Athena's Ashes (31 page)

Viktis blinked up at her, eyes unfocused and full of pain. “Is that really you, Ren?”

“It’s me, handsome. And I’m going to get you out of here. Can you walk?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. The asshole broke my ankle and my whole body hurts like hell. I don’t know if I can even move.”

Shit. Renna chewed her lip and glanced at the door. The hybrids could show up at any moment, and she wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it.

“Go on without me,” he said. “Get out of here before Samil catches you again.” He squeezed her hand weakly. “Just put me out of my misery first, eh?”

“Don’t you dare talk like that, you washed-up old pirate. We’re both getting out of here.” The med-drone floated toward them. “I’m giving you a painkiller. It’ll help you get through the next couple of minutes so we can get out of here.”

“Better triple the dose.” Viktis tried to chuckle, then winced. “Damn. Hurts to laugh.”

“Then don’t laugh.” Her gaze shifted to the metal gurney. “All right. We need to get you up there. This isn’t going to be fun.”

“Just do it. I can feel the meds kicking in already.” Viktis clenched his jaw as Renna hauled him to his feet. Her finger slid against one of the cauterized holes, and he hissed.

“Gods! I’m so sorry!”

“Get moving before I pass out again. You can apologize later.”

Together, they limped toward the table. Renna got him to the edge and pressed the controls to lower the height enough that he could slide back onto it. She picked up his legs and swung them onto the gurney, then covered him with a sheet.

“We’re going to hope they don’t ask too many questions and assume you’re dead.”

“I’m close enough. I’ll barely be acting.” Dried amber blood streaked his face, and she carefully kept her gaze from lingering on the holes dotting his arms. If she let herself look, she’d be destroyed. Useless for anything except screaming.

Or killing.

“Renna? You okay?” he asked. “Samil is probably on her way.”

“One last thing to take care of.” Renna grabbed one of the long, thin knives from the tray and stalked back toward Larson’s motionless body. The drug had knocked him out, and his head was slumped on his chest, mimicking Viktis’s earlier pose. She curled her fingers around the knife. The man had tortured her friend and enjoyed it. He’d betrayed MYTH and caused thousands more deaths. He deserved to die. And she’d be more than happy to oblige.

Too bad he wasn’t awake to watch her do it.

“Renna! What are you doing?” Viktis asked.

“Killing the bastard.”

“Let it go. We don’t have time for this.”

Renna glanced back at Viktis’s destroyed face, then down at Larson. Anger licked beneath her skin, and she crouched in front of the man.

“I’ll always have time for this.”

With one fluid motion she jammed the knife up and through his diaphragm, directly into his heart.

THIRTY-FIVE

Viktis gasped as Larson’s body slid sideways. Renna rose from her crouch, wiping her hands on her trousers. “Now doesn’t that make you feel better?” she asked Viktis.

Viktis stared. His amber skin had turned gray and deep lines framed his narrowed lips. “When did you get so ruthless, Renna?”

She blinked. Why was he looking at her like she was a monster? He should be glad the man was dead.

When she didn’t answer, he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. Let’s get out of here. I’m not feeling so well.” As he spoke a bubble of blood formed at the corner of his lip, bursting in a fine spray across his skin.

Fuck. Internal bleeding? Punctured lung? Something worse? Renna threw open the door, grabbed another knife from the table, and wheeled the gurney out into the hallway. Whatever it was, Viktis needed medical attention immediately.

The drone followed like a dog, hovering several paces behind. It had been even easier to control than the punching ball. Had Samil’s virus changed something? Or was her implant progressing faster than she’d thought?

Either way, she was running out of time.

Renna cautiously peeked down the next corridor. Empty. Where the hell was everyone? Not that she wanted a welcoming committee, but the silence made her nervous. She much preferred to keep Samil and her army where she could see them.

The gurney’s tires squeaked against the cement floor as she maneuvered it down the hallway and through a back passage. If she could skip the main area, maybe they’d make it out of here without being caught. The drone struggled to keep up, its engine wheezing and spluttering.

Strange, but she didn’t have time to worry about it now. Viktis had passed out again, and his chest wound still bled sluggishly. He’d lost a lot of blood, and he’d lose even more if she didn’t get him back to his ship.

She entered the hall, freezing as every muscle clenched. The room was full of Samil’s men. Standing perfectly still.

Had the doctor activated the neural network? Was she controlling them now? But why weren’t they attacking?

Renna stared at the blinking red lights deep in the hybrids’ eyes. The lights she’d seen in her own eyes. Were hers blinking now, too, and she just didn’t know it?

She pushed the thought away and tried to focus. If these hybrids were connected to Samil’s network, maybe she could do the same thing they’d done in Navang’s facility. If she could input a virus, she could destroy this place and these monsters for good. She could stop them from attacking MYTH and destroying the people she cared about. She could protect Finn, Myka, Viktis.

She could stop Samil.

