In the Devil's Nebula (Phoenix Adventures #2) (15 page)

“I think we’re in the right place,” he
said.

Ria peered into the mine tunnel. An iron
rail track disappeared into the darkness. “I see light farther
ahead.”

“Let’s go.”

Zayn walked into the tunnel, Ria one step
behind him. At intervals along the tunnel, oil lanterns hung from
the walls, their glow illuminating the rocky walls.

“You think she’s set booby traps?” Ria
asked.

“I think we should expect anything.”

With each step, Zayn felt the walls closing
in. He liked to have controls under his hands, the chance to race
off if needed. Here, trapped in tight confines, under tons of
earth, he felt smothered.

“Surely you can’t be claustrophobic.” Ria’s
voice echoed around him. “You squeeze into tight cockpits.”

“I’m not.” He shrugged his shoulders. “In a
cockpit, you can hit interstellar speed, maneuver your ship.
Here…you’re just stuck.”

Her hand slid into his and squeezed. “I’ll
take care of you, flyboy.”

He heard the laughter in her voice and
looked down at her. She had a smudge of dust on her cheek, but she
looked like the most beautiful woman in the world. “Good to
know.”

They did spot some explosive booby traps
embedded in the floor and walls but managed to avoid them. Then a
metallic
clang
echoed from ahead, the sound reverberating
down the tunnel. Zayn held a finger to his lips.

Ahead the tunnel opened out into an enormous
cavern. The ceiling was so high it disappeared upward into the
darkness. Lanterns, some as tall as Ria, illuminated the area.

In the center, Lala, wearing enormous
goggles, was mixing a large pot over a fire. Beside it sat a work
bench covered in glass tubes and containers bubbling with liquids
in a multitude of colors. Over her shoulder, a small round metal
ball floated in the air, following her movements.

Zayn sucked in a breath. “Jesus, she has
enough explosives in here to blow the entire top of this
mountain.”

“Let’s not spook her, then.”

“I suggest a more upfront approach this
time.” He took a step forward. “Lala.”

The girl’s head snapped up. Her eyes were
magnified by the goggles. She let out a gusty sigh. “Not you two
again.”

Ria held her hands up in the air. “We aren’t
here to hurt you.”

Lala shoved the goggles up on her head and
thrust her hands in the pockets of her skirt. This time, it was a
bright-purple one over denim jeans. “Right. Just to kidnap me.” The
small floating robot jiggled around, red lights spinning on it.

“Look,” Zayn began, stepping closer. “I
think we started off on the wrong foot. Let’s just—”

“Nope. Not interested.” Lala spun, yanking
her hands from her pockets. She threw something at them.

“Shit.” Zayn saw two bright-blue balls hit
the ground in front of him and Ria. He dived, tackling Ria to the
ground. The balls bounced back into the air.

The small balls hit again and rolled along
the floor. Right toward them, automatically adjusting their course.
Like little heat-seeking missiles.

He squeezed his eyes shut and braced
himself.

The balls exploded with a splat.

Fluid splattered all over Zayn. There were
no flames or shrapnel.

He cracked open an eyelid and looked over
his shoulder. His back, side and neck were splattered with sticky
blue goo.

“What the hell?” Ria shifted under him,
staring at the mess.

Raucous guffaws broke out, filling the
cavern. Lala was bent over, her hands on her knees, laughing so
hard she was crying. The robot was doing loops around her.

“What is this stuff?” Zayn got to his feet
and pulled Ria up with him. They both slapped at the goo but it was
stuck fast.

“Oh, just a little bit of fun I’ve been
cooking up. You should have seen your faces!” Lala swiped at her
eyes. “Wouldn’t get too close to naked flames though. That stuff
could still ignite.”

Zayn swiped the goo off his face. “Lala, we
really need your help.”

She tilted her head and the gesture made her
look young. “Kidnap didn’t work so you’re going to appeal to my
good side? I don’t think so. I don’t have a good side.”

This time she grabbed one of the bubbling
beakers. One full of something that was a lime green froth. She
threw it better than a VelocityBall quarterback.

Zayn and Ria were already backing up. The
glass smashed on the rocky floor and this time the explosion was
blinding.

The whole cavern shook. Zayn was knocked
backward by the blast, slamming into Ria. They tumbled to the
ground and he felt the searing heat wash over them.

