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Bruda had been standing behind me, but when there were only three females in front of us, she stepped in front of me. I wasn't sure why she was so intent on protecting me, but I was grateful for it. She grabbed my hand behind her back and squeezed it in solidarity. Her strength gave me strength. Whatever happened, I could get through it. I would live through it. If Bruda could do it, so could I.

Bruda was finally called. She stepped up onto the stone pedestal, her head held high. Shrieks, hisses, and loud cheers from the crowd filled the air. They obviously could tell that there was their enemy, a Vepar, standing in front of them. And they loved that she was their prisoner.

Bruda clasped her hands behind her back, the only sign of nerves a slight trembling of her hands. She kept her head held high, her brown hair floating in the soft breeze. She really did look like the picture of a warrior princess standing there.

The crowd grew louder and louder, and I could see the anticipation in the purple clad Khonsu’s eyes as they stared at her. They would be well aware that she couldn’t provide them children, so the glimmer of excitement in their eyes could only mean one thing-that they were excited at the prospect of torturing her. I couldn't think of anything I could do to help her.

The Khonsu were yelling strange words at Bruda, words that my translator once again couldn't pick up. I could tell by their connotation though they weren't anything good. Still Bruda kept her chin held high, refusing to let them know that they were affecting her.

Numbers appeared in the air over her head. I still hadn’t figured out quite what they meant, but I saw that the bottom score was a zero. Perhaps that was her fertility score? That would make sense it was a zero and none of the others had been a zero if the Vepar was the only race that the Khonsu couldn't have children with.

Bruda’s teeth were checked, and then she was finished, and it was my turn.

I took a deep breath, determined to put on as brave a face as Bruda had just done. I stepped onto the pedestal and the same hissing and cheers filled the air as they had with Bruda. They thought I was another Vepar so of course it made sense for them to act that way. I kept my chin held high, holding onto the sides of my hospital gown. I was well aware of how naked I was underneath it and wished so badly that I had some form of undergarments on. I had never imagined myself in a position like this.

I could tell when the numbers appeared above my head, because the crowd all of a sudden descended into silence. I took a peek upwards, and was terrified to see that the bottom number, the one that I suspected was a measure of fertility, read one million.

It was like the crowd took a collective breath, and then all hell broke loose. Khonsu, even the ones not dressed in purple tunics, were trying to clamber off their benches to get onto the field to get to me.

The two that had been in charge of the exhibition started screaming and yelling to try to gain order, but there was nothing they could do.

It was pure pandemonium, and I was pretty sure that my worst fears were about to be realized a little bit earlier than I had anticipated.

Evidently, I was never going to make it to the sacred rock.

I was going to die out here.

When an especially fierce looking Khonsu, who was halfway transformed between his beast form and his normal form was just about to touch me with a long clawed hand, a sudden bolt of electricity burst out of the ground, covering the entire field with an electrical shock save the stone pedestal I was standing on. All of the Khonsu who had rushed the field had been struck down with the blast. I watched as they convulsed in agony, some of them still attempting to move towards me despite their obvious pain.

At this point, all semblance of me remaining calm was gone. I was shaking as I watched them all writhe on the ground. Some of them looked like parts of them had been charred. It was a gruesome sight.

Looking behind me was even worse. I cried out when I saw what had happened. There had been three captives left in line behind me. They had been roasted to a crisp in the blast and were almost unrecognizable. Obviously whatever electrical waves went out catered towards the Khonsu and was deadly towards other races.

The beautiful blue alien that I had first caught sight of in the corral was one of the fallen. I only could tell it was her because her headband had been bejeweled, and somehow it had survived the blast and was lying near her body. A deep sense of loathing passed over me. This had happened because of me. Whatever mutation was in my blood that caused the alien male species to absolutely lose their minds, had also caused these females’ deaths. It was bad enough that they had been prisoners to begin with, but there could've been a chance that maybe the Khonsu who caught them would've been a good mate for them. Not a large chance, but still a chance. Or maybe they would've even escaped or been saved by their planets. Now they would never get that chance.

I was yanked out of my mourning by the Khonsu who must've set off the blast, the one who had been in charge of the ceremony, with the crimson robes. He pulled me away without saying a word.

A path had been cleared to where the other prisoners had been taken. I could see them huddled in the tunnel we were walking towards, their faces alight with fear. Bruda was at the head of them, her face twisted in horror and relief at the sight of me.

She rushed toward me. "Are you all right?" she cried.

I was shaking so much I could barely respond. "I can't believe that happened," I said.

I didn't get a chance to speak with her further. The crimson robed Khonsu dragged me by an arm past the long line of frightened prisoners.

“Where are you taking me?" I cried.

"Somewhere safe," he growled. "You'll be in isolation until it's time for the hunt to begin." He looked back at me, his eyes dragging from my head all the way to my toes, making me feel like I was naked and dirty. "It would be to the benefit of our race if I let all of them have you though," he said with a smirk. "You're so fertile, who knows how many Khonsu children you could give us."

I threw up right then and there. There was nothing but bile since I hadn’t been fed in twenty-four hours, but it was enough to make me not look as palatable.

“Let's go," he ordered with a disgusted look on his face.

I was thrown into a concrete cell. Two guards were set up outside of the entrance to my cell. They didn't even look at me, and I wondered what special orders they had been given concerning me. At least it didn't seem like they were going to jump me.

I was alone and freezing, but a tray full of food that resembled vegetables was pushed into the room eventually along with a faded, threadbare blanket. I guess they figured that it wouldn’t be good for my fertility for me not to eat at all.

I picked at the food despite the fact that I was starving. It was hard to muster up a willingness to eat when I couldn't get the scene from the field out of my head.


Tags: C.R. Jane The Fallen World Fantasy