The Smuggler's Radiant (Renegades Book 2)

by L P Peace

  He took out a set of tools and piled them into Rhona’s hands. When he was done, he set them out on the floor.

  He pointed to the one closest to him. ‘This is the order we’ll need them in,’ he said. ‘I’ll need them quick. Keep them in this order. One to fourteen. Remember?’

  Rhona nodded.

  ‘Right.’ Sidha looked at the exposed piping in the wall. He tilted his neck first one way, then the other, with a series of faint cracking noises that set Rhona’s nerves on edge. ‘Go,’ he said and dived into the piping.

  For the next few minutes, he worked at a dizzying speed, calling for tools, giving them back and then asking for certain ones over and over. Rhona struggled to keep up as he cut pipes, extracted wires and used strange tools to connect the box to the system.

  Finally, he stopped and looked at her, a grin on his face. ‘I love doing this kind of thing,’ he confided.

  Rhona grinned back.

  ‘Shall we see if it works?’

  Rhona nodded enthusiastically.

  Sidha flipped a switch on the box and several lights sequenced on, off then on again. He looked at Rhona, his smiled curled wider and he nodded.

  ‘It’ll start up in a metri,’ he said. ‘Let’s pack up.’

  They were halfway through putting the tools back when Kenian’s voice came over the comm. ‘You’ve Goedan headed to the mess.’

  ‘Shit,’ Rhona hissed. ‘How long?’

  ‘Less than a metri,’ he replied.

  They tossed everything in the bag. Rhona heard the footsteps moving towards them. She tapped Sidha’s shoulder and pointed at the ends of the tables, which were covered in panels. It would block them from sight. Rhona scrambled to the one farther from the wall, allowing Sidha to slip against the end of the nearest table at the same time as she heard the voices around the corner.

  ‘…vrokking disgusting in here,’ one of them said.

  ‘The whole vrokking place is disgusting,’ another one replied.

  ‘Do you think the Amaran was telling the truth?’ the first one said.

  ‘I hope so,’ a third replied. ‘After three solars here, a bit of human cunt would be welcome.’

  Rhona squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath. The bastard had promised her to the Goedan. She didn’t know why she was surprised, it fit with what she’d seen of him. He was probably preparing his version of popcorn for the show.

  They walked deeper into the room.

  Rhona looked at Sidha, whose throat was swallowing convulsively.

  There was a ticking sound off in the distance somewhere. It was followed by whispers.

  Sidha’s eyes flew open.

  ‘What was that?’ It was the second speaker this time.

  The ticking repeated, followed by the whispers again.

  ‘The gene labs,’ the third said.

  Their footsteps had faded before Rhona let her breath out and took in a massive gulp of air.

  ‘They’re gone. Move now,’ Kenian said.

  Sidha grabbed her arm and pulled her up. ‘Time to go, Rhona,’ he said, pulling her along.

  ‘Which way did they go?’ she asked.

  ‘Not the direction you came in,’ Kenian answered.

  ‘Great. Let’s get back to the ship,’ she said.

  ‘Your paths are going to intercept,’ Kenian told Makios.

  ‘With who?’

  ‘Rhona and Sidha.’

  It had been a while since the package was delivered. Random noises filled the station sending the Goedan running in circles. Their frustration turned into worry, then fear. Now they were acting outright superstitious at the sounds. The strange smells hadn’t helped. As a part of Sidha’s programme, it was venting random gasses at low levels, leaving random stinks all over the place. The Goedan, having been confronted with several halls and rooms of bodies, were getting more frightened as time went on.

  Kenian was watching them run around and updating both Makios and Rhona’s groups, but the movements caused as many problems as it solved. While the Goedan initially ran towards the sounds, now they were running away and in random directions.

  ‘Wait,’ Kenian murmured. ‘They’re pulling back.’

  ‘The Goedan?’

  ‘Yes,’ Kenian replied.

  ‘Patch me through to Rhona,’ Makios said.

  ‘Makios?’ Rhona said a few moments later.

  Makios breathed a sigh of relief at her voice. The sooner they were on the ship and away, the better.

  ‘Did Kenian tell you?’

  ‘About the Goedan pulling back,’ she said. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘And that we’re going to intercept,’ he said. ‘Kenian, how long?’

  ‘About ten metri,’ Kenian replied. ‘You’re not that far from each other. It’s just the routes you have to take.’

