Turning away, he started towards the stairs. “Let’s go.”
The sleek ship took off, slicing through the hot air and up, until, within seconds, the hot desert was left behind and then the planet. Deep in space the ship wheeled and headed for the Inner Sanctum of the Outlaw Sector.
Deep in the cave, the lone warrior continued to stare in frozen horror at the now empty space where her companion had knelt dying. Heat from outside started to seep down the tunnel and a tiny rivulet of moisture beaded at the raw edge of ice left by the laser burn. It slipped down the side of the ice block, another bead welling up...
~ * ~
“So, you really think we’ll find these two warriors?” Ricna queried as the bounty hunter ship zeroed in on the co-ordinates entered into the co-ordination navigator.="+ator.
“No harm in looking.” Abra scanned the radar for any unknown ships in the nearby areas but the screen came up blank.
“So what if they’re not there?”
“Then I send this all to Sabra and she can sort it out with the Reekas.”
“And if they are there?”
“Then I’ll send this all to Sabra and she can sort it out with the Reekas.”
“So if the plan remains the same either way, why are we doing this search?”
“Because I want to see if they’re there or not.”
Ricna looked through the space shield as the hot desert sands appeared. Jarvis concentrated on bringing the ship on line with the co-ordinates.
Abra wasn’t quite sure why he was doing this. Glancing up at the photo image which he’d stuck next to the viscomm screen, he wondered why he just didn’t send the info to Sabra now and be done with it. But deep inside, he wanted to know. Were these two Reekas really still out here in a cave in the hot desert? Frozen?
If they were, then Reya, Tenia, and their tribe would be out here as fast as they could to retrieve the bodies, to return them to the Reeka settlement, their original home on Comll in the Lawful Sector. The place they’d been driven from twenty-four long years ago, and in which most of the Reekas now dwelled once more.
“We’re almost there,” Jarvis announced.
Through the space shield Abra saw the hill rising out of the hot sand.
Bringing the hill into focus, Ricna pointed to it on the viscomm. “There’re tracks that someone has been here already.”
Instantly alert, Abra scanned the area again but no ship came onto the screen, nor were there signs of life anywhere. Reaching out, he switched on the intercom to the ship’s laser pits. “Nat, Vane, keep an eye out for any hostiles. Someone has been here but there’re no signs that they’re still here. Just watch sharply.”
“We’re locked in,” Nat’s voice came back over the intercom.
“Locked and ready to fire at will,” Vane added. “We’ll watch your backs, don’t worry.”
The mouth of the cave came into view but playing safe, Abra took an extra five minutes to guide the ship in a wide sweep of the area within a fifty mile radius. Whoever had been at the cave was now long gone. Finally satisfied that they were safe, he landed the ship near the entrance to the cave.
Nat and Vane remained on alert in the laser pits while Jarvis kept scanning the area on the radar for potential problems.
Armed with lasers and daggers, Abra and Ricna went down to the cargo hold and down the ramp. Behind them the invisible security shield locked on, denying admission to anyone who didn’t have their body pattern locked into the security system.
Adjusting the communicators in their ears, Abra and Ricna approached the cave entrance cautiously.
“Someone’s been here, all right.” Ricna stepped over a pile of rubble. “And they’ve been doing a little excavation.”
“Someone else knew about the Reekas, perhaps?” Abra peered into the dark entrance of the cave, alert for any signs of life. His computer systems might be top-notch but he still believed in trusting his own instincts. It had kept him alive this long and he wasn’t about to stop going by hi1"> going s gut feelings now.
“Creed and Falyon wouldn’t have said anything, or their packs,” Vane said through the communicators.
“Not likely,” Abra agreed, his laser whining as he aimed it into the darkness.
Slowly he and Ricna moved forward. Keeping to the sides of the cave, they moved over the rubble and deeper into the depths. The lights atop their lasers lit up the tunnel. Here and there lay scattered bones, obviously of the hunters caught in the original cave-in years ago.
