Chapter 42

Chapter

Forty-Two

R ixx scuffed his feet along the dusty paving stones that lined the passageways, trying to leave a trail behind him. His two Zevrian captors were bruised and battered, and barely paid attention as they prodded him forward.

"I hope we get some time off after this," the smaller one said, holding a hand to his side.

"I hope we get the bounty."

"Why wouldn't we?" He dropped his hand from his side and tipped his head toward Rixx. "We found the Dothvek."

The other Zevrian grunted. "You know how the captain is about paying out."

A guttural sound was made in response.

"Last time someone brought in a bounty, what did he do?"

A groan. "He shot ‘em both." Then he sucked in a breath. "You don't think he'll shoot us, do you?"

The other Zevrian smacked him hard on the back of the head. "No, idiot. We're his crew. He's not going to get rid of his crew."

"Right. But if we don't get the bounty, why are we in a rush to turn this one in?" He jabbed the nose of his blaster in Rixx's back.

"Guess we're not."

Another grunt, and they continued forward with Rixx going as slow as he could without provoking the aliens to hit him.

"You know," he said. "I was never the Dothvek your captain wanted."

"Shut up," one of the Zevrians said, while the other stopped walking and asked, "What do you mean? You're a Dothvek, right?"

Rixx reminded himself to be patient even though he suspected he might not be dealing with the sharpest Zevrians. "I am Dothvek, but I am not the one who stole the Zevrian ship. Your captain abducted me because he thought I was someone I am not."

"You didn't take our ship?"

"I had nothing to do with your ship being stolen." If he was being honest, he had been living on said stolen ship, but he wouldn't mention that detail. "You have the wrong Dothvek."

The gruff Zevrian who seemed to be in charge spat on the ground. "It don't matter. You're the one who escaped, right? You're the one who'd been hiding on Kurril?"

Rixx didn't answer. Instead, he tried a different strategy. "If you aren't going to get the bounty from your captain, why turn me over to him at all?"

"He's our captain, that's why."

"But if you won't be given the promised reward, why not get paid by someone else?" Rixx asked.

"Someone else? Who else would pay us?"

Rixx lowered his voice to a conspiratorial hush. "Think about it. If you turn me over to my crew, they'll happily pay you. Then you'll get some coin to make up for being injured and for losing your friend."

The smaller Zevrian nudged the other. "We did lose Crol."

The Zevrian in charge stopped me and spun me to face him. "How do we know your people will pay?"

"Have you ever heard of the Dothveks going back on a deal? We are a people bound by honor. If we make a vow, we keep it."

The Zevrians wrinkled their noses at this, and Rixx guessed that the concept was foreign to mercenaries used to lying and stealing. But he could also tell that he'd intrigued them. They knew they wouldn't get the bounty from their captain, but there was at least a chance they would from my crew.

But Rixx didn't need to convince them enough to get them to lead him back to the shipyard. He just needed to distract them enough so he could attack and overpower them. Now that Zala and Myrria were free and far enough away not to be in any danger, he was free to attempt an escape. And he knew that he needed to escape before they reached the Zevrian hideout or were intercepted by other Zevrians.

Rixx was shrewd enough to know that the Zevrian captain was probably enraged that he'd eluded them for so long. He must be livid that that the previous hideout where Rixx had been held had been burned to the ground and all the guards killed. He hadn't hunted for Rixx so he could hold him hostage again. He had hunted him so he could torture him slowly, meting out punishment and pain to make up for his own loses and humiliation. Rixx had no intention of waiting for that.

"Maybe we should do it," the smaller Zevrian said.

"You want to lie to the captain?" The bigger alien gave the other a shove. "He'll cut off our heads if he finds out."

The thought of his own head being cut off made Rixx swallow hard, but before he could round on the bigger alien and disarm him, the nose of the blaster rammed into his gut.

"Turn around and keep moving."

He complied, although he eyed the next corner. Once he was around the corner, he would turn on the Zevrians.

Rixx counted steps until he reached the corner, readying himself to whirl around.

Three…two…one…

He turned the corner, and his heart dropped. Myrria stood in front of him flanked by the other females. Even Zala stood in their group. They hadn't gotten away. They weren't safe.

The Zevrian in charge laughed, although there was an unforgiving edge to the sound. "You females don't learn real fast, do you?"

"I guess we don't."

Rixx stiffened. That voice didn't come from the females in front of him. It had come from behind.