“What?” Bruke said.
He was perky as if nothing had happened to him. Seb laughed. “We thought you’d died down there.”
A look at the floor as if he could see through it to the planet below, Bruke shrugged. “I don’t remember any of it.”
Seb’s bottom and legs had turned numb from where he’d been sat on the cold metal floor. He shifted to find comfort and then opened his mouth to reply.
But Buster spoke instead. “I think I know what happened.” Because he’d been so quiet until that point, his voice caught Seb by surprise. When he looked at him, he noticed all of the others do the same. “There’s something about that planet below,” he said. “Something in the air.”
“The chemical that turns your lungs to liquid?” Reyes said.
“That,” Buster conceded.
“A shitload of snow?” Seb offered.
Again, Buster nodded. “Yep, but there’s something much more. Something less obvious. It’s almost as if the emotion of the place is toxic.” While looking at Bruke, he said, “My guess is Bruke here’s quite a sensitive creature. More sensitive than most?”
The others smiled, but none of them confirmed it beyond that.
“This is a dark, dark planet. Vile things happen here.” They all hung on Buster’s words as he dropped his voice lower. “Hellish things. I think Bruke picked up on that and it got into him. Poisoned his heart, if you get my meaning?”
Seb looked from Bruke to Buster and said, “Which is why he made such a miraculous recovery when we lifted him off there?”
“Right. So as long as you keep him off the planet, he’ll be fine.”
“Why did it only affect him?” Sparks said.
“I would guess he’s the most sensitive out of all of you.”
Ever the cynic, Sparks’ eyes narrowed. “How do you know all of this?”
“The beings who captured me were bounty hunters.”
“We’d figured as much,” Seb said.
“They were working with the ship that you followed here. The one that crashed.”
“The Quartz?” Reyes said.
“Right! The bounty hunters spoke freely in front of me. They must have assumed the hard part was done, that it was just a case of getting paid and handing me over. The Quartz was tasked with arranging the bounty prior to them giving me up.”
A look at Owsk and Sparks, Seb said, “So they weren’t expecting us on that watery planet when we turned up?”
Buster shook his head and finished his next mouthful before he continued. “They didn’t trust the transaction would go smoothly, so they hid away and were ready to fight. It wasn’t an ambush you stumbled upon, they simply hadn’t lowered their guard. Bad luck more than anything.”
“For them,” Sparks added.
A wry smile, Buster conceded the point with a nod and laughed.
“So who is it that wants you bad enough to kill all of your helpers and try to cover their tracks? I mean, who was prepared to pay enough to get you?”
A shrug, Buster said, “Isn’t it obvious?”
“We thought it had something to do with her.” When Seb looked at the others, he saw none of them had anything else to add, so he turned back to Buster. “But she’s dead.”
“She wasn’t when she put the bounty on me. Also, I’m guessing her operations are still ongoing.”
“The slaves?”
“Yeah. The thing is, despite what she may have thought, I don’t know much about what she did. Her operations were one of the galaxy’s greatest secrets. No one knew if she didn’t want them to.”
“Moses said as much,” Seb said. When Buster’s eyes narrowed, Seb elaborated, “Moses knows everything that goes on in Aloo. Moses wants information about the Countess and her operations. When I told him we thought you’d know something, he said you helped slaves, but you didn’t know much beyond that. He would have come to you much earlier if he thought you had anything on her. So if you don’t know what’s going on, why did she put a bounty on you?”
“Paranoia. She must have thought I knew something when I didn’t. Maybe I was close to finding something out and she wanted to stop me before that happened.”
With a heavy sigh, Seb looked at the others and saw his own disappointment in their faces. “That’s a real shame.”
“Why?”
“We want to track down her operations, and you were our only hope.”
Buster smiled.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’ve really not worked it out?”
After snapping a shrug through his shoulders, Seb looked at the others for help and then back to Buster.
“We’ve just left the planet where her slavery ring is. I thought that was obvious. That bounty she put out on me was her playing her hand too soon. If she’d have left me alone, we would have been none the wiser as to where her operations are.”
“Are you sure?” Seb said.
“Why do you think half of the bounty hunters came here? They wanted to get paid directly from her. The others said as much while they were holding me beneath the water. As soon as they had me, she gave up her location. My guess is she was confident about killing us all. Until you all killed her, that is.”
Reyes shifted as if trying to find comfort on the hard metal floor and leaned towards Buster. “And that’s why the atmosphere in this place is toxic? Not just lower down the mountain, but why it affected Bruke like it did?”
Buster nodded. “Like I said, she does some dark things down there. I don’t know what exactly, but I’ve dealt with a lot of beings who have been processed by her, and it ain’t pretty.”
Silence for a few seconds, Seb then said, “Okay, so if the Quartz never made it there, maybe we still have the element of surprise on our side. We need to get down there and see what the deal is.”
When Bruke’s eyes widened, Seb said, “We obviously can’t take Bruke down there with us. And, Reyes, you and Owsk could do with retrieving the other ship you came here in. Buster, you’ve helped us enough already.”
Seb looked at Sparks and then SA. “You with me on this?”
