by Anna Hackett
A second later, something gripped Caze’s ankle, and he was dragged along the floor. He saw another soldier appear and grab Lara by the back of her suit. He dragged her toward the door.
Caze kept his eyes slitted, pretending to be unconscious. He felt someone slap something on his helian. Cren. More of that black ooze that blocked his ability to communicate and command his symbiont.
Then his body bumped across the ground as he and Lara were dragged off his ship and onto the Kantos cruiser.
He hadn’t checked in with Davion and the Desteron yet. When he missed the communication time, Davion would know something was wrong.
But who knew where he and Lara would be by then.
Caze saw a glimpse of dark-brown walls, and the ugly scent of rotting things.
His face was close to Lara’s, and he saw the blood staining her hair. He ground his teeth together, hoping she was okay.
The Kantos would pay. He’d make them all pay for this.
Chapter Six
Lara woke with a thumping headache. What the hell? Did she have a hangover?
She opened her eyes and froze. Nope, no hangover. The place looked unfamiliar, but it smelled like Kantos.
The walls were a dark brown, reminding her of tough Kantos shells, and had a faint hexagonal pattern. The floor beneath her felt sticky.
She’d been on a Kantos cruiser once during an extraction mission, and this looked similar.
Turning her head, she realized she was resting against something hard and warm. She looked up, taking in the long thigh she was using as a pillow.
Caze. He was in a seated position against the wall, his arms chained above his head. Her pulse leaped.
“Caze?” She carefully shifted up, cupping his cheek.
His eyes opened. They were unfocused.
“I’m sorry, father. I failed you. I’ve dishonored your training.”
She frowned. What the hell? There was so much disappointment in his voice.
“Hey, Caze? It’s Lara.”
He blinked and slowly his eyes focused on her face.
“Lara.”
“That’s right. You okay?”
He nodded. “My helian is trying to repair my wounds, but the Kantos disabled it, so it isn’t working at its full ability. You?” His gaze went to her head.
Lara lifted a hand to the back of her head, felt dried blood and a lump. “This?” She waved a dismissive hand. “I’ve had way worse before.”
His lips twitched. “Or you have a very hard head.”
“Don’t make me hurt you, warrior.” She touched her belt, hoping to find the antidote to the helian restraint. Space Corps had managed to get their hands on some of it.
Nothing. She bit back a curse. They’d cleaned out her gear and weapons.
“Your thigh?” Caze asked. “The elite cut you.”
Lara moved her leg and saw the nasty puncture. “I’ll live and it isn’t bleeding anymore.” Hopefully she didn’t catch anything nasty.
She reached up and tested his chains. Then she stood, gripped them, and pressed one boot to the wall. She pulled and tugged. They wouldn’t budge.
“Go, Lara,” Caze said. “Get off this ship and get help.”
“And leave you to be tortured and killed?”
“You’ve been fighting and running from me for days. What do you care?”
She lifted a hand, reaching into her hair. “I’ve decided I sort of like you.”
“Sort of?”
She cocked a hip. “You’re still a big, alpha-male pain in my butt.”
He made a choked sound. “And you are a maddening woman.”
“Yep.” She slipped a small lock pick from her hair. Then she leaned forward, slipping it into the lock on the chain.
Caze made a strange sound and she looked down. Her breasts were pressed against his face.
Oops. “Sorry.”
That black-and-silver gaze flicked up. The silver filaments burned brightly. Lara felt a very inappropriate rush of desire between her legs.
“Don’t be.” His voice was low and husky.
Click. The lock released, and one of his arms was free. She dropped the chains and moved to his other arm.
Finally, she picked the second lock, and he was free.
When Caze stood, he grabbed her, yanking her into his chest. For just a second, Lara let herself lean on him.
“Thanks,” he murmured.
“Don’t mention it.” She cleared her throat. “So, we need a plan. I don’t have any of the symbiont antidote. They took it.”
