The Star Thief (Star Thief Chronicles 1)

Finally, Viktis spun on his heel. “Fine. I’ll help you with this. But I want restitution from the people you’re working for.”

“I can’t promise that. I honestly don’t think they were involved in destroying your ship. But I promise I’ll talk to them about it.”

Shit. Another promise she might not be able to keep.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over the ridges on his head. “That will have to do. Come with me. I know a clay dealer who has a lab in on the outskirts of the city. He should have the tools to analyze whatever you have.”

“No traps, Viktis.”

“No traps. I want to kill those people more than I want to kill you. Right now at least.” He smiled, but it didn’t erase the cold fury swirling in his eyes.

Viktis was more upset about the death of his crew than she’d imagined. Maybe he’d grown up since the last time they’d worked together. Maybe he’d actually started taking responsibility for the people he worked with.

Unlike her.

The Warehouse District crowded the edge of the spaceport like a tumor on the city. It was little more than a dingy circle of concrete buildings and steel roofs protecting the rest of the city from the winds blowing across the rocky plain. In the distance loomed the large mountain that provided work for most of the residents in the city. Miners dug into the rocky soil, searching for voidonite, a mineral used in developing medicines.

It was also a key component in clay.

Viktis knocked at a thick wooden door, and a six-inch window at eye level slid open. A brown human eye gazed back.

“I need to see Wall,” Viktis said. “I have some business for him.”

The eye blinked once before the small window shut and the door rattled open. A short, dark-haired man with a scar over one bushy brow grinned at them. “He’s in back. With his guards.” He let that little tidbit of information sink in before suggesting, “Behave.”

“I always do,” Viktis said. “A word of warning, Ren? The guy fancies himself a philosopher. Speaks in quotes half the time. Just ignore him.”

Renna nodded as they passed into the musty building. “I’ll just go with it. He can’t be any odder than that pair of Synesian twins we met up with on Clava Six. Speaking in rhyme does not work well when you’re under attack and trying to issue orders.”

Viktis chuckled. “I forgot about them. Drove me insane every time they opened their mouths.”

They walked the length of the warehouse, past dinged crates and wooden boxes full of straw. A smoky, burnt-sugar smell hung in the air. It made Renna’s skin crawl and her eyes water.

Clay.

She tried to ignore the bins of it stacked in the corner, the faint orange dust covering the floor. Her fingers curled into fists as she walked through the warehouse. She’d never get over the slightly sweet scent, the way it seemed to clog the very air, as if its mere presence was enough to contaminate it. Or the nightmarish memories it evoked.

But right now she had other goals. And this man, despite selling the stuff, could help her reach them.

Wall greeted them at the door to his lab, his massive frame taking up most of the space. “Viktis.” He clapped the Ileth on the back with a meaty, ochre-colored hand. “What the hell are you doing here? And I’m on a deadline, so as the Bard says, ‘Speak on but be not over-tedious.’” He smiled behind his thick brown beard and pushed up the wire-framed glasses that slid down his hawk-like nose. The light of a data stream glowed from one of the lenses.

Viktis leaned against the lab table, arms crossed. “We needed some help, and you were the first person I thought of.”

Wall’s chuckle rumbled through the room. “Doesn’t that make me feel warm and fuzzy? Who’s the doll?”

Viktis’s eyes flicked to her, a smirk making his thin lips curl up at the corners. “Renna Carrizal.”

Wall’s eyes widened. “You have to be shitting me.”

Renna shifted her weight and looked away. She always hated this part. She never knew how to react when people realized who she was. She’d worked hard to earn her reputation, and part of her wanted to preen at the obvious attention, but unease made her shoulders tense around her ears as she shook his hand.

Wall beamed at her. “By the gods, you’re the last person I ever expected to show up in my warehouse.”

“Thanks for seeing us.” She smiled back at the man and forced herself to relax. This was no big deal, just a business transaction.

Wall shook his head. “Not every day you get to meet one of the best thieves out there. What can I do for you two?”

She opened her bag and pulled out the bottle of pills. “I need a drug analyzed. We need to know what it is and what it does. And it needs to stay completely between us.”

“You have my word.”

She placed a single orange pill on his well-lined palm. Wall’s thick fingers were surprisingly delicate as he turned it over and studied it. “Homemade. No pharma signature on the casing.” He took it to one of his superscopes and pulled out a slide. With a sharp knife, he split the pill in half, and fine orange sand spilled out onto the glass. He poured some of it into a beaker and the rest onto the scope’s pad.

“Give me a few hours and I’ll have an analysis for you. I’ll get a hold of Viktis when I’m ready.”

“How much is this going to cost me?” she asked. Men like him charged a premium for their services. Maybe she could talk him down.

“‘No profit grows where is no pleasure taken,’” he replied with a smile. “Shakespeare again. Taming of the Shrew.”

Viktis’s bark of laughter echoed through the warehouse. “My friend, you have no idea how true that is.”

Renna glared at him. “Keep it up, Ileth. I know where your soft spots are.”

Wall leaned back against the table and studied her. “I enjoy solving mysteries. Consider it a favor.”

Owing favors to men like him was dangerous, but did she really have much choice? Finally she nodded. “Deal. We’ll be back in a few hours.”

“‘We only part to meet again.’ John Gay.” Wall saluted. “I’ll be in touch.”

TWENTY-THREE

Outside, Renna gave Viktis an appraising once-over. “Thought for sure you’d set me up.”

“I’m hurt you don’t trust me,” he said, pressing his hand against his heart. “I told you. I’m more interested in revenge right now. The men who killed my crew need to pay.”