In the Devil's Nebula (Phoenix Adventures #2) (17 page)

A trickle of unease washed through Ria’s
desire. Was he thinking of her or his ghost?

“Do you want me to fuck you, Ria?”

Hearing her name made her chest loosen.
“Yes.” Always. If he knew just what she wanted from him, he’d run
to the other side of the galaxy.

She felt him fumble with his belt and
zipper. Then the smooth head of his cock brushed against her clit
and she cried out again.

He shifted and with one hard thrust, he
filled her. This time, Ria screamed. He wasn’t gentle. His moves
were hard, fast, rough. She loved it.

He pushed them both higher and higher, gave
her no time to catch her breath, or think. His hand slid between
them, his thumb hard against her swollen clit. Sensation coalesced
into a hard ball low in her belly which then splintered, cascading
over her in a wild rush.

As she screamed her release, Zayn pumped
inside her one more time, then ground himself against her as his
hot release spilled inside her.

In the aftermath, the only sound in the hold
was their harsh breathing. Perspiration glued them together and her
robe still clung to her back and shoulders. She’d never done
anything like this in her assassin’s robe before.

“Did I hurt you?” Zayn lifted his head. His
hair was disheveled. His face a little flushed.

She cupped his cheeks. “No. I can take that
and a lot more.”

“I didn’t mean to be so rough…or fast—”

“Zayn. I loved it.”

They stared at each other for a long moment
before his face finally relaxed.

She stroked the hair from his forehead. “You
okay? Do you want to talk about it?” She smiled. “Or we could go
for round two.”

She was happy to see his answering smile.
“The thought of going back…”

Back to his nightmares. “To where Vik
died.”

“To where I killed her.”

“The Guild killed her, Zayn. You saved her.
This is your chance to get back at them.” And lay the ghosts to
rest.

An alarm rang out through the ship. BEll’s
voice came over the loudspeaker. “Devil’s Nebula is on long-range
scanners. Everyone to the cockpit.”

Ria pressed a kiss to Zayn’s lips. “We’ll be
down there together. Time to show the Guild they can’t get away
with everything.”

The shuttle shuddered as it descended through
the smog-filled atmosphere of Lucifa.

Zayn focused on the controls but was
conscious of the conversations around him. The viewscreen was the
scarlet red of the Devil’s Nebula. It made him think of blood.

“I hate this place.” Dathan leaned forward,
watching the multitude of ships and shuttles powering on and off
planet. Many had the markings of the Guilds: a kneeling slave, a
skull and crossbones, and of course the crossed blades of the
assassins.

“You aren’t the only one who hates it.” Zayn
put the shuttle into a wide left turn to avoid a lumbering
transport ship that looked like it was held together by duct
tape.

“At least Eos agreed to stay on the ship,”
Dathan grumbled.

“I agree.” Lala blew an enormous gum bubble
and popped it. “I need someone to babysit Fuzzy and Fred.”

Eos and the
Infinitas
—and Fuzzy and
Fred—were hidden in plain sight amongst the ships orbiting Lucifa.
Zayn was happy Eos was safe, but didn’t envy her the task of
waiting. Even now, nervous energy winged through him.

Behind him, he heard Ria reassuring Lala and
helping the younger girl into her spectrum camouflage suit.

Zayn glanced at Dathan. His brother’s hair
was a virulent shade of blue, and metal studs graced his nose and
the curves of his ears. “Nice look.”

Dath grinned. “Yeah, Eos was horrified.
Figured I should look a little different from the last time I
visited Lucifa.”

When Dathan had come to rescue Eos, he’d
dressed as a suave, elegant gambler. Zayn eyed the blue spiky hair.
Nope, he didn’t think any slavers would recognize his brother.

Niklas sat on the other side of Dathan,
tapping on his Sync. The man was always researching something.
Nik’s only concession to disguise was a pair of chunky goggles
pushed up on his head. He still looked like a professor. Not that
it mattered since he’d never been to Lucifa before.

“Okay, everyone, we’re coming in to land.”
Zayn tapped the controls and the shuttle zoomed downward.

He approached the bustling spaceport just
north of the Assassin’s Guild. Lucifa wasn’t big and was covered
entirely by rambling city. The poorer sections were crooked streets
of wooden shacks. The wealthier areas boasted cobbled streets and
grand stone buildings.

