The Colossus Collection : A Space Opera Adventure (Books 1-7 + Bonus Material)

by Nicole Grotepas

  She began to hunt for something as she continued in a direction opposite from those who followed behind her. It would have been nice to continue toward the water on the bay and get out of the dense covering where shadows reigned, however, that would leave her open and exposed to not just the pleasant sunlight, but the Shadow Coalition as well.

  She moved up the hill above her, heading for higher ground. There was a good chance the SC would go toward the water, thinking her too scared to remain in the heavy undergrowth of the jungly area for the night. If nothing else, she could attempt to sneak through the yards at the top of the cliff and possibly hide for the night in one of them. Then she could come out in the morning, get her bearings, and find her team.

  As she neared the treeline where the cliffs became steeper and the large boulders spread out with pathways running between them, she saw an enclosure of several vehicle-sized rocks. Holly headed toward it, stepping lightly, cognizant of the potential to leave footprints that would give her position away.

  If nothing else, she could slip between the boulders and hide there, hoping her pursuers would pass by and not look too closely. She came to the cluster and squeezed between them quickly, so that she wouldn’t be seen. Once she got past the first grouping, she saw that they concealed a deeper crevice. Holly followed it as far back as she could into what turned out to be a cave.

  It would work to shelter her for the night.

  But, if she’d left a visible path despite all her efforts, it could also be her undoing. She would wait and listen. If she saw or heard something, she could use her whip or knives. She didn’t want to, but she would to protect herself. In this position, she could attack before another person knew what was happening.

  * * *

  Night fell and the shadows that held Holly grew until she was engulfed on all sides by near total darkness. The mouth of her little cave let the light from the night sky in, but that way out offered the probability of discovery if she chose to leave. She wasn’t sure what was out there right then, beneath the cover of night, or if it was a better option than the cave at the moment. Where could she go that wouldn’t lead her straight into the arms of the Shadow Coalition?

  She settled against a large boulder, leaning into it and taking several deep breaths. Once or twice she spoke softly, asking if anyone on her crew was there. Where had Iain gone? Where was Odeon? Was Shiro safe, somewhere?

  It dawned on her that the comm unit was likely broken, possibly compromised, and she pulled it from her pocket and turned it off.

  That didn’t seem like enough, so she set it on the ground. Her hands explored around on the cool dirt of the cave and until they found a rock, which she smashed onto the unit, pulverizing it until it was likely incapable of giving away her location. She also pulled the earpiece off her ear and crushed that as well, then tossed the rock away in the darkness, hearing it crash against the rocky walls in the back of the cave.

  She sat still, quivering. Her fingers trembled. She pushed a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail off her face and looped it behind her ear.

  Holly didn’t want to think of all the ways she’d failed, nor did she want to confront the possibility that her choices had caused Iain or Shiro or Odeon to be hurt by making them delay in their escape. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to forgive herself if they were hurt … or worse. She should have told them to run. The choice between the dead and the living was obvious to her now, but at that time, the death of someone she knew—which occurred on her watch—obscured her insights into what was best. She began to doubt her abilities to lead more than she ever had before. She blamed herself for Jamie’s death—if they’d moved faster, if they’d run, if she’d thought of using the aether gun to blast a hole in the warehouse wall five minutes earlier, Jamie would still be alive.

  She stared into the thick, humid blackness and wondered why she’d chosen to carry Jamie’s body along with them. The body had still been Jamie to her, not just a body. The fragrance of earth and plants hung around her, as well as some strange scents of sweet decay. Occasionally she heard a scritch, scritch that made her heart skip a beat—the sound was likely a rodent nearby. She suddenly wished she still had that rock. She wrapped her arms around her knees and to make herself smaller. She strained to see the source of the noise in the darkness, squinting toward the black depths. The darkness was absolute. It was oppressive and limiting and it echoed through her heart, magnifying her loneliness and isolation.

