Crimson Rain Read online

  He smiled, seeming to take no offense at her words, and she wondered if anything she could say would ruffle him. “Your words are half true. Kylariz is indeed the master of this ship, but he’s not my master. So ask your questions.”

  “Who and what you are will do for starters,” she said.

  “Rhoan Sandjan, Pilot. Kylariz calls me Sandy, but it’s Pilot to you,” he replied, still smiling.

  “Very well, Pilot. I think I can fill in the rest. It’s not too difficult to mistake a raider ship.”

  Rhoan’s face became serious. “No, miss. We’re Roven.”

  Dina snorted. “Roven? Doesn’t that mean ‘to rob’? Like your captain says, it stinks by whatever name you call it.”

  Rhoan started to protest, but she cut him off. “Tell me, what will you do with Captain Bhrenth?”

  The young man seemed surprised at the question. “Do? Why, thank him for his cooperation, of course.”

  “What about me? What if I don’t choose to cooperate?” But even as she asked the question, she knew the answer, and the quick look of regret that sobered Rhoan’s features told her she was right. Suddenly she was not so inclined to be friendly.

  “So, is that what sets the Roven apart? That they sell women into slavery?”

  “No, miss, that’s not the Roven. And that’s not Kylariz, either.”

  “Then tell me about him.” Dina had a sudden overwhelming curiosity about her captor.

  Rhoan shook his head. “Sorry, miss. That’s for him to let drop, or not. Besides, I think I’ve answered enough of your questions. What name did Captain Bhrenth call you? Mondina?”

  She let out a ragged sigh and nodded her head. She saw no value in refusing to answer Rhoan’s question. “Yes. Mondina Marlijn. That’s Miss Marlijn to you,” she said, giving him a wicked smile.

  “Touché, Miss Marlijn.”

  “Sandy! Get up here. Time to go!”

  “Hmm. His master’s voice, I presume?” queried Dina.

  “Later, miss,” said Rhoan, grinning as he left.

  As the hatch closed behind him, Dina’s brave smile fell. Clearly she wasn’t going to be taken back to the Palladia. She was a captive, and the fact that one of her captors had showed her kindness didn’t lessen the simple fact. She, Mondina Marlijn, ex-agent for the Interplanetary Investigative Bureau, who had just months before helped take into custody some of the worst criminals this quadrant had ever known, was now a prisoner herself. Those men had become notorious celebrities overnight, but no spotlight shone on her. She was a civilian now, for she’d resigned her IIB position as soon as her assignment on Exodus had ended. She was a civilian so she could follow Rayn and make a life with him. But now she was alone and on her own. No longer did she have a bureau of fellow agents invested in her well-being.

  She was more alone and forsaken than anyone she’d ever arrested.

  Dina found a blanket in one of the stowage lockers and wrapped it around her. If she panicked, she’d do herself no good, and if she thought about Rayn, she’d go crazy. To ease her mind, she performed her basic relaxation technique, as she had daily for so many years. She breathed slowly and deeply, holding her breath before exhaling with a sigh. But just as she felt the tension in her body begin to lessen, she heard the soft metallic clicks that presaged the opening of the hatch. As much as she already hated Kylariz, she was looking forward to his appearance. She wanted to know exactly what he had in mind for her.

  It was Rhoan. Disappointed, she sat up and waited.

  “Feeling up to fighting strength yet?”

  Oh, sure. “I’m better, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “No dizziness?”

  Her head still swam. “No.”

  “Still thirsty?”

  Her tongue felt like it was coated with sand. “Not especially.”

  “Hungry?”

  Did a stomach tied in a knot mean hunger? “Pilot, what I would like are some answers.”

  “I understand, miss. The Phoenix waits on your full recovery.”

  Bastard. “How solicitous. He doesn’t want to upset me on an empty stomach,” she said, her anger rising. Seeing that the hatch was still open, she stood and raised her voice. “Tell your captain that if he wants me to eat, he’ll come down here and talk to me first. If he doesn’t, I won’t eat or drink a thing, and soon he’ll have a sick woman on his hands instead of a valuable commodity.”

