Wulf and the Bounty Hunter Read online

  Gulog the Mad reminded me of an ogre from the book of Earth fairy tales Father had given me. He had a lumpy scalp, burning red eyes, sharp pointy teeth, and was the size of a small mountain.

  I summoned up a seductive smile and sauntered over to Gulog with a tankard of ale. My psychic senses suddenly went on red alert. Holy Goddess! Wulf was nearby. How in the nine hells had he found me?

  It had been ten years since our little battle. Would he look the same? Would he remember me? I placed the tankard of ale next to Gulog the Mad and eased into the shadows.

  Wulf stalked into the room, every inch a warlord and literally bristling with weapons. My gaze roamed over him. He seemed bigger. His battle suit displayed his heavily muscled form to perfection. He wore a bronze communications bracelet on his left wrist, and a bronze chain was woven into his ebony warrior braids. Wulf’s goatee emphasized his high cheekbones.

  Man, was he hot! For an old guy. I wanted to run my hands over that awesome chest. I shook myself. What was I thinking? He was the crazy Coletti who thought I belonged to him. Like that would ever happen.

  Wulf’s gaze fixed on Gulog the Mad, and fangs filled his predatory smile. “I have come for you, Gulog. Surrender or die.”

  I gasped. He was after my bounty! Do I stay or do I run? If I ran, my family would be locked up for the next hundred years. This was their sixtieth arrest for smuggling, and the judge had warned them if they got caught again, he’d sentence them to life. I couldn’t allow that to happen, and besides, Wulf hadn’t captured Gulog yet.

  “I have killed many of your kind,” Gulog the Mad bellowed. He picked up his table and hurled it at Wulf.

  At the last moment, Wulf teleported out of the way. The table crashed into the wall, shattering into a million pieces.

  The room exploded into pandemonium as everyone ran for the exits.

  With an ear-shattering roar, Gulog the Mad grabbed several fleeing patrons and tossed them at Wulf.

  Wulf dodged the flying bodies and threw four tables at Gulog the Mad in quick succession.

  Smack! Gulog’s head jerked back.

  Smack! Right in the kisser. He staggered and almost fell.

  Smack! Several of Gulog’s teeth went flying.

  Smack! Gulog crashed to the floor. The entire building shuddered.

  I had to admit I was impressed.

  Wulf pulled thick metal cuffs off his weapons belt.

  Out of sheer desperation, I burst from the shadows and yelled, “No! He’s my bounty.”

  Wulf’s stunned gaze surveyed me from head to toe. “Yakira. I’ve searched the galaxy for you.” A sudden frown creased his forehead. “Your bounty?”

  “I found him first.”

  Wulf snorted. “You think you can capture Gulog the Mad?”

  “I know I can,” I stated confidently, trying hard to ignore the fear knotting my stomach.

  He cocked one dark brow. “Your males let you hunt?”

  “They’re in jail, so they don’t get a say in the—”

  Gulog the Mad erupted to his feet and tackled Wulf. They rolled around on the floor, exchanging blows.

  If Wulf got hurt, it would be my fault for distracting him. A cry of alarm broke from me when Gulog managed to pin my warlord to the floor. My warlord? Where had that come from?

  Gulog wrapped his massive hands around Wulf’s neck and began choking him.

  Poor Wulf tried unsuccessfully to buck him off. My warlord’s face turned an ominous purple color.

  Oh Goddess, I couldn’t let Gulog the Mad kill Wulf. I lifted one of the blowgun’s tubes and blew.

  At the same instant, Wulf rolled Gulog beneath him. The dart hit my warlord in the back of the neck. He turned his head and looked at me in disbelief.

  “Sorry, I was aiming for Gulog,” I said with an apologetic shrug.

  Wulf fell facedown on the dirty marble tiles.

  Gulog the Mad laughed triumphantly and grabbed Wulf’s laser pistol. “Now you die.”

  “I don’t think so.” I put another tube to my mouth and exhaled.

  The dart hit Gulog the Mad in the throat. He jerked it out. “Stupid female, I’m going to rip your legs off and beat you to death with them.”

  “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  His face twisted with fury, Gulog threw the laser pistol at me when it wouldn’t fire. It was safety coded for Wulf’s use only.

  Ducking it, I scooted around a table. “Not real bright, are you?”

