Page 44 of Commander's Slave
“Of course I ended him, Teyya. Draken, Commander Edek, and every last servant are dead. There are no witnesses.”
Edek bit back a laugh. The criminals Teyya had hired weren’t honorable in the least. Once they received their bag of coins as payment, they’d likely move on to a district on the other side of the planet, far from Teyya’s reach.
As the conversation continued with the criminals taking turns describing the supposed deaths, Edek edged into a dim hallway. Most of the orbs lining the walls and ceiling were dark, only a handful lighting the house. He took deep breaths as he followed the voices, hoping to detect Betsy’s scent.
At least Teyya had wanted her captured alive.
Edek tightened his grip on the ax and took a deep breath, readying himself for battle.
The faint breathing of his men sounded behind him. Four. Possibly five of them now. A roomful of criminals was no match for even one Kall warrior, let alone four or five. They would pay. Every last one of them.
Edek burst into the room with a thunderous roar, his ax swinging high above his head.
Chapter 22
Screams echoed throughout the house.Metal clashed against metal. Angry shouts in Kall rang out. Even from Betsy’s location in an upper-level bedroom, the sounds of battle became deafening and made her wince. She strained to listen for Edek’s voice but couldn’t make it out over all the noise.
It had to be him. Edek. No one else would come for her. Her heart raced with fear as she imagined the fight raging below. She’d been taken by five men. Including the pervert, that put Edek against six men. One man against six. The odds weren’t in Edek’s favor, but she still prayed for a miracle.
Her arm ached where her tracker had been cut out, but at least the wound wasn’t deep. She grimaced as she twisted her wrists around inside manacles that were identical to those she’d worn on the day of auction. Sore spots became bloody as she focused on her right wrist. Pull. Twist. Pull. Twist. She almost had it.
Tears burned in her eyes and she bit her lip, trying to block out the pain. She knelt on the dusty floor. If she got one of her wrists free, she could stand a fighting chance should the unthinkable happen. Edek was a strong warrior, but she wasn’t sure how skilled the men downstairs were in comparison. She moaned as the metal dug into her flesh and pain shot up her arm.
As worry for Edek occupied her heart, the sorrow she felt over Draken’s fate broke it to pieces. The tears brimming in her eyes rolled down her cheeks. He was dead. Two men had held him down while another slit his throat. Blood had streamed into the air and he’d slumped in his chair in the dining room. One of the intruders had made her watch.
“Ah!” She pushed the manacle off her wrist and hand. It clanked to the floor in a cloud of dust. She coughed and stood up, not bothering to attempt freeing her left hand. The chain connecting the two manacles was short. She gripped it with her left hand and leaned back as she swung the loose manacle. If she swung it hard enough, she could put a decent sized gash in someone’s head.
She lowered her arm and strode to the door. As she kicked and pushed it, footsteps sounded on the stairs. She stepped back, hoping it was Edek but fearing it wasn’t. Gripping the manacle, she took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst.
The door opened and Teyya burst inside, covered in blood and sweat. In one hand, he clasped a long knife, and in his other hand he held a large brown sack. The same sack that had been placed over her head as his men dragged her away from Edek and Draken’s home.
She glared at him as he advanced toward her. She clutched the chain, hoping to get one good swing in before he reached her. Swallowing hard, she listened for Edek’s voice, praying he wasn’t wounded.
Her mind spun as she processed the noises of clashing weapons below. If the fight was still raging, it meant Edek was alive.
Fear replaced her moment of relief as Teyya licked his lips and then wagged his tongue at her, the way he’d done weeks ago at the auction.
A few more steps and he was close enough. It was now or never. Betsy let out a scream and swung the manacle at his head. He ducked and caught her in his grasp. She kicked and yelled, biting into his arm until she tasted blood. His knife clattered to the ground, and she continued to struggle as he tried to place the sack over her head.
“Edek!” she managed to scream. A second later Teyya cut her air off, squeezing her throat. She clawed at him, digging her nails into his forearms.
“Betsy! Betsy!”
Her heart nearly stopped.
Edek. He was alive! Relief filled her to hear his voice.
Welcome air rushed into her lungs as she fell to the floor. Teyya kicked her leg and gave a frustrated growl. Grasping her throat as she gulped in precious oxygen, she watched as Teyya snatched the knife up and faced the door.
“Here! I’m here, Master!” She grimaced at the amount of blood dripping from her wrist and covering her dress, some of it hers and some of it Teyya’s.
Edek appeared in the doorway with an urgency surrounding him. He searched the room until his eyes landed on her. For the briefest moment, his gaze brimmed with relief. But when he turned to look at Teyya, his eyes flashed with a rage unlike anything she’d witnessed before. She hardly recognized him. His eyes, normally similar to a human’s, glimmered completely black. He raised an ax and snarled deep in his throat, a sound so fierce it made her insides rattle.
She sat up and scooted to the farthest wall, and a second later the clash of weapons pierced the air. She winced at the loud noise and watched as two huge Kall became locked in battle before her.Please God,please let Edek win. Clasping a hand over her mouth, she stifled a scream as Teyya sliced his knife through the air, coming dangerously close to Edek’s neck.
Edek lunged forward and swung his massive ax as if it weighed nothing, swiping it along the side of Teyya’s face. The pervert cried out and clasped the side of his head, and Betsy’s stomach rolled when she saw his ear land upon the floor.
Teyya’s movements became sloppy, and he stumbled and failed at every attempt he made to wound Edek with his knife. Finally, he didn’t duck quickly enough as Edek struck a deadly blow to his neck. Blood spurted from his mouth, and Betsy covered her face, unable to watch a second more of the violent death.
