On a Rogue Planet (24 page)

Need flooded her in an instant.

He yanked at the fastening on his trousers and she started panting, her legs shifting restlessly. “Xander.”

Seconds later he leaned over her, and with no foreplay, no warning, he shoved inside her.

She arched her back, a scream caught in her throat.

His possession was brutal, raw and full of primal need. She held on as he thrust into her. A hard, rocking ride.

It didn’t take long for her pleasure to spiral, for her orgasm to threaten. Then she came hard, clamping down on him.

Another hard thrust and he planted himself to the root and orgasmed as well. Hot fluid spilled inside her.

Alive. Life affirmed.

He scooped her up again, careful not to disconnect them. He stayed inside her as he cradled her, his face buried in her hair.

“I thought you were dead. I thought I’d lost you.”

Her poor CenSec. “I’m right here. Not planning to let you go any time soon.”

He pressed his lips to ear. “Never do that again.”

“If I see any more giant metal monsters, I promise to avoid them. Completely.”

A tiny, rough laugh coughed out of him.

A laugh
. Mal held that small, rusty sound to her heart.

“Malin, I love you.”

Her mind went blank. “What?”

“I love you.”

“You don’t believe in love.”

He nuzzled her throat. “I do now.”

Mal’s chest swelled, she felt like she was going to burst. She gripped onto him, listening to the thud of his heart. She wanted to believe. Wanted his love so desperately. But she’d been burned before and part of her was afraid he was mixing up sex with love. When he returned to his regular life, would he still love her, a salvage rat from nowhere?

“Tell you what, let’s get out of here alive and when this mission is over, we’ll talk.”

He was silent, his gaze searching her face before he gave her a nod.

“Tough guy, I’d love to stay here with you inside me all day. But we’re in a dangerous maze full of stuff out to kill us. And we have an ancient treasure to steal.”

“I’m running scans for anything moving near us. We’re safe for now.” He pulled back. “But yes, we need to finish this mission. I want you out of here.”

“No arguments from me.” She pushed at her hair, winced at the tangled mess. “Believe me.”

He moved away, and when he slipped out of her, she felt a sense of loss. After this was all over, she vowed she was going to convince him to spend some time with her. Just the two of them. Maybe they could book a cabin on one of the luxury starliners in the Pacifico Quadrant. Wallow in a private pool, try some gambling at the casinos and dine in the restaurants. Or maybe just stay in bed, locked in their cabin, the entire trip.

As he stood and redid his trousers, Malin tore a strip off the bottom of her dress and cleaned up the best she could. She wrinkled her nose. After they got out of this stars-forsaken maze and off this rogue planet, first thing on her agenda was a long, hot shower.

He gripped the back of her neck, rubbed. “Ready?”

“I’m ready to get out of here.”

He grabbed her hand and together they headed down the path leading off the platform.

At the first junction, the path was obvious. A line of flames ran in a groove filled with some sort of flammable liquid.

They followed it. Slowly, the gradient of the ground increased. At the top of the slope, Mal glanced back and saw the maze laid out before them. A twisting labyrinth pieced together from scrap. The brainchild of a heartbroken madman.

Mal had always admired her father’s single-minded love for her mother. But here, this maze was the reflection of the dark side of love. A creation born out of a deadly obsession.

Maybe being someone’s single obsession wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Maybe life needed balance. Love tempered and enriched by other things.

Mal thought of Dathan. Once a risk-taking rogue who only cared about the next treasure hunt, love had changed him. For the better. He now had far more than just treasure hunting in his life.

“Malin?”

Shaking off her thoughts, Mal hurried up beside Xander. They crested a hill and before them was the next challenge.

Metal ropes and hanging platforms hung over a huge empty space. Suspended bridges led to grids of metal, which led to more platforms. It was like a floating obstacle course on steroids.

And stationed across the rope maze were robots of all shapes and sizes. Some marched back and forth on their bridges, others perched like birds on their platforms, ready to pounce.

