The Smuggler's Radiant (Renegades Book 2) Read online

  Rhona looked from one to the other and burst out crying. Aran took Rhona into his arms and rocked her. Sometime later, he brought her to the sofa, placed her on his lap and continued rocking while, Tyne spoke to her reassuringly, rubbing her back.

  She couldn’t stop herself from crying. She wanted to wake up and discover the last week was a dream. She wanted to wake up on the morning she was leaving and for Michael to be there, irritating her over breakfast while her mum and dad stared googly-eyes at each other after making up from their argument.

  She wanted Makios to come in, guns blazing and carry her away from all of this. Instead, she was waiting for the door to open and admit a monster determined to hurt her.

  By the time her eyes dried up, she couldn’t keep them open. She leaned against Aran and fell asleep.

  When she woke up, she was lying in bed between them.

  ‘Oh!’ She jerked, feeling both bodies against her.

  ‘Shhh.’ Aran drew her closer. ‘We’re not going to touch you,’ he whispered. ‘There’s only one bed, and if he finds you anywhere else, he’ll punish you.’

  A sob escaped Rhona, but she managed to hold the rest in. Behind her, Tyne rubbed her back and, too exhausted to fight, she drifted off to sleep again.

  ‘Move,’ a voice whispered.

  Rhona started awake to find people around her. Reality and memory drifted in. Tyne’s warmth disappeared from her back as he rolled away. Someone new crawled in the bed. Rhona went stiff as hands pulled at her and dragged her across to him. She knew it was Drexan before she opened her eyes. Fear bit at her, then anger.

  ‘Oh no you don’t.’ She drew back her fist and threw a punch. A dull, meaty thud filled the void of light, and Rhona felt spatters of hot liquid spray across her neck and face before it cooled against her skin.

  ‘Lights,’ a muffled, nasally voice called.

  The lights came on, and Drexan glared at her. Dark teal blood ran down his face. He snarled and launched, his hands slipping around her throat as he pinned her to the bed. Rhona dug her nails into his hands and tried to pry them away from her throat.

  ‘Drexan, no.’ Aran pulled at him. Drexan released her and pushed at Aran. Rhona managed to draw in a small breath before his hand wrapped once more around her throat. ‘Drexan, there are other ways to punish her. Don’t, please.’

  Drexan ignored Aran, his eyes filled with hatred as he stared at her. Teal blood dripped from his nose and onto her face in a long trickle, falling over her lips, threatening to go up her nose and creeping towards her eyes.

  Rhona saw Tyne raise a vase and managed to close her eyes before it crashed over Drexan’s head, the shards falling and scratching her as they fell.

  Drexan collapsed on top of her, and Tyne rolled him away.

  ‘I’m not watching him kill another one,’ he said to Aran through gritted teeth.

  Aran stared from Tyne and Rhona to Drexan, in apparent shock.

  ‘Shuttle?’ Rhona coughed. Damn these alien men choking her constantly. She grabbed the sheet from the bed and wiped at her face, trying to get some of Drexan’s blood off.

  ‘What?’ Tyne asked.

  ‘Do you have a shuttlecraft?’

  Tyne nodded.

  ‘I’m a pilot,’ she croaked.

  ‘How do we get past the guards?’ It was Tyne again. Rhona looked at Aran, but he seemed incapable of speech.

  ‘Guns?’ Rhona asked and then pointed at Drexan. ‘Tie him up.’

  ‘No weapons or we’d have left a long time ago,’ Tyne said. He looked at Aran, who was staring at Drexan, horrified. ‘Aran, I’m leaving. Are you coming?’

  Aran looked up at Tyne before he nodded. ‘Let’s hang him up next door.’

  Aran and Tyne lifted Drexan between the two of them.

  ‘Rhona, the door,’ Tyne gasped under the heavier male’s weight. Drexan was taller and bulkier than both of them.

  She ran across the purple and gold bedroom.

  ‘What is it with this guy and colour?’

  ‘It’s not just him,’ Tyne said, his voice strained. ‘Amarans are grey. We like a lot of colour.’

  Rhona opened the door and found herself back in the circular hallway. This time, she was coming out of the door to the right of the lift.

  ‘Where are the guards?’

  ‘They don’t stay in this level unless Drexan invites them into the bedroom,’ Tyne said, ‘or that room.’ He nodded to the door across the hall, on the left of the lift. ‘Get that door.’

