Authors: Leora Gonzales
Poppy and the missing brides bided their time on the second
ship, trying to take care of the women crying on the cots. As they tried to
make them as comfortable as possible, Val noticed that the sick women’s fevers
were starting to fade but the women were still in obvious pain. Poppy was
trying to keep everyone calm but couldn’t stop her own anxiety from rising.
“They need medical attention. Why hasn’t anyone been back to
check on us?” Poppy asked, glancing at the door on the other side of the cell.
“My only guess is that Demascus doesn’t care. He seemed
crazy, Poppy. The few times I’ve met him in Council meetings he seemed like an
ass, but today he was really off his rocker.” Val motioned for Melanie to come
closer so they wouldn’t disturb the women on the beds.
“Melanie, was Demascus the one who transferred you?” Poppy
asked, wondering if he’d had a hand in all the brides being taken.
“Yes, it was weird. I was supposed to be escorted to the
medical unit for an exam today but instead I was taken to a room where Demascus
was waiting for me. He told me I would be getting a briefing on Phaeton Prime
to be able to acclimate and he gave me a pill. I didn’t realize what was
happening and ate it like candy.”
Melanie grimaced, as if realizing how stupid she had been
and continued, “Andrea apparently is the only one who was told why she was
actually escorted to Demascus. Since her union was being dissolved, she signed
some forms and followed his goon squad without a fight. She just thought she was
hitching a ride home. It was only when she realized that not all of us were
here of our own free will that she started asking questions. I think he hit
her, if the red mark on her cheek is any indication.”
Hearing their whispers, Andrea left Brandy to take care of
the sick women and joined them standing by the cell door.
“Yeah, that little asshole backhanded me when I went to help
Staci,” she said, nodding to the brunette on the first cot. “It was obvious she
wasn’t herself when the warriors strapped her into the shuttle. When every one
of you seemed drugged, I realized not everyone had signed up to dissolve their
bridal contract.”
Motioning to Brandy, who was wiping the brow of one of the
women, she continued, “Brandy wasn’t drugged either. I asked her what was going
on but she wasn’t sure. The idea of her fighting four warriors wasn’t an option
in her opinion so she didn’t struggle.”
“Andrea, I hope I’m not being too nosy, but why did you
dissolve your contract?” Val asked quietly.
“I’m curious too. I can’t even imagine leaving Sorin,”
Melanie admitted.
“When I met Zane, I felt attraction, but as we got to know
each other, I realized I thought of him as more of a brother or best friend
than a possible husband.” She grinned wryly. “I friend-zoned him pretty quick.”
“Was he pissed?” Poppy couldn’t help but ask.
Andrea smiled at the women and shook her head. “No. We
talked about it and have actually become really close while I’ve been here.
When we found out some of the matches were incorrect, it seemed to make sense
that ours was one of the mistakes. I think he may have been relieved, honestly.
We act more like siblings than anything else.”
Glancing at the women who had calmed enough to fall asleep,
Andrea whispered in a hushed tone, “We may not have wanted to marry but I’m
sure he’s wondering where I am now. I was actually pretty bummed that I
couldn’t just stay on the ship and work. We became pretty close. He’s like the
big brother I never wanted.”
She shrugged. “I thought I was going to the medical unit
today for an exam since I was going to be around a while longer until I was
able to go back home. I’d never been to the med center so when my escort led me
to Demascus, I followed him, not knowing it was the wrong direction. All of a
sudden I was in a room with Demascus and he said I was being transferred
immediately.”
“Hey, Melanie said that she was supposed to go to the
medical unit too.” Catching Val’s gaze, Poppy saw she’d caught on too. “That’s
what happened to the appointments today.”
Both women were lost and waited for Poppy to explain.
“I work in the medical unit with the doctors and we were
expecting all the brides,” Poppy explained. “When none of you showed up, we
weren’t sure what was happening. Rodin and Tamin left messages for your
warriors. If they received the messages then they must have realized by now
that you never made it.”
“Which means that someone will already have realized we are
missing!” Valerie finished for Poppy.
“Exactly!” Poppy was so excited at the thought that someone
had to have noticed their disappearance that she almost didn’t catch the glance
Andrea sent her way. “What?”
“You’ve been working at the medical center?” Andrea asked,
cocking an eyebrow at Poppy.
