Page 177

Until that moment, Vela had never rolled her eyes at a target. “And what about the marketplace? Were you testing whether I’m naïve enough to play along with your little game, whatever it is?”

“Hardly!” They flashed their infuriating, lopsided smile. “All the cleverness and intuition in the world would be useless to me, were you not alsokind. I needed to know you could cast your personal ambitions aside for the good of others. You passed the test with aplomb.”

Vela plucked the broadest question from the storm in her skull. “Why would I work with you? Even if you weren’t an intergalactic fugitive, you’ve done nothing but lie to me!”

“Only visually.” The Wanderling shrugged. “You can’t blame a man in my predicament for practicing caution.”

“Oh? So you’re name’s really Fyn, is it?”

“Fyneas, technically, but a nickname hardly constitutes a lie.”

Vele blinked, bewildered. She’d been certain they…er,hehad given her an alias. Either he was supremely stupid, or he truly needed her help with something. Regardless, she could likely pry a few more details from those surprisingly loose lips of his.

“Well,Fyn, mind telling me what you’re doing here? The whole Intergalactic Consortium knows you crash-landed on this planet, and I’m not the only hound on your trail. Why haven’t you purchased a new craft and headed elsewhere?”

Fyn arched an eyebrow ridge. “What makes you think I have that kind of money just lying around?”

“Fifty millionzenna isn’t enough for your preferred spacecraft?”

“Oh, that?” He waved the notion away. “Those aren’t my funds to spend.”

Of all the perplexing answers he could have given. “What do you mean, they aren’t?—”

Rubber soles squealed against linoleum, shattering Vela’s concentration and hopes alike. She’d been so cautious, forwent blinking in favor of a shuttle, and yet…

“How kind of you to keep our quarry occupied.” Kalis’s voice rang through the open space, turned brassy by chrome pillars and support beams. “You’ve played the role of decoy with grace, as always. Time to let the real hunters have a go, hm?”

Vela closed her eyes, exhaling slowly through her nose. He must have placed a trace on her credit account. If he’d given her cause to worry, she’d have switched services in the years since the breakup. Apparently, he’d been saving that particular blade for the moment her spine was most exposed.

“Thisis the creature who’s been evading you?” Tarah said as the lackeys took up position, stun guns raised. “I know you’re a shit aim, but who could possibly miss such a massive, metallic target?”

Vela smothered a laugh before it could burst free. Her rivals had been following her every move, yet they had no clue about their target’s true identity. Amateurs, all.

“Capturing men has never been Vela’s weakness.” Kalis sauntered forward with all of his trademark arrogance, not a weapon on his person. “Keeping them is another matter. It’s a pity my victories must always result in her failure, but to the brightest goes the battle.”

“A lover’s spat?” Fyn’s face twisted, slitted eyes flicking to Vela. “You’re a smart girl, but you havehorrendoustaste in partners.”

Oh, didn’t she know it.

“It’s a foolish buck who mocks the hunter.” Kalis wagged a finger, glancing back at his minions. “On my signal…”

He counted down from five. A split-second before he reached one, the Wanderling’s body folded inward with a terse crackle of bone. Three sets of membranous wings sprouted from the small, gray body of an asteroid imp. It lifted into the air, leaving Fyn’s clothing piled on the chair with the exception of a nylon jumpsuit that had shrunk with his figure. The transformation stunned the hounds, allowing him to flit down the nearest hall.

“What are you waiting for?” Kalis growled, shaking free of his stupor. “Split up and cut him off, dammit!”

The lackeys raced toward three different exits while their leader charged after Fyn. Vela spun on her heel and raced toward the staircase she’d just climbed. Bootsteps stormed through the building, delving far deeper than ground level. Vela surpassed three sets with ease, though the fourth maintained a steady lead. She allowed the railing to guide her as shadows bled across her vision, robbing the world of color and definition. Her helm tumbled free when she ducked beneath a landing, but she dared not retrieve it for fear of losing ground. The world was that much darker for its absence, but—thanks to her little low-tide experiment—the atmosphere no longer posed a threat.

She soon arrived at a storage facility cluttered with crates and empty cages, a single lamp dangling in one corner. Two figures squared off near the center of the space, both with stately frames, long black hair, and liquid amber eyes. In the gloom, even their outfits looked identical.

Vela leveled her weapon at the space between the doubles. The temptation to shoot them both was alarmingly strong.

“Get on with it!” barked the leftmost Kalis, waving toward his twin. “Shoot the blasted fraud!”

“Yes, please,” quipped the Kalis on the right. “Anything to shut him up!”

“I-I’ll split the bounty!” Leftmost offered, sounding nearly sincere. “You know it’s me, my delicate swamp flower.”

Vela cringed. She’d always hated that pet name.Allpet names, really.