Entropy

by Jess Anastasi

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “My brother?” Cami repeated. Her mouth was working, apparently, but her mind was stumbling over itself. “I don’t have a brother.”

  A hint of sympathy crossed Qae’s features as he held out the comm to her. “According to this, he’s your half brother. A few years older than you.”

  Her heart was drumming as she took the comm and read the message from her father.

  Dareon Zhao. Whoever his mother was, she must have been of a heritage they would have once referred to as Asian on Old Earth. Dareon had her father’s eyes, though. The same as her own.

  Something about his face was familiar. Vague memories of seeing a boy who could have been him at her house several times when she’d been too young to question every visitor her father saw.

  Her parents had only been together for a year when her mom had gotten pregnant with her. At two years older than her, Dareon must have been from a previous relationship. But why hadn’t her father ever told her? Had her mom known about him? Why the secrecy? Part of her wanted to contact her father right now to demand answers. But considering they were about to dock on Lander, contacting Alvar Glaton’s sworn enemy probably wouldn’t win them any favors.

  “How the hell are we going to do this?” she asked, handing the comm back to Qae.

  He eyed her closely. “You just found out you had a secret half brother, and you’re totally calm and fine about it?”

  “Poker face, remember?” She pointed at her expression that was nothing but a blank mask for all the turmoil going on within her. “Besides, what good will freaking out do? I’ll save it for when we’ve got Dareon onboard and I can ask my father what the hell.”

  An intimate kind of smile crossed Qae’s face, as if he was proud and impressed with how she was handling things.

  “This doesn’t change anything,” he told her firmly. “I’m with you all the way.”

  Damn it. This so wasn’t the time, but her feelings for him were pretty much bursting at the seams. Why did he have to be so amazing?

  She grabbed him in for a kiss. Not just a quick, brief peck. But a deep, toe-curling kiss that forced her to remind herself of all the reasons they couldn’t fall back into his bed. Starting and ending with a secret half brother they had to retrieve from Alvar Galton.

  She broke the kiss on an uneven breath and stepped back, putting herself out of reach so she didn’t end up deciding they had time for a quick interlude before anyone noticed they were missing.

  “We’re going to finish that conversation later,” Qae murmured, a heated glint in his gaze.

  Oh, she had no doubt about that. “Come on, we better go tell the others what my father wants us to do.”

  He stepped aside to allow her to go up the stairs ahead of him. When they came back up on the bridge, the atmospheric burn was streaking across the viewport as they entered Lander’s stratosphere.

  Qae stopped next to Rian’s chair. “Blackstone’s file activated.” He held it out and Rian reached up to take it.

  “The thing he wanted us to retrieve is a person?” Rian skimmed the message. “His son? Why the hell didn’t he just say so?”

  “Who knows,” Qae replied, taking the comm back again. “How are we going to play this? Tag and bag?”

  “Depends.” Rian’s single word was thoughtful as they cleared the burn and came out to blue sky. “On if he’s here voluntarily, or if he’s being held against his will.”

  “I’d say that’s a given,” Cami said, which caused both Qae and Rian to look at her. A hint of understanding crossed Qae’s face, but Rian was looking at her with speculation.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “You saw my tattoos. Alvar Galton killed my mother and abducted me when I was twelve years old. He planned to sell me as a pleasure slave, but my father rescued me before that happened. If Galton has my brother, then you can bet he’s here against his will.”

  Rian gave a single nod then turned his attention back to the viewport. “So there’s pretty much no reason why Alvar Galton should still be breathing by the time the sun sets on this crappy rock.”

  Qae exchanged a concerned glance with her. Killing Alvar hadn’t been part of the deal, but she didn’t think her father would exactly be upset if that was the outcome. Except minor problem—considering how many men Alvar had loyal to him, who were probably just as unhinged, there was probably no way for them to kill him and make it out. Especially with those gunnery things strung along the entire outer rim of the system.