“Yeah, why?” Still unsure where this was going, Poppy
studied Andrea’s face. She didn’t seem mad at Poppy, but more curious than
anything.
“I was a nurse on Earth,” Andrea explained. “I had been
hoping to help out on the ship but never got the chance to make it there. Zane
even suggested I ask the Council if I could possibly stay and work here
permanently.”
Poppy realized now why Andrea seemed to naturally want to
hover over the incapacitated brides. Her training must have been helping her
care for them as best she could. It explained all the forehead touching and
pulse checks Poppy had witnessed her doing off and on all day.
Thinking for a moment, Poppy studied Andrea with all-new
eyes. “Andrea, how would you like it if I took you to the medical unit and
showed you around once we get back?” Seeing Andrea’s eyes light up with pleasure,
she tacked on, “The place also comes with not one but two handsome doctors who
are in the market for brides.”
Andrea couldn’t help but laugh. “Well now, I’m not sure I’m
ready to jump into the dating pool again so quickly.” When Poppy’s face fell,
she added, “But I would love to see the medical unit. Zane told me about some
of the cool stuff they have and I admit I can’t wait to get my hands on a
couple things.”
Keeping her fingers crossed that Andrea would rethink her
stance on dating, Poppy grinned when her new friend started asking all sorts of
medical questions. The smile dropped off her face when she heard the
all-too-familiar tone at the door. They were apparently about to get a visitor.
The person who walked through the door was not the one Poppy
wanted to see. Demascus smiled thinly at the women and his grin deepened even
further when he noticed the women on the cots.
“So I see that only three of you were actually pregnant.” He
whistled through his teeth, apparently pleased with himself.
Clenching her hands into fists, Val hissed, “You knew this
would happen, didn’t you?”
“How fucking evil are you?” Poppy yelled as she approached
the bars of the cell. If he got close enough, she was going to reach through
and grab his skinny little neck and strangle him herself.
Keeping back from the cell bars, Demascus glared at each of
the women before again smiling thinly and folding his hands in front of him.
“I see you as a plague, Poppy. Nothing more than an insect
that needs to be smashed.” Motioning to the women on the cots, he smiled. “At
least I know that we have stopped the abomination of cross-breeding with you
humans.”
Poppy reached beside her to where Val was standing and
squeezed her arm to warn her and keep her quiet. Lord only knew what Demascus
would do if he realized that they hadn’t taken the pills. Trying to figure out
his plan, she needed to keep him talking.
“How do you plan to get away with this?”
“Very easily actually.” Pacing in front of the bars as if he
didn’t have a care in the world, he stated casually, “I am going to be leaving
Squadron Two shortly on a shuttle to join my true warrior brothers.”
“You’re going to the Verge?” Poppy remembered what Wheaton
had explained to her and Val earlier. “Wheaton said you were so far down on the
totem pole you couldn’t be a Council member if you joined them…are you going to
be a lackey?” Smiling when she saw Demascus freeze in his steps, she took a
step back when he turned to her with hate in his eyes.
“Actually I have been assured a Council position now that I
have been able to carry out my plan, you stupid human.”
As Demascus spoke, he moved closer to the bars. Overcome by
anger at his words, Poppy acted before thinking. Moving quickly, she struck
like a snake. Grasping his tunic between the bars, she used all her strength to
pull him into the unforgiving metal. Grunting when her arms were wrenched from
the action, she hit any part of his body she was able to reach. The warriors
who had been with Demascus had not seen her attack coming but quickly moved to
save their leader once they realized he was trapped. Before they were able to
free him, Poppy latched on to a chunk of his greasy hair and was furiously
trying to separate it from his scalp. Banging his head against the bars
separating them, she stopped when a warrior pulled out the now familiar silver
cylinder.
Dammit!
She’d wanted to get in a few more licks before the
cavalry made their move. Letting him go, Poppy tossed hair she had managed to
free from his nasty pinhead to the floor.
“Who’s the stupid one now, fuckhead?” she goaded.
“You surprise me, Poppy,” Demascus wheezed. Adjusting his
tunic and trying to smooth his hair, he forced a smile. “Do not worry though, I
have a surprise for you as well.”
“And what’s that?” Poppy asked, her voice trembling with
anger.
“Not only have I gotten the brides away from their husbands,
but I was able to plant a virus in the matching code. What took years for the
Council to accomplish with the profiles has been destroyed in seconds. The
Phaetons have no need for Earth if they are unable to make bridal matches.”
