by Jay Key
“Liar! Look at this!”
The child rotated her head to the left and exposed the back of her neck. A deep bruise came into the light.
“You little good-for-nothing!” Geezu shouted at the child. With his right hand he reached out and snatched the human-esque creature by the patch of hair on her head and yanked her to her feet. Dirt and dust flew off of her ragged clothing.
“I warned you!” shouted Geezu. “Mr. LaGrange, you have stuck your nose into a matter that does not—”
Geezu hit the floor with a thud more dramatic than Duke’s shoulder-first crash into the door. The bounty hunter was pleased; Geezu’s face revealed that he hardly felt the same.
“His face was harder than it looked,” Duke quipped as he shook his now unclenched right hand.
Duke turned around.
“Holy hedgehogs!”
Two Neprian priests rushed toward him javelin-first. Duke turned and grabbed the closest dining chair; he reared back to swing it—but hit nothing. He looked down.
Both Neprian priests were on their backs, their eyes closed. The lethal javelins lay harmlessly on the floor beside them. Ishiro’shea stood over them in attack position.
“Ishiro! Love ya’, man. But what took ya’ so long? I would have knocked ‘em out way faster.”
The ninja pointed to the corner where the girl had been cowering.
“She’s gone?”
The door to the kitchen was ajar. She must’ve snuck out through there, the bounty hunter concluded.
“We need to find Vernglet and let him know what went down here. I haven’t seen a jail on Neprius, but I’m sure these guys will be thrown in something not-so-nice. Damn these bastards, pickin’ on an innocent little street urchin.”
Ishiro gave Duke a quizzical stare.
“I guess I don’t know for sure that she’s a street urchin. She looks like one, though. Who knows, maybe she comes from a very respectable family.”
Ishiro’s stare did not waver.
“Oh right! Why didn’t Vernglet mention anything about folks that look pretty similar to us living on this planet? I hope he has his reasons.”
One of the guards began to regain consciousness; his thin arms pressed his torso up, but his knees were still anchored to the floor. He reached for his pointy killing instrument.
Duke’s boot struck the guard’s face—which, in turn, stuck the stone floor with a plop.
“Gettin’ rusty, Ishiro?”
The ninja ignored Duke’s comment, but the bounty hunter knew his friend would be miffed that the guard had recovered from his attack sooner than he would have liked. Ishiro’shea gracefully floated through the dining hall and out into the hallway.
“Okay, okay. Let’s go find Vernglet. He has some explaining to do. His abusive priest buddies. This mysterious kid that claims to be an indentured servant. The fact that it appears there’s another race on this planet.” Duke counted on his fingers. “What else?”
Ishiro was already outside of the dining hall. He nudged his head in Duke’s direction.
“Okay, I’m comin’.”
Duke waded through the Neprian bodies and met his cohort in the hallway.
“I guess we finally get to see the inside of this Altar House of the Orb? Let’s go chat with Vern.”
Ishiro’shea started to head down the corridor leading to their rooms.
“Where ya’ goin’, Ishiro? The exit out to the plaza is this way.”
The ninja mimed a sniper.
“Good call. Probably want to have something more than our bare hands just in case we run into any more of those un-priestly priests.”
Chapter 12
Vanity Killed the Neprian
DUKE AND ISHIRO’SHEA STRODE BRISKLY along the corridor. It led to an unfurnished annex that marked the halfway point between the dining hall and their guest room.
“Didn’t think I would have to use Ol’ Betsy today. Goes to show ya’.”
Ishiro’shea paused. Duke followed suit. He trusted Ishiro’s senses.
“Yeah, I hear it too. I think it’s down by our room.”
Both men slid up against the wall with as much stealth as possible.
“Think they heard us?”
The ninja shook his head.
“Me neither,” whispered Duke.
They crept around the corner, out from the annex, and into full view. Ishiro crouched down, making himself as small as possible. Duke remained upright, but his back pressed against the wall as if he hoped to cave the partition in with his weight.
