Rystani Warrior 04 - The Quest Read Online Free Page A

was born in hyperspace.”
    “Stars,” she swore without rancor. “I’m beyond the age of fairy tales. Birth in hyperspace is impossible.”
    “There’s no point telling you all my secrets,” he teased, “if you refuse to keep an open mind.”
    “Fine.” Sarcasm dripped from her tone. “You were born in hyperspace. Do you think we could skip to the present?”
    He refused to let her skepticism throw him. Instead, he enjoyed pushing her over the edge of incredulity. “When I was four, I traveled to a planet halfway to the galaxy’s rim, and the Kwadii proclaimed me their Oracle.”
    “Right.” She snorted, and he turned to catch her rolling her eyes in a Terran gesture so like Tessa’s he had to restrain a chuckle. “Forgive me if I don’t think you look holy.” She eyed him with wary cynicism. “Perhaps you’ve spent too much alone-time on this abandoned ship.”
    “Actually, I’m in a mood to enjoy the right kind of company,” he flirted back. “You arrived right on time. It’s only been a few days since I put out word about the Vogan ship.”
    “You set me up? You were expecting me?”
    “You or another salvage ship. I needed a ride to Dakmar.”
    “Undercover?” she guessed.
    He nodded.
    “So, the other ship out there wants to stop you from going to Dakmar because … ”
    He shrugged. That others seemed to know his mission was of great concern, but Kirek had lived through many dangerous situations. When he’d been a child, he’d been alone on Kwadii, totally separated from the adults who’d been captured. Even though he’d been terrified, he’d still managed to make new friends. He’d found other children and played computer games to earn credits to buy what he’d needed. Later, as a sexual hostage on Endeki, he’d often managed to enjoy himself under dire conditions. So even under the most trying circumstances, he’d learned to enjoy life. “My years have been eventful.”
    “Whose haven’t? Get to the point.” When Kirek didn’t immediately respond, Angel prodded him lightly with the blaster. “Now.”
    “When I was eighteen, the Endekian leader’s wife took me into her confidence and—”
    “Even I know the Rystani and Endekians are enemies.” She gestured again with the blaster, urging him through the shuttle bay.
    Petroy interrupted. “Captain, the other ship is Kraj. Ever heard of them?”
    “No.”
    “I have,” Kirek admitted. “A most unpleasant race. Narrow-minded, intense, warlike.”
    “Several Kraj just showed up on our sensors.” Petroy’s tone turned sharp. “They are inside the Vogan ship.”
    “Stars. How close?” Angel asked.
    “Right above you.”
    Kirek craned his head back. The Kraj must have hidden behind the warp engine’s shielding. If his psi had been healed, he would have known they were there. But he hadn’t felt their presence and obviously the Raven’s sensors were antiquated or malfunctioning.
    Without hesitation he snagged the weapon he had hidden in the fold of his suit and reached out to grab Angel to pull her behind the cover of a column. But she’d already dived, rolled, and hidden behind twisted bendar hull–plating right before four Kraj dropped through the ceiling panels.
    Kirek swore under his breath. Did she have to pick the worst spot in the entire cargo bay to hide? The Kraj practically descended right on top of her. Big, ugly, gray creatures, twice Angel’s mass, they attacked at the speed of thought, using their psi suits to strike in formation. But as Angel fell to her back and fired her weapon into their midst, taking out one Kraj almost immediately, Kirek noted she also had the perfect counterattack spot.
    From his position, he didn’t have a direct shot. Hampered by his injured psi, he couldn’t move faster than his opponents. Kirek lunged toward Angel, firing his weapon, but his blaster shot had no effect.
    “They have a jamming device,” he warned Angel, but she had figured it out as quickly as he had