  The events of the day loomed in the forefront of her mind, settling on her like a lead shirt. She rubbed her hands across her face. Death these days always reminded her of what she’d done to Graf to save herself. That wasn’t a path she wanted to go down at the moment. But she stared at it, knowing what lay down that way if she chose to.

  Her thoughts swirled around her mind like a tornado. There were no easy answers, but she clung to thoughts of what had gone wrong and if there was a possibility to fix any of it.

  Why hadn’t someone responded to her calls? Why were the comms out? Was she fated to die here, alone? The ache in her soul was so massive, some part of her wanted to give up forever and never leave the cave again.

  23

  The sounds of waves crashing far down below pulled Holly from her dream. She jerked awake. She’d fallen asleep sitting against the rock with her forehead resting on top of her knees. Her body ached, from being stuck in that position. Her neck and legs were stiff as she stood up and stretched.

  In the gray light pouring into the opening from the slow dawn, she saw the cave much better now. It ended just a few feet deeper into the hillside. Signs of animals were strewn across the ground—scraps of clothing and packaging from food, bones, and fruit peels.

  Holly finished stretching and crept toward the opening, cautiously watching for indications that there were still Shadow Coalition members out there. She inched forward, scanning the trees constantly looking for movement. As she saw none, she proceeded forward. Eventually the bay and the beach came into view.

  She drew in a sharp breath. Black figures of Shadow Coalition members stood out in the bright light and against the sandy beach as they walked up and down. Though she didn’t see any close by, this meant that it was likely that there could be some hidden within the trees. And if they were on the beach or in the trees, it was only a matter of time before they came to the talus at the bottom of the boulder strewn hill. From there they could look up, then decide to inspect the cave where Holly hid.

  Her options were limited, but she opted to continue up the hill and try to hide within the yard of one of the homes situated along the cliff above her. But she needed to move quickly.

  Holly started up the incline, picking her way over the boulders and using her hands to pull herself up the largest ones or squeeze between them. Her stomach growled and her hands were scraped raw from the climb, but she finally reached the edge of a yard. As she stood there, contemplating what to do, she realized that with her clothing and the white appearance of the stone, she would be an obvious target. She removed her black jacket and threw it over the fence into the yard. Her tank top was cream colored and would be less obvious.

  But the important thing was to keep moving. She traversed along the edge of the yards, hoping to come to an alley-way or a drainage area. Eventually she found a narrow road that went between the houses and she hurried up it, to the main road. Holly remained cautious and alert for SC members, since there seemed to be an endless supply of them looking for herself and her crew.

  That still baffled her—what had she done that was so serious to them that they hadn’t let up searching for her and the others? She hoped it was a good sign that the SC was still searching—did it mean that they hadn’t found her crew?

  At the corner where the narrow road intersected with the the main road, Holly stopped short and studied it, trying to determine where she was. It looked vaguely familiar.

  As she saw a bicycle pulling a wagon with passengers in it, she suddenly
realized she was near Clio’s cafe. Clio was Odeon’s grandmother. Maybe Odeon had gone there. Holly’s heart leapt at the realization and turned to head up the remainder of the hill to the bluff point where Clio’s cafe was perched.

  The journey to her destination was slower than she liked, because she continuously had to stop and wait for Shadow Coalition members to pass either on foot or in an auto. But she couldn’t have her progress ruined by being caught or forced to run, again. So she went as slow as it required to make sure she wasn’t kept from her final destination.

  Eventually she made it to the cafe without being discovered. Clio’s front of store patio was already open and people sat outside eating, drinking, and chatting. Holly paused beside a pillar holding up a facade of another shop. She leaned against it, almost hugging it as she studied Clio’s cafe. Flower pots dangled from the lintels, overflowing with flowering vines. Small birds fluttered around the trumpet-like blooms, poking their beaks into them. Clio came out of the large rolled back wall carrying a carafe. She topped drinks off and smiled at her customers before heading back into the cafe. Odeon’s grandmother wore flowing light colored Yasoan clothing that accentuated her graceful beauty. Seeing someone she recognized made Holly’s heart leap up into her throat where it became a lump that threatened to make her cry. The lonely dark night had been so long. She’d felt certain she’d never see another caring face again in her life, and worse, she’d felt certain that she deserved to be alone for the rest of it, and quite possibly to simply die there.

