by Nina Croft
“Not for years. I may not live as long as you, but we’ll have time. Thorne can’t stay with you—he’ll be too conspicuous with those wings. And you can’t stay alone.”
“I’ve always been alone,” she said.
“I thought that as well. But it doesn’t have to be that way.” He took a step toward her. “You can’t stop me. I’ll come anyway, follow you…”
She looked past him to where Thorne stood at the edge of the room. He gave her a meaningful look and glanced down. Following his gaze, she saw the weapon in his hand. And gave a small nod.
Thorne raised the pistol and blasted Devlin in the back. Shock blossomed across his face for a second, his legs crumpled, and he crashed to the floor.
Saffira fell to her knees beside him, stroking his face, running her fingers down over his throat to reassure herself that he still lived.
“He’ll only be out for minutes,” Thorne said. “You need to go.”
She nodded, bent down, and kissed him on the forehead. “Maybe one day, we’ll meet again.” She scrambled to her feet, wrapped her arms around Thorne, and hugged him hard. “Good-bye.”
Then she hurried from the room.
As she entered the docking bay, she found Rico leaning casually against the wall by the double doors. He’d washed up, the blood gone from his face, so he could almost pass for human again.
“I was just readying for takeoff, and it occurred to me what you meant to do.”
“You going to try and stop me?”
“Hell, no.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Good. Because I left my gun behind.”
He pushed away from the wall and strolled toward her, stopping only inches away. “I’m not sure we’re worth the bother, but on behalf of mankind—and the rest of us—thank you for trying to save us.”
She blinked, the unexpected kindness almost breaking her. Biting her lip, she nodded. “Look after Devlin for me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Good-bye, then.”
“Good-bye and good luck. And be careful,” he said. “There are monsters out there.”
“I know.”
“I’ll give you five minutes. Get as far away from the ship as you can.”
She nodded again and hurried down the ramp. To the north, the sky glowed as the forest still burned, and she turned in the opposite direction. Gripping the cloak around her, she ran, weaving her way through the trees. She counted off the time in her head. When the five minutes was up, she whirled around.
The roar of the Blood Hunter’s thrusters sounded loud in the night. Up in the sky she saw the wormhole twisting in space. She hoped it would take them safely home.
The ship came into sight, sleek and black and beautiful. For a minute, she hovered in the air, then she twisted onto her tail and shot off into space.
“Come back,” she whispered. “Don’t leave me.”
A bright flare of intense white light flashed from the wormhole. And they were gone.
She stood listening to the night. The distant roar of flames. And closer, the sound of voices, many voices and, through the trees, she caught the flicker of torches.
Settling the bag on her shoulder, she ran.
Somehow, she had to survive in this strange land.
It was going to be a long five hundred years.
Part Two
Chapter Fifteen
Something was pounding his skull.
And what was he doing lying on the floor? Devlin rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Beneath him, he sensed the faint vibration of the ship. They were on the move. Panic clawed at his insides and he forced his mind to clear so he could remember what he was panicking about.
Saffira.
She planned to leave him.
Was she still on board?
But he knew she wasn’t. She’d told him she loved him and then she’d left him like everyone else.
He rolled again, this time onto all fours.
Maybe one day we’ll meet again. The words echoed through his mind. Had she really said them or were they a figment of his imagination? How could they ever meet again? Unless there was still time to go and fetch her.
He staggered to his feet and stumbled to the door. The ship shifted beneath him as they picked up speed. The stabilizers were damaged. He took the closest transporter bubble to the bridge.
Rico glanced up as he entered. “You look like shit.”
“Bastard shot me.” Devlin waved a hand to where Thorne sat strapped into one of the seats.
“Ahh,” Rico said.
“We have to go back. Saffira is still on the planet.”
“I know. I saw her as she was leaving.”
“And you didn’t stop her?”
“No. She seemed perfectly in control, and she knew what she wanted. Who am I to stop her?”
“And how long do you think she’ll survive out there?”
“I don’t know. But there’s no time to go back. Look.”
For the first time, Devlin glanced at the screens. Behind them was Earth, still close. Ahead was the opening to the wormhole, twisting and turning.
“It’s breaking up,” Rico said. “We have to go now. So sit down and make yourself comfortable. Or I’ll shoot you as well.”
Despair swamped him. And he didn’t understand why. He hadn’t even loved her. Maybe, he’d started to consider that one day there might be something more between them—some sort of future—when all the debts were paid. But he didn’t do love. For this very reason. Everyone left in the end. Either they were taken from him or they walked away as Saffira had done.
But he couldn’t bear to think about her alone on Earth. “I’ll take one of the shuttles,” he said. “I’ll find her.”
“She doesn’t want you there,” Thorne said.
The ship lurched, and the screen filled with the gaping jaws of the wormhole. “Too late, anyway,” Rico said. “We’re going in. Sit.”
Devlin sank into the chair usually occupied by Daisy and fastened the harness, trying to fight the black despair that fogged his mind.
Nothing had changed.
There was still the Church to destroy, Hatcher to kill, his people to lead. Why did it suddenly seem pointless?
