Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (40 page)

She
was
still
shocked
by
how
much
trouble
the
Church
was
going
to
to
get
her
back.
It
should
be
making
her
feel
all
warm
and
fuzzy.
Instead,
anxiety
gnawed
at
her
insides
as
though
something
wasn’t
right
with
the
world.

Tannis
was
pacing
the
bridge.
“They’re
bigger
than
us
and
faster
than
us.
And
those
new
ships
don’t
look
like
Church.”

“No,”
Rico
agreed.
“They’re
mercs.”
He
turned
to
study
Alex.
“You
sure
are
popular,
honey.”

Alex
squirmed
under
his
direct
stare,
but
after
a
moment,
he
turned
back.

“Can
we
outrun
them?”
Tannis
asked.

“You
just
said
it—they’re
faster
than
us.”

“Outfight
them?”

“Not
a
chance.
There’s
one
thing
on
our
side
though—presumably
they
want
their
priestess
alive,
so
they
won’t
shoot
us
down.
And
out
here
in
open
space,
it’s
going
to
be
hard
to
give
them
the
slip.
Besides,
if
we
do
manage
to
evade
them—chances
are
we’ll
run
straight
into
the
Collective.”

“Shit,”
Tannis
said.
“We’ll
never
be
able
to
get
away
with
them
both
dogging
our
every
move.
This
is
not
earning
us
any
money.
We
need
to
get
rid
of
these
guys
for
good.”
She
turned
to
Alex.
“What
if
you
come
right
out
and
tell
them
you
don’t
want
to
go
back?
Can’t
they
just
get
a
new
priestess?”

Alex
shook
her
head.
“No.
It’s
hereditary.
The
old
priestess
has
to
die,
and
at
the
exact
same
moment,
a
new
one
is
born.”

“So
what—they
go
searching
for
a
baby
born
at
the
same
time.
And
that’s
it?
If
you
have
the
misfortune
to
be
born
right
then,
you’re
stuck
with
this
priestess
shit?”

“Yes,”
Alex
said,
trying
not
to
sound
morose.
“But
there’s
usually
something
else.”

“Like
what?”

“Some
sort
of
sign
or
mark.”

“And
you
have
one.”

“Yes.
I
have
a
birthmark
in
the
shape
of
a
cross.
Here.”
She
pointed
to
her
right
thigh.

“Can
we
see
it?”
Rico
asked.

“No,
we
can’t.”
Tannis
ran
a
hand
through
her
hair.
“Next
time
I
see
someone
starving
in
the
streets—you
know
what—I’m
going
to
leave
them
there.”

“I’m
sorry.”

“Don’t
worry,
kid,”
Tannis
said.
“It’s
not
all
your
fault.”

Alex
winced
at
the
“kid,”
but
decided
now
was
not
the
time
to
argue
about
it.
Tannis
had
turned
her
attention
to
Skylar.
“And
next
time
someone
comes
to
me
with
a
job
that
sounds
too
good
to
be
true,
I’m
going
to
turn
and
run
as
fast
as
I
can
in
the
opposite
direction.”

“Unless
they
offer
you
a
lot
of
money,”
Skylar
drawled.

Tannis
glared
for
a
moment
and
then
grinned.
“Yeah,
I
guess
that
would
do
it.
So
how
do
we
get
out
of
this
one?”

“They’re
on
comms
now,”
Janey
said.
“You
want
me
to
ignore
them
for
a
minute
while
you
guys
come
up
with
a
plan?”

Alex
wanted
to
ignore
them
for
a
lot
longer
than
a
minute.
A
lifetime
would
be
nice.
She
gnawed
on
her
lower
lip
as
she
waited
for
Tannis
to
respond.

“No,”
she
said.
“Let’s
hear
what
they
have
to
say.
At
least
we’ll
know
what
we’re
up
against.”

“This
is
Hezrai
Fischer,
High
Priest—”

“Yeah,
we
heard
that
bit
the
last
time,”
Tannis
interrupted.
“What
do
you
want?”

“Only
what
belongs
to
the
Church.”

“Did
we
mention
before—we
don’t
have
anything
that
belongs
to
the
goddamn
Church?”

“Then
let
us
board
and
see
for
ourselves.”

