Prisoner by Kallista Dane

Author:Kallista Dane [Dane, Kallista]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2019-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Kaal

I scooped her up just before her legs gave out from under her. The guards stepped back. They didn’t try to stop me when I carried her down the stairs cradled in my arms and headed into the throng of prisoners surrounding the platform.

I had no idea where I was going. I just knew I had to get her somewhere private. Somewhere safe where she could recover from the intense punishment I’d doled out as well as the harsh fucking I’d subjected her to. It had torn my heart out to do it, but I knew if I hadn’t, she might well have died at Rigo’s hand.

The crowd was still hooting and shouting and I wasn’t sure how I’d battle my way through with Ree in my arms. I ended up surrounded by a group of shapeless forms wearing long gray cloaks with the hoods pulled up. In the dim light, their faces were in the shadows. To my surprise they parted to let me pass.

One of them drew near me. “We are comrades of Gaius,” he muttered, low enough so that no one would overhear. “Come with us.”

They closed ranks around me, shielding me from the rest of the mob, and led me through a maze of narrow passages that twisted and turned until I was lost deep in the warren of shanties. When they stopped, one of them pulled aside a wooden pallet leaning against a pile of rubble. It hid the doorway to a single room with three rough walls of stacked rock. The fourth was made of stone cut and fit with such precision I guessed it was part of the barrier surrounding the prison. Above my head, barely high enough for me to stand upright, was a ceiling cobbled together from scraps of wood and metal. The faceless figure nearest me stepped aside and motioned for me to enter the room.

I had no other options, so I carried Ree in.

The one who’d spoken followed me. My other attendants silently drifted away into the darkness, leaving two standing guard outside. They covered the doorway again, blocking out what little light came from the blood-red flames in the fissures pockmarking the surface of the asteroid.

My companion moved a stone in one of the walls, allowing a sliver of light to enter, then pulled off his hood. It revealed a bald head with a few wisps of gray hair around the edges and a face lined with a roadmap of wrinkles that told of a life filled with toil and strife.

He pointed to a dingy pile of rags in the corner. “Lay her there.”

Half-conscious, exhausted, and in pain, Ree barely stirred when I deposited her gently on her side. I knelt beside her, stroking her brow, while the old man bustled around us. He handed me a bowl of pasty gruel and a tin mug filled with brown-tinged liquid.

“It’s Zibaru whiskey—our own blend. Tastes like mule piss but it’ll take the edge off after a rough day.”

I

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.