Beyond Galaxy's Edge

by Anna Hackett

“How’d you get out?”

  “When I was twelve, Ry fourteen and Dare almost sixteen, we finally knew we could take the bastard. We set an ambush.” Justyn still remembered his sweaty hands and racing pulse as he listened to the heavy thuds of his stepfather coming down the stairs. And he had no trouble recalling the sharp scent of the man’s blood.

  They’d left him a bloody pulp, and Justyn was just sorry they hadn’t killed the bastard. To stop him getting off on beating some other poor kids.

  “Then we left.” They’d run as far and fast as they could.

  “Your mother?”

  He shrugged. “We left her, too.” She’d been scared, but she’d left her sons to rot for seven years. They hadn’t wanted anything to do with her.

  Nissa’s body was vibrating with constrained fury. “Your father?”

  “Dead by then. He didn’t have much to do with us after he and mom split.”

  “Three young boys. Alone!”

  “Hey.” Justyn reached out, took hold of her hand, and pulled her closer. “We escaped. We survived. It gave me a good appreciation for sunshine and doing things that feel good.”

  Her face softened. “You are a good man, Justyn.”

  “Whoa. Don’t go overboard.”

  She slid onto his lap. “Most people would be in therapy, or turn out to be criminals, or just end up dead, but you grin at the world and enjoy yourself.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “You know, Captain Smooth, enjoying yourself really isn’t a bad thing. You could do with learning a bit more about it.”

  Her arms twined around his neck. “Maybe I’m just starting to realize that.”

  Desire fired through Justyn’s blood, pooling in his crotch. “Nissa—”

  The beacon made a high-pitched beeping, colored lights blinking in a furious display like something had made it very angry.

  With a curse, Justyn leaned forward helping Nissa to her feet with his hands around her waist.

  He gave another curse and slammed a fist into the console. “The signal can’t get through the dense vegetation.”

  She squeezed her eyes closed. “We’re stuck here with no help on the way.”

  ***

  Nissa paced across the cockpit. “What do we do now?”

  Justyn was staring at the dense foliage outside through the half of the viewscreen that wasn’t boarded up. “We have to get the beacon above the canopy.”

  Right. They had to go outside. She smoothed a hand over her head. “Suggestions?”

  “Well, we can climb a tree.”

  They both stared at the jungle. There weren’t really any solid-looking trees, just vines and giant flowers.

  “Or we can search for any higher ground?” she suggested.

  He nodded and moved to the comms console, the least damaged in the cockpit. “Let me see if I can reroute some emergency power through here and do some scans.”

  She perched nearby and watched him. A part of her was still seething inside at what he’d told her about his childhood. But she knew she had to set it aside. He hadn’t let what he’d suffered taint him. He’d made himself into the man he was and she’d never doubted the strong bond between him and his brothers.

  He’d talked about loyalty. She knew now why it was vital to him.

  And she was lying to him.

  Her stomach hardened. She also had the bad feeling it was because of her that their attackers had known where to find them.

  Her throat was so thick she could barely breathe. She’d almost gotten Justyn killed.

  After another minute of fiddling, he sat back and the console came sluggishly to life.

  She cleared her throat. “Good work.” She looked over his shoulder as he ran the scans.

  “Okay, we only have info for a two kilometer radius.” The topographic map flashed onto the screen.

  “There!” She pointed to a red spot on the screen. Higher ground.

  It wasn’t much, but when Justyn switched to the geological analysis, he pumped his fist in the air. “It’s made of pure, solid rock. No vegetation.” He grinned at her. “Might just work.”

  Then her shoulders slumped. “But we have to get there first.” Again, she looked at the dense jungle…and thought of the blood-sucking vines and whatever other horrors might be out there.

  As if reading her thoughts, an eerie screech sounded in the distance, and goose bumps broke out on her arms.

  “How the hell are we going to survive the wildlife long enough to get to this hill?”