  ‘And how long after ‘til we get to the ship?’ Rhona asked.

  ‘Another ten metri,’ Kenian said.

  ‘Okay, let’s get a crack on,’ Rhona said. ‘I want to get off this station.’

  ‘Me too,’ Makios agreed.

  Makios and his group had been walking several metri when Kenian’s voice came back over the comm.

  ‘You’ve got a problem.’

  ‘What?’ Makios asked, checking a corner. He stood waiting for the reply.

  ‘Thalos is refusing to fall back. He’s headed in your direction and will intercept Rhona in a metri or so.’

  ‘Oh, shit,’ Rhona’s voice replied. ‘Is there another way around?’

  ‘Only back,’ Kenian said.

  Makios growled low in his throat. The Amaran would keep doing this. One day he would show up and there would be no Kenian on comm to warn them. He made up his mind quickly.

  ‘Rhona, double back, find a hiding place. I’m going to take out Thalos.’

  ‘No,’ she responded immediately. ‘Kenian, he’s still got the other Amaran and the two Raqhan with him, right?’

  ‘Yes,’ Kenian responded.

  ‘You can’t fight them alone,’ she protested.

  ‘I’m not alone,’ he said. Makios looked at the Todaal, at Omin, who was holding Vadia’s hand.

  ‘My female is trapped,’ he said. ‘A male who thinks he owns her is after her. I need to take him out.’

  Omin frowned but nodded. He held his hand out for the radiant and Makios handed it over.

  ‘Kenian, is there a safe place the Todaal can wait until we come back for them, or until Rhona can get to them?’

  Kenian found a nearby room and the Todaal hid. Rhona and Sidha doubled back to take another route and fetch the Todaal, leaving Makios and his team free to take on Thalos and his people.

  ‘Lead me to him,’ he said.

  Several metri passed, and Makios still hadn’t come across Thalos. ‘Kenian,’ he growled, anxiety and impatience gripping him.

  ‘I don’t know what happened,’ he admitted. ‘But he’s changed direction.’

  ‘Where’s he going?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Kenian said. ‘I’m not Sidha. I can’t work this out the way he does.’

  ‘Deyuul?’ Makios said desperately.

  ‘I can sense him,’ he replied, ‘but having never met him, I can’t tell you where he is or what he’s thinking.’

  ‘How close is Rhona to the Todaal?’

  ‘Close. Almost there,’ Kenian said.

  ‘Kenian, lead me to him,’ Makios said. ‘Or cut me a vrokking path. Just get me to him before he gets to them.’

  Each metri passing felt like hacri. Makios followed Kenian’s directions, hearing him direct Rhona at the same time.

  ‘Rhona and Sidha have the Todaal,’ Kenian’s voice said.

  One thing down. ‘Where’s Thalos?’

  ‘Running on a path parallel to her,’ he said. ‘But I don’t see how he could get to her. The section between is a vacuum.’

  A thought occurred to Makios.

  ‘Tell Rhona they have to run,’ Makios growled.

  ‘Makios?’
Kenian’s voice was puzzled.

  ‘Tell her now!’ he shouted. Makios heard Kenian relay the message.

  ‘She’s running, but she wants to know why.’

  ‘Is Thalos running?’

  Kenian gasped. ‘Yes, he just started.’

  ‘The Goedan are watching on the vrokking cameras,’ Makios roared. ‘Lead her to me,’ he said. ‘Lead me to her. That’s bastards going to fill one of the vacuum chambers and cross over to her.’

  ‘Rhona.’ Kenian’s voice was raised. ‘Turn around and get the vrok out of there. Makios, go back the way you came. Go towards—'

  ‘Kenian?’ Makios stopped. ‘Vrok it, Kenian! Talk—'

  ‘He’s crossed.’ Kenian’s voice was filled with horror. ‘They’re chasing them.’

  ‘No,’ Makios roared. He took off, running as fast as he could, desperate to reach her.

  ‘He has them,’ Kenian’s voice went quiet. ‘Vrok, he has them. He has her.’

  Cool green eyes glared into hers with anger and hatred. His hand was wrapped around her throat and he was forcing her head back. Rhona glared back at him, hate for hate, anger for anger.

  Unexpectedly, Thalos’s face softened and he smiled. ‘Hmmm…’ He stroked her face. ‘I was going to kill you, slowly, for hurting and humiliating me,’ he said. ‘But look at that fire. I think I will breed you after all. I imagine it will take cycles to break you.’ Thalos’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. ‘Better get a new adalan.’

