Page 62 of Hope Forged
“I forgot about that functionality,” he said with a grin. “I endured an uncomfortable heat when we breached this place.”
She grinned at his back as he led them deeper. “Did you consider that Brac might not be down here?”
“Of course I did. I am Durn; we think in statistics. But I am curious. If he is not down here, then who or what made that noise? And what is that?” He pointed his blaster at the device that was a thousand times bigger thanHaile.
She scowled at it. If she had to hazard a guess, it had the shape of a weapon.
At last, they reached a door. A warning sign said not to enter when the machine was powered. Illan ignored it, shoving the door aside when it jammed halfway. An enclosed console sat at the base of the vast cavern. The air was cool, dank, so much better than the heat of earlier. The Maloidians probably hadn’t wanted to waste energy trying to warm this space.
Illan studied the console, tapped a display vid, then jerked back when it flickered to life. “It is zoomed in on…nothing. Just somewhere in space.”
“Maybe it’s something that used to be there.” She slumped against the cold, rocky wall. “If we consider this thing a weapon.”
He gazed at her. “You could be right.”
His words sent a frisson of pleasure through her. An unbidden smile formed. He didn’t notice, intent on capturing the target’s points on his O.D.I. While he was distracted, she opened the door, ready to return to the surface.
He glanced at her. “Yes, let us find Brac.”
The instant he stepped into the passage, he flew backward, slamming into the wall. He bounced and sprawled on the floor. She gasped but had the foresight to peer around the door frame, making sure whoever had fired at Illan wasn’t waiting for her. There was no sign, so she hurried to Illan’s side and grabbed himby the collar of his armor. Thanks to the number of times she had to lift Seba, she was able to drag Illan into the device’s cave. She left him and hurried to shut the door before returning to his side.
Blood oozed from a wound on his upper arm.
He blinked at her, his face pale. “Kuck, it hurts,” he said.
She grinned. “It would.” Palming her med-gun, she ran it over him, still fascinated by the way his flesh knitted together. “Seems like we know who has Brac.”
“And they know we are here,” he gritted out.
“We could lure him out again.”
“Again?” Illan harumphed, then stiffened. “They want a female. Whatever happens, do not let yourself be captured.”
“That isn’t a bad idea,” she said, beaming at him.
“No,” he snapped.
“Yes,” she sang. “You pretend to be dead. I’ll wail about you leaving me alone and defenseless. Then when he comes to seize me, you kill him.”
Illan blinked at her. “I do not know what to think of your bloodthirsty nature.”
“He shot you,” she growled. “I protect what’s mine.” She leaped to her feet and opened the door. Then with a muffled giggle, she shoved her blaster in his hand and threw herself on top of him, screeching like a stabbed ucdeas. “No, my beloved, do not die. I need you. I cannot survive without you.” She ‘sobbed’ in what must be the worst performance anyone would ever see.
His trembling shoulders beneath her hands told her he was enjoying this way too much.
“Quit it,” she hissed. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
In one of her dramatic arms-raised-in-sheer-distress moments, she caught movement along the passage. “Who willsave me?” she wailed, nudging Illan with her knee in his ribs when he chuckled.
A pale-yellow face appeared in the doorway.
She froze, stared at it, then scrambled back, throwing out a hand to ‘defend’ herself.
The male hurried inside as if to calm her.
Illan rose like a monster from the lake’s depths and fired. “I cannot believe I let you do that,” he said, nudging the male’s body with his booted foot.
She shrugged. “It worked.”
