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  Wound Up

  Escaping through her workshop tunnel, Neva is less than impressed to find that her proposed partner was the one sent to rescue her and the Citadel staff.

  She has managed to dodge her offered position in the Sector Guard for over two years and when Archer comes to save her, she knows that her time to think about it is over.

  Archer is bewildered that a woman like Neva keeps turning him down. He's ridiculously handsome, has an impressive talent and is a charming conversationalist. What more could a woman want?

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  Wound Up

  Copyright © 2011 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-003-7

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Devine Destinies

  An imprint of eXtasy Books

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  Wound Up

  Sector Guard book 23

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Neva shooed her charges down into the emergency hatch. With a string tied to the door, she tugged it open as she lowered the hatch door and moved the rug to cover it. Peeking through the one-inch opening, she charged the strand with the brittleness of ice and jerked hard.

  As it shattered, she lowered herself down into the underground tunnel and looked at the best and brightest that the Citadel had to offer. "Okay, ladies, we are going out that door and into the forest. Keep silent and calm and we will be fine."

  Sterla tugged at the door and scowled. "Winder Neva, this door is sealed shut."

  A cold chill ran through her, but Neva moved toward the door. Sure enough, a synthetic welding substance was trailed around the doorframe and firmly held the door in place. "Stand back. This will take some practicing."

  She took a thread from the reels at her waist and tied a knot in one end. Focussing the sputtering talent that had cursed her her entire life, she started to spin the thread faster and faster, imbuing it with an acidic temperament and stepping forward. The whirling thread ate into the door, creating a hole that was large enough for them to crawl through.

  She discharged the characteristics she had imbued into the thread, snapped the used area off and dropped it to the floor.

  "Please come this way. I will seal the door behind us. Get to the other end of the tunnel and wait for me. I will be right behind you."

  Geli looked up at her with solid black eyes. "Are you certain?"

  "I am certain. I will be right there." She watched as the Citadel apprentices crawled through the hole, one by one. Her hands were busy while they escaped the noises of the Raider attack. Neva wove a web of threads rapidly, using the hooks she had had implanted in her nail beds. With the loose fabric bunched in one hand, she crawled through the hole she had made. She turned and fastened the web to the interior of the hole and charged it with an electric shock strong enough to stun any of the races who were known the frequent the Raider clans.

  She walked down the tunnel and found her students waiting for her. "Thank you for following instructions. The Raider warning came out nine minutes ago. If they land and come for the weaving house, they will find the door open and no one in it. Whoever sealed the door will lead them to the trapdoor and from there, they will find that we have escaped. Now, we have to remain at liberty long enough for help to come."

  Geli swallowed and her tongue flicked out rapidly. "Do you think they will come in time to keep us from being taken?"

  "I have no idea, but I do know that we have to fight." She looked over her six students and smiled grimly. "Now, stand aside so I can blow the door. If they are waiting for us on the other side, this is going to hurt."

  * * * *

  Archer grabbed his bag and headed for his shuttle the moment that Haunt finished her briefing. He was going to pick up Neva Corren and bring her back to safety.

  It was ahead of schedule, but he was going to have to rescue his mate today. It was unexpected, but from what he remembered, nothing about Neva was to be expected. She fought when she should give up, ran when she should stay and hid when she needed to be out in the open.

  What had Commander been thinking when he matched me and this Terran with all the wrong instincts?

  Archer put on the halo the moment he was free of Station 13. He engaged the jump drive to bring him closer to Yski. The distress call had come in an hour ago and it would take him six hours to get there if he pushed his jump engines to the limit.

  Two other Guardsmen teams had been sent as well, but they were farther away than he was. Archer crossed his fingers that for once in her life, Neva put the proper instincts with the correct event.

  * * * *

  The explosion had been silent, but the door had blown back twenty feet. Neva pulled her hands off her ears and grinned. "Let's run for it. There are cave systems that should hide us. They are less than an hour away. I need you all to promise me that you will run and not give up. If a friend falls, grab them and lift them to their feet. We are all making it out of here as a group or not at all."

  "Are you sure that we should leave the safety of the tunnel?" Sterla was nervous as her lids flickered rapidly, focussed on the wilderness they were about to run through.

  "Someone in the village, at the school, knew that this attack was coming. They sealed the door to keep us from escaping. That means that they want you and I am not going to let them have you. Are we clear?"

  Frelan cocked her head. "That seems very heroic for a weaving instructor."

  Neva shrugged, "I always have had the worst instincts. This day is no different. Come on."

  She ran with her flock of empaths and sensitives across the short span between the tunnel and the forest. They kept together in a tight group and after three hours of stampeding through woods and brambles, Neva led them into a cavern in the foothills and they hunkered inside to wait.

