The Betrayer: Baltin Trilogy Book 2 (Savage Worlds Series)

Chapters 1-5

Chapter One

Earth spins on its tilted axis, the steady revolutions a welcome escape from Jareth's lies. His betrayal still burns a fire in my heart. Time away from him and everything his race represents—humanity's suffering and demise—is what my bruised soul needs right now.

Sparky's fingers swipe at a virtual screen. The tiny, metallic fibers of his gloves scratch against one another in the silence, pulling me from dark thoughts.

A thrill of excitement quivers through my limbs. The anticipation of planting my feet on the planet's crust and seeing my sister's face makes it hard to sit still.

Maybe this is a dream.

I pinch the skin of my forearm. Nope, not dreaming. After two long years, Sissy will gather me into a tight hug, and we'll swap survival stories, then reminisce about our parents.

If she's still alive. Pushing the thought away, I'm unwilling to contemplate the alternative. If my DNA survived the sickness, there's a high probability hers did, too. This lifeline has kept me going for months. She's my only family member left, and she's alive—she must be.

Leaning to pat Kodiak on the head, I quench the hundreds of flutters beating against the inside of my stomach.

The scruffy dog, possibly sensing my anxiety, turns his mismatched blue and brown eyes to mine, and a long tongue laps my hand. "Woof."

"Not long now, boy." Reassurance soothes my tumbling thoughts, and I grab both sides of his head and rub my nose against his black, wet snout. "Sissy's going to adore you."

A long pink-and-black-mottled tongue sneaks between his teeth and bathes my chin. His muzzle widens in a smile, and a bushy tail beats against the seat. Thump, thump, thump.

Chuckling, I raise a hand to wipe the dog slobber from my face.

My four-legged friend always cheers me up. He's my talisman against the darkness—against the world.

Cutting through the silence, an electronic voice interrupts cuddle time. "Tilly, we will touch down at the coordinates specified within fifteen minutes. Please ensure the safety harness is securely strapped across your person."

Checking the belts, I lean over to tighten Kodiak's restraints, too. My eyes roll in Sparky's direction, and I stick out my tongue.

Kodiak's doggie grin meets mine, and a whiff of dog breath fans my way.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, helmet head." I give Kodiak's pointed ears a quick scratch. "We're good. Just get us to Florida in one piece, will ya?"

The pod's large viewscreen blinks, and the walls of the sphere pulse in waves, then disappear. Shimmers of dark space appear instead of the reassuring comfort of solid walls. Only the floor remains visible.

"Holy shit." The saliva in my mouth dries, and my fingers claw the edges of the seat. "What the—"

Words die in my throat. The sphere floats through the void. I'm sitting in a giant bubble surrounded by a vacuum of stars. The untethering sensation of the sudden disappearance of solid barriers causes a wave of dizziness to slam inside my head.

Closing my eyelids, I breathe and try not to think about tumbling end-over-end into space. "Stupid asshole robot."

After several calming intakes of air, my hand reaches where the wall used to be before the damn carrier ninjaed it away. Even though the barrier is unseen, firm metal greets my fingers.