Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Honor strode out of the building, her team behind her, and breathed in the fresh Markarian air.
She’d slept like crap, but she wasn’t going to let that interfere with their trip today. She could hear the archeologists arguing about the day’s plans.
She looked over at Derek. “You’ve got a strong signal?”
The younger man looked down at the Sync communicator attached to his wrist. “Yes, Agent Brandall. Loud and clear.”
“Good.” She looked around the empty courtyard. “Now, we just have to wait for our escort.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about waiting for a certain barbarian warrior. The damn man and his hard body and bone-melting kisses had starred in all her dreams.
She heard the clatter of hooves on stone, followed by a snort. She spun.
From around a corner, several large beasts appeared.
“Holy stars,” Derek breathed.
Honor heard gasps from the archeologists and other security agents.
At first glance, they looked like horses—just bigger and more muscular, with black, leather-like skin, horns, and a wicked row of spikes down the back of their necks.
“We can’t be traveling on those,” one of the archeologists said in a panicked voice.
“No way,” a security officer said.
Colm appeared from the other side of the lead beast. He smiled at Honor. “Are you and your team ready, Agent Brandall?”
The way he drawled her name set her on edge. “Of course, Warrior Mal Kor.”
When the beast he was holding snorted, she saw flames shoot out of its nostrils. Each member of her team collectively gasped.
“They are well-trained,” Colm added.
Steadying herself, Honor stepped forward and reached out to pat the neck of the closest beast. She’d always liked animals.
Its skin was tough, but she felt an intense warmth radiating off it. When the fearsome-looking beast nuzzled against her, surprise jolted through her.
She glanced up, and saw that Colm looked impressed.
“It is time to mount up.” He looked at her team. “Anyone who is uncomfortable with riding the hargon beasts, let me know. I will have a warrior ride with you.”
There were a few grumbles and mumbled comments, but everyone decided they could handle the hargons.
“We have gear we need to take with us,” one of the archeologists, Dr. Brown, called out, pointing at two large boxes.
Colm nodded at the woman. “I will take care of it.”
Honor watched Derek struggle to get his foot in the stirrup and then climb onto the massive beast. It wasn’t elegant. She considered how to get on without looking like an idiot.
Suddenly, large hands clamped on her waist and she was lifted up.
Honor quickly swung her leg over the hargon and glanced down at Colm. “I could’ve managed.”
“I have no doubt. My helping you does not detract from that.”
He climbed on his beast in a smooth, athletic move.
The boxes were strung in some sort of netting, hanging off the sides of his beast. He looked back, his hands twisting in the reins.
“Speak firmly but calmly to your beasts. Gentle nudges with your heel to move them forward. If you kick too hard, they’ll run. Fast.”
Honor did as he directed and when her beast moved forward, she smiled.
As they moved out of the gates of the estate and into the fields, she slowly got the hang of the beast. She patted it on its neck and spoke quietly to it.
They rode past well-ordered fields divided by low stone walls. Honor saw many workers busy in the fields. Some of them were singing and laughing among themselves. It seemed to her that life on Markaria, for all its lack of high technology, was pretty darn idyllic.
What would it be like to get up every day and enjoy glorious sunshine, eat fresh food, and train with half-dressed warriors all day?
Except you wouldn’t train with them, Honor. Women aren’t warriors on Markaria, remember?
A beast moved up beside her. She didn’t need to glance over to see that it was Colm.
“You handle the beast well,” he said.
His praise shouldn’t please her so much. She patted her beast’s neck again. “It’s all about respect.”
“And yet you have so little of it for me.”
She turned her head quickly. “That’s not true. I respect your planet and your people. I don’t like that women can’t train to be warriors.” Her gaze narrowed on him. “I get the feeling that you warriors are not used to taking orders from women.”
He smiled at her. “Would you be surprised to hear that a woman runs all of this?” He waved a hand at the farmland.
“Really?”
“And Kavon’s mines.”
Honor made a noise and pondered it. She certainly hadn’t expected it.
“Everyone in the clan has a job to do,” he said. “It is usually whatever your nanami is best suited to.”
“So a woman’s nanami isn’t suited to being a warrior?”
He shrugged. “Nanami suited to fighting are generally found in those who are larger and stronger. It occasionally happens that a woman is a warrior, but not often. It is difficult for a warrior to watch the mother of his child risk her life.”
“It should still be the woman’s choice.” She glanced to the left. Here, she had a much closer view of the forbidding mountains. “It doesn’t look so pretty over that way.”