The Nova Texan continued to whisper across the hallway to his compatriot. “These Neprians will taste the explosive thunder of my trusted Betsy soon enough—and it’s a taste not easily washed out of one’s mouth.”
Ishiro froze.
Duke tried to contain it, but a laugh escaped him. “Hey Ishiro, don’t you wish you wouldn’t have taken that vow of silence now, huh? You miss out on all the great and heroic lines.”
The ninja, for the first time that Duke could remember without the aid of alcohol, lost his composure. He hit Duke with a hearty bellow—at least, it would have been hearty if it hadn’t been silent.
The sound crackled again and Ishiro’s silent chuckle evaporated instantaneously. That’s definitely coming from our room.
Without a single spoken word, both men charged down the last leg of the hallway. A mere ten paces from reaching the door, two Neprian priests emerged from the confines. One held Ol’ Betsy and Duke’s laser revolver. The other carried Ishiro’s cherished katana.
“Whoa now. Hold up there, boys,” yelled Duke, having decided that events had already moved past the need-to-whisper stage.
The priests turned to the duo in surprise.
“Hoblet? Delix? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Duke howled in recognition. “I thought we were friends, man.”
The Neprians looked at each other. What are the chances that they know how to use those guns?
“We are not your friends, Mr. LaGrange.”
“I can see that now,” smirked the bounty hunter.
“And now you are without your beloved armaments. You stand no chance as I see it.” Hoblet raised the sword above his head and brought it down with a vicious slashing motion. Okay, he knows how to use that.
“What makes you so sure? We took out your spear-toting friends in the dining room without even an iota of effort.”
“You will not be so lucky this time.”
“Luck?” Duke laughed. ”And why’s that, fellas? We’ve beaten up twins before—and in more dire conditions than this. In fact, beating up identical twins is our specialty.”
“Twins?” shouted Delix. “We are not twins!”
“Whatever. You guys are totally indistinguishable. Right, Delix?” Deliberately, Duke directed his question toward Hoblet.
“That’s not Delix. I’m Delix, you... you... you moron of the highest order.”
“Ouch. Guys, I’m sure you are unique in your own way but looks ain’t one of them. I’ve seen many twins in my day—let me tell ya’, and I’ve had some good times with twins—but that’s a story for another time...”
“We look nothing alike. How dare you compare us like that?” Delix’s face turned a nasty shade of raspberry. “I knew Vernglet Wip was a fool. Orbius knew all along that you are nothing more than marauding vagabonds sent to destroy our way of life. You aren’t smart enough to possess any worthwhile knowledge. You are going to die by your own prized death toy, Mr. LaGrange. For Orbius and the Orb!”
Delix aimed Ol’ Betsy at Duke and pulled the trigger. An all-too-familiar sound erupted from Betsy’s inner depths, followed by smoke and the smell of fresh carnage. Blood and innards filled the corridor.
Guess he didn’t know how to use a gun.
Duke firmed up his stance, his chest protruding proudly. “See, Mr. Hoblet, vanity is not a good trait. It’ll get you killed. That... and holding a gun backwards.”
Hoblet was petrified. He was covere
d in bits that, seconds ago, belonged to his good friend, Delix.
“So, you can do one of two things. You can drop the sword and run away—which I highly advise. Or you can try to fight us—and most likely end up like your friend there. And there. And over there. And I think some of him is stuck up there as well.”
The Neprian placed the sword on the ground, pivoted away from Duke and Ishiro, and limped away with noticeable shakiness.
Ishiro’shea lobbied a grin at his longtime friend.
“Yeah, yeah. I, too, can take advantage of the psychological deficiencies of a weaker being. One might say I’m quite brilliant. Vanity is always a killer—when not in moderation, of course. It proves once again that I’m more than just a handsome face with a ridiculously large gun.”
The ninja did not give any sign of agreement. He pointed at the ground a few feet in front of the Nova Texan.
