by MM Glenn
"I mean, I know what I want to do. And I know what I should do. What duty demands of me." He pulled her close, nestling her against his chest. "But... I don't want to ask you to make the decision you're faced with."
"Yeah, it’s bad form to ask your new girlfriend to help you kill your old girlfriend," Kaydia teased, trying to lighten the mood. "Or I guess capture in this case? Do you really have to do this?"
He fell silent, his own thoughts roiling through psionics with the conflict between duty and desire. "I'm a Justiciar," he repeated, as if reminding himself. "And I know her better than any of the other Shadows. But...we could leave. For a while. Figure things out. Decide what we're going to do."
It was a compromise. A decent one, and it was all Kaydia needed. Once they got away, and Quentin realized how good things were, when it was just him and her, he wouldn't want to come back. She kissed him before he could finish his thought, lingering for a bit before he pulled away. Face buried in the masculine musk of his shoulder, she sighed. "I just want to be with you, Quentin. I need you."
His hand traced invisible patterns on her back. “I need you too, Kaydia. Now, more than ever…” They lingered in the afterglow a while longer, until it was no longer comfortable to be naked and sweaty and cover in each other’s lust.
"Now, do you have a shower on board? Or some kind of fresher? Not that I mind smelling of you, but I am still covered in blood, and would rather not be."
"I do, actually." He gestured at a door behind him. "It's a dual-function model, even. Regular shower when I'm hooked up to an external supply and flip a switch, and sonic shower when I’m not." A light chuckle. "It's a bit of a splurge, but worth it."
He stumbled a little as he moved away, only now remembering that his pants were still around his ankles. After a moment of waffling, he kicked his boots across the room and stepped out of the trousers. Clad only in his socks, he pulled open a small closet.
"Here," he said, tossing her a towel, "and I can toss your clothes in the cleaner. Should get the blood stains out, while I prepare to lift off."
Dressed in her now cleaned clothes, Kaydia joined Quentin in the cockpit, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. "Given any thought to where we are heading?"
"Not really, no," he confessed, flicking more controls. The ship began to vibrate, just a little, as he brought the reactors fully online and began to warm the engines. "Away from Miruta for the moment." He shot her a grin and leaned over to kiss her in return, before turning his attention back to the controls. "Someplace out of the way and relaxing, for a few days at least. So we can get a chance to decide what we're going to do next. Manaan, maybe. It's certainly out of the way." He chuckled.
"Manaan? The ocean planet? " Kaydia repeated, trying to remember. It had been years since she left Miruta, when she traveled the galaxy with her mentor. She offered a playful pout. "I had hoped for somewhere with a beach."
"If you are in the mood for something a little more civilized, we could head into the colonies in the Tapani Sector, instead."
"Sounds good to me. As long as we are together," she admitted, settling down in the cockpit.
The vibrations of the engine stopped as he cut in the gravatics and retracted the landing claws. Slowly the Scrapper began to lift from its docking cradle, following the launch vector he'd been given.
"So tell me more about the Justiciar thing. I don't think I was ever cut out to be one. I always had a hard time separating my emotions from my actions. "
"The 'Justiciar thing'?" he echoed. "Hard to say, since I haven't been the typical Justiciar for... hmmm... a decade, now." He chuckled. "See, I'm dead. If you check my records in the Archive, you learn that I was killed by Lorin Shaal, former Justiciar, when I uncovered his role in a drug running and blackmail scheme."
"Oh, you're dead too? Yet another thing we have in common!" Kaydia laughed.
He laughed as well, and adjusted course slightly as the Scrapper plowed through Miruta's exosphere. "And now I'm a Shadow, lurking on the edges of the Order and constantly watching for threats from the darkness. Whether from within or without." Another chuckle. "Sounds romantic, doesn't it? In practice, it means I get to clean up messes the government would prefer never get made public." He flashed her a grin. "So I can tell you a lot about psionics, and the light and the darkness, and about the soul of a Justiciar. But the lifestyle?" He shook his head.
"It's almost funny. They might have sent you after me, if not for the fact they think I am dead. That really would have put a damper on our budding relationship," Kaydia teased, reaching to run her fingers down his shoulder. There was a jolt of distaste in his mind, as the thought of hunting her passed through it.
"It might have," he agreed, choosing to concentrate on the feel of her fingers on his chest and the teasing flavor of her emotions. "But... well, I'm a free agent. If I'm sent after someone, I'm expected to determine if they're a threat and then neutralize that threat." He grinned. "But how is utterly at my discretion. I've managed to set four fallen psionics on a path of redemption, and there are two renegade Justiciar on Daraterra that I decided to utterly ignore –because starting a farm and raising a family hardly constitute a threat."
His expression hardened a little. "Hell, I'd even bring Linora back to the Unseen path if she'd come. And she's tried to kill me three times."
Kaydia didn't need to be psychic to see how Linora still weighed on him. It wasn't hard to imagine why, either. It wasn't so long ago that she and Linora had been tangled up like this. Before the jobs became more important. But Quentin was different. He chose her. So, with a giggle and a smirk, she trailed a finger down his face. "Oh, and how would you neutralize a threat like me?"
