Page 69 of Vicious
Poh stood behind Crispin’s—Mase’s—chair with her arms crossed and ticked her yellow gaze over her shoulder at me. “It took a lot of combined hacking, but yes. Two ships boarded theVicioon today’s date within hours of each other. The second’s name wasMinrod, destination TheBlack.”
“Saelis,” Ibreathed.
She shook her head. “Human, judging from the captain’s name. Josh Erix. He certainly didn’t want anyone to know where he wasgoing.”
Josh, ex-Ring Guild employee, deep space’s taxi service operator for those who turned their backs on humanity, and the father of Ellison’s unborn baby. He was heading to the Black when we’d already come from there. Parker and his crew too? But why? Josh must’ve been the one to rig the crates with explosives, but again…why? Why go to all that trouble on a ship that was leftabandoned?
I gazed at the ring, whose round edges had disappeared in the windscreen the closer we flew. Because the shipwasn’tleft abandoned. The three of us were here, but if we’d come eight minutes later, we would still be on Parker’s ship staring at what remained of theVicious. Theyknewwe’d left them and hadn’t wanted us to come back here. But that stupid, repetitive question remained—why? Because they knew I would come back, that I might have a way through the rings. On a ship filled with consumectalons, a parasite meant to be a biological weapon against Team Human. As a suspected murderer/fugitive, this would definitely not help mycase.
“Did you try contacting them?” Iasked.
“They’re too far away for our telecom, so we tried Crispy’s,” Poh said. “Either Josh’s telecom is shut down or he’s notanswering.”
“I just want to be sure, but you do want to go through the rings still, right?” Crispinasked.
A flash of silver light erupted in the window screen. Another ring materialized in the distance, hurtling through space toward us, or the other way around, so fast that it glowed silver. Our destination coordinates folded the space between the stars and rings and thrust us toward Mayvel faster thanlight.
The high from the parasites eating up both rings crackled through my veins. Lighting me up with power. Leaving me shaking, breathless, and desperate for a tastemyself.
“If not…” Crispin turned to me and winced. “Toolate.”
19
Crispin landedboth ships near the forest on Mayvel where I’d supposedly found my inner serial killer. In a snow-packed clearing that might have been some poor farmer’s crops that butted up against a dense line of trees, we were still a couple of miles from Smixton College. We had no way to camouflage the ships since Poh’s chameleon skill only stretched so far, so they stuck out like two spaceships in the middle of a snow-packed field. We would need to bespeedy.
I was thankful we still had a planet to land on. Were the Saelis here already? Or were they gathering an entire fleet? I hoped I had enough time to stop them. However I planned to dothat.
Poh only had to threaten Crispin’s life once before sending him on a mission with a message for Moon Dragon and Franco. We were to meet at a negative five-star hotel that charged by the hour near us. After that? We would form our plan to save the human race and hope for thebest.
The frozen air iced up my lungs as I stepped off the ship, but it tasted good, fresh, like home. I had dressed myself like my alter ego James with a puffy coat, fur hood, and gloves, but hidden underneath was me in my spiked corset and leather. Normal on the outside and havoc on the inside, in more ways thanone.
One half-ass threat had convinced Crispin to bring fuel for both ships so Poh could accompany me under the cover of night just to drop me off at the hotel. She hid her scales and fangs underneath the hood of a dark greencoat.
The snow snapped under our feet as we walked in silence. My thoughts squirmed too much with worry and seeing Moon again to notice if it was awkward or not, but eventually Poh flicked her yellow gaze tome.
“I lost both legs and most of my arms in the same ship accident that killed my husband and son,” she said. “In case you hadn’t puzzled thatout.”
“Yes.” I offered a sad smile. “And I’msorry.”
“I’ll help you find your sister and pretty boy again, and not just so she can pay me for keeping youalive.”
“So far. We have a long way to goyet.”
“I know. I know,” she said, and I thought I saw a hint of a smile underneath herhood.
Soon we came upon the motel, a dingy two-story building half eroded by time, and made our way to a bottom-floor room in the corner nearest us. I took a breath and knocked, my chest weighted with a mass of emotions at seeing Moon again. The door opened a sliver, and a familiar eyeball peered through. Franco, fully dressed in a gray Smixton College sweater and jeans. I didn’t think he owned any shirts since he usually wandered the dorm halfnaked.
Despite everything, I grinned. It was so good to see him again. “I’m only coming in if the bedvibrates.”
“Jesus,” he hissed and dragged me inside the dark room that smelled vaguely of sourarmpits.
Poh followed and shut the door quietly behind her. A slight break in the room’s curtains slanted a thin line of light from outside into theroom.
A lamp by the bed snicked on, spotlighting a halo on a head of silky black hair blurring toward me. Arms wrapped around my neck, smothering me with a flowery scent. A heartbreaking sob hitched her chest against mine, and I hugged her closer, everything I had to tell her temporarily forgotten just so I could be here with her, my friend, just like it used tobe.
“I’ve been so worried,” she whispered into myhair.
I could only nod, my happiness at seeing her again beyondwords.
