"Let me go! I have to help Devyn! Let me go!" Miren squirmed in Kilo's strong grasp as she fought to save her friend.

Once the trio were a safe distance from the dendrum, Kilo set Castyr down gently before twisting Miren to face him. "Calm down. Devyn knew what he was doing," the angel told her bluntly.

"But-"

"Devyn asked me to get you out. You're alive thanks to him." Kilo's voice was low but steady. He understood Miren's want to go after Devyn, but he also knew Devyn would rather Miren be delivered to safety.

Miren took a breath to calm herself, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Okay," she eventually voiced as she began thinking things through. "Devyn's a smart kid. He'll be alright, huh?"

Kilo nodded in agreement and released Miren's wrist. "You made a deal." The angel was quick to remind the human of her promise.

"Uh-huh. Get you guys to Earth." Miren assumed her poise and checked her weapons while internally reminding herself that Devyn would want her to keep her word and ensure Kilo and Castyr made it to Earth safely.

"There's nothing you could have done. They outnumbered us," Kilo assured Miren. It was not an attempt to cheer the woman but rather a reminder that Devyn's capture was not Miren's fault.

The redhead looked up at Kilo and nodded appreciatively. "Let's go." She then straightened her jacket and began walking away from the scene of the kidnap.

Kilo looked to see Castyr staring toward the direction of the fight. A tear fell down the star's cheek as Kilo reached him. "Devyn," Castyr whimpered as Kilo took his hand.

"Come on," Kilo said softly. "We need to go."

Once the three were together, Miren led Kilo and Castyr through the space station to a small, red ship. The ship began humming as soon as it detected Miren. The hatch to the ship opened as Miren's biometric data unlocked the craft.

"Hey, pretty girl. Did ya miss me?" Miren greeted her ship as the trio boarded. "Welcome to the Flisea, one of the smallest and fastest private crafts on Borum. She'll get ya to Earth in no time." Miren introduced her ship as the three took their seats.

"How long is the trip?" Kilo inquired as he sat next to Castyr.

"About a week if you're counting in days. Normally, it'd be nine days, but the Flisea will get us there sooner," Miren answered as she readied her ship. "We'll have to make a pit stop midway at Laeroe to refuel and such, which will add a day, but we'll bypass several planets."

Within a few moments, the Flisea's thrusters were whirring and purring, and the craft disembarked from the station. Castyr settled in and sank into his chair as Flisea rose into Borum's atmosphere.

"I know no questions, so I don't know who you are. But I want to warn you, so you don't get hurt because Devyn seems to want to keep you guys alive. But, anyways, have you heard of the demons stirring?"

This caught Kilo's attention. "What do you mean?" He had yet to hear of any unusual demon activity.

"Apparently, demons have been massing in places they normally don't go. They've been scouting planets, too. It seems as if they're searching for something or someone. They usually stay in Hades and on their planets, but they've been spotted on human domain and planets of other beings. So, just be careful." Miren turned her attention back to her ship after delivering the warning.

Kilo's brows furrowed as he took in the information. What does this mean? Will Hades take action now that a star has disappeared? I have to get Castyr back as soon as possible!

Turning to look at the star, Kilo's brows softened when he saw that Castyr was sound asleep. I forgot how much stars sleep.

Kilo then leaned back and stared out the glass roof of the Flisea. I'll do whatever it takes to keep Castyr safe...whatever it takes.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

"Mmmm," Devyn let out a moan as he came to his senses with a throbbing pain in his head. His body ached from the fight and numerous stuns dealt to his body. He opened his eyes to see only darkness. The seething cold from the thick chain around Devyn's throat reminded the human of where he was as he felt the rumble of the spaceship. The human lifted his hand to rub his sore neck only to find a thick chain clasped around his wrist, stopping his hand from relieving the tension in his neck.

As Devyn's ears adjusted to the ever-present rumble of the ship's engines, quiet groans could be heard escaping from the dried and cracked lips of the numerous slaves surrounding the human. The hoarse moans were begging for water. Even a single drop would satisfy their parched throats. Devyn swallowed dryly as he heard a feminine voice rise above the murmur, "Could we have something to drink?" A growl answered the kind and confident girl. "Please?" Another growl was the only response. "We are going to die! How will you get your money, then, huh?" The girl persisted. A deep rumble sounded before the opening of the heavy door separating the captees from freedom could be heard as the thick metal scraped across the floor.

The murmur from the crowd of slaves instantly deteriorated as the door was shut and locked. "I'm so sorry," the girl whispered. Soft sobs could be heard through the darkness before a high-pitched voice comforted the girl, "It's okay. We'll be alright."

The sound of the door being unlocked was followed by the holding of breaths. Devyn looked at the green light seeping into the holding room to see the silhouette of a dendrum entering holding a giant bucket. Startled shrieks echoed throughout the room as water as cold as ice was rudely showered onto the crowd.

"Here, Emi. I caught some in my hand." Devyn heard the girl's voice under the cries from the freezing liquid.

"But...but...what about you?" The smaller voice responded.