Chillness enveloped them as they went yet deeper and they looked at each other. It had to be ice.
A glint came from not far off and they proceeded cautiously, watching almost in amazement as a block of ice came into view. A tall, narrow block with one figure encased in it. As they neared they saw the gaping hole where the other warrior had been and was now no longer.
“Someone’s been here.” Narrow-eyed, Ricna looked around.
Abra stepped forward and felt his boot sink in mud. Angling the light down, he saw the pool of mud surrounding the bottom of the ice block and even as he watched, he noticed the rivulets of water tracking down the side of it to melt into the mud pool.
“Shit,” he breathed.
Instantly Ricna’s laser whined to life again as he tightened his finger on the trigger. “What?”
“The ice is melting.” Abra grimly assessed the size of the block left. “This has been melting for a while. Menac?”
“Yeah?” Menac’s voice returned through the communicator in Abra’s ear.
“You and Vane get the freezer unit down. Get a trolley out of it and the winch. Both of you come in here with the trolley and help us load this body aboard.”
“Coming.”
Angling the light over the ice, Abra studied the warrior. The melting ice distorted her facial features but he could see enough to know she was beautiful. Nothing new about that, the Reekas were legendary for their beauty which had made them so expensive on the slave block during their outlaw years. That, and the cost of lives just to capture one alive and get her in chains.
Though many had been hung. Hell, he and his own pack had almost succeeded in hanging Reya and Tenia. Ironic that there was now an uneasy... well, no one could call it an alliance, but it was an understanding of sorts between them. At least until the hot-headed Reeka, Senna, caught sight of them.
But now there was another problem. A bigger problem. He didn’t want the ice to melt from this warrior. How fast her corpse would disintegrate he didn’t know, nor did he want to discover. He certainly didn’t want to be shovelling a soggy mess into a body bag. His main concern now was getting her into the freezer unit while she was still in one piece.
The ice continued to melt as the hunters waited, and then finally the tunnel was lit brightly from the high-powered beam attached to the winch that Menac was guiding ahead of him. Behind him followed Vane with the trolley.
“Align the winch right here.” Abra pointed to a spot in front of the ice block.
They worked fast, but it wasn’t easy. The winch’s claws dug into the ice and Abra was alarmed to see the cracks appear around the iron claws. They all watched warily as the block was lifted several feet off the ground. The trolley slid beneath it and the winch lowered the ice block.
Vane and Menac fastened it securely with leather straps, and then the careful progress began down the tunnel.
The closer they got to the entrance of the cave, the faster the ice melted. By the time the trolley was entering the freezer unit beneath the ship there was only a thin layer of ice about sixty centimetres deep around the warrior. It was with a sigh of relief that Abra closed the freezer unit door and the frozen body was concealed by a swirl of ice cold air. The ramp drew the freezer unit back into the depths of the ship and the doors shut behind it, securing the unit containing the body of the Reeka warrior.
Vane looked at Abra. “I thought there were two women?”
“There was.” Abra looked towards the cave
. “Someone took the other warrior.”
“What for?”
“A trophy, maybe.”
“Only one, though?” Vane shook his head. “Doesn’t seem likely.”
“I don’t know.” Abra touched the communicator in his ear. “How are things looking, Jarvis?”
“All is quiet. Nothing for miles,” Jarvis replied.
“Good.” He looked at Vane. “You and Menac search around the hill, see if you can spot anything that might be a clue as to who was here and where they went. Ricna, we’re going back in to search the cave for any clues.”
There was nothing to be found but there was another chore Abra found necessary to do. Collect the bones of the dead hunters—or the bones they could find. He called for a storage container and Vane and Menac joined Ricna and Abra in gathering up what they could find. Finally the container was sealed and returned to the holding bay of the ship.
“We’ll drop these off at the Hunter’s Hole,” Abra informed Jarvis as he entered the control cabin. “Word will be sent out of the remains to the families of the hunters. It’ll be up to them and the peacekeepers to sort out what happens.”