  “Kill you.” Gulog the Mad stumbled over a broken chair.

  I looked around frantically for another weapon. I could easily outrun Gulog, but if I did that, Wulf was a dead man.

  Gulog the Mad lunged for me.

  My heart pounding rapidly, I evaded his outstretched arms and blew again.

  The dart struck Gulog the Mad between the eyes. He howled angrily and hurled a chair at me.

  I dodged it and peppered him with darts, but the monster just kept on coming.

  Why wasn’t he unconscious? My back hit the wall. I sucked in a horrified breath. He had me trapped.

  As Gulog the Mad reached for me, his eyes rolled back in his head, and down he went. Boom! The building shook.

  A hysterical laugh escaped me. I was alive. How awesome was that? Bounty hunting wasn’t as easy as I’d thought, but if my family didn’t stop breaking the law, I’d be doing it full-time. Ugh.

  Wulf moaned. I hurried over to him and checked his pulse. Whew. It was strong and steady.

  A harsh voice demanded, “Is Wulf injured?”

  I looked down at Wulf‘s communications bracelet. From the viewscreen, a pair of disturbingly hostile amber eyes examined me. One look at the burn scar on the warlord’s right cheek, and I smothered a groan. It was Voss, the Coletti battle commander.

  “Not exactly.” I patted Wulf’s face. “The old guy’s just taking a nap.”

  “Old guy?”

  I shrugged. “He’s way older than me.”

  Voss asked grimly, “What did you do to the old guy?”

  “Me? Nothing?”

  A brief dangerous smile crossed Voss’s mouth. “Do not lie to me, child.”

  “Child? I’m twenty, you jerk.”

  “A very great age.”

  I glared at him. “I’m old enough to be a hunter, and it wasn’t my fault Wulf jumped in front of my tranquillizer dart.”

  “Wasn’t it?”

  Voss was starting to get on my last nerve. “Wulf was losing the fight with Gulog the Mad. I was simply trying to help him.”

  Alarm flared in Voss’s eyes. “Gulog the Mad is there?”

  “He is.” I tilted Wulf’s arm so Voss could see the ogre. “See? I have it all under control. Gulog the Mad never had a chance.”

  Voss sighed. “You are a Jones.”

  “Jones? Never heard of them. Oh, by the way, I’m claiming the bounty on Gulog.”

  The battle commander tapped his control console. “How do you propose to get him out of the tavern?”

  I smirked. “That’s the easy part.” Little fire ants danced across my mind. Hmmm. Since my internal radar never failed me, that meant Voss was up to no good. “Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work.”

  Voss grinned. “I think it will.”

  “Think again.” I punched a key on my communications bracelet. A glittering blue light blossomed around Gulog the Mad and me.

  “Even using the Visio crystal, you can’t hide from us forever, Yakira.” The relentless purpose in the battle commander’s voice sent a chill down my spine. He knew how my family had been hiding me. My Visio crystal blocked all of the Coletti telepathic abilities.

  Ten seconds later I was standing on an icy-cold transporter platform. My best friend, Ziyad, stood at the controls. She looked like a creature some mad scientist had dreamed up. She was half Askole and half Rodan. She had a face like the Earth dinosaur called the T-Rex, tentacles, and the black armor-plated skin of an Askole.

  Ziyad grinned, exposing a mouth
ful of serrated teeth, and spoke to me telepathically. “Our plan worked perfectly.”

  “Sorta. The Coletti sent a hunter after Gulog the Mad too.”

  “Oh Goddess. Not what’s his name? Buff?”

  “Wulf,” I corrected. “He is one of their top hunters.” I knew because my family kept track of him. I was never quite sure why they were afraid of him.

  Ziyad’s hands flew over the transporter console. “They must have a warbird close by.”

  “If they do, it’s cloaked. We need to get Gulog the Mad to the magistrate before the Coletti take him from us.”

  Gulog’s legs twitched.

  I jumped about a foot. “He’s waking up.”

  “I’ll move the ship and contact the prison.” Ziyad zoomed off.

  Ziyad had also inherited the Askole’s speed and the Rodan’s ferocious hunger. If she went too long without food, it wasn’t pretty. Due to her heritage, Ziyad’s ability to communicate was limited to telepathy. Few species could actually speak the Askole’s complicated language. I could understand bits and pieces of it, but then I lived with her. I took her spot at the transporter controls.