  Her outburst had the desired effect. She heard a metal clang, as if some object had been thrown, and a moment later the captain’s tall form filled the hatchway. The breastplate and utility belt were gone, and he wore a loose white shirt instead, the sleeves pushed up above his elbows and the front of the shirt open to the base of his sternum. Without the breastplate, she saw that he wasn’t as massive in girth as she’d thought, simply lean and hard. The shirt revealed well-muscled forearms and a smooth chest. Silver buttons down the front of the trousers were the only embellishments to his outfit and drew her gaze to the lower part of his body. Narrow hips and long legs with well-muscled thighs brought a quick flush to her face.

  “Leave us, Sandy.”

  Rhoan raised his eyebrows and, with a shake of his head, left.

  “Sit down,” he commanded, nodding toward the bed.

  She wondered if he meant to rape her, and though an order to sit didn’t really seem like a prelude to ravishment, she decided it was better to avoid the bed altogether. She was silent and remained standing, her feet slightly apart, her shoulders back, and her arms held clasped behind the small of her back. He was a head taller than she was, but she wasn’t afraid. Her long-ago training gave her confidence, and her present anger gave her strength.

  A quirk of one masculine brow told her that the parade-rest stance was not lost on Kylariz. She quickly regretted her mistake. He would think her military, or para-military at the very least. His long sigh seemed to acknowledge that she would be nothing but trouble, and Dina had no intention of disappointing him.

  “If I have a choice, I’ll stand.”

  Kylariz let it go. “You tease the mind as much as the senses, girl. But then you know that, don’t you?” His voice was surprisingly soft.

  Well, it was better than “take off your clothes, or I’ll take them off for you,” but not by much. Did he already know she was a telepath? How could he, unless he was one himself? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He sighed. “Why is a girl like you all alone on a freighter? And of all the stars in the sky to reach for, why Deorcas Tron?”

  She relaxed, just a little. Perhaps the secret of her gift, as well as her virtue, was safe after all. He seemed interested in nothing more than her destination. Still, she’d be damned if she’d cooperate. “The Palladia was the only passage available. As to why I’m going to B’harata, I already answered that question. It’s none of your business. And as I doubt very much you’ll take me where I want to go, I see no relevance to your question.”

  He took a step to the side, and his eyes appraised her as if she were standing for inspection during roll call. He lifted his head and eyed her with the look of a sergeant who had just found lint on her uniform. “Sandy may find your sharp tongue entertaining, but I don’t. These questions aren’t for my amusement. They go to that small matter of fate you were so worried about. You can be smart about this—or not, as you like,” he said evenly.

  She closed her eyes. How many times in the past had she taken an angry subject into custody, and how many times had she asked for cooperation, only to be spat upon or cursed at? The tables were now turned, and she was the one who felt like spitting on her captor. That would be foolish, but she didn’t care. She was no criminal and didn’t deserve this.

  Her eyes fluttered open. “You mean I have a choice of fates? Let’s see, what could those be? You could sell me
to a slave broker. Or perhaps you owe someone. Maybe I’m a prize in a treasure hunt. Or is it simply that you and your partner crave female companionship for your long journey? No, you’re nothing but raiders, greedy raiders out to turn a profit any way you can. The first guess is the correct one, isn’t it?”

  He was quiet for a moment, and though she looked him in the eye, she couldn’t read what lie behind the gray shadows.

  “Your silence is preferable to your ignorant barbs. When you can speak without running at the mouth, and more importantly, when you can listen, I’ll return.”

  He left. The hatch clanging shut behind him was like the period to his final statement.

  Dina slumped on the bunk, leaned back against the bulkhead, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stem the welling anger and frustration. She felt like he’d gotten the better of her in their brief exchange, but she couldn’t figure out how. She was a trained investigator, used to dealing with obstinate people, and he was just a damned pirate. Trained investigator? No, just foolish . . . again.

