Wyvern’s Outlaw

by Deborah Cooke

  But Ryke had a plan.

  He knew the ship better than she did, and she trusted him.

  He was the Carrier of the Seed, after all.

  This line of thought took less than seconds.

  Anguissa shifted shape on the way across the deck, reaching the portal he’d used in her human form. She seized a weapon from a wounded guard, striking him in the face to startle him into releasing it. Even in her smaller form, she had to roll beneath the closing airlock to escape before it was sealed.

  Half a dozen crew members had managed to escape, but Anguissa fired on them and they backed away. Most were already wounded and none would survive long. She doubted this one was the only air lock that would be secured. There’d be at least one more that was automatically deployed, if not two. Anyone on the wrong side of the air lock when it sealed, would die quickly.

  She saw Ryke ahead of her, running down the corridor, though she could have found him by the scent of the Seed alone. She galloped in pursuit, encouraged to greater speed by the promise of their union.

  It would be fast and furious the first time. She didn’t have the patience for leisure. She wanted him. She wanted the Seed. She needed him immediately. There was no possible question of a delay.

  Anguissa even considered the merit of a small, non-critical injury, maybe to the ankle, just to slow Ryke down, then decided against it.

  She wanted him whole. Perfect.

  And she was gaining on him.

  She leaped as he reached the end of the corridor and caught him around the waist, the force of her impact sending them both sprawling on the floor of the lurching ship. The Armada Seven rolled in that moment, clearly experiencing a greater failure of its gravity generators, and the floor became the ceiling.

  Anguissa used the momentum to land on top of Ryke so they were chest to chest. He felt good, all hard muscle and masculinity. She smiled at him as she framed his face in her hands. They were essentially alone, the crew members on this side of the air lock staying out of sight.

  “How long until the Gloria Furore sends reinforcements?” she murmured.

  His gaze flicked, his pulse leaping beneath her touch. She felt his erection against her thighs and smiled at the unmistakable sign of his enthusiasm. She’d been right. The attraction was mutual.

  Ryke surveyed her, then locked his hands around her waist and drew her closer in a most satisfactory way.

  They were thinking as one! The smell of the Seed invaded Anguissa’s senses, tempting her, beguiling her, driving every other thought from her mind.

  This might be the fastest seduction ever.

  It might also be the most satisfying one.

  “Their nearest ship is at the far end of the sector.” Ryke was obviously calculating. Anguissa liked that her touch seemed to be distracting him. She brushed her lips across his, savoring how he shivered, liking how he tasted. He had a short beard, just a day or two of growth, long enough to be soft, dark enough to make him look dangerous. “Roughly a month, in Incendium terms.”

  “Good,” Anguissa purred, running her hands over his hard strength. “I always feel celebratory after I survive certain death.”

  He lifted a brow. “You do it that often, Snake-Eyes?”

  “All the time,” she confessed. “Danger is the spice of life.”

  Ryke smiled, looking confident, cocky and sexy enough to eat. His voice dropped low. “There are other spices I prefer.”

  “Like?”

  “Like survival.” He rolled her to her back in the same moment that he captured her lips with his own. It was a good kiss. A great kiss. A kiss so thorough and proprietary that it left Anguissa burning for more. It certainly distracted her from whatever nonsense he’d said. She raised her hand to grip his hair and pull him closer, but Ryke pushed abruptly to his feet.

  By the time she opened her eyes, he’d claimed her weapon and shoved it into his belt. He gave her that little wave again, then turned to run in the same direction again.

  “Survival?” she echoed, suspecting she’d missed something.

  “That’s the one.” Ryke touched a fingertip to his ear with a short glance back, then ran faster.

  Anguissa straightened and listened. She heard the distant vibration of many feet.

  Marching in unison.

  Soldiers, within the ship and coming toward the deck.

  She swore and scrambled to her feet, once again running in pursuit of Ryke. “You said it would be a month!”

