“Only if he can live with a blade in his back,” Rattigan hissed, running a finger along his sword. “And you’ll get to watch from heaven.”
He pulled his blade back.
I shoved Alice into the escape pod and leaped out of range of Rattigan’s attack as he struck at me with a shrieking, “Hah!”
“After them!” Stryder yelled.
I slammed my fist on the control panel. The doors slid shut, blocking the crew and the Changelings from entering. The crew hacked at the door with their ancient weapons and the Changelings blasted at it with their pistols.
I slammed my fist on the flashing Launch button and the ship expelled us into space.
In the tiny window, Stryder’s expression curled into total rage.
“Computer,” I said. “Deny access to the control files until my return.”
Computer bleeped. “Command accepted.”
It wouldn’t prevent the crew from taking control but it would slow them down. And right now, that was what we needed. Time.
“What’s happening?” Alice said.
I kissed her on the forehead and strapped her into a seat. “Nothing, my love. But you might want to prepare for a bumpy ride.”
The escape pod tumbled end over end as we descended down…
Down…
Down…
Embraced by Tordal’s gravity and hurtled toward its surface.
Alice
The escape pod lurched as the planet’s gravity seized us in its mighty grip. Within seconds, we entered the planet’s atmosphere and fire washed over the windows. A loud roaring ripping sound tore a scream from my throat.
I gripped the armrests in clenched fists and peered over at Nighteko. His eyes were shut and his hands were completely relaxed.
Was he sleeping?
I guessed I should take comfort in the fact that if he wasn’t worried, then I shouldn’t be either.
Metal groaned and screamed. Something snapped. The entire pod shuddered.
Then, in an instant, the fire dissipated and the pod calmed, giving a perfect view of the planet beneath us. Huge swathes of green merged into a soft yellow band and endless oceans of blue.
I couldn’t bring myself to shut my eyes the way Nighteko. If death was coming for me, I wanted to see its approach.
Where would we land? In the green forest? The yellow desert? The blue ocean? It was impossible to tell traveling as fast as we were.
Nighteko opened his eyes. Good. He was still alive. He reached for the console and calmly pressed a single button. Then he shut his eyes again.
Bastard!
How could he be so calm?
The escape pod jerked forward and my harness rattled and pressed into my chest. We slowed down, but not enough for my taste. The view shifted, and now I could only see blue. Endless fields of it in every direction.
“Are you sure—” I managed to say before the pod slammed into the ocean.
I screamed and held my arms over my head in a natural instinctive response to protect myself. It was a pointless exercise. I might as well instruct the ocean to move out of the way.
At the moment of impact, I bolted forward further in my restraints, and they grew so tight they creaked and I thought they might snap.
We had, finally, come to a stop.
Nighteko removed his safety harness and got out of his seat. The pod leaned forward and he scaled up to the top.
“I hope you human females can swim,” he said.
“Swim?” I said.
I released my harness and climbed up the floor to join him. My boot slipped and he snatched my arm before I fell back to the bottom. He raised me with a single arm—he was so strong!—and wrapped an arm around me.
“We need to get out of here before the pressure becomes too great,” he said.
A million questions raced through my mind. Which one to choose first?
“Take a deep breath,” he said, slamming a fist on a big flashing red button.
The hatch opened and water rushed in. I sucked in a huge breath. The water pounded my chest and would have been knocked back for sure if he didn’t have such a firm grip on me.
He lifted me and thrust me out of the capsule and into the ocean. I flailed in the water, not needing to be told to swim toward the surface.
But where was the surface? Down there, everywhere looked the same.
The escape pod plummeted one way, which had to be down, and up there, an enormous white blazing circle that had to be the sun.
I kicked and waved my arms in vague swimming motions, using every swimming lesson I’d ever had. I’d never been the best swimmer, but having your life on the line tended to focus the mind.
My arms flailed and struggled against the water’s resistance. I wasn’t sure I was even moving. Stay calm! I warned myself. Don’t panic! I timed my movements to coincide with one another and ascended toward that ball of light.
My reserves of oxygen were quickly depleting. I wished I had kicked the boots off my feet. I couldn’t do it now. It would waste valuable seconds.
A shadow slid past me. I started. It could be a shark or whatever cousin they had on this planet. But it wasn’t a shark. It was Nighteko.
He grabbed me by the arm and propelled me up, up, up at terrific speed toward the surface with his powerful limbs.
The surface raced to meet us and I kicked my legs to aid him, using up every last morsel of my oxygen reserves.
It was no good. I couldn’t do it. I had to breathe. I couldn’t wait any longer.
I clenched my teeth hard, preventing myself from letting in a single molecule of water. But the desire was too strong.
Just a little further! I told myself.
Just a little further!
No. That was it. I’d hit my limit. I couldn’t do it.
I opened my mouth—
But Nighteko had pressed his lips to mine, clamping his lips firmly to block out any water that might seep inside.
I was hesitant as I opened up my lungs to take a little of his air. I took just a fraction of a mouthful from him and
