Kate and the Kraken by Honey Phillips

Chapter Twenty-One

The lock gave a quiet click, and Kate smiled with satisfaction as the door swung open. Just as she had suspected back on the Ithyian ship, a piece of foil interrupted the electronic signal and released the lock. A small dish of sweets from her uneaten breakfast had provided the foil and it had taken only a few moments to open the lock. She knew that A’tai was driven by concern, but she’d be damned if she was going to let anybody lock her in a room.

She stepped out into the hallway, then hesitated. Now that she was free, what was she going to do? If her lab had been ready, she would have gone and done some work, but the equipment had not yet arrived. As she considered the possibilities, she remembered the scroll she had been examining before A’tai arrived on the scene and stormed off with her. Perfect.

She would make a quick trip to the market and purchase the scroll for him. It would show him that she could take care of herself, but hopefully the gift would also show him that she loved him in spite of his ridiculous overprotectiveness.

After a moment’s thought, she returned to the room long enough to retrieve a knife from the breakfast table. While she still thought he had been overreacting, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. The knife was small but quite sharp, and it made her feel better to have it in her pocket.

Just as she reached the entrance foyer, Uauna appeared. The two of them stared at each other.

“May I assist you, Lady Kate?”

“I’m just going out for a little while,” she said as casually as possible.

“Shall I call for an escort?”

For a moment, she was tempted to agree, but the purpose of this trip was to show A’tai she was capable of looking after herself. She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

She suspected that Uauna wanted to object, but all he did was suggest tentatively, “Perhaps a cloak?”

Now that she would accept. There had been a wide variety of species at the market, but there was no reason to call attention to her appearance.

“Yes, please.”

Uauna nodded and opened a hidden panel in the wall to reveal a selection of garments. He handed her a long green cloak. It covered her body, but it was made from a lightweight material that would not be oppressive in the heat of the day.

“Thank you, Uauna,” she said sincerely.

“If you will permit me, Lady Kate, will you be gone long?”

“No. I’m just going to make a quick trip to the market.”

He clearly wanted to object, but instead he reluctantly nodded.

“Yes, my lady.” He hesitated. “You will be careful?”

“Of course.”

As casually as she could, she walked past him and out the door. Would he immediately turn around and send A’tai after her? Determined to get a head start, she hurried through the palace and out into the streets. The guards stationed in the forecourt of the palace, were only interested in who was entering, not who was leaving, and paid little attention to her.

The market was easy enough to find, but even though it was still a fascinating spectacle of sights and smells and sounds, it felt a lot more ominous than it had before. People jostled against her, and she saw several males eyeing her appreciatively. She hadn’t realized how much difference it had made to have the two large bodyguards behind her.

As quickly as possible, she made her way back to the bookseller’s stall. The purchase didn’t take long, and she suspected she had significantly overpaid, but she wasn’t inclined to haggle. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to head back to the palace and ran into a thick, hairy body.

A familiar unpleasant smell hit her just as a hand clamped down on her arm.

“Gotcha.”

Eshak had found her.

“Don’t even think of making a sound,” he snarled. “You’re an escaped slave, and there are severe penalties for escaping your rightful owner.”

She frantically tried to remember what A’tai had told her about the Imperial laws governing slavery. She had meant to look them up, but once he had told her that she was free, it had seemed less important than solving the riddle of the algae damage.

“You abandoned me here,” she hissed, but she didn’t quite dare to raise her voice. “A negligent slave owner isn’t entitled to keep his slaves.”

He laughed. “I don’t intend to keep you. I’m going to sell you. But first, you’re going to pay me back for all the trouble you’ve caused me.”

To hell with that. She opened her mouth to scream, and his hand tightened with bone crushing force.

“If you ever want to know what happened to the other females, you will keep your mouth shut.”