  “It will be,” he countered. “The soldiers in the hold don’t take that long to awaken, though.”

  “In the hold?”

  “Cyborgs, kept chilled to slow their metabolisms. They breathe less, eat less and live longer that way. There are three chambers of them, just waiting to be revived.”

  Anguissa almost growled. “I hate robots.”

  “Technically, robots aren’t androids...”

  “Spare me the lecture. I know the differences. I don’t like any of them.”

  “Tell me what you really think.”

  Anguissa glared at him. “You define abomination your way and I’ll define it mine. Who revived them?”

  “Someone on deck. I saw the resuscitate command given.”

  “Shouldn’t they have been awakened before the battle began?”

  He granted her an amused glance. “It appears that Hellemut underestimated you, Princess.”

  “Is that why you helped me escape?”

  “No. I helped you escape to help myself escape,” he replied as he came to a halt before a sealed portal. The sound of the footfalls was louder and Anguissa glanced behind them. She heard Ryke tap a code into the panel beside a locked door.

  “You mean you’re not one of the Gloria Furore?”

  “Bite your tongue,” he chided. “I’m slave labor, or I have been until just now.” The door slid open, revealing a yawning darkness. Anguissa took a deep breath and guessed that they were moving closer to the hold. The air was colder and smelled faintly of metal and fuel.

  “But they don’t let anybody go. Those troops are coming...”

  “If we’re caught, I’ll just tell them you captured me.”

  The door closed behind them, sealing them in a dark corridor as Anguissa laughed lightly. “They’ll never believe it.”

  Ryke held up a small light. It shone beneath his face, giving him a sinister appearance. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “The surveillance film of your arrival will have been downloaded to them so that they can prepare for your destruction,” he confided. “They’ll believe it.”

  Anguissa glanced down the corridor. “What makes you think you can just leave?”

  “I made all the preparations.” He gave her a hot look. “The Gloria Furore fucked up, Snake-Eyes. They trusted me and I took advantage of their mistake.” Ryke looked determined and grim, as well as a bit reckless.

  Umbros were predators, destroyers, said to have no moral code. Anguissa shivered, because she wanted him so badly.

  The footsteps were louder.

  Anguissa tried to ignore the distraction of the Seed and pretty much failed. “And what about me? Should I trust you, Ryke?”

  “That’s entirely up to you. I’m leaving and there’s room for one more if you want to come along.”

  “You’re inviting me?”

  He winced. “I have a weakness for beautiful women.” He shook his head, apparently surprised by his own words. “Even the ones are a lot of trouble.”

  Anguissa felt herself smile. “That sounds like an invitation I can’t refuse.” She ran her hand over his shoulder and felt his breath catch in response. “Don’t worry, Ryke. I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Again, his gaze collided with hers, the intensity in his eyes making her heart skip. “I know.” He nodded to the open portal. “Now, move. There won’t be any second chances.”

  Two

  Anguissa moved, glad that someone was thinking clearly when the Seed was jumbling her own thoughts. She cou
ldn’t tell whether the corridor inclined downward or the ship’s shifting gravity just made it seem that way, but it didn’t matter. She hurried along its length, grabbing hand rungs as necessary to haul herself along it.

  When she realized Ryke wasn’t right behind her, she looked back in time to see him fry the security panel of the door they’d just passed through.

  An alarm went off.

  “Now, who’s not planning ahead?” she muttered under her breath.

  “They know where we are anyway,” Ryke replied, vaulting past her. Their bodies collided for a moment that sent fire through Anguissa’s veins, then he was hurrying ahead. “The best I can do is defend our head start, Snake-Eyes.”

  Anguissa hoped it would be long enough.

  He leaped into the darkness ahead, showing a familiarity in his surroundings that Anguissa didn’t share. When she heard him collide with some surface, she guessed they were near the end of the corridor.

  Probably another air lock.

