by S. J. Bryant
Rain dribbled into Kari's eyes. She blinked, swiping the drops away but more dribbled off her forehead. She'd given up on trying to keep dry. Her clothes were so wet she might as well have gone swimming in the underground lakes of Zenith. Her coat weighed her down, made her slow. Not ideal for a fight. She considered taking it off, but that would mean putting the gun down, or at least being tied up in trying to pull her arms through the wet sleeves. Not worth it.
"Whatever happens," Kari said. "If I go down, you need to run back to Ryker and Atticus. They'll look after you."
"What happened to not trusting them?"
Kari's stomach twisted. Piper was right, but how could Kari explain? Better the devils you know and all that. "Just do what I say. If something happens—"
"Don't talk like that."
"Piper, I'm serious. I have to know you'll be okay."
"I will be, because you'll be with me."
"Piper!"
"Fine. If something happens to you… I will find Ryker and Atticus."
"Good. And just remember—"
A patch of darkness behind Ghost moved and then a flash of lightning lit up the shipyard like high noon. It caught Wren diving across the space between them, her knife slashing through the air, carving droplets of rain in half.
Kari brought her pistol up and fired, blue blasts cutting through the pitch blackness left by the lightning. The blue orbs created bright patches of light that reflected off Ghost's body and the buckles at Wren's waist then were gone.
Kari kept firing, but she'd been too slow and her shots went wide.
Wren collided into her like a solid wall and they both tumbled to the ground. They landed in a puddle and water splashed up in a small wave, drenching them both.
Mud and water dripped into Kari's mouth, leaving the taste and feel of dirt on her tongue. She knocked Wren's blade aside with her gun, but the sharpened edge caught her wrist, creating a fiery line of pain.
Kari scrambled to her feet, brought the gun up, and fired.
Wren dodged, the blast passing over her right shoulder, and lunged forward, taking Kari in the stomach.
Kari landed hard on her back with Wren on top. She squeezed the trigger of her pistol, but Wren knocked the gun aside so the shots went wide. Mud and water soaked through the back of Kari's shirt and clung to her hair.
Wren slashed, the knife like a bright glint of death in the darkness aimed at Kari's neck.
Somewhere in the gloom, Piper let out a strangled cry, but she didn't shoot. Kari couldn't hold that against her. If she'd never shot anyone before… never killed before… that was no small thing.
Kari rolled to the left. Wren's knife passed by her right shoulder, into the mud where she'd been lying.
Gravel and pieces of rock gouged into Kari's sides as she floundered and the cut at her wrist stung as mud and filthy water splashed into it.
She scrabbled well clear of Wren and launched to her feet, already firing. But Wren wasn't crouched on the ground where she'd been a moment before.
Kari spun in tight circles. She didn't dare shoot blindly in case she shot Piper, but where the hell was Wren?
A splash from behind. Kari moved before she'd properly registered the noise. She darted sideways and twisted.
The knife scraped her shoulder. Pain sliced through her flesh and warm rivulets of blood joined the rain that ran down her arm. She shot at the darkness but Wren was already gone, fading into the shadows like some wraith.
"Wren!" Kari said, hoping Wren couldn't hear the fear in her voice. "Get back here and fight me face-to-face."
A chuckle, then the shadow right in front of Kari lunged forward, resolving into Wren's grinning smile. She snatched hold of Kari's shoulders and pulled her in close so that their foreheads rested against each other. "Can't get much more face-to-face than this."
Kari tried to speak but Wren's sudden appearance had nearly choked her and all she managed was a strangled squeak. She tried to bring the gun up, but Wren was already moving, knife already stabbing.
Kari staggered backward to avoid being skewered through the gut. Her foot caught in a small hole dug by the rain and she stumbled, falling.
Wren lurched after her, knife out.
Kari's stomach jumped as she fell backward, landing hard on the muddy ground.
Wren fell on top of her, knife swinging.
A crash of thunder rumbled overhead, drowning out a strangled cry that might have been Piper. Kari didn't have time to worry about that now.
