“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” This can’t be good.
I press the comm. “SANDY, report passengers.”
“Acknowledge Captain Raven. There are three passengers aboard including yourself. However, one is not conscious. The medical scanner is online. Please advise.”
“Cole?” I yell, running toward the hallway that leads to the door, my pulse quickening and my heart pounding. Uncle Teagan will kill me if something happens to him.
Wait a minute. What the hell? I’m worried about—
Before I can contemplate my ridiculous thoughts any further, I find Cole. He’s lying on his side next to the door. I kneel, turn him over, and shake him. “Cole, can you hear me?”
No response.
I lean over his mouth to listen for breathing.
Before I know what’s happening, Cole turns my head and kisses me.
His lips are warm and inviting, but the shock of his sudden consciousness sends me in a different direction. I pull back and slap him across the face with my human hand.
Cole rubs his cheek and smiles. “You’re warming up to me, Raven. That slap felt like foreplay. What’s next?”
I inhale sharply at his innuendo. I try to get to my feet, but the sloped space between Cole and the door is too narrow. My torso bangs into the side of the ship, my knees buckling as I fall back on top of him.
Our faces are inches apart, and I’m pretty sure he’s more than conscious now.
“As you can tell, I’m game for whatever you have in mind.” He cups my ass and presses his hips into mine.
My hips respond in kind as if on instinct. I scramble off him, my cheeks inflamed at my body’s betrayal. I stand and kick him in the leg with my titanium-tipped boot. “You’re such a space nugget.”
“Ouch!” he yells, grabbing his leg. “Well, now I am injured.”
“Good,” I say, trying to get my haywire emotions under control. I tell the voice that felt how much he wants me to shut up. This is Cole!
Once he recovers, he smiles seductively up at me with his stupid, striking blue eyes and pouty lips. “You really do care, don’t you?”
I growl inwardly. And, I’m over it. “Knock it off. We have a big problem. We are in deep space, about to run out of power.”
Cole stands, sobering like he took a bucket of ice water to the face. “What? Why wouldn’t you have your ship fully charged?”
I take a step forward so we are inches away from each other. “I didn’t exactly have a choice, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m the one who got us off Cadmar. So back off.”
“You got us off Cadmar? I got us off Cadmar. It was me outside that door taking all the risk. You were safe inside your cockpit!”
I narrow my eyes and tap the comm next to the door behind Cole. “SANDY?”
“Yes, Captain Raven?”
“How long until we run out of fuel?”
“Twelve hours, fifty-nine minutes, and twenty-five seconds.”
Suddenly fighting with Cole has lost its appeal. “Unless you have a brilliant idea on how to get us out of this mess, stay out of the way.” I turn and walk away but feel his gaze on me the whole trip back to the cockpit.
A few minutes pass, and Cole slides down next to me in the co-pilot seat. “SANDY, what’s the closest charging station?”
“The closest charging station is on Verta moon.”
He looks over at me and frowns. I know what he’s thinking, and yes, it was a mistake to come this way, but I was just trying to save our asses.
“I don’t suppose you’ve been lifting any mind bands lately?” Cole asks.
Verta moon is home to a colony of Mahthe, an alien species with mind control abilities. Many Zetians and Cadmarians alike have entered their system and never returned. Mahthe colonize habitable moons and dwarf planets in deep space so they can charge exuberant amounts of credits for fuel. They remind me a lot of some of the factory owners on Zeta—greedy, intelligent, and shrewd at turning a profit.
That’s why mind bands would come in handy. They inhibit mind control. Mad-Armor, the same company I buy my battle suits from, makes them. But they are pricey, which is why thieves, such as myself, often acquire them for nice returns.
I shrug. “Nope.”
“SANDY, ETA to Verta moon?” Cole asks.
“Thirteen hours, ten minutes, and forty-five seconds.”
Cole sighs. “SANDY, set a course for Verta moon.”
“Captain Raven?” the computer asks for confirmation.
Cole looks at me, eyebrows raised.
