Chapter 2 #2
“You all grew up together?” She couldn’t help the note of wistfulness bleeding into her voice.
She had grown up alone with Amme, her nanny, as a companion.
Her father allowed none of the other children on the planet of Ornum to play with the governor’s daughter, and then, once she’d matured and the feline tattoo formed on her cheek, her father permitted no one to see her face either.
She’d embarrassed him, and he couldn’t bear to look at her.
He’d ordered her to wear a full mask whenever she left the governor’s mansion.
He’d lost her respect at that stage, but stupidly, she still yearned for acceptance, a show of love.
“We did. It was always Jarlath and me against our two brothers, Shiloh and Lynx. Shiloh and I grew up knowing we’d act as bodyguards to the two princes.”
“And Shiloh and Lynx ended up as mates. Did you and Jarlath ever—”
“No. Jarlath became smitten at the first meeting with Keira. After he met Keira, things changed. Our lives are different now.”
“For the better?” Curiosity and interest ate at her. He’d never talked to her this way before—as if she was an adult. It was…pleasant.
“I didn’t think so at the time,” Ellard said. “I told Jarlath he should listen to his parents and marry someone from a respectable family, someone from the upper classes.”
“He went his own way.”
“Yes. He kept visiting Keira because he enjoyed the pies she baked. At least, that was his story. I knew otherwise and tried to tell him to use her and move on.”
“He still refused to listen.”
“Yes, and looking back, I can see their relationship works well. Life has improved at the castle and in the city.”
“But it took a war to change things.”
“Yes.” Something—maybe pain—flickered across his face.
“Back to you and Jarlath shifting. What happened after you fibbed to Jarlath?”
“We went outside to the rear garden where my father used to conduct our training. Although my father had prepared us and told us what to expect and how to advance the shift, we were both nervous.”
“And you still couldn’t feel your feline?” This was pleasant. He’d been chatting for almost a full cycle portion without freezing her out.
“No.”
“You put on a good front?”
“A what?”
“Jarlath believed you because you behaved with confidence.”
Ellard nodded. “He doesn’t suspect to this day.
We disrobed and pictured our felines. I closed my eyes and pictured a black feline, concentrating so hard I wouldn’t have known if the House of Cawdor launched an attack on the city.
Then, all of a sudden, I felt my feline and the change rushed through me so fast I almost blanked out with the pain. ”
“Camryn told us her first shift hurt. Jannike can’t remember because her shift occurred while she was half asleep.”
“It gets easier with practice.” Ellard paused to take a bite of his sandwich. “This is good.”
“It’s an Earth dish. I learned how to cook when we visited Earth.”
He picked up his drink. “My shift burned like firehell. According to Jarlath his never hurt, but I still don’t believe him.”
“I think it would be worth it, even if it is painful.”
“It is. The rush of extra sensory perception is amazing.”
Gweneth glanced out the viewport and let out a horrified squeak. “What’s that? Why aren’t the sensors screaming?”
The deep black of space now writhed with streams of blood red. Chunks of rock or some other type of material hid within the streams of colorful vapor material. They started to pelt the body of the ship. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.
Ellard cursed, his hands racing over the controls to regain manual control. Belatedly, an alarm began to screech, and Gweneth gripped the arms of her seat as the ship began to shake. The engine chugged instead of purring. Alarming pauses in the clamor of the engine brought another flood of curses.
“Phrullin’ heap of fodo crap.”
“What is that stuff?”
“Space debris.”
Gweneth froze, her gaze on the swirling mass of color outside the ship. “Where did it come from?”
“Maybe a crash or cargo dumped on purpose. Any number of sources. Known debris fields are marked on the star maps.”
“But not this one?”
“No.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Strap in,” he ordered as the ship began to buck. “These things are unpredictable. I’ve heard rumors of people creating them on purpose and designing them to disable ships.”
“Space pirates?”
“Yes. Put on the harness.”
Gweneth did as he asked, her eyes widening as the red dust thickened until it obscured vision. The entire ship shuddered and whined, dropping without warning. The pelt and shriek of objects striking the hull became a litany. Bang. Bang. Bang. Thump.
She dug her fingers into her thighs and bit her bottom lip to stem her anxiety. Ellard needed to concentrate. Her hysterics wouldn’t help. The ship’s warning siren continued, the strident whine louder than the cacophony of the storm outside.
