The Spawning (7 page)

“It will be hard to treat them if they can’t understand. I wouldn’t want to frighten them more if they’re as timid as you say,” Teron said doubtfully.

Khan felt his face heat with discomfort. “He brought them specifically for us. He has taught them our language.” He chose to ignore the eagerness that entered Teron’s eyes when he nodded, rose, and strode across the compound, stifled the urge to inform him not to let his eagerness get the better of him when he examined the red headed one.

They would think him mad.

He wasn’t so gods damned certain that he wasn’t.

“Specifically for us?” Gerek asked sharply.

“The Vernamin are undoubtedly aware that we’re nearing our spawning season. I have to suppose they thought it would prevent a disruption of the supply of
jasumi
if they accommodated our needs,” Khan said dryly.

Gerek stared at him blankly for a moment before anger surged through him. “It did not occur to those stupid bastards that we were more likely to kill one another over that pathetic handful of Halflings over there? They are not even a fourth of our number!”

“Nor half our size,” Khan said pointedly, “besides
not
being Hirachi, not warriors, THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 30

not strong, and incapable of breeding a new generation of strong Hirachi!”

“They can not breed with us?” Adar demanded indignantly. “Why would the fool

bring them if they can not even breed with us?”

“They are unsuitable,” Khan said testily. “The trader assured me they were

compatible … but I would not trust that slimy bastard as far as I could pitch him. Most likely they will have us killing one another to get to them and then those who do manage to claim one will find no fertile soil for their seed—and if they
did
breed we would end with Halflings.”

“So … you did not trade for them?” Adar asked, keeping his voice carefully

neutral.

Khan scrubbed a hand over his face. “He wants half a load of the
jasumi.”

All of the men within hearing began to murmur among themselves. The general consensus, however, seemed to be a certainty that it was a bargain and an equal certainty that they were going to have to work three times as hard if they were to make up the loss.

Khan didn’t hear a single objection even though he knew they couldn’t possibly have seen the females well enough to account for their eagerness in acquiring them.

A good part of it was their revulsion of slavery. After what they’d endured

themselves, none of them would willingly turn their back on any thinking being that had been enslaved by others.

That didn’t account for the eagerness, though. Nothing accounted for that except the fact that the slaves were females, promised for breeding, and he doubted any of them had been capable of much thought once they heard that.

“They will not choose us—even if there were not many, many reasons why we

should ignore any interest in them,” Khan said flatly. “I saw the way they looked at me

… at all of us. We are monsters in their eyes.”

The men glanced at each other uncomfortably.

“Well … that is that, I suppose,” Adar said finally, tamping his disappointment with a strenuous effort. “If they found you repellent it isn’t likely any of the rest of us will appeal. What are we to do with them?”

Khan shook his head. “I do not know. I could not in good conscience allow that bastard to take them away again, though. He is as cold blooded as the gods damned Sheloni ever dared to be—admitted very coolly that he had disposed of the diseased ones.

Offered to go back and find females more suitable to us. It was all I could do to refrain from ripping his head off there and then. If he returns with any of
our
females I
will
kill him. He said he did not know how to find our home world, but I don’t trust that either.

“These females … their people sold them to him, so he claims. I saw shock in the faces of the females but not disbelief. Beyond their obvious physical weaknesses, I can not say that I am favorably impressed with their people as a whole.”

He considered for a moment but finally shrugged inwardly. They were bound to

see for themselves. “Despite their strangeness … they’re really very beautiful creatures.

It is so odd to find myself thinking that when I am completely certain that I should feel nothing but contempt—they are small and weak and timid besides—understandable, I suppose, when they must know their physical limitations, but still repugnant—or something that
should
be repellent to any Hirachi.”

“It is because we’re nearing the spawning season,” Gerek said uncomfortably.

“No doubt, if the change were not already upon you, you would feel just as you should.”

THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 31

Khan eyed him doubtfully. “Mayhap,” he said, but he wasn’t nearly as certain as he would’ve liked.

Not that it mattered. There’d been no admiration in those beautiful green eyes, only fear … even before he had made a complete ass of himself and insulted her—all of them. The gods damned trader
might
have mentioned that they understood before he had enumerated their many flaws! No doubt the bastard had thoroughly enjoyed it, for he must have known, or at least suspected, that
he
would try to bring the bargaining price down by showing his contempt for his offerings!

“They will not be safe from us once we enter the spawning season,” Adar pointed out.

Khan nodded. Lifting his head, he surveyed the walls of what had once been their prison. “These walls will protect them well enough … if we close off the access from the sea. We’ll need to see to it that they have plenty of food and water. I doubt they could fend for themselves in that respect and, in any case, it won’t be safe for them to leave the compound until the season has passed.”

Gerek stood decisively. “We will have to work fast, then, if we are to protect them and also fill our quota for the Vernamin. Mayhap we can trade with them for some comforts for the females? If they are as fragile as you suggest, they are bound to need a good bit of coddling.”

* * * *

It shouldn’t have come as such a shock to hear the wormy bastard call them slaves. Miranda had suspected all along that the disappearance of the women meant they’d been swallowed into the maw of some white slavery ring.

But it
was
a shock—mostly the breeding part!

Sex slaves, she understood—but
breeding
?

And alien slavers?

It wasn’t enough they had to deal with the Russian mob snatching young women

and using them in their brothels? Now they had aliens stealing women and hauling them across the universe to sell them for
breeding
?

With these giants?
Good god!

If their cocks were even
sort of
proportionate to the rest of them ….