“Probably a mass burial.” Jarvis set the co-ordinates for the planet. “That’s the usual procedure when it comes to these kinds of things.”
Abra waited until they’d cleared the planet and were in space before he contacted the Intergalactic Peace Ship Security. Fortunately Sabra was onboard, something which he was never sure of because her job took her into places he didn’t want to think about. Places most of those in the Lawful and Outlaw Sector were unaware of. The Security slipped in and out of trouble spots, quelling uprisings before anyone even knew there had been one.
It took several minutes before Sabra’s face appeared on the viscomm. She looked tired though her eyes were alert. She had a self-adhesive patch on her cheek. “Hi, Abra.”
“What happened to you?” he queried.
“A little mishap.”
“I trust whoever did this to you got off worse.”
“Do you doubt it?” Sabra grinned.
“Not at all.”
“So.” She rested her chin in one hand and now he could see that one of her hands was bandaged.
Whatever she’d been up to in regards to Security, it had been a tough fight from which she’d just returned.
“Should I ask?” He raised one brow.
“Nay. What’s up?”
“
Within seconds she’d printed it out in large format and was holding it up to study. “Well,” she said finally, lifting her gaze to Abra. “Care to tell me the story?”
He relayed what he’d been told, including the fact that one of the bodies was missing and the other was in his freezer unit.
“Let me guess,” Sabra drawled. “You want me to give this news to Reya and Tenia.”
“Yeah.”
She rubbed her chin with her bandaged hand, winced slightly and put her hand down again. “How far away are you again?”
“We’re heading for the Hunter’s Hole, be there by tonight. We’re going to drop off the crate of bones and then head for Daamen.”
“You’re six weeks travel away.”
Abra raised both eyebrows. “What’s the rush? By all accounts these bodies have been in that cave for eleven or more years. What’s another six weeks?”
“True.” Leaning back in her chair, Sabra straightened her rumpled jacket. “What’s the condition of the body?”
“Seems fine.” He shrugged. “A lot of ice melted, going by the size of the mud puddle and the space left in the cave, but she’s still frozen.”
“’Tis good.”
“Not when she thaws out.”
“If she’s in the freezer, she won’t thaw out.” Sabra took a bite out of an apple she picked up from near the viscomm. “I’ll let Reya and Tenia know tomorrow that you’re returning the warrior. They won’t be happy about the missing body, though.”
“Not much I can do about that.”
“Correct. So, how’s the hunting trip going?” Interest sparkled in her eyes.
“Full load. Successful trip.” He grinned. “Want to rejoin us?”
“I think Cam would have a heart attack if I did.”
“Your husband would let you do whatever you wanted. That giant is putty in your hands.”
“Don’t let my lord and master hear that. He thinks he’s in charge.” She winked. “Keeps him sweet.”
Abra snorted in amusement.
~ * ~
Inner Sanctum of the Outlaw Sector
Overlord’s Fortress
Fredrico watched quietly as the Overlord’s throne hovered in front of the ice block. The black pupils in his round, pink eyes elongated before dilating almost fully. He stroked his white fingers across the gold sceptre he held across his lap, the marble-etched carrion eater on top of it half buried in the long-sleeved purple robe he wore. The holes where his nose should have been flared slightly, and he smiled, his lipless mouth stretched tightly.
“You have done well.” He spoke to Phemar.
The stench of decaying flesh wafted from the tattered robed figure as the dark mystic stood beside the Overlord’s throne. “Thank you. She has weathered the years well.” His words hissed out with a wet sound.
The Overlord’s throne backed away slightly. “Your powers held.”
Phemar inclined his head and a drop of rancid flesh hit the floor, where it lay and sizzled for several seconds before mouldering away until only a grey patch was left on the stone.
Fredrico glanced to where his best friend, Veknor, was leaning against the nearby wall. The ebony space pirate’s face was devoid of all expression as usual. Having worked for the Overlord for a few years more than Fredrico, he was a master at hiding all thoughts behind an impassive expression.