Suddenly laughing, he caught her finger and pulled her into a kiss. His fingers combed through her red hair as his tongue parted her lips. "The way I see it," he grinned, "you can hardly be a threat if I keep you exhausted from mind-blowing sex, right?"
"So, what you're saying is that the path of my salvation starts in your bed? Oh Quentin, save my soul. Save it all night long!"
“Oh I plan to, once we reach Tapani.” He took another kiss, slow and exploring her mouth. “I’ve already booked us a suite overlooking the famous gardens of Archiludia.”
Kaydia hummed sweetly. “Sounds nice. Too bad we aren’t going to get a chance to see them.”
“Why’s that?” Quentin asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Because you are going to be far too busy keeping me distracted.”
Thanks again for reading Shadow’s Eclipse Part 1: Scarlet Reflection. Keep reading for a preview of Shadow’s Eclipse Part 2: Driven to Inertia, available for preorder now.
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Other Books by MM Glenn:
His Redemption Series
To Serve the Goddess
To Betray a Master
To Beseech the Godslayer
To Embrace the Dragon
To Rise Above
Shadow’s Eclipse
Part 1: Scarlet Reflections
Part 2: Driven to Inertia (Available in September, 2019)
Part 3: Assassin by Another Name (Available October, 2019)
Part 4: In the Grip of Yesterday (Available November, 2019)
Part 5: On the Razor’s Edge of Light and Darkness (Available December, 2019)
Distractions
Linora moaned a little, two gunmetal fingers stroking deep into her core as she watched the hologram before her. It showed Quinn Hall, naked on a couch as Scarlet knelt before him and swallowed his cock. "Close..." the image of the mercenary groaned, "Such a good mouth, Kaydia. Ah! So... close..."
She stared at the holographic assassin's face, lost in passion as she fucked the mercenary's cock with her mouth, and her own metallic fingers worked faster within her drenched folds. Another moan escaped her
lips as she felt a burning pressure building within her and imagined it was Kaydia's tongue instead of her fingers.
"So... will I have... to punish... you?" Quinn gasped out. Quentin gasped out.
She'd recognized him in the skimmer, of course. He'd changed some, since their last encounter. The one that had cost her a hand and nearly her life. But not so much that she didn't recognize her first lover. She'd even considered killing him then, but hesitated. He was fast, and skilled, and she wasn't sure she could have taken him even with surprise.
But, right now? She'd be willing to take him. Take both of them. Memories of stolen trysts in the order mingled with the surveillance footage she was watching, making her imagine Quentin driving into her from behind while Kaydia's cunning tongue... oh, yes... her tongue... "Aah!"
She bit her lip, arching her hips into her hand as Quentin's back arched and he drove his meat into Kayida's throat. "KAYDIA!" They both screamed the name, her voice breaking on her orgasm as the holographic mercenary sprayed his cum deep into the assassin's throat. Finally, exhausted, Linora slumped back in her chair.
"Quentin Hall," she whispered, reaching out to run her glistening metal fingers through the hologram. "And Kaydia. My, but this is getting better and better..."
***
Kaydia rose from the seat and stretched, contorting her figure delightfully. “So, how long is the trip to Procopia?”
Quentin checked the readings on the console “We got a couple hours.” He traced her figure with a leer, “Got any ideas on how to spend them?”
“One or two,” she said, trailing a couple fingers along his jaw. “Got any food on board? Between the fights and the sex, I am famished.”
“Mostly prepack, I'm afraid, since it stores better. But I've got a small supply of fresh foods as well, in case I feel like cooking." He rose and took her hand. "Come on. I'll show you."
As much fun as it would have been to cook a meal together, they settled on prepack dish. In this case, reconstituted beef broth, with flavored protein cubes and freeze-dried vegetables. Simple, hearty, and, most importantly, largely edible.
Across the table, over their meals, Quentin watched Kaydia eat. Even with everything he’d discovered, everything she’d told him, mysteries lied beneath surface.
“You didn’t choose to leave the Order of the Unseen?”
“Well, no. I guess not.” Kaydia offered a sheepish smile and a shrug. “Does that matter?”
He reached for her hand. “You could come back. Maybe not exactly the same way, but…you could be a Shadow, like me.”
“Go back to the Unseen? Quentin, I can’t. I’m not a Justiciar.” She stirred a piece of beef around her bowl. “I’d follow you to the ends of the galaxy, if you asked. But I can’t be something I’m not.”
“There is no one right way to be a Justiciar,” Quentin argued, crooking his head to meet her eyes.
“Perhaps, but there are wrong ways to be one. And I’ve done every one of them,” She looked up at him, flashing a cheeky grin, “Now.”
“It’s not too late.” He traced her knuckles with his thumb. “Besides, I could use someone like you as back up.”
“Couldn’t I back you up as a freelancer? I mean, you trust me, don’t you?”
Spooning up the last of his stew he shoved the bowl aside. “Of course I trust you.”
“Then stop lecturing me.” The words were serious, but her eyes were playful, and she gave him a thoughtful, inviting smile. “I thought you were going to save my soul through sex.”
