The Clone’s Mate by Susan Trombley
Thirty-Two
I woke up in a cell, though it was a fairly nice one, all things considered. The bed was spacious enough that I didn’t feel cramped on it. There was a small alcove with what appeared to be a toilet that had a fancy sprayer to clean up instead of a roll of toilet paper. Next to the toilet alcove was another closet-sized space that I assumed was a shower, given the drain in the floor and the showerhead on the low hanging ceiling.
In the bed portion of the cell was a little nightstand and a dresser with a pile of stretchy jumpsuits inside it similar to the one I currently wore. This one was actually fitted to my body and didn’t have the two slits in the back for wings.
The room was fairly austere, though comfortably furnished, but that wasn’t what told me it was a cell. The locked door was the real indication of my status as a prisoner.
I pounded on it in frustration, screaming at the top of my lungs for Subject 34, Nirgal, and Ilyan. My voice had gone hoarse by the time I got a response that came from an intercom apparently hidden behind a panel by the locked door.
“It is important that you remain relaxed, human,” a sibilant voice said in a mellow tone, “we mean you no harm and do not wish for you to hurt yourself in your fear or agitation.”
“Where are my mates?” I demanded, gritting my teeth as I glared at the panel. “You better not have hurt them either!”
“Be at ease. The males are unharmed.”
I paced in front of the door, fuming at my imprisonment and at Evil Ilyan for betraying me. Betraying all of us apparently. I didn’t know what he’d done to keep Subject 34 and Nirgal from fighting against the Akrellians when they arrived at our shuttle’s location, but I was willing to bet he’d done something nefarious.
“They better remain unharmed,” I growled, feeling helpless and impotent even as I plotted all kinds of vengeance scenarios if anyone hurt my mates.
“The Iriduans are currently undergoing interrogation and the engineered hybrid remains in stasis due to security concerns.”
“Interrogation!” My eyes wide with panic, I pounded on the door again. “Stop torturing them! They’ve been through enough of that, you bastards!”
I knew it was fruitless, but they were torturing my guys and I couldn’t bear it. I would beat myself to death trying to get through this damned door before I’d sit back and accept defeat.
“Forgive me for causing you more distress with my poor choice of words. Something might have been lost in the translation. The Iriduans are undergoing extensive questioning, but we do not use torture to acquire information. The Dancer forbids such measures, and with good reason. The information gained under such methods is often unreliable.”
I eyed the panel suspiciously, my fists stinging from my desperate pounding. My heart still thudded in my chest and my head felt light with fear for my mates. “Please let me see them! I need to know that they’re safe. I need to see it for myself.”
“We can arrange that in time. For now, it would be best if you calm yourself because your heart rate is dangerously high. We would prefer not to sedate you any further than the healing tank on the Iriduan shuttle did. You are likely to feel ill from the sedative’s effects, but we have given you an anti-nausea injection that should help. Do not worry, it is designed for your human physiology.”
That was all the reminder I needed to recall Nirgal’s words about the Akrellians controlling Earth. I had almost forgotten that fact in all the chaos my life had taken on recently.
“So, now that you’ve captured us, are you going to put me in the slave mines with the rest of the humans you’ve conquered? Are you delivering me to my new alien overlords?”
My tone was bitter and sarcastic, but the voice on the other end of the intercom didn’t sound the least bit phased by my attitude.
“It is clear you have not been properly informed of our role as a sponsor of the Earthlings in the Cosmic Syndicate. Earth is a protectorate of Akrellia. We guide and counsel your people in the hopes that they will someday reach the necessary level of technology and wealth to become a member species of the Syndicate. We are far from conquerors. We consider humans our cousins and treat them as fellow citizens, never as slaves. We do not abide slavery in any Akrellian-controlled space.”
