Salvage Rights (Distant Worlds Book 2) (21 page)

He ignored everyone but
Tuft as he headed at a run for the door.  “Find out where they are going, now!”

Tuft banged away at his
icom while he followed Luc out the door.  In fact, by the time he made the lift
area, everyone was following.

Barnos just asked the
question in all their eyes.  “What is going on?”

Lucan ground his teeth
as he waited for the rest of them to pile in so the door would close.  He
growled when the big Shakien in cat form followed along as well, delaying them
further and taking up the last of the space in the suddenly tiny lift.  He
growled and Tolan Lark in cat form roared right back at him.  The doors finally
closed and Lucan turned to Tuft, ignoring the others.  “Well?”

“It looks like they
took the lift to the public platform; they could be heading to medical from
there, or the other lift to space dock.”

“Shut them all down.”

“Trying sir, they are
not responding, and I can’t override until I get to an actual computer console
in security.”

“What about your
security force?”

He shook his head, “Whoever
did this has an inside man.  No one is answering in the tower.”

He heard curses all
around him, even as he ground the enamel off his teeth.  “As soon as we hit the
market platform, you head to security and shut them down.  I will try to head
them off at space port.”

As soon as he had his
grim nod of agreement, Lucan turned to face the terminal and found the crew of
the Jezebel, Barnos, and Tolan Lark back in his human form, all looking at him
with identical expressions or worry and/or anger.”

He willed the lift to
go faster.  “Danika has been taken.  I don’t know who has her or why, but I
think we can all guess where they are headed.”

Mac cursed, Doc Morgan grabbed
the support bar and hung on, his eyes dropping.  Sera moved closer to Mac, and
the rest just looked at him with a glint of danger in their eyes.  “If they
manage to get her off station I intend to go after her.”

Barnos started typing
in his own icom.  “My crew is small but they know how to fight, and they are
already on space dock.”

“If it comes to it,”
Tolan Lark said, the wild iridescent still present around the sapphire blue of
his normal eyes, “my ship is faster than anything you have, and ready to go.”

Lucan’s eyes sharpened
on the man.  He thought about the offer and then nodded.  “Then we take your
ship – if it comes to that.”

Tolan Lark nodded
jerkily.  Then the doors opened and they all filed out.  The market was
bursting with scurrying people who had obviously witnessed something.  A few
saw Lucan and pointed toward the space port lift.  They all moved with purpose
and the crowds parted before them at their haste.

They were practically
sprinting by the time they were halfway to the public port.  The trip to space
port was shorter as it was located on an adjoining island.

When the doors swooshed
open, Sera was still arguing against Mac’s edict to stay behind.  Everyone shut
up when they saw Doctor Avia bleeding out on the tarmac.

While he was still
fighting the urge to just walk over the woman and find Danika, his icom beeped.

“Sir, a ship launched moments
ago signed off by Danvers, Patrik.  The Jubil.  No one else has left dock.”

Lucan started to
respond when, at the same time, Barnos’ icom link beeped.  He read the message
there and cursed, his grim eyes finding Lucan’s.  “My man tells me they saw two
women carried onto a ship by two men and another woman.  It was the Jubil.”

Lucan closed his eyes,
feeling as if his heart was being ripped from his chest.  Then he turned his ice
cold eyes to Tolan Lark.

The man read the
message easily enough.  He nodded once, and this time the feral light in his
eyes was matched by the savagery Lucan could feel building inside himself. 
Someone was going to bleed for this.

Danika woke up in fits
and starts.  When she finally opened her eyes, she had to blink to be sure she
had done so because it was too dark to see, even with them open.  She fought
against going into panic mode, and was only partially successful.  She could
hear her own elevated heartbeat, and the sound of her breathing in the dark was
ragged.  She knew the second Kira awoke, because her panicked breaths joined
hers.

“Lady?”

“I’m here, Kira. 
Everything will be alright.”  She tried, she really did, but she was unable to
send out peace to the other woman that she did not feel.  The dark was just too
much like she imagined two-hundred years of hyper sleep would be.  Danika
closed her eyes when she heard Kira’s hopeless sob.

Danika reached deep for
something to hold onto and found her connection with Luc still there, but
distant.  The heat of the crystal pearls against her neck was closer, and she
concentrated on them until a small glow filled the chamber, enough that she
could see at least.  It looked like ship barracks with two bunks making four
beds.  The two of them were on the bottom bunks and the rest of the room was
small and devoid of comforts. She concentrated on the screen controls besides
the port opening on the far wall and, a moment later, the room illuminated.  It
was harder than it should have been and she felt rung out from the effort; whatever
was in that sedative was still in her system.  Right now, light into the
darkness was about all she could manage.  Danika fell back on the bed with a
sigh of relief.  She did not want to think she was afraid of the dark, but on a
ship after she had been forcefully knocked out, the light was more than
welcome.

She sought more from
the crystal pearls and warmed herself in the light and energy given to her by the
Furgarians, surrounding herself as much as possible with the peace they left
behind.  With their help, she was able to send soothing energy back to Kira who
started breathing normally.  Unfortunately for both of them, the port slid open
with a whoosh as they were finding that peace.

