Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Colm walked through Kavon’s house, absorbing the smells of home. He’d come back from the spaceship that morning and he was glad to have his boots back on real ground.
The small rooms, narrow corridors, and sleek metal walls of the ship had made him feel claustrophobic and yearn for open spaces.
People bustled around the house, busy with preparations. Tonight, there would be a goodbye feast for the skyflyers. He shook his head. It was strange, since he didn’t even remember their arrival, or subsequent visit.
Apparently, he’d been a hero. He’d been lost on the icy moon of Ansar, helped defeat space pirates, and discovered a second ship that had traveled with the First Warriors, and saved the treasure still loaded in its wreck.
Not bad, considering he didn’t remember a single part of his adventure.
Colm’s steps slowed. Added to that, was the far more momentous fact that his nanami sickness was cured. He pressed a hand to his chest, felt the steady beat of his hearts, and the steady hum of his nanami.
He should be feeling on top of the world.
But the truth was, he felt…unsettled.
His nanami were also unsettled. Not the out-of-control edge that he was used to, it was as if something was upsetting them.
He moved to the end of the hallway and out onto a small balcony.
The courtyard below hummed with activity.
A team from the Institute was stacking boxes of treasure off floating carts, while some of Kavon’s warriors moved the boxes into the house.
Most of the treasure was staying here, along with a small team of archeologists, who would stay to analyze it.
The people from the Institute would be heading off to take the remainder of the treasure back to their museums.
He watched the people in the black-and-gray uniforms moving back and forth. Then he caught the glint of gold.
The security officer who’d visited him in the med bay.
He’d asked around, and he knew her name was Agent Honor Brandall.
He leaned his hip against the railing and watched her. There was something about her…
He listened to her giving crisp, clear orders, as she helped her team.
He liked the way she moved, with an athletic efficiency.
She was certainly attractive, with intriguing curves combined with a warrior’s strength.
He liked the entire package and wondered if she’d be interested in a night in his bed.
Then he frowned. But it wasn’t just the way she looked that made him curious, it was the way she had looked at him in the med bay…
Kavon strode out onto the balcony and stood beside him.
Colm raised a brow. “Feast organized?”
“Yes. There’ll be no wulver beast, though, like at their welcome feast.” His friend looked at him. “You brought one down the day they arrived. All alone. Didn’t even wait for your friend to aid you.”
Colm smiled. “Of course I did.”
“I see your cockiness didn’t suffer like your memory.”
“It’s confidence, my friend.” Colm waggled his eyebrows. “It’s only cockiness if I can’t back it up. Besides, right now, I’m just happy to be alive and to have my nanami sickness gone.” It was like a death sentence had been lifted.
Kavon turned, looking out into the distance where the mountains of the Darken Wilds darkened the horizon. “I wish you’d told me.”
“At first, I wanted to keep it a secret from everybody. I hoped I wouldn’t turn out like my father.
Once I realized the sickness was creeping in…
you were so busy with your grand plan to rebuild your family name and get revenge for your father’s death.
I didn’t want to take you away from that.
I knew how important it was to you. Then you met Aurina. ”
“You are my best friend, Colm, and my right hand.” Kavon clasped Colm’s arm. “I always have time for you, no matter what.”
Colm slapped his hand against his friend’s shoulder.
“I know. I’ve never doubted your loyalty or your friendship.
I’m sorry. I should have told you.” Colm smiled again, trying to shake off the strange feeling that had been sitting on him like a dark cloud all day.
“I think a feast is just what I need. And I certainly have something to celebrate.” He winked.
“I think I’ll put my charm to good use tonight, and convince that lovely supervisor from your grain mills to spend a few hours in my bed. ”
He watched Kavon’s face go blank. There was no good-natured ribbing, no smile, no roll of his eyes.
Instead, Kavon cleared his throat. “You enjoy the feast, my friend. You deserve it.”
His warlord turned and walked toward the door.
Colm frowned. He was missing something. “Kavon?”
His friend paused.
“When you told me of my adventure on Ansar and discovering the ship, you said one of the Institute team members was with me.”
Kavon’s back stiffened but he didn’t turn around. “Yes.”
“You never told me who it was.”
There was a long silence. Colm’s frown deepened. His friend was definitely not telling him something.
“It was Agent Brandall, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Kavon said finally.
Colm turned back to lean on the railing. Ah, that must be why he felt a strange pull to the woman. He saw her below, moving between the boxes. “She seems competent.”