  “We’ll wait for sunrise, which is only—” he glanced at the console “—four hours away. So for now, we eat and get some rest.”

  As they munched on more unappetizing nutribars, Nissa sat quietly beside Justyn. It was…nice. Just sitting quietly, not having to fill the space with needless words. She would never have guessed she’d ever find an ease like that with a man like him.

  “When we get back, I want to know how the hell someone found out you and I were leaving the Nomad. Only Ry and Dare knew so we could avoid the mole.” Even in the dim darkness, his eyes glowed hot.

  Her stomach clenched. She couldn’t keep lying to him. “I think it was my fault.” Goddess, it was hard forcing the words out.

  He stilled, his head turning slowly. “Explain.”

  His tone sent a chill down her spine. “I…I’ve been reporting in to Admiral DeRuyter at GSS.”

  Justyn’s blinked, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Reporting in.”

  She swallowed the giant lump lodged in her throat. “I’ve been giving her updates on our hunt.”

  “I thought you were on a leave of absence.”

  Nissa moved to the edge of her seat. “I am. I…she promised me that transfer if I could get the Constitution back.” Nissa didn’t bring up her father and his commendation. She scrubbed a hand over her mouth.

  “You endangered everyone on the Nomad. Us.”

  “I was careful. But someone must have hacked my transmissions—”

  “Or someone at your precious GSS is a mole!” He exploded out of his chair, his body tense.

  “Justyn, I’m sorry—”

  “I don’t want to hear it, Nissa.” He let out a harsh breath. “Every time I think I’m getting closer to uncovering the real you, there’s another wall.”

  He glanced at her with such a blank look in his eyes it made her feel sick.

  He shook his head. “Or maybe I’m just imagining that you’re different from the uptight Patrol captain who only cares about her career.”

  His words were like blows slamming into her. She couldn’t find anything to say.

  With an oath, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Get some rest. At first light, we’re out of here with the beacon.”

  He strode to the other side of the cockpit—to the farthest point from her—and dropped to the floor, his back against the wall. He tipped his head back, eyes closed.

  Nissa tugged one of the blankets around herself and huddled on the co-pilot’s chair. Her eyes burned with exhaustion, but she stared out at the jungle, unable to sleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Justyn yanked on his backpack and ruthlessly tightened the straps. He’d already placed the beacon and what rations he could carry inside. He also had his ion blaster strapped to his hip, and his favorite knife tucked into his boot. Finally, he hefted a machete he’d found in the weapons locker.

  Not far away, Nissa was putting her own backpack on. Every now and then she looked his way, but he ignored her.

  He was still too fucking angry.

  “Ready?” He made his way to the door.

  “Ready.”

  He activated the manual override to open the door. No vines or other deadly vegetation or unknown jungle creatures waited for them. A moment later, they stepped outside into the dappled morning sunlight. The humidity hit Justyn like a bad transition to interstellar speed, slapping him in the face. Perspiration broke out on his brow
. Great, nothing like a hike through a killer jungle on some alien planet with humidity you could barely breathe in.

  Turning his arm over, he stared at the mini-Sync he’d attached to his forearm. It showed the terrain map and the glowing gold cross that indicated their destination.

  “That way.” He pointed with the machete.

  Nissa lifted her own large blade and they headed off.

  As Justyn hacked a path through the undergrowth, he half expected the vines to rear up and attack them. But everything was still.

  Really, really still.

  “Don’t you think it’s weird that we don’t hear any wildlife?” she asked. “No birds squawking or bugs chirping.”

  Yeah, it was definitely strange. He ducked under a huge, neon-purple flower. “I’d prefer not to run into any wildlife. Let’s count ourselves lucky and keep moving.”

  They found a steady rhythm hacking away at the vegetation. In some parts it was less thick and they could duck under or climb over the growth. Justyn found it an excellent distraction from his fury at the woman beside him.

  She’d betrayed him.