Fuck
. The little crackpot was going
to bring the roof down and kill them all.

He jumped up and sprinted across the space.
Lala threw another beaker. He leaped over it, ignoring the boom
behind him. Again the place shook and several large rocks fell from
the roof, smashing to the floor.

He skidded to a halt near the girl. “Stop
it! You’re going to kill us all. I told you, we aren’t here to hurt
you.”

Lala paused, a tiny vial full of
violent-pink goo clutched in her hand. “What do you need? Some
special undetectable explosive? Something to blow up a small
planet? Explosives disguised as something else?”

“No.” Zayn shook his head, then paused. “You
could really blow up a small planet?”

Lala cocked a hip. “I could try.”

Ria, her hair coated in rock dust, walked
toward them. “I need to lure out some bad people. You’re my best
bet since I know they…don’t like you very much.”

Lala’s expression was considering now. “So,
I’m bait.”

“Yep,” Zayn said. “But we won’t let them get
you. Help us and we’ll drop you back here, or anywhere else you
want to go.”

“Who are these bad guys?”

Ria drew in a deep breath. “The Assassin’s
Guild.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “In the Devil’s
Nebula.” She whistled. “Cool. I
love
being bait! Bring it
on. I can’t stand those fussy assassin bastards. They got me to do
a bunch of jobs and I made up batches of some of my best
explosives. You know what they did then?”

Zayn shook his head.

“They tried to stiff me. Tried to
kill
me.” She sniffed. “I blew up their base on Thoth in
retaliation. Oh, and their safe-house on Rainin and three of their
starships.”

The girl showed no fear. Nothing. Zayn
couldn’t help but like her. He started laughing.

Lala grinned. “I’m in. Happy to help. When
do we go?”

“Now. I’m Zayn, by the way. Zayn
Phoenix.”

“Phoenix. Related to Dathan Phoenix?” The
girl’s eyes turned misty. “I read all about him and his treasure
hunts.” A dreamy sigh. “He’s sooo good-looking.”

Zayn grinned. “He’s my brother. I’ll be
happy to introduce to him. And his wife.”

Lala waved a hand. “Wife, smife.”

“And I’m Ria Dante.”

The explosives genius looked her way.
“You’re an assassin. Can tell by the way you move. Kind of
sneaky.”

“Was. I was an assassin. I’m trying
to…retire.”

The girl’s brows rose. “No one leaves the
Guild.”

“That’s why we need your help. We need you
to lure the assassins out of their headquarters. Then I’m going to
sneak in and steal one of their prized possessions to buy my
freedom.”

Lala whistled long and loud. “Ballsy, girl,
ballsy. I like it.”

Suddenly a deep rumble echoed through the
cavern. All three of them froze.

The ground began to tremble. A cloud of dust
sprinkled down on them from the roof of the cavern.

All three of them looked upward.

“Oh, shit,” Lala said.

***

Rocks started to rain down around them. One
glanced off Ria’s shoulder. “We need to go. Now.”

Zayn nodded. Lala shook her head. “I can’t
leave my friends.” She took off back toward the center of the
cave.

“Shit.” Ria sprinted after the girl. What
friends did she have back here?

A huge boulder slammed down a few feet in
front of her. Ria lunged to the right.

“Ria!”

“I’ll get her.” Ria yelled back at Zayn.
“Wait at the entrance.”

She ran after Lala who was tearing boxes
apart near her makeshift lab. More rocks crashed down.

“Lala, we have to go.”

“I can’t leave without them. They’re my
family.”

That’s when Ria saw them. A small
insect-like robot and the metal ball from earlier hovering above
the first one. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Lala snatched the ball out of the air. She
was reaching for the other when Ria looked up.
Shit
. She
dived, taking Lala with her, both of them rolling across the
ground.

The jagged boulder slammed into the bench.
Boom
.

Explosives ignited. Sparks flew, radiating
out like fireworks. Ria felt something singe her cheek and smelled
her hair burning.

“Fuzzy!” Lala still had the ball tucked
under her arm and was scrambling to reach the insect-shaped robot.
She grabbed the machine’s leg but his body was trapped under a
rock.

“Lala, leave it.”

“No.” The girl looked up, tears shimmering
in her eyes. “They’re all I have. The only things I care
about.”

