by Tana Stone
Kush nodded, not waiting any longer as he started running toward the rocks that jutted up out of the dunes. He relished the feel of the hot sand beneath his wide feet, knowing that soon he would be traveling on cold, lifeless stone. One of his Dothvek brothers fell in step beside him, and he cast a quick glance behind him to see that K’alvek had taken up the rear with the remaining females.
Reaching his mind out in all directions, Kush felt nothing but the determination of his hunting party. Nothing from his little female, or from the slow-minded brutes with her. It was to be expected, he thought. The rocks made it difficult to sense things, another reason his people preferred the wide expanse of the open sands.
They left the dunes and clambered up onto the narrow pass that wound its way through the craggy peaks. The suns had already dipped low enough to send shadows dancing along the path, and the warmth of the fading day beat against his back.
He should have been riding across the sands with his little one in front of him, his arms holding her tightly as the jebel ambled up and down the powdery gold dunes. They should have been making their way to his tent, and he should have been spreading her out beneath him on the blankets, feeling the sands shift as he took her. With a shake of his head, he forced those thought out of his mind. Until he had her back, they were nothing but torture.
And he would get her back. The little human with the short dark hair, and the wide, blue eyes was his, and nothing would keep him from her. Not even aliens with weapons that could kill him with a single shot. It would take more than death to keep him away from his mate.
A deep rumbling shook the ground, and he braced his arm against the rock face to keep from falling. Was the planet shaking like it sometimes did, the sands undulating like waves, and their tents swaying as if being battered by high winds? If so, they needed to be ready for rocks to fall.
He peered up but did not see any of the sheer cliffs dislodging, and no pebbles fell from above. Although his feet vibrated, the mountains did not shift. He heard a rumble that grew louder that seemed to come from above.
“It’s the ship,” Danica shouted from behind him.
He couldn’t see a ship, but he knew the high rocks were blocking his view. There was only one ship currently on the planet that he knew of, so the sound meant that either Mourad was leaving, or another alien vessel was arriving.
He knew if Mourad was taking off, it was because he had what he’d come for. Despite knowing he could never run fast enough to catch a spaceship lifting off the ground, Kush pushed himself to run faster. The soft thud of footfall behind him kept pace, no one giving voice to what they all feared. The roaring noise disappeared, but they did not slow. Not even when the light became so dim he could only see a few steps in front of him at a time.
Kush shifted his grip on his blade, finally decreasing his pace as he sensed something approaching. He threw out an arm to warn the rest of the party, and they all slowed.
When they rounded the curve in the rock, the twin warriors, Dev and Trek, skidded to a stop, and seemed just as surprised to see them.
K’alvek pushed his way through to reach them. “I sent you to track the human.”
The warriors swung their long braids behind their shoulders in unison. “We tracked her to the ship. Mourad’s ship.”
“They got her on board already?” Kush asked, his heart sinking.
The twins exchange a glance. “They did not. She is…”
Kush narrowed his eyes at them. He’d never been able to sense the twins very well. They had a language shared between the two of them that no one else could penetrate.
“Dead,” Dev finally said, not meeting Kush’s eyes.
“What?” Danica said, shaking her head. “That’s impossible. How could she be dead?”
“We tracked her through the rocks and saw her body being carried by one of the aliens,” Trek said. “Their captain raged when he saw it and told them to leave it behind.”
Kush tried to drown out the sound of Caro’s soft sobs behind him as a dull ache throbbed in his head. He was aware that K’alvek and the twin warriors were still talking, but their voices sounded far away and distorted.
“Where is she now?” he asked. His voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through the chatter and silenced the group.
“After the ship took off, we searched the spot where they’d tossed it,” Trek said. “It was gone.”
“Maybe they took it after all?” Danica said.
Dev gave a swift jerk up of his head and made a clicking noise in his throat. “The only creatures that boarded the ship after the captain ordered them to leave were the female with the wild hair, and Vrax.”
“Tori?” Danica asked, disbelief thick in her voice. “My crew mate?”
“The one with the sharp sticks and the sharper tongue,” Dev said.
“That’s Tori,” Caro muttered. “But why would she board Mourad’s ship?”
Danica looked like she’d been punched in the gut. “Revenge. She owed Max her life. She’s going to make Mourad’s crew pay for killing her.”
“And it looks like she has one of your guys helping her,” Caro said.
Kush thought of Tori and Vrax flying high in the sky somewhere, and seeking vengeance for Max’s death. Fury boiled in his blood. He was only sorry he was not with them.
Chapter Thirty-One
Max moved her head from side to side to rid herself of the heavy feeling. A sharp slap on her cheeks made her eyes open.
“Oh, thank the gods,” Bexli said, her elfin face hovering over hers, framed by her sleek hair. “I thought you might have actually died for a moment there.”
Recent memories started to return to Max, including the plan Bexli had proposed to get Mourad off the planet.
“Did it work?” she asked, trying to sit up even though her head ached. “Did they buy it?”
Bexli let out a breath. “Yep. It helped that you were actually dead for a minute, or so.”
That was the part of the plan Max hadn’t been crazy about, but she’d agreed with the shapeshifter that thinking she was dead was the only way Mourad would leave.
