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  Navan put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, and I nuzzled my face into his chest. He pressed his lips to my hair, smiling as he mumbled, “If she’s anything like you, she’ll refuse to see that, too.”

  Chapter Four

  Although the roof did a decent job of keeping out the fierce rain, the downpour played out an incessant percussion on the corrugated metal that kept everything dry, keeping me awake in the process. The sky was pitch black, but the storm had yet to pass. It had been raging all afternoon, even as the sun went down and the stars came out.

  Somehow, Navan and Nova were sleeping right through it, unfazed by the rain hammering down. It was supposed to be Navan’s watch, but I didn’t have the heart to wake him.

  I figured I might as well use my insomnia to my advantage.

  Pulling a blanket around myself, I sat up and shivered against the biting wind that clawed through the gaps in the barn walls, bringing flecks of reddish dust with it. Humid and syrupy in the day, freezing in the night. Now I understood why Mort had hated this place so much.

  A scuffling sound outside drew my attention. Dropping the blanket, I crept down the ladder and paused by the barn entrance. I’d already had a couple of false alarms since Navan and Nova fell asleep, each of them resulting in something innocuous. The last few times I’d woken Navan, forcing him to come and investigate with me. With every leaking gutter and fluttering scrap of gumshi sacks, his patience had waned. Knowing it was probably nothing, I didn’t want to wake him again. He deserved to rest. I mean, I had no idea what creatures might be out there in the Mallarotian landscape, but I was pretty sure I could take on most things. Even so, my mind filled with images of a thousand fanged, clawed, nightmarish beasties. Bosen and Rini were bad enough. If they came creeping in the middle of the night, I was ready for them.

  Cursing under my breath, I poked my head around the door, only to find the tiniest rodent-like creature scratching away at the wooden slats. It was trying to get in from the rain. Frankly, I couldn’t blame it.

  I was about to duck back inside when another sound caught my attention. It was coming from the opposite side of the paddock, though I couldn’t make much out through the dense shadows. Fear bristled through me. The pod was out there. We had some vials of sweetblood secreted away in the hayloft, but the majority was still in the bag that Mort had thrown us… which was still in the pod. With its security locks and hidden compartments, we’d figured it would be the safest place to keep our stash. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

  Worried about the bag, I knew I was going to have to fetch some more of our vials, even if it meant heading out in the miserable, driving rain and running the risk of bumping into Bosen and Rini. With our stash divvied up in a few places, we reduced the risk of losing some to beady eyes and snatching hands. I doubted the shifters would be out in weather like this, but I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

  Hurrying back up to the hayloft, I took the emergency device that connected to the pod, which Navan had left by his makeshift pillow, and slid it into my front pocket. I cast one adoring look back at my beautiful little family, then clambered back down the rickety ladder and set off toward the pod.

  I was soaked within seconds, but, despite the biting wind, the rain itself was eerily warm, and it felt like stepping out into a shower. Strangely enough, it felt nice, the water sloughing away the grime of the last week. We’d yet to ask about bathing facilities, for fear the shifters might turn us into soup, but this was close enough.

  I reached the pod without any trouble and froze where I stood. The glass roof of the vessel was riddled with jagged holes, and the secure lock that fastened it shut looked as though it had been burnt away with some kind of thick, black substance. It had melted through the whole thing. Tentatively, I opened the circular doorway, careful to avoid the sticky substance, and stepped inside. A sour, strange smell filled my nostrils—like singed metal mixed with bleach. Hurrying to the secret compartment where we’d hidden the bag of sweetblood, I knew it was gone before I even opened the panel to check.

  “Bastards!” I hissed. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was responsible for this. They’d clearly come in the night and thrown everything they could at the pod. The jagged holes looked like failed attempts with something sharp, while the melted lock seemed to be the thing that had given those conniving shifters what they wanted.

