"Put this on." A man shoved a box into my arms, before handing another to Nyko.
I placed it on the bed and took off the lid. "This is Helix all over again." I lifted out the floor length shirt with long slits on each side.
Nyko took off the little amount of clothes he had on to being with and pulled on a red skirt that reached down to his ankles. He sat down on the bed to do up the sandals that came with it. Letting out a deep breath, I tossed the skirt to the side and went to the window.
"Raja?" Nyko gathered up his hair and draped it over one shoulder. "You should get ready."
Shaking my head, I stared outside at the new world my planet had become. "I'm done being a show piece. I put up with it because of Tobias. I won't do it with that man."
"Don't anger him, Raja." He clasped my shoulder. "Please."
I waved him off. "I'll take whatever punishment he has for me, but I won't do this anymore. I won't be a palace pet."
Nyko nodded and backed away with his head bowed. "Just be careful." He disappeared into the bathroom.
When they put me in that pod, I thought I was going home, but my home was gone. The only one who remained with Nyko. I rubbed my forehead. He had spent over 250 years alone, and it was my fault.
Nyko returned to the room a while later, adorned in jewelry and his hair done. "Are you sure?"
I nodded.
"Alright then." He gave me a small smile, before leaving.
Hovercrafts were flying back and forth outside. The people looked more like those from Helix than Sector 31. This Lord Eadwyn had truly tainted my homeland.
The door opened, and the horrid leader of this new world entered. He wore the same colored purple robes with gold trimming as yesterday. His elaborate shimmering suit was also gold beneath it.
"Did you not like the outfit I chose for you, Raja?"
I kept my eyes pointed out the window.
He moved closer to where I stood. "Can you see the crowd starting to gather?"
"No," I replied plainly. "All I see is a world that has been ruined."
Eadwyn laughed. "What a rare gem." He ran his fingers through my hair. "Now come along, it's time to get ready. They people have come to see the god's pet."
"God's pet," I scoffed. "Tobias is the devil, and he will kill you for this."
I gasped when my hair was yanked hard enough to send falling backwards. I knelt at the Lord Eadwyn's feet, cringing in pain.
"Not if he's dead." He released me.
Bowing my head, I blinked back tears. "My master will come and destroy all of this. Let me and Nyko go, and you can avoid being sent to hell."
He let out an over exaggerated laugh. "Stop talking, Raja." He lifted my chin, and his eyes met mine. "I know the great general is dead."
My mouth fell open. "You're not?"
"Do you like what I've done with the place?" He motioned to the window. "It was such a pathetic planet before I arrived here. Now look at it." Walking to the balcony door, he threw them open. "Glek will soon surpass even Helix." He turned sharply to me. "So get dressed, Raja. You have an event to attend."
I scooted up against the wall. "No. Do what you like, but I will not obey you."
He rubbed his temple with a sigh. "With a man like Tobias Hollins raising you, I shouldn't be surprised. Guards."
I swallowed hard when two men entered.
"Yes my lord?" The taller one asked.
"Take him as is. When you're raise by the devil, you tend to need a little taming."
They came toward me. I climbed to my feet, ready to fight.
"Let go!" I screamed when they touched me. I thrashed my arms and legs, trying to get them off.
"A little too much taming," snapped the lord.
Something cold hit my skin, and an electric shot rendered my body useless as my muscles seized. I fell to the floor, gasping for air.
"Are you going to mind, or should we try this again?" Eadwyn placed the metal rod back into the holder on his belt.
I nodded and slowly rose to my feet. My legs were shaking.
"Good," he took the lead. "Follow me."
I stepped in line behind the lord. We entered the hall and walked down an assortment of corridors and up a staircase. He left me with the guards in a room filled with the palace pets. They all gave me curious glances. A group of girls giggled and smiled at me. I felt my face heat up and quickly turned away. This made them laugh even more.
