“Shit,” Corran blurted. “How much did he have to drink?”
I shrugged. “Three, maybe four horns. Maybe more. What’s going on with him?”
“Pumpkin wine has an enzyme in it that interferes with our technology. It’s my fault. I should have told him, and I didn’t even notice him drinking.”
“Don’t worry about that now. We need to leave,” Derrial snapped.
“No.” I dug my heels into the stone floor. “I want to free the humans, then we can go. Please.”
They stared at me for so long, and all I could do was give them my best pleading look. They had to understand how I felt about being taken against my will, how it hurt me to see others who had lost their families and lives also stuck here.
“Fine,” Derrial answered. “We do a quick look around and help those who are willing to leave. Then we leave.” He exhaled loudly and spun around. We all followed him down the narrow corridor, where the waft of food was strong. At the end lay an open door and we rushed outside, coming out at the back of the building where I assumed they had landed their ship and covered it with invisibility.
Derrial took my hand and we ran, Corran aiding Thane who stumbled about, his eyes glazed over. How had that wine hit him so fast?
Farther on the property stood several sheds, and I hoped we had stumbled upon one of their holding facilities. “Let’s check there.” I pointed to the sheds.
“Good, as our ship is just behind them,” Derrial snarled.
Clearly, he wasn’t happy with my idea, but I didn’t care. We moved quickly, but luckily no one was around, probably partying too much.
In the first shed, Derrial stepped toward the door and looked inside. “Empty,” he called over his shoulder. I had already moved with Corran to the next one.
Up on tippy toes, I peered in through the glass window in the door but found only wooden crates.
“Shit.” I looked back to the main building. “Maybe there are none being held captive since they’re all being forced to work. I want to free them as well.”
Corran took my hand in his. “You can’t risk your own life. Not like this. We’ll come back when we’re ready and with ammunition.”
“Let’s go,” Derrial whispered loudly. “There’s nothing here.”
My stomach churned and my blood ran cold at the idea of leaving them behind.
“Hey,” Thane slurred. “There are little humans in here.”
We all snapped around, and I burst toward him into another small metal shack that had been hidden behind the others.
I pushed past him and ripped open the door to find a huge cage inside. A dozen males sat there, wearing torn clothes, dirt on their faces and arms. They looked human to me. No horns or strange horns or eyes. I closed the distance and reached for the lock, then throttled the door. All three Vepar stepped alongside me.
The men in the cage stared at us with terror behind their eyes, a couple standing up, backing away. It killed me to see their fear, recognizing it all too well. “We’re going to get you out,” I said, my words coming out croaky.
“What are you doing here?” A raspy male’s voice came from behind, and I flinched around.
A bear of a guard hovered in the doorway, heaving breaths like a grunting beast. Before I could respond, Derrial and Thane lunged at the Khonsu, throwing him off his feet. An explosion of groans, fists and punches burst out into the night. I turned to Thane.
“Get them out, now!”
He grabbed the lock and yanked, but the metal held tight. He rushed outside, and my heart pounded against my ribcage.
“Ella,” a soft male’s voice came from within the cage, and I looked up to find who belonged to it.
A man with graying, messy hair stepped forward.
I didn’t trust what I was seeing. There was no way it could be him…
“Ella,” he said again, in that same soft voice he had always used with me growing up.
I walked towards him as if in a trance, my hand outstretched. His hand reached through the bars of the cage, trying to reach me.