by Leslie Chase
"You'll be well rewarded," I promised nervously. They thought I was a princess, and maybe that was the best way to go.
"Yes," the leader said. His laugh was disturbingly inhuman, and the rest of the aliens stamped their feet in applause again. "Not by your family, though. Others pay much better for an Imperial Princess. Make us very rich, yes. Maybe they ransom you home, if you're lucky."
He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt as he spoke, and I felt the blood leave my face. He'd come prepared to take prisoners. A slaver, perhaps? These didn't seem like cops, at least not the kind that you wanted to meet.
I swallowed and looked around for a way out, wishing that I'd waited with Xendar. He might be dragging me where I didn't want to go, but at least he wanted to protect me. But then, if I'd stayed with him these creatures would just have caught up with me there, and if he was still unconscious, what good would that have done me?
"You come quietly, Princess," the alien said, holding up the handcuffs as he stepped forward. For a moment I considered them. Then I nodded shakily, reached out for the handcuffs — and punched him square in the face.
The beak hurt my hand more than I hurt him, but his shocked outrage bought me a few seconds and I didn't waste them. Turning to run, I sprinted back up the path as fast as I could in that damned gown. One of the aliens stepped into my way, brandishing some kind of high-tech club, but I managed to duck aside and past him.
Then the dress caught on a branch, pulling me back and around. Stumbling, I almost fell, and before I could recover my balance the club-wielder was on me. The club's head crackled with electricity as he slammed it into my ribs, and I screamed as I arched my back, falling onto the mossy ground and spasming in pain.
Around me the aliens hooted with laughter and the world went dark. The last thing I felt was the ice-cold cuffs closing around my wrists, and then nothingness.
8
Xendar
When I came to at the bottom of a shallow crater, my suit alarms were screaming in my ears. The mute function wouldn't silence these sirens — when the suit was actively failing, its designers didn't want the user to be able to ignore how bad the situation had gotten.
And right now, the only error lights that weren't lit were broken. I groaned as I tried to focus, struggling to hit the emergency release. With a hiss, the suit fell open. I pulled myself out into the darkening, smoke-filled clearing our crash had created.
At least Erdush had a standard atmosphere. A little high in oxygen and right now it smelled of smoke, but nothing to worry about breathing. Filling my lungs was a joy after the bottled air of the suit, though I couldn't take the time to savor it. I had a more pressing concern.
"Princess?" I called out. There was no sign of her, which could be a good sign or a very bad one. Calling out again, I listened for an answer. Silence. Damn it.
The forest had caught fire a little around the crash site, I saw, but fortunately the fires had burned out by now. Looking at the ground I saw the discarded remains of the survival suit I'd shoved onto my princess. It had served its purpose, it seemed — Princess Immorata had survived the fall at least long enough to take it off. And then, for some reason, she'd left. Why hadn't she stayed here where she'd have been safe? Well, somewhat safe, anyway. I realized I had no idea how long I'd been unconscious, and if she'd been left on her own I could understand her urge to do something other than wait for me to recover.
But that meant that an Imperial Princess was wandering around on her own, unprotected. And even by the standards of a princess, Immorata seemed naive about the ways of the world. I hated to think what trouble she might have found herself in.
At least I knew that she'd left under her own power. The shoes I found abandoned were worth a small fortune, and no one would just abandon them on the ground beside the crater. No one, that is, apart from a spoiled princess with no idea of the value of the things she wore. I snatched them up and clipped them to my belt for safe keeping.
There wasn't much else to take. The suit was, of course, heavily armed, but it was too badly damaged to use. And I'd not had time to fetch my own armament before abandoning ship. A quick inventory of my equipment showed how little I had. My ceremonial knife, which might make a useful tool. The Darkfang's remote communicator, now with nothing to talk to — though it at least had some jamming capabilities, so it might come in useful if I needed to hide.
And the AI core of the Darkfang, useless until it was installed in a fresh ship.
