Lost in Barbarian Space

by Anna Hackett

  “There is no treatment.”

  She spun, gripping his arms. “There must be something—”

  “Nothing.”

  Honor tried to calm herself. “What happens?”

  “You lose all control. Become an angry, violent animal. No better than those creatures that were hunting us.”

  The ragged tone of his voice made her want to cry. It was everything her warrior was against. She knew for him to hurt an innocent would kill him.

  “So, what happens when—?”

  “I will go north, to the Wastelands. No one lives there except the winter beasts.”

  No one for him to hurt. No one to help him. And he would die there, alone. Knowing him, probably death by beast.

  She touched his arm, the strong muscles there.

  “Colm, we have excellent doctors on the Magellan. We have advanced tech—”

  “There is nothing that can be done, Honor. Your doctors know nothing of our nanami.” He stroked her hair. “I will not be like my father. He did not live his life with honor. He stayed, too afraid to deal with the sickness. Instead—”

  “He hurt the people closest to him.” She closed her eyes, her chest tight.

  “Do not worry, my little warrior. You’ll be long gone when this happens to me.”

  It felt like a laser blast to her heart. She didn’t want to be gone, and she didn’t want him to exile himself to die.

  She hugged him closer. Then, over his shoulder, she spotted something in the ice wall.

  “Colm, look.” She pulled back.

  He turned and together they stared at the object frozen into the ice wall. They moved closer, and Honor pressed a hand to the icy surface.

  “It’s a cockpit chair.” She looked up at him. “It’s a chair from a starship, and it looks old. It has to be from the Valhalla.”

  “We must be close.” Colm stared at the artifact. “I want to find this ship, Honor. For Kavon, for my people.”

  She nodded. “Then let’s find it.”

  ***

  Colm watched Honor pull on her clothes and then search around in the backpack. She held up a small tool.

  “It’s a laser cutter.” She pressed a button on it and a beam of orange light shot out. She turned, and pressed it towards the ice.

  Colm watched in awe as she cut a huge chunk of ice from the wall. She reached in, melting the ice around the artifact. Then she set the laser cutter away.

  He stepped forward and gently eased the chair from the ice. He set it down on the floor, and she set about examining it.

  “Well, it looks like it was wrenched out of the cockpit, and it definitely looks Terran.” She scraped away some ice, then gasped. “Look.”

  There was an image on the fabric of the chair. A circle with crossed swords…and the word Valhalla beneath it.

  She smiled. “It’s from the ship. The rest of the wreck has to be really close.”

  “Then we’ll keep searching.”

  She stood, dusting off her hands. “Colm…the reason you don’t want to mate…it’s because of the nanami sickness?”

  He touched her, gently pushing her hair back behind her ear. He wished things could be different. “If I could have a bondmate, it would be you.”

  She looked up at him wordlessly, and the look in her eyes filled his chest with heat.

  “Honor.”

  She closed her eyes and pressed her face to his chest. “God, Colm. You’ve twisted me up inside. I never wanted a man, and certainly not a stubborn barbarian warrior.”

  He pulled her close. Yes, neither of them had been looking for the other.

  An echo of noise reached him. He tilted his head, cautiously letting his nanami expand his senses. He didn’t hear anything else, and thought he must’ve imagined it. But then he heard it again.

  Honor lifted her head. “I think that—”

  “Shh, Honor.”

  She went quiet, and Colm strained to hear more. It was a strange noise. Harsh. Unlike anything he’d heard in the ice caves.

  And it was getting closer.

  “We have to move.”

  “The beasts again?”

  He shook his head. She didn’t waste time with more questions. Colm pulled his knife from its sheath and cut the logo off the seat.

  “Colm,” she whispered. “The astro-archeologists will have a fit.”

  He set the artifact in the backpack and she swung it onto her back. “Move.” He nudged her into the tunnel. “Don’t run. We need to move quietly.”

  They moved down the tunnel, turned into another, then another. He barely saw the beautiful blue-ice walls anymore. Colm was tired of the ice caves and the cold.

