Hunter (19 page)

There was no
one near him. He struggled to spread his legs out and unfurl his
body. There didn't seem to be any broken bones, another
relief.

Screams
surrounded him. He frowned, he recognised the voices; they were not
those of pitiful humans. The tide of battle had turned and the
damned light was still on. With the light, his people had no
advantage, and they were forced to wear the damned goggles. The
glow came from a ship; it hovered above them, blinding them
all.

Corvus sucked
in a deep breath and reached for the communicator at his belt. He
pressed in the button.

"Ravyn,
initiate the backup. I want that ship gone," Corvus
snarled.

"Yes, sir,"
Ravyn replied.

After a few
moments the ship above them rocked to the side. It swerved above
the yard and shot higher into the sky. It must have detected
Ravyn's guns powering up. That didn't matter, she was a good
shot.

Corvus
waited, keeping his senses tuned to his surroundings in case a
foolish human decided to approach. A moment later, a massive pink
beam burst out of the nearby mass of parked ships and into the sky.
The ship above him shuddered. The light wavered but stayed
on.

"It's a beat
up bounty ship," Ravyn said. "It won't last another two
shots."

"Then take it
down," Corvus commanded.

He struggled
to his feet and tested his legs. They were a little sore and his
knees felt bruised but he could walk. He grabbed for the gun at his
hip but the holster was empty. He spun in a tight circle but there
was no sign of the weapon. Corvus gritted his teeth, it would have
been good to kill her with her own gun, but crushing her pathetic
neck in his hands would be almost as satisfying. He shuffled
forward, keeping the container to his side and his eyes
roving.

Another pink
beam surged overhead and smashed into the ship. It shuddered and
some of the lights went out. It wasn't enough; the glow in the yard
was still too bright. The humans could see him as clearly as he
could see them. That wasn't how he wanted this fight to go. The
ship had to be destroyed.

***

"Nova, if we
take one more hit then we're going down," Cal said. "The shields
are at twenty percent."

"But we need
that light," Nova pleaded, her voice desperate as she pulled yet
another arrow and fired it at a passing lecheon.

"Then let me
say it has been a pleasure working for you," Cal said, his tone
dry.

Nova's heart
beat faster. Cal and Crusader were her most prized possessions.
Without them, what was she? A girl trapped on some mid-galaxy
planet. Sure, she could get a lift back to The Jagged Maw, but then
what?

"Get out of
here," Nova whispered.

"Confirm?"
Cal said.

"I said get
out of here!" Nova yelled.

Crusader and
the precious lights lifted away and shot into the distance just as
another pink beam blasted through the air. The yard was plunged
into darkness.

"Grishnak!"
Nova kicked the metal container. "Briggles, are you still
there?"

"Still here,"
Briggles replied.

"I'm sorry.
They were about to destroy her anyway."

"No harm, no
foul. Let's get these suckers."

The corner of
Nova's mouth twitched. She reached behind her back for another
arrow and her hand encountered nothing but air. She reached more
desperately, but there were no more arrows.

Her eyes went
wide.

She'd counted
eleven. There should have been one more arrow left in her quiver.
She ripped the quiver from her shoulder and tossed it to the metal
beside her, but it was empty. Her fingers went loose and she
dropped the bow, reaching into her boot for the wooden knife. She
held it out in front of her body and strained her ears. There were
lots of screams, a few gunshots, but nothing else she could make
out from the din.

She was too
exposed on top of the container. It was fine when the lights were
on but in the dark she was a sitting target for any passing
lecheon. She stepped to the edge, feeling forward with her toes
until she got to the edge. She sat down and let her legs dangle
over the side of the container. With a deep breath she let herself
drop, bending her knees to take the impact.

Her heart
leapt into her throat as she let herself fall into darkness. In her
mind she knew the drop was only two metres but it didn't stop her
stomach turning over as she fell through the air. She landed with a
crunch and rolled to the side, crouching low. She gasped for air,
clenched her fingers around the knife, and steeled her
nerves.

There were
footsteps crunching the gravel. They were lighter than she would
have expected from any of the officers. It had to be a lecheon, and
it was coming her way. She held her breath. It was hard to imagine
that the creatures could see as well in this pitch darkness as she
could during the day. She was forced to rely entirely on her
ears.

The footsteps
turned the corner of her container and stopped.

"And here you
are," a familiar voice said.

"Hello
Corvus," she whispered.

"It's so good
to see you again," Corvus said in a playful voice.

"If you and
your coven leave now and go back to your home planet, then we won't
pursue you anymore. You can go and live your lives in peace.
Otherwise, I will have to kill you," Nova said.

"Ha! Well,
you have spirit, I'll give you that much." Corvus laughed. "But you
owe me so much more than that. You killed my mate, Laticia, and so
many more. It's your turn to pay."

Nova bit her
lip; she wouldn't fall into Corvus's trap. If she was talking then
she couldn't listen properly, and she needed to hear. She needed to
know if he was getting closer.

Footsteps
crunched. He was only a few feet away.

A shiver ran
up Nova's spine. Her eyes widened but all they saw was a shroud of
darkness. Corvus's eyes were on her; she could feel their predatory
stare. In her mind's eye she imagined him licking his lips with the
grotesque slug which was his tongue. She tried to control her
breathing, to listen.

The footsteps
stopped. If she really strained she could hear him breathing. His
footsteps had been small, like he was shuffling. Was he still
injured?

A loud
scrape.

