“I can see that,” Calla replied. She didn’t want to leave Seth behind, but it really was the best choice.
Jess was beyond her reach now, but at least he was free. It was time to take care of herself, not to mention the children. Sarai was right–they deserved better than a lonely life on an asteroid. “All right, I’ll do it. But we have to leave them some supplies, and we have to send them help.”
“All right,” Sarai said. “What about Bragan?”
“We’ll let him out with the supplies,” Calla said. “I think we’re going to have to use the blaster to control the men. We can try locking them out, but Seth can manually override the doors from the outside. We’ll have to let them on board the ship, then hold them prisoner while we get supplies ready for them. Can you do that?”
“Oh, I can do it,” Sarai said. A fierce light had come into her eyes. For the first time in her life, she was in control and she liked it. “There’s no going back now. I’d rather be dead than back on that asteroid.”
“I’d rather be dead than become a slave again,” Calla replied. “Let’s do it.”
* * * * *
Seth was seething the entire trip back to the ship. Calvin bumped along beside him, chuckling at his situation.
“Women’ll do it every time,” he said with satisfaction. “You can’t trust them bitches.”
“Shut up,” Seth told the man tersely. Once they got back to the ship, Calvin was getting locked up in the cargo hold. Seth had had enough of the him.
When they reached the ship, Seth strode into the airlock and immediately started the cycle that would allow them to enter the ship. Calvin, scuttling along behind him, barely made it through the door before it slammed shut behind them.
“Watch it,” Calvin blustered, “Or I’ll give you something to watch.”
“Are you threatening me?” Seth asked coldly, turning to face the man. His face was black with anger, and Calvin flinched.
“Sorry, no harm meant,” the man muttered, flinching. Seth turned from him in disgust. The airlock finished its cycle and the green light flashed over the door. Seth punched the button to open it, and strode into the room. It was time to confront Calla.
She and Sarai were standing there waiting for them, their faces pale. The children were nowhere to be seen, and for the thousandth time in the past couple of days Seth wished the two of them were alone.
Soon he would be rid of Calvin, and Sarai would be resettled. He had hoped he could build a future with Devora–Calla, he corrected himself–but that had been nothing more than a foolish dream. She wasn’t his life mate, and she wasn’t Saurellian. Even if she was, even if he could forgive her for lying to him, she had a husband. The mere thought of her and Jess looking so happy together in the hologram was almost more than he could bear.
“Calla, we need to talk privately,” he gritted out. Just saying her true name was almost too much–he wanted his Devora back. But there never had been a “Devora,” he told himself. All of it was a cold, calculated ploy. He couldn’t forget that.
“I’m so sorry, Seth,” Calla said quietly. She raised her hand slowly, and for the first time he realized she was holding a small blaster. He had never seen the gun before. She gazed steadily at him, her brown eyes unreadable. “But that won’t be possible. I need you to sit down quietly on the floor and place your hands behind your head. You, too, Calvin.”
Seth just stared blankly at her for a minute, confused by her words. Then Sarai spoke.
“Sit down,” she said tightly. She was holding a blaster, too, the one he had left with them to guard the escaped slave. Bragan laughed from his place in the corner, then spoke.
“They’re going to escape,” the man said in a high-pitched voice. “They’re going to escape and you’re going to die!”
Seth looked at Calla in confusion, unable to believe the man’s words. Would she really kill him? She blinked rapidly, eyes filling with tears. Her hand remained steady, however. The cold barrel was aimed directly at his heart.
“You’re not going to get hurt as long as you do what you’re told,” Calla said quietly. “I don’t want to do this, but I don’t have a choice. Sarai and I need to get away, and we need your ship to do it. If you do what we say, we’ll leave you here with enough supplies to last until help arrives. We’ll send word to the Saurellian command that you’re here. You’ll be fine.”
Seth peered into her eyes, looking for some sign of softness. All he saw was determination, though. His soft little Devora had become hard, unrecognizable.
“We’d better do what they say,” he told Calvin, then started sinking toward the floor. Calvin had a different idea.
“Put down that blaster right now you stupid bitch,” he growled, and started moving toward Sarai. Seth could see the woman was terrified of him, but she held her ground. Calla’s eyes darted between the two men, and her hand wavered.
“Calvin, I’m not going to live like this any more,” Sarai said softly. Her face was pale and her lips trembled. Her grip on the blaster, however, remained firm. “You have to sit down over there or I’m going to shoot you.”
“You aren’t strong enough to shoot me,” Calvin said. “Now shut up and put the damn gun down.”
“I can’t do that,” Sarai said. Calvin gave a snort of disgust and launched himself at her. Calla shrieked as the large man came flying toward them, but Sarai didn’t even flinch. She simply took aim and pulled the trigger on the blaster, sending a bolt of energy right into Calvin’s chest. A look of surprised shock came over his face, and he stumbled to the ground before slumping over. Then he was still.
“I think you killed him,” Calla whispered in horror. “I think he’s dead.”
“I had to do it,” Sarai replied. Tears were running down her face, but she still held the blaster steady. “I had to do it for me and for the children. I couldn’t let him take us back.”
“I can see that,” Calla replied. She paused to catch her breath, unsure of what to do next.
“Watch out!” Bragan shouted, and both women looked up. Seth had taken advantage of their distraction to start raising himself from the floor. Calla fumbled for her weapon, panicked.
“Get back down there,” Sarai snarled, catching all of them off guard with her ferocity. “You stay on the floor or I’ll shoot you, too.”