Chapter 6
ALLY
Her eyes creaked open. “Footsteps. Someone is coming.”
Evie turned her head, a groan escaping her lips. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Ally frowned. It was hard telling what was dream and what was reality. They’d been bound here for hours, going in and out of consciousness. Her last solid memory was boarding the cargo ship. After the door had closed behind them, everything got blurry.
Ally had found the vessel at the spaceport, delighted to find a cargo ship about to depart for the Rings. When she’d approached as a potential fare, the dockman had brought her straight the captain.
Rigel Rigellus might be physically repulsive, but he’d been a charming gentleman. Ally had asked for passage to the Rings for herself and her sister, and Rigellus had offered a surprisingly low price for the ride.
“I’m a philanthropist at heart, my dear. Sheltering two wee females is a sacred duty. The fare is just a formality, enough to feed you and offset your share of the fuel. We leave in four hours. Do not be late.”
Ally had rushed home, announcing that they would be on their way home in a just a few hours and with more credits left in their pocket than they ever could have hoped. Evie had hugged her, thanking her, and for one shining moment, Ally felt proud.
We did it. We’re going home, she’d thought.
What a fucking fool I am. Ally pushed herself into a sitting position, barely fighting back the urge to vomit as the room spun around her. If those were footsteps, then someone was coming. She wanted to be ready.
The footsteps stopped, and Ally heard a thump. Something hit the floor. Something or someone.
Ally crawled toward the door, stopping only when she reached the length of her chain—a chain that apparently connected her to her sister. “Evie! Wake up. Crawl over here.”
Her sister groaned. “I… I can’t.”
Although she didn’t want to ever hurt her sister, she wasn’t above a few bumps and bruises if it helped them get out of their current predicament. Ally tugged on the chain, forcing her sister’s arm to extend. “You can do it. Crawl to me! Now!”
With a grimace, Evie rolled over on her belly and slowly slid forward. Ally used the slack to make it to the edge of the door, hitting against the locking console. An evil buzz squealed from the lock and Ally cursed in frustration.
“What… are you… doing?” Evie’s voice was weak, but at least she was conscious.
“I’m getting us out of here.”
“Where is here?”
Ally hit the pad again. The same squeal issued, along with a flashing red light. “Fuck!”
Evie crawled forward, then tugged on the chain connecting them. “Where are we, Ally?”
“We’re in the hold of the ship bound for the Rings. They must’ve knocked us out when we came on board.”
“Why?” her sister slurred.
“I’m not sure. Probably to sell us.”
“Slavers.” Her sister hissed the word, then picked up her pace until she was crouching next to Ally and staring at the locking panel. When Ally reached for the panel again, Evie grabbed her hand to stop her.
“It’s programmed, and not for you.”
“How do we get it open?”
Evie frowned. “We need a print from someone who has access.”
Ally groaned. “We’re the only ones in here!”
Evie lifted up the cuff around her wrist that linked the chain. “There’s got to be prints on here, right?”
“But how do we get the damn lock to read a print from the cuff?
“Like this.” Evie leaned in close and huffed out a hot breath against the panel. Then she held the cuff up close, very slowly rotating it within the range of the console scanner. The red light suddenly flashed to green, and the door clicked open.
“Where did you learn that?” Ally asked, amazed.
“Remember that year Mom and Dad sent me to the week-long artists’ camp on Delucca-3? There were a few boys in the neighboring bunk who taught us how to sneak out by fooling the locks.”
Ally shook her head. “I never thought I’d be pleased to learn my little sister is a slut.”
Evie chuckled, then pulled herself to her feet. “Ready?”
Ally nodded. “Let’s go.” Shoving open the door, she coiled herself to strike but froze when she took in the tableau in front of her.
An alien creature floated in the hallway, its wings flapping lazily as it looked at them with mild surprise. At its feet lay a familiar figure. He stared up at her, his eyes wide as saucers.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, uncoiling, but the Raven didn’t answer.
The creature floated closer, opening its mouth. Ally looked up at it, confused, when a gas started to pour from between its lips.
“Get down!” Evie yelled, shoving her to the floor and joining her there. “It’s got some kind of gas. Maybe that’s what happened to this guy.”
“He’s not a guy. He’s the Raven.” Ally crawled over to straddle the pirate. “What are you doing here? Are you the one that knocked us out and locked us up? You should have known better than to mess with me!”
His eyes rolled in his head, but the Raven remained silent. Ally peered closer, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
“Ally, stop screwing around! That thing isn’t happy with us.”
She glanced up at her sister’s warning, seeing that the creature was no longer flapping lazily. Its wings were beating the air frantically, and surprise had given way to anger on its face.
Ally clambered off the Raven and pulled on the chain, yanking Evie with her farther down the hall. When they both managed to get to their feet, she hefted the chain between them.
“Let’s take this floating fart out of commission,” she said, wrapping the chain around her wrist and motioning for Evie to do the same until it was taut between them. “On my count.”
Evie nodded, a look of understanding in her eyes.
“Three…” Ally leaned forward. “Two…” She readied the chain in her hand. “One!”
They launched forward, both raising their arms so that the chain between them lifted to the height of the creature.
Caught off guard, it let out a yelp when the heavy chain hit it.
The sisters managed to tangle the chain in one of its wings, and down it plummeted, bouncing off the hard floor.
It looked over its shoulder, its face full of panic.
Then it scurried down the corridor, limping away from them at top speed.