He nodded. “We’ll find some. Our first priority is to locate the gems. And then we get off this ship.”
“Okay.” She stepped back. “But we have no weapons.”
“We’ll pick up something along the way.”
They headed to the cell door. “Then let’s do this.”
She watched as he pried open the door, his muscles flexing. They ducked their heads out, peering into an empty corridor. The roof was arched, the walls dark brown, with patches of glowing amber in places.
A faint hum echoed through the place. Creepy.
Caze waved her out and they snuck down the corridor, staying close to one wall. At one spot, thick, gold fluid dripped down the wall, and they carefully avoided it.
Ugh. She just didn’t want to know.
“The labs should be on the lower level,” Caze said, softly. “That’s likely where they’re keeping the gems.”
Lara nodded. She glanced down the corridor. Ahead, a ramp descended deeper into the ship. She picked up speed. “Keep up, warrior.”
They moved stealthily down the ramp to the lower levels. Lara was good. She moved like a spirit, quiet as the wind.
Reaching the bottom, Caze paused, listening for any sounds or movements. With his helian trapped, his enhanced senses were muffled. Cren.
They moved into another long corridor. They hadn’t gone far when clicking echoed ahead of them.
“Soldiers,” he murmured.
“There.” She nodded toward a side corridor.
They ducked around the corner, and Caze pressed her close to the wall. The click of Kantos’ footsteps echoed loudly as several soldiers passed by.
He waited until he was sure they were gone, then lifted his hand and pointed. Lara nodded. They moved out and continued down the hall.
An open doorway loomed ahead, a wide arch framed in a bone-like substance. Caze paused and peered inside.
A lab. Or, at least, the Kantos version of one.
Long benches filled the space, each covered in a multitude of strange and unusual items. Some he could identify, and some he couldn’t. Several oval-shaped vessels were filled with liquids of varying browns and blacks. Other objects looked like eggs. They pulsed gently. The walls were covered in small cocoons, attached in a haphazard pattern.
Thankfully, the lab was empty of any Kantos.
“Caze,” Lara whispered.
He followed the direction of her gaze and spotted two vats of bright-orange fluid.
The antidote.
They hurried over and Lara lifted the lid. Caze plunged his wrist in.
Instantly, the black ooze trapping his helian dissolved. He pulled his arm back out and black scales moved up his arm. They flowed across his chest and then down his body until his entire big body was encased in organic armor.
He let out a relieved breath. His helian pulsed, happy to be free.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching that,” Lara murmured.
“Search the rest of the lab for any sign of the gems.”
They moved up and down the benches.
“No sign of them,” she muttered.
Cren. “Let’s try the next lab.”
Lara shifted, bumping into a bench. It scraped against the floor, and a vat of black liquid teetered on the edge.
“Shit.” She caught it, and gently pushed it back onto the bench. “Sorry.” Then she went still. “Caze. Look.”
&n
bsp; Beneath where the vat had been sitting was a depression in the bench. And resting inside the cavity was a pale-green jewel.
The gem of Ston.
He shifted closer and lifted it carefully. Inside the stone, a black shadow moved. A proto-symbiont. He carefully placed the gem in his pocket.
“One down,” Lara said. “We’d better check under the other containers.”
They searched quickly. The other gems weren’t there.
Lara lifted a short, sturdy length of metal pipe. She tested its weight. “It’s no sword, but this works for me.”
Caze nodded toward the door, but as they neared it, he heard Kantos clicking sounds. Cren.
“Hide.”
He dived in behind a bench near the side wall, leaning in close to some equipment. Lara squeezed in beside him. They shifted around and Caze yanked her into his lap.
The noises intensified. The Kantos were in the lab.
Caze tightened his hold on Lara and moved his head slightly. He could see the four dark legs of a Kantos close by.
He hoped they didn’t notice the missing gem. He listened to things clanking, objects being moved, and things being placed on different benches. Caze tried to keep his breathing slow and steady.
