Lost Star by Hawke, Morgan (digital book reader .TXT) 📕

viper’s nest!” He grabbed Aubrey’s shoulder. “Help me up.”

Aubrey grabbed Seht under his arm and around his waist to lever Seht onto his feet and against Aubrey’s right side. He groaned under Seht’s weight. “Bloody Fate, you weigh a ton.”

Seht snorted. “Ah, yes…” He looped his arm around Aubrey’s shoulders, balancing on his right leg. “You have no augmentations.”

“And you do.” Aubrey readjusted his grip to free his left hand. “Give me the rifle.”

Seht looped the rifle’s strap over his shoulder so that the rifle draped on his right side, out of Aubrey’s reach. “No.”

Aubrey stared at him. “You can’t shoot it—”

“Forget the rifle!” Seht leaned forward, forcing Aubrey to step forward or fall over.

“Go!”

Aubrey went. Side by side, they limped forward at a fairly swift walk with Aubrey acting as Seht’s crutch. His feeling of discomfort grew stronger. He didn’t like being unarmed with Seht wounded. If they were attacked, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it. “Can I have a knife at least?”

Seht sighed heavily. “Very well.” He pulled his long dagger and sheath from his belt at the small of his back. “Do not pull it unless there is need, and for Night’s sake, do not pull it before any Skeldhis!”

“Yeah, fine, whatever.” Aubrey took the sheathed dagger. He jammed it into the slender belt around his suit and felt a hell of a lot better. “I just don’t like being unarmed.”

Seht snorted. “Apparently not. You have been grumbling about it for a while.”

Aubrey winced. He was going to have to do something about guarding his thoughts.

They turned past a group of boulders, and Aubrey froze. Every hair on his body rose, and an icy sweat formed down his back. Something wasn’t right.

Seht frowned at him. “What is it?”

Aubrey stepped back, urging Seht back the way they’d come. “I don’t know.” He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but something definitely wasn’t right. He looked around sharply. He didn’t see anything or hear anything other than the wind… He sucked in a sharp breath. That was it; the silence. The shooting and shouting had stopped.

Seht’s fingers dug into his shoulder. “Over there.” He raised his chin toward the right.

Aubrey pulled Seht back and shoved him back against a stone, then tugged his hands free of Seht.

Seht winced and teetered off balance. He grabbed the stone for balance. “Aubrey?”

His heart pounding in his mouth, Aubrey turned his back to Seht, pressing him back against the stone.

Interstellar Service & Discipline: Lost Star

81

Seht gasped. “Aubrey!”

Aubrey pulled the long knife from the sheath.

Four fully armored men stepped from the surrounding rocks. They froze.

One of the armored men tilted his helmeted head. “Holy fuck, the kid is still alive!”

The one in the center, wearing officer’s bars, raised his hand. “Take it easy, kid, we’ve come here to get you.”

Aubrey held up the knife. “Go the fuck away.”

“Who’s that behind him?”

Seht swung the rifle forward, the long barrel pointing past Aubrey. “Good evening, gentlemen. If you’ll excuse us, my pet and I are on our way home.”

The officer nodded. “Somebody shoot that.”

Aubrey held out his arms, bared his long teeth, and growled. “Nobody touches him.”

“Don’t shoot the kid!”

“Hey, is he supposed to have fangs? I thought he was human?”

“Ah, fuck… He’s been bit.”

“Who gives a shit, as long as he’s still breathing?”

“Yeah, but now we know why he’s breathing.”

Aubrey had no clue what they were talking about and didn’t particularly care. He could barely think past the white burning at the back of his skull. It wasn’t fear; it was anticipation. If they took one step closer, he was going to rip their hearts out. His lips curled into a fanged smile.

Seht chuckled. “Gentlemen, I really think you should let us pass, before it is too late.”

The officer waved. “Ignore that and get the kid.”

Two men shouldered their rifles and moved toward Aubrey. Seht’s rifle went off very close to Aubrey’s head. Sound disappeared completely, and one man fell.

Aubrey tightly focused on the man left and lunged. The world drifted into slow motion. It was a simple matter to duck, avoiding the hands reaching for him, and dip his knife into the unprotected arm joint of the man’s armor. As though he had all the time in the world, he carefully angled for the heart. He pushed deep and twisted. He stepped back, pulling the knife free at the same time. Scarlet sprayed in a slow, lovely arc.

It felt right. It felt good. No, it felt better than good, it felt great! He grinned.

The man folded at his feet.

He raced for the man standing nearby. Dodging the grasping hands was so very easy. So was stabbing upward under the jaw of the helmet. He pulled his knife free and twisted away from the spray of liquid rubies.

82

Morgan Hawke

Hunger burned in his belly. He raised his knife and licked at the warm blood running down the steel. It wasn’t enough. He wanted meat. He focused on the last enemy before him. The heart… He was willing to bet he could rip it out and bite into it before it stopped beating.

Somewhere at the back of his mind, someone was shouting his name. He ignored it.

The enemy trembled, and the bitter perfume of fear filled the air between them.

The man dropped where he stood.

Disappointment crashed down. A howl ripped from his throat. Sound abruptly returned.

“Aubrey!”

He stiffened. That voice… He knew that voice. He turned.

Leaning heavily against a tall rock was a beautiful, silver-haired boy. A rifle was slung over his shoulder in an unthreatening manner. The scent of sweat and blood rolled from his body. It was a familiar aroma. It was a delicious aroma. The boy held out his hand. “Come, pet. Come to me.” His voice was gentle but firm.

A chill raced from the back of his skull straight down his spine, leaving shivers in its wake. His hands shook. He took a step toward the boy on shaking legs, and then another. The knife fell from nerveless