Abducted Read online

  At first I thought Sarden’s room was just another guest room, like mine. It was bare of any personal touches and looked exactly the same except for a desk in one corner.

  I walked over to it curiously. The top of the desk was completely clear—so at least my captor was neater than my old boss. Dayton Lauder the third always had messy stacks of half-finished paperwork everywhere. I thought longingly of the coffee-stained piles which I used to curse because it was my job to clean them up and try to organize them. What I wouldn’t give to be staring at my boss’s messy desk instead of this sterile, blank alien one.

  I actually felt tears coming to my eyes before I got hold of myself.

  Get a grip, Zoe, I lectured myself. Whining and moping aren’t going to get you home! Taking a deep breath, I reached out to touch the desk. It was made of some kind of black, shiny material I thought must be glass or plastic at first but it felt warm—almost alive—under my fingertips.

  I don’t know what I expected but the minute my fingers brushed the desk, it vibrated and came to life. Panels flipped over to reveal several long, feathery instruments about the size of pencils what I could only assume were alien office supplies. There were some thin, transparent sheets piled in stacks too and several other things I had no idea about. But what caught my eye was a clear, crystal cube sitting at the far end of the desk. It was about as big as a softball but square and its many faceted sides caught the dim light in the room and reflected rainbow patterns across the walls.

  “Beautiful,” I murmured, reaching out to pick it up. Yeah, I know it was probably stupid but I have a weakness for pretty, shiny things.

  I held the cube—which was surprisingly heavy—in one hand while I examined it from all sides. There seemed to be a smudge on one jewel-like surface but when I tried to wipe it off, the smudge grew until it was a picture.

  A laughing young woman with smooth brown skin, long black hair and big golden cat eyes like Sarden’s suddenly filled the cube.

  “Sardie!” she exclaimed as the picture came to life, playing like a video on my smartphone back home. “You’re incorrigible! Stop it—my hair is a mess!”

  I heard the deep rumble of Sarden’s laugh, though I couldn’t see him. Presumably he’d been the one making the recording.

  “You look fine, Sis—stop being so vain.”

  “I am not vain—you are, big brother” she protested.

  I frowned. So was this Sarden’s little sister? Her eyes were like his, sure enough, but her skin was brown instead of brick red and she didn’t have any horns. I frowned, trying to think how it could add up.

  “I’m not vain,” came Sarden’s reply. “Got nothing to be vain about—ugly half-breed bastard that I am. But you’re beautiful and you know it.”

  “Well…” She tossed her shiny hair and I had to agree with Sarden—she was gorgeous.

  “Are you ready for your coronation?” he asked, still off camera—or off whatever it was he had used to record this.

  “I am.” She looked suddenly sad. “I wish it was you up there with me, though. I don’t want to rule with Hurxx—come to that, I don’t want to rule at all.”

  “I know, little Sellah—always got your head buried in your books and you don’t give a damn about the outside world. But the planet has to have a female of the blood as well as a male of the blood to prosper.”

  “I know, but you’d be better at it than Hurxx—you know you would.”

  “Hurxx is purebred Eloim and I’m not—you know that,” he said flatly. “The people would never—”

  “What in the Frozen Hells of Anor do you think you’re doing in my room?”

  The muted roar from behind me almost made me drop the crystal cube. As it was I fumbled with it comically and barely managed to clutch it to my chest. Then, just when I thought I had it, it squirted out from between my fingers and dropped like a rock to the metal floor below.

  Or it would have if Sarden’s long fingers hadn’t reached out with surprising speed and delicacy and plucked it out of the air.

  He pressed something on it that cut off the scene and made it go cold and blank again. Then he spun me around and glared at me.

  “I said what are you doing in my room?”

  “You…I…you said I could go anywhere,” I blurted. “I was just exploring. I didn’t know this was your room.”

  Which was true—I hadn’t actually known but I had hoped.

  “I would think that a desk full of very personal objects would give you a clue about that,” he snarled. “Are all Earthlings this rude and nosey or is it just you?”

  “I’m s-sorry,” I said, trying not to be scared and failing. When he did that glaring thing where his eyes got all glowy he looked positively terrifying. Think—I had to think! Remember the plan—plan A! whispered a little voice in my head.

  “Um, was that your sister?” I asked, nodding at the cube which he still cradled protectively in one hand. “She’s really pretty.”

  “Yes, Sellah is my sister—not that it’s any of your business,” he growled. “What of it?”

  “Nothing. It’s just that…I had a sister once, too. Her…her name was Angie.”

  My sister’s name stuck in my throat. Still, even after all these years, it was hard to talk about her. But I had to try and make a connection with him. Reverse Stockholm, I reminded myself fiercely. It’s the only way you’re getting out of here!

  Sarden’s response was less than enthusiastic.

  “Good for you,” he growled. “So you have a sibling. It doesn’t give you the right to go rifling through my things.”

  “And what gave you the right to buy me and kidnap me?” I demanded, losing my temper. “What gave you the right to take me away from my entire planet and bring me on this God-forsaken ship where the toilets try to eat you?”

  “What?” He stared at me as though I wasn’t making any sense. Well, maybe I wasn’t but at that point I was so mad I didn’t even care. Even though he was huge and muscular and scary, my anger had erased my fear—at least for the moment. Who was he that he thought he could just buy me and steal me away from my ho-hum life and crappy job back on Earth? What the hell was wrong with him?

  “What would your sister think of you now?” I demanded, seizing on the only thing I could think of—the only piece of emotional leverage I could find. “What would she say if she knew what you were doing?”

  Yet again, I seemed to have said the exact wrong thing. Or maybe it was the right thing, I don’t know—but the consequences were the same. Sarden seemed to grow even bigger somehow, his face turning dark as he glared at me. Had I thought he looked scary before? It was nothing to how he looked now. Still, I stood my ground and refused to back down, even though my heart was thumping and my palms were sweating with terror.

  For a moment we just stared at each other. And if you’ve never had a staring contest with a seven foot tall guy who looks like a sexy Devil and could break you in half with his pinky finger, let me tell you—I don’t recommend it. Finally, though, Sarden spoke.

  “My sister,” he said in a low, grating voice. “Is the reason I took you.”

  “What?” I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”

  “Never mind.” He made a sharp gesture with one hand. “I’ll excuse your intrusion in my room this once on the grounds of ignorance. But never come in here again. Never.”

  “Fine.” I lifted my chin. “I was just leaving, anyway.”

  “Go back to your room,” he ordered. “And don’t leave again. I won’t be so lenient next time.”

  As if there would be a next time. It looked to me like plan A wasn’t panning out—maybe it was time to consider plan B.

  “Fine,” I said again. But just as I turned to leave, Al glided into the room, his snaky metal neck sailing smoothly through the metal ceiling as though it was silver water.

  “Ah, Master Sarden,” he said sounding pleased. “I’m glad to see you found La