Page 7 of Commander's Slave
After a few minutes, the chill of the room sank into her bones and she forced herself to her feet. She quickly removed her dress and donned the surprisingly thick nightgown. She also discovered a pair of socks in the bundle of clothing and hurriedly pulled them onto her feet, careful not to look at her right foot as she did so. In an effort to stay warm, she used two of her spare dresses as blankets, and another as a cushion between her and the frigid floor.
As she curled up on her makeshift bed, her mind reeled with the events of the day. Draken was kind, but she didn’t belong to him. The servants hated her. Edek, her master, despised humans and with good reason. Dread filled her as she imagined his reaction when he arrived home to find a human in his brother’s house.
That night, her dreams were filled with snowdrifts and painful electric zaps. One moment she was submerged in snow, freezing to death, and the next moment she was in Kall custody, being prodded with electrified batons, kicked in her ribs, and spat on. Then she was begging a Kall guard to contact her father, so certain that her father would at least come visit her.
But he never came.
He never sent a kind word or even a letter of reproach, condemning her for jeopardizing the Earth-Kall treaty.
In her dreams, he ignored her existence, just as he had in waking life.
He treated her as though she meant nothing to him.
When she awoke the next morning, her face was coated in tears.
Chapter 4
Commander Edek staredout the window of his airship, ignoring the pilot humming beside him. Down below, the town children were pointing and running after his craft. The sight of them caused his heart to ache.
While it was good to be back in Sumlin District, the children reminded him of the family he’d lost during the humans’ first and only attack on Kall soil, when the mountain towns, Enta and Yomma, were both destroyed.
His hands clenched into fists at the memory of losing his wife and sons, and grief battered his soul anew, just as intensely as it had the moment he’d learned of his family’s demise.
Would the piercing pain in his heart ever cease?
Fluxxinghumans.
Edek despised them and would gladly kill a thousand of the vile creatures with his bare hands. Even though the humans had apologized for the attack, he loathed them with his every breath. It angered him that mankind had surrendered before he and his men had reached Earth, and even more so that he’d been ordered to remain orbiting Earth for months while all the treaties were signed and new governments installed.
He’d been looking forward to exacting his own personal vengeance.
He repressed a rage-induced snarl. Secretly, he hoped the humans broke the treaty and rebelled against the Kall forces that remained on Earth. Then he might be recalled to the human planet and actually see battle this time. Until that day, he would hone his battle skills and ensure his weapons were sharpened and ready to spill human blood.
Not wanting to greet his brother, Draken, with a murderous look, Edek forced in a series of deep breaths, trying to calm his bloodlust. Once the haze of red that had blurred his vision began to clear, he uttered a quick prayer of thanks to the ancient gods for Draken’s wellbeing. Draken had been injured in the humans’ attack on planet Kall, but at least he had survived, and he was the only family Edek had left in the universe.
“Drop me off on the roof, and then park the ship in the hanger,” Edek instructed the pilot in the native Sumlin dialect of Kall.
The pilot, a gangly youth from the Resta District, shot him a queer sideways glance. Edek sighed and repeated his request in common Kall. The pilot nodded and proceeded toward the largest house on the mountain overlooking the town.
After a quick landing, Edek hurried down the steps along the rear of the house in search of his brother. A filling meal and a long soak in the hot springs that ran through the basement rested on the forefront of his mind.
He stopped at the bottom of the steps and took in the beautiful view. A cool breeze rustled his hair. Massive green trees covered a line of mountains that stretched as far as the eye could see. Rolling golden-and-green fields lay in the valley below, encircled by a security wall that kept the mountain beasts out at night.
To the right of the town sat the training area for the district’s warriors. Edek beamed with pride and inhaled a deep breath. As the new commander, it was now his duty to oversee the training of the district’s warriors and lead them in battle. In thirty rotations, their training would resume under his command. Edek would train them hard and ensure they were prepared for the next danger that threatened the Kall way of life—be it human or otherwise.
“Brother! There you are. I thought I’d heard your heavy footsteps on the roof.”
The Sumlin dialect of Kall was music to Edek’s ears. He turned to see his older brother limping toward him with open arms. It was good to see Draken’s face again, even if he was permanently scarred from the same explosions that had killed Edek’s wife and sons. Draken had been staying with them in nearby Yomma while Edek was visiting one of the space stations for a training exercise when the humans had attacked. Draken had been luckier than most, escaping the smoldering rubble with only part of his right foot missing and severe burns covering half of his face.
Edek’s wife and sons had not been so lucky.
“I would’ve killed thousands of humans for you, brother, had they not surrendered like cowards before our ships arrived,” Edek said as he embraced Draken.
“I’ve no doubt you would have, but I hope you’ve left your hatred behind. We aren’t involved in any wars at the moment, and I think this rare peacetime should be enjoyed. Now is the time for reflection and healing,” Draken said in a voice suffused with a level of wisdom that belied his years. He was only three years older than Edek, though there were times it felt like they were separated by a full generation or more.
They pulled apart and Edek gave Draken a suspicious look. “You spend too much time with the Holy Ones on the mountaintop, brother. They talk nonsense. I would think a businessman like you would be intelligent enough to realize that.” It was a low dig and Edek brushed aside the unexpected guilt he experienced at criticizing his brother’s way of life.
Hadn’t Draken tried everything to save Edek’s wife and sons? Hadn’t he crawled up the mountain, bleeding and disfigured, as he dragged their bodies behind him on a stretcher, desperately trying to get them to the blessed healers, even though life had long left their bodies? He might not be a warrior, but he was still strong and he was still brave. And he was family.