The shorter of the two guards took my arm and led me to a door. He opened it and motioned me forward. It was dark, and the moment I was inside, the door was closed. I heard a roar of a crowd. One loud voice stood out from them, and more cheering soon drowned it out.
My heart rate started to build. Where was Nyko? What was this psychotic man who obviously wasn't from sector 31 planning on doing to me? I really didn't want to die. It was a lie before, I really didn't want to die.
The panel in front of me pulled to the side. Sunlight lit the pathway. Blocked the light with my hand, I slowly approached the exit. The cheers were even louder now. I stepped into the light, and my eye grew wide at the sight of the endless amount of people standing below me.
"This boy was found in the holy city outside the devil's gates, and he has been identified as the personal pet of god's great messenger, the devil himself. The man who saved our great kingdom and stopped the demons from emerging from the underworld."
I turned around and saw Lord Eadwyn standing above me with Nyko at his side.
"Now the devil has fallen out of favor with the great lord, our god." He pointed his finger to the sky. "And he has sent Raja as a gift to us!" He lifted his hands into the air and received an applause that rocked the ground.
"Liar," I breathed. "Liar!" My voice was somehow magnified and rang out through the square.
The people grew still. I looked around and saw my face on different screens placed throughout the area.
My hands were trembling, and I quickly clenched them, hoping it would stop. "I am no man's property," I said quietly, though it still echoed through the gathering.
Lord Eadwyn smiled. "I will tame him for you, and he will be a symbol of our great ascension toward becoming the most powerful people in the galaxy, not even the devil himself could destroy us."
The ground shook again from the cheers.
"This isn't real," I breathed. "None of this is real." My eyes started to tear as panic set in. What had Tobias sent me back to?
***
I stumbled into a stack of pillows and glared at the guard who had thrown me there. Through a thin set of curtain, the lord could be seen taking in the people's applause. Nyko glanced at me, but didn't move from his place.
Eadwyn turned sharply, causing his robe to twist about his feet. A smile crept across his lips as he walked toward me. Servants parted the curtains.
"So Raja," he approached and took my chin in his hand. "I think it's time you just submit."
I snapped my teeth at his fingers.
He yanked back his hand and examined it. "I heard you were a bit of a savage. It seems the general preferred you that way."
"You're a liar. You've brainwashed all of them."
"Really," he replied sarcastically. "What do you think I've been doing for the last couple centuries? You can either rule by fear or admiration. I chose to do it with a little of both." He fiddled with the diamond ring on his finger. "Take him down to the dungeon. He's going to need a bit of behavioral alteration of his own before I take him to bed."
I glared at the man, taking a more defensive position.
His eyes flicked to me. "What else is a pet good for? You're trained to satisfy a man, I'm simply letting you perform your own purpose." He motioned to the guard. "Get him out of here. I've had enough, and we don't need him making any more statements."
The man pulled me to my feet.
"They're going to find out!" I yelled. "They'll find out and kill you for this."
I was dragged out of the room and taken to an elevator. We stepped inside, and he pressed a button for the bottom floor. My stomach fluttered when the room started the descend. The doors parted, and a chamber with dark solid stone walls appeared. It was nothing like the light color rooms on the upper floor. We stopped outside a barred entryway.
A large man with a foul smell about him smile down at me. "The lord's new pet. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you here." He pressed a button the bars slide into the wall.
I was shoved forward and heard the metal rattling as it closed behind me. The man wrapped his hand around my upper arm and took me to a cell. He shoved me inside.
"The perfect suite for a palace pet." He slammed the door shut and locked it.
Retreating to the back corner, I sat down and pulled my knees to my chest. The cell was clean, but bare. Only a bed and a toilet with a sink occupied the space. I scanned the area and found different metal loops sticking out of the ceiling and walls. The placement worried me.
Letting out a shaky breath, I rested my head on my knees. "Oh please god, if you're real," I begged. "Bring him back to life. Please, bring Tobias back, so he can come and take me home."