The Quest (Sanshlian Series Book 1)

by Dani Hoots

  “Hmph, look who’s talking. This place isn’t under jurisdiction either, yet here you are,” he gestured around. “Here you always are.”

  His men surrounded David and me. I counted ten here. Could be any number of them in the streets. I studied Damian. His sharp eyes never left me for a moment.

  “Uh, Arcadia, are these friends of yours?” David whispered.

  Damian simply laughed. “Who is this character, Arcadia? Don’t look like one of Jack’s men.”

  I held Damian’s gaze, “He is a nobody, Damian. And I’m not here for the Empire. Actually, I was just about to leave. So if you don’t mind—”

  “Oh, so soon? But you just landed. You got to take some time to enjoy the sights. Let me escort you around.”

  “Maybe next time,” I retorted.

  “What makes you think there will be a next time?” he shot out. “You killed some of my men a few weeks back. Quite a few men actually. You think I would let that slide? You think you would just be able to wash away the blood from your hands and walk away? No, you need to pay for what you did,” Damian nodded to his men. “And I am here to collect.”

  The man to my left made a lunge at me with his knife. I stepped out of the way and planted my knife into his chest. He let out an agonizing scream and fell to the ground. I turned to face my next attacker who came from my left. I grabbed his wrist and snapped it back. A couple of the men started to pull out their guns.

  “David, right now would be a good time to start running.”

  David nodded and headed for the street. I kicked one of the men’s guns out of his hand and grabbed it quickly off the ground. Extra weaponry was always good. One of the larger men tried to grab for me but I turned around and shot him in the leg. I shot at a couple of the other men trying to come towards me to scare them off but they insisted on pursuing.

  I kept firing until I ran out of bullets. Cursing under my breath, I grabbed the closest man to me. I put him in a headlock and dragged him along as a shield and started back down towards the street. As Damian’s other men followed, I shoved the man I had back towards them, distracting them all for a second as I turned around and ran after David.

  “Get them! I want her alive!” Damian called after me.

  The rest of his men chased us down the streets of Himeo. My mind raced at what I was to do next. I studied my surroundings. David was only a few meters in front of me.

  As I caught up to him, I pointed in the direction he should run. “Go straight to the ship. I will try to lose them and meet you there. They are after me not you. Leave if you don’t hear from me after three hours. Now go.” David nodded and I turned down an alleyway.

  As I planned, Damian’s men followed me down the alleyway. David was a nobody to them, they wouldn’t go after him, not when they needed me. I kept running until I found it to be a dead end. I cursed under my breath, realizing how unlucky I had been lately with dead end alleyways. I turned around to face my attackers. Fifteen men stood in front of me. So he did have backup. He knew my reputation unlike many others.

  I secretly wanted to be captured by Damian and let the three hours pass so Rik and the rest would leave without me. Then I could escape from Damian as I would and report to the Emperor that he caught me and Rik and his men left without me. That would be the end of all of this. I would have to tell him they were heading to Ttkas, but I could lie and tell him I didn’t know where they were going. Then I could go back to my normal life. If Rik finds Sanshli, then he finds it. If not, it doesn’t affect me. The P.A.E. would be destroyed and life would be better. Much better.

  I held out the knife and waved it back and forth. “Which one of you wants to die first?”

  Each of the fifteen men pulled out their modified TG-1s and aimed them at me. I had better chances playing along with Damian’s trap than fighting them all off here. Damian said he wanted me alive, so I should have plenty of chances to escape.

  I dropped the knife and held up my hands. They still looked as if they were going to shoot me.

  “I thought Damian said he wanted me alive.”

  Damian stepped out from behind one of his men. “I do, but I don’t mind damaged goods.”

  He nodded to his men and two of them put away their guns and approached me. I thought about fighting them back but I still had thirteen guns at me. Letting them grab my arms and pin me to the wall, Damian walked up to me and grinned.

  “Looks like you are out of luck, Arcadia,” he rammed his fist into my stomach. “And you are the Emperor’s shadow? Ha!”

