Iraku isn’t going to let me live. The minute he feels safe enough, he’ll slit my throat. But he’d have to let go of her chest in order to reach for the vehicle’s door latch.
Andi braced herself. The minute Iraku started to shift, she jerked backward, taking her adversary unaware, knocking him off balance. As she’d hoped, he released Andi to save himself from falling. Throwing herself to the side, the knife slicing into the underside of her chin, she fell at Iraku’s feet. Ignoring the pain of the fresh wound, she scrabbled to put distance between her and her captor.
Grabbing her ankle, Iraku wrapped his hand around it like a steel manacle, trying to drag her back to him. She rolled over and kicked at his face with her other foot, taking great satisfaction in the impact as she landed a glancing blow on his cheekbone, jarring him enough to dislodge his clawlike grasp on her ankle.
Tom launched himself at Iraku, lashing out in a lightning-fast move that broke the Naranti’s already faltering hold on Andi. Iraku shrieked as his arm bones cracked. Knocking the knife from Iraku’s hand with another swift, deadly kick, Tom followed with a roundhouse blow to the head. Iraku reeled, unable to get his balance, stumbling along the length of the vehicle under the force of Tom’s attack.
Ignoring Iraku, dropping to his knees in the dust next to Andi, Tom cradled her in his arms. Throat tight, all her muscles clenched, she was still in fight-or-flight mode. He tried to stanch her bleeding neck wound with the tail of his uniform shirt.”Shh, don’t cry, it’s all right now. I’ve got you.” He wrapped her in his arms.
Andi sobbed, burying her head against his chest. “I thought I was going to die.”
Iraku scrambled in the dust behind them, staggering away.
“Drop him, Mitch!” Tom yelled.
The sergeant stepped around the vehicle where he’d apparently been hiding and cut Iraku down with a fusillade of blaster fire.
It’s over. Black dots danced in her vision.
“Andi, Andi.” Tom’s embrace tightened around her, his voice tensing with panic. He gave her a little shake.
“I love you.” She stared into his eyes, her heart so full of emotion she could hardly get the words out, but he had to know what he meant to her. “You were all I could think about when I thought I was about to die.”
He gathered her close for an intensely demanding kiss. Andi responded with equal urgency. When she pulled away, he hugged her again. “I love you, too.”
She laughed, savoring the words and the feeling he put into them.
Tom lowered his head to stare into her eyes. “Don’t you ever scare me like this again, you hear?”
Pain in her neck from the knife wound brought her up short when she tried to nod. “No problem.”
He helped her lean against the side of the vehicle and worked to untie her wrists. “Mitch, medkit on the double. Her neck is bleeding. There’s a blaster proximity sear on her left side. These wrists look pretty raw, too.”
“I’m a mess.” Andi rested her head against the truck, all her various pains throbbing and aching and burning in turn, low-level nausea lurking in her gut. She wiped away the tears on her cheeks with the back of one hand.
“Let’s get her into the vehicle, sir.” Mitch returned from the edge of the field, where he’d dragged Iraku’s corpse. “Be easier to work on her there, more comfortable for her, too.”
“Right.” Picking her up as if she weighed nothing, Tom placed her with loving care on the cushions in the passenger compartment. Cupping her cheek, he said, “Stay with us, sweetheart. Not a good time to go to sleep.”
He crouched by her side as the sergeant made fast work of applying field dressings. Mitch obviously tried to be as gentle as possible, but it hurt every time he touched her. Andi gritted her teeth against the pain but still whimpered once or twice and flinched away.
“The knife wound is a long scratch, ma’am. Messy but superficial.” Mitch finished with her neck wound, switching to an examination of her wrists. “Give me a minute to dress these rope burns. The blaster proximity sear isn’t too bad, either. You are goin’ to need a quick session in the rejuve resonator when we get back to the capital, though. Blaster sears tend to fester down through the layers of the skin if left untreated.” He went looking for something else in his medkit.
“Iraku was going to kill me in another minute. I could feel him getting ready to do it. I knew I had to try something.” Andi shuddered at the memory, still too raw and recent to bear much thinking about.