  She was right. Ryke tried to unlock the next portal but his code was declined. He muttered a curse, then fired at the control panel, roasting it. He tried to kick open the door, but this one was an air lock and of heavier gauge.

  “Stand back,” Anguissa said. She shifted shape and breathed fire, even as the sounds of pursuit became louder. The metal melted and fused so that Ryke backed away from the heat. She kicked it out with one foot, then shifted shape again to fit through it.

  “One less air lock,” Ryke muttered.

  “Too bad for whoever needs to breathe,” Anguissa agreed.

  She didn’t imagine that he ran faster then. At the end of this shorter corridor, there were space suits secured to the wall.

  They had to be moving into a zone that granted access to the small Starpods moored to the outside of the freighter.

  She reached for one of the suits, but Ryke waved her onward. “No time!” he said as there was a crash from far behind them.

  She eyed him, knowing that they’d be even more vulnerable. “Don’t screw up.”

  The flash of his irreverent grin both surprised and encouraged her. The sight made the call of the Seed even more imperative. She told herself she should count herself lucky that Ryke’s smile was gone all too soon. “I thought adventure was the spice of life, Snake-Eyes,” he murmured, eyes glinting. “Don’t you like adventures?”

  “I don’t like screw-ups.”

  “And ripping out the nav console doesn’t count?” Ryke didn’t wait for an answer, which was good because there wasn’t time to explain to him about the Seed. Even as she ran for her life, Anguissa wanted to pull him to a stop and touch him. The Seed was dangerous. He swung open the hatch and they slipped through it, then he closed and locked it behind them.

  “Keep going!” he said, still tapping into the console.

  Anguissa did as he instructed.

  “They didn’t find that one,” he muttered with satisfaction as he caught up to her.

  There was no time to ask. Judging by the sounds behind them, they needed every advantage they could get.

  A pair of hatches faced each other at the end of this passageway. Both were sealed, but only the left one had a ship docked at its other end. Ryke opened that hatch as lights flashed, illuminating the passageway with red.

  Anguissa leaped down the shaft, hoping she wasn’t insane to be trusting an umbro

  She slid down the flume toward what had to be a small Starpod and looked back to see Ryke tapping at the console again.

  Then he was spiraling toward her. They tumbled into the Starpod, one after the other. The temperature was even colder and Anguissa knew without looking at a display that the cold infinity of space was all around them. The Starpod would be attached to the underside of the larger freighter, tucked into a docking dimple, kept close for short forays.

  She hoped there was a refuge close enough. Starpods didn’t have much range.

  Ryke locked the hatch behind them. The vessel was much larger than the Starpods Anguissa had used in the past and she was surprised by the amount of space. Ryke tapped the control console to life and entered a series of coordinates. A horn was blaring on the Armada Seven, its sound and vibration inescapable.

  “They’ll lock the mooring mechanism and secure us here,” she noted, wondering how Ryke had overlooked that detail.

  “They already have.” Ryke sat back, the image of composure, and held up his hand, fingers splayed.

  Five.

  “Counting down. Strap in, Princess. It’s going to be a bit rough.”

  Something flashed on the console, but Anguissa didn’t recognize the language used on the instruments. She took the co-pilot seat, disliking that she was subordinate to anyone else—even the Carrier of the Seed.

  Four. The scent of the Seed filled her senses, promising a satisfaction and pleasure beyond anything she’d ever known. Surely it would be worth it?

  Why exactly had Ryke saved her? It was hard to believe he had any weaknesses at all. He was an umbro, after all. Had he chosen her as his next victim?

  If so, what could she do to foil him? There wasn’t enough room in the Starpod for her to shift shape.

  Three. How long had he been preparing this escape?

  Where would it end?

  Would it even work?

  Two. “I want the Archangel and I want it now!” Hellemut roared, her voice coming through the comm.

  Anguissa gasped. “She’s dead!”

  “Not nearly,” Ryke said grimly.

