Renegade Magic (Star Renegades Book 1)

by Jennifer M. Eaton

  “What makes you say that?” A bead of water dripped down the outside of the glass, and small bubbles fizzed through the light-pink drink.

  He shrugged. “I saw what happened earlier. You’re an enforcer, right? And I’d guess from the crappy way they were treating you, you’re a new recruit.”

  Interesting. He was working at gaining her trust. She’d figured they’d be more direct, shooting weapons and hurting the innocent, doing whatever it took to capture her.

  She wiped her finger up the glass, erasing the drip. “Sometimes I wonder if I can handle this. The king’s law is hard.”

  Ty nodded. “Do you think his laws are right?”

  Dania closed her eyes. Lying wasn’t part of her programming. Enforcers needed to be truthful in every way. She looked at him. “In most cases, yes. Criminals should be punished.” She looked back to her glass.

  Ty’s drink appeared, and he took a sip. “For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing. If you took that family’s father away, all the children and the mother might have turned to crime. By sparing one life, you probably saved the others.”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t the right thing to do. The commander made me very aware of that.” She gripped her glass more tightly. This small talk grated on her nerves. She preferred a straight-on battle.

  Ty frowned. “Yeah, well, if you ask me, he was an asshole.”

  One of the cubes of ice shifted in her glass, freeing a fizzy sparkle of bubbles.

  “Why did you become an enforcer?” he asked.

  Dania blinked. Why? It wasn’t like there was ever a choice. This was what she’d always been. One of her earliest memories was her sponsor’s smile and his warm embrace.

  However, humans were not born to their vocations. They chose their own destinies. This was one of the many things that made judgment easier for Dania, knowing that these people chose to be criminals despite knowing they would die for it. That left the onus of their deaths on themselves rather than on the enforcers entrusted with keeping the peace.

  Still, this trapper needed an answer, and she needed to continue to feign weakness until he made his move. “I suppose I wanted to stand up for what’s right. I wanted people to feel safe in the galaxy.”

  “I guess that’s as good a reason as any.” He perused his glass. “Do you think people have the right to a trial, like on Earth—to be proven guilty before punishment?”

  What an odd question. “Only the guilty are punished.”

  “Yes, but enforcer punishment tends to come quickly. Have you ever seen someone executed and then found out the enforcers were wrong?”

  He was right that judgments were passed quickly, but she wasn’t aware that any mistakes had been made. Then again, what enforcer would admit to being wrong?

  “I’m just saying,” Ty continued, “that sometimes the evidence might not always tell the whole story. Maybe you need to look at things from all perspectives before executing people. Or maybe have different levels of punishment.”

  She looked at him. “Would you rather have a galaxy filled with prisons? The king’s law is meant to bring order. If you don’t want to be executed, then don’t break the law.”

  She cringed. She was supposed to be making herself appear weak, but sometimes it was hard not to speak the truth when presented with such ignorance.

  “Then again,” she continued, “I am not upset about the judgment I passed on that man.” But only because it had led Ty and his trapping ring right to her. She just wished he would make his move so she could confirm he was her target. The sooner he led her back to the ring leader, the sooner she could eradicate the threat and be done with it.

  Ty’s expression changed as a slight smile touched his lips. He turned back to his glass and took a drink before returning his gaze to her and letting the smile break free.

  Good. Hopefully, he was done with this ruse, and they could both finish what they’d come here to do. First, though, she needed to get herself to a quiet, remote area. There was no reason to put any civilians at risk.

  She’d allow herself to be taken, and when they brought her for processing, she’d drop her charade and eliminate the threat to her kind at the source. She’d stand proudly before her king, vanquishing the threat to the Banes’ law in Prince Geron’s name.

  She pushed her glass back. “Thank you. This has been nice.”

  His eyes widened. “But you didn’t touch your drink.”

