Page 74 of Taming Chaos

“You all need to get out of the way. Go into the next room and take cover. You too, Seph.”

The Veronians hesitated.

“Move!” Torin’s impatience spilled over.

Seph let go of him and drifted toward the Veronians, reaching for Kvorae’s hand. Kvorae linked arms with Parrus, as they formed a purple and tan Veronian-human chain. “Let’s go. Torin, give me a push.”

All traces of her fear were gone. Her jaw was set in a strong, determined line. Her movements were swift, decisive.

Somehow, she had swallowed down her fear and tucked it away. Pride and admiration surged inside him as she looked at him with clear eyes and nodded.

There’s no time. Let’s do this.

Torin grabbed her by the waist and gave her an almighty push, sending her flying into the distance with the two Veronians trailing after her.

Be safe.

Another dull boom shook the chambers.

Torin hit the floor and stuck his claws through the metal to anchor himself. Then he aimed his plasma gun at the makeshift barricade and fired, turning the corridor into a sea of blue fire, ash, and smoke.

Chapter Twenty

Blam! Blamblam! The plasma blasts rang in her ears as Seph took cover behind a plush burgundy sofa with the two Veronians. Parrus and Kvorae floated on either side of her, holding her down as they anchored themselves to the legs of the seat with their tails.

Thankfully, this particular piece was actually fused to the floor. This Relahek character was obviously a hoarder; he’d collected so much crap that they were forced to bat away a constant stream of moving pieces. Even his clothes were floating around. The sumptuous garments were constructed from all manner of fine embroidered fabric. One of them—a blue shirt of some sort—brushed across her face, blocking her vision. Seph pulled it away, amazed that the material felt a thousand times softer than silk against the skin of her cheek.

Shame all of this is probably going to get wrecked. She recognized styles from different civilizations—Ordoon, Avein, Soldar… Museums and private collectors on Earth would pay millions of credits for this stuff. Where the hell does Relahek get his money from? He was obviously extremely wealthy. That explained how he could hide out here and placate an entire ship of fierce Bartharran pirates.

The right amount of money could buy anything.

Just like on Earth, really.

“Seph, come!” Torin summoned her from the next room.

Seph grabbed both Veronians by the hand. “Let’s kick off this thing to give ourselves some momentum. Ready?”

They pulled themselves over the top of the sofa and kicked hard against its back.

“Ooof!” Seph’s gasp was half exhilaration, half terror as she shot through the air. She would never, ever get used to the feeling of zero-G. Torin moved through the air so quickly, so gracefully, like a fish darting through water. In comparison, she constantly felt like she didn’t really know what she was doing. Being in Zero-G made her feel ungainly and clumsy.

But she could move. That was all that mattered.

Keep moving. Don’t ever stop.

If she hesitated for just a split-second, the stupid fear would take hold again, and everything would become impossible. Torin’s quiet words back there had been magic.

Pretend you’re lying in bed with me. We are on Earth.

The sheer beauty of that imagery almost brought tears to her eyes.

Seph decided there and then that she was definitely a land creature. How she missed Earth; how she yearned to feel the warm sun on her face again, to huddle in her jacket on a windy winter’s day or swelter in the hot tropical sun with a cool mojito in her hand.

And Torin would get her there. She had to believe it.

Boom! Something exploded from behind. Loud! The ringing noise started again, and it felt as if someone had clapped their hands over her ears. All sound was muted. Debris swirled all around her, and something hard—a stray object—hit her in the backs of her thighs.

Keep moving. Keep moving.

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