She sashayed up the stairs and hopped up to put her front paws on the railing. They had clearly put a lot of effort in during the last few hours. From above, she saw how the reorganized floor plan would funnel their enemies right into their claws.
Demon didn’t need the details. The humans and Ricole did some very strange things, but the concept of setting a trap for her prey was something she had come to understand and appreciate. It had occurred to her that all she needed was opposable thumbs, and then no prey would be unattainable.
She knew to stay away from the areas that smelled like explosives. The rest, once it started, was just doing what came naturally to her.
The sound of machinery stopped, and a few moments later Demon caught a glimpse of Jacqueline and Mark. It looked like they were done putting the finishing touches to their setup, since they were entwined around each other as they walked. Demon thought that might mean the action would be starting soon.
A raucous laugh came from inside the office, distracting Demon from her thoughts. She hopped down from the railing, leaving Jacqueline and Mark to their moment and padded inside the office to ask Sabine if it was time to tell the criminals that they had the money.
Ricole lay back on the sofa with her arms behind her head. She lifted an arm in a lazy wave when Demon came through the door and closed her eyes again.
Sabine sat at the desk with a small holoscreen open in front of her. She waved to Demon and turned back to the screen. “I think we’re nearly ready to set everything in motion. I’ll keep you guys updated.”
Demon walked over and touched her nose to Sabine’s cheek. What are you doing?
“She’s interrupting my nap,” Ricole grumped. She turned over on the couch and pulled the cushion from behind her head to stuff it over her ears. “Some of us haven’t slept yet.”
Sabine rolled her eyes at Ricole and grinned. “I was talking to Raina and Luke from team three.”
Demon tilted her head. The Guardians who came yesterday to bring the explosives? She jumped up on her window seat and stretched out in her favorite spot.
Sabine nodded. “Yes. They got back to their base and told the rest of their team what we were planning. It got around to the other teams, and now they want in on the fight.”
They heard Jacqueline from the stairs. “No way!”
Sabine, Ricole, and Demon looked over as Jacqueline came through the office door mid-protest. “You’re not seriously going to open our fight up to thirty other people?”
Sabine shrugged. “Why not? We have the drones up already. We can have them broadcast the fight over the team chat channel and get a book running for extra profit.”
Jacqueline frowned, putting her hands on her hips. “Why not? Because it will take away all my fun, that’s why.”
Mark came into the office behind Jacqueline. He headed for the nearest empty chair and dropped into it, shaking his head in disbelief. “You want to make money off this?”
Sabine grinned. “Come on! It will be an opportunity to get to know the other teams better. We should make an event of it.” She stopped talking suddenly and stood up. “We could even charge the other teams to get into the fight. That will bring it up to four ways we’re getting paid for this job.”
Ricole opened an eye and looked at Sabine. “Let me get this straight: we’re getting paid for the original job, plus extra for handling the transaction. Then we’re using that job to make a major dent in the scumbag population around here as well as making a killing on betting, and then we get more money because we’re turning it into a party that people will pay to get into?” She threw her head back and howled with laughter. “Oh, that’s just priceless!”
Jacqueline frowned, then raised her hands in defeat. “Fine. But if we’re doing this, we need to make another supply run before we sign the agreement and send it to Morrisey. He is expecting to hear back from us by the end of this morning.”
Mark chuckled. “That is genius, Sabine.”
Sabine flicked her hair over her shoulder and grinned. “I know, right? And I haven’t even had my coffee yet.” She looked at the stack of dirty mugs in the sink and wrinkled her nose. “I think I’ll get coffee in the bazaar while I pick up party supplies. Demon, do you want to come with me?”
Demon blinked at Sabine from her window seat. I will stay here and sleep. That way I will be fresh, and the Guardians will not take all the kills.
Ricole’s laughter subsided into snickers. “I don’t think we’re going to run out of bad guys around here once it goes out that we’re holding the Morrisey money. We’ll probably be glad of the assistance when it comes down to it.”