  Filled with a blind rage, I slammed the door of the pod and headed back toward the barn. Navan was going to hear about this. Those cretins had destroyed our vessel, and for what? They could have exploited us for more bottles; they didn’t have to take the whole thing. They knew my baby needed it. Then again, I got the feeling they didn’t give a damn what my little girl needed—they only cared about themselves.

  I was halfway back across the paddock when a sound stopped me in my tracks. It was like the screech of rats, chorusing in unison, sending a shiver of unease down my spine. The barn was a two-minute walk away, but my fury stopped me from pressing on. I had to know what was making that godawful sound. If Bosen or Rini had taken the bag of vials, which I was pretty certain they had, then maybe they were nearby, trying to hide the evidence.

  A small shed stood up ahead, in the shadow of the main house. The perfect hiding spot. I hadn’t noticed it on the way to the gumshi barn or to the pod, but there was nothing particularly special about it. It was just a shed, probably used for extra storage when the barn ran out of space. Or, maybe it was where Bosen kept his curious spoon-tools. Overcome with anger, I stalked toward it. If Bosen or Rini was in there with my vials, I wanted to catch them in the act. Besides, I could take on a shifter without Navan’s help. I’d done it before.

  Gathering my rage and eager to confront the nasty little creatures head-on, I walked up to the door, reaching for the handle. Taking a deep breath and shaking the rainwater from my face, I wrenched it open, and immediately wished the rain had still been there to blur my vision.

  There, sitting on a stool with his back to me, was Bosen, peeling off his skin in huge strips.

  He whirled around in shock and screamed, the high-pitched sound trilling out of his throat like he was a terrified child. I could actually see his throat flaps vibrating where the fresh layer of skin had yet to harden properly.

  Faced with a fleshy, naked, peeling, screeching shifter… I screamed, too.

  “I didn’t mean to disturb you! I’m so sorry!” I yelped, almost running from the shed in alarm. I was in so much shock that I almost forgot why I was there, standing in the doorway. I wasn’t sure what I was witnessing, but seeing Bosen like that was not something I’d ever wanted. Apparently, shifters could shed their skins like snakes. I’d never seen Mort do it, but there had been days when he’d kept to his room, not wanting to be disturbed. Was he doing this all that time? I felt nauseous at the thought.

  “Well, what are you still standin’ there for?” Bosen barked. “If you keep gawking at me like that, your eyes’ll fall out.”

  His voice brought me back to reality with a thud. It was going to take a long time to get rid of the image of Bosen turning to me, as fresh and pink as the day he was born, with nothing but a strip of fabric around his waist, but I forced it away for now. I wasn’t leaving here until I found out who’d taken my sweetblood—naked shifter or no naked shifter.

  I forced myself to hold my ground.

  “It ain’t proper for a foreigner to stare at my new flesh,” Bosen complained. “It ain’t even proper for another shifter to see it.” He got up off his stool and moved toward me. There was an arrogance in his floppy strut that made me queasy.

  “I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” I said coldly.

  “And what might that be?” he replied uncertainly.

  “I didn’t mean to walk in on… whatever I’ve walked in on,” I replied, feeling my cheeks burn with rage, “but—”

  Bosen raised a hand, interrupting me. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer it if we just forgot about what you saw,”
he said. “Shedding rituals are pretty personal affairs for us shifters, as I said. The missus would be furious if she found out you’d seen me in my fresh flesh before her. Not even Rini’s seen it all shiny and new like that, before the air toughens it out.”

  Bile rose up my throat. There were so many things wrong with this. “I guess that’s why you were scratching your neck?” I asked.

  He nodded, flashing me a curious look. “The back of a shifter’s neck is always the first part of the skin layer to peel away. It’s like a tab, waiting to be pulled so the rest of it can come off. A satisfying thing, but very personal, as I say. Rini wouldn’t like knowing you’d seen.”

