Less than twenty minutes ago, Levi contacted them to let them know they were almost finished. Code for: your ship is almost ready to leave this horrible planet.
She turned to glance at Damon. His dark hair glowed in the sun, the dreadlocks hardly swaying as they continued forward between the trees and vines in their way. Although he smiled back when he caught her eye, she could feel the tension inside him. The blaster wound might have completely healed, but his world had been turned upside down. How much would knowing the truth about his parents and about Aleena change him?
“How are you?” The weight of her blaster felt heavy against her thigh. After reclaiming it, the weapon felt tainted. It had wounded Damon and helped kill Ulric. Still, if she remembered why she carried it in the first place, everything else would soon fade.
“Now that I’m leaving Eden with you, I’m fine,” Damon said.
She sighed. He’d told her of his decision as soon as they’d left the cave the night before. “Are you sure? With Aleena gone, everyone’s going to be lost. They’ll need someone to help them get back on track.”
“That’s what Levi and Milo will do. They’ll lead them into a fair society with a chance at democracy. They don’t need me. I don’t really belong with them.”
“Where do you belong?” Her heart skipped a beat while she waited for his answer. What did she want to hear, anyway? After what happened with Ulric, she wasn’t sure.
He shrugged. “Wherever life leads me, I suppose. As long as I follow the magic, I’ll be okay.”
She smiled. “Just promise me something, okay?”
“What’s that?” His gaze met hers, and it was a little darker than usual. As if the weight of what had gone on around them had taken a toll on his spirit.
“From now on, we’ll be honest with each other.” Of course, she meant it more for her sake than his. After all, she was the one who’d kept things from him, not the other way around. Though, he did tell her one big fib. “Since you’ve already lied to me, I thought we should agree to honesty from now on. Forget about everything that’s happened and move on.”
Damon nodded, but said, “When did I lie to you about anything?”
“Well, you told me you didn’t have any mechanics on your planet. Yet, there are two. One of them also happens to be an electrician!”
“I didn’t know about Levi and Milo. It was as much a surprise to me as it was to you,” he said with a smile.
“So, you’re really going to be part of my crew, huh?” A worm of anxiety wove its way tightly inside her stomach. After taking charge of the ship, she’d never had anyone on Promise with her. She stuck her hand in her pocket and touched the bronze key for comfort. Did she have to keep from wearing it now, since Damon would be nearby most of the time?
“Of course, unless you’ve changed your mind,” he said. His thumb ran crazy circles around the back of her hand.
She clenched her thighs together, trying to walk as casually as she could but bit down on her bottom lip when the ecstasy raced through her. Her cheeks heated.
She opened her mouth to answer but didn’t get the chance.
“We’re done!” Levi called from the height of the tree where her ship was still lodged.
She hadn’t even realized they’d reached the spot. “Excellent.” I really can’t wait to get out of here.
Alex pulled her hand from Damon’s grip. With the surge of the orgasm slowly fading, she started to scratch her hand. During all the commotion, she’d forgotten to replace or even remove the bandage, and it had been bugging her since they’d stepped out of the relative safety of the fortress. She didn’t want to alarm Damon, so she’d kept quiet.
Now, it was too unbearable to stop. She scratched it, wanting to tug the bandage off.
“What’s wrong? You’ve been doing that a lot.”
“It’s just getting a bit itchy. That’s all,” she said between gritted teeth.
The concerned look on Damon’s face made her feel self-conscious.
Levi and Milo landed simultaneously on the ground beside them. They each dumped their tool bags into the waiting cart, which appeared to be a little less full than when they’d taken off. Their long hair was matted with sweat and grease, and their faces were covered in it.
“Is it all fixed?” she asked. Excitement bubbled up inside her. Until she’d caught a glimpse of Promise, she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her ship. It might be a rust bucket and not so great to look at, but it was her home. The only real home she’d ever known.
Levi nodded. “We fixed all the mechanical and electrical problems, but you do have some cosmetic issues. We’re not equipped to fix them.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got a bodywork guy who can help.” She wondered how Damon would be affected while travelling with her, as she randomly ran into the string of ex-lovers she’d left scattered along the way. Still, she hadn’t committed to anything but offering him a place on the ship.
Besides, she’d probably have to build new contacts so Sackor wouldn’t find her.
“Damn!” She scratched her hand.
“You two better get going,” Damon said. “It’s already getting dark.”
Milo looked overhead.
“Are you guys sure you don’t want me to seal the fortress completely?”
“No, Damon. We don’t need to.” Levi shook his head. “We can’t get out without you, anyway.”
Alex watched him hand over the dreadlock he’d cut off, as well as the small canister of his blood. She’d watched him cut his forearm and hair before they left Eden.
Damon shrugged. “Either way, this should be enough for you to get in and out of the barrier whenever you need to. I’ve put some of my magic into both. If you change your mind about not sealing the village off, you still have time to pour the blood into the hole.”
“Thank you.” Levi took the offerings and shoved both things into his pocket.
The sun’s rays seemed to draw down faster. A definite trace of twilight already surrounded them.