“Shiloh told me the ship was serviced five cycles ago, and he took it for a test run.”
“He did. Jannike went with him.”
“The ship’s not responding.”
Gweneth scanned the instruments and saw the readings were wrong. She peered through the window port. She couldn’t see much. An object the size of a hand struck the viewport, and she instinctively ducked. The entire time, the siren blared.
“Can’t see a damn thing. You?”
“No…wait! Go to the left. The dust isn’t as thick.”
Ellard grunted, fighting the steering. “Controls are sluggish. Shiloh needs to sack their ship mechanics.”
Another chunk flung against the viewport, a scatter of smaller items. Each time an object hurled against the viewport, she wondered if it would hold.
“Keep going left,” she ordered.
Ellard grunted, forcing the directional stick left.
The ship initially responded, and Gweneth’s tension eased free with her breath.
Then something struck the undercarriage.
Something large since the entire ship groaned.
Shuddered. The engine cut, the siren ceased, leaving nothing but an eerie silence punctuated by the strike of fragments.
Flashes of light blazed across her retinas. She swallowed, fear writhing to life.
“Are we far from Narenda?”
“No idea. None of the instruments look right.”
Gweneth reached for the communication panel and pushed a button. Static.
She glanced up to see another chunk heading straight for them. She stared at the shiny chunk, her pulse racing. Way too young to die.
Without warning, an explosion boomed around them. Another flash of retina-searing bright light blasted chunk. It veered away, clipping their ship and scooting them to the left.
A shriek escaped her, and she blushed at the girlie squeak. “Um, sorry. Took me by surprise.”
Ellard attempted to restart the ship’s engines. “Phrull it,” He swore at the engine’s cough—three loud barks—before dying again.
“What are we going to do?”
“Pray,” Ellard snapped.
A steady thud-thud-thud shelled their ship’s exterior, and Gweneth realized the truth. No need to spell it out. They’d die if one of the bigger chunks hit them in a vulnerable spot. Not even breathable suits would save them in the middle of this storm.
Ellard tried the engines, and once again, they spluttered.
Gweneth turned to the communication equipment. Her fingers raced over the keys. Nothing. No signal. It could be the interference from the storm. She’d learned a lot from Nanu, enough to help and maybe fix the problem. She unfastened her harness and slipped from her seat.
“What are you doing?” Ellard snapped without taking his gaze off the viewport.
“I’m going to try to work out what is wrong with the communication system. It’s something more than our position. There should be some static and there isn’t. Not a peep.”
“Stay in your seat.”
“Why? If a big enough piece hits us, we’ll be history.
Either way, I’ll be dead.” And she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Ry and Camryn had taught her that. But first…
She scooted closer to Ellard and kissed him dead on the lips.
“In case we perish. I’d hate to die without having a kiss.
Bad feline.” She patted him on the cheek.
“You could have kissed me back.” While he gaped, she slid beneath a panel and peered into the dark innards.
“Phrull it. Get back in your seat,” Ellard barked.
The ship shuddered. Gweneth waited until the jolts ceased and prized her fingers free of the handy handholds.
In the dim light, she studied the wires and followed the mass to the terminals.
Several appeared loose, which seemed weird, and a couple of others weren’t attached anywhere.
She popped back out from under the panel.
A quick glance outside the viewport showed luck had turned their way, and they weren’t in danger of hitting anything in the next few mins.
“You didn’t kiss me back.” With her heart thudding, she turned to him and planted her hands on her hips. “You owe me a kiss.”
“More important things to do.”
“Where is the toolbox? I think I can fix the navigation system. Maybe the communication too.”
“You?”
Gweneth sniffed. “I’m not just a pretty face.”
She’d kissed him. She’d kissed him and demanded more. He backed away a fraction and focused. “No more kissing talk. See that big chunk over there.” He gestured out the viewpoint window. “It’s heading our way.” He hauled out a toolbox. “Show me the loose wires.”
“Ellard, I know how to do this. Nanu taught me. I’ve learned lots of stuff because the Indy crew take the time to educate me. I’m not one of your helpless upper-class shifters.”
Ellard ignored her affronted tone and slid beneath the main control panel.
“Pompous oaf,” she muttered.
A flash of amusement, unexpected, shot through him until he checked the wiring. Phrull it, she was right. Someone had tweaked the wiring, loosening some and tugging at others.
“Hand me the tease tool.”