Bexli looked at the syringe in her hand. “Good thing my theory was right. The same chemical that can start your heart, also stops it.”
Max gaped at her. “Theory? I thought you knew that’s how it worked.”
Bexli gave a twitch of her shoulders. “I don’t have the most medical training on the ship, but I was pretty sure the captain mentioned something like that at some point.”
Max attempted to glower at the woman. “I’m glad I didn’t know this ahead of time. I might never have agreed to it.”
“You’re alive, aren’t you? No harm, no foul.”
Considering Max’s head felt like it might split in two, she wasn’t sure if that was how she’d classify things. “And you’re sure Mourad bought it? He’s convinced I’m dead?”
Bexli glanced up at the sky. “He and his goons are gone. They took off pretty soon after he inspected your dead body for himself. No pulse. No breathing. No point in sticking around.”
“And he had no idea you weren’t his actual crew mate?” Max had seen the woman make some convincing changes, but morphing into a person Mourad knew well was especially challenging. One wrong statement or gesture and she could have given it all away.
“I think he was too worked up about losing his big bounty to pay much attention to the guy who was carrying her. Lucky for us, he told me to toss you out. If he’d wanted to keep your body as a souvenir or had some predilections we didn’t know about, you would have been screwed.” Her lips twitched up. “Maybe literally.”
Max shivered. What little she knew of the Gorglik bounty hunter wasn’t good, and in her one encounter with him, she’d found him repulsive, so she felt relieved he hadn’t been into necrophilia.
She sat up all the way and looked around. Darkness had fallen, but in the light of the three moons, she saw that boulders and sparse bushes surrounded them. The Cres
tek city rose up on one side of them and the mountain range on the other. She didn’t hear any screams of battle, and lights seemed to glow from behind the high city walls.
“So that’s it? The bounty hunters left, the Cresteks went back into their city, and the Dothveks…?”
“Are either looking for us, or heading back to their village in the desert,” Bexli said. “Either way, we should head in that direction. I don’t want to be stuck crossing those sands dunes when the sun comes up, even as a Gurlian sand serpent.”
Max cast a longing look at the Crestek city. “What about Holly?”
“I shouldn’t go in after her without reinforcements. We need to regroup with the crew and the Dothveks and come up with a plan.”
Max nodded. She was right. Holly would be fine in the city. Hell, knowing Holly and how much she loved male attention, she might just be in heaven in there. The male-female ratio was definitely in her favor.
“Tori would be upset if you mounted a rescue without her,” she said.
The shapeshifter’s face contorted for a brief moment. “I’m afraid Tori’s going to miss it no matter what.”
“Why?” Concern for the gruff security chief made her stomach tighten. “Tori is okay, isn’t she? I saw Vrax take a blaster to the chest for her.”
“She’s alive,” Bexli muttered darkly. “Stupid and headstrong, but alive. At least, as far as I know.”
“You mind being a little more specific than that? You’re kind of freaking me out.”
Bexli stood and put her hands on her hips. “While I was busy making a show of dumping your body and Mourad stormed back into his ship, I saw Tori run up the ramp before it closed.”
“Mourad’s ship?” Max gave her head a gentle shake. “Why would she do that?”
“Who knows?” Bexli opened her arms wide. “It’s Tori. She acts first and thinks later. Maybe she saw that you were dead and decided to take her anger out on Mourad, maybe she just wanted to kill him for stranding us here, maybe she’s planning to take over his ship.”
Knowing what little she did of Tori, all of those seemed like distinct possibilities.
“How can she take over his ship by herself?” Max asked. “She’s a badass, but he’s got a full crew of pretty scary guys.”
“She’s not alone.” Bexli’s lips curled up into a wry smile. “Vrax ran on right behind her.”
“The Dothvek she’s always arguing with? The one who jumped in front of the blaster for her?”
Bexli pointed a finger at her. “You got it. Who knows? Between a pissed-off Zevrian and a Dothvek, they might be able to pull it off.”
Max swallowed hard, not wanting to think about what was unsaid. “And if they don’t?”
“Our crew just got a little smaller.” Bexli extended her arm, pulling Max up. “Then again, we did pick up you, and you’ve proven yourself to be very resourceful.”
Max found herself blushing from the compliment. She’d gotten lots of accolades over her lifetime—awards, recognition, commendations—but the approval of the bounty hunter women felt better than any of that.
“So, how are you at riding?” Bexli asked.
“You mean horses?”
Bexli shrugged. “A little like horses. It will make the journey go faster. I know you look fine, but I did kill you and bring you back. You probably shouldn’t cap that off with a run across the desert.”
Before Max could reassure her that she felt fine, aside from a headache, Bexli bent over and shifted into one of the creatures she’d seen tied up at the edge of the sand. Jebels, Kush had called them.
Max eyed the brown fur tipped with lavender before reaching out and touching the waddle hanging under the creature’s chin. It moved its long head and snapped at her, reminding Max that this creature was still Bexli.
“Okay, okay,” she said, holding her hands up. “I won’t touch your double chin again.”
If jebels could shoot daggers with their eyes, this one did.
