I moved farther into the craft where my brothers all stood awaiting their orders.
“For my female, there is nothing I would not do. I buried the beast within me long ago, but for her, I will dig him up and go to Underworld itself to get her back.” I looked up, hearing myself growl. “If the humans want a war, let us wage one.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Levi
“When did we arrive?”
My question was put to Nicah as we descended the ramp of Master’s craft. Bright light dotted my vision until I focused my eyes and saw Terra for the first time. Nicah, who was next to me, gasped out loud. I did not blame her. A clear blue sky so big that it appeared almost endless until huge green mountains in the distance appeared to block its path. There were no bodies of water anywhere that I could see, but what I could see was rich, thriving vegetation. There were no multi-coloured trees like on Ealra. Everything on Terra was green except for the rainbow-coloured plants that decorated the base of the many trees.
We were in a docking port, but it was so clean and well-kept and not what I expected a port to look like. I honestly had a hard time believing this planet was occupied by humans. We usually destroyed everything we touched, but Terra looked like a dream. All around us were crafts of different sizes docked at different stations that were manned. The bay we were in was filled with people, all men from what I could see. It was startling to see human men after only being surrounded by Maji males for the past six moon cycles.
“We arrived twenty minutes ago after travellin’ for seven hours,” Master answered me as he came up behind Nicah and me. “Ye see why the city is called New Earth City, right? This place looks like the Earth hundreds of years ago. The planet is bigger, the wildlife and food that grow here are very different, but everythin’ else is like a duplicate of old Earth.”
I had been born on Earth when it was already in its late stages of becoming uninhabitable, but I had once seen a picture of scenery somewhere in New United Kingdom before everything started dying, and Master was right. Terra looked just like old Earth did. I did not care how beautiful it was or how fresh the air smelled. It wasn’t my home, no matter what anyone said.
The stunning, dangerous, vastness of Ealra was my home.
“What now?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the men whose dirty lust-filled eyes eyed the bare skin that my dirty, torn ensemble showcased. “Are we going to New Farm?”
“Yeah,” Master answered. “We’re goin’ home.”
It was bizarre to feel anger when Master spoke, but that was what I felt towards him. I always felt anger for him when I wasn’t in his presence, but when he was before me, I normally felt fear. I still felt fear, but I felt anger now too. I quickly realised that I had spoken to him more in the past few hours than I had in the past ten years.
I didn’t know what to make of this.
“How do we get there?”
“A hovercraft.”
“What’s that?”
“Shut yer yappin’.”
He whacked the back of my head. I lifted my hand to rub away the sting of it.
“Stay close to me.” I put my arm around Nicah. “Do not leave my side.”
She bobbed her head and huddled closer to me. Asia was nestled in her arms, and she was still fast asleep. I kept watch of the strange men as they busied about the docks. Master herded us towards a vehicle of some kind. It hovered above the ground, and it rumbled loudly.
“Get in.”
Nicah, the baby, and I didn’t have a choice in the matter as the back door to the little craft opened by rising into the air, and we were practically shoved inside. Master told us to put the harness straps attached to the craft’s seating around our bodies for safety. We did as we were told, but it wasn’t lost on me that Master said the straps were for our safety. That was laughable. The only thing we were in danger of was him, but I knew he didn’t believe that. He thought us nothing more than objects that were better off with him than without him.
When the door to the craft closed, the sound awoke Asia, and she began to cry. Master climbed into the front of the craft and settled into the middle. The command station was even smaller than the passenger section, but Master seemed comfortable where he was, which told me this was a craft he had piloted before.
“Shut her up,” he griped. “I’m not listenin’ to a bastard child cryin’ while I pilot.”
“She’s not a bastard,” I said before I could stop myself. “She has a father.”