He turned his head and his nose brushed Lara’s. Heat flared in her gaze and his body tightened.
Her breath puffed over his lips and he fought his body’s intense reaction. Now wasn’t the time. He never let anything distract him from a mission, ever.
She bit her lip and his gaze dropped. Heat suffused him. That mouth. Despite the situation, he couldn’t stop himself. It was crazy and he didn’t care. He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers.
The loud sound of something slamming on a bench pulled him back to the present and Caze jerked. Movement caught his eye, and then the room went silent.
The Kantos had left the lab.
Caze cleared his throat. “We need to go.”
Lara nodded and rose. They moved to the lab door and she quickly peeked out. “Clear. There’s another doorway not far down the hall.”
He hoped the other two gems were close. They started down the corridor, and he saw three doorways ahead. They glanced into the first.
Lara lifted a hand, four fingers held up. Sure enough, there were four Kantos working in the lab, moving between the benches. Caze scanned the space. There was no obvious sign of the remaining gems. They silently snuck past.
He pointed to the next doorway. That one was empty, and a quick search didn’t uncover any more gems.
“Caze.” At her harsh whisper, he saw her waving from the next doorway.
He looked inside and his muscles tensed. The gem of Alqin was suspended in a tank of clear liquid.
They entered quietly.
“How do we get it out?” she asked.
Caze studied the tank for a second, then he made a fist, and smacked it into the side of the tank. It cracked, and fluid flowed out onto the floor.
He reached in and grabbed the jewel. He turned and handed it to Lara. “You hold on to this one.”
She nodded, opening her suit enough to stow it inside. “No more labs. Where’s the gem of Eschar?”
“We’ll need to search the rest of the ship.”
But before they could leave, a group of Kantos soldiers walked into the lab. They froze, clearly shocked to see Caze and Lara.
“Shit,” Lara muttered.
Violent clicking filled the air, and the soldiers moved toward Caze and Lara, yellow eyes focused on them.
Caze formed his sword and Lara lifted her pipe. She spun it around.
“I feel like beating up some creepy crawlies.”
They rushed to meet the soldiers.
Caze swung his weapon, carving through the legs of the lead soldier. Beside him, Lara leaped onto a bench, sending things crashing. She jumped, her thighs clamping on a soldier’s head. Her pipe crashed into the head of another soldier. Hard shell cracked under the blow.
Then she twisted, knocking the Kantos under her off his feet. She lifted the pipe again.
Bloodthirsty and unforgiving. By Eschar, she was a magnificent woman.
Caze pressed his lips together, and focused on bringing down the remaining soldiers. One Kantos landed a hard hit to Caze’s chest and he went spinning into a bench. Glass smashed.
Lara appeared, her pipe slamming hard into Caze’s attacker. It cracked against his teeth and he shrieked.
With a single blow, Caze finished the soldier.
There was one left. As Caze and Lara turned, the soldier took one look at them and ran out of the room.
“Fuck,” Lara said.
Together, they sprinted to the door. As they hit the corridor, alarms started blaring.
Cren. Kantos reinforcements were coming.
“Looks like we’ll have some company,” Lara said.
They jogged down the corridor. “We need a place to hide.”
Lara scanned the walls and pointed. “You think that’s a maintenance conduit?”
There was the outline of a door in the brown wall opposite. Caze slammed his boot against it and it popped open.
Inside was a vertical tunnel with a ladder carved into the side. “Go.”
Lara started climbing and Caze closed the door behind them. The closed-in space smelled terrible and he heard Lara retch.
“Gah, I hate the smell of Kantos,” she muttered.
“You’ll dive into a fight with multiple Kantos, but you can’t handle a tiny bad smell?”
“Bite me,” she called back.
It occurred to Caze that the idea was actually something he wouldn’t mind doing. He forced his thoughts back to the situation at hand.