“SANDY, confirm course for Verta moon,” I say.
“Captain Raven, course set for Verta moon. Fuel will diminish before we reach the moon.”
“So now what? How do we power the ship for an extra ten minutes to get to the moon?” I ask, to no one in particular.
But someone does answer me. “I believe I can help with that,” Emery says.
I turn in my seat.
Cole speaks first. “Really? What can you do to help? Have you got some nuclear power hiding in that bag of yours?”
I stare at Emery, my lips pursed, telling him to not say another word. “Emery, I appreciate you trying to help, but this is an impossible problem.”
Cole looks suspiciously between Emery and me. “No, wait, what do you have in that satchel by your waist?”
Starfire! “That’s none of your business, Cole. Leave him alone.”
“Here’s the thing. I’ve been watching the bounty list, and a boy from Mythos, the last boy, in fact, has a bounty of a million credits on his head. Now, I’m not an idiot. I know it’s Emery. But what I don’t know is why they want him.”
I see wheels turning in Cole’s head, and I don’t like it one bit. “Leave it alone.”
Emery focuses on Cole. “Make your decision.”
“Make my decision? What do you mean?” Cole asks.
“You’re deciding if Raven is worth more to you than one million credits,” Emery says.
Wow, where did that come from? Gone is the curious and naïve boy I found in the shower. In his place is this super intuitive, twelve-year-old who tells it like it is. Could it be an effect from the sphere? Maybe that’s why the sphere only resided with the adults of Emery’s people and not their children. I lean back in the seat, cross my arms, and watch Cole’s reaction. I kinda like him this way.
“Yeah, Cole, make your decision.” I kick his chair.
Cole leans forward, his forearms on his knees, hands interlaced. “Okay, kid. What’s in the bag?”
Emery reaches his gloved hand into the bag and pulls out the silvery sphere.
Cole gulps, his eyes awestruck. Slowly, he gets out of his chair.
I grab his arm. “No, don’t touch it.”
“Raven, do you know what this thing is?”
“Not exactly. The only thing I know is that it packs one hell of a punch with anyone who’s a threat to Emery.”
Emery adds, “Or Raven.”
“Wait, so let me get this straight. This thing is a weapon? What does it do? I mean, how does it…”
“It annihilates anything in its path. Basically, it turns people to dust,” I say.
Cole turns back to Emery. “So you control it? Use it? Can I…”
“No,” Emery says assertively and places the sphere back into its resting place at the bottom of the satchel.
“This is amazing. It’s the most fantastic thing I’ve ever seen.” Cole’s eyes dart back and forth, wheels turning. “I mean, I’ve seen some pretty cool things, but this…this is so far beyond anything in the galaxy. Can you imagine how much that thing is worth?”
“Don’t get too excited, Cole. We’re still space bait,” I remind him.
“We can use the sphere,” Emery offers.
“The sphere? How’s that going to work?” I ask.
“Take me to the fuel cell. I’ll show you,” Emery says.
Cole laughs. “This kid is a
wesome. I’ve got to see this.”
The three of us head down to the fuel cell, which is located at the front of the ship in a lower chamber.
I point through a glass door to a nuclear reactor. “That’s our fuel cell. We can’t open this door, or we will all be contaminated. How can the sphere help?”
“How does a charging station charge it?”
“From the outside of the ship. There’s an outlet underneath the ship. But obviously, we don’t have access to it from inside.”
Emery taps the comm by the glass door. “SANDY, is there a space suit on board small enough to fit me?”
“Oh no you don’t. You’re not going out there. It’s way too dangerous.”
Cole nods. “I’m with Raven on this one. Can’t one of us do it?”
“No, I’m the wielder of the sphere,” Emery says simply.
Wielder of the sphere. Okay, now he’s wielding, not guarding. “Can you at least tell me how you think this is going to work?”
“The sphere is an energy source. I don’t think it can power the ship indefinitely, or even for an extended period, but I know it emits bursts of energy. Perhaps that energy will be enough to get us to Verta moon?” Emery doesn’t seem as confident as he was a moment earlier.
