Beyond the Stars: INEO (39 page)

Gaelan shielded me with his body while Urit hovered anxiously by our side. I knew we were no match for the beastly creatures.

“It’s okay. I have to go.” I started to step away when Gaelan grabbed me and hugged me tightly one more time.

I hugged him back as hard as I could and looked over his shoulder at Urit.

“Sam,” Urit said. “Remember, you need to be at the auction. Please try to be discreet when you talk to Loic.”

I reached out and squeezed Urit’s hand. “Don’t worry. I think I’m starting to master the art of being discreet,” I said with reassurance.

Gaelan leaned back to see my face. I surged forward and gave him a hard passionate kiss followed by a long hard look to burn his image in my memory forever, in case it was our final goodbye.

“Wait,” he pulled me back when I withdrew. “Please, be careful.”

“I will.”

He leaned down and laid his lips on mine one more time. I closed my eyes to focus on the soft sensation. We had to survive. I couldn’t lose him and miss out on our life together. We were interrupted when the Grulanti’s leathery palm tugged on my arm. Realizing we were out of time, I released Gaelan from my arms and bravely exited the cell with the monster. Facing my unknown fate gave me a cold shiver down my spine. I felt sick. Loic better not have plans to torture me as he did Gaelan and Urit. He wouldn’t,
would he?
I managed to calm myself down with hopes that I would be considered too valuable to risk killing.

Loic was waiting for me in a room off the end of the long corridor. The room looked like a museum with velvet red curtains covering the tall walls, and was cluttered with bizarre items scattered throughout the space on various tables. An interesting emerald colored rock, the size of a bowling ball, caught my eye as I entered. It levitated on its own and glowed from within. I wondered what it did. This must have been a collection room for the Grulanti, or maybe it was a meeting place. A pair of plush upholstered maroon chairs sat in the center of the room. They could have been used as thrones, and were surrounded by an arced row of gold stools.

The tall Grulanti said something in his native language to Loic which didn’t translate. I watched nervously as the two of them appeared to be arguing with each other. Their voices were slightly overshadowed by the rambunctious voices I heard coming through the other side of the wall. The voices were in unrecognizable dialects. Not understanding the language made my fear escalate. It had to be the auction. After hearing the crowd, I prayed even harder that my Katarian friends would have a solid rescue plan secured. I would rather die than become a prisoner of some grotesque creature for the rest of my life. Loic and the Grulanti’s discussion ended shortly with the Grulanti snarling and storming out of the room.

“Ah, Samantha, I’m so glad you could join me,” Loic said in a snide voice as he strode across the room to come closer to me.

“I wish I could say the same. You’re a traitor,” I scoffed.

He retrieved a pile of clothes off a chair. “Here, put these on. I want you to look—well … sellable.” He tossed a silky white dress at me and then handed me a pair of heels.

I gave him a hateful glare.

“Don’t worry. They’re your size. I lifted them from the ship. Conveniently, Azil even had them marked with your name.”

I didn’t budge.

“Oh, I understand. You want privacy. Fine, I’ll turn around. I don’t want to embarrass you,” he said in a sickeningly phony voice while he turned his back to me.

I reluctantly started to change my clothes in a hurry. I didn’t want to be undressed and alone in a room with him.

“You know,” Loic said, “I was wondering why Gaelan kept you so close. Earth is eons behind us. Apparently he shocked everyone when he made you his companion, so I hear.
Piff,
you should hear all of the chatter you have caused aboard the ship. Do you really want to know what the crew thinks about you? Oh hell, it’s mostly good. I’m the one no one can stand. Everyone treats me like I’m some sort of plague.”

“And deservingly so,” I finished his sentence. “Maybe it’s because you are notoriously untrustworthy? I can’t believe you’re willing to betray your own people. Did you ever think of forgiving the Katarians for taking away your Discovery Fleet dreams? You were partly to blame. Isn’t it time you moved on?”

I finished pulling on the shoes before he spun around.

