Page 213 of Star Bringer
“That’s the heptosphere,” I answer. “I told you about it.”
“I didn’t think it would be so big.” She shakes her head. “We certainly live in strange times, don’t we?”
“They’re getting stranger by the minute,” Ian answers.
I shoot him a look, but he stares at me blandly in response. Then he turns to my mother and says, “Good to see you again, Marlina.”
“And you.” She nods before nodding at Merrick and Max in turn.
I introduce her to Merrick, and though I don’t say he’s a member of the Sisterhood, her gaze narrows in on him as if she knows exactly who and what he is. Then again, my mother has been everywhere in Senestris—even the Wilds—and she hears stuff from everywhere. It wouldn’t surprise me if she knew Merrick was the high priestess’s bodyguard.
“Now that everyone has gotten to know one another, do you have the weapons?” Ian asks. He’s really not one for small talk, but I don’t blame him. He’s been waiting for this day for a long time.
My mother nods to Vix, who walks to the shuttle and enters a code to open the cargo bay doors. Inside are three black metal boxes of what I hope are weapons.
Max and Merrick walk over, pull out the boxes, and bring them to where we’re standing. As they do, I notice my mother checking out theStarlightagain. I turn to look, but I don’t see anything amiss.
“Do you mind if we do some inventory?” Ian asks.
My mother’s grin is sharp. “I’d be insulted if you didn’t.”
The guys open the boxes and check the contents. I catalog them, too, from where I’m standing. Laser guns, flash grenades, smoke grenades, explosives—more than we should possibly need. But Ian and Merrick both believe in preparing for any eventuality, and I can’t say that I blame them. The only people trickier to deal with than the rebels are the Corporation. No matter how smart and prepared you are, they’ll always find a way to screw you over.
I definitely have firsthand experience with that.
“Everything look okay?” my mother asks after they pack the lids back on.
“Looks good,” Ian agrees. Then he holds his hand out for my mother to shake.
She takes it, grinning as she looks him right in the eyes. “Pleasure doing business with you,” she tells him. And then, as quick as a shooting star, she whips the laser pistol out of her hip holster and fires—straight at the top of theStarlight’s ramp.
Straight at Rain…and Kali.
“What the fuck?” Ian exclaims, but I can tell from the look in his eyes that he already knows what’s going on.
He tries to rip the gun from my mother’s grip, but she kicks him in the balls, then fires up the ramp again and again and again.
I throw myself at her, tackling her around the midsection and taking her down.Not Rain, is all I can think as we hit the ground hard.Not Rain, not Rain, not Rain.
“You didn’t have to do that!” I scream as I try to wrestle the gun away from her.
“Of course I did,” she answers, throwing an elbow that catches me in the jaw. “You’ve already proven that you aren’t woman enough to do what had to be done.”
Behind me, I can hear Merrick and Ian grappling with Vix, and panic nearly consumes me. Both are good fighters, but Vix is a mountain of a man—the best fighter I’ve ever seen in my life. Together, they might stand a chance against him, but it isn’t a good one.
I start to turn around to warn them, but my mom is rolling on top of me now, her fist pulled back. And I really, really don’t want to get in a fistfight with my mother, but I’m not sure I’m going to have a choice. Especially when she brings the fist forward, aimed straight at my nose.
I throw my own fist up, catching her in the mouth. She laughs—cool,Mom—and then rolls off me and fires another several rounds toward the top of the ship.
I’m assuming Kali and Rain aren’t ridiculous enough to still be standing there, but that doesn’t matter. These are the only people I care about in the whole fucking system, and enough is enough.
I punch my mother full in the face, and when she rears back in shock, I wrench the gun from her hands and level it at Vix—who is more than holding his own against the other two guys.
I don’t know where Max went, and right now I don’t give a shit. “Back away, Vix!” I yell, firing a blast at his feet to make sure he knows I mean business. I’d never shoot him, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“Get the guns and run!” I yell to Merrick and Ian, who are looking at me in shock. I guess this isn’t how either thinks a family reunion should go.
My mother rears up, tries to grab the gun from me, and I kick her in the face just hard enough to knock her back down. I don’t want to kill her—I just want to keep her out of commission for a few more minutes.
