The Colossus Collection : A Space Opera Adventure (Books 1-7 + Bonus Material)

by Nicole Grotepas

  In any case.

  “Holly,” he said.

  Her knees melted.

  “New look?” She managed, breathless.

  “How’ve you been?”

  Oh, here it came. The formality. The distance. He was still wounded, but so was she. How much pride was she willing to forgo to regain their intimacy?

  She hated this. But she wasn’t going to play a game.

  “Odeon’s been taken.”

  That would teach him.

  “What?” his expression went from wary to alarmed. He took three steps to cross the floor to her. He slipped his hand around her arm. When he touched her, she realized sweat was pouring down her sides. She still wore all her cold-weather attire. “Come in here, please. Tell me everything that’s happened. And what’s in the bag?”

  Inside his office, Iain sat down at his desk and Holly dropped the bag onto the sofa against the wall and began to shed her clothes. Wouldn’t it be nice if she was shedding her clothes-clothes to get naked with him? Instead of just taking off her coat, gloves, scarf, and hat? Why had they even fought? This silence about the little tiff between them felt like a chasm, like a ten foot tall metal wall, isolating them.

  “Open it,” she said, gesturing to the bag with her eyes. “I thought you might like it.”

  He rose and went to the sofa. He peeked inside.

  “A record?”

  “Of what,” she joked, sarcastically. “Stupid joke. OK, Yes. I stumbled across it. I thought you might like it.”

  “Interpol. Never heard of them. Our Love to Admire. Brutal cover, but artistic. I love the lighting in it. It’s almost like a painting, but it’s clearly a photograph.” He pulled the disc out. “It’s blue! I’ve never seen that.”

  He actually looked pleased, and though he hadn’t heard the music yet, his excitement was almost palpable.

  “Thank you.” He slipped the disc back into the sleeve and looked at her. He sat down and put the album on the coffee table. “What happened to Odeon?”

  “It’s why I haven’t come to you sooner. I’ve been trying to fix this. One of Aimee Voss’s lackeys got him when we were north, I guess. She didn’t really say—she just called to taunt me. Darius noticed his signal vanish while we were gone. She wants the galactic orrery in return for Odeon.”

  Iain’s expression was grave. “Give her the orrery.”

  Holly started, not used to hearing him order her around. “I’m working on it.”

  “This is getting out of control, Holly.” His face was shadowed in the lamplight, but got darker as his brow furrowed.

  “It’s been out of control for a long time. Before I even knew you.”

  “So he’s been gone five days?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Can I do anything to help?” He asked, then seemed to think more on it. “I don’t want to be pushy, Holly. I know you value your autonomy from me. So I hesitate to even ask. But I want you to know that I’m here for you.”

  She breathed in. It was easier to do now that he’d said that.

  “Iain, about that—”

  “It’s ok.” His voice was soft.

  “No. I mean, thank you. But still. Iain, I’m sorry for how we parted ways. It could have been me Magna got, and not Odeon. And if something else happened, I’d forever regret having let the last interchange between us be an argument.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, can we listen to this?” she asked, shifting into something less heavy. “I’ll tell you everything I know about this business of getting Odeon back.”

  “Gladly,” he said, rising and preparing his turntable. “I have a few minutes before I should go back out and help Kaye.”

  “I think she’d rather you didn’t. Sounds like she’s in deep hate with men right now.”

  “Oh I know. But when it comes to Kaye, I’m an honorary woman. So, I don’t count.” He laughed as he lowered the needle. Music swelled through the room. Holly began to feel as though things were OK again, but the nagging sense of unfinished business chipped at her peace.

  Somewhere, in the 6 Moons, Odeon needed her. She knew it. Could feel it. And her soul would never rest till she had him back.

  22

  “The space platform. Storage level 47. Bay 10.”

  The voice sounded like a recording and it hung up immediately.

  Holly repeated the words to Charly and Darius. Darius’s fingers flew over his screen, pulling a map up of the space platform.

