Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
And when she opened her eyes, she was holding him—not in his wolf form but as his purely un-Shifted humanoid self.
“Saxon?” Lynx was there too, his golden eyes wide. He, too, had un-Shifted and he was looking at his Bond-Brother like a man who had been brought back from the dead. The blaster hung limp in one hand. “Saxon—is it really you?” he asked.
“It’s me, Brother.” Saxon moved so that one arm was around Miri and opened his other for the Felinus Shifter. “Come here!”
Lynx felt into his Bond-Brother’s arms and Saxon pulled him and Miri both close, crushing them to his broad chest. All three of them were crying— even Saxon, who had always made it his personal policy never to shed a tear.
“Oh, Brother—I thought I’d lost you!” Lynx said, his voice choked with emotion.
“I was lost—I was wandering in the dark until Mirabella saved me.” Saxon looked down at her. “I owe you a debt I can never repay, little one.”
“But…but how did you know you could do it? How did you do it?” Lynx shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either,” Saxon admitted. “I heard her shouting something about a partial bond and then she was calling my name and I could hear her, even though I was drowning in darkness.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” Lynx swiped at his eyes. “But for now we have to be sure—are there anymore Skulls aboard? Or any more of Furx’s men?”
“Good question.” Saxon reached for his blaster and then appeared to notice he was stark naked. “Fuck—must have burst out of my clothes when I Shifted,” he growled.
“Here.” Lynx reached down and found his Bond-Brother’s blaster in the tatters of his ruined clothes. He handed it to Saxon. “Let’s go on patrol. Mirabella—stay behind us,” he added.
“All right.” Miri was happy enough to do as he said. She just hoped they wouldn’t meet with any more Skulls or anyone else—she’d had enough excitement and drama to last her a lifetime!
FORTY-FIVE
MIRI
Luckily, the tour of Mistress Bloodmuch’s second best Space Yacht proved completely uneventful. The corridors and rooms were empty and a look at the control center showed an interesting chase taking place.
“Look at that.” Lynx pointed at the viewscreen which showed two ships—one apparently in hot pursuit of the other.
“Huh. Looks like Furx’s men realized what was happening and decided to run,” Saxon rumbled. “Which is, of course, the exact wrong fucking thing to do with the Skulls.”
“They always give chase—it’s in their nature to be predatory,” Lynx explained, when he saw Miri’s confused look.
“Well, at least it means we can get the fuck out of here,” Saxon growled.
“Wait please—there’s something I want here first.” Lynx was doing something to the controls, Miri wasn’t sure what. She’d never learned to pilot a space craft, though she was beginning to think it might be a useful skill.
After a moment, Lynx nodded.
“There—got it. All right—now we can leave.”
“But we’ll have to be careful—have to be sure there are no Skulls scouts aboard our own ship. Though I fucking doubt it,” Saxon muttered.
The two big Monstrum went first as they crossed the temporary bridge and Miri was relieved when—after a quick but thorough sweep of the ship—they declared it all clear.
“Let’s get closer to Yonnie Six,” Lynx suggested, once they were certain the three of them were alone in the ship. “The Skulls won’t come too near an inhabited, armed planet.”
“Good point—I’ll set a course and then we’ll talk,” Saxon said. He gave Miri a piercing look. “I have a feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
FORTY-SIX
MIRI
“All right—what happened? How did you know you could bring me back?” Saxon asked, looking intently at Miri.
The three of them were lounging on the bed, wearing nothing but towels. After a quick shower to get the black ichor off, they were relaxing together. They had moved the ship to a much closer orbit of Yonnie Six and both Saxon and Lynx had assured her they were safe—the Skulls would never come so near an inhabited planet.
Also, they were probably feasting on the rest of Captain Furx’s men right now—a thought which sent a cold shiver down Miri’s spine. No matter how awful Mistress Bloodmuch’s hired mercenaries had been, she still didn’t think anyone deserved that fate. And of course, it made her think of her father.
But for now she was thinking how to explain what had happened to the two big Monstrum. Would they think she was crazy if she told them the Kindred Goddess had spoken to her?
Well, there’s only one way to find out, Miri told herself.
She took a deep breath.
“I knew I could bring you back because…well, because the Goddess told me I could.”
To her relief, they didn’t exchange a glance that said she was crazy. Instead, both of them leaned towards her.