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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781469708652 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | iUniverse, Incorporated |
| Publication date: | 01/17/2012 |
| Pages: | 352 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.79(d) |
Read an Excerpt
Noble Vengeance
By Julie Anne Csikos
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Julie Anne CsikosAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4697-0865-2
Chapter One
The bolts in the metal plates of the floor were stripped and degraded, making each one move and creak when stepped on. It was nearly impossible for her to sneak into the room, but she had managed to come this far without being noticed. Lucky for her, as she rounded the corner she saw that the guard was asleep. The smell of stale sweat assaulted her nostrils, and she took a few minutes to assess the situation.About two feet from where she stood, bars sectioned off the rest of the small room. There were no windows, and the only light came from the hanging lamp outside of the cell. The prisoner sat quietly in the corner closest to the exit. He was curled into a ball, the side of his head leaning against the bars. There was a bowl still filled with slop nearby, neglected once again. A pail rested on the other side of the tiny cell, completing the contents of the room.
The prisoner looked as if he was also sleeping, but she knew he would be easy to wake.
With practiced and calculated stealth, she retrieved a needle from her belt and injected a serum into the guard's neck. He wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, she thought with a grin.
"Vynn?" she whispered almost inaudibly. She reached into the cell and felt his sweaty brow with her hand. The mix of blood and sweat warmed her cold, nervous fingers. The prisoner stirred.
His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her with confusion.
Max felt a pang in her heart at the sight of his disheveled, dirty brown hair and the dark circles under his light blue eyes.
As a prisoner, Vynn had been in the space station dungeon at Xi for about two weeks, but he felt like he'd been sitting there for months. The black Agency uniform was covered with the grey dust of the prison floor. He had a black eye and dried blood in his nostrils as well as a superficial cut above his left eye, but no serious injuries.
He squinted to focus through the dark at the shadow in front of him that knew his name, recognizing the burgundy hair that she always tied back. Her amber eyes looked hopefully into his face, willing him to come back. "Max! How did you get in here?" he croaked, reaching towards her and attempting to stand. She grabbed the hand he thrust through the bars and smiled.
"I'm getting you out of here," she answered.
Vynn grunted as he got to his feet and leaned against the bars between them. He glanced at the sleeping guard and then back at his wife.
"Where's the team?" he asked.
Max shook her head. "There is no team."
"You came alone?" Vynn stared at her, shocked.
She continued, "The Agency was convinced that you were either dead or a lost cause, but I knew you weren't. I knew that all I had to do was find you and get you back, and it would be all right."
The guard grunted as he stirred, but his sleep remained uninterrupted. Max turned and moved to get his key card, but Vynn grabbed her arm.
"Max, wait," he whispered, his voice shaking. "You've got to get out of here."
"Vynn, don't worry," she responded and kneeled to unhook the card from the thick metal pouch attached to the sleeve of the guard's jacket. The pouch was encoded; she would have to break the lock. She pulled out a small screwdriver and began carefully taking the pouch apart.
"No, Max, this is a trap."
Max looked up from her work and smiled at her paranoid husband. "It's okay, Vynn," she reassured him. "Nobody saw me come in, and no one even knows I'm here. I'm going to get you out."
"But now you know I'm here. You can go and get reinforcements."
Max frowned. "Vynn, I don't understand. Don't you want to get out of here?"
"I'm fine, but you're in danger. This is a trap, Max."
The dried blood and fresh stubble that framed his face made Vynn look a lot older and wiser than before. Perhaps that's what made Max drop the screwdriver she was using, or perhaps it was his threatening gaze. Either way he spooked her, and Max turned to run. As she raced towards the corridor, she glanced back at her husband. Silently she promised that she would be back to get him out of there, and everything would be fine. She would force the Agency to help her; they owed her.
Max rounded the corner still watching her captured husband, and she collided with something tall, thick, and smelling of body odour. She was thrown awkwardly and hit the side of her head on the metal wall. The clanging reverberated through her skull, and she knew it would end up being a huge headache.
Max fought the black dots that threatened to invade her vision as she fell to the ground. She narrowed her eyes and forced herself to remain conscious as her skull throbbed. She felt blood trickle down the left side of her face from a new gash in her temple. Scrambling to her hands and knees, she saw the fresh blood drip onto the floor; it was a bad cut. She slowly lifted her head and managed to focus on three pairs of feet. Three against one, she considered; if she could get to Vynn, they'd have a better chance. The problem was that Vynn was weak and would probably be more of a hindrance than an asset. Max mentally prepared to fight three grown men while fighting to stay awake. The odds were not in her favour.