  She glanced at it. Could the beverage have been drugged? She hadn’t considered that. Maybe they would not even try to take her unless they thought she was further weakened? She picked up the glass and pretended to take a sip.

  Ty smiled. “It’s been nice meeting you, Dania.”

  She clenched her teeth against the response she wanted to give and headed for the exit.

  Outside the tavern, she walked down the dirt street. Odd, how much filth could accumulate on metal floors after so many years of use. This supply station didn’t feel much different than walking on a real planet.

  Pulling up her sleeve, she hit a few buttons on the communication band on her wrist.

  Alexander’s voice spoke directly into her ear. “Are you okay?”

  She continued walking, and whispered, “Yes. I just met with a trapper. I think he’ll try to take me tonight.”

  “I still don’t like this.”

  She glanced over her shoulder but kept walking. “Alexander, we’ve discussed this in depth. Now is not the time.”

  “My readings show you in sector four. You’re near the aviary. Meet me there.”

  “I can’t meet you. We need to…”

  “The aviary is secluded, and probably empty this late in the day. We can meet and then I can leave you to be taken. I can at least watch to make sure you aren’t harmed.”

  He was always the one to look for the safest way to obtain their goal. Even when they’d caused chaos in the palace as children, he’d always planned out their escape. It was probably why Prince Geron had added him to the team. Alexander was supposed to be the voice of reason, while the rest of them were programmed to get the job done as expediently as possible. She certainly couldn’t fault him for being what her sponsor had engineered him to be. Still, it could be annoying at times.

  “I’ll be there in four minutes,” she said.

  “Good. I’ll be there in three.”

  A few moments later, she slipped into the aviary, inclining her head to the woman at the Reception and Questions desk. Fortunately, the aviary was considered part of the king’s arts program, which received funding from the royal family, so no one, no matter their financial situation, would be turned away. Not having to pay made it easier on her, and on the trappers.

  The lights were fading inside, simulating the pending dusk that would be equated with the time of day registered at the station. The tall ceiling replicated an actual sky, apart from the seams in the metal framework.

  A man and child exited as she stepped onto the pathway between two strips of simulated sod. This left her mostly alone, with the exception of a tall, silver-haired enforcer pacing beneath a spotted elm tree.

  “You shouldn’t worry so much,” she told him.

  Alexander gave her a hug. “How can I not worry? You don’t need to be the one to sacrifice yourself.”

  “I’m not sacrificing anything.”

  He cocked his head. “You’re the closest thing to family I have. If anything happens to you…”

  “Nothing’s going to happen, and our prince is the only family we need.”

  He looked down, then away. His long, silver hair shifted despite the lack of a breeze. He seemed tentative and cautious, even more so than normal.

  She reached for his arm. “You’re acting oddly. Do you need to be fed?”

  He tried to pull away. “You’re about to go into battle. You need all the strength you have.”

  Alexander…always thinking about others first.

  She gripped him tighter. “I ma
y be gone for some time, and Kile can’t feed you. Unless you expect to return to Prince Geron anytime soon, you need this.” She grabbed his other arm.

  He looked away again.

  “Alexander.” She pulled him to her. “Let me feed you.”

  His arms moved around her, and he nestled his nose into the side of her neck. Tightening her grip, she closed her eyes and called on her strength. The warmth came from her core, eddying up and filling the cells just beneath her skin. She held still, building the heat, before she willed the power out and into her friend.

  Her skin cooled, and a chill raced over her as the strength passed from her to him. His hair whipped up into the air, his body coming back to life.

  A small moan escaped his lips as he drew away. His silver-blue eyes sparkled with renewed strength. “You’re too good to me.”

  She tapped his chest. “Just don’t tell Kile or Miguel you had an extra feeding. They might get jealous.”

  His lips thinned. “You’ll be weaker now. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  She waved her hand. “When I’m done, I’ll return to Geron and he’ll feed me enough to take care of all of you. I’m still more than powerful enough to take care of a few dozen simpering humans.”

