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

by Nicole Grotepas

  Still, it had been stupid to tell him. But… that’s the sort of thing someone did after yea many glasses of wine. They’d both confessed past mistakes, and at that time, it had seemed the right thing to do.

  “What are you worried about?” She pulled her socks on, then shoved a leg into her pants.

  “You.”

  “You’re worried that I’ll get lost?” She tried to bring some levity to the somber moment. He wasn’t making this easy. He usually did. He usually understood what she needed, that she had duties, that it wasn’t his job to stop her from honoring them, that he knew the best thing he could do was wait for her to come back. He’d done his own share of gallivanting around the solar system. He was familiar with the call.

  “Something like that.” The tone in his voice made her regret that she’d attempted something silly, because now she saw that it could have a double meaning—she could get wrapped up in the myth of Elan, in the past, in whatever it was they’d had together, and never come back to Iain.

  Lost.

  “Won’t happen. I’ve got Darius watching my back almost at all times. Thank Ixion he’s gay, or I’d feel worried about all the things he might have accidentally seen.” Her voice was getting louder as dawn brightened the room. More levity, change the subject. Make him laugh.

  She’d arranged to meet Odeon at the Bird’s Nest that evening. But she still had preparations to make—packing up, outfitting herself with weapons, and touching base with the rest of the crew. These days Holly always kept her whip on her belt and a throwing knife or two, but she’d feel too naked without more options. The battle with Magna on the zeppelin that crashed into Ixion had taught her that she needed backups to her backups. If that was even possible—she’d run out of places to store weapons soon.

  “Can I take the Equalizer?” She asked, standing up and pulling her shirt on over her head.

  Iain moaned again. “Don’t cover them up.”

  She laughed. “Sorry. It’s cold outside. Otherwise I’d definitely run around topless.”

  “You could stay here and run around topless all day.” He sat up in bed.

  “There’s only one of us who should remain topless, and that’s you,” she said, hoping to flip it on him and get away from this subject of his sudden jealousy.

  He did look good. And she would love nothing more than to not go out into the cold and fight the darkness away from the world. To just spend all day watching him move, and appreciate his body.

  But that was stupid. No one ever achieved anything by staying home.

  “If you insist on leaving, you’re welcome to take the Equalizer. If you insist on leaving.”

  “You’re not making this easy, Iain.”

  “I know,” he pouted. “I don’t want to make it easy. I want you to stay. When will you decide you don’t have to save the world any more and just save us?”

  She inhaled, taken aback by his response. He was behaving like a hurt animal. She’d never seen him this way. He’d always been cool. He was almost stoic under pressure. It was one of the things that had drawn her to him.

  How could she comfort him? How could she say something that would reassure him that he could trust her with Elan? Anything she might say would sound utterly stupid and weak. And even acknowledging what she suspected were the reasons behind his emotional outburst would seem like an admission of guilt.

  She wasn’t responsible for his feelings or his fears. She’d taken that weight during her marriage to Graf, and she’d learned that that was bull shit.

  Iain needed to manage his own feelings.

  “I don’t have the answer to that yet, Iain. I’ll decide to stop when I realize I’ve already saved it, I guess, or I believe it can’t be saved.”

  He pulled the Equalizer out of the nightstand next to his bed. He wore only his boxer briefs and as he stood to hand her the gun, her heart melted just a bit. He was beautiful and inviting, still covered in the shades of sleep, ruffles of night, and she really never wanted to leave. He was behaving in a way she wasn’t used to, but still, she never wanted to leave. She took the gun from him. He hugged her briefly, then trudged away into the bathroom and shut the door.

  Wow. She waited a minute. He said nothing.

  And she wasn’t going to beg.

  She left, a wooden, hollow feeling replacing the space where her heart usually beat.

  10

  “Le Roi is finally out of our hair,” Holly said.

  Later that evening, she was catching up with the crew—hadn’t checked in with anyone since delivering what they owed Danielle from the job getting the galactic orrery.

