CHAPTER 4

Hauk checked his calendar and cursed before he tossed it aside. Cruel effing bastard thing. It’d only been a week since Chayden had abandoned him here.

With them.

It was the longest week of his life, and made him grateful as hell that he would never have any kids of his own.

“Dancer!”

He winced at Darice’s high-pitched shout. Gods, give me strength not to kill one of them… He’d sent them out after breakfast to wash and dress for the day, and look for something they could use for lunch before he strung them up by their intestines.

“Dancer!”

What had Thia done now? Dunked his head?

Again.

I swear, if the two of them don’t stop trying to murder each other…

“Uncle Hauk!”

Now they were calling him in unison, only it wasn’t the same tone they used whenever they were fighting.

This one was more…

Scared.

He ducked out of his tent to find them running toward camp like they were being chased by something other than Illyse, who was hard on their heels.

His heartbeat quickened. Hand on his blaster, he ran at them as fast as he could to cover their flight.

Thia was the first to reach him. She grabbed his arm to tug him in the direction they’d just run from, while Illyse circled all three of them protectively. “Come quick! We found someone.”

He pulled her to a stop, and kept her at his side until he had more information. “Who?”

“A woman. She’s hurt. Bad.”

Still, he hesitated. This northernmost part of Oksana hadn’t been legitimately inhabited in well over three hundred years. Not since The League had punished the citizens of this world for a revolt, and had bombed their entire civilization back to a stone age. What little part of it that held a human population was under a dome on the other side of the planet. Three continents and two huge oceans away.

No one should be here.

“Is she in uniform?”

“No,” Thia said breathlessly. “She’s unconscious. Just over that rise. Barely breathing.”

“It looks like a tourah got her and tried to eat her. It’s really gross, but totally awesome.”

He ignored Darice’s commentary. “Is she human or Andarion?” Each species had colonies set up here on separate continents in the south.

They both shrugged.

Thia tugged at his arm. “She has black hair and is really tall, so she could be either. But does it matter? She’s hurt and needs help.”

“All right. Both of you take Illyse back to camp, and wait for me.”

“But —”

“No buts,” Hauk said sharply, cutting off Thia’s protest. “Get the blaster your father gave you, and wait for me in my tent. If I don’t come back, you two are to return to our meeting spot, and wait until your comm comes back on, and you can signal Chayden for retrieval, understood?”

Still, she hesitated.

“C’mon, Thee.” Darice pulled her toward the camp. “He’ll never let us go with him. You know that.”