  “Let’s just worry about finding the Imojenna and Dareon Zhao before anything else,” Qae replied.

  The ship touched down on the berth they’d been given. Cami wanted to say it was some kind of spaceport, but it looked more like a ship junkyard. Sure, there were ships docked that looked like they were spaceworthy…just. But there were also a lot sitting around in parts, as well as spare engines, hull sections, cables, wires, and all sorts of other things scattered everywhere.

  “It looks like a bunch of ships got drunk and threw up in Galton’s spaceport,” Qae said as Lianna took the Ebony Winter offline.

  “He’s a known psychopath who apparently has a penchant for abducting children,” Lianna said as she spun her chair to face them. “You really think that guy is going to keep a clean house?”

  “Good point,” Qae shot back.

  Through the viewport, armed men came out from among the junk like rats in a sewer, pointing their guns at the ship.

  “Looks like the welcome party has arrived.” Rian stood and pulled out one of his guns, checking the charge pack with brisk, practiced efficiency, before re-holstering it and checking another.

  The Ebony Winter’s ship-wide comm crackled to life.

  “Captain Rian Sherron, come out and bring whatever crew you’ve got with you,” some nameless pirate ordered.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Qae said in a flat voice to Rian as they all started heading for the stairs.

  “When have I ever led you into trouble?” Rian asked, thumbs hooked into the loops on his weapons belt.

  Qae was staring at Rian like maybe that was a trick question, but it was Lianna who answered, “Only all the time.”

  No one else said anything as they tramped down the stairs, leaving Cami to her own thoughts, apprehension building with each step.

  Alvar Galton had held her for a few short weeks. By her estimation, he’d had her brother for at least five or six years, going off the first time she’d heard anything about Galton having something her father wanted back.

  She’d assumed it was a ship, or weapon, or some priceless artifact. But her half brother? Why hadn’t her father tried to do more to rescue him?

  So many questions. And no way to get answers. At least not right now.

  Outside the ship, they came face-to-face with a line of eight men pointing guns at them, a couple of whom looked nervous. Obviously, they were the smart ones. Anyone who wasn’t worried about facing down Rian Sherron was a moron. She had firsthand experience to say that with certainty.

  One of the pirates stepped forward. “Weapons. Toss ’em.”

  Rian unhosltered one of his guns and held it out, grip-first. “You want it, come get it.”

  The thug edged forward, but when he got within reaching distance, Rian clamped his free hand on the guy’s arm and yanked him forward. Straight into a vicious pistol whip. The pirate started to go down, but Rian got arms underneath the guy and held him up as a human shield when the others looked like they were going to shoot.

  “Anyone else want one of my weapons?” Rian asked in a loud voice that carried.

  A few of the pirates glanced at each other, but none of them said anything as they lowered their guns.

  “Good. Now that we understand each other”—Rian dropped the guy he was holding and stepped over him as he holstered his gun—“take us to Alvar Galton.”

  “This way,” one of the pirates offered, motioning them along.

 
; Rian glanced back. “Lianna, Kira, and Ella, stay with the ship.”

  “You’re benching me?” Lianna demanded heatedly.

  “Someone has to watch my ship,” Qae answered before Rian could. “No way am I letting Galton add her to his collection.”

  “I don’t know,” Lianna replied thoughtfully, glancing around the nearby piles of junk. “She fits in here quite nicely.”

  Qae scowled. “If you weren’t such a golden nav, I’d punish you for that. There’d definitely be a whip involved.”

  Lianna shook her head at him in exasperation. “Forster, even if you were my type, you wouldn’t be the one holding the whip in that scenario.”

  He gave a surprised laugh as Lianna turned on her heel and strode back into the ship.

  “Come on, Qaelan,” Rian called out, having already followed the pirate who was taking them to Alvar.

  For a second there, the antics of the crew had made Cami forget the severity of the situation. Her heart skipped a beat, but before the apprehension could really dig in, Qae took her hand, which had the immediate, almost visceral effect of calming her nerves as they trailed after the others to catch up with Rian.

