Chapter 10
Sharon could barely hold her head up so she just gave up the effort and leaned against MarIK’s shoulder as he carried her down the corridor of the trading post. She understood a little bit about what was happening. Clearly, she and the Katierans had been drugged. The serious expressions on the faces of MarIK and his team let her know that they were all in danger — serious danger.
“I could carry her,” TanAR grumbled from behind them.
“You’re going to fall at any moment. She would only get injured and then I would have to carry both of you,” MarIK told him.
She smiled when she heard TanAR’s quiet response. The two men were definitely bumping heads with each other. She couldn’t seem to care, though, as she inhaled MarIK’s spicy scent. “What kind of soap do you use?”
“Nothing special, just the usual cleansing gel. There’s no fragrance to it, though.”
It was all his scent, then, that smelled delicious. “I like the way you smell.”
He chuckled, “Thank you. I like the way you smell as well.”
TanAR groaned. “Goddess help me.”
Sharon ignored everything around her as she faded in and out of consciousness. She trusted MarIK to keep her safe.
*****
MarIK carried Sharon down to the secret passageways that he and his team had discovered and kept hidden days ago. They stopped at the fork in the passageway where some of his warriors were waiting with air carriers. They arrived just in time, as the Katierans were starting to drop and give in to unconsciousness.
“Sir, we have a shuttle waiting at the other end of both passages. It doesn’t appear that anyone has discovered them missing yet.”
He had made the decision, when they realized the tunnel split, that if they needed to escape then separating would be the best thing to do. MarIK had ordered to have two shuttles moved and hidden by the tunnels a few days ago while OrIN was distracted.
“Good. Put half of the Katierans on one air carrier and the other half on the other.”
“Uh, stack them up sir?”
“We have no choice. Just stack them carefully.”
“Yes sir.” MarIK carefully laid Sharon down on the ground. She was completely out and looked so innocent. “How long does this tunnel go?”
“Five miles.”
“By the time we reach the end, OrIN will discover the Katierans are missing. That’s not leaving us a lot of time to get away. Have a few of our team members follow behind while the rest of us move ahead. Two warriors remain with the air carriers as they carry the Katierans.”
“Yes, sir.”
MarIK helped load the unconscious males on the carriers, then he made room for Sharon and secured her so she wouldn’t fall off. He needed to keep his hands free in case they were attacked. So far they had managed to go undetected, but things could turn badly at any moment.
They began the trek down the secret tunnels that ran underneath the trading post and even went under the lunar surface. Air was available but he had his warriors bring the life support suits with helmets.
A few miles in, his comm link went off. He knew it was OrIN and refused to answer. “Our absence has been noticed. Everyone needs to be on guard for whatever happens next.”
“Do you think they can scan for our vitals to find us?”
“No, we didn’t bring anything with us here to do that. If OrIN wants to use scanners to search for us, he will have to have the transport ship move closer in. Let’s get clear before that happens.”
“What if he uses the Morins?”
“I’m sure the Katieran transport is on the lookout for the Morins too.” He motioned for his warriors to gather around him. They numbered ten in all — not enough to go up against OrIN or the Morins one on one. “Before we leave I want to let you all know that I have been honored to serve as your commander. I wish circumstances could have been different. It’s too late for any of us to turn back now.”
“We wouldn’t want to turn back, Commander. This is the right thing to do.”
“It is what the Goddess would want us to do. We’ll get the Katierans back to their transport, then I will deal with OrIN.”