“Come on, Milo.” Levi held out his hand, and the other man took it. They made a cute couple. It was good to see them being liberal with their mutual affection.
“We need to go, too.” Damon wrapped his hand around her wrist and yanked her forward.
“Don’t move!”
The slimy voice poured over her body and left behind the trails of disgust it always roused inside her. She looked at her hand and yanked off the bandage, wishing he hadn’t had a way of tracking her down.
She gasped when a tiny eye stared back at her from inside the crook of her hand. The yellow eye had a green slit in the middle, and blinked continuously.
Damon followed her gaze. His frown deepened.
“Is this the first time you noticed my surveillance on you, dear Alex Wales?” Sackor stalked out from the thick foliage with a blaster in his dark right hand, and a smile on his hard face. Two of his goons followed close behind, with their own blasters pointed. One stood on each side of their leader.
“What the hell do you want?” Alex tried to ignore the eye staring back at her. There wasn’t enough soap in the galaxy capable of making her feel clean after this.
Sackor sniffed the air between them. “You didn’t deliver the goods I entrusted you with.”
“Cut the bullshit. You did this to me back on Anteris.” Alex took a step forward. The horror of what was beneath her skin pushed her bravado to the surface. This piece of crap wasn’t going to get away with implanting her with some disgusting thing so he could keep tabs on her.
He laughed. It was more noise than anything else, an echo deep within his throat. She wanted to cut off his circulation.
“I knew about your boyfriend’s origins, if that’s what you mean.” Sackor shook his head in obvious disgust. Those goggle-shaped eyes were shiny. “The poor sucker had no idea. All these years, and he didn’t know his home planet was where I’d been collecting my greatest weapon of mass destruction. With those little wo
rms under my belt, I can overrun anywhere. Your boyfriend’s space station is next.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Sackor sniffed the air. “Yes, I can smell this other guy on you. Why must you taunt me this way? You’ll lie in everyone’s bed but mine. Why?”
“Yes, I would,” she spat the words out. “I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last creature in the galaxy…or even the universe.”
Sackor lifted a hand and slapped her cheek. The ends of his spiked claws pierced her skin, tearing it.
He’s going to pay for this.
Damon stepped forward, but she held him back.
“Too bad the option is no longer yours.” Sackor eyed Damon with suspicion.
“There’s no way I’ll let you touch me!”
Damon attempted to take another step, but one of Sackor’s goons cut in front of him, pressing the blaster into his midsection. Levi and Milo held their positions to the side.
“Like I said, the choice is mine.” Sackor reached for her arm, but she dodged him.
The light of the sun was almost completely gone, and the screeching from above began, sounding like a terrifying symphony.
Sackor lifted his head to scan the trees, but he seemed satisfied enough to turn his attention back to her. “I’ll forgive that you didn’t deliver the last cargo if you agree to stand beside me.” The offer hung between them as his beady, dark eyes peered into hers. “It doesn’t have to be forever. Just long enough for you to claim what’s on this.” He held up the bracelet Ulric had told her to find.
“Hey, give that to me, you bastard. It’s mine!”
Sackor held it out of reach. “You can have it…after we go back to Anteris and you legally sign the contents of the microchip over to me.”
“What?” What the hell was he talking about? She was about to ask when one of the bird monsters swooped down from between the trees.
One of the goons lost his face when the bird’s claws swiped it off. A second bird grabbed the other one and took him into the trees. Their screams echoed around them, only to stop as soon as a shower of blood dribbled over them like rain.
Sackor stepped forward, but his bony shoulders were already seized. He struggled to break free. Both the blaster and bracelet slid from his hands as the bird dug its claws deeper into his harsh flesh. Sackor met her eyes one last time—the fear so evident, she couldn’t help but smile. The creature’s large beak dug a gaping hole into the top of Sackor’s insect-like head, as easily as if it were a giant egg.
The bird-creature spread its tendon-laced wings out wide, screeched, and took off into the night, with Sackor in tow.
“We need to move, now!” Levi yelled.
Alex leaned over and scooped up both the bracelet and blaster, when she noticed Sackor’s crown. She took that too and stuck everything deep into her bag.
Sackor was dead, and she couldn’t be happier. His death meant that a lot of secrets had died with him—including this planet, the worms, and Ulric’s fate. There was no way that piece of crap would have shared something as powerful and profitable—as what he hoped to gain from here—with anyone else.
Now, I don’t have to hide from him or seek new clients.
“Levi’s right. They’ll come down for more.” Damon slapped the two men affectionately on their backs. “Be safe and take care of the people. You’re all they’ve got.”
“I’m sorry about our part in all the trouble,” Levi said.
Damon took a step back. “Farewell.”
Alex didn’t wait for him. Instead, she was already climbing the tree trunk when another round of frenzied screeching began. It wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be to get to the top. It was either the skill she’d picked up during her stay on her mother’s planet or the urgency of trying to get away from the birds. Either way, she was inside Promise within minutes, Damon following close behind. She shut and sealed the door behind him.
She ran to the back of the ship, to make sure Levi and Milo had removed every one of those damned barrels like they said they would. She hadn’t noticed them in the jungle, but they weren’t in her cargo area, and that’s all that mattered.
