Zane: Alien Adoption Agency #4 Read online

  The boy spotted them and gestured to his father, who turned and waved to them.

  “Let me see if I can help,” Zane said, dismounting and handing Bowen off to Sarah.

  She nodded and pulled the little one into her arms. He immediately grabbed her face in his chubby hands, his mouth forming a tiny “o”.

  By the time she and Bowen caught up, Zane and Slade were hard at work helping the farmer free his animal.

  It was a large, dapple-grey beast, with limpid dark eyes and a fanned tail. She guessed it was more a beast of burden than a mount.

  “Howdy, ma’am,” the young boy said politely. “Is that your kin rescuing our meadow-seal?”

  “They’re my traveling companions,” she said carefully. “What about that man?”

  “That’s my Paw,” the boy said.

  “What happened to your meadow-seal?” she asked.

  “Her job is to move rocks and tree branches out of the way,” the boy said solemnly. “But she hit a crick and got stuck.”

  Sarah understood none of that.

  “She moves rocks and tree branches out of the way of what?” she asked.

  “The tumbler,” the boy said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  He pointed down the field and she saw a large round robot with what looked like combs radiating off it. Fronds of pink petals hung from one of the combs. The saucer-sized colored lights on it told her the tech was ancient enough to be practically run on clockwork.

  “It’s old, but it has real electrum workings,” the boy said proudly. “It’ll run forever. That’s what my Paw says. But it doesn’t have a sensor like the new ones, to move stuff outta the way. That’s where Bess comes in.”

  “Bess is the seal?” Sarah guessed.

  “Yep,” the boy said. “She’s real strong, and smart too. But she got stuck in a crick.”

  He shook his head sadly and for a moment he looked almost like a little old man.

  “What is a crick?” she asked.

  “You know,” the boy said, unbelieving. “A crick. Like… water coming out of the ground?”

  “Oh, of course,” she nodded. “Like a creek, or a natural spring.”

  “That’s what I said,” he said, looking at her oddly.

  Sarah glanced over to see Zane wink at her, his eyes blazing gold instead of blue.

  “She won’t be stuck for long, I don’t think,” Sarah told the boy.

  Slade counted down and all three men heaved.

  It was impossible not to notice Zane’s muscles bulging practically out of his shirt. His jaw was tight with the effort, and Sarah found herself holding her breath as she watched.

  At last, the meadow-seal’s front legs were released from the muck with a loud sucking sound. The beast clambered away, releasing a trail of petals behind her that hung in the air for a long time before drifting downward.

  “Hot damn,” the farmer yelled and waded over to clasp arms with Zane. “Feller like you would make a great hand. You lookin’ for work?”

  “Thank you,” Zane said politely. “I’m not looking for work, but I am looking for something. Maybe you can help?”

  24

  Sarah

  Sarah wondered if Zane had asked for help too quickly. Good manners were important.

  “I’d be happy to return your favor, but you’ll have to tell me about it over lunch,” the farmer said. “The name is Bryxx, by the way, and that’s my boy, Pyr.”

  “Good to meet you both,” Zane replied. “I’m Zane, that’s Slade, and up on the stag-horse is Sarah and her son, Bowen.”

  “A pleasure,” Bryxx said. “Pyr, take them back to the house. I’ll just cover this crick and join you.”

  Zane and Slade retrieved their mounts, and they all followed the boy across the fragrant field to the farmhouse, which stood against the base of a hill. There was a pretty cottage built into the hillside above.

  “Maw,” the boy shouted at the front door.

  “Inside voice now, Pyr,” a woman said softly, opening it.

  “Maw, these here people helped Paw get Bess out of a crick,” Pyr shouted, ignoring her earlier admonition in his excitement. “He says they’re to have lunch with us.”

  The woman gazed out at them suspiciously. But when her eyes found Bowen her face lit up.

  “Well then, Pyr, take their mounts and send them in,” she scolded him gently. “You’re all most welcome.”

