The Barbarian's Owned(18)

He hadn’t moved like a human—he had been twice as fast and many times stronger. She’d seen a few professional fights, thanks to her father’s obsession with them, and knew just enough to say firmly that the things Garr could do in combat weren’t possible with a human’s physiology.

It wasn’t just in the physical speed or strength, but the mental acuity required to deftly avoid the types of strikes the monster had used.

She gathered from their conversation that the creature attacking them had no name. It reminded them of a mixture of two other species: an aquatic organism called a decabeast and a toothy land-based predator called a razza’gar.

There was an open question as to whether Lyr had created the aberration. After a moment of communion   with the domé, Vaya confirmed that Lyr had no idea where the creature had come from.

“It’s definitely a war form, though.” Vaya’s tone was worried. “Haven’t been any in ages.”

“Only a domé could make this.” Garr had cleaned off the blood with help from his otoya clothing, and glanced now into the treetops.

“Take a sample. When we get to the tree house, you’ll carry the sample to Kaython’s Mouth and she’ll be able to tell us who made it.”

A tree house? Rae wondered.

Vaya spotted the confusion on her face. “The tree house is a lodge at Kaython’s border. We based ourselves there.”

Rae’s mind reeled. Not only has this alien kidnapped me, but he’s taking me to his tree house.

Vaya cut a sample from the beast’s gory remains. Garr also took a nine-inch talon from the tip of its largest tentacle, probably as a trophy. Rae shuddered at the barbaric act and tried to stick closer to Vaya when they restarted their journey.

Later, while crossing a wide, shallow river, Rae slipped on a slimy stone and Vaya caught her under the arms. “Thanks,” Rae murmured.

“You are my prime’s taliyar. I am always at your service.”

Rae glanced ahead at Garr, who had turned to peer at them from the shore. Rae immediately averted her eyes, terrified of the way he looked at her.

“You fear him?” Vaya asked.

Rae opened her mouth to deny it. Then she sighed and nodded.

“Not uncommon. He terrified me the first time I watched him spar a senior soldier. We all have our gifts. Garr’s strength, speed, and battle prowess are his. He’s a force of nature on the battlefield, and doubly so if enraged.”

“It wasn’t human—not even close,” Rae whispered.

“Yeah, you’re the only human for like a bajillion light years,” Vaya mused. She knelt, to eye level, and offered an encouraging smile. “Relax. He’s not gonna hurt you. Ever. That I can promise you.”

“How?” Rae belted out. “You couldn’t possibly know him that well.”

“I know Prime Garr well enough to say this: he doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to; and whatever he does want to do, he succeeds at. If he hurts something, it’s always on purpose. Since he would never want to hurt you, you’re safe with him.”

Rae wasn’t so sure.

Sensing her hesitancy, Vaya turned, continuing to wade. “He wasn’t always destined to be prime. Garr was low born.”

“Does lineage matter in your society?” Rae asked. She was intensely curious about their culture, though more from an anthropological perspective than anything else.

“The strength of an individual matters, and that’s got lots of genetics involved. As a result, yeah, lineage matters. For instance, our domé does what she can to predict a male’s compatibility with a female, and produces a number—we call it a genetic amplifier.

If the amplifier is over a hundred, it means the offspring will be stronger than the parents. Primes are very strong, so strong they almost never have genetic amplifiers above one hundred. They’re so mighty that the best they can hope for is that their offspring will be close to their strength.”

Rae nodded, absorbing that knowledge. The facts made her feel a little sad for their society.

“Garr wasn’t born as strong as the last prime of domé Kaython. His parents died… badly.” Vaya didn’t say anything more about it, but went on.

“He was adopted, and his adoptive father taught him to be kinda badass. While Garr wasn’t born that way, it was something he picked up. His victories accrued, his gifts from Kaython along with them, and now he’s among the strongest primes anywhere on Ythir.

So strong that when it was announced he’d found a mate with a 98 percent genetic amplifier, we were all excited. Primes as powerful as Garr never find such perfect mates.”