Salera's Storm

CHAPTER 30

  Rina, Justin

  Rina cupped her hands over her face and started bawling. Justin was in the hands of a vicious murderer and she was helpless. Her chest hurt and she was trembling so badly it was hard to speak between the erratic breaths.

  “He’s my father,” she said. “He’ll kill him.”

  Shiro put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her tight. “Hey, calm down. Your father’s a smart man and I’m sure he’s trying to figure out how to escape. Besides, Rina, these people saved our whole planet; they can save your father too. Right, Captain?”

  “Absolutely,” said Kalin. “Don’t worry, Rina, we’ll get him. Tolba, what are his demands?”

  “He wants the Earth-human female to teleport down. After he acquires the Pril, he will release them. If she is not on the planet within fifteen minutes, he will start dismembering the Earth-human. Sir, the teleporter is not fully functional.”

  “How do I get down there?” she asked, swiping the tears off her face. She wouldn’t feel better until Justin was safe.

  “You’re not going down there,” said Kalin.

  “Have you lost your mind?” she said, raising her voice. “Did you hear what he said? My father’s life is at stake. I have to go.”

  Marante was at a terminal working a holo. “Teleporting will be risky,” he said. He swiveled in his seat. “My lady, the Captain is correct. Vorkis will kill you and your father once he has the Pril. It is too dangerous.” A beep came from the holo. Marante swung around and tapped another orb. “Vorkis wishes to speak with Rina.”

  She began to walk to Marante when Kalin grabbed her arm.

  “You’re not going,” he said.

  She angrily yanked her arm away. “He’s my father. There’s no choice.”

  “I won’t authorize a teleport,” he said.

  Frustrated, she gripped the lapels of his shirt and pulled him down to her face. “I swear on my mother’s grave I’ll make you pay if anything happens to my father.”

  “Speak, Rina,” said Marante. “Vorkis can hear you.”

  Kalin removed her hands and shook his head no. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shushed her by putting two fingers on her lips. She pushed his hand away and said in his mind, back off!

  “Only I know where the Pril is, Vorkis,” she said aloud, glaring at Kalin. “My father knows nothing.”

  “Come to me, Rina,” said Vorkis, “and you will spare his life. If Kalin teleports with you, I will cut your father into small pieces.”

  “You hurt him and you’ll get nothing.”

  “Agreed,” he answered. “I am waiting.”

  “The transmission has been terminated,” said Marante. “Is this concerning the large piece you mentioned before?”

  “Yes,” she said. “He must have read my mind.”

  “No,” said Shiro. “He read my mind.”

  Everyone turned to him.

  Shiro hung his head low as he spoke. “When I was being interrogated, I remembered the larger piece. I never divulged anything but he must have read my mind. I’m sorry, Rina. This is all my fault.”

  She patted his shoulder. “Vorkis has powerful telepathy, everything will be okay. Right, Kalin?”

  He was still shaking his head no. An ugly yet satisfying vision appeared in her mind: Kalin bald. Tearing out the hair on his head may humble him.

  “I can’t let you do this,” said Shiro, clutching her upper arms tight. “Let me go. Tell me where the Pril is and I’ll give it to him.”

  Shiro was the best friend anyone could have. He was brave, caring, and willing to die for her again.

  “No,” she said, gazing at his worried expression. “I almost didn’t survive your death. Besides, Vorkis wants me, and I can’t take chances with my father’s life.” She looked at Marante. “How do I get down there?”

  Kalin cleared his throat. Marante stared at him, waiting for an answer.

  “Kalin,” said Rina, “you’re frustrating me again. You know I can’t let my father die at the hands of that animal, so why are you doing this?”

  “Because I can’t let you die,” said Kalin, “and it’s why I’m going with you.”

  “Whoa!” she said, raising her hands. “No way! My father’s dead if you come.”

  “Either I go with you or you don’t go at all.” He pressed a Comlink to the inner part of her left sleeve. “This is how it’ll work. You’ll teleport first. He’ll be searching the Trinon Waves in the teleport for more than one body. Marante will jam his scans so he can’t locate me on the surface. I’ll be three minutes behind you, teleporting the same way we breached his REM in the core. He’ll never know I came.”

  “Wait,” said Shiro, “why can’t you just teleport Justin out of there?”

  “Because the Trinon Waves are not stable enough to separate two entities in close proximity,” said Marante, studying the holo, “and Vorkis is sure to detect its energy and possibly kill Justin. The last teleport of Kalin and Rina nearly crashed the system. Until the mechanism is repaired, any future teleports must be at least six feet apart.”

  “Kalin,” said Rina sternly, “you’re risking my father’s life and I can’t have it. I go alone.”

  “Listen,” said Kalin in a pleading voice, “he knows I’m going to come; he’s not stupid. He wants me dead and I’m sure there’s a trap waiting. I’ve dealt with men like this before; it’s just another type of game.”

  She sensed his confidence but was still leery about his plan. “Are you certain he won’t detect you?”

  “Positive. Vorkis doesn’t have the latest Saleran technology, but I do. Here, take this.”

  He handed her Vorkis’ knife in the sheath. Rina slid the weapon out of its holder. An eerie feeling of death crept over her.

  “He almost slit my throat with this,” she said.

  “Yeah,” said Kalin, “and you may have to do the same to him.”

  A shiver ran through her. Could I actually do it?

  “I’m not a killer,” she said. “I can hit people, but to take a life is different.”

  “You blew away Taru,” Kalin reminded her. “Pretend it’s him.” He turned to Marante. “Put a tracker on his ship.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  “Taru was different, Kalin,” she said, concerned. “He tortured people before he ate them alive. He needed to die. I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “Even if you can’t kill him, it’s going to be your only protection.” He gently touched her cheek. “Are you ready for this?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” She stared at the blade. Could she kill Vorkis and live with that forever? The planet and all life had been almost obliterated. Earth-humans were being fed to Zorcons. And for two agonizing hours, she thought Shiro was dead. Suddenly, the knife felt good.

  “Where are they, Marante?” asked Kalin.

  “They are on a mountain.”

  Rina examined the three-dimensional holo. “It’s my house in Colorado,” she said. She stuffed the sheath into her brown belt. “Let’s do this.”

  “This way,” said Kalin, pointing to a blue circular light on the white floor. “Step onto it, gorgeous.”

  “Was this always here?” she asked, surprised she hadn’t seen it before. The ocean-blue color was beautiful.

  “No,” said Marante. “We can place teleporter pads anywhere we wish on the ship or planet. Oh,” he added, “and they come in different colors.”

  “Okay,” she said, grinning at Shiro, who was smiling back; he too was enjoying the new science. As she passed Kalin, she said, “I hate those ridiculous girly nouns, so can it.”

  “Make me,” he said with a smirk. “And just to let you know, doll, if you were another woman, you wouldn’t be standing on that teleporter pad.”

  “This had better work, Kalin,” she said, glaring at him as she stood in the center of the blue pad. “And I mean it with the names.”

  Kalin winked and threw her a kiss. She rolled her eyes.

  ?
??The Trinons are fluctuating,” said Marante. “The teleport will not be to the precise location, but I will get you close.”

  There was a flash of light and she was standing in a wooded hillside just outside the town of Ouray in the Rocky Mountains.