A Soul Divided (The Blood Fire Trilogy Book 1) by Daniel M. Quilter Read Free Book Online

pushing buttons on his control panel. Drake had actually meant they should send a message asking for surrender, but he didn’t correct the man. He was showing initiative, and that was good. If he stayed on with the crew after this job then Drake would learn his name.
    The sound of small explosions rang through the hallways of the ship as the cannons fired their payloads toward the awaiting Caetus. Drake watched on the screen as the giant harpoons flew through the empty space until they pierced the thick hull of the cargo ship. Each harpoon was hollow, with a door in the tip. After penetrating the outside of the Caetus the head of the harpoon would expand to fill the hole it had created and prevent the insides of the ship from being sucked into the vacuum of outer space. Once the harpoon had broken through and sealed the air in, the door in the tip would open, and Drake and his crew could come through the long tube that trailed out of the back. It was a dangerous method for boarding an enemy ship. Any number of things could go wrong, and even the most minor of them resulted in death. Almost nobody used this method because so much of it relied purely on blind luck. But it was also the fastest way of boarding, and luck was something Drake had always had on his side.
    “Looks like they’re stickin’ just fine.” Said the crewman at the screen.
    “Good,” Drake replied. “You ready to head on with the rest of the crew Al?”
    “If that is what you ask of me.” Al said in an uncaring tone.
    “Seriously Al, I know you don’t like stealing things, but you could at least try to have some fun with this since you’re here.”
    “If that is what you ask of me.” Al repeated.
    “Never mind.” Drake said as he rolled his eyes. “Nobody here is better at fighting than you are, so obviously you’re coming, let’s just go.”
     
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    I hope this ends quickly and peacefully. Al thought as he strolled down the boarding tube toward the newly made doorway into the Caetus.
    He owed Drake his life, and had sworn to serve him for as long as he lived; so he would fight, and steal whatever this ship was carrying; even though a life as a pirate was the last thing he had ever wanted.
    He was a powerful wielder of Vhy’ Rai and had focused all of his studies toward its medical uses. He was meant to be a healer who used his power to save others; now he used it to hurt innocent people and steal what was rightfully theirs.
    What a pity my life has turned out this way. He thought. It’s shameful having to perform such lawless acts just so Drake can continue his vendetta .
    Al took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He would be right here helping Drake whether he owed a life debt or not, and he knew it.
    Perhaps Drake is right.  He thought as he neared the doorway. I should try to enjoy this.
    He was refined and proper on most occasions, but there was a part inside of him that was as bestial as his appearance. For fighting jobs like this, perhaps it would be easier to let it take over for a bit.
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    The security team was already engaged in swordplay against the pirates emerging from the boarding harpoons when Al came barrelling out of the door toward them with a huge steel ax in each of his clawed hands, and his pointed teeth barred together in a snarl.
    Security officers fell to the ground as Al hacked through their ranks. Every group he passed through was left on the ground, moaning in pain; but not a single one of them was dead. Al’s aim could be deadly if he wanted it to be, but these men did not deserve death for doing their jobs. So Al made sure to spare their lives.
    Al glanced over to see Drake engaged in battle with three of the officers of the Caetus’s security force. Although he relied heavily on his supernatural luck in a three on one battle like this one; Drake’s fighting style was actually quite good. Although he showed little discipline in his conversations,