My father would, I was certain, chastise me for rescuing the AI rather than equipping myself properly. I didn't care. Darkfang had served me well for years, and I wasn't going to leave her behind.
Unwillingly I felt a smile creep across my face. This would be a pure hunt, then, unaided by technology. Just me against whatever got in my way on this blasted world.
I took one last, slow look around the clearing my landing had carved into this planet. There was nothing more here worth saving, so I turned my back on it and set out.
Her trail wasn't hard to find. Either Immorata had no idea how to hide her tracks or she wasn't even trying. Knowing her, I guessed it was the former. But the trail was hours old now, and I cursed the fact that I'd been unconscious for so long. Even barefoot she could have quite a lead on me, and while I was traveling faster than she had I couldn't risk running too fast. Immorata's tracks might not be hidden but I couldn't take the chance that I might lose them in the dark, or miss something important.
Night started to close in around me and I cursed under my breath. In the dark, the hunt would be impossible. On the other hand, surely the princess wouldn't be so foolish as to keep going once the sun had set? Even someone as unskilled in the woods as she was had to see how dangerous that would be.
I hurried up, trying to make the best of what light was left. Hopefully she'd stop and camp, but I wasn't confident. The last thing I wanted was to find her having tripped and broken her pretty neck in the dark.
That was when I saw another trail had met hers. My blood ran cold at the sight and I dropped to a crouch, examining the tracks. It wasn't easy to ignore the urge to give chase at a sprint right away, but I had to know what I was getting myself into here.
The trail was confused, hard to read, but the many small footprints gave away the species of Immorata's 'rescuers.'
Verkesh. At least half a dozen of them. That wasn't good. The verminous creatures were opportunists, always looking for the quick way to fortune. Possibly they'd return an Imperial Princess to her home and hope for a reward, but more likely they'd aim for a ransom. Or worse, find someone willing to pay for royalty. The Empire had any number of rich enemies who'd be glad of a member of the Imperial Household to take their frustrations out on.
I ground my fangs together, setting off along the trail as fast as I could safely travel. At least there was some good news here — the new trail was easy to follow, and the verkesh weren't good at seeing in the dark themselves. I could count on them stopping for the night with their prize.
All I had to do was reach them before they did anything to my princess. My muscles trembled at the thought of them hurting her, or worse. I wouldn't let them hurt her, and if they'd so much as laid a finger on her before I got to her, I promised myself that I wouldn't leave one of them alive to regret their poor decision.
It took me a lot longer than I'd hoped to find them, but in the end, it was the light of their camp that drew me in. The moonless night was dark, Erdush's ring not casting much light, but a half dozen verkesh left an easy trail to follow. The scavengers clearly weren't worried about being seen, setting a fire which led me straight to them.
As I approached, I heard the first scream.
The chittering laughter of the verkesh made my blood boil and my vision clouded. It took a great effort not to simply charge in at them — but I couldn't afford to underestimate my enemies. Not when I was the only hope of saving Immorata from them.
Taking a deep breath, I made my way closer as qu
ietly as I could. At least now the sounds of life had returned to the forest and any noise I made might be mistaken for wildlife. Without that cover, I doubted I'd be able to get anywhere near the camp. The verkesh might not have good eyesight, but their hearing was excellent.
And they had been smart enough to set sentries. One of them watched the woods near me, his back to the fire and eyes narrowed as he looked out into the darkness. Those who were closer in would be blinded, their night vision ruined by the flames, but not this guard.
I swore under my breath. Just my luck, running into a verkesh with some discipline. But it was what I saw behind him that drew my attention.
Princess Immorata was there, squealing and struggling in the grip of two of the creatures. One shoved her away, sending her staggering into the arms of the other, and they laughed again. Another watched, swigging from a bottle and urging the first two on as they pulled at the princess's dress.
"Let go of me," she demanded, only getting them to laugh more. My jaw tensed and I was certain that the guard would hear my teeth grinding together as I crept closer.