“I know it was my fault. I paid for my actions. Didn’t they tell you how they punished me?”

I shook my head.

“They took everything I worked for away. I was left with nothing—no merit or degree. No one would hire me. I had to take a job moving garbage on Pernuva just so I could eat. The place is a bloody nightmare, and freezing cold. It’s in the middle of nowhere. There’s no women, no entertainment. Oh, why am I telling you, you don’t care … never mind.” He snickered. His face looked sad from the hurtful memory.

“That’s a shame,” I consoled and tried to change the subject. “When did you become a tracker?”

“You ask too many questions. I don’t want to relive the past. I hate the fleet, and I’m starting to
not
like you. All of you, so righteous and Discovery Fleet dripping with resources out the kazoo. They act like they own the whole galaxy. They should try making a living out here without having access to all of their cutting-edge conveniences. Now that’s what I call exploring.”

“Don’t take your issues out on me.”

He gave me a crazy-eyed look and came up to my face. “Go ahead, avoid seeing the big picture. It’s clear you’re on their side. I only want you to cooperate. Please give me the Ineo, and then I can let you go.”

I figured he was lying by the shifty way he moved his eyes. His manic movements frightened me. His behavior seemed unpredictable. He appeared to be having a mental breakdown on top of his already unstable emotional state. Then, without warning, he grabbed both of my arms and shook me violently.

“You arduous woman! Give it to me now.”

“
No!
Let me go,” I screamed and stomped on his foot.

“Ouch! That hurt,” he said through gritted teeth as his eyes locked on mine. He dug his fingers deep into the back of my arms.

“Loic, it’s not too late to do the right thing. Get us out of here, and I’m sure the Katarians will be forgiving. I could make them promise to leave you alone. No harm will come to you.”

He released his squeezing grip with a shake and tore his hands through his long locks of hair in frustration, further disheveling the strands. His gnarled hair made him look completely mad.
“Grrr,
you have no idea. It was the Katarian Council who started this whole thing. You think they are so nice. They only tell you what they want you to believe. It takes one slip, one error in judgment and they will do everything in their power to destroy you. Once they own you, they think they own you forever. I must admit that they fooled me once, too. Then I grew up, and let me tell you, they can be as cold and self-serving as the rest us.”

I felt a tangible hate emanating from his pores.

“You’re wasting your breath,” I said. “I have no doubts of anyone’s character but yours.”

“Earth Girl, do you
really
think they are going to help your planet evolve? Perhaps you were just an easy target. They’re probably stealing your world’s data base or resources to improve themselves—another opportune mission to take what isn’t theirs.”

“No, you imagine them to be cruel because you want to push everybody away. You won’t let anybody into your jaded little fantasy.”

“Yes, and it’s worked for me so far.”

He came towards me while grabbing a nearby stool, sliding it behind him. He forced me to sit on it, by pushing down on both of my shoulders, then retrieved one for himself.

He sat down facing me. “Stop being difficult. I’m losing my patience.
Don’t
make me hurt you,” he threatened in a low voice.

I took a deep breath and prayed he wouldn’t touch me again. He gave me a strange expression.

“Actually, you look rather pretty. I don’t want to mess you up,” he said, leaning forward to flip a loose wave of my hair resting on my shoulder with his finger. His hand brushed against my bare skin, causing me to flinch with his touch. He seemed to sense my rising apprehension and smiled. “Maybe I will bring Gaelan in here and let the Grulanti have another go at him. He wouldn’t break his silence before, but maybe you will if you watch them beat him up,” he threatened in a low voice.

“Do you lack compassion or maybe you’re just incapable of love? Do you even know the pain you’re causing? What if your pet, Sterwin, was the one being sold or tortured? You would be upset, right?”

I thought I was making progress when I saw his face soften after mentioning Sterwin’s name. Then, a worried expression came across his face, and he frantically got up to check his duffle bag lying on the floor across the room. He lifted the flap to peek inside and let out a sigh of relief when Sterwin’s head popped out.