Both of them shared a look with one another. A strange unison as their faces steeled. They both looked back at him and nodded.
“Okay, let’s finish what we’re eating. And then, Owsk, we need you to drop us down there.”
Owsk watched Seb for a second before he shrugged. “Sure thing. I’ll be waiting to lift you out when you’re finished too.”
CHAPTER 40
As he’d taken to doing more and more of late, Seb looked over Sparks’ shoulder at her computer screen. She sat beside Owsk in the cockpit of the ship they’d been given by the Shadow Order. Like she’d done when they were looking for the others, Sparks had produced a red-lined schematic on the windscreen to guide Owsk through the treacherous landscape.
Seb had been at Bruke’s side as they dropped back into the planet’s atmosphere, and although he got hit by an instant wave of fatigue, he held up well otherwise. Contact with the planet must have been the thing that pushed him over the edge.
“That’s where Bruke, Reyes, and SA were trapped,” Owsk said as they shot past the spot they’d recently rescued their friends from.
The snow had continued to fall so hard Seb couldn’t see any evidence of them being there. “You’re going to have fun pulling their ship from this mess. I wouldn’t mind betting it’s buried beneath ten feet of snow already.”
Owsk raised an eyebrow while continuing to look out of the windscreen. “Tell me about it.”
The schematic gave Owsk the confidence to move at quite a click. As much as Seb wanted to tell him to slow down, he didn’t. Instead, he kept most of his attention on Sparks’ screen and the cluster of red dots they closed in on.
Suddenly Owsk hit the brakes, stopping them almost dead. Seb stumbled forward; SA, who stood behind Owsk, did the same. Sparks had a seatbelt holding her in place.
A now familiar grimace of concentration, Owsk loo
ked like it took him more effort to hold the ship still in the brutal weather than it had to fly them there. “I can’t take you any closer than this,” he said. “If they have scanners down there, they’ll pick us up for sure. Also”—he pointed at the red-lined image of the large mountain in front of them—“I’ll have to fly too close to that if I go any farther. One strong gust and we’re screwed.”
After she’d studied her computer for a few seconds, Sparks turned it around to show Owsk. “No bother, we don’t have far to travel from here. Also, don’t worry about the scanners. I’m not picking anything up that suggests they have them. Maybe they feel confident about not being reached where they are. Maybe the Countess’ death has given them other things to focus on. Either way, when you come back, assume you don’t have to worry about surveillance unless we tell you otherwise.”
After she’d looked at SA, Sparks focused on Owsk again. “That being said, we should keep off the radio. Especially because we have SA.”
Seb looked at SA and she looked back. They stared at one another for a few seconds, the warmth he’d learned to associate with her still startlingly absent.
Maybe Seb would have stared at her for longer, tried to break her barriers down a little bit, especially considering what they were about to do together, but Sparks jumping from her seat and walking through the middle of them broke his focus. SA followed her first, and Seb took up the rear.
Already dressed to go outside, Sparks opened the cargo bay doors, inviting the blizzard in. Seb nodded at the tired Bruke, Buster, and Reyes as he passed them. He then followed the other two by jumping out of the ship.
The call of good luck followed Seb as he landed in the knee-deep snow and looked around. White everywhere.
We need to make sure we keep our heads when we get in there, SA said. We won’t be talking to Moses, but we need to think about the bigger picture like he suggested. This is about bringing down an organisation, not fighting what will undoubtedly be a terrifyingly unjust situation. We need to be ready to walk away, even if that goes against our desire to help.
Sparks said, I agree.
A moment’s pause, SA said, Seb?
Yep.
Sparks still led the way while they talked, most of her attention on her computer screen. Because of her size, she didn’t sink as deeply into the snow as Seb and SA.
Too far away from Sparks to see her map, Seb focused on his forward momentum. Each step drained more of his energy, and he’d already broken out into a sweat. But if he stayed still for too long on this planet, the weather would bury him.
This is it, Sparks said, SA keeping the way open for them to communicate.
Seb had to squint to see through the snow. He didn’t see where it was. Their surroundings looked as barren as ever.
Before Seb had caught up to her, he saw Sparks shoot a blue beam from her computer into the snow at her feet. It had a similar effect to the one on Owsk’s ship, where it both cut into the snow and melted it. A few seconds later, the spot she’d heated up fell into what looked to be a chimney of some sort.
About a metre in diameter, Sparks kneeled down and shoved her computer into the hole. After she’d pulled it back out, she looked up at the other two. There’s no toxins down there. We’re safe to enter.
Now Seb had walked close enough, he stared down into the darkness. He couldn’t see the bottom. How far down does it go?
But before Sparks could reply, SA sat on the edge, dangled her legs into it, and slipped inside. She made a star shape with her limbs, pressing her feet and hands against the walls to keep her from falling.
When Sparks shone her torch down on SA’s head, Seb watched her shuffle slowly down it an inch at a time.
They clearly didn’t want to discuss it. No choice but to follow, Seb sat on the edge and dangled his legs in like SA had. The fact that he couldn’t see the bottom sent a flip through his stomach. With a deep and calming breath, he fought the urge to slip into slow motion. It would be bad enough with time passing at a normal speed. Before he slipped in too, he felt a tap on his head.