It would be easiest if she tried taking two of them out before they knew she had regained any strength or bearings. Her gaze ventured further; their uniforms were baggy at the ankles, lucky for her. Before the men could react, Max grabbed the two closest pant legs and pulled, causing the two attackers to falter and topple to the ground. Max used the momentum to pull herself to her feet, and was standing when she heard a skull crack on the metal panel of the floor. The man on the left was dead, and the man on the right was unconscious. They were no longer threats.
Her blood trickled down, mixing with the beads of sweat all over her face, and she had to take a moment to wipe it away from her eyes. She glared at the third and final opponent. He was looking at his colleagues, nervous and obviously scared and unsure of himself. Max relaxed a little bit; he wouldn't be as much of a challenge as she had thought he might be.
The guard reached for a weapon but was too slow. Before he could point and take action, Max had closed the small gap between them and kicked the gun from his hand. He swung a punch at her face, but Max was faster than him and ducked out of the way. She elbowed him in the middle of his back and he lost his balance, stumbling forward.
When he regained his footing, he grabbed a knife from his belt, turning to deliver a stab. The guard tripped on the dead man's arm and fell over, throwing the knife in the process. Max dodged the knife as it flew aimlessly into the dark hallway. She looked down at the now scrambling man. It puzzled her that these men would be so unprepared for an attack, and even more that they would be so unskilled with their weapons. She kicked the man in the face, and he went down.
She looked towards the exit and then back to where she had come from. If this was the best they could offer as resistance, Vynn would be able to escape with her. She ran back around the corner, but the look on Vynn's face horrified her and she skidded to a halt. Before she could direct her gaze in the direction he was looking, Max found herself being tackled by someone much stronger and bigger than herself.
Her right cheek was pressed harshly between two of the metal floor panels. Blood from the wound on her left temple trickled across her face, creating a small pool under her nose. Her hands were being tied by a second captor. When she struggled, a third man kicked her hard in the abdomen. Max groaned, knowing he'd cracked several ribs. Whoever was pushing her face into the ground was not taking any precautions. Her skin stung as the sharp, dirty edges of the floor panels cut her flesh.
When her hands were tied, someone grabbed her feet. She assumed he would tie them up as well, but instead he started to pull. Max gasped in horror and pain when she realized she was being dragged by her feet away from the cell. Screaming in agony, her face scraping against the hard, uneven floor, she was towed away.
Max fought to stay awake, but the cut on her head had already let too much blood escape. This combined with the immense pain she was in forced her to finally give up. Her vision clouded over and she drifted into black.
Helpless, Vynn called her name and pounded the bars that kept him from freeing his wife. He watched as Max was dragged away, leaving a wet trail of blood. Her only hope would be for Vynn to break free; he looked to the unconscious guard. Fortunately, Max absently had left her screwdriver close enough for Vynn to grasp it. Had he been calm, Vynn would have been able to undo the pouch just as Max had been doing, but in his fury, he smashed the tool on the pouch. It cracked, and he forced the pouch the rest of the way open, managing to retrieve the keycard.
Vynn scanned the key and threw his body into the door. He yelped as he fell back, the door not budging. Vynn rubbed his shoulder, knowing the bars would leave a bruise. He glared at the unconscious guard and, mortified, realized that to open the lock, not only did he need the keycard, but he also needed a thumbprint for authorization. Vynn wished he had paid more attention when they brought him in. He prayed that the guard had the correct authorization, and that Max had given the guard enough serum to keep him unconscious. With all his effort he pulled the guard's thumb towards the scanner, but it wouldn't reach. As he tried to lift the arm again, the screams of his wife echoed through his brain. He sighed with frustration, and tears began blurring his vision.
Focus, he told himself, squeezing the tears from his eyes and taking several deep breaths. No one else knew Max was here. Vynn was the only one who could save her, but he couldn't lift the heavy man, so he considered his options. He could dislocate the man's shoulder, but wasn't sure if it would give him enough slack. He could also try propping the man up, but given his weakened condition and the size of the man, Vynn decided that would take too long, and maneuvering through the bars might make it too difficult.
Vynn decided to break the man's thumb off—a gruesome solution, but he had to do something. First he broke the thumb and pulled it like one would take the leg off a chicken. With his other hand, he took the screwdriver and sliced at the skin while pulling the thumb away from the rest of the hand. Disgusted, Vynn tried to imagine it was anything but someone's hand.
With one final yank, the digit came away, and Vynn lifted the now bloody thumb to the scanner. There was a beep and a click, and Vynn was free. The door swung open and he rushed out, leaving the thumb with its body.
Max opened her eyes to find herself sitting in a wooden chair. She remained tied, but she knew right away by the loosened ropes that whoever was holding her was not worried about her escaping. There were no other people in the room.
The wall to her right was a window. She looked out at the red planet of Carakqua. The sun that was beating down on the planet was shining directly into the window. Max wished she could enjoy the sunshine, but it burned her raw flesh and bleeding face. They had strategically placed the scratched-up right side of her face in the direct path of the rays. She couldn't see out of her eye, and she wasn't sure she ever would again; then again, she wasn't hopeful that she would live for much longer.
