Chapter Seven
Navan’s jaw hit the floor as I pulled myself together, sauntering over to where the rest of the group stood. I was determined to play the part, despite my nervousness. It appeared nobody quite knew what to say. They were so used to seeing me in my everyday clothes that this was a shock to the system.
“Ready?” I asked, fluttering my eyelashes at Navan.
His voice caught in his throat. “For what?”
“I need a decoy to flirt with.” I beckoned for him to follow me as I ascended the marble staircase, wiggling my hips from side to side, giving him the full Jessica Rabbit treatment with my fiery new locks and my enticing dress. Part of me wished it were purple, to complete the look, but emerald green would have to do.
The bouncers at the doors to the Galactis Club worried me. They were big and muscular, their bulky arms folded across their chests. Navan wasn’t exactly following the dress code, and I was sure they’d stop him. Compared to the rest of the clientele, he might as well have been wearing rags. Still, I thought he was better-looking than anyone in here. As we approached, I realized the bouncers were too busy staring at me to say a word about the way Navan was dressed. It was a weird feeling, to have them gawking at me so intently, but I was relieved they weren’t quizzing Navan.
“Have a good night, miss,” one growled as I passed. I flashed him a flirty smile and stepped into the Galactis Club, feeling like an unstoppable femme fatale.
Inside, the bar was as sleek and refined as the exterior, with waterfalls tumbling into pools, radiating with pulsing light that beat to the rhythm of pounding music. The traveling, universal elite were all here, sipping drinks at small chrome tables set up around the edges of glittering streams that branched away from the pools. Their shrill laughter was almost louder than the music, their obnoxious voices ringing in my ears. Still, I noticed I was getting a few looks from them, too; I just hoped I didn’t run into the woman whose dress I’d stolen.
Given that we had no credits to spare, I led Navan over to a table by the window, which someone had recently vacated. Two half-empty cocktails in martini-like glasses, the liquid the color of aquamarine, stood waiting to be cleared away. We sat down before the bar staff saw that anyone else had left the table, giving the impression we’d been there all along.
“So, what do you do, stranger?” I asked, putting on my huskiest voice.
Navan looked amused, playing along like we’d agreed on the way up to the bar. “Why do you want to know?”
“I want to know everything about you, stranger. You think you can come up to a girl in a bar and not tell her anything about yourself? I bet you see yourself as the mysterious type.”
Navan smiled. “I don’t think I’m mysterious.”
“Well, I think you are,” I purred, picking the small berry out of the cocktail by the stem, and putting it in my mouth. I bit off the fruit with a wink, instantly regretting it—whatever the fruit was, it wasn’t a cherry or an olive, but something incredibly sour.
“Why do you think I’m mysterious?” Navan smirked, seeing me struggle with the sour fruit.
“You tell me. You come over here and offer me a drink, and I don’t even know your name. I’d say that’s pretty mysterious,” I replied, leaning forward on the table. “What other secrets do you have?”
“I don’t have any secrets.”
“I bet you’re a spy,” I murmured, toying with the stem of the cocktail glass. “I’m right, aren’t I? I bet you’re an intergalactic man of mystery with a lady like me on every port-planet.”
“You know you’re the only one for me,” he said, looking deep into my eyes.
“You’re supposed to be pretending,” I whispered. It was hard not to smile at the sweet expression on his handsome face and feel a little bit fuzzy inside, knowing that he couldn’t even bring himself to flirt with an imaginary character I’d created.
Glancing over Navan’s shoulder, I saw Killick—the merevin I’d overheard had narrowly avoided getting mixed up with a gold-digger—watching me shyly from the next table over. He wasn’t with the older merevin from earlier, but another younger merevin I hadn’t seen before. I realized Killick must have headed back in while I was stealing my killer gown, evidently refusing to learn his lesson. Knowing a target when I saw one, I caught his eye and flashed a smile, prompting him to turn away with a purple flush of his cheeks.
“Maybe I’m mysterious, maybe I’m not,” Navan said, attempting to act uninterested.
