Zodiac (Zodiac, #1)(39)

Mathias leaps over to catch me as I cover my head and crumple. “Rho, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t you hear it?” I shout. The pain makes my jaw clench, and I can no longer speak. Beside me, Hysan is also clutching his head, wincing on the ground. He hears it, so why doesn’t Mathias?

Suddenly our ship makes a violent turn and starts zigzagging back and forth, flinging us into the walls and each other. The accelerating engines howl, and when the whining dials back, Hysan and I lift our heads. He flies to the control screens. “Equinox, report!”

When the ship’s brain starts blinking data, Mathias joins him at the helm, and I grab the black opal and head for the jettison tube. The Ephemeris flares through my fingers in bright searing rays, the Psynergy trying to break through from the other side. Its heat stings my hand.

Hysan calls out, “What kind of attack is this? I see no missiles!”

I keep pulling myself along the rail toward the jettison tube, but the ship’s veering so erratically, it’s hard to move. Suddenly the hot black opal slips from my hand, and the Ephemeris blossoms outward again to its full ovoid shape.

From its center, Ochus’s inky eyes stare back at me.





14


COLORLESS, TRANSLUCENT, OCHUS SHIFTS FROM one grotesque form to another, billowing tall and thin like a wraith carved from ice, fracturing into particles and just as quickly reforming.

I told you what I would do if you spoke of me.

Phantom fingers whisper over my face. I try to push Ochus away, but my hands pass through his hazy form. How can he touch me when I can’t touch him?

“Rho!” shouts Mathias. “What’s happening?”

On some level, I’m aware Mathias has seized my body. I even hear the anxiety in his voice. And somewhere behind him, Hysan is barking commands to his ship.

But I feel removed from all that. Ochus holds my attention. Murderer! I lash out, trying to punch him, but again my hands pass right through.

His fingers cinch around my neck. Ah, such passion. Delightful. Do you feel my touch? Am I real?

I twist and kick, but he holds me tight. The more I struggle, the more his fingers bruise my throat.

You will not stop me. You’re out of time. He grips me harder, cutting off my air. Black spots start to crowd my vision. Desperately, I sweep my hands around, searching for the black opal.

Hysan seems to guess my thought because I see his hazy form through the monster, and he puts the stone in my hand. As soon as I touch its hidden key, the Ephemeris shuts down, and the ice man vanishes.

I cough and gag, then inhale long raking gulps of air. Mathias is holding me and massaging deeply into my skin, trying to help my circulation. Hysan rushes back to the controls.

The ship is jerking through Space. We’re still under attack. “Mathias, I’m okay, go help him,” I gasp.

“Right.”

He joins Hysan at the controls while I drag myself toward the jettison tube to get rid of the black opal. Twice Ochus has used it to find me, and I never want to see that face again. As the ship careens forward, I open the tube.

Hysan runs over to me. “What are you doing?”

“I have to ditch this opal.”

He seizes my wrist. “No, you don’t realize what it is.”

The ship starts talking, and Hysan sails back to the helm. He speaks to Equinox in terse phrases, more like a seasoned Zodai Guard than a diplomatic envoy. “’Nox! Engage all shields. Run progress scans. Activate maximum protections, and switch to energy-conservation mode.”

Before I can toss the stone, I hear the crackling whir of the shield generator, and every opening in the hull seals itself, including the jettison tube. I clutch the opal tight. We’re veiled, hidden from view, only a faint mirage in the night-black void. . . . No ordinary eyes can see us. But are we concealed from Ophiuchus?

Tension closes like a fist in my chest. The ship stops rolling, and for a full minute, we hold steady on course. I can almost hear Equinox’s artificial brain ticking and waiting for the next attack. My hand cramps from gripping the rail as we wait through another taut five minutes.

“Setting new course,” says Hysan, breaking the silence. We do an abrupt ninety-degree turn that hurls all three of us sideways, and the ship thrusts off at top speed, going anywhere but here.

Mathias rushes over to me, concern written across his face. I’ve never seen him frightened like this. “Rho, I thought you were having a seizure.”

“Ochus tried to strangle me.” Now that it’s over, I realize I’m still weak from the encounter.

Mathias turns even whiter. “What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t see him?”

“I didn’t see anyone.” He slides his thumb over my neck, but oddly, my throat doesn’t hurt anymore. “No bruises . . . do you feel pain?”

“No,” I mutter, the thoughts in my head growing fuzzy from his touch. He’s never been so openly affectionate with me before.

I’ve only gotten to known Mathias this last week, but when he’s around, my heart acts like this ship fighting off a Psy attack—its beat bounces all over my rib cage, and I can’t decipher the melody. Each time I try to figure out my feelings, I come up against the same wall: I admire him . . . I’m attracted to him . . . I like him . . . and wall.