  Holly rubbed her hands together nervously and paced in front of the Bird’s Nest window that overlooked the Surge Club floor. Everything was in order for her jaunt to Rochers Deshiketes.

  Overdressed Centaus mingled down below, laughing in their subdued way, tilting their heads to smug angles, oozing importance.

  She’d never felt so irritated at them as she did right then. Did they ever accomplish anything, or was that something only their ancestors did? Had all of the inhabitants of the 6 Moons lost their drive to strive for greatness, and so were now preoccupied with maintaining their status?

  Holly bit her lip, observing as a cluster of Centaus shuffled like they were dancing. Why weren’t they looking for George, her father and the former Heart of the Shadow Coalition? Did they care about extra-solar system threats? Were they building out the military to protect the 6 Moons or did they think they’d done enough?

  Music rose up through the stairwell from the stage where a live band played.

  “Too bad she took most of that money,” Charly said, getting dressed into an elegant dress in front of the wardrobe near Holly. “Zip me up.”

  Holly obliged.

  “I can zip you up, Charly,” Shiro said from his perch on the armrest of a chair.

  He twirled his lionhead cane and grinned at Holly.

  “Too late. I got it.” Holly coughed, hiding her irritation at their flirting. It had gotten worse. There was no steering this. She ignored it.

  “Charly, when will you hire me to play one of your parties?” Odeon asked. He’d come to stand at the window, a drink in his hand that he’d brought up from below. He sighed appreciatively. “Torden makes drinks like no other.”

  “Never, Odes. I’ll never hire you to play. Why would I do that? I respect you too much. You’re too good for the morons down there. They don’t listen to the music. It’s just posturing. They don’t even dance, usually.”

  “But, is the money good?”

  “Oh yeah, it’s good. But you don’t want to be like your parents, do you?”

  “A Yasoan needs to eat.”

  “Heresy. Alright, well, it’s never been out of anything other than practicality that I haven’t booked you. I’ll consider you for the next gig.”

  “That’s settled, then. But before Charly heads down to the party, we need to go over some things, crew.” Holly cleared her throat and faced the room.

  Darius turned and glanced at Holly, then maneuvered his desk chair into position in front of the bay of monitors and began clicking through screens.

  Shiro blinked and stopped spinning his cane, resting the tip on the floor and balancing his hands on top of it. Holly continued. “We have no jobs lined up for now. So, you know the drill.”

  Charly spun in her dress and tossed her curls. She gave Holly a look. “You want us to find a job?”

  There was something in the air between them as Charly stared her down. Holly lifted her face, sensing a challenge, alert to whatever silent message Charly was sending. “What? You have something to say?”

  “Just worried we won’t pick right.”

  “Come on, Charly. I said I was sorry.”

  “You did? I don’t remember.”

  “Wait. What, Drake?” Darius asked, turning in his chair. “You mean, you apologized?”

  “Yes,” Holly said, lifting her chin. “When we took the pai
nting to the fence, we found out that the rivalry over that stupid painting has gone on for many years. I didn’t know all the details, alright?”

  “She did apologize, but I’m still annoyed about it. There’s no rule of engagement that says I have to get over something on someone else’s timetable.” Charly took a pair of black heels out of the wardrobe and put them on.

  Holly caught the gleam in Shiro’s eyes as she gained two inches in height. They’d gone out before anyway, it wasn’t like the attraction was new. It was just weird. Were they both so hard up at the moment that they were considering revisiting it? Charly had Torden, anyway. Holly had half a mind to tattle.

  Wow, that’s so immature of me.

  “That’s your right, Charly. Obviously you can do whatever you want,” Holly said. “What’s this party for, anyway?”

  “A celebration of two old Centau houses coming together through a marriage.”

  “Marriage?”

  “Yeah, some morons are doing some kind of plural marriage thing, like they do. So the male and female are both married to other people. But now they’ve decided to combine their wealth. I guess there’s another faction that’s getting stronger and this union will put them on the same level, maybe slightly higher.”

