Chapter Fourteen

Light flooded Lian’s vision, making her wince. She wrapped her arms around Ellie protectively, holding the nestling tight against her chest as gravity reasserted itself.

Lian’s feet touched down in the bottom of the giant box she was in. She leaned against the side of it, trying to regain her balance and figure out where she was and how she could make a run for it.

There was a thin layer of light rippling over the front of the box. It made a faint buzzing sound. She had a feeling she wasn’t quite as free to escape as she might think.

“Hello.” Gary stepped in front of the opening of her tiny prison. He was wearing a silver catsuit with a broad belt and bracers that covered both of his forearms—the same uniforms she’d seen members of the Coalition wear.

Lian would have punched him, but she didn’t want to let go of Ellie. Instead, she angled herself so that Ellie was half-obscured by Lian’s body.

Gary smiled. “I appreciate your protective instincts toward the Lyrian. And she seems to have bonded with you well. If you can keep her happy—” He paused, his smile dimming. “Well, it will go better for you if you can.”

“Go to hell,” Lian said.

Gary laughed. “Earthlings have such interesting concepts about what happens after the body breaks down.”

“Unlike you Sadirians.”

She glared at him, willing him to confirm her suspicions. At least then she would know what she was dealing with.

All she knew for sure was that she was terrified—and that she wished Nuar was with her more than anything. He would wipe the floor with this guy, then safely whisk Lian and Ellie back to Earth.

“We know exactly what comes next,” Gary said. “We control it. I was even part of the project that developed the transfer procedure. A minor assistant, but still.”

What the hell was he talking about?

His gaze slid down to Ellie. “To think that I will be responsible for providing Lyrian DNA to the High Council.”

“The High Council was destroyed,” Lian said.

Gary’s smile deepened. So did the dread in the pit of Lian’s stomach.

“Please come with me.” Gary stepped back from the box and tapped on the controls of one of his bracers.

Compared to the sleek Cygnian wristbands that seemed to be made of nothing but smooth metal, his were a cumbersome mess of buttons, panels, and lights. Still, the buzzing field in front of her vanished.

“I’m sure you’re thinking of trying to escape,” he said. “You should know that my bracers are equipped with the same technology as the stasis disk, as well as full offensive capabilities. I think Ellie would be upset if I had to stun you.”

Lian kept glaring at him as she stepped out of her box and into a small room. The featureless walls were smooth gray metal, as were the ceiling and floor. Gary was keeping a healthy distance. He gestured toward an open doorway that led to a hall.

As they walked past him, Ellie growled. Lian patted her back and shushed her, not wanting to antagonize their captor.

The corridor was a darker gray metal, with a single red stripe at about waist level running along the walls. Three other doorways were not far down the hall. Two were on either side of their path and one was straight ahead.

The one ahead was open. Lian could see a dark window at the far end of a somewhat larger room. Was it night already? How long had she been in the box?

Her steps slowed as she realized it wasn’t a nighttime sky she was seeing. It was space.

Gary had taken them off the planet. They were in a spaceship heading for who knew where.

Lian had daydreamed about leaving Earth, but she’d always thought she’d be working with a terraforming team on Mars or helping to restore damaged ecosystems like the ones on the Antarean homeworld. She’d thought it would be a trip full of excitement and hope.

This was terrifying.

She tried to clamp down her fear, not wanting Ellie to pick up on it. The little Lyrian was clinging to Lian’s chest with a tight grip, staring at Gary with wide blue eyes and still letting out a low growl.

He paused at the door to their right and said, “I really must thank you for your help. There are so few people Craig and Barbara let watch their nestling. You were my best chance at securing her. When Ed wasn’t around, anyway.”

“If you want to thank me, take me back to Earth,” Lian said.

“My supervisor wouldn’t like that.”

Was it Lian’s imagination, or had Gary blanched a little? It passed quickly. He pressed a panel next to the door and it opened.

Lian peered inside cautiously. The room was small, with a bunk and something that looked like a sink and toilet in a corner.

“It’s not much, but with a ship this small, efficiency takes priority,” Gary said. “I think you should be able to figure out all the facilities. You won’t be on board long.”

“Where are you taking us?”

“Please.” He gestured for her to enter the room.

She didn’t want to be paralyzed again—or stunned. Holding her head high, she stepped inside.

Gary lingered in the doorway. “I’m taking you to a facility with a full genetics laboratory. They’ll be so excited to have access to a Lyrian nestling. No one’s ever been able to obtain one before.”

“You mean kidnap.”

“Semantics.” He shrugged. “I like you, Lian. I hope we can work together on this project. It will make things more…pleasant for you.”

