Page 9 of Tempting Cargo
True, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. Kri’ith had gotten us into this in the first place.
Ready to grumble, I turned to Imani. Was she sniffling? “What’s up?”
She rubbed her eyes angrily with her sleeve. “Nothing. I mean, just… This. It’s a lot.”
I pulled her into a hug, tucking her head against my chest. “Hey, I know. I’m feeling it too. We all are. Want to go back to the room? We can play that card game we got last week if you like.”
“Thanks.” She offered me a faint smile. “Okay, we can get some of those fried root things to eat on the way.”
“’Course. There you go.” I eased her away and stood up, keeping my arm round her shoulders.
I thought she appreciated the touch. I know I did. It wasn’t sexual; I wasn’t attracted to any of my fellow humans, but as a tactile person, I’d noticed Imani relaxed when she’d had hugs—and got some quiet time. Not like Roth, who needed something to do to stay calm, or Ellie, who disappeared off to flirt or get laid.
I cast surly eyes towards the table where Roth and the kri’ith sat before giving my full attention to my friend.
IT WAS Apleasant change to sit in the quiet of the room with Imani, playing cards and eating takeaway. Being in the cantina had gone from sitting around working out where to go, to sitting around waiting for potential rides to come through. It had gotten very old, very fast.
I itched to find out how Roth had got on, though, and so did Imani. She assured me she was fine, happy to sit in bed listening to an audiostory, so I headed back out.
The corridor was eerily quiet, but as I got closer to the trade sector, the silence gave way to thuds, shouts, and other voices.
I broke into a jog, sprinting when I heard snarls.
Ellie sat on the floor at the start of the trade corridor, knees hugged to her chest, leaning up against the metal wall. She stared at a fight not far away between one of the reptilian gharians and a humanoid I didn’t recognise.
I crouched, and she met my eyes with a haunted gaze.
One of her small hands rested lightly on my arm. “Garrison.”
“Are you okay?” Her sleeve was torn, her hair fell messily, loosened from her usual braid, and I tensed, gritting my teeth.
“Yeah. I should have listened. Don’t speak to kheddians.”
I followed her gaze to where the two males no longer fought; one now beat the other relentlessly. “Shit. Is thatIthsskar?”
The normally aloof and put-together archon wore nothing more than his under-tunic. Spikes split the material along his spine and tail, and he used the latter as a weapon, along with his wicked claws. His swishing robes lay in a crumpled pile on the floor.
Ellie nodded, her face pale. “Yeah. Don’t piss off a gharian, apparently.”
“What happened?”
The brief flash of familiar fire in her voice helped me calm slightly. “Fucking kheddian jerk wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was on my way back to the room. He followed me.” She gulped, and I bit down a flare of anger. “I was lucky Ithsskar was there. Except he won’t stop.” She studied the floor, tracing patterns on her leg. “He’s been in a mood for days.”
The heavy clomp of boots echoed along the metallic corridor. Four armed security guards burst onto the scene and stopped, shifting warily. “Archon. Enough now.”
The enormous reptilian didn’t acknowledge them, maintaining his firm grip on the smaller sapient who was rapidly losing consciousness.
After a muttered curse from one of the guards, two of them grabbed Ithsskar by the upper arms, dragging him off with difficulty. The ordinarily cultured archon snarled like a feral beast in their grip until his gold-flecked eyes landed on Ellie.
Breathing heavily, he raised his voice, his sibilant tones ringing out in the silence. “The human Ellie is under my protection. If anyone touches her, I’ll rip his face off.” He shrugged the guards’ hands away, grabbed his robe from thefloor, and lurched towards her, only halting when he registered my presence.
Ellie slowly peeled her hand off my arm.
Ithsskar stiffened, muscles trembling. “Will you be all right, Ellie?”
All she did was nod.
“I’ll make sure she’s safe, Archon,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. This was the first violence we’d seen since the riot on Tathar Refuge, and I was surprised how unsettled I was. It served as a reminder of how deadly these other beings could be. “Let’s get you out of here, El. Can you stand?”
