Bloodbound: A space/fantasy F/F romance (Sparkbound Book 2) (3 page)

Chapter Five

They were able to extract five ounces of venom from the manticore, then they left the body behind. The human eyes stared out blankly from its alien face as they walked away. Ingrid still shuddered at the end of the day, remembering what they looked like.

Her shoulders hunched and she wrapped her arms around herself as she stared out over the green, rocky, frozen ground. Gnash sat beside her, but luckily he didn't try to talk with her. She wished Lolita was here, to distract her from what she had seen, to reassure her, or even to convince her to leave.

Why was she feeling like this? It wasn't as though she owed Lolita anything! They were lovers once, but those times were over. She had moved on. Lolita had moved on.

It's just because I'm alone,
she told herself.
It's because I can remember how happy I was with her, back on Pluto. And since I can't ever have my happily ever after with Edan, I'm remembering those good times and craving that intimacy I had with her. But Lolita and I are not well matched.

It wasn't because they were both women, no matter what certain people on Earth still claimed. She and Lolita were simply no good for each other. She was still in love with her dead husband, and it would be a betrayal of his memory to go back to the lover she had left for him. It wouldn't be fair to Lolita, either, to use her when they had no future together.

Ingrid closed her eyes, remembering Edan. The flash of dimples when he smiled, the sound of his laughter, the way he held her against him when she was upset. When he fought against the orc incursion, there hadn't even been a body left to find. Just traces of DNA fused into the rock from the bomb that had been dropped on him.

And that was another reason why she couldn't let herself miss Lolita, allow herself to even think about her former lover. She wasn't going to abandon Edan's memory.

She
had
to kill Jorgenson. She was the only one who was going to avenge Edan, the only one who cared.

But unbidden, a memory floated into Ingrid's mind. It was back on Pluto. There had been a blizzard, locking her and Lolita in their little service outpost. Fuel was low, their food supplies were almost out, and the two of them huddled in their blankets together, wearing all their clothing and sharing body heat. Lolita's arms had been around her, and they had kissed; a kiss that filled Ingrid with warmth and contentment.

They had made love after the blizzard had ended and they'd gotten more supplies, but somehow the memory of their first kiss seemed the most intimate. Ingrid could remember Lolita's lips, soft and cool against hers, and her bright eyes, the smile, the way Lolita whispered that she loved her.

"You gonna set up your tent?"

Ingrid's eyes snapped open to find Gnash staring at her. All the others had already staked their tents, and the light from the distant sun was growing weaker. Her hands trembled as she stood. She
had
to get Lolita out of her head!

"Are you okay?" Gnash's hand rested on her elbow.

"Yeah. I'm just a little tired."

Gnash nodded, not pushing her.

Ingrid set up her tent quickly, but she didn't want to sit around the campfire talking. She told Gelron that she was going to set up the magical wards and strode out, forcing herself to clear her mind. With the injection of venom Gnash had given her, the spells were easy to cast, and the familiar gestures helped ease her mind.

A strange hissing filled her ears and she head jerked her head around. The hissing stopped, but Ingrid didn't move. Her heart jumped to her throat. The only living creatures on Uranus were manticores.

Her muscles bunched and she summoned a spell, gaze dancing over the ground to find the creature.

The hissing came again, sounding muffled. One of the crust-bubbles was nearby and Ingrid crept to it. Part of her mind screamed at her to run, to get away from here, but she ignored it. Taking a deep breath, she jumped forward. The crust broke easily beneath her feet and she threw the spell beneath her.

A flash of light, an inhuman scream, and Ingrid quickly backed away. She felt her magic pulse in her veins, felt something thrashing against her spell, and she tightened the magical
bindings around it. Creeping forward again, she saw a small manticore in her binding spell, mewling now, eyes wide and frightened.

Ingrid's breath caught in her chest. It was a child. The fur along its body was soft, orange, the consistency of baby's hair. What was she doing? She couldn't do this! It was only a baby.

But before she could release the creature, a silver device landed under her shield. A force field blossomed, encasing her magic and that baby manticore both. Ingrid's head jerked up. Gelron strode forward, a smile spread over his face. As he got to her he slapped a hand onto her back. She stumbled from the force

"Good job, witch! Look at that, you've managed to capture one all by yourself."

"It's only a baby." Ingrid kept her spell in place, pushing outwards against the force field now. "We can't take it."

Gelron snorted. "Of course we can. The adults always come after the babies. We'll get enough venom to buy a small asteroid because of this thing. And you caught the little stinger by yourself. I'm impressed. I honestly thought you would be dead by now. You look so soft and delicate."

"Let it go." Ingrid gritted her teeth, struggling to expand her magical sphere, to keep the force field from crushing the baby. She knew that it wouldn't kill the tiny creature, but it would hurt.

Gelron shook his head. "Don't get all emotional on me, witch. We made a deal. You'll get your gallon of venom. It's not like they're sentient beings, anyway. Come on. We have to get it back to the ship to set the traps for the adults that come for it."

"No!" Ingrid clenched her fists.

Gelron's eyes narrowed at her. He stepped forward, a snarl twisting his lip. "We made a deal, witch. Don't think you can back out of it."

"I didn't sign up to kill babies!"

"
Kill
? Babies are too valuable to kill. We can get more for a live baby then ten gallons of venom. They're a hot commodity. And if you even think of letting it go, I will drag you back to my ship and take you to Earth."

Ingrid's eyes widened.

"That's right, I know who you are. You have a bounty on your head. Alive and unharmed. It'd almost be worth it, taking you back. But you're lucky I hate Harper." Gelron's fingers brushed her neck and she shivered, backing away. "I'd rather spite him than have his money."

"How much does he want for me?"

