by Tana Stone
“Do you blame me?” Tori shook her head. “The woman can make herself into just about anything. The last thing I wanted was to crawl into my bunk and realize I was sleeping on Bexli. Or have a conversation with the captain and find out it wasn’t the captain.”
K’alvek’s gold eyes widened. “That would be a surprise.”
“Tell me about it,” Tori said, then let out a breath. “But turns out it’s pretty helpful to have someone who can shift into anything when you’re chasing criminals around the galaxy.”
Holly nudged the security chief. “Even Pog has grown on you.”
Tori shot a look at the green puff hopping around at their feet. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“I do not like waiting,” K’alvek said. “We could be going over the wall ourselves by now.”
The Dothveks behind them made noises that indicated they agreed with K’alvek. After an exhausting journey where they’d all gotten soaked to the bone, none of them liked reaching their target and waiting. It went against all of their warrior instincts.
“We’d be totally outnumbered,” Danica reminded him, tucking her hand in his. “The last thing I want is to have more of us stuck behind those walls. Give Bexli some time. She’ll get it done.”
K’alvek gave a reluctant grunt of agreement. “We will wait, if only because I do not think you can get over the wall, and I would not like to leave you behind.”
Danica leaned into him, savoring the feel of his skin against hers and how it sent pulses of calm through her. She’d learned not to let his energy make her goofy anymore, but she still enjoyed the way it felt. “That’s so sweet and so sexist.”
He furrowed his brow, clearly confused by the word. Although he’d learned her language quickly after removing the temporary translator, some phrases still baffled him. He lowered his head so he could whisper in her ear. “You want to engage in sex now?”
She swatted him playfully and tried to give him a severe look. “No. I said it’s sexist, meaning you think I can’t climb the wall because I’m not a man.”
He shook his head. “I think you cannot climb the wall because you are small and not a Dothvek. I do not think one of your human men could do it, either.”
Tori chuckled. “He’s got you there.”
“Don’t be too quick to laugh,” Caro said, scooping up a nervous Pog and ruffling his fur. “They probably don’t think you could do it, either.”
The smile dropped from Tori’s face as Vrax snorted with laughter behind her. She flipped her sharp, shiny sticks around and slipped them into her belt, planting her hands on her hips and spinning to face the young warrior with loose dark hair that hung loose over his shoulders. “You feel like a race to the top, hot stuff?”
He rose from where he’d been squatting down with several other Dothveks, towering over Tori and grinning down at her. “You wish to challenge me, female?”
Tori visibly bristled at being called a female. “Unless you’re afraid a female will show you up.”
Vrax’s cocky grin disappeared. “I have no fears.”
K’alvek cleared his throat. “There will be no challenges. We are here to find our clansman and rescue their human. You will save your battles for another time.”
Vrax twitched one shoulder up and down and winked at Tori. She let out an exasperated noise and stomped away.
Caro watched her crew mate pace a furious circle. “Someone’s a little stressed about the rescue mission.”
“You know she’s always like this before we go after a bounty,” Holly reminded them. “She stalks around the ship for a day barking at everyone, threatens to put Pog out an airlock a few times, and complains that the ship is too hot or too cold.”
K’alvek eyed the Zevrian. “She is very much like a Dothvek.”
Danica thought her mate might be right about Tori. She had a lot in common with the barbarian warriors, although she wasn’t going to be the one to tell her.
A low rumble made her glance up at the sky. Was there another storm coming? She’d had just about all she could take of rain, especially the blood-red kind, and she’d just as soon not go through another sandstorm. She put a hand up to shade her eyes, since the suns shone brightly in the sky. No clouds, and no sign of an impending storm.
Before she could ask K’alvek what other kind of catastrophic weather his planet had, the rumble grew to a roar. She knew that sound. It wasn’t a storm. It was a spaceship.
“Shit!” Holly clutched her arm. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Are we rescued?” Caro asked, lifting her face to the sky to search for the ship.
