Page 32 of Bonded

Vryek’s eyes widened. “Maybe we can talk about this later,” he said.

I peered into the opening of the hole because something drew my attention toward it, and what I saw made my heart stop. What stared back at me were two large, luminous eyes that were purple rimmed with brown. I must have screamed internally because Vryek took a step back from me.

“Strap this up quickly.” Through my clenched teeth, I asked, “What is she doing here?”

“She was in the shuttle that I flew here.”

I was about to say something else when a small voice chimed in. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m quite comfortable in here.”

I covered my face with my hand. “You put our soul in a burlap sack and slung her over your shoulder as if she were groceries?”

Vryek had the gall to look annoyed with me. “I didn’t know what else to do because there weren’t any good disguises on the ship nor the shuttle. And I refused to dress her up as if she were a pet, which had been her idea. So this was the best I could do.”

That was too much to process all at once. “And we couldn’t leave her on the shuttle because?” I prompted.

“Because I didn’t want someone to steal the shuttle. There have been too many thefts of that nature. I did not want to bet on the fact that others would not be tempted to take it.”

He was right. I knew he was right. Vryek did nothing wrong, and yet I still struggled with the rage. “What are we going to do?”

“We are going to continue with the plan. We need the supplies, even if we can only carry half this time. Ithran will be here in ten minutes, so I was going to hand her off to Ithran, and we can finish the deal.”

Knowing Ithran would be here to take care of Priya made me less murderous. I could even overlook the fact that Ithran had promised to watch over Priya in our absence and assured us of her safety. Our little soul could get into mischief all on her own, and she needed to know the boundaries.

“We have both shuttles,” I said. “How is he going to get here and leave the rest of the crew behind?”

“Ithran said he would take care of the details, and we just had to make the rendezvous. So, let’s go.”

“I promise I will stay really quiet,” Priya added.

My heart lurched. As we walked toward the cantina that would be our meeting place, I was aware of every little movement of those around us. Each one of them was a threat.

I probably looked as crazed as Vryek did only moments before, and like him, I didn’t care. One routine assignment, and already one decision, could very well cost us everything.

PRIYA

Icould tell that Ruzan was not happy with Vryek and me. Well, mainly with me. Vryek had wanted me to stay in the shuttle, yet he also wanted me to go with him. As he had been in two minds about it, I made his job easier by choosing for him.

I had wanted to go anyway and told Vryek that he could either tie me up in the shuttle and risk someone stealing the shuttle with me inside. Or I could be with him where he could monitor me and not be as distracted.

It seemed the logical choice to stay with him however, he spent a good minute contemplating.

I wasn’t completely unprotected. I still had on the nano-skin suit that I had on earlier. It was expensive material that was found among the Intergalactic Republic cargo base. Most of the crew didn’t want to wear it or they didn’t have the need, but supposedly, it was an excellent protection for someone like me. Especially since humans seemed to be the least protected race in the entire universe.

The nano-skin should provide protection even from the rigors of space. So if the absolute worst-case scenario happens, and I would need to eject myself into space, I would be protected.

When Vryek slung the bag over his shoulder, I could find a sweet spot of lying comfortably diagonally across his back, as if I was part of his gear that he was lugging with him. He had his staff and his sword, and I pretended to be his armor that he could carry around.

Vryek had a little personal console, and I could tap some messages onto one of them, which would translate into words in his ear. He only had a basic interface on his vambrace, so I tried to keep my questions to elicit a simple yes or no response.

Do I really need to stay inside here the entire time?

Yes.

Has Ithran arrived yet?

Vryek said that I would be handed off to him once he arrived. The sooner that happened, the sooner I could get back to the ship and pretend this entire ordeal had never happened.

No.

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