“The Starfire, and maybe the Deathhorn. Really, I don’t know much. Dad doesn’t tell me enough.”
Reva stepped away from the Elba. Qwalm helped him to his feet.
We walked down the dusty street to where the shippers were located. Two Skallan stood outside the closed hatch of a boxy ship. They both held rifles at the ready, leading me to believe they were guards.
“We’re here to deliver two prisoners,” Akar said.
The guards relaxed slightly. One of them spoke into a wrist datcom, similar to my datsheet but wrist-mounted. “We’ve got five hunters and two prisoners.” He stalked toward us and scanned our faces, then scanned the prisoners.
“High bounty for a kid,” the guard remarked.
The ship’s hatch opened and a Chix stepped out, his head held high. “It’s fifty to ship each prisoner,” he said. “Pirates are double.”
“When did that happen?” Akar demanded. “The Ordained pay you, not us.”
The Chix grimaced. “They don’t pay enough for hauling, not with pirates around.”
“Fine,” Akar snapped. “You don’t get the Elba. We’ll sell him at the local market.”
“He’s a pirate,” Nazar said. “We released him from slavery. He’s been with us ever since.”
I stared. If the Elba was left on Lokostwa, he’d be forced into the mines. Elbas, being natural tunnelers, were more at home in the mines than any other species. If he was lucky, he’d even get released after a few decades. Pirates went to the pits. Was Nazar dumb enough to sentence his friend to death?
“He’s right,” the Elba said. “I’m a pirate.”
The sparse hair on the back of my neck stood on end. They’re up to something.
“Fine. We’ll take both now and send you the extra coin if we can get the Elba convicted for piracy.” The Chix’s tail twitched.
“You’d better send us the coin.” Qwalm’s feathers stood up.
The Chix spread his hands. “We’re gonna. What’d you think we are, pirates?”
The Chix handed us the bounty for the pair of prisoners, minus the transportation fee. As we walked away, my stomach tightened. Had I done the right thing? Those two were just kids and shouldn’t be given red tattoos, but what if I’d doomed a crew of people to pirate attacks? I tried not to think about it. The Ordained knew how to deal with pirates. It wasn’t my problem, but I knew Dad would never have been so brutal to a pair of kids, not like Reva had been. This was why we’d avoided them.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Choice
The next day, we spread out to hunt while Akar went to see if the shippers would pay us more for the Elba.
I stalked the streets, trying to stay as far away from Reva as possible. If I found a bounty, I wanted to take it on my terms, not hers. I passed a few beggars and placed my hand on my borrowed datsheet, making sure they couldn’t pick my pockets.
After hours of hunting and scanning faces so often I drew glares from those who spotted me, I scanned a black Elba. Chakkon: crew member of the Rockdodger, the datsheet read. Wanted for piracy, murder of hunters, war crimes, illegal slave trafficking, and theft. 10,000 coin.
I tailed the pirate, staying well away from him. He stuck to populated areas, areas I wasn’t willing to start shooting in.
He had no tattoos, much like Klate, but he was a bit shorter and thicker in build, certainly someone I wasn’t willing to take on my own. Akar and Reva would do it, and this guy was good coin.
The Elba paused. I turned away and pretended to examine graffiti on the wall.
He pulled a few coins from a bag on his belt and tossed them to a skinny Torf child. The Torf ran off.
He resumed walking. I didn’t follow. If he gave beggars coin, I couldn’t bring myself to shoot him. Who even knew if he was guilty of the crimes he’d been accused of? Even Dad rarely hunted people for war crimes. All that meant was the person took the wrong side in Tupra War, and if they were in the war, they often got classified as murderers for killing in combat.
I went back to hunting but had no luck finding any bounties, other than a few low-end ones that weren’t worth taking in.
Reva and I headed back to the inn, where we met Qwalm and Urkot. We grouped together in the room I shared.
Akar stepped through the doorway, his clothing dusty as the rest of ours. “They’re not paying us for the Elba. Those shippers were all pretty tight-lipped and jumpy. I’m guessing something happened.”
