Page 39 of Guardian's Heart

A chill moved down my spine, and I was suddenly glad I hadn't divulged too much about Zaarek, me, the tattoos, and all the muddled emotions inside me. There was a glint in Maxim's eyes I didn't like. And the way he mispronounced Zaarek's name yet was telling of his dismissal of him.

"He saved us, why wouldn't I?"

"You ran," Maxim pointed out.

"That was a mistake." I hated admitting it, but the trust that had developed between Zaarek and me over the last few days had grown during our battle with theMorlocks. So much so that I was willing to trust him with my life. A privilege I had only ever granted Tucker, my brother. A voice inside me told me to tread carefully here. "I shouldn't have run. I was scared, but Zaarek assured me he's taking us somewhere safe."

"Is he?" I didn't like the expression on Maxim's face.

"That's what he said, isn't it? Why would he lie to us?" I bit my tongue. That may have come out a bit too sharply, but everything about this man put me on edge.

"Oh, I don't know… to make us more… pliable?"

"Compliant," Amy corrected.

"He bought us," Lutz added. "We don't trust him."

"So what are you going to do?" I wanted to know, instinctively falling into the same whispered tone they were using.

"We need to take over the ship," Maxim stated determinedly.

Were they crazy? "And who is going to fly it?" I wanted to know.

The four of them exchanged silent glances. "Lutz used to be a pilot," Amy supplied.

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard that I drew blood, but it stopped me from laughing out loud.Lutz used to be a pilot. Either these people were totally naïve or stupid.No, my mind proposed,desperate. They're desperate.

And desperate people are notoriously dangerous, I added.

"You're all in on this plan?" I wanted to know.

"The others… they'll follow. They don't like… action," Maxim filled me in. "But you. You are a brave, brave woman. You know the alien."

"Zzz—" I stopped myself before I corrected him again. I got it now. They needed to distance themselves from him. But why did they need to? If they simply planned on taking his ship? Right?

"Okay." I didn't like where my mind was going. "What about… the alien? Are you going to lock him up in one of the rooms?"

The five of them exchanged a glance that rose the fine hairs on the back of my neck. The realization of what they were planning hit me like a fist to the gut. They were going to… kill him. "You can't kill him." This time I couldn't stop my words.

"You care for the alien?" Maxim narrowed his eyes.

"I believe he saved us." I tried to sound reasonable. "And I believe he will take us to Astrionis. I don't think he lied just to keep us… calm."

"I'm not willing to gamble my life on that." Amy crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair.

"I see." I was about to copy her posture, but an inner voice warned me to act standoffish. There were five of them here. If they thought I would betray them… I was sure they wouldn't cry over my death, just like they wouldn't over killing Zaarek. They had convinced each other that his death was a necessity to survive.

"So Lutz," I called him out, "you think you can fly this spaceship?"

Lutz's chest swelled. "I'm positive."

I crossed my ankles underneath the table and intertwined my toes to relieve some of the pressure that was about to burst out of me. Pressure born from frustration and the utter stupidity I was confronted with.

"Where will we go?" I asked.

"Well, we can't go back to Earth," Panuta, who had stayed quiet thus far, voiced.

That was the first rational thing I had heard from this group.

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