Claimed by the Warlord Read online

  But she didn’t have time to gloat or relax her guard; she scrambled away. Except with little room for retreat, and her attacker blocking the door, she didn’t get far.

  Trapped, she rolled over to try the ice-shard strategy once more, but Yellow Eyes anticipated her maneuver. As if in slow motion, her mouth formed the word, “No!” as he dove full length on top of her.

  His considerable weight knocked the air from her lungs and sent her head snapping back against the interior steel wall of the snow cruiser. Dazed and out of breath, she had no defenses left.

  “I’ve got you now, bitch.” He had no trouble flipping her once more and pinning her hands with one of his own. “And don’t think I won’t make you pay for fighting me,” the Ophig spat cruelly.

  Utterly helpless, Aurelia cursed fate for not giving her Axton’s psychokinetic powers. Her twin could use his mind to control the ice and cold and could have incapacitated her attacker, hands-free. She’d gotten the stronger empathic powers between them, but a lot of good divining another’s emotions did in a physical altercation.

  He caught her ankles in a brutal grip and dragged her outside, unconcerned when her shoulder clipped each of the three steps out of the conveyance, or that once, her head hit solidly on a metal tread, making her see stars. And he didn’t care that when she landed hard on the snow-packed ground, it knocked the breath from her yet again.

  With her head spinning, her shoulder throbbing in pain, the unnatural position of her arms making it twice as bad, he bound her wrists together behind her back and rose to stand over her.

  Aurelia lay motionless for several moments, stunned by this sudden turn of events and fighting a wave of nausea. It passed quickly enough, the only good fortune she’d had in this confrontation. She couldn’t simply lie there, however, as though complicit in her own abduction. Drawing in a deep breath, she screamed shrilly for help. The energy she expended was surely wasted because the panicked strains were whisked away by a strong gust of wind as soon as they passed her lips, but she had to try, and kept at it.

  “Stop that squalling!” he demanded.

  “Screw you, filthy Ophig pig!” she shouted back then went right on screaming.

  On a calm day, the sound would have echoed off the nearby mountaintops. She might have spurred an avalanche, always a possibility in this part of Aeldor. Any other day she would have been cautious, but being dead and buried in the snow was preferable to capture and being subjected to heaven knows what kind of atrocities.

  Though no one could hear her cries over the wind, her captor wouldn’t abide her shrieks and crouched beside her. “For a little thing, you sure can make a racket,” he grumbled.

  His fingers dug into her cheeks, forcing her jaw open, and he shoved a foul-tasting gag into her mouth. Her stomach roiled when she imagined where it had been.

  “Best not puke,” he cautioned. “Don’t expect me to clean you up if you do. Besides, on your back with that gag, you’re liable to choke on it.”

  Silenced, she focused on taking air in through her nose or end up doing exactly as he forewarned.

  He patted her cheek, none too gently. “Be good, and I might just cover you up. Though you don’t deserve it after shoving my balls clear up into my throat and trying to flash freeze me to death. Maybe a taste of your own treatment will get you to behave.” He chuckled. “I’m referring to the latter. Where you’re going, balls would be a distinct disadvantage.”

  After giving her a disgusting, brown-toothed grin, he stood and left her lying bound and helpless in the snow, shouting in a tongue she didn’t understand as he walked away.

  In the short time she’d been in contact with the frozen ground, the cold had already penetrated her clothing. The layers she’d put on that morning weren’t enough, not in the Northern Sector where exposed flesh could freeze in minutes. Ordinarily, before venturing out, she would have covered herself in her hooded cloak. Coated with a special resin, it was impermeable to the wind, which made the garment a necessary, lifesaving layer of protection for this region. Without it, her movements became sluggish, and her exposed face grew numb.

  Helpless and terrified, she lay immobilized, cold seeping into her bones, her tears freezing on her cheeks nearly as fast as she shed them. In no time, her blood would thicken. Shortly after that, her heart would stop. Vaguely, she wondered why he’d bothered to restrain her if only to let her freeze to death.

  But death didn’t claim her just yet.