I leaned closer to him, twirling a strand of bronze hair around my forefinger. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“Well, I, uh…” he replied uncertainly.
“Pretend you aren’t interested,” I murmured, flashing a devilish smile over Navan’s shoulder toward Killick. He turned to his friend and said something I couldn’t hear, a curious look twinkling in his huge blue eyes.
“When you look like this?” Navan murmured back. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
I touched his bicep and giggled flirtatiously, keeping my gaze on the merevin. “Just pretend I’m in my pajamas.”
He grinned. “That would still turn me on.”
Knowing I had to up my game to keep Killick’s attention, I turned sideways on my stool, re-crossing my legs. The movement pulled up the slit of the emerald gown, revealing the length of my thigh, almost to the leg band of my underwear. A familiar, glazed-over expression fell across Navan’s face as he stared at my bare leg, a muffled groan leaving his throat.
“You’re making this very hard,” he whispered.
“I bet I am.” I giggled, leaning right over the table toward him, showcasing the plunging neckline of the emerald gown, revealing an enticing display to my mark, whose enormous eyes practically fell out of his fishy head. “Anyway, I’m in need of a ride. You know anyone who might give me one?” I ventured, finally speaking loudly enough for the merevin to hear.
Navan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, miss. I’m just a mechanic on one of the cruisers. I don’t have a ship for you, though I really wish I did.” His voice was thick with lust, his eyes glinting with every single thing he’d like to do to me, if we weren’t midway through a mission.
Behaving this way made me feel like I was in a spy movie, enticing wealthy men and getting away with crimes. Navan’s reactions were making me feel unbelievably sexy. I’d never really felt sexy before, but now I was attracting attention from all over the place, and I wasn’t sure whether to be alarmed or excited.
“Well, stranger, that is a shame. I would’ve loved to have taken a ride with you.” I smiled seductively, letting the merevin know that my date was a dud. In reality, I wanted to knock the glasses off the table and jump Navan’s bones right then and there.
“Me too, but I only fix ships—I don’t own them. If it’s a ride you’re after, I’m not your man.” Navan sighed, his gaze resting on the lowest point of my neckline. “Speaking of which, I should be getting back. I was only here to order some bottles of Liberatum for the boss, when you caught my eye. I only wish I could do more to satisfy your needs.”
I almost choked at the sound of his words, flashing him a sultry look as he walked off, leaving me alone at the table. Toying with the stem of the glass once more, I gazed out the window at the docking yards below, watching the ships come in and fly out again. I hoped I looked lonely and elegant to the merevin, instead of sexually frustrated. Either way, I was almost certain that Killick or some other desperate guy would come over.
After all, this scheme had to work. It was our only hope of getting a ship and heading back out into space, where Lauren was waiting to be rescued. And with Yorrek’s notebook out there, the universe needed this to work, too. I had always thought of myself as a good person, but I was willing to sacrifice that image to do what I had to.
As selfish as it sounded, I almost cared more about Lauren than the immortality elixir. At the thought of my best friend, out there in the hands of a three-eyed criminal, not know
ing if she was enslaved, or dead, or worse, real tears sprang to my eyes, one solitary droplet rolling silently down my cheek. I’d gone from spy movie to film noir in the space of a few minutes.
“Can I offer you a handkerchief, miss?” a voice asked. I turned to see Killick standing there, one arm bent behind his back like he was an old-fashioned gentleman, while his other hand held a rose that had been crafted from a tissue. He clearly saw himself as my knight in shining armor, and I was happy for him to believe it.
“Thank you, kind sir,” I replied, taking the tissue bloom and dabbing a petal gently to my eyes.
“May I sit?”
I nodded, gesturing at the stool opposite. “If you have the time to spare.”
“Certainly, for a beauty like you,” he said charmingly. “What troubles you, if it’s not an impolite question to ask?”
