Page 8 of Neverwylde 6
“Arrest Kyber Nau,” the Seneecian ordered again.
“We will discuss this when we return to the ship,” Duruk told him.
Plat opened his mouth again, thought better of it, and kept silent. Kelen gave the Seneecian a cold look, which the man caught. In return, he sneered at her. She had no doubt he would try to make Kyber and his men pay for what had been done to him, even though he had been the one to disregard their laws.
A warrior advanced toward Dox. The little man pressed closer to Kelen as the big striped Seneecian tried to grab the box Dox was holding. “Surrender your weapon.”
“It’s not a weapon,” Kelen argued. “It’s the transponder.”
Her remark caught Duruk’s attention. “Transponder?” He addressed Kyber, not her.
“Are you here because you received a signal for help from us?” Kyber questioned back.
“We did.” The man pointed at the box. “From that?”
“It is Bollian,” the warrior observed.
“Then take it,” Duruk ordered.
Dox made a little cry of protest as the transponder was jerked from his grasp and gave Kelen a helpless look, as if pleading for her to intervene. She shook her head to let him know she couldn’t do anything about it. Dox sighed dejectedly.
“How many of you are there?” Duruk demanded.
“Twelve, D’har,” another warrior responded.
“We will take half of you now to the ship,” the D’har stated. “The rest can wait for the shuttle to return.” He pointed out several of them to go first, when Kelen realized he included Kyber, herself, Kyber’s three crewmembers, and Plat. In other words, all but the Terrans. A cold possibility went through her, and she jerked on Kyber’s arm.
“Why are only the other Seneecians going up?”
Duruk paused, and it was at that moment she knew his deception. Unable to stop herself, she threw another question at her husband.
“Kyber, why is he leaving the Terrans behind, unless he never planned to return for them?”
The tension between species ramped up as Kyber and his brother squared off as the implication behind Duruk’s action became clear.
“Is that your strategy?” Kyber demanded in a dark voice. “Do you intend on leaving the others stranded here on this world?” Without waiting for the man to answer, he motioned for Jules, Mellori, and Massapa to step forward. After which he shoved Kelen and Dox in front of him. “Gaveer, accompany them. Make sure they are treated with…respect.”
Duruk stared at Kyber. Kelen watched as the D’har lifted his chin in a grandiose manner, and Kelen understood why her husband had never mentioned his brother before now. The man considered himself superior to all, especially to his own blood.
“You dare to tell me who I will take up tomyship?”
Astonishingly, Kyber released her hand and knelt to the man. The move seemed to surprise all of them as Kyber also bowed his head.
“I dare nothing, D’har Duruk. I humbly request that those I mentioned go ahead of me. The others and I will remain behind until you send the shuttle to retrieve us.”
A full minute passed. Kelen forced herself not to look at the D’har, fearing that he would consider it a personal affront if she did. The man was looking for a reason to decline Kyber’s request. What she nor the others expected was for him to capitulate.
“Veenosh Bareth, escort the prisoners to the shuttle.” Turning his back to Kyber, Duruk started back to the craft as four warriors gathered those whom Kyber had singled out.
As one warrior shoved her shoulder, urging her to move, she reached out to her husband. “Kyber.”
“Go with them.” His head remained bowed as he continued to kneel. “I will join you shortly.” It was part order, part plea. She didn’t need to understand the complexities of Seneecian protocols to know he was deliberately debasing himself in order to save their lives.
Another warrior confiscated the transmitter, jerking it from Dox’s hands. The little man cried out in protest, but Kelen hurried to shush him.
They were herded toward the shuttle as a group. Kelen glanced back at where four warriors remained behind to stand guard over Kyber and the others. Her husband never moved from his position.
They were shoved into the shuttle and made to buckle into the seats lining the bulkheads. The craft quickly lifted off, aiming for the warship orbiting overhead.
Kelen kept her eyes on the front windshield as the temple and surrounding landscape gradually shrank into view. The shuttle leveled off when they reached a certain altitude, and she finally got to see the incredible sight of the half world she’d crashed onto before the craft jetted into space. As they’d suspected, the planet had been sheared almost completely in half. At the northern tip a small portion jutted inward, reminding her of the way a dog sometimes tucked its tail between its legs. That northern tip was also capped in ice and snow. There was no sign of the volcanoes Kyber had mentioned. Perhaps they were on the back side, out of view. However, she thought she could see a faint plume of smoke rising in the atmosphere.
The planet looked as inhospitable and uninhabitable as they’d believed, and she knew the memory of their time there would remain with her for the rest of her life.