  “Magna says I have to deliver it. But I’d want to anyway—if she’s hurt Odeon, if she hurts him while I’m there…” she clenched her fists and teeth, not finishing the thoughts.

  “I’m right behind you.” Charly cracked her knuckles. “When do we leave?”

  The three of them exchanged a look. The two orreries spun on the coffee table, side-by-side, in their hypnotic motions. Angelo had outdone himself. Holly could barely tell the difference between them. She hoped Magna wouldn’t be able to either, without the original to compare it to.

  “Let’s plan that. We move soon.”

  * * *

  Trip landed in one of the hangar bays. The crew would use her ship as a home base.

  For once Darius had left the Bird’s Nest. Everyone agreed that it would be best for all of them to be on the platform in case something went awry and they needed him as backup.

  “Patching into security,” Darius said. He was set up on the navigation deck where the communication consoles for the Olavia Apollo resided. “Can everyone hear me? Testing. Testing.”

  “Yes, have you got eyes on them yet, Darius?” Holly asked. She felt the Equalizer in the holster on her back, beneath her jacket. The platform was climate controlled, so her winter attire stayed on the ship.

  They passed through crowds on the concourse, pushing between them and feeling nervous and anxious about every person who came too close or bumped into them. They exchanged multiple dirty looks with people who didn’t seem to care for the idea of personal space.

  Shiro spun his cane and looked about thoughtfully. His expression said “narcissistic handsome boy,” but beneath that he was a cobra ready to strike. His gloveless fingers twirled, while one hand was ready to grab the head of the lion. Charly skulked along beside Holly, her radar up for anything weird, or so she claimed.

  “These kinds of operations always have ambushes.”

  “I’m certain we’re being followed, lass,” Shiro said. “I can feel it.”

  “Get eyes on them, then the battleground is level.”

  “I’ve located them,” Darius said over the comms. “Magna is there, already. Odeon is being held about fifty yards away. Hidden from view.”

  Holly felt a surge of emotion that choked her up. She covered it with a cough.

  Charly noticed. “That’s a relief.”

  “He looks OK, guys, but yeah, I can tell this hasn’t been good for him.”

  “We’re almost there, Darius.” Holly hit the button for the floor they needed as the elevator doors closed.

  The replica orrery was a weight in a box stuffed into a sling-style bag over Holly’s shoulder. She muttered a few prayers to Ixion that Magna would fall for it and give her Odeon. At this rate, she even briefly entertained simply shooting Magna the moment she saw the woman’s face. Teach her a lesson. Get Odeon.

  But she knew there would be backup plans that could impact the slightest misstep. She would be slow and deliberate because there was every chance that her actions could throw the dynamic off and cause her to lose the chance to save Odeon.

  And yet…she felt extremely confident so far. Things were on the rebound, for once. They’d been able to get a replica on incredibly short notice and Angelo had pulled through like a hero. She felt immense gratitude considering all the ways these things had been working out.

  “I have multiple streams here, but it takes time to cycle through them. How close are you guys?”

  “Stepping off the lift now, Darius,” Charly
said. “My fists are excited to get some action. They’re buzzing with the anticipation.”

  “My sword will fight you for first blood,” Shiro said.

  “Come on, guys. This isn’t like some kind of bloodsport. It’s getting Odeon back.” They both slowed to look at her as they walked through the less busy corridors of the storage level. She shrugged. “Ok, well, I admit I’m looking forward to making Magna pay. But keep your cool.”

  They came to the specified storage bay, Bay 10, and went inside. There was a scanner lock, but it was programmed to let them in, apparently, because they walked right in, no problem.

  Holly wasn’t prepared for the rush of emotions at seeing Magna. She had to hold back pulling out her aether gun and shooting her, no questions asked. Magna had tried to kill them during the 3D galactic orrery job. She was brutal, and now she’d taken Odeon.

  The woman was easy to hate.

  “Holly Drake,” Magna stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, looking smug as hell. She had ten guards positioned throughout the room, but how many were stationed with Odeon, she couldn’t see.

