Page 45 of Commander's Slave
She heard the ax swing several more times, followed by grunting and gurgling noises that made her even sicker to her stomach. After a few moments of silence, she felt a hand on the top of her head, and she uncovered her face and peered up at Edek. His ax was affixed to a belt around his waist, and his eyes no longer resembled black orbs. Instead, she saw concern and kindness reflecting in his gaze.
He knelt and lifted her hands, gazing at her wrists, then peered at her bloodied upper arm. “Are you hurting badly, little human? What did he do to you?”
“I’m fine. Draken… your brother is…” Her voice shook and her face crumpled. “I’m so sorry, Master.”
His death would haunt her forever. She would never stop missing him. His kindness and friendship had helped her feel at home on this strange world, and his wisdom and comforting words had soothed her in her darkest hours.
Tears fell silently down her face. She held still as Edek slipped a small knife into an opening on the left manacle and freed her from the restraints. He tossed the contraption aside and it clattered to the floor.
“Draken might make it,” Edek said, running his hands up and down her arms. “The servants took him to the Holy Ones. He told the cook to tell me Teyya had you. I never expected their rivalry to go this far. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you, Betsy.”
“Wait. Draken is alive?” Hope tempered her sorrow, the warm emotion rising up and prompting a million silent prayers for his survival. “They cut his throat,” she said, reaching for Edek. “There was so much blood. I didn’t think he could’ve possibly made it.”
“He’s tougher than he looks, and if anyone can help him, it’s the Holy Ones.”
Betsy wanted to believe him, but the image of Draken’s throat being slit kept replaying in her mind. She blinked and willed the visions to stop. Voices and footsteps drifted up from below, and she tensed and shot Edek a questioning look.
“It’s all right,” he said, grasping her hand. “It’s just my warriors.”
She stood with one foot out the doorway and gazed down the very steps she’d been dragged up earlier kicking and screaming. Tremors besieged her body and she couldn’t stop shaking.
Edek swept her up in his arms and brushed his warm lips over her forehead. His features softened as he stared at her. “I’m happy you’re undamaged, Betsy.” His voice sounded heavy with emotion. Tears glistened in his eyes, but he blinked them back and kissed her again.
She smiled at his choice of words and blinked back fresh tears of her own. She’d known he harbored tender feelings for her, and he’d told her she was special to him, but she’d never imagined he’d be driven to the brink of tears because of her. He gazed upon her with concern and affection. “Thank you for coming for me, Master.”
“Close your eyes,” he said.
She obeyed, and he carried her downstairs and into the cool night. Having no desire to glimpse the aftermath of the battle, she didn’t dare open her eyes until after the hatch of his ship thudded shut.
“This is Carnn,” Edek said, gesturing to the Kall who sat in what she presumed was the pilot’s seat. She’d never been in a small Kall ship before.
Carnn nodded at her and began working the controls. The ship hummed to life and a dashboard with dozens of tiny green and blue screens lit up.
“He’s flying us back home while I tend to your wounds,” Edek explained as he sat her on a blanket.
“I’m fine,” Betsy said. “Just a few scratches.”
Edek ignored her and fetched a white box from the rear of the ship. He opened it and she peered inside at the medical supplies. The ship rose in the air with a speed that made her stomach roll. She focused on regulating her breathing as Edek cleaned her wrists and the wound on her upper arm. Next, he directed a beam of green light on her injured flesh, and she watched in amazement as she healed completely. He also ran the green light over her swollen lip and the throbbing in her face miraculously subsided.
She gradually stopped shaking, but her insides continued to twist with turmoil. Draken’s life hung in the balance. By the time they arrived on the mountain he might already be dead. She despaired over the possibility of not being able to say goodbye.
“Can you use that healing beam on Draken?” she asked hopefully.
“Not on such severe wounds.” Edek stroked her face and lifted her onto his lap. She settled against his chest and breathed in his scent, taking comfort in his presence. She shut her eyes and swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her stomach kept rolling with the movements of the ship and the persisting anxiety over Draken’s fate.
“I just hope he’s all right. He saved me. If he hadn’t bought me, Teyya would have become my master. I might not even be alive right now. I have so much to be grateful to him for.” If not for Draken, she wouldn’t have met Edek. She wouldn’t belong to a loving master who thought nothing of risking his life to save hers.
He covered her with a blanket and snuggled her closer, surrounding her with his strength and his protection. “Draken isn’t like most Kall, as I’m sure you’ve already determined. As a child he refused to fight anyone, much to the dismay of our father. Our father tried to force him into warrior training,” Edek said with a laugh, “but Draken never showed up and spent his days with the Holy Ones instead.”
“Why did he never become a Holy One himself?”
“Holy Ones are raised on the mountains from birth. They are the children of slaves, slave children smuggled away under the cover of night while their masters are sleeping. So now you see why Draken couldn’t own you himself. They are a peaceful people but they condemn the very idea of slavery and shun the laws of our planet.”
“They remind me of the monks on Earth, living alone in peace and reflection.” Betsy recalled visiting a Buddhist temple during a trip to Tibet. It had been the last trip her mother had taken before falling ill. It felt like ten lifetimes ago.
Edek cleared his throat. “We’re almost home. I want you to rest while I see to Draken. Carnn will stay with you. He’s my second in command. You can trust him.”
“But I want to come with you!” She pressed a hand to her stomach as the ship descended. “Please. Let me see Draken. Even if he’s dead, I have to see him.”
