by Liza Probz
He could feel sleep trying to pull him down as well but he fought against it. Instead, Nojan took a moment to reflect. Much had happened since he’d bumped into a fleeing slave girl in the marketplace on Vanfia. Events were quickly charging off the carefully planned path he’d set out on. He wasn’t sure what might happen next.
The destination was Vartik and with good reason. For one, if they were being pursued by the likes of Evar Kange, then they needed to get out of sight. And his father had taken great pains to hide their planet away. If they could make Vartik, they could stash Mayra away safely.
His family also needed to discuss what he’d discovered. Although they’d promised to help Jazmine retrieve her brother, the task was seeming more complicated than he’d previously considered. The legends had tied the light twins to some massive battle, and it seemed Mayra was to be a part of it as well, as he’d unexpectedly discovered. This made him wonder what other pieces they hadn’t considered yet.
He was glad that they hadn’t gone charging off half-cocked toward Danzmin. They were clearly going to have to come up with a better plan. And now they had the resources to do so. One was the book Mayra’s mother had given them. According to her, the light goddess had said it was something they needed. But the language was like none he’d seen before, so it would take time to translate. Even in his lab with the advanced Vartik computers, he doubted it would be finished anytime this month. Maybe even this year.
And then there was Mayra herself. If it was true that sex really would unlock her abilities, then when she woke, she would be the oracle, a being who saw the future. Would she still be her precious, humble self, or would she change? What kind of a toll did seeing the future take on someone?
Nojan swore now that no matter what happened, he would protect her and try to shield her from any pain. If that meant limiting the use of her powers, then so be it. He understood how important she was to their mission and how important she might be to the galaxy in general, but she was also important to him, and he wouldn’t have her suffering. Not anymore.
He loved her, and he could admit that to himself. He loved her more than he’d ever loved anyone, ever loved anything. She was rapidly becoming the center of his universe. If any harm were to befall her, his life would be over. So to keep them both safe, he would have to protect her with everything he had.
Despite his desire to shout his love to the heavens, he realized it would be smarter to keep it to himself for the moment. Although his father might have an inkling, and he likely would, given the warning to guard his heart, Nojan didn’t want his love to be used as leverage against them. He had a feeling that Mayra would have many enemies, and that meant he became a target. He was fine with that. He didn’t give a shit about his own skin, but he wouldn’t be used to hurt Mayra. So he would play aloof and not let on how deeply his feelings ran, at least until he could determine what exactly the threat against them entailed.
Her even breathing against him felt so comfortable, so right. It relaxed him like a warm bath, like a massage. It was yet another sign that she was made for him. He’d never felt such a sense of rightness before.
His eyes slid shut, and his breathing joined with hers. Before he realized it, he was fast asleep.
Chapter 21
Darkness was approaching, bringing with it a cold she’d never felt.
Mayra was floating in space, watching as the darkness crept closer. She began to see shapes in the darkness, faces, but none were familiar. There was the face of man badly scarred, half a twisted mass. And another male, this one who had Nojan’s brown eyes. Then a woman’s face appeared, drowning the others out. She had raven hair, red lips, and green eyes that burned with a fire that stopped Mayra’s breath.
Suddenly, the darkness was closer, even though she hadn’t seen it move. And just as suddenly, a cascade of images hit her brain. The dark-haired woman and Nojan, entwined in an intimate embrace. The dark-haired woman, her chest pierced through with a knife held by hands that looked eerily familiar. A woman she didn’t know with blond hair and a pregnant belly, falling to her knees and screaming in pain. A world on fire, and the man she’d met in the pit laughing as he watched it all burn.
Mayra sat up in bed with a start. She’d been dreaming, except they weren’t dreams. They were visions.
Looking around, she realized she was alone. Picking up the shirt the Vartik had discarded, she pulled it on and padded into the main chamber of the ship to find a freshly attired Nojan at the console. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“I picked up a distress call so I dropped out of hyperspace. There’s a ship not far ahead that’s lost power. They’re asking for help.”
