Spirit Walk_ Enemy of My Enemy (Book 2) - Christie Golden [2]
He had put away his phaser while he descended the slope. Now he pulled it out again and started running down the hill, his eyes glancing around for whoever or whatever might have done this.
Kim never saw the enemy that had stalked him silently and now launched itself at him from behind.
Patel had two instruments in her hands—her phaser and her tricorder. She thumbed a button on the latter and lifted the former, but she had underestimated the creature’s speed. It sprang on her even as she fired and her shot went wild. Her small body fell beneath the creature’s weight, and the tricorder flew from her hand.
The beast weighed several hundred kilos, and she felt her ribs crack. Ignoring the pain, her arms pinned, she squirmed stubbornly beneath it, staring up at its small dark eyes and muzzle crammed with teeth.
Carnivore, she thought in a detached part of her mind. She felt hot breath on her face and smelled rotting meat. Yes, definitely carnivore.
Patel braced herself for the crunching of those sharp teeth on her unprotected throat, but it didn’t come. She and the creature locked gazes for the span of a few heartbeats. Saliva dripped onto her cheek.
Then, as suddenly as it had attacked, it was gone. Patel gasped for breath and wished she hadn’t as the pain redoubled. Through the agony of each inhalation, she wondered: Why didn’t that thing kill me?
“Sekky, are you all right?”
Oh, good, thought Ellis. They’re awake. That should make this more fun. He looked over at his companion, grinned, and inclined his head in the direction of the lab. His companion nodded and stepped briskly down the corridor toward their captives. Ellis waited, timing the moment.
“What happened?” Sekaya still sounded groggy.
“An excellent question, and one we’ll be happy to answer.”
Ellis smiled at Sekaya’s gasp as she recognized the Cardassian. He wanted to see her reaction himself but knew that the moment would be sweeter if he prolonged it.
“You! You son of a bitch!”
Ellis raised an eyebrow in surprise. Do you kiss your brother with that mouth? he thought, amused. He began to make his own way down the corridor, moving quietly while Crell Moset spoke.
“Hello, Sekaya. I’m flattered that you recognized me. I must have made quite an impression. No, no, dear, don’t struggle, you’ll hurt yourself and I’ll have to sedate you.”
Now.
“And that just wouldn’t be any fun at all, would it, Chakotay?” Ellis said, stepping inside. He couldn’t help grinning as he saw Chakotay’s dark eyes dart from his face to that of the real Andrew Ellis, stuck in a stasis chamber.
“It wouldn’t be any fun at all.” And this was the moment he had been waiting for, the moment when Chakotay, after so many years, would finally understand. He let his features shift, blur, rearrange themselves into a face Chakotay had known well, so long ago.
“Arak Katal,” breathed Chakotay.
The shape-shifter who wore the face of a Bajoran freedom fighter shrugged. Its earring danced with the movement. “Among others,” he said.
“Suddenly it all makes perfect sense,” said Chakotay. “I never could figure out why a Bajoran would want to betray the Maquis.”
“That’s been bothering you for a while, I know,” said Katal/Ellis. “Glad I could solve that little mystery. But I didn’t bring you down here just to reminisce. I’ve been looking for you for quite some time, Chakotay.”
With each second that passed, Chakotay’s thoughts grew clearer. He remembered now that it had been Katal who had sent him on his last mission as a Maquis—the mission that had forced him to hide in the Badlands, where his ship had been snatched by the Caretaker. Chakotay had operated from Tevlik’s moon. As he had told Admiral Janeway, had he not headed for the Badlands in an attempt to evade the clutches of Gul Evek, he knew that he would have died at the massacre along with so many others. Being lost in the Delta Quadrant had probably saved his life.
“You sent me away,