Page 219 of Star Bringer
“No way she’s awake yet—she needed to rest,” I say. “I drugged the hell out of her.”
“Try anyway!” Max tells me. “We can’t just stand here waiting to get shot.”
I buzz the sick bay. “Rain, Rain are you awake?”
No answer.
I do it again. Still nothing.
I can see the vehicles now. Approaching from the right, they’re huge, armored trucks with big wheels for crossing the rocky terrain. Off to the left, the first shuttle hovers just meters above the asteroid’s surface, disgorging its content of troops before rising up again. They’re dressed in the black-and-purple mecha armor of the Imperial forces. So, this little nightmare is officially a joint venture, then. Good to know.
A sudden shiver runs down my spine, and I turn to check on Kali, then go still as a whole new horror explodes within me. “Where’s Kali?”
Chapter 97
Kali
“Kali!”
I stop running back through the hallways, where I’d headed to try to find a ladder or something to help us get into theStarlightwithout the use of the locked ramp. Someone is calling my name, though, so I turn and peer into the shadows. Gage is standing in a doorway, gesturing for me to join him.
I hesitate, but he gestures again, and I head over. Maybe he’s hurt and needs help.
But when I get to him, he looks perfectly fine.
“What are you doing here, Gage? You were supposed to stay with theStarlight. We can’t get in. We have to get on board. Now. We’ve got a lot of freed prisoners to help.”
He doesn’t answer, and I peer at him in the dim light. There’s something up. I take a step closer, and he lunges for me. His hand grasps my wrist, and I pull back.
What the fuck?
Brain clouded with panic, I try to remember what Ian taught me about fighting. I make my muscles relax and let him drag me against him, then raise my knee and jab him in the balls. And miss. His grip tightens, so I reach up and try to claw his face. I have no clue what’s going on with Gage, but my instincts tell me it’s nothing good. Especially when I remember the closed-upStarlight.
Thankfully, he’s not a fighter like Ian and we’re pretty evenly matched. I can do this. I make a fist and start to plunge it into his side, but before I connect, he presses something against me and a shocking pain shoots through me.
I lose control of my body and crash to the floor. And for a moment, everything goes black.
When I come back, he’s dragging me along the corridor upright, his arms around my waist, away from theStarlight. I feel as weak as a newborn drokaray.
“What did you do?”
“Stunner. There’ll be no permanent damage. I don’t want to hurt you, Kali. In fact, I’m here to save you.”
“Save me from what?” I snarl.
“There’s no chance for the others. They’re going to die. Butwedon’t need to.”
He pauses at the door and peers out.
Panic is clawing at my guts. Where’s Ian? Hasn’t he realized I’m missing? The man hasn’t taken his eyes off of me in days, and he chooses to start now? I have to keep Gage talking, slow him down from whatever he’s up to—eventually he’ll slip up and I’ll find an opportunity to get back to the crew. “Gage, please tell me what’s going on. Then I’ll go with you quietly.”
He licks his lips and shifts nervously. “Dr. Veragelen contacted me just after you all left the ship. She told me she’d reactivated the chip in my head. I didn’t know she could do that. That’s how she found us. She says she can set it to self-destruct and it will blow up my head. But if I do what I’m told, she promised she’ll take me back into the Corporation. And all I have to do is save your life.”
Fury fills me, red spots dancing in front of my eyes. “That’s not all you had to do. You betrayed us. You locked us out of theStarlightso we couldn’t escape. How? What did you do?”
“Shut down the systems. Then blew out the door mechanism—just in case she decided to override me.”
Bastard.“If the others die, I’ll make sure you do as well.”
