Entry Visa (The Department of Homeworld Security Book 5)

by Cassandra Chandler

  “I love you, too.” She squeezed his hand, giving him the brightest smile he’d ever seen.

  His heart was thundering in his chest. “Does that mean the same thing—”

  She leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were like velvet. She ran her tongue across his mouth and he opened himself to her, met her in a dance that they’d been practicing all day, but seemed to have reached a new level with this. They were in love.

  When she ended the kiss, she said, “It means I dream about you, too. I think about you. I wonder what you’re doing, what you’re thinking. I sleep with the fruitcake you gave me under my pillow every night.”

  He arched an eyebrow and smiled. “Okay, that does sound a little stalker-y. And messy.”

  “It’s in a stasis pod, so it’s not messy.”

  “I guess that’s a good thing.”

  She let out a short laugh. “And I don’t know what ‘stalker-y’ means.”

  “It’s not a real word. And I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It’s someone who has an unhealthy attachment to another person. They follow them around, which we call stalking, because they want something from them. Recognition, control, to make them afraid—”

  Vay’s eyes widened suddenly. She dropped his hands and leapt to her feet. “Where’s my uniform?”

  “Behind the couch.” Henry rose as well. Something in the intensity of her movements made his stomach sink. He grabbed his own clothes and started dressing as quickly as he could. “What’s going on?”

  She was already slipping the silver material on, not bothering with her undergarments. “I have to go.”

  “Is it because the sun is setting? If we go to Craig and Barbara—”

  “That’s where I’m going.”

  “Then I definitely need to go with you.”

  “No, you have to stay.” She stopped and looked around, her eyebrows furrowing as she let out what sounded disturbingly like a groan of despair. “But it isn’t safe for you here, either.”

  He’d finished putting on his clothes and ran to the door. His boots were still wet, but he started putting them on anyway.

  “Vay, you’re freaking me out. What’s happening?”

  “Scorpiians are sometimes smugglers, too. They’re known to trade in forbidden items of high value.”

  “Like a space black market?”

  “I’m unfamiliar with that term.”

  “Forget it.”

  She pulled on her gloves and checked the ring of metal around her neck that housed her helmet. Then she powered up the wristband attached to her uniform.

  Henry’s fear intensified. He pulled on his coat and grabbed the scarf that Craig had made him—from his own fur—then hesitated for a moment. All the hair on Henry’s arms suddenly stood on end and his stomach seemed to turn to a chunk of ice in his middle.

  “Craig told me that his pelt can be used as an ultimate cloaking device, even if he’s not in it,” Henry said.

  Vay froze. Slowly, she looked over at him.

  “You tracked the Scorpiian here. To this area. It isn’t…” He could barely force out the words. “It isn’t after them, is it? Craig and Barbara?”

  “Henry…”

  That was all he needed to hear. He threw open the door, wrapping the scarf around his neck as he ran toward their ship. He could hear Vay’s footsteps behind him.

  “You can’t know for sure,” he said, between gasps.

  Vay wasn’t winded at all. “I tracked the Scorpiian to your cabin. I didn’t understand why it was interested in you, but if it’s trying to get close to the Lyrians, using your appearance would be a perfect way to do it.”

  It must have been watching them—watching their ship. How had it even known where to look?

  Craig had said he’d been watching Henry. Maybe Craig wasn’t always using his ability to conceal himself while doing so. Henry said a silent prayer that it wasn’t his fault that the Scorpiian had found them—that it wasn’t his stupid hunt for Bigfoot.

  By the time they reached the area where the ship was hidden, Henry had a stitch in his side that made it hard to breathe. He stumbled to a stop, bent double and wheezing. The sun had almost set, and the forest was dim.

  “Henry.” Vay’s voice was tight and high.

  He’d forgotten for a moment that Craig and Barbara hated Sadirians. They might attack Vay on sight.

  She must be terrified. But she had come with him anyway, to help his new, very weird surrogate family. Even though she’d been trained to mistrust Lyrians, she was there for him.

