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She moved her eyes to meet mine, then closed her lids. “It doesn’t matter.”

It did matter because if the Vicpor had a sale contract, we were going to have a harder time leaving with her.

“Sloane, I need to know if you were legally purchased by the Vicpor.”

She closed her eyes and didn't answer. I guessed I wasn’t getting anything else from her. I grabbed the edge of the ramp and pulled myself up. I wobbled on one leg, but by holding on to the ramp I stayed standing. I ignored the throbbing pain in my ankle and addressed the crowd.

“This Vicpor stole me from my…uh….” I struggled to think of a word. I didn’t want to call Tolly my master. Actually, he was my kidnapper, but he had still managed to endear himself to me.

“Keeper!” I screamed, remembering the word Pelrow had used. I pointed at Tolly. “That Talin is my keeper and is only trying to get me back.”

The Marpers all began looking at each other, grunting and grumbling. I only caught a few words here or there, but it seemed there was a dilemma because they didn’t think children of any species should be bought or sold. If I had a keeper, that meant I was a child. I’m sure my smaller size helped confuse them.

“Do either of you have proof of age, ownership, or assigned keeper?” one of the Marpers asked. She was wearing a band across her chest that scrolled several languages. One was Universal and identified her as the bay controller. That probably made her the highest rank of everyone here.

I focused on her and made my voice small. “Please, I want to go home.”

My emotional plea helped turn her to our favor. She looked at the Talins lined up, ready to fight.

“The one standing obviously sees you as her trusted keeper, but what about the other one?”

I nudged Sloane with my hurt foot, instantly regretting it. “Tell them Mieshorum is your keeper,” I whispered. She opened her eyes but didn’t speak. “Sloane, say it!”

“If the other one won’t claim a keeper, she must belong to the Vicpor,” the bay controller said. She sounded reluctant and stared at Sloane, as if waiting for the woman to speak up. “Are you very sure you can’t name your keeper?”

We were so close to getting her free, all she had to do was talk. I dropped to my knees and put my mouth to her ear. “Sloane, say Mieshorum is your keeper. Please!”

My words did nothing.

The Vicpor made a happy chittering sound. “See, she’s mine and knows it.”

“No wait,” I said, moving in front of Sloane to block her from the Vicpor. I didn’t need to bother, Mieshorum and Lexarit moved to block him.

“She’s a child,” I lied at the top of my lungs. “He’s going to sell her, and she’s only a child!”

That didn’t stop the Vicpor from trying to push past the Talins. When the Talins shoved him into the Marpers, they didn’t react except to push him away. The Vicpor ended up on the floor, clearly furious.

We were at a stalemate. This was good. Given a little more time, I was sure I could convince the Marpers to let us take Sloane.

Our good luck didn’t last. Ten more Vicpors pushed through the crowd.

“My brothers!” the Vicpor on the ground shouted. “Make these Talins leave!”

The ten didn’t hesitate to jump into action. The stalemate was over, and ten against four wasn’t good odds.

Chapter 15

Tolreum

We spent so many years in the military, training and working side by side, that we didn’t even need to talk, the four of us simply started moving.

I went low and bowled the first two Vicpors over, sending them crashing to the ground. They tangled together and had to move limbs apart before standing again. While they were distracted, I grabbed the first limb I could get hold of and snapped it over my knee. The plating made a loud crack, and the Vicpor screamed.

I didn’t think I needed to worry about him any longer, so I reached for the other Vicpor I’d knocked down. He was scrambling back, making scared chittering noises. He only stopped when he came up against several stocky sets of Marper legs.

Moving my gaze up, I saw the excitement on all the Marpers’ faces. They weren’t going to come to the Vicpor’s aid, which was the only help we needed from them.

I turned my attention back to the melee. The humans were still safely tucked at the side of the ramp, but I saw a Vicpor break free and make a run at them.