Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs Book 1) (28 page)

Pushing all thoughts of her father aside, she let her feet follow the path they had trod a million times before. When she finally led all three of the males through the market she realized the tension in her muscles meant she was nervous. She stopped at the gateway to the refugee camp. It was on a rise with the shantytown where she’d been born spread across the slope below. Beyond the camp, the desert stretched out in all directions.

Near the entrance to the trails that led out into the warren of temporary homes, the buildings were made of salvaged materials, the hulls of derelict ships mostly. It made for some odd shaped structures and the conditions in them were often the worst in the camp. The buildings had no cooling units and the metal roofs made them nearly unlivable during daylight. The areas to the right of the gate huddled around the port’s safety perimeter. The structures there were small, flimsy, and tightly packed. It had changed over the years, taking in each new wave of refugees until they could establish some safer section on the border of the camp and build more permanent homes. Directly ahead and beyond the older scrap-built structures, there were sections with rows of prefabricated emergency housing and areas dominated by rows of colorful tents.

She had no idea how Mercury would see the camp. They hadn’t talked much about conditions in the place he referred to as a kennel. She hoped it wasn’t as bad as it sounded, but knew no matter the conditions, his life had been hell.

Her mother’s tent was luxurious compared to what they’d had in the early days, but even then she’d had her mother’s love and a sense of community.

Steeling her courage, Samantha looked up to the men’s faces. Their ears twitched with curiosity, their noses flared as they took in the rich array of spices that perfumed the air, their eyes took in the bustling jumble of people. These were the refugees of destroyed worlds and forgotten cultures. Gollerra hadn’t always been a peaceful sector and the camp had already been well established when her mother’s people had made their way here. They’d crossed the border to get out of the reach of the Earth Alliance.

Mercury must have felt the weight of her stare. He looked down and his lips tilted in a smile. “There are many different species here.”

“Yes,” Samantha confirmed. “Mostly humanoid, but from many different worlds.”

“We’ll be able to blend in.” At Carn’s low growl he added, “Until we leave to free Hera.”

Lo stepped closer, gently tugging a handful of Samantha’s hair. “Show us the way, little Sam.”

“Right. This way.”

She gave a nod to the nearby group of men playing Fret, an informal group of sentries that kept an eye on who entered the camp’s safe zone. She led Mercury, Carn, and Lo through a tidy, wide trail to a long established part of the camp. Her mother’s tent was smaller than some, larger than most. Colorful stripes showed where it had been expanded when she was a child.

The entrance stood open, the cloth door tied back. Samantha started to step through, but Mercury held her back. Lo ducked inside then straightened. His ears twitched and his nose flared and then his body relaxed as he motioned her forward.

Samantha stepped quickly inside, sure Lo’s appearance had scared her mother speechless. She should have known better. Her mother stood near the meal table. It was covered with food. A warm smile curved her lips and her face radiated a golden glow.

Samantha flew into her mother’s welcoming arms.

“Welcome home, daughter.”

“Mom.” She sunk into the sage and desert-dahlia smell of her for a moment before pulling back.

“You were expecting us.”

Her mother’s smile widened. “This is still a small community, daughter. Messengers came from the port to let me know the moment you landed.” She turned her attention to the men. “They said you traveled with three large males, so I prepared food to make them welcome.”

Samantha introduced her mother and briefly explained the circumstances of their visit. She left out any mention of the more intimate part of those circumstances. It wasn’t something she was ready to explain, but her mother would know. She’d sense it.

It was Mercury who approached her mother, bowing his head like a supplicant. “Thank you, Moira, for gifting our lives with your courageous daughter.”

Her mother’s laughter filled the tent like musical bells. “Her father called that particular trait recklessness. I’ve always thought it an extension of her generous heart. I’m glad she was able to help you. Please sit and eat. You all look too long without a proper meal.”

Moira led them to the table and the men ate as she filled Samantha in on all the news from the camp.

Samantha peeled a citrus fruit and handed it to Mercury who broke apart the sections and shared it with Lo and Carn. “We won’t be here long. We have to find Carn’s mate. He’s very worried about her.”

