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“Angelo, how many people can you teleport at a time?” I asked as soon as the last Janton died. “We’ve got to get to the unusual creatures’ display,” Amber insisted. I was exhausted; using that strange light took something out of me. The last thing that I wanted to do was hang around the dreaded place. I thought of my mother and what she would have told me. “You are a caster, a protector of all.” But what made me the protector of all? I hadn’t chosen that fate and most definitely didn’t want to bear this responsibility. In truth, I was too selfish to put the needs of strangers before myself. But I knew that Amber would never be able to walk away until every human was rescued.
“I hope we don’t have to fight any more Janton,” Winston said as he stumbled over to me. He clearly had a few bumps and bruises. I felt weary.
“Let me get Rose, Winston, and the woman onto the ship. I’ll have to secure them, in case Rose attempts to steal Winston’s ship,” Angelo said. Amber didn’t look happy about leaving Winston alone, but she had no choice. She was the muscle in the group.
“Okay,” Amber agreed. “Take the woman and Rose first.” Angelo scooped up the woman in one arm, and Winston lifted a bound Rose into his arms. Winston walked over to Angelo and held out his hand. Angelo took it and teleported away. Deric wrapped a strong arm around me.
“Maybe you should also stay on the ship. You look really tired,” he said. Amber gave me a high five and grinned.
“You did well, oracle,” she complimented.
“I guess,” I replied, without Amber’s enthusiasm.
“But your soulmate is right. You look like you’re about to drop,” Amber said.
“No,” I protested. “If I go, you’ll have to, and that’s not going to work.”
“Fine,” Deric grumbled as Mira joined us. She had a busted lip and bruises around her neck.
“I think I’ll keep Winston company. I’m not much of a fighter,” she said as Angelo returned. Mira took Angelo’s hand and she smiled at him, and nodded. He must have understood her, because they vanished. Moments later, Angelo returned and eyed our group.
“This is an in-and-out mission,” Angelo declared. “I’ll teleport us to the unusual creatures’ exhibit, and then we’ll leave.”
“Okay,” I agreed. He reached out to me and I took hold of his left hand, while Amber snatched Angelo’s right. To my surprise, Deric then took my hand.
“Wait a second,” I said, my eyes studying Deric.
“Angelo, why did Mira and Winston need you to teleport them away?” I wondered, and Amber nodded, as if she were curious about the same thing. Angelo stared at Deric, who sighed.
“There is blictar in the foundation of this building. It affects our teleportation skills. Blictar is a black mineral that counteracts the powers of most Najorians,” Deric explained.
“Most?” I demanded.
“Angelo isn’t allergic to blictar. His blictar-resistant meds were a placebo. I was never to reveal that to him. It is classified information.”
Fury flashed in Angelo’s eyes, his face twisted in anger.
“So I’m not just paint boy. I’m immune to blictar, which must count for something,” Angelo fired back. “I’m not as useless as the king thought.”
“You aren’t,” Deric grudgingly admitted. “Now, can we leave?” I could tell by his tight jaw that Deric wasn’t excited that Angelo could still teleport. Sighing, Angelo closed his eyes, which caused the burning sensation to amplify. When the discomfort ended, we were standing in front of a clear cube. My heart sank when I saw that humans were truly being kept in display cases, like they were something to marvel at.
“Nice work,” Amber cheered, as she eyed the four cubes in the row, each holding a human. Deric eyed the foreign numbers, then glanced at me with an arched brow.
“Each of them are nine hundred credits,” I said, and he nodded. Deric quickly went to the first cube, which held a male who had to be forty-five. He was thin with brown skin, a thick beard, and a frown. When Deric brushed his finger against the sensor, the cube turned white, then it opened.
“Can you walk?” Deric asked in English.
“No. They broke my legs,” he replied. Angelo stepped forward, his intent to carry the man, but I held up a hand.
“You can’t let them see what you can do until the last possible moment,” I warned. Angelo, scooped the man up and darted away. Deric hovered a finger over a cube that held a man who looked like he was in his mid-thirties. His face was swollen, and a few of his fingers on one hand were twisted at an odd angle. When the cube opened, the man slowly got to his feet. I shoved away from Deric and eyed him.
“Don’t attack,” I said in English. “We’re trying to buy you out of here.” He glared at me but nodded. He stepped out of the cube, his body shaking. Deric wrapped an arm around his shoulder to offer support. The third cube held a short woman with inky black hair and golden-brown skin. Deric released his hold on the guy with the broken fingers so that he could purchase her. As soon as the cube opened, she stood and hesitantly walked out of her prison cell.
“Did you see a woman with red hair, freckles, a scar on her chin?” she demanded. “The giants took her an hour ago. She mouthed off to one of our handlers,” she urgently explained.
“She’s on our ship,” Deric said, after glancing at the woman’s forehead.
“Who are you people?” the woman demanded.
“We don’t have time for this,” Amber said as she gestured to the last cube in the row, which held a frightened-looking woman with long, brown hair.
“Can either of you run?” Deric asked as Angelo jogged up to us.
“No. We have been stuck here for months,” the man with the broken fingers explained.
“We’ll help you,” Amber promised as a eight foot tall Janton with long brown hair strolled over to the last cage.
“Crap,” I said, darting over to it, Amber on my heels, her hand glowing. Before he could touch the cube, I jabbed my blade into his side. The man’ eyes landed on me and he raised a meaty fist. Amber wrapped her glowing magic around it, holding him still.
“Deric,” she said, sweat on her forehead. I was relieved when Deric took the place of the man and purchased the last human. As soon as the tall, thin woman was out of her cube, Deric tossed the woman over his shoulder.
“You’ll pay for this,” the giant warned.
“You lost,” I said in Janton. “Just forget about it.” The man snarled.
“I need a housekeeper for my pregnant wife. She will have a good life with me,” the man promised. The kindness in his eyes made me hesitant to watch him die. He seemed like a normal father.
“Take your pick of the other creatures. These people are going home,” I replied said in Janton, and he nodded at Amber, who released her grip. He rubbed his sore wrist and ruffled Amber’s hair.
“You’re a warrior, little one,” he said before walking away.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I insisted right before an explosion shook the port. It was under attack.
“Crap,” I screamed, and quickly ran after the giant. I grabbed his arm and dragged him toward our group. Something told me to take him with us.
“Quick,” I said in Janton. The man followed my lead, and we jogged toward Angelo, who had thankfully begun teleporting our group out of the port. Deric ran to me and arched a brow.
“We need him,” I said in English. Amber grabbed my hand, and Deric latched onto my arm. Angelo returned for us, sweat dripping down his face. He took my hand and I felt the fire explode in my veins. The next thing I knew, we were back on the ship.
“Get into a seat,” Winston shouted as rumbles filled the air. He didn’t have to tell me twice. I sat on the recliner closest to me, the one beside a human woman with long black hair. Thankfully, the man with the broken legs had already been secured in his seat. I had barely gotten my belt buckled when Winston zoomed the ship away from the port.