“Better?” The mouthy alien switched to English. “I will explain a few things to help you adjust. But I don’t have much time before Nime gets mad.” He canted his head toward the mountain-sized alien with the cranberry eyes. “You have been gifted withGlrtsstlllloroggg, a powerful elixir native to this planet. It allows you to understand the very basics of any alien language. Enough to get by, hopefully. When you need to communicate, just speak your language and they will understand as well.” He clapped his hands in glee. “But because I have such a special interest in you, I have taken moreGlrtsstllllorogggto be able to speak your language fluently. Aren’t you lucky?” He looked around expectantly, his gaze zeroing in on Querida.
I ignored the chatty alien. Without thought, I tapped my palm twice to activate my vid-phone. It was something I probably did a hundred times a day to access my sister or check myvida-socials. But no comforting hologram of her popped up. It was dead. There was no way to talk to Valentina.Because I was on an alien planet.The truth continued to sink in, drowning me as each second passed and clarity retuned. Would I ever see her again?
“Come. Let us, go. It’s time to leave.” The annoying alien kept urging me on, and in order to shut him up—and hopefully find some answers—I concentrated on rising to my feet.
CHAPTER 6
We trudged througha darkened hallway. The slope of the ground told me we were headed down.Does that mean south?I was ready to scream in frustration because I was the absolute worst at directions. I ached to activate my GPS, and almost tapped my palm again. I hadn’t realized how dependent I’d become on my vid-phone, and how difficult it was to navigate this alien world without it.
We passed numerous caves that dotted the walls but didn’t see any aliens. And for some reason, now that we’d left the cave, I couldn’t hear any of the terrifying screams and shouts from earlier. The force field must be muffling the sound from out here.
So far, we hadn’t been restrained. The largest alien lumbered ahead of us, and the overly chipper one brought up the rear. Mr. Annoying, the one I had a weirdly familiar feeling about, was a chatterbox. His name was Loxo. We knew that because he reintroduced himself with every sentence spoken, overly enunciating every word in accented English. He lavished compliments on us, especially Querida, but she ignored him. He reached out to touch our skin, especially Querida’s—but she stabbed at him. With her stick-knives.
Repeatedly.
What a creeper.
Loxo’s response? He threw back his head in merriment, eventually running ahead when we ignored him, to talk to his companion, the mountain with cranberry eyes, also known as Nime.
Eventually, the dirt floor gave way to smoother, cold tiles—or maybe polished stone. At the end of the endless tunnel, ethereal light shimmered around us. Golden vines lined the walls, and a shimmering mist trailed above us, creating a feeling of magical fairy lights. What I’d thought was a primitive cave was really a giant facility. I wasn’t sure but it felt like it was builtinsidea mountain. I craned my neck back to see the sky, but only black and gold marbled stone could be seen. I’d never seen anything like it.
When we exited the passageway, we were perched high above a rectangular arena about the size of four football fields. A massive floating stage took up about half the arena. For the briefest moment, an opaque force field lining the side of the massive mountain disappeared, and we caught a glimpse of the landscape outside. Endless black rock and sand with golden skies and fuchsia clouds slowly floated by.
“Tornado!” Querida screamed and pointed outside.
I followed her finger, and sure enough, I saw a massive glittering death spiral racing toward the opening.Toward us.The sound of shattering glass echoed off the vast walls, and my heart jumped.Such a familiar sound.Immediately, the shattering glass morphed into language. I heard several beings shout, “Close the force field! Close it now!” The opaque barrier re-materialized seconds before the tornado struck.
We braced for impact. The mountain shook when the twister slammed into the force field. Dust rained down, yet our two alien escorts acted like they saw this kind of thing every day.
“Stop, earthers. You wait.” Nime grunted and slammed his staff into the ground. “Don’t move. I be very mad.” Nime also spoke English but hadn’t gotten the same upgrade as Loxo.
My heart beat out of my chest as I contemplated how I would make it through this. Inside: aliens. Outside: tornadoes. My odds weren’t looking good. So, I gripped the railing, determinedto study my prison.To figure this shit out.Nieve and Querida bracketed me, and the three of us looked down, way down, onto the floating stage. There were some aliens milling around and others seated in the stands. They looked to be the same species as Freckles and his crew. Their skin ranged from dark green to mottled brown. They wore elaborate capes that covered them from shoulder to toe. The thick material had intricate swirls of color complimenting their feathered plumes. Those who were not sitting strolled with privileged ease. Guess it didn’t matter where you were in the universe—there were always the haves and have-nots.
These freaks have a ton of money.They reeked of it.
A familiar knot settled in my stomach. Was this a fighting ring? Or maybe a playing field of some kind? Seating surrounded the edge of the area. I’d spent my life performing for the petty desires of hungry viewers. Some to escape the horrors of their own lives, but others with too much money and too little stimulation. People who paid to see my misery. Paid to see me perform and destroy anyone who dared step in my path. They never understood the urgency of fighting for your next meal or a roof over your head.
“Where do you think they’re taking us?” Nieve watched Nime and Loxo slam their staffs into the ground, then slide their double thumbs along the shaft. The force field disappeared, and they entered a smaller cave.
Querida shook her head and said, “They use their staffs to open the force field.”
Damn, Querida was observant. And smart. Maybe it would be wise to work together.
“We’ll have to steal one if we want to escape,” Nieve added. She looked toward me for confirmation, and her dark eyes went wide. “Dios mío, Hera. Your skin!” Nieve pointed at the scars covering my arms. “And your eyes. The sclera is golden.”
Sclera? Was that the white part? I shrugged, knowing the Oro had changed me, and my golden scars were only physical manifestations of the alterations. They had no idea what it’d done to my brain.
A shiver of awareness ran through me. But not from me. From somethingother. The Oro. Always listening.
“What the hell happened to you?” Nieve whispered.
I squeezed the railing so hard, the rough metal felt fused to my palms.Not going there.So, I fell back on old habits and tapped the side of my head. My exaggerated wink hinted it was superior brain power that created that miracle.
Nieve rolled her eyes. “I’ll never learn.”
“Look,” Querida whispered. “More warriors.”
Sure enough, intermingled with the feathered aliens were massive spiked warriors.Carajo.This place was well protected.