  “Yes, but what if it’s more than a few dozen?”

  Several birds flew from one side of the aviary to the other, disappearing into the treetops. Strange, when they had been silent before.

  Dania closed her eyes, calling on her senses and searching for…there…two heartbeats not far from where the birds had taken flight.

  “Two men,” Alexander whispered.

  “It probably looks like we’re being intimate to them.” The trees where the men were hidden were still now, but she knew her stalkers were there. “Back me against the tree. Make it look like you’re using me.”

  “Me using you? You’d melt my face off.”

  She reached up and kissed him. “But they don’t know that.”

  He backed her against the base of the elm and fumbled with the fasteners of her uniform before he pushed her pants down her thighs. She furrowed her brow over how easily he’d done that, but before she could question him, he’d unfastened his own pants. In one swift movement his lips covered hers, and he simulated the motion of pounding into her.

  Men’s voices whispered, but Alexander’s breathing was too loud to make out the words until he stopped and eased away.

  She fell to her knees and mustered up tears. “Wait. Where are you going?”

  He backed off, buckling his pants. His eyes showed concern before they hardened. “I got what I wanted. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t tell anyone.”

  She blinked. That was harsher than she would have expected from him, but effective, as the whispering voices hushed. She covered her face and pretended to cry as Alexander stomped away. He slowed at the doorway, glanced back at her, and then disappeared.

  Careful. His last word exploded in her mind before he broke the connection.

  She’d expected him to stay, maybe watch from a safe distance. Their impromptu public display had made that impossible, though.

  Dania was alone.

  Well, almost alone.

  She could feel the human gazes on her, their minds whirling, wondering when to strike. The faint scent of Ty’s cologne hung in the air, along with a tinge of oil and sweat from his cohort. She could smell their eagerness, their anticipation.

  They underestimated her in every way, and it would be their undoing.

  4

  Cal

  Alanna’s keycode signaled on the main screen, and Cal watched as she closed the door behind her. She ran down the hallway toward the bridge. Thank the stars at least one of his people understood the urgency of the situation. Doc limped slightly as he followed.

  Cal grimaced. Hopefully, whatever had happened wasn’t too bad.

  That damn yellow light started blinking again, and no matter how many times Cal tapped it, it kept flashing in his eyes as he tried to get clearance to take off.

  For some odd reason, half the space port requested clearance to leave the second an enforcer ship landed. Imagine that?

  Alanna stormed onto the bridge. “Peter’s been shot.”

  Cal jumped to his feet. “Doc, what the heck?”

  Peter ‘Doc’ Sanders walked in behind her, rubbing the center of his chest. Red stains covered his shirt.

  Doc held up a hand. “I’m fine.”

  “You should’ve seen it,” Alanna said. “An enforcer saved his life. It was like magic!”

  Magic? Cal cringed. “Are you out of your minds?”

  “It’s not like we asked for help.” Alanna folded her arms. “Doc was bleeding to death, and the enforcer just appeared.”

  Holy stars over Venus. Was she even thinking about what she was saying? “Listen, I’m glad you two are okay, but you’re damn lucky they didn’t scan their databases and find your faces on someone’s most wanted list.”

  Alanna shifted her weight. “I guess I hadn’t thought of that.”

  Of course not, because she hadn’t seen what a ticked-off enforcer could actually do. “That’s about as close as I want any of you to get to the king’s guard. We’re leaving. Now.”

  Alanna tapped the blinking light three times and it stopped.

  How’d she do that?

  She waved her fingers over the pad on her console. “You know Ty and Ethan aren’t on board yet, right?”

  The two of them were always at the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Cal scanned the screens, hoping to see Ethan’s red hair. If those idiots had gotten themselves caught, he’d kill them himself, he swore it.

  He tapped the keys to open a comm link. “Ty? Where are you?”

  “Boss,” Ty whispered. “Don’t be mad.”