Danica felt K’alvek tense beside her, and her own stomach roiled with both excitement and dread. She’d made her peace with staying on the planet with her alien barbarian mate. She couldn’t imagine not being with him, and she definitely couldn’t imagine leaving the planet without him. But she felt sick at the idea of watching her crew leave without her. They were her teammates, her best friends, her family for the past five years. Losing them would be like losing a part of herself. But losing K’alvek would be like cutting out her own heart.
She tightened her grip on his hand, hoping to reassure him. He looked down at her, his expression stricken, and she leaned closer. She didn’t need their mind connection to know his fears. She felt them herself.
“Double shit,” Caro said, her tone grim as she dropped Pog and he ran in circles, yipping furiously.
Holly made a strangled noise, clamping a hand over her mouth.
Danica pulled her gaze away from her mate and saw what had the two women so startled. It wasn’t a rescue ship descending into the atmosphere above them. It was Mourad.
Tori materialized at her side. “What is that asshole doing back here? We don’t have any more ships for him to blow up.”
Danica tried to swallow but her throat was like sandpaper. She had a pretty good idea why their nemesis bounty hunter—the Gorglik who’d damaged their ship and marooned them on the planet in order to remove them as competition—would have returned.
“We still have something he wants,” she said, darkly.
“Max,” Tori said. “He’s here for Max.”
Holly dropped the hand from her mouth. “I guess he finally figured out that Dr. Max Dryden isn’t a male scientist.”
“I’ll bet he’s not happy,” Caro said.
Holly frowned. “That miserable bastard doesn’t do happy.”
K’alvek turned Danica to face him. “This Mourad is bad?”
“Very,” she said, glancing behind her at the Dothvek warriors who’d all risen to their feet and now stood at alert, their hands over their blades and their stance wide. “And dangerous. He and his crew have weapons that make the Cresteks look like they’re shooting with water guns.”
K’alvek’s brows pressed together.
Danica shook her head. There was no time to explain water guns. “The point is we’re outmatched and outgunned. We can’t go head-to-head with them and win. Mourad doesn’t play fair and has no interest in honor.”
K’alvek growled low, and she felt the rumble all the way to her toes. “He wants to take your crew member, Max?”
“Technically our bounty,” Tori said, but adding quickly when Holly glared at her, “but yes, now she’s one of our crew.”
“Then we will not let him take her,” K’alvek said, his eyes scanning his fellow warriors. “We will get her out of the Crestek city and hide her from him. Once we draw him and his crew out to the sands, we will defeat them. Very few can survive for long on the sands. Even fewer when they are being hunted.”
A shiver went through Danica. She wasn’t sure if Mourad would be so easily defeated, but she loved K’alvek for never giving up. She knew he and his warriors would fight to the death to protect her and her friends. It was what terrified her.
Mourad’s ship drew closer, and Danica tugged at K’alvek’s arm. “We shouldn’t let him see us.”
They ran to a nearby outcropping
of rocks and scraggy bushes, kneeling down and taking refuge under the granite overhangs. The Dothveks seemed to blend in as they crouched near the ground, their gold skin the same tone as the sand, and the ridges sweeping out from their spines almost mimicking rocks. No wonder they were such good hunters and so good at stealth.
As she huddled low and felt the hot exhaust of the ship on her back, Danica’s thoughts went to Max and K’alvek’s cousin, Kush—both trapped inside the Crestek city. If they didn’t get them out before Mourad arrived with his weapons and his negotiations, the pair could find themselves being handed off to the vicious bounty hunter for a tidy reward, or a promise not to destroy their city. Danica knew from experience that Mourad used the carrot and the stick in equal measure, depending on his mood.
Unfortunately, she doubted his mood would be very good after the realization that her all-female crew had tricked him. The asshole hated being made a fool of almost as much as he hated women.
No, K’alvek was right. The only chance Max had of not ending up in one of Mourad’s dank cells was if they could get her away from the Cresteks and hide her. And then convince Mourad that she was killed or died in the desert.