Mayra felt a chill crawl over her. “Are we going to give it to them?”
“It’s an interstellar police cruiser. I’m not sure it would be to our benefit.”
Just then, a disembodied voice floated around them. “Please help me. If you can hear me, please!”
It was a panicked female voice, a voice that sounded on the edge. “You’ve got to help me. There was some kind of malfunction and it’s knocked out the two officers. They might be dead, I don’t know, but I’m afraid and—”
A sound interrupted her words, an angry buzzing, followed by a mechanical warning. “Main hull breach. Ship will destruct in less than two minutes.”
Nojan hit a button and the ship jumped forward.
“Wait,” Mayra said. “What are you doing?”
“We’ve got to get her out of there. You heard the damn ship. It’s going to blow in less than two minutes.”
“But you just said it wouldn’t be to our benefit.”
Nojan stared at her, eyes wide. “That woman is going to die, Mayra.”
Mayra knew he was right, but something was wrong with that ship. She could feel it. Still, she stood helpless as they pulled alongside the craft. Nojan lined up the two airlocks, extending a seal to the other ship and quickly flooding it with oxygen. “You stay here,” he said, rushing to twist the wheel that would open the airlock. “Get over to the console. Hit the red button to transmit.”
Mayra did as she said, hitting the red button. She looked back over her shoulder at Nojan, who started to yell. “To the woman on the disabled vessel, I need you to get over to the airlock right away. You’ve got to open it immediately and head through it into my ship. We’ve got to get out of the blast radius before we both blow.”
Mayra released the button, biting her lip as she watched Nojan push into the airlock seal tube to bang against the outside of the other ship’s airlock.
“I’m coming,” the woman transmitted back.
Mayra could still hear the angry buzz of the ship’s alarm in the background. “Estimated one minute until destruct.”
There was a blast of air that blew Nojan back out of the tube. Then a woman tumbled into the ship. Nojan retracted the seal, slammed the airlock shut, and quickly sealed it. Then he ran to the console and pushed Mayra out of the way, punching in coordinates.
The ship jumped forward at lightning speed, causing Mayra to lose her balance and fall to the floor. There was a moment of silence, and the ship spun loosely, buffeted as if by an immense wind. Glancing at the viewscreen, Mayra saw a massive explosion. The police cruiser had destructed as promised.
She looked back to the airlock and the woman lying beside it. Mayra could make out little, except that she had dark hair. Then the woman lifted her head, revealing green eyes.
Mayra recoiled as if she’d been slapped. It was the face from her vision, the beautiful female that had been embracing Nojan. The one that had ended up stabbed in the stomach. What is she doing here?
Nojan turned around, noticed her on the floor, and bent to set her upright. Without a word, he headed over to the female stranger and did the same thing. “Are you hurt?” he asked.
The woman dabbed two fingers at her lip and winced. Mayra could make out a small trail of blood from her swollen lip. “Not too bad,” the woman replied, her voice
husky.
A cold fear washed over Mayra. Something isn’t right. She isn’t right.
“Let me grab the first aid kit,” Nojan said, heading toward the galley and grabbing the box he’d used earlier to treat his burned hand. He dug through it, pulling out a salve and some gauze. “Here, let me.”
The raven-haired beauty turned her face up to him, standing patiently as he cleaned the blood away and then applied the ointment. “Thank you,” she said when he’d finished. “And thank you both for saving my life. I’m Sanri, by the way.” She held out her hand to Nojan and he took it, shaking it.
“I’m Nojan, and this is my companion, Mayra. What were you doing on an interstellar police cruiser? And what happened to the officers?”
Sanri’s green eyes widened. “They’d picked me up on the Rings. I was hitchhiking.”
Mayra didn’t consider hitchhiking to be an arrestable offense, but then again, she’d only seen a small corner of the galaxy. But Nojan’s tone seemed to echo her doubt. “Hitchhiking? I know that’s against the local statutes, but it’s rarely enforced.”
