Chapter 20
Flack
Though I had memorized much of the map since having it inked onto my skin, I still worried.
This narrow tunnel met several just as tight passages that came from other parts of the mansion.
It was very easy to get turned around in here, and much harder to check the map.
There simply wasn’t enough space for me to shift into a form that would allow me to look at it.
That required my two-legged form, and it was the one form I could not easily adjust in size.
We should have been on the homestretch, and instead I was beginning to worry I’d put my Irena in more danger than I should have.
Taking her through these tunnels had seemed like the perfect way to avoid Dimon’s scrutiny.
What if the Asrai noble, or perhaps a clever guard, did know of them?
What if it was them waiting at the exit for us?
It was also a struggle for Irena to crawl through the cramped space.
She was nimble and small, but it was still a tight fit.
Cold as it was in here, she’d needed that thick fur coat for protection, but it also snagged on edges, slowing us down.
I worried about food too, because we had none, and if we needed to hunker down in here, that could be an issue.
I had vowed never to let my mate go hungry ever again, and I fully intended to keep that vow.
When our passage crossed another, I seized my chance.
I shifted with a groan, my shoulders pressing tight against the low ceiling, legs cramped awkwardly into the crossing.
Yanking down my pants to look at the stupid map was even harder, and I was cursing myself loudly for not considering this issue before selecting the spot.
All I’d cared about was making sure it was out of sight; I’d never considered how awkward it was to check a map inside your pants.
“What is it?” Irena asked, her voice a thin, thready whisper. The light she held trembled, but I did not need much to see by; just a sliver was enough to make out the details. I drew in a relieved breath when I realized we were still on track, and the exit couldn’t be much farther.
Hauling my pants back in place, I twisted so I could press a kiss to Irena’s mouth.
“Just checking the map. We’re good. Almost there, can you keep up a little longer?
” She tasted sweet, with a hint of salt on her upper lip.
I worried that she had to be exhausted, but her smile felt as sweet and patient as it had just before we’d climbed into this tunnel.
“I’m okay,” she agreed against my lips. I was so tempted to linger, to figure out some way to make this tunnel work as a fun distraction.
I feared it would require gymnastics my body simply couldn’t manage.
Limber as I was, I wasn’t that flexible, and while Irena was small, she was deliciously curvy where it counted.
Shifting, I kept my size as big as I could and tried to assist Irena through the tunnel in anyway possible.
When she began slowing even more, I flicked my tail in her face until she got the message.
“Oh, no, won’t that hurt?” she asked, even as her fingers curled around my tail, sinking deep into the thick fur.
I yipped indignantly, bracing myself to pull, and up we went.
Now, the fur coat actually worked to our advantage.
She was light as a feather, causing only a slight pinch at the base of my tail. I could do this.
When we reached the exit, I nudged her into place against the wall, waiting for her to nod before I slipped outside myself to scout for danger.
Night had fallen, and the stars lit the sky with millions of pinpricks of light.
It was not as tree-covered here, as we’d come out of the tunnel higher up on the mountain flank.
The terrain was rocky, but shrubs and other low brush still gave shelter from the wind.
I breathed deeply, filtering through the many scents that tempted me, and found nothing.
We were safe. Relieved, I returned to Irena’s side and shifted back to my two-legged shape.
“This is it, we’re out,” I said to her as I helped her out of the narrow tunnel.
The fur coat was so big it dragged against the ground at her ankles, her tiny face sticking out of the collar.
I straightened the lapels around her neck, my hands smoothing along her shoulders to double-check that she wasn’t cold.
“Thank God, I was beginning to think that tunnel would never end. Now what?” She looked at me with such hopeful eyes that I felt ten feet tall.
We’d passed the last hurdle, and now there was only trust. She was all mine, heart and soul, just like I’d been hers from the moment I’d gazed into those soulful brown eyes.
“Stars, how I love you,” I murmured, drawing her even closer.
She wasn’t cold inside that thick coat, but I wanted to shelter her from the cool night air anyway.
She was saying it back, telling me she loved me, but I drank the words with my mouth.
They tapered off into a moan, and satisfaction filled me.
She was silky and pliant, her scent warm and welcoming.
All we needed was a bit of shelter against a tree, and I’d make her sing my name.