  “Sounds like you’re getting an in depth education on the moronic political affairs between the houses.”

  “I’m actually really good at it. The only human who knows more is that human down there.” Charly came to stand beside Holly and Odeon, and pointed. “Idris Caron.”

  Holly held back a cough, which made her choke. She coughed and choked and hurried to the wet bar and poured a glass of water, which she downed quickly.

  “You OK, Hols?”

  Holly wandered back, carrying the glass of water.

  “Swallowed wrong. Totally fine,” she croaked.

  Damn. That was close.

  Had Charly noticed the odd behavior? Would she chalk it up to swallowing wrong or had Holly entirely given away that her reaction had been due to seeing Dave down on the floor?

  “Anyway, maybe a job will come up tonight. I’ll keep my ears open. Wandering between the clusters of families gives me a chance to hear all the rivalries.”

  “Perfect. As long as it’s not just stealing to get rich, you know? As long as there’s an underlying reason that’s somewhat decent,” Holly said.

  Shiro stood up and wandered closer, spinning his cane and smiling like he was closing in on his kill.

  “And Charly, if it is just about getting rich, let me know,” he said. “I may want to do it on my own if the pay out is good enough and Ms. Drake is against the job on moral grounds.”

  “Good point, Shiro. If we don’t do it, someone else will. The Cocks? The Shadow Coalition? Do we want them fattening up their coffers?” Charly observed. “You don’t, right? Isn’t that a good reason to take some jobs—to prevent the bad guys from doing the jobs?”

  “Not that reason alone, no. I don’t know how I feel about this. I turn down a gig for the crew, and you guys go do it on your own. Is that it?” She shook her head. “I guess you can do whatever you want on your own time.”

  “That’s always been the arrangement, unless we’re too busy with a gig together, Ms. Drake.”

  Darius jumped in. “You need money for more ships, Drake. Sometimes you can’t be too picky when you need money.”

  Charly crossed her arms and studied Holly for a moment, then sighed. She glanced out the window again at the floor below.

  “The party is picking up and I’m needed. I’ll keep my eyes and ears peeled for a new job, one that meets all of the requirements,” she said, flashing Holly a look.

  “Sucks to have integrity,” Holly said, shaking her head, knowing that Charly was still nursing a grudge. She sighed. “But, thank you. I know we don’t agree on all this, but it means the world to me that you take it into consideration.”

  “I’m loyal, I guess, Hols,” Charly said, seeming to relax a bit. She gave a small shrug, looking gorgeous in her evening attire, the motion somewhat out of place with her dressed to the nines. “And anyway. What are friends for?”

  The sentiment struck an unexpected chord in Holly and she swallowed back the emotion welling up in her throat. She wasn’t sure she deserved that loyalty, but she hoped to live up to it.

  11

  “I only question traveling all the way there being a necessity,” Odeon said as they opened the door into their cabin and entered. The train was packed, forcing them to share a berth. The ride north would take the whole day, winding through several canyons and crossing two major mountain ranges that separated the continent into distinct regions.

  “What else would I do?”

  “Call him.” Odeon placed his Ousaba on the main bed. “I’ll need the larger bed, Holly. Will that be a problem?”

  Beggars couldn’t be choosers. Besides, he was taller than her. Seemed fair.

  “I’m not risking Voss and her ilk intercepting our calls. This is the last option, really, Odeon. If we can’t move all the kids north and out of her reach, we’ll have done all that we did for naught.” Holly stared at him till his bright eyes fixed on hers. “I’m not wasting all that we’ve sacrificed for this just because I’m lazy.”

  “Then while we’re there, let’s give him a way to contact us that is encrypted.”

  “Already planned for it, boy,” Darius said over the comm.

  Holly flinched. She’d forgotten it was on. He could also see everything she looked at. Briefly she wondered if she’d done anything that required privacy with it on.

