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caught the scent, nothing would
stop him from seeking his prey. A natural-born hunter.
    His measured stare skimmed over each
passenger in the cabin but she doubted he missed the smallest
detail about anyone in the room. When his gaze reached the corner
where she and Dak sat, Kierin quickly looked down. Not by so much
as a flick of an eyelash did his expression change, but her finely
honed sense of survival kicked into full alert. He recognized her.
She knew it. There was nowhere to run even if she had time to
escape. All of her grand plans for Dak withered in the face of this
nameless adversary. After twenty years of hiding, it seemed somehow
ignoble to die in a cheap cabin aboard a rundown transport
craft.
    Pulling her dignity around her like a warm
blanket, Kierin straightened in the seat. She would not disgrace
herself--or the memory of her family.
    “I truly am sorry, Dak,” she whispered. With
his back to the door, he wasn’t aware of this new danger. The
familiar lifting of one eyebrow at her statement brought a
bittersweet smile and an unfamiliar sting of tears.
    “There you are. You didn’t tell me our seats
were in the baggage bins. I got tired of waiting for you in the
dining chamber. Figured I better locate my seat before our next
stop.”
    Kierin stared in open-mouthed shock when the
stranger settled into the seat beside Dak. He was acting like a
lifelong friend instead of a bounty hunter. Risking a quick glance
at Dak, Kierin stalled before she was forced to respond to the
unusual man. Before she could form two coherent thoughts in a row,
the stranger leaned over and reached for the food basket in the
seat beside her
    “Relax, Lady Kierin,” his rough voice,
unexpectedly soothing, carried no farther than their tiny area. “I
know who you are and you’re safe with me. There’s a couple of
Phantom Riders upstairs but I don’t think they’re looking for
you.
    “This smells great. When do we eat?” His
voice rose to normal levels as he dug into the food.
    “Who are you?” Kierin winced at the sound of
her own desperation. He knows who I am !
    Shifting the basket to the seat beside Dak,
the stranger settled himself in the empty seat.
    “I hate sitting with my back to a door.”
Dropping his voice back to the soft tones only she could hear, he
murmured softly. “My name is Talon. I’m an assassin.”
    Kierin gasped and struggled against the
light-headed warning she was about to faint. Assassin! By the
Goddess Jovena he’s a bounty hunter! How ironic! Only in this end
of the galaxy was assassin an honorable profession! Clutching
her amulet tightly, she fought the flood of desperation, forcing
her mind to clear. She had to think. Phantom Riders upstairs and
an assassin here. It can’t end like this. Not yet . The Goddess
of Goodness and Light couldn’t allow her death before she found a
way to stop Draagon. She was the only one who stood between his
evil and the rest of the known universe. If she died now there
would be nothing and no one capable of controlling Draagon’s insane
drive to rule the galaxy.
    A low-pitched, rumbling growl jerked
Kierin’s attention from the green-eyed stare of the bounty hunter
to Dak. His face showed no more emotion than it had since she
placed the stone around his neck, but his eyes blazed with intent.
Another rumbling warning echoed around them and she found herself
lifted from her seat and placed in Dak’s. Dak now occupied her
position next to the bounty hunter. His movements were so swift and
smooth; she had no time to wonder how he managed to react past the
control of the stone he wore.
    “I mean your lady no harm,” the stranger
quickly assured Dak. “If my intent was to kill her, she wouldn’t
have made it off her own world.”
    Dak continued to stare at the man who
threatened Kierin until the truth of his words registered in his
cold stare. Allowing himself to relax slightly, he glanced at
Kierin’s pale face and haunted expression. Another wave of