To be fair, there were always at least a dozen contracts worth more than ten million credits. Probably more if you counted backroom deals and unofficial hunts that never made it to the boards of any legitimate bounty hunting team.
Link Grave, the legendary pirate captain, had a bounty of fifty million credits on his head, but no one had seen or heard from him in almost thirty years.
Nemo Shade, the psyker, carried a bounty of twenty-six million. That one had been posted by the Council of Thirteen, the aetherseers who ran the continent-sized Library on Lendeter-Beta. They claimed Shade would bring an end to the known universe in exactly 142 years if left unchecked.
I’m in distinguished company, I thought wryly.
But those were old contracts—fools’ errands no one touched anymore. They were the kind you took only if you had a death wish or a craving for a wild goose chase. Any bounty hunter worth their salt knew a massive payout came with a matching level of danger. The survivors struck a balance, favoring the option that let them keep breathing.
I was not an old contract.
And unlike the others, I was a known quantity.
Lucian Lightbringer, bounty hunter and exiled angel, I mused bitterly. Bounty: ten million credits.
But who was paying it? And why?
I sighed and rubbed the back of my hand across my face. The red-haired woman might have answers, but she was in the cockpit, piloting. For now, I had time to think.
The engines trembled as the craft picked up speed, slicing through the darkness. It was strange to leave Clarion in a ship other than my Umbra. But I’d get her back.
Only a year ago, I’d invested in a small, absurdly expensive canister of atomized tracking particles and sprayed it down the central corridor of my ship. The synthetic, sticky smell had been awful for two days, but it was military-grade stuff. Packed with microtransmitters, it meant I could track Umbra with practically anything that had a screen.
I leaned back and closed my eyes, my thoughts turning to the crimson-armored woman.
Where was she taking us?
I’d ask when she reappeared. For now, I assumed she was focused on putting as much distance between us and Clarion as possible. There would be a swarm of hunters on our trail.
Unbuckling Lilith from my hip, I set the black blade gently on the floor. Beside it, I placed my Colt. I stared at the two weapons.
That was it.
Fantastic, I thought. All I have in the world: a pair of weapons, the clothes on my back, and way more questions than answers.
Don’t sell yourself short, Lilith chimed in smugly. You’ve got me. And let’s not forget, I’ve saved your angelic hide more than once today.
I was about to retort when footsteps echoed down the hallway. The red-haired woman emerged, her figure athletic and sharp in crimson armor.
Hmm, Lilith murmured. So that’s what you’re into these days. Leather.
I scowled, ignoring the demon. “Where are you taking us?” I asked, glancing up but staying seated. Moving would be painful, and I wasn’t eager to prove it.
She crouched in front of me, blowing a strand of hair from her braid. Her emerald eyes, bright and sharp, lingered on my weapons before meeting my gaze.
“The med bay,” she said crisply, holding out her hand.
Her gloved palm felt smooth against mine as she hauled me to my feet. I grunted, leaning against the wall as pain lanced through my body.
“I meant,” I rasped, “where is the ship taking us?”
She ducked through a nearby hatch, her voice echoing faintly. “I know what you meant. Medical first. Questions later.”
I grabbed my weapons and followed, moving slowly. As I climbed the stairs, I mentally mapped the ship against what I’d seen through the airlock.
It was long and low, with a hooked cockpit at the bow and a body that tapered to a streamlined point near the stern. The angular wings added to its predatory appearance, while oversized rear thrusters jutted from the back—twice as many as a ship this size usually needed.
But her insistence on delaying questions kept me quiet, so I scanned my surroundings instead.
As a rule, I’m a distrustful bastard. After today’s events, I was even more inclined that way. My gaze darted around, noting every detail.
Tell me if you notice anything, I ordered Lilith silently.
The demon shrugged moodily in my mind, but I knew that was as much cooperation as I’d get.