  And she had good reason to be afraid.

  As she put her hand on his back, Barbara’s booming voice came from above them.

  “Get your hand off my nestling, Sadirian.” Barbara crashed to the ground in front of them, all four fists pounding into the earth, scattering the snow around her. “If you want to keep it attached to your arm.”

  Standing, she puffed out her chest. Henry hadn’t noticed in the ship, but she was a good foot taller than Craig. And broader. All the spines on her body were standing straight out, quivering, which made her look even bigger—and a hell of a lot more menacing.

  Henry managed to straighten himself and get between them. “This…is…Vay,” he gasped. “She’s…a friend.”

  “Sadirians don’t have friends,” Barbara said.

  “They have…bondmates.” His breath was finally slowing, though his heart still raced. “She’s mine.”

  Barbara’s eyebrow ridge rose, her mouth falling open—her mouth with its rows and rows of sharp teeth. It was a strangely human expression, especially considering her barely-humanoid countenance.

  Gradually, the menace seeped back into her features. She closed her mouth, leaning forward and sniffing the air. Long, deep breaths. Then she pulled back and laughed.

  “I should have smelled it on you,” she said. She waved one of her arms at Vay dismissively. “Those uniforms make it difficult to perceive. Stars, Henry, how did you bond with a Sadirian? And why didn’t you tell us before? We wouldn’t have spoken so freely about them in front of you.”

  “I didn’t know what she was,” Henry said. “I just knew that I loved her.”

  Barbara snorted at Vay, scowling.

  “I love him, too,” Vay said.

  The corner of Barbara’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile, but it had taken an hour before she’d looked at Henry that way after they’d met.

  “This is all happening really fast,” Henry said. “Ridiculously fast. But we don’t have time to…take our time.”

  “Nestling, you’re not making sense.”

  “There’s a Scorpiian in the area,” he said. “It’s been in my cabin. It can take my form.”

  He looked around, hoping that Craig would appear. Maybe jump down from a tree or just de-cloak himself and yell, “Surprise!” But Henry knew from the sick feeling in his stomach that neither of those would happen.

  He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath and letting it out.

  “Barbara, where’s Craig?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Despite Vay’s utter terror of the Lyrian a moment ago, now she felt nothing but sympathy. She couldn’t imagine how she would feel if she faced a similar circumstance.

  “He went for a walk shortly after you left.” Barbara looked off in the direction of Henry’s cabin.

  Vay shook her head. “We didn’t pass him on our way here. Is there a way you can track him?”

  “He’s my mate. Of course I can.” She sniffed the air again, turning in a slow circle, then pointed. “This way.”

  Then she was off, and Vay’s focus was on keeping up with her—and making sure Henry could as well. As the Lyrian—Barbara—pulled ahead, Vay realized they could just follow the giant trail Barbara was leaving behind in the snow.

  “Don’t we need…a plan or something?” Henry said, wheezing between the words. “Damn. I need…to work out more.”

  “I have a plan.” Barbara looked back at Vay briefly ove
r one of many shoulders. “You protect your mate. I’ll protect mine.”

  Vay nodded, hope mingling with dread within her. Barbara was accepting her. They would probably help Vay escape the Coalition—if they all survived this encounter. She was determined to make that happen.

  “Go ahead,” Henry said. “Vay, help her. I’ll…catch up.”

  “It isn’t much farther, nestling. The scent is getting stronger.”

  With that, Barbara vanished from sight. The trail she was making remained clear for a while longer, but then it stopped. A nearby tree shook, snow dropping to the ground beneath it.

  Vay slowed down, then held out her arm to stop Henry. He bent over again, his breath fogging the air. He lifted the Lyrian scarf to his face to breathe through.

  “We’re close,” she said.

  “Whatever training they put you through, I need some of it.”

  She smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “After we’re through this and I’m free of the Coalition, I’d be happy to help you get in shape.”