Tom hugged her. “You did the right thing. I knew you’d make a break, give us a clear shot at Iraku. You’re a fighter. Right, Mitch?”
The sergeant nodded. “Be proud to serve with you any time, ma’am, and that’s a fact. Now hold still, I need to give you a couple of injects here. Antibiotic mixed with a sedative and a painkiller.” Jabbing her arm with a device from the medkit, Mitch rubbed the skin to work the medicinal cocktail into her bloodstream. “Didn’t hurt, now did it?”Andi shook her head. There wasn’t any pain aside from a mild tingling.
Tom’s clasp on her hand tightened. “You never should have had to go through all this. It’s my fault.”
“It’s not your fault.” Staring at him, she tried to comprehend his comment.
“I should have gone in the river after you.”
Softly, she laid her hand on his cheek. “And maybe then you’d have drowned, while I was captured. Don’t torture yourself. You had all the rest of the group to worry about back there on the river, not just me.”
“When we couldn’t find you, I thought I’d go crazy. To have come so far only to lose you—”
“I’m fine, thanks to you and Mitch.” He’s tearing himself up over this. She kissed Tom on the lips. “What happened after I got knocked out of the boat?” she asked. “All I know is, I woke up on a beach at the river bend, with Iraku’s thugs all around me.”
Tom pulled her into his lap. Leaning her head against his strong shoulder, she wrapped one arm around his back. As he talked, she could feel the vibrations of his deep voice against her ear. “Our boat got hung up on a nest of three huge boulders. I think the collision with them is what sent you flying. Eventually we reached calmer water, landed about half a mile above the village. We headed downriver, in the direction of the capital, until we found where you’d come ashore and knew you’d been captured.”
Andi frowned. “How could you tell?”
“The tracks.” Mitch pointed at her feet. “I read them as one barefoot woman crawlin’ out of the river, surrounded by big men with big feet in boots. Lost your shoes again, ma’am?” He grinned.
“I was afraid we wouldn’t be in time to stop whatever those bastards had in mind,” Tom said, clearing his throat.
Andi pulled him closer to kiss him. “Stop being hard on yourself. It’s over now.”
“We need to be goin’, sir. Are we taking the vehicle?” Mitch thumped the side panel of the truck next to them. “The initiator is still in the control panel. No need to hotwire it.”
“Yes. Someone’ll come to find out what’s keeping Iraku, and we’d better not be here.” Tom helped Andi stand up, Mitch also putting out a hand to steady her. The captain pointed at him. “You’ll drive. Just let me get my blaster first.”
“Yes, sir.”
Andi grimaced. “I lost mine in the river. I think.”
“Good thing you’re a civilian then—no reports to fill out.” Before heading into the field, Tom kissed her again, long and leisurely.
“Where are the others?” Andi glanced around as if Rahuna and the rest were going to come walking out of the field, too.
“We’re supposed to rendezvous with them tonight at a rest stop complex by the transportway.” Mitch strolled around the truck, opened the door and threw his medkit inside on the bench, before helping her climb into the backseat.
“South Amri?” The caravan had stopped there on her trip out from the capital three weeks ago with the ill-fated Tonkiln family. The younger children had needed
the facilities before the last leg of the journey to the summer compound. Lady Tonkiln had refused to set foot in the place, requiring her servants to bring her an assortment of refreshments from the restaurant. “Are we so close?” Andi asked.
Mitch nodded. “We hope the place’ll be deserted, given the state of unrest on Zulaire.”
Blaster in hand, Tom jogged into the circle of illumination from the truck’s headlights and cab. “Let’s move.”
A few moments later, Mitch set the vehicle in motion, increasing the speed as he got used to the controls. Andi reclined on the cushions in the back, curled against Tom’s reassuringly solid chest. His blaster was close by in case of need.
Settling against his shoulder, she sighed in contentment. “If I was a cat, I’d purr. You generate so much warmth.”
He gave her a gentle hug. “You should try to grab some shut-eye while we’re driving.”
“Sleep sounds divine.” Andi yawned, stretching gingerly. She had so many aches and pains now, despite Mitch’s painkillers, that any movement was an ordeal. Maybe the drugs haven’t kicked in yet. I can hope.