Hands on hips, her head tilted to one side, Sparks stared at him.
Another look into the darkness below in case he’d missed something, Seb returned his focus to his friend. It took a few more seconds for him to get what she wanted. His frame then sagged, but someone had to do it. Can you sit still if I let you ride on my back?
Indignation snapped the short Thrystian rigid. I’m not a monkey, you know!
I KNOW. A monkey would be able to climb down there on their own. Do you have a better idea to get you to the bottom? Seb looked down into the darkness again before returning his attention to her. I can probably come up with a couple more suggestions if you want them?
A few tense seconds later, Sparks stepped close to Seb before climbing onto his back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
In most situations, the extra weight of Sparks wouldn’t have felt like much. However, when shifting down a chimney he couldn’t see the bottom of, a feather would have been a burden. After a moment to calm himself, Seb slipped into the brick-lined hole after SA. Hopefully they didn’t have to climb too far.
CHAPTER 41
The scrapes of their feet against the old and crumbling bricks joined the sounds of both Seb’s and SA’s heavy breaths from the effort of their descent. Seb winced every time he sent another rush of chipped masonry down on SA’s head. Although he’d apologised once or twice, she’d stopped responding, so he gave up. If he couldn’t have spoken to her through her mind, he wouldn’t have said anything at all. The less noise they made, the better.
The added weight of Sparks on his back made Seb’s legs and arms shake. Because she clung onto him by hooking around his neck, it made it almost impossible to look down. Not that he’d see much in the dark anyway.
Suddenly a scream rang out below. The torment of some poor creature in a cavernous space. It made it to the chimney and ripped up it like a spooked murder of crows.
The sound tore chills up Seb’s body, and Sparks tightened her grip.
Sparks, I can’t breathe when you hold me there!
Sorry. She eased off and shifted as if to get comfortable.
And I can’t climb if you move around like that.
She stopped squirming.
When the next scream came at them—more a roar this time—Sparks jolted again.
The sharp choke took Seb’s focus and his left foot slipped. A fraction of a second later, his right went too.
Seb pressed hard against the sides of the chimney, but it did nothing to slow him down. Chips of brick burst from the weak walls and rained down on SA’s head as they slipped with ever-increasing momentum.
As much as Seb wanted to shout, he screamed internally instead. Watch out, SA!
But what could she do? When he looked down to see her blue eyes staring back at him about five metres below, he knew it all rested on him.
Seb kept his legs locked in place, his feet sliding down the walls. He then pulled his hands away, made fists, and punched into the bricks on either side of him. It worked! The crumbling walls gave in against the force of his blows and stopped them dead. When he looked down at SA, he saw they’d halted with about a metre to spare.
Heavy breaths, Seb’s entire body shook from the effort of holding them there. It didn’t help that he had to do it dressed in a thick coat and trousers.
Well done, Seb, SA said. Well done.
Seb remained still for a moment to gather himself, so he didn’t reply.
The brick they rested on on the left shifted. With a lot of Seb and Sparks’ weight on it, it seemed woefully equipped for the task of holding them still. It then suddenly turned to dust and his fist slipped out. He tried to dig his toes in but found no purchase. He and Sparks fell at twice the speed they had before.
When he crashed into SA a second later, she yelped through their heads and the three of them dropped fast.
SA hit the ground milliseconds before Seb and S
parks landed on top of her.
The wind driven from him, Seb pulled himself off SA and fell onto his back, gasping for breath. The others did the same, all three of them having to recover from the effects of their fall.
Are you both okay?
But before either of them answered, Sparks sat up and looked around. The orange glow of firelight reflected in her glasses and her jaw fell open. I think you two need to look at this.
Seb sat up. They were in a dark cave. Deep orange light came from what looked like hundreds of fires and torches spread around the place. It was larger than the whole of the Shadow Order’s base and had several huge barns dotted around it. More screams rang out, coming from inside the wooden structures. Agony or torment, he couldn’t tell. Maybe he didn’t need to tell. Neither were pleasant.
With so much going on in the cave, the other two didn’t seem to have noticed it yet. As Seb looked around, he said, Have you seen where we’ve landed?
The area they’d crashed into had poor lighting on account of many of the fires being on the other side of the space. But now Seb’s eyes had adjusted to the dark, he made out his surroundings more clearly. Bars all around them, they’d landed in a cage. A cage as big as an arena.
Dotted around the space, surrounding them on every side, were the slaves the Countess had clearly been processing. Another blood-curdling scream rang out from one of the barns, pulling Seb’s attention away momentarily. Then he looked back at the poor beings close to them. This must have been what Buster was talking about when he mentioned the darkness that affected Bruke.
What has she done to them? Sparks said, her wide purple eyes taking it all in. It’s like they don’t even know we’re here.
Seb looked at the lethargic bodies. They rolled and twisted on the cold ground. They were barely able to move, but they clearly wanted rid of whatever torment ran through them. It’s like they have too much going on in their heads to worry about us.
Long may that remain, SA said. I’d hate to think what would happen if they turned their attention our way.
Enigma: A Space Opera: Book Six of The Shadow Order Page 14