  He paused again to listen and his jaw tightened. “Whatever it is, it’s getting closer.”

  Honor nodded. “I can hear it, too.”

  There was a rattle. The scrape of metal on ice.

  They both turned, and Colm pulled his sword from its scabbard. He heard Honor’s soft curse.

  The…creature had rounded the corner.

  Colm gripped his sword. It was made of a gray, metallic substance and shaped like a man.

  But it floated just off the ground, had no legs, and had four arms. Its face was flat, with no features.

  It looked a lot like Honor’s spar-droids.

  “It’s a syndroid of some kind.” Honor was studying it intently. “It’s tracking us by heat.”

  “I will destroy it.” He lunged forward, even as he heard Honor’s protest.

  He swung his sword, but the droid was fast. It dodged to the side and out of the way of his blade.

  He kept attacking, and the droid continued to dodge his every move. Colm could feel his anger growing.

  “Colm! Pirates!”

  The panic in Honor’s voice made him turn. He saw a band of people running down the tunnel. Honor had pulled out her stun-staff, and she darted past Colm and the droid to attack the incoming group.

  The man in the lead was lean and fast, and carrying a sword of his own. Honor took him down with a hard swing to the back of his neck. He hit the ice, groaning. But before he was even down, two more rushed at her.

  The droid slammed into Colm. He spun, trying to focus on the droid, but he couldn’t, not when he knew Honor was in danger.

  She fought hard, her staff whirling. Then a huge man came in from the side, and hit her with something. She staggered.

  A woman came in low and jammed some sort of device against Honor’s side. She shuddered under the impact of it. Colm recognized it as some sort of stunner.

  Honor dropped to the floor.

  Colm roared. Inside, his nanami exploded, power flooding him. He slammed an arm against the droid and it crashed into the wall. Then he rushed forward, attacking those who’d injured his woman.

  He saw the shocked face of one of the pirates. The others closed in. Colm fought wildly, his fist and sword slamming into various attackers. Soon, the icy ground around him was littered with groaning, battered bodies.

  “Contain him! Now!”

  Something wrapped around his sword arm. He jerked on it but he couldn’t get free. He glanced down and saw a glowing green rope circling his bicep. Another rope wrapped around his other arm. The ropes burned as they sizzled against his skin.

  He pulled forward, trying to free himself. Behind him, he saw four large pirates holding the other ends of the ropes.

  Colm roared again, a fierce sound that echoed in the tunnels.

  An older woman stepped up in front of him, eyeing him with an annoyed look.

  She lifted a metallic object—a large stunner. She jammed it against his stomach.

  He felt the electricity jolt through him. He gritted his teeth and fought back the pain. He had to stay conscious. He had to save Honor.

  He jerked hard, and someone holding one of the ropes cried out. He freed one arm, yanking it to swing the glowing green rope around. It slammed into one of the pirates, and the man rolled to the ground with a cry.

&nbs
p; “He fucking broke my ribs!”

  The woman in front of him bared her teeth. Colm saw that they were made entirely of gray metal. She jammed a second stunner into his gut.

  Colm fell heavily to his knees.

  His entire body was shuddering and jerking. Then he tumbled forward, smacking against the ice. He couldn’t move his body. He forced himself to look up, and saw Honor lying beside him. Her lashes lay motionless against her cheeks, her body still.

  These people would pay for hurting his woman. He vowed it.

  It was his last thought before the darkness dragged him under.

  ***

  Honor woke to a jumble of strange voices around her. She frowned. Why the hell did she hurt so much?

  She opened her eyes as tiny slits, hoping to find out where the hell she was. Then she spotted the pirates.

  They wore a mish-mash of clothes and armor that didn’t match. Some of it looked military, while other parts looked like they were off the runways of the central systems. The group were hunched over Colm and Honor’s backpack, staring at the logo Colm had cut off the chair.

  Shit. She moved her hands and realized they were tied behind her back. All her weapons were gone as well. Not good. Where was Colm? Her stomach hardened. Had they hurt him?

