Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Ceezee is under contract to steal but will the War Leader let her go when her assignment is over or will he keep her too close for comfort?
Ceezee has lived her life as a thief for her clan. Rented out to the Asku she is prepared to find an object that the warriors themselves cannot retrieve. She faces her commander with grace, style and a collection of weapons under her robes. Ceezee prides herself on being ready for anything but she underestimated her reaction to the War Leader General.
Deven has been forced to find an outside source to do what his men cannot, retrieve a power source from one species to return light to another. Treaties bind his hands, but bringing a thief on board is the perfect solution. Attraction flares but he holds back until he is sure that she meets his requirements. Once confirmed that she is suitable he sets plans in motion to keep her from escaping.
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A Hunted Darkness
Copyright © 2012 Zenina Masters
ISBN: 978-1-77111-246-8
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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A Hunted Darkness
Darkest Star Saga Book 3
By
Zenina Masters
Chapter One
Ceezahli slithered through the crowds and checked the nearest chrono. “Crap.” Being late to a family meeting was more than frowned upon. It was a punishable offense.
Cutting through a series of small shops, her gauze fluttered around her, drawing attention to her haste. A member of the Hewara never ran and rarely made a fool of themselves in public. Ceezee was making an exception in both veins today.
“Where are you going, Slip?” the potter shouted as she approached him.
“A family meeting, Gallo. I am late.”
He winced and gave a sharp whistle. The vendors of the Weskani spaceport cleared a path, and Ceezee was able to put on the speed.
She skidded into the bar where the meeting was being held, and the barmaid pointed to the back room, which was being guarded by two Asku.
They saw her flurry of black fabric coming toward them and tried to bar her way. She slipped under their grasp and skidded into the meeting hall a moment before the chronometer ticked over.
Her uncle was sitting next to the Asku who was on his feet with a gun aimed at her forehead. “Who is this?”
Victoro shook his head, “I am afraid that this is the woman I wanted to introduce you to, my niece Ceezahli Hewara. If it is on a ship, station or planet she can get it out.”
Ceezee got to her feet and shook out her robes. Many folks thought that there was a religious significance to her clothing, but she just found it easier to hide in the shadows when she wore shadows.
Their commander waved the two guards she had passed out of the room. He moved toward her silently but she could see his feet as she concentrated on dusting herself off.
The Asku that she was suddenly standing in front of was tall and had a spicy scent that was not covered by the dust of Weskani. She looked up at him through the gauze of her costume and stepped back. His eyes were unrelieved black, his skin was pale gold and his hair a deep black.
When she stepped back, he reached out and touched her arm, and she gasped in surprise.
He released her as soon as she was stable.
“Ceezee, this is War Leader General Deven Velu. He has an assignment for you.” Uncle Victoro was giving her a long, meaningful look.
The war leader general recalled himself with a jerk. “She is the one you referred to as the best for my purposes?”
“She is the best on Weskani. Or off for that matter. It will be an easy trip for you. Get her close to her target and stand back and wait. There will be no issue.”
The war leader looked down at her. “Are you willing to do this?”
For clarification, Ceezee asked her uncle, “This is along my standard lines for business?”
“It is. Two weeks. One week out, one week back. You need only keep to yourself on their ship and obtain the item that they are after.”
Ceezee nodded. “Do you have a clothing refresher on your ship?”
War Leader General Deven raised a brow. “On our warship? Yes, I am positive that we have the facilities for you. What else do you require?”
She looked up at him and placed her hands on her hips. “It depends. What do you need me to get and where is it located?”
“I am not comfortable announcing that in public. We will have to bring you on board, and then, you can send requests for anything that you require.”
She looked to him and the doorway where the two guards still lounged. “I believe I know how you are going to get me out of here. It will work, but I am not going to live this down.”
He nodded. “Good. Ceezahli Hewara you are under arrest for theft and crimes against the Asku.”
Before she could move, he spun her and clapped cuffs on her wrists. He let out a sharp whistle, and the guards grabbed her by each arm.
Uncle Victoro got to his feet. “There is the matter of payment.”
Deven gave him a look that must have frightened him. “Payment will be settled when the target has been retrieved. Not before. The Asku always pay our debts and to insinuate otherwise is an insult.”
Her uncle went from indignant to wary in an instant. “Of course, War Leader. Take her with my compliments and the compliments of the Hewara clan. Return her when you can.”
Deven nodded grimly and shoved Ceezee forward. She stumbled but recovered with the help of the guards holding her arms. She was marched through the market like a criminal and bustled onto an Asku transport.
