Egbor made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. “Bah, keep him! No doubt a female such as yourself will never spawn any young, given that I never managed to get a proper heir off you. Useless female. Might as well mother a useless half-breed male,” he sneered. “You deserve the parasite, as you so aptly call him.”
Terri watched as Azan’s smile dropped away, her expression turning cold and hard. She wondered if the female would attack then. Every muscle coiled with tension, just waiting to spring upon the male.
Egbor laughed and opened his arms. “If you wish to attack, then do so, Azan. I will see to it that you are put down like a crazed beast for your mutiny.”
The entire crew stilled, their attention riveted to the pair. Azan’s eyes flicked over to them, and she noticeably relaxed, the tension draining away as if it had never been there, an easy smile spreading across her face.
“It does not appear that doing so would be in my best interest, Captain,” she said with a twist of her lips as she adjusted Garswal’s weight. “I hate you with all the fire of two suns, but I am yours, as always.”
The captain chuckled, the sound out of place in the empty silence of the tomb that the Evandra had become. “And that is why you are my second. You hate me, yes. I see it in your eyes just as I saw it every time that I laid with you, but you are my weapon. You know no other existence than your service to me. I know you too well, Azan. You will never risk everything.”
Terri wasn’t so sure about that. She would already have killed the captain herself if she had access to any kind of reliable weapon, and if the threat of the pirate ship didn’t hang over them. Azan’s position was different, but no less delicate if she had any plan to exact the vengeance that Terri had seen brewing within the female without serious repercussions.
Her eyes trailed over to the remaining Igwins. There hadn’t been many to begin with among the crew, and the captain had brought every one of them, as if they were his personal hounds. Now there were only five left, but even at their reduced number, they still made her uncomfortable. Hell, one alone would be enough to do the job. She couldn’t help but stare as they moved with an anxiety she had never seen in the predators.
Their full attention had been focused just moments earlier on Azan, not with the sexual hunger that Terri often felt focused on her, but with a certain amount of fear that made her wonder what Azan had done to inspire it. Now, however, they were eyeing the water ahead. The nostrils in their muzzles flared, and their large eyes rolled, betraying their nerves.
One turned his head to look back at her, his orange tongue slipping out hungrily as he licked his teeth. It didn’t last long, however, before he was once more staring out at the water further down the corridor. Regardless of what his instincts demanded of him, his fear was far more powerful.
Terri squinted as she peered down the hall, her heart leaping as she saw what appeared to be a large fin push out from the water. A very, very large fin. It sank down and disappeared so quickly that it almost appeared to be a trick of shadows, but she knew what she saw.
“Veral…” she whispered as she reached forward and grabbed his arm.
“I am aware,” he murmured, his blue eyes scanning the water. His hand closed around hers as he cautiously led her forward, farther down the hall. “Stay close, anastha. It seems to have withdrawn for the moment, likely to draw us deeper into the water where it can efficiently kill us, but it will return.”
“What is it?”
“Ship systems appear to identify it as Experiment 226. An aquatic destroyer. Large tubular body covered with fins for accurate fine motor abilities in addition to a large dorsal fin and tail. It escaped from its containment tank when the hull was breached in the western laboratory unit and followed the river until it made its home in this sector of the ship. It hunts by echolocation in the water, releasing vibrational songs once every hour, though the frequency increases to once every six standard minutes when it enters frenzy mode. Its range is impressive, but we have not yet approached close enough for it to notice our presence.”
“Fuck. Will we be able to get into the storage area before it returns?” she asked.
“Unknown. The odds are difficult to calculate. There are too many unknown variables regarding fallen structures farther within the ship that may reduce mobility in parts of its territory, or whether wildlife will travel within the vicinity of its den to lure it out into the river.”
“Why would it attack wildlife?”
Veral slanted her a surprised look. “Because it still has biological needs. It requires an energy source. It is why the Elshavan made the weapons as hunting beasts. It was so that they could acquire energy from natural feeding processes. It cannot reproduce, but so long as it is supplied with energy from feeding, it will continue to exist.”
“What is that?” Azan called out, her arm shaking as it rose to point to what looked like a partially sunken metallic skeletal frame.
It was horrific. Terri couldn’t imagine what it must have looked like alive. Although the skeleton lay at an odd angle that made it difficult to discern specific features, she was able to note what looked like a long, barbed tail that appeared to stretch out behind it at. What was far more noticeable was its long, narrow skull. With four huge orbital sockets, it no doubt had keen sight, but more disturbing were the massive tusks that jutted up from its jaw, surrounded by two rows of sharp teeth, each surpassing the length of her arm. Massive claws rested near its head. It was huge, and no doubt had been responsible for much of the mess in the corridor.
“Experiment 195,” Veral reported. “Land predator, quadruped with camouflage capabilities. It had a reinforced musculature and aerodynamic frame that would have allowed it to run at high speeds. It appeared to have been caught in this part of the ship during the crash. With the flooding, the emergency closure of the area would have made it impossible to escape. Without an energy source to hunt, it terminated.”
“Terminated, huh? That’s the first good news I’ve had all day,” Terri replied.