  She turned her head a little, and saw him slumped against the wall not far away. His head was lolling forward, and he was bound with laser ropes. Bastards. She could see where the rope was burning into his skin.

  “Ah…you’re awake.”

  Honor looked up. A pirate woman stood above her, wearing dark trousers, red mesh armor on top, and a bright orange sash around her waist. She was older, but fit, her dark hair liberally streaked with gray. She had a pulse rifle resting against her shoulder.

  “I’m Alara. I run this crew. I think you know why we’re here.”

  Honor remained silent.

  Alara gripped Honor’s hair and yanked her head up. “You’ll answer me, girly.”

  A low growl rumbled through the space around them.

  The pirate stiffened and glanced over her shoulder. “He contained?”

  “Yeah.” A young man gave Colm a kick.

  Honor saw Colm’s eyes were open. They were pure gold, no brown to be seen. Hold on, Colm.

  “You want the wreck,” Honor said.

  “No.” Alara laughed, a deep, rolling sound. “We want the treasure.”

  “How did you even know about it?”

  “Everyone has their price,” the pirate woman said. “One of your security team sang for a few pretty e-creds.”

  Honor’s jaw tightened. “Darzan.”

  “Don’t know any Darzan. Pilot by the name of T’kon.”

  T’kon? The co-pilot had always seemed a steady, reliable employee. Honor shook her head, hiding her anger. “Poor sucker. He won’t live long.”

  The pirate leader frowned, cocking her head. “The Institute’s not in the business of killing.”

  “Yeah, not those pussies,” another pirate called out.

  Honor shot Alara a thin smile. “No, but my new boss isn’t very tolerant of traitors or pirates. Or Institute rules.”

  “Boss?” Alara’s frown deepened. “And who would that be?”

  Honor laughed. “You don’t know? Oh, this will be fun.”

  Alara yanked on Honor’s hair again and jerked her head to the side. “When I ask a question, girly, I expect an answer.”

  There was another growl. Colm fought against his ropes.

  “I’m okay, Colm.” Honor tried to keep her voice even. “Calm down.” She looked at Alara. “My new boss is Nera Darc.”

  The pirate woman’s eyes widened.

  Yep, even in uncharted space people knew who Darc was, and were smart enough to be afraid.

  Then Alara’s booming laugh echoed off the ice walls. “Nera Darc? The badass treasure hunter? She wouldn’t be caught dead working for the Institute.”

  “She works for Niklas Phoenix. He’s hers and this is his mission. If he’s threatened…Darc’ll be mighty pissed off.”

  “Bit like this big brute when we hurt you?”

  Worry niggled at Honor. She hated seeing Colm so out of control, knew he’d hate it even more.

  “If Darc is really out there, I think we’ll work to avoid her. So, girly, I think it’s best to lead us to the treasure as fast as you can.”

  Honor shrugged. “The wreck’s down here…somewhere. We haven’t found it.”

  “Well, luckily my very expensive syndroid can detect metal.”

  Damn. It was exactly the kind of tech Honor would’ve brought down, if this mission had gone as planned. “The ice is pretty thick. It’ll make it difficult to get good readings.”

  Alara flashed her metal teeth. “I happen to make a living off difficult.” She nudged Honor with her boot. “Now get up. It’s time to move.”

  Honor climbed to her feet. She started walking, but Alara still gave her another kick, apparently for good measure.

  Behind her, she heard Colm jerking against his bindings. It took four pirates to hold him.

  The syndroid floated into the lead of their unhappy little group.

  They followed the droid through the ice tunnels. A few times they had to backtrack. Once, Alara had her pirates blow a hole right through an ice wall. But Honor got the impression they were going round in circles.

  “Enough!” Alara kicked at an icy stalagmite on the floor. It shattered to pieces. Her gaze zeroed in on Honor. “You work for the Institute. You’re the expert at finding old things. I want you to find it for me, girly.”

  “I don’t know where—”

  Alara slammed a fist into Honor’s belly.

