23. Ryklin

It wasa grim trip through the woods. My companions didn"t speak unless necessary, and we dove for cover at the slightest sound. But we didn"t come across any smugglers—or any bodies.

Solara and Rook weren"t out there.

It was several miles over hilly terrain to the edge of the camp, and by the time it was in sight, my legs burned with exertion. Nearly five years on a space station had eaten into my endurance, even with a manual labor job. Or perhaps it was the real gravity weighing me down.

The edge of the camp was marked by an unguarded outbuilding. It was little more than a hut with curtained windows and a metal roof. Not secure enough to hold prisoners, certainly, but perhaps there was something in there we could use.

"We need to return." Galen was the leader of this scouting party, and he was looking at me as he spoke. "Most of the original buildings are wired for comms, but the system is probably monitored. The moment you send your message, they"ll be on you."

The possibility had occurred to me, but I"d promised my mate that I would return, and nothing would see me break my word. "I"ll figure something out."

"Don"t lead them back to us." Galen"s second in command, Kai, scowled. She wasn"t human, but I didn"t recognize her species with red skin, horns, and yellow eyes.

"I won"t." Noelle was at the encampment; I couldn"t let the smugglers find her.

"Let"s keep our ears open," said Galen. "I want to return with information." The scouting group melted back into the forest, disappearing with the kind of skill that even I found impressive.

I had no weapon except my claws and no knowledge of the layout of the camp. And that outbuilding was just sitting there waiting to be investigated.

Like a trap.

I was tempted to go inside, my newly awakened emotions trying to drag my feet across the distance so that I could begin my search. And if I was still soulless, I"d already be there. From where I stood, nothing appeared out of place. It could simply be a little used building sitting at the edge of camp.

But these smugglers knew about the survivors from the mine. They knew they could be a threat. If they didn"t need the building, why leave it standing?

I forced myself to skirt around the edge of the camp, waiting for some sign that avoiding the outbuilding was the right move. But it kept standing there, a beacon to my instincts, until I was far enough away to enter the camp from a different path.

I could hear the sound of heavy equipment in the distance. The camp was large. As Astrid had said, at its height, the mine had employed a thousand or so people. But there was no way the smugglers had that many. I doubted they had a hundred, unless they were hiding a large contingent of jailers somewhere.

A dozen. Perhaps two dozen. Enough to turn a profit without needing too many people to keep them captive.

The outer edges of the camp looked abandoned, buildings falling down, the cracked pavement turning to mud in some places. But there were also tire tracks, signs that the smugglers still used the road.

I heard the sound of wheels over pavement just before a truck turned a corner, and I dived for cover, hiding behind a pile of rubble as a large truck rumbled down the way. I couldn"t see the driver from my hiding spot or any guards, but I waited in place for several long moments until the truck had cleared me.

I"d never been alone on a mission before. In the Legion, I"d had a team, both before I lost my soul and after. There had been backup, a plan, assurance that if I died, it wouldn"t be alone.

No one was coming for me now. So, I had to be more careful than I"d ever been.

I turned Galen"s words over. The moment I sent a message, I"d call the whole of the camp down on my position. There would be no running away. And I couldn"t count on a quick rescue. If my message got out, it would take time for Drex and the others to gather what they needed for an offensive. And that was provided that station security didn"t get in their way.

I wondered if these smugglers had paid off the station. They must have. Station security was in everyone"s pocket.

But I still had my comm. It was useless for getting a message out, the signal not strong enough to reach the ship. But that wasn"t what I needed it for. I powered up the device and was thankful the thing hadn"t malfunctioned after our dunk in the river.

I had to get a message out, but I didn"t need to be there to send it. A recording would do nicely.

I thought through my words carefully. If they had someone monitoring comms, they might be able to quickly jam the signal. But even that took a little time, a few seconds at least. I should be able to send at least one sentence.

I had to make it count.

The first building I searched didn"t have anything of use. Nor did the second. Or the third. Hope was a newly born thing in my mind, and it was quickly withering.

But the fourth building had an old-fashioned comms array that responded to my touch when I slid my fingers over the command screen. It was a larger building than the first two. The comms equipment was right in the front, and there was a door that blocked off the rest of the building from sight. I didn"t hear any guards, so I decided not to worry about it.

I found the correct frequency and took a deep breath before pulling my own comm out of my pocket. The second I pressed the CONNECT icon, my time would be limited, and I had to run like there were monsters at my feet if I had any hope of making it to safety.

My hands didn"t shake. There was no room for nerves now, not if I was going to make it back to my mate.

I pressed the icon and set up the recording.

And that"s when I heard the scream coming from the other room.

I hesitated. Running now might see me to safety. Sticking around would surely get me caught.

What would Noelle want me to do?

She wouldn"t want me leaving anyone behind. Damn the stars.

The door to the rest of the building was locked, but the lock disengaged when I pressed the button on a panel on the wall. And sitting in a small closet were two tied up humans and one large rat that the male human was staring at with panicked eyes.

The rat didn"t seem to care too much about either of them.

"Rook and Solara?" I asked. I couldn"t hear footsteps pounding our way, not yet, but it was only a matter of time.

The woman nodded frantically. They were both tied up with rope, their mouths gagged, though not well enough to muffle Rook"s terrified shriek.

I unsheathed my claws, and Solara looked ready to fight me, even with her restraints. It took a moment to get her untied, and then I turned to her companion. He"d been struggling, and his bonds were looser, though the skin around his wrists was all mangled. Discovering them and getting them free had taken all of three minutes.

Too much time.

"Run for the woods, but don"t let them follow you to camp," I said. I didn"t want to free these people just to bring down the smugglers on Astrid"s people.

"Who are you?" Solara demanded.

"Ryklin. There"s no time." Now I could hear angry men coming our way, and with two traumatized and possibly injured humans, there was no way they"d make it out of here on their own. I hurried them out the door and pushed them in front of me. "Run for all your worth. I"ll cover you."

They didn"t need more encouragement.

The smuggler"s angry running was getting closer. I unsheathed my claws again and wished I had a weapon.

The first blaster shot from the smugglers went wild, sparks lighting up one of the old buildings lining the street. My instincts wanted me to dive for cover, but we couldn"t afford to stand and fight. Running was the only chance we had for survival.

I didn"t look back. And I didn"t see one of the smugglers take aim.

Between one step and the next, pain exploded up and down my back, and I fell to the ground. I couldn"t move, but Rook and Solara kept running.

I only hoped it was worth it.