Clan and Conscience

by Tracy St. John

  Ospar said, “I was meant to be a distraction. Talu was supposed to be here with help before the situation got out of hand. He must have been held up convincing Axter and Golas to join the party.”

  “Ospar, don’t fuck with me.”

  “Okay, that was the plan. I might have gotten here earlier than your father expected. I thought if I went ahead, it would convince the authorities to move their asses faster.”

  “Ancestors pound you until you find some sense. I am going to beat your ass so hard later.”

  “I was worried about you.”

  Jol let an instant of soft emotion show before he went back to seething. “I didn’t need a rescue. Especially not from you.”

  “Talu said you were supposed to have pulled yourself out of Pladon by now. And what do you mean, why did he send me in? What are you saying? That I can’t be of help?”

  The shuttle had finished its turn, their escape into the underground caverns in front of the little vessel. It was just starting to pick up speed when a series of thuds echoed through the cockpit. The ship lurched, and Ospar yelled as he was jerked in his seat. The craft listed, and Jol’s jaw tightened as he fought the controls.

  “It’s going to get bumpy,” he warned.

  “It’s already bumpy! They hit us with blasters at close range.”

  With the ship twisting, they cleared the shuttle bay, flying into the airspace of the vast cavern outside Pladon. The vessel dipped and dived over homes and businesses. Jol fought to hold it in the air.

  As if he wasn’t in the midst of trying to keep the stricken ship aloft, Jol said, “I can’t believe Talu sent you into Pladon to find me. He’s growing addled in his old age.”

  “Hey, have some faith in me, would you? Your father did.” Ospar closed his eyes so he didn’t have to watch structures loom in and out of view.

  “He doesn’t know you as I do.”

  “I distracted those goons so you could get rid of them, didn’t I? By the way, thanks for taking a million years to show up. I have a headache, thanks to you. Maybe you’re getting slow in your old age.”

  The craft dipped violently again, and Ospar’s eyes flew open. He yelped to see the crowded landscape beneath them. The ship was flying lower and lower, each dip bringing it closer to disaster. “Fuck, there’s nowhere to set down!”

  The engine missed a beat, caught, missed for a heart-stopping two seconds, and caught again. Jol changed course. The opening to the valley came into view. “I’ll have to try to get out of the cave system.”

  Ospar had seen the landscape beyond the caverns too many times to count and knew what waited for them. Noting how the engine continued to splutter, Ospar said, “Um, Jol? There’s a hell of a drop just beyond the cavern.”

  Jol didn’t answer. The shuttle continued to lose altitude. The pauses in power were coming closer together and lasting longer.

  Shit. We’re going to die. But he’s right to fly us out. At least we won’t take any innocent people with us.

  They bumped a few roofs at the threshold of the populated area, throwing Jol’s tenuous control off even worse. The ship bounced off the edge of the cavern opening. Then they were outside the crags that cropped up to the base of Itga’s mountain headquarters, under the vast reach of sky…and far above the valley below. The engine cut off and the shuttle dropped like a stone.

  The ground rushed up fast. Ospar squeezed his eyes shut as Jol battled to bring them into a glide. He failed to manage that but the engine kicked in one last time, slowing their descent by half before the craft crashed with a hideous crunching and booming.

  Ospar had the sense of his small vessel cracking all over like a hardboiled eggshell, though the sound was much more akin to the explosion back at the platinum mines. He kept his eyes closed as he shook about in his seat.

  Would it hurt before he died? Or would it be over too quickly to register anything beyond the awful boom-crunching that sounded as if it heralded the end of the world?

  All at once, everything stopped. Ospar ceased jolting. The world went quiet.

  The Dramok did a quick inventory in the abrupt calm. His heart thundered. His breath gasped. Maybe he wasn’t dead then. Ospar opened his eyes and verified he hadn’t shown up in whatever afterlife awaited him. He remained in the shuttle’s cockpit.

  It was darker than when he’d last seen it. The window-vid was gone. Low-powered emergency lighting illuminating the space, allowing him to see the control panel was in shambles. More importantly, as far as he could tell, he was in one piece.

