Lovers of the Galaxy, Book Two: Bounty Hunters of the Heart by Trinity Blacio Read Free Book Online Page A

the reflection of lightning on a body of water. Rain slashed
at the transparent panel. Brightness fractured the angry sky, but
no sooner did he glimpse trees and gently rolling fields, than
blackness cloaked everything again.
    “I have found a place to land,” Oshki announced.
“There is a small opening in the forest canopy where the ship can
lower to the ground. The trees and undergrowth will shield the
craft from prying eyes.”
    “What of Randle’s Sky Streamer path before he
arrives?”
    “The location where he will arrive is nearby.” He
pointed ahead and slightly to his right. “Since there is a
structure in that direction and it is in the vicinity of Randle’s
future landing spot, I am guessing he would go toward it
first.”
    Engaging the landing program, Oshki monitored the
scanners as the ship settled to the ground.
    The gentle thud alerted Miln that they’d officially
landed. He punched the restraint sensor, and when each one
released, he leaped over to the clear panel and peered out at the
storm ripping through the woods. The ship’s lights illuminated only
a few bushes tossing this way and that and the wet, gleaming trunks
of tall trees. Rain poured down, soaking the earth and flowing over
the ship.
    He sighed. “Looks like we will have to wait out the
storm.”
    Silence.
    He glanced over his shoulder. His mate stood at the
main scanner reading their coordinates, the temperatures, and
information about the weather and the terrain.
    “Oshki?”
    “I heard you,” he replied. “Since security is our
duty, I am gathering all the information I can to aid us in our
task.”
    His mate’s thinly veiled sarcasm wasn’t lost on him.
“Good, I am glad to see you want this mission done so we can
return.”
    Without a word, Oshki strode past him, his boots
echoing throughout the ship. “I am going to get some rest while it
is storming.”
    He watched him go. The door to the next chamber
vanished as he reached it and then reappeared once he’d passed
through. He knew what Oshki was doing. Although it angered him, he
wasn’t about to let his partner know how much. His childish
behavior chipped away at Miln’s patience. Once they found Randle
and either brought him back to Venus’s time or disposed of him,
they could focus on their relationship.
    Or could they?
    The thought troubled him. No matter what the case,
there would always be important and even severe security issues to
deal with on a regular basis. Their lives in Venus’s time would be
volatile at best, especially with the epidemic of Bone Eaters.
Volund’s worry settled in Miln’s gut, too. Protecting the base and
its people was his duty as well as Oshki’s. Perhaps Volund was
right when he said his partner might have to be removed from his
station. Was it possible Oshki demanded more attention than he
could ever give him?
    With a sinking heart, he settled in the chair and
slid it back into a sleeping position.
     
    ***
     
    The storm battered the woods throughout the night and
for most of the next day. Late in the afternoon, Miln hiked through
the trees with his mate. Upon reaching some dense undergrowth, he
ducked into it behind Oshki. He squatted alongside him and grimaced
at the mud oozing up over the metal horns on his boot tips. The
difference between the hot, dry Earth of Venus’s time and the
moisture and lushness of now was appalling. He wasn’t so certain
the Ruling Body of Planets knew what they were doing by
recolonizing Earth of the future. What if they couldn’t increase
the rainfall to make things grow?
    He shook aside the disturbing thoughts and glanced
over at Oshki. “Do you see anything on the scanner?”
    “No,” his comrade replied.
    Miln nodded toward a small structure on a knoll. The
fading sun illuminated its grassy roof as if it were a bright
emerald.
    “That structure is about half a meikic from the point
where Randle’s Sky Streamer trail vanishes in the future. My best
guess is that he may have gone there