“I second that,” Azan said, a subtle shiver stealing over the pirate as they bypassed it.
She wasn’t the only one disturbed by the sight. The crew slowed, lagging behind, their reluctance to continue evident in every step they took. Even Egbor had eyed at it with concern before ordering his guard and a number of his crew to take point in defensive positions around him.
But he didn’t call a halt to the insanity.
The dread coiled within Terri sank deeper as they left the remains behind them. The Evandra was nothing less than death.
23
Veral was aware of every breath his mate took as the water steadily rose around them. Her eyes were flicking back and forth over the water, tension tightening the muscles of her limbs. There was nothing nearby; he would have sensed it cutting through the water as it approached, but he understood her instinctive need to remain alert. It was wise to be cautious.
The creature hunting within the water was not one to be underestimated. That it was confined to the water made it no less dangerous. Water was unpredictable at the best of times, but that the creature could hide within it and use the hazards of the flooded area against them was concerning.
For that reason, he did not relinquish his grip on his mate as he led the way through the water, following the route on the ship’s schematics that would take them to the private quarters of the prince who reigned over the Evandra, and the attached storage chamber that contained all of his personal wealth. Veral was confident that he would be able to force access to it. In all the revolutions he spent salvaging, he had never failed to gain access.
That was not what concerned him.
What concerned him was if he would be able to do it fast enough to ensure Terri’s safety should Experiment 226 return. Of slightly less concern was how Egbor might react if the treasure he anticipated and promised was not waiting for him. The odds were good that the prince and his wealth escaped the doomed starship before the sl
aughter reached him.
He compartmentalized these worries, however, devoting his focus to the situation at hand. He knew the moment Terri began to shiver, the armor ineffectual to the prolonged exposure to the cold water as it crept higher. It only just barely reached his chest, whereas the water sloshed above her breasts and occasionally splashed high enough to touch the sides of her neck. Even her hair secured at the back of her head was soaked.
By the time they reached the large door that marked their destination, her teeth were chattering and her lips pale with cold. Despite her low body temperature, she didn’t complain as she pushed through the water. Not even the youngling offered any complaint from where he was perched on Azan’s back. Silence descended over them like a shadow, the cause easy to identify. Veral was aware of every movement as the pirates looked around nervously with their advance, the sour scent of fear nearly as thick as the quiet.
He tensed as he felt Terri flinch, a startled sound of surprise escaping her, breaking the silence.
“Something touched my fucking leg. Oh, shit—what is that?” she yelped.
Veral’s eyes narrowed as he spotted something long moving in the water near her. He identified it just as a shaky laugh left her.
“An alien fish. Thank fuck. It was just a fish.”
“Ugly thing,” Azan commented, her eyes following it to where it had disappeared beneath fallen debris.
Though Veral refrained from commenting on the observation, he did not understand it. The fish had an enormous rounded head with eyes that took up most of its face with a long, skinny body and narrow tail and fins. It was made to adapt, to thrive in the carved-out riverbed in the ravine. It was perfect for its environment, and this was admirable.
He scanned the area once more for any sign of 226 before turning his attention to the door. Laying a hand on the door, he began to cycle through codes to override the locking mechanism.
“Is this it?” Egbor asked as he pushed closer.
Veral hissed at the male, his snapping vibrissae forcing the pirate to withdraw before he bent his attention once more to the locks. The captain’s hand had gone to his blaster, but Egbor settled back to observe without further attempts to speak.
Veral grunted in satisfaction. He could not afford to be distracted.
One glyph settled and locked in place, and then a second. The third eventually locked in as well. He just needed one more and the override would be complete. He felt it then, his vibrissae picking up on the approach of a large object moving in closer. His muscles tensed, readying for attack as he waited for the last glyph to lock.
The water stirred around him, and he heard Terri’s breath hitch as she brushed closer, her head whipping around. Slowly, he turned his head and watched a large fin break from the water just as the creature let out a sonic burst. The vibrations washed over him, thrumming through sensors, disorienting his systems. He reeled back, his shoulders hitting the door as he turned his mate in his arms. His body spun to cover her as the final glyph locked in the place.
The door slid open, water flooding into the once sealed room. Thrusting Terri away from him upon entering, Veral turned back toward the door, his vibrissae fanning out around him as he braced himself. He was aware of his mate reaching forward to grab Azan’s arm, hastening the female through, slowed not only by the drag of water, but by the weight of the youngling on her back. The female would have been swallowed up by the water when Egbor used her body as leverage to push himself through the door if it had not been for Terri’s grip on her arm.
The guard did not fare so well.
In an attempt to make his way toward the door, the captain did the same to him, using the male as leverage to shoot forward through the water. Caught off balance by the captain’s push toward the cabin, the male’s feet came out from beneath him, plunging him into the water. He was only down for a moment before he resurfaced, but when he did, Veral knew the guard would have no opportunity to try to save himself.
Screams broke out as the male was pulled beneath the waves, disappearing once more. Terror filled the male’s face seconds before he vanished again beneath the surface. This time, however, he did not emerge.
