Read Online Black Scars by Steven Alan Montano - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Steven Alan Montano
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out of there alive, and you help us get to safety…sure, I’ll let you have Lucan. And I’ll ask Cole to tell you what you want to know.”
“ So we have a deal?” Cross asked.
“ We have a deal,” Black said.
Vos bristled, but he didn’t say anything.
“ Where’s the exchange supposed to take place?” Dillon asked.
“ At some ruins to the east,” she said. “They should be about a day’s march, I think. If we still had the airship, we’d have been there by now.”
“ Wait,” Cross said. “When were you supposed to be there?”
“ Today,” Vos said. His words were cold.
Cross looked at Black, and she met his gaze. Her expression was controlled, but he noted the worry.
“ She’s fine,” Cross said.
“ Yeah,” Dillon said, sounding less convinced.
“ Of course she’s fine,” Black said firmly. “I don’t need you to tell me that. If Cradden went through this much trouble to get Lucan from me, he wouldn’t kill his hostage and wreck his chances. Besides, he knows damn well he’ll never get anything out of me if he hurts her. But…” She paused. That worry returned to her face. It was subtle, almost too subtle to notice, but her eyes creased ever so slightly, and the inflection of her voice cracked, just a hair. “If he thinks we’re cheating him, or if he thinks we’re not going to deliver…then there’s no telling what he’ll do. He can be a real spiteful bastard when he’s cornered. But he’s not stupid.”
“ He also has a good crew with him,” Vos said. “A half-dozen mercs, at least.”
“ Well, that’s great,” Dillon said quietly. “Do you have a layout for the ruins?”
Black produced a map. The ruins in question were those of a city, depicted in carefully cast lines of charcoal and ink on a faded piece of yellowed parchment. If the map was accurate, there were plenty of buildings in the ruins, at least ten square city blocks worth.
“ All right,” Black said. “So what’s the plan?”
“ Wait,” Cross said. “There’s one more thing.” The air stiffened as a cold and dead wind came at them. Cross rocked in place to try and stay warm. The sky was clear and vast. “What made the ship crash?”
Vos looked at Black, as if for permission to answer. Black swallowed, and she took a deep and shuddering breath.
“ We’re not sure,” she said. “Something…dark.”
“ Dark skinned?” Dillon asked.
“ Maybe,” Black said. “It wasn’t human. Royce…the pilot…whatever it was, it tore Royce and the entire cockpit in half. But right before it happened, he said he saw something, and whatever it was sent him into a panic.”
“ Well…what was it?” Dillon asked when Black looked away. “What is it the man said?”
“ He said it was a shadow,” Vos answered. “A ghost. A cold, dark ghost.”
He looked terrified.
“ Ebon Cities?” Cross asked after an uncomfortable silence.
“ I don’t know,” Vos answered. “I don’t think so.”
“ No,” Black said with certainty. Her eyes were lost out in the dark. The tiny campsite was a speck of light in the dark sea of the plains. “This was something…old. You could feel it through the walls of the ship. You could feel its presence, so cold and vast and…dead. Like a heartbeat that came from the bottom of a pit.” She looked back at them. “That’s the best I can describe it. It was like a hole. Like a void.”
Black’s eyes stared back into the memory, stuck inside the vision of whatever they’d seen when the ship crashed, and of what Black’s spirit had felt.
Vos watched Black as she sat there, quiet. Cross saw that the male Revenger looked at his superior officer with concern.
“ Whatever it is,” Vos said, “it tore the control room right out of the damned ship. We were mid-air when it happened. The whole crate just spiraled right out of the sky.” He spat on the ground, and rubbed it into the hard dirt with his boot. “We lost five men. Five.”
Again, there was
“ So we have a deal?” Cross asked.
“ We have a deal,” Black said.
Vos bristled, but he didn’t say anything.
“ Where’s the exchange supposed to take place?” Dillon asked.
“ At some ruins to the east,” she said. “They should be about a day’s march, I think. If we still had the airship, we’d have been there by now.”
“ Wait,” Cross said. “When were you supposed to be there?”
“ Today,” Vos said. His words were cold.
Cross looked at Black, and she met his gaze. Her expression was controlled, but he noted the worry.
“ She’s fine,” Cross said.
“ Yeah,” Dillon said, sounding less convinced.
“ Of course she’s fine,” Black said firmly. “I don’t need you to tell me that. If Cradden went through this much trouble to get Lucan from me, he wouldn’t kill his hostage and wreck his chances. Besides, he knows damn well he’ll never get anything out of me if he hurts her. But…” She paused. That worry returned to her face. It was subtle, almost too subtle to notice, but her eyes creased ever so slightly, and the inflection of her voice cracked, just a hair. “If he thinks we’re cheating him, or if he thinks we’re not going to deliver…then there’s no telling what he’ll do. He can be a real spiteful bastard when he’s cornered. But he’s not stupid.”
“ He also has a good crew with him,” Vos said. “A half-dozen mercs, at least.”
“ Well, that’s great,” Dillon said quietly. “Do you have a layout for the ruins?”
Black produced a map. The ruins in question were those of a city, depicted in carefully cast lines of charcoal and ink on a faded piece of yellowed parchment. If the map was accurate, there were plenty of buildings in the ruins, at least ten square city blocks worth.
“ All right,” Black said. “So what’s the plan?”
“ Wait,” Cross said. “There’s one more thing.” The air stiffened as a cold and dead wind came at them. Cross rocked in place to try and stay warm. The sky was clear and vast. “What made the ship crash?”
Vos looked at Black, as if for permission to answer. Black swallowed, and she took a deep and shuddering breath.
“ We’re not sure,” she said. “Something…dark.”
“ Dark skinned?” Dillon asked.
“ Maybe,” Black said. “It wasn’t human. Royce…the pilot…whatever it was, it tore Royce and the entire cockpit in half. But right before it happened, he said he saw something, and whatever it was sent him into a panic.”
“ Well…what was it?” Dillon asked when Black looked away. “What is it the man said?”
“ He said it was a shadow,” Vos answered. “A ghost. A cold, dark ghost.”
He looked terrified.
“ Ebon Cities?” Cross asked after an uncomfortable silence.
“ I don’t know,” Vos answered. “I don’t think so.”
“ No,” Black said with certainty. Her eyes were lost out in the dark. The tiny campsite was a speck of light in the dark sea of the plains. “This was something…old. You could feel it through the walls of the ship. You could feel its presence, so cold and vast and…dead. Like a heartbeat that came from the bottom of a pit.” She looked back at them. “That’s the best I can describe it. It was like a hole. Like a void.”
Black’s eyes stared back into the memory, stuck inside the vision of whatever they’d seen when the ship crashed, and of what Black’s spirit had felt.
Vos watched Black as she sat there, quiet. Cross saw that the male Revenger looked at his superior officer with concern.
“ Whatever it is,” Vos said, “it tore the control room right out of the damned ship. We were mid-air when it happened. The whole crate just spiraled right out of the sky.” He spat on the ground, and rubbed it into the hard dirt with his boot. “We lost five men. Five.”
Again, there was
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