by Sadie Carter
“What?” she snarled.
“Scared of a little mud?” he taunted, holding out his hand to her.
No way was she letting him help her. “Fuck off.”
“Tut-tut. Language.”
“Rye, be nice,” Willa scolded, holding out her hand for Elika to take.
“Does he even know how?” She ignored Willa’s hand and pulled herself up.
“You two shouldn’t be out here alone,” Rye told them.
Elika noticed that he was wrapped up in a thick coat and wore a hat as well.
Willa rolled her eyes. “We weren’t going to wander off. We just wanted some fresh air. A break from the testosterone overload inside.”
Testosterone? Was that some sort of gas?
“Is there a gas leak?”
Both Rye and Willa stared at her, and she wished she’d kept her mouth shut.
“Testosterone? Is it a gas?”
Willa snorted. “Not quite. Although those that have it in abundance are definitely full of gas at times. Testosterone is a hormone men have a lot of.”
“Ah.”
“Too much of it turns them into overprotective, bossy idiots.”
Rye raised an eyebrow. “That so? Darac ordered you to stay inside, didn’t he?”
“Darac can kiss my white ass. He’s been throwing out the orders left, right, and center. I’m over it.”
“He doesn’t like the fact that he can’t come with us,” Rye told his sister.
Darac had insisted on coming with them to Pikus but had to remain hidden on the ship because they didn’t want anyone to know they were associated with the Zerconians. The last thing they needed is to scare the Coizils off. So they were playing it safe, and Darac had to stay hidden onboard.
Much to his displeasure.
“He’s a control freak. Much like you, big brother.”
“Well, this control freak says that you two need to get your butts inside before they freeze off.”
“I think it’s too late.” Willa rubbed her hands together. “I can’t feel anything below the waist. Is this place always so f-freaking cold?”
“Actually, this is mild. I was here once during the middle of a snowstorm. I was stuck in the tavern for three days until I could get back to the ship.”
“Oh, boo-hoo, poor you,” Willa said.
“It was hideous,” Zuma said, coming up behind them. “I had to cuddle up to two blondes just to keep warm.”
Rye sighed. “Yes, you were so hard done by.”
Zuma shrugged. “Hey, if you’d rather cuddle up to Deacon and Steele that’s your issue, big bro. I’ll take a curvy, plump female companion or two any day.”
“Zuma is a man-whore,” Willa explained.
Elika gaped up at the other man. “Oh, I did not realize. I thought you were a pilot, not that you made money from sex.”
Zuma scowled down at Willa who burst into laughter. “Willa!”
She took off running into the ship with Zuma chasing after her.
“The coat fits well then?” Rye asked, filling the awkward silence. “I was not certain what size to get.”
“You bought me this?” She touched the smooth buttery leather. The inside of the coat was thick with fur. “It is very warm.”
He shrugged. “Not much need for fur on Zerconia. When we stopped on Lial, I bought a supply.”
Oh. So he had not bought it for her especially. Disappointment rushed through her, and she pushed it back, irritated at herself.
Why should she be disappointed?
“Perhaps I shall go inside. It is very cold out here.”
“Elika, I—”
Suddenly, the ground rocked and with a scream, she found herself falling. Rye caught her and pulled her close to him, wrapping his huge arms around her. She trembled, clutching him tight, terrified that the world around them was falling to pieces. When the shaking finally eased, she still held onto him, unsure her legs could even support her.
“Wh-what was that?” she finally managed to ask.
“Earthquake,” Rye told her. “Pikus has them frequently. You were at the briefing when I spoke about them, weren’t you?”
Probably. She hadn’t paid enough attention, obviously. She’d spent most of those meetings daydreaming. Usually about him. She was not about to tell him that.
“The earth shakes? Why?”
“The locals think it’s because their God is angry with them. But there is some scientific explanation about gas and tectonic plates.”
She gaped up at him. “The planet has gas?”