"Not enough to convince me to let the little stinger go, if that's what you are wondering."

It was. Ingrid struggled against the force field, trying to break it.

Gelron stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "Don't make me your enemy, Ingrid. You'll be wishing to go back to Earth if you cross me."

Ingrid's heart pounded. Spells flitted through her mind, but nothing that would help in this situation. Though she hated herself for it, she released the spell on the baby manticore, letting the force field close in.

Gelron grinned. He walked back to camp, dragging the screaming baby manticore with him. There was no choice but to follow.

Chapter Six

Bile churned in Ingrid's stomach as she listened to the cries of the baby manticore. Once they reached the poacher's ship, Gelron had made her go inside. He didn't lock her in, but she knew he had considered it.

It took them only a couple of hours to set the traps, various force fields ready to be activated as soon as the manticores showed up. Gnash and the other poachers patrolled around the area, waiting and watching, while Gelron strapped the baby manticore to a table just outside the ship, protected by a force field, cutting into the tiny creature to make it scream.

It sobbed just like a human child would, and let out high-pitched cries. Even when Ingrid cast a spell to block out the sounds, she still could still hear it. The bastard was torturing a
child
!

She paced from one end of the ship to the other, digging her hands into her short brown hair. What was she
doing
? Was this really worth it? But if she interfered, what would Gelron do to her? She played his threat over and over in her mind. It could mean anything! In any case, she could not go back to Earth, to where her father-in-law was waiting to force her to marry him.

But how much of this could she take?

The baby manticore's face floated into her mind. Would she be sitting here doing nothing if it was a human child? Elf? Orc? Any of the sentient species of the solar system? No. She wouldn't. Ingrid stiffened.

If it had been any other species, nothing would be worth listening to it being tortured. And neither was this. She would not stand by and let the elf torture a child. Nobody knew if manticores were sentient or not, but they could feel pain and she couldn't continue this path.

Lolita had been right. This wasn't who she was.

Ingrid's hands were steady, her eyes steely, as she strode off the ship. She called to her magic, filling her whole body from the soles of her feet to the top of her head with it. Her fingertips pulsed and burned.

Gold and crimson sparks cascaded around her as she stepped from the ship. She let out a breath, calming herself, and as Gelron looked over at her, she flicked her wrist. The magic cut through his force field easily, lifting him from his feet. He flew twenty feet and landed, rolling several times.

The little manticore cried out. The other poachers shouted and raised their weapons, pointing them at her. Ingrid pushed her magic out, sending it out in waves across Uranus' surface. As it touched the poacher's weapons, they exploded. The force field traps laid on the ground popped and smoked.

"Stop!" Gnash cried.

Even as he spoke, there was a rumbling, crashing sound below them. Ingrid stumbled to one side, feeling the ground shift beneath her feet. A dozen manticores burst through the surface, sending showers of dust over the poachers.

Gelron was the first to die.

An orange-yellow manticore twice as big as him pounced on the elf as he scrambled to his feet. Its mouth closed around his head, the razor-sharp teeth severing his spine in one bite. It spat out his head and seized another poacher close by. Two dragons were stung and left to die.

Gnash drew a knife and slashed at the manticores, ducking and weaving through the bodies towards the ship. Ingrid threw her hands out, magically blasting away a manticore that lunged at him.

One came at her and she screamed, throwing a shield between herself and it, but it merely leapt over her. The baby manticore was still mewling, and the adult gathered it into its mouth and dove back beneath the surface.

Gnash was suddenly beside her, his hand on her elbow, dragging her back into the ship. Ingrid shot a bolt of magic at a manticore as it charged them. The magic glanced off its chest. Gnash cursed and pushed her away, off the gangplank. She fell, rolled, and scrambled to her feet to see the manticores all climbing over the ship, tearing chunks off it.

One of them turned to her. Green eyes locked onto hers and Ingrid held out her hands. She meant to form a protective shield between her and the creature, but as it came towards her, slowly, every move deliberate, she found herself unable to. Her hands dropped to her sides.

Intelligence shone from those eyes. They knew exactly what had happened here.

"What have I done?" she whispered.

She'd been taking venom for years now, building her magical strength. How many had died for each injection? There was a reason harvesting manticore venom was illegal, and now she knew.

The creature towered over her, growling low in its chest as it came nose-to-nose with her. She flinched but didn't back down. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "I'm so sorry."

The stinger came at her. Before she had time to open her mouth to scream, it plunged into her chest. Fire raged in her heart, spreading rapidly through her limbs.

Power burned through her. It was too much, too hot. Ingrid fell to her knees, screaming, as a rainbow of color swirled around her. Sounds like music and screams crashed into her ears and she saw the universe, every blade of grass, every atom in every star.

She screamed again. It was too much, too bright, too powerful. Gnash's face was twisted as he piloted the ship away, leaving her behind. Lolita looked up from reading a book, feeling a shiver run down her spine. Ashley warded off blows from multiple opponents, teeth bared, determined to prove herself worthy of staying a part of Earth Force. Harper knelt at a grave, weeping.

There were more, confusing images of past, present and future, and Ingrid could not understand it. Edan stared out at the stars. Her head was going to explode and she fell to her knees. The planet beneath her throbbed and she thrust her hands into the frozen soil. She poured her magic out, ripping it through her pores, shooting it through her fingertips. She had to get it all out!

Everything stopped. She felt her heart give a thump and heard her lungs take a single gasp. The manticores gathered around her, whispering to each other. Their gazes were like nails on the back on her neck.

Her body stiffened, every cell swelling, and in a last-ditch effort Ingrid threw her head back, screaming a spell. A sound like the planet cracking in half roared in her ears. Her body drained of its last energy.

Ingrid collapsed, sucking in noisy breaths as darkness closed around her mind.