Her mother’s golden hue flushed to a dull copper. “I’m proud of you, daughter. But also afraid.”

Mercury stood and went to Moira, kneeling at her feet. “I’ll do all in my power to keep her safe.”

Moira reached out a hand and stroked his head as if he were just a boy. “I believe you.”

Surprised by the exchange, Samantha cleared her throat and stood to start clearing the table. “Is Felzaf still working in the clinic?”

The men took their cue from her getting to their feet and helping her clear away the remains of the meal. They’d all discussed it during the journey and decided their first priority had to be getting rid of the tracers that had allowed Drake to hunt them.

“Yes.” Her mother’s glance bounced from person to person. “Is someone injured?”

Samantha could feel Mercury’s questions in the air, but he remained silent. She hadn’t thought to explain that Felzaf was more medic than technician. “Everyone is okay, but we think Mercury, Lo and Carn may have tracker implants. I’d like to get that taken care of as soon as possible. Roma could have contacts at the port. If Owens sends someone after them, I don’t want to make it easy for them.”

Her mother nodded. “I’ll send word you’re coming.”

Mercury stroked a hand down Samantha’s back. “Do we endanger your mother, by staying here?”

Moira had moved to the opening to call a messenger from the path. “There are no maps of the camp and no one would help an outsider, even one from the port, to find my home.”

The men still seemed tense.

“It’s true, guys,” Samantha assured them. “You’ll be safe here, as soon as we get rid of those trackers.”

A young boy stepped up to Moira, who greeted him by name.

Sometimes Samantha was struck by how fortunate they were—how different Haverlee was from the camps she’d seen on the Alliance side of the border. “Mom, the guys need clothes. Could you send a messenger to the market, too? I’ll give you my account number.”

Moira shook her head. “I have plenty in my account from what you last sent.”

Samantha swallowed to wet her throat. “You should hang onto that. I’m out of a job for awhile.”

“Don’t worry,” her mother soothed as she glided back across the room and took Samantha in her arms. “Things will work out.”

She hoped her mother was right, but there were so many obstacles in their way. All she could do was take it one thing at a time.

Haverlee Refugee Camp, Krena

Gollerra Sector

2210.170

Mercury walked beside Samantha as she navigated through the warren of lanes with ease. He’d liked her mother’s home. Textures and colors filled the space like a sensory feast. The cloth walls blocked the heat of the sun, but were easily pushed aside. Any wall could become an exit. He found the freedom of that appealing.

The large building ahead of them had to be where she was taking them. It dwarfed the much smaller structures crowded into the area around it and the homes beyond it looked hastily built with many types of building materials, all in bad repair.

He didn’t recognize the hard material that formed the walls of the larger building, but he didn’t like that it only had one way in and out. A half dozen bright red symbols hung over the solitary doorway. Samantha led them into the cool and well lit interior. The smell of the place raised the fine hairs on the back of his neck.

He wrapped a hand around Samantha’s arm to still her movements. She looked at him with concern. “Something wrong?”

“This is a medical facility.”

“Yes,” she said. “Oh.” Her face fell. “I didn’t think. I should have explained.”

Behind him, Lo and Carnage had gone on alert. He could tell without looking that Lo had gone up on his toes and his claws had slipped free.

“If this is where we must be to remove the trackers, then this is where we must be.”

He made the words loud and firm for Carn and Lo, but he knew he wasn’t on firm ground here. He was on edge. They needed to do this and have it over.

While Samantha spoke with the Cerrillian female that seemed to be in charge, Mercury studied the colorless cloth drapes that hung from the ceiling to divide the space. The place looked too much like the staging area at the arena. If the medics were going to drug them before a match, it always happened there.

Instinct urged him to put as much distance as possible between them and this place, but he had to trust Samantha. So, he let Samantha walk away to speak with Felzaf and followed as the female led them to a three meter square section where they were to wait. Whispery voices came from all directions. They swirled around them and wound him tighter and tighter.