  His eyes widened and he dropped the scarf away from his mouth. “You’re going to ask them? You’ll stay?”

  “I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay on Earth, but I want to be with you.”

  He nodded. “We’ll make it work. As soon as we save Craig.”

  She took his hand and pulled him along, following the signs of Barbara’s passage through the trees. It didn’t take long before they found another trail—the large tracks of a Lyrian walking with a smaller, human-sized being.

  “It took my form,” Henry said. “Craig’s guard is down. He doesn’t know it isn’t me.”

  They quickened their pace again. Vay’s wristband let out a warning buzz that she felt more than heard.

  “Henry, my proximity sensor is going off.”

  “Proximity to what?” He kept moving forward, following the trail.

  Vay grabbed his arm, but it was too late. She felt the tug of the gravity net just as Henry flew off his feet, pulling her with him. They hit the center of the energy web, hanging ten feet off the ground, unable to move.

  “I don’t see anything,” Henry yelled. “What’s holding us up?”

  “A gravity net. The Scorpiian must have set traps.”

  There was a snowdrift below them. If she could deactivate the field, they shouldn’t be hurt from the fall. But she had no way of reaching her wristband. And even if she could, she didn’t know what to aim it at to destroy the field.

  Lights flooded the trees around them, casting odd shadows on the ground as the sun finally set. One of the shadows moved toward them, long and spindly. She expected to see a Scorpiian—gray skin and huge black eyes. Instead, Henry stepped out from behind one of the trees.

  Except not Henry.

  “They’ll throw anything in a uniform and call it a soldier these days,” it said.

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. To hear an insult in the same soft voice that had whispered in her ear, had told her she was loved… She wanted to get away from it, but she was held fast.

  “You’re not even wearing your helmet.” It shook its head. “Honestly, I’m tempted to just throw you back into the wild. ‘Catch and release’, as the Tau Ceti say. But you caught me at a bad time and I still need the human for bait.”

  It pulled a control disk from its pocket and tapped a few commands. Many of the trees around them vanished.

  “Vay, what just happened?” the real Henry said.

  “Holograms. Scorpiians deal in illusions and misperceptions.”

  “Right.”

  Instead of being deep in the forest, they were in a large clearing. A small shuttle was parked in the center of it, all jarring angles and odd isometric forms. For a species that could assume almost any form they wanted, the Scorpiians placed little value on appearances.

  “Vay…”

  She looked over at Henry. He was staring across the clearing, eyes glittering with unshed tears. She followed his gaze—and wished she hadn’t.

  A Lyrian was suspended between two massive trees. All of his arms and legs were pulled straight away from his body. His head listed against his shoulder, though, and his eyes were closed.

  “Craig,” Henry said.

  The Scorpiian paced in front of them. “Where is the female?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “Henry, don’t.” Antagonizing it would only get them both killed sooner. She didn’t believe for a moment it would really let them go.

  The Scorpiian shook its head, then lifted the disk again. It pressed another control, and this time a burst of silver energy shot out from it. One of the trees behind them exploded in a shower of heat and light.

  “Sooner or later—and I’m betting on sooner—she’ll show up and get caught in one of my traps. Nothing can run, leap, slither, or fly into this clearing. Trust me, I’ve thought of all the angles.”

  It was overconfident. Vay didn’t even see a weapon on it—just the control disk in its hand.

  She needed to distract the Scorpiian—to keep him talking while they figured out what to do. Barbara had to be close, and Vay had seen for herself that Lyrians weren’t the berserk beasts the Coalition had always described. If Barbara was watching and coming up with a plan, Vay had to get her more time and information.

  “I don’t doubt it,” Vay said. “With all the forms you’ve probably taken.”

  It shrugged. Its face matched Henry’s, but the expression was completely wrong. Cold efficiency. Henry radiated warmth.

  “You have the nets to catch things that just walk or run,” Vay said. “And I’m guessing nothing’s getting in from above either.