  Rhona ran across the hall and opened the door. Her mouth dropped open into a gasp. ‘Oh my.’ She shook her head. She was faced with a room of wood, metal and leather. There was racking on one wall filled with different striking and whipping implements. An H-frame with manacles stood on the back wall, and an A-frame stood in the centre of the room. There were other implements, pieces of furniture she couldn’t imagine a use for, or didn’t want to, anyway.

  This was the room where Drexan planned to torture her.

  Tyne and Aran entered carrying the still unconscious Drexan between them.

  ‘The A-frame,’ Rhona choked out.

  ‘My thoughts exactly,’ Tyne said.

  Between them, they managed to haul Drexan up and chain him. He hung limp from the chains, his chin dropping to his chest.

  Had he been human, or a decent being, she would have been concerned that he was out this long. He definitely had a concussion. She hoped the bastard died of it.

  ‘We need weapons.’ Aran shook his head. ‘It’s hopeless.’

  Rhona frowned at him and pointed to the wall of grisly implements.

  Aran looked at the wall. Something changed as if he was seeing it for the first time. Realisation dawned and embarrassment quickly followed. ‘In my defence, apart from Drexan, I’ve always gotten a great deal of pleasure from rooms such as this.’

  ‘More than I needed to know,’ Rhona said. She turned to the wall. ‘Anything that can knock a person out or incapacitate them?’

  Aran crossed the room and picked up a stick similar to the one the purple alien had used on Makios.

  ‘Sometimes he brings bigger aliens here. Sometimes he just wants to really hurt one of us without killing us.’

  Rhona glared hatred at the pale Amaran. ‘I really would like to use it on him.’

  Tyne followed her gaze, plucked the stick out of Aran’s hand, crossed the room and jabbed it into Drexan’s side.

  His eyes opened, his body spasming. His mouth was open, but no noise came out. After a few moments, his eyes closed. When Tyne withdrew the stick, his entire body went limp.

  ‘I was worried about him waking up.’ He looked at Rhona. ‘Now I’m not.’

  Rhona grimaced. Despite her strong feelings against the alien, the sight made her feel sick. She reminded herself he had used that stick on Tyne and Aran.

  ‘That should take care of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,’ she said, forcing her mind away from what she’d just witnessed.

  Aran frowned at her.

  ‘The guards,’ she said. ‘Can we call them up here? We can attack them coming out of the lift.’ She cleared her throat. Already it was feeling better.

  Tyne nodded. ‘Which one groped you most while they were bringing you up earlier?’

  ‘Err, Dalus,’ she said.

  ‘Of course.’ He shook his head. ‘Did Drexan see?’ She nodded.

  Tyne walked over to a comm. ‘Coll, Drexan wants you.’

  ‘What about me?’ Dalus’s voice responded.

  ‘He said you’ve already had enough of a feel for now.’

  ‘That’s… Vrok.’

  Tyne smiled at Rhona and tapped a button on the stick a couple of times. ‘I’m going to enjoy this,’ he said. ‘Stay here.’ He walked out of the room. After a few moments, the lift doors opened.

  ‘Hey, little adalan, you ready… what the?’ Coll’s voice was followed by a heavy thud.

  ‘Time to go,’ Tyne’s voice called.

  Rhona
and Aran ran into the hall. Coll was on the ground, drool pooling beneath his open mouth.

  Tyne had his hand on the lift doors allowing Rhona and Aran to get in. Tyne grabbed Rhona’s hand and put it on the doors to stop them from closing. He stepped over to the alien and kicked him hard three times.

  ‘That is the last time you touch me.’ He snarled. Tyne spat on the unconscious alien and joined them in the lift.

  Rhona took his hand and squeezed it; he squeezed back. She took Aran’s hand on her other side.

  ‘Who else? she asked.

  ‘Three pilots, the captain, the engineer and the doctor,’ Aran said. ‘As long as none of them sees us, we’ll be able to get to the shuttle without issue.’

  ‘Does he let them all touch you?’ She swallowed, already knowing the answer.

  ‘Yes. He hires them specifically,’ Aran answered. So all of them had reason to stop them from escaping. All of them were the enemy. The lift came to a halt.

  ‘Get ready.’ Tyne held out the stick and stepped forward as the doors opened to reveal Dalus. Dalus looked in the lift, a casual glance, then, eyes widening, turned to face them.