  He punched me in the jaw. I didn’t resist as I took a couple more blows. He bent down and picked up the knife I had dropped.

  “Is this your only weapon? Tisk tisk,” he pressed the knife’s edge against my throat. “I was hoping for something more interesting to kill you with.”

  Once the knife was away from my throat, I spat out blood at his feet. “Sorry to disappoint.”

  “Hmph. Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to kill you. Not here anyway,” Damian grabbed me by my hair and dragged me towards a car that had just pulled up in the alleyway. “Come on, Arcadia, we are going for a little ride.”

  I struggled but Damian pointed his gun down at me. I stopped, knowing he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. I had to wait this one out and find a better opportunity to get free, preferably after Rik had left the planet.

  Shoving me into the back seat, Damian climbed in behind me, and jammed the gun right into my ribcage. In his other hand, he still held the knife I dropped. He placed it on his leg as he reached in his jacket pocket. I began to reach for the knife, but he had anticipated it. He quickly grabbed my wrist with his free hand.

  “Don’t make me break your wrists, Arcadia, because I will if need be,” he nodded up to the handle that connected to the roof of the car. “Put your hands up there.”

  I obeyed and he pulled out some cuffs and locked my hands to the handle. After closing them as tight as he could, I tugged a little bit, seeing how strong the handle was. With enough strength, I would be able to break it. I just needed a distraction so Damian didn’t shoot me as I tried to escape. The cuffs were tight, rubbing on my skin causing it to cut if I didn’t place them right.

  “A little tight,” I commented as he grabbed the knife from on top of his leg.

  “Good,” he knocked on the window to the driver. “Go,” Damian kept a close eye on me.

  “Shouldn’t you put your seatbelt on?” I questioned, knowing if I got away that would give me a couple seconds of extra time.

  He shook his head. “Nice try.”

  I looked out my window. Rain was beginning to pour quite heavily now and I watched as people opened their umbrellas or hurried to find shelter. I wondered if David made it back to the space-port and whether or not Rik decided to leave without me. I wouldn’t blame him if he did; he knew I might betray him sooner or later. I was a liability. He would be better off without me.

  Damian’s car made its way through the city. I stayed silent for the most part, thinking of when I could make an escape. I could try while we were driving, when we got to his city or wait until he tried to kill me. I could even wait to see if Jack’s men would come for me, but I wasn’t one who waited for rescuing. I liked playing by my own rules.

  “If Jack finds out you captured me, you’re a dead man,” I stated as I looked back at Damian.

  “Oh, he won’t find out. You’re supposed to be leaving aren’t you? I doubt if you two communicate often so he wouldn’t even notice for a long while. By then, your body will be long gone and he will have no proof on me for doing it,” he smirked.

  He was a little too cocky about all of this. He really thought he caught me fair and square. I don’t think he even realized I let myself get caught by him to make an easier escape. Such a fool.

  “He will figure it out. Jack’s smarter than you think. He’s very protective of things he cherishes,” I added to see his reaction.

  “We will see. Besides, why does he even care?
” he stroked the side of my cheek with his fingers that still held the gun. “Although, I can see why he keeps you around.”

  “Don’t touch me,” I coldly warned. He twirled my hair around his finger before dropping his hand back down.

  “Feisty,” he grinned as he placed the gun back against my ribs. “I like that.”

  “We will see how much you like it when you are lying on the ground bleeding to death,” I peered out the window on Damian’s side. Something in the distance seemed odd. “Other people will notice my disappearance.”

  “Like who? That guy you were with? I saw how he looked at you. He feared you. He probably figured this was his chance to get away.”

  It was true; David and I weren’t having the friendliest of conversations when Damian and his men came. He probably did fear me now and told Rik what I had said. They weren’t going to trust me. I used to be flawless on missions. Now I was questioning everything I did.

  “What about the Empire? They will come looking for me. You are risking peace with this planet,” I pointed out.

  Damian shrugged. “Meh, the money is worth it.”

