Page 26 of Nita’s Bounty
Nita screams, a scream that will haunt me for all my days, when one of them wraps a thick green arm around her waist and wrenches her from me. A second Pizat punches me in the side, right where I’m bleeding. Pain flares, and my vision dims until I think I might black out.
By the time I’ve gathered myself and my head has cleared, Nita is nowhere to be seen. Churning water is the only hint of where they dragged her back onto land. My teeth gnash, and I push down the pain as I rush after her. The moment my head surfaces, a hail of lasers pelts the waves around me.
Vittu!
Before my gills can seal, I dive back into the choppy waters.
An anguished howl bursts from my chest as I hold a hand against my side and frantically kick, propelling myself into the depths.
***
CHAPTER 17
***
NITA
My body is shaking as I’m half led, half dragged through the swampy forest by the Pizat guards who pulled me from the water. The laser burn across my upper arm burns like fire, but it’s nothing like the pain radiating from my chest at being ripped away from Shuvo. Ahead of us, Madame Althea is gliding over the leaf-strewn and root-bound ground like she’s floating.
“As soon as we get back to Lux, I’ll have some of those scented salts you like sent to you, and you can soak away this dreary memory,” she tells me without bothering to look back at me. “I’ll even give you half a day to recover. I’ll tell you, the customers you up and left weren’t happy at all. Their compensation will be coming straight out of your account.”
I want to scream at her that I couldn’t give two shits about her fucking customers or the money she had to pay them. Instead, I clench my jaw and squeeze my eyes shut, refusing to give her the satisfaction of letting her see a single tear fall. Not that she would care.
Mostly, my mind is on Shuvo. God, he was bleeding so much! When the Pizats dragged me from the water, I never saw him surface. Did they… could he be… No! I refuse to believe he’s… that they…
The tears I’ve been trying so hard to stifle fall, pooling around the bottom of the mask I’m still wearing. My chest is tight from holding back my sobs, making it hard to breathe to the point I hope I’ll suffocate.
When we break through the thick forest of gnarled trees and underbrush, I don’t recognize the clearing until I see Shuvo’s cruiser sitting at the edge. A moan escapes my tight throat when I’m pulled in the opposite direction to where a much larger, more luxurious ship is waiting.
“No!” I gasp with a sudden flare of energy. Digging my heels into the mulchy ground, I fight against the Pizats, but I’m no match for the two much larger and stronger guards. It doesn’t stop me from fighting them anyway.
“Greetings,” a familiar voice echoes out of thin air, and the Pizats pause and turn toward where the friendly voice came from.
My heart starts to pound at the sight of Ojal standing at the edge of the clearing. A wide smile is plastered across his face, but his black eyes are sharp as he tilts his head, looking for Shuvo, no doubt, before turning to focus on me and then the Pizats.
“I wasn’t expecting visitors,” he continues, walking slowly toward us as he focuses on the Madame, “especially since you somehow slipped through our planet’s security.”
“This does not concern you,” Madame Althea snaps. “We’ll be gone in a moment.”
“Excellent news. There’s just one thing,” Ojal says with a smirk before he winks at me. “I can’t let you take anything off this planet that belongs here.”
Madam Althea stops and spins on the tall male with a withering look. “I’m only taking what rightfully belongs to me. Now, stop your incessant chatter and go back to wherever you came from.”
The whine of a blaster—several blasters, actually—echoes through the thick atmosphere, and suddenly dozens of Negura materialize from the thick mist clinging to the ground.
“That’s where you’re wrong, friend,” Ojal says. His grin never falters, and then he lifts a blaster to point at her as well. “This female belongs to no one but herself.” He turns to me and asks, “Do you wish to leave?”
I shake my head violently, tugging against the Pizats holding my arms.
“In that case…” More Negura appear, seemingly from thin air, to surround us. “Release her. I’ll not ask again.”
The Pizats holding me look to Madame Althea for guidance. She, in turn, looks like she’s about to explode. The side of her jaw is twitching from clenching her teeth, and her hands are trembling with her fury.
“Get her on the ship,” she grits through clenched teeth without taking her eyes off the dozens of Negura who have appeared around us. The Pizats comply immediately, pulling me across the mossy ground.
“No!” I cry out, squirming against their grips. No matter how much I kick and flail, I’m no match for their bulk and strength.
The scream of lasers zinging through the air has me pulling my legs up and dropping my center of gravity, trying to get as close to the ground as possible so I don’t end up a target.