Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 86074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Light, oh my God!” she sobbed. “I thought…thought I’d never see the two of you again!”
“We thought the same thing, sweetheart.” Light stroked her hair soothingly. “Look, I need to put you down so I can start the shuttle. We have to get the Seven Hells out of here the minute Dark gets in.”
“Will…will he be okay?” Lili swiped at her eyes and looked out the viewscreen where the door of the Tribunal Chamber was clearly visible.
“I’m sure he will.” Light nodded grimly. “I’ve seen him fight his way out of worse than that. We just need to be ready to go when he’s finished because chances are, we’re going to have some of our Dark Kindred brethren on our tail when we take off.”
Lili suddenly thought of something.
“Brock!” she exclaimed, looking up at Light. “My friend Rachel’s husband—he’s the one who brought me to Z4. You need to call him and tell him to get out of here. If something happened to him, I’d never forgive myself! And Rachel wouldn’t forgive me either,” she added.
“I’ll call—I’ll ask him to tell the Mother Ship to fold space for us too,” Light promised. “You get strapped in and get ready for take off while I do.”
Lili did as he said, watching anxiously through the viewscreen as Light spoke to her friend’s husband over the com-link.
“Lilibet’s safe then? Thank the Goddess!” she heard Brock say. “If something happened to her, Rachel would never forgive me!”
Light barked a laugh.
“She said the same about you. Ask the Mother Ship to fold space, will you? We’ll be on our way in just a few minutes.”
“Will do,” was the reply. “Be safe, Brother.”
“Thank you,” Light replied. “And you as well. Go with the Goddess and we’ll meet again on the Mother Ship.”
Just as he cut communication, Lili saw Dark coming out of the Tribunal Chamber. He seemed to be covered in blood, but strangely, none of the other Dark Kindred were following him. Before she knew it, he was climbing into the shuttle beside them as Light scooted over to make room for him.
“Is everything all right?” Lili asked, looking up at him as he fastened his harness. He smelled like blood and oil—maybe it was lubrication from the other Dark Kindred’s enhancements, she thought.
“It will be if we can get the fuck out of here,” the Dark Twin growled. “I didn’t leave a single male standing, but I think some of the Tribunal escaped, so we need to go.”
Lili felt faint.
“You…you killed all of them?” she whispered. She wasn’t sure, but she estimated there must have been forty or fifty warriors in the Tribunal Chamber. No wonder Dark was covered in blood! It must have been a massacre—she was glad she hadn’t seen it.
“Yes, all,” Dark said flatly, staring straight ahead. “It was them or me—I chose me.”
Lili wasn’t sure what to feel…or what the Dark Twin was feeling either. His tone was oddly flat, as though now that The Fury was fading, so were his emotions.
But there would be time to worry about that later, she told herself. For now, they just had to get out of here in one piece and get back to the Mother Ship!
38
LILI
For a while it didn’t seem that they would make it. The moment Dark pulled back on the steering yoke, shooting them into the sky, several more Dark Kindred shuttles followed.
“Hang on,” Dark growled. “Evasive maneuvers.”
The long-range shuttled ducked and dived, shaking them all like dice in a cup. Lili was extremely glad her harness was securely fastened or she would have been bouncing around all over the place!
Then she saw it—the glowing red, horizontal slash in space.
“That’s it—the fold!” Light said tensely. “If we can get through that, we’ll be home free.”
“It depends on if they want to follow us through or not,” Dark said grimly. “Of course, if they want to fight the Mother Ship, they’ll have a fuck of a battle on their hands.”
But it seemed that the Dark Kindred ships knew that. One by one they veered away as the fold grew closer and closer. Some sent parting shots, but Dark evaded every one. It gave Lili an appreciation of what an excellent pilot the Dark Twin was.
When they finally flew out the other side of the fold and the pearly white side of the Mother Ship came into view, Lili wanted to cry again.
“Oh…” she whispered, blinking hard. “I…I never thought I’d see the Mother Ship again. Or you two either,” she added, looking at both Dark and Light, who were on either side of her. “I…I thought I was going to be torn apart by those awful metal sniffers!”
“You nearly were,” Dark growled. “Why did you come after us? Didn’t you know how fucking dangerous Zeaga Four is for feelers?”
“Yes, I was told several times,” Lili acknowledged. “But, well, I have something to tell you—and something to show you—something important.” She didn’t want to tell them about the harmonizer yet—let it be a surprise for when they got back to the Mother Ship.