She ignored all of them and their lies.
Once on top of the cage, she was close enough to the ceiling to pull the loose vent covering off and fling it to the ground. She grasped the edge of the opening and swung herself inside. She’d practiced the maneuver enough to have it down without needing to think about it. The bag she had stored there a year ago was a comforting sight.
“Come down now or I'll activate your collar,” Riff threatened. He must’ve pressed the warning button because her collar buzzed but didn’t shock her.
He'd only ever used her collar once against her when she’d been very young and liked to explore the ship without permission. It had hurt, and she’d cried on Melee’s shoulder for hours afterwards.
Melee had been furious and made sure Riff would never hurt Nova again.
Turning around in the vent, Nova stuck her head out the opening and smirked down at the males. At the same time, she tugged the collar off, tossing it at the little Fozin with a cry of angry triumph.
“Here's your collar, you little weasel! Have fun trying to find another wild act as good as mine!” she yelled at him. She wanted to pause and really enjoy Riff’s astonished face, but it was only a matter of time until one of those Hissa climbed up on the cage and came after her.
With a grunt of effort and very little grace, she turned in the narrow duct, then grabbed the bag and continued her escape.
She felt a moment of sorrow that she’d never get to see Melee and the cubs again, but they’d all known a day like this might come.
Melee had disabled the lock on her collar.
Hashor had helped her figure out what to pack in the bag.
Mashie and Miffla had decided this duct was the best place to hide the bag and for a quick getaway.
Nikla had helped her plan out the escape after she left the duct.
They’d all made her promise not to look back because her freedom was worth leaving them all behind.
The Tiema family was free and could decide to leave the circus at any time. They wanted the same for her. They’d understand, but it still hurt to leave behind the only family she’d ever known.
“I’m not a slave any longer,” she whispered to herself as she crawled to her freedom. “Someday, I’ll find them again. I’m not alone. I’m on an adventure.”
It was time to start her life as a free woman.
Chapter 3
Miran
Miran couldn’t help but admire the human, even while being absolutely frustrated.
“What have you done?” he roared at both Riff and Sanian. By now, Nerin had dropped him back to the ground, and he’d run to stand behind Sanian.
“Nothing,” Sanian said, backing away and stumbling a little over Riff. He tried to make his voice commanding but only ended up sounding whiny. “You’re the ones who let Nova escape. Not us!”
Lazil, the most agile of the three of them, was already making his way up to the top of the cage. He was tall enough to be able to poke his head into the vent, then he ducked down and jumped off the cage.
“We can't follow her,” he said. “None of us will fit.”
“Where does that go?” Miran asked.
“I don’t know,” Sanian said. “I don’t deal with between-the-floor issues. That’s Inter-Monitor Hikorn’s job.”
Lazil loomed over Sanian and Riff. Anger had made the scale pattern on his head go from blue-green to black. “If you want to continue breathing without medical assistance, find out where that duct goes.”
“Don’t hurt me,” the captain wheezed out. His scaly blue skin was pale, and his eyes were so large they took up most of his head. He pulled a data pad out of his uniform jacket and shoved it at Lazil. “Here, take it! Everything’s on it.”
Miran watched Lazil activate it. There was no personalized lock on it, so he had access to everything as if he were the captain.
While Lazil searched for the ship’s schematics, Sanian and the Fozin backed away. Miran ignored them. It was clear that not only were they not helpful, but they were so incompetent that they’d be a detriment.