I turned back toward the window. “I recently lost a friend and am trying to distract myself. I was hoping to spend some time on one of the moons near Phnossos, to recover from my ordeal, but I keep running into all the wrong guys,” I said with a sigh, struggling to remember which specific moon the powder-room socialite had mentioned. “And I hate spending time alone on beaches. I always think it’s a travesty to swim alone, you know?”
“Well, funny you should mention it—my kind are renowned for our swimming capabilities,” he replied, opening and closing his gills in apparent excitement.
“Oh?” I opened my eyes wide, feigning ignorance.
“It’s a stunning place, but its rare beauty pales in comparison to you,” he said. “The way our oceans glitter seems dull and dim, now that I’ve seen the twinkle in your eyes.”
I covered a cringe-induced giggle, making it seem flirtatious instead. “You flatter me, and I don’t even know your name.”
“I’m Killick Loligo. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
I held out my hand for him to take. “I’m Jezebel Lapin.”
He lifted my hand to his plump, fishy lips, smacking them together as he planted a kiss on my skin. It felt cold and unpleasant, but I did everything I could to look like I was enjoying the attention. I was conscious of Navan, watching from somewhere close by. Knowing him the way I did, he wouldn’t be able to help himself from doing so—he needed to make sure I was okay.
“So, you want some company to the moons of Phnossos?” he asked, relinquishing my hand.
“Only if you’re the right kind of guy.” I fluttered my eyelashes. “I’ve had enough of all the wrong kinds of men. I’m only interested in a true gentleman who isn’t going to make false promises he never intends to keep.”
“Then, Miss Lapin, your search is over.”
“All men say that, but it only ends in disappointment.” I sighed sadly, ramping up the vulnerable, lost maiden act. “I’ve searched all over the universe, Killick, looking for someone who can be romantic and kind, who will adore me and be adored by me, but I always end up alone, nursing a cocktail on a port-planet.”
I remembered what Mort had said about merevins—they were hopeless romantics. They weren’t the kind of men who would be after a cheap date. I wanted to make it seem like I was everything he’d been looking for: the kind of female who was after true love, instead of every penny he owned. With a pang, I realized how cruel it was to lead him on like this, but I had to remember what was at stake.
“This is the last port-planet you will ever have to do that in, Miss Lapin. If you come with me, I promise I can show you the universe’s most beautiful secrets, and perhaps we can discover some more… together.” The hopeful glint in his eyes made me feel sorry for him.
“Do you mean it?”
“From the bottom of my hearts.”
I smiled, coyly glancing up at him. “Is your ship fast?”
“The fastest.”
“Is it beautiful?”
“Not nearly as beautiful as you,” he murmured.
“Will it take me to the beaches of Phnossos?”
“And beyond, my dear.”
I reached out and touched his cheek. “Then what are we still doing here?”
I heard a glass shatter somewhere behind me, and turned to see Navan standing in the shadows, broken shards tumbling down from the ledge beside him. Evidently, he was trying to keep his cool, but he was threatening to blow my cover. Fortunately for me, Killick was only interested in my face and the plunging neckline of my dress.
“Shall we?” the merevin asked, reaching to cover my hand with his.
“Take me to the stars, Killick.” I giggled, allowing him to take my hand and lead me out of the Galactis Club. I saw him flash an excited look over his shoulder, at the friend he’d abandoned, who gave a strange flap of his gills that I presumed was the merevin version of a thumbs-up.
I slipped my arm through Killick’s as we made our way down the staircase, keeping my attention on him, though I could see my friends clustered at the bottom of the stairwell, tucked into the shadows. Navan would fill them in. I was nervous about getting this far with the merevin. There was no telling what tricks he might try, once we boarded his ship.
The only thing making me feel better was the ease with which the others had taken Xiphio down. Even Angie had managed to slip the cord around the agent’s hands without much of a struggle. Hopefully, if it came to it, I could do the same.
Chapter Eight
Killick and I wandered down the central avenue, where the sleek ships were docked, and stopped beside one that had been parked toward the middle. It was a gleaming, streamlined cruiser, similar to the one Mort had gone to look at earlier, and I didn’t need to know much about these ships to understand it had cost a fair amount.