  He hacked into a vine as thick as his thigh. Okay, maybe he’d known she didn’t fully trust him, but he hadn’t expected her to compromise their safety. He sliced through a dangling plant covered in blue flowers the size of his palms. Maybe it was time to accept that Nissa Sander would never trust him the way he needed her to. That she might give him her body, but she’d never surrender her soul to him.

  He slashed at the jungle with single-minded thoroughness, eager to block all the dark thoughts in his mind. And the pain in his heart.

  Eventually, he paused for break, swiping his forearm across his face. Sweat was dripping off both of them. “Take five. Have a drink.”

  Nissa chugged back some water. “At least we crashed on a warm planet. If we’d crashed on an ice world—” she shook her head “—reptilians don’t do well with ice.” She drank again and a small trickle escaped her mouth, running down her throat, along her collarbone, before soaking into her tank. He watched that trickle with envy as it followed that smooth, smooth skin, tracing the edge of her scale design. His fingers twitched.

  Damn it. He looked away, staring at the giant neon-red flower towering over him like a huge solar shade. Its petals were as long as he was and in the center…his nose wrinkled. Well, it almost looked like a mouth ringed by protuberances that wobbled in the breeze.

  He took another drink. Something touched the back of his neck.

  Justyn jumped and swiveled around. Then he laughed at himself. One of the petals had drooped enough to touch his skin.

  “Scared of a flower, Phoenix?”

  He raised a brow at Nissa. “I’d be stupid not to be scared of everything on this planet.” He rubbed at his forearm and the phantom ache there from the bloodsucker-vine-leech creature.

  “Are you going to keep ignoring me?”

  He scowled. “I’m not ignoring you.”

  “You’ve barely said anything to me.” She rubbed her cheek against her shoulder, wiping away the sweat from her face. “And you won’t look at me.”

  “I’m pissed at you.”

  She huffed out a breath. “Yeah, I got that.”

  “You could have killed my brothers, all their crew. Out here, you can’t be Patrol, Nissa. Your loyalty has to be to your team, to the hunt.”

  Her eyes gleamed in the dappled shade. “I know. Now.”

  He shook his head, angry at both of them. “Just let me work off some steam, okay?”

  Suddenly her eyes widened. “Justyn, look out!”

  He saw a flash of red and then he was lifted off the ground. His machete slipped from his fingers. Something enveloped him, trying to smother him. He twisted and turned, kicking out with his boots. A high-pitched shriek sounded in his ear. Arching his neck, he looked up…

  Into the mouth of the neon flower.

  The protuberances were waving wildly now, reaching for him. They were sticky with a clear substance that smelled sweet.

  Fuck. He tried to pull him arms up but they were trapped by his sides. He thrashed more, trying to find any way to free himself. “Nissa!”

  A drop of the sticky, clear fluid slowly dripped down and touched his shoulder.

  It sizzled through his shirt and burned his skin.

  With a curse, he renewed his struggles. His hand gripped the petals surrounding him, but they were tough and rubbery and he couldn’t get a proper hold. Reaching down, he found his boot, his fingers searching by touch for his knife. He wasn’t ready to die, damn it, and he sure as fuck wasn’t going to die by getting eaten by a damn flower.

  The mouth got nearer and he pulled his head as low as he could. He couldn’t reach the blade. “Nissa!”

  “Hang on!” Her muffled voice reached him.

  Suddenly, the flower screeched again. It started shaking and writhing, throwing Justyn around so hard his brain felt scrambled.

  Then sunlight blinded him as the monster plant dumped him on the ground.

  Heaving in air, he looked up.

  Nissa stood over him, a stream of sunlight that had managed to break through the canopy highlighting her from behind. She still held the machete up, and it dripped with green fluid. She looked like an avenging angel.

  One sexy, kick-ass avenging angel.

  He got to his hands and knees, still feeling a bit shaky. “I was about to become lunch…for a damn flower.”

  She snorted a laugh. He shot her a narrow stare.