We reached the top of the stairs, stepping into an observation deck that doubled as a living area. Three sides of the curved space—shaped like a drawn-out teardrop—were fitted with massive windows. A black leather couch and a coffee table sat on a large circular rug at one end, positioned to offer a direct view out the fore. Toward the stern, where the craft tapered to a point, a short corridor led to a pair of doors set into the walls.
The woman in red was waiting beside one of the doors, the sterile white walls of the med bay visible beyond her.
I stalked past, brushing the hem of my robes against her in the narrow doorway. Up close, my oversensitive nose caught her scent—sweat, adrenaline, and fear, a musky cocktail that spoke of danger.
The med bay was well-equipped. A ReGen pod rested against the far wall, and a white table occupied the center of the room, framed by multi-jointed robotic arms. Cabinets lined the walls, their crisp black labels contrasting against the sterile white panels.
“Up,” the woman ordered, tapping the table with a gloved finger. “Take off the robe and turn around so I can see that wound in your back.”
Her voice was low and controlled, with an accent that tugged at my memory. It was familiar but just slightly off, like hearing a favorite song hummed out of tune by a stranger.
I hopped up onto the table but left my robes untouched, my narrowed eyes fixed on her. “Look,” I said finally, when her sharp green gaze refused to waver. “I don’t know you. If you’re a hunter, I’ve never seen you before. If you’re something else, I have no idea how you found the Clarion. Before I turn my back—or give you an inch—I need some answers.”
A grim look settled over my face, one I’d perfected over the past half-century. “Otherwise, I’ll kill you, take your ship, and thank you for your help by dumping your body out the airlock.”
Her emerald eyes locked on mine, unflinching.
Finally, she sighed and leaned back against the doorway, crossing her arms. “Fine. Since you’re going to be stubborn. What do you want to know?”
I nodded once, satisfied. “Who are you?”
The woman pursed her lips, considering. “Someone who’s being paid a lot of money to keep you alive instead of killing you on sight.”
I paused, taken aback. As surprising as her answer was, it made sense. No one helped someone like me out of charity. The only reasons were personal ties—which I didn’t have—or profit.
“Who’s paying you? And who put the bounty on my head?”
She shook her head, her crimson braid swaying. “No. My employer is my business. As for the bounty, that’s above my paygrade. I’m just the extraction team they sent to get you out.”
Lilith? I asked silently. Is she telling the truth?
The demon huffed, stirring in the corner of my mind. One of her many talents—aside from channeling power through blood and occasional precognition—was sniffing out lies.
Her dark presence swirled over my senses, examining the woman closely.
Intriguing, she murmured. I can’t tell.
My brow furrowed. What do you mean you can’t tell? You’re a demon. This is what you do.
I don’t know what to tell you, Lucian, she said, sounding uncharacteristically baffled. Either she bathed in holy water recently, or despite her dominatrix leather getup, she’s some sort of priestess. I can’t sense anything from her. If I couldn’t see her with your own eyes… The demon shrugged. I wouldn’t even know she was here.
I frowned. Right.
I turned my focus back to the woman, studying her carefully. “Do you have a name?”
She rolled her eyes, a sarcastic gesture that caught me off guard. “Nope. I’m actually the only person in the universe without one.”
Before I could respond, she added, “It’s Erin.”
I hesitated. “Well, Erin… How did you know the coordinates for the Clarion? Chester doesn’t just hand those out, and while you act like a bounty hunter, I’ve never seen you before.”
I’m sure you’d remember, Lilith quipped.
Shut up.
Erin grinned, fierce and unapologetic. “Ran into a Forax slaver ship a while back. The coordinates were hardcoded into their mapping software. One of them told me where they were headed.”
I snorted. “What, they just let you take a peek?”
Her voice hardened. “I killed them. One by one. The last one told me what I wanted to know before I killed him too. Then I freed the slaves.”
I let that sink in. If she was telling the truth, she’d taken out a crew of Forax—a species of hulking, reptilian xenos with armor-like hides and claws like daggers. No lightweight hunters.
“Fine.” I nodded. “So now that you’ve extracted me, where are we headed?”