Nova, warrior-princess from Ashmar, still wore her golden armor, and her whip hung at her side. Her pointy ears thrust out from her blond hair, and her green eyes stared back at Riff, and he saw the rage inside them. He had already taken her off one planet, her homeland, where she could have risen to the throne. Now, after she had struggled and fought to find a new home on Earth, he was yanking her away from that world too, leaving her old life in tatters. The guilt still filled Riff's stomach like a bad meal.

  He turned to look at his brother. Steel stared back solemnly, his expression inscrutable. His long brown mustache drooped down to his raised chin. He had polished his armor, and his hand rested on the pommel of his antique sword. He stood in the corner, refusing to sit, forever the knight on his guard.

  I shattered his life too, Riff thought, even more guilt piling up.

  He turned to look at his new companions next. Piston sat on the couch, smoking a pipe and stroking his long white beard. The gruffle stood shorter than Riff's shoulders but probably weighed more, most of that weight in his muscles. His hammer hung across his back, its head the size of a shoebox. If the battle had perturbed the gruffle, he showed no sign of it. He stared down at the counter-squares board, studying the pieces, seeming as relaxed as a drunken patron at the Blue Strings.

  Beside Piston sat little Twiggle Jauntyfoot. The halfling was a fraction of the gruffle's size, not much larger than a toddler. Her legs didn't even reach the edge of the couch, let alone the floor. She too was busy studying the counter-squares board, tapping her cheek with her wrench and mumbling, deep in thought.

  Finally, Giga stood behind the couch, smiling and pleasant as ever. Not a wrinkle marred her blue kimono, not a single hair lay out of place on her head. Her scent of jasmine tickled Riff's nose. Riff wondered how much sentience filled Giga, whether she was aware of herself as an android, or whether she was essentially just a clever keyboard.

  He cleared his throat. "All right, everyone. Listen up. First staff meeting. Giga's brought us far into the depths of space, and she's cloaking our signals. We're safe from the Cosmians . . . for now. But not for long. There's trouble going on in this corner of the galaxy, and we've got to solve it."

  Nova snorted. "Trouble in the galaxy? Riff, more like you got into trouble in your life and dragged us into it."

  Riff tightened his jaw. "Nova . . . not in front of my staff."

  She laughed. "Your staff? Riff, two days ago, you were playing guitar for spare change, too poor to even get drunk. You're not some space captain."

  "I am now, Nova. I gave you a chance to buy this ship yourself. You refused. I swapped my guitar for the Dragon Huntress, so I'm your captain now."

  She growled, leaped to her feet, and unfurled her whip. "Like hell! If you think I'm going to obey your orders like some docile geisha, you've got a reality check coming." She glanced over at Giga. "Sorry, sweetheart. No offense."

  Giga only smiled and bowed her head.

  A large thump sounded above. Riff stared up. On the ceiling, the padlocked hatch rattled.

  "What was that?" Nova whispered, clutching her whip.

  "Ignore it." Piston moved a piece on the counter-squares board. "Trust me. Ignore it."

  At his side, little Twig glanced up to the ceiling, then back down. "Listen to him."

  A loud moan sounded above, then died. Something scraped overhead, then fell silent. Riff frowned up at the ceiling.

  A ship possessed by a demon? He shuddered. Utter nonsense. Impossible. No such things as demons existed. Probably just a family of possums, just like Leroy had said.

  Riff looked back at the others. "All right, gang. How much fuel and food we got on this ship? How far can we get?"

  Twig sighed. "Not far. Romy ate almost all the food and drank almost all the fuel. She--"

  "Hush!" Piston said, glaring at the halfling. "Get back to the engine room, you clod. They don't need to know about that." He turned back toward Riff. "We've got enough to reach Mars. Saturn maybe if we tighten our belts. We could have gone farther on hyperdrive, but we're out of hyperfuel. If we coast to the nearest colony, we can stock up on more supplies there."

  "And this time keep Romy locked up!" Twig said. "Or she'll just eat it all again."

  "Hush you!" Piston pointed at the hatch on the floor. "Get to the engines."

  Riff blinked, looking back and forth between gruffle and halfling. "Who's Romy?"

  "Nobody!" Piston insisted.

  Twig opened her mouth, prepared to speak again, then closed it when Piston glared at her.

  The scratching sounded again above. The padlock rattled. A new moan rose from the attic.

  Riff frowned. "That does it. What the hell is up there? Piston, you got the key to that padlock?"

  The stocky gruffle grumbled and twisted his fingers. "Aye, Captain. But . . . with all due respect, sir. I've been engineer on this ship for years now, and I've learned a thing or two about how the Dragon operates. You really do want to keep that hatch locked."

  "Especially if you don't want somebody drinking more fuel," Twig added.

  Riff held out his hand. "Key. Now."

  Piston took a deep, shaky breath, and Twig curled up on the couch. Even Giga's smile faltered. With a wince, Piston held out the key, and Riff snatched it.

  "Nova, Steel, watch my back." A ladder was attached to the wall, leading to the hatch above, and Riff began to climb. "Whatever's up there, if it tries to bite my head off, kill it."

  "Maybe yes, maybe no," said Nova, lazily flicking around her whip.

  Steel raised his sword. "By my honor, brother, if any foul demon of the Abyss slays you, I shall avenge your death."

  Lovely, Riff thought.

  He gulped, placed his key into the padlock, and unlocked it.

  The hatch swung open.

  A voice wailed.

  Wings beat and with a squeal, something large and red and squirming fell down onto him.

  "Fragging aardvarks!" Nova shouted, leaping back.

  Riff thrashed, heart pounding, trying to free himself. Leathern wings beat. Claws flashed and fire crackled. The creature wailed above him, crushing him.

  "Oh shenanigans!" Riff finally managed to shove the creature off. He rose to his feet and stared down.

  His eyes widened.

  "Yep," Nova said, "it's a demon all right."

  "My bum hurts," the demon said, sounding miserable. "I fell on my bum." Tears welled in her eyes, and she began to suck her thumb.

  Riff rubbed his eyes in disbelief. In storybooks, demons were hideous creatures, all hooves and blazing hatred. The demon who sat before him, sucking her thumb, looked anything but intimidating. She was a young woman, it seemed, perhaps twenty years old. Her skin was red, her fingers sprouted claws, and a long tail flicked behind her. Bat wings grew from her back, and her hair seemed woven of flame, crackling like a torch. She wore pajamas with little teddy bears printed on them, and she held a real teddy bear in one hand.

  Piston sighed. "Meet Romy."

  The demon pulled her thumb out of her mouth, waved, and grinned. "Oh hai! Got any fuel around? I'm parched."

  "No drinking fuel!" Piston roared.

  Romy leaped to her feet and wagged her tail. She turned toward Riff, thrust out her chest, and saluted. "Hi there, Captain Riff, sir! I heard your name from up above. They usually keep me locked up there. At least since the time I gnawed through the cooling coils that day we flew by the sun. Bad timing. But I can hear everything!" She grinned, revealing long fangs. "Cadet Romy, reporting to duty!"

  "You're not a cadet!" Piston rumbled. "And you're not part of this crew! You're a very bad demon that's possessing this ship." The gruffle sighed and turned toward Riff. "I'm sorry, sir. I did warn you