“So what you’re saying is that you don’t know if it will work. Kind of a gamble.” I need to decide. I run my hand through my hair, looking between Emery and Cole. “All right, here’s what I think we should do—we wait. Let’s get closer to the moon, and then Emery and I will go outside. Cole, if—and I mean if—it works, you pilot and get us on the moon as quickly as possible. In the meantime, Emery, let's practice breathing in a space suit. The last thing we need is you hyperventilating out there.”
“This time I’m in the cockpit,” Cole says, climbing back up the ladder.
I roll my eyes. “Thanks a lot, Cole. Appreciate your concern for our safety. We’ll take care of all the dangerous stuff.”
“You always do,” he sings, traversing the last few rungs of the ladder.
As I watch him leave, a thought creeps its way into my mind, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end like antennae sensing danger. He’s not usually this quick to take a backseat for something as risky and exciting as this. Funny how he didn’t even offer…
I push the thought from my mind. We have about twelve hours left to find out if we truly will be space bait.
12
Spherical Energy
After an hour of practicing with Emery on how to breathe inside the space suit, he left to meditate in the living quarters. I can’t imagine how sitting with your legs crossed and eyes closed can accomplish anything, but hey, do what you gotta do, right? I head back up to the cockpit to see what Cole is up to.
He’s sitting in the pilot’s seat watching the stars pass by. I slide into the co-pilot seat and lean my head back. I’m drained, and things are going to get even more intense before the day is through.
“Tired?” Cole asks, his eyes still focused on the vast space in front of us. “You could rest a bit. I’ll wake you when it’s time.”
I twist in my seat to look at him. His clean-shaven face from yesterday has gained a shadow on his cheeks and chin. His hair is rumpled from the action on Cadmar. My eyes travel up and down the length of him, admiring how his battle suit hugs his muscular arms and legs. He must have chosen it so that he could slip into the Cadmarian guard’s uniform more easily. Usually, he wears more armor.
“No, I can’t sleep,” I say. “Besides, I’ve got to keep an eye on you. Who knows what you’re up to.”
When I first met Cole, I thought he was the cutest boy I had ever seen. Uncle Teagan had just enrolled him at my school. I smiled at him and told him my name. He didn’t smile back. Instead, he knocked me on my ass and called me a space nugget. We went on like that for a couple years. Then, when I was fifteen, I had a fight with another girl twice my size. She was picking on Bren. In the end, Cole was the one to pick me up from the ground instead of knocking me to it. I sometimes think about that boy. The one who gently took my hand and pulled me to my feet. He gave me ice for my swelling cheek and walked me home, telling me how brave I was.
Our truce didn’t last long though. I started at the law enforcement academy, and Cole…well, he went a different direction. Then I left the academy and Zeta forever. Now, we are both in the same line of work, making us natural competitors. That’s why I can’t trust him.
Cole finally looks at me, and I see a glimmer of that boy from Zeta in his intensely bright eyes. “Raven, I’ll always have your best interests at heart.”
“Is that so?” I ask warily, hoping he actually means it.
He reaches his hand out, asking for mine.
What’s this? Cole has never asked to hold my hand before. I stare down at his offer, a part of me wanting to trust him. He did help me on Cadmar. Maybe, just maybe, he’s for real. Hesitantly, I place my hand in his.
His skin is warm and comforting as he squeezes my hand. “You’re trembling.”
“I’m about to head outside this ship with a twelve-year-old, hoping a glowing sphere is going to save our lives. Yeah, I’m not surprised I’m trembling.”
The next thing I know, he’s drawing me out of my chair toward him.
I let him.
He pulls me down onto his lap in the pilot’s chair, my arms resting around his neck. He pushes some stray locks of hair back behind my ear and cups my cheek with his hand. “You’re so beautiful.” He smiles and looks up. “Even with blue hair.”
For the first time in a long time, I feel…something. Not quite good but not bad either. I study his eyes, wondering about past lives and different futures. Why is he here?