  ‘What do you mean new,’ Rhona said, breathless. ‘Where’s Aran?’

  Thalos’s face twisted into a sneer. ‘He betrayed me. I sold him.’

  ‘No!’ Rhona gasped. ‘How could you do that?’

  Thalos stared at her, his sneer turning into a smile of pleasure. ‘Very easily. It’s not a nice place, either. He’ll suffer.’ His smile widened at the look on Rhona’s face. ‘While you were vrokking your Kathen, I had him chained up.’ He leaned into her, his lips on her ear. ‘We did horrifying things to him. He begged and cried for mercy and I showed him none. I punished him in your names, and he cursed you and Tyne as I sold him.’

  It was worse than Rhona had imagined. She squeezed her eyes shut against the images in her mind, against the tears, not wanting to give Thalos any, but they slipped out anyway.

  ‘You’re a monster,’ she whispered.

  Thalos chucked. He wiped a thumb over her face, smearing tears to her ear.

  ‘How did you find me?’

  Thalos chuckled again. ‘My company designs tracking chips. You were implanted with one when you had your inoculations. You, Aran and Tyne were all implanted.’

  ‘What about them?’ Dalus asked.

  Thalos looked over her shoulder at Sidha and the Todaal.

  ‘That’s the Goedan’s radiant,’ he smiled. ‘That should make up for the Ascendis seizing my funds.’ He spat the last words at her, his hand tightening on her throat until she was dragging in breath.

  ‘Put the Todaal in that airlock,’ he nodded at the open door a little up the way.

  Rhona pulled on Thalos’s hand. ‘No, leave them alone,’ she managed.

  Thalos watched her and smiled. ‘Bleed the air out slowly.’ He leaned closer to Rhona. ‘We don’t have time for you to watch, but you can know they suffered.’

  ‘Get off her,’ Sidha shouted. His voice was strangled like he was struggling to breathe through an obstruction to his own throat.

  ‘Look at you,’ Thalos said, his voice full of wonder. He walked, dragging Rhona by the throat, and deposited her against a hard form. Hands clamped onto her. Raqhan hands.

  ‘Look how colourful you are.’

  Thalos’s hand released her, and Rhona slumped. Another hand replaced it. She managed to take in a breath before the choking sensation tightened and was, once again, fighting for air.

  She heard the sound of someone being pushed into a bulkhead. Without warning, she was turned towards the sound. Sidha had been thrown against the wall. Drexan was pressed into him.

  ‘Get off him,’ she choked out.

  ‘Him?’ Drexan stroked Sidha’s face. ‘So pretty, and smaller than an adalan.’

  ‘I’m usually very into this sort of thing,’ Sidha said, his voice shaking. ‘But you’re not my type.’

  Thalos laughed. ‘Ask yourself: do I care about your type?’ He stroked light grey fingers over orange skin. ‘So pretty,’ he whispered again. ‘What are you?’

  ‘Don’t tell him,’ Rhona gasped over the pain.

  ‘Sindaal,’ Sidha replied at the same time.

  ‘Sindaal.’ He stroked a finger over Sidha’s lips. ‘I’m going to have to visit your world. Tell me, are they all orange, or do your people come in any other colours?’

  Sidha looked at Rhona and didn’t answer.

  Thalos leaned closer to him. ‘I suppose I shall find out myself,’ he said before pressing his face into Sidha’s and smelling him. He groaned. Sidha’s eyes widened in panic, his chest rising and falling quickly.

  ‘Makios is coming,’ she mouthed. He shook his head, unable to understand without her saying it aloud.

  ‘Let’s get back to the ship,’ Thalos said. He pulled Sidha from the wall and thrust him at the other Raqhan. ‘I’m sure Dalus and Coll are eager to begin your punishment,’ he said, looking at Rhona. ‘You should have seen the things they did to Aran. They were very inventive.’

  Thalos took a couple of steps and then turned back. ‘What am I saying?’ He chuckled. ‘You will see. I recorded it.’ Thalos walked on.

  Thalos, Phenan and Coll herded the Todaal into the airlock, and Phenan set it to bleed air slowly into space. Rhona wanted to beg for their lives but was afraid he would only hurt them more on her account.

  ‘Coll, check him.’