  “I’m plenty mad. We’re leaving. With or without you.”

  “That’s going to be a little hard without your engineer and first mate,” Ethan whispered.

  Not really, when he had Alanna on board. “Why are you both whispering? Please tell me you’re not doing something stupid.”

  “Stupid? Us?” Ty asked.

  Cal closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Somewhere in the record books, he was fairly certain it was documented that stupid actually was Ty’s middle name. “Ty, please come back.”

  “Boss, I think I’ve found a way to clear your name.”

  What? “It better not have anything to do with those enforcers.”

  Ethan snickered in the background. “I told you he’d blow a fuse.”

  Cal’s stomach bottomed out. “Ethan, I need you to drag Ty back here now. That’s an order.”

  “What’s that?” Ty’s voice drowned in static again. Odd, since that the line had been clear a moment ago. “Sorry, boss, I can’t hear you.”

  Cal slammed his fist on the dash. “Dammit, both of you, whatever hair-brained idea you’ve come up with, it won’t work. Stay away from those enforcers and get back here now.”

  The static hissed at him before the transmission ended from their side.

  “Dammit!”

  “Maybe they heard you and are on their way back?” Alanna said.

  Cal dragged his fingers through his tightly cropped hair. Ty and Ethan both knew enforcers were dangerous, but neither one of them had seen firsthand how quickly one of those automatons could pass judgement.

  If they tripped or fell and broke something in the station they could be convicted of vandalism and executed on the spot. He’d learned long ago that there was no gray area where the enforcers were concerned.

  Everything was black and white: guilty or innocent. And any crime, according to the king’s ridiculous law, was punishable by death.

  But Ty was insane enough to go and try to talk reason with them, and Ethan was impulsive enough to follow along for the fun of it.

  Of course, they all thought Cal overreacted when it came to the enforcers. Maybe he did, but being on the king’s most wanted li
st made a guy jumpy. Not to mention waking up night after night, screaming, certain there was a man with long, silver medusa-like hair standing over his bed ready to slash his throat.

  He took a deep breath and released it. He needed to remember that his crew was usually right. He did overreact, and sometimes he needed a calmer head to reel him in. Luckily, the coolest head he knew was standing right next to him.

  He turned to Doc. “What do you think?”

  Doc snorted. “They’re going to get themselves killed.”

  “But wait,” Alanna said. “The enforcer who helped us was really nice. I mean, he saved Doc, and he didn’t have to. Maybe Ty is onto something. Maybe our enforcer might listen?”

  Our enforcer?

  Doc snorted again. “Alanna also might be a little smitten. The guy was super hot, I have to admit.”

  How could these two be so trite about this? “That enforcer would not hesitate to use the same power that healed you to snap both your necks for the laundry list of crimes you’ve committed if he’d known who you were.”

  Cal knew this better than anyone. His dad hadn’t even committed a crime, but he’d been punished for being with someone who did.

  The enforcer had been large enough to blot out the sun, looming over his father’s body before the behemoth simply walked away, not caring that he’d destroyed Cal’s world as his father’s blood had pooled on the ground around them.

  Closing his eyes, Cal pushed away the pain building in his chest. Every time he thought he was over this, the hole in his chest opened back up.

  Cal should have fought. He should have stood between his father and the silver-uniformed man. Of course, if he had, he’d be dead, too.

  He lowered his arms, and both his hands curled into fists. He needed to stop blaming himself. He’d only been twelve, and you couldn’t change the past.

  But maybe, just maybe, he could stop the same fate from happening to anyone else he cared about.

  Cal turned back to the comm. “Ty, please. Don’t be foolish. Come back and use that silver tongue of yours to get us departure clearance.”

  More static.

  “Blast it!” He grabbed his gun belt from the back of his chair. “I need both of you to keep prepping the ship for departure. Alanna, do your best to get clearance. Lie if you have to.”