“This is my home when I am traveling, Miss Lapin,” Killick explained, leading me up a set of steps and pressing his hand to a biometrics panel. “I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.”
A hatch materialized in the metal exterior, as if from nowhere, opening silently. I clung on to his hand as he pulled me inside, turning discreetly to find that the others had followed. They were keeping a safe distance, tucked behind the neighboring cruiser. At least they’d be close by if anything went wrong.
Inside, it was like I’d stepped into the lobby of the universe’s most lavish hotel. Chandeliers dangled from the curved roof, the light glinting like the cascading droplets of a waterfall, and the floor was covered in plush rugs and furs of unknown creatures. Soft, atmospheric music was playing, and the lamps had been dimmed to set the mood. Evidently, Killick had been expecting some kind of company—I’d just been the woman he’d settled for.
“Would you care for a drink, Miss Lapin?” he asked, moving across to a mini-bar, while I took a closer look around. A hatch opened into the cockpit, but the lights were off, the engine dormant. I’d been expecting someone like Killick to have staff, but there was no one in sight.
“I’d love a glass of Liberatum,” I said, though I had no idea what it was.
“Ah, a woman of expensive tastes. I imagine you like to be treated well. You certainly look as though you deserve to be treated well,” he purred, reaching for a bottle of something inside the cabinet of his mini-bar. He poured two glasses and turned, his hands full.
“I love to be treated properly.”
I sashayed up to him, praying I looked sexy enough to keep him distracted. His huge eyes were fixed on my body, watching it move beneath the silky fabric. Smiling seductively, I slipped my arms around his waist, reaching for the heavy bottle of liquor that he’d left on the counter behind him. Gazing up into his eyes, I flattened my palm and brought it down on the side of his neck, using the Aksavdo move I’d learned to immobilize people. After all, I didn’t want to kill him—I just wanted to knock him out for a while.
He fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, his eyes glazing over, a dopey look falling across his face. I knelt beside him, my heart thundering in my chest, and checked for the steady open-and-close of his gills. He was still alive. Satisfied that he’d be fine once he
came around, I ran to the hatch, opening it up and beckoning for the others to sneak aboard. As soon as I waved, they hurried up into the belly of Killick’s ship.
“Are you okay?” Navan asked, the moment he got on board. “Did he touch you?”
I shook my head, smiling wryly. “I’m fine. I think he got the short end of the stick, to be honest. Poor guy. I had to take him out with a bit of Aksavdo, but I’m not sure how it works on merevins.”
“Ronad, can you take a look at him?” Navan asked, glancing down at the unconscious merevin. “Just make sure his vitals are okay.”
“Do you think I really hurt him? I only used the amount of force they taught us to use at the training center!” I gasped, suddenly panicked.
“No, don’t worry. He’ll be fine, but we should probably make sure he’s out cold and not just faking.”
Ronad bent over the merevin and started checking his vitals, while Bashrik rushed through to the open cockpit, flicking on the controls and firing up the engines. Everything lit up like a Christmas tree, a thrum of energy pulsing through the length of the ship. Even so, it was far quieter than any vessel I’d ridden in before, the engines barely audible.
“Bash, hold up on taking off. We need to remove any sensors first, to stop us from being tracked. Can you scan the ship for sensor locations?” Navan shouted through to the cockpit.
“Yeah, come look at the blueprints. There aren’t many,” Bashrik called back. Ronad left the merevin on the ground and joined Navan in the cockpit, the pair of them checking out the locations of the sensors and trackers fixed throughout the ship. A moment later, they headed off through the branching corridors, seeking out the locations shown on the monitor.
“Can you help me with this?” I asked tentatively, looking to Angie for help.
She pulled a face, saying nothing as she approached the merevin, but helped me drag Killick toward a nearby door. Mort opened it for us, revealing a bathroom beyond. I figured it was as good a spot as any to keep him locked up. At least here, he couldn’t send out an SOS. We threw him in and wedged the door closed.