I sighed, my chest palpitating from my anxiety over my mates even as those words gave me a small measure of calm. I still wasn’t certain I should believe these Akrellians, but I couldn’t see any reason why they’d bother to lie to me. They had the upper hand over one human woman who couldn’t even get past a cell door, much less pose any real threat to them.
“A human liaison is on their way to our location to meet with you. She will assist you with reacclimating and aide you in recovering your past identity and any assets that may have been lost to you due to your illegal abduction from Earth. Until then, we have been informed by the Iriduans in custody that your name is Rhonda, though we have no family name for you. We would prefer to speak in person rather than through an intercom. However, the ambassador has explained that this isn’t always ideal for humans who have been in stasis and had limited exposure to extraterrestrials prior to encountering us. We don’t want you to be frightened by the sight of us.”
“I have a mate who’s genetically engineered from a giant alien scorpion,” I said wryly, crossing my arms over my chest, “You aren’t going to scare me, no matter how strange you look to a human.”
“We are pleased to hear that,” the voice said. “Someone will be with you shortly to escort you from your cell into an interrogat—a questioning chamber. It will be easier to assure you of our good intentions when you are not trapped behind a locked door.”
“No kidding. But before I answer any questions, I want to see my mates.” I sighed and returned to the bed to sink onto the foam-like mattress, watching the door, waiting for my new captors to let me out.
I was really getting sick and tired of being imprisoned by aliens. I could only hope that this time, the aliens weren’t planning on experimenting on me—or my mates.
It didn’t take long for the door of my cell to slide open. I tensed up as it did, not sure what I’d see on the other side. The slender form of a scaled female with delicate feminine features, flanked by two burly males with what looked like quills on their heads, was almost too normal to meet my expectations.
The lizard-like female smiled warmly at me, which allowed me to somewhat ignore the sharp points of her teeth as she gestured with one graceful hand for me to exit the cell and join her.
As I stood and made my way to the door, she touched her chest. “My name is unpronounceable for most humans, but I have chosen the human name Grace to make things easier for my human contacts. We welcome you on our ship, Light Step Across the Stars.” She gestured to the cell beyond me. “We apologize for the meager accommodations. Our ship was diverted to your shuttle because we were the closest to your coordinates. Unfortunately, we weren’t prepared for additional passengers.”
“Please, Grace,” I said without standing on ceremony, “let me see my mates. Their safety and well-being are all I care about right now.”
Grace remained silent for a long beat, glancing over her shoulder at one of the males. His head quills stood on end, making him an intimidating spectacle but at this point, I didn’t give a damn. All I wanted was to see for myself that they hadn’t harmed my loved ones.
Finally, the alien female relented, her stiff expression softening as she gave me another sharp-toothed smile that still managed to look empathetic.
“I will take you to the brig where they’re currently being held. The engineered hybrid must remain in cryo stasis until your relocation, per orders from our commander, but I assure you, he is as safe as he can be in that state. Safer than if he were able to attack us, because in that case, we would have no choice but to use lethal force. I’m sure you understand.”
I nodded slowly, not liking the fact that Subject 34 would have to remain frozen, but also agreeing that he would be in even greater danger if he were free and attacked someone.
“What about Nirgal and Ilyan?” I knew the Akrellians were enemies of the Iriduans, so I really worried about what they might be doing to them to get whatever information they wanted out of them.
Grace stepped to the side and gestured for me to join her at her side, rather than leading me. I found the companionable gesture comforting as I fell into step beside her, the two males closing in at my back. Their presence sent a clear message if I held any thoughts of hurting Grace or anyone or thing on the ship, but they held back enough that I didn’t feel crowded or menaced.
“Though the Iriduan Empire is an enemy of both Akrellians and humans, your,” she shot a curious glance at me, “mates are being well treated. They are cooperating with us and willingly answering all our questions. We respect any Iriduan who breaks their lifelong programming to join the rebellion against the empire.” She slowly shook her head, the ship’s mellow lighting bouncing off the colorful scales that covered her skull. She didn’t have the same quills as the males.
