In the Devil's Nebula (Phoenix Adventures #2) (5 page)

“No.” Zayn’s gut was screaming the
confirmation.

“She’s a different species, Z.” Nik’s voice
was low and steady.

“They’ve altered her appearance, wiped her
memories.” There had to be a rational explanation. Something that
made her Viktoria.

Zayn spun and strode closer to where she sat
perched on the edge of an armchair in their leisure area.

“So, you were raised in the Devil’s Nebula.
You remember your childhood?”

She swallowed. “Yes. The Guild raises
children in isolation from the adults and starts their preliminary
training early. Once I became an adult, I entered my full
training.”

“You don’t remember the planet Delta V?” The
farming world Vik couldn’t wait to escape.

Ria shook her head. “I’ve never been
there.”

Zayn frowned, his gut churning. He watched
the way she looked at him. There was
something
in her gaze.
It wasn’t just a stranger watching a stranger.

She cleared her throat. “Look, I need your
help to steal the derringer.”

“We’ll help you if you take a bio test.” The
words blurted out of Zayn.

“Z.” Dathan’s tone held warning. “We need
the details and you know we all have to agree to take a hunt.”

“I’ll give you details.” Her gaze was
steady. “And I’ll take the test.” She looked straight at Zayn. “As
long as you can handle the fact that I’m not your lost friend.”

“Zayn, sit down.” Dathan moved over and sank
onto a couch. He dragged Eos down beside him. “So, it was Ria,
right?”

“Yes.”

“Tell us why you want to steal from your own
Guild.”

She was silent for a second. “I want
out.”

Zayn blinked. “The Guilds never let people
go.”

“I don’t belong there.” Shadows in her eyes.
“I’m not a killer. I ran six months ago and—”

“They’re hunting you,” Zayn finished. He’d
heard the stories of members who’d tried to leave the Guild. It
never ended well.

She nodded.

“How does the derringer help?”

“It’s their ultimate prize. Valued above all
else. A symbol. With it, I can buy my freedom.”

Zayn moved closer, drawn to her beyond his
will. “You want to steal it and give it back in return for your
freedom.”

A nod.

“You trust them not to take it and still
come after you.” He couldn’t believe anyone would trust any of the
denizens of the Nebula.

Another nod. “Honor is vital to the
assassins. They’ll honor a deal. Master Kassius, head of the Guild,
he’d do anything to secure the derringer.”

Niklas stood, leaning against the wall.
“Making enemies of the Assassin’s Guild isn’t a great idea.”

“I’ll include your immunity in the deal.”
She made eye contact with all of them. “And I can pay.”

Dathan crossed one leg over the other. “I’m
not sure there are enough e-creds in the Exodus Quadrant to make it
worth pissing off the Assassin’s Guild.”

She managed a tiny smile. “How about all the
treasures I’ve collected from under your noses the last few months?
The lanthiam necklace from Medalia, the Degas sketch from Earth and
of course, the Crown of the Consorts.”

Zayn raised his eyebrows. Quite a haul and
all items they already had buyers for. But he didn’t care. Even if
she had nothing, he wanted to do this. He needed the chance to
discover exactly who this woman was.

“Take the test.” Zayn felt his brothers’
gazes but he didn’t look at them. No matter how much they ribbed
each other and occasionally fought, they always had each other’s
backs.

Eos stood. “Ria, would you come with me? We
can take this sample quick and easy.”

Zayn watched the women leave, struck by
their near-opposite appearances. Eos with her darker skin and dark
hair, Ria pale and blonde. Eos of medium height and Ria several
inches taller. The one thing both women had in common were their
curves—and Zayn couldn’t tear his gaze off Ria’s.

“She’s probably not your Vik.”

Taking a deep breath, Zayn faced Dathan.
“Let’s wait for the test.” He needed the truth. And even if it
turned out she wasn’t Vik, he still felt compelled to help her.

No one deserved to be trapped where they
didn’t want to be. Especially somewhere like the Assassin’s
Guild.

“Penance?” Nik asked.

Zayn ignored the question even as it wormed
under his skin. “We need to start planning.”

“Jesus, a raid on a guild. In the Devil’s
Nebula.” Dathan shook his head. “I’m not sure it’s worth it, even
for those treasures.”

“I want the crown,” Nik said.