Cole seems to read my thoughts. “I’m here to help you.”
I stare into his eyes, desperately wanting to believe him.
“You know I don’t trust you. I’m not sure what you could say to change that.” I press my palms to his chest, feeling the hard, sinewy ripples of muscle under his battle suit. Instinctually, my hands knead his pectorals as I imagine what it might feel like to be skin to skin.
“Maybe it’s not what I can tell you. Maybe it’s what I should show you.” His eyes smolder with desire, the sexual tension between us even more taut than usual.
Then my lips are on his, wanting to taste him, consume him, let go, and feel free from everything. I part my lips, as his tongue gently caresses mine. He’s enticing me to return his fervor, and I’m more than up for the challenge. I reach my hands behind his neck and pull him closer, deepening the kiss as our tongues intertwine in an intimate battle of pleasure. Warmth seeps into my core the likes of which I’ve never felt.
Can this really be the same Cole I knew on Zeta when we were kids? His hands move over my hips to cup my ass, lifting and pushing me against him. Shockwaves of pleasure from his touch spread from my limbs to my core as my head swims in erotic, carnal desire. I melt against him, enjoying the sensation.
He nuzzles at my bottom lip as his hand moves to my neck, holding me steady. He whispers in my mouth, “I want you.”
I can’t think. His need for me is palpable, and it stokes my own like oxygen to a flame. A small voice inside my head tells me to back away, but my body urges for more. I need to make a decision, or I will explode.
Oh, screw it. We might be dying soon anyway. I move my legs so I’m straddling him and kiss him with even more enthusiasm.
A moan escapes his mouth.
I unzip his battle suit, moving my mouth down his neck and onto his chest. He’s got so many scars. I trace a small white line on his right pectoral with the tip of my tongue. “How did you get this one?”
Cole looks down. “That one happened while running tasers from the freighters to Zeta. You had just left to go mine on Earth. I was distracted, and I took a shot from a Cadmarian guard. It didn’t heal well.”
“My turn.” He reaches for the zipper on my suit and unzips my battle suit from neck to navel. He traces
his fingers on my exposed skin.
I groan in pleasure as my core aches, wanting him even more than I thought possible. I arch back and rub against him.
He trails kisses up and down my torso until finally moving back up to my neck. “Unbelievable. You have no scars. Perfect.”
His words wrench me out of our intimate trance. The air feels sticky, difficult to breathe. My mind rustles with troublesome thoughts as my past rears its ugly head—
You shouldn’t be doing this. You’re damaged goods. You have no right to feel this way.
I tilt back from him, the wave of desire gone, replaced by my familiar, apathetic self-loathing.
“I think you missed something, Cole.” I pull my battle suit off my left shoulder and peel back the artificial skin that meets bicep with shoulder, revealing the metal gears and inner-workings of my bionic arm. “Isn’t this a big enough scar for you?”
I move off him and zip up my suit, angry as hell for allowing this to happen. Know your weaknesses and stay away from them.
As I head to the door, he grabs my hand. “Raven, I didn’t mean—”
I shrug him off without a response and leave.
“This suit is heavy, Raven. How will I move in it?” Emery asks, pulling on the sleeves of his spacesuit. He does look silly. Such a small, lithe body in a massive adult-sized suit. More importantly, he’s acting more like the nervous little punk I first met.
It makes me smile. “Don’t worry, once we are on the other side of that door, you’ll be weightless. But you will be tethered to me and the ship. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
I check his suit for any vulnerability or closures we missed. “When we are out there, you need to talk to me using your comm inside your helmet. I’ll guide us to the outlet under the ship. Once we are there, the rest will be up to you.”
Emery nods as I place his helmet on. I turn it until it clicks and seals him inside.
I press the comm by the door. “Cole, we’re ready down here. Hold her steady. Keep a check on the fuel cell gauge. If this works, we need to get to the moon’s surface as soon as possible.”
Raven's Sphere Page 9