The spaceport wasn’t exactly organized.
Ships of all shapes, sizes and quality were parked at haphazard
angles. “BEll, you’re in charge of monitoring the shuttle. Anyone
gets too close, zap ‘em with a pulse.” The security system would
send out an energy pulse that would stun and incapacitate any
would-be intruders. It was extremely painful.

“You got it, Zayn,” the computer
responded.

He set down in the space assigned to them,
narrowly missing clipping a dented deep-space starfreighter parked
beside them. He unstrapped his belt. “Okay, let’s get this show on
the road.”

Lala was up first, bouncing on her feet.
“This is going to be so cool!”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “You listen to Dath
and Nik, okay?”

She nodded and dragged a finger over her
chest. “Cross my heart.”

Zayn looked at his brothers. “You guys take
care. If you have any trouble, just get out.”

Dath clapped a hand on Zayn’s shoulder.
“Same goes, little bro. No heroics, got it?”

His brothers exited the shuttle with Lala
between them. They disappeared amongst the ships, headed for
Balthazar plaza. Zayn turned back to Ria.

She stood, solemn and quiet, her dark robes
cascading around her. She looked like the perfect assassin: cool
features, blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun, her hands calm at
her sides but ready for action.

He couldn’t help but remember what he’d done
to her in those robes.

She smiled. “I know what you’re
thinking.”

“Wish we had time to do it again.”

She laughed this time and the perfect
assassin was gone, leaving the woman who was rapidly captivating
him. “After. I promise we’ll celebrate in style. Here.”

She held out his robe. Zayn pulled it on and
let her fuss over him adjusting the collar and the fastening.

“Time to go,” he said.

Ria pulled the hood up over his head and did
the same with hers. “Keep your gaze down. Let me do any talking.
Move slowly but fluidly. Assassins don’t swagger like space
jocks.”

“Yes, master.”

She whacked his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

They moved through the spaceport and into
the city streets. Zayn noticed that locals moved out of their way
or crossed the street to avoid them. Smart, in his opinion. The
assassins had earned their deadly reputation.

“This way,” Ria murmured, waving a hand to
the left.

They crossed a cobblestone street, barely
avoiding a hovercar and a horse and cart. That was Lucifa, a
mishmash of old and new, legal and illegal, high tech and low.

Suddenly an old woman stepped in front of
them. Her shoulders were hunched, her face covered in lines. But
her dark eyes were lit with an unholy fire. “Murderers.”

People walking nearby gasped. Most hurried
away.

“You killed my boy. Slaughtered him in his
sleep like the cowards you are.” The woman’s hands curled into
fists. “You skulk in the shadows to do your dirty work but here you
walk around like you’re gods.” She spat on the ground.

Ria moved forward. “Calm yourself and go
home.” She lowered her voice. “If you cause a scene the Guild will
want retribution. Go now.”

“Your Guild is filled with murderers.”

Zayn shifted to confront the woman but Ria
blocked him.

“My boy wasn’t perfect but he didn’t deserve
to die. He was seventeen years old.” Tears welled in the woman’s
eyes and her shoulders slumped. “He was my baby and now he’s
gone.”

“Let me talk to her,” Zayn whispered in
Ria’s ear.

She shook her head and moved her head in the
direction ahead of them. Zayn looked up and saw another robed
figure coming their way.
Shit
. The assassin was tall and
moved in a way that made it look like he or she was floating.

Zayn shouldered in front of Ria and bent his
head so he could see the woman’s face. “The Guild
is
full of
murderers and we’re here to teach them a lesson.”

The woman’s head shot up and he heard Ria
groan.

“This is Lucifa, she’ll rat us out for a
single e-cred,” Ria whispered.

Keeping his gaze steady on the woman, Zayn
said, “I don’t think she’ll do that. What was your boy’s name?”

The woman’s lips trembled. “Leith.”

“We’ll get revenge for Leith today. You
aren’t going to sell us out, are you?”

The woman dashed the tears from her eyes and
shook her head.

“Good. Go now.”

The woman grabbed her ratty skirts and
hurried away. Zayn and Ria turned to see the assassin reach
them.