  “I have contacted the prison. We have permission to transport Gulog into a holding cell. I’m sending you the coordinates,” Ziyad advised.

  “Got them.” I entered the data. The transporter whined to life, and a few seconds later Gulog the Mad was gone. I fidgeted as I waited for confirmation from the prison. If this didn’t work, I’d never see my family again. After twenty minutes had passed, I checked my communications bracelet again. What was the holdup?

  There was a flash of black, and Ziyad stood next to me. “The magistrate has confirmed Gulog the Mad’s identity and transferred the funds into our account.”

  Utter relief flooded me. “Thank the Goddess.”

  Ziyad cocked her head to one side. “You ready to visit the most dangerous prison in the galaxy?”

  I grimaced. “No, but I don’t really have a choice.” I pulled off my Visio crystal bracelet and placed it on the console. I hated leaving it behind, but the prison officials would confiscate it. “How long do you think it will take the Coletti to pounce?”

  “Not long,” Ziyad stated. “Their pride has been damaged. You have eluded them for over ten years. That has never happened before.”

  “Like I care. Let’s go kick some ass.”

  Ziyad’s roar reverberated around the room. “Death to the infidels.”

  “You really need to stop reading those Earth books.”

  Chapter Two

  The glittering blue transporter light faded, and we stood on the Igator prison’s visitors’ platform. Or as I liked to call it, the kill zone. We were surrounded by dozens of automated laser canons. If we failed the prison’s body scan, we would be incinerated.

  A mechanical voice commanded, “Do not move until the scan is complete.”

  Ziyad and I exchanged worried glances as a yellow beam rolled over us. Igator prison was carved out of a mountain of pure Rhyolite obsidian. One of the toughest rocks in the galaxy. Add in a grade ten force field, and it became an impenetrable fortress.

  Even if we made a run for it, we wouldn’t last ten minutes in the hellish wasteland that encircled the prison. The warden had left the remains of escaped prisoners rotting on the black sand. The message was clear. The only way out was in a body bag.

  “You are cleared to proceed to the visitors’ booth,” the mechanical voice announced.

  “I told you my disguise would pass muster.” Ziyad chortled. The holographic image she projected was of an elderly Bjarke female, complete with purple hair and long black tunic.

  “Yee-haw! I get to live another day.” I eyed the laser canons warily as we walked over to the plastisteel cubicle.

  “Yee-haw?”

  “It’s an Earth term of exhilaration.”

  “I like it.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” As soon as we stepped inside, a computer console appeared.

  The mechanical voice said, “State the nature of your visit.”

  “I’m here to bail out prisoners 888888965, 888888966, 8888888967, and 8888888968.”

  “Their bail is one million credits. Insert your chip into the second slot.”

  I did as it instructed. The computer clicked loudly and spit out my credit chip.

  The voice warned, “The prisoners will be released into your custody. Failure to appear at the district court at the appointed time will result in credit forfeiture.”

  “We wouldn’t dream of missing our appointed time,” I assured the voice solemnly.

  A door appeared out of thin air.

  “Proceed to the waiting room,” the voice commanded.

  Ziyad and I walked through, and the door vanished. “If something goes wrong, getting out of here is going to be a bitch,” I groused.

  “Not a problem. I haven’t eaten today,” Ziyad informed me gleefully.

  Oh Goddess. With Ziyad, mayhem and carnage was always a possibility. “What made you think that was a good idea?”

  “I fight better when I’m hungry, and I’ve always wanted to taste an enforcer.”

  I rubbed my suddenly aching head. Ziyad was ten years older than me, but it always felt like I was the adult and she was the kid. “You eat or even taste an enforcer, and they will hunt you forever.” I patted her shoulder. “But look on the bright side—you can eat all the Tai-Kok you want.”

  “They give me indigestion.”

  “Spit out the metal parts, and it won’t be a problem.”

  Ziyad came to an abrupt halt.

  Bam! I crashed into her armored-plated back. “Ouch!” I massaged my nose. “Why did you stop?”

  “Isn’t that Pindick, the galactic terrorist?”

  I peered around her and examined the wizened male standing in the middle of the room, tufts of orange hair protruding from his wrinkled yellow skull. His frail body was draped in a loose white tunic. “Hmmm. Kinda looks like him, but I thought he was younger, bigger, and meaner-looking.”