  A moment later Dalus slipped the comm from Rhona’s ear. Rhona saw Coll find Sidha’s. Both Raqhan dropped them to the floor and crushed them under their boots.

  ‘Ulidon go into a frenzy when they smell human blood,’ Dalus whispered in her ear. ‘I wonder why. Let’s find out.’

  ‘Ulidon?’ Thalos said as he returned. ‘I have a Ulidon business contact.’ He grabbed Rhona’s chin. ‘They can rape a human for hacri, I hear,’ he said. ‘Ruin her. Perhaps when I’m done, when you think it can’t get any worse, I might invite him and a few of his friends to take you.’

  ‘You think you’re scaring me,’ she said with more bravery than she felt. ‘But I don’t know what a Ulidon is.’

  ‘You will,’ Thalos grinned.

  Thalos has her. The phrase repeated in Makios’s mind as he pumped his legs along the deck plate, running to get to Thalos’s ship before he could take her.

  Dabin and Deyuul had gone for the Todaal. They would be arriving at any moment. Makios could only hope they saved them.

  Vella and Vanoor ran beside him. They tore through the corridors, not caring what they came across. If anyone dared challenge them, he would cut through them and leave their bloodied corpses behind.

  Makios had come to respect and like Sidha, but Rhona was what mattered. He needed her like air, and he wouldn’t let Thalos have her. Ever.

  Thalos was wearing an earpiece. Whoever was talking in his ear, he didn’t like what he was hearing.

  ‘Makios is almost there,’ Deyuul’s voice entered her mind. Rhona repressed a relieved sigh. She’d been wondering why he hadn’t spoken to her since Thalos had taken her. She glanced at Sidha, who was staring at her.

  Thalos’s Raqhan disarmed them as soon as they found them, taking the pistol and the large knife, but they hadn’t checked her boot. The war sheath pressed against her flesh, comforting her.

  ‘And how far to my ship?’ Thalos asked. ‘Yes.’ His voice became louder, more irritable. ‘Of course I’ll bring you the radiant.’ He looked at Rhona. ‘I have what I came for, and a little bonus.’ He looked at Sidha and caressed his chin. Sidha flinched away, but Thalos only grinned, delighted at his reaction.

  He looked up at Dalus. ‘Find a d
efensible position,’ he said and glared at Rhona. ‘The Kathen’s coming.’

  Rhona found herself pulled down a hallway, then another. Each time they passed a door, Dalus or Coll stepped inside to briefly inspect the room before dismissing it and moving on. Finally, Dalus stopped at the entrance to another cargo bay. It looked like the one Makios had been in when the stairs collapsed. Rhona glanced at the staircase. It was complete and steady, joining the ground floor to the mezzanine. A different cargo bay then.

  ‘This is defensible.’ He pointed to a door at the back of the room. ‘With an escape, if we need it.’

  Rhona saw Thalos give a short, clipped nod and she was pulled inside.

  ‘Stack up those crates,’ Thalos instructed. He grabbed Rhona from Dalus and pulled her into his arms. ‘Phenan, introduce yourself to the Sindaal.’ Thalos smirked.

  Coll pushed Sidha at the medic. The medic pulled him so that Sidha’s back was to his front and wrapped a large hand around Sidha’s throat.

  ‘Hmmm, smells good.’ He stroked a finger down Sidha’s throat. ‘They make a decent replacement for an adalan,’ he said. ‘In feel, at least.’

  ‘Are your females as pretty as you, Sindaal?’ Thalos asked.

  Sidha’s jaw was clenched in anger and frustration. He pulled on the medic’s hands at his throat, but the Amaran tightened his hold. Like humans, Sidha simply didn’t have the strength to defend himself. He looked at Rhona as realisation dawned: his species was at risk. Rhona hoped his planet had a decent defence system.

  The two Raqhan built a system of defensive walls, one long one at the front and two shorter ones staggered behind it. Thalos and the medic pulled Rhona and Sidha behind the back one. One Raqhan climbed the steps to the balcony above as the other ducked behind the middle wall, and they waited.

  ‘Rhona, Makios is outside the door, get the knife.’ Deyuul’s voice whispered inside her head.

  Rhona saw Sidha stiffen and glance in her direction before she was forced onto her knees, with Thalos kneeling over her. He pulled her back to his front and slid her legs between his. Her boot was trapped between his knees.