  She waved to them in a friendly way.

  Zane dismounted and helped Sarah down with Bowen. By the time they reached the front step along with Slade, the lady of the house was opening the door for them.

  “My name is Frylla,” she said. “Come on inside.”

  They stepped into a bright and cheerful living room. However murky the outside was, Frylla and Bryxx seemed determined to combat it inside. There were small blown glass globe lights strung on hooks covering the ceiling and giving the house the feeling of a party.

  “Don’t mind those,” Frylla said, glancing up at the lights. “It’s a bit of a hobby.”

  “You made them?” Sarah asked. The workmanship was excellent. She didn’t doubt they would have fetched a handsome price in some of the boutique shops back home.

  “In my spare time,” Frylla shrugged, turning her attention to Bowen. “Now let’s see this little fellow. What’s his name?”

  “This is Bowen,” Sarah said. “And I’m Sarah, that’s Zane and over there is Slade.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Frylla said, without taking her eyes off the baby.

  Bowen rattled off a series of strange syllables at her and then turned his attention back to the lights, which he waggled his fingers at, like he wanted to touch them.

  “Isn’t he the most wonderful baby?” Frylla asked. “We were only blessed once, with our Pyr. But he’s better than any ten other boys. This one excluded, of course. Did you have him at Lachesis General or Flytown?”

  “He’s adopted,” Sarah said. “I actually just arrived on Lachesis myself a few days ago to meet him.”

  “Isn’t that wonderful?” Frylla said. “You chose each other. It will bring you luck.”

  “Something smells good, Maw,” Pyr said, obviously angling for lunch.

  “Yes, yes, your father put short ribs on the embers this morning,” Frylla said. “And someone baked a cake while you were out in the field.”

  “Cake,” Pyr yelped and dashed off into the kitchen to make sure.

  “And that’s the bottomless pit you have to look forward to in about eleven years, give or take,” Frylla said fondly. “They’ll eat you out of house and home.”

  Frylla’s home looked in no danger of anyone actually going without, so Sarah smiled back.

  The front door opened and Bryxx strode in.

  “Smells good,” he announced with pleasure.

  “Wash up, and I’ll have everything set out in a jiffy,” Frylla said. “Sarah, you come with me.”

  Sarah followed her into a kitchen with a brick floor and pretty wooden cupboards.

  Pyr stood over the table, where a beautifully frosted pink cake was displayed on a shiny blue plate.

  “Go outside and wash up at the pump with the others,” Frylla told her son.

  She and Sarah washed up at the kitchen sink and then Frylla gestured for her to sit while she ran plates and silverware out to the dining room.

  “I’ll help,” Sarah said. “Just one-handed.”

  “You’re a keeper,” Frylla decided.

  A few minutes later, the men were back, and they were all seated at the roughhewn wood table in the dining room, digging into a delicious meal. They ate in companionable silence, and Sarah couldn’t remember when she’d had such a delicious meal.

  At last, Bryxx leaned back with a contented sigh, his arm resting on his full belly.

  “That’s better,” he said. “Now let’s hear what brings you out this way.”

  “We’re searching for a band of men,” Slade said. “They would ha
ve come through here earlier today.”

  “We keep to ourselves,” Bryxx said with a frown. “This is open country. People here are let be.”

  “This is something different,” Sarah said carefully.

  “What do you mean?” Bryxx demanded.

  “This is something… dangerous,” she replied, glancing at Pyr and not wanting to say more.

  Frylla picked up on what was going on at once.

  “Pyr,” she said. “Look sharp, boy. Go take a nice slice of that cake out to my Bess. She’s had a hard day. When you come back, you can have yours.”

  The boy took off like his life depended on it.

  When they heard the kitchen door slam shut behind him, Frylla gestured for Sarah to continue.