Sanri shrugged. “I was headed in their direction, and their HQ would get me closer to my destination, so I sort of egged them on until they detained me.” Her smile was innocent, even playful. It made Mayra sick to her stomach.
“And what happened to make the ship malfunction?” Nojan’s expression was neutral, but Mayra wondered if he was affected by the female. Sanri was shorter than Mayra and finer boned, with sharp cheekbones and a waist so slender she thought the woman might disappear when she turned sideways. Not to mention pert breasts and a small behind. Her figure made Mayra self-conscious about her own height and curves. What if Nojan preferred a more delicate woman?
“That, I couldn’t tell you.” Sanri sauntered toward the galley. “You got anything to eat around here? I’m starving. Near-death experiences always make me hungry.”
Nojan’s brows lowered but he followed behind their new guest, digging out a leftover portion of their dinner. She took the dish with an angelic smile and carried it to the table where she sat and dug in. “This is delicious,” she said with a moan. “Much better than the chow I would have gotten in the pokey.”
Chow? Pokey? What a strange dialect this woman spoke. And her clothing was odd as well. Mayra had never seen shorts that short. They cupped Sanri’s cheeks like a pair of hands. And the V in her shirt was so deep, it ended just above her navel. Meters of tan skin were exposed, skin that seemed to glow with good health. Mayra’s own pale skin showed how little time she spent outdoors.
Compared to her, I might as well be a fat ugly worm raised under a rock. Her eyes flashed to Nojan, but she could pick up nothing from his face. What did he think of their unexpected passenger? Was he delighted to have a new and clearly superior female on his vessel?
“You don’t know what happened to cause the malfunction, a malfunction strong enough to blow up the ship. There must have been some kind of warning.”
Sanri sighed and put down her fork. “I suppose. There was some kind of alarm. I heard one of the cops say that there was a problem with the fuel system. He said he thought the punk at the last fueling station might have put something in the tank to fuck with them. The other one suggested trying to purge the tank and then call for a tow, but when they hit the button, something went wrong. The console in front erupted into a fireball, hitting them both. I dropped to the floor and crawled to the back of the ship where there was an emergency console. I started radioing for help, and you came along just in the nick of time.”
Nojan pulled out a chair at the table across from the woman and sat down. “You’re Territhian, right?”
Sanri looked at him and winked. “Baby, I’m a lot of things.”
That got a reaction. Nojan laughed, shaking his head. “Where you headed?”
Sanri stared at him. “Wherever you’re going, big boy.”
At that moment, Mayra experienced an unfamiliar sensation. Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. At the same time, an anger boiled up, turning her stomach and making her hands itch to slap the grin off the dark-haired woman’s face. What is this emotion?
She wanted to scratch out the bitch’s eyes for even looking in Nojan’s direction. Could it be? Was this jealousy?
You’re being ridiculous, her inner voice chided her. Remember, we weren’t going to let our heart get involved.
Mayra wished she could agree with the inner voice, but the evidence of her jealousy was in her shaking hands. She balled them into tight fists and moved closer to the table.
“We can drop you at Killian. It’s not far, and you should be able to find a transport to wherever you’re going.”
“Ew, the bug planet? No thanks.” Sanri shook her head, then batted her big green eyes at the Vartik. “Where are you guys headed? Can I tag along?”
Mayra had overcome a lot in the moments leading up to this one. She knew now that there was a reserve of strength inside her, and she was going to work harder to express it. “Afraid not,” she said, her voice cracking a bit, causing her to clear her throat. “But we’re happy to drop you off, as Nojan suggested.”
Sanri’s eyes narrowed as they met Mayra’s. The woman arched a brow, then turned her attention back to the Vartik, her face breaking into a beatific grin. “Nojan, huh? That’s a nice name.”