Duke swiped at a large chunk of Delix with his boot; the gelatinous mound of flesh jiggled away to reveal Duke’s laser revolver. He picked it up, examined its condition, and slid it into his holster. Then he turned and tugged violently at a musty tapestry that hung from the wall. It crashed down to the floor, landing in a deep puddle of Neprian entrails. Duke was able to keep a tiny piece dry. He knelt down and picked up his old friend, Betsy.
“She definitely needs a scrub down. I think part of Delix is lodged down the barrel. We don’t have time to break her down and perform a diagnostic, do we?”
Duke answered his own question. “No. We don’t.”
He scrubbed Betsy down with the scrap of tapestry to the best of his abilities, and slid her into his back holster. That feels good. Ishiro’shea picked up his katana, but he did not conceal it.
“You wanna go to the Altar House now?”
Ishiro gave a thumbs-up.
“Look, Ishiro, I want to smash these bastards as much as the next guy—and find out about these slave children or whatever—but I don’t like the odds of us versus the entire city of Dre’en. Stacked deck. I say we go back to the Deus. Let’s see if these cats will talk when our ship is staring down at ‘em. Probably a bit more persuasive.”
The ninja sheathed his blade. The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor.
“Seems like we aren’t alone anymore. I bet they heard the explosion. Or Hoblet must’ve made it to his friends already. My vote is to get outta here now.”
Duke and Ishiro’shea snuck away into the cool night air of Dre’en and accelerated to a brisk pace along the single road of mirror-like stone.
Chapter 13
Nineteen Paces
“I DON’T HAVE A GREAT feeling about this.”
Ishiro’shea signaled his alignment with that assessment.
“I’m assuming most nights they don’t just leave the front gate open like that. They either wanted us to leave to meet our impending doom—and made sure we weren’t slowed down by some pesky wall—or they didn’t think we would be in a position to leave this joint—because our doom had already impended upon us. Either way, we’re walking into a mess that I don’t care to be in.”
Once again, Duke’s colleague appeared to agree.
“If memory serves, we should be coming up on the Deus soon, right?”
Ishiro did not respond.
“Okay, must be talking to myself,” Duke muttered. “Let’s see then, we’ve already passed through the gates, we’ve already passed by the village—oh yeah, come to think of it, that bastard Vern never did tell us where all those cats in the village were working. He conveniently changed the subject when I asked; I did not pin him for being as sly as he is. Crafty little devil.”
Duke scratched his chin. “But, then again, remember what Delix said? Vern thought we were here for a reason. Sounds like he might’ve been the only one that wanted us here—even if it was just a temporary curiosity. Vern’s a bit more complex than I gave him credit for, I guess.”
Duke caught up to Ishiro.
“Oh yeah, and what about the kid, Ishiro? How can those priest blokes not tell us about another intelligent—or seemingly intelligent—race on this planet, assuming there’s more than one little street rat running around.” Duke’s stream of consciousness rant continued. “And it goes without saying, I doubt there were really any astro-scientists that could provide guidance on the red space blob that brought us here. There’s just not a damn thing that’s made any sense since we arrived on this rock. And another thing—”
Ishiro halted and stopped Duke with an extended right arm. Without hesitation, Ol’ Betsy was out of her Ootrelian home and into Duke’s hands.
“Holy hedgehogs!” Duke cried as he gazed across the expanse of terrain before them. “Those sons of bitches.”
The trees and foliage around the Deus’ hiding place had been mown down with the delicacy of a blind bonsai tree caretaker.
“Be careful, Ishiro, they could still be lurking around here.”
The two bounty hunters descended a shallow hill and onto the flattened patch of grass upon which, less than a day before, their ship had rested comfortably and out of sight. However, the Deus was nowhere to be found. Both men had their weapons drawn.
“This cut here is fresh,” Duke said as he examined a brutishly hacked sapling.
His companion pointed at a grouping of footprints beyond the scene of spacecraft abduction.
“Ah, those sure look like Neprian flippers if you ask me. And there seems to be a ton of ‘em. All heading that way—over that hill east of here.”
Ishiro’shea gestured beyond the hill.
“Good call. There’s probably a way back to Dre’en around the wall. They could avoid running into us down the road back into the city. I guess we head that way and try to catch up with ‘em, huh?”
