Protector:A Scifi Alien Romance(44)

Soon, they were back on the ledge, looking down at the cells below. It was eerily quiet. No voices, no cries, no guards.

Galen gave his signal, with a wave of his hand. Kace and Saff moved forward, uncoiling the ropes they both held over their shoulders. Madeline watched Saff activate a small device, a metal pin firing into the rock, before she tied the rope off on the pin.

Saff and Kace attached the ropes to clips on their belts, and, on Galen’s command, the two gladiators jumped over the edge, whizzing almost silently down to the lower level.

“Ready?” Lore asked Madeline, clipping onto the rope.

She swallowed. She’d never done anything like this before. With thoughts of Blaine and the women in her head, she nodded, and let Lore clip her on.

“We’ll go together.” He moved her to the edge.

She looked down, her stomach doing a slow somersault.

Without warning her, he stepped off the ledge, taking her with him.

Madeline bit her lip as they flew downward. Her heart leaped into her throat, her hair flying into her eyes. By the time their descent slowed, excitement had overtaken her.

Her boots touched rock, and then Lore was there, unclipping her from the rope. As the others zipped down, she looked around. Kace and Saff stood nearby, bodies taut and weapons up.

Soon, the rest of the gladiators were crowded around. Carefully and quietly, they moved toward the cells. Madeline’s gaze zeroed in on the cell where she’d last seen Blaine.

They reached it and she hurried to the bars.

The cell was empty.

Her heart clenched. “He’s not here.” She hurried along the line of cells. They were all empty.

She reached the one where she’d last seen the women.

Empty.

“There’s nobody here.” Saff shook her head.

As Raiden and Galen talked quietly, Madeline paced, eventually ending up at the edge of the dag’tar pit. She looked down into the darkness, her gut cramping with fear and suspicion.

She picked up a large rock and dropped it into the darkness.

There were no snarls or growls, or sounds of movement. The beast wasn’t there.

She spun. “The dag’tar isn’t here.”

Lore cursed—an unfamiliar alien word. “The fight isn’t tomorrow. It’s tonight.”

“Where?” Madeline spun around, looking at all the tunnel entrances leading out of the place. “Where the hell are they?”

“They can’t have gone far,” Galen said. “You can’t move a dag’tar around without someone noticing.” He eyed the walls. “They’re here somewhere. Break into pairs and spread out.”

Raiden and Harper disappeared down a tunnel. Thorin waved at Nero and the two big men moved into another tunnel. Saff and Kace took off at a jog.

Galen nodded at Madeline and Lore. “Go.”

“You’ll be alone,” Madeline said.

“I’m always alone.” Galen pointed at another tunnel. “Go and find your friends. I’m going to make contact with the other imperators, and see if they can mobilize their fighters.”

Lore grabbed Madeline’s hand. They hurried into the tunnel, darkness enveloping them. Her pulse tripped. They had to find Blaine and the others before it was too late.

Lore clicked on a small light. There was nothing in the empty tunnel that gave any sign that anyone had passed this way. They moved deeper, taking several turns, when suddenly Lore’s head shot up.

“You hear something?” She strained to hear anything.

“Voices.”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her onward. Soon, she could hear the sounds, as well.

Cheering and excited shouts.

Madeline and Lore picked up speed. Ahead, light flickered at the end of the tunnel.

They slowed down and carefully crept out onto another narrow ledge. Madeline looked across the space, and her jaw tightened.

It was another circular sinkhole, but this one had been turned into a large fighting pit. Other ledges had been hewn into the rock to form seating, all of it lit up by burning torches attached to the walls. Below in the sand-covered pit, five tunnels were covered with huge metal gates. It was a makeshift underground arena.

“Drak,” Lore spat.

She followed his gaze and went rigid. In the center of the fight pit stood a giant creature.

The dag’tar pawed the dirt slowly with its huge, clawed feet. Its overlarge arms dangled forward, knuckles dragging on the ground. It was covered in tangled brown fur, drool dripping from a large mouth that was still too small to contain its giant, serrated teeth. She also couldn’t miss the huge, flaccid cock hanging between its legs.

Oh. My. God. It was so much worse than she’d imagined. The crowd was chanting, demanding to see the fighters.

Suddenly, on the ledge below, Madeline saw two Srinar guards carrying a struggling woman out between them. She was twisting and kicking, trying to break free. She was also hurling some interesting and creative insults at them.