"Sssa sssa, so arrogant," one of her tormentors laughed. "Will make our fortune selling you, yes, but first we teach you a lesson in manners, yes? Lucky for us we're the ones to find you."
The other applauded, stamping his six legs rhythmically on the ground. "So much luck, yes! Captain a good hunter."
With that he darted forward, grabbing hold of the princess's arm and tearing at her dress. Stupid. That fabric would resist swords and bullets, no verkesh was going to tear it barehanded. The creature gave a frustrated grunt, and Immorata took that moment to strike. Her technique was poor, almost non-existent, but I couldn't help admiring the passion and intensity of her punch. Her fist slammed into the verkesh's beaked face, rocking him back. A follow up kick caught him between its first pair of legs before the creature could recover, and I winced. It was a well-struck blow, but not at anything vital, and she didn't seem to know what to do with her success.
As the first verkesh staggered back, the second pounced forward. His many legs gave him surprising speed, and unlike Immorata he knew how to fight. One of his legs swept hers out from under her, and as she tumbled to the ground he pinned her with another. Snarling something, he pulled a weapon from his belt.
I was already moving. Guard or no guard, there was no way I would allow them to hurt her. Two steps into my charge the sentry heard me. A third, and he raised his weapon, a long-barreled gun of a design I didn't know. On the fourth step I leaped sideways and a bolt of blue energy tore through the space I'd just left. My skin tingled with the near-miss and I knew I'd feel it in a moment. But now I was close enough.
With a roar I was on him, knocking the gun aside as I charged. His second shot snapped into a tree behind me, exploding the trunk and sending splinters flying. I grabbed his head, four beady eyes going wide with fear, and twisted until I heard a crack.
The others were scrabbling for their weapons as I dropped his corpse, and I wasn't going to give them a chance to organize. Rushing in amongst them, I shouted a battle cry, my tail lashing out to impale one of them. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it kept him down as I grabbed the captain and threw him into another sentry, sending the two of them to the ground in a tangle of legs. Another took his shot, but I was moving too fast now, and it went wide. My arm spikes spread as I smashed into the shooter, and they tore through the verkesh's armored hide with ease. Green blood sprayed around us, and I turned away.
The one who'd attacked Immorata leaped towards me, his baton raised and crackling with energy. But the princess wasn't helpless yet — she grabbed his hind legs and pulled him up short, the weapon swinging past me. I stepped in as he kicked free of her grip, and before he could recover I'd taken the baton from him and rammed it into his mouth. The verkesh juddered as the charge ran through him, smoke rising from his body as he fell.
The captain and the remaining sentry had managed to disentangle themselves, scrambling to their feet as I rushed in. The sentry's rifle barked, and I felt the stinging pain as it burned along my side, but he'd fired too quickly and hadn't hit square. My scales protected me from the glancing hit. The captain, on the other hand, had a steadier hand and I saw his pistol barrel glowing with blue energy as he raised it towards my face. His finger tightened on the trigger.
At the last second, I dropped under his shot, hearing Immorata gasp behind me as the blast shot past. My tail lashed out, cracking into the captain's front legs and tearing them out from under him as I rolled, and I rose to stab a spine up under his chin as he fell. With a crunch, it struck through into his brain and he dropped his pistol, spasming in death.
The last of them, the sentry, threw down his gun and scrambled back, his arms waving wildly. A pack of verkesh might be bold, but one alone was always a coward. I bared my fangs and stepped forward, letting the captain's body slide off my arm and onto the blood-soaked ground.
"Stop!" Immorata's voice cut through my blood-rage and made me pause, glancing back at her. She was pulling herself up from under the corpse that had trapped her, green blood staining her, and the fury in her eyes rivaled my own. But she shook her head.
"We need answers," she said. "And we won't get any from the rest of these... these..."