“So they’re rebels now.” I chewed my lip, still worried for them. “That’s probably a label they will like more than ‘traitors’.”
She shot me another curious glance. “The Akrellian government has worked with the one called Ilyan in the past, though from my understanding, our people lost contact with him for some time, until he sent us your coordinates and a request for asylum.”
This surprised me enough to freeze me in mid-step. Fortunately, the males stopped instantly as well rather than barreling into my back. Grace took one more step before turning to face me with a questioning expression that was remarkably human even on such an alien face.
“Ilyan worked with the Akrellians in the past?”
“You did not know this?” I didn’t like the sympathetic tone she took, as if she felt like I should be hurt by the fact that I wasn’t aware of this.
Okay, I was hurt, but not as much as she might think. I didn’t believe for one moment that Ilyan was the rebel, but it occurred to me that the Akrellians might not know that he was fractured. In that case, I had no intention of giving him away.
I still wasn’t sure what I would do about Evil Ilyan, and unfortunately, it was a decision I would need to make alone, because I feared that if I told Subject 34 or Nirgal about his recent actions, they would want to kill him, or at the very least, keep him away from me.
“He hasn’t mentioned it to me, but things have been very crazy for the four of us since we met.” I smiled weakly, shrugging my shoulders like I was overwhelmed.
Her smile was as sympathetic as her tone. “I can only imagine what you’ve been through, and I’m sorry you had to endure such a horrible experience. Our human liaison will be able to provide the most effective therapy for you, but we have an emotional healer on board if you need to speak with someone about your trauma before she arrives.”
I shook my head firmly. There was nothing a therapist could do for me that seeing my mates safe and healthy couldn’t do. As for the trauma I’d suffered up to this point, it could wait. Maybe forever. My mates fulfilled me in a way I’d never been on Earth. They made me feel whole, even though my experiences should have left me broken. I hadn’t even had nightmares with Subject 34 right there beside me to protect me.
Some rewards were worth the sacrifice, and I felt that my mates were more than enough compensation for what I’d endured. Just being with them again would heal me in a way years of counseling couldn’t.
“Once I can talk to my mates, I’ll feel a whole lot better.”
Grace nodded, then gestured to the corridor. “Then we should continue to the brig. This way, please.”
When we reached the brig, I noted that the cells there weren’t nearly as nice as the cabin I’d been locked inside. These were much more like prison cells. Ilyan and Nirgal were sitting on the cots in their tight confines on either side of a central aisle, eyeing each other with clear hostility.
I exhaled a huge breath that I’d been holding on our way here when I saw that they both looked healthy and unmarked by the Akrellian interrogations. Then I sighed when I noted their tight expressions as they stared each other down, unaware of our entrance.
“When are you two going to get along?” I asked in exasperation as I rushed down the aisle towards them, forgetting about the three Akrellians watching me.
Both males jumped to their feet and their wings flared open as they stepped closer to the bars. They stopped just short of touching them as Grace warned me sharply that they were energized to shock if touched.
I looked from Nirgal’s icy blue eyes to Ilyan’s bottle green gaze, stiffening when I noticed how cold his eyes were. They made Nirgal’s gaze at its worst seem warm and comforting. Understanding passed between us, and I shot a quick glance at Grace, who was politely giving us some space, though I doubted we were getting any real privacy.
“Are you two okay?” I asked in a low volume. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“We’re fine,” Nirgal said abruptly, cutting off any response Evil Ilyan might make. “I was worried about you. They swore you were unharmed, but it relieves me to see you looking as beautiful and healthy as ever.”
“Pathetic,” Evil Ilyan muttered just loud enough for me to hear him, though I suspected Nirgal was well aware of his comment as his eyes narrowed into a glare at Evil Ilyan.
“So, you’re a rebel,” I murmured to Evil Ilyan after giving Nirgal my warmest smile.