She’s ignoring me. That bitch! Mayra crossed her arms, then moved over to a seat near the console to pout. She’d been talked down to her entire life. As a slave, it was always expected. But she wasn’t a slave anymore. She was the goddamn Great Oracle of Territh, and people would damn well respect her.
Or what? her inner voice asked.
You’re really becoming a pain in the ass, Mayra told the voice. Or I’ll slap that fucking doe-eyed look off her smug face.
Nojan stood. “Well, I suppose I should plot a course. If anyone comes looking for that cruiser, we don’t want them to find the infamous hitchhiker in the vicinity.”
He headed to the console, giving Mayra an unfathomable look. Sitting, he started punching in coordinates. “If you’re not partial to Killian, I can drop you at the Chandler Spaceport. Plenty of ships coming and going there.”
Mayra eyed the woman, waiting for her to reply. She didn’t, just continued to devour what was on her plate. Nojan typed in the coordinates and engaged them, and Mayra watched the viewscreen as the stars became blurs around them.
Nojan swiveled and stood, moving away from the console. “I’ve got some work to do at my desk. It’s only a couple hours to the spaceport. You two kids play nice.” He headed into the bed chamber and closed the door.
Mayra leaned back, closing her eyes. She wished the visions she’d had were more clear. Maybe there’s a way to clear them up, she thought. If I’m an oracle, I should be able to see the future, right? So why not concentrate and see if she could gain a little clarity?
She worked on recalling her dream. There had been two visions related to Sanri. In one, she sank her claws into Nojan (Not that he seemed to mind, said her inner snark). And in the other one, she was being stabbed. Mayra was already starting to root for the second outcome. Or maybe the second vision extended from the first. Could Sanri have been stabbed because of her passionate make-out session with the Vartik?
Mayra shook her head. Unless she was going to pick up the knife herself, she didn’t think it likely. Then again, this wouldn’t be the first person she’d stabbed in the guts.
“Aren’t you quiet as a little church mouse?”
Mayra opened her eyes. Church mouse? What does that mean?
“So what’s with the big guy?” Sanri asked, moving to stand in front of Mayra’s seat. “You guys got a thing going, or is he a free agent?”
For a moment, Mayra wasn’t sure how to answer. She and Nojan hadn’t exactly discussed their status. Right now, it was safer not to answer. “What were you doing out on the Rings?” Mayra would always hate that place, now that she’d learned the people her mother had
given her to had been headed there, and perhaps had even sold her into slavery while circling Saturn.
“That’s really none of your business,” Sanri hissed.
“Then the relationship between Nojan and myself really isn’t any of yours.”
Sanri laughed. “That’s what I figured. Oh girly, have you got it bad.” She folded her legs and sat on the ship’s floor. “It must be tough, such an attractive hunk sharing space with you. You’ve probably been mooning over him for ages, huh? Can’t get any traction though?”
Mayra felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks and grew instantly angry. “What do you mean?”
Sanri rolled her eyes. “Mousey thing like you, awkward as all get out. He probably doesn’t pay you any mind, huh? I’d offer to help, but frankly, I don’t think there’s much hope for you.”
She had to keep her fists balled at her sides to stop herself from striking the female. Although she really shouldn’t be so angry. Sanri was just giving voice to her own thoughts, to what she already knew. She was hideous and nowhere near a fitting match for the handsome Vartik.
Chapter 22
He’d made room on his cluttered desk for the book, but he could do little more than stare at the damn thing. He knew he would make no headway without his lab computers. Still, you could have cut the tension between the two women with a laser knife. He’d figured the path of least resistance was to hole up at his desk until they reached the spaceport.
He should have figured it wouldn’t last.
“Knock knock.” Her voice was pleasant, as was her form. Nojan knew he would have been attracted to the Territhian female once, but comparing her to Mayra was like comparing a match to a bonfire.
“Can I help you?” he asked, opting for a stern tone.
Sanri giggled. “You tell me,” she said, sitting on the bed across from his seat at the desk. “I’m sooo bored. I’m afraid your companion isn’t much for conversation.”