  Her smile flatlined, even though humor still danced in her eyes. “Sorry. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” He got to his feet and grabbed her, lightning fast. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, then released her. “I’m still mad at you, but thanks for the rescue.”

  She licked her lips. “You would have done the same for me.”

  He’d take on the whole galaxy to protect her. He took a step and something crunched under his boot, derailing his thoughts. “What the hell?’

  Justyn kicked at the carpet of dead leaves that lay covering the ground. That crunching sound had been more than disintegrating foliage. Bones. Old, picked clean and bleached white. He swiped again at the leaves. Many more bones. He took in the skeleton of what looked like a bird and another of some sort of a monkey-like creature.

  “I think we discovered what happened to all the animals around here,” he said.

  Nissa grimaced. “Something ate them.”

  “Let’s get to the hill, set the beacon and get off this rock.”

  “Best thing I’ve heard all day.”

  Suddenly, a rustling in the vegetation behind them had them both spinning. Justyn couldn’t see anything but the sound grew louder with every passing second.

  “Go!”

  They started running, swinging their machetes in a quick and deadly rhythm.

  Justyn’s blood was pounding. He kept his gaze focused on the direction they were heading, while keeping Nissa in his peripheral vision.

  Behind them, he heard the plants rustling wildly.

  Something was coming. And it sounded big.

  Nissa leaped over a large vine, slashed through a wall of smaller, intercrossed ones. “How much farther?”

  A quick glance at the mini-Sync. The screen was fogged but he could still see the glow. “Just over halfway there.”

  They kept moving. The rustling grew louder.

  And louder.

  The entire jungle around them seemed to be vibrating.

  Justyn saw the pinched look on Nissa’s face.

  They weren’t going to make it.

  Suddenly a vine the size of Justyn’s arm exploded out from the undergrowth. It circled around Nissa’s thigh.

  “Fuck.” She tried to hack at it, but the angle of her swing was awkward and ineffective.

  He swung his own blade. The vine reared backward, the part he’d lopped off falling at Nissa’s feet.
/>
  But with lightning speed, another vine came from the other direction and circled her ankle.

  Then another around her wrists.

  She struggled, trying hard to pull away. More vines of varying thicknesses swarmed in from the trees, constricting around her like snakes.

  “Fuck off!” Justyn kept swinging the machete, but for every vine he cut, three more were already winding around her arms, legs and body.

  She let out a frustrated yell, her clothes drenched from her struggles. The vines lifted her a meter off the ground, pulling at her limbs until she was spread like a star. Then, the vines stopped moving. An eerie silence fell.

  Finally Nissa stilled too, her chin on her chest. The only sound was her harsh breathing.

  She raised her head. “You have to keep going.”

  “Like hell.” He slashed at another vine. Two more slithered out to take its place.

  “Justyn. Go.”

  “What the fuck happened to never give up?” A rock had settled in his chest. “I’m not leaving you here.”

  “You have to set the beacon. Then come back for me.”

  He ground his teeth together. They both knew she wouldn’t be here when he got back. “No. Fuck, no.”

  “I’m sorry about reporting back to the admiral. I never thought anyone would use that to attack us or sabotage our hunt.”

  “Nissa…just concentrate on getting out of there.”

  “She threatened my father’s commendation.” Nissa heaved in a breath. “It’s coming up in a couple of months. Even though he doesn’t mention it much, I know he’s so damned excited about it. It’s the final shining moment of the career he worked so hard for. And it secures his pension to the day he dies.” Her voice grew softer. “I couldn’t let her take that away from him.”

  Damn it. Damn all the meddling GSS bastards to hell. “You should have told me!”

  “It doesn’t matter now.” Her voice was quiet and far too calm. “I just wanted you to know I was sorry.”

  “I know.” He stepped on a half-rotted log to bring his face level with hers. “I’m still not leaving you here.”

  She gave him a small smile. “Tell me how you got that scar? The truth this time.”

  “No. I’ll tell you after we get out of here.” He stepped back and withdrew his blaster.