The knot in her gut hardened. As far as plans went, it wasn’t their best. Mourad was an ass, but he wasn’t stupid, and he wouldn’t take their word—or that of a bunch of primitive aliens—that the bounty was gone. But it was the only shot Max had. But first, they had to get her out of the city.
Come on, Bexli, Danica thought. It’s all on you, now.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kush stared at T’Kar, weighing whether or not to kill him. The Crestek was alone, no guards to back him up. No one else in sight, actually. Kush could probably just knock him out, although when T’Kar woke, his disguise would be revealed. Whatever he did, he’d need to move fast, since the rain had slowed to a drizzle and people would be emerging from inside.
The Crestek tilted his head before dropping his hand from Kush’s arm, his eyes moving smoothly from him to Max. “If you want to get out, you should come with me.”
Neither he nor Max moved, although T’Kar spun on his heel and started walking back the way he’d come. After a few steps, he stopped and twisted his neck around to look at them. “The guards are looking for you. I suggest you come with me before they find you.”
“Wait,” Max said, holding up her palms. “What? Does your father know about this?
T’Kar let out a bitter cough of laughter. “My father? Hardly. My father is the worst of them.”
“I don’t understand,” Max said. “The worst of what? Aren’t you all Cresteks?”
T’Kar let out an impatient breath. “Not all of us believe in hiding behind walls and separating ourselves from our common brethren.” His gaze slid to Kush. “Some of us want to reunite with the Dothvek clan and return to our roots.”
If the Crestek had sprouted wings and started flying, Kush did not think he would have been as surprised. Not only did this T’Kar claim to want to reunite with his people, he apparently knew there was not an agasi underneath the cloak.
Kush searched the male for deception, but found none. Should he trust him? The idea of a group of Cresteks who wanted to return to the sands seemed incredulous, but, then again, he knew little about the Cresteks, except from stories told by his people, none of them flattering. It was possible that not every member of the Crestek city held the same views. It was also possible that this was a trap, and T’Kar was leading them back to captivity.
He didn’t have much time to decide, so he took a deep breath and folded back his hood. “How did you know?”
T’Kar’s mouth twitched up as he took in Kush’s long braid. “I did not sense a Crestek beneath the cloak, and certainly not a submissive agasi.”
Kush registered another shock to his system. “You are empathic? I thought Cresteks had lost that ability generations ago.”
“We did,” T’Kar said, also lowering his black hood, “but there are those among us who have worked to reactivate their ability. It has taken me years of practice, and I suspect my skills are still nowhere close to yours.”
“How long have you known?” Kush asked, fascinated by this Crestek, so unlike any he’d imagined.
T’Kar glanced at Max with a wry smile. “Since the first time I met her and felt your anger when I greeted her. It was the strongest emotion I’d ever sensed. It was why I made sure not to show any interest in the female. I did not wish to have my throat ripped out, as you so clearly imagined doing.”
Kush felt like kicking himself. So much for Dothveks being known for stealth. “Does anyone else know?”
T’Kar gave a curt shake of his head. “Just me. Although there is a small group of Crestek separatists, I did not want to risk it. The excitement at seeing a real life Dothvek might have been too much for them to contain.”
Kush frowned. “Your people send scouts through the rocks often. Have so few of you really seen us?”
“Only soldiers and, as you say, scouts,” T’Kar said, with a small shrug. “Most of our encounters with Dothveks do not result in witnesses left alive.”
Kush felt both a stab of pride and regret.
“This is all really interesting,” Max finally cut in, “but do you think we might be able to speed things up? I, for one, don’t feel like getting caught again.”
“Of course.” T’Kar gave a quick bow. “There is a hidden tunnel that separatists use to get out of the city.”
Kush couldn’t help but be impressed that the Cresteks had rebels, and that the rebels had built a tunnel. He grabbed Max’s hand as T’Kar hurried forward again and they followed.