  Boots appeared before her eyes, and a thick blanket landed on top of her. It covered her entirely, including her face. Next, he rolled her up in it, lifted her, and tossed her facedown over something hard. The impact with her stomach forced a grunt from her, like moments before.

  Bundled up and hanging upside down, she quickly got a sense of smothering. She struggled, except bound and rolled as tight as her father’s favorite imported cigar, she couldn’t move.

  How long did he plan to keep her like this? What if she suffocated?

  Panicked, she angled her head searching for the end above her. Only a small stream of cold air trickled in, but she welcomed it. Drawing in gulps of air, she kept her neck craned back no matter how awkward. She caught glimpses of fur-covered legs, black boots, and the snow-covered ground as he carried her a few moments then dropped her onto her back on a hard, unpadded surface. She had a sense of gliding, and beneath her, the snow squeaked and crunched as if metal runners were cutting through it.

  Tears pricked her eyes. If he took her from the caravan, how would her father and brother know where to find her? She immediately regretted leaving her identicode wristband at home. Papa had warned her. One a planet where blizzards happened regularly, and people became lost during whiteouts conditions on a daily basis, the tracking device served a purpose.

  Miserable, and hopeless, Aurelia spent the next few minutes fighting back tears, which wouldn’t help her situation, let alone help her breathe, and struggling to take in what wisps of air she could.

  If he didn’t let her out of the smothering blanket soon, the effort he’d expended in capturing her would all be for naught because without oxygen she’d do more than pass out, she’d be d-e-a-d—dead—which might be a blessing.

  Abruptly, she experienced a dizzying sensation of falling, spinning, and rolling all at once as the covering was ripped from her body and she tumbled onto the ground. Instead of cold and snow, she felt a rush of warm air and a hard floor beneath her. She didn’t have time to react before the hairy, ugly, yellow-eyed alien bent over her. In his hand, he held something silver that resembled a laser pistol.

  She shook her head, whispering, “No, please...” when she identified it as an injector gun.

  “Yes, Princess, it’s time for a nap. When you wake, you’ll be of a different, lowlier class, and royalty no more.”

  She didn’t have a chance to absorb his meaning before he jabbed the muzzle into the side of her neck. Aurelia arched and twisted her body while yanking at her bindings, but her efforts were weak and distressingly ineffective. A stinging pain below her jaw preceded a tingling sensation flowing through her veins and a rapidly invading sense of lassitude. In seconds, with his cruel cackling laughter ringing in her ears, she knew no more.

  ALTHOUGH HE EXPECTED it, the blast of frigid air blowing in through the open hatch sent a violent shiver up Ryker Bardet’s spine. He twisted his head only enough to bellow over his shoulder, “Hurry up and close the fucking door before I freeze my nuts off.”

  Hearing a loud bang from the back of his Class 5 Star Raider, he twisted in his captain’s chair. It was in time to see the princess’s skull bounce off the wall beam as Lotho, his only crewman, moved her to secure her for liftoff.

  “Careful, idiot! A drooling, mush-brained moron won’t bring us a good a price.”

  He glanced over at him and shrugged. “Sorry, but with what the buyers intend to use her for, I doubt they’ll care.”

  In a short time, she’d be up for auction on the intergalactic s
lave market, so he was probably right. Breasts, a working mouth, for some a tight asshole, and primarily, a disease-free, sweet-smelling, warm, wet cunt were what the customers wanted. Still, he barked, “Just watch what you’re doing. Undamaged merchandise always fetches a higher price, dip weed.”

  “I was trying to go easy, but she’s heavier than she looks.”

  “I only put up with your sorry ass because of your strength. If you can’t manage one small woman, you’re useless to me for anything else.”

  “It’s just her head. With all that hair, no bruises will show.”

  He scowled at the man. “Ready the ship for liftoff and don’t forget to strap her in. The last one broke a leg during transit and cost me half my profits.”