  “I’m not sure you deserve my silence after what you’ve done,” I snarled, scanning the ground quickly for any sign of the missing bag. “It would appear someone has broken into our pod and taken something very valuable. A bag. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

  “No, not seen a bag and not heard of any break-in. Must have happened while we were in bed. All sorts of critters round here who’ll nibble at your things,” Bosen replied casually, shaking his head. “Not sure I like your tone, either. We show you nothing but hospitality and you come out here accusing me? Might be best if you got yourselves away in the morning. Looks to me like you’re naught but trouble. Outstayed your welcome, I’d say.”

  “I’m sure you would say that, since you’re the one who broke in and took it.” Venom dripped from my words. “Now, I’m giving you one more chance, Bosen. Either you tell me where my bag is, and you return the contents immediately, or you’ll suffer the consequences.”

  “I told you, I ain’t touched no bag and I ain’t stolen anything,” he said, unfazed. “Must have been a quakeworm or an eight-pronged grassar—they can munch through just about anything.”

  “If you’re lying to me, I swear—”

  “I haven’t touched your stuff, lady.” He snorted. “And anyway, you shouldn’t be going around making threats. There ain’t another house for miles. You cross me, you might find yourself buried under a gumshi crop.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you threatening me?”

  “No more than you are me, chattering away about ‘consequences.’”

  I took a step toward him, feeling satisfied as he staggered backward. “Listen, I don’t care if you want what’s in that bag. I’d be happy to share some of it, if you’d hand it back to me this minute. But my daughter needs those vials. She’ll starve without them.”

  Bosen shrugged. “It can’t have gone far. I haven’t touched it, and my wife is safely tucked up in bed, so she can’t have touched it. It’s dark and it’s raining—wait until morning, when you can see better. I’m sure it’ll turn up soon enough in a quakeworm hole or a grassar’s den. Nothing to worry your pretty little head over.” He paused, his eyes glinting menacingly in the darkness. “Now, perhaps you should get back to your own bed, eh? You’ve caused enough trouble for one night.”

  I held my ground for a moment or two longer, wholly skeptical of Bosen’s innocence. Then again, if I was going to pry more information out of him instead of beating the crap out of him, I was going to need backup. I’d fought shifters before, but they were wily creatures, able to wriggle and writhe out of most things, making grappling them near impossible. If he tried to escape, I wanted to make sure all the exits were blocked. Besides, there didn’t seem to be any sign of the bag in the shed. I got the feeling we’d never find it; there were too many places for them to hide it around the farmhouse. Hell, they could have buried it under a gumshi crop. No, it didn’t matter where these bastards had hidden it. We were going to have to catch them in the act of using it if we wanted it back.

  Stepping out of the rain and into the barn, I shook off the worst of the water and sprinted for the ladder, climbing up as fast as my weary legs would carry me. Reaching the top, I stopped, my mouth agape.

  Navan and Nova were no longer tucked up in their beds. Instead, I was faced with thrown-back sheets and no sign of them anywhere.

  Had Bosen been distracting me while Rini killed the two things I loved more than anything in this world? There was no blood, which was a good sign, but that didn’t mean much.

  Hurrying back down the ladder, I was about to rush back out into the storm, my lungs ready to scream for them until they reappeared, when a shadow stepped out from between two of the vast gumshi silos. The sickly light of the barn’s faint bulbs settled on Navan’s face, and a wave of relief washed over me. He had Nova in his arms and an expression of concern on his face.

  “Where were you?” I gasped, the adrenaline abandoning my body, leaving me even weaker than before.

  “We were looking for you,” he replied, closing the gap between us and bringing me into a warm embrace, our daughter tucked between us. “When I saw that the emergency device was missing, I thought you might be patrolling or something. When I couldn’t find you, I took the back way out and went to the pod. It still has your biometrics in the navigation system, so I was hoping I could use it to figure out where you were.”

  “So, you saw what they did?” I dipped my chin to my chest, feeling relieved that my husband and child were safe. I knew I should’ve woken him up, no matter how much I wanted Navan to get some rest. It was silly to leave them here, alone and vulnerable. After all, my little excursion outside had only ended in worry.