Max stifled her giggles as she climbed onto Bexli’s back, grabbing fistfuls of the thick fur to pull herself up. She leaned over the shifter’s neck. She was much higher off the ground than she thought she’d be, and she gave a small squeak when Bexli began moving forward. Jebels were not the most graceful creatures, and Max’s teeth rattled as she was jostled up and down.
No problem, she thought. I only have to hold on across half a desert. She closed her eyes. As long as Kush was on the other side of that desert, it would all be worth it.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kush barely noticed the moonlight bouncing off the sloping peaks of sand as his jebel trundled along. His animal followed the caravan as it moved toward their oasis village, but he did not long for home.
He knew it wouldn’t feel the same for him ever again. The sound of the tiny bells that edged the tents and jingled in the breeze wouldn’t make him smile. The scent of the crackling fire wouldn’t give him comfort. The taste of the cool, clear, pond water would not refresh him. Even though he’d only known his little female for a short time, his bond with her had been strong, and he felt empty without her.
He watched K’alvek’s back on the jebel in front of him, and knew his cousin’s mate was riding with him, her small body covered by his larger one. He regretted that the female captain had used her medicine to save him, although he would never admit that out loud. It sounded ungrateful, but the truth was that he didn’t want to be here, if Max was not.
His people didn’t talk about mind mates much, as few Dothveks had the opportunity to have one anymore, but he knew that Max had been his. The connection he’d had to her feelings had been powerful, and had grown even stronger when he’d claimed her. He wondered why he hadn’t felt it when she’d died, but he knew that his body was still recovering from being dead himself, and his abilities might be muted.
K’alvek dropped back, letting his jebel draw even with Kush. “We will send some warriors to look for her body again.”
Kush pressed his lips together and nodded. Seeing her body would only serve to prove she was gone. He did not need proof. His heart ached enough for him to know he would never see her again.
“Maybe they buried her,” Danica said.
The thought of his little one lying in the ground made his stomach churn. “Bury?”
Danica shrugged. “It was a human custom for a long time.”
“I know you cared about her,” K’alvek said. “I am more sorry than you know.”
“She was my mind mate,” he said, not looking at his kinsman.
K’alvek didn’t reply. The sharp intake of breath the only indication he’d heard.
“Really?” Danica asked. “Shit.”
There was a shifting among the jebels behind them, and a low murmur passed through the group. Kush could sense the concern before he could see anything.
“Something approaches,” K’alvek said, confirming what those in the back had sensed.
The jebels broke their single-file formation and fanned out in a V, with K’alvek taking the front position. There was little noise as they all waited. Kush squinted through the darkness to see what creature was running toward them, and felt a jolt of surprise when he saw that it was a jebel and a single rider.
“Did we leave a Dothvek behind?” he asked his cousin.
“We did not.” K’alvek was tense as the rider approached at speed.
Once the duo was close enough for him to make out faint details, Kush’s pulse quickened. The rider was too small to be a Dothvek, or a Crestek. It was clearly a female, although she did not have long hair flowing behind her. Her hair was short, and in the moonlight he could see that it was dark and glossy.
Slipping down off his own animal, Kush stumbled forward. He didn’t think it was possible, but the female barreling toward them was Max. He was sure of it. He could even feel her now, her own emotions a frantic swirl of the excitement and disbelief he felt.
“Kush!”
She called his name through a choked sob
, and his own throat was so thick with emotion he couldn’t call back.
The jebel slowed slightly as it approached him, but he ran forward to meet it, not waiting until it had stopped to pull Max down and into his arms. He didn’t lower her to the ground as he rained kisses over her face, only stopping when he heard the sound of her laughter.
“I can’t believe you’re alive,” she said, holding his face in her hands, her gaze devouring him. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“Nor I.” He shot a glance over his shoulder at the twin warriors. “We were told you were dead.”
“That was all part of Bexli’s plan to get Mourad off the planet for good.”
“Bexli?” Danica asked, sliding down off her own jebel. “She was with you?”
Caro slipped off the back of a jebel, and she landed in the sand, sending up a small cloud around her. “Bexli disappeared when we were bringing your boyfriend back to life, and then we couldn’t find her.”
The jebel Max had been riding transformed into the shape of a female, and a startled murmur passed though the Dothveks. Caro merely put her hands on her hips and laughed. “I should have known it was you. Your jebel’s fur had a noticeable hint of purple.”
“My vanity always gives me away,” Bexli said, wiping sand off her hands, which had recently been hooves.
A round ball of green fur poked out of Caro’s saddlebag, and gave a tiny yip. Kush had yet to determine which end of the animal was the top, or if Pog had eyes. He shook his head as he heard the creature begin to purr. The sands had their share of strange creatures but none so perplexing as this one, he thought.
Bexli’s face broke into a wide smile. “Pog! There you are!” She lifted the creature out of the leather bag and nuzzled him.
“It’s good to have you back,” Danica said. “No one wanted Pog to be an orphan.”
“I’m safe and sound,” Bexli said. “Sorry we were held up.” She jerked her head in Max’s direction. “I was busy killing this one and bringing her back to life.”