Jack's shoulders drooped in defeat. Taking a deep breath, he turned toward the door—
And with a defiant scream of the K'da battle cry, Draycos sliced through the power line. There was a brilliant spark, a flash-tingle of shock through his paw, and the entire room was plunged into darkness.
He was over the railing in an instant, dropping toward the floor below. In the faint light coming from the airlock control panel, he saw Raven spin around. Behind him, Jack grabbed Braxton's arm and pulled him to the floor. Vance and Myers had turned, too, their weapons swinging back and forth as they searched for a target. Unconsciously, perhaps, the three humans had pulled together into a semicircle, their backs toward the wall, facing outward.
Draycos dropped to the floor directly behind them.
Vance was first. Rising up on his hind legs, Draycos slammed his front paw hard against the side of the human's head. He dropped without even a gurgle, his weapon clattering across the floor.
There was a brief flash of light as Myers fired reflexively toward the noise. 'Vance!' he yelped. 'Raven—'
He never finished the sentence. Draycos was already behind him, and with another slash of his paw this second enemy also went flying.
Three shots burned through the air, one of them barely missing Draycos's left ear. He jumped aside to the right, hit the floor and immediately dodged left, each leap zigzagging him closer to Raven. The human was making wordless sounds, trying desperately to back away as he fired again and again at the black shadow bearing down on him.
But he couldn't back up nearly fast enough. Draycos made one final leap directly in front of him, batting his weapon out of his hand, then rising up on his hind paws to gaze directly into Raven's eyes.
In the dim reflected light he saw the look of terror on the human's face. Raven opened his mouth, to scream or shout or perhaps even to plead.
Draycos struck.
Not the disabling blows with which he had struck Vance and Myers. This was a much harder attack, aimed at Raven's neck instead of at the side of his head. Beneath his paw he felt the bone snap.
And Raven, the human who had killed two innocent Wistawki in cold blood, dropped to the floor, dead.
Across the room he could hear the sounds of commotion now, and between the stacks of cargo came the wavering glint of handheld lights. Leaving his vanquished enemies, he crossed to Jack's side.
The boy was lying protectively half on top of Braxton, keeping both of them flat on the floor. His arm and hand were placed across the side of the other human's head, positioned so that Braxton wouldn't be able to see what was happening.
Draycos smiled, flicking his tongue in admiration. Yes, he had indeed found a worthy partner.
The lights were getting closer, and there were anxious voices with them now. Stepping up behind Jack, Draycos put a paw on the back of his neck and melted back beneath his shirt onto his skin. 'Jack?' he heard Braxton ask.
Jack let out a breath in relief, stretching his shoulders as Draycos settled into place. 'It's okay,' he told Braxton, patting the older human on the back and getting to his feet. 'It's all over now.
Chapter 26
'More tea, dear?' Mrs. Braxton asked, holding the teapot poised over Jack's cup.
'Um,' Jack said, remembering just in time that it wasn't polite to talk with your mouth full of food and possibly spray crumbs over everything. He shook his head instead, and concentrated on chewing. High tea, Mrs. Braxton had called this: a snack of hot tea and some kind of biscuit things she'd called scones. A weird name, but they tasted pretty good.
'Another scone, then?' she asked.
Again he shook his head. 'Thanks, but I really ought to get going,' he told her as he cleared his mouth enough to talk. 'I've still got to pack, and we're due into Shotti Station pretty soon.'
Actually, he had nothing to pack except the clothing he'd bought when he first came aboard the Star of Wonder. But he felt terribly uncomfortable here in Braxton's suite, and was anxious to get away.
Not that Braxton and his wife weren't being nice to him. The problem was, they were being too nice. Jack wasn't used to this kind of treatment, and three hours of it were just about all he could stand.
'I don't like leaving you here all alone like this,' Mrs. Braxton said, setting the teapot down again. 'Your uncle could be delayed, after all.'
'No, it's okay,' Jack said. 'Really. If Uncle Virge said he'll meet me here, he will.'
'Perhaps,' Mrs. Braxton said, sounding doubtful. 'Still, you've hardly even let us thank you for what you did. And now here you are running off again.'
'The fuel credits Mr. Braxton gave me are all I need,' Jack assured her, taking a sip of his tea. With enough sugar in it, this stuff was pretty good, too. 'Anyway, I didn't do all that much.'
'Come now,' Mrs. Braxton said, lifting her eyebrows politely. 'Don't be modest. You saved our lives and exposed a dangerous conspiracy within our company. Either of those alone would be worth far more than a few paltry fueling credits. Are you sure there isn't anything else we can do for you?'
You want to take a K'da warrior off my hands? Jack thought. But he just shook his head. 'No, thanks,' he said instead. 'If Mr. Braxton can get that murder charge cleared away, we'll call it even.'
'Then even it is,' Braxton announced, coming in through one of the archways. 'I've just spoken with the Vagran Police. It turns out that they came up with a witness to the murders. They showed him your reconstruction of how everyone was standing, and he confirmed that Raven was the one who fired the shots.'
'That's good,' Jack said, frowning. 'What about Raven's photo? You did send a photo, didn't you?'
