Release(28)

“She was very pretty,” Keirth said. “But, you know, I’ve been consumed with this revenge gig. I’m not really into settling down.”

Ariana pulled herself around the corner and collided with Keirth, who hadn’t moved yet.

“There are a lot of them here,” he said. “I don’t know what happened to their eyes.”

She saw at least seven bodies floating in the air. She grimaced. And then she saw something strange. A flash of orange. It was crawling over the face of one of the dead men. “Keirth?” she whispered. “I just saw—”

“Back up!” Keirth yelled. “Go back, Ariana.”

She scrambled to turn around, but it was tough to move fast in the null gravity, and she ended up spinning around uselessly. She grabbed for the wall to pull herself back the way they’d come.

Keirth was pushing her from behind. “Gellococcus!” he screamed.

What? Ariana yanked herself around the corner as quickly as she could. Gellococcus was a sort of bacteria that could survive in deep space. Swarms of it could infest a space ship and kill everyone on it. The thing about it that made it different from regular bacteria was that it was a lot bigger. Why, when she’d seen the hollow eyes, hadn’t she thought...?

She used her feet to push off the wall and went hurtling back down the corridor they’d just come through. Bodies and debris were in her path, but she pushed past it all. Frenzied, she went as fast as she could. She reached the opening down to the docking bay and shot a look over her shoulder for Keirth. “Keirth?”

She couldn’t see him.

“It’s trying to chew through the suit,” echoed Keirth’s voice over the comm. “I can’t get to my blaster.”

If the gellococcus got through Keirth’s suit, he was done for. He wouldn’t be able to breathe. And the little beasts would be free to feast on Keirth, sucking him dry.

* * *

The Duke of Risciter scanned the newsfeeds from the bridge of his spaceship. Who knew what that little bitch, Ariana Gilit, was saying about him? Had she accused him of trying to kill her? If she had, he didn’t know if his reputation would recover.

He couldn’t believe the minx had hit him on the head so hard. He gingerly felt the bump on his forehead. He might even have a concussion, that whore.

Risciter didn’t like it. Women did not get away from him. Now that he’d marked Ariana to be one of his special girls, he had to finish what he started. But how to do it?

If she was back home, spreading nasty rumors about him, it would be difficult. Possibly impossible. He scanned through the nets, searching for any mention of him. But there was nothing. He looked for Ariana’s name. Several stories there, all talking about the fact she’d been abducted and the attempt of the Ossile police to save her. But she hadn’t been found yet.

Why not?

She’d had more than enough time to get back to the sector. Then it dawned on him. Her pride. She knew that if she went back, she’d be ruined. She was a worthless woman now, her value in marriage completely gone. Ariana was far too arrogant to face that. Risciter smiled. He could still find her. He could still finish what he’d started with her.

His special girls had to be dealt with in a proper way. He’d find Ariana and take a knife to that pretty neck of hers before she could squeal.

But first, he’d have to make sure she was sufficiently motivated to stay away, wouldn’t he?

Risciter pulled up his comm and began composing his message. He’d flood it to the authorities, to every corner of the nets. He knew his story, now. He’d chased his dear love, Miss Gilit, across the galaxy, trying to save her from a madman. He’d been too late. His poor girl had been viciously raped. Risciter had been forced to watch. Left for dead by the crazed criminal responsible, Risciter didn’t know if Miss Gilit were still alive.

He smiled as he sent it off. The scandal would be far too much for her. Viciously raped. She was absolutely ruined now. Completely. She wouldn’t go back to the sector. And that would give Risciter time to hunt her down and complete his work of art.

When sent his message, he noticed he’d received something from the Duke of Tramet. He pulled it up. Keirth Transman? The name seemed familiar, but Risciter couldn’t place it. Risciter trashed the message. Probably, Tramet had a runaway servant who’d stolen some silver or some such nonsense. It wasn’t anything to be concerned about, and it certainly had nothing to do with Risciter.





Chapter Eight

Ariana pushed off, back in the direction of Keirth. She rounded the corner to see that the gellococcus were crawling all over his spacesuit. They were skittering along the walls as well.