  “I’m from Terra-7,” Sarah explained. “My father and I went to the bank one day and one of those men robbed it. And while he was at it, he killed my father and injured many others, though there was no need for any bloodshed at all.” Her voice broke and she had to stop a moment for fear she would cry. “I aim to find him and bring him to justice, for my father’s sake and for the sake of any others he would harm in the future.”

  “Now that’s different, Bryxx,” Frylla said.

  Bryxx was still frowning.

  “The marshal here is an expert tracker,” Sarah went on, gesturing to Slade. “He knows exactly which way they went. So you won’t be responsible for telling us where to go. But if we knew anything about how many are in their party, and anything they might have said on the way through, that could help us be prepared for whatever we’re up against. The more we know in advance, the more likely we can take them without more lives lost.”

  “Those boys were rude as hell,” Bryxx said quietly. “Came thundering across the field with no respect for my property. Spooked Bess something terrible. That’s probably why she ended up getting stuck.”

  Sarah nodded, not daring to speak.

  “Said something about a model,” Bryxx added. “About bringing liquor back to the model. I have no idea what that meant.”

  Across the table, Slade’s eyes lit up.

  “Anyway, that’s about all,” he said. “It was just two of them, one real big with horns, another with long yellow hair and a gray hat.”

  “That’s very helpful,” Slade said. “We are much obliged to you, sir.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Bryxx said.

  Pyr came blasting back in the front door. “Cake,” he sang out.

  Frylla laughed and corralled him into helping her with the plates.

  “Do you need more hands?” Bryxx asked quietly, leaning forward. “I ain’t a bad shot with a powder rifle.”

  “We’re fine,” Zane said quickly. “But we appreciate the offer.”

  Bryxx nodded and leaned back as his wife and son reappeared with the frosted cake, one slice missing from its center.

  Sarah watched as they carved off thick slabs of cake and placed a plate before everyone.

  The three of them were happy. That much was clear. They worked hard and enjoyed themselves and each other’s company. This was what family life was like on the frontier moon.

  Sarah thought it seemed like a good life.

  She felt a pang in her heart as she thought about what she might be giving up in order to bring Caldwell to justice.

  But he had already taken too much. She couldn’t leave him free to do more damage.

  25

  Sarah

  Sarah awoke with a start.

  She was sitting on the same wooden chair in Frylla’s pretty dining room, but Bowen was no longer in her arms.

  “Don’t worry, dear,” Frylla said. “You two were nodding off, so I put him in Pyr’s old crib for a good tuck-in.”

  “Where’s everyone else?” Sarah asked, leaping to her feet.

  “They said something about taking care of things and coming back for you,” Frylla said. “I think it’s a good plan. A takedown is no place for a baby. And we’re glad to have you.”

  “They’re leaving without me?” Sarah moaned.

  She jumped up and ran out the front door before Frylla could even answer, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

  When she saw them saddling up the stag-horses outside of the barn, she was almost weak-kneed with relief.

  “Sarah,” Zane said, looking guilty and disappointed at the same time.

  “How could you?” she demanded. “How could you try to leave me behind?”

  “He was right,” Slade said, stepping between them. “A takedown is no place for a baby. And if things go wrong, Bowen will need his mama.”

  “No,” Sarah said. “Absolutely not. I walked away from everything I’ve ever known to bring him down. I will not be left behind.”

  “Sarah—” Slade began.

  “—I hired you,” she said. “I’m paying you good money. And you’re trying to trick me. I won’t have it.”

  His face fell and he glanced over at Zane, as if for help.

  Fury filled Sarah’s chest until she couldn’t speak.

  “Sarah, I have an idea,” Frylla’s voice was calm and gentle behind her. “Why don’t you at least let us keep an eye on Bowen for you? Maybe that would make everyone feel better?”

  She turned back to the other woman to argue, but the wind was out of her sails.

  Frylla was right, of course. They all were. The battlefield was no place for the boy. But that still didn’t give anyone the right to leave her behind.

