I stood at the top of the stairs that led up from the dark cargo hold and onto the flat wooden deck of the ship. We were docked at a wide pier, which jutted out from a sandy beach and into the still waters of the sea. A paved road ran from the pier to a cave in the side of a rock wall. I couldn’t see what was beyond that, but I was certain it wasn’t some place where I wanted to be taken.

  Two columns of human slaves sat on wooden benches and held the oars that drove the ships out of the water. They looked just as stunned as the half a dozen Sathogs that had just watched me tackle one of their own and body slam him to the deck.

  In the bright orange sun and cloudless skies above me, I got a good look at the Sathogs for the first time. They were more than just cavemen. They were tall, close to seven feet, and even though their naked bodies were covered with hair, I could still see their powerful muscles. Their arms seemed too long for their bodies, and their faces were brutish, more ape-like than human, with a sense of dull cruelty in their eyes. Each one held a wooden club in a massive fist.

  I reached down to pick up the club dropped by the Sathog that lay unconscious at my feet. As soon as I moved, one of the others charged forward with his club raised over his head. He ran fast for someone so big, and I was going to get my head crushed in before I could stand up. Instead, I hurled the club at him, hitting him square in the chest. It didn’t take him down, but it did make him stagger back.

  I guess the others realized I was unarmed and decided to all charge in at once. I jumped at the closest one, kicking him a lot harder than I thought possible. He flew back, knocked into two others, and they fell back like bowling pins onto the slaves, who obviously didn’t want to have any part of this.

  A blow from behind struck me, and sharp pain exploded in my shoulder, making my arm go numb. I spun around and, with my good arm, snatched the club out of a Sathog’s hand before he could hit me with it again. I brought it down onto him, hitting his neck where it meets his chest. I heard the crunch of something breaking inside his body, and he crumpled down.

  After those displays of strength, the other Sathogs were a little more cautious. They spread out to surround me. But it was a mistake, as it just gave me a moment for my arm to recover. Besides, I knew something they didn’t. Graed and his son were still down in the cargo hold.

  As soon as I saw Graed’s gray head pop up the stairs. I turned around and swung my club at the Sathog behind me. I didn’t hit him, but it forced him to jump back. I followed him with another swing, which he hopped back away from. Thinking that I was focused on their friend, the other Sathogs charged in around me. It was the distraction I was hoping for so Graed could get behind them.

  The Sathog to my right brought his club down, and I just barely blocked it with my own. He seemed surprised by that. I don’t think Sathogs knew how to block. They either dodged or got hit. I lunged at him and pushed him back. He didn’t fly away like the ones that I kicked, but he still stumbled and fell onto the human slaves behind him. I spun around to meet the ones who followed me.

  Graed and his son were doing a great job of keeping a couple more of the Sathogs occupied. They weren’t taking the cavemen down as easily as I was, but at least that was two fewer Sathogs for me to worry about. The two facing me were worried. Maybe for the first time in their primitive lives, they were actually afraid of a human. I wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.

  I raised the club to strike the one on my right, but faked him out. Instead of hitting him, I kicked the one on the left. It wasn’t a solid hit to the gut. Instead, it was a sharp kick to his knee. Even I flinched a little when I saw his leg bend the wrong way and heard the agonized howl out of his deep chest. I stepped towards him, driving my shoulder into him and forcing him to the ground before I spun around to slam my club into the other Sathog’s head. His jaw snapped, and teeth flew out of his mouth.

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  Facing the rear of the ship, I saw Graed and son still struggling with two of the Sathogs. Inda’s head appeared just above the deck to see what was going on. Her straight black hair framed her copper-colored face, and her bright green eyes met mine. Our little connection lasted only for a heartbeat, but I could see her smile when she saw me.

  But the two Sathogs that I kicked into the rowers were already back on their feet and charging at me. I’ll admit I wanted to show off a little for the pretty girl watching me. So, I ran at them, kicking one of them. It was another solid kick to the gut. He actually barfed on himself as my foot went deep into his torso, and he looked like he was flying in slow motion as his body sailed over the edge of the ship and splashed into the water.

  The other one got the first solid hit on me during the whole fight. His club hit the side of my head. I knew it was hard enough that it should have crushed my skull like a watermelon. Instead, it just pissed me off. I grabbed his throat and spun him around me to slam his body onto the deck. I held him there as I bludgeoned his flat head until his eyes bulged out of his skull and blood streamed from his wide nostrils.

  I stood up and surveyed the scene. The only Sathogs that weren’t dead, unconscious, or drowning were still being kept preoccupied by Graed and his son. Seeing that Graed was struggling the most with his opponent, I stepped towards him.

  “Stephen!”

  I stopped when I heard a distinctly feminine voice call out. I looked back at the stairs where Inda was hiding. She pointed at something behind me and called out, “Vajizk!”

  I had no idea what that meant. But when I whirled around, I was face to face with a monster.

  It was humanoid with two arms, two legs, and a head. But that’s where its connection to humanity ended. It was naked except for a yellow, silken sash that crossed its chest and wrapped around its waist. Dots of yellow paint decorated the green scales that covered its skin. Its head was reptilian with a pointed snout and no hair or ears. A long, scaly tail whipped around behind it like an annoyed cat.

  The creature, a Vajizk as Inda had called it, raised a scaly, muscled arm. In its clawed fist, the Vajizk wielded a bronze rod about two feet long with a red crystal point at one end. I’m ashamed to say that the whole sight was so surprising that I was stunned motionless. The effect lasted only for a second, but it was long enough for the Vajizk to stab me with the crystal end of its rod.

  I’ve never been electrocuted or hit with a stun gun, so I can’t say exactly what it feels like. But I’ve watched a few videos of police officers shooting a taser at some drunk asshole, and I laughed at the way their bodies went rigid when they fell over.

  I imagine that’s what I looked like.

  All of my muscles contracted at once. I howled as the air rushed out of my lungs. With no control over my limbs, I fell over onto the deck. Lying on my back, I saw stars float over my eyes. I would have been afraid I was going to shit my pants, but I wasn’t wearing any. I was close to blacking out, but I shook it off when I heard Inda scream as the Vajizk stepped over me to get at her.

  I rolled to my side and grabbed his scaly, clawed, three-toed foot at the ankle. He stopped and looked down at me. I could see the disdain on his reptilian face, but I think I also saw surprise. I mustered the strength to smirk up at him when I yanked on his leg, stopping him from getting any closer to Inda. He flailed his tail to balance himself before raising his bronze rod again.

  My muscles still weren’t fully cooperating with me yet, and my hands moved slowly as I released his foot. I barely caught the rod before the red crystal point jammed into my chest. The Vajizk pushed down, and I tried to keep that crystalline source of pain away from me. But I was losing.

  I grit my teeth together and felt my muscles burn as I tried to push the crystal away. I watched it drop closer and closer to my bare skin, focusing all my energy to keep it away. I hoped that Graed, or his son, or anyone would come to help me. But I could hear their fight against the Sathogs wasn’t going well. Somewhere behind me, Inda screamed again.

  The red crystal glowed with an inner light. The flash was enough to break my focus. It pierced my chest and stayed there. As I felt burning electricity jump through my body, causing me to convulse, I looked up and saw the gleeful hate in the Vajizk’s eyes.

  I blacked out again.