“Pitbait!” Reva swore. “Any other luck?”
Akar’s lips turned upward slightly, which raised his mustache. “I looked into Darkmine and got a message from one of the local hunters. There were a few slave ships pirated last week, so there might be pirates in the region. From what I know, Deathhorn attacks slave ships most of the time.” Akar flipped the screen to show us the bounty on Klate’s head, sixty-thousand. “It’s time to get revenge.”
I prayed some other pirates were in the area and not Klate, but Akar was right. The ship in the area was most likely the Deathhorn. Klate’s tactic of attacking slave ships and releasing the slaves had become predictable. Other pirates might have attacked slave ships, but Klate was the one who specifically targeted slave ships that had little in the way of valuables.
“Shouldn’t we pick easier targets?” My mouth had gone dry.
Urkot, who stood behind Akar, grinned. “With a bounty like that, we’re going for it.”
“I don’t care if they scare you.” Reva strapped on both her pistols. One had bullets. “We’re taking him in.”
“What are you doing with that?” I demanded. “Klate doesn’t use body armor.” Without body armor, piercer bullets were unnecessary.
“These are pirates. I can hold thirteen shots in this pistol. With a price like that, we’ll still be doing good if we bring him in dead.”
I backed away from her.
Reva shot a glare at me. “You got a problem with enforcing the law?”
“No.” With shaking hands, I holstered my stunner pistol and checked my ammunition. Six rounds in the pistol and two extra magazines. I glanced at my bag. All my possessions were already packed, a habit I’d had since Dad and I often moved fast. I tried to keep my breathing steady. Would I be on my own again? I had enough coin to make it for a while. I could make it.
“You okay?” Qwalm tilted his head.
Akar slapped me on the shoulder. “This will be good for you. Qwalm, let us get our shots off first. Brok wasn’t your family.”
Would telling them the truth do any good? I looked at the wooden floor of our room. It was Klate’s best chance. “Dad’s death was an accident. Klate threw a fire grenade back after Dad threw it.” I ran my real hand over the cybernetic side of my face. “The pirates saved my life, gave me these cybernetics, and treated me well while I was on the ship.” I gazed at my hands, afraid to meet my family’s eyes. “I tried to escape once, ran right into the middle of a storm. Klate risked his life to save me. When they left me on Tupra, they even gave me some coin.”
Urkot snorted in disdain.
“Some pirates have strange moral codes. It doesn’t mean they’re not criminals,” Akar said. “You might want to stay here until this is over. It sounds like you’ve got captive syndrome.”
My fists clenched. Akar thought I’d become some weakling who started siding with her captors because they didn’t beat her. Did he really think I was that weak-minded? What could I say to convince him and Reva? I met Reva’s cold gaze. Nothing I could say would stop them. They wanted coin.
“You’ll get over it.” Akar left the room with Urkot. “Be ready for a hunt first thing in the morning.”
Reva looked at me. “You’re too much like Brok, never willing to go far enough to move up.” She stepped out of the room.
I glared at the back of her head. Better to be like Dad than like you, I wanted to shout.
Qwalm watched them go before he turned to me. “Do you think you’ve got captive syndrome?”
I shook my
head. “They never meant to hurt me. They let me go. I know how prisoners are treated, and they didn’t treat me like one.”
“I believe you.” Qwalm glanced toward the other room. “Have a few family members who were on the bad side of the Ordained, even a pirate or two. Doesn’t make them evil.”
“How can you stand working with my family?” I asked.
“Figure I might be able to hold them back from killing someone," Qwalm said. “That’s why I’ll be going on this hunt.” He checked his darts. Unlike Reva, he had no killing weapon, just a stunner rifle and pistol. “After this is over, how about you and I break off and make our own team?”
“I’d like that. Maybe we should break off now.” If both of us left, Akar and Reva might decide it was too dangerous.
“I’m not leaving without warning.” Qwalm fixed me with his green gaze. “You can do what you believe is right. Follow your own path, not what people push you toward.”
I stared at my cybernetic hand. “I’m going with you,” I said at last. If Reva went for the kill, I had to stop her. If only there was some way to warn Klate, but I couldn’t think of anything.
