He shook his head, and she took it to mean he didn’t. Nirro was almost fluent, and she kept forgetting he was an exception.
She pointed at the tunnel. “Go back.”
He took a hesitant step toward it, and then another.
She stepped to the side, aiming for her laz, moving slowly, afraid that too much movement would break him out of the trace he seemed to be in.
The soldier was almost at the tunnel when Nirro burst through. He was dragging Linao with him, and she had gone limp in his hold.
Except, when it came to Linao, Velda never believed what she saw.
Nirro’s arrival seemed to snap the soldier out of his fog, and he turned to her, eyes wide with fear and anger.
“Get her,” Nirro ordered.
The soldier looked down at his hands and hesitated.
“She does things to you if you touch her. Twists your mind.” Linao’s voice was hoarse and sounded groggy, but Velda didn’t even believe that was genuine.
“Don’t touch her skin,” Nirro ordered, and finally the soldier moved.
She let him grab her, because they were less likely to shoot her if they thought she was under their control, and if she was shot, this was over.
“You’re trying to take the Raptor?” Nirro asked. “That’s bold.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Velda asked. “It’s a logical step.” She felt the familiar buzz under her skin, the silver balls waitingfor a chance, but the soldier was careful to avoid touching her directly.
Nirro tilted his head and studied her. “You influenced him, somehow. Have you been influencing me?”
Velda stared back. “Does it look like I’m influencing either of you?”
“No. But you were.” He spoke to the soldier in Caruson and then looked down as Linao began to struggle in his grasp.
“Why did you bring her along?” Velda asked.
“She was hiding in the tunnel, and I didn’t want her causing trouble on the other side.” Nirro gave Linao a shake, and she subsided.
Suddenly, the whole ship shuddered, and the tunnel began to rattle in place.
Ethan had finally got the engines up and running.
“Take Velda across,” Nirro told the soldier. “Ethan will surrender if we have her on the warship.”
He was right. And she couldn’t—wouldn’t—let that happen.
Nirro looked down at Linao, seemed to be considering something, and then tossed her back into the tunnel. He shot her with his laz before she could even scramble to her feet. He pointed to her unconscious form and barked out an order to the soldier.
Telling him to get someone to drag her back, most likely.
Nirro checked his laz and headed for the bay doors.
Going to the bridge to get Ethan, she guessed. To the bridge with its open doors that would offer no protection.
Absolutely not.
A silver ball rose up out of the back of her hand, rolled up her sleeve and disappeared behind her.
The soldier holding her suddenly let her go and she dived away, grabbing up her laz and turning.
