Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
He intended to hurt her, then kill her. Relda saw the flash of his intent in his energies. It was a spreading dark cloud that sucked all hint of color away.
Maz sprang forward, fast and brutal.
Relda threw herself to the side, landing on her hands and knees. But today, surprise wasn’t on her side and this time he was fueled by anger.
He grabbed at her legs, trying to pull her backward.
Wildly, she scanned ahead of her. The table nearby had one of her smaller orbs balanced on top on a tiny, black stand. She reached up, her hand scrabbling at the edge of the table.
“No, you don’t.” A hard hand chopped into the small of her back.
Pain radiated up her spine and Relda winced. He finally got a good grip around her knees and yanked her backward.
As he dragged her, she grabbed the edge of the table. It tipped slightly and the orb rolled off onto the rug. She grabbed it, twisted, and threw it like a champion VelocityBall player.
Her awkward position meant her throw lacked power, but there was nothing wrong with her aim.
The heavy crystal smacked into Maz’s head, knocking him sideways.
Relda jumped up. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, but something else was also stirring. She pressed a hand to her belly, willing herself to stay calm. “Leave now and I won’t hurt you.”
Maz’s eyes were narrowed to tiny slits and blood oozed sullenly down the side of his face.
The aquatic straightened, his blue gaze wary. “We just want the Moon.”
“It’s not here. And even if it was, I still wouldn’t give it to you. Now leave.”
“We aren’t going anywhere without the artifact,” the aquatic snapped. “It’s worth millions of e-creds and our employer…dislikes it when he doesn’t get what he wants.”
“Last chance.” She kept her tone breezy, but her heart was hammering.
She couldn’t risk using too much of her power.
It had been a long time since she’d unleashed the full force of it, and her lack of training left her…
unstable. Trying to scare these two might lead to her wiping out the entire market. Or worse.
The aquatic lunged forward. Relda raised a hand and the man stopped like he’d hit an electro-fence. He shook his head, blinking rapidly. As he realized he couldn’t move, panic bloomed in his large eyes.
Power sang through Relda’s blood, a long-forgotten pleasure.
Slowly, he raised his fist. And slammed it into his own face.
She released her hold on him and he crumpled to the floor.
Maz swore. “You won’t use your mind tricks on me.” He swung, his open palm slamming into her cheek.
The blow made her eyes water and her head ring.
She saw the man raise his hand again, a rotten grin on his face. He held something in his hand—a glowing blue ion blade.
Relda hit him with a mental blast. With a high, thin scream, he dropped the blade. He clamped his hands over his eyes and scuttled backward.
She ran out the front of the tent. Deputy Westin spun to face her, looking shocked.
She dragged in air. “They—”
The aquatic charged out of the tent, clutching an energy weapon, and shot the blond deputy in the chest. Westin fell backward, blue electricity covering his body.
Swallowing a cry, Relda ran.
She flew through the alleys of the market. Vendors called out hellos, but she didn’t stop to laugh, chat, or flirt, as she usually did. She couldn’t risk stopping. Any of them could become targets for the men chasing her.
She had to get to a less populated area of the market. Her mind raced. She needed to come up with a plan to eliminate the men. She couldn’t let them get the Moon and she wouldn’t let them hurt anyone else. She thought of poor Deputy Westin.
A right turn took her down another alleyway lined with wooden stalls.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw the aquatic charging along behind her.
She didn’t see Maz, but he wouldn’t be far away.
She quickly ducked down another, quieter alley and then through an empty stall and into the adjacent alley.
It was less crowded here and she forced herself to slow down.
With a quick jerk, she whipped off her coin belt and dropped it. Next, she grabbed the red scarf around her waist and tied it over her hair. Just act like a tourist checking out the wares. She paused by a store filled with colorful jewelry, fingering a bright citrine necklace.
The neighboring stalls were stocked with food—the cloned, packaged variety as well as freshly grown—clothing, art, weapons.
You name it, you could find it somewhere on Souk.
And if it wasn’t in the market, the narrow, shadowed alleys behind the open-air market hid the stores of the gray market.
There, less legal things could be found… for the right price.
She loved it here on Souk. Had made a little place for herself, even if she hadn’t let anyone get too close. It would hurt to uproot and leave, but she had to go. She couldn’t let the Trojan Moon fall into the wrong hands.
