Forsaken Realms (Bounty Hunters United Book 1) (15 page)

“Look.” She pointed to a dark puddle in the leaf litter. The vines appeared to be oozing a thick, black liquid onto the ground, as if they were hemorrhaging. Cautiously she touched a glossy drop of sludge that dripped like sap and brought it to her nose. The goo stank like rotting pond scum. “Eww, this is what smells bad.” Revulsion and panic set in at the same instant.

A cautious hand drew her toward him. “Step away. I don’t want you to be here. This is not a healthy place for my mate to be.”

“Trust me, I don’t want to be here. This place is giving me the creeps. Let’s leave and walk around it.”

Concern furrowed his brow. “That would put us out in the open. I can’t put you at risk.”

A sense of being watched crept up on her. “We have to do something.”

Rrrwww! A deafening roar boomed behind them.

She turned, wide-eyed. “The syan! It’s stalking us.”

“That’s not how they hunt. A big cat like that does not announce to its prey that it's coming—it simply shows up. Hearing a roar during daylight hours is very unusual. Perhaps this animal is injured?”

“Or starving. Let’s get out of here.”

“A syan would not choose to hunt in such a dense thicket. Smaller prey could easily escape.”

“We are smaller prey, and I’m not convinced we could fight any better in such a confined space. The vines are making me feel like we‘re trapped in a tunnel. I want to get out.”

“The patrol craft will spot us in the open.”

“I think I’d rather take my chances out there.”

His brows dipped. “You want to turn around?”

They had walked so far and he had battled the tangle of vegetation until he was slick with sweat. “No. I guess we should keep going. Naveen’s compound is straight ahead and that’s what we need to focus on. Let’s grit our teeth and get it over with.” She reached for the machete. “Why don’t you catch your breath? I’ll take a turn chopping a path.”

“No. Not in your condition. It will exhaust you.”

“My condition? I’m fine. Don’t argue. Let me take my turn.”

He hesitated before handing over the machete. “I don’t feel good about this.”

Gemmina gripped the machete and swung the virtual blade at a gnarled vine. Beyond causing a splinted nick in the woody trunk little happened. “Wow, this is a lot harder than I thought.” She tried again, swinging with all her might but the blade had been drained of energy and was now transparent and ghostlike. “The machete has lost its charge. How the hell have you been cutting through this stuff? You must have superpowers. I think this determines what we do next. We have to take a detour, go out in the open, and recharge our gear. It’s too dangerous not to. Thank God, it’s still daylight and with luck it won’t take long—”

A muffled growl filtered through the cluttered vegetation.

“Not good.” She froze. “It’s getting closer,” she whispered. “Have your blast stick ready, and hopefully there’s enough juice between the two of us to send that tiger flying.”

Syan looked confused. “Flying? Why would we do that?”

“Never mind.”

“Oh, I get it. You mean give it a shock.”

“I don’t think there’s enough power left in the sticks to do much more than that.”

The jungle trembled beneath their feet, and dry bits of leaves trickled to the ground. She tensed. “The ground is shifting. What’s going on?”

A series of explosive blasts hammered the ground and made the jungle rumble. Blinding volts of energy that lit the sky yellow accompanied each deafening boom.

Her heart leaped into throat. “It sounds distant, but I can’t tell for sure.”

Tilting his head to listen. “Beneath the explosions, I hear the engines of a patrol craft. I wish I could see what was happening.”

“We can.” She tossed her gear to the ground and climbed the knotty latticework of vines as if it were a ladder.

Syan appeared alarmed. “What are you doing?”

“Getting a bird’s eye view.” She scrambled hand over hand up the twisted branches until she’d climbed many stories above the jungle floor.

“Gemmina come down. You’re in danger up there.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. If they’re going to nuke the jungle, we’re going to die anyway.” She clambered higher until the far rim of the valley came into view. Syan was right; there was a patrol craft on the horizon. It swept back and forth in orderly rows, firing some sort of energy beam that struck the ground with rhythmic precision. The area being blasted already looked brown and dead. A reddish sun filtered through an acrid cloud of black smoke. The patrol craft hovered over an area that had been newly charred before turning and heading toward her.

“Shit!” Gemmina shimmied down the vines like a monkey. “Drop the packs.” She grabbed hold of his arm and bolted forward. “Run!”