  “Looks like fifteen guards in total, Drake. I just finished checking. Don’t speak, I know you can hear me. But don’t give me away.” Darius said. “I’ll keep an eye on Odeon. You guys handle this part.”

  “Bring me the orrery,” Magna said, when Holly didn’t answer her. She held out a hand and made a very spoiled “come-hither” gesture.

  Holly bit back the sarcastic response.

  “Want me to handle this, Hols?” Charly asked quietly.

  “No one else. I want Holly.” Magna’s tone was imperious, demanding. How she was below Voss on the totem pole, Holly couldn’t fathom. Perhaps it was due to degrees of craziness.

  Holly debated telling her to go to hell, but decided against it. They had Odeon. She knew Magna was deranged, but wasn’t sure of the level of her insanity.

  She checked all the guards that she could see. They were dressed in black and white uniforms, something either Magna or Voss had added since George’s departure. All of them held aether guns of varying size and watched her carefully.

  Holly walked across the space between them, removed the bag from her shoulder, and set it down at Magna’s feet. Holly didn’t take her eyes from the woman, expecting her to pull a sucker punch, because that was the kind of woman she was.

  But Magna did nothing. She gestured for Holly to walk away, and so Holly returned to her position beside her friends, settling between Shiro and Charly so that they flanked her.

  An imperceptible motion from Magna resulted in one of her many men—numbers, as she called them—coming forward to handle the bag. Like a good queen. Or a bad one. A nutty one. One who might fly off the handle at any moment.

  “Open it for me, Number 14.”

  Number 14 complied, putting his gun in a side holster and opening the bag. He withdrew the box that had stored the original orrery and held it out for Magna.

  She nodded. “And open that. Must I tell you every little thing, Number 14?” Before Number 14 could do as she asked, Magna slapped him across the face. “Number 8. Come. Do the job your comrade could not. Number 14, be glad I didn’t teach you a harder lesson. Back to your station.”

  Holly gaped. She’d known Magna was a complete nut, but this was astounding. She clenched her teeth, remembering that she was there for Odeon and if she had the chance, Holly might very well see herself hurting Magna.

  Number 8 approached—a thinner goon, with a face that some might describe as very punchable. Holly never would, however, because that was just plain cruel. But, upon watching the smirk cross Number 8’s face as he took 14’s place, Holly realized she indeed wanted to punch Number 8. Magna must be immune to his terrible face and expressions.

  8 opened the box and withdrew the orrery. It was as eye-catching as the one she’d left back in the safe in the Bird’s Nest. Beautiful, charismatic and enthralling. The motion of the galaxies worked on smooth gears, swirling around a central black and violet glittering orb that she assumed represented a super massive blackhole.

  8 held the orrery aloft. Some of Magna’s henchies oohed at the sight of it.

  He proffered it to Magna.

  She took it and and turned it over in her hands, inspecting it, holding the precious item carefully.

  Her face twisted into an expression of irritation as she studied it. Holly held her breath and swore she could feel Charly and Shiro doing the same thing.

  Magna looked at Holly and shook her head.

  With that simple motion, Holly’s hopes sank.

  23

  “Holly Drake,” Magna began, gearing up for something. “You must take me for some sort of fool.”

  “I’ve got news, Drake—not great, but not terrible, either,” Darius interrupted over the comms. “I found where the rest of Magna’s crew is. They arrived on a ship as well. So at least we know this isn’t their home base.”

  Holly shook her head, ignoring Darius. She knew this might happen, that Magna would turn into a royal bitch. Did Holly draw her gun and shoot or wait it out? Decisions. “I don’t know what you mean.” Play ignorant, that could work.

  “There’s something off about this device. You know what I think?” Magna paused, waiting.

  When Magna didn’t continue, Holly spoke.

  “Oh, I thought that was a rhetorical question.” Holly’s fingers itched to snatch her aether gun out of her holster and unload several rounds on the woman—she knew this wasn’t normal for herself. That realization was distant, but it was there. Holly promised herself to inspect it later. At the moment she had to focus on what was happening and live in the now. “No, I don’t know what you think. Please. Enlighten us.”

