Spirited (28 page)

The captain picked up the knife and stared at the blade. Large chunks of the black metal were gone, as if melted away. Wisps of smoke curled from the blade. Richardson glanced at Josiah. Richardson’s eyes grew wide, and he ripped the gun from his holster, aiming the weapon at Josiah.

Josiah threw up his hands. “What are you doing?”

“Behind you.”

Josiah whirled and found the young boy staring up at him with wide eyes. How had the kid snuck up on them like that? Did he have something to do with Thompson’s disappearance?

Richardson stomped forward, his eyes alight with fury. “Where’s Thompson? What did you do to him?”

The boy took a step backward, as if getting ready to run. A crimson laser blast burned through the carpet at his feet.

“Don’t move,” Richardson roared. “You’re not going anywhere until I find out—”

Josiah stepped between the captain and the boy, knocking the gun away. “What’s the matter with you?”

Richardson snarled and tried to sidestep him. Josiah moved, spreading his arms to block the captain’s way.

“I’m not going to let you hurt him,” Josiah said. “Dock my part of the haul if you have to, but can’t you see that he’s scared? He’s only a kid.”

For a moment, Richardson’s features softened. He looked down at the gun, which dipped lower.

“I’m worried about Thompson too.” Josiah wasn’t lying, not really. “But this isn’t the way.”

Richardson nodded. He holstered his gun and slowly stepped around Josiah. “Sorry, kid. I’m just worried about my partner, and—”

Josiah turned. The boy had vanished once again. Richardson stared at the carpet. Even the burn mark from the laser had disappeared.

“Sanchez!” The captain spit the word like a curse. With an inarticulate roar, he stabbed the knife into the wall. The blade ricocheted off and clattered to the floor. “Where are you?”

The captain stormed off. Josiah jogged after him, not sure why he was following Richardson but not wanting to be left alone either.

They ran deeper into the ship, past closed cabin doors, a pristine dining room, the still-full swimming pool. Josiah catalogued it all as he ran. He didn’t like it. They still hadn’t found a single sign of the original passengers, the probe, the little boy, or Thompson. Worse, a heavy dread pressed down on him, as if the corridor walls were collapsing.

Richardson bellowed Sanchez’s name, pausing only long enough to look in open rooms for his nemesis. He skidded to a halt in an open atrium.

A massive tree filled the open space, branches straining toward a clear dome. Beyond the dome, the swirling clouds of the gas giant danced. Several decks opened onto the room, each one brightly lit and seemingly empty. If Richardson noticed any of this, he didn’t let on. He focused on the person standing at the base of the tree.

The woman had long black hair pulled back into a frayed ponytail. She wore a gray jumpsuit, tattered and soiled at the elbows and knees. Her face looked gaunt, her eyes shadowed, but they shone with a fierce fire. Josiah had never met her, but this had to be Sanchez.

“It’s about time you showed up.” Her voice was a low growl, with enough fire to burn Josiah. “What did you do to my ship?”

“What are you talking about?” Richardson stomped toward her.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Bruce. I know what you did here, setting all those traps. What did you do with my crew and ship?”

Richardson sputtered. Josiah stepped to one side, hoping to remain unnoticed. Overhead, the lights on one level flickered and went out.

“I didn’t do anything.” Richardson’s voice thundered through the atrium.

“Don’t give me that. I don’t know how you did it, that spooky voice that rattled my ship, the way my crew disappeared one by one, my ship vanishing too.” Her gaze raked over the captain, her disgust palpable. “I always knew you were petty, but this—”

“Petty? You want to talk about petty?” Richardson stomped forward. “Who bribed that Federate patrol to impound my ship to get to the
Hemes Ascendant
first?”

Sanchez snorted. “All’s fair, remember? Isn’t that your motto?”

Josiah frowned up at the balconies overlooking the atrium. Another light had winked out.

“You learned well enough. You’re always stealing my claims.”

“Not my fault if you’ve slowed down, old man.”

Yet another light went out. Now darkness ringed the upper decks overhead. Josiah took a step back. “Uh, Captain?”

“This isn’t about speed. You’re not stealing the
Night Queen
from me. Get out!”