“Alex!” Damon called from the front of the ship.
The ship shook as the screeching creatures battered it from all sides.
She lost her balance and smacked her shoulder against the wall a few times, but eventually she made it into the pilot seat and rubbed the armrests lovingly.
“Sit down and strap yourself in,” she called over her shoulder.
She heard the snap of the seatbelt and the creak of the seat behind her. No one had sat in the other seat since she’d stopped being a passenger and became the pilot.
“Come on, baby,” Alex whispered when she pressed the button to roll the engine into action. It took a few attempts, but eventually it sputtered into action, without the need to use her lucky key.
I’ve missed you, Promise.
She lifted the lever to open the thrusters in the back, and screaming followed. The flames shooting out the back had scorched whatever creatures were back there. Yes!
A satisfied smile curved her lips. “Damon, are you ready?”
“As ready as I’m ever going to be.”
Alex took hold of her steering stick and moved it forward. The ship took several attempts to dislodge and rise off the tree, but she persevered.
Promise finally shot up into the blackened sky, rocking every step of the way. The creatures filled most of the sky. She could see their hungry, red eyes through her visor, ready to tear at the ship burning them as it ascended.
With her heart beating inside her throat, Alex maneuvered Promise higher into the sky and away from a planet she never wanted to see, ever again.
Epilogue
“You’re sure it’s completely gone?”
“Positive.”
“Okay…I’ll take your word for it.” Yet, Alex didn’t sound convinced and inspected the gaping hole several times before offering her hand so he could seal it. She met his eyes. “Go ahead.”
Damon chuckled, leaned over, and blew a warm breath across the skin between her index finger and thumb. The air tickled his cheeks and made his lips buzz as it poured from him and onto her skin, sealing it instantly. He was putting a lot more in there than just his breath.
She trembled beneath his grip, and he couldn’t help but smile. He doubted he’d ever get tired of having such a sensual effect on Alex. That a touch of his hand or a little of his breath made her squirm this way, excited him.
Damon hadn’t known what to expect once they were in space, but the arcane felt just as strong out here as it did back on Eden. If anything, he felt a pull deep down inside, as if there were an actual location calling out to him.
Aleena lied to me about so much...
No, I don’t want to think about her right now. He wasn’t ready to face all the revelations, lies, and secrets his life had been based on since he was a child. Aleena had taken advantage of his naivety and used his magic for her own purpose—always having a bigger goal in mind. No, I can’t focus on that lying woman. Maybe he never would.
Alex had suspected Aleena from the beginning, which made him realize she was in tune with her inner magic more than she knew. While they were alone in space, he would volunteer to help her learn more about the suppressed side of her she didn’t like to believe existed.
In such proximity, he could feel her power caressing his.
Alex inspected her hand with a smile. “Thanks. It’s not itchy, anymore.”
Damon stared out the small circular window on the wall across from him. He didn’t feel comfortable looking out the windshield just yet. There was so much blackness outside. He still felt a little sick in the stomach, though he was hardly going to admit it.
“So, will it bother you if I wear the key, now?”
He wanted to tell her to never to wear it, because he enjoyed the connection flowing between them, but if her father had poured some sort of pr
otective magic into it and insisted she wear it, there had to be a reason. What had her father wanted to protect her from?
“It’ll mean we can’t feel each other in a sensual, deep way…but if you agree to keep it off when we’re touching, I don’t see a problem.” He knew it meant a lot to her. That she hadn’t mentioned it until now meant a lot to him.
He looked at her for a silent moment, enjoying the view of her long, shapely body, her beautiful face, and her shiny, curly hair…
Damon was going to like spending time alone with her. He could certainly understand why other men would want her company, but he’d decided to wipe the other man—the werewolf—from his mind. If he didn’t, there would be too many questions he’d want answered. The only thing he knew for certain was that Ulric had been Alex’s lover and wanted her so much, he stowed away on her ship.
Everything else is her business, not mine.
“Oooh, that sounds good to me,” Alex said with a wink. When she didn’t make a move to put it on, he had to wonder about her motivation. “So, how do you like it out here?”
Damon glanced quickly at the endless darkness outside the ship but turned back to Alex. To help ease him into space travel, she’d offered to cruise the stars for a while before landing on any other planet terrain, space station, or spaceport. She sure seemed to know her way around.
He’d accepted. “It’s very quiet and peaceful.”
“Where would you like to go first?”
“Wherever you need to,” he said with a shrug. The last thing he wanted to do was get in her way. He was happy to go wherever she was headed.
“I don’t have anything lined up, but I will have to score a job or two soon. We need credits to keep us in space.”
Damon toyed with the question before saying, “What about your father?”
“What about him?”
“Will we go looking for him?” How could he tell her that by finding him, he might indirectly get some answers about his own origins?
“Maybe…one day,” she said with a faraway look in her eye. “I think I would love to search for him, to find out if he’s alive or dead, once and for all. I’m not ready, yet. I know I’ll be one day, though. I’d love to find out more about the sorcerers and gypsies. I’d also like to help you get some answers of your own.”
Alex Wales Page 19
