by Anna Hackett
She looked at him now, all long, and lean and dark. He had hair as black as her own, but skin far darker. She couldn’t see him in the military. His manner was too…well, she wasn’t sure what, exactly, but he certainly didn’t seem the type to happily take orders.
No, he preferred to be the one giving them.
He shot her a small smile, but it didn’t reach his dark eyes. Those midnight-blue eyes were always…intense. Piercing. Like he was assessing everything, calculating. She found it unsettling.
“I’m already strapped in, Mr. Malik.” She tugged on her harness and raised a brow.
“Just checking. I’m here to make sure you don’t get hurt on this little escapade.”
“Escapade?” She bit her tongue and counted to ten. “We have a map leading to the location of a very valuable artifact. That’s hardly an escapade.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess.” He shot a glance at the window and the unforgiving desert below. “This is a foolish risk for some silly egg.”
She huffed out a breath. Infuriating man. “Why get a job at a museum if you think artifacts are silly?”
He leaned back in his seat. “Because I needed a change. One where no one tried to kill me.”
Kill him? She narrowed her eyes and wondered again just what the hell he’d done before he’d arrived at the Darend.
A chime sounded and the pilot’s voice filtered into the plush cabin of Marius’ starship. “Landing at Kharga spaceport in three minutes. Hang on, ladies and gentlemen.”
Excitement filled Lexa’s belly. Ignoring the man beside her, she looked out the window again.
The town of Kharga was visible now. They flew directly over it, and she marveled at the primitive look and the rough architecture. The buildings were made of stone—some simple squares, others with domed roofs, and some a haphazard sprawl of both. In the dirt-lined streets, ragged beasts were led by robed locals, and battered desert speeders flew in every direction, hovering off the ground.
It wasn’t advanced and yes, it was rough and dangerous. So very different to the marble-lined floors and grandeur of the Darend Museum or the Institute’s huge, imposing museums and research centers. And it was the complete opposite of the luxury she’d grown up with in the central systems.
She barely resisted bouncing in her seat like a child. She couldn’t wait to get down there. She wasn’t stupid, she knew there were risks, but could hold her own and she knew when to ask for help.
The ship touched down, a cloud of dust puffing past the window. Lexa ripped her harness off, trying—and failing—to contain her excitement.
“Wait.” Damon grabbed her arm and pulled her back from the opening door. “I’ll go first.”
As he moved forward, she pulled a face at his broad back. Arrogant know-it-all.
The door opened with a quiet hiss. She watched him stop at the top of the three steps that had extended from the starship. He scanned the spaceport…well, spaceport was a generous word for it. Lexa wasn’t sure the sandy ground, beaten-up starships lined up beside them, and the battered buildings covered with black streaks—were those laser scorch marks?—warranted the term spaceport, but it was what it was.
Damon checked the laser pistols holstered at his lean hips then nodded. “All right.” He headed down the steps.
Lexa tugged on the white shirt tucked into her fitted khaki pants. Mr. Dark and Brooding might be dressed in all black, but she’d finally pulled her rarely used expedition clothes out of her closet for the trip. She couldn’t wait to get them dirty. She tucked her Sync into her small backpack, swung the bag over her shoulder and headed down the stairs.
“Our contact is supposed to meet us here.” She looked around but didn’t see anyone paying them much attention. A rough-looking freighter crew lounged near a starfreighter that didn’t even look like it could make it off the ground. A couple of robed humanoids argued with three smaller-statured reptilians. “He’s a local treasure hunter called Brocken Phoenix.”
Damon grunted. “Looks like he’s late. I suggest we head to the central market and ask around.”
“Okay.” She was eager to see more of Kharga and soak it all in.
“Stay close to me.”
Did he have to use that autocratic tone all the time? She tossed him a salute.
Something moved through his dark eyes before he shook his head and started off down the dusty street.
As they neared the market, the crowds thickened. The noise increased as well. People had set up makeshift stalls, tables, and tents and were selling…well, just about everything.
There was a hawker calling out the features of his droids. Lexa raised a brow. The array available was interesting—from stocky maintenance droids to life-like syndroids made to look like humans. Other sellers were offering clothes, food, weapons, collectibles, even dragon bones.
Then she saw the cages.
She gasped. “Slavers.”
Damon looked over and his face hardened. “Yeah.”
The first cage held men. All tall and well-built. Laborers. The second held women. Anger shot through her. “It can’t be legal.”
“We’re a long way from the central systems, Princess. You’ll find lots of stuff here on Zerzura that isn’t legal.”
“We have to—”
He raised a lazy brow. “Do something? Unless you’ve got a whole bunch of e-creds I don’t know about or an army in your back pocket, there isn’t much we can do.”
Her stomach turned over and she looked away. He might be right, but did he have to be so cold about it?
“Look.” He pointed deeper into the market at a dusty, domed building with a glowing neon sign above the door. “That bar is where I hear the treasure hunters gather.”
She wondered how he’d heard anything about the place when they’d only been dirtside a few minutes. But she followed him toward the bar, casting one last glance at the slaves.
As they neared the building, a body flew outward through the arched doorway. The man hit the dirt, groaning. He tried to stand before flopping face first back into the sand.
Even from where they stood, Lexa smelled the liquor fumes wafting off him. Nothing smooth and sweet like what was available back on Zeta Volantis. No, this smelled like homebrewed rotgut.