He turned in the chair and caught a last glimpse of Earth. Was she down there, all alone, watching them fly away? He remembered her words from the vision.
Don’t leave me.
Then they were spinning, and he gave up thinking as the wormhole sucked them in. He closed his eyes and saw her face in his mind.
Maybe one day we’ll meet again.
He must have lost consciousness. When he came around, Thorne was at the controls and Rico was nowhere in sight. The circular screens showed the blue-green light flickering from the walls of the tunnel. They were traveling slowly.
Rico appeared in the doorway. “Sleeping Beauty is awake,” he said.
Devlin ignored the comment and took a closer look at the vampire. “Now you look like shit.” Rico was pale beneath the olive tan and shadows darkened the skin under his eyes.
He shrugged and stepped into the room. “I’ve been with Daisy.”
“How is she? Is she…”
“A vampire? The transition isn’t complete yet. One more feeding.” He raised his arm and showed the bandage on his wrist. “Which reminds me—I need to feed.”
For a few seconds the words didn’t register. “Oh no. Don’t look at me.”
“I won’t take from you unwillingly—I made a promise to Tannis not to touch the crew—”
“I’m not crew,” Devlin said.
“Right now you are, and I won’t go back on my word to the captain. But without feeding I won’t have the blood to complete the transition.”
“And…?”
“Daisy will die.”
“Shit.” He glanced at Thorne. “What about him?”
“Daisy will need to feed. She won’t be able to control herself. She could kill you but she can’t
kill him. So I’m saving him for later.”
He so did not want to do this.
“It won’t hurt,” Rico murmured, strolling toward him. “In fact it can be quite pleasurable.”
“Ugh. I think I’d rather it hurt.” He gritted his teeth. He could do this. For Daisy. For Tannis. “Where?”
Rico shrugged. “Here is as good a place as any.”
“I meant where will you bite me?” He really didn’t want Rico anywhere near his neck. His hand reached up without conscious thought and rubbed his throat. Rico followed the movement and his lips curled up in a slight smile, showing the tip of one sharp white fang.
“Your wrist will be fine, though your neck would heal faster and cause less damage.”
A shudder ran through him. “I’ll go with the wrist, thank you.”
“I take it that’s a yes?”
He nodded before he could change his mind.
“Thank you.”
“You want to do this now?”
“Now would be good.”
“Shit.” Taking a deep breath, he held out his arm.
“Relax,” Rico said and there was a faint undercurrent of amusement in his voice.
“Fuck off. And just do it.”
Rico chuckled, then took the outstretched hand and turned it over so the palm faced upward. He stroked a finger along the blue line of the vein. Devlin heard the pounding of his blood and he held his breath. He couldn’t take his eyes from the vampire hunched over his arm. Rico glanced up, held his gaze with those dark eyes, and there was a sharp jab as his fangs sank through the flesh and into the vein.
The pain only lasted a second and was gone. In its place was a deep drugging pull that he felt right through his body. It settled in his belly like a warm, heavy weight, and he shifted in his seat. He didn’t want to enjoy the sensation, but the warmth was spreading, sinking lower. An image of Saffira filled his mind and he felt himself thicken, heat pooling at his core.
This was so not happening. He dragged up an image of Hatcher instead and got his body under some sort of control. The sensations went on for an age, his eyes grew heavy, and shadows played in his mind, dimming the image.
Finally, the darkness swallowed him.
His eyes blinked open. He was slumped in his seat, and he was cold. His arm lay on his lap. Two neat puncture marks decorated his wrist, but they weren’t bleeding. Maybe he didn’t have any blood left. He sat up, and Rico turned in his seat and glanced across. “How do you feel?”
“Fucking sleepy and cold.”
“I probably took a little too much at one go, but I thought you’d prefer to get it over with.”
“Yeah.”
Rico tossed him his silver flask, and Devlin took a long pull of whiskey, the heat warming his stomach, spreading through him.
“Get some food,” Rico said. “You’ll feel better. And cheer up. We’re going home.”
But he didn’t have a home. Hadn’t had a place he called home since his parents died. He took another swallow of whiskey, and a faint buzz started in his head. He settled himself into his seat and began the process of drinking himself into oblivion.
“What’s wrong with him?” Tannis asked, squinting up the ramp to where Devlin stood leaning against the open doorway. His head was swimming and his legs were shaking.
“He donated a little blood and then got shit-faced. Not a good combination,” Rico said, strolling down the ramp and straight into Skylar’s arms. He picked her up and kissed her hard. Devlin scowled.
“Donated blood?” Tannis asked, her eyes narrowing.
Rico broke the kiss. He put Skylar down but kept her close. “Hey, I asked first. And it was an emergency.”
“What sort of emergency? And where’s Daisy?”
“I’m here,” Daisy said from behind Devlin. Prickles ran up Devlin’s spine, and he turned slowly. He hadn’t seen Daisy since Rico had carried her away before they left Earth, when she’d appeared close to death.
Now she seemed vitally alive, which was ironic, really.
