Hanna and the Hitman - Honey Phillips Page 0,35

to the main cabin, she took another peek out the window but still saw nothing but the empty jungle surrounding them. Remembering some of his more frightening tales, she hesitated for a long moment, then finally lowered the landing ramp. The scent of the jungle rushed in, rich and humid and lush with the scent of growing things. She hadn’t realized how sterile the air on board the ship was until it was replaced by the air of Pardor. She took a deep breath, savoring the difference, but when she checked, Aidon didn’t appear any different.

The next most obvious thing she could think of was water. She didn’t see any break in the jungle, but from the thick humidity of the air, water couldn’t be far away. Looking at the opaque wall of green-and-gold vegetation, she shivered, but she also had an idea. In a jungle habitat, you could often find water trapped among the leaves. Rather than actually entering the jungle, maybe she could try gathering water that way.

After strapping on her sandals, she gathered a drinking cup from the small galley and took a cautious step down the landing ramp. The air was thick with noise—rustling leaves, the small buzz and chitter of what she assumed were insects—but then a sudden shriek split the air, and everything stilled. Her hands clenched on the railing as she froze in terrified silence. A few seconds later, the normal sounds resumed.

What had made that awful noise? It sounded so close. She retreated back into the ship and started to raise the landing ramp, but then Aidon groaned. He was tossing around again, or trying to, but he didn’t seem to have the strength to move. She had to do something.

The landing field was still clear, and the edge of the jungle didn’t seem that far away. It would only take a minute to dash over there and sluice some water off the leaves…

Her feet didn’t want to move, and she cursed her fears. If only she had a weapon. She hadn’t seen anything on the ship other than the knives they used for eating—knives! What had happened to the knife that Aidon had been wearing? She dashed back inside and found it underneath the bed, the massive blade easily as long as her forearm, but it was a lot better than nothing. A long leather belt was attached to the holster, and she had to wrap it around her waist three times before it would stay on, but the heavy weight reassured her as she gathered her cup once more.

The jungle noises continued as she crept to the bottom of the ramp and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place, but what did she know about this kind of environment? Only the memory of Aidon writhing in the bed was enough to make her take the first step out from under the shadow of the ship.

The two suns beat down on her head, the air like a thick, wet blanket around her body. She could feel the heat of the stone through her thin sandals as she walked cautiously toward the jungle edge. The closer she got, the more she felt as if she was being watched. Her pulse fluttered madly in her throat, and each step was harder to take than the last, but as she approached the wall of vegetation, she could see water caught on the leaves just as she’d hoped.

Her hand shook as she reached for the closest leaf, a blue-veined oval easily as big as her thigh, and she tipped it carefully over her cup. A trickle of water flowed down, half filling the cup, and she breathed a sigh of relief. The jungle sounds hadn’t changed, but she still felt as if she was being watched. If she could just find one more big leaf, she could flee back to the ship.

She stood on tiptoes to reach the next leaf, but just as she started to tilt it toward her, a huge, clawed hand fastened around her wrist.

Chapter Fourteen

Hanna’s throat choked shut—she was too frightened even to scream—as a huge alien stepped out of the jungle. He was as big as Aidon, but he had dark green scaled skin, long green hair woven into braids, and yellow eyes that studied her as if she was some type of insect. A patterned cloth in shades of green and gold wrapped around his hips, leaving the rest of his muscular body on intimidating display.

“Who are you?” he