His lips twitched. “Something like that. It’s not important. If an earthquake strikes again, you need to get under something solid.”
Like him?
That thought stole her attention. Images invaded her mind. Rye over her, his mouth moving over hers, his cock pressing against her. Heat flooded her, her legs trembling for an entirely different reason. The folds between her legs grew wet and warm.
Suddenly, the face morphed from Rye’s to Husan’s. Fear filled her, choking her and she shoved herself away from Rye, nearly slipping over.
“Elika, what is it?” He reached out for her, and she shoved him away.
“Just stay away from me. Just leave me alone.”
Rye stared after Elika in shock as she raced up the ramp as though the hounds of hell were snapping at her heels. What the hell had that been about?
“Jesus, what did you do to Elika?” Steele asked as he walked towards him. “She nearly bowled me over.”
The weapons commander outweighed the slight witch by over a hundred pounds, and he had half a head on her.
“She’s crazy.” Rye didn’t know what the hell her problem was. One moment she’d been cuddled into him, as warm and sweet as a kitten. Next, the claws came out, and she was treating him as though he had some filthy disease. “I still don’t know if we can trust her.”
“No? I feel a bit sorry for her.”
“Sorry for her? Why the hell would you feel sorry for her? She’s a bad-tempered, sour, untrustworthy witch.”
“Not all witches are like Milissa.”
“No? How many decent witches have you met?”
“Elika is only the second one I’ve met, but she seems like one of the good guys to me. She didn’t have to offer to come on this mission, Rye.”
“Maybe she has an ulterior motive.” It had surprised Rye when she’d come up with this plan. He was suspicious, wondering at her reasons for doing this. There had to be some gain for her. The only thing he had been able to think of is that she wanted to garner favor with the Zerconians.
“Can’t think what that would be. Seems a bit lost to me. She’s got no one. You don’t know what that’s like. She’s relying on strangers’ goodwill for everything. Lucy could barely speak the first six months after you rescued her from Husan. Elika was with him a lot longer. If you ask me, she’s got guts.”
Steele was right, Rye hadn’t really thought of it from Elika’s point of view. Shame filled him. Had he grown so cynical that he thought everyone had an ulterior motive? Or was it just Elika that brought out that side of him?
“Anyway, I didn’t come out to talk about the witch. You ready to go speak to Pnir?”
Rye nodded. Oscar Pnir was a sneaky, rich bastard with very little conscience. He also owed Rye a huge favor and Rye was going to cash in. He would get Pnir to contact the Coizils with an offer they couldn’t refuse, luring them to Pikus. They also intended to ask a few questions about the missing human women, see if they could get some leads about where they might be hidden.
***
“You are certain they are in these caves?” Darac asked, pointing at the map of Pikus. Everyone was gathered in the rec room on Betsy.
Rye nudged Zuma, who looked nearly asleep. Zuma yawned. They’d just returned to the ship after spending the last few hours questioning people about the missing human women. The meeting with Pnir had gone as well as could be expected. He had promised to make the call
to the Coizils. Now, it was all in his hands.
Rye just hoped he was right to trust the other man.
Early on Zuma had hooked up with a couple of women. Rye and Steele had continued to buy drinks and bribe whoever they thought might be useful. In the end, it had been Zuma who’d discovered the information they’d been after.
“Yep. Caris and Zilen wouldn’t lead me astray. One of the men guarding the human females is a regular, um, visitor,” Zuma said, glancing over at Willa and Elika.
Willa snorted. “We’re not as innocent as you think. I know you were at a brothel.”
“A brothel?” Elika asked. She shot him a glare then apparently thought better, a blank look covering her face.
Rye didn’t know why he should care what she thought, but he felt the sudden urge to explain. “It’s often the best place to find information. We weren’t there for sex.”
“That’s right. We were strictly there to gather information.” Zuma grinned. “Apparently, this guy likes to talk during sex. He’s been bragging about how rich he’s going to be after his payday comes through.”