  They left the space-junk port and beyond the city was like nothing she’d ever seen before. Ancient, old buildings had been bombed at some point, but then cobbled back together, interspersed with flimsy looking shacks. People stared at them as they passed. She wasn’t sure if visitors were just that rare, or news about who was visiting—notably Rian Sherron—had spread fast.

  “Did the Assimilation Wars reach here?” she asked Qae.

  “No, we’re too far into the outer systems. I’m guessing it’s the remnants of the old tech war.”

  “Really?”

  Most of what she knew about the tech war was bits and pieces that were more fable than fact. The tech war had happened centuries ago among the very first colonies who’d left Old Earth.

  “Haven’t you heard the rumors that Lander was one of the first colonies?” Qae asked in a low voice. “Some old space rats believe the legend that there’s a star map to Old Earth here somewhere among the rubble.”

  “But it’s just a story, right?”

  Old Earth had been lost to time. No one knew where it was any longer. Only that it was way, way out past the outer systems, even.

  Apparently, it was why humans had taken so long to conquer the galaxy. Because in the region of space around Old Earth, there hadn’t been any other habitable planets close by, and they hadn’t possessed the technology to terraform or travel out of their own system. Considering how many habitable worlds there actually were in the galaxy, not counting the moons and planets that had been terraformed, Old Earth’s isolation had been a huge anomaly.

  “Who knows?” Qae gave a careless shrug. “It would be kind of cool, though, to find Old Earth.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those crazy treasure hunters who are always looking for the impossible things that don’t really exist. Old Earth probably got destroyed in the tech war. Or obliterated by a natural disaster.”

  “I’ve got enough trouble in my life without searching out any more.” He glanced at Rian and she didn’t need it spelled out—Rian was a handful all on his own.

  The road they followed wound upward, and it became obvious they were heading for some gothic-tech manse on the top of the hill.

  “Because that’s not creepy at all,” Jase said from where he was walking next to Tannin in front of them.

  Yeah, it was creepy as hell, but also totally cliché. The psycho pirate couldn’t go against the norm and live somewhere like the regular people?

  By the time they reached the massive rusted gates, her calves were aching and her breath a little shorter. That had been some walk. From here, the jumbled, junked-out, techno-remnant city sprawled out as far as the eye could see.

  Like a lot of the early colonies and Old Earth, once this planet would have been completely overpopulated. Now, it was clear that only the very inner city was actually lived in and used regularly by Alvar Galton’s people.

  The gates grated as they slowly opened, and they walked through a kind of courtyard where people were hanging around while a violent sparring match was going on in a cage at the far end. Others—people with slave tattoos—crossed back and forth with purpose, obviously working.

  Her stomach churning, Cami didn’t let herself look at any of the slaves too closely. That could have been her, if not for her father. It likely had been her brother’s fate.

  They went through another set of double doors that were smaller than the gate, but still huge, and walked through a short hall that opened out into a large room. More people hanging around. A group of pleasure slaves in the far corner pretty much having an orgy with a handful of people. Qae shifted to block her view of them, but she was already turning away, the churning in her stomach making her feel sick.

  Others were taking turns shooting things off the heads of slaves lined up against the wall. One was lying on the floor, blood in a widening pool around his body, but no one moved to help him.

  “This place is a nightmare,” she mumbled to Qae. He didn’t reply, but tightened his hold on her hand.

  At the far end of the room, Alvar Galton sat at a huge table eating real food while the people around him had repli-rations.

  He looked exactly like she remembered, as though he hadn’t aged a day. Despite all the mess and junk, the disgusting specimens of humans and general vileness of the place, Alvar Galton was neat and appeared very self-contained, which surprised her. There was utter empty coldness as his gaze settled on Rian. So the talk about him being an actual certified psychopath likely wasn’t exaggerated.

  “Captain Rian Sherron and Captain Qaelan Forster.” Alvar set aside the small knife he’d been eating with. “This is quite an unexpected pleasure.”

