“For who? Where are you taking me? Let me go!” Shewanted to fight him but she was so weak suddenly, so dizzy and sick and sohorribly hot. She felt like she might pass out from the terrible heat atany moment but somehow she didn’t.

“Why, I’m going to take you back to the landingfield and put you on a shuttle. You’re going straight back to your ship, TheAlacrity.” He grinned at her. “Home is the best place to be when you feelsick, don’t you agree?”

“Thrace…”Trin could barely get the name out through her numb lips but she tried anyway.“What about…Thrace?”

“Oh, don’t worry my lovely—I’m sure the big Havocwill be along very shortly. He cares about you too deeply to do anything elsebut follow you…to his doom.”

He gave a low, awful laugh and then the world spunaround Trin and everything went black.

** * * *

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Thracedemanded of the slave in purple and orange livery who was minding the controlarea of the landing field. “Where the fuck did she go?”

“Well…back to her ship.” The slave shruggeduneasily. “She didn’t seem like she was feeling well—couldn’t even walk on herown. Lord X had to carry her.”

“Lord X?” Thrace’s entire body was floodedwith angry adrenaline. “You let that son-of-a-bitch take her off in a shipsomewhere? What the fuck is wrong with you?” He grabbed the slave by hisnatty orange and purple lapels. “You’d better pray to all the Gods that everwere that you got a flight plan filed for him so I can follow them. Or so helpme I’ll rip you limb from limb and it will not be a fast operation!”

“Calm down!” The slave was pale and shaking.“Please! He didn’t take her anywhere—he didn’t even leave with her! He just puther into one of Lady Tam-tam’s spare shuttles and sent her back up to her ownship—I swear!”

Thrace felt a short lived burst of relief.

“Didn’t go with her, you say? Why not? What’s hisgame?”

“He didn’t say anything about any game,” the slaveprotested, his voice still shaking. “Only that the lady didn’t feel well so hewas sending her back to her ship.”

“Fine.” Thrace hefted the small case he’dpacked with the few essentials he thought it necessary to bring. “Then bring myshuttle around now. I’m going after her and if I don’t find her safeaboard The Alacrity, I’m coming back down here and you’ll havehell to pay!”

Nodding and bowing, the slave attendant ran as fastas he could to get the small life pod shuttle they had come in. Thracewaited impatiently, wondering what the hell he would find when he got back to TheAlacrity and praying that Trin was all right. He didn’t believe that Lord Xwas the type to simply help a female in need out of the goodness of his ownheart. No—there was something more going on here, something bad.

Thrace just hoped he wasn’t too late to stop it.

Chapter Twenty-eight

“Well, well, well…so nice to see you again, my dearHavoc.”

The face that popped up when his viewscreen finallyestablished contact with The Alacrity was horribly familiar.

“You,” Thrace breathed, staring at thegleaming metal teeth and the one, mad eye dancing in its hollow socket.

“It’s Two, actually not ‘you’ but I knowwhat you mean.” Two giggled. “Of course, you only knew me as B’Rugh’s second incommand. But I am so much more—to you as well as others that you love and willsomeday come to care for. You might say that our destinies are entwined. Isn’tthat a romantic idea?”

“Stop fucking around and tell me what you’re doingaboard The Alacrity. And where’s Trin? I swear by all the Gods if you’vehurt her—”

“Oh no, my dear Havoc—she has not been wounded…yet.I am saving that honor for you.”

“What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Thracedemanded. But Two only shook his head.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Your pod should dockwith The Alacrity very shortly. But remember one thing, my dear Havoc…”He held up one long, skeletal finger. “I am in charge here now. If youtry to come in, blasters blazing, you’ll only get your darling Trin and all therest of her crew killed. Well…” He made a face. “The ones that are still alive,anyway.”

“You fucker, what have you done? You—” Thrace burstout but the viewscreen went black and no amount of calling would raise ananswer from The Alacrity. He could do nothing but wait.

It only took another half hour for the pod to dockbut Thraceswore it was the longest half hour of his life. The moment he felt the solidbump of metal kissing metal, he sprang to the door, ready to confront Two andsave the female he loved.

But it was Sidna, not Two who met him at the door of the shuttle. The medic lookedhaggard, lines of fear and sorrow drawn on her face and shadows under her grayeyes.

“Havoc,” she greeted him flatly.

“Sidna.” He nodded at her briefly. “Where’s Trin?Is she all right?”

“No, but there’s nothing you can do to help her.That male, Two—I think he’s the one that Trin met in The Demon’s Eye…”

“Yes, that’s where we met him,” Thrace said impatiently. “How inthe Seven Hells did he get aboard?”

“My fault.” She passed a trembling hand over hereyes. “There was a distress call and he put up a false image. Trin left me incharge while the two of you were on Yonnie Six and I let him in. He’s alreadykilled Terra and Jola is wounded… Oh Goddess of Judgment, what have I done?”Her eyes filled with tears but Thracehad no time for comfort or consolation.

“Listen to me.” He grabbed her by the shoulders andshook once, briefly. “What’s done is done. However he got aboard, he’s herenow. What I need to know is, where is Trin? Has he hurt her?”

Sidna sniffed and swiped at her eyes.

“Two has her on the bridge. I don’t think he’sharmed her physically but there’s definitely something wrong with her. She keepscomplaining of being hot…says she can’t breathe and she’s so thirsty but Twowon’t let any of us give her a drink.”

“The bastard.” Thrace started off down the metalhallway in long strides but Sidna hurried after him.

“Be careful! He said if you try to take her away orshoot him, he’ll kill her!”

“I’ll be careful,” Thrace snarled. “And thatson-of-a-bitch had better be careful too. If he’s harmed Trin in any way I’llfucking kill him!”

As he spoke the last words, he rounded the cornerthat led into the control area of the ship. Sure enough, there was Two,standing with one arm wrapped around Trin’s slim waist. With his other hand, heheld a deadly looking snub-nosed dissipater to her temple.

“Two,” Thrace spat.

“In the flesh.” Two nodded genially.

He looked much the same as he had when Thracefirst met him in The Demon’s Eye except that his skin was considerably palerand the blackish brown spots on the exposed part of his brain seemed to havegrown, like some kind of rot spreading in the gray, spongy tissue.

“You’ll kill me, will you?” he drawled, grinningwidely to show all his metal teeth. “Yes, I expect you will at that. But notyet, my dear Havoc. Not…quite…yet.” He nodded down at the female in his arms.“First you might want to have a look at your mistress.”

His heart in his throat, Thrace looked more closely at theslender figure still draped in the deep green dress with its white lace panels.Trin didn’t look well at all. In fact, the dissipater Two was holding on herbarely seemed necessary. She was sagging in his grip, her cheeks flushed andher lips parted as she tried to breathe.

“Trin? Trin!” Thrace felt a shock of fear anddesperation race through him.

“Th-thrace?” Her eyelids parted a crack and shelooked at him with dull eyes.

“Trin? Baby—are you okay?”

“No.” She shook her head weakly. “So hot and so…sothirsty.”