“Are you certain you can trust whores? No offense,” she said to Zuma who sat up with a frown.
“What does she mean, no offense?” Steele asked.
“I mean because Zuma is a man-whore. Is that why you can trust what they say? Because they are like you?”
Deacon and Steele laughed as Zuma glared at Willa, who giggled.
“I’m going to kill you, Willa,” Zuma snarled.
Darac pushed himself in front of his mate. “Do not threaten her.”
Zuma stood, with a scowl. “Do you think I’m going to ever live this down?”
“Did I say something wrong?” Elika asked.
Rye looked over at Elika, who appeared to be genuinely upset.
“Shut up, the lot of you,” he snapped. “Darac, sit down, you know Zuma won’t touch a hair on Willa’s head. I know we’re all tired, but we need to focus on what is important. Elika, Zuma isn’t a whore. Willa was joking around.”
“Oh.” She appeared confused. “I understand.”
“Well, he’s not one that gets paid anyway,” Deacon joked.
Zuma rolled his eyes. “Asshole.”
“So we know where the women are. Now we need to decide how to proceed,” Rye told them.
“Do we know how many will be guarding the women?” Darac asked.
“Sounded like there are five all up, but only two men at a time are on guard duty,” Zuma said.
“We have four days to get them out safely before the Coizils arrive,” Darac said.
Rye nodded. “Zuma and I will go scout around. The rest of you get some sleep, and we’ll meet back here in four hours.”
***
“Only one way in and out that I can see,” Zuma said quietly as he moved up beside him. Rye had been watching the entrance to the cave while Zuma scouted around. “They were stupid not to cover their tracks.”
Rye nodded. Their carelessness had made it easier to work out which cave the women were being held in. “But smart enough to choose a cave with only one entrance. There’s one guard at the entrance, that means there is probably one inside with the women.”
“Seems too easy,” Zuma commented.
“Don’t go buying trouble,” Rye said, although his instincts were screaming at him.
“We could take the guards now, go in, and get the women.”
Rye shook his head. “We don’t know what condition they’ll be in. If we have to carry them, we’ll need some help. I’ll call the others in.”
***
“What was the point in us coming along if all we are going to do is sit around on this damn ship and twiddle our thumbs?”
Elika winced as Willa kicked a chair. Personally, she would much rather be safe and warm on the ship than outside in the blizzard that was developing. The ship rocked, and she held onto her chair, remembering Rye’s words about climbing under something solid during an earthquake. But the tremble quickly ended and she let out a low sigh of relief.
Willa didn’t even seem to notice as she continued to grumble. “Chauvinistic, ignorant Neanderthals. Just because they have a penis, they think they know what’s best for us?”
Elika blocked out her mumbling, she didn’t understand half of what it meant anyway. What was a dickhead? Were there people with heads shaped like a penis? Elika shuddered, not wanting to think about that possibility.
Suddenly, the door slid open, and Deacon entered. He and Darac had remained behind to guard Willa, Elika, and Betsy. “There’s a problem. They need you.”
“See! I knew it. I knew they would need us.” Willa stepped forward, her eagerness clear. “What do they need? Wait, I just need to grab my warm clothes.”
Deacon shook his head. “Not you, kid. Her.” He pointed at Elika.
Oh, Goddess.
***
Elika followed Deacon, trying to keep her teeth from chattering in the cold. It felt like they’d been walking forever when she knew it had been less than twenty minutes. But this was the first time she’d ever tried to walk through snow, and it wasn’t easy, even with the weird attachments that Deacon had placed on her shoes.
Sweat coated her body, despite how cold she was. She struggled to keep up with Deacon, who had to keep stopping to wait for her.
Suddenly, a larger person appeared from behind a tree. She let out a squeal and both men turned to scowl at her. “Shh,” Rye told her. “Do you want to alert everyone that we’re here?”