I began to raise my head to locate a good spot, and reality reasserted itself.
No, we were exposed here, and too close to a tunnel exit someone might know about.
First, we needed to put some distance between us and this place.
“I know you must be hungry,” I whispered against her soft mouth.
“I know I am.” Hungry for her, not food, but the distinction did not matter.
“First, we need to vanish into the forest. Climb on my back.” I shifted easily, and she did not hesitate to climb astride me when I lay down at her feet—her arms struggling to close around my neck, hands digging into the fur, and her knees squeezing against my ribs.
Downhill made the walk easy, and I knew I was covering a lot of ground.
As I went, I sought out scents, storing information about prey so I could go out and hunt for her once I had her safely tucked into a den.
It was not the scent of prey I caught once I circled a rocky outcropping, however.
My ears swiveled with unease at the hint of exhaust fumes I’d caught.
Then I picked up the very distant hum of an engine, and my fur rose along my spine.
Though I knew Irena was tired and would struggle to hold on at a faster pace, I sped up anyway.
The cover of a cave would hide us, but my white fur was like a beacon in the dark, and I feared the approaching shuttle could see it even from this far.
The humming was already growing louder when I frantically searched for a cave, but there was absolutely nothing here.
It was all solid granite rock and andesite, and the best shelter came from dense underbrush.
It had thorns that grabbed at my fur and the coat that covered Irena, and I halted, crouching low.
“What is it? What did you hear?” Irena asked.
My ears swiveled back toward her, then pointed to the front, where the shuttle was approaching.
There was no doubt now; it was flying directly toward us.
It was too much of a coincidence, which meant they were tracking us somehow.
Despite my ruse, Dimon’s pirates had found us.
I shifted, and we found ourselves flat on the ground, Irena sprawled on my back, her hands clinging to my hair.
“They must have a tracker on one of us, probably me. I checked my clothes. I didn’t think…
” There was no point running further. I simply could not outrun a shuttle.
I cursed myself for not doing a more thorough check.
I’d barely slept on the Vidu; they’d had only one opportunity to do this: when they’d first captured me.
“Stay here, hide. I’ll fight them,” I told Irena, and then I wriggled out of the thorny bushes, my form already shifting to the one most suited for battle: my hybrid-form.
They landed the shuttle a little distance away, as if they wanted to prevent me from ambushing them.
It was a stupid move, as they made far too much noise crashing through the bushes toward me.
I made sure to circle far and wide, leading them away from Irena’s position as much as I could.
Then the carnage started. Even as a ghostly white shape in the forest, they struggled to see me coming.
I was in my element, and I’d picked three of them off before they finally rallied.
They should have shot to kill, but they used stunners instead, hauling me to Xathena’s feet by my limp arms when the drugs began taking effect.
I crashed to the ground, struggling to keep my eyes open and strike one last time.
Killing Dimon’s second would be my last act of vengeance.
Her boot crashed down on my clawed wrist, the steel toe bruising deep, all the way down to the bone.
She was wearing a black patch over one of her eyes, but her remaining eye was vicious as always.
“You didn’t think you’d actually get away, did you?
” she mocked. Where was Dimon? He would have killed me swiftly, but Xathena held grudges; she would make this last, since I’d taken her eye.
At least it appeared they had not found Irena; I’d take that satisfaction.
“Why not?” I drawled. “Sune have a reputation for being slippery.” My reputation in particular always saw me land on my feet; I’d never truly run into a place I couldn’t actually escape from.
My words were slurred, and now I wondered why she was even bothering to sedate me rather than kill me.
Not that they’d find it easy to locate the stolen diamond.
My pants had specially designed pockets for smuggling, and even a scanner wouldn’t be able to pick it up.
As I began to drift toward unconsciousness, Xathena leaned in close to my face, her single red eye glowing as she stared at me.
“Dimon failed to control you, but I’m in charge now, Flack.
You’re going to obey, because I know exactly what makes you tick: the little human.
Ah, there she is now.” Horror washed through me, and I struggled against the drugs they’d shot into my system.
How many darts had struck me? How much electricity had they pumped into my flesh?
I was paralyzed, but Xathena wasn’t lying.
I could hear Irena’s screams, taste the scent of her fear, as they dragged her toward us. They’d captured my mate.