Cosmic Bounty(25)

“What do you think?”

She glanced through the holographic screen at Div, who had won the toss to stay with her until the ship docked. “Very different from my home world, but it’s magnificent.”

Div’s smile was one of pride. “In time, you will feel as at home here as we do.”

The ship shuddered under her feet. Div rose and grabbed the clothes she would wear once off the ship. “Come, let’s get you ready.”

Kat sighed and let Div wrap the heavy cloth around her body, placing the cloak’s hood over her head, almost blocking her vision.

The door swished open and the rest of the brothers stood waiting.

“Let us take you home.” Gol stepped through, offering his hand to her.

She smiled nervously up at him and placed a trembling hand into his warm one. Silently, she prayed she would grow accustomed to the strange Demos ways and be able to call this alien world home.

“I feel like a moving, carpet bag.”

“I’m sure you’re a very pretty carpet bag, if I knew what a carpet was,” said Div, waggling his eyebrows at her. She giggled, drawing attention from passing Demos soldiers.

They escorted her through the ship to the ship’s docking bays. Hul and Gol took point as Div and Ric walked behind her, like armed guards taking her to the execution chamber.

She could see other quad brothers lining up to board the transport shuttles, all of them eyeing her with curiosity.

There was no seating, only straps dangling from bars above them. Each soldier reached out, gripping a strap. But there was no way she could reach up that high. A strong arm encircled her waist, pulling her firmly back against one of the brother’s hard bodies. She glanced up to see Hul gazing down at her, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Do not be alarmed by the drop. We have you and will not let you fall.”

She fought the rising panic of so many large soldiers in one small space. If they did topple over like dominos, no doubt she would be crushed in the process. There was no choice but to trust her quads would keep that from happening, and no one else appeared concerned.

Without warning the shuttle’s door closed. She heard a whirring sound, and then it did exactly as Hul said, dropped. Kat squealed in alarm, twisting in Hul’s hold to wrap her arms around him, trying to stop her stomach from ending up in her head. She buried her face in Hul’s uniform, clinging onto him for dear life, waiting for the gut-pulling feeling to stop.

“Easy, little pet,” he whispered in her ear, realizing he lifted her off her feet, cradling her against his chest. “It will end soon.”

After five long minutes, the falling stopped and the craft glided with a gentle rocking from side to side.

“Are you going to reveal what you have, Lord Gol? The whole ship knows you’ve been keeping an alien female slave in your quarters. We want to know what species she is.”

“Mind your words, Til, the female is none of your concern,” Gol growled, with deadly menace. “Until the shuttle docks, you are still under my command.”

Kat felt relieved when silence again fell, but could still feel the heavy stares of the men around her. Hul pulled her tighter against him.

The shuttle landed with a heavy thump, the doors slid open and quad soldiers filed out, leaving them till last.

“Thank you,” she murmured to Hul, as he released her and set her on her feet. She wobbled, still feeling shaky.

“We should have realized the atmospheric drop would be hard on you.”

“I’m okay. I’m just glad I had you to hold on to.” She smiled at Hul.

“Katrina, welcome to Galafrax.” Gol took her hand and led her out of the shuttle. A gust of warm wind hit her face, making her hair whip around. She inhaled the air; her mind struggled to find similes to compare the scents to. On one hand, it felt tropical, a slightly fruity tang with a hint of spice. The color of the sky was tinged purple red and they felt the heat of the large, red sun shining down on them.

Glancing around, she realized the shuttle had landed on a high building. She walked forward, gazing for the first time over the vast, alien city.

Kat stared in amazement. Streets were lined with earth shades of red and brown; the houses and buildings were a mix of different sized, pyramid structures. The streets were positioned uniformly, one after the other and stretched on for miles, all surrounding one central pyramid. Kat was sure it would be five times bigger than the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

“We have those kind of buildings on Earth.”

“Qyi-buildings?” Hul questioned.

“On Earth, we call them pyramids, built by an ancient civilization called the Egyptians. I think there were a few Qyi-Buildings, built by other cultures on various parts of the planet, as well. But that was long ago. Humans don’t build pyramids like this anymore.”