But Fredrico knew his friend, and he caught the flash of interest in his dark eyes as he studied the kneeling figure trapped in the ice. It wasn’t interest in a beautiful woman, but more of interest in a legend... and what she’d mean to the Inner Sanctum of the Outlaw Sector.
Fredrico wondered about that himself as he returned his attention to her. The Overlord had plans for this warrior and it remained to be seen whether she would live up to expectation or not.
“It is time.” Abruptly the Overlord directed his throne to the far end of the immense chamber. “Bring her back.”
Straightening from his relaxed position against the wall, Veknor moved to stand beside Fredrico. Fredrico stayed where he was, his hips leaning back against the table and his arms folded across his chest. He knew his job. He and Veknor were there to help with the Reeka if needed.
Phemar looked at them both. “Remember, you cannot use your powers on her. No power at all. Nothing is to touch her mystically unless I say so.”
Fredrico nodded. Fine. Normal, brute strength was the instruction. He wasn’t certain why but his job was to obey, not ask questions, something he’d learned quickly a long time ago.
The fire in the pit in the middle of the room flared and two immense shadows flickered out to slip across the chamber ceiling. Two more helpers in case things went badly.
Two hellish helpers.
Used to them now, Fredrico didn’t even bother to glance up at them.
Phemar stood in front of the ice block and raised his arms. The tattered sleeves of his robe slid back to the elbows, showing the decaying flesh peeling back off the bones of his arms. Dark veins twined down to twirl in the slight, putrid breeze that swept through the chamber.
Fredrico could have done without that, for sure. He glanced sideways at Veknor, but apart from a slight flaring of his friend’s nostrils, there was no sign of what the ebony space pirate was thinking. Fredrico, however, knew that he wasn’t so keen on the stink.
A low murmuring filled the chamber, the words indistinguishable, spoken in a language that, as it grew louder, grew coarser, harsher.
On the walls symbols flared, strange characters that swi
rled, ebbing and changing in time with the chanting. The fire flared, but now black flames danced through the orange and yellow tongues. The smoke that spiralled to the roof soaring high overhead was a sickly green. It snaked across the stone roof and twined down above the ice block.
As Fredrico watched in mild curiosity, the orange tendril of smoke floated around the outside of the ice block, then rose up behind it and poised like a snake waiting to strike. The sharp sound of ice cracking rent the air and his gaze fixed on the ice. Beside him he felt Veknor tense, ready to spring into action.
The chanting filled the chamber, resoundinughr, resog off the walls, echoing in the soaring heights. The fire flared high, searingly hot, the tongues of flame scorching the stone of the roof.
There was a whooshing sound and the ice went to water. One second, frozen ice, the next water rushed across the floor and the warrior was there, clear to see, real to touch. Kneeling on one knee, braced on one hand, her hand at her bloodied throat. Her hair, wet and straggling, slapped against her arm as she looked up at him.
Brilliant green eyes looked directly into Fredrico’s, and he saw the fear and pain, the horror and acceptance, all in one split second. He felt the touch clear down to the soles of his boots. Returned to life, only to find she was dying. It would have been as if nothing had happened to her, as if time hadn’t stopped for years. For the Reeka, this second would never have ended.
Involuntarily, he straightened.
Opening her mouth, she choked, and scarlet spilt down over those pink lips, turning her chin red. She fell forward, the gurgling sound of blood and air combined loud in the room.
It happened fast, everything blurring. The orange spiral of smoke struck, covering her face, forcing itself into her nostrils and mouth, filling her. Tendrils came from the open gash in her throat as she convulsed on the floor. Water and blood drenched the stone floor and the stench of blood and decay filled the air sickeningly.
Fredrico had seen sights enough to make a sane man scream and turn from the world of reality. This wasn’t the worse he’d seen, but he’d never seen anyone fight as much as the Reeka.
“Hold her!” Phemar hissed wetly.
Shattered Soul Page 3