“Who? There is no one around. Nobody else is stupid enough to be wandering around in a blizzard. And if you hadn’t appeared out of fucking thin air then I wouldn’t have screamed. I’m about to freeze to death. I’m tired. And I am not in the mood to have you scold me.”
“You’re not in the mood? Listen here, princess—”
“Jeez, the sexual tension between the two of you is hot enough to turn this blizzard into a heat wave,” Zuma commented as he came up behind them.
Rye scowled at Zuma. Then he pointed his finger at her. “Behave.”
“Ooh, I’ll try to remember to be scared.” She should get Willa to teach her some more swear words. She’d need them if she was going to be around Rye more often. He was so frustrating, so annoying.
“What did you need my help with?” she asked.
“It’s inside,” he said stiffly, nodding over at the rocky cliff that rose up out of the ground about half a mile to their right.
“Inside what?” she asked, dread filling her.
“In the cave.”
“Oh, no. I am not going into a cave.”
Rye almost snapped that she’d do whatever he damn well told her to. Then he noticed the way her face had paled.
“The women are inside the cave, at the back.”
“Great. Then go in there and bring them out,” she stated.
As if they wouldn’t have done that if they could.
“We can’t.”
“Why not?”
“There is some sort of force field around them. It’s invisible, but when we try to get close something throws us back. We were hoping you could figure out what it is and disable it.”
She frowned and bit her lower lip. He resisted the urge to reach out and release her poor, abused lip. “I might. But I would have to see it first.”
“Hence why you need to come into the cave with us.”
She remained silent.
“It’s quite a large cave at the back. Larger than your room on Betsy.”
“How far back are they?”
“About quarter of a mile. This cave has been here for hundreds of years. I promise it will not collapse on you now.”
She sent him an impatient look. “I have been on a space ship the last five days. My magic stores are low, and I cannot draw more magic to me when I am inside that cave. I can do some spells, but I am not certain how much help I will be.”
Crap.
Rye ran his hand over his face, t
hinking furiously. “Come and have a look anyway. If we have to come back outside and wait while you do your thing out here, then we will. But we need to get these women out of here.”
She was silent then nodded. “Show me.”
Elika followed Rye through the entrance of the cave. The glow stick he held lit up the insides, but that only served to highlight how small the space was. She had never thought of herself as claustrophobic, but years of being locked up made her dread being trapped in small spaces. She had barely slept these last few days on the ship, only the knowledge that she could open her door at any time had kept her sane.
As she moved through the cave, she worked hard to keep her breathing even. The last thing she wanted was to have another panic attack in front of Rye.
So Elika concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. She kept her gaze on Rye’s back, watching him so she wouldn’t think too much about what she was doing. A rumbling noise hit, and she let out a cry as the ground beneath her feet rocked.
“It’s just a small earthquake.” Rye turned to her.
“I know!” she snapped defensively. She took a deep breath then let it out slowly, her hand on her stomach as she tried to calm herself. “Let’s keep going.”
“Yes, princess.”
She couldn’t be bothered trying to figure out why he’d called her that. It was all she could do to keep her lunch down right now. Fear had almost completely taken her over.
Stay strong, Elika. You’ve survived much worse. You can certainly survive this.
Just as she was wondering if she’d reached the end of her endurance, the walls of the cave opened up, and she entered a large, cavernous room. Rye had been right; this was much larger than her room in the ship. Immediately, the tightness in her chest eased, and she took a few deep, calming breaths.
Once she had herself more firmly under control, she took a look at the space. Deacon and Steele were already here. They’d set lights up around the room. A prone body lay on the ground on one side of the room, not moving. She moved her gaze quickly away, over to the other side of the room where three young women lay slumped together.
“They’re unconscious?” she asked, moving towards them.
“We’ve been unable to rouse them,” Deacon admitted, looking worried. “I think they might be drugged.”