“And the other two treasures are
valuable…and we already have buyers lined up,” Zayn said.

Dathan shook his head. “Fine. But whatever
the plan, I don’t want Eos there.”

Zayn understood. Eos had been kidnapped by
slavers and sold at auction in the Nebula. Thankfully Dathan had
gotten in and rescued her in time. But Zayn knew she still had
occasional nightmares. A few times in the middle of the night, Zayn
had caught Dathan making her a warm Bailen milk drink that she
found soothing.

“I believe that’s my choice.”

Eos’ tart voice made Zayn wince. The women
were back.

Eos tossed her head, shooting a glare at her
husband before she looked at Zayn. Her expression softened. “We’ll
have the results in a few minutes.”

“Thanks, Eos.”

Eos turned back to her husband and any
softness disappeared. “I think you and I need to have a talk.”

Dathan straightened his shoulders. “Bring it
on, Doc.”

As the couple moved out of the room, Nik
sank onto a couch and pulled out a thin Sync communicator. He
extended the screen so it was larger. “I’ll start pulling any
additional data on the derringer.”

Zayn was left standing with Ria. He shoved
his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know what to say to you.”

“You see her when you look at me. I
understand.”

“Yeah, but I don’t understand.” He turned
away and looked out the large windows. Outside, he spotted Mal
wandering around the scrap yard. “Why the cat and mouse? Stealing
our hunts. Sneaking in here?”

“I had to get your attention. And I wanted
to see how you worked.” A slight smile. “I wanted to see if the
legendary Phoenix brothers lived up to the myth.”

That smile, it was nothing like Vik’s wide
grin, but something about it called to him. “And?”

“So far so good.” Her lips flattened. “I
need this to work.”

He couldn’t stop himself. He reached out and
traced along her jaw with the lightest touch.

She froze, her eyes widening.

When he felt the tiny ridges near her
hairline, he dropped his hand. “We’ll help you.”

“Even if I’m not her?” Ria whispered.

“Even then.”

There was a chime from the console near the
screens.

“BEll has the results,” Nik told them.

“BEll?” Ria asked.

Zayn shook his head. “You really don’t want
to know.”

“Excuse me.” BEll’s voice rang out. “My name
is BEll. I’m a Biocomputerized Entity Mach II. The most advanced
biocomp in the galaxy.”

“Ah…I’m Ria. Nice to meet you. You’re the
first computer with integrated biological components I’ve ever
met.”

“Maybe you aren’t the most advanced anymore?
Maybe someone’s made a new model by now?” Zayn said.

A sniff. “I highly doubt that.” BEll’s voice
was prim. “I monitor all technological advancements. I’m still the
best.”

“And the most humble.” Dathan strolled back
in, holding Eos’ hand, but there was tension in his face.

Zayn read between the lines. They’d made up
but Eos had gotten her way.

“You have the results, BEll?” Nik asked.

“Yes.”

Nik looked at Zayn and Ria. “Ready?”

Zayn turned to Ria. She nodded.

His heart pounded and it was then he noticed
she was worrying her fingers together. He reached out and grabbed
her hand. Surprisingly, she willingly tangled her fingers with
his.

“First off, I had a hell of time finding
Pictori DNA anywhere on file. You guys are rare,” BEll said.

Ria breathed in a long breath. “But you
found some?”

“One obscure sample. I had to sneak into the
Assassin’s Guild records. Ria’s DNA is consistent with Pictori DNA.
She’s not Deltan.”

She wasn’t Vik. Zayn had thought he was
prepared for this, but he felt dizzy and a complex mix of emotion
burst through him, threatening to spill out like toxic fluid.

“I—” God, his throat was so tight.

He dropped her hand and saw her face go
blank.

Without another word, he turned and walked
away.

***

Ria was amazed by the room they called
Mission Control. The Phoenix brothers sure had lots of high-tech
toys to help them with their hunts. Not to mention the biocomp. No
one had biocomps. At least not working ones.

They stood around the table, Dathan and Nik
both busy making lists. Eos was carefully going through details on
the derringer.

Ria kept glancing at the empty doorway. Zayn
had been gone a long time.

“So,” Dathan said. “Where’s the derringer
kept?”

“In the Guild headquarters.”