Judging by the strength of the sun and the planet to her immediate right, Max knew she was still on the Xi space station. She was still at the same coordinates as Vynn. She felt tears begin forming in her eyes at the thought of her husband. He had been right. It had been a trap. She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to gain composure, but a few tears escaped and stung as they ran down her ravaged cheeks. The tears turned red as they flowed over her damaged face and dripped onto her filthy pant leg. Max let out an angry cry, filled with anguish and frustration: everything had come crashing down around her. The door clicked open.
It occurred to her that they might not know her connection to Vynn. She wasn't about to tell them.
"Madixyna," came a sinister voice from the doorway. A male Carakquan casually walked into the room. He wore black pants and a black jacket that buttoned from his chin down to his knees. His long black hair was tied at the back of his head, and his red eyes pierced her soul as he watched her. There was a scar across the left side of his face that distinguished him from all the other Carakquans. His skin was the same colour as Max's right cheek: blood red. On Carakqua, the sun was much closer than on Earth, so the Carakquan's skin was leathery; it had always made Max feel uncomfortable. She glared at the face in front of her. She knew him too well.
"Shynk Faids," she acknowledged, making no effort to hide her disdain for the man.
Faids had been a thorn in the side of the Conglomerate of Peaceful Planets for longer than she'd been alive. His quest to thwart the Agency ensured frequent meetings between his Xi officers and theirs. As a lieutenant, Max had crossed paths with Faids twice already, and with his lackeys even more. Before it had always been about the Agency, but when Vynn and Max were selected for a special mission that Faids had a vested interest in, the conflict had become personal.
"You'll get nothing from me," she said.
Faids ran his finger over her injured cheek. His touch felt like liquid fire blazing across her flesh, but Max did not move away. Instead she focused her fury and pain on the rope around her wrists. It was loose, and it wouldn't take her long to free her hands, but she knew that Faids was aware of this. He didn't fear Max; he never had.
"Oh, Maxy-bear," he started, bringing his face just an inch from hers. She couldn't help but flinch, and Faids grinned at her reaction.
"When will you learn? You humans have no future in this universe. You are inferior."
"Then why don't you exterminate us and get it over with?" she whispered. Her face was a blank slate, showing no emotion except disgust. Faids moved even closer; his pointed nose was nearly stabbing her right eye. She was glad that eye was blind. He stroked her long, tangled burgundy hair sadistically. She kept her shoulders and neck rigid as her hands continued struggling with the rope behind her back.
"You know, Max, it is true humans are inferior, but they do tend to have a beautiful sense of loyalty. Can you tell me if I am correct? I've read you have a history of dying for your leaders. It's romantic, really."
"What are you looking for, Shynk?" Max glared back into his hellish eyes. It was torture to look upon them, but she showed none of it.
"You are a lovely girl," he replied. Lustily, he caressed her cheek and neck. "Even for a human." His leathery hand went farther down, passing slowly over her breast, stomach, and crotch. He rested his fingers on her inner thigh. "I don't have to kill you to make you suffer. I could keep you in my employ."
Max rolled her eyes but did not move her body. She scowled at him as her hands came free. Bringing her right fist quickly around, she pounded him as hard as she could in the left temple. Faids stumbled and fell backwards, removing his hand from its arrogant position. Standing, Max felt a slight dizziness from loss of blood and fatigue. Faids also rose to his feet, a small sliver of blood showing.
"So you're not immortal," Max commented as she prepared to fight her enemy. "Booya for me."
Faids smiled and laughed a sinister laugh.
"I guess I hit a soft spot, didn't I, Maxy-bear?" Max frowned, and Faids continued, "Clearly someone else has already laid claim to you."
"What?" Max was surprised by Faids' unexpected change in tactic. He motioned to the guard who had been lingering by the closed door. The guard opened it to reveal two other Carakquans dragging a struggling prisoner into the room. Max's compsure faltered as a worried look at her husband flashed quickly across her face. She realized that getting them together had been the plan all along. Quickly looking away, Max resumed her icy look of indifference, but it was too late. She had betrayed her true feelings in that one glance. It had been long enough for Faids to see, and he laughed once more.
"Max, you know Vynnlakerk Tytaine, do you not?" he mused.
She cleared her throat and mustered the strength to remain calm. "I've been acquainted." Vynn looked at her with large, sad eyes, telling her to get out by any means.
"I think that you are more than acquaintances," Faids said, pacing from him to her and back again. "In fact, I think you and Vynny boy here are lovers." He circled behind the weak, kneeling Vynn. "What do you say of my assumptions?"
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Noble Vengeance by Julie Anne Csikos Copyright © 2012 by Julie Anne Csikos. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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