  “Startle you, Drake?” Darius asked with a chuckle.

  “So used to not having you in my ear these days.”

  “I’m just here to monitor you for now. I’ll cut out for lunch in a bit.”

  “I want you here. For back up. But I’ll turn you off for private time.”

  “I got your back, Drake. And yours, Starlight. But I don’t want to be there for private time, sorry. Not my cup of tea.”

  “I meant…oh never mind,” she said, dismayed that he’d try to interpret her polite terminology for something much worse than she intended.

  Odeon ignored their banter—he somehow always seemed above it, very rarely engaging in it, but when he did, it was almost like he didn’t even notice it. It was surface. While Holly often felt ruffled by it.

  “Oh, and Starlight, I gave Holly a communicator. Protected from the likes of Voss and The Cocks. Once Elan has that, another trip north shouldn’t be necessary to talk to him without eavesdroppers.”

  “Impressive, Darius. I would have thought of that myself, but I did not.”

  “I’m sure you would have, brother,” Darius said.

  “Darius, any headway on checking those two names? The new people at the school?”

  “Still looking, Drake. So far, nothing. I’ll keep checking. Might they be aliases?”

  “Este says they ran checks on them and they came back clean.”

  “Yes, I’m seeing their files, which is what’s intriguing. They’re both spotless. While I’m bored here today, watching your back, I’ll keep looking. Some irregularity needs to pop up to convince me they’re not totally manufactured to look perfect.”

  “Keep me informed, especially if you find anything out,” Holly said.

  “Shall we go sit in the dining car?” Odeon asked.

  They’d both unloaded their bags and were now left staring at each other, without much else to do.

  “Sounds about right. What else would we do?” She shrugged.

  “Lock your cabin behind you,” Darius reminded them.

  “Thanks. This coming from the guy who never travels anywhere.” Holly checked her body. It was a new thing she was doing, to make sure she was equipped for anything. The Equalizer aether gun was snug against her back beneath her jacket. Two throwing knives hid up her sleeves. A long knife nestled in her boot. And her aether whip dangled from her belt.

  Darius chuckled mirt
hlessly. “Just trying to help.”

  “You are always helpful, Darius. Even when you’re not helpful.” Odeon picked up his Ousaba club and gave it a casual twirl.

  Holly watched him and wondered if he ever carried anything beyond the staff, which he insisted on calling a club. For all she knew, he had other deadly weapons sequestered across his person. She hoped so, in fact.

  “Ready?” she asked, opening the door to their cabin.

  * * *

  In the dining car, they found a seat by the window facing east. Gray light from the overcast sky outside spilled through the glass onto their table. Holly got a cocktail and a glass of water. She planned to mainly focus on the water, giving anyone who cared to watch the illusion that she was being irresponsible by drinking.

  Not that she had any reason to suspect that anyone would be watching her. But she couldn’t be too cautious on trips like this.

  She’d brought a v-screen along and sat at their table, sipping her drinks and reading a novel. Odeon sat across from her and watched the scenery pass by. The dining car bustled with other passengers and the laughter that they brought with them. The smell of forced heat through the small area wafted under Holly’s nose. Concentrating on her reading material was extra difficult—too much weighed on her. She felt jumpy at every sudden movement in her peripheral vision.

  “What are you reading?” Odeon asked.

  “Some story with vampires and witches,” Holly answered.

  “Vampires?”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard of vampires? They suck blood. They’re undead?” Holly prompted. The crew had experienced witches, when they’d gone after the one who stole the Analogue Alley Christmas angel. But other human folklore wasn’t as prevalent in the 6 Moons culture.

  She lifted an eyebrow, watching his reaction. This was actually something Odeon might really enjoy looking into. “You’d love this stuff. It’s more powerful than religion in some ways. Vampires are like cursed beings—powerful creatures of the dark. They can only come out at night. Their teeth are sharp like a predator’s. Their bite can either kill a human or turn a human into one of their own.”