He loped beside her. “What did you see?”

“They’re doing what they did on Sarna,” she panted as she ran the cleared path. “Burning dead jungle.”

“Were you spotted?”

“Maybe. Run!”

Moments later the patrol craft was overhead.

Syan frowned. “They see us now.”

The craft hovered above causing the jet wash to blow a whirlwind of debris down on them. She raced through the tunnel-like path ducking a flurry of eye-stinging bits of leaves.

“Rrrrww!” The syan roared in the foliage.

Gemmina spun on her heels. “Damn it! We’re trapped.” The craft swooped in a wide loop and fired a canister at the ground. The air filled with a wispy blue mist that roiled into the air and chilled the lungs to inhale. She covered her mouth with her hand, choking on the mist. It became hard to breathe and impossible to remain standing. Clutching Syan’s sleeve, she staggered and fell to the ground, gasping.

He knelt and picked her up. "Gemmina, get up! Keep moving. Do it for both of us.” His arms locked around her and lifted her against his chest. Their coughing became violent. Unable to take another unsteady step, he slumped to the ground as his knees buckled. In what seemed to be a tremendous effort, he rolled onto his side to avoid crushing her. The mist thickened and left them too paralyzed to even cough. Soon she lay beside him with a few scratchy bits of dry leaf tickling her cheek, and she was powerless to do anything about it. A heartbeat later, everything around her turned a frosty shade of blue, and she passed out.

* * * *

“Wake up!” a harsh male voice shouted.

Gemmina opened her eyes as a cascade of cold water was dashed in her face. “Hey!” She sputtered and coughed. Her throat felt raw. “What the hell?”

A person wearing a protective suit and a full-face gas mask stood over her. An open space many meters in circumference had been burned into the dense tangle of vines leaving the ground barren. The patrol craft had landed and sat near with its hatch open. A section of jungle still smoldered and the sooty smell of scorched vegetation hung in the air.

Frantically, she looked for Syan but did not see him. Panic set in.

The man in the gas mask spoke with a wheezing, nasal tone that forced his voice through the breathing apparatus of the mask. “Your friend is already loaded into the ship.”

“Syan’s alive?”

“For the moment. I knew he’d wake first, so I put him in force cuffs and marched him aboard ship. Actually I wanted to have a word with you alone. You’re the one that matters most in this equation.”

The important thing was Syan was alive. It was all she needed to know.

“You care about him, don’t you? The two of you were quick to bond. That will make my little project a lot easier.”

She sneered. “What project?”

The man lifted the gas mask from his face, revealing a young healthier version of Jason Naveen. Looking around, he sniffed the air. “Ah, that’s better. A little sedation mist never hurt anyone. In fact, I’m getting a sweet little buzz from it.”

“You’re a sick bastard.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Gemmina tried to stand, but got dizzy and stopped. “I don’t know what drove you to this, but you’re crazy! Syan’s an ambassador of Kiron. You’re already in a lot of trouble for how you’ve mistreated him, and it can only get worse for you.”

“I disagree. Things are about to get a hell of a lot better for me. It’s no exaggeration to say the two of you were the answer to my prayers.”

“Mr. Naveen, you don’t strike me as being particularly pious. It’s doubtful any higher being would want to answer your prayers. Besides if we’re so central to your plans, why have you been trying so hard to kill us?”

“I don’t want you dead, quite the opposite. I need you alive! You did give me a real scare. For a little while there I thought I’d lost you.” Jason’s gaze narrowed. “If you’d stuck to a normal plan, everything would have been fine, but, no, you had to take an unplanned joyride over the jungle and get yourself off course. I apologize about the explosion in high orbit. That wasn’t supposed to happen. We programed your piece of shit space skimmer to fail at low attitude over water.”

“So, the engines blew up at the edge of the atmosphere. What difference would that make in an intergalactic court? Its still attempted murder.”

“It makes a lot of difference. This wasn’t an attempted murder—this was about life. I knew that under stress the two of you would bond. That was easy to predict. It’s why I called you here, Ms. Nayar. You were the perfect match for Syan, especially with your augmented DNA. I knew he’d want you. You see, I’ve been studying the Kironians and their ways. As you know, they’re strong swimmers. I calculated that, if your ship ditched in the ocean, Syan’s first impulse would be to rescue and keep you for himself. He’s eager to take a mate, but I’m sure you already know that. Physically, the Kironians are amazing, so superior to humans. I can’t wait to be one, or should I say at least partially Kironian.”