“Love to. Give me my ship back.”

“I don’t have your ship.”

Sanchez blinked, surprise painted across her face. “You don’t?”

“No!”

The shadows overhead boiled, swirling like smoke. Josiah gagged on a bitter taste that suddenly flooded his mouth. He wanted to run, but his feet felt bolted to the deck. “Captain…”

“Then I got here first.” Sanchez jammed her fists on her hips. “This wreck is mine.”

Richardson’s head snapped back as if struck. “Now wait just a moment. I paid a lot to a Federate tech crew to find this wreck, and I’m—”

“The crew of the
Farseer
? Technician Isaac Parker?” Sanchez laughed. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I bet I gave him three times as much.”

“You—” The captain’s face purpled, and his hands clenched.

The darkness had woven together, obscuring the dome. Josiah bumped into the wall behind him. The entire mass swirled and writhed, tendrils of shadow dropping lower, swiping at the air over the bickering salvagers’ heads.

“You’re not stealing this from me. The
Night Queen
is mine.” Richardson yanked his weapon from its holster and leveled it at Sanchez. “I should have done this a long time ago.”

Sanchez laughed. “You don’t have the guts, old man. Never have, never—”

A crimson laser bolt flashed past her cheek. The shadows rumbled overhead. Sanchez spun around the tree, emerging with a weapon of her own. Richardson dove for cover as she unleashed a few shots.

“Captain…” Josiah edged for the door, keeping one eye on the darkness overhead.

Richardson ignored him and leaped from his hiding place. Sanchez responded with a war cry of her own.

Then the darkness shattered, pouring down like water over the tree and the two salvagers. Richardson and Sanchez were knocked from their feet, swallowed up by shadows. Richardson shouted something at Josiah, but his words were overwhelmed by the roar of gale winds that practically ripped the tree from its perch.

Josiah froze, unable to move, as waves of shadow swirled through the room, coalescing into a towering pillar. And then Josiah felt it, unseen eyes boring through him. The phantasm bent low, tendrils snaking from its body, grasping for him.

A hunger rose up inside Josiah, a primal desire for more. More money, more respect, more of everything he deserved. A gasp burst from his mouth, and he closed his eyes. He wanted the
Night Queen
. She was his, as she should be. He could strip her to the hull, sell everything he could find, and be rich beyond his wildest—

He shook his head and opened his eyes. The darkness hovered mere centimeters in front of his face, hot breath washing over him. Josiah fell back a step, searching for a way out.

There! The little boy beckoned to Josiah from an open passageway. Josiah dove for the door, scooping up the child as he passed. The boy wrapped his arms around Josiah’s neck and squeezed.

“It’s going to be all right.” Josiah hoped that wasn’t a lie. He peeked over his shoulder. The shadow gobbled up the corridor. Rage, pure anger, screamed after them.

Josiah sprinted past doors that had been restored to their original condition, as if Thompson had never blown them open. Josiah wished he could stop to take a closer look, to make sure his eyes weren’t tricking him. But the darkness wasn’t slowing. Its pressure nipped at his heels, cold clawed at his back and neck.

Josiah perked up when he saw the airlock. Just another twenty meters, and they’d be safe.

A wall of shadow burst from a nearby cabin, cutting off their escape route. Josiah dug in his heels and whirled, ready to run back, only to see the billowing column of darkness behind them.

Terror churned through Josiah’s gut. This was it, then. He was surrounded, cut off completely. The darkness would devour him as it had Richardson and Sanchez. Probably Thompson and Sanchez’s crew too. Worse, Josiah deserved it. He was no better than the others, even if he didn’t want to believe it. He’d been just as greedy. In spite of his misgivings, he too had hoped to find riches on board. The only one innocent of all of this was the boy in his arms.

He scowled at the roiling darkness in front of him. “You can have me. But you can’t have him. I won’t let you.”

A shadowy tentacle unwound, inching toward the boy.

“No, I said you can’t have him!”

With a loud screech, the tendril disappeared into the darkness, which opened like a curtain, revealing an open corridor. Josiah stared down the hall. The path the probe had taken to the escape pods. Should he risk it?