Ceezee didn’t say a word. She had a duty to her family to carry out the assignment, whatever it may be.
* * * *
Deven had not seen a woman of the Hewara clan. They covered themselves in public while the men dressed with all the class of a middle-system whore.
She moved lightly, and the hand he had pressed to her back when he pushed her indicated a lithe figure and excellent sense of balance. She had recovered effortlessly and without any comment.
Her arrival had set his mind on whether or not to take the Hewara at their word. Her quick thinking had won his admiration and gave him a glimmer of hope that the situation was under control.
Retrieving the power source that an entire world depended on was not a situation for someone who could not think on his or her feet, and treaties kept the Asku from acting directly
. There was no treaty that referred to an agent of the Asku and that is what Deven was counting on.
He would bring his ship into Hallothian orbit and from there the Hewara woman would have to take over.
Deven was confident that she could bring in the power source, but what would he do with her when the contract was over, he didn’t know.
The Asku could not have a member of a crime family running about telling everyone that they had hired a thief to do their work for them. Silence was needed, and there were few ways to ensure it. He was not sure he could stomach murder, but incarceration was an option that he was willing to entertain.
The shrouded thief would never return home and while part of him was filled with regret, Deven admitted that it felt right to have her on board the Burning Night. He wondered what his mother would make of it. She tended to read things into instincts that seemed to pan out.
Chapter Two
Ceezee looked around the quarters she had been shoved into. The guards had removed the cuffs and left her alone and unencumbered.
She could pick the lock in seconds, but she waited. There was no sense in rushing when she was trapped on an Asku warship.
The room was comfortable. There was a bed, a lav and a small desk with an entertainment unit. It had more than the comforts of her home.
A quick run through of the entertainment unit showed her a map of the ship that she committed to memory. It was a peculiar skill, but it was hers and what made her the thief she was today. Maps, documents, vids, pictures, any immutable object, once seen, it was in her memory.
Ceezee whistled and flipped back her veil. With her hands, she traced the edges of her cell and used them to measure the air vent.
Once she was done, she took a seat at the desk and queued up a light comedy to pass the time.
* * * *
Deven grinned, “She really measured the airshaft?”
“Yes, War Leader,” Crewman Niro inclined his head. “And apparently, the veil is not a mandatory garment for her.”
Deven couldn’t help but stare at the image on the display. Creamy skin, huge dark eyes and full lips that sent a throbbing surge through his groin. Just the sight of her features sent pulses through parts of him that had never been activated by another woman.
Every Asku waited to wed a virgin, but there was no guarantee that this woman from the Hewara clan would be able to meet his requirement.
Deven watched the image of her face until the crewman cleared his throat. “If you were wanting to speak to her, her program is almost over.”
Deven straightened and tugged his black sleeveless tunic into straight lines. “Thank you, Crewman Niro.”
The crewman gave him a nod, and Deven left, picking up the tray of refreshments that he had ordered earlier. He made his way to the guest quarters that he had put aside for her and knocked on the door.
* * * *
She opened the door without asking who it was. When she saw the war leader general holding a tray with snacks and a pot of tea, a grin crept over her features.
At his widened eyes, she mentally kicked herself before lowering the gauzy fabric.
“So, why do you wear it?” He walked past her and set the tray down on the desk.
“The drapes? They conceal me, help me skid along and allow me to mask my scent.” Ceezee shrugged and followed him slowly. She was hungry after all her sprinting and incarceration.
“Can you eat with them on?”
“I can. It takes practice, but I manage.” She took the seat he offered her and reached for one of the small sandwiches and a cup of tea. She lifted the snacks and teacup beneath her veil, and they disappeared one by one.
He sat on the edge of her bed and watched her eat. “Do you know why you are here?”
“You need a thief. I am the best that is available.” Ceezee smiled.
“Can I see your face?”
She blinked and lifted her veil again. “I don’t see why not. My identity is not precisely a secret.”
He stared at her in shock, “What colour is your hair?”
She shrugged. “Dark brown, black, I don’t remember and rarely look.”
Her tight hood was wrapped at forehead and neck. All that was visible of her face was from eyebrows to chin. Her hair was braided, pinned and locked down at the base of her skull. Long hair was not an asset to a thief, so she kept hers firmly under wraps.
“Have you had enough to eat?”
She looked at the tray and smiled at its lack of contents. “I have.”