  Facing front, he ran through his launch checklist. Even though time was of the essence, he couldn’t afford to miss any steps. Bought used some time back, the ship needed work, not least of all the holes riddling the hull from their last escape. It leaked plasma gas and he didn’t want to contemplate the radiation levels inside, but the engine upgrade had been the first priority, not repairs. Speed was the lightweight craft’s best defense should any Aeldorian star scouts give chase. His allies on the ground had better have upheld their end of the bargain and taken both the scanners and shields offline in this sector or they were done for.

  “All secure,” Lotho informed him as he took the copilot’s seat beside him. “The skiff is secured, and the cargo is strapped in too.”

  “Is she still out?”

  “Aye, she’s sleeping like a baby with no clue her whole world is about to change.” The big man grabbed his crotch and shift in his seat. “She’s pretty. I’d like a chance to play with her before we hand her over.”

  “You’ll have to wait to get your rocks off; there’s no time.”

  “What’s the hurry? Afraid they’ll find out we’re selling her instead of killing her?”

  “We were hired to get rid of her permanently. No one said she had to die.”

  Lotho barked with laughter. “I’m not the smartest man, but even I know what that really means.”

  “Since she’s going where no one will ever find her, they won’t know either way. Why shouldn’t we profit from it if the result is the same?”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Irritated at being questioned by a functioning idiot, Ryker ground out, “I’m in charge of this ship, not you. Now stop your constant yammering so I can concentrate on getting us out of here. We have a detour to make before delivering our cargo.”

  “What detour?” Frowning in confusion, Lotho turned to face him. “You didn’t mention a detour.”

  “It’s a side job. In case you didn’t notice, we’re three women short of our quota. Who would have thought a princess would travel without female servants?”

  “Where are you planning to get three more?”

  “There’s a planet nearby. We’ll make a side trip, pick up the additional females we need, real quiet like, so we won’t take a hit on delivery penalties.”

  “You mean Voltarre?” Lotho asked, sounding horrified.

  “Yes, and since it’s their winter orbit, it is as close as a moon.”

  “Their women are huge, almost as big as me. Are you fuckin’ nuts?” he shouted at a volume that made Ryker cringe. “How am I supposed to kidnap three at a time? Not to mention, we’re talking Voltarre, where the men are even bigger and scarier than the women and can set your skin to smoldering with a glance. I don’t want those half-naked giants running after me, and I don’t want to think about what the warlord would do to me if I’m caught. Toss me in one of his volcanoes? Roast me on a spit with a fire of his making? No fucking way! You gotta be nuts or that freeze blast her Royal Highness used on you did more damage than you thought.”

  “Stop that squawking,” Ryker griped while rubbing the ear which took the brunt of the noise. “You sound like a feline with its tail stuck in a door. Besides, I have a foolproof plan.”

  “Yeah, where I take all the risks, as always,” Lotho muttered sourly. “How do you expect to get us past their security? Voltarre is as bad as Aeldor, as tight as a virgin’s cunt on her wedding night, and I doubt if you have inside help for this abduction since this is a fucking side trip.”

  Spinning a quarter-turn in his captain’s chair, he leaned in and growled at the irritating man. “Family or not, with all your whining, you’re making me regret bringing you on board as my crew. What’s more, you’re pissing me off with all these questions. Just do as you’re ordered, and we’ll be fine.”

  “Even if I manage to get three, what happens if they scramble fighters? They’re armed with those high-velocity thermal equalizers; we can’t outmaneuver those.” Picking up where he’d left off as if Ryker had never spoken, his usually deep voice got progressively shriller and even more grating than before as his panic rose. “We’ll go down in a ball of flames.”

  “Shut the hell up. I can’t think with you harping on me like my mother.”

  “I won’t shut up, and I’m not going to the fire planet, Ryker. Think of something else!”

  Head pounding from the unabating shrieking, he took a steadying breath before he really lost his temper and popped one of the blood vessels pulsing in his forehead. “Did you forget the little gem in the cargo hold?”

  This finally shut Lotho’s trap for a moment, a very brief moment.

  “What does the thing in the crate have to do with anything? I don’t understand.”

  The fool wouldn’t. He had the IQ of a dust mite.