The alleyways were empty—everyone wisely inside to avoid the blood rains—so they ran easily through the labyrinth of twists and turns, the only sound that of their feet sloshing through the water and the last remaining raindrops splattering on rooftops. Although his sense of direction was excellent, Kush doubted he could retrace their steps, and he had no idea where they were. The buildings rising up on both sides pinned them in and made it impossible to determine how close they were to the city walls.
After a while, T’Kar paused. It appeared they were in the bowels of the city, an area where high-borns probably never set foot. The smells of rubbish mixed with the scent of the rain, making his nose twitch.
The Crestek motioned to a grimy doorway. “Through here.”
Kush could feel Max’s hesitation, her hand quivering in his. If they were wrong and T’Kar was not who he claimed to be, this doorway could lead to something much worse than detention in a luxurious suite. He swallowed a lump of fear in his throat, wishing to the goddesses that he hadn’t led his female into a trap.
“This is the way to the tunnel?” Max asked, not making a move to go through the doorway.
“Yes.” T’Kar glanced furtively around them. “Others like me are waiting to lead you out of the city. I will return to my father and keep up the ruse. He mustn’t know of our existence.”
Again, Kush sensed no deception from the Crestek. But his mind was not trained to sense emotions from his enemy, and Dothveks did not practice deception, so lying was not something he was actively trained to detect.
Max peered up at him, finally shrugging. “What other option do we have?”
Before he could agree with her, a lone Crestek appeared from the other end of the long alleyway. They all froze in place, T’Kar’s mouth falling open as the tall, cloaked male approached with long strides, flicking his fingers through his short, dark hair. Unusually, the tips of his hair were a pale shade of purple.
Max squinted hard. “Bexli?”
The Crestek grinned as his form morphed from that of a huge male to that of a petite Lycithian with a lilac bob. Kush blinked hard several times, and T’Kar staggered back several steps.
Even though he’d seen the shapeshifting member of the bounty hunter crew before, he’d never watched her shift from one form to another. From the shocked look on his face, T’Kar obviousl
y had no idea such a thing as shapeshifters existed.
“How did you know?” Bexli asked, brushing her arms as if she’d merely changed clothing.
“Not many warriors have purple tips to their hair,” Max said. “Or twist their hips when they walk.”
Bexli shook her head. “Bipeds are so tricky. I never get the males right.”
“I was convinced,” Kush said, his heart still racing from thinking they’d been discovered by an actual Crestek.
“Me, too,” T’Kar managed to say, although he stared at Bexli as if she might bite him.
“How did you get here?” Max asked, looking over the female’s shoulder. “Are the rest of the crew with you? Is Holly okay? What about the captain?”
“Everyone’s fine,” Bexli said. “For now, it’s just me. I came over the wall so I could get the city gates open and let in the rescue party.”
Hope flared in Kush’s chest. “A Dothvek rescue party? Is K’alvek here?”
Bexli nodded, folding her slender arms over her chest. “He did not want to stay behind, let me tell you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to climb up the walls after me.”
That sounded like K’alvek. The last time he’d seen his cousin, the warrior had been injured and distraught that Danica might have been killed, so it made him let out a breath of relief that his kinsman was back to his old self. He would be glad to see him again.
“The plan is to open the gates and attack?” T’Kar asked, his face tight. “That won’t work. There are sentries with blasters posted above the entrance. The gate to the city is the most heavily fortified part of the wall. Not to mention, getting to it would take you through the heart of the city.”
“You’ve got another idea?” Bexli asked, then leaned closer to Max. “By the way, who is this guy, and is he on our side?”
“This is T’Kar,” Max said. “He’s a Crestek separatist who’s helping us escape.”
Bexli gave him an approving nod. “A separatist. I like it. It sounds subversive.”
T’Kar straightened his shoulders, clearly pleased to be called subversive. “I do have another idea. A tunnel that will get you out under the walls.” He jerked a thumb toward the door. “We were just about to go in when you found us.”