She caught his gaze. Her eyes had darkened. No longer green, they appeared black. Her skin was pale, as if the color was being leached from her, though it still held a faint hint of green. Her gaze dropped to his throat, and he had to fight the urge not to step back. As predicted, she’d almost killed Thorne and probably would have if he hadn’t been immortal. His throat had been a mass of teeth marks. Rico had said it would take time before she could control her hunger.
Daisy stepped past him, giving him a small sideways glance as she passed him. Her lips curled up, and he caught a glimpse of one sharp white fang. She ran her tongue over it.
“What the fuck?” Tannis said as Daisy strolled down the ramp. “What have you done?”
“I didn’t have any choice. She was dying.”
“What happened?”
“Rico bit me,” Daisy said. “Not this Rico, the other Rico.”
Tannis frowned. “There’s another Rico?”
“Let’s just say, she ran into a younger version of me and—”
“A younger version.” Tannis’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me it fucking worked. You went back to Earth. You actually did it?”
“We did it. Though not exactly as planned.”
“I can’t believe it.” She took a step toward Daisy. Daisy breathed in and licked her lips again, her nostrils flaring. Tannis hesitated, then shrugged and hugged her close.
“Daisy?” Rico murmured, a warning in his voice.
She pouted but took a step back.
“Are you okay with this?” Tannis asked her. “Though I suppose it’s too late now.”
“I’m good.” She grinned. “Hungry, but good.”
Tannis patted her on the arm. “We’ll sort something out. Some sort of roster until you can…?”
“Hunt for myself.”
“Yeah. That.” Tannis looked a little green herself. She peered past Daisy and into the ship. “So where’s that fucking little bitch who pinched my ship and put my crew in harm’s way?”
“She stayed behind.”
“You left her. Good, because I might have had to kill her if I saw her again.”
“The time got a little mixed up. We ended up in 1499 instead of 2030. So she decided to stay a while.”
Daisy shuddered. “It was horrible. They burn people. She’ll never survive.”
“She’ll survive,” Thorne said, coming down the ramp behind them. He looked much better than the last time Devlin had seen him.
Daisy cast him a glance. “I’m sorry.”
“You couldn’t help yourself. And I’m fine.”
“Right,” Tannis said. “Are we ready to go, because I for one would love to get out of this shithole.”
“Well, I’m more than ready,” Rico said. “But do we still plan on checking out the Trakis One first?”
“Why not? It’s on the way.”
Devlin stared up into space. He’d forgotten about the Trakis One. The ship that had been orbiting the black hole for five hundred years. The ship that had come from Earth.
Something shifted inside him. The breath was sucked from his lungs, leaving him lightheaded. He was being an idiot. There was no way…
He refused to put into words what he was thinking. The idea was stupid and so insubstantial that if he thought about it too hard it would burst and shatter. Still, he stood on the bridge of the Blood Hunter and stared at the huge ship as she loomed closer.
The thing was enormous, bigger than any star cruiser he’d ever seen, probably fifty times larger than the Blood Hunter. She was an inelegant vessel, bulky and drab olive gray in color. But she appeared in one piece, no sign of excessive damage. Could the life support systems still work after all this time?
“There’s a docking bay around the other side,” Callum said. “Though we may have to shoot out the external doors.”
Callum would know the layout of the ships. After all, he’d been captain of the Trakis Seven. It had been his ship
that had crash-landed on a planet and discovered Meridian, five hundred years ago.
“We’ll take one of the shuttles,” Callum continued.
“Who’s going?” Tannis asked.
“Me, Rico, and Devlin should be enough. Devlin can check out the engines, see if there’s any chance of getting her flying again. We’ll check out the cryo-tubes for survivors.”
What were the chances? The ship had been lifeless for five hundred years. How could anyone have survived that long?
They suited up in the shuttle. The Blood Hunter had shot out the door-locking mechanisms leading into the docking bay, but the inner seals were still in place, and the rest of the ship should have breathable air. If the basic systems were still functioning. But, just in case, they wore helmets and carried a portable oxygen supply.
Rico took the shuttle in smoothly. Inside the docking bay the place was packed, and he brought the shuttle down on top of a pile of what looked like prefabricated building parts. Devlin tried to hold his cool, but he was itching to get moving.
Callum led the way between piles of unidentifiable objects to a door at the back of the bay. He pressed in a code. When nothing happened, he drew the laser pistol from his waist and shot the lock mechanism, then kicked the door open. “The engine room is that way,” he said to Devlin.
“I want to check the passenger listings first.”
“You do? Why?” Callum asked.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud. The idea was preposterous. Rico cast him a sharp look, but he merely shrugged.
“Why not?” Callum said. “Wait a moment.” He checked the monitor he carried and took off his helmet. The air is fine.”
Which meant the basic systems were still functioning. Which meant there was a good chance that the cryo-units would still be operational. Of course, that still didn’t mean…
He took off his own helmet and laid it on the metal floor by the door. The air smelled stale, old, but perfectly adequate. He followed Callum, trying to curb his excitement.
It was stupid.
No way.
“We’ll go directly to the bridge,” Callum said. “We should be able to access all the systems from there.”
