Page 2 of Commander's Slave
Strong hands gripped her, jerking her out of her seat, and she found herself being roughly dragged out of the courtroom by two huge Kall guards. They took her out a side entrance and away from the rejoicing spectators. She caught sight of Layla’s terror-stricken face just before they pulled her through the door.
The following hours blurred together. Betsy was transported to a crude detention center, similar to the one she’d been kept in during the last few weeks, where a human counselor gave her a crash course in Kall slavery.
Address the Kall who purchases you as ‘Master.’
Never look your master in the eye.
Obey your master in all things.
Do not speak unless asked a question.
Accept criticism and punishment graciously.
Next came the visit from a doctor who claimed Betsy needed an immunization before interstellar travel. Although she’d visited many planets over the years and thought she’d gotten every type of vaccination necessary, she didn’t argue over the shot. Arguing wouldn’t have done her a bit of good anyway. If she tried to fight, they would simply beat her and shock her, hold her down and give her the shot regardless of her protests.
A heavy sense of helplessness descended upon her, nearly suffocating in its intensity.
Her life was no longer her own.
“You’ll feel a slight pinch,” the doctor said.
The needle pierced her skin and the vaccine burned going in. She bit her lip to keep from moaning. Just as the pain in her arm faded, the dizziness began. Before she could even draw in her next breath, she fell into nothingness.
She awoke an indiscernible amount of time later on a cold floor, her mind fuzzy and her head pounding worse than any migraine she’d ever experienced. When she sat up, a powerful wave of nausea doubled her over, and she held her breath and remained still until the worst of the sickness passed.
Slowly, very slowly, her awareness returned in fragments—a piece here, a piece there—until the entire horrific picture that was her reality crashed down on her, heavy and unforgiving.
She was alone. Her eyes regained their focus but there wasn’t much to see. Four dull gray walls, a toilet, a sink, and a thin brown blanket served as her only companions. A small, oval-shaped light glimmered on the low ceiling. The blanket, which was wrapped around her shoulders, smelled of smoke and mildew. She pushed it off, only to feel the cold air hit her bare skin. Where were her clothes? She couldn’t remember a thing after the shot.
She pulled the blanket around herself again and shuddered, hoping to avoid another one of her shaking episodes.
While she’d never seen the inside of a Kall spaceship, she assumed she was already en route to the alien homeworld. The floor held a faint vibration she recognized from interstellar travel, and the air was stale—probably as a result of being constantly recirculated. How many other humans were bound for the Kall homeworld? The detention center where she’d spent the four weeks since her capture had been crowded with humans. Surely she wouldn’t be the only slave on the auction block.
A noise along one of the walls set her heart to racing. Then a doorway appeared as a section of the wall slid up with a hiss that caused her to wince and cup her ears.
Black, hard eyes met with hers. Dread prickled her spine, and Betsy stared aghast as a large Kall male advanced in her direction. He stood over seven feet tall and was made of solid muscle, his skin the same reddish shade as most of his kind. He wasn’t wearing a warrior’s uniform, but he looked just as deadly. She withdrew from her spot on the floor before he reached her, huddling against the wall as she clutched the dank blanket like a shield. She pressed her eyes shut.
“Don’t touch me,” she said, too afraid to meet his gaze.
He grunted. “Do you know where you are, human?”
Even though she suspected she was on a ship, her throat closed up and she couldn’t summon a response, so she shook her head and continued to huddle against the wall, fearing this huge Kall might reach out and grasp her at any moment. Her heart rate quickened, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
“This is theMerrina, a Kall slaveship.”
Her breath hitched and her spirits plummeted to her feet. His words had only confirmed the terrible truth she’d already known, but hearing it aloud made her stomach seize up with dread.
“Wh-when will I be sold at auction?” she asked, careful to keep her chin tucked down as she finally found her voice.
“TheMerrinawill reach planet Kall in approximately forty days. You will be sold on the slave block in Sumlin District on the very day we arrive. Until then you will not leave this room. A guard will bring you meals. Do not bother trying to escape, because if you give us any trouble, Remfy here will be paying you a visit.”
Remfy? Betsy glanced up and noticed a fat vampire snake slithering out from the neckline of the man’s shirt. She gasped and scooted backward along the wall, desperate to put space between herself and the deadly reptile. The Kall laughed and lovingly stroked the head of the creature that was draped around his shoulders.
She’d expected him to threaten her with an electrified baton to secure her obedience, not a fucking reptile. She quaked inside and vowed to be the quietest passenger to ever travel on this ship. Kall vampire snakes paralyzed their prey with a venomous bite and then proceeded to suck every last drop of blood from a still-warm body—a painful, slow death she’d heard horror stories about. She couldn’t believe this Kall kept such a creature as a pet.
“He hasn’t eaten in a while.”
“I won’t give you any trouble,” she whispered, closing her eyes once more. She didn’t open them until the Kall’s footsteps retreated and the door hissed shut.