I wanted to touch them both, to run my hands over their bodies to check that they had not been mistreated, but the bars kept us apart. I had to resort to turning my head back and forth between them like I was watching a tennis match.
Evil Ilyan regarded me with a long look that told me nothing about what was going on in that fractured mind of his. “I’ve been known to assist the rebels in the past.”
“Did the asteroid have anything to do with that?” Now I needed to know his real story as much as I needed to know that my Ilyan was still okay behind the enigmatic eyes of his fracture.
For whatever reason, my Ilyan remained submerged. I wasn’t sure how it all worked between them, and how Ilyan retook control. Evil Ilyan had implied that it was Ilyan’s choice. That he had the stronger will. But surely Ilyan would not remind under this long if that was true.
Unless he didn’t want to be with me, or he’d decided that he couldn’t handle sharing me with Nirgal. I wasn’t sure what to do about that, and now wasn’t the time to discuss it, lest I give anything away to our current captors.
“I told you, I have my own reasons for every action I take. Those reasons aren’t your business, human” His eyes glittered with their hardness.
Well, at the moment, it was probably best that he didn’t elaborate on his past. I couldn’t allow myself to be too caught up in those questions to forget that we were all being monitored.
“Did they treat you properly, my queen?” Nirgal asked, shooting a pointed glance at Evil Ilyan that condemned him for not inquiring about my treatment.
I gestured to Grace and her guards, discreetly watching us from a short distance away without appearing to stare at us. “They’ve been kind enough to me since I regained consciousness.” I narrowed my eyes at Evil Ilyan, then turned my back on him to face Nirgal. “But all I could think about was my mates. I feared they might have hurt you.”
Nirgal huffed, switching his glare from Evil Ilyan to the Akrellians. “I imagine they would have preferred to, but we offered plenty of information to buy ourselves sanctuary.” He scowled at Evil Ilyan. “And they have reluctantly offered it thanks to a deal Ilyan worked out without our input, though we will be under guard for an indeterminate amount of time after we reach Earth.” His wings vibrated with outrage as he shot another glare at Grace and her guards. “Until we prove ourselves trustworthy.” He said the last word as if it was a grave insult.
My eyes widened as his words sank in. “We’re going to Earth?”
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I had never planned on returning to my home world once Nirgal told me the Akrellians had taken it over. I was shocked that they were returning me to it, along with my mates.
I turned to face Grace, my question still hanging in the air, spoken loud enough for her to overhear it easily.
She nodded, a smile spreading her lips. “We have a sanctuary on Earth for political dissidents seeking asylum. It is isolated from the majority of the human population, but there are humans living there in harmony with the other residents.”
“Humans in harmony, huh? Sounds like utopia to me.” Despite my sarcasm, I felt a knotting in my stomach as new concerns flooded in. “What about Subject 34? He has to go with us to Earth. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving him!”
Grace raised her hands in a defensive gesture that made me realize I had taken several steps closer to her, my voice raised. Her guards also moved closer, their eyes fixed on me as their head quills rose.
“Of course, he will be permitted to settle with you, though even in the sanctuary, he will need to remain isolated from the other residents until we can be assured he will remain peaceful. We understand how dangerous he could be if he feels threatened.”
Grace glanced from me to Evil Ilyan, then returned her gaze to me. “Our commander has agreed to the terms your mate has set out in return for his full cooperation, and we won’t inform the other test subject hybridized from the athraxius specimen of Subject 34’s existence, or Ilyan’s. At this time,” she added in a murmur that I didn’t miss because I was standing closer to her than my two mates.
I crossed my arms, eyeing her suspiciously. “The health and well-being of my mates is my number one concern. You find us a safe place where they won’t be hunted down by the Iriduan Empire, and I don’t give a damn if it’s in the middle of the Mojave Desert.”
Grace’s eyes widened. “How did you know where the sanctuary was?”
Well, it could be worse. It could be in the sand dunes of the Saharan Desert.
