Drenched: Elemental Warriors (A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Paranormal Romance) Page 23

  When she was lead back to her cell and pushed in unceremoniously, everyone was staring at her. It was the same thing that had happened when Nathan had gotten called in the day before, only Nathan hadn't come back.

  With growing horror, Abby realized that they must have made the same offer to him, only he'd clearly turned it down. And they'd killed him for it. Probably. That was the only thing that really made sense, and she didn't know where else he could be. Unless he'd agreed to do what they wanted and they'd already sent him out to do Theolette's bidding.

  Her heart was still racing from the chilling look that had been in Theolette's eyes when she'd been dismissed, how it had really driven home every threat she'd made in the empty throne room. Now, Abby understood. Most throne rooms she'd seen on television or read about in books were overloaded with fine things. Tapestries and jewels and other symbols of power. But Caran Theolette didn't need any of that. She didn't have to use any props or trappings to display her power. She just was powerful in every way, and it was terrifying.

  "What happened?" whispered Tiffany, one of the women in the cell with her. "What did they want?"

  "Did you see Nathan?" asked one of the men. "He didn't come back last night."

  People on the other side of the room were leaning forward, craning to see her and hear what she had to say. The guards didn't move from their spots, but Abby knew they were all listening, and that they would report back to their leader if she spilled anything they didn't want her to. The pressure was incredible, and she swallowed hard.

  "I didn't see Nathan," she answered, because at least that was the truth and she didn't have to make anything up, which would at least buy her some time to come up with whatever she was going to say to their first question. "I don't know what happened to him."

  "Probably mouthed off to the wrong guard," Tiffany said. "That's so like him." In the five months they'd been in the same cell together, they'd had time to get to know Nathan pretty well. His mannerisms and attitude, at least.

  "You think?" the man asked. "And what would they do to him?"

  "What do you think they did to him?" Tiffany fired back. "What are they going to do to all of us?"

  Maybe the conversation would turn from her, and she wouldn't be called on to say anything else. Maybe they'd run with their theories and ideas for a while and leave her alone.

  "Maybe she knows," the man was saying, pointing at her. "Abby, right? What happened in there?"

  Or not.

  "I..." God. What was she supposed to tell them? "I met their leader."

  A hush fell over the group, and Abby saw the guards leaning in closer. They had no visible weapons, but she wasn't taking any chances.

  "And what happened?" Tiffany prompted, obviously impatient.

  "They...it was...you know. Intimidation stuff. Threats. Stuff like that." Still not a lie.

  "But why?" someone wanted to know. "What are they threatening us for?"

  "I don't know. It seemed like...like she just wanted me to know that they could kill us. All of us and everyone we've ever loved on top of that. Just so we'd stay in line or something. I don't know. We didn't do a lot of chatting. Just me standing there and her making threats."

  That seemed to satisfy the group, and they broke off into pairs and trios to whisper amongst themselves. One of the guards caught her eye and arched an eyebrow before inclining his head. Clearly, she'd done alright.

  What happened next, she didn’t know. These creatures had some kind of a plan in mind, something that would destroy whoever came against them, but the real question was what that meant for the humans and the planet Earth.

  Chapter Five: Escape

  This was all wrong.

  Completely and utterly wrong.

  Nothing like this was supposed to happen to him, and the fact that it had just made him angry. Well. Angrier than he already was.

  Once again, he was in the presence of these creatures. The Camadors with their otherworldly beauty, masking the true horrors that they really were. It had been four years since he'd last laid eyes on one, but the sight of them still turned his stomach.

  He didn't know if any of the ones who were standing before him were involved in the attack on Gollen Par, but he was willing to bet that they were. He was willing to bet that they'd taken pleasure in slaughtering his friends and comrades and then watching the city burn. That was how they operated.

  Everything had been going according to plan at first. He'd left his apartment with the ship, his sights set on Earth. The ship had held up for the entire journey, though the landing had left something to be desired, and he followed the trail of chaos to the floating city.

  The people of Earth all seemed confused as to what was happening to them.

  Most of them knew that there was some sort of attack happening, but they didn't know who was attacking them or why. The city that the Camadors were hovering over was still in one piece, which wasn't what Sorrin had been expecting at all. He'd thought he'd be arriving to find another Gollen Par of four years ago, flames and death everywhere.

  Instead there were just people going about their day to day lives with a floating city above their heads. It was easy to tell who was missing someone, because there were posters up everywhere he walked, begging for help in finding missing spouses and children and friends. Apparently the Camadors hadn't been entirely idle, then.

  He spoke to a few of the humans, the ones he could convince that he wasn't there to hurt them, at least. Apparently they were all concerned about the appearance of someone like him, and he supposed he couldn't blame them. Not with what they'd been through.

  They pointed him to the base of the floating city.

  A ladder extended down from the massive structure, and really, that seemed too easy. Anyone could just climb up there and hopefully catch them by surprise, though he wondered if they had guard rotations posted.

  But that was just like Camadors. They would dangle the chance for revenge in front of people and then make them regret taking the chance. Luckily, Sorrin wasn't afraid of them.