  A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as a memory from the past year rose in her mind. When she’d first met Rayn in the desert on Exodus, she’d tried to gain his cooperation for her investigation, but her free-spirited tongue had gotten the better of her then, too. He’d vexed her and challenged her, but somehow they’d found common ground. Eventually, they’d found so much more.

  With her eyes still closed, she snagged at the chain around her neck and carefully pulled the pendant up to the opening at her collar. She fingered it reverently, feeling the warm smoothness of the oval stone, then opened her eyes and looked down at the golden cabochon mounted in a circular cut-out at one side of the oval. She tilted the pendant slightly, and her smile grew as she saw the silver star wink in the golden stone.

  The pendant was a mother-and-child and had belonged to Rayn. He’d given it to her when they’d parted on Exodus. In return, she’d given him her favorite ring, the ring given to her by her father. Rayn. Her mind filled with his image, and she saw him as he’d looked when they had said their good-byes. His golden eyes had no longer danced with deception, but had radiated a love deeper than any she had ever hoped to find, and his full mouth was no longer cocked with amusement and disdain, but smiling in gladness that he, too, had ended his quest. The picture of his lean, tanned body, hard and strong, and the dark hair that framed his face from either side of a sharp widow’s peak, was as clear as if she’d seen him yesterday.

  But the memory of Rayn was more than the image of his physical being. It was the memory of his quiet strength, the cool aura of his power, and, perhaps more than anything else, his Voice, the voice of his mind and heart and soul that had permeated every crevice of her being.

  The golden star-stone was the most precious thing she had. Aside from her memories, it was all she had of Rayn’s. At that moment, she feared losing the pendant more than she feared her own fate.

  SHE WOKE TO sounds of joyful whoops and laughter from the flight deck. The flight deck was just above her, and a ladder connecting it with the mid-deck her cabin was on carried the sounds down to her. She jumped off the bunk and stepped to the hatch, putting her ear against it. The celebratory shouts had died down, and Kylariz was barking commands to Rhoan. Even pressed to the door, she heard but bits and pieces, and most of that nothing but profanity.

  In years gone by she’d seen her ability as a liability, causing her more pain than happiness, but during the past months it had served her well. It was her telepathic ability that had enabled her to connect with the man she loved. Rayn was a dens, a telepath whose abilities far outstretched her own, but whose heart had measured hers exactly.

  She used her ability now to learn what Kylariz and Rhoan were saying to each other, reaching out her mind to pick up what her ears couldn’t hear of their spoken words. She wondered what could possibly have happened to excite the two men so.

  “Data’s coming up now.” Rhoan’s voice was controlled and all business.

  Kylariz’s reply was strangely subdued, given the shouts of only a moment ago. “No . . . too small for the Revanche. Can’t be Duguerra’s ship. Who commands?”

  After a heartbeat, Dina heard a low expletive, followed by Rhoan’s voice. “This may not be accurate.” The flat tone nonetheless held a small lilt of hope.

  “Dammit, Sandy, it’s accurate, and you know it. Can we outrun them?”

  “Not far enough to matter. Alec, we really need to upgrade. We’re no match anymore for the new Syn ships. The engines on the Veridian class . . .”

  Kyl cut him off with a word Dina was unfamiliar with. The venomous utterance was no doubt a profanity learned on some far-off world.

  “Never mind that now. How much time do we have?”

  “Thirty-four minutes before we’re in range of their weapons, forty minutes to tractor lock.”

  Dina’s heart pounded now with joy instead of apprehension. A Syn ship! And one that Kylariz feared. That could only mean the Synergy’s finest—the state-of-the-art Interplanetary Space Division’s mission ships! The Space Division was a sister arm to the Investigative Bureau Dina used to work for, and she was familiar with the reputation of the mission ships and their commanders. They were a cocky lot, but knew their business, bringing to an end many a raider’s career.

  If a mission ship could affect her rescue, she’d be back en route to B’harata in no time. Was there a way she could help the mission ship? She quickly decided that the best way to help was to distract Kylariz. Time was running out for him. Every moment that she could distract him was one less he had to formulate an escape. She screamed and pounded on the door.