  Ziyad sniffed. “He smells like Pindick.”

  His mental shields sucked. There were all sorts of interesting information floating about in his sick, twisted mind. “It’s Pindick, all right, and he’s got a holographic device in his pocket.”

  “It isn’t as good as mine. See?” Ziyad pointed as Pindick’s clothes changed from the white tunic to battle armor and back. “The image is fluctuating.”

  “Big-time. What I want to know is why he’s here.”

  “To break his brother out.”

  “He’s here? In this prison?”

  Ziyad rolled her eyes. “Where else would they put a dangerous terrorist?”

  I tried to calm my jumpy nerves. She had a point. Since I was the one who sicced the enforcers on Pindick’s brother, the nasty gunrunner, this could get ugly real fast. “But…no one has ever escaped from this place.”

  An explosion rocked the prison. Pieces of the ceiling rained down on us.

  “I think that’s about to change,” Ziyad said as we backed slowly away from Pindick.

  The wizened guy was suddenly replaced by a tall, brawny yellowed-skin male.

  “He’s got a thermal grenade!” Ziyad shoved me to the floor and jumped on top of me.

  Boom! The left wall blew outward. Smoke filled the room.

  I kneaded my ringing ears. I could barely hear the prison’s wailing alarms. Ziyad’s heavy weight made it difficult to breathe. “Get off.”

  Ziyad moaned and rolled off me. “Did he blow himself up?”

  “We can only hope.” I crawled over to the shattered wall and looked out. Pindick popped up from behind a pile of rubble and fired at several of the prison’s enforcers, forcing them to take cover. “We aren’t that lucky, and he has a laser pistol too.”

  “Pindick had to bribe a lot of high-ranking officials to get weapons into this prison,” Ziyad growled, picking a piece of shrapnel out of her leg.

  “You hurt?”

&nbs
p; “It’s just a scratch.”

  Across the debris-filled courtyard a door opened, and three turncoat prison guards ran out and blasted away at the enforcers.

  “Look, your brothers,” Ziyad exclaimed, pointing at the doorway.

  I caught a glimpse of Loki inside a holding cell. My entire body shook with fury. Pindick was going to get my family killed. “We’ve got to get them out of there.”

  Glittery blue lights abruptly engulfed the courtyard. When they faded, a dozen armored planetary enforcers stood there. They unleashed a deadly volley of laser beams.

  The traitorous prison guards’ bodies disintegrated into a million fireflies when the laser beams struck them.

  Pindick made a mad dash through the open doorway. Thirty seconds later, the corrupt prison guards turned on the laser cannons. Red energy beams flashed wildly. The courtyard became a kill zone, the cannons incinerating anything that moved.

  Ziyad surveyed the debris-laden courtyard. “I’m not fast enough to beat the cannons.”

  “There has to be a way to save them.”

  “There is,” Wulf announced in my head.

  I glanced over my shoulder and groaned. Wulf, Voss, and about twenty Coletti warriors filled the room.

  Ziyad licked her lips. “Yum. Fresh meat.”

  Voss laughed. “Who is this delightful creature?”

  Delightful? Ziyad usually scared the crap out of people. Maybe the big, bad battle commander thought he could handle her. I grinned. This should be fun. “Ziyad, this is Voss, the Coletti battle commander. Battle Commander, may I introduce you to my best friend, Ziyad.”

  “It is a pleasure to meet Yakira’s partner in crime,” Voss replied politely.

  He had no idea. I looked Wulf dead in the eye. “Let me guess. Out of the goodness of your heart, you’ll teleport my family to safety?” I threw up a hand. “Oh wait! Coletti warlords aren’t benevolent do-gooders. There is always a price for your help. So, what do you want?”

  Wulf’s mouth tightened into a hard line. “My mate.”

  Mate? Was he talking about me? One look at the burning need in his eyes, and I knew he would do whatever it took to possess me. No wonder he had my family in such a dither. Coletti never, ever stopped hunting their prey. But I wasn’t prey. I was as much of a predator as he was. I let my gaze roam over the room. “Gee, I don’t see another female here. Oh Goddess, you don’t mean Ziyad, do you? You might want to rethink that decision.” I leaned in closer to Wulf and whispered, “She bites.”