  One. There was a blast from the Armada Seven. The Starpod was released from its mooring in the same moment, and so vehemently that it was flung away from the larger ship. It fell freely for long moments, then the engines fired and the Starpod accelerated away from the Armada Seven, its trajectory and speed apparently preprogrammed by Ryke.

  There was another explosion, one that only hurried them on their path. Anguissa surveyed the display and tapped at the instruments, guessing how to get a view of the freighter behind them. It only took her a moment, leading her to the conclusion that the controls were similar to what she knew, despite the unfamiliar language. She stared at the display as the hold of the Armada Seven exploded into shards. The ruined remainder of the ship began to fold in on itself, and many of its lights went dark.

  She shivered, not wanting to imagine the deaths of those on board.

  At least those who weren’t cyborgs.

  She thought of Ryke tapping at consoles as they fled. He must have planted explosives in advance.

  Which meant he’d been planning this escape for a while.

  “I think they’ll be too busy to follow us anytime soon,” Ryke said with a satisfied smile.

  “You’ve been planning this.”

  “No one escapes the Gloria Furore by accident. It’s something I wanted to get right the first time.” His manner was grim, his gaze evasive. Anguissa had the definite sense he was hiding something from her.

  More than his predatory nature?

  Could she claim the Seed, even if he wasn’t her HeartKeeper?

  “How could that have been Hellemut?”

  “She has doppelgangers and they’re better copies all the time.”

  “How many?”

  “I don’t know.” Ryke considered this and Anguissa trusted his reaction. “I’m thinking that you took out one, but a pretty good one. The distinctions are becoming increasingly small.”

  “She won’t be able to follow us.”

  “Your trashing of the deck does have some upside, Snake-Eyes.” Ryke frowned at the console. “Ready to jump?”

  “A Starpod can’t jump,” she said impatiently. “The fuselage isn’t sufficiently strong and the engine...”

  Anguissa fell silent because Ryke gave her a look. His eyes were twinkling and Anguissa was certain she’d never met a more alluring man. When she let the Seed guide her thinking, she couldn’t find a thing wrong with him. When she used her intelligence, she knew she should be afraid of what he could d
o to her.

  Danger was the spice of life, though. Anguissa leaned closer and inhaled the scent of the Seed, wanting...

  “You’re not the only one who doesn’t follow the rules, Fire Breath,” he said, recalling her to their conversation.

  “Whose Starpod did we steal?”

  “Captain Hellemut’s personal vessel, which has had a number of very useful augmentations.”

  “You planned for everything.”

  “Not you, Snake-Eyes. I didn’t plan for you.”

  Anguissa couldn’t read his tone, which only increased her fascination with her unexpected companion. “And yet, here I am. I don’t believe in coincidence, Ryke.”

  “Me neither.” Their gazes met and held for a potent moment and Anguissa couldn’t wait to get him to herself.

  Naked.

  “I’ve never had an umbro before,” she breathed.

  “And I’ve never had a dragon shifter.”

  “Why do you think our kinds find each other repellant?”

  His eyes glimmered with a heat that echoed Anguissa’s own. “I have no idea.”

  “How long is this jump?”

  “Other commitments?”

  Anguissa smiled. “Just paying for my passage in pleasure.” She ran a fingertip up his arm and felt her toes curl with desire. Her voice turned husky. “Which can’t start soon enough, to my thinking.”

  Ryke inhaled sharply and tore his gaze from hers. The coordinates were programmed and unfamiliar. Anguissa felt unfamiliar trepidation, but there was no time to protest.

  “Prepare to jump,” he said under his breath and tapped the console to commence the jump.

  Anguissa’s last coherent thought was a troubling one. Was it possible to fake the scent of the Seed?

  Ryke dreamed.

  It was the thing he hated most about jumping. He revisited all the nightmares of his past, which meant he always came out of a jump exhausted and dispirited.