  It was dramatic, she knew that now, but as she watched Clio nurturing her guests like the Nonna that Odeon had called her, and the way that she’d cared for him when his own parents—Hera and Socrates—had neglected him, Holly realized how abandoned she’d felt during the night. While she’d been there, fighting the darkness both outside her and within, she was able to endure it. But looking back, she knew now how close to the brink she’d been.

  Well. There was no more time to think on it. Just go.

  When she was sure there were no signs of former Shadow Coalitions members, she left the safety of the pillar and hurried to the cafe.

  Clio’s face brightened in recognition when she saw Holly. “Oh my lovely girl,” Clio said, putting the carafe down and raising her arms to take Holly by the shoulders and give her four besos. “What are you doing here? Where’s Odeon?”

  Holly swallowed hard, pushing back the emotions. Clio seemed to see the feeling in Holly’s face and brought her in close to hold her longer.

  “Something has happened? What has happened?” Clio asked, she asked in soothing tones. She smoothed Holly’s hair, which turned out to be more like tugging on her ponytail.

  “I thought you would have seen Odeon,” Holly finally managed.

  Clio let her go. “Say no more. Let’s get you some food and kasé. Then we can discuss what’s going on and what has happened.”

  After Holly went to the washroom and cleaned up, Clio seated Holly on the patio overlooking the bay. From there Holly had a good view of the beach and the searching Shadow Coalition members. Clio brought Holly kasé and a bowl of fruit and yogurt, which Holly devoured, suddenly ravenous.

  Before Holly had a chance to fill Clio in on how she came to be there, a familiar face appeared in the cafe. He didn’t see Holly initially, greeting his grandmother first, who pointed to Holly out on the patio. Odeon hurried to her and Holly stood up and hugged him.

  “Holly Drake, am I glad to see you,” Odeon said, letting go and sinking into a chair.

  “Have you heard from the others?” Holly asked. She sat down and said quietly, “I shouldn’t have insisted that we take Jamie’s body somewhere.”

  Odeon watched her, his brilliant eyes unreadable. “Holly, you haven’t been worrying about that, have you?”

  She bit her lip, and lifted her chin, unwilling to admit that she had been, not eager to be talked down to like her concerns were silly. “Just accept the apology.”

  “I don’t think one is needed.”

  “My delay led to us being separated.”

  “I don’t think that’s true. I don’t see that it happened that way”

  “You don’t have to accept the apology,” she said, focusing on her kasé.

  “I won’t.”

  His response was infuriating. But she chose to move past it.

  “Is your comm working?”

  He shook his head. “No. Something isn’t right. I heard other voices on my unit, and so I left it in an alleyway as I was running away.”

  “I don’t know how we’ll find Iain or Shiro, but I’ve been thinking that I would head back to Kota. Since we have no way to contact them.”

  “I agree. But I think we should go past the rental. See if they circled around to it. Get the things we left behind.”

  He had a point. So, after they relayed a few of the details to Odeon’s grandmother that wouldn’t endanger her in some way, they booked a return flight.

  24

  Holly stared out the window to the street below from the Bird’s Nest, hoping to catch sight of Iain or Shiro out there. Holly had gone past Analogue Alley before heading to the Surge. Kaye hadn’t heard from Iain. It was a problem, in a way, to not take a backup method to communicate, but honestly none of them had ever considered that they might need something like that. Now they would know, for future jobs, that something could rob them of their primary communication.