The ninja glanced behind the bounty hunter. Duke swiveled around.
“No way, Ishiro. You’re not trying to tell me that they somehow carried our ship through those woods, are you? I’m not buying it.”
Ishiro shook his head. Okay, he’s frustrated. Man, of all the sidekicks in the universe, I had to pick the one that doesn’t talk. Well, the one that still has his tongue and doesn’t talk. The ninja slapped Duke’s shoulder to re-emphasize his observation.
“Okay, okay—what about the forest? Oh wait, I see it. Barely. I think. Okay, yes, I really do see it. Something’s definitely flickering in that forest. Movement? You think it’s some Neprian leftovers ready to ambush us?”
The ninja crouched down and focused intently on the edge of the forest, densely packed with alien flora.
“Probably just some bioluminescent forest critter,” the bounty hunter said, kneeling beside Ishiro. “Maybe this will help. It’s getting pretty dark now—not Keltian dark—but dark nonetheless.”
Duke handed his compatriot a set of travel-size night vision binoculars from his belt. The ninja did a double take.
“I found them on the Deus right as we were about to leave. I thought that they might come in handy. You never know.”
Ishiro’shea grabbed them and continued studying the wooded area.
“Anything?”
His partner did not provide any answer.
“I tell ya’, Ishiro, I know you want to see what’s out there—and, believe me, so do I—but the Deus is that way.” Duke pointed to the crest of the butte, east of their location. “We don’t have time to explore this place. We gotta catch up to those ship-stealing priests and, unless we can ride that thing in the forest and chase down Vern, we need to get going. I mean, I know we’re faster than an entire legion carrying the Deus and all—but they do have a nice head start.”
Ishiro adjusted the vision enhancers to their maximum capability.
“C’mon, buddy, we need to go. And, it’s not that dark to go max power on those things.”
Duke paused for a moment.
“In fact, it seems like it just got a bit lighter? Or am I going crazy? Seriously, it’s getting lighter out here. It can’t already be morning and, if it is, this is
the most rapid ascension of daylight in any planet beyond the Ecclox System. I hate that system; how Eccloxians don’t have countless seizures from the frequent day-night transitions, I have no idea. Remember when we went there last time? I think the days were down to about forty-five seconds each.”
Ishiro’shea removed the binoculars from his eyes and adjusted them meticulously.
“Yeah, you noticing it too? I guess they have early breakfasts here. I don’t remember seeing this when we landed. Makes no difference, anyways—we need to head back, bud. We’re losing precious time on the Neprian bastards. And I can’t wait ‘til I have a chance to bash their heads in.”
“Your wait will be shorter than you think,” shouted a familiar voice.
Duke and Ishiro’shea turned away from the forest to face eastward. Along the entire rim of the hill were a dozen Neprian priests, torches held high—this simulated sun illuminating the Neprian sky.
“But I don’t like your chances,” the voice continued.
“Oh hey, Vern! What’s happening?” Duke responded, hoping to throw off the Neprian by not acknowledging the precarious situation in which they found themselves. “Thanks for turning the lights on for us. It was starting to get a bit dark. But I do have a question.”
“And what is that, Mr. LaGrange?”
“I seem to have misplaced my ship. Any idea on where it might be?”
“Humorous, Mr. LaGrange. Your ship is now en route to Orbius, the new owner of your interesting spacecraft. I’m afraid this is the end of the line for you,” proclaimed Vernglet Wip with the wooden oration of a community theater flunkie.
“What gives, Vern? I thought we were buds—I mean, I also thought old Hoblet and Delix were too, and now Delix is a pile of Neprian goop on a curtain somewhere. You might need to get that hallway professionally cleaned, by the way.”
“I figured something did not go as planned. I warned Hoblet and Delix that their plan was foolish. Regardless, Orbius demands this. I am truly sorry, my friends.”
The Neprian priests widened their formation and encircled the duo. In almost perfect synchronization, they each attached their lit torches to the business end of their javelins. Their weapons dropped into kill position.