She tried to roll out of Wren's way, but the other woman was too fast. She landed hard on Kari's stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs.
Wren's left knee landed hard on Kari's wrist, pinning it to the ground, along with her gun. Wren drove the knife toward Kari's throat but Kari managed to snatch it, inches from her neck.
Rain splashed into Kari's eyes and a flash of lightning split the sky, turning Wren into a black silhouette and leaving the image imprinted on the backs of Kari's eyes.
Kari strained, arm shaking, but Wren was stronger. It was only a matter of time before the knife pricked her skin, and then what?
"Why are you doing this?" Kari said through clenched teeth. She couldn't really afford to waste energy talking, but on the other hand, she was running out of options.
Over Wren's shoulder, Kari could see Piper. She had the gun held out in front of her, aimed at Wren's back. Her hands shook so violently that the gun wiggled from side to side as if possessed. But she didn't fire. Given how much the gun was shaking, Kari figured that was probably a good thing. Piper was just as likely to hit her as she was Wren. And even if she did hit Wren, the power of the plasma bolt would probably drive right through and turn Kari's insides to slush as well.
"Orders." The chords stood out in Wren's neck as she bared her teeth and pushed down on the knife.
"And here I thought we were getting along."
"We were."
"So?"
"So what?" Wren said.
The knife inched closer and the very tip of it bit into Kari's flesh with a hot sting. Just a few more inches and it would sever her carotid artery. "Didn't that mean anything?"
"You know what I am."
"But I thought we had something… more."
Wren grinned, her teeth reflecting the blue light of Kari's pistol which lay useless in her hand, pinned beneath one of Wren's knees. "Are you coming on to me?"
Kari strained to pull her arm free, or even to twist her hand enough that she could point the gun at Wren's chest, but she was trapped, hand half buried in mud.
"The job is the job," Wren continued. "Atoms to atoms."
This was it. Everything Kari had fought for, finally getting Piper back, and for what?
Kari strained to get free, to move away, but Wren was as inexorable as gravity. Kari drew on the last of her strength and hissed between bared teeth. "Don't. Hurt. Piper."
Wren nodded. "Your wish is my—"
A deep boom sounded through the darkness and an orange light flashed. A bright ball of plasma slammed into Wren's shoulder, knocking her backward.
Kari drew a strangled breath—the first full breath she'd had since Wren landed on top of her. Her thoughts cleared and she sprang up, gun firing.
The blue plasma blasts joined the orange ones shooting out of the distant darkness, lighting up Ghost and the surrounding area.
At first Kari thought it was Piper shooting, but then she saw Piper only a few paces away, huddled against Ghost's hull, shivering. The gun was gone from her hands and it looked like she was crying although it was hard to tell through the rain.
Kari only allowed herself a second to glance at Piper and then kept firing toward the shadows where she'd last seen Wren, but there was nothing there.
She fired off into the surrounding darkness. Nothing. She risked taking her flashlight from her belt and shining it at the deepest shadows. No one except Piper.
The mud at Kari's feet had been churned up by her and Wren's struggl
e, and a few feet beyond that was a deep divot where Wren must have landed. Shallow footprints led away from it; impossibly shallow given the soft mud, but Wren had a knack for that.
A red smear stained the mud inside the divot but the rain was quickly washing it away.
Kari squinted at the blackness and cursed. Wren was gone. She turned and went to Piper, wrapping her arm over Piper's shivering shoulders. "Are you okay?"
Piper nodded, staring numbly at the darkness. "What happened?"
"Wren—"
"We saved Kari's life. Not that she'll thank us."
Kari scowled as she turned on the two figures who emerged from the darkness into the circle of Kari's flashlight. She'd figured it out as soon as she'd seen Piper huddled beside Ghost. Who else would voluntarily enter the middle of a firefight? Ryker of course.
"I told you to leave us alone," Kari said. She hated herself for being cold, but it was better than seeming grateful.
