“They don’t feed us much, Captain, so the water helps a bit. I think they want us weak for the Games.”

Tarr was a little startled.“You know about the Games?”

“Oh yes. One of those big Tygerian took great pleasure in telling me all about it while he was whaling away on my ass.”

Tarr shook his head.“Are you all right? That looks pretty painful.”

Jaxper shrugged.“I always bruise easy, and that big boy didn’t seem to know his own strength.He wouldn’t fight me like a man, though I’m sure if he did, I wouldn’t be around to tell the story,” he said with a chuckle. “He just pulled me down over his lap and blistered my ass for me. He called me his ‘little nobyo.’”

Tarr had the good grace to feel embarrassed at this, and he felt his cheeks heat up.“Well, that’s what Tygerians call their, uh…male lovers,” he explained.

“Oh yes, sir, I know. I tried to tell him I like the women. I mean, naturally a man has to take his pleasure wherever he can, and there have been times on long voyages that I…” He shrugged and smiled.“Mostly I like the women.”

“Hmm…” Tarr replied, as noncommittally as he could. If these people had their way, Jaxper wouldn’t get a chance at ‘the women’ ever again.

“’Course it don’t matter what I prefer, I guess. Not any more, anyway. I’ve about made up my mind not to fight it any more. That little human comes in sometimes to feed us, and he says the Tygerians here are good to their nobyos. Treat them well.”

“Oh—well—good.”

“I was sort of hoping, though, sir, since I saw them bring you in, that you might be able to get us out of here.”

“I’ll try my best, Jaxper. I promise you that. Can you tell me what happened to your shuttlecraft?”

“I don’t exactly know. They took it away, of course. I overheard one of them talking about using it for spare parts.I understand a little Tygerian, though these folks don’t talk it like you do.”

“They’ve been here a very long time—it’s an old form of our language.”

“Oh. Well, that’s all I could understand, anyway.”

“I’ll do what I can for you, Jaxper. I hope you know that.”

“I do, Captain. Maybe it won’t be so bad. That Tygerian is good-looking enough.I just don’t like the idea of being anybody’s slave.”

Tarr nodded, but before he could say more, the door to the room opened and Rabb Seneca, the Tygerian he’d first met—the one who’d attacked his nobyo—strode confidently in and up to his cell.

“Tarr Bonnet,” he said, addressing him by his full name in the old style. “We regret having to put you in thiscell, but we couldn’t seem to get you and your nobyo to stop any other way. We actually had to shoot him with our darts. He is very badly behaved, you know.”

Tarr nodded.“Yes,” he replied shortly.

“We have no wish to hold you here, of course, and as soonas the trader comes again, we’ll send you on your way.”

Tarr looked Rabb up and down and gave him a dangerous little smile.“Without my nobyo and my men, of course.”

Rabb lifted one shoulder.“Your so-called men belong to us now. We lay claim to the ship and the men as salvage. There are two or three we might allow you to purchase back from us— the ones past their prime. The others will remain here.” He glanced over his shoulder toward Larsson’s cage. He still wasn’t moving and Tarr was getting increasingly worried about him. He must have made a low growling noise because Rabb looked back at him with a grin.

“He’ll stay here too, of course. He’s quite beautiful for a Lycan. An unusual choice for a nobyo.I imagine he’s been a handful for you.”

It took everything in Tarr to keep his voice on an even level.“He’s mine. Are your people thieves, then?If you were worthy of the name Tygerian, you wouldn’t poach on another man’s nobyo.It would be unthinkable.”

Rabb smiled at him, but something flickered in his eyes.“I told you we consider your property to be salvage.You’re Tygerian, so we have no claim on you, of course. But your belongings are fair game.”

“My nobyoand my men are not ‘belongings.’ What kind of people are you?”

“I might ask you the same. Your people—Tygerians—kicked us off our own planet and abandoned us many cycles ago. We owe them no allegiance, no consideration. Consider yourself fortunate we show you any mercy. Our trader would no doubt take you on as well. He might get a good price for you, since you’re not so bad looking yourself. ”

Tarr felt a slight burn in his stomach, but he’d lived by his wits long enough to have mastered the poker face.

“What about honor then? Do you owe none of that either? At least give me the chance to fight for my nobyoin the Games.” He glanced up at Rabb in time to see a flicker of something in his eyes.“Or do you have an eye on him yourself? Are you afraid you can’t beat me in a fair competition?”

Rabb showed him his teeth in what could have been a smile, but didn’t feel like one.