  Magna nodded slowly. Holly thought she saw something else happen—maybe her lips fluttered like she was whispering. It was hard to tell due to the distance separating them.

  “I think this is a fake. And if it is, this trade will not happen. And you will lose your little Druiviin friend.”

  What a surprise.

  Magna was every bit the monster that Holly remembered. If she’d had second thoughts about the quality of this woman’s soul, they’d already disappeared. She kept using the slightly dickish word Druiviin to reference Odeon. A calculation on her part. She knew it was bitchy. Which was what was so off-putting about it—not the word, which was just a word and there were a lot of words that were worse. Her intent was ugly.

  “Drake, they’re moving Odeon. Don’t know what happened, but it looks like they’ve got comms and Magna’s given the order to move him.”

  “A fake? Hardly,” Holly bluffed, not knowing what else she could do. But she knew she needed Magna to buy that this was the actual orrery—or at least the one they’d gotten off the zeppelin that Magna sabotaged into crashing into Ixion. The one Xadrian claimed was a fake. This whole galactic orrery business was beginning to seem like one big farce with replicas floating around the 6 Moons in numbers as prevalent and ubiquitous as space dust.

  “Well, if it’s real, it won’t break when I do this,” Magna said. She raised her arm and slammed the orrery onto the metal deck of the storage area. The arms that held the galaxies aloft skittered across the ground. Some of the orbs shattered like glass.

  A choked cry came from one of Magna’s men. Holly’s gaze darted to the one who’d made the indignant sound, and she started. She recognized him. As he fully emerged from behind a stack of crates in a row three high, she placed where she’d seen him recently—at the school in the city. A Constie, with a ferocious look about him. Extra cheek tattoos that symbolized something of which Holly was ignorant.

  Yohab. That was his name. He came toward Magna, marching like he was going to hurt her.

  Holly felt possessive for a split second—she wanted to be the one to do that. Wow. Am I that far gone?

  “Interesting choice,” Holly said, “I’ve yet to meet an object that won’t break when its treated like that.”

  Ma
gna turned to look at Yohab. “Stay back, fool.” She called him a list of other names and he stopped in his tracks.

  “I don’t work for you, Magna. I work for Voss.” The Constellation’s voice was a snarl.

  “You’re here on my time, under my management. I’m babysitting you, remember? Which I don’t like, one bit. But we’re making it work, aren’t we? So, on my time, you work for who I say you work for. Which is me, boy.”

  “You just destroyed what we’ve been working for, Magna.” Yohab continued approaching her. He crouched in front of the woman, looking at the pieces of the broken orrery. He touched them. He wasn’t carrying a gun like the others.

  Holly exchanged raised eyebrows with Shiro and Charly. But they were losing time. Odeon was being taken away again.

  They needed to move or he’d be out of their reach.

  Holly had to change the direction of this meeting.

  “This wasn’t what you were supposed to do, Magna,” Yohab said.

  Before anyone had time to comprehend what was happening, Magna had moved, striking in the blink of an eye. Her foot connected with Yohab’s head, sending him sprawling across the deck.

  Holly moved before she could think, pulling out her whip—not her gun, she didn’t trust herself with it at the moment—and flicked the switch on. The glowing violet coil spilled out onto the deck.

  Magna laughed when she saw it. “Child’s toy. Honestly Holly Drake, I though you had more honor than this. Your attempted trick may have caused your Druiviin’s friends death. We shall see. Voss won’t let me kill you, though you so obviously deserve it. But she’s not given me the same instructions about your crew. You’d be wise to never screw with me again.”

  Magna drew her gun and quickly fired off explosive rounds of aetheric energy at them, the barrel of her gun following Shiro and Charly as they dodged to the sides, diving, rolling, and scurrying behind stacks of crates. Holly dove for cover as well, then rose to her knees behind a pile of canvas tarps.