He looked down at the boy. Yes, he should.

Josiah slunk down the hall, the darkness creeping along the wall on either side of him. Tiny wisps of shadow snaked out at them but didn’t touch him or the boy. Josiah passed the spot where the probe had been destroyed. Not a shard remained.

His strength bled through his legs with every step. By the time he made it to the escape pods, he was ready to collapse. He set the boy inside the nearest one and turned to face the darkness. It snapped and flared, its rage washing over Josiah. Once again, its siren call wafted through his mind. Josiah groaned as images of wealth and power flitted through him. All he had to do was stay. All he had to do was stay. All he had to do was…

His legs buckled beneath him, and he toppled backward into the escape pod. His head bounced off the cold metal floor, clearing his thoughts. He lunged for the large red button next to the door and mashed it with his fist.

The hatch sealed, and with a muffled boom, the escape pod rocketed away from the
Night Queen
. The sudden acceleration tossed Josiah into one of the padded couches. He struggled against the g-forces to drag himself to a porthole and peek outside.

Light erupted across the
Night Queen
‘s hull, so bright Josiah had to shield his eyes with his hand. Then, an instant later, the light faded. When Josiah’s vision cleared, the
Night Queen
had vanished along with the salvage vessel. Had the
Night Queen
‘s engines propelled the ship out of orbit? Or maybe the shadow had consumed both vessels. Either way, he breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on the bench.

“So, do you have a name?” He turned to look at his companion, only to discover that the little boy had disappeared too.

Josiah stared at the empty bench. What the—? His mind churned with half-formed explanations as to where the boy had gone, but Josiah didn’t want to consider any of them. He wrapped his arms around himself, leaned against the wall, and settled in for what could be a long wait.

~*~*~

Josiah lost count of how long he was in the escape pod. At first he thought he’d have plenty to eat. The pod was designed to hold twelve and was stocked with enough food for that many passengers. But within hours, the food rotted away, crumbling to dust in Josiah’s hands. What little remained smelled so horrible Josiah didn’t even want to touch it.

His stomach had turned into a painful knot by the time the Federate survey vessel arrived to investigate Technician Parker’s readings. The officers dutifully listened to his story, but Josiah could tell that they didn’t believe him. Truth be told, he didn’t really believe the story himself.

They brought him back to the nearest port, dropping both him and the escape pod in an empty cargo berth. When he asked, they explained that the pod was his rightful salvage.

Josiah was standing next to the pod, wondering what to do with it, when a dapper looking older man in a gray suit approached him.

“Are you the boy who claims he found the
Night Queen
?” the man asked.

Josiah frowned. “I just got here. How did you hear about that?”

“Gossip travels faster than the speed of light in ports like this, especially when the news pertains to the
Night Queen
. My name is Erik Chandler.” He produced a business card. “I represent a man who is interested in all things related to the doomed starliner. When he heard you were in possession of a life pod, he demanded I make an offer immediately. Providing, of course, that the pod is genuine.”

“See for yourself.” Josiah waved at the pod.

Chandler crawled over every square centimeter of the pod. At first, he wore his skepticism openly, but as his examination continued, his demeanor changed. By the end, sweat beaded his forehead, and his hands trembled as he took notes on a personal data recorder.

“It would…it would appear that this is indeed what you claim.” Chandler mopped his brow with a white handkerchief. “I am authorized to negotiate on behalf of my client. I’m sure that we can come to an equitable—”

Josiah held up a hand, cutting him off. “Name a price.”

Chandler scribbled a number on a scrap of paper and handed it to him.

“Done.” Josiah tucked it into his pocket.

“Don’t you even want to see what the offer is?”

Josiah shrugged. “I’m sure it’s more than I’d ask for. Nice doing business with you.”

Chandler smiled, glancing at the escape pod. “So what’s next for you? Going out on another salvage run?”

“No way. I’m done with salvage runs. And if I were your client, I wouldn’t go looking for the
Night Queen
. That kind of greed only consumes you. Believe me, I know.” Josiah turned and walked out of the bay. “Me, I’m going to buy the one thing I want most: a ticket home.”

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