Mark took Sabine’s seat at the desk and pulled the keyboard toward him. “I’ll get everyone informed.”
Unnamed System, SD Atalanta, Hangar Bay
Terrence Bowyer watched the ship land with trepidation gnawing at the pit of his stomach. His uneasiness had only a little to do with the battle, and everything to do with the unscheduled arrival of the ship in front of him and his team.
The G’laxix-Sphaea-class ship looked the same as any other in its class except the G’laxix Sphaea herself. Nevertheless, something about it gave the experienced crewman the shivers.
The ramp descended, and the cause of Terrence’s uneasy feeling became apparent. Their visitor was none other than Michael Nacht.
The ground crew fell silent when Michael stepped onto the ramp and paused to look around. The aura of fear intensified, accentuated by the flashes of crackling energy that flickered in the air around him.
As Michael descended the ramp, the wind created by the energy surrounding him rippled his floor-length black cloak.
Terrence smiled wryly, comparing his faded and grease-stained coveralls to the dramatic ensemble the Queen’s husband wore.
On anyone else, it would have been too much, but on Michael it looked like the whole outfit had been invented just for him, right down to the engraved buckles on his boots. Even his fingerless gloves were black, worked with some kind of metal.
Terrence would never have admitted this out loud, but the man looked fucking magnificent.
Shayla elbowed him in the ribs. “Boss, isn’t that… Whoa. Look at his eyes!”
Terrence risked a direct glance at Michael and wished he hadn’t when the Queen’s mate noticed him staring and zeroed in on him with blazing red eyes.
You, there.
Terrence almost died on the spot when he heard the voice in his mind. He looked at Shayla and the others, who had all taken a few steps back, leaving Terrence in the line of fire.
Michael lifted a hand and pointed at him. Yes, you. You are not imagining things, Terrence. I am speaking to you. If you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of the brig? His voice was measured and calm, belying the danger that radiated from him in waves.
Terrence, on the other hand, only managed a squeak. He’d read once that the human brain was split into three parts. There were the lizard and the monkey, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember the third. However, all three were screaming at him to get the fuck out of there while he had the chance.
Michael flung back his cloak and strode toward the startled ground crew. He stopped in front of them and turned his red eyes and terribly even voice on Terrence. “The brig, Terrence.”
Terence opened and closed his mouth. He looked for something to focus on, and his eyes alighted on the silver skull that pinned Michael’s cloak at his collarbone. The aura of fear Michael engendered was so pronounced that it coated his tongue and throat and stole his words.
It was all he could do not to turn and run.
Michael waited for Terrence to answer, then turned his petrifying gaze on the others when he only managed a brief splutter. “Anyone?”
Someone, Terrence thought it may have been Lars, whimpered.
Michael sighed. “Never mind. I will get assistance from the ship’s EI. Our people are in danger from these aliens. There is no time for niceties.”
> Terrence snapped out of it when the reason for Michael’s presence aboard the Atalanta became clear. “The aliens!”
Michael nodded patiently. “Yes, that’s why I am here. Bethany Anne’s people—my people—have suffered a grave hurt, and I intend to get to the truth. Now, would one of you please direct me to the place I can find these aliens and my wife?”
Terrence finally managed to move. He turned and pointed to the hangar exit. “Go out through there, take a left, then another left, and it’s the third set of elevators. Atalanta will take care of you.” He felt a sudden surge of bravery. “Sir? What are you going to do to the aliens?”
Michael’s face was hard and unforgiving. “I’m going to do whatever I need to do to save our people. If I decide to leave any of the bastards who took them breathing afterward, it will not be out of any sense of mercy. It will be so that they can tell the generations to come why it’s such a bad idea to fuck with my people.”
Terrence couldn’t help feeling relieved when Michael strode away with his cloak flowing behind him.
Shayla came to stand beside him with her arms folded across her chest. “He’s something, hey, boss?”