  “Money? What mon...” I began when another car slammed right into the side Damian was on. He collided into me, causing the knife he held to scrape against my side. This sudden surprise gave me the chance I needed to rip the handle off the roof of the car and fling the door to the car open. I rolled onto the street as the car was still skidding from the other car hitting it. I was almost hit myself from oncoming traffic but I quickly got myself up and started running towards the space-port.

  I made my way around a corner of the street when I felt pain coming from my side. I placed my hands on my stomach to find blood. Lots of it. The rain coming down washed all of it away from my cuffed hands. His knife went in farther than I had originally thought. I needed to get out of here, I needed to get out of these cuffs, and I needed a doctor. Fast.

  The space-port was only a few blocks away. I debated if I should go to the ship or back to Jack’s. Jack’s place was far away now and Rik was much closer. I knew I couldn’t make it to Jack’s safely without passing out or getting caught again by Damian. I placed as much pressure as I could on the wound and started running towards the space-port. I stayed in the more deserted streets, not wanting to stand out. I considered running, but being cuffed and covered in blood would draw too much attention, although maybe not in a city like this.

  I could see the space-port now and wondered if Rik had left without me. Just as I thought I was in the clear, I heard two shots ring-out. I fell down to the ground, pain engulfing my leg. Both shots had hit me in the thigh. I looked back to find Damian all bruised up from the accident, blood trickling from his head down his face, and really pissed off. His eyes full of rage, he started for me. I tried to get back up so I could run but I wasn’t nearly fast enough. He pressed his foot on top of my wounded leg, and I bit my lip with the pain.

  “You are trouble, Arcadia. Do you have any idea?” he shoved his foot down even harder.

  I nodded, still grimacing. “Yes, yes I do.”

  “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore,” he cocked the TG-1 back. “Goodbye, Arcadia. You aren’t worth keeping around anymore. Even for that much.”

  He started to pull back the trigger. I shut my eyes. The sound of gun fire made me cringe. I waited a second and realized it wasn’t Damian’s gun. I opened my eyes again to find Damian collapsed beside me with a bullet wound through his skull. I looked up to see Jack standing over me, rain soaking his suit and hair. He looked relieved to find me.

  I smiled. “My knight in shining armor.”

  He bent down and helped me up. “I got word of Damian’s men being in town,” he explained as he helped support my leg. “Thought I would see what they were up to.”

  “So,” I tried not to put pressure on my leg but failed. “You are the one who ran the car into us.”

  Jack nodded. “One of my men did, yes.”

  I let out a slight laugh. “You do realize that you almost killed me doing that,” I stopped as I began to feel too dizzy to walk. That was another reason I didn’t like having partners in missions. You never knew what they were going to do so you could never prepare.

  “What do you—” he began as I started to slip from his support. I had lost too much blood now. I sat on the ground grabbing my side. “Cadi, why didn’t you say you had a stomach wound? We need to get you out of here. Is there a medic on the ship?”

  I nodded. “A good one, but I should let them go. I should just let them go.”

  Jack scooped me up and started carrying me towards the space port. “No, you need to finish this mission.”

  “But the Emperor is going to kill me when he finds out...” I didn’t finish, I didn’t have enough stamina to argue any longer. I relaxed my head against Jack’s chest as he rushed me through the space-port.

  I only remembered parts of the trip between Jack picking me up and taking me to the ship. I remember him telling me to stay conscious as he ran through the space-port. I wanted to sleep so badly. I wanted all of this to be over. All of it. I needed to stay awake but I didn’t want to.

  I heard voices but I couldn’t figure out whose. They said something about not wanting me on the ship. Probably Will, could have been Rik. Maybe David. Jack persisted and the person let us on. Last thing I remembered were bright lights, a cold table and someone asking for some kind of medication.

  Chapter 15

  My hands were covered in blood. I tried to get it off but I couldn’t. No matter what I did, it wouldn’t come off. I tried to call for help but no sound came out of my mouth. Darkness began to engulf me.

