Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,89

might actually beat Pelarus to the spaceport.

“He’s pretty quick on his feet, isn’t he?”

She clapped a hand on the Nedwut’s shoulder. “Harlex, my friend, you have no idea.”

Spotting Yirland making her way through the thinning crowd, Klara shouted, “Don’t suppose any of your bunch planned for this possibility?”

Yirland seemed every bit as astounded by Pelarus’s ability to fly as Klara had been. “I never knew, never even suspected…”

Figures. “Yeah, well, we’re just gonna have to deal with it.” She nodded toward Harlex. “What’s the quickest way out of here?”

“I know a shortcut. Come with me.” With that, he trotted down the steps, leaving Klara to follow as best she could.

Considerably hampered by the long, flowing dress and high-heeled sandals the birds had made her wear, she wished she’d done more than think about clobbering Jaquet. Stopping briefly, she ripped off most of the bottom half of the dress and started to kick off the sandals before concluding that running barefoot through whatever shortcut Harlex had in mind probably wasn’t a good idea. She’d have given half of Pelarus’s wealth for her usual clothes, especially her boots.

Or her own pair of wings.

Moe didn’t have the slightest idea where Pelarus was going. Fortunately, he was flying low enough to be seen.

As Moe darted through the gate, Zract shouted, “Spaceport!” before tossing him a pulse pistol.

Moe caught it on the fly. “Got it! Thanks!” He kept right on running while calculating the distance to the spaceport and wishing he’d eaten a more sustaining lunch. At least he hadn’t exerted himself very much in the arena. Pelarus, on the other hand, had probably partaken of a four-course meal.

Might slow him down a bit if he did.

With that in mind, Moe doubled his speed hoping he still had some strength left when he got there.

A speeder sure would come in handy right about now, not to mention some backup.

A glance over his shoulder proved that the prisoners swarming out of the arena were all running in the same direction, and if the weapons they were brandishing were any indication, they were bent on revenge.

Then again, he had a pulse pistol. If he could get close enough, he could shoot Pelarus out of the sky.

Moments later, he was soaring through the air after being scooped up by an enormous, leather-winged bird. Thankful he hadn’t been crushed in the creature’s cruel-looking beak, Moe scrambled to readjust his position to straddle the bird and ride it, rather than being slung over its back like a sack of flour.

“It’s me, Nex,” the bird said. “This is my kradjet form.”

“You might have warned me,” Moe shouted. “I damn near dropped the gun.”

“Sorry,” Nexbit said. “I was having enough trouble picking you up. You’re really fast, you know.”

Moe didn’t know why he’d been surprised. After all the weird shit that had gone down that day, nothing was impossible. “Mind telling me why you haven’t tried this disguise before?”

“Didn’t think of it. Not always practical, either. Kradjets aren’t normally as big as I am. People would be suspicious.”

Given the circumstances, arousing suspicion seemed a minor concern. “You could’ve flown us out of the arena instead of standing around pretending to fight.”

“Could’ve flown you out of the arena. Not sure I could’ve carried Temfilk and the Racks. Plus, I’d have had to go back for Klara.”

“Okay. I get it. No worries.” He stared at the diminishing speck that was Pelarus. “Think you can catch him before he gets to the spaceport?”

“Probably not, but I can try.”

At least in the air they could keep their quarry in sight, and Moe wouldn’t have to thread his way between buildings and other obstacles. The only problem would be if they got too close and Pelarus started shooting. Moe couldn’t imagine a tyrant like Pelarus going anywhere unarmed, even if he was only planning to sit on his throne to enjoy the spectacle.

“Might want to keep a safe distance, though,” Moe cautioned. “Wouldn’t put it past him to take a few potshots at us.”

“I may have to put you down before that,” Nexbit said with a note of apology in his voice. “As I’ve said before, morphing requires energy, and you should’ve see the paltry lunch they gave me. Barely enough to keep a real kradjet in the air, much less me.”

“To be honest, I’m surprised you can fly at all. It’s not like you’ve had much practice.”

“Flying is actually quite easy, once you have wings.”

“Must be nice,” Moe grumbled.

“It is. There’s nothing quite like the freedom