Poppy couldn’t believe the crazy man standing in front of
her. The only thing missing from making the sight perfect was him cackling like
an evil villain and vanishing in a puff of smoke.
“Our husbands will come for us, you moron. When they do,
that means you’re going to get your ass kicked.” Melanie walked toward the bars
as if she weighed a lot more than the hundred and thirty pounds Poppy guessed
her to be.
“Seriously, little human, what exactly will your husband
come here for? His profile said he preferred tall redheads with large
breasts…and you are anything but.” Seeing Melanie physically deflate before his
eyes at the sting of his words, Demascus laughed in her face.
“You see, none of you are what the warriors wanted. Or even
needed for that matter,” he continued, turning to walk out the door. “And now
they can move on from this stupid idea of human brides.”
“Demascus?” Poppy called out. When he paused to glance back,
she smiled at him. “Wheaton
will
find you.”
“Poppy, I wouldn’t worry about him finding me. I would worry
about him finding you.” With those parting words, Demascus swaggered out the
door.
Poppy huffed out an angry screech. If it was the last thing
she ever did, she was going to pop that asshole in the eye.
“C’mon, ladies, we need to figure out a way out of here,”
Poppy said, determined not to let him win.
As the women started to take a catalog of what they had in
the cell that could be used as tools to escape, Poppy ran through different
scenarios in her head. The cell was fairly big and had four cots, three of
which were taken by sick brides, a toilet and a sink. An inspection of the lock
showed them it was electronic and the bobby pin Val had found in her bag wouldn’t
be any help in picking it. Poppy suggested using Val’s lighter and some paper
to set a small fire to try to call someone’s attention. That idea was quickly
thrown out. The women felt it was possible nobody would respond to the room and
they could suffer from smoke inhalation or worse. After further inventory, they
realized they didn’t even have anything they could use as a weapon.
At the cell door, Poppy took out her frustration on the bars
and gave them a good kick. She would have done it a second time too but decided
she didn’t want a broken foot on top of the mess they were already in.
After what seemed like hours, even though Val’s watch showed
that it had only been about forty-five minutes, they heard another tone at the
door. Shielding the unconscious women, Poppy, Val, Andrea, Brandy and Melanie
waited anxiously. She didn’t know what the plan was if it was Demascus again,
but she was not going to go down without a fight.
Poppy’s knees almost gave way when she was blessed with the
confused face of Dathrow.
“Dath!” Poppy shouted out, rushing toward the bars. She
reached out to touch him to make sure he was real.
“Poppy! What the hell is going on?” he asked. Checking
behind him to make sure he was alone, he stepped quickly into the room and
allowed the door to close. He tried to hug Poppy even though they were
separated.
“Oh my god, Dath, you have to get us out of here.” On the
verge of happy tears, she gripped him tight. “Demascus has taken all the brides
and transferred us here to go back to Earth.”
He cast a glance at the beds on the far side of the room.
“Are they okay?”
“They need medical attention. I think they’re losing their
babies.” Poppy motioned for the women who were standing to come forward. “He
kidnapped all of us and he said he’d sabotaged the computer’s matching system.”
“But why? It doesn’t make any sense,” Dathrow said, fiddling
with the lock pad on the cell door.
“Maybe because he’s fucking crazy! It doesn’t matter why.
Just get us out of here and to the medical unit now.” Poppy was gripping the
bars now as if her pulling on the door would spring it suddenly open.
“I do not have authorization to open this. I need to find a
superior officer.” Glancing at the door behind him, Dathrow was obviously torn
as to whether it was safe to leave them to get help.
“Be careful who you trust. There were other warriors who
helped Demascus to bring us here.” Poppy was unsure if she wanted Dathrow to
leave. Hoping that she wasn’t making a mistake in letting the key to their
safety leave, she pushed him from the cell door and motioned for him to hurry.
“Give me a moment. I will be right back with an officer who
has clearance!” Turning and barely waiting for the outer door to open, Dathrow
slipped through the small space as soon as his big body could clear it.
Before it closed, she yelled, “Message Wheaton and tell him
where we are!”
Unsure if he’d heard her or not, she lingered by the bars
for a moment longer before turning to the other hopeful brides. The ones who
were awake had watery smiles on their faces.
“Thank god!” Val let out with a relieved breath.