Mal’s chest was tight. How could they possibly make it through here? In the heart of the maze was a single circular platform.

An altar sat in the center of the platform and resting on top of it was the Antikythera.

She was too far away to see any detail but she had no doubt.

“That’s it?” she asked.

Xander nodded. “Yes.”

Mal leaned close to the edge of their platform and looked down. She couldn’t see anything except a yawning darkness with no end. “Can you tell how far down it goes?”

“No base registers on my sensors.”

Her stomach turned. “Right. So don’t go over the edge.” She looked back to the assortment of robots guarding the way. “Suggestions?”

Xander was staring at the closest robot. It looked almost raptor-like, crouched on the neighboring platform, a set of metallic mesh wings tight against its back and neon red eyes watching them.

Xander moved forward and placed one foot on the rope bridge leading across. The raptor robot tilted its head and Mal saw it brace for action.

Xander took another step.

The robot moved so quickly it was a blur.

It flew across the bridge and slammed into Xander. They both went flying off the bridge and crashed into the ground. Xander held the robot’s pointed beak away from his face.

Mal grabbed her multi-tool and flicked on the laser cutter. Two swipes and the robot’s head was off and hitting the floor. The red glow died from its eyes. Xander pushed the now-dead-weight of the body off him.

“What happened to making a plan?” she demanded.

“I wanted to test the robot. See what it would do. That helps make the plan.”

Mal thrust her hands on her hips. “A bit of warning, Xander.”

“Sorry.” The corners of his mouth twitched. “I’m not used to explaining myself.”

“Right, the mighty CenSec just gives orders.” She waved a hand in the air. “Get used to communicating, tough guy.”

“Okay.”

His voice was meek but she wasn’t fooled for a second. “So, what now?”

“Find the point, become the master.”

The riddle. She’d completely forgotten about it. “Find the point.” She looked across the rope maze. “Point. Point.”

“The top of something?” Xander ventured.

Nothing stood out.

“Point of the maze?” But the bridges and platforms were flat, no obvious point. Movement caught her attention.

The next three closest robots were headed their way. One moved on four legs like a giant robotic canine, another looked like an enormous man with wide shoulders and thick piston-like legs, and the final one was another raptor.

“Uh, Xander…” she pointed.

He cursed.

The raptor launched into the air, snapping its wings out. For an instant, Mal was mesmerized by their beauty. A black wire mesh that arched over the robot’s head, shaped like batwings. The edges glinted, razor sharp.

It slammed onto the ground in front of Xander, and they leaped at each other.

As the robot and Xander fought, Mal palmed her multi-tool, ready for anything. She saw the robot land a few blows, but Xander was relentless. There was a sharp crack and she saw Xander had broken off the robot’s wings.

The other two robots hit the bridge. Coming in fast.

Xander gripped his robot’s wing, turned in a wide circle and swung the robot over the edge of the platform.

The robot flailed and fell.

It made a strange piercing noise that echoed across the maze as it plummeted.

But there was no time to celebrate.

The other robots had arrived.

The human-shaped one headed for Xander while the canine bounded toward her.

Stars
. The robot leaped and took her down to the ground. Her hand clenched on the multi-tool.
Wait, Mal, wait.

Red eyes stared into hers. The robot watched her, caging her body with its bigger metal frame.

Then she flicked on the laser cutter and jammed it into the small flashing panel on the canine’s chest.

The robot reared back, twisting and turning. Mal scuttled backward, chest heaving. The robot shook its head and found its balance again. It moved forward, belly low, stalking.

Uh oh.
She held the laser cutter in front of her. It looked puny and useless compared to the robot.

As the canine lunged forward, Mal braced for impact.

Then Xander was there.

He landed on the canine, one strong arm wrapping around its neck. It bucked like a wild horse but he held on and slammed his palm down on its neck.

The robot shuddered and flopped to the ground.

Mal relaxed. He’d zapped it. She started to smile but then a huge hand gripped Xander by the back and ripped him off the canine.

The other robot threw Xander and he slammed into the back wall. The robot advanced on him.