Kavon turned now, his face serious. “She saved your life. In more ways than one.” Kavon’s face twisted with what appeared to be frustration. “I have to go. I’ll see you at the feast.”
Colm continued to watch Agent Brandall. Yes, she was all crisp competence, and obviously intelligent.
Between giving orders and moving boxes, she talked with curious Markarians who drifted past. He watched a group of village kids accost her.
She crouched down, smiling, and showed them some of the artifacts nestled in their boxes.
She smiled and stood, ruffling the kids’ hair.
Colm felt his nanami vibrate. He frowned, looking around. Something was wrong.
There was a sudden shout. He heard a metallic clang as something hit the cobblestones of the courtyard.
“Agent Brandall! There’s a live explosive in one of the boxes,” one of the uniformed agents called out.
“Everyone back,” Brandall shouted. She pushed the kids away. “Go!”
“Shit,” an Institute agent called out. “It’s heating up.”
Colm saw it now. It was a long piece of metal, about the length of his arm. It was beginning to glow an orangey-red. He pressed one hand to the balcony and leaped over it. He dropped the several feet to the ground, bending his knees to absorb the impact. People were running in all directions.
Except for Agent Brandall.
She was running toward the explosive.
“Agent Vasto, containment box. Now!”
“On it.” A woman in a uniform dashed away.
Colm waved at the others in the courtyard. “Get back. Get inside.” He saw Agent Brandall grab the explosive.
He caught her gaze as she ran past him. Her agent was running back toward her with a large box. Brandall shoved the glowing explosive into the metal box and slammed the lid closed.
“Drop it, Vasto, and get back.” Brandall waved an arm. “Everyone, down!”
The agent did as ordered, and ran. Colm crouched and watched as Brandall spun and dived gracefully.
There was a loud, muffled explosion.
Colm stood. The box was dented out of shape, but the explosion had been safely contained.
Agent Brandall sat up. “Everyone okay?”
“Yes.”
“Okay here.”
“Hell of a save, Agent Brandall.”
That’s when Colm noticed her hands. They were burned, the skin red, raw, and peeling. Without thinking, he rushed to her side and grabbed her wrists. “You need medical assistance. I’ll get you to your ship.”
“I’m fine.” She pulled away from him, not looking up. “Vasto, I need the medscope.”
The young security officer rushed over. As she handed over the slim metal wand, the woman winced. “Stars, Agent Brandall, that has to hurt. You made a real mess of your hands.”
Agent Brandall shot the agent a wry look. “I noticed, Agent Vasto. I am the one in pain.”
“Sorry.” The young woman clicked the device on and started waving it over Agent Brandall’s hands.
“I’ll do it.” Colm took the device. The officer looked startled for a second, then glanced at his face and backed away with a nod.
“Agent Vasto, this is your job, not his,” Agent Brandall said sharply.
“Ah, I’m not going to argue with him. He’s bigger than me.” The young woman hurried away.
“We have medscopes now on Markaria. I can assure you, I know how to operate it.” Colm watched the skin on her hands begin to heal.
He wasn’t sure why he felt such a savage need to ensure she was healed, but as her skin knitted together, the red dissipating, the tight feeling in his chest began to ease.
She wasn’t badly injured, thankfully. As he waved the device over her second hand, he realized he liked looking after her.
He looked at the top of her golden head and realized she still wasn’t looking at him.
“Was I not a good escort on our mission to Ansar?”
Now she raised her head. “Who told you?”
He frowned. “I was not aware it was a secret. Kavon said we worked together, that’s all.”
She released a breath. “Yes. And no, you were an excellent escort. We worked well together.” She grabbed the medscope from him and switched it off. “All healed. Thank you. I need to check the other boxes for any other live explosives.”
Colm grabbed her hand. “I’ll see you at the feast.”
Her eyes closed briefly, then flickered open. The pale-green depths of them were unreadable. “I’m not attending.” She gave him a tight smile. “I’ve got too much work to do. But enjoy.” She took a step away, then hesitated. “Have a good life, warrior.”
He watched her walk away. He wondered at the strange, almost desolate feeling inside him. Maybe his nanami weren’t healed, after all?
But more than that, he wondered what it was that he’d detected in Agent Brandall’s voice?
The smell of something burning reached his nostrils.
He glanced around, wondering if it was coming from the containment box. He frowned. No. It was coming from the other direction.
He stepped closer, and spotted an orange glow in another box.