  Better still, the Nobek next to him was as whole and unharmed. Jol surged out of his seat, reaching for Ospar. He ran his hands all over the Dramok, pulling his shirt up and checking him for injuries. “Are you hurt?”

  “I don’t—I don’t think so. I think I’m okay.” Ospar could hardly believe it, but he was.

  Jol sagged for a moment with relief. Then he bent down and walloped Ospar with a kiss that stole every thought from his aching head. The Dramok’s cocks sat up and took notice, announcing his libido was also alive and well, as inappropriate as the setting might have been.

  As he ended the kiss and spoke, Jol’s lips remained in contact with Ospar’s, as if he was loath to separate from him. “You son of a bitch. I was afraid you’d let yourself be killed just to make me miserable.”

  Ospar laughed breathlessly. “Even I’m not that obstinate.”

  At last, Jol stepped back. “Let’s get out of here before the wrong people come looking for us.”

  Ospar released his restraints and followed Jol to the hatch. “The right people are on their way as well. Maybe they’ll show up before Urt’s good buddies.”

  “Trust me, Urt doesn’t consider Syodab’s henchmen as his friends. The poor bastard is up to his ears in shit, and he doesn’t own a shovel.” The hatch opened. Jol peered at the landscape before leaving the craft.

  “Should I feel sorry for him?” Ospar stepped out and looked about. He winced at the bright sunlit sky that coaxed his skull to pound harder than before.

  He noted the shuttle was a total loss, its metal crumpled and dented as if it had been made of foil. The smell of something burning hung in the air. He dismissed any concerns over that. The ship could be replaced. He and Jol had more important matters to worry with at the moment.

  They’d landed in the rockiest portion of the valley, near the slight rise that housed the caverns. The only vegetation in the inhospitable area was a few scrubby pieces of shrubbery and some small, tired trees.

  “Which way should we go?” he wondered. “The better growth that could conceal us is a mile closer to the center.”

  “We’d be in the open too long to go in that direction. Follow me.” Jol struck out without further consultation, jogging towards the rock wall that housed the caverns far overhead.

  Ospar scowled but followed him for want of a better direction.

  As they trotted over the stony soil, Jol answered the question Ospar had forgotten he’d asked. “Don’t waste your sympathies on Urt. He got himself into this mess with the syndicate. If a man plays with killers, he should expect to end up on their list.” The Nobek pointed to an outcropping of rocks. “That’s a decent place to hide. See how it has some crannies we could fit into?”

  “It’ll work until Talu and the rest arrive. He gave me a tracking device, so he can find me anywhere.” Ospar pushed himself to keep up with Jol. “You didn’t say why you stayed at Pladon or failed send a report to Talu on schedule. He’s beside himself with worry.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t upset the old warrior if I could help it.” The affection and respect Jol had for his father was obvious, making Ospar smile. “The syndicate boys didn’t trust me for shit, so I had to be careful of every move. Lano and Picona never let me out of their sight.”

  “Now you know how I felt with you breathing down my neck every second of the day.”

  “I’m not as unpleasant to have around as those assholes.”

/>   “No. I’d take you over anyone else, any time.” Ospar’s voice went soft with emotion.

  Jol stopped to gaze at him for a lengthy moment before continuing. “I also had to stay to be sure they wouldn’t go after you. Even with the Eruz contract locked up, they haven’t decided on whether or not to kill you. I didn’t dare leave with you in danger.”

  I’m not going to let anyone harm you. Ever. Jol had done as he’d promised. Ospar took a deep breath to keep emotion from choking him. “I owe you my life yet again. Talu too, since he sent the message for me to run out of the office before you blew it up.”

  Jol cast a glare over his shoulder. “You were never in any danger. I had you under surveillance, waiting until you and Emano and everyone else cleared the area before I set off the explosion.”

  “Your father told me.” Ospar offered him an apologetic look. “At first, I couldn’t believe you’d done it, that you’d turned on me. Then I had to believe it because of all the evidence. And when Pladon submitted those classified report rebuttals, allowing them to win the bid—Mother of All, I allowed myself lose all hope then.”