  The women were quiet. It was unusual for a group of women that outgoing to fall silent, but Neva didn't care. They needed to stay silent. The Raider ships were flying in a zigzag pattern over the village and their search intent was obvious.

  Sterla finally spoke when she had caught her breath. "We will need water and a lav of sorts."

  "Give me a moment and we can explore the cave to see if there is a likely spot for a lav substitute."

  Geli frowned, her lizard-like features more obvious in the dim light. "How are we supposed to do that?"

  Sighing, Neva leaned back and started to work on a strand, chaining it together until it started to form a ball. "I repeat, give me a moment."

  When she had a mass large enough, she snapped the thread and held the ball in her hand, powering it up. A bright glow started deep in the fibres and soon illuminated all of the frightened faces of her charges.

  "Come along, ladies. I smell water and we will be less noticeable to th
e trackers if we are further back."

  She quickly threw a strand across the entrance and coughed at the sharp tang of rock and sulphur given off by the exploding thread.

  The ladies covered their mouths and coughed. "What was that for?"

  "It will burn out any scent trackers and with the way the wind is blowing, it should hide us long enough for help to find us."

  Tven's huge eyes looked hopeful. "You know that they will be coming?"

  Neva smiled as she led the way into the darkness, her light spilling in a pool around them. "Oh, I know it. There is no way that the Sector Guard let's a good candidate get away. Not when their partner is already on the books."

  Chapter Two

  Archer could see the Raider ships and he crossed his fingers that the stealth technology that had been installed into the Arrow was holding tight.

  Lowering the Arrow into the atmosphere with so many ships searching the village and woods was a delicate operation, but Archer had targeting skills that were beyond the average pilot.

  The one time he had met with Neva, she had turned down the offer to join the Sector Guard but had taken on a waiting status. He had been a little insulted, as an Admaryn blend, he was quite the catch. He had been a little arrogant at their meeting, it was true, but that was no reason to turn him down.

  The skimmers and light shuttles were scanning frantically. Whatever they were looking for had escaped them and they were pissed.

  Archer grinned and sent out a scanning burst looking for Neva's biometric signature. If her instincts were operating with her normal bizarre connections, she would have run from safety and taken the Citadel staffers underground a good distance from the village.

  The scanner burped. A quick sound that told him his instincts were correct. Now, how the hell was he going to dig her out of a mountain of solid rock?

  * * * *

  The water was cold and fresh, enough to stop the rumble of their stomachs. Geli found some bugs in the tunnel so she was able to eat, but the rest of them were not yet in the survival at any cost mindset.

  Neva looked back to the edge of the tunnel that would lead them to the surface and she wondered. Could help have arrived already? She was getting the feeling that it had.

  "You ladies stay here. I am going back to the mouth of the tunnel."

  A general outcry broke out.

  Sterla lifted her head from the pool. "Winder Neva, that is dangerous and stupid."

  Neva couldn't help the grin. "I know and yet, it seems like the thing to do."

  "You are not a psychic, your talents are different. How do you know?"

  Chuckling, she followed the strand she had left to lead her back to the entrance. "I have always had a nose for trouble."

  The smell of the area that they had used as a lav was enough to make her move quickly. Within six minutes, she was back at the entrance of the cave.

  The Raiders were getting closer. They had obviously not expected seven unarmed women to move that quickly.

  Hunkering in the shadows, Neva watched as the Raiders continued their patterns. Something finally grabbed her attention about the local surroundings. She went on alert and took a closer look from her vantage point in the shadows.

  There was something weird about the vegetation to the left. It looked much flatter than it had when they entered the cave. A smell hung in the air as well, electricity and metal.

  A voice came from nothing, right next to her. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

  She jumped and banged her shoulder on the rocks. "Archer. I would know that smug tone anywhere. Where are you?"

  A flicker next to her gave away his position, so she punched him in what she hoped was his thigh.

  "Ow. Still mean, I see. Where are your charges, Neva? The ship can only stay stealthy for so long."

  Neva had a mouthful of evil comments, but she held her tongue to quickly retrieve the women from the Citadel.

  They peppered her with questions, but she waved them to silence. "They are still looking for us, so it is best to be quiet."

  Their group moved back through the tunnel and to the entryway.

  Neva jumped when Archer grabbed her arm but didn't say a word as she followed the gentle tugging with only a gesture to the women behind her to follow.

  The skimmers were getting closer, so she broke out into a trot as a door opened three feet above the glade. The stairs were visible and she stood to one side as the women piled into the small doorway in the forest.

  Once inside, she checked that they were all in good condition before watching the hatch sealed by invisible hands.