  “SANDY, MAKE FOR Eruthros.” Dina’s shrill voice rent the air, and Kyl couldn’t hear himself above her shrieks. “After you set the heading, go below and shut the hellion up!”

  Sandy nodded, punched in the new course, then slid down the ladder to the mid-deck.

  Damn the woman! Kyl was already regretting his decision to take her as bait. He’d wanted his exploits to draw attention, but not this soon, and not the attention of a ship not commanded by Duguerra Dhagaz. But he had more pressing worries, and with his anger vented, he went to work with a cold efficiency.

  He set a countdown for thirty minutes with an audio warning at five minute intervals, then stepped to the cargo bay and drop ship control panels. He allowed himself a small smile as one of the girl’s screams rose in volume then was abruptly cut off. Kyl keyed the sequences to pressurize the bay and power up and pressurize the Megaera.

  Sandy appeared a second later. “You know what’ll happen if they catch you with her. It won’t be probation, like last time. It’ll be a penal colony for certain,” he said, his face for once serious.

  “I know. They won’t catch me, or her.”

  “What are you thinking? The Megaera?”

  Kyl nodded. “Cut and run. But we’ll have to be smart about it, before we’re in range of their life-sensors or weaponry.” He looked at his friend. “Sandy.”

  Sandy looked up from the console and met his eyes.

  “It means they’ll take you and the Tisiphone,” said Kyl quietly.

  Sandy’s answer took only a heartbeat. He nodded once. “I don’t have a tenth the record you do. With nothing but cold cargo, I’ll get a paper sentence, nothing more. A slap on the wrist and probation.”

  “With luck, they won’t catch you with any cargo at all.” Kyl glanced at the cargo bay status on the control panel. “Pressure up. Help me load the Megaera. The girl’s first.”

  They descended to the mid-deck and opened the hatch. The girl lay crumpled on the floor where Sandy had dropped her with the stun, her eyes staring at the ceiling and her arms and legs splayed like a discarded doll. He felt a twinge of remorse, but it passed quickly. What was done was done, and there was no turning back now.

 
“Warning. Countdown. Twenty-five minutes remaining,” came the unemotional computer voice.

  Kyl crouched down, scooped the girl’s body into his arms, and lifted her easily. “Come on, Hellfire, we’re going for a ride.”

  Sandy preceded him, opened the forward airlock hatch, then stepped aside with a grin to let Kyl duck through. Sandy would never let him live this down. He followed, closed the hatch behind them, and they made their way through the short tunnel to the shuttle bay. The girl was soft and—thanks to the stun—yielding in his arms. It’d been a long time since he’d held a woman, and memories of the past threatened to distract him. Sandy’s grin seemed glued in place, but at least his friend had the good sense not to voice his thoughts. Although he was doing nothing more than carrying her, the picture Sandy would see was Kyl with his arms wrapped around a beautiful woman.

  They paused before the aft airlock hatch, and Sandy squeezed by to open it. They went through and stepped into the shuttle bay. The Megaera sat poised and ready like a giant silver bird.

  “Sandy, open her up. Hellfire’s going to get a front row seat.”

  Sandy opened the large side hatch on the small craft, and a ramp lowered noiselessly to the floor. Kyl ascended the ramp with long strides, entered the crew compartment of the shuttle, and dumped the girl into the co-pilot’s seat. From the look in her eyes, he had no doubt that if she had her voice, she’d damn him to the Void.

  “Warning. Countdown. Twenty minutes remaining.”

  When he returned to her a moment later with a pair of cuffs, she glared at him with a look as chilling as winter dusk. He took no notice, banding each wrist, and with her arms held behind her back, activated the force field that prevented the bands from moving more than a handsbreath from each other. That job finished, he helped Sandy haul the containers of exodite and tap from the ship’s hold to the cargo hold of the drop ship.

  “Where will you go? Ror or Obylon?” asked Sandy.

  Kyl looked up at his shipmate. “Ror. If I make it, I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point. If you survive, do the same. I’ll see your pocket’s made whole again, I promise.”