“Stop this,” I commanded, my voice ragged and full of fury. Behind the mask, I saw the Prytheen’s eyes widen, though she showed no other sign of fear.
“What are you saying, blessed?” Driin’s voice rose to a squeak, which I’d have found hilarious in other circumstances. “Shestolefrom our hosts. They held back her execution soyoucould watch the event. What do you mean,stop?”
“I mean…” I paused, letting my brain catch up with my mouth. What reason could I give the Collectors? Why in the Void would they listen? I latched onto the first idea to cross my mind, filling in the details as I went. “She is my prisoner, my prize. She ismine.The humans of Earth will pay me well for her return, and she has robbed others too. I shall auction her and make back enough money to fund an installation of antimatter art. My craftdemandsthat you return her to me.”
Driin looked at me as though I’d gone mad. The servitor watched from behind her crystal mask. Silence filled the room, and I realized I had everyone’s attention.
The servitor broke the moment by bowing, and when she raised her head, the mask’s eyes glowed with a cold white flame. She spoke, or someone did. The voice coming from beneath the crystal sounded like a dozen people speaking in unison, none of them her.
“Honored guest,” it said, the words stretching strangely as though their speaker had forgotten how to shape them. “The Hive understands. The Hive sympathizes. The Hive refuses.”
I snarled something, but the speaker continued without a pause. “You will not suffer. We will pay you a fair price for your criminal, but our laws must protect the Collection. She has taken from it and will suffer the consequences.”
Had the Collector been within arm’s reach, it wouldn’t have managed more than half that before I tore out its throat. But killing the poor Prytheen servitor wouldn’t help Penny, only harm another innocent. I bared my teeth in a ferocious snarl.
“She is my property. I will ensure she faces appropriate punishment, that is fair, but I will not simply give her to you.”
“One hundred thousand Credits Imperial,” the Collector said. Driin’s strangled noise made me think he might die. “It is likely more than you will get for her at auction.”
I admired the speaker’s talent for understatement. While I’d never been a bounty hunter, my brothers and I had enough bounties on us to know the figure was ridiculously high. High enough that my lie foundered on it like a ship hitting an asteroid.
Still gasping for air, Driin clapped me on the back again. “There, my blessed friend, a win for everyone! Now come, let us drink to your riches and my immortality.”
My lie was dead, and I had no other to offer. I let Attrobi lead me away, his blather covering my silence as I ransacked my brain for another plan. Something clever enough to save my Penny from the monsters that would tear her apart in front of my eyes.
23
PENNY
My plan sucked. It might be the worst plan in history, even counting the idiots who played with antimatter. It had exactly one redeeming feature—the chance it might work.
For Varok, anyway. Me? I’d die, bloody and in agony, on the sands of an alien arena. The Collectors hadn’t told me what fate they planned for me, but after the show they put on when we first arrived, I could guess.
The servitors dragged me into the Hive without speaking, throwing me into a cell barely large enough to lie down in. They stripped me with cold efficiency, leaving me naked and shivering before they withdrew. No sooner had the door slid shut when a disembodied voice questioned me.
“Where is the art you took?” The speaker sounded male, angry, and slightly out of focus, like a chorus of voices almost speaking in unison. A Collector. At least I’d attracted the attention of the people in charge.
“You’ve got it,” I said, crossing my arms and picking an arbitrary piece of wall to glare at. “You recovered it along with me, unless you geniuses didn’t recognize its travel case.”
“TheNight Watch is where it belongs. The other pieces—where are they?”
I’d almost forgotten that Varok had stuffed his stasis field with loot before I hijacked his getaway plan. Well, if they blamed me, that left the big silver idiot in the clear. “I’ll tell you—in exchange for The Night Watch and my life, along with a trip to a safe planet.”
The squawk of outrage was reward enough for my demand. “You will tell us or suffer the consequences.”
“Yeah? What, I’m supposed to believe youwon’tfeed me to your monster-pets?” I snorted. “So I don’t know what you’re threatening me with.”
“The art!” A harsh buzz of static filled the air as the speaker shouted. “You barbarian, the art you have hidden will bedestroyedunless we recover it.”
“So make me an offer.”
“We will slay you quickly. Your end need not be painful.”
“That is a terrible offer. I’d rather not die.”
“You are mortal. Your death will find you. I give you the chance to die without suffering.”
“No deal.”
