Shadowed Read online

  A concerned looking warrior with brown hair was standing there in front of a bright shiny silver ship, much like the one she and Reddix had crashed in. Beside him was a girl with long blonde hair that had green streaks in it. Reddix had explained briefly that Saber was his best friend and Lissa was his wife although there seemed to be some other relationship there he hadn’t explained.

  Before Nina could say another word, the blonde girl came forward and hugged her impulsively.

  “Are you all right?” she asked when she pulled back, looking Nina over anxiously. “I know I don’t know you personally, but I feel like I do. I’ve been talking to your Mehoo-Jimmy, and she is so worried.”

  “Oh, poor Mehoo! Is she all right?” Nina asked. “I know my, uh, disappearing like that must have given her an awful scare.”

  Lissa smiled. “She’s all right, but I’m sure she’ll be much better once she gets her arms around you. She asked me to give you a big hug when I met you. I couldn’t understand how she knew you were all right when we only picked up your beacon, but she seemed really sure.”

  “Mehoo is funny like that.” Nina said. “Sometimes she just…knows things.”

  Lissa nodded. “That’s not unheard of among my people—she must be close to the Goddess.” She frowned. “She also said to tell you that you must ‘heal the bear.’ Do you know what that means?”

  Nina threw a quick glance at Reddix. “Um…I think so.”

  “Anyway, I’m just so glad you’re all right.” Lissa smiled and squeezed Nina again who smiled and hugged her back.

  Her husband, Saber, nodded at Nina formally. “Reddix is my oldest friend, but I must ask, are you well? Have you been injured in any way?”

  Nina shook her head. “Reddix and I had a few…disagreements at first. But we came to an understanding. I just…didn’t think you’d get here so fast. Reddix only set off the beacon two days ago.”

  “We were scanning for your signal almost from the minute you flew into that wormhole,” Lissa said. “We were so afraid something had happened to you. So afraid…”

  “That I had hurt her,” Reddix growled.

  “Well…yes.” Lissa raised her chin defiantly. “What else were we supposed to think?”

  “Nothing. You were right to think as you did.” Reddix frowned. “But I was wrong—completely misguided. I would never hurt Nina or allow her to come to harm now. Not even if my life depended on it.”

  He looked at Saber as he spoke, and Nina saw him scratching at the blood red tattoo which decorated his wrist. She had noticed only that morning that it seemed to have grown again. It had started as just a small red snake-looking mark, and now the snake had almost encircled his wrist. Remembering how he had forced her to touch it when he first grabbed her, she wanted to ask him what it meant. Did it have to do with the swamp witch who had promised him a cure? But before she’d gotten a chance to demand answers, Healing One had come and told her that a new ship had landed on the planet.

  I thought we’d have more time, Nina thought for the hundredth time since she and Reddix had hurried through the Feeling People’s village to meet his friends. More time to talk. More time to be together. In the past few days since she had begun helping Reddix “feed” the collar, they had grown much, much closer. Reddix had opened up to her, talking about his childhood and telling her bits and pieces of his past. Nina had reciprocated, telling about her mother’s early death, her father’s gambling problems and the way Mehoo-Jimmy had practically raised her.

  She felt closer to him now than she had ever felt to her ex-fiancé—closer than she’d ever felt to anyone but Mehoo. And now, suddenly, the magical time they had shared together was ending. She was going back to Earth, and Reddix was going back to his home planet of Tarsia…wherever that was. Nina didn’t know, only that it was in a different galaxy billions of light years away. Would she ever see him again? How would he be able to function without her there to dampen his RTS?

  Would he miss her?

  She felt like crying, but she smiled bravely instead.

  “We’re fine, both of us,” Reddix was assuring his friends again. “Although I could use a universal key for this damn Hurkon collar.” He tugged at the collar which barely blinked in response. Lately they had been “feeding” it so much it seemed sluggish—like a grizzly bear which had gorged on too much honey.

  “I have one in the ship,” Saber said. “I brought it along just in case, when we realized the ship you’d ah…purloined was the one meant for Yonnie Six.” He raised an eyebrow. “Apparently a very dangerous prisoner escaped because the collar wasn’t delivered to them on time.”

  Reddix frowned. “I’m sorry about that and for all the harm I caused. I will, of course, make reparations.”

  “No need. They captured him again—but not before he’d killed several details of extremely well-armed guards.”

  “But this prisoner…” Reddix said. “Did they say what he looked like?”

  Saber shook his head. “No, only that he was a class eight felon and extremely dangerous.”

  “Class eight?” Reddix gave a low whistle. “That’s a fucking psychopath. No wonder they wanted the collar.”

  “Well, he started as a fighter on the Blood Circuit, but apparently, his violence got out of hand…several times. His owner hushed it up because he was so successful, but then he went too far, and there was no way to keep it quiet.”

  “Who did he kill that they couldn’t hush up?” Nina asked.

  “His owner,” Saber said grimly. “He was headed to Yonnie Six because they have the most secure triple max prison anywhere in the known universe, and they don’t mind taking dangerous prisoners—probably because they don’t respect males enough to fear them.”

  “I’ve seen what that attitude can do.” Lissa shivered and looked at Saber. “Do you remember The Beast?”

  “Of course I remember,” he said darkly. “It’s better not to speak of such things.” He looked at Reddix. “Why so much interest in the prisoner, Brother?”

  Reddix frowned. “I had a dream. The night before I put on the collar. It was…strangely like what you’re describing. A prisoner escaping…guards talking about the collar and the fact that he was a felon…” He shook his head. “Probably nothing.”

  “What I want to know is how long you’ve been wearing that collar and why you put it on in the first place?” Saber gave the collar a questioning look.

  Reddix scowled. “That’s a long story.”

  “He put it on for me,” Nina said quietly. “And let me hold the controls. So I could feel safe around him. So I could trust him.”

  “Really?” Lissa looked at Reddix is obvious surprise.

  “Seemed like the least I could do after kidnapping her and dragging her through a Goddess damned worm hold,” he grumbled, but Nina thought she saw a ghost of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

  Lissa looked at Nina. “And how often did you have to shock him to keep him in line?”

  “Not too often. Actually, we were mostly concerned about keeping the collar from shocking him itself,” Nina said before she thought.

  “What? It started shocking you on its own?” Saber demanded.

  Reddix shifted uneasily. “We…handled it.”

  “How?” Lissa asked.

  “We just…managed.” Nina cleared her throat. “But Reddix still needs to get it off.”

  She blushed when she thought of the way they’d been keeping the collar content. After that first initial time, she’d lost a lot of her uncertainty and shyness, and in the past two days, she and Reddix hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. Nina had tried to put certain restrictions on their activities—they hadn’t made love, and she still hadn’t allowed Reddix to taste her, though he has asked her on several occasions. By limiting their actions to touching and kissing, she’d been hoping to keep from getting hurt, thinking that maybe if she refused to give all of her body, she could keep her heart intact.