“You’re
not
setting
one
holy
foot
on
my
ship.”

“You
think
you
can
stop
us?”

Alex
recognized
the
smug
tone
of
Hezrai’s
voice.
He
believed
he
had
already
won,
and
she
hoped
he
was
wrong.

A
sense
of
suffocation
enveloped
her,
and
she
forced
herself
to
breathe
deeply.
She
glanced
down
at
her
jumpsuit—this
one
burnt
orange
with
scarlet
piping—and
could
almost
feel
those
horrendous
black
robes
wrapping
themselves
around
her,
burying
her
alive.

Tannis
turned
off
the
comms
link.
“This
guy
is
starting
to
seriously
piss
me
off.
Any
ideas?”

“Well,
we
have
someone
that
might
stop
them
boarding,”
Rico
said.

Tannis
tapped
her
foot.
“And
are
you
going
to
reveal
who
that
is?”

“We
have
a
representative
of
the
Collective
on
the
ship,
flash
them
a
live
feed
of
Skylar
if
you
have
to,
and
tell
them
if
they
board
us
by
force,
she’ll
be
filing
a
formal
complaint.”

“Then
what?”

“Tell
them
we’ve
no
argument
with
the
Church,
and
if
we
have
this
thing
of
theirs,
we’re
willing
to
negotiate.
Set
up
a
rendezvous
point.”

“And
then
what?”

“Jesus,
I
don’t
know.
But
this
will
at
least
give
us
a
chance
to
come
up
with
a
plan.”

Tannis
switched
the
comms
back
on.
“Look,
we’re
not
even
sure
what
it
is
you
think
we’ve
got.
But
we’re
willing
to
come
and
discuss
it
with
you.”

“Why
can’t
we
discuss
it
right
now?”

“Because
I
don’t
like
you,
and
I
don’t
want
you
on
my
ship.
And
just
so
you
know,
we
have
a
member
of
the
Collective
with
us,
and
if
you
make
any
attempt
to
board,
she’ll
be
filing
an
immediate
complaint.”

Hezrai
didn’t
speak
for
a
minute,
though
Alex
could
hear
the
rasp
of
his
breathing.
He
was
upset.
Good.

“So
what
are
you
suggesting?”
he
asked.

“Let’s
arrange
a
rendezvous
point,
and
we’ll
meet
you
there.”
Tannis
moved
across
to
the
captain’s
console
and
pressed
a
few
keys.
“How
about
the
third
moon
of
Trakis
Four.
That’s
neutral
ground.
And
only
a
few
hours
away.”

“Agreed.
But
you
try
and
move
out
of
tracking
distance
and
we
will
attack
immediately.”

“Yeah,
right.
I’m
so
scared.”
Tannis
switched
off
the
comm
and
flung
herself
into
her
seat.
“You
know
this
guy?”
she
asked
Alex.

She
nodded.
“All
my
life.”

“You
get
along?”

“He
hates
me.
Apparently
the
first
time
we
met,
I
threw
up
on
him.”

Tannis
sniggered.
“Good
for
you.”

“I
was
only
four
weeks
old
at
the
time.”
Alex
defended
herself.
“But
things
never
really
improved
after
that.”

“Right,
so
we
have
about
six
hours
to
think
of
a
way
to
permanently
get
this
piece
of
shit
off
our
backs.
So
get
thinking.”

Alex
waited
until
everyone
was
busy
and
headed
for
the
door,
needing
time
to
think.

She
didn’t
go
back
to
her
cabin;
instead,
she
headed
for
the
docking
bay
and
slipped
inside
the
shuttle
where
she
was
pretty
sure
she
wouldn’t
be
bothered.
Both
Jon
and
Skylar
had
watched
her
as
she
left
the
bridge,
but
she
didn’t
want
to
talk
to
anyone.
Jon
was
unlikely
to
follow
her—why
would
he?
But
she
had
a
notion
that
Skylar
would
come
in
search
of
her.
And
she
didn’t
think
she
could
cope
with
anyone
trying
to
persuade
her
out
of
what
she
was
about
to
do.

Or
even
worse,
not
trying
to
persuade
her.
What
if
she
told
Skylar
she
was
going
back,
and
Skylar
said,
“Good
idea,
kid?”