“Whew, I can’t lose you now, little guy,” he said to the weasel in a kinder voice.

“Why is he
so
valuable to you?” I asked curiously.

“Sterwin is a God to the people on Alantine. They believe varmints like him can prevent natural disasters. Minko’s are extremely rare and worshiped daily so that their whole world won’t perish. He’s worth more than you can imagine, maybe even more than you. I found him on another planet, although they wouldn’t know that,” he whispered in confidence. “I will be able to name my price if I decide to present him to them.”

Leave it to Loic to take advantage of their idolatrous ways.

“You scoundrel. How can you be so mean? Why don’t you just offer the Grulanti the rat instead of us?”

“Hmm?” Loic paused to give me a confused look and scratched his chin before he said, “I can’t believe you. Even now, you would offer a solution to help someone like me. You
really
never give up. Women like you are hard to come by. It’s too bad you find me repulsive.”

“So, will you trade him instead and let us go?”

“No. I like Sterwin, and I want to keep him, and you just don’t get it. You aren’t my problem. You are my answer to come out of hiding. I can buy back my freedom. Besides, I can
stick it
to the Katarian Council at the same time. Not only will it hurt them to lose their precious G and their fine medic Urit, but their relationship with Earth will be damaged when you never return. Not to mention, I will become wealthier than anyone I know on Kataria when this deal is done. I could buy my own planet if I wanted. The Council will finally know they made a mistake when they tried to put me down. It’s a win-win. Sure, I wish things could be different, but I can’t change the past. You are my last resort. It’s nothing personal.”

“Yeah, only my life,” I said under my breath.

Loic sighed. “Last chance. Tell me where you are hiding the Ineo. Perhaps I can find a way for
you
to go free.”

“I can’t give it to you.”

The words barely left my lips when his body charged me with a pummeling blow, knocking us both to the floor. He started frantically patting down my hair and body to search for the item while he anchored my body under the weight of his.

“
Aahh!
Stop it! Get off me!” I yelled and fought back, but he was too strong and overpowered me.

“Hand it over,” he threatened as he continued to fondle me up and down the sides of my body while he lay on top of me. “Maybe I should ask the Grulanti to make you talk? They will dissect you, cutting up and down that sweet body of yours until you tell me where it is.”

“I can’t give it to you,” I yelled as he continued to search. He scared the hell out of me. He was being so rough and was much stronger than me.

He paused and grabbed my head by tangling my hair in his hand so I would look him in the eye. “Why? Is the instrument implanted? Wait! Is it programmed in your brain? It can be retrieved, maybe even copied.” He released my head by pushing it against the floor in his excitement. Although it hurt, I was too afraid to react.

Just then, I became positive that Loic didn’t fully understand the Ineo and what it did. He thought it was a man-made contraption, something tangible, or an implanted skill that had been downloaded in my brain. He didn’t know that an ancient celestial being had taken up residence in my body. He had never heard of the Ineo folklore. Not by name, anyway.

“It’s not here. I don’t have it anymore.”

He exhaled sharply and pushed himself back to sit on my hips to straddle my body while resting his full weight. After a moment, he leaned his face over mine, making his blonde hair fall into both of our faces while he pinned my shoulders firmly to the floor. His eyes were glowing with fury.
“Where
did you put it?” he spoke deliberately slow through his teeth.

“I dropped it. I left it on the ship when I saw you burst through the door with those monsters. I didn’t want you to take it,” I said.

“You
—” He let my shoulders go and gave me a brief look of defeat followed by an enlightened expression. “Huh,” he chuckled. He sat back on my hips and gazed at me knowingly while he flipped his hair back, out of his face. “You really had me going. I bet it’s on you—
somewhere.
There are places I haven’t checked.” Quickly, he pinned my forearms under his knees so I couldn’t fight back. The lack of circulation in my hands instantly hurt; within seconds, I could feel my fingers going numb.