Tom chuckled. “Well, then, stop talking. We can debrief later. You need to rest.”
“No, there’s something you need to know. I should have told you sooner.” Andi smacked her forehead lightly. “There are alien beings, maybe even Mawreg here, on Zulaire. They’re behind this entire Clan war.”
The truck swerved, skidding on the dirt road, as Mitch reacted to her dramatic announcement. Desperately, Andi grabbed at Tom to keep from being flung against the door.
Mitch straightened the truck with a violent jerk on the controls.
Tom hauled her back across the padded bench seat. “Are you sure? How do you know?”
“There was an alien with Iraku, giving him orders about what to do next. It brought him weapons of some kind, too.” Remembering the creature’s touch, she shivered.
Mitch and Tom exchanged glances in the rearview mirror before he turned back to her, frowning. “Can you describe the alien?”
“Tall, thin, some visible exoskeleton. Carapace heavily ornamented with inlaid gold. Red stalk things growing where eyes should be. Fleshy tentacles with suckers instead of arms. I guess it was surprised I could see its true form. It told me the Naranti see it as one of their ancestral spirit figures. But I’ve seen the murals of the Kuzura, the spirits. This thing was nothing like a Kuzura,” she said, rubbing her arm where the tentacles had rested.
“A Betang. Well, I’ll be damned. This is a fucking mess.” Leaning against the seat cushion, Tom pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed, then rubbed his jaw and sighed. His other hand clenched around the hilt of his blaster.
“Betang?” Andi tilted her head, looking at him for enlightenment.
“A client race of the Mawreg. They often send Betang in to soften up planets they want to invade. Betang can project illusions.” Reflexively, Tom checked the charge level on his weapon and slammed it back in the holster. “This is a disaster.”
“Remember the blast cannon the rebels had, back at the monastery?” Mitch asked from the front seat. “We were sure it was Mawreg-issue. This confirms it.”
“Mitch and I were supposed to be backing up the planetside Sectors forces, do a little digging into oddities puzzling the intel guys. Which you’ve now resolved with your Betang encounter.” Reaching out, Tom took Andi’s hand, lacing his fingers with hers.
“Lucky to survive that, ma’am,” Mitch said over his shoulder. He whistled. “Very lucky.”
She nodded. “It wanted Iraku to kill me at once but backed off when he explained his plan, the mock fertility ritual killing, because he was getting so worked up about it.” Struck by a puzzling thought, she looked at Tom. “Why could I see this Betang creature for what it was? The Zulairians couldn’t—they’d have run screaming down the road if they could have seen what I was seeing. I’d have run if I hadn’t been tied up.”
“Not all humans can see through a Betang illusion field, which has cost us dearly in a number of situations, I might add. There’s a particular genetic drift on the DNA code for sight and depth perception which gives a person immunity, in varying degrees, to the Betangs’ powers.” Tom feathered a kiss on each of her eyelids. “Those beautiful eyes saw right through its deceptive cloaking.”
“It did try to do something to me, to my mind. I thought I was going to have a heart attack on that couch. I guess I owe Iraku for saving my life at that point.” Andi frowned.
Tom pulled her closer into a tight embrace. “Damn, you were lucky. The Betang can kill humans with their minds once they’ve sampled the person’s DNA.” Obviously still edgy about her near miss with the Betang, which seemed to bother her taciturn captain even more than the knife at her throat had, he said, “Maybe the Bet was afraid to go against Iraku at this stage. They do use civilian puppets at first, for a few years, to ensure their foothold on the planet.”
“But why are they after Zulaire? It’s a backwater. Even the Sectors isn’t very interested in anything Zulaire has to offer.” Andi hastily leaned the other direction as Mitch brought the truck around the next curve in a wide swoop. “Although there are exotic minerals in trace amounts. I was trying to get my company to invest in some exploratory excavation.”
“Never try to figure out why something interests the Mawreg.” The sergeant met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “But the minerals might be the draw.”
Tom nodded his agreement. “Command needs to know this. It’s even more critical than the Naranti being behind this sudden Clan war. Mawreg involvement affects the entire Sector.”