Relda saw a fast movement at the end of the alley. The two men were striding through the crowd, knocking people out of their way. As she watched, two more joined them.
Bile rose in her throat. There were more than the two who’d attacked her. Anyone around her could be one of them.
Time to go. She pushed away from the stall.
She saw the roofs of the warehouses at the back of the market. They’d be empty of people. A good place to take on these men and avoid casualties.
With her head down, she hurried. She would have to risk using her powers. Swallowing, she forced herself to stay relaxed. She could do this.
Seconds later, she heard a shout. Glancing back, she saw the aquatic had seen her. She ducked through the crowd and started sprinting.
She spun around a corner, almost losing her balance.
The men were gaining on her.
She ducked around an anti-grav cart hovering above the ground, loaded with fresh produce. One of the warehouses loomed ahead. It would have to do.
Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked. She ran inside, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the gloom. It was a big, open space with grimy walls and dust motes floating in the air.
Suddenly, hands clamped around her biceps and she was yanked sideways into the shadows. With a curse, Relda fought her attacker. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over her face.
She kept struggling.
Then she was spun around and she looked up into the rugged face of Hunt Calder.
Hunt loosened his grip over Relda’s mouth. Her hair spilled around her shoulders in tangled disarray. The swelling redness on her cheek made his jaw clench.
“Are you okay?” His voice was harsher than he intended.
She nodded. “They’re hunting me. They shot Deputy Westin. We need to get out of here.”
Hunt pulled in a deep breath and concentrated on filtering the rush of sounds and scents through his senses.
Outside the warehouse, he could hear the crowd in the marketplace—chatter, laughter, footsteps.
Smelled the inundation of scents—frying meat, sweat, spices.
It was hard to separate out anything with so many people nearby, but he heard the increased heartbeats of a group of approaching people.
He also smelled something that reminded him of the ocean. “I can smell an aquatic.”
Her eyes widened. “Yes.”
He snatched his Sync off his belt and quickly called his deputies. “I’ve got a group of hostiles in the market. I need you to converge on my current location. And remember, I want them alive for interrogation. And check on Westin!”
Relda was running her hands up and down her arms.
Hunt pressed a hand to her shoulder. “It’s okay. I won’t let them take you.
She didn’t look at him. “Thank you.”
“Something tells me you were holding your own.” She glanced at him now, and again the swelling on her face made his anger rise. “You need to get to a medbooth.”
She fingered her cheek. “I’m fine.”
A door banged open. Male voices filtered into the building.
“Come on.” Hunt grabbed her hand and headed in the opposite direction.
“I hear her,” a man yelled.
“Don’t let her get away!” Maz’s voice.
Shit. Hunt tugged Relda around a stack of boxes and found a back door. There was a gleaming bio-lock on it.
He didn’t have time to use his Marshal override to unlock it. Instead, he prayed his increased strength would be enough. He aimed his shoulder at the door and hit it at a run.
The lock broke, the door flung open, and they burst out into a quiet alley. There were no crowds to hide in here.
“There.” He pointed to a ladder leaning against the wall of one of the two-story buildings. He shoved Relda ahead of him, and she raced up the ladder without hesitation. He quickly followed her up.
The men erupted into the alley, shouting.
“Faster, Relda.”
At the top, they raced along the rooftops. Hunt took a brief second to appreciate Relda’s mesmerizing grace as she ran. As they reached the end of the row of buildings, he paused to glance back.
Three men were racing toward them, weapons drawn.
With a grim frown, Hunt studied the gap. It was too far to jump, and there were no steps or ladders down. There was only a thin wire strung across the alley that he guessed was used to hang laundry on.
“Marshal, I hope you have a plan,” Relda said.
He opened one of the pockets on his vest and pulled out a narrow coil of reinforced rope. “Trust me?”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“I’m not asking you to trust anyone. I’m asking you to trust me.” He opened his arms.
She studied him for a second before stepping in close and putting her arms around him.
Her feminine scent engulfed him—something smoky and spicy. “Hold on tight.”
As she wound a slim leg around him, threatening to destroy his concentration, he slipped the rope over the wire running above the street.
Laser fire hit the roof three meters away from them, and Relda let out a gasp.
Once he was certain she was holding tight, Hunt pushed off.