“You hang back,” Akar ordered.
I stopped. Ahead of us, a warehouse stood above the other clay buildings. A cold wind tugged at my jacket.
Qwalm and the others circled the warehouse. As soon as Reva, Urkot, and Akar were out of sight, I hurried to join Qwalm. He bobbed his head at me.
By my reckoning, Urkot and Reva both had pistols with bullets. Klate and any of his crew would be using stunners.
We circled the warehouse until we made it to a door. Qwalm pressed his head against it to listen.
“You’re going to go through with this?” I asked.
“I enforce the law. I don’t kill.” Qwalm listened.
God, please don’t let Klate be in there. I silently prayed. Maybe it was a different pirate, one who deserved to be captured.
“I won’t help the pirates, but I’m not helping you either. I don’t want anyone getting killed,” I said.
Qwalm ignored me.
The pops of stunners erupted from the warehouse. Qwalm kicked the door open and aimed his rifle.
As my cybernetic eye adjusted to the dimness of the warehouse, I took cover behind a stack of rotting crates.
A Torf I didn’t recognize dove behind another stack of dusty crates. Akar took cover behind a pile of bricks. Another Torf, not one of Klate’s crew, lay still on the floor. I scanned the room for pirates. Judging by the direction Akar peered, the pirates were somewhere behind a pile of raw bendsteel.
Qwalm took a hurried shot at the standing Torf. She darted farther behind the crates.
Tenned peered around the pile of bendsteel and fired at Akar. Stun darts sparked against Akar’s hiding place.
Qwalm fired at Tenned. Tenned fell in a twitching heap. My heart sank. We were up against the Deathhorn’s crew.
There wasn’t anything I could do to help him. At least it was Tenned, not Melsha or Klate.
Someone dragged Tenned behind the pile of metal, but from my angle, I couldn’t see who it was.
“Got to get closer,” Qwalm hissed. “Reva’s blocking the front door.”
The hidden Torf fired at Akar. I hadn’t realized the Torf was armed.
“Give me cover,” Qwalm ordered.
I drew my pistol and fired over the Torf’s head. I could keep her from shooting back without actually hitting her.
Qwalm dashed toward the hiding place, his rifle upraised. Klate leaped from behind the rubble pile and fired at Qwalm. Qwalm tumbled and slid across the floor. Klate picked up Tenned and sprinted for the door.
I holstered my pistol and ran after Klate. Reva had to be stopped.
One of Akar’s darts buried itself in Klate’s shoulder. He fell to the floor with Tenned. Dust billowed around them.
No.
Klate rose from the floor and lifted Tenned to his shoulder.
The Torf fired at Akar.
Klate stumbled toward the door, slower now that he’d been hit.
I sprinted for the door. I either had to stop him or stop Reva. Reva stepped through the doorway, one pistol in each hand. Next to her, Urkot lifted his killing pistol.
With a roar, Klate charged.
I leaped between them and turned on Klate. He came at me, his free hand upraised. I rushed him. At any second, he’d slash me with his claws.
Klate hesitated.
I slammed into him and dug two of my claws into his throat. We went down in a pile of fur, scales, and metal. A bullet cracked through the air over my head. The paralysis serum shot into Klate’s bloodstream.
Klate’s gaze met mine, his eyes sad. If he wanted to kill me, he had time before the serum kept him down. “I’d hoped you would have chosen a better path,” Klate slurred. He relaxed under me.
I climbed off Klate and stood, my leg shaking.
“You almost got killed,” Reva snapped.
“You almost killed him!” I yelled at her.
“Urkot fired that shot.” Reva glared at Urkot. “What an idiot.”
Urkot looked at the ground.
Akar limped across the warehouse.
“Where are the Torfs?” I asked.
“I got grazed by a dart,” Akar said. “Just the jolt. The Torf got her friend and escaped while I was down. I doubt they were worth much.” Akar knelt by Qwalm and injected him with a paralysis antidote. We all carried one, but they were expensive. Dad and I had saved ours for emergencies.