That threat stunned her into silence. She had to find out what he knew about Mary and Lily. Reaching into her pocket, she felt the reassuring handle of the knife. She wished it was bigger, but hopefully it would give her time to get away. The scroll was in the same pocket, and she suddenly had an idea. She had absolutely no doubt that A’tai would come looking for her, but she didn’t know how long it would take him to find her.

Was the scroll distinctive enough that he would recognize the pieces? It was a long shot at best, but she started tearing off small sections and letting them flutter to the ground behind her as Eshak dragged her along.

One or two people frowned at the two of them, but no one made any attempt to stop him. He headed for the edge of the market, and her heart pounded even harder as he pulled her into a narrow alley. The sounds of the market immediately began to fade away behind them as she dropped the last few pieces of the scroll.

As soon as they were in the shadows of the alley, he shoved her up against the wall. He released her arm, only to seize her shoulder and start forcing her to the ground.

“On your knees, bitch.”

His fingers dug painfully into her muscles, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of crying out as she obeyed. Her hand tightened on the knife as he unfastened his pants to reveal a short, hairy cock. He smelled even worse here, and her stomach threatened to rebel. As he grabbed her hair and started to drag her towards him, she whipped out the knife and pressed the tip into the base of his cock.

He froze.

“Let go of my hair,” she ordered, and he snarled, but obeyed.

“Now tell me where my friends are.”

“No. I don’t think you have the guts to cut me,” he taunted her, even though he didn’t attempt to move.

Was he right? She could see a drop of purplish blood oozing from around the point of the knife, and her stomach rolled again.

“You’re going to pay for this, human,” he warned. “I was only going to play with you a little, but you just made things a whole lot worse.”

Despite the threat, he still hadn’t moved, but then again, neither had she, and she realized that they were at a standstill. In order to get away from him, she would have to lift the knife, and she suspected that as soon as she did, he would go for it. Her chances of keeping it away from him were slim at best. She didn’t think she had the stomach to seriously injure him, and she tried desperately to think of an alternative. Her arm was already getting tired.

He smirked down at her and she suspected he was getting ready to try and seize the knife. His legs tensed, but before he could move, a big body came out of nowhere and smashed him into the wall.

A’tai had found her.

A’tai curledhis limb around the slaver’s neck until his eyes bulged. He was shaking from fear as much as anger. He had come so close to losing Kate.

He had still been staring in disbelief at the empty bedroom when Uauna had found him.

“I’ve been looking for you, sire. Did you know that Lady Kate was returning to the market? Alone?”

His eyes closed for a second in horrified despair before he turned and raced down the stairs, Uauna following close behind. He had been an idiot to try and confine her.

“You didn’t try and stop her?” he snapped.

“I am not a jailer,” Uauna said reproachfully.

The other male was right, and he would have to apologize to him later, but right now finding Kate was the only thing that mattered.

“She is wearing a green cloak,” Uauna called after him as he charged out the door.

Not sure where else to go, he headed for the stall where he had found her earlier. His chest ached when the vendor described her purchase, and he realized that she had bought it for him. But then the male told him that after buying the scroll, she had been escorted away by an Ithyian male. His blood ran cold. Even if it wasn’t her original captor, the Ithyians were notorious slavers.

He frantically scanned the market, looking for any trace of a green cloak. He thought he caught a glimpse of green and started after it, only to collide with an elderly female. As he steadied her, he saw a piece of green paper fluttering at her feet. He automatically noted it as part of a Namoan scroll, then froze. Could it be a piece of the one Kate had purchased?

His heart pounding, he started searching for other scraps. They had been scattered by the constant activity, but enough remained to lead him towards the edge of the market. He almost missed the last one at the entrance to the alley, but then he saw a flash of green and saw the Ithyian leaning over Kate.

Now this bastard was going to die.

“Wait,” Kate said, clutching his arm. “Don’t kill him.”

“You wish to save his life?”

“Not at all. But he said he knew what happened to my friends.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the Ithyian sneered as A’tai reluctantly loosened his grip.