Without thinking, Mal raced over to the now unmoving canine robot. She ripped open the control panel.

“Come on. Come on.” She pulled out her tool, found the wires she was looking for and went to work. She cut one, joined another. The canine also had some biological wiring. Thick, sinewy fibers that acted as nerves.

And she saw something else. A small receiver. She looked around. The robot was receiving orders from somewhere. It appeared none of them were as free-thinking as she’d thought. Well, she could put a stop to it receiving any further kill orders from Forge.

She flicked her tool and went to work. “There.”

The lights came back on in the canine’s eyes. This time, they glowed green.

It got to its feet and stood waiting. For her command.

Cool
. Mal turned and saw Xander and the other robot straining against each other. They spun in an unsteady turn.

The robot reached out, both hands gripping Xander’s left arm.

Then with a hard yank, it pulled Xander’s entire mechanical arm off.

“Xander!”

Arm gone, Xander staggered backward.

Over the edge of the platform.

Shock made Mal slow.

The massive robot was striding toward her but she couldn’t tear her gaze off the spot where Xander had disappeared.

The canine bumped into her side. She blinked and forced her mind to focus. She looked at the robot dog. “Attack.”

The canine sprung outward, moving fast. It hit the other robot, going for the control panel at the robot’s neck.

Mal circled them, running to the edge of the platform. “Xander.” A broken whisper.

Kneeling, she leaned over the edge to peer into the darkness.

And saw him clinging to the side of the platform with one hand.

“Thank the stars.” She reached down and grabbed his arm.

“Help me up.”

With him doing most of the work, Mal helped drag him back over the edge.

With a swift glance, he noted the battling robots. “You are a genius.”

She tried to smile but staring at the horrible wound where his arm had been ripped away made it impossible. “Oh, Xander.” Shock made her shiver.

He used his good arm to pull her close. “I’m fine. It can be replaced.”

She pulled back. Wiring was exposed and the wound was bleeding. Not much, thankfully. She tore more fabric off the hem of her dress, wadded it up and pressed it to the injury.

“Malin, I need you to seal off the wiring.”

She nodded and pulled out her multi-tool. She pressed her left hand to his firm shoulder and used her right to do the work. It took her a few seconds, and she knew it had to hurt him, but he stayed silent, keeping a wary eye on the robots. She tucked the wiring in.

“All done.”

“Thanks.”

“Any pain?”

“I’ve dampened it.”

There was loud crunch. Mal spun and watched her new friend crush the other robot’s head. The humanoid robot lay still and the canine came over to her and sat. Its green eyes were latched onto Mal.

“Looks like you have a pet,” Xander said dryly.

“It was pretty easy once I got in there. I found the controls, made the changes and he was all mine. There’s some sort of receiver in there.” She glanced around. “I’m guessing all the robots have them, and from some control point, Forge is transmitting orders to them.”

Xander stilled. “Control
point
?”

“Yes, a central control point with a transmitter…”
Oh. My. Stars.
Find the point and become the master. “You think this is what the riddle talks about? Find the central control point and become master of all the robots in the maze?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, okay.” She ran a hand through her hopelessly tangled hair. She scanned around. “How the hell do we find it?”

“It’d be emitting a frequency, right?”

She nodded, then she saw something over Xander’s shoulder.
Stars help them
. “Uh, Xander…”

“What?”

She pointed and he turned his head.

All
the robots were traversing across the platforms and bridges. Headed straight for them.

“We’d better find it quickly.” Xander got to his feet, still graceful despite his missing arm. “I can set my scanners to find the right frequency.”

“Great.” She saw the robots getting closer. “Do it. Fast.”

Neon green flared to life in his eyes. “I’ve got it.”

“Can you find the source?”

“Working on it.”

Her canine moved forward, his gaze glued to the approaching robots.

“There.” Xander pointed. Up.

Mal stared up and two platforms over. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Sorry, no.”

There was a long slim pole that rose into the air. A red light blinked at the top.

Looked like she was going climbing.