  ‘What the—’

  Tyne jabbed the stick at him. Dalus grabbed it, holding it inches from his body, and hissed.

  Rhona stepped forward and grabbed it, adding her strength to Tyne’s, pushing the stick towards the alien with all her might.

  Dalus grimaced. ‘Going to enjoy…’ He breathed, and his arms gave a fraction. ‘Your punishment… for this.’

  Aran stepped up and kicked Dalus in the side of the knee. Dalus fell hard, and Tyne jabbed the stick in his face.

  The alien screamed and dropped.

  ‘Shit.’ Rhona looked down the corridor. Is this the same floor as the doctor?

  Down the hall, doors opened, and the Amaran doctor appeared there. He took in the scene and went back inside, the doors shutting behind him.

  ‘We have to get him.’ She broke off and ran down the hall.

  ‘Rhona!’ Tyne called. She heard them following as she slammed her hand on the panel at the side of the door. Nothing happened.

  Tyne arrived and repeated the action, but the door stayed stubbornly shut.

  ‘We have to go,’ Aran said. ‘He’ll have alerted the bridge by now.’

  Rhona stared at the door, willing it to open, but Aran was right. If it was already too late, all they could do was run.

  ‘Shit.’ She hit the door. ‘Where’s the shuttle?’

  ‘This way.’

  Aran led the way, Tyne falling to the back, putting Rhona between them. These sweet, beautiful adalan were protecting her. Her father’s words reverberated in her head, yes, there were purple slavers, grey sadists, red murderers. There were also red, gold and grey protectors.

  Though some aliens were awful, surprisingly, to her at least, some were amazing. A small some so far, but some all the same.

  They ran, twisting and turning down the carpeted corridors until they came to another set of doors. Through a glass panel, Rhona could see a small airlock and the doors to a ship.

  Aran hit the panel. It wouldn’t open. He hit it again, but it didn’t budge.

  Tyne pushed in and placed his hand on the panel.

  ‘We obviously don’t have access,’ Rhona said urgently.

  ‘We should have brought Drexan,’ Aran snapped.

  ‘Escape pods,’ Rhona said.

  ‘This way.’ Tyne led the way down the hall.

  ‘I’m going to kill all three of you for this…!’ Drexan’s voice followed them down the hall.

  All three of them sped up, but behind them, the sound of more than one set of heavier footsteps chased after them, gaining.

  Tyne led them into an alcove near what Rhona assumed was the back of the ship. Four hatches were set into the wall. Tyne hit the panel on one, and a hatch hissed open.

  ‘Oh, thank—’ Rhona said, running towards it.

  ‘I’m going to chain you up, little whore. I’m going to watch every male I come across vrok the three of you until you die.’ Drexan’s voice was weak, but he was getting closer.

  ‘Does he never shut up?’ She climbed inside, followed by Aran and Tyne, and the hatch closed.

  ‘Buckle in. We’ll have metri to secure ourselves before the pod detaches.’ Tyne helped Rhona buckle in, then saw to his own restraints as Aran secured himself. When they were ready, Aran hit the release. For the third time, nothing happened.

  Rhona looked at Aran and Tyne.

  ‘There’s a manual release on the outside,’ Tyne said, closing his eyes.

  ‘Oh no.’ Rhona closed her eyes. The hope she’d allowed to flair was dying. She wasn’t leaving without them. She didn’t want to think about what their punishment was going to be.

  ‘Take care of her,’ Aran said. There was a hiss of doors opening. Rhona opened her eyes in time to see the hatch close behind him. ‘Aran no.’ She tried to unbuckle herself, to run at the door, but the damned thing wouldn’t let her go.

  Aran hit something on his side and the lights inside the hatch went red.

  ‘Rhona, go. Take care of Tyne for me.’

  ‘Aran.’ Tyne’s voice was tight, thin. Rhona looked at Tyne, who watched Aran with a look of anguished devastation on his face.

  ‘Rhona.’ She turned towards Aran. ‘He won’t hurt me as badly. I’m his public adalan. It’s okay.’

  Rhona shook her head, her sight blurred as tears filled her eyes.

  ‘Launch sequence commencing,’ the pod's computer said.

  ‘We’re coming back for you,’ Rhona promised.

  ‘Don’t promise things you can’t deliver.’ Aran shook his head.