Terrence watched the crowd part before Michael. “You’ve got that right. Our Queen is one hell of a woman to keep him contained.”
Shayla snickered. “He didn’t seem very contained to me. Those aliens are going to be crying for whatever monster spawned them.”
“Very soon.”
SD Atalanta, Brig
Bethany Anne leaned back and put her feet up on the next chair at the table. She was exhausted from a long and fruitless night of interrogation; the prisoners taken from the alien ship had told her nothing.
The aliens, which she’d decided to call Ooken since their orange fur and tentacles made them look like a cross between giant apes and squid, had done little more than screech and attack whoever came near them.
Of course, they had only attacked Bethany Anne once.
Bethany Anne yawned, and something caught her eye. She extended a foot and pressed her lips together. Ordinary eyes wouldn’t have seen the smudge of blood on the red sole of her pump, but hers did.
She wiped it off with a tissue, tilting her head toward the door when a wave of fear crashed over the holding area.
Michael was here.
The prisoners stirred at the harbinger of Michael’s arrival. Their already large eyes grew larger, and the nests of tentacles around their mouths quivered. They looked toward the entrance, feeling Michael’s mental energy draw closer to the holding cells.
Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes at the Ooken, the corner of her mouth turning up in a small smile. “You’ll tell me all your secrets very soon. Whether you want to or not.”
Bethany Anne.
The cold fury that dripped from Michael’s voice in her mind matched the outward manifestation of his current emotional state. She was angry, but her husband was beyond pissed.
Bethany Anne was pleased with the reaction Michael’s arrival had stirred in the Ooken. She was well aware that everyone in the brig except her would be shitting kittens the closer he got, and she needed a break from banging her head against the wall of their silence. Am I glad to hear you! I’ve been at this since we spoke, and these Ooken are definitely not the fucking chattiest. Or the easiest on the eyes. Or the nicest-smelling.
Ooken?
Imagine that an orangutan and a giant squid bumped uglies. Have you got that image firmly in your mind?
I rather wish I didn’t.
Bethany Anne believed him. I’m not done. Go one step further and imagine the ape and the squid had a weird-looking kid, and that’s kind of what they look like.
Michael chuckled dryly. I would say that was impossible, but then we live in the most colorful neighborhood these days. Did you get any information at all from them?
No, she admitted. All they do is screech.
I am here now. We will get to the bottom of this. Even in his anger, Michael’s voice soothed Bethany Anne.
However, this was no time for warm and fuzzy feelings. Peter’s life hung in the balance, along with thirty-six others.
Michael walked into the brig, taking a long look at the aliens as he undid the skull clasp on his cloak. He turned to Bethany Anne and draped his cloak over the back of a chair. They’re bleeding rather a lot, my love. He dropped a kiss on the cheek she offered as he took a seat beside her. It’s a good start.
Bethany Anne’s eyes flashed red. The only reason that they are still able to bleed is that they know where Peter and the others have been taken.
Michael stared into the cell. The prisoners within stared back hatefully. He couldn’t blame them for that, but he blamed them completely for the chaos they had brought. You have no issue with me forcing the information from them?
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. None. I may have stepped down as Empress, but I have no problem whatsoever with putting on my heels when the Queen Bitch is called for. She glanced pointedly at the skull on Michael’s cloak. It’s as easy as you slipping back into your more…patriarchal ways. There’s no changing who we are at the core, and right now that’s exactly who we need to be.
Michael’s mouth turned up in a smile. He leaned over and touched his forehead to hers. When did you get so wise?
Bethany Anne chuckled softly. Probably sometime during the century and a half I carried the weight of an empire on my shoulders while you were floating around the Etheric all footloose and fancy-free. That kind of responsibility teaches you some deep shit, which you damn well knew when you started me off on this path.
Michael turned to Bethany Anne with a flat expression. What I am hearing is that I should work extra hard to make up for my extended vacation.
Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes, unsure whether he was playing along or taking things too seriously. I wouldn’t say extra hard…
Michael sniffed, a slight twinkle appearing in his eyes. Oh, no, my love. You have made your position abundantly clear.
The prisoners watched the silent exchange with mounting agitation. Bethany Anne touched her elbow, thinking of the pain the Ooken’s sucker had caused when it latched onto her earlier. How are we going to do this? she asked.
Michael appraised the Ooken through the glass divider. You say the application of pain had no effect whatsoever? They have tentacles, so they clearly have complex nervous systems. It should have worked.
Bethany Anne shook her head. I wouldn’t have had to call you in if it had. That was the second thing I tried. Then I tried mind-reading, but that spawn of sucker-faced banana munchers resisted me at every fucking turn. She indicated one of the aliens with a finger. It was slumped against the wall of the cell with its tentacles drooping down its hairy chest. I’m pretty sure I broke that one for good.
Michael raised an eyebrow. Is that a problem?
Bethany Anne shrugged. We can’t find out what it is they’re hiding if they’re dead.
You have a point. Michael rubbed his chin, considering the options for a moment. Hmmm. We can get what we need; it will just take a little finesse. I need a connection to TOM.
Coming right up. TOM?
Bethany Anne’s Kurtherian ride-along answered somewhat distractedly. Yes, Bethany Anne? Oh. Why are we on the Atalanta?
Bethany Anne frowned. What have you been doing in there that you didn’t know where we are?
The dreamy tone left TOM’s voice. I was contemplating.
Contemplating what? She waved a hand at Michael, who was gesturing for her to hurry it up. Never mind. We have a problem, and I need you to focus.
Of course. What’s going on?
Bethany Anne’s lip curled. Short version is that these new aliens showed up for a fight and snatched our people when they ran off to lick their wounds. Peter and Jian were among those taken.
So you want my help to find out where Peter and the others were taken?
You hit the nail on the head. Michael needs some help interrogating them to find out
which rock they crawled out from under.
TOM’s disgust filtered through. I’m happy to help however I am able. Interrogation is a very strong word, though.
Bethany Anne rolled her eyes. Okay then. He needs help to tutor these ignorant beings in what happens when you fuck with the wrong species. Can you contemplate that?
There were a few moments of silence while TOM digested her words. I believe I can. Education is the cornerstone of enlightenment, after all.
Nice to see you’re coming around to my way of thinking. Bethany Anne linked TOM to Michael, who briefly explained the plan.
TOM spoke to Bethany Anne and Michael at the same time. What should I look for?
Bethany Anne tapped her fingers on the table as she considered. Whatever you can find that tells us who they are and where they came from. Anything that helps us work out where they are now. She crossed her legs and sat back. Dig deep, and tell me what their weaknesses are.
Michael got up and walked over to the holding cell door. Just be ready when I need you. He slipped through the door to the cell, and it closed behind him with a loud click.
The Ooken came at him, all tentacles and grasping hands.
Michael grabbed the nearest alien and pushed fear ahead of himself to clear some space. The Ooken fell back, wary of the pure power he wielded.
The alien in his hands was a different matter.
At the moment where the choice was fight or flight and the option of flight was restricted by the iron grip Michael had on it, the Ooken fought for its life.
Michael reacted instinctively when the nest of tentacles spread wide, revealing a sharp-beaked mouth that was perfectly designed for cutting off chunks of meat.
One of its tentacles found its mark on Michael’s face, but Michael gave the Ooken no opportunity to pull his head toward its mouth. He grabbed the tentacles on either side of the Ooken’s maw and pulled.
The Ooken came apart in his hands as easily as a freshly-baked bread roll.
Michael dropped the two halves of its head and turned to the rest, activating his gauntlets with a squeeze. Etheric energy sparked around him, triggering the fight response in the rest of the Ooken.
The Kurtherian Endgame Boxed Set Page 56