Ria was frozen, staring into the face of a
young girl. Lala might act tough and adult, but she was a child.
One who was alone yet had carved a life for herself and had managed
to survive. Ria looked at the metallic arm of the robot. She’d
never had toys. Nothing that had been hers. Nothing that had given
her comfort.

She scrambled over a rock and then hefted
the smaller one on top of Fuzzy upward.

Lala snatched up the robot and hugged it.
“Thank you.”

“Now, let’s go.”

With a nod, Lala bounded up, shoved the
robots in a bag and sprinted for the entrance. Instantly Zayn was
there, gripping her arm. His gaze hit Ria. “Okay?”

She nodded. “Better once we’re out of
here.”

They ran in a zig zag pattern, dodging
falling debris and the rocks already scattering the floor. They
flew through the tunnel. Ahead a bright arch of blue sky beckoned.
The tunnel walls around them were vibrating, more dust raining
down.

So close
. Ria pushed for more speed.
She heard a deep rumble, like a giant beast on the hunt. She
glanced over her shoulder.

Oh no
. “The tunnel’s collapsing.
Faster.” She gripped Lala’s arm, thankful the girl was quick on her
feet.

Zayn was bringing up the rear. “Run!”

Ria broke out of the tunnel, Lala a step
behind her. They dove, tumbling a few meters down the hillside.

With a deafening roar, the tunnel collapsed.
A huge cloud of dust washed over them.

Ria coughed and rubbed at her stinging eyes.
She couldn’t see. Her eyes watered. “Lala, you okay?”

The girl coughed. “Yeah.”

“Zayn?”

No answer.

“Zayn?” Ria scrambled up. She stared at the
collapsed tunnel.
No
. The bottom dropped out of her
stomach.

“Over here.”

She swiveled. He lay sprawled on his back
beyond some rocks. Blood coated his face and neck.

“Zayn.” She climbed over the rocks and
leaped down beside him. “What happened?”

“Rock to the head. I’m fine. Just a scalp
gash. They bleed like hell.”

She cupped his cheeks, studying his
dust-covered features. He was right about the cut. Nothing deep.
Releasing a breath, she leaned forward, her forehead bumping
against his. “You scared me.” She wasn’t used to worrying about
someone else.

But this man, this reckless flyboy, made her
feel things she never knew she was capable of feeling.

“Sorry.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m
fine.”

“Yuck.” Lala’s exclamation was followed by
various choking noises. “Do you guys do this kissing stuff all the
time?”

“We’ve just started doing it.” Zayn sat up
and slung an arm across Ria’s shoulders. “So get used to it, kid,
because I plan to do a lot more of it.”

Lala wrapped her hands around her neck and
mimed gagging.

Ria couldn’t hold back a smile. Give it a
few more years and Lala’s aversion to the opposite sex would morph
into something else. Heaven help the man that caught her attention.
“Sorry about your home.”

“No probs. This is the third time I’ve blown
up my lab. My living area is in a different section of tunnel.”

“Lala, do you have any horses?” Zayn
asked.

“Nope.” A wicked grin. “But I have some
hoverboards.”

“Excellent.” Zayn’s matching smile was wide.
“I love hoverboards. We’ll need them to get back to my ship. Pack a
bag and then let’s ride.”

Ria groaned. “Hoverboards? You can’t be
serious.”

“Are you sure it’s safe to just let her walk
about the ship?” Eos’ dark gaze was on Lala.

Zayn adjusted the controls on the command
console of the
Infinitas
. “She’s fine.” He looked over his
shoulder and spotted Lala with her hands pressed against the
floor-to-roof windows that showed the stars streaming past them at
interstellar speed. Her ball robot, Fred, hovered near her left
ear.

Dathan leaned back in the chair beside Zayn
and propped his feet up. “If she blows the ship up, she blows
herself up, and if there’s one thing I know about that girl, it’s
that she has a killer survival instinct.”

“Well, I’m still not comfortable with the
thought she could have explosives on her,” Eos said.

“She does.” BEll’s modulated voice came from
the command console. “Plasma X, TNTN and lastite. In her bags in
her room. I’ll let you know if she starts any funny business.”

“Suva help us,” Eos murmured.

“I’m more worried about those inferior
machines she’s brought on board,” BEll said.

Another set of near-silent footsteps echoed
on the ship’s metal floor. Funny how Zayn could pick out Ria’s
steps.