“The Darken Wilds are not a nice place to be. They are harsh and unforgiving, and home to many beasts.”
“Still, they have a tough sort of beauty.”
“I’m glad you enjoy my planet, Agent Brandall.”
“I guess because we’ll be working together for some time, you should call me Honor.”
He smiled. “Honor. And you will call me Colm.”
It sounded suspiciously like an order to her.
They traveled past the farmlands and away from the mountains. The land ahead consisted of gently rolling fields of grass, with not a single tree to be seen. The archeologists were all busy talking among themselves and snapping images.
“Agent Brandall?” Derek’s excited voice caught her ear. “We’re getting close.”
“Thanks.” She looked up and saw the sun glinting off something not far ahead. “A lake?”
Colm nodded. “There are many small lakes dotting this area. They’re not very deep, and if we have a season with no rain, they are prone to drying up.”
Soon the group reached the lake. It looked gorgeous. The water was a brilliant blue that contrasted vividly with the green grass around it.
Honor slid off her hargon beast and watched the others doing the same. A few of them rubbed at their aching leg muscles. “Anything nasty in there that I should know about?”
Colm shook his head. “A few fish and eels, but nothing large or harmful.”
“Derek? How far to the signature?”
The man sighed. “We’re right near it. It’s in the lake.”
She shook her head. “Of course it is. Great, just great. Dr. Brown, Dr. Lev’nan, what do you want to do?”
The archeologists murmured to each other for a moment before they straightened and turned to her.
“We’ll suit up and grab the breathers.” Dr. Brown was a plump, older woman. “Looks like we’re going to take a swim.”
“Roger that.” Honor looked at her three agents. “Derek, help the doctors and fire up the salvage droid. Braz, you take the left, Galla, you’ve got the right. Keep your eyes open, and let’s make sure we don’t have any visitors.”
Colm folded his strong arms over his chest. “We are not too far from the Wilds. It is not unknown for some of the darken beasts to slip over into the meadows to hunt. But it is unlikely during the day. They don’t like the sunlight.”
Everyone nodded. The security agents got to work, and soon the two archeologists were suited up and wading into the lake. They clenched small breathing units between their teeth. Honor watched as their heads disappeared under the water.
The small salvage droid followed them, floating in the air.
It was dull silver, with a circular head and several arms dangling beneath it that made it look vaguely like a jellyfish.
Each arm had a different tool attached to it.
It sank into the water. If the archeologists found anything useful, the droid would haul it up.
Time seemed to drag on. The archeologists sent up short messages to Derek’s Sync to say they’d found something metallic and were working on it.
A moment later, Honor saw Colm staring across the meadow, hands on his hips. His gaze was narrowed.
She stepped up beside him. “Problem?”
He shook his head. “I can’t detect anything. I just feel?—”
“Twitchy?” She looked across the sunny meadow. “I know that feeling. It usually pays to trust it.”
He nodded. “A warrior always listens to his instincts.”
She breathed deep. She didn’t scent anything off, or detect any vibrations under her feet.
Colm was watching her. “You do not have nanami.”
She smiled, enjoying his confusion. “Nope.”
“But your senses are enhanced. In the arena, you moved fast, were stronger, and you anticipated my moves.”
“Maybe I’m just very good.”
He made a sound like a growl.
She decided to let him off the hook. “I told you about my homeworld, Predia. Well, Predians are hunters. We have naturally enhanced abilities. Not quite as good as what your nanami give you, but better than most.”
He nodded. “Nanami are not always a blessing.”
She detected something sharp in his dark tone, but then there was a splash of water.
They both spun. Something had risen to the surface, tugged upward by the salvage droid. Honor couldn’t tell what it was, but it was covered in a layer of green slime.
A second later, the heads of the archeologists bobbed up beside the object.
Dr. Lev’nan ripped his breather from his mouth. He was grinning. “It’s an ancient escape pod.”
Dr. Brown followed suit. “It looks like a Terran design.”
With the droid’s help, the two archeologists pulled the object to the shore. Honor and Colm waded knee-deep into the lake and helped drag it onto dry land.
The metallic cylinder wasn’t large, maybe as long as Colm and a few meters across. It was a single-person pod.
“Should we open it here and see what’s inside?” Derek asked.
Dr. Brown shook her head. “Even if it’s empty inside, it’s still a valuable historical artifact. We need to get back to the estate.”
Suddenly, she heard a scraping sound.
Honor turned and her eyes widened. Colm had drawn his sword.