He released a short chuckle, then grabbed her wrist and pulling her to his lap. “You think it will work?” She answered in a kiss, hungering lips forcing his open as well. As her tongue slipped between his lips, her hands explored his chest, playfully working at the buttons of his shirt. He responded by tugging at the hem of her blouse, pulling it up so his fingertips could explore the smooth skin of her back.
With a subtle shudder in the engine, the ship dropped out of hyperspace. "I should head up to the cockpit," he remarked, eyes lingering on Kaydia. "We need to check..." The words died away as she pulled off her top and tossed it away. Her eyes didn’t leave his as she reached behind her back, and unhooked her bra, strappings sliding down her arms and breasts slipping free of the cups.
"Well," he grinned, "maybe it can wait..."
Things progressed at a deliberate pace, each wanting to linger over the other as they kissed and touched and explored. Soon his shirt was open to the waist and bare skin brushed against bare skin. Teeth and tongue worked down her throat and shoulders. Concentrating on her throaty sounds of encouragement, he almost didn't notice the jolt.
Almost.
"What was that?" Kaydia asked, pushing away and looking around.
"I... don't know," he responded, looking around as well. "Maybe the thrust regulators? Or the inertial compensators? I..."
The ship lurched again, followed by a metallic clang as something struck the hull. Moments later, scraping could be heard. "Shit!" Quentin declared, looking around frantically as he moved Kaydia from his lap. "Something grabbed us!"
As he rose, the sounds of cutters working at the lock could be heard. "I don't remember –did we bring your gun? If not, there's an arms locker over there." He pointed at a wide door near the fresher. "We're going to be boarded."
Kaydia bent over to scoop up her discard shirt as Quentin pointed out the arms’ locker. Her bra could wait, too much work to put on while they were under attack. Slipping her tank top back on as she made her way to the weapons, taking a moment to pick the best weapon for the situation. She decided on a bo staff and a small blaster, strapping it to her waist.
The ship lurched again, shifting in response to their captor’s ship. Kaydia stumbled, and fell against the hull, uncharacteristic of her usual grace. “We need…gas masks…” Kaydia gasped out.
"Gas masks?" Quentin repeated, momentarily confused. Then the first wave of dizziness hit him, and he sagged against the bulkhead for support. Calling on psionics, he set his lungs to the difficult task of absorbing only oxygen into his bloodstream and his kidneys and liver to filtering the toxins he'd already absorbed. As Kaydia made her way past, heading for the lock, he exhaled a greenish white plume of waste gasses and coma gas. Then, refusing to inhale, he turned to one of the emergency panels.
What came next was painful. Even with his blood richly oxygenated, his empty lungs ached to draw breath. Worse, he could still feel the gas working on him, slowing his actions and fuddling his thoughts. Clearly, it had both contact and inhalation vectors. As he heard the first shots exchanged and heard the first cries of pain and anger, he got the panel open and settled a breather on his face. Fresh oxygen flooded his lungs, letting him temporarily shake the effects of the gas.
The cutters tore a hole in the ship, and poured in through the opening. A green-haired man lead the raid, followed by a handful of others, each wearing a mask over his mouth and nose. Kaydia hit one of the raiders in the shoulder, and stumbled back several steps, using the bulkhead for support. Her next shot killed her target, but not before several more could close the distance, wielding stun sticks.
She dropped her pistol and brought out her staff, just blocking the first strike, before the second hit her in the side. She gasped, letting out the air she was holding in, and forcing her to take a second breath of the poisoned air. She struck a weak blow to one attacker, who retaliated with a blow of his own, from his stun stick.
He heard Kaydia cry out, felt the stun sticks impacting her as consciousness fled. His heart leapt into his throat, and he mentally repeated the litany as he ignited his plasma blade, struggling for calm. It wasn't easy. Even unconscious her dread and terror burned in his mind, and he shook with adrenaline and rage as the first of the pirates entered the Scrapper's "lounge"
That pirate died as he called on psionics to slam him into the bulkhead with a bone-shattering impact. "Shit!" shouted a mask-distorted voice. "Justiciar!"
Another wave of
dizziness hit Quentin –the gas, seeping in through his pores. If he didn't end this quickly, or at least get out of the gas, he'd go down. So he charged the hallway, deflecting stun charges with his plasma blade. The closest pirate tried desperately to parry with a stunstick, and the luminous silver blade sheared through weapon and torso without slowing. As the corpse fell he struck out with psionics, hurling three more pirates backwards.
A stun bolt struck his shoulder, causing his plasma blade to drop from nerveless fingers. As he called it back to his left hand, two more bolts struck his chest. One sent numbness across his torso and the other fused his breather. An involuntary deep breath, caused by the stinging pain of the stunner, filled his lungs with the gas. He went down, numb arm failing him as he tried to catch himself on hands and knees.
He barely felt the torrent of stun beams that struck him.
Table of Contents
Burying the Past
The Meet
Something like a Date
The Hit
The Alibi
Naked
The Next Job
The Close Call
Confessions
Distractions