Chapter 29
Calyspta
The Rendezvous Point
His tree vibrated at the same time a distant bang woke him up. Lifting his head, Garrett turned his ear towards the sky and listened. "Did you hear that noise?" he asked Quinn.
Quinn lifted his head off the bark with a miserable groan. "What noise?"
"That bang that just shook our trees." Garrett gaped at Quinn in disbelief.
"Sorry, I didn't hear a thing.” Quinn yawned.
"Should have known you were deaf as well as dumb,” Garrett mumbled to himself. Glancing down, he felt relief seeing the bloodthirsty creatures were gone. He noticed a dark stain on his tall leather boot. "Damn vermin," he cursed through gritted teeth, "I think it pissed on me yesterday."
Quinn's gold-brown eyes began to sparkle with mirth. His lips tugged at the edges. “Perhaps you should smell it to be sure?”
Garrett’s lips compressed into a thin line. "Go ahead and laugh, you'll get yours in the long run, you'll see.”
Quinn dropped to his feet, but his laughing smile turned to a grimace when he hit the ground, his stiff muscles screaming in protest. ''And I thought trying to sleep in prison was hell.” He stretched, rolled his head from side to side, cracking his neck several times. ''This was worse.”
Garrett dropped to the ground. "Yeah, well, it beats the hell out of being eaten alive by those oversized rodents. Come on, let's get back to the ship and see if we can't find some other way inside.”
“Speaking of piss, I need to relieve myself.” Quinn moved behind a wide, gnarled tree trunk. Fixing himself, he emerged from the barrier of wild vegetation. "Do you see any of those nasty vermin?"
Garrett stopped dead in his tracks. He puffed on his vaporizer, releasing a ring of smoke in the air. "I see lots of vermin, but of a totally different kind."
Quinn glanced up, observing the expansive grassland teaming with Taleari guards, their weapons glinting in the sunlight. On the opposite side of the sweeping field, a significantly larger vessel overshadowed their hijacked ship. “I see what you mean. Vermin.”
Garrett slid his device into his pocket and reached for the weapon tucked into his silk belt, letting his finger curl around the trigger.
Quinn yanked his gun from his belted sash and brandished it about. "What do you think the chances are of them assuming we are one of them?" His tone held a hint of hopefulness. "After all, we are dressed like them."
Watching one guard spot them, Garrett replied in a grave tone, "Let’s just say I wouldn't bet on those odds."
One guard began to speak with his companions and pointed his weapon in their direction. A loud commanding voice echoed across the field. "You two. Hands in the air.'' A group of stern-faced guards began weaving through the tall grass, approaching them with weapons drawn.
Seeing they were wholly outnumbered; Garrett released his weapon and raised his hands to the level of his eyes. He didn't see any other choice but to surrender.
One of the approaching guards motioned with his gun tip for Quinn to do the same. Quinn’s finger remained on latched on the trigger. The unsmiling guard aimed his weapon at his head.
Garrick clenched his teeth. "Don’t be a fool, Quinn. Hands up already."
Quinn let the pistol go lax and raised his palms in the air. Their weapons were yanked away, their hands forced behind their backs and cuffed. The blunted ends of the Taleari weapons dug into their backs as they were herded toward the mechanical behemoth looming against the stark jungle landscape.
“This is all your fault. You realize that, right?”
Quinn pulled a face, his nose wrinkling. "Yeah, just like it was my fault we left the ship?"
They were brought to a stop before a lowered landing plank that extended into the cavernous hold of a mining vessel equipped with a series of grasping claws, conveyor belts, and automated mining lasers. Colossal exhaust vents expelled clouds of processed gas.
They were left standing in the shadows while the guard in charge spoke to a stout balding man wearing long brown robes. "Magnius, we found the hijackers.”
Magnius approached and guards kicked the backs of their legs, forcing them to their knees. Glaring down at them with dark, beady eyes, Magnius questioned them with a contemptuous sneer. “Where is Reyne and Mordrick’s prize?"
"Dead," Garrett spat.
Magnius gestured to the guard, who smashed the butt of his weapon into the back of Garrett’s skull and kicked his lower back, sending him face-first to the ground.
His head exploded with stabbing pain and his cheek smashed into a clump of tall grass, the smell of musky earth filling his nostrils.
He tasted dirt as he struggled to remain conscious.
Magnius took several steps towards them, his hands on his hips. "Again, I'll ask. Where is Reyne and Princess Kendra?''
''It's like he just told you, he's dead.
Decapitated," Quinn told him. “I killed your lackey myself after Kendra was torn apart by a pack of wild beasts.” With another nod from Magnius, Quinn felt the force of a blow.
Quinn shook his head to clear the pain. "You’ll find his body in a ravine just south of here, unless his remains were picked clean by the same creatures that killed Kendra, then you won't find a thing except a rotting carcass and bones. "
Magnius smug grin lacked humor. "Nice try.” He spun towards the guard in charge. "Captain Asher, it is apparent Reyne has yet to arrive. Send out scouting parties in all directions. Tell your men not to return until Princess Kendra has been located."
"Yes, sir,” Asher nodded, issued his command, then strode towards the field.
Magnius turned his full attention back to his two prisoners. "First, I want to know what happened to Captain Zander and his crew. Then, I want to know how you managed it.”
Quinn stared him right in the eye, flashed a brilliant smile and told Mordrick’s advisor to go straight to hell.
A beat later, he lay in a crumpled beaten heap next to Garrett.