  “It’s new Aeldorian technology, something few others know about. By using it, we won’t have to land, only fly close enough to get within range and the portal will bring them to us.”

  Lotho frowned at him as if he were the idiot. “And you believed that?”

  Ryker shot him an irritated glare. “I didn’t have to. I saw it with my own eyes.”

  “You saw it shoot a woman through space?” he breathed in disbelief.

  He wouldn’t have believed it possible, either, if he hadn’t seen his Aeldorian go-between appear and disappear on his ship, as if he’d never been there in the first place.

  Once he’d learned of it, the money they offered as payment for the job hadn’t been nearly enough. Only the portal would do. He bargained ruthlessly, ready to walk away if they didn’t deliver. He’d been bluffing, of course, but it had worked, case in point, the large box in his cargo hold.

  “Think about the possibilities. We’ll never have to touch down on a hostile world again. We can lock onto our targets from the safety of our ship with no one ever knowing.”

  “What about their shields?”

  A valid question. Every once in a while, the idiot showed a glimmer of intelligence. “They are no longer a problem with this.”

  Still unconvinced, he kept at it. “How do we locate women without going down? What if it snatches up the wrong target, or we get a man by mistake?”

  “Our scanners can pinpoint a flea on a dog, you know that.”

  “Yeah, but what if it locks onto three ugly women? How do we sell them?”

  “And, in a flash, he’s back to being stupid,” Ryker muttered amidst an exasperated sigh. Then he demanded of the other man, “Have you ever seen an ugly Voltarrean? Male or female?”

  Lotho paused to mull this over for a moment or two. “Come to think of it, no, but I’m not exactly in the habit of checking out men.”

  “My point is, they’ll all be pleasing to the eye and will garner a high price.” Ryker shrugged. “If by chance, they’re not, we sell them to someone so desperate for women, they won’t care. Like the Nallogian Lepers in the far district. They’re in such dire need for breeders, they’d pay any price. With their hooked beaks and hunks of flesh falling off whenever they move, those ugly bastards will think the homeliest Voltarrean bitch is a prize.”

  Beside him, Lotho gagged. “Poor little princess, I’d feel bad if she was bought by one of those hideou
s things.”

  “Her beauty will bring top dollar from whoever buys her, and we’ll profit greatly. But you need to toughen up and quit feeling sorry for the slaves or I’m sending you home. I can’t have you getting soft-hearted over a pretty face and blowing a commission.”

  “I won’t. But can’t we steal one for us every once in a while? One who smells nice and is soft and clean like her?”

  “After we repair the ship and bank a few paydays, we’ll get two for ourselves.”

  “This job will help. Whoever wanted rid of her paid big, I’m betting. How much did we earn by the way?”

  “In cash, nothing.”

  “What? We risked frozen balls for nothing?” he sputtered.

  “Calm down. We still split half of the sale price in finders’ fees, but that’s nothing compared to what our Aeldorian client paid. With this baby, we’ll be rolling in it so deep we’ll be able to retire in short order.”

  “Huh?”

  Lips twisting in disgust, Ryker said impatiently, “The cargo, moron. What have we been talking about for the past ten minutes? Our reward is a brand-new, state-of-the-art matter displacement portal.”

  When Lotho stared at him this time, he swore he could hear his sluggish few brain cells and synapses firing. “You mean that thing in the box is a door?”

  He hung his head in vexation. If he not for the family connection and being as strong as an ox, he’d eject him, here and now. Saying no more because what was the point, Ryker entered the course coordinates for their next destination—the sovereign planet of Voltarre.

  Chapter Two

  AURELIA AWOKE TO A throbbing pain in her head, as though someone had struck her in the temple with a mallet. Opening her eyes brought on more pain, thanks to a brilliant white light glaring down from overhead. Squinting, she put up a hand to block it, though it hardly helped. She tried to sit up, but the change in position made her head swim.

  Lying back, she rolled onto her side, holding her throbbing head between her hands and curling her knees to her chest in the fetal position. All in an attempt to keep the waves of nausea from getting worse.