  “You’re stalling.”

  “I’m a cultural programmer. I’m interested in learning more about your ways, especially since you have a unique understanding of what different beings are like.”

  “Where is the female?” the Scorpiian said.

  Vay ignored it. “What about burrowers? Lyrians have a lot of arms. They’re big, but I bet they can dig pretty well.”

  He punched a few more commands into his control disk, then glanced at his ship.

  His ship…

  She looked around the clearing and didn’t see anything big enough to create the kinds of energy fields he was describing. She doubted he would bother with setting up a portable cloaking generator. Scorpiians didn’t usually stay in one place for long. Which meant everything was probably being controlled by his ship.

  “So you didn’t have that covered?” she said.

  “Vay, maybe don’t help the guy out?” Henry whispered.

  “I don’t really think Barbara could burrow into here.” Vay said the Lyrian’s name louder than the other words, hoping to draw her attention.

  “Now I have a name,” the Scorpiian said.

  “You’re welcome.” Vay nodded toward the ship. “And you should also thank me for letting you know to add the seismic sensor to all the other traps being generated by your ship.”

  A furrow appeared between the Scorpiian’s eyebrows. She hoped he wouldn’t pick up on her weird emphasis.

  “Make this easier on everybody and tell me where she is.” The Scorpiian started edging away from them, moving closer to Craig. It knew something was up. “Maybe I’ll let you go with mindwipes.”

  Vay heard a loud creaking noise, like the wind pushing against the trees. But the air was still.

  She smiled, and said, “I think you’ll be letting us go regardless.”

  One of the largest trees Vay had ever seen came crashing down through the clearing, landing right in the center of it. Barbara rode it down, holding on to the massive trunk with all four arms. It landed right on the Scorpiian’s ship.

  The gravity net failed. Vay and Henry fell to the ground, landing in the soft snow.

  The Scorpiian was on the other side of the tree, its eyes wide as it held its hands up toward Barbara. If it tried to run, Barbara would pounce, and he was well inside her range of attack.


  “I’m sure we can work out a deal,” it said.

  It looked at the sparking wreckage of its ship as Barbara rolled the giant tree trunk back and forth, crushing the vehicle further. Vay doubted the Scorpiian had a backup vessel. From the look on Barbara’s face, she doubted he would need one soon.

  “Take off my nestling’s face before I do it for you,” Barbara growled.

  The Scorpiian immediately started to glow. Its features shifted, for a brief moment appearing as its natural form—all long limbs and gray skin, with huge black eyes. Then it thickened and changed, the glow fading until Vay was looking at…

  “Eric?”

  The Scorpiian ignored her. This was definitely the same one that Eric and Sorca had dealt with, though.

  “I have resources.” Its voice had deepened to match Eric’s, as well. “This doesn’t have to end in violence.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” Barbara said. She gestured toward Vay and Henry with one of her arms. “Find Craig.”

  Then she turned back to the Scorpiian, baring her teeth. “This doesn’t have to end in violence. But it will.”

  The Scorpiian started to glow as it lifted its arms to fend off her attack just as Barbara pounced.

  Vay might not have been a model soldier, but she knew how to follow orders. She also knew that she did not want to see what was about to happen to that Scorpiian. She almost felt sorry for it.

  “Come on.” She grabbed Henry’s hand and pulled him up. “We have to get to Craig and make sure he’s all right.”

  Henry nodded, running behind her as they made their way around the clearing’s edge. Craig had fallen as well when the gravity nets failed. He lay still in a pile of snow that was almost the same color as his fur.

  “No, no, no…” Henry ran to Craig’s side, tugging on one arm to try to roll him over. Craig was so heavy, he didn’t budge.

  Suddenly, the Lyrian shot up from the snow. “I’m awake.”

  Henry lost his balance, tumbling onto the ground. Which left the Lyrian blinking at Vay, looking disoriented.

  “I’m his mate,” she yelled.