Melanie was pacing and wringing her hands together. “I just
hope whoever he goes to is on the good side,” she said. “There have to be good
guys out there, right?”
Nodding and encouraging Melanie was something Poppy found
easy to do in this case. “Yeah, there are good guys. And Dathrow is one of
them,” she reassured her new friend.
The wait for Dathrow to return took only a few minutes but
felt like hours. When the door opened again, he was there, accompanied by four
warriors. None of the men were familiar to Poppy and she was relieved to see
none of them were the thugs whom Demascus had had in his goon squad earlier.
As one of the warriors moved to open the cell door, Dathrow
reached through the opening to hold Poppy’s hand.
“Thank goodness I checked this room.” Looking at the women
behind Poppy, he whispered, “This area was marked as cargo to be transferred to
the Pleasure Sector… You weren’t meant to go home to Earth.” Hearing Val gasp
behind Poppy, he raised his voice so she could hear too. “My belief is that
Demascus had planned for you to disappear there. I believe he was going to try
to sneak you onto one of our shuttles transporting medical supplies for trade.
The room next door is full of empty crates that could easily have fit two or
three of you at a time.”
“We were going to be dumped at the Pleasure Sector?” Val
asked incredulously.
“As far as I can tell, that is where you were headed. As a
human you would have fetched a high price in the brothels, once trained. The
more exotic the workers, the more money they make.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Poppy yelled.
“Poppy, I do not think we would have recovered you if that
had happened. Some of the women are purchased and taken to other sectors during
auctions. My guess is that Demascus planned for you to disappear.”
“He wanted more than for us to disappear. That dickhead
wanted us to suffer.” She was now shaking with anger as she waited for the cell
door to open.
“What an asshole!” Melanie burst out, punching her hand as
though she wished it was a certain Council member’s face. “Warn a gal next time
you plan to go for the jerk, Poppy. I would have liked to have gotten in a few
hits myself.”
“Did he hurt you, Poppy?” Dathrow asked, concerned.
Shrugging his question off, Poppy asked, “Did you get a
message to Wheaton?” She rushed through the open door as soon as the lock
clicked, and gave Dathrow a full hug.
“That’s the funny thing.” Dathrow smiled at Poppy with
raised eyebrows. “My band was still receiving notifications from the other
ship. He must have raised the alarm searching for you ladies. I was able to
message him and let him know that you are here. They were panicking because
they were unable to find you anywhere on Squadron One.”
Once the women were helped from the cell, the other warriors
hurried in to check on the incapacitated brides on the cots.
“What is wrong with them?” one asked when he realized that
they were not simply sleeping.
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong with them. That douchebag
Demascus gave us all pills that made the ones who were pregnant lose their
babies.” Andrea was toe to toe with one of the startled warriors. Poking his
chest with her finger, she yelled, “They need doctors! Now!”
Dathrow squeezed Poppy’s arm in concern.
“The baby?” he asked, his panicked gaze falling to her
stomach.
“Val and I didn’t take the meds. We weren’t sure if they
were okay for us or not so we pocketed them. Demascus assumed we took them when
he saw they were gone.”
Before Poppy could say anything else she was pulled into a
hug yet again. “Thank your god!” Dathrow whispered into her hair as he held her
tight.
“Dathrow? We must move now.”
Turning around to the warrior behind him guarding the door,
he nodded.
“Right.” After letting Poppy go, he walked to the warriors,
issuing orders. “Pick them up gently. We need to hurry and move to a more
secure location before Demascus is notified the cell has been opened.”
The warriors lifted the women like babies and carried them
out of the cell. The warrior guarding the door checked both ways down the
corridor before gesturing for Poppy and the rest to follow.
Poppy felt as if she’d been cast in a spy movie as they
silently followed the warrior leading them down a hallway and into a room at
the far end. Recognizing a supply closet, Poppy moved as far into the room as
she could to make room for the ones following.
“Are we seriously going to hide in a closet?” Poppy asked,
confused.
“My main concern was moving you before Demascus came back.
We now have a few moments to regroup.” As the door swished closed behind
Dathrow, who had been bringing up the rear, he spoke to the other men. “We need
to figure out our plan. If Councilor Demascus had warriors help him abduct the
women, I am unsure who to trust.”
Not being the type to be discussed without her being
actually part of the discussion, Poppy popped in her two cents. “I can always
point out who I saw with him. My main concern is for the brides who are hurting
right now.”