A change in
the air alerted Nova and she scrambled to her right. Corvus's body
slammed past her as he dived. He landed with a thud, turned and
lunged again. Nova pictured his actions based on the sounds, but
her eyes saw nothing. She stepped to her left at the last minute
and the wind of Corvus's passing brushed past her skin.

"You're
smarter than you look," Corvus said with a hiss.

Nova didn't
respond; she couldn't afford to. She held her wooden knife in front
of her chest, keeping her arm firm.

"Oh, I don't
think that will do you any good," Corvus said.

He leapt for
her, his feet leaving the ground. She stepped to the right but
instead of moving away she turned and wrapped her arm around the
dark shadow, stabbing at his back.

Corvus
grunted and lashed out. His palm slammed into her chest and Nova
flew backwards. Her head smashed against a shipping container and
lights flashed at the edge of her vision. In the darkness she made
out Corvus's silhouette as he bent double, his arms wrapped across
his chest.

"You bitch!"
he said through gasps.

Nova's head
pounded and she teetered on the edge of consciousness. The knife
was gone. She tapped the ground around her, desperately searching.
Her arms were heavy like lead and it took all of her remaining
strength to pull them along the ground.

Her hand came
to rest on her empty quiver. She was about to push it away but
Corvus's breaths were evening out. It wouldn't be long before he
was on her. She thrust her hand into the quiver and squeezed her
eyes closed. She focused on the arrows, how they'd looked at the
start. There had been twelve of them.

Her hand
tingled.

She took a
deep breath and snapped her hand closed. A single arrow caught
between her fingertips and she ripped it out of the quiver. Nausea
rolled in her stomach. The thought of reaching through time to
steal an arrow from herself made her mind spin, something she
couldn't afford in the heat of battle.

She tossed
the quiver to the side just as Corvus leapt at her. He growled as
his hands clenched around her throat. Her breath choked in her
throat as she gasped for air. Blood rushed into her face and her
head pounded. Her throat stung with the force of his fingers
pressing down.

Her head
spun, flashing lights circling the edges of her vision. She pulled
back her hand and slammed the arrow into Corvus's side, burying it
as deep as she could.

He howled in
pain, rolling away from her and taking the arrow with
him.

"Bitch!" he
roared.

A string of
curses, some of which Nova didn't recognise, streamed out of his
mouth as he crawled away from her. He clutched the
arrow.

Nova's heart
fluttered lighter in her chest. The arrow was made of wood. There
was no way Corvus could survive being stabbed in the chest. She
licked her lips, waiting for him to die.

With a wet
tearing sound Corvus gripped the arrow and ripped it out of his
side. He tossed it at the shipping container and it bounced off
with a metallic ting.

"You stuck
up, human bitch!"

Nova's
stomach dropped and her heart roared into overdrive at the strength
in Corvus's voice. He sounded far from dead. She ran her hands
across the ground for any other kind of weapon. Blood pounded
against her eyes, and she bit her lip as she searched in vain. Her
right hand brushed over something hard and metallic. She pulled the
crossbow onto her lap, her heart fluttering as she felt the bolt,
already in place.

Corvus stood
straight and turned to her. In the darkness she could just make out
the whites of his teeth and eyes. He glared at her and leapt. He
moved with the speed of a panther, his hands held out before him
like claws.

Nova braced
herself against the container, lifted the crossbow, and pulled the
trigger. The weapon jerked in her arms. She couldn't see the bolt
but a second later Corvus grunted and crumpled to the ground. He
convulsed in the dirt, his hands clutched around his
chest.

"I'll kill
you for this," he said through gritted teeth.

"I don't
think so," Nova said, breathless.

She used the
container to haul herself to her feet and stood over Corvus. She
spoke into her radio.

"I've got
him. I need two officers here now," she said.

A moment
later heavy footsteps rounded the nearest container and an out of
breath officer handed her a pair of night-vision goggles which she
fastened over her face.

"It's hell
out there," he said between gasps. "We barely managed to break free
of the fighting."

"I know,"
Nova said. "But we're about to end it."

She bent to
help them tie Corvus's feet and wrists together with wood-laced
rope which made his skin blister.

With an
almighty heave the three of them lifted Corvus and carried him
between the containers, Nova leading the way. It was difficult to
keep her bearings in the pitch blackness that pressed in on them.
It took away the air and crawled into Nova's ears making everything
seem muffled. She was suddenly so tired. If she just let go of
Corvus now and -

Pheromones.
He was trying to trick her again.

"Cut that out
or I'll cut you," she said, glaring down at him.

He smirked at
her, his lips twisted in a cruel parody of a smile. She blinked and
shook her head before grabbing the bolt lodged in his chest and
pushing it down. Corvus howled and the hazy cloud in Nova's head
dissipated, her senses returning.

"I'll kill
you. You, and your pathetic kind." Corvus's voice had become rough
like gravel.

"Keep talking
and I will push that bolt into your heart until you
die."

Nova wrenched
open the door of a shipping container and stepped aside. The
officers carrying Corvus heaved him forward and tossed him through
the air so that he landed with a crash inside the container. Nova
slammed the door shut and the sound echoed around the ship yard.
Even through the metal she could hear Corvus screaming and cursing
her.

The container
was special order; cold metal on the outside and wood coating on
the inside.

Corvus's
cries were bound to bring others. Nova rested her back against the
locked door and clutched her knife. She brought the radio to her
face with her other hand. She took a few deep breaths before
pressing the communicate button.

"Briggles,
are you there?" she asked.

"I'm here,"
Briggles said. He gasped between each word, his voice
dull.