Page 18 of Healer Hunted

We heard nothing, not for a good long while. I’d just started to relax, thinking we were safe after all when Luka stiffened. “It’s safe to come out you three, we’re out of Jihari’s solar system,” a warm male voice announced cheerfully. Light flashed on, filtering through the slightly cracked opening of the crate we were hiding in.

I wanted to come out swinging, that was my instinct, not to let myself get caught again. But Luka was in front of me, pushing aside the lid of the crate right as the newcomer pulled from the other side. He was smiling widely, which shocked me, “Feranal, I hoped it would be you on this supply run!” Luka said, agilely leaping out of the chest and hugging the older Aderian male.

Now that there was light on in the cargo bay, I could see that the inside was kept meticulously clean, and everything was properly stowed and in its own place. The Aderian newcomer was an older male, his long hair gone nearly white around his slightly dulled, and wrinkled anthracite skin. His completely black eyes shimmered with bright intelligence and a good dose of warmth as he happily slapped Luka on the back, returning the hug.

“Lukalyn, what are you doing in my hold, my boy? And who’s the lovely lady with you?” he added, not commenting at all on his now ash-covered gray uniform after that bear hug. He smiled widely and gave me a wave but he didn’t approach me. I had the sudden suspicion that he knew I’d wanted to clobber him over the head and that I was still weary of his presence.

Weirdly enough, that realization was exactly what calmed my nerves. Luka was right, this Aderian male was an empath, just like Luka. Maybe not every one of his species was bad, maybe those I’d met so far were the outliers. I settled even more when Pato climbed onto the edge of the crate and then chirped until the male, Feranal, started to pet him with a big, calloused finger over his little head. He couldn’t be all bad if even the monkey liked him, Pato had been a fantastic judge of character, knowing just when to hide or not, down at the resort.

“Feranal, this is Noa,” Luka introduced, “Noa, this is an old friend, Feralan, he used to pilot my father’s private vessel when I was a boy.” At the explanation I saw how the older, grizzled male, pressed a hand to his chest, his large black eyes shimmering with emotion.

“Aye, a damn shame that, that blasted accident. Now tell me why you’re hiding in my hold and what I can do to help,” the male said solemnly. Soon I found myself escorted by Luka and the Aderian captain into the warmer, crew area of the ship while the two males talked rapidly with each other. I heard how Luka was outlining his captivity, forced to treat gladiators as their doctor for a crimelord named Drameil. Then Luka revealed that his mother had made a deal with said crimelord because she figured he’d run back home and do her bidding as soon as he was freed.

“Only I didn’t,” Luka said in a voice filled with satisfaction while his dark eyes glimmered at me. Something like a flush crawled up my cheeks when I recognized the heat in that look, knowing that the Captain could tell what we were feeling made the rush of arousal bursting through my veins in response, rather an embarrassing reaction.

“I was captured by my cousins and brought to the resort, which is where I met Noa,” Luka said, and his arm came to curl around my shoulders, tugging me snugly into his body so the Captain more than understood the claim he was making. No, wait, that wasn’t for the Captain’s benefit. We’d just entered what was clearly the rec room of the small cargo ship and three pairs of eyes avidly focused on our arrival.

My skin crawled seeing all those eerie black gazes, and in response, Luka held me tighter. Pato crawled from his shoulder onto mine and rubbed his little head comfortingly against my chin. Heck, I saw how the Captain stepped away from us, his entire posture one meant to convey he wasn’t a threat. While two of the three males immediately plunked their assess down into their seats and made themselves small. The third raised his hands in the air, his eyes huge and shocked, his body that of a lanky youth.

Oh yeah, all of them had instantly known how frightened I’d been at seeing them. I forced myself to relax my tense muscles and offered a tentative smile. It wasn’t their fault that I’d been through some rough times, I should try to keep an open mind.

In a voice filled with anger, which you didn’t need to be an empath for to notice, Luka started explaining my response. “Miralyn Nerizana, my mother, is using slave labor to run her resort.” All eyes swiveled back to me, and not a single face showed anything but absolute horror at the news. I deflated on the spot, relieved by this tangible proof of Luka’s assertions.

A short time later, the youngest of the crew, the lanky youth, had cleared out his bunk for us. Luka and I finally got to have a shower to wash the ashes from our skin, and then we could crash together in an exhausted heap on the small, single bunk in the tiny room. To sleep until we’d cleared the Jihari sun’s interference and could finally use the ships com system to make contact with Luka’s friends.