"Yeah, you're welcome," Ryker said.
"Are you both okay?" Atticus said. "I have a few medical supplies on board—"
"No," Kari said. "We can't risk going back. Not until we're sure it's safe."
"You're bleeding," Ryker said, nodding at her shoulder and wrist.
Kari had completely forgotten until he mentioned it, then both wounds stung with fierce intensity. "Just scratches." But she and Ryker both knew that if Wren had put poison on her knives—which she often did—then the chances of Kari surviving the night were less than zero.
"We shouldn't stay out here," Ryker said. "You know she won't go far, and she won't give up."
"There's not supposed to be a 'we'," Kari said.
"Yeah, well. You can get rid of us when you've convinced us that you're okay and Piper stops looking like she's seen a ghost."
Kari glanced at Piper's pale face and blue lips. She was still shaking but she seemed better in Ryker's company. Why? Why couldn't she—Kari—be enough? It had always been enough when they were children.
"Come on," Ryker said. "Even this planet must have bars. We'll get a warm drink and plan our next move."
"Fine," Kari said.
She pulled Piper away from Ghost and joined Atticus and Ryker as they trudged across the shipping yard toward the bright lights of the city.
Wren would still be watching. Kari could feel her eyes on the back of her neck like a physical force. But then… Ryker had shot her at relatively close range with a plasma blaster. Perhaps she wouldn't survive the night?
For some reason, the thought didn't make Kari feel much better.
CHAPTER 8
Kari trudged behind Ryker, wrist and shoulder throbbing.
They pushed through the rain-washed streets, following the distant sound of music that floated above the drum of raindrops. They rounded a corner and came upon a flat single-story building with warm lights pouring out of every window. The music got louder, making the windows vibrate and sending the rain bouncing across the sheer glass.
Ryker pushed open the door and a cacophony of noise washed into the street, followed by a flood of light so bright compared to the darkness that it made Kari squint.
She followed the others into the bar, and it was like walking into a warm blanket. A wall of heat surrounded her, tangible even through her drenched clothes which clung to her skin and dripped a puddle onto the floor beneath her.
Conversation at nearby tables stopped as the customers turned to stare.
Heat crept up Kari's neck and across her cheeks. The four of them probably looked like a pack of drowned rats, and she the worst of them with blood pouring down her shoulder and dripping across the floor.
"Hey, you lot. We don't want any trouble." A thin man pushed through the tables from the bar. He clutched a white cloth in one hand that he flicked at them as he spoke.
Ryker grinned and held up his hands, away from the guns at his hips. "Neither do we, we're just travelers that got caught in the rain, in need of a good drink."
The barkeeper scowled. "Well take that table in the corner. And you'll be mopping up that mess you've traipsed in." He waved the towel at the puddles and streaks of water.
"Of course," Ryker said, leading the way to the table.
Kari tried to hold her head high, but she didn't feel much pride. Her shoulder hurt, her wrist stung, and she couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal. Piper didn't look much better. She was hunched over, her chin near her chest, and she hadn't said anything since they'd left Ghost.
Despite being on another planet—in another star system no less—the people at the tables didn't look so different to those Kari knew from Zenith, although these were perhaps slightly better dressed, and definitely more tanned. Most people on Zenith had a sickly, pale color because they couldn't risk going out in the sun.
The people watched Kari and her companions go past with raised eyebrows. They moved out of the way—perhaps to avoid getting splashed, perhaps out of fear. But they didn't look dangerous. Whatever kind of bar they'd walked into, it wasn't a dangerous, seedy place for mobsters and people up to no good. Something to be grateful for.
Kari sat at the table, the seat comfortable enough. The warm glow of the bar continued to soak through her clothes and she didn't feel quite so pathetic. Still, it would have been better if she was back on board Ghost, in her own quarters, with dry clothes and the privacy to let her mask slip.
"Right, so what do you want?" the barman said.
