Fallen Star (9 page)

She stared at her bare wrists.
He took them off?
She swallowed and felt the metal shift against her neck. She closed her eyes.
That’s right, he doesn’t need them; he can control all of me now.

Chapter Seven

Fallon stepped from the medlab and padded after Sobehk, gripping her elbows in a daze of shaky confusion. Her heart thumped in her chest and ached in a way she couldn’t quite identify. Half of her wanted to run away screaming and find the smallest hole she could crawl into to hide in, and the other half wanted to lean up against Sobehk.

Something surged in her heart and her breath hitched. A shudder passed through her and she stopped. What in bleeding fury was going on?

Sobehk turned back to look at her. “Isabeau?”

She took a breath. “I’m ...”
Afraid
. She couldn’t say it. She’d never admitted to fear in her life, but some part of her was desperate to be ... comforted.

Sobehk smiled. “It’ll be all right. I’ll take good care of you.” He held out his hand.

Fallon shook her head. “I can take care of myself, damn it.” But she took his hand. His fingers closed warm and snug around hers. It felt far too good for her peace of mind.

“Yeah, but now you don’t have to.” He tugged. “Let’s go fuck.”

“Isabeau?” The sweet and eerily familiar voice whispered poisonously from the corridor behind them. “Izzie Fallon?”

Fallon’s head came up in alarm. Every hair on her body stood at attention. There was no way in bleeding fury her boss’s pet assassin could be on this ship. She turned around to look back up the corridor. They
couldn’t
have let that nightmare of a cyborg onboard!

Metal struck hammer-blows against metal.

Sobehk jerked at her side. “What in bloody Chaos ...?” He turned around to head up the corridor.

“No! Don’t!” Fallon grabbed Sobehk’s arm. “If it’s who I think it is, you’ll only make him attack you. You don’t stand a chance against him unarmed.”

The shriek of tearing metal followed. Shouts echoed down the corridor. Then wet crunches and choked screams.

Sobehk tensed. “What the fuck is going on?”

Fallon’s fingers tightened around Sobehk’s arm. “If we’re lucky, it’s nothing you guys can’t handle. If we’re not lucky, it’s a friend of mine.”

“Isabeau, that doesn’t make sense.”

A smallish, gangling, and completely naked human male came timidly down the hall. His face was plain, with ordinary brown eyes and a mop of bland blondish-brownish hair. He was one of those people you never looked twice at. He lifted his chin and moved his head from side to side. He appeared to be looking for something, or listening for something. A band of silver gleamed around his throat, and blood painted his bare arms almost to the shoulders.

Sobehk frowned and set his hand on Fallon’s shoulder. “Where in bloody Chaos are his handlers?”

Fallon stared at the blood-soaked arms and fought off a shiver. “They’re probably dead.”

“The collar is for controlling killing aggression ...” Sobehk glanced down at her. “Is that your
friend?
”

Fallon swallowed and nodded. And she had thought her luck couldn’t possibly get any worse. “He’s a nano-based mimetic cyborg. I doubt your collar has any effect on him.”

“The collar has some effect; he’s obviously sightless.” Sobehk glanced down at Fallon. “Wait a minute -- he’s
mimetic?
”

Fallon nodded slowly. “He shape-changes.”

“Who is this guy?”

Fallon winced. “Tusk is my company’s assassin.”

“A mimetic cyborg assassin.” Sobehk rolled his eyes. “Great.”

“And he’s good. He’s single-minded, single-purposed, and has never failed a mission.” Well, he had failed once. That was how she found out how to take him out if she ever needed it. The following week, she’d had her augmentation upgraded for dexterity and speed.

The young man’s head came up. He stared straight at Fallon with unfocused eyes. “There you are, Izzie!”

“Oh, hi, Tusk.” She pasted a smile on her lips. “What’s going on?”

The young man smiled. “Oh, the boss wanted to see you.”

“He did?” Fallon kept her hands open and loose at her sides while slowly moving in front of Sobehk. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”

Tusk shrugged. “Couldn’t find you.”

“Oh, that’s right ...” Fallon rolled her eyes and glanced up at Sobehk. “Some guy was chasing me all over the station.”

Tusk shuffled gracelessly toward her, smiling absently. “Rudi said you’d be here, so I waited for you.”

Fallon frowned. “He did?” How in bleeding fury had Rudi known that she would end up here? “How long were you waiting?”