He winced. “I was hoping for a bank vault or
maybe buried on a deserted moon.”

She shook her head. “They keep everything
valuable close to home.”

“So where in the HQ?”

She dragged in a deep breath. “I don’t
know.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Come again?”

“They have tech that disorients and distorts
reality. You can walk into a room and not remember what door you
used. You turn left down a corridor, but when you come back out,
you can’t find the way you came in.”

Nik stroked his jaw. “Lucky we like a
challenge.”

“So, are you all still up for this?” Her
heart was a drum in her ears. They had to be. Zayn had to be. Her
life depended on it.

“Yes.”

Zayn’s voice. She turned slowly. He stood in
the doorway, his face unreadable, his gaze on her.

“We’ll need a blueprint of the facility.” He
stalked forward. “If we can’t trust our senses, we’ll have to
follow a map.”

Ria shook her head. “I don’t know if any
exist. Headquarters is a fortress. A sprawling mass of concentric
buildings, all protecting the central area where the treasures and
important documents are kept. And the weapons.”

“Who built it?” Zayn asked.

Ria recalled all the Guild history they were
forced to memorize as children. “The original design was done by
the Tekton.”

Dathan groaned. “Secretive bastards.”

“But they keep records,” Nik added.

Zayn moved forward. “Can we buy the
blueprints off them?”

Nik shook his head. “Nope. They’ve built
their reputation by never, ever selling plans to their
buildings.”

“So we’ll have to steal them.” Zayn leaned
against the wall and popped a piece of gum into his mouth. “Nik,
surely you and BEll can work some magic, get into their systems and
steal the designs.”

Eos looked up from where she was tapping
away at the table. “Problem. The Tekton don’t keep electronic
records.”

Zayn frowned. “Come again?”

“She’s right,” Ria said. “Nothing
electronic.”

“There are other options for keeping
records?” Dathan asked.

Eos’ nose scrunched. “Ha, ha. They keep
everything on plas-sheets.”

Zayn whistled. “Really old school.”

“So we’ll have to go in and take the plans.”
Ria felt a fizz of excitement. She’d always dreaded planning
assassinations but hunts were something different.

Eos scrolled through more data. “The Tekton
have their home base inside an asteroid in the Hale Cloud.”

“Jesus.” Dathan slapped a palm against his
forehead. “It’s easier to extract your own teeth than navigate the
Cloud. Anything about this hunt going to be simple?”

Ria shrugged. “Probably not. That’s why I
came to the Phoenix brothers and not Jonas Solomon.”

Dathan scowled. “Solomon is a hack. He’s all
flash, not much treasure hunting.” Zayn and Nik grumbled their
agreement.

She managed to hide a grin. Men were the
same, whatever their race. Eos caught her eye and grinned.

“I don’t suppose there are blueprints of the
Tekton base anywhere?” Dathan asked hopefully.

“Not that I know of,” Ria said.

Eos turned back to the computer console.
“Give me some time to pull up everything I can find on the Tekton
and their asteroid. Nik, can you help?”

“Sure thing, Eos.” Nik’s gaze turned inward.
“And I might just know someone who can help us.”

Dathan headed for the door. “I’m going to
check our supplies. And hope some brilliant idea on how to
infiltrate this place crashes into my head like a falling
comet.”

Ria sensed Zayn come up beside her. She felt
the heat off his lean body.

“I need to do some diagnostics on our ship.
Want to help?” he asked.

“Sure.”

They walked down the stairs in a silence
that Ria felt like an itch on her skin. She rubbed one hand against
her ridges. “I’m sorry about your friend. That I remind you of
her.”

Zayn kept his gaze straight ahead. “Your
eyes are the same. It’s partly the color, but it’s more than that.
The way you started lighting up over the thought of this hunt.” He
shrugged. “It’s the same way she lit up when planning one of our
Strike Wing missions.”

“She sounds like she was pretty smart and
tough.”

“The toughest. The smartest and a damn good
pilot.”

Ria heard something buried deep in his tone.
Something that made her feel a little sick. “You more than just
liked her.”

He hunched his shoulders. “We were
colleagues. Friends.”

But he’d felt more, wanted more. Ria could
read it all over him.

He pulled something from his pocket. She
stared at three silver birds of prey on his palm. Her calling
cards.

“I believe these are yours,” he said.