Her skin started to crawl. He wasn’t looking at her lasciviously, but still, it was ultra-creepy.

“I already have a boyfriend,” she quipped.

He angled his head, as if he didn’t believe her. “Wait, the Cygnian?”

Should she play up her relationship with Nuar? Maybe Gary would think twice about taking a Cygnian warrior’s soulmate. Or would it make things worse for her and Ellie?

Lian wasn’t sure what to say, so she defaulted to her usual—she glared at him.

“This is wonderful,” Gary said. “You’re even more useful than I thought.”

Great.

Gary took a step closer, joining her in the room. Lian lurched back, again angling away so that she was between him and Ellie again.

He didn’t seem to be focusing on Ellie, though. This time, he was focused on Lian, which was good.

It was her fault Ellie was in this situation. Craig had trusted Lian, and she had let him down.

She bit the inside of her cheek, pushing back against the burning in her eyes. No way in hell would she cry in front of this creep.

“I thought those looked like Cygnian wristbands, but had no idea how you would have secured them,” Gary said. “I should be able to assist you with staying alive longer with this knowledge.”

They’re planning to kill me?

Her cheeks started to tingle and the room spun a bit. It felt as though all the blood had dropped out of her head and was pooling in her stomach.

She had to keep it together. Ellie was counting on her.

“You better keep me alive,” Lian said. “Or Nuar will rip you apart when he finds you.”

Gary shook his head, smiling again. “He’ll never find me. This ship is outfitted with a Centauran cloak.”

Centaurans? They were part of the Tau Centauran Assembly that had declared war with the Coalition of Planets and destroyed their High Council.

The only downside of the High Council being gone was that the Assembly had taken out the entire Sadirian home system in their attack. They’d destroyed every colony and space station in the system, as well as blowing up Sadr-4, their homeworld.

Now, they seemed to be determined to wipe out every single Sadirian settlement in the universe. The refugees had been coming to the Sol system, rallying around Earth.

Why would Centaurans be working with a Sadirian? And why would a Sadirian work with them?

She would have found it easier to believe he was that Scorpiian shapeshifter. Scorpiians were supposedly mercenaries and assassins.

Maybe she was wrong about Gary. From what Lian knew, most of the sentients who had become part of the Coalition of Planets when the High Council was in charge had genetically engineered themselves to look Sadirian—which meant most of them looked like Earthlings as well.

Gary could just be wearing a Coalition uniform. He could be Centauran or— She shivered at the thought that he might be a Tau Ceti. She would almost rather he be a Scorpiian.

Aside from the High Council, the Tau Ceti were the worst aliens she’d heard of. They started off their lives by cannibalizing the rest of their brood and had been feeding off of human blood like vampires.

There were too many possibilities. None of them were good.

“Not even the Vegans can see through this vessel’s cloak,” Gary said.

“I’m not buying it.” Lian had the impression that the Vegans could do just about anything with their technology.

“The Vegans are not as all-powerful as they’d like others to believe. If you want to survive, you should remember that.”

“So, you’re a Centauran,” Lian said.

He laughed. “No, I’m Sadirian.”

“But you said this ship has Centauran technology…”

“Yes. They’re working with the Tau Ceti to help restore order to the galaxy. The Assembly shares technology between their people. The Centaurans would never work with a Sadirian, but the Tau Ceti assigned to monitor the Sol system are much more open-minded.”

Lian actually gasped. “How can you work with them?”

“We all have goals,” Gary said. “Our alliances form around them. The Assembly is simply a means to an end.”

“And what end is that?”

He actually looked a bit sad. “One you won’t live to see, I’m afraid. But I can make what remains of your time more palatable if you cooperate.”

“You know I won’t.”

He nodded. “If you only had yourself to consider, I have no doubt of that. But with Ellie in the picture, I think we can come to an understanding. The Tau Ceti scientists are not as sympathetic in their treatment of test subjects as I am.”

Her blood chilled.

“Alliances and goals, Lian,” Gary said. “Think hard about what you want your last few weeks or months to be like. I think you’ll decide that working with me might not be such a bad thing.” He looked down at Ellie. “For both of you.”

He backed out through the door, then reached up and touched a panel in the hall. The door slid shut.

Lian sat heavily on the bed. She could feel the panic building in her. Ellie tightened her grip and looked up at Lian with her big blue eyes. Her ears were clamped tight against the sides of her head.

“It’s going to be okay,” Lian said, stroking Ellie’s back. “Nuar will find us. He’ll come.”

She hugged Ellie tight, willing her words to be true.