“Excellent. Please come with me, we have much to discuss, and it will require a more secure environment.”
He offered her his arm, and she took it.
“This will look peculiar to your crewmen.”
“There is never a reason to be rude to a lady. My mother drummed etiquette into us at every opportunity.” He grinned down at her and winked.
Getting a wink from any of the Asku, let alone a war leader general who wore the icons of each battle he had been in on his considerable biceps, had been so remote in her mind as to be unfeasible. Unlike many of the Asku she had met, he was missing the marks on his chest that she had come to accept as standard.
She threw cautious glances toward her companion as they entered the hall and began a casual walk in a direction that she marked as toward the captain’s quarters. The raised collar around his neck barely covered the swirling marks that did not refer to a battle. Ceezee had always wondered what those marks denoted, but no Asku was willing to part with that detail.
Perhaps she could solve that mystery before the assignment was over.
He shortened his stride to match hers. He did not have to alter it too much. She was taller than average for a woman, though still petite next to an Asku.
She knew all the stories that the Asku were warriors for hire throughout the known worlds. That they loved to battle was never in doubt, but the lack of female Asku was the point that most folk whispered about.
Every Asku born was born to a woman who had been stolen, won in battle, traded for or who simply fell in love with her warrior. The one thing that these women had in common was that they were all untouched.
Only a virgin could tempt an Asku, and once tempted, he could take her as his own if he wished to.
As a Hewara, Ceezee valued her virtue. It was her only claim to freedom. The moment that she slept with a man, she would be watched for pregnancy in order to carry on her clan traditions. Her life as a thief would be over. For her, that would be a fate worse than death.
Chapter Three
Deven’s room was ten times as large as hers was, but aside from a print of him and his family there were no other personal clues around the space.
Ceezee took the seat offered to her at the table, and sat with her robes folded around her.
“We are already underway to the Hallothian Empire. They are holding a ball in four days and that is where you will find your target.” Deven opened a holographic projector and two glittering objects were suspended in space.
“These two items are the power source for the Wendial. The Hallothians took them by force and cunning and are placing them on display in their museum of war. We need you to get in there and steal them before the exhibit is sealed with a bio lock.”
Ceezee nodded, “Do you have schematics for the building?”
The war leader general grinned. “All the data is on this unit. It is a sealed unit, so it will not broadcast, and you will not be able to access it anywhere other than my quarters.”
She blinked. “Why not?”
“This is the only surveillance-secure portion of the ship. Only two people on this ship know why you are here, and they are both in this room.”
Ceezee twitched a corner of her mouth in amusement. Since, normally, no one could see her, she didn’t usually bother with facial expressions.
She nodded. “Fine. How long do I have to study the information, and do I need any special containment for the power units? And may
I have a data pad to make notes?”
He smiled and his eyes warmed. “Of course. Anything else?”
Ceezee wondered how far she could push her luck, “A glass of water or cup of tea?”
He got to his feet and moved to a bar set against the wall. He prepared a pot of tea expertly, and Ceezee tried not to stare at the line of his back while he worked. Being this close to an Asku without fear of being arrested or shot was a treat for a Hewara.
Her family had been in the thieving business since the Verrion had exiled the High Goiin off their home world. Each member of the Hewara family bore a separate talent that their genes imparted to them, but even their own relatives were not quite sure what the talent was. It was an intensely personal situation that was only explained to their spouse.
Ceezee looked over at the war leader general’s family picture. It was obvious that his parents were in love when the image was taken. He was standing with six brothers, and they all looked very comfortable with each other.
Ceezee couldn’t remember how many siblings she had. They separated the children from the moment they were two and spread them throughout the family. Ceezee had been sent to Uncle Victoro and raised on Weskani. She had not seen her mother in two decades.
“Are you close to your family?” She blurted it out before she could stop herself.
“At times. We communicate regularly.” He turned and brought over the tea and two cups. “Is it important to your plans?”
She blushed, “Um, no. Not precisely. Leaving home always makes me a little maudlin.”
“You leave often then?”
“Often enough.” She took the tea that he handed her, sipping before slipping two lumps of sweetener into it.
He shook his head at her, but he mimicked her. “I can’t drink it without sweetener either.”
She blushed and turned her attention to the display. Her fingers moved swiftly over the controls, the display rotated and twisted to find her pathways to both her entrance and exit.
“You really do this for a living, don’t you?”
“Yes, War Leader General, though I do not really make a living at it. My needs are provided for by my family.” She bit her lip and spun through the images.
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