He was followed by another, but that male’s cries were drowned out by the panicked shouts of the pirates as they rushed to the door, their limbs thrashing in their desperation to flee from the corridor.
Pitilessly, Veral commanded the door to shut.
The door did not slide shut quickly, but fared better than most starships as it pushed through the water. Veral threw his shoulder against it, pushing with all his strength to hasten its progress. Three of the small Turogos managed to swim inside in time, followed by four Blaithari. All else was lost behind the door.
If Veral had been any other male, he might have felt some regret, but he was not. All he felt was a cold satisfaction that those who would have posed a direct threat to him and his mate were gone. For the sake of his female, however, he was glad that the screams were fleeting before silence descended once more. It was only broken by the sharp strikes of 226 as it tested the door. But even that gradually fell into silence.
“Holy shit!”
Terri’s soft exclamation drew his attention. Turning away from the door with an agitated whip of his vibrissae, Veral’s eyes sought her out and found that she had waded into the room while everyone else had been focused on the door. Even Egbor jerked around in surprise, unaware that the human among them had beaten him to surveying the room.
What the male had been too slow to see was Terri tucking something into a hidden storage compartment on her armor. Instead, he had caught Terri in the act of scooping up a small pile of gems arranged on a table beside the high bed on which she sat. Just behind her, Veral could make out what was left of the prince.
A threatening growl rattled from Veral as Egbor strode over to her and leveled his blaster on her. Veral wasted no time moving through the water toward then, his attention locked on the male, tracking his every move.
“Hand them over to me, female,” he ordered.
Terri met his eyes, her expression flat as she considered him, her eyes flicking down to the blaster. Shrugging, a smile spread on her face. “Sure thing. Catch!”
The blaster jerked to the side as the pirate lunged for the jewels as she tossed them into the air. The individual plops of them hitting the water were punctuated by the male’s cursing as he swept his hand through the water in an attempt to clear the debris enough to see.
“Oopsie!” she sang out, but he was no longer paying attention to her, or to Veral coming up beside him, inserting himself between his mate and the pirate.
“Help me find the jewels!” Egbor snarled to the males clustering at his side.
They pawed frantically through the water, but it did none of them any good. The water merely became murkier as all the washed-in sediment clouded in thick plumes.
As he watched them work, Veral sensed Terri shifting behind him. Her muttered exclamations of disgust as she climbed over the corpse was enough to make him smile despite his fury. That smile widened, his teeth baring when, with a snarled curse, Egbor jerked up, his blaster rising, only for it to be caught in Veral’s large hand.
24
Terri watched as Veral leaned in toward the pirate captain. She’d been busy stuffing the sealed storage pouches on her armor. Technically they were made to carry rations and necessary supplies, but since all she had was in the small pack on her back, she decided to put them to better use.
There was plenty to fill them with, that was for sure.
It had been almost amusing to watch the pirates struggle to find a mere handful of jewels in the water. Sure, they were beautiful, but anyone with a sharp eye from years of scavenging could’ve seen there was so much more to be had. The dear prince had certainly surrounded himself with finer things, wealth that would keep their ship stocked and fueled for some time to come.
She thought she had everything under control—distract the pirates with what t
hey want—and snatch up a share for her and Veral for their troubles, but this was unexpected. She had been aware of Veral’s large body blocking their view of her, and she had taken advantage of the opening to crawl over his royal deadness, as gross as that had been, in order to pluck up everything of value in sight on the other side of the bed. It seemed that while her attention had been occupied things had certainly escalated.
“That is the last time you will threaten my mate,” Veral snarled, each word punctuated by the deadly hissing rattle of his vibrissae.
He didn’t even appear to notice that the other seven pirates had drawn their weapons and aimed them at him. Or if he did, he wasn’t worried about them. She knew that Argurma were hard to kill, but even she was concerned about her mate taking that many direct shots from the blasters.
“Males,” Azan snorted with disgust, one of her arms wrapped protectively around Garswal. “Take note of this behavior,” she said to him. “It rarely accomplishes anything. It is far better to keep a calm, collected mindset than to be so reactionary. Right now, cooperation serves our purposes far better. That is the route to go—until it does not.”
“Cooperation,” Egbor agreed with a smirk. “Or the death of you and your mate. Perhaps drawing my weapon was a small overreaction, but I am a pirate. Threatening is part of the job description, especially when my blood is up. I would not have harmed her while she still served some use. In that way, Azan is correct.”
Veral tilted his head as if he were listening. The lethal smile widened before it fell away. “Cooperation,” he snarled. “Very well. We shall… cooperate.”
Very slowly, he released the blaster, and as his hand pulled away Terri could see the bent metal. He had crushed it, rendering it useless. The captain’s face reddened when he saw it, but he schooled his expression into a tight smile. Veral inclined his head and withdrew, his eyes never once leaving Egbor.
Without a word, he strode toward a door at the side of the room, the water sloshing at his hips. His eyes slid over to her, and he gave her a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of his head, a movement that would have been difficult for most to catch among his writhing, vibrating vibrissae.
Pirate's Gold (Argurma Salvager Book 2) Page 17