  She nodded, even as tears prickled her eyes at the realization that she might never see her boy again if things didn’t go her way.

  “Do you want to go say goodbye before you saddle up?” Frylla asked.

  Sarah shook her head.

  “Then I won’t hug you goodbye, because I’m going to see you again real soon,” Frylla said. “You go get that man. Kick his ass.”

  Sarah grinned at her through her tears while Zane saddled up her mount.

  Frylla waved and headed back to the house.

  Zane tried to meet Sarah’s eye as he led the stag-mare up to her. But she took the reins without giving him the satisfaction.

  Mate for life, my ass, she thought to herself. You were ready to betray me at the first opportunity.

  “Sarah, I only want to protect you,” he murmured.

  “Don’t be condescending,” she said crisply. “It demeans us both.”

  She clucked to the mare before he could argue, and set off across the meadow.

  26

  Zane

  Zane looked on from behind as Sarah rode in silence, just a little too quickly for Zane’s stag-horse to match her rhythm.

  He could feel the pain radiating off her, and he couldn’t blame her for being angry.

  But could she blame him for wanting to protect her?

  “Sarah,” he called to her.

  She ignored him.

  “Sarah, please. You need to know where we’re headed, and what we’re going to find,” he said. “Will you allow me to tell you what Slade figured out from Bryxx’s info?”

  She slowed down and let him catch up.

  The relief he felt was almost overwhelming.

  But Sarah didn’t meet his eyes, merely allowing him to trot alongside.

  “When Bryxx said the model, that didn’t mean anything to me,” Zane said. “But Slade knew immediately. They’re at that half-built housing development.”

  “Lachesis Valley?” Sarah asked. “The one the guy was giving out brochures for in the town square?”

  “Good memory,” Zane said. “Yes, that’s the one.”

  “So, they’re hiding out in the model home,” Sarah said thoughtfully.

  “Sounds that way,” Zane said. “Slade says it’s at the center of the thing, so we’ll have to sneak up on it.”

  He looked around them. The meadows had already given way to mud and marsh.

  “It’s dangerous out here,” he went on. “Rough terrain, and Slade says it’s worse there.”

  She nodded o
nce.

  “Sarah, I’m sorry,” he said. “I only wanted to save you.”

  “I don’t need saving,” she said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to clear my head. I’ve waited a long time for this.”

  He nodded and let her get ahead of him again.

  The ground grew wetter as they went, the stag-horses’ feet making sticky sounds as they traversed the muck. Before long, Sarah stopped suddenly ahead of him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “This mud, it’s too thick,” she said. “Remember the seal? Will our mounts get stuck?”

  “Let me get ahead of you a bit so you can see their hooves,” he replied as he rode his horse out.

  “Oh, wow,” she said. “Their hooves are webbed.”

  “They come from this kind of terrain,” he agreed. “The split hoof with webbing helps them travel the marshes without getting stuck.

  “Amazing,” Sarah said, pulling confidently ahead once more.

  They traveled on in silence, the light mist along the land growing thicker until they could see only a few meters in any direction.

  Somewhere up ahead, a ghostly moan emerged from the mist.

  “Sarah,” Zane called.

  To her credit, she pulled her mount up to wait for him.

  Slade brought his stallion up and joined Zane as they traversed the misty marsh to find the source of the sound.

  The sound grew louder and suddenly they were looking down at a familiar beggars-mule, sunk chest deep in the muck. The beast had belonged to the men they were following. It struggled in terror when it saw them, eyes rolling back in its head until they could only see the whites.

  “His leg,” Slade muttered.

  Zane had smelled the blood. The poor creature had shattered a rear leg trying to free itself.

  “Zane?” Sarah called from behind, her voice was fearful.

  “It’s okay,” he called back to her. “Just a beast stuck in the mud.”

  She joined them, her pale stag-horse picking its way neatly through the marsh.