  Archer flickered back into visibility and bowed to the assembled ladies in his ship. "There are crew quarters on the Arrow and you are welcome to get some rest. If you care to eat, as soon as we make it past the raiders, you are welcome to the galley. For now, strap in. This isn't going to be a smooth ride. Neva, please take the navigator station."

  She couldn't help the little flip that her heart did when he said her name. Archer was lovely, long auburn hair, leaf green eyes and features so perfect that it hurt her eyes to look at him. She had to turn him down the first time, even though it was a dagger to her heart. His ego would have been insufferable otherwise.

  She nodded at the collection of Citadel specialists who had merely come to Yski for a fluff course on meditative weaving and had ended up in an escape to ensure their freedom and it wasn't over yet. "Strap in, ladies."

  The Arrow was large for a Sector Guard ship, but the layout was simple, rooms connected by a hallway that led to the control centre.

  She strapped into the harness at the navigator station and adjusted the depleted reels on her belt.

  Archer was behind her in a moment, strapping into the pilot's seat with a jaunty grin. "Long time no see, Neva."

  "Yes, Archer. Thank you for responding to the call so quickly."

  "The others are on their way. I simply got here first."

  "Who else is coming?"

  "Hardcore and Green. They are well suited to battle tactics on a small scale. In fact, I believe they have arrived." His grin was almost evil.

  "How can you tell?"

  "The vines and branches are pulling skimmers from the air. That is usually a pretty good sign that Green is on the scene." Archer started up the engines and prepared to lift off.

  Through the displays that were available, she saw the forest coming alive and pulling ships from the sky.

  "Can they tell friend from foe?"

  "I hope so."

  "Just to be on the safe side, we had better lift off." Neva ran her hand over the console, activating the sensors for atmospheric flight.

  "So, Archer. I see you got the stealth refit, uniform and all."

  "Nothing but the best for the Sector Guard." With his hands on the controls, he turned to give her a devastating wink. "Where to, my lady?"

  "Morganti. These are all students at the new Citadel outpost."

  "Excellent. Once we are clear, I will call in our flight plan and let Haunt know where her favourite Guardsman is."

  Neva chuckled and shot Archer a narrow glance. "Doc isn't here. He's with his wife where he should be."

  "I meant me."

  She laughed. "You have a very high opinion of yourself."

  "It is warranted. Now hold on, we are lifting off. This may use more power than the stealth unit can access." He gripped the controls and they lifted slowly from the forest floor.

  They cleared the canopy of trees without mishap and that was when things took a turn for the unusual. The stealth unit deactivated, leaving them exposed and in the centre of a flock of circling Raiders.

  "Neva! Help!" came from the rear of the ship. Sterla's tone was panicked.

  Neva unbuckled and leapt to her feet. She turned to Archer, "You get us out of here, I am going to deal with whatever the girls are up to."

  Walking carefully down the hall, she took her emergency monofilament reel and loaded it onto her belt, a strand was pin
ched between two fingers and she was ready for anything. When she reached the cabin where they were supposed to be waiting until space was achieved, Neva stood in the doorway and stifled a gasp. Five of the women were lying on the floor and the sixth was nowhere to be found.

  A slight noise behind her didn't make her turn. Instead, Neva lunged into the room with the unconscious women and then whirled around.

  Sterla stumbled forward, her target missed in her initial lunge. Sterla's claws were unsheathed and she glared at Neva while she gathered herself for another lunge. "Why don't you stand still?"

  Neva flicked her fingers and watched the slight gleam of the thread attach itself to Sterla's bicep. "Because it goes against my instincts and they stand between me and disaster most days."

  A surge of power along the thread shorted out Sterla's nervous system and she collapsed on the deck, twitching. Neva kept the flow of energy up until Sterla's eyes showed her mind fading into unconsciousness.

  A slight kinking of the monofilament detached it from the reel. With quick movements, Neva tied Sterla, hand and foot, before checking on the other women. They were asleep but alive.

  Sighing, she returned to the bridge, swaying with the movement of the ship. "Archer, do you have any restraints?"

  He didn't turn his head but answered her while trying to out manoeuvre the Raider ships. "Second casing on the right in my bedroom."

  She stifled her comments about the location and turned to retrieve the restraints. She ignored the other items in the cupboard and left his bedroom with only the manacles in her hands.

  Sterla's ties were exchanged for the cuffs. Neva hauled her to an empty storage container in the hold area and locked her in with a few deft wraps of thread transformed into steel. The transformation would only work for a few hours, but it would be long enough to get them away from Yski.

  When she slid back into the navigator station, two other Sector Guard ships flanked the Arrow.

  "Who is our company?"

  "Hardcore and Green on the left, Razer and Tech on the right. What was the dust up in the back?"