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“I didn’t expect it would take you so long to get here, Sakhin.”
What? Had Therak suspected this baddie had survived the explosion on the ship?
Actually, that would explain why Therak had been in a greater hurry to reach the colony once she had told him his fellow assassin had been among the mercenaries. If Sakhin had Therak’s telekinesis and skills, it was no wonder this was an encounter her man had been trying to avoid.
“I admit the explosion added a nice touch to my arrival,” Sakhin said through a creepy smile, which coupled with his raspy voice made Miya shudder. “I was on the merc ship while our pilot was in pursuit of the launched escape pods, when the blast hit us. Things got a little crispy, Santi didn’t survive the crash-landing, but I’m here now. Perfectly healed from all burns and cuts, as you can see.”
While Therak hadn’t fully recovered. Fantastic.
“But you’re on your own,” her assassin stated calmly. “The mercs are all dead.”
Sakhin’s smile broadened. “All the better. No need to split the hefty award for your head.”
Clearly, Sakhin felt bad about his team’s deaths. Just like he felt bad about the blade that suddenly slid in his hand from behind his forearm while he was having a nice chit-chat with his former colleague.
Therak didn’t move, but his claws lengthened. “Be smart. This planet is dangerous for both of us. Let us leave together in peace and we’ll settle our score afterwards.”
Miya gaped. Was he seriously considering this? No way could they trust Sakhin not to attack them the second they turned their backs!
Sakhin shrugged. “I’ve got a better idea: I’ll leave here with your head and the little pilot’s. You know I don’t leave a job unfinished, Therak, and you both got away from me once. After the autopilot takes me to Alfatar Station, I will let the boss know he should transfer the entire bounty to my account. How does that sound?”
Silence fell inside the shuttle. Miya was sure that a pin falling would have sounded loud in that moment. Outside the storm was already raging, but inside it was the calm before the storm.
What was Therak waiting for? He should just shoot – Sakhin had only himself to blame for bringing a blade to a blaster fight.
“Shall we dance, Therak?” Sakhin goaded, his smile turning unhinged. He and Therak might both be assassins, but it was clear which one enjoyed killing.
Therak took the blaster off his shoulder… and let it drop to the floor.
“Therak!” Had he lost his mind?
“Miya, open the hatch,” he ordered without taking his eyes off Sakhin.
She obeyed, hand shaking over the console. She had agreed to do as told without hesitation, and doing otherwise now could jeopardize Therak’s plan. Whatever it was.
“Close the hatch after me. Stay safe.”
“Therak…”
He charged Sakhin from the side, the collision sending both of them rolling down the ramp. Essentially leaving Miya alone in the shuttle.
The calm had ended. The storm was now raging everywhere: sandy outside the storage building and bloody inside.
Miya closed the hatch, sealing herself in the only safe harbor left.
29
Cheater
It took Miya only several seconds to switch on the external cameras of the shuttle. There, on the camera attached to the left side of the hull, she saw clearly the two figures locked in a fight to the death. One weaponless, the other armed. The cheater.
Sakhin must have fashioned the weapon out of the instruments in storage, because it had looked crude in his hand earlier. He had probably waited patiently for her and Therak to come to the shuttle, conveniently not bothered by the monster in the well. Why did fate so often favor the bad guys?
Miya held her breath as she watched the fight unfold, the two assassins moving so fast that it was hard to keep track of who was who. They were so agile and flexible, becoming nothing but a blur as each slashed with claws or long blade at the other. It seemed they were equally matched, no one managing to harm the other enough to even slow his opponent’s moves, let alone incapacitate him. Their stamina seemed endless too, but Miya knew that was not the case. Not with Therak having skipped his post-regeneration meal.
As if the situation weren’t bad enough already, one of the shuttle’s cameras showed the doors to the storage hall were slightly caved in. Something big must have hit them from the outside. Must still be hitting them, trying to get in, Miya simply couldn’t hear anything from inside the shuttle. Because as she watched, the storage container she had pushed against the doors shook.
Amid the darkness outside, the artificial light of the storage building must be like a flashlight in the face to the nocturnal monsters. Or it could be like a sign to them, ‘Juicy treats inside’. Either way, the doors weren’t going to hold much longer. In a few minutes, the place would fill with mega- and minigulls who would descend on the fighting men.