Renna swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat. Even though Finn had betrayed her, maybe even hated her, she was still in love with him. And she had no idea if that would ever change, now that she’d let him in.

On the gurney, Viktis coughed, more amber blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His skin had started to turn green, a sure sign of internal hemorrhaging.

Renna glanced back toward the lab area. A few more minutes and she could end this.

And end Viktis while she was at it.

A surge of realization flowed through her as she stared down at her old friend. The old Renna would have taken any chance to win, despite the odds. She would have left Viktis there to die if it meant stopping Samil. But somehow, in the last few weeks, she’d changed. That Renna—the one who worked alone, who didn’t need anyone—was gone. She needed Viktis alive. And that meant moving her ass.

Clenching her fingers around the gurney handle, she pushed it down the hallway and into the back area where Larson had captured them a few hours ago. The drone followed, but instead of gliding, it jerked and bobbed along as if it was running out of energy. The motor hissed and spluttered loudly.

If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was malfunctioning, but those things lasted for years and this was a brand-new model.

Renna unlocked the back door and pushed it open onto the watery light of Shalim. “We’re almost there, Vik,” she said, turning back to him.

Behind her, a zap sparked from the drone’s body. Light flashed in an electric arc from the motor, and the thing dropped to the floor.

Metal pieces scattered across the cement, bent and broken. She peered closer, frowning. The insides of the thing had melted together, the wires corroded and twisted. Like it had somehow overheated or malfunctioned.

But it had been working perfectly for Larson. It had worked perfectly until she’d taken control of it. Had she infected it with Samil’s virus? Renna stared at the twisted metal. By the gods, had she infected the
Athena
, too?

She took a steadying breath. It didn’t matter now. She had to get Viktis out of here. Without a glance back, she headed for the
Fortune’s Risk
. There was only one place that could save him now.

THIRTY-SIX

Renna paced the halls of the Ileth hospital on Viktis’s home world, waiting for some news of his condition. They’d taken him to surgery three hours ago, and she hadn’t heard a word since, despite stopping every nurse that walked by. Her whole body twitched and hummed. She didn’t know if it was from stress or from Samil’s virus, but it didn’t really matter. She had two goals now. Make sure Viktis survived and make sure she warned MYTH about Samil’s plans of attack.

After her sixth cup of bitter coffee, one of the nurses finally took pity on her. “He’s out of surgery and in the recovery room. You can see him for five minutes.”

“Bless you.” Renna took the woman’s cheeks in her hands and kissed her on the forehead. She followed the nurse back into the recovery room and stopped dead inside the door.

Viktis lay pale and still against the white sheets. The bruise around his eye had darkened to an angry green and a jagged cut stretched across his cheekbone, but at least the holes burned into his skin had been tended to, and his other wounds cleaned.

Renna sank into the chair beside his bed. Gods, she was so tired. Her whole body ached. But she wasn’t done yet. Not until he was out of the woods. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed gently. “Don’t you dare die on me, Viktis. You’re the only one I have left. I can’t lose you, too.”

“Good thing I’m not going anywhere, then,” he said weakly. The one eye that wasn’t swollen shut fluttered open.

Relief surged through Renna like a dam breaking. “You’re awake.”

“And you look like shit. What the hell have you been doing?” He coughed violently, and Renna cringed as she waited for the fit to subside. He grimaced. “Guess I probably don’t look so great either.”

“You look handsome as always. You’d better watch out or you’ll have every nurse in this place eating from your hand by the time they spring you.”

He nodded. “A man can hope. So are you going to tell me what happened?”

Renna had been wondering that herself as she paced the halls, but since she only had five minutes with him, it was time for the abbreviated version. “Samil infected my implant with a virus so she could use me to disable the defenses and communication systems at all MYTH facilities. They’re cut off and alone. She’s going to pick them off one by one. Starting with HQ.”

“You have to warn them.”

“That’s my next stop, but I need a favor. I need to borrow your pilot and your ship.”

Viktis closed his eyes. “Dammit, Renna. I just got her.”

“I’ll be careful with her, I promise. Please? She’s the fastest ship in the sector. She’s the only way I can get there in time to save everyone.”

He nodded, not lifting his head from the pillow. He looked exhausted and pale, and another pang of guilt twisted in her gut like a knife. He’d been tortured because of her. He’d cared about her enough to put himself in that kind of danger. It was an unfamiliar feeling, this new openness, this feeling of connection. Even if she had to do this alone, she knew he’d always have her back.

“Fine. Take her. But if there’s a scratch on her when I get her back…”

“I’ll owe you more than the Star Sapphire. I got it.” She got to her feet, pressing a gentle kiss to his uninjured cheek. “Focus on getting yourself better, my friend.”

“Renna. Don’t do anything stupid. Remember you’re not in this alone.” He squeezed her hand. “Help is out there, just wait for it.”

“It’s been a fun ride, Viktis. Take care of yourself.” She pulled away and forced herself to stride from the room without looking back. He’d never let her live it down if he saw the tears streaming down her face.