“Greetings, kin.”

A man with a deep, deep voice. Zayn keep his
face angled down and gave a slow nod. He noted Ria keeping her face
covered as well.

“Greetings,” Ria murmured. “May your daggers
be sharp and your aim true.”

The familiar greeting made something in the
man’s stance relax a little. “And you. Was the woman bothering
you?”

“Nothing worth the trouble of our time,” Ria
answered.

The assassin nodded. “And you, brother?”

Zayn felt the man’s gaze on him like a laser
beam. “We need to get back to the Guild. We don’t need the hassle
of an angry old woman.”

The assassin was silent, gaze still burning
through Zayn. Zayn fought not to look up and meet the man’s
stare.

“Very well. Good day.”

As the man moved off, Zayn released his
breath. Ria started moving again, dragging Zayn with her by the
side of his robe.

“Oh my God, do you know who that was?” A
furious whisper.

“No.” Zayn turned to look over his shoulder,
but Ria wrenched him forward.

“His name is Master Ronin. He’s one of the
top assassins in the Guild. A master of the sword.” Ria sucked in a
breath. “We’re lucky to get away from him alive. Thank God he
didn’t recognize me.” She dragged Zayn to a halt. “And why the hell
did you tell the woman what we’re here for? She’s still likely to
sell us out.”

“She won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Hey. Calm down.” Zayn gripped her chin, his
thumb rubbing over her skin. “I really want to kiss you—”

“You can’t. Two assassins kissing would
cause mayhem.”

He rubbed her skin again. “I’ll manage to
resist. Now stay calm and let’s get to the Guild.”

She nodded, set her shoulders back and
started walking again. Just as Zayn moved to follow her, movement
from the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He saw a flash of
black robes disappearing down a side alley. Someone had been
watching them. He frowned. Another assassin? Master Ronin? Zayn
wasn’t sure. It could have just been someone in a black coat.

Shaking it off, he followed Ria.

A few minutes later, the Guild Headquarters
appeared ahead. In front of the harsh, austere stone building,
there were no crowds on the streets. Two robed figures stood on
either side of the large carved metal doors at the top of the
steps.

Ria pushed him into a narrow alleyway across
from the building. “We can watch from here.”

Zayn glanced at his timepiece. “Only another
five minutes and Lala and the boys should have their fireworks
ready.”

Ria’s gaze was on the building. He saw
shadows in her eyes.

“This isn’t as easy as you thought.”

She blinked. “Actually, this plan is far
easier than anything I could have come up with.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

She sighed, rubbing her palms against her
robe. “This has been the only home I’ve ever known. A prison, yes,
but still a home. God, I look at Lala and wonder if I would have
been strong enough to survive on my own.”

He gripped her shoulders, massaging the
tension he felt there. “You would have. You deserve the chance to
make your own life. Make your own decisions.”

“You do too, Zayn.”

“I do exactly as I please—”

“No, you don’t,” she said quietly.

His gaze drifted back to the Guild. What had
taken place there two years before had scarred him. He’d lost
everything. His friend, his job, his sanity. Most of all, his
confidence in himself. He’d carved an identity on being Zayn
Phoenix, fighter pilot. Ace of the Strike Wing. Maybe he’d believed
his own hype, thought he’d always win.

Then he’d felt like nothing but a
failure.

Now he felt a twinge of shame. He’d had the
freedom to make his own choices, while Ria hadn’t, and he’d done
nothing but drift and wallow for the last two years.

Today, he vowed that was going to
change.

Suddenly the ground beneath them
rumbled.

A muffled boom echoed down the street. They
both lifted their heads. Bright fireworks streaked into the
red-hued sky.

Zayn tugged Ria close for a quick hug.
“Showtime.”

***

Ria watched the assassins pour out of the
Guild building. Some were in robes, others in tight-fitting
fighting suits. All of them carried weapons. Swords, crossbows,
stunners.

Three hurried past the mouth of the alley.
One was talking. “They’ve said Lastite Lala was spotted near the
statue before the explosion.”

“The girl’s hard to mistake for anyone
else,” another assassin said. “We’ll get her this time. No one
makes a fool of the Guild. Especially twice.”

Beside her, Zayn whispered into his Sync.
“Dath, you there?”