“Your father said you were the best warrior on this world. Surely you’re not afraid of me.”

“I’m afraid of nothing, Tarr Bonnet.”

“Then accept my challenge. Fight me in the ring for him. If you win, I’ll go with the trader and leave him with you.If I win, you’ll give him to me and we’ll both leave when the trader comes.” Of course, he was lying. Either way, if Tarrsurvived, he’d be back for this son of a bitch, and while he was at it, he’d destroy this place and rescue his people. He tried to keep all this off his face though, as he faced Rabb.

Crossing his arms, he waited rather impatiently for Rabb to take the bait. As the son of the leader, this young man was used to being a big fish in a very small pond. He radiated attitude. His hair was a cap of curly blonde hair, and he had skin that was tanned and smooth. He was younger than Tarr had first thought, and he was trying hard to keep his expression neutral— trying and not succeeding very well.

Tarr decided to prod him a bit more.“Of course, your training must be limited at best. Perhaps you’re afraid a real Tygerian warrior, trained in the ring, will only show you up. Allow your people to see you for what you really are—an amateur trying to pose as a warrior.”

Rabb tried on the ghost of a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I know you’re trying to bait me.”

Tarr fixed him with a fierce look intended to let him know his patience was wearing thin. “Well, what will it be? Will you hide behind your father and steal my nobyo or will you face me in the ring and fight me for him like a man?”

A nerve twitched in the other man’s jaw as Tarr stared steadily back at him, waiting for his answer.“I’ll fight you, Tarr Bonnet,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.“And when I leave you bloody and beaten in the ring, I’ll fuck your former nobyo right in front of you and let you see how he reacts to being taken by a real man.As you listen to his cries of pleasure, I’ll decide whether or not to let you live or simply put you out of your misery.”

“You can try, cub. You can try. In the meantime, let me out of this damned cell. Or are you too afraid of me?”

Rabb snorted with contempt and pulled a key from a pouch tied with a thin leather strip around his waist. He unlocked the cell and glared at him before stepping aside.“If you attack my father again or any of our people, youwon’t live to see the ring.Don’t try to release any of your men, either.We’ll be watching you closely.”

Tarr gave him a sarcastic little salute and stepped out, crowding him backwards. Rabb motioned toward the door, but Tarr shook his head.“I’m going to check on my nobyo. And if he’s been injured or messed with in any way, you’ll never live to see the ring.”

Rabb didn’t reply, but Tarr could feel his glare boring a hole in his back all the way down the aisle. Whenhe reached Larrson’s cage, he squatted down in front of it to look him over closely. He seemed to be sleeping, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, neither too fast nor too slow. He’d been stripped naked again, so they’d had their hands on him, a fact that made Tarr’s gorge rise. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around Larsson’s hips as best he could through the bars.

Hedidn’t appear to be injured, other than a bruise on his forehead, which could have happened in the crash—it was already changing colors a bit. Tarr caressed his face and cursed himself for taking Larsson the way he did in the first place and getting him into all this. Tarr should have come to him in the proper way and made an honorable offer tohim, but he hadn’t been able to resist putting a price on his head to taunt him and make him angry. It all seemed so foolish now and he regretted it deeply.

Tarr stood back up and allowed Rabb to lead him from the room. He smiled down at Jaxper as he left, and nodded at him solemnly, hoping the young man would remember his earlier promise to him. Before he left, he turned back toward the cages and glared at Rabb.“I’ll come back tonight to feed them all myself. Fornow at least, they’re still my men and I’ll take responsibility for them.”

Rabb stared at him for a long moment before shrugging.“If you like. There are three other huts with the captives inside.It’s menial work, but perhaps that’s what Tygerians do now on the home planet.”

Deciding to ignore him, Tarr followed him out of the hut, and Rabb led him to a little shack of a house near the outskirts of the tiny settlement. It had no doors or windows and the interior was therefore dark and musty, but Tarr nodded. “Fine. This will do until the trader comes. When will that be, anyway?”

“We expect him any time. The Games are scheduled for tomorrow.You’ll be given your weapons then.Since you’ve challenged me, I’ll choose the first weapon to be used.”

“Knock yourself out. And I mean that literally,” he said with a grin. The younger man glared suspiciously back at him. Tarrknew he didn’t understand much of what he said. Tarr had lived with the Rogers for a many cycles and had picked up a lot of their slang, which they’d gathered from every corner of the galaxies.“I mean, that’ll be fine. I can beat you with any weapon you choose.”