Patrik Danvers stood in
the doorway, and when he laid eyes on Kira, his lips twisted up in a taunting
grin.

Danika tried to
redirect his thoughts by standing up.  “Where are we and why have you brought
us here?”

Patrik looked her over
with lascivious intent.  “We are just docked on Farrow.  Not that I have to
tell you anything, but you are going to Cor Warrung.  Apparently, he has been
looking for you.”  He turned and his smile broadened.  “My little Kira here is
just a bonus I intend to claim as my own.”  He turned and motioned to the
doorway behind him.  “But business before pleasure, we are overdue to the
meeting and Cor Warrung is not a man you want to keep waiting.”

Danika was almost
positive he was a man she wanted to keep waiting.  She was tempted to make her
move now and see how far she could throw the arrogant little
durges
, but
wasn’t totally confident she could make any significant progress at present. 
She would have to bide her time, get the lay of the land, and unfortunately,
finally meet the dreaded Cor Warrung, the man everyone seemed to fear and loath
in equal measures.  Even now she could feel Kira’s terror swamping them both as
her memories circled her head in flashes of pain and degradation.  It was
almost more than Danika could take at the moment.  The only thing that made
this situation at least bearable was that Luc had already claimed her.  She did
not want to think what would have happened had they wasted any more time.  She
just had to hope that no one was harmed when he came for her, and she knew he
would.  She just has to protect herself and Kira until he showed.  And one
other thing, she knew even with the distance clouding their bond that Luc was
not going to like it.

With another impatient
gesture from the man, Danika stood up and pulled Kira up beside her.  She tugged
her along and out the door; when Patrik would have reached over and touched the
huddled Kira, Danika slapped his hand away.  He looked like she had slapped his
face.

“Try to touch either of
us and you will be getting to the meeting with Warrung not only late, but
missing his hostages.”  Before he could open his mouth fully, she bared her
teeth at him.  “And, remember, as a truthsayer I do not lie or exaggerate.  You
decide what matters right this moment, tormenting us, or making your meeting?”

He narrowed his eyes at
her, then with an angry slash gestured her on.  “She will be mine soon enough,
and I imagine Cor Warrung has something planned for you as well.”

Danika stepped out into
the breezeway.  “Were I you, I would be more concerned with what Luc Warrung is
going to do to you.”

“He has no power here,
if that is what you are counting on.”  Briar came at them from the next port
over, her smirk as officious as her brother.  Though while Danika was feeling
unholy desire from the brother, from Briar there was only cold hate.  “And
neither do you.”  She smiled at them all, her eyes brushing over Danika with
rage.  “Doctor Avia made sure you got an extra dose of sedative, with a neural
inhibitor thrown in for good measure.  No more tricks.”

Danika raised a brow at
the other woman; she was sure she was slower, but not as helpless as they
believed.  However, the doctor was making these moves under the worst form of
blackmail.  “Where is Doctor Avia?”

Briar shook her head,
and spoke with badly faked regret.  “I’m afraid she didn’t make it.  She got a
little squeamish at the end and we had to put her down.”

Danika staggered, “Avia
is dead?”  Thinking of the woman’s desperation and the flash of blue eyes, she
wanted to strike the smile off Briar’s face.

Briar laughed at her
upset.  “Don’t be too broken up, she did deliver you to us.”

Danika tilted her head
and studied the other woman.  “I do not believe she had a choice.  Can you say
the same for your perfidy?”

Briar huffed her
attention grabbing cleavage to greater heights.  “What is that even supposed to
mean?”

Danika raised a knowing
brow she just knew was going to drive the woman crazy.  “Perfidy is treachery,
duplicity, deceit, disloyalty, faithlessness, betrayal, treason,
double-dealing, untrustworthiness, breach of trust.”  Briar’s face got redder
as she talked, but Danika raised a hand to stop her before she could speak.   “In
whatever way Doctor Avia was reduced to her actions, she at least had a reason
besides greed for what she did.  She honestly believes she had no choice in the
matter.  You cannot say the same.”

“And look where it
landed her, unlike me who is going to help bring Lucan Warrung to his knees.”

Danika opened her mouth
and then closed it with a head shake.  “If that is what you really think is
going to happen here, I am wasting my breath.  Frankly, you are the least of my
worries at the moment.”

She just watched
placidly as Briar started to lose her temper.  The woman had no concept of what
she was getting her and her brother into, and Danika could not find the will to
worry overmuch about her fate.  She was just too full of her own greed and
meanness.  Yet, it was a bit of a shock when the woman lost what was left of
her mind and slapped Danika across the face, managing at the same time to
scratch furrows from her nails there like a striking cat.  Between the hit and
the work of the sedative, Danika teetered briefly while Patrik grabbed his
sister’s arm and pulled her away with a curse.  She had already raised her arm
to strike again.

“Cor Warrung wants her
without damage.”  He grunted out the words while he held her with an effort.  “Remember
what father said; damn it, Briar, you are going to ruin everything.”