  “It must have taken some convincing from Talu for you to realize the truth.”

  “That was a hell of a plot you two concocted after Urt tried to buy you off. Adding that dummy report with the other files so the syndicate would bribe a fake analytical company was sheer genius.” Ospar shook his head. “I’m glad you and your father are on Itga’s side.”

  They’d made it to the outcropping. It had a cavelike depression, offering shelter and cover. The men entered.

  Jol faced Ospar. The Dramok looked at the handsome Nobek, his chest hurting again. He’d doubted Jol even when his heart had shouted it wasn’t possible, that his bodyguard would never try to kill him for money or vengeance.

  Will I ever get things right when it comes to this man? How many chances will he allow before he gives up on me?

  Could Jol forgive him for his lack of faith? Ospar said, “I should have known you wouldn’t turn against me. Not because I’m the kind of person anyone would hold with such esteem, but because you’re a man of honor. I knew it, and I still let myself be convinced otherwise.”

  Jol reached to stroke Ospar’s hair. “I’ll take it as a testament to my superior acting performance.”

  Ospar drew close to him. “You were convincing.”

  “I had a flash of inspiration when I decided to behave as a jerk. I just thought, what would Ospar do?”

  Ospar punched his shoulder, laughing. Chuckling, Jol yanked him close and kissed him with toe-curling passion. “Ah, you eternal pain in the ass. When you’re not doing your best to make me want to strangle you, you are a decent person.”

  “Give up and give in, Jol. You know I’m irresistible.”

  “Yes, damn your hide, you are.” Jol kissed him with enough ardor that Ospar forgot his head hurt.

  Jol had given in to what felt inevitable destiny. He realized he’d been sunk from the instant he’d been assigned as Ospar’s bodyguard.

  The Dramok had charged into Pladon, racing into a lethal situation the moment Talu had revealed Jol might be in trouble. As soon as Ospar had told Urt about the dummy research, Jol had known he’d done right in pledging his eternal protection to the man.

  Ospar was a hothead. Stubborn. Bullying at times, and when it came to the needs of others, reckless to a fault. He was everything Jol had thought he couldn’t stand. And yet, it was Ospar he’d fallen in love with. In a space of a few days, during which they’d fought more than not, Jol had lost his heart to the magnificent bastard.

  With Ospar in his arms, Jol could admit to himself he’d never leave the Dramok’s side, no matter how tempestuous their relationship became. The only way Ospar could get rid of him was to murder him. Judging from how he smiled up at Jol, the tightness with which he held onto him, the kiss that gave no sign that they hid from killers—Ospar might feel the same about him.

  They didn’t have long to enjoy their reunion. The rockface at the entrance of their hidey-hole abruptly splintered with explosive force. A second later, the report of the percussion blaster that had hit the outcropping echoed through the valley.

  Jol shoved the startled Ospar down to the ground, drawing his own weapon. He crawled to the front of their tiny cave and peered out. Right away, he saw at least ten Nobeks moving from defensive position to defensive position, zeroing in on the outcropping.

  “It would be nice if my father got out here in the next few seconds,” he observed drily.

  “Even better if he brings the police,” Ospar said from his supine location on the pebble-strewn ground. “I hope Axter isn’t giving him hell.”

  “I doubt any difficulty would come from the investigator and his enforcer. They are excellent officers.”

  “More excellent if they’d get their asses out here.”

  “About three-quarters of the local police force is on the syndicate’s payroll, and all of the supervisory staff. Axter and Golas may not be able to assist us. That was one of the interesting facts I confirmed during my brief stay at Pladon.” Jol sent out a shot that had no hope of hitting an enemy. He did make their advance slow, however.

  “All the district law enforcement supervisors? Shit. Then we’ll have to delay these assholes for as long as possible until Talu and his crew show up. I wish you’d brought a second blaster so I could help.”

  Jol glanced at him. “Are you any good with firearms?”

