"Well, you are a pretty girl. With your deviant eyes. And we know who you are now."
"And you will regret ever coming near me."
"On the contrary," Boss said. "You, my dear, areexactlywho we were hoping to find."
She held her head back, shifted her posture as best she could on the floor, so she seemed more confident and strong. "What do you think you can do with me?"
"Whatever we want," he said, leaning down to her, a snarl on his face. "As long as you're dead in the end."
Jedriek growled, and his skin electrified, for there was no other way to describe it. His veins lit up with white lines like lightning flew through him. His cyborg systems powered up or something incredibly strong because he was not staying where he was. He squeezed his arms together, slamming the two Charro who held him together. Their heads cracked, and he flung them toward Boss.
"You will not touch her," he snarled.
Boss stumbled to the side when the Charro hit him.
Eleanor didn't waste any time hanging around to see what happened next. She leaped up and ran across the ship bay. Were they still in the atmosphere? Or had they headed up into the stars? She had no ideathough, and no time to think about it.
She just ran away.
Gassy Charro came after her. He was a lot taller and had much longer legs than she did. In a few strides, he'd caught her.
Shoved her into a wall.
"No, you're not going anywhere, girly." He stabbed a blade in her side.
The point ripped through her layers and scratched her skin. She felt a drop of blood going down inside her dress, a surprise because of all the layers. He must have stabbed hard but not have anticipated all the fabric.
He shifted the blade as though he thought he'd be able to control her movements with it.
"We're going to enjoy this. Never had a princess before. You'd better make the story worthwhile."
She thought she was going to be sick.
Maybe she should be...
His tail slithered almost like a snake around both their bodies. It floated right in front of her face.
Eleanor had not had much in the way of formal training for fighting, only the most basic self-defense. She had always assumed she'd have guards with her.
Today she regretted the oversight. All she had were her own instincts. And maybe a little luck.
Possibly.
Perhaps she should have Veta teach her some techniques when they get back. Again, she assumed Veta was with Caoimhe and the others, and they were all fine. Drinking wine and wondering why she was taking so long.
No. She would not assume the worst.
No. None of them were fighting for their lives. They were fine. They had to be.
On the other side of the ship bay, Jedriek and the Boss fought. Slams and clatters and punches filled the air. But no blaster fire.
That was good, she felt.
The tail got close to her face. Ran down her cheek. It wasn't slimy, but it sure did stink. She winced as it passed by again. Maybe it was supposed to intimidate her.
"Oh, I will make it worth it." She bit it as hard as she could. Tried not to gag because she didn't want to speculate how filthy that tail was. And it tasted worse than it looked. The Charro cried out and released her. Sort of.
She jerked out as she shoved an elbow into his ribs. She broke free enough to start running, but he caught her by her robes.