Tusk pursed his lips. “Three days or so.”

Three days?
Fallon felt her temper surge. Rudi had set her up.
That back-stabbing son of a bitch ...

Sobehk glanced down at Fallon. “Who’s Rudi?”

Fallon scowled. “This guy I made my last delivery to. New guy, stinks of the Imperium. He tipped me for the delivery and gave me a pass to the club where I met you -- three days ago.”

Sobehk frowned. “That sounds like a setup.”

“Yep, it sure does.” Fallon glanced at him. “The question here is, why?”

Tusk tilted his head. “Rudi told the boss you didn’t make the delivery.”

“He ... what?” Impending doom dried her mouth. You did not
ever
miss a delivery. “Tusk, he lied.”

“Oh ... That’s too bad.” Tusk’s brows lifted then fell. “Because I gotta bring you back to talk to him, or kill you.” He sucked on his bottom lip. “But we’re in space already, and I don’t know how to fly the ship, so we can’t
go
back.”

An icy sweat soaked her back. “Tusk, I’m sure something can be arranged ...”

Tusk shook his head and eased closer. “No, I don’t think so.”

Sobehk stiffened and grabbed Fallon by the shoulder. “He’s not terrifically bright, is he?” He pulled her behind him.

“No, but he
is
terrifically deadly.” Fallon shoved back in front of him. “Do
not
get in front of his target.”

Tusk sighed and smeared a hand across his cheek, staining his face with blood. “I’m gonna miss you, Isabeau.”

Sobehk frowned. “Is he actually crying?”

Fallon winced. “Yes. He does that, right before he attacks.”

Tusk shuddered violently.

Fallon licked her lips. “Now’s a good time to get your knife out, and if you have a spare, I’d love to have it.”

“I don’t have a spare.” Sobehk drew his long dagger from his boot and moved to Fallon’s side.

Fallon dropped her voice to barely a whisper. “His only weak spot is at the base of his skull in the back just below the data jack. Nothing else will have any real effect on him.”

“Got it.” Sobehk flipped the dagger in his palm. “Just stay out of the way.”

Fallon frowned at him.
Stay out of the way, my ass.
“Sobehk, he’s really, really fast. I hope you have dexterity in your augmentation. You’re going to need it.”

“I’m not exactly a slow-ass.” Sobehk snorted. “I got you, didn’t I?”

Fallon flashed him a bitter smile. “Yeah, after three days of little food and less sleep.”

Sobehk grinned. “That doesn’t change the fact that you are currently wearing a collar.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “That ego of yours is going to get you in trouble.” She shook her hands and bounced on her toes to trigger her augmentations. She did not want to be dealing with Tusk barehanded, but it looked like she didn’t have much of a choice. Sobehk was going to need a distraction. She just hoped to the Maker that Sobehk was up to speed.

Shaking and twitching, Tusk flung his arms to the sides, and his head fell back. He wailed and stretched ... and thinned. His arms extended and reshaped themselves from the elbow out into long, curved blades. His feet lengthened until he stood on double-jointed legs, balancing on elongated, clawed toes. His head reshaped and stretched into a muzzle. His mouth split his head nearly in half, full of long, jagged teeth. His skin hardened into pale, skin-toned scales.

Sobehk curled his lip and dropped into a fighting crouch. “Oh, that’s pleasant-looking.”

“Personally, I was hoping to never see it.” Fallon nibbled on her bottom lip and promptly stabbed it.
Damned fangs.

Tusk’s head came forward. He focused on Fallon and raised his bladed arms. “Time to die, Isabeau Fallon.” The words were barely recognizable coming from that gaping maw.

Fallon took a calming breath and gathered herself. Time to see if her technician had done his job right. She lunged for the company nightmare.

Sobehk shouted.

Fallon dove, rolling under Tusk’s swinging blade. She rolled up onto her feet behind him -- and dodged Tusk’s second swing as he turned with blinding speed.

Behind them, Sobehk lunged into the fray, dodging swings and opening harrying cuts along Tusk’s sides and flanks.

Tusk turned from one to the other, snapping and slashing at both. His foot lashed out and caught Sobehk in the gut, propelling him into a wall.

“Oh, shit!” Fallon lunged in and slammed her fist into where Tusk’s kidneys ought to be, then dodged his retaliating bite.