"It's okay. *Jina can catch some more." Devyn could hear the smile in the older sister's voice as she fed her little sister the precious water caught in her palms. Slurping sounded throughout the room as the desperate slaves knelt to the ground to get as much water as possible. The minimal respite from the water was concluded by the jerk from the landing of the ship.

The hard metal beneath Devyn's knees vibrated as the ship's engines remained activated as the hatch to the cargo hold opened, sounding a deafening screech throughout the room. Devyn lifted his chained wrist to his face as a foreign blue light invaded the pitch-black space. The rumbling and vibration surrounding Devyn suddenly stopped, the momentum throwing the human into the back of someone's chilled body. A female *gahen beside Devyn whimpered quietly as twelve dendrum entered the hold and began dragging the slaves out of the ship.

Devyn let out a grunt as he was thrown cruelly onto the ground, the rugged rock piercing his knees. He set his hand on the wet rock to steady himself as his fellow captured companions were thrown beside him. Cold wind whipped against Devyn's bare skin making him realize his shirt and shoes were gone. He had been stripped down to his pants.

Devyn cautiously lifted his head to observe his surroundings. The alien planet was dark and wet, and the black rock serving as the ground was sharp and slick. The slaves were grouped together and pushed to their knees. Devyn looked around to find he was the only human man. Most of the captured victims were either female or of a different species. He quickly lowered his head back down as a gush of wind blew past.

A few minutes passed before customers started to appear. One by one, the slaves were sold off. A female gahen screamed and fought the dendrum when she was chosen. "Emi!" She called as she was taken from her sister. The gahen was quickly rendered unconscious and given to her buyer, demonstrating the power and ruthlessness of the dendrum.

"Jina!!!" The cry from the younger sister pierced the air as she too was chosen. Devyn moved to run to the girl as she was roughly handed to a demon, but a sharp pain whipped across his back in response to his movement. Devyn bit his tongue as the pain seared throughout his body. The human looked up to see a dendrum guarding him closely. Devyn watched helplessly as the girl was dragged away.

Devyn hung his head as tears threatened to come pouring. He jerked at his chains as the sisters' cries echoed in his mind. Devyn kept his head lowered as the hours passed. Several customers pointed at Devyn, but the dendrum shook their heads.

"He's reserved," one dendrum curtly told a customer in the common language, which Devyn thankfully understood. The customer scowled and spat before storming off.

Reserved? What? Why am I reserved? I am just a mere human. I am not as strong as other beings. Why would a demon want me? ...Unless... Devyn's heart dropped as he thought of a possibility. No, no, no. Let's hope that's not it.

Devyn's knees ached from kneeling on the hard rock, but every time he moved even slightly to try to shift positions, he would be whipped. The human's body grew weak from exposure to the wet cold. Fierce winds, lack of food, and dehydration did not help his feeble, indisposed state.

How long was I unconscious to grow this weak? Devyn began shaking to struggle to stay awake.

Five hours passed, and the wind did not stop. Most of the slaves were gone; Devyn was one of the remaining few. Loss of blood from the whip marks made it hard to focus. His eyes drooped. However, Devyn fought to stay awake as he knew he would most likely die if he fell asleep.

...Well...I guess dying is not all that bad. It would be better than being a slave for the rest of my life. Kilo and Castyr are on their way to Earth. I would get to see my parents. Wil can never hurt me again. I will not be leaving anyone I love behind. I have no regrets. Maybe I should just sleep. Sleeping sounds nice. I would get to leave this miserable place. Devyn's thoughts of death allured the human with the promise of rest. The human let out a breath and relaxed his numbing body.

As Devyn was closing his eyes, black boots appeared in front of him. "I apologize for my tardiness. Is this him?" A deep voice sounded, catching the boy's attention.

Is he talking about me? Devyn held his eyes open just enough to look around. That was all his receding energy allowed him to do before closing his eyes once again. He was able to determine that he was the only prisoner in the vicinity of the owner of the deep voice; the closest slave was ten feet away. The human decided to face his buyer and looked up to see crimson hair as a dendrum's hand grabbed his chain and forced him to his feet. The sheer force from the dendrum lifted the human with ease as Devyn's chain was taken off. Devyn struggled to stay on his feet, his head hanging to the side as he panted from exhaustion. The human could not resist the brute force from the dendrum as he was pushed toward his buyer. He stumbled on the slick, wet rock, but hands quickly grabbed him. Devyn's knees gave out, and the human crumpled into the arms of the man who caught him.

"How long has he been without food and water?!" The man yelled at the dendrum as he quickly leaned on one knee and rested Devyn in his lap. Devyn's head rolled into the man's chest as the man checked his pulse before proceeding to scorn the sellers.

Why does he sound mad? I am just a slave. Wait! Was I just sold to a demon? Ah, whatever, I do not care anymore. Hopefully, he will let me die right here.

The demon removed his coat, and Devyn decided to open his eyes one last time as he felt himself fading away. Devyn could barely make out grey eyes looking down at him between crimson strands of hair as he was wrapped in a warm coat and a hand was pressed against his forehead. The human fell unconscious as warmth covered him and flooded his body.

*Jina - Gahen term for older sister.

*Gahen - Tall humanoid being with colorful, glowing skin. Gahen have the ability to grow any kind of flower in any environment using their breath as the flowers' life.