’t disintegrated him.

“Rave dropped it in the cell. Only thing that saved me. I was able to zap the Egesa with it when he got too close. I couldn’t get past the smelly thing though. We struggled and ended up turned around somehow. After the current hit him, he bloated up like a giant sea puff. I had to come back.” He winced.

“Sorry. Did Alexa get to the transport bay?”

“I think so. But she can’t get out on her own. You need to get to her. You can pilot an orbiter.”

“I have to take care of you, right now. I don’t have anything to help the pain or to prevent infection. They took my equipment. I can stop the flow of blood for now.” She yanked at his belt. “But that’s all.”

“I’ll heal. Don’t worry about patching me up. Just get to the transport bay. Take the Inducer with you.”

“What about their disruptors?” she asked indicating the two sprawled on the floor.

“The weapons are modified. They won’t work for us. Don’t use the throughway. Go down the main ventilation shaft. It won’t take you all the way. You’ll have to transfer to the ladder tube when you reach security, so be careful. Go down one deck, then re-enter ventilation and go the rest of the way, if you can. I don’t know from there if it reaches the transport bay, but it’s your only option.”

“I’m not leaving you here.”

“Yes. You are. Right now, I’m expendable. Alexa isn’t. Xylon needs her super breeder genes.”

“I know what’s at stake. Let’s not argue about it. I have to put this on you.” She needed to stabilize Kam. She’d use his belt as a tourniquet and hope it held.

The door to the control room popped and scraped open, squealing in protest.

“Kam!” Leila moved to shield him.

Erik, Torque, and Braden rushed in.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Over here.”

Erik’s concerned gaze immediately focused on her. He rushed across the room and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Are you all right?” He pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

“I’m fine. Kam is hurt,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest. Her arms circled his waist. He felt warm and safe, and oh so strong. She never wanted him to let go.

“Where’s Alexa?” Braden demanded.

“Hopefully in the transport bay,” Kam answered, his voice weak.

“We have to get these collars off,” Torque said. “I’ll see if I can find the controls.”

Leila heard him punch some buttons and flip a few switches. This would all be over soon.

Everyone went still and quiet. Erik’s arms eased away from her.

She glanced up at his narrowing eyes, then stepped back and turned to see what had happened. She followed their gazes to the monitors. Every screen reflected the video of her Initiation. Dare was pumping his cock roughly into her from behind, while Rave smacked her face, and Shear bit down on one of her nipples. No… “Turn it off. Turn it off!” Physical and emotional pain burned through her as she experienced the horror all over again.

Torque hit a button, and the screens went black. No one said anything. No one moved.

Nothing could be worse than this never-ending torment from her past. She wanted to sink into the ground and hide from them all. She felt Erik behind her. She wished he’d touch her, hold her again, make it all go away. Or say it didn’t matter. He made no move to do any of that. What must they think of her now? Tears slid down her cheeks, and she swiped them away.

Braden was the first to break the silence. “All right, everyone. We have business. We won’t stay undiscovered for long. Not with these collars on.”

Leila turned when she felt Erik move. He walked across the room to stand over Rave and the masked man. A look she couldn’t discern crossed his face as he stared down at the naked woman. His intense gaze rose to meet hers, then he turned away, dismissing her completely.

She’d never seen such a cold look in anyone’s eyes. Her heart thudded hard in her chest, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t know if he blamed her or not. She never could read him. But she knew his feelings had somehow changed. And she ached for what might have been.

Braden turned to his brother. “After we get these collars off, we’re going down the throughway.”

“No,” Kam murmured.

“You know about the throughway?” Leila asked.

“I used to navigate one of these freighters and submitted plans for their conversion right before The Council decided to junk them all and invest in new ships instead.”

“Egesa,” Kam mumbled.

“What?” Erik asked, crouching down over the masked man.

“He was attacked by an Egesa in the throughway,” Leila explained. “The body is blocking the way. Even if we manage to move it, they’ll probably be watching that passage for the rest of us.”

Braden clamped a hand on Kam’s shoulder. “We’ll get you back to The Lair, somehow. Don’t worry. Leila will fix you up good as new.”

Leila watched Erik pull at the mask.

“Damn.”

“What?” she asked, moving closer.

“I can’t get it off. It’s adhered somehow.”

Torque’s head snapped up. “Found it. These collars are history.”

* * * * *

Laszlo flipped some switches, trying to get the information he needed. Monitors snapped on and off. If he thought whacking them on the side would help him find what he needed, he’d try it. He hated technology. All the Monitor Assistants had left to parts unknown, and he didn’t know how the tracking equipment worked.

So many Warriors had defected or gone into hiding, not only from the ship, but on Xylon too, that The Lair was weak. He should never have left the planet.

Another uprising from the banishment zones. He feared what he’d find once they got back home.

He couldn’t find the team he was looking for. They hadn’t defected. They’d never turn their backs on Xylon. He knew they were still in the thick of things…somewhere.