*

Luka

I woke to the sound of a knock on the cabin door, Noa’s nude body cradled in my arms. I didn’t want to leave our warm, safe little cocoon. My cocks were certainly of the opinion that leaving this bed was the last thing we should consider, nestled snugly as they were against Noa’s soft behind. I didn’t want Noa to wake up though, she’d been through so much, she could use all the sleep she could get.

So I quietly disentangled myself from the blankets and her delicious body, and shrugged into the uniform one of Feranal’s crew had donated, it was a little snug in the shoulders but it fit well enough and it was clean. I looked at Pato, who was curled up on top of his little pile of treasures, sunstones, and other little knickknacks he’d taken from the hotel. “You watch her okay? Come get me if she needs anything.”

I stepped out into the small corridor of Feranal’s supply ship and headed for the bridge when I realized the place was empty. They were all there, the entire crew, sitting at their various stations and talking quietly together. The conversation stalled the moment I stepped onto the bridge, but I sensed no subterfuge from them.

“We’re out of the Jihari’s system, our coms came online a moment ago,” Captain Feranal said and he indicated the station the youngest male was sitting at. Lights were glowing on the console, indicating the system was running, I knew just enough of the more complicated ship coms to know it was indicating a live signal.

Stepping up to the young male’s shoulder, I rattled off the Vagabond’s hailing frequency and waited with bated breath as the male worked to create a connection. The Captain in the meantime confirmed what I’d already suspected, there had been no ship in Jihari’s orbit. The Vagabond had left.

I knew that Ziame and my other friends would never leave me behind, not in such a manner. They’d do everything they could to see me safe like they’d done for Kitan when he and Chloe had been taken and held captive on Sune. Or how we’d worked together to free Thorin and Camila from that UAR vessel after they’d been taken. Similarly, we hadn’t given up on finding Fierce when he’d disappeared in the wilds of Serant, the Naga planet.

The call was preceded by a loud crackling, popping noise, but the connection that followed was crystal clear. “This is the Vagabond, who’s calling?” Sunder’s rough voice demanded over the line, a short delay indicating they were some distance away.

My heart pounding in relief at discovering that Sunder was able to safely answer a call, that my friends hadn’t run into some kind of disastrous trouble themselves. “Sunder, this is Luka! Where are you? Are you all safe?” I asked. Ignoring the shocked look, and the echoing surprise among my fellow Aderians on the bridge that I’d abbreviated my name like that. It was not done in our culture, a rule meant to create a semblance of respect and privacy in a culture where everyone knew what everyone was feeling. I loved the informality of it though, of the indicator of your friendship by being allowed to do that. It reminded me that I had to ask Noa about her name, it was already so short.

“Luka! Thank the stars, are you unhurt? We tried to have the Aderian authorities investigate your disappearance but they refused and made us leave the Jihari system. We’re on Aderia now, we’ve been trying to petition the right authorities to have an investigation opened. Ziame and Abigail are in a meeting right now,” Sunder hurried to explain. Another rush of heat, of relief, at hearing that my friends were alright and that they were really trying their best to find me.

I shared a look with the Captain, then hurried to share our heading with Sunder. “We’ll meet you there in five days, Marayan Port.” I hoped we’d make that and debated briefly on trying to set a different meeting point but a supply ship like this had a busy schedule. Feralan wouldn’t be able to take the time to bring us anywhere else. Sunder confirmed that they were stuck in bureaucratic shenanigans for the next few days, some of it regarding the animals they’d rescued, so they would only just be able to meet us at Marayan Port.

After the call ended, with assurances from Sunder that everyone on the ship was alright and that all the animals they’d rescued were safe. Captain Feralan brought out a bottle of Aderian wine and the lot of us shared a cup in celebration of a successful escape. “I have a contact in the government, I’ll reach out to get an investigation opened into the practices of your mother at Jihari Resort.”

They’d have to move fast, because one way to get this under control for my mother, was to make all the evidence disappear. In other words, as soon as my mother thought the news would get out and she’d get investigators on her ass, none of the slaves would be safe.

“Take this and share it with your girl,” Feralan said, shoving the half-emptied wine bottle into my hands. He smiled hugely, his weathered face crinkling around the corners of his eyes, the creases in his cheeks deepening.

I didn’t need to be told twice and ignoring the grinning crew, I headed for our temporary bunk. I was going to share the good news, and this wine with Noa, and then I was going to make sweet, sweet love to her as often as she’d let me. We had five days to fill, I was going to make damn sure my girl knew what it was like to be pleasured by a true empath.

With a lightness to my step that I hadn’t felt in years, not even after our initial release from Drameil, I headed for Noa.