Chapter 3 Lyra #2
“Secondly,” I continue. “The point is moot. The idol isn’t even here. I found the temple, all right, but there wasn’t anything inside. Just a bunch of dusty ruins and crumbling walls. Brill’s information was either outdated, or someone got to it before me.”
Orion’s eyes widen, but he blessedly keeps his lovely lips shut.
“You lie!” Kraxis shouts.
“Search me all you want, lizard dick. I don’t have the statue. Maybe I should just call Brill and tell him someone beat me to it—I’m sure he wants to spend his valuable time looking for a traitor in his midst. I wonder how many of your Void Stalkers he’ll immolate while he hunts for the truth.”
The threat is unbelievable and improbable, but Kraxis is terrified of his boss and the hold Brill has over his brethren. That fear works in my favor and I can see the wheels turning in his tiny brain.
“No one else knew the location of the idol,” Kraxis says slowly.
“Are you sure about that?” I ask, hoping to sow enough doubt to distract him sufficiently. “Look, how many men did you bring with you? If you don’t believe me, go and see for yourself. You know where the temple is. I can’t leave here empty handed, so I’m not exactly going anywhere.”
“This is a trick,” Kraxis hisses. His attention flicks back to Orion, whose face appears impassive, but the stormy look in his eyes promises me a world of hurt.
“Maybe it is,” I offer with a shrug. “But are you really going to risk it? If I don’t return with the idol and you lot don’t either, I can’t imagine Brill will let it slide so easily.
Hell, I don’t know. Maybe I missed something back at the temple.
I’ll wait here with the Xylothian and if you can’t find the statue, we can torture him for the location—I’m sure he knows where it is. ”
The idea of torture appeals to Kraxis just enough to give my words the weight needed.
He shouts something in his guttural native tongue and six Void Stalkers melt out of the bushes surrounding the cleaning.
I congratulate myself on not launching an all-out attack on Kraxis—I knew he wouldn’t have come alone.
“Oglor will stay here with you. If you attempt to escape, he will flay you and lick the blood from your skin,” Kraxis says with a cruel smile.
“That’s disgusting,” I reply, my lip curling. “Can’t you just ask nicely? Fuck.”
The stalker Oglor licks his lips and gnashes his teeth at me.
“The rest of us will go to the temple. If we cannot find the relic, we will return and torture the Xylothian. Brill will have his prize,” Kraxis says.
He conveys his instructions to his men and makes his way to the edge of the dense jungle.
“And if you are lying to me, Lyra Phoenix, Brill won’t be the only one you have to worry about,” he says over his shoulder.
“Hey, Oglor,” I call when Kraxis is out of sight. “You got any water? My canteen’s empty.”
The Void Stalker stares at me—clearly not understanding my words in Kailorian. He narrows his beady yellow eyes. I hold up my canteen and mime drinking, then point to the container at his hip.
Scowling, he cautiously walks over to me and holds it out. As soon as his hand is in range, I yank him forward, pulling him off balance and slamming my elbow into his temple. He crumples to his feet, out cold.
“Help me tie him to that tree over there,” I instruct Orion, who still regards me with murder in his eyes. “Or he’ll come to and contact Kraxis, and we won’t get out of here.”
Orion folds his muscular arms across his broad chest and glares at me, unmoving.
There’s something unnerving in the stillness—like he’s weighing what I just did, deciding whether I’m a liability or an ally.
His eyes are sharp, assessing, and I can almost hear the gears turning behind them: how far will she go, and what is she hiding?
I get the sense he’s less afraid of Kraxis and Oglor than he is of me.
“Uh, hello? Lyra contacting Ranger Orion! Do you want to be skinned alive?” I huff, dragging the limp stalker to a nearby banthus trunk.
He still doesn’t move.
“Fine! Stay here for all I care. You’re welcome, by the way, for saving your ass.
Good luck with Kraxis when he gets back here and I’m gone, and he realizes you’ve had the idol in your pocket the whole time.
” I don’t have any rope, damn it. I rip a strip of fabric off my shirt, then use it to tie Oglor’s hands around the base of the banthus tree.
I frown. It won’t hold him for long, and he’ll be real pissed when he wakes up, but that won’t hold a candle to Kraxis’ and Brill’s rage.
I shudder, not wanting to think about it. That will be a problem for future Lyra.
The ship’s ramp is lowered, engines primed, escape practically humming in reach—so why isn’t the ranger moving?
Why aren’t we running? I glance back at him, and he’s still stone-faced, watching.
Suspicion radiates off him, but every second he hesitates, the noose tightens.
If he wants to stand here and play moral high ground, fine—but I’m not dying for his conscience.
I turn back to climb my ship’s ramp but pause when I hear the unmistakable buzz of a plasma rifle charging up. Oh no, he didn’t. I whip around to see Orion shouldering Oglor’s abandoned weapon, aiming it straight at my head.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I mutter.
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you leave,” he says. “If you’re truly wanted by the Feds, I can’t just let you fly off.”
“Look, you’ve got your relic—and your life, I might add—and I’m getting out of here.
Kraxis could be back any minute and I promise my makeshift handcuffs will not keep Oglor contained for very long.
