Page 4 of Venomous Lust
“You never recovered the negative particle bomb that day,” he said.
Her mandibles clicked at his words, furiously fast. Frightened. “You have a perceptive mind.”
“You kept it secret all this time.” As his mind flooded with the consequences of such a secret, Khal shook his head. This was worse than anything the Eok nation had ever faced. Worse than anything the Ring had faced since the civil war that had defaced the universe centuries ago. “What changed? Why reveal this to me now?”
“I want you to retrieve the bomb and capture Knut; bring them both back to me.”
Khal stared at the screen for a long time then, when his lungs protested in earnest, he inhaled sharply. “No one knows where Knut is. He’s far beyond the Frontier of the Ring, in savage land.”
“Knut is on in the Third Quadrant beyond the Ring, along with the bomb.”
Khal blinked, the information refusing to take hold in his brain. The Third Quadrant was the farthest known, deep beyond the Frontier. “How long have you known?”
“A year, give or take.” Prime Councilor Aav looked to the side, then back at him. Those black eyes gleamed without expression, but the clicking of her mandibles gave her away. Fast, frantic. She wasn’t just frightened. She was terrified.
“And you are just telling us now? What good is the alliance between Eoks and Mantrilla if you won’t share your knowledge with us?”
“It is not easy, extracting information from some people.” Her mandibles clicked louder, angrier and less scared. More irritated.
Khal shivered internally just thinking of the Mantrilla’s ways of extracting information. Even Eoks would never go as far as they did.
“My former Trade Minister has been a most cunning adversary, changing his location often, evading my most expert spies. I have lost many assets in order to find him.” Prime Councilor Aav stopped speaking and another green scale fell, a trickle of dark green, almost black blood pearling in its space.
“Now, for some reason, Knut has stopped moving. A good spy lost his life to provide me with this information.” Another pause. Another scale. “I contacted your brother, Chief Arlen, as soon as I confirmed the information. He’s the one who authorized me to task you with this mission.”
Arlen? If Arlen had authorized Prime Councilor Aav to task him with a mission, then why had he not communicated with Khal directly?
“Secrecy is of the utmost importance.” Like she had read his mind, the Mantrilla continued talking. “So far, only Chief Arlen, you and I know for sure that Knut possesses a negative particle bomb and that he’s hiding in the Third Quadrant. It has to remain that way.”
Khal considered the Mantrilla’s statement, then shook his head. “Knowledge has a way of spilling.”
“Not my knowledge.” Her mandibles clicked and the metallic tone in the Mantrilla’s voice grew dangerous.
The implication was that Prime Councilor Aav had disposed of any others who had come across the knowledge—all those she had tasked to find things for her, verify information in her stead. They had been silenced, and Khal had an inkling they had lost their lives in the process. Mantrilla weren’t known for their benevolence, after all, but to his Eok heart, such betrayal was abhorrent.
Abhorrent, but extremely efficient. After all, the dead spilled no secrets.
“With the amount of the reward already on Knut’s head, you have half the Bounty Hunters in the Ring out looking for him.” Khal paced in front of the screen. “It won’t be easy to hide this mission.”
“That is why I chose you.” Mandibles clicked and a claw scratched at another scale, widening the bare patch on the Mantrilla’s abdomen in her ever-growing nervousness. “You earned your marks as one of the best warriors of your generation. You are the only one I trust with this.”
Khal paused, blinking. A solo mission? Locating Knut in the Third Quadrant, striking fast and furious, then retreating before anyone could react?
Yes, it could work. It was the only way it could work. The only thing Knut would not already suspect.
“I’ll need to add a tracker to my team.” Khal nodded as he prepared mentally for the task ahead. “There are hundreds of planets in the Third Quadrant. Searching them all would take a lifetime.”
“I have a tracker for you. He’s already on his way.” Prime Councilor Aav bent sharply over the empty desk. “And, Commander Khal, know this. You will be responsible for the billions of lives lost should you fail.”
Then the image of the Mantrilla matriarch was cut and she was gone.
Khal glared at the screen as he realized he might not come back from this mission alive.
Chapter 2
Hazel
Hazel’s eyes shot open and her mind jolted to awareness with the brutality borne of shock. The sound of footsteps got closer and she froze inside the liquid darkness.