When Samantha walked into the room with a human male, Lo lunged for the man. Mercury had to hold him back and it was that need alone that saved him from being the one to tear the man apart. If it hadn’t been for Lo, Samantha would have seen a demonstration of his true nature—primitive, animal, barbaric.

To his credit, the brown haired man with the round features atop a slender frame held his ground.

Samantha jumped between them. “This is Felzaf.”

“My patients don’t normally want to kill me
before
their treatment.” Felzaf tried to chuckle at his own joke, but the man’s voice shuddered as he tried to breathe normally.

“Everybody calm down,” Samantha urged.

Lo snarled, but let Mercury push him back. His eyes flashed as he spoke. “You expect me to allow this human to cut into me?”

“We must trust Samantha.” He believed the words, but his instincts roared in complaint.

“I’ve known him for years,” Samantha supplied instantly.

Felzaf stepped out from behind Samantha’s protection and this time Mercury couldn’t hold in his growl.

Felzaf kept his hands open and carefully out to the side in plain view. “Samantha told me about your situation. I’m not like the other humans you’ve known. My ancestors were some of the first to leave Old Earth and settle the new worlds. We tried to live in harmony with the indigenous people we found, but that meant we weren’t well fortified generations later when the Earthers came out to settle the galaxy in the name of the allied corporations. They drove us out just like they drove out the other races.”

“Please,” urged Samantha. “Give him a chance.”

Mercury fought his impulses, but what would happen when she finally did see his instincts get the best of him?

She stepped closer and rested a hand over his heart. It thudded hard beneath her palm.

“Please,” she said again. “Trust me.”

Mercury calmed, backing away, and the others followed his example. “Forgive us. We haven’t had the best experiences with human medics.”

“I understand.” Felzaf crossed the room to a cot at one side. “I’ve worked with other refugees that went through some bad things. We humans like to pretend we’re civilized and above petty cruelty, but the truth is, we can be some of the biggest bastards in the universe.” He stood less than a meter from Mercury. “All I can say is I’m willing to help. Whether you want my assistance or not is up to you. You let me know what you decide.”

Mercury looked to Lo and Carn then turned back to the medic. “We would be grateful for your help.”

“Good.” Felzaf smiled broadly and patted the cot. “I’ll need one of you up here.”

As leader it was his choice who would go first, but there were no good options. Carn was weak and mated. Lo, despite his outward calming, was terrified.

Mercury climbed up on to the cot and sat quiet as the man pulled a scanning device out of his pocket.

Felzaf had no trouble identifying the trackers Roma had used on the three men. Unfortunately, it was in their blood stream and the only way to neutralize the signal was a dangerous chemical cocktail.

Samantha hadn’t been surprised when Mercury had insisted on going first to make sure it was safe for the others. The cocktail had done its job but left him weak. He and Carn were both sleeping off the effects. Lo had insisted on going last.

He lay on a medical cot with an intravenous line in his arm feeding him a simple nutrient rich, immune boosting fluid. Felzaf had insisted on treating their malnutrition before giving them the chemical that would scrub the tracers from their blood. Samantha had given Lo her hand and he still gripped it in a death grip.

“I’m sorry I didn’t think to explain about Felzaf before we came here.”

Lo huffed. “The human arena medics couldn’t be trusted. They would drug us often. Aggression drugs to make us fight more viciously. The crowds had to be entertained.” He snarled the last sentence.

“This bothers you more than Mercury or Carn.”

He looked away. “From the first year I began to fight in the arena, I was often selected to service the human females who paid for the privilege of fucking one of our kind—the females who wanted a dangerous Dog from the arena instead of one of the submissive males available in the pleasure suites. They gave me drugs that made my body react as they wished and clouded my mind so I couldn’t think clearly enough to fight them. The drugs didn’t work as well on Mercury and Carn. They weren’t drugged as often.”

Samantha stroked the length of his arm, her heart breaking over the awful things he’d been through. “I’m sorry, Lo. They should all be punished for what they did to you.”