Selvin shook his head. “Negative. I checked the numbers myself. Also, all the crates are sealed to ensure that they cannot be opened unseen. But nothing was taken. There is more weight now. Why would someone add something? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Could we unknowingly have picked up vermin from the space station?” Dykan questioned, even though he already knew the answer.
“Negative. At least I don’t hope so. If vermin weigh this much, than those twelve-legged bastards have grown since the last time we had an infestation on board and eradicated them.”
Dykan put his fingers to his ridges in thought. “Then there is only one explanation.”
“We have one or more stowaways,” Selvin concluded, confirming Dykan’s thoughts.
“There’s one way to be sure.” Dykan stood up from his chair, dropping his datapad on the now-empty seat. “Computer, scan the cargo hold for life signs. Only report to the bridge, no alarm.”
“Scanning cargo hold,” the computer voice replied. “Scanning complete: three life signs detected.”
“Fuck!” Dykan didn’t need this shit.
“Computer, are any of those life signs crew members?” Dykan needed to be sure that none of his crew were in the cargo hold.
“Negative,” the computer replied.
Dykan inhaled deeply and exhaled. He didn’t like having strangers on board, didn’t like it at all. Who would even dare to sneak aboard a Makaen ship? Especially a ship belonging to Makaen like him and his crew—Makaen without honor, who were considered to be space pirates, criminals. Did they want to die? He would find out very soon, because this needed to be dealt with, now.
“Computer, message to all crew, personal comms only. ‘Friends, it looks like we have ourselves some stowaways. Boda, meet Selvin and me in front of the cargo hold. Bring weapons. Sly to the bridge.’ End message.”
Dykan waited for Sly to enter the bridge.
“Stowaways? On our ship? Really?” Sly asked, slightly amused.
Dykan nodded. “The bridge is yours. Be on high alert, just to be safe. Selvin and I are going to the cargo hold.” They hurried off the bridge.
“Happy hunting,” Sly yelled after them, laughing.
Chapter 4
The silence in the cargo hold was crudely interrupted by the doors swooshing open. Kat, who hadn’t been able to sleep, felt her heart miss a beat. Her stomach clenched and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. The taste of bile filled her mouth. This was what fear tastes like, she thought.
Kat gave her brother a shove to his shoulder to wake him.
“What?” he asked, sleepy and annoyed. Apparently he hadn’t heard the doors open.
Kat put a finger to her lips, indicating that he must be silent. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he complied immediately.
“We know you are in here,” a deep voice said. “Come out now. I can assure you, you won’t like us coming in. But it’s up to you. I don’t mind a good hunt.”
The voice had awoken Mitha, and in a flash he sat up straight.
“What should we do?” Kat whispered, trying not to panic.
“The only thing we can do,” Lirid replied stoically. “They know we’re in here, and I’m not going to wait for them to capture us. Don’t worry, Kat, I won’t let them hurt you. Trust me. Just let me do the talking.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and then rose, putting his hands up in a gesture of surrender.
“Please don’t shoot us. We are unarmed.”
Lirid stepped away from the crates and walked toward the doors. Mitha put a hand on Kat’s shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “We’ll talk ourselves out of this.” Then he stood up and followed Lirid.
Kat had to do her best not to throw up and drew in a deep breath to calm her stomach. A feeling of dread radiated from her chest and made her body shake uncontrollably.
Pull yourself together, she ordered herself. You can do this. The Makaen are not monsters. They’re just very strong and mean aliens with fangs and sharp claws, who hate your guts because you’re partly human. No biggie.
Before she followed her brother and Mitha, Kat tugged the hood of her cloak over her head. Not that it would do a lot of good in the end, but she didn’t want the Makaen to shoot at first sight.
Staggering toward the doors, she held her head low. She didn’t see much more than the lower part of their bodies, but she did notice there were three Makaen with weapons. Not that they needed weapons. Kat had been told that their claws were so strong and sharp they could slice through stone. Ripping though someone’s throat wouldn’t be an inconvenience at all.
“Step outside the cargo hold,” the same deep voice belonging to one of the Makaen said.
Kat was the last to leave the dark cargo hold, and the doors swooshed closed behind her. They were now standing in an illuminated blue-metallic corridor.
“I’m giving you five seconds to tell me who you are and what you are doing on my ship.”
From below her hood, Kat glanced over to the Makaen with the deep voice. He was tall with broad shoulders and looked absolutely fierce. He wasn’t someone you should piss off. Instinctively, Kat lowered her head again, focusing on her brother instead.
Lirid bowed, waving his hand in the air. “We are sorry for entering your ship without permission, my good friend, but we had no choice. We are no threat, I promise.”
One of the Makaen snorted derisively as if he found Lirid’s last remark amusing. Of course he found it funny, Kat thought. No one was a threat to the Makaen, and certainly not their three sorry asses.
“Lower your hood,” the deep voice addressed Kat, ignoring her brother. “I want to see who I am dealing with.”
Kat froze like a deer in the headlights.
“I said, lower your hood,” he said more tersely. “I’m not going to ask again.”
The threat in his voice made Kat gasp. When she didn’t move fast enough for him, the Makaen stepped toward her. Seeing the Makaen lift his hand with the intention of pulling the hood down himself, Kat jerked back. Reflexively, she tried to slap his hand away. Her fingers touched the palm of his hand briefly. And then it was as if time slowed down. The jolt of energy she felt rush through her body, originating from her fingertips, was so intense her knees buckled and she dropped to the floor like a hot potato. Kat groaned. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even lift a finger. Her whole body was limp and hurting. Lying on her back in pain and staring at the bright lights on the ceiling, Kat tried to make sense of what the hell had just happened. She could still hear and see—that is, what she could see without having to move her head, which she couldn’t do.
“Kat!” her brother screamed. He tried to get to her, but one of the Makaen held him back.
“Don’t you fucking move! No one moves! Captain, are you alright?”
Kat heard a deep growl. An angry growl. This made her aware of her situation. She was lying on the floor in the corridor of a Makaen ship, completely defenseless. No, no. She had to move. Move, she ordered herself. Move. Kat felt the sensation in her hands and arms return. With a groan, she pushed herself up into a seated position. Leaning back on her arms, she was finally able to see what was going on around her. Right in front of her, one of the Makaen—the one who had tried to pull off her hood—was sitting on the floor too, his feet stretched out in front of him, an angry scowl on his face. And he was staring at her.