  Ospar gave him a withering look. “Jol, think about who I am and how often I pissed you off. I have that effect on many men. Of course I’ve learned how to shoot a weapon. Sometimes I even hit what I’m aiming at.”

  Jol laughed until a barrage of enemy shots compelled him to duck. When it let up, he returned the shots. He was gratified to see several of the enemy drop.

  The air was suddenly thick with a hail of percussion shots, shimmering the atmosphere about him, but thus far not scoring a hit. With Jol making deadly strikes, the syndicate’s thugs were through fucking around. They were coming for him and Ospar.

  At this rate, my luck is going to run out sooner than later.

  The moment the thought crossed his mind, shocking agony smashed against him. There were no more thoughts after that. Darkness claimed Jol, taking him from the hurt.

  Chapter 14

  It would have been easy to stay in the calm void where no pain existed. Yet even in unconsciousness, Jol’s proud ferocity remained a bright spark—along with a desperate need that could be summed up with one name: Ospar. His drive to keep the Dramok safe led him out into light, noise, and agony.

  Torment consumed Jol’s body, radiating from his upper chest. It didn’t matter. The continuous sounds of blaster fire and the necessity to protect Ospar pulled him all the way back. Consciousness dumped him into the crevice of rock where they hid.

  Jol forced his eyes open to see Ospar kneeling over him. The Dramok clenched his firearm, triggering shot after shot as the air wavered dangerously close to his grim, tear-streaked face. Despite the critical situation, Ospar’s main focus was not on the fight. He screamed Jol’s name over and over.

  “Talk to me, damn you! Don’t be dead! Don’t be dead, Jol!”

  Jol fought to speak loud enough to be heard over the constant blasts. The exertion doubled, then tripled the pain in his chest, but the anguish in Ospar’s expression drove him to make the effort. “You…you think you can bully me…into anything…don’t you?”

  Ospar screamed wild laughter, sparing a glance down to reassure himself Jol had indeed spoken before concentrating on their enemies yet again. “You beautiful son of a bitch, you’re alive! Thank you, Mother of All!”

  From the sounds of the shooting and the rippling breeze that waved tendrils of Ospar’s shoulder-length hair like streamers, the syndicate’s men were closing in. “How many are out there? How many still alive?”

  “Four. Power levels are low on this blaster though.” Ospar’s expression turned grim once mo
re.

  “Fuck.” Talu hadn’t arrived with help. Something had happened, thwarting his father’s plan. Now Ospar would pay the price. “I’m sorry, Ospar. I was supposed to protect…you. Keep you…safe.”

  He tried to lift his arm, wanting to reach for Ospar. Wanting to touch him one final time. The energy and torture it took to move—impossible. Darkness was closing in again, and Jol didn’t believe he’d escape it a second time. He was finished, and he’d have to report his failure to his ancestors.

  The rock crevice was dwindling down to a pinprick in the growing gloom, with Ospar’s face growing distant, receding. Jol made a last attempt to reverse the coming disaster. He called to the man he’d have been glad to die for, if he could have just saved him in doing so.

  “Run. Save yourself…if you can.”

  Ospar’s voice followed him down into the depths. “I’m not going anywhere without you, damn it.”

  Jol sank into the darkness. It enveloped him. Ospar’s despairing wail followed him, in the midst of the blasts that were fading. “Don’t you dare leave me! Jol! Jol!”

  The Nobek tried to speak, to apologize for having let Ospar down. The words wouldn’t come. His failure shamed him, especially with Ospar’s continuing frantic cries begging him to stay with him.

  At least Jol had something to clutch to his heart as he fell deeper into that never-ending darkness. Ospar cared for him—maybe as much as Jol loved him.

  “Jol, please. Please don’t.”

  Ospar choked on the words he was positive the Nobek could no longer hear. He continued to fire, though more and more he was sure he might as well give up.

  Surrender had never been a part of Ospar’s nature. I have to hang onto that instinct to win, especially now. Despite the blackened and bloody ruin of Jol’s upper torso, looking as if his heart had exploded, he might be alive. Ospar had to keep fighting in hopes that the Nobek hadn’t succumbed to his injuries.