Page 5 of The Hunter's Mate

“I don’t mean to do shit,” she spits. “Let me go or face the consequences.”

I draw back, struck by her words.

Because I do not think she can do anything to punish me…but the gods have a special way of punishing those who enslave sentient beings.

I have much to think about.

5

Fawn

This so-called Rapture is definitely an alien invasion.

I look around at the ship after the lizardman moves to the front, curious about everything inside. It doesn’t look like I thought a spaceship would—more like it’s carved out of rock than metal. There’s nothing familiar here, from the instruments at the front of the ship—the cockpit, I guess—to the cots. The closest thing to a bed is a tucked away alcove right behind me, while a recessed area across from me resembles a bathtub.

The ship is small, but there’s one thing I can’t see and can’t figure out. Every so often, something rattles from beneath us—something big, I think. At one point, I think I even hear a cat yowl…but it can’t be a cat, right?

“What else is in here?” I ask.

I’ve gotta get out of here.

“Hey!” I yell. “When are you going to let me go!”

He doesn’t respond, though I can see his tail flick in annoyance. Fine—I’ll hound him until he releases me, if that’s what it takes. I lean forward, my hands still bound behind me, my ankles tied up.

“Talk to me,” I demand. “Why’d you give me the damn translator if you weren’t going to talk to me?”

The lizardman flicks his tail again and turns toward me, the frill on his head tucked close to his skull. His eyes flash gold in the dim light of his ship. He stalks over and squats in front of me like before, his eyes narrowed.

“What do you want?” he asks.

“What are you going to do with me?” I blurt out.

“I was ordered to return you to your village.”

I cock an eyebrow. “And is that what you’re going to do, or are you just gonna keep me tied up?”

He taps his claws together, a habit I’m starting to realize means he’s considering his options. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“You’re kidding,” I deadpan.

“Not kidding,” he says. “You see…I am a person with a job. I was tasked with returning you to your village. However…”

I raise my eyebrows. “Go on.”

“I was told your people are primitive and in need of aid,” he says. “But you have shown clear hunting skill and reasoning abilities, and there is nothing stopping me from returning to my superiors and telling them you escaped.”

“So you’re going to take me prisoner indefinitely…?”

“No,” he says. “I have a proposition for you.”

I nod. “If it means you’re gonna let me go, I’m game.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he says. His words translate through my earpiece, but I can hear his voice on the other end, and it’s deep, rough, growly. It makes me feel things—things I definitely shouldn’t feel about a lizardman who hogtied me and brought me to his den—but maybe that’s just the lack of company the past few days.

“Here’s my idea,” he says. “I have another guest on my ship—something I had to stop and retrieve from my homeworld of Alamancia.”

“So you are an alien,” I say.