Danika touched her
cheek to assess the damage and Kira was doing the same.  Danika took her hands
and pushed her gently back.  “It is nothing.  A scratch, do not trouble
yourself.”

She saw Kira’s eyes
fill again with tears and pulled her under her arm.  “Do not cry for them Kira,
they only enjoy it.”

Kira raised her chin
and fought against the fears crowding her as best she could.  The tears did not
stop but her chin firmed and she moved with purpose, stepping up between the
Danvers brats and Danika.  She did not say a word as she glared watery eyes at
Patrik, who was physically restraining his spitting sister.  It was obvious to
her that Briar was not quite right in the head.  Her reality seemed slightly
skewed in her own favor.  Danika and Kira stood close together and watched the
struggle, while Danika used the time to try to reach out to the technology
around her and gauge her power levels.  Not so good, but better than it was. 
The Furgarian crystal pearls were helping.  She could feel them feeding her energy. 
No telling how long before she was able to protect them, but whatever happened,
she refused to be victim to the two idiots before her.  That would add insult
to her death she did not think she could stomach.

Finally calming his
sister, if only slightly, he pushed her ahead of him and turned back to the
patiently awaiting prisoners.  Danika shook her head at their ineptitude at
being villains.  They had the greedy dispositions down, but they lacked the
brains to be truly dangerous.  He motioned them to follow Briar, who was
stomping up ahead and cursing like the demented woman she was.

Danika started walking
and, at the same time, reaching for Lucan who she realized was still at a
distance, but there all the same.  She did not know if the distance was space
or the drugs working their way out of her system.  Either way, she needed to
bide her time and wait until the right time to act.  She did not want them to
apply more of the sedatives.  The thought of meeting everyone’s nightmare
Warrung was daunting, but not as bad as the thought of meeting him for the
first time, while unconscious.  Besides, she needed more information before she
could act.  Doctor Avia may have died but the reason for her betrayal was still
here somewhere, and Danika was not going to leave here without at least trying
to right that wrong.  So, she followed her captors, and pretended that they did
not give her a hundred openings to escape, and hoped that she knew what she was
about.

***

The space port Cor
Warrung called home lacked the simple elegance of his brother’s ocean moon.  In
fact, it lacked everything that mattered as far as Danika could see from the
brief escort through the facility.  It was lush and over-emphasized the wealth
and power of the man who owned it, but there was not a scrap of happiness in
the entire place.  Rather, it was as if the gold leaf walls and plush
accommodations soaked up negative vibes from the people who lived here until
the whole place reeked of fear and pain.  If she had not had Kira’s memories to
let her know what kind of man Luc’s brother was, the walk through the halls
would have done it.  Then she met the man and her first thought was how lucky
she had been that it was the Jezebel that took her off the salvage that day, because
ending up bonded to this man would have been hell on earth, even if he did bear
a striking resemblance to his younger brother.  From across the room she could
see the resemblance was skin deep and shallow at that.

“At last,” Cor Warrung
said, looking up from the banquet set before him.  Apparently it was meal
time.  She watched him look her over with satisfaction and a glint of avarice,
then he caught sight of her face and his eyes narrowed.  The temperature in the
room dropped like a stone.  “Why is she damaged?”

Patrik started to
speak, his face paling, but his sister spoke over him.  “She was attempting to
escape.”

The silence after that
little statement was rife with angst.  “Truthsayer, were you trying to escape
when she struck you across the face?”  His voice was just shy of sly, but Briar
did not seem to get that the danger in the room was mounting because she was
glaring at Danika, when she should have kept her eyes on the real threat in the
room.

“I was not.”  Danika
spoke clearly, all her attention on Warrung.  She tilted her head and studied
him; as sluggish as her energy was from the sedative, she could not get a grip
on exactly what was bothering her about him.  He had the same inhuman quality as
his brother which was to be expected, but where Luc’s alienness was subtle,
this man practically radiated inhuman.  In fact, just looking at him had her
truth-sense buzzing, as if everything she saw was a lie in some way.  It jangled
her nerves, and still, she had a hard time looking away from him, the push and
pull was added to the headache the sedative had given her. 

Cor Warrung turned back
to Briar, and looked her over with a sneer on his lips, paying special
attention to her boob show – while the idiot kept digging her hole.

“She is lying!”

Cor leaned back in his
throne-like chair and contemplated the woman some more, over his hands.  Danika
just watched; she felt no need to defend herself, at least not yet.

“Amazing,” he said,
shaking his head.  “You must be exceptional in bed if my brother put up with
your stupidity for so long, or did you refrain from speaking in his presence?”

Briar sputtered, but
was interrupted before she could say anything else asinine.  Cor rang a bell
that rested beside his plate, and a second later, a large brute of a cyborg
came into the room.  He motioned to Briar, “Take that one to the holding room. 
I will see about teaching her a woman’s place when I am finished with important
business.”  Before Briar could do more than screech a protest, she was
physically hauled over the man’s shoulder.  Patrik struggled for a moment,
looking from his sister, and finally seemed to decide brotherly devotion only
goes so far.  He turned to Warrung instead.