  Unluckily, he wasn't thinking very clearly at all. How could he be, when this was so personal?

  Instead of taking the time to think about what he should do or to make any sort of plan at all, he climbed the ladder.

  Sorrin was as well armed as he could be, with a blaster at his hip and a sword at his back. He'd practiced with them both as much as he could, but there was little substitute for practicing against a person who was going to be fighting back. The Camadors would definitely be fighting back. But now Sorrin knew how to beat them. Before, he'd been younger, cockier, sure of himself and his team. And it had gotten most of them killed.

  Now he knew what he needed to do to get the upper hand, and he intended to do it.

  Of course, nothing was ever as easy as it appeared, and Sorrin got to the top of the ladder and then found himself surrounded on all sides.

  It was all wrong.

  The Camadors were just as he remembered them.

  They stared down at him with their cold golden eyes, and the one in the middle smirked slowly. "Take him to the cages. You know what to do."

  The last thing he saw was them closing in.

  When he woke, he was lying on something soft, his arms bound behind him. The side of his head ached, and he knew he'd been hit with something. Warrior training kicked in as his head cleared, and he waited before he sat up, listening to see if he could hear anything.

  There was breathing, the sound of someone else close by. If it was an enemy, it stood to reason that he'd be dead already, so he inhaled slowly and then cracked his eyes open.

  All he could see were bars at first, and when he shifted his muscles so he could sit up, it became apparent that he was in some kind of cell.

  Also in the cell, with her back to the marbleized wall was a human woman.

  She was interesting looking for a human. Pale skin, fiery hair that was shaggy and falling into her eyes. Her arms were wrapped around her
drawn up knees, and she had her face pressed against them. Her clothes were dirty and ripped in places, and it was clear that she was a prisoner. Just as he seemed to be.

  Sorrin cleared his throat, and her head snapped up. Interestingly, her eyes filled with something like anguish when she saw him, but she glanced away before Sorrin could get a good look.

  "Where are we?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking out like a whip. This was the second time he'd underestimated the Camadors and let his emotions get the better of him. If there was a third time, then he'd probably end up dead.

  The woman flinched a bit. "In their prison," she said softly. And then, "You're not human."

  "No," Sorrin replied.

  "Then...have you come to help us?"

  He opened his mouth and then closed it again, unsure of how to answer. Saving the people of Earth was a secondary goal if he was being honest. First and foremost he wanted to take down the Camadors, and if that helped the people here, then so much the better. His goal and his vengeance was what had brought him here.

  But he needed to get out of this cell, and he might need her help to do it, so he nodded. "Yes."

  To his surprise, she didn't seem overly enthused at the prospect.

  "How?" she asked. "If you're trapped in here?"

  "I'm going to get out," Sorrin replied as if it were obvious, which in his mind it was. "And then I'm going to come up with a plan."

  "Oh." She didn't move or say anything else, and Sorrin shook his head and got to his feet, superior balance making it easy enough even though his hands were still bound.

  There were no guards posted, which was either very stupid or purposeful. Maybe they didn't think he could get out, but that would be their downfall. Underestimating him was going to get them all killed.

  "How often do the guards come in here?" he asked over his shoulder.

  "Just to bring meals," the woman replied. "Every few hours. I'm not sure of the exact timing."

  Every few hours. Sorrin could work with that.

  "How long have I been in here with you?"

  "About an hour, I'd say? Maybe a little more? I don't have a clock."

  She sounded annoyed, but Sorrin ignored that. If he escaped from here, he'd leave the door open and she could follow once he was gone if she wanted. It was in her best interest to help him.

  "Are you breaking out?" she asked, and Sorrin turned to look at her.

  "I said I was. I don't have a choice. I can't kill them from in here."

  "Will you..." She averted her gaze, seemingly unsure of what she was about to ask. "Will you take me with you?"

  "No." That was an easy question to answer, and Sorrin continued his examination of the door.

  “What do you mean, no?” she demanded.

  “Just what I said. It’s not my responsibility to get you out of here. I’m opening the door for myself because I have a score to settle.”

  The woman snorted, managing to sound disdainful even with the desperation in her eyes. “Right,” she said. “You’re going to take on these things all by yourself? That sounds like it’ll go well.”

  “Excuse me?” Sorrin stopped his investigation and turned to look at her. She was a slip of a thing, shorter than him by at least a foot and a half, with no muscle tone whatsoever. Some of that could have been due to her being held captive here for however long, but he was willing to bet that she’d never fought anything in her life. And she was questioning him?

  “You heard me,” she said, leveling a glare at him. “You got caught. You’re in here with me, and in case you haven’t noticed, your hands are tied behind your back.”

  Sorrin didn’t speak, but he made a point of holding her gaze and then flexing, straining just a bit as he broke the ropes that held his wrists. He’d been hoping to avoid that, wanting to conserve his strength for other things, but she’d left him very little choice in the matter with her flippant tone.

  Still holding her gaze, he massaged his wrists, taking some degree of pleasure in the way she was gaping at him. He might not have been in his prime, but he was surely still impressive when it came to a human. She’d probably never seen someone as large and strong as him.

