Home > Pets in Space 6 (Pets in Space #6)(5)

Pets in Space 6 (Pets in Space #6)(5)
Author: S.E. Smith

“May the Goddesses keep our hearts true and our cause strong,” he murmured, closing his eyes and bowing his head.

It would be so easy to accept his fate and fall asleep. He felt no remorse at his decisions. Maradash commenting that he was weak like his father had actually had the opposite effect on him. He knew his father had been strong. Berman De’Mar was a Marastin Dow ahead of his time who believed there was a better way of life for their people than the constant threat of death from their own. His father had shared that hope with him—and many others.

Behr lifted his cuffed hands and rubbed his brow. His father had been searching for something when he had disappeared. The only thing he knew was that it had something to do with the Marastin Dow doctrines said to have been lost centuries ago. Behr didn’t know if the doctrines were myth or real. All he knew was that his father had believed in them enough to spend his life searching for them.

He sighed, lowered his hands, and opened his eyes. He jumped to his feet when a tan and white creature suddenly appeared in front of him. The creature grinned and sat up. Behr gaped in shock when the creature held up a thin badge in one tiny hand.

“What in the…! Where did you come from?” he hissed.

His surprise doubled when the door to his cell suddenly opened, and he found himself face-to-face with a Dregulon. The Dregulon stared back at him in silence. He shook his head, wondering if he was hallucinating.

“This cell is taken,” he dryly commented.

The Dregulon blinked as if coming out of a trance before responding, “Not for long. Pi, unlock his wrist cuffs.”

The small tan and white creature climbed up his leg and tugged on his sleeve. Behr held his wrists out so the creature could unlock the cuffs. He rubbed his wrists after the cuffs fell to the floor with a loud clang, and warily studied the man standing in the doorway.

“Well, do you want to get out of here or not? I have fifty thousand credits riding on this,” the man snapped.

“How do you propose getting me through the prison complex undetected?” he asked.

The Dregulon smiled. “That depends on how good you are at being a contortionist,” the man replied.

Behr warily stepped forward when the man turned away. He paused at the entrance to his cell and looked down the corridor. It was empty except for a large cargo skid stacked with a series of containers marked with the warning symbol of Tirrella power crystals.

“Where are the guards?” he asked.

The Dregulon paused lifting the lid off the top container and grinned. “They are locked in a cell, feeling their balls, hoping they don’t shrivel and fall off.”

Behr stepped out of his cell and eyed the container. “There is no way I will fit in there,” he stated.

The man eyed him up and down. “You won’t be comfortable, but you’ll fit,” the Dregulon firmly replied.

Behr stepped aside when the man pulled a tray of Tirrella power crystals out of the container and walked into the cell. The man placed the tray on the cot along with something that looked suspiciously like a detonator. He moved aside again when the man walked by him.

“Climb in,” the man instructed with a wave of his hand.

Behr peered into the container. He was surprised to see that it appeared to be a stack of four short containers but was actually one large container. At the bottom lay a blaster. This seemed to be the rescue he needed, but still, he hesitated.

“Listen, we don’t have all day,” the man grumbled.

“Who sent you?” he demanded.

The man muttered a curse. “Surprisingly, some Marastin Dow who didn’t want you dead.”

Behr didn’t move.

“Mieka, Marus, and Taylah if that helps,” the man added.

Shock and relief swept through him. Without another word, he stepped up onto the skid and climbed over the side into the container. He bent over and picked up the laser pistol before he squatted. His knees were almost touching his chin by the time he positioned himself as far down as he could go.

“You may have to bend your head down,” the man advised. “Good thing I wasn’t planning on using the tray of crystals,” the Dregulon muttered to himself.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Behr gritted out in a low voice.

“Sit tight. We’ve got this,” the man cheerfully replied.

Behr wasn’t sure if the man was being sarcastic or not. Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to argue with a miracle even if it came in the form of a Dregulon with a bad sense of humor. He rested his forehead on his knees and closed his eyes when darkness surrounded him. It would be so easy to close his eyes and fall asleep, but he feared that if he did, he would wake up and this would all have been a dream.

 

 

Chapter Three

 

 

Raia guided the cargo skid back down the corridor. At the intersection, she retraced her steps. She was almost to the end when a lift opened and a large group of Marastin Dow personnel stepped out. Her heart sank when she saw the man in the lead.

The black uniform distinguished him as a high-ranking member of the military. A shiver ran through her when she saw the coldness in the man’s eyes and recognized him from her research—Field General Reynar Maradash. He was a man who enjoyed causing pain and suffering to others. His presence caused a far different experience than what had held her in stunned silence when she first gazed into Behr De’Mar’s eyes.

Raia halted the skid as close to the wall as it would go and pressed her back against the cold, hard surface. She instinctively moved her hand to the bag draped across her body as the man came closer. She kept her eyes averted in a non-challenging manner.

“General Maradash, the Council wants to be in attendance for the execution,” the female Council Liaison reminded him in a forceful tone.

“I’m well aware of the Council’s expectations,” Maradash coolly replied.

“They are not expecting the execution until tomorrow,” the woman continued in a more moderate voice.

Raia bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything. If the woman was stupid enough to keep talking, that was on her head. It was obvious from where Raia stood that Maradash didn’t give a damn about what anyone wanted—including the Marastin Dow Council members. Unease filled Raia when Maradash stopped less than three feet away from her.

“Lieutenant Jaten,” Maradash said as he turned and looked at a woman standing behind the Council Liaison.

“Yes, General Maradash,” Jaten responded, standing at attention.

“I’m promoting you to Council Liaison,” he stated in a bone-chilling voice.

“Th-thank you, sir,” Jaten answered in a hesitant manner as she warily stared at the woman in front of her.

Raia stood frozen, watching in horror as the General rotated on his heel, pulled out a foot-long blade, and slid it between the former Council Liaison’s ribs. The woman’s eyes widened in shock. Her cry of pain was muffled by General Maradash’s hand covering her mouth.

“Your services are no longer required,” he murmured indifferently.

No one stepped forward to catch the woman when Maradash withdrew the knife and her knees buckled. He held the blade out to Jaten. The woman gingerly took the handle, holding it away from her body.

“Have that cleaned and returned to me,” he ordered.

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)