The tunnel was dark. There was a faint gold glow emanating from the walls just barely letting them see. He set his boot to a foothold and followed Lara up.
You cannot escape. The guttural voice echoed in their heads.
Lara looked down and they shared a glance. He watched her grit her teeth and keep climbing.
We will find you.
“Yeah, yeah,” Lara said.
They reached the end of the ladder. It was covered by a hatch, and Lara grunted as she opened it.
“Clear.” She pulled herself out.
Caze followed. They were in another corridor. On this level, the walls were all made of a layered, web-like substance.
They stayed close to the wall, moving fast down the corridor.
As they turned a corner, they surprised a lone elite. Caze grabbed the alien’s arms, yanking him around. The Kantos’ legs scrabbled on the floor and Caze pinned him against the wall. He pressed an arm to the elite’s throat.
“Where is the gem of Eschar?” Caze growled.
The Kantos thrashed. Caze formed a knife on his arm and the tip of the blade lengthened, pressing into the elite’s hard skin. A thin trickle of green blood dripped down the Kantos’ neck.
“The red gem.” Caze shoved harder. “Where. Is. It?”
“Oh man, watching you being badass is hot, warrior.”
The Kantos’ gaze flicked to Lara, then back again. Not on the ship. It was sent somewhere else.
The words in his head made Caze snarl. “Cren.”
“He could be lying,” Lara said.
Caze pressed harder and the soldier made a harsh noise. “You aren’t lying to me, are you?”
The alien’s legs thrashed. No.
Suddenly, a deafening, horrible screech echoed down the corridor, and the elite flinched.
“What the hell was that?” Lara looked over her shoulder.
But Caze was busy looking at the Kantos elite. Its golden eyes flickered, and Caze realized the alien was afraid.
The targ. They’ve released the targ.
Caze’s blood turned to ice. “Lara, we need to go. Now!”
Chapter Seven
Lara and Caze jogged down the corridor. She glanced his way and saw his jaw was clenched tight.
“We need to find a shi
p and get off this cruiser,” he said.
“What’s a targ?”
He turned his head. “I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard stories. They’re a genetically engineered bug. The Kantos spliced the genetic material of a lot of different creatures together.”
Great. “Okay.”
“It’s pure predator. A hunter, a killer. It can only think of swallowing anything in its path.”
Swallowing? Her mouth went dry. “Sounds creepy.”
They turned a corner, and another loud shriek echoed through the ship. It made her ears ring and the hairs on her arms lift.
Cautiously, they rounded another corner.
Caze scanned ahead. “We should be getting close to the swarm ship—”
He broke off and Lara sucked in a breath. A terrifyingly large creature lumbered into view at the end of the long corridor.
“Cren,” muttered Caze.
It looked like…a blob.
The alien was a gray color, with several stubby legs below its bulbous body and a long tail that split into two pronged ends. They waved around behind it. A large, sucking mouth sat in the center of its mass. It didn’t appear to have eyes, and it didn’t have any fangs, either.
It actually didn’t look so bad, really.
It let out another earsplitting shriek that made Lara wince.
Then it moved. Lightning fast. Right at them.
Oh, shit. Maybe it was worse than it looked.
Caze grabbed her arm and yanked her around.
“Run!”
They sprinted down the corridor. Behind them, the targ rushed to follow. It flowed along the floor.
As it got closer, Lara smelled it—rotting meat. Ugh. Her stomach rolled.
She glanced back. Dammit, it was gaining on them. They turned another corner. The next shriek was right behind them.
Suddenly, Caze rammed into Lara, knocking her sideways into another corridor.
“Where are we going?” she yelled.
“Wherever that thing isn’t.”
They both pumped their arms, and Lara sucked in air.
“We need to make it to the swarm ship hangar bay,” he said.
The targ’s tail slapped down between them. Caze slashed down with his arm and sliced into it. Green blood sprayed.
An angry shriek reverberated off the walls.