Ryker continued to sport his grin. It had gotten him out of more trouble than Kari could keep track of. She couldn't believe some of the things he'd managed to talk his way out of, just with his words and that smile. "I don't suppose you take tokens?" Ryker said.
The barman's scowl returned. "What are tokens?"
Ryker held up a small silver chip—the currency in the Raxis system.
"Bah!" the barman said. "I don't know what kind of scam you're trying to pull, but we don't accept fake currency here. Good old Ryevo coins, or nothing."
Ryker flicked his wrist and the token seemed to vanish. "My good man. Like I said, we're travelers. We haven't had a chance to pick up any… Ryevo coins… but there must be something we can trade."
"Does this look like a market? If you've got no money you have to get out and stop making a mess of my bar."
Kari's heart sank. He couldn't kick them out now. She was finally starting to feel warm on the inside as well as the outside and her clothes were drying. It wasn't their fault they'd come from another system and hadn't had a chance to see if there was some kind of currency exchange. The thought of going back out into the cold and the rain was enough to make Kari's legs shake.
"What about this?" Atticus said. He pulled a small metal disk and a ball of glass, about the size of his thumb, from his pocket.
"What's that supposed to be?"
Atticus placed the metal disk on the table, gave the glass ball a slight squeeze, and then placed it on top of the disk. The glass ball burst into life, giving off a flickering orange light like that of a candle. It also shot up, away from the disk, and then hovered several inches above the table, continuing to glow.
The device had caught the attention of people at nearby tables, who leaned closer to get a better look.
Even Kari had to admit the little thing was impressive. Of all the things Atticus could have taken from Ghost, he'd chosen that?
The bartender leaned forward, mouth open, then snapped back and shrugged. "It's a nice enough trinket."
"Worth a few drinks, I'd say," Atticus said.
"Maybe. Of the cheap stuff."
"Make it middle-line stuff, and throw in a few coins in change," Atticus said.
"Are you trying to send me broke?" The bartender threw his arms wide.
"Just trying to get a drink."
"Fine. But you're not getting more than ten coins."
"And how many drinks would that buy us normally?" Atticus said.
"Four cheap drinks, or one expensive one."
"Not much then."
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"That's the deal."
Atticus raised an eyebrow toward Kari, as if asking her opinion.
She shrugged. "It's yours to trade or not as you like."
Atticus grinned and turned to the barman. "Deal."
The barman scooped the device off the table and carried it to the bar where he set it up on the end of the bench and beamed at the bobbing light.
"You didn't have to do that," Ryker said.
"Hah!" Atticus said. "Please, give me a few light bulbs and a couple of magnets and I could have a dozen of those going. Probably in different colors too."
"You are full of tricks," Ryker said.
"You should see me when I haven't been hiding in the rain from an assassin."
The bartender returned with a tray, four glasses of amber liquid, and a handful of coins that he dropped in the middle of the table. "Now, I know how much money you have left. So once you finish these, you either spend those coins, or you get out."
"Understood," Ryker said, giving a casual salute.
Kari took the glass in front of her and lifted it to her lips. It looked like beer, but it smelled like lemon. She took a tentative sip and wrinkled her nose.
"It's bitter," Ryker said, swishing it around his mouth.
"Not like anything I've had before," Kari said.
"Ah, good old citrion hops," Atticus said. "It's amazing. I've never found any two systems that had the same beer."
"I don't know if I like it," Ryker said. "Give me sweet Zenith beer any day."
"It'll grow on you," Atticus said.
Piper hadn't touched hers. She was hunched in the corner, gazing into the middle distance.
"Piper," Kari said. "Have a drink. It will warm you up."
Piper reached out and drank mechanically but otherwise showed no emotion.
"Right," Ryker said. "Now would you like to tell us what the hell you were thinking?"
Kari almost spat out her drink. She hadn't been expecting the venom in Ryker's voice. "What?"
"What were you thinking? Were you trying to get us all killed?"
"Of course I wasn't."
"Well I know you're not stupid, so you must have had some kind of plan."