And if I were you, I wouldn’t want to be around when Kraxis realizes a living Xylothian might be worth more than some silly statue. ”
“If the Feds find out I let you go, I’ll be charged with aiding the escape of a fugitive. I’m not willing to risk my job or my freedom, especially when I’m sure you’re going to continue desecrating sacred spaces and stealing—and stars know what else,” he says, approaching me slowly.
With every step he takes in my direction, I back one step closer to my ship.
My pulse spikes, heat crawling up the back of my neck.
He’s aiming at me, but it’s the calm in his eyes that really scares me.
There’s no anger there—just duty. Cold, relentless duty…
like he’s done this before and he’s already decided how this ends.
I grip the edge of the ramp to keep my hands from shaking.
I’ve bluffed bounty hunters, pirates, and customs officers—but something about Orion’s restraint makes my usual tricks feel useless.
He’s not chasing a payday. He’s chasing justice—and I have no idea how to outrun that.
“You don’t really want to shoot me, do you? I mean, I saved your life. And I know you killed that other Void Stalker, but I’m willing to take responsibility for that. It was probably self-defense, right?”
Orion stills, a flicker of anguish dancing across his face.
“It was self-defense, but I regret it, regardless,” he says quietly. “I don’t relish taking lives, no matter how small or corrupt they are.”
I nod, hoping I look sympathetic. “If it’s any consolation, he probably would have gutted you and eaten your organs.
Void Stalkers have really fucked up appetites.
You did the universe a favor. Now he can go on to meet his death god or whatever, and you will have protected countless others who would’ve been tortured and eaten. ”
“That’s an odd way to excuse yourself for such unforgivable acts,” he says with a frown.
I shrug. “Hard to ask for forgiveness if you’re dead.”
He tilts his head, considering me. “So, it was a matter of survival for you to trespass on a holy site for my people, steal something valuable and important to our heritage, and sell it to one of the most selfish and evil dealers in the galaxy?”
“See, I knew you’d understand. You’ve obviously heard of Brill.” Cold fear spikes in my chest and hollows out my belly, like it always does when I think of Brill. Hard to believe I’m not used to it by now.
The darkness in his eyes confirms my suspicions, or perhaps my sarcastic reply isn’t what he wants to hear. The snap of a branch splitting somewhere in the jungle makes me jump, betraying my cool demeanor. Okay, so I’m anxious to get out of here. Orion smirks when he sees the chink in my armor.
“Look,” I say hastily. “We can make a deal. You want to know who’s trying to profit off the demise of your people, right? Well, it’s your lucky day—I’ve got names, Ranger. Lots of names. Names that make Brill look like a puppy. You let me go, and the names are all yours.”
“What is a puppy?” Orion asks, his brows drawing together.
“A puppy! It’s an Earth creature. A small, fluffy, baby thing.
Like a juvenile lupitian, but cuter. The point is, Brill is the tip of the iceberg.
Let me guess: the Feds don’t give a shit about chasing down a bunch of smugglers, right?
Well, big guy, they’re not bad enough, you feel me?
The Feds would have to do something about the looting here if they knew who was involved,” I say.
He finally lowers the rifle.
“So, I let you go, and you take me to your dealers,” he says.
“Uh, excuse me? That’s not what I offered, Ranger.
I’m not going to get us killed when I show up at the doors of some of the most dangerous people in the galaxy.
I’m going to give you the names, and then you are going to give them to the Feds.
I will be long gone by then—hopefully on some sandy beach with a frosty cocktail, a tentacled dreamboat, and plenty of credits in my account. ”
“No deal. How do I know your information is any good? Am I just supposed to take your word for it? You’re a looter, a thief, and a liar—and I’m not an idiot like your buddy Kraxis,” he says.
“I’m insulted that you cast such aspersions on my character, but given the circumstances, I’ll let it slide.
I’ll take you to one dealer to prove my information is valid, then you can chase down the rest on your own,” I reply, folding my arms across my chest. The move draws his gaze for a moment, and I consider it a temporary triumph that he’s briefly distracted by my cleavage.
“Three dealers. Take me to three of your dealers, then I’ll trust your names,” he counters.
“Are you seriously haggling with me right now? I saved your life! One!”
A rasping sound at the edge of the clearing attracts our attention. It seems Oglor is coming to. Anxiety percolates through my limbs, making me jittery.
“Very well. Two dealers—and I won’t tell the Feds where I got the information,” he offers.
Oglor roars back to consciousness, screaming a string of what I can only assume are Void Stalker obscenities. Shit! My earlier anxiety was nothing compared to the dump of adrenaline blasting through my veins. I barely register Orion’s worried expression as I turn and run up the ramp into my ship.
“Time to go, Ranger!”
He follows me into the outer bay just as Oglor manages to rip through his bindings. The ramp lifts and I haul myself into the captain’s seat, throwing the thrusters into overdrive.
“Belt in,” I call to Orion. “We’ve got a long way to go and I’m sticking to the backroads. It’s gonna get bumpy!”
Ada lurches forward on a steep incline above the rainforest canopy and Orion falls backward into the rear bunk. I don’t even bother to hide my laughter.