She grabbed a discarded weapon. It didn’t fire, but she clubbed a creature with it and managed to disconnect its hose. Jessica was fighting two at once and everyone else was too occupied with just staying alive themselves to help her, so Clara ran for her and managed to get on the back of one of the creature, hauling it backward and away from Jessica, who had been using a broken hunk of metal she had picked up from somewhere to stab the nearest one.
Clara screamed as Jessica speared the one whose back she was on. Jessica panted out, “Behind you!”
Clara didn’t turn around. Instead, she went to the right. She and Jessica managed to take that one down together. Blood and that putrid reek hung all over the air. The scent of sweat and fear was nearly unbearable.
“Take the bride ship, they said,” she muttered, “You will have a good life, they said.” More blood sprayed into the air beside her as Marik shot a creature. Another one died, and Clara’s eyes went to the bay doors to see that they had moved away from the other ship and now Talon was firing upon that ship.
Jessica drove a creature to the door then kicked it hard, sending it flying into open space. Jeval grabbed Jessica just as the gravity suck almost took her out behind that thing she had just fought off.
Clara and Renall wound up face to face again. He was splattered with blood and gore. His face held a weary expression. His hair was mussed and his eyes, those large and lambent eyes, had dark shadows forming below them.
They stood there, both of them staring at each other. Her breasts lifted and fell. They were so close she could feel the lift and fall of his chest against hers. Her eyes went to his lips. His eyes stayed on hers, but she sensed that he was looking at her mouth as well.
Then another blast from the brigand ship shook the craft they were on. Renall ran for the bridge with the crew behind him. Marik and Jeval began tossing bodies off the ship. Ariel crouched in a corner, weeping openly. Clara went to her. She hunkered down beside her. “Are you all right?”
Margie came up. She knelt too. Ariel looked from one to the other, her eyes wide and wild. “I...I didn’t know they would actually die.”
Marik tossed a body out. Another blast from their craft made the ship tilt to one side a little. Clara had to grab at the wall to keep from sliding. She said, “Me either. I don’t even know what they are. Were.”
Jeval drew near. He reached out a hand. His fingers stroked across Ariel’s forehead. “Peace be in you.”
Ariel blinked. Her tears stopped. Her shaking did too. She went still, and the low ragged breathing coming from her mouth changed to a soft and normal pattern.
Margie asked, “What did you do to her?”
Jeval sighed. “I don’t know, exactly. It is said that many of my race had that ability once, but since we were not raised with many of our race, I don’t know for sure what it is or even how to really use it beyond—well, that.”
Margie asked, “Why weren’t you raised with your race?’
Marik shouted, “Jeval, we need to get this done and get this closed.”
Jeval ignored the question and said, “Come help us.”
Clara stood. She said, “Where’s Jessica?”
“She ran for the bridge,” Jeval said. He bent and picked up the top of a body. “Grab the feet.”
Which ones?The thing had eight. She grimaced and grabbed at the first ones that came to hand then helped Jeval to tote the thing to the door and toss it out.
Ariel recovered and helped, as did Margie. The ship they fired on died. The strip spikes went down, and Renall appeared. He stood next to Clara and spoke softly. “You are very brave.”
“I was very scared,” she said.
His eyes met hers. “But you did not run.”
Clara looked away. “If I had known a way out, I would have.”
Renall asked, “Did you run from trouble where you are from?”
Her arms wrapped around her body. “No. There was no point to it. They would catch you anyway. Or worse. It was better to fight.”
Renall said, “True enough.”
She looked at the floor. She and the others had been given buckets and cloths and some stringent fluid to clean it with, and they had, but the smell still remained. “What were they?”
“They’re Gorlites.”
There was real hatred in his voice, and she heard it. “I don’t know what that is.”