If that wasn’t unnerving enough on top of their sheer mass, they looked like

barbarians. She wasn’t exactly sure what had given her that impression—unless it was the proliferation of tribal tattoos and piercings she’d noticed on the one called Khan—

but, right or wrong, that was definitely the impression she’d gotten.

She didn’t see a weapon of any description among them—primitive or

otherwise—but then they looked like they could rip Godzilla apart with their bare hands.

Maybe it was a matter of tribal pride to kill things with their bare hands?

It was hard to decide whether the thought of being left to these men was more

terrifying than the possibility that they might refuse delivery and she and the others would be traded elsewhere—or disposed of like the ‘diseased ones’.

Neither possibility appealed at all, but she couldn’t think of any way to escape.

She didn’t have her weapon and even if she had she doubted it would be the least bit effective considering what she was up against. The robots could blow her head off, she didn’t doubt, before she could even lift and fire.

She didn’t even know what to hope for!

THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 32

She thought, though, that if these Hirachi decided they weren’t buying she was going to have to take her chances on trying to escape when the trader took them back. If they removed the chains once they reached the ship, she might have some chance of outrunning a laser in the back and hiding in the jungle. She didn’t know what she’d do if that actually worked and she didn’t wind up dead, but she didn’t think she could face any more of what she’d already faced—with the certainty that it could get even worse.

Realizing after a few moments that there was actually no way to plan an escape beyond the decision to try to make a break for it if the opportunity presented itself, she transferred her attention to the barbarians. Certain they must be discussing whether or not to trade, she tried to focus on their faces to see if she could tell anything about their expressions that would give her a hint of what her fate was to be. It was useless. They were too far away for her to see them clearly enough.

Their body language wasn’t very helpful either.

Khan had made it crystal clear he despised slavery, though. She wasn’t certain what to make of that, whether to consider it a point in his favor or a nail in her coffin.

She thought, maybe, it was both. It had been pretty obvious from the things he’d said as well as his attitude that he wasn’t favorably impressed with any of them, which seemed to indicate that he not only despised slavery in general, but he felt contempt for any beings weak enough to become slaves.

She supposed she couldn’t argue with his reasoning, but she still resented it. If she’d been given half a chance at defending herself, she thought she could’ve at least made it hard for the bastard to take her even if she’d lost in the end.

She wasn’t certain what to make of what had at least appeared to be a particular interest in her, either. She wished she had a clue. Right up until he’d decided to use her as an example of all that was ‘flawed and undesirable’ about the ‘pigmies’ she’d thought he was attracted to her. That had certainly disabused her of the notion, though.

It seemed unavoidable, however embarrassing, that she’d been the one totally

entranced and too stupid with it to gauge his interest with any degree of accuracy.

No doubt he hated the fucking hair!

Unfortunately, although he seemed very human-like in a lot of ways, he’d

obviously been working hard to keep his true thoughts to himself. Everything he
had
said, she realized, could be put down to an attempt to barter for a better deal.

He’d been pretty damned convincing, though. The trader certainly seemed to

have fallen for it.

She didn’t actually realize that she’d been studying Khan’s back to the exclusion of all the others until movement to one side of him drew her attention away from him.

Her belly tightened when she realized another one of the aliens had risen and was striding toward them.

Not Khan.

He wasn’t going to buy them. The depth of dismay she felt made it clear that, regardless of the fact that she’d thought she couldn’t make up her mind, she actually
had
been hoping he would agree to the deal.

The man went directly to the trader. “Khan sent me to examine the females,” he said coldly.

The trader’s eyes narrowed. “I assured him they had been thoroughly examined.”

“Before or after they were injured?” Teron asked tightly.

THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 33

The trader turned to look them over. “They walked here.”

Teron lifted his head and looked pointedly at the robots. “They may have been too frightened to complain.”

Shrugging, the trader gestured toward them. “Look for yourself, then,” he said testily.

As Miranda watched, suddenly hopeful again, the Hirachi stepped way from the

trader, crouching before the first woman. “I am Teron, a healer for my people. Are you injured in any way, little one?”

The woman’s chin wobbled, and no wonder. His face and his words were kind,

and it was the first kindness any of them had been shown since they were taken. She shook her head. “I don’t think so … just bruised, I think.”

He tilted his head. “You need not fear the trader. Tell me if you are hurt.”

She glanced at the trader uneasily and finally held out her hand. “I think my finger’s broken.”

Frowning, he took her hand very carefully in his and studied the digit for a

moment before he examined the alignment of the bones with his thumb and forefinger.

His lips tightened. “It is broken. Do you have any other injuries?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t have anything with me. Let me check the others and then I will go and get something to hold the bone in alignment so that it will heal properly.”

Miranda dropped her forehead to her knees, struggling with the urge to cry. After the horrible nightmare they’d endured she was afraid to even hope he really was as kind and gentle as he seemed, afraid to hope that there might actually
be
hope. She was still struggling with her emotions when she felt a light touch on the top of her head. She lifted her head and met his gaze.

His eyes were alien and still the kindest she’d ever looked into.

Teron swallowed with an effort as he gazed into her eyes. As moved as he’d been by the pain and fear in the eyes of the others, he’d managed without a great deal of difficulty to maintain his role as healer, to set aside the flicker of interest he’d felt in a purely male way as he carefully examined their hurts, to ignore a desire to explore them in a purely un-healer-like way. This one … she took his breath. He couldn’t imagine how Khan could’ve looked at her and still discounted them all as merely ‘strange’. She
was
exotic, but it only seemed to strengthen her appeal.

It took an effort even to recall how he’d come to crouch before her, let alone what his purpose of being there was. “Where are you hurt, little one?” he managed to ask her finally.