off, making bigger leaps so that I could cover the rest of the hull faster. The tether hung under the belly of the ship. Too visible from up close, it snaked back toward the open door I’d exited.
I took stock of my position as I swung the wand a little frantically now. Under was currently the long way home. The shorter distance would be to go up and over the top and hope the tether didn’t catch on anything that stuck out. The portside door wasn’t an option; it didn’t have an air lock.
I stretched my arm as far as I could and flew along the hull, sweeping the wand back and forth. When did the ship get so big?
When you decided to add the hulking lab attachment onto the back of it that started this whole mess. Way to go, Tess.
“That ship is coming closer.” The com on Jax’s console was open, and Miko’s voice came from a slight distance.
The back of my neck prickled, but I couldn’t turn my head enough to see without turning most of my body. Damn suit.
“Fifty feet to go. I’m almost done,” I said.
“Hurry, partner.”
Partner. My throat closed up tight, like it always did when he called me that.
“Shit! They’re moving in.” The panic in Jax’s voice sent my heart pounding against my ribs. “Move, Tess! Move! Move!”
“I have to finish!” I yelled back.
The maneuverable little ship zoomed into my peripheral vision. It was practically on top of us.
My pulse hammered harder. I started to sweat.
“Tess!” Jax bellowed, a sort of madness creeping into his voice.
“Thirty feet!” I dove forward with the wand. I could cover the rest of the ship.
“Get to the door!” They were all screaming at me now.
Their wild pleas battered my ears as I propelled myself along the side of the bridge, sweeping the wand above and below the portside window. Shiori stood right in front of me, both her hands pressed to the transparent surface we still liked to call glass. Her lips moved fast, but I knew her words were silent. She was praying for me.
Their fear amped up my panic, setting it loose inside me like a toxin that nearly rattled me off the ship. The small vessel closed in from the side, and I turned, almost hoping it was Shade, because at least he didn’t want me dead.
It wasn’t. They were close enough to make out through the window now, and it was the male-female pair that had tried to ambush me on the Squirrel Tree.
A hatch opened under their ship, and a mechanical arm came out, opening into a nightmarish claw at its head. The arm shot forward.
I gasped and rolled along the side of the Endeavor. The claw struck the portside window where I’d just been. Shiori flinched from the sound the shock must have made inside the ship, and for a terrifying second, I thought the window might break.
It held, thank the Powers. The hunters pulled the arm back, maneuvering for another grab.
“Tess! Get inside!” Jax begged. Our eyes met, and he looked terrified.
Gripping the edge of the window, I shot toward the Endeavor’s roof. “I’m coming!” I finally agreed; an extra jump would be way better than this.
Curses and yelling came through my helmet, and I scrambled out of the way as the claw lunged for me again. Like an animal on all fours, I crawled over the outside of the bridge, trying to get to the starboard side again. The hunters stalked. The claw extended.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when the wand flashed and sent an angry beep into my earpiece. Another bug!
Fright thundered inside me as I narrowly escaped the claw again. My frantic shimmy dislodged me from the ship, and I grabbed back on with a shout. Breathing hard, I waved the wand around like a crazy person, trying to locate the tracking device.
Beep, beep, beeep, beeeep, beeeeeeeep!
I swung around. Damn the Powers! It was behind me. I had to go back.
Chapter 23
“There’s another bug!” I cried, diving under the mechanical arm as it reached out.
“Leave it!” Jax roared.
Leave it? Now that I know it’s here? This wasn’t a hypothetical problem anymore; it was real.
The hunters would follow us almost immediately after we jumped. On Albion 5, they’d had to get back to their ship, track us, and then locate us more precisely in the Flyhole mess. All those factors would be eliminated for a hasty second jump. We’d be in the same situation we were