“Yes, I would.” He slammed him up against the wall again. “And if you wish to live, you’ll tell me.”

The male gave him a sullen look, but when A’tai tightened his grip again, he finally muttered, “I don’t know. The trackers seem to be defective. The captain sent one of us to each of the planets in the system. Waste of fucking time. But this one just walked right into me. Stupid female.”

He automatically slammed the male against the wall again at the insult, but he was more concerned about the fact that Kate’s face had paled.

“Other planets?” she whispered.

“Are you all right, amali?” He wanted to pull her into his arms, but he couldn’t let go of the Ithyian. He settled for curling a limb around her back.

“They could be anywhere.” A tear slid down her cheek, and his heart ached for her.

“There are only two other planets in this system. We will find them.”

“Only two?” she asked with a despairing laugh.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” the Ithyian sneered.

A’tai growled and tightened his limb around the male’s neck until his body went limp. He had no further use for the bastard.

“Is he dead?” Kate asked, but she didn’t seem particularly concerned.

“No.” He let the male’s body fall to the ground, then wrapped his arms around her. “Unfortunately. But I will pass him over to the Imperial Guard. He will spend the rest of his life on one of the prison planets—and he will undoubtedly wish that I had killed him.” She pressed closer to him as he continued. “But he no longer concerns you. We at least know that your friends are in this system and not prisoners of the Ithyians.”

“I just feel so helpless. Three planets to search.”

“We are already searching here on Mafana—and I will have my mother spread the word as well.”

“That should thrill her,” she said dryly.

“You might be surprised. She told me I was not treating you appropriately. And she was right. I was coming to apologize when I found you missing.” He bent his head, his forehead touching hers. “I was terrified that I would lose you forever.”

“I was going to come back. I don’t want to lose you either.” She sighed. “You were right about the market, but you can’t treat me like a child. I thought you were overreacting again.”

“I wasn’t, but I can see why you would believe that. I know you are a strong, intelligent female—but you are also fragile. My instincts will always demand that I protect you.”

She started to speak, but he put a gentle finger across her lips. “I promise that I will do my best to restrain that instinct as much as possible.”

“Good. Because I would hate to have to keep escaping.”

He growled and kissed her. She melted happily into his embrace. By the time he lifted his head, his skin was edged with gold and he caught the sweet scent of her arousal.

“Does the idea of chasing me down excite you?” she teased.

“Perhaps. Does the idea of being caught excite you?”

He unfurled two of his limbs and gripped her arms. The delightful pink washed over her face, but she shook her head.

“We can talk about that later. When we’re alone,” she added as the Ithyian groaned. “Tell me about these other two planets.”

“Sayari is mainly a nature preserve for affluent Tajiri families. They have vacation homes and hunting lodges there, along with a few resorts for wealthy guests from other systems.”

“Hunting? They wouldn’t hunt a female, would they?”

“Of course not,” he said soothingly, hoping he was correct. “I will ask that we be notified if a human is discovered, although the Tajiri are fickle creatures.”

“Why? What are they like?”

“Rich, arrogant bastards.” His mouth curled in distaste.

“Are they princes?” she asked innocently.

One of his arms tapped her bottom, and she jumped, the scent of her arousal increasing.

“No, my amali,” he growled. “They simply have too many credits for their own good. Yangu is their home planet, and the only other habitable planet in our system. It will be the most difficult to search. Because of its natural stores of gemstones, it is very rich and attracts a lot of traffic—not always of the most desirable type. I think it might be best to offer a reward there as well.”

“Can you afford that?”

“I’m a rich, arrogant bastard, remember? And yes, we can afford it.”

She smiled up at him.

“But first, I need to take this bastard to the guard. I will send for an escort—" He came to an abrupt halt, and forced himself to ask. “Will you accept an escort back to the palace?”

“Of course I will—but thank you for asking.”