“What was that thing?” Evie asked, collecting the chain as they walked closer to the prone figure of the Raven.
Ally shrugged. “Probably some henchman of this scoundrel.” She looked down at the Raven, sneering. “How the tables have turned.”
His eyes narrowed, and she could see his mouth trying to work. “What’s the matter? Can’t admit when you’ve been bested?”
His mouth opened and closed, and Ally thought she heard noise coming from his lips. Leaning even closer, she tried to hear what he was trying to say.
“Get me… to the…”
Ally rose, shaking her head. “Still trying to give orders. You’re ridiculous.” She lifted her chain, an idea coming to her. “Give me a hand, Evie.”
Her sister came forward, and the chain pooled between them. “Help me wrap this around his ankles a few times. Let’s drag him to the bridge.”
“Why would we do that?” Evie asked, confused.
“Because he’s a hostage. He’s our ticket to barter our way out of here safely.”
Evie shook her head. “No one is going to take us seriously, even if we have a hostage. We don’t have any weapons.”
Ally bit her lip. “You’re right.” Then she saw the laser pistol at the Raven’s waist. Yanking it out of its holster, she held it up. “We have this.”
Evie let out a gasp. “Be careful with that! You could kill somebody.”
“Only if they refuse to let us go.”
Together, they attempted to drag his form down the corridor. “Ye gods! Why are you so godsdamn heavy?!” Ally put all her weight against the chain to get him to slide forward.
“Must be all the muscles.” Evie giggled.
Ally groaned. “At this rate, we’ll make the bridge by next spring.”
Suddenly, the weight they were tugging refused to be moved. Ally glanced backward and saw that the Raven’s hands were gripping the floor, pushing back against their tugging. “Stop it, little girl,” he said, his voice rough as gravel.
“Pull harder, Evie,” she told her sister, then put all her might into moving him forward. It was to no avail.
He sat up, grabbing the chain and pulling back on it. Ally and Evie both tumbled forward, Ally falling to her knees.
“Playtime is over, ladies.” Slowly, the Raven rose, unraveling the chain from around his legs. “We’re going to the bridge. No more funny business.” Whatever had been affecting him had worn off, and the pirate thought he was back in charge.
The Raven strode forward, using the chain to propel them after him. Ally went limp, using her body as a dead weight, but it did little besides get her dragged several feet.
Turning around with a sigh, the Raven focused his gaze on her. “You will follow me and do what I say.” His gaze shifted to Evie, and he said the same thing.
An inexorable power took hold of her, forcing her steps forward.
“What’s happening?” Evie asked as she fell in step beside her.
“He’s… somehow, he’s making us do this. I’m struggling against it but I can’t stop.”
“Me neither,” Evie said, her tone just as disgruntled.
They turned a corner and met with a group of men dressed in shades of black, one of them familiar.
“There you are, Captain,” the one Ally had seen at the tavern back on Gamma-17 said. “The holds are already half empty.” He looked at the girls and the chain in the Raven’s hand. “Looks like you found something equally precious.”
The Raven nodded. “Finish loading the cargo on our ship, Celdrake. Then bring me Rigellus.”
Celdrake’s eyes widened, but he didn’t argue. “Aye aye, Captain.”
The tall pirate crooked his finger in Ally and Evie’s direction, and Ally felt her body obey, even though her mind screamed at her to fight back. What is this power he has over me?
They made it through the locks between the vessels and entered the other ship.
It was much different than the interior of Rigellus’s ship.
More functional. Sleeker. She and Evie followed the captain as he entered a chamber with shelves packed with endless random items. He dug through a container, coming out with a pair of laser snips.
Grabbing Ally’s wrist, he cut the cuff off of her, then did the same with Evie. Ally, shocked, rubbed her wrists. Why would he cut us free?
“Follow me,” he said, not waiting to see if they did, but that same inescapable pull took hold of her and she was forced to follow, as was her sister. Ally watched carefully as they walked, trying to memorize the path for the moment they could flee.
The Raven walked through a doorway, the top of his head narrowly missing the frame. Ally followed, her sister behind her. Scanning the room quickly, she realized they were on the bridge of the ship. It was dominated by a large viewscreen, and several consoles dotted the landscape.
“Connect me to Rigellus’s ship,” the Raven ordered, coming to a stop in front of the viewscreen.
The screen burst into life, the image of the interior of the other vessel’s bridge appearing. Rigellus sat in a large chair, three men in red arranged around him. The one the Raven called Celdrake was giving orders. “I told you to get him out of the damn chair.”
The men attempted to lift Rigellus’s bulk, the man groaning as he struggled to maintain his seat.
“Fuck this,” Celdrake said at last, motioning to two men in black, one with a weapon pointed at the fat man. “Help them get him up.”
With the five of them, they managed to lift Rigellus and drag him off the bridge. “On our way, boss,” Celdrake said with a wink, then cut the feed.
The Raven turned back to Ally, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotion. “How did you end up on that ship?”
Ally pursed her lips, fighting not to answer, but when he barked an order to tell him, she had to obey. “We bought passage to the Rings. When we boarded, we were knocked out. We woke up in chains, locked away.”
The Raven nodded, crossing his arms over his considerable chest. “Let’s have a little talk with the man who promised you a lift.”
Ally swallowed, wondering what he had planned. What was he doing on Rigellus’s ship in the first place? And now that she and her sister had been taken from the fat man’s grasp, were things about to get better?
Or would they end up a whole lot worse?