Sobehk climbed to his feet and came toward them, shaking his head. He was not moving well. Tusk’s kick must have struck something.

Need a distraction! Need a distraction! Need a distraction!
Fallon lunged toward the side wall, leaping up and catching it with her feet to shove herself toward the opposite wall, dodging another swing. She bounced off the wall and backflipped out of range, drawing Tusk further down the hall and away from Sobehk.

The guy Fallon had spoken to hadn’t been kidding when he said Tusk was fast. She only hoped she had enough energy to keep moving until Sobehk could take out Tusk’s head.

Fallon ducked another swing and saw Sobehk grab Tusk around the slender throat from behind. The knife rose ...

Tusk’s arm moved into an impossible angle and stabbed backwards and sideways -- straight into Sobehk’s side under the ribs, and came out the other side.

Sobehk’s eyes widened and he froze.

Fallon gasped.
No ...
It didn’t look real. The blade went in, the blade came out covered in red ... but it didn’t look real at all.

Tusk pulled his arm free and Sobehk dropped. The knife clattered to the deck.

Fallon stared in shock as blood pooled under Sobehk’s body.
No ...
Lightning seared up her spine and engulfed her skull. A white-hot blaze of rage erupted within her. “No!” Fallon focused on the nightmare, and the entire universe slowed to a crawling bloody haze. A liquid growl vibrated deep in her chest. “Kill you ...”

She dove under Tusk’s lazy swing. Skimming low across the floor, she snatched up the fallen knife. The handle was warm from Sobehk’s hand. The smell of blood filled the hall with thick copper heat. She dropped to her knees, skidding into a turn then pushed off the wall for more momentum, and launched herself at the nightmare. She set the dagger in her teeth, biting down on the blade.
Kill ...

Tusk’s movements seemed incredibly slow. It was almost easy to dodge his bladed swings and get behind him.

She leapt up and scaled his long back by stabbing her fingers and toes through cool scaled hide into the warm wetness under it. Funny, she’d always thought his scales were harder than that.

Gripping him with her dug-in toes, she pressed flat against his cold back to avoid his blades. Taking the dagger from her teeth, she jammed the blade with all her strength up into the base of his skull. “Kill
you!
”

The blade went in just above the data jack, and up, sliding past a bony ridge to encounter some resistance within, then slid all the way in to the hilt. She twisted the dagger deep in his skull. “Die!” White-hot blood sprayed, covering her chest with thick, slippery heat.

The nightmare collapsed, howling, and she rode it down, holding the dagger and screaming.

Voices shouted.

“Blood and hell!”

“Sobehk!”

“What the fuck happened?”

Her head came up. She could barely see through the wetness on her face. People with long white hair were running toward her with long blades in their hands. She grabbed for the dagger, but it wouldn’t come free

“What in fury is that?”

“It’s dead ... whatever it is.”

“It looks like she killed it.”

She lunged for Sobehk and straddled him. She snarled in warning. If they tried to touch him, she would make them bleed.

The shouting people surrounded her. They all smelled wrong. She didn’t know any of them.

“We have to get him to the medlab!”

“Watch out, she’s in
rahyt
.”

“Who’s got the collar codes?”

“I do.”

Lightning exploded in her skull. She fell to the deck screaming as sanity and consciousness were savagely torn from her grasp.

Chapter Eight

Fallon tried to stay asleep, but the nagging pounding in her head wouldn’t let her. No, she did not want to wake up; something bad was waiting for her. She twisted, trying to go back to sleep, and discovered that she couldn’t move.

Her eyes snapped open and she saw ... blackness. She blinked. Still nothing but utter and unrelieved darkness. She rotated her wrists and shifted her knees. She was lying on her back naked and spread wide, harnessed into something that was keeping her completely immobile and suspended. A broad strap was all that kept her head from falling back.

She was absolutely helpless.

Terror washed through her, followed by hot anger. “Sobehk!” She tugged harder. “Sobehk, what the fuck did you do to me?”

Memory crashed. Her breath stopped and her heart tried to stop with it. The nightmare, Sobehk being stabbed and falling, the blood ... the killing.

Sobehk ...
A fist of pain and terror crushed her heart. He couldn’t be dead! He couldn’t leave her like this. He was all she had left. She threw her head back and shouted. “Sobehk, you better not be dead!”