When one of the men tried to speak, she held up a finger. “Is
there a doctor on this ship?” She nodded to the woman he was currently holding.
“We have to get them to help.”
“I agree. The only problem is that both of our doctors are
currently on the other ship for meetings. We have no choice but to shuttle
back.” The warrior paused. “I am not sure how much longer these women can hold
on. I believe they may have been given Hefnon 12.”
When Dathrow cursed under his breath, Poppy raised her
eyebrows. “What the fuck is Hefnon 12?” Poppy watched his face go through a
range of emotions while she waited for him to answer.
“It is a drug that we were supposed to transport to the
Pleasure Sector. It is made for a species stronger than humans.” Rubbing his
hand along his jaw, he obviously wasn’t sure how much he should say. “The
intended purpose is to terminate and prevent pregnancies. I am afraid that it
could possibly kill these women. It is a very strong medication.”
A panicked Poppy clutched at his tunic. “That is not
acceptable. Get us to a doctor and do it now. I don’t care if we have to hijack
a shuttle to do it.”
Behind her, Melanie, Andrea, Brandy and Val all nodded in
agreement. Knowing they had no choice if they wanted to save the brides, the
warriors took a moment to speak quietly. After some murmuring amongst themselves,
Dathrow nodded.
Standing by the door, he turned and spoke quietly to the
others. “I will go and secure a shuttle. Once I have one prepped, I will signal
Drake’s band to lead the group to me. I can message Wheaton to make sure he has
medical doctors ready and in the docking bay to receive the injured brides.
Once I have a shuttle, you will need to—”
Poppy stopped Dathrow right there in his tracks. If he
thought she was going to be okay to sit there and wait for another rescue, then
he was nuts.
“Why can’t we all go to the shuttle now? I don’t think we
should split up.” She had seen enough scary movies to know that when people
split up, throats started getting slit.
Obviously torn, Dathrow ran his hands through his
shoulder-length hair and then pulled on the ends. “Because I don’t know who I
might run into out there, Poppy. What if Demascus is waiting in those halls? He
could have already figured out you have been released and be searching as we
speak.”
“Dath, we’re going to have to walk there eventually, right?
It makes more sense for all of us to go now and stop wasting time standing here
arguing or sending someone ahead.”
Turning to the rest of the women for support, she was happy
to see all of them were ready to run, if needed. “Plus, Demascus should be scared
of
us
by this point. He tried to kill our babies and he might have
succeeded with those brides.” Pointing over her shoulder at the women being
carried, she was ready to kill. “If I get my hands on him, I won’t be
responsible for what I do.”
Brandy stepped forward and nodded to the men. “We’re ready
to go if you are.” she continued, “Don’t forget, we are warrior brides—we can
do this.”
Dathrow shook his head at the women. “I can see that,” he
replied. Readying himself to open the door, he glanced back. “Stick close and
don’t talk. Squadron Two did not receive the protection notification so we
should not be stopped by anyone.”
The women all tensed as the door opened, and they waited for
Dathrow to walk through before following closely behind him. They linked hands
and the warriors carrying the three unconscious brides brought up the rear as
they all hurried down the empty hall. As she held on to the back of Dathrow’s
tunic to keep pace, Poppy felt his back stiffen slightly before he relaxed.
Peeking around his shoulder showed her a tall warrior standing in their way.
“Dathrow? What is going on? I saw you receive a message and
then leave quickly.” The loud voice came from immediately in front of them, and
Dathrow was shielding her as best he could.
“Raz, Councilor Demascus transferred these women here
against their will. That was the notification I received earlier when I left
abruptly. We are getting these brides back to their husbands on Squadron One.
Three of them need immediate medical attention.” Dathrow reached back to pat
Poppy’s arm when she tightened her grip on his tunic even more.
“It is okay, Poppy. This is Raz. He is a friend to Wheaton.”
She peered around him to the big man in front who was
blocking their path. If Poppy had had more time, she would have appreciated the
hulking figure of the warrior but all she heard was that this was another man
who could help them.
“Wheaton has talked about his good fortune with his bridal
match.” Raz bowed quickly to Poppy. Gazing past her, he blanched. “Those women
do not look well.”
Seeing the warrior’s face pale, she cast her own glance back
to the brides. They seemed to be barely breathing now. “We need to go
now
!”
she demanded as she tightened her grip on Dathrow once again.