“Am I supposed to understand what you’re talking about, crazy man?”

“Let’s not be rude. Ms. Nayar. I’ve given your meaningless life significance. Guess what? You’re going to be the mother of the first human-Kironian hybrid, and I am going to be the first to reap the benefits from that resilient and genetically gifted creature…I mean child.”

“What the fuck?”

“It’s already happened, hasn’t it? Syan bit you, and I’m sure you’ve been together as lovers.”

“They’re called condoms, idiot. Your parents should have used them.”

Jason held a scanner near Gemmina’s belly and swept upward. “Well, something went awry because I am getting a faint reading.”

She couldn’t remember with certainty if she and Syan had used a condom that morning. “You’re fishing. You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s too early to tell.”

“With Kironians, subtle changes appear instantly, in hours at most. It’s a pheromonal thing. If it’s showing up on my scanner, I’m sure your handsome hero is already aware he’s going to be a daddy. With your enhanced telepathy, I’m surprised you didn’t pick it up.” A barely repressed smug smile flickered on his lips. “I’m looking forward to being telepathic myself. In fact, let’s play a little game. It’s time to be honest. What am I thinking?”

“Why did you drag me into this? Why me?”

A poisonous smile burst across Jason’s face. “Gemmina, you weren’t dragged. You put yourself smack dab in the middle of my business, years ago. You don’t seem to have a clue about what’s going on, and I’m dying to brag a little about my brilliant plan. I’ve been so patient, and, until now, I’ve had no one share it with. Come on. Read my mind. Tell me what I’m thinking.”

”You’re ugly when you gloat.”

“No worries. In a few months time, I’ll look different. Soon I’ll look more like Syan, dark, strong with copper skin. I’ll be nearly indestructible, and I’ll start a new life. I’m sick of being Jason Naveen. To be truthful, I never liked it. My current incarnation was a necessary step toward the ultimate goal. Gemmina, search your memory. You know me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I remember you as a nosy little punk and would-be savior of street children. You made my life in New Mumbai hell. The whole thing was so irritating. I was trying to do business the only way I knew how. You’re so self-righteous, but also so very pretty. While I was in prison, I thought of you often.”

“Holy crap! Pindu Vindomar. That’s you? You look like a waxy, blond clown. This is a lie. You should be dead by now. Jason Naveen is a trillionaire, and his life predates your little visit to X57.”

“All true. In fact, X57 was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I thank you for it. That’s where I meet Jason Naveen, the rich, greedy fuck was imprisoned for fraud, but that didn’t stop him from bribing the guards and making contact with me. My good reputation with gene manipulation preceded me. I did brilliant black market work. Jason wanted to use his time in X57 as a sort of restorative spa date. Funds were smuggled to me, and I agreed to help him. We got lucky and had a handsome blond prisoner who loved robbing banks to thank for a big dose of fresh DNA and some healthy organs. Jason thrived, but I’m afraid our blond friend didn’t fare so well. That poor young man died a protracted hideous death, and we were able to keep it silent because even behind prison walls that’s the sort of freedom money can buy. Knowing all that, I thought it funny that the original Jason Naveen was so near-sighted about the many possibilities of physical transformation. I believe he actually thought I was doing him a favor when I offered to take on some of his new DNA and become a replicate donor. Up until the last minute, I’m certain he never saw it coming that I was ready to step right into his shoes.”

“You murdered him and left X57 as the new and improved Jason Naveen? The logistics are complicated. You must have had help?”

“I don’t call it murder. I call it a change of lifestyle. I’ve taken Jason Naveen farther than he could ever go on his own. Yes, I did have help. Your pathetic friend Harlan was instrumental in getting me what I needed.”

“You’re a fucked up monster.”

“I’m a pioneer. Everything new looks monstrous until you find a way to make it work to your advantage. Isn’t that true?”

“You’re an unstable mess. Your gene-spliced jungle is turning into black goo. Your cellular structure implodes on a regular basis, and your face collapses. What makes you think you’ll do better with Kironian DNA?”