  He nodded. “I saw. I was terrified they might have done something to you.”

  “No, I’m still in one piece, though I wish I could tear that vicious little shifter into bits,” I muttered. “I discovered him in the hut by the house… shedding his skin.”

  “What?” He looked more horrified than I was.

  “Apparently, shifters do that in private. Who knew, right?” I paused, feeling helpless about the missing bag. “Do you think they took it, for certain?”

  Navan nodded.

  “Me, too. I never thought they’d be able to break through those locks.”

  “No, I didn’t either. I’d never have left the bag in there if I thought they could. Considering everything it’s been through, I figured it’d take a nuclear bomb to blast that thing open.”

  “We have to get that bag back.” I shook my head in despair. “But how are we going to do it?”

  “If Bosen and Rini have those vials, we’ll have to confront them before we leave. We’ll have to catch them in the act, somehow. There’s no way we’re heading for the Stargazer planet without our girl’s sweetblood.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking, but what do we do if he keeps lying about it? And what if we never catch them in the act? Bosen has already told me we’re not welcome anymore. He might boot us out of here before we have the chance to get our stuff back.”

  Navan’s eyes darkened. “I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure our daughter’s health and happiness, even if it means getting my hands dirty. There are two mottos I live by—never trust a shifter, and never cross an Idrax.”

  “I’ll remember those.” I smiled, though my heart wasn’t in it.

  “Their greed is on our side,” he assured me. “They won’t be able to help themselves, I guarantee it. So, he can complain as much as he wants about us being here, but we won’t be leaving until we have our sweetblood back.”

  I sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

  “Anyway, there was some good news,” he said, the cold edge in his words thawing slightly.

  “There was?”

  “Yeah. While I was at the pod, a message came through from Bashrik and the others. Thankfully, the shifters didn’t damage any of the interior, and my biometrics still worked on the comms system. Plus, with the lock blown, it was easy enough to get inside,” he explained wryly, holding me closer. “They’re arriving earlier than expected. They couldn’t give an exact day, but at least we won’t be waiting here too long. And I guess it doesn’t matter much, now that the pod is out of action. We’ll be on a ship and out of here before you know it.”

&
nbsp; I shook my head. “That doesn’t give us much time to get our vials back, though. We can’t leave here without them.”

  “It might not give us much time, but if we can’t get Bosen to squeak, then it gives us the advantage of numbers,” he said reassuringly. “With our friends to back us up and help us squeeze every last drop of information out of those two, we’ll have our vials back in no time.”

  I nodded, though I’d already made up my mind. If Bosen had our property, he was on borrowed time. Where my daughter was concerned, I wasn’t willing to wait for the cavalry to arrive. Navan would have to be enough.

  Chapter Five

  Returning to the relative safety of the raised hayloft, I somehow managed to sleep. On this occasion, sheer exhaustion trumped anger and adrenaline, though I stirred to dim, red light filtering in through the cracks in the barn walls. The Mallarot sunrise was the same rusty orange as everything else on this planet, the dust creating a haze that changed the color of the sunbeams, casting the world in a reddish glow.

  Navan was awake, having taken up guard duty while I slept. He held Nova in his arms, and the two of them were playing quietly. They didn’t know they were being watched, but that was what I loved most about catching them unawares—I got to see the pure, adoring connection between my daughter and her father.

  The only thing ruining the moment was the thought of confronting Bosen and Rini over the missing sweetblood bag.

  After talking about everything the previous evening, I’d contemplated going after the shifters right away, in case they were doing something with the sweetblood up at the house right then and there, but Navan had warned me against it, suggesting we wait until dawn broke. He had wanted us to get a good night’s sleep, so we would be at full strength to sneak up on the shifter, when Bosen least expected it. Besides, if Bosen had stolen the sweetblood, then he wouldn’t be stupid enough to laud it around the farmhouse the same night. No, we would take him by surprise.