  “Fa cav muji ys.”

  I woke to find myself in a med room. Sweat poured off my forehead as I took deep breaths. The dreams were getting worse, more vivid than before. I didn’t think it was possible. I wanted them to stop, I wanted all of this to stop, even if it was the last thing I did.

  Regaining my senses, I peered around quizzically, trying to remember what had happened. After a few seconds, it all came back to me. I had gotten stabbed in the stomach and shot in the leg then Jack saved me and brought me here. Damian was dead. Stupid bastard shot me in the leg. There would be an uproar in his city and they would come for Jack, if anyone saw. Someone probably did, as usual.

  Damian had mentioned getting paid to capture me. I wondered who could have paid him for that, and how stupid he was for taking the job. He was already the most powerful man wanting me dead on this planet, who else would hire someone for me? Waving these thoughts out of my head, I decided I should find one of the crew members.

  Trying to get off of the hard table I laid on, I noticed something sticking in my arm. The tube looking thing led up to a bag filled with strange liquid. Narcotics, something to keep me out while I healed. I ripped it out of my arm. I was fine now; I didn’t need any damn meds going into my system. Not anymore. I stood up, still a little wobbly from the injuries and meds but I was fine. I was always fine.

  It was an interesting thing, how easily I could heal from injuries. I blame the meds they gave me in the Kamps, being some side effect they were hoping for. I didn’t know if I should thank them or hate them for messing with my body. I didn’t have enough fingers to count how many different chemicals they injected into me day after day, but I survived. That was all that mattered.

  Being in a med room brought back memories of the tests and masked men who came to treat me day after day. I had to get out. I had to see what was going on with the rest of the crew. I started to leave when I noticed something was wrong. My gloves were gone. They took them off. Damn them. I peered around quickly but didn’t see any trace of the gloves. Looking down at my hands I could see even more memories of the Kamps. Not only the barcode but the blood I had shed from that moment on. I shook my head and shoved my hands into my pockets. I wouldn’t let such a trivial matter bother me.

  Venturing down the corridors of our new ship, I tried to find where the rest
of the crew could be. It was much bigger than Rik’s ship. These types of ships held the elite class with their personal guards and such. It could transfer a maximum of thirty people or so but luckily it didn’t need that many to operate.

  Most Class Three ships had the same layout. The upper level held the bridge, crew quarters, galley, lounge, fitness room and the engine room while the lower level held storage, elite quarters, elite lounge, and med room. I figured my best bet was to check the lounges.

  As I approached the elite lounge, I heard voices. I smiled. I knew they would be in the fancier one. I listened closely to what they were discussing. I heard whistling. It didn’t sound like any of Rik’s crew and I didn’t think I had ever heard any of them whistle before.

  I peeked around the corner to find Jack, leaning back in his chair with a hand of cards, playing against David. I didn’t think he would still be on the ship; we should have left by now. Jack wouldn’t have come with us; he even admitted it was a suicide mission. He shouldn’t be here.

  “So, Arcadia tells me you have been in your position for five years now,” David always wanted to know a person’s story. “How did you manage that? You are pretty young even now to be ruling.”

  “I got lucky. It wasn’t easy though, I was raised in the streets and started working for Kyle at a very young age. He took a liking to me because I never asked questions and I always did my job. That’s why Cadi and I get along so well, we both know our places in this galaxy. Anyway, after a while ,Kyle made me his second in command. Not long after, he was killed,” Jack explained as he tapped his cards on the table.

  “Convenient.”

  “Yeah. Many of the people blamed me; thought I had killed him. I didn’t. He was like a father to me. Luckily, I had enough people supporting me that anyone who refused my rule got shut out pretty quickly.”

  “Then you met Arcadia,” David pried further.

  A smile appeared on Jack’s lips. “Then I met Arcadia. That’s when things got interesting. A young girl in the races always raises an eyebrow or two. A girl underage forcing her way into the races raises even more. Especially when they win. I couldn’t resist, I had to know more about her.”