  The Bird’s Nest and the Surge Club offered few comforts after the return trip. Her stomach was an acid bath of anxiety. Charly sat at her desk chasing down her contacts to see if anyone had randomly caught wind of a pompous well-dressed human who favored bright colors and bowlers, or an ex-military man with graying hair and steel blue eyes. No one had.

  Likewise Darius sent out his own feelers.

  “If they’re out there, they’ll find us. They’re not babies, you know.” Charly complained.

  “I know, but it’s my fault,” Holly said.

  “Well, I disagree. They’re both kind of babies. Shiro more than Iain, but still,” Darius added.

  Odeon hadn’t turned up yet. He’d gone out on a favor for Holly. She had a meeting soon with Dave, who insisted after she told Xadrian what had happened. Neither of them would be pleased with the way things had turned out. Holly couldn’t blame them. She was still upset herself and her focus was on how she could fix it.

  But, there was this loose end that was tearing up her innards—where the hell was Iain? Where the hell was Shiro? She refused to believe that they’d been caught or killed.

  “Darius, did you figure out what happened to our communications anyway?” Holly asked without taking her eyes off the writhing street below. It was a gloomy day, but it wasn’t snowing. The citizens of the city were out in full force, walking to work, to the market, to school.

  “Pretty sure it was hacked, Drake. And then frozen, to stop us from communicating. I doubt they were using it to locate us, because I didn’t register any signal tracers. Which makes me think that whoever did it, doesn’t care about where we are.”

  “And why would that be?” Holly asked, vaguely. She’d spotted a brilliant purple hat out on the street in the crowd. She held her breath—that could be Shiro.

  “Because they know who we are, and where we are.”

  * * *

  The bartender recognized her, though she’d only seen him the once before. He asked what she wanted to drink and she ordered an ale. “Thanks, Ben,” Holly said, reading his name tag.

  “Of course. Your friend is in booth #6. Good luck. He didn’t seem too happy.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” Holly said, taking her beer with her to the booth.

  It was late afternoon, and the bar wasn’t too busy. She wove through the tables and chairs while the sound of some period music from Earth played.

  Dave let her in when she knocked lightly. He closed and locked the door behind her. A modern fusion band of Yasoan and human electronic music played over the speakers.
Dave stood with his back to the door, watching Holly.

  He hadn’t said anything yet. His silence unnerved her.

  But she wouldn’t be the first to speak. She sat down and put her beer on the coffee table, then sat back and stared at Dave.

  The silence was fine with her. If he thought she was pleased with what happened on Itzcap, he’d need to rethink that. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she was certain it was his fault. Xadrian and his fault. For their secrecy. She still wasn’t sure which side he was on. That bothered her. So she remained content in her own silence. His would not disarm her.

  “What happened, Holly?” He finally asked, leaving his post at the door and sitting down on the sofa opposite her.

  “Xadrian didn’t tell you?”

  “I want to hear it from you.”

  “We found Jamie. I was annoyed that you and Xadrian once again didn’t tell me what I was actually going after. Jamie was pretty hurt—in terrible shape. We tried to help him. We revived him. Some bad people showed up—Shadow Coalition, I think. We tried to get away. Jamie was shot. He died. We left his body because there were—” she leaned forward to stress how bad it had been “—so, so many of them.”

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “I’m sorry Jamie was killed. I didn’t want that.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  She studied Dave’s face. He hadn’t removed his jacket. The edge of his suspenders was visible just beneath the coat. He looked unruffled, despite the grave tone of his voice. His face was clean shaven. His hair brushed back. Holly wondered if he’d ever spent the night in a cave, scared for his life. Probably not.

  “What are you going to do?” Holly asked. She wasn’t ready to tell Dave her plans.

  “I don’t now. But whatever you do, I’m not going to stop you.”

  She nodded and sat back. “This appears to be the remains of the Shadow Coalition. They haven’t disbanded. They seem stronger than ever.”