Her voice trailed off there, apparently unable to voice a word sufficient to describe the vermin who'd abducted her. But she was right, and I knew it. Pausing, I looked at the remaining hunter who nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Yes, Princess is right," he said eagerly. "I answer many questions if you let me live? Yes please."
His mastery of imperial common was poor, but he could speak it. And we did need to know more about where we were. Swallowing my desire to tear him limb from limb for daring to hurt my princess, I nodded slowly.
"Give us the answers we need and I swear I'll let you live, then." I gave him a hard look. "But if you lie to us, if you don't do everything in your power to help us, I'll hunt you down and rip your limbs off one by one."
The fear on his face made it clear that my threat had sunk in, and he threw himself to the ground, all six legs curling under him as he prostrated himself before the princess. Smart, for a verkesh — he knew who'd saved him.
The princess herself looked near tears as she pulled herself to her feet, brushing drying green blood off herself convulsively. She was hanging onto her composure by sheer willpower and I saw that she was making an effort not to look at the corpses littering the camp. Tearing up a handful of grass I quickly wiped the blood off myself and offered her my arm.
She threw herself at me, embracing me and shaking softly, and my sight dimmed again as rage threatened to overwhelm the promise I'd just made. If the verkesh wasn't helpful, and quickly, I'd sate that anger on him.
"Where were you taking her? Talk!"
"Spaceport, yes," the verkesh babbled, face still pressed to the dirt. "Our ship is there. Then, well, don't know. Captain had ideas, but I don't know them! Swear I don't."
That was believable. Trusting this creature with sensitive plans wouldn't have been a smart move. I nodded at him to continue.
"First thing was, get off-world. Too many hunters here, yes. Too dangerous, someone takes her from us." He managed a high-pitched giggle. "But too slow. Now you have her, yes, yes. We failed."
"What hunters?" I frowned. This wasn't a safe system by any means, but that made it sound a lot more dangerous than I'd expected. "What were you doing here, anyway?"
"We are. Sorry. We were bounty hunters, yes," the verkesh risked a look up at me, then buried his face in the dirt again. "Independent world like this, good hideout for criminals. That's why we're here, for the bounty. Very legal work, no problems. But then... explosion in the sky, word of Imperial Princess Immorata dead. Big shock! Only captain clever-clever, yes. He saw re-entry, powered re-entry. Thought hey, maybe survivors. Maybe royal survivor, yes, worth more than any bounty."
Wonderful, a planet of outlaws and bounty hunters. But at least that m
eant there was a spaceport for us to head for, one with an unattended spaceship if I could figure out how to use the verkesh's equipment.
"Were others hunting for me?" Immorata spoke up unexpectedly. The verkesh groveled in her direction.
"Maybe, Your Highness. Maybe," he said. "We were the first to leave. Already on our way out, see? Others needed longer. Bad luck for us, yes?"
Not good news for us, either. By now other hunters might be behind us, at the crash site, and headed this way. Perhaps the next crew would be smarter, more willing to take a legitimate reward rather than selling the princess on. Especially when they saw she had an Acheran to guard her. But she was such a prize that we couldn't take the risk, not as ill-equipped as we were. I cursed.
"Where is your vehicle?" I demanded of the verkesh. "You didn't walk all this way."
He cringed, no doubt thinking of the long walk back to the port. That was his problem. "At edge of forest, yes," he said reluctantly. "Couldn't get in through trees. Perhaps another hour, two hours? That way."
He pointed vaguely in the direction they'd been going, and I decided that I believed him. It wasn't as though he had much to gain by sending us in the wrong direction, and if he was lying he knew I would make sure he paid for it. I nodded and turned to the princess.
"Can you walk?"
"If it gets me away from these monsters, you're damned right I can walk," she said, a fire in her voice. "I want to be as far from this mess as possible."
Her fierceness almost made me smile, and it did drain some of the rage from my blood. She was hurt, upset, and angry. But she was coping, and that was admirable under the circumstances.