  Rhona pressed her lips together, determined. ‘We’re coming back for you,’ she repeated. ‘Soon.’

  Aran nodded with a sad smile on his face.

  ‘Aran.’ His name was a murmur from Tyne’s lips.

  Behind him, Drexan, Coll and Dalus appeared. Right then, Rhona knew the position of public adalan would not protect Aran. The three of them had murder on their faces as they approached him. Aran tensed, fear entering his eyes. He looked from Rhona to Tyne, and pure emotion glowed on his face. Rhona felt herself shaking. A moment before Drexan and his cronies reached him, the pod launched. Aran’s form was suddenly a distant silhouette against a round light in the hull of the ship as the ship disappeared into the distance and was gone as the pod decelerated. Rhona watched the streaks of light settle into static stars.

  The pod stopped. Rhona swallowed. They didn’t have time for her emotions; they had to find somewhere safe. She became aware of Tyne breathing heavily beside her. She looked at him and saw him taking hard, shallow breaths, his eyes filled with tears. Reaching across to him, she took his hand. She gave him a moment, but a moment was more than they could spare.

  ‘Now what?’ Rhona asked Tyne. She was still shaking.

  He looked at her, swiping at his eyes, and cleared his throat. ‘The pod should give us several options of where we go, including any ships in the area.’

  ‘Three ships and two planets detected within range,’ the computer’s voice intoned.

  ‘Display ships,’ Tyne said.

  Three ships appeared on the viewscreen. One was flashing.

  ‘That’s the Dalcin.’ Tyne pointed at the flashing ship.

  ‘Drexan’s?’

  Tyne nodded. ‘Yes. Computer, are the two planets in Devori space?’

  ‘Confirmed.’

  Tyne hissed. ‘We can’t go there. They’ll either return us or sell us on.’

  Rhona looked at the two other options. One was a ship moving off and to the right. The other seemed to be on the same flight path as Drexan’s. ‘That ship’s going to intercept us,’ she said. ‘Shall we try it?’

  Tyne nodded. There was a wary look in Tyne’s eyes when he looked at her. He took a deep breath. ‘Computer, contact the ship on the same heading as Dalcin.’

  A trilling noise filled the pod before the s
creen changed from stars to Makios. Rhona gasped as Makios’s mouth dropped open.

  ‘Rhona?’ he sat forward. ‘Where are you? Have you got a translator?’

  ‘You know him?’ Tyne asked.

  ‘He was in the same cage as me on the slave ship,’ she answered Tyne first.

  ‘Rhona, you can understand him?’ Makios smiled. ‘You can understand me?’

  Rhona smiled back briefly. ‘We’re in an escape pod,’ Rhona said. ‘We just launched from Drexan’s ship.’

  Makios looked down and started working. ‘I was wondering what that was. I’ve got you. I’ll be there in less than a metri.’

  ‘Hurry,’ Tyne said, ‘Drexan will come back for us.’

  Makios’s face clouded over. ‘I’ll be there first,’ he vowed.

  ‘We have to get back, Makios,’ Rhona said. ‘We had to leave Aran behind. He’s an adalan. Drexan’s going to hurt him.’ She couldn’t force herself to say the word kill.

  Makios looked at Tyne. ‘He had two adalan?’

  ‘One for pleasure, one for show,’ Tyne said, his lip curled in anger.

  Makios snarled and tension set into his features and frame. ‘We’ll get him back.’

  Rhona felt tension bleed from her. ‘How did you get free?’ she asked. ‘And get a ship?’

  He was busy on the console in front of her but glanced and smiled at her. ‘This is my ship. My crew were working to help me escape.’ Makios pushed something. ‘I’m about to drop out of FTL.’

  A long, sleek, sexy black ship appeared in front of them. A large hold door opened underneath the front of the ship and swallowed them whole.

  There was a strange moment where the artificial gravity of the ship asserted itself, clashing with the artificial gravity of the pod before it deactivated, and the pod dropped to the hold floor with a thud.

  Rhona grabbed at the belt restraining her and yanked on it, trying to get loose, but just like before, it wouldn’t free her.

  Tyne unclipped himself and reached over, freeing her with one finger. Rhona grinned her thanks and ran over to the door, hitting the release.

  Across the bay, the door opened. A blue-grey alien with multi-faceted black eyes stepped inside. ‘Hello, Rhona. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Deyuul, Makios’s executive officer.’