Page 55 of Neverwylde 6
Chapter 25
Punishment
The shuttle bay on theVar Yuheriwas open and awaiting their arrival. Kelen set the craft inside and powered down as the bay doors rumbled close. Before she undid her harness, Seneecian troops were pouring inside and surrounding the shuttle as they kept their blasters aimed at the craft.
Kyber squared his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he gave her one more loving glance. “Be brave, my one,” he whispered, then slapped the panel to open the airlock.
The attack was swift and brutal. Kelen cried out as several pairs of hands, their lethal claws fully extended, reached through the doorway and latched onto Kyber. He was jerked out of the shuttle, to be immediately replaced by several men who rushed inside the craft for her.
Two of them grabbed her, hauling her out of her seat. She didn’t struggle, didn’t fight them, hoping that by not showing any resistance they would lose some of their aggression. She was mistaken. She’d forgotten the fact that these were the Seneecians she’d come to loathe for their barbarian attitudes and single-minded viciousness.
She was thrown over one man’s shoulder and removed from the shuttle, but they went no further than the bay when she was slammed onto the floor. She landed hard on her side and shoulder, sending pain shooting through her body. She tried to roll onto her stomach to sit up, when she caught sight of a hand coming down, claws extended. She ducked, when another hand swiped across her back. She heard the sound of her uniform ripping. At the same time, hot agony streaked across her upper shoulders. Kelen screamed, and another hand shredded more of her uniform down her side. Razor sharp tips plowed furrows into her waist, hip, and upper thigh. She was aware of the feel of warm blood sliding over her chilled skin.
Shrieks and angry growls grew louder, filling the chamber. A few meters away she caught a glimpse of many Seneecians brutally clawing and hacking at Kyber, who rolled on the floor, unable to stop the attack. Blood and black fur flew in the air, and she yelled Kyber’s name a second before she was backhanded across the face.
At that moment she realized that docility would not work. These men had been given the authority to do whatever they wished, or they were following orders to degrade and debase her as they saw fit. She tried to rise again, when another hand came down to tear more of her uniform and skin. Shifting into survival mode, she flipped onto her back, raised her feet, and hammered the attacking Seneecian in the center of his chest. Her unexpected attack momentarily stunned them, giving her the advantage she’d been seeking.
Rolling over, she scuttled directly into the midst of the crowd of Seneecians attacking Kyber. Hitting the backs of their legs with her shoulders, she managed to trip and knock over two men. One set of bloodied claws came down across her buttocks, slicing the rest of her uniform from her body, and leaving deep grooves in the muscle. She jerked in reaction but forced herself to keep going.
Kyber lay face down and semi-conscious on the floor. His body was sprawled in ways that gave her the initial impression that some of his bones had been broken. Little remained of his uniform that had been slashed into pieces.
Scrambling into the thick of their attacks, she threw herself over her husband’s back, shielding him from any further brutality. Another clawed hand barely grazed over her head. There was a hard jerk of her head, nearly wrenching her neck from her spine, and she saw her braid go flying away.
The Seneecians paused at this unexpected turn. As they stood around her, she peered over her shoulder in anger.
“Stop! Cease this! He is my Confirmed!I am his Confirmed!”
She knew they understood her. Their confused expressions proved it as they breathed heavily from their exertions. One Seneecian stepped forward and raised a hand again, when she yelled at him.
“Touch me again, and you will answer to the Terran Grand Council…Por Venosh!”
The Seneecian froze, unable to believe she’d referred to him by his rank. He clapped his hand over the emblem carved into his pectoral muscle.
Another Seneecian sneered, his eyes roaming over her nude body. “Another skint lie,” he remarked in his native language.
Kelen blinked and pressed her lips together. She couldn’t reveal the fact that she understood them. Instead, she bent over Kyber and tried to protect him from further injury. Huge patches of skin and fur had been flayed from his body. Blood matted and stiffened what remained of his pelt.
He moaned in pain. She couldn’t tell if he was aware of her presence, or even halfway cognizant. She watched as he managed to lift his head, and she couldn’t help but cry out in shock to see the damage done to his face. One of his eyes had been torn from the socket, and bits of his teeth lay in the pool of blood around his mouth. She sobbed, her anger rising at what they’d done, and she glared at them.
“You weren’t supposed to kill him! He’s done nothing to you!Nothing!He’snota traitor! You all have been lied to! D’har Duruk has beenlyingto you!”
One Seneecian turned to another. “Is the D’har on his way?”
“He is aware of the situation,” a response came.
“I say we continue. Take them both down,” another snarled.
“Hold.” It was an authoritative voice. Kelen kept her face bent over Kyber and didn’t look up at where it originated.
“We are not finished with the traitor!” someone argued.
“We will not proceed further until we receive word from D’har Stek or D’har Duruk,” the commanding voice continued.
“Are you believing the lies of this skint whore?” a voice demanded.
There followed several seconds of icy silence. When the imposing voice spoke again, the tone said much more than the words.
“Tell me, Por Venosh Kood, if she was not his Confirmed, why would she accompany him here? Why would the Por D’har bring her with him?”