  “Wow,” she breathed, and Sorrin shrugged a shoulder.

  “They cannot hold me.” As if to prove his point, he wrapped his fingers around the bars of the cell and gave a mighty yank. If there were any flaws in the design, then this would show them. It was standard training for a warrior, being able to get out of traps and prisons in the event they were captured, and he was sure the Camadors couldn’t best his training.

  Sure enough, with a slight groan, the door popped out of place enough that he could work it open, and he smiled, satisfied. Not that he would admit it, but getting captured had been a blow to his pride, however short his imprisonment would actually be, and he was glad that he wasn’t completely rusty when it came to his former skills.

  The human woman was watching with her mouth open now, and when Sorrin glanced back at her, something flickered in her eyes. She moved closer to him, looking like she was one step away from bursting into tears.

  Great stars, he didn’t want to deal with that.

  “Please take me with you. I...I haven’t seen my family in months. I don’t even know if they’re alive or dead or what. I don’t know anything that’s happening down there. I just want to get out of here.” She paused, biting her lip and looking down once more. “I can help you, you know.”

  “Help me,” he said, voice dry. “And how will you do that?”

  “Unless you plan to take them on all by yourself, you’re going to need human help. Humans aren’t going to just trust you because you say they should. You’re not from here, and we’ve all learned a hard lesson about how people from other planets are. We’re not so trusting.”

  “You’re trusting me right now,” Sorrin pointed out. “Or trying to. How do you know I don’t mean to kill you once we’re away from here?”

  “Because you’re their prisoner, too. And right now, any enemy of theirs is a friend of mine. You don’t know what they’re like.”

  Sorrin snorted softly, shaking his head. “Yes,” he said, deadly serious. “I do. I know more than you how they can be.”

  “They’re so…” The woman trailed off with a shudder.

  “I know,” Sorrin replied. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his head. He wasn’t meant to get involved with the humans, but she had a point. The Camadors had gotten stronger in the time since he’d last fought with them, and they had been plenty strong then, too. There was no way he would be able to take them down all on his own. Humans weren’t made for this kind of fighting, but the girl had a point. The humans had a grudge now, which would make them powerful allies. Perhaps if he contacted Halphia… She’d be pleased he’d come to his senses at least, and could do something about getting them some help. It didn’t set well with him, since he wanted this revenge for himself and not for anyone else to help with, but he could mull that over later. For now, he—they—needed to get out of there.

  "Fine," he said, relenting. Letting her out with him didn't mean he was agreeing to help her or the rest of the humans. It just meant that he wasn't leaving an innocent woman in the clutches of evil creatures who deserved to be burned alive for the atrocities they'd committed. At least she wasn't insisting that they go and rescue the rest of the humans on top of it.

  Sorrin pulled the door fully open, wincing when it scraped against the floor with a grating sound that was sure to alert the Camadors to their presence.

  He waited, holding a hand up to the human woman so she wouldn't move. After a few long moments, it became clear that no one was coming. A stroke of luck.

  "Did you see where they put my weapons?" he murmured to her, not looking at her as he scanned the room, trying to see if there was a window or something to help their escape. Jumping out of it was not the best plan, and he was hoping for something else, but if it came down to it, he'd take a broken arm over being trappe
d here.

  "Yes," the woman said, and she eased past him and out the cell door on light feet.

  Sorrin wanted to hiss at her to come back, but she darted out quicker than he would have expected and then made her way to the corner where there was a chest. Judging from how she popped it open with very little effort, it wasn't even locked.

  He bristled at the insult of that. As if they didn't even have to lock things down to keep him out of it. Underestimating him was going to be their downfall.

  With his weapons back in hand, he felt better, and he made his way to the window, peering out of it to see how far of a jump it would be.

  Pretty far, as it turned out, and he made a face, putting that firmly in the 'last resort' category.

  “You’re not serious,” the woman whispered, looking at him with alarm. “We can’t jump. It’s gotta be pretty high up.”

  “We’re not jumping,” Sorrin assured her. “Yet.”

  Judging by the look on her face, she was less than reassured. “What if they catch us?”

  “They won’t.”

  Confidence went a long way with being a warrior. Sorrin had seen plenty of fights end because one party was better at intimidating the other with the sheer amount of confident bravado they exuded. Some of it was warranted, and, as always, some of it was not. Sorrin was hoping that his confidence would be enough to keep his human companion from getting too concerned about their safety. Now that he had agreed to get her out, he meant to do just that.

  Speaking of, he couldn’t continue to think of her as ‘that human woman’ because it was inconvenient, mostly. If they were going to escape together, and Sorrin was going to let her help, then they were going to have to be on a first name basis. Or at least a name basis.

  “What are you called?” he asked her as he opened the door to the room they had been held prisoner in and peered out. No guards. Curious.

  “Abigail,” she replied softly. “Abby.”

  “Abby,” Sorrin repeated. Odd name. “I am Sorrin.”

  “Sorrin. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Mm.” They didn’t really have time for more pleasantries than that, and so they kept moving. It was curious and a bit concerning that there were no guards down the hall they were walking through. Nor were there any at the stairwell that led them to the lower floor of the building they were in.