  As the breath rushed out of her, Honor’s training kicked in. She snapped her elbow up, and caught Alara in the chin. As the pirate woman stumbled back, another pirate rushed in. Honor kicked this one in the gut. But two charged her and started to pummel her. With her hands behind her back, she was at a fucking disadvantage.

  Suddenly, she heard screams. She turned. Colm had broken free of the laser ropes.

  He’d gone wild.

  He moved in a blur of speed. He jammed a fist into the face of the pirate closest to him. He turned with a roar and attacked the next pirates.

  Bodies flew into the wall and pirates shouted.

  Honor went to move, but then she felt the cold barrel of a laser weapon at the back of her neck.

  “You talk him down, girly, or I’ll kill you right now. He’ll be next, and I’ll leave your bodies here to freeze.” Alara’s voice was strong and steady.

  Honor nodded. She wouldn’t let Colm get slaughtered like an animal.

  She wouldn’t let the man she loved die.

  With that revelation echoing inside her, she called out. “Colm?”

  No response.

  She pulled away from Alara and stepped closer to him. Her warrior was standing there, chest heaving, his eyes a brilliant glowing gold, assessing the pirates cowering before him. She peered at him, trying to see her warrior in there, somewhere.

  “Warrior?”

  His head turned toward her.

  She wished her hands were free so she could touch him. “It’s Honor. It’s okay. I need you to come back to me.”

  She took another step closer. She could see his hands were flexing. They were covered in blood.

  “Colm. I need you.”

  In the gold of his eyes, she saw a flicker of response.

  He reached out and grabbed her, hauling her to his chest. She heard the pirates protesting, but she ignored them. Colm nuzzled her hair.

  Honor turned her head and pressed her lips against his neck. “I’m here, my warrior.” She rubbed her cheek against him and wished again that her hands were free.

  She felt the tension drain out of him. She pulled back and looked up. The gold was leaking from his eyes, leaving them the warm brown she knew so well. “There you are.”

  “Honor?” His voice was hoarse.

  �
�Yeah.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “The pirates will kill us if you keep fighting. We need to go along with them for now and wait for an opportunity to overpower them or escape.” She pressed her lips to his jaw. Felt a tremor run through him. “Understand?”

  A slight nod. “But if they hurt you again, I’ll end them.”

  She breathed deep, the scent of him filling her senses. They had a mission to complete, but she knew that after this was over, leaving this man would shatter something inside her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Colm was barely holding on to his sanity.

  His nanami were screaming through his body, crazed. His senses were fully expanded. He could hear every noise the pirates were making, even the rush of blood in their veins, and it was driving him mad.

  No. He had to stay conscious. Stay sane. He had to protect Honor.

  Protect his mate.

  He closed his eyes. It felt so right…she made his nanami sing. She made him feel whole and powerful.

  He opened his eyes. His gaze fell on the droid and he saw it pause. It moved toward a narrow tunnel entrance ahead. The pirates paused at the entrance, murmuring amongst themselves.

  Alara nodded her head. “Shank. You go first.”

  One tall pirate with long hair halfway down his back squeezed inside. He had to turn sideways to fit. The droid floated in behind him.

  One of the pirates nudged Honor to go next, and she slipped inside. Colm pushed forward to go in so he wouldn’t be too far away from her. He also turned sideways, and for him, it was a very tight fit. The ice scratched along his skin.

  They moved along the narrow space, the pirates’ lights flashing through the dark tunnel. Then Colm bumped into Honor. She’d stopped.

  She was staring at the wall beside them.

  Artifacts hung, encased in ice.

  “Ooo, lookee here.” Alara jostled forward. “Cut ’em out of there.”

  Colm and Honor were jostled further down the tunnel so the pirates with laser cutters could get in close to the artifacts.

  It didn’t take them long to cut them out.

  “Junk.” One pirate tossed an ancient artifact—what looked like a ceramic plate—over his shoulder, and it hit the ice, shattering into pieces.

  “Crap.” Another one threw what looked like an item of clothing behind her.