Page 31 of Hunter's Moon

We’d made it. We were so close to freedom.

Tharion steered us away from the group, his eyes constantly scanning for threats. “My ship’s in docking bay 17. We’re almost there.”

But as we rounded a corner, a familiar figure stepped out from behind a pillar, blocking our path.

Grax.

His mottled brown skin rippled with barely contained rage as he leveled a blaster at us. “Nobody plays me for a fool and gets away with it.”

THARION

The acrid stench of ozone filled my nostrils, a telltale sign the blaster Grax held was primed and ready to fire. I tensed, ready to spring into action, my muscles coiled like steel springs beneath my gray skin.

Lina’s breath quicked with fear. The scent of her terror mingled with the metallic tang of recycled air in the spaceport corridor.

The odds were not in our favor, but I’d faced worse.

And I’d do it again, for her.

Grax glared at Lina with his reptilian eyes. “There was no secret cache in the market of Adtera, was there?” He spat the words like venom. “You wasted my time and resources with your lies!”

Lina flinched beside me, but I admired the steel in her spine as she held her ground.

Grax’s voice dropped to a dangerous growl. “Tell me what Arin Tal told you before he died. Now.”

“He told me nothing!” Lina screamed, her voice echoing off the metal walls. “I don’t know anything about anything!”

I watched Grax carefully, noting the twitch in his upper left arm—a tell I’d observed during our previous encounters. He was about to make a move.

“I don’t believe you,” Grax hissed. “You must know about the spice planet. Why else would the Obsidian Dawn be after you?”

“Because you’re all idiots!” Lina yelled, her outburst shocking even me.

Silence reigned in the corridor. I glanced at Lina, surprised by her sudden fire. Grax looked equally taken aback, his blaster lowering a fraction of an inch.

It was enough.

I lunged forward, my hand wrapping around Grax’s wrist. I twisted hard, feeling the bones grind beneath my grip. The blaster clattered to the floor as Grax howled in pain.

“Shoot them!” Grax bellowed to his thugs.

I spun, using Grax as a shield as energy bolts sizzled through the air. The smell of burnt ozone intensified, making my nostrils flare. I heard Lina cry out and my heart seized, but a quick glance confirmed she’d taken cover behind a nearby cargo container.

One of the Krelaxian thugs produced an energy net, the crackling blue tendrils of electricity dancing between its strands. I remembered the searing pain from our last encounter, but this time I was ready.

As the net flew towards me, I reached out and grabbed it. The pain was excruciating, like liquid fire coursing through me, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through it. With a roar, I flung the net back at its owner, watching with grim satisfaction as it enveloped the Krelaxian, dropping him to the floor in a twitching heap.

“You’ll pay for that,” Grax snarled, rubbing his injured wrist.

I bared my pointed canines in a feral grin. “I don’t think so. I have a score to settle with you, Grax.”

The remaining Krelaxian thug charged at me, all four arms swinging various weapons. I ducked under a vibroblade, feeling the hum of its energy field as it passed a hair’s breadth away. I countered with a swift uppercut, sending my opponent staggering backward.

But Grax was on me in an instant, his fist connecting with my jaw. I tasted blood, the coppery flavor filling my mouth. I spat it out and grinned, feeling the rush of battle singing through my veins.

“Is that the best you can do?” I taunted, my red eyes locking onto his.

Grax roared and charged, but I was ready. I sidestepped at the last moment, using his momentum to send him crashing into the wall. The impact shook the corridor, and I heard the groan of stressed metal.

---