Damon stepped over the man with barely a glance. At the bar entrance, he paused. “I think you should stay out here. It’ll be safer. I’ll find out what I can about Phoenix and be right back.”
She wanted to argue, but right then, two huge giants slammed out of the bar, wrestling each other. One was an enormous man, almost seven feet tall, with some aquatic heritage. He had pale-blue skin, large, wide-set eyes and tiny gills on the side of his neck. His opponent was human with a mass of dreadlocked brown hair, who stood almost as tall and broad.
The human slammed a giant fist into the aquatic’s face, shouting in a language Lexa’s lingual implant didn’t recognize. That’s when Lexa realized the dreadlocked man was actually a woman.
A security droid floated out of the bar. Its laser weapons swiveled to aim at the fighting pair. “You are no longer welcome at the Desert Dragon. Please vacate the premises.”
Grumbling, the fighters pulled apart, then shuffled off down the street.
Lexa swallowed. “Fine. I’ll stay out here.”
“Stay close,” Damon warned.
She tossed him another mock salute and when he scowled, she felt a savage sense of satisfaction. Then he turned and ducked inside.
She turned back to study the street. One building down, she saw a stall holder standing behind a table covered in what looked like small artifacts. Lexa’s heart thumped. She had to take a look.
“All original. Found here on Zerzura.” The older man spread his arms out over his wares. “Very, very old.” His eyes glowed in his ageless face topped by salt-and-pepper hair. “Very valuable.”
“May I?” Lexa indicated a small, weathered statue.
The man nodded. “But you
break, you buy.”
Lexa studied the small figurine. It was supposed to resemble a Terran fertility statue—a woman with generous hips and breasts. She tested the weight of it before she sniffed and set it down. “It’s not a very good fake. I’d say you create a wire mesh frame, set it in a mold, then pour a synthetic plas in. You finish it off by spraying it with some sort of rock texture.”
The man’s mouth slid into a frown.
Lexa studied the other items. Jewelry, small boxes and inscribed stones. She fingered a necklace. It was by no means old but it was pretty.
Then she spotted it.
A small, red egg, covered in gold-metalwork and resting on a little stand.
She picked it up, cradling its slight weight. The craftwork was terrible but there was no doubt it was a replica of a Fabergé egg.
“What is this?” she asked the man.
He shrugged. “Lots of myths about the Orphic Priestesses around here. They lived over a thousand years ago and the egg was their symbol.”
Lexa stroked the egg.
The man’s keen eyes narrowed in on her. “It’s a pretty piece. Said to be made in the image of the priestesses’ most valuable treasure, the Goddess Egg. It was covered in Terran rubies and gold.”
A basic history. Lexa knew from her research that the Goddess Egg had been brought to Zerzura by Terran colonists escaping the Terran war and had been made by a famed jeweler on Earth named Fabergé. Unfortunately, most of its history had been lost.
Someone bumped into Lexa from behind. She ignored it, shifting closer to the table.
Then a hard hand clamped down on her elbow and jerked her backward. The little red egg fell into the sand.
Lexa expected the cranky stall owner to squawk about the egg and demand payment. Instead, he scampered backward with wide eyes and turned away.
Lexa’s accoster jerked her around.
“Hey,” she exclaimed.
Then she looked up. Way up.
The man was part-reptilian, with iridescent scales covering his enormous frame. He stood somewhere over six and a half feet with a tough face that looked squashed.
“Let me go.” She slapped at his hand. Idiot.
He was startled for a second and did release her. Then he scowled, which turned his face from frightening to terrifying. “Give me your e-creds.” He grabbed her arm, large fingers biting into her flesh, and shook her. “I want everything transferred to my account.”
Lexa raised a brow. “Or what?”
With his other hand, he withdrew a knife the length of her forearm. “Or I use this.”
The Phoenix Adventures
Among Galactic Ruins
At Star’s End
In the Devil’s Nebula
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Return to Dark Earth
On a Barbarian World
Lost in Barbarian Space
Also by Anna Hackett
Hell Squad
Marcus
Cruz
Gabe
Reed
Roth
Noah
Shaw
Holmes
The Anomaly Series
Time Thief
Mind Raider
Soul Stealer
Salvation
Anomaly Series Box Set
The Phoenix Adventures
Among Galactic Ruins
At Star’s End
In the Devil’s Nebula
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Return to Dark Earth
On a Barbarian World
Lost in Barbarian Space
Perma Series
Winter Fusion
The WindKeepers Series
Wind Kissed, Fire Bound
Taken by the South Wind
Tempting the West Wind
Defying the North Wind
Claiming the East Wind
Standalone Titles
Savage Dragon
Hunter’s Surrender
One Night with the Wolf
Anthologies
A Galactic Holiday
Moonlight (UK only)
Vampire Hunter (UK only)
Awakening the Dragon (UK Only)
For more information visit AnnaHackettBooks.com
About the Author
I’m a USA Today bestselling author and I’m passionate about action romance. I love stories that combine the thrill of falling in love with the excitement of action, danger and adventure. I’m a sucker for that moment when the team is walking in slow motion, shoulder-to-shoulder heading off into battle. I write about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.
My books are mixture of action, adventure and sexy romance and they’re recommended for anyone who enjoys fast-paced stories where the boy wins the girl at the end (or sometimes the girl wins the boy!)
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Website: AnnaHackettBooks.com