“We could take this vehicle and hightail it straight down the damn freeway.” Even as he made the suggestion, Mitch hit the accelerator.
“Risky. May be our only chance, though.” Pounding a clenched fist against his palm, Tom swore. “Damn. If the Mawreg penetrate this Sector we’re facing catastrophe.”
“Is the situation really that bad?” Andi swallowed in sudden fear.
Eyes narrowed, lips compressed, Tom nodded. “The big brass and politicos keep details from civilians to avoid panic. And maybe you don’t get much of what they do release to the media, since Zulaire is in such an isolated Sector, but once the Mawreg get entrenched, their presence is like a cancer. We have to make it cost too much for them to stay. Sometimes it takes the destruction of entire planets to eradicate them. Once in a while victory requires the destruction of whole systems.”
“What about the people on the planets?” Andi’s jaw dropped. I can’t imagine the destruction of an entire solar system.
Tom turned her chin with one finger so they were gazing at each other. “Sweetheart, the Mawreg don’t leave any people alive.” His mouth tightened, deepening the wrinkles. “I’d hate to see it happen to Zulaire. Despite the current situation, it’s a damn nice planet.”
“And it’s worth fighting for.” Andi squared her shoulders and clenched her jaw. Mawreg takeover isn’t going to happen here. We can’t allow that.
“Hitting the transportway,” Mitch said. “Should be a better surface now.”
The ride did indeed smooth out. The main road was well kept, as opposed to the ruts and potholes of the village access road. Despite ominous whining from the old engine, the sergeant accelerated to the truck’s top speed.
“Shit!” The truck swerved suddenly as Mitch yelled, brakes screeching until the vehicle slewed to a stop sideways. The cranky engine sputtered and died.
“What the hell are you doing?” Tom had braced Andi during the sudden stop, and even now the truck had stilled, he maintained his tight hold on her.
Mitch was apologetic, eyes open wide, mouth a thin line. “Vehicle abandoned in the middle of the road, sir. Didn’t see it in the dark until I was nearly on top of it. Sorry.”
Revving the motor into life again, he prepared to continue on their way, but Tom stopped him. “Wait. Let’s check this out. With the size of our party, we could use another vehicle. Keep the
engine running.”
Climbing out, the men walked back to the abandoned vehicle. Andi waited in the truck for a minute then slid out, not wanting to be left alone in the dark. I may never want to be alone anywhere ever again. As she approached them standing by the abandoned car, Tom’s hand lamp illuminated the vehicle’s front panels, showing an intricate pattern of an urabu dancing in the midst of flames overlaid on a gleaming, yellow undercoat.
Andi stopped, her mouth falling open in a short gasp of recognition. “Gul.”
Tom stared at her as she walked up. “You know the owner?”
“Yes, this car belongs to Gul Tonkiln, the older son of the Planetary High Lord. He was supposed to return to the summer compound for his sister’s handfasting, but he never showed up.” I can’t believe it, but he must be dead. A pang of sorrow made her heart skip a beat for a moment. Trailing her hand along the embossed panels, Andi walked the length of the car. Hard to remember back to that day now. He wanted to see if the relationship had a future. I guess I always knew it didn’t. Raising her head, Andi squinted against the light in Mitch’s hand. Hastily, he redirected the beam to the ground.
Tom had an odd expression on his face, eyebrows raised. He looked away from Andi. She sighed. We’re going to have to talk. Rapping her knuckles on the engine compartment of Gul’s car, she said, “I don’t see any damage. What do you think happened?”
Mitch walked over to join her, squatting to look more closely at the elaborate Tonkiln insignia. “Ambush most likely. Maybe they staged some kind of fake accident, and he stopped to help.”
“Gul wouldn’t stop to help,” Andi said with a bitter laugh. “He’d only pull over if there was a big obstacle in his way. And then he was lured out of the car somehow.” Hard to remember now what she’d ever seen in the arrogant Obati lord, especially with Tom’s solid, dependable presence beside her. But Gul didn’t deserve… She hugged her arms around her waist, suddenly chilled.
“No sign of a body.” Mitch darted an uneasy look her way, then glanced down at the road.
Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars Page 163