  “Unexpected?” Rian drawled. “You didn’t think I wouldn’t eventually find out you had my ship, Galton?”

  Alvar shrugged, giving nothing away. “I acquire all sorts of things. It’s hard to keep track of everything.”

  “Including people, I see.” Rian glanced at a female slave, who refilled Alvar’s glass.

  “Slavery isn’t illegal in all parts of the galaxy.” Alvar trailed a finger along the slave’s bare arm, causing her to freeze and drop her head even lower than it had already been.

  Cami swallowed, a bitter taste burning up the back of her throat.

  “Actually, dick-face, it is.” There was a hard note of anger in Qae’s voice.

  Alvar’s gaze slid to Qae, but then continued on to her and stopped, leaving a chill rippling over her skin.

  Qae shuffled her behind him. Usually, she wouldn’t have put up with that kind of macho-man shite, but it felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest. Alvar Galton was even scarier than she remembered.

  The whole plan of facing him had been a total fail.

  “Bring the girl forward. I want to see her,” Alvar demanded.

  “Over my dead body, jackhole,” Qae replied through a tight jaw.

  “I’ve heard its rude to kill guests.” Alvar made a hand signal, and the guy sitting closest to him jumped up and pointed his gun at them. Every other pirate in the room dropped what they were doing to pull out their guns. “But I’ve never had the best manners. The girl. Now.”

  Some thug came forward and roughly grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Qae. He tried to intervene, but that caused another two thugs to jump in. One to hold Qae while the other punched him.

  The pirate holding her arms propelled her to the front until she was standing just ahead of Rian.

  “I have to say, Galton, you’re making some really poor life choices today,” Rian said, not sounding the least bit worried about the thirty-plus people currently pointing guns at them.

  But Alvar ignored Rian, his gaze riveted on her in a way that made her flesh crawl.

  “I know you,” Alvar said, getting slowly to his feet. He st
epped around the table with his armed goons to come over to her. “Take off that jacket.”

  “No.” The word came out firm and determined, without a hint of the anxiety that was skittering around inside her.

  Alvar nodded to the pirate holding her, who started tugging at her clothes.

  “This isn’t a good idea, Galton.” Rian’s voice had a hint more steel to it this time.

  Rian must have a plan. Some way of getting them out of this. Of getting his ship back and finding her brother. So, as crazy as it sounded, she was going to trust him and Qae to get them out of this mess.

  Cami jerked herself out of the thug’s hold. “Fine. I’ll take it off. Just get your grubby hand off me!”

  She took a large step back and grabbed in a short breath.

  “Cami, don’t!” Qae swore, and she glanced over her shoulder to see him fighting the two men holding him, which only earned him a fist in the guts, making him double over.

  “It’s fine, Qae.” She turned her attention back to where Alvar was staring at her expectantly. “It’ll be fine.”

  She dropped the jacket from her arms, since it was already half off, and then quickly shrugged out of the long-sleeved shirt, leaving her in a tank top, revealing the markings on her arms.

  “I knew it.” Alvar traced the lines with his eyes. “You’re Blackstone’s daughter. Didn’t you grow up nicely?”

  She clenched her jaw, refusing to say anything.

  Alvar reached out and touched her shoulder. “And according to this brand right here, you belong to me.”

  “Like hell I do,” she shot back, unable to keep her silence.

  Alvar turned to look at Rian. “Well, it seems we both possess something that belongs to the other. I’m a reasonable man, so I’m willing to take a straight trade. My pleasure slave for your ship.”

  “She’s not an object to trade!” Qae yelled from where the thugs were keeping him on his knees.

  Rian glanced at her, and shock blasted her system like shards of ice, because while his expression didn’t give much away, she could see in his gaze that he was turning the idea over in his mind. She started to back up a step, but Rian caught her arm. He yanked her in, gripping the back of her neck and then thrusting her forward.