I pulled Tenned from under Klate’s shoulder and got them both in more comfortable positions.
“You did good, kid.” Akar slapped me on the back.
Good? I’d betrayed Klate. It wasn’t betrayal. You stopped Urkot from shooting him.
“That was impressive,” Reva said. “You should have shot him instead of choking him down. He almost gutted you.”
“He hesitated.” I stared at my feet.
“Urkot, get our hover,” Akar ordered.
Urkot slunk out of the warehouse while Reva and Akar cuffed and disarmed the two pirates. Reva pulled two collars from her pack. She tightened one around Klate’s neck then pushed a few buttons on it. I winced. The collars were made with a needle that pumped paralysis serum into the bloodstream, keeping prisoners paralyzed for hours.
Reva did the same to Tenned.
I rubbed my neck and imagined a long needle embedded in it.
Qwalm groaned. I walked around the bricks and warehouse trash then knelt by him. His legs scrabbled on the dusty floor, but he couldn’t get them under his body. I helped him get his legs positioned. “Think I can stand,” Qwalm said after a few minutes.
I helped Qwalm to his feet. Only then did I see the blood dripping from his leg.
“You’re hurt.”
“A scrape,” he said. “Fell hard.” His words were still slurred.
Urkot arrived with the hover. It took all three Humans to get Klate loaded. I held onto Qwalm and looked away.
“It’s not your fault,” Qwalm whispered. “You saved his life.”
More like put off the inevitable. He’d be thrown in the pits for sure. Would he be one of the Martyrs who let someone else kill him, or would he fight back and become a popular attraction?
I tried to shove the thoughts down.
“Well, are you two coming?” Akar sat in the driver’s seat of our hover.
I helped Qwalm into the hover and sat beside him.
While we drove to the shippers, I bandaged Qwalm’s skinned leg. He’d lost a lot of feathers and skin, but the wound wasn’t deep.
We made it to where we’d seen the shippers last time. No ship rested in their place. A sign directed us toward a building next to the spaceport.
Akar drove to the building and turned off the hover.
Thick bars covered the tiny windows of the brick building.
A Skallan met us. “If they’re pirates, you guard any prisoners you lock here. After we lost the last shi
p, we’re not doing pirates for such low pay. You’ll have to find your own help to haul them to Saddat or pay the shippers more. There’s another ship coming here in three days. They might take the risk.”
“Pitbait,” Akar swore. “Reva, when we get them in, you stay here with Krys.”
I hung back while the others dragged Klate and Tenned into the holding cell. A little hope flared. If the pirates were getting enough power in this region to perform raids, maybe there was a chance for the crew. The opportunity wouldn’t last long. If pirates got bold enough to raid, hunters and Ordained mercenaries would arrive soon.
Akar pulled out his datsheet and pressed a few buttons. He held the datsheet to his mouth. “This is Akar Karzil calling all hunters near Darkmine, Lokostwa. We believe the Deathhorn is in the region. We are going to strike when we get a team together.”
I resisted the urge to pace. The Deathhorn crew couldn’t rescue Klate if there were this many hunters. All I could do was wait.
Over the next hour, hunters began showing up. Soon, there were at least a dozen. Judging by their new weapons and datcoms on their wrists, almost all were elites. If Klate’s crew was caught unaware, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Melsha, Hirami, Doc, and the others would all be captured and sent to the pits.
Akar organized the hunters into search parties based on who had aircraft, though most were local high-altitude hovers.
I paced.
“I can fight. Leave Urkot here with Krys,” Reva said.
Urkot glared.
Akar checked his ammunition. “I need someone here who can fight. There could be a rescue attempt, or someone could try to steal our bounties.”
“And her?” Reva shot a glare at me.
“She did well with Klate. We’ve underestimated her. She’ll be an elite in no time.”
Before, praise from Akar would’ve felt good, but now it only drove the knife deeper.
Akar and the other hunters left in hovers. Some were high altitude hovers, which would make it easy for them to hunt down the Deathhorn. Akar took one of the other hunters’ hovers, leaving Reva with our hover.
I had to do something.
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