“I get it. No apology needed. And thank you.”
He nodded, licking a finger and testing the wind. Pleased with the result, he pulled a small device from his pocket. It looked like a tiny blowgun but with a grip. He took a small dartlike thing and slid it into one end.
“What is that?”
“No time. Stay here,” he said, hurrying off after the Raxxians in a stealthy run.
What just happened?she wondered, resigned to sit still and wait. Hopefully, whatever he was doing wouldn’t take too long.
Rykker returned fifteen minutes later the device no longer in his hands. “There are more that way,” he said, gesturing ahead.
“But that’s where we need to go.”
“We cannot. We must find cover. There is no telling who else is out there. Hurry, follow close.”
He rushed toward a rocky outcropping not far from their location, his eyes scanning the terrain. “Yes, there,” he said, pointing to an overhanging area near some low bushes. “Under there. Quickly. I will follow and cover our tracks.”
Olivia didn’t argue. His tone of voice and the look in his eye relayed just how serious this was. She flattened out and crawled in as far as she could. It wasn’t terribly deep, just a jutting rock rather than a cavern, but it would suffice. Rykker had pulled up a few small shrubs and was using one of them to dust down theirtrail, hiding any sign of their passing. Satisfied, he then lay down and slid in next to her, pulling the shrubs close.
They had a pungent smell that was particularly nasty with Olivia’s newly heightened senses, but she knew what he was doing. Masking not only their trail but also their scent. If what he said about Raxxians was true, being blocked by rock on one side and that stench on the other were the best cover they could get out here.
They lay there a while before she heard the sound of Raxxians in the distance. The voices faded, but they didn’t move. Sure enough, nearly an hour later there were more of them. Whether they were from the same group or not, she couldn’t say. What she did know was they were unaware of the two hiding out so close.
Two more hours passed in silence before Rykker decided it was as safe as it was going to be. He turned his head to her and held his finger to his lips then pushed the shrubs aside and slid out, gesturing for her to follow.
Olivia crawled out silently and followed him as he took off in a new direction. She didn’t dare voice an objection. It was only a half hour later that she quietly asked where they were going.
“This isn’t the way back,” she whispered.
“We must detour. Now, no more talking until we know we are safe. Stay close.”
Without another word they moved, quickly cutting through the trees, scrambling over rocks and across small streams, and even traversing a few small ravines, courtesy of fallen trees. They moved until it was quite late in the day before they finally changed course, heading back toward the ship.
It was Rykker who finally broke the long silence. “Your friend will be fine. Arkness may be an egotistical man, but his medical skills are quite sound.”
“Sounds like you almost admire him, though grudgingly.”
“We have been friends since childhood. Of course, I do. But we are now men,” he said, flashing her a smoldering look. “As adults, things change. But rest assured, Harper is in good hands and will be well tended to. And when she has healed, she will be provided the Dotharian Runes.”
“Just like me.”
“Not like you,” he said, stopping and turning to face her directly. “You are special. Unique. I very much doubt there is another like you anywhere among the stars.”
Olivia blushed at the unexpected compliment. “You know, there are bound to be others. More survivors. I heard there were more on the Raxxian ship.”
“And we will do what we can. But we are at a distinct disadvantage right now. And eventually an alarm will be raised when they realize their comrades are missing. But we still have a window of opportunity.”
“But you killed them.”
“Yes, we did. Fortunately for us, Raxxians split their recovery teams and send them out for days, or even weeks before reconvening. And after a crash like this one? It is likely they are far less organized than usual. Gaps in contact are expected in circumstances like this. Let us hope their protocols have not changed.”
Rykker tapped a section of his collar, apparently reactivating his comms that had been shut off for the last several hours. He had multiple missed calls, all from Arkness.
“Where are you?” the man blurted when Rykker finally called him back. “I’ve been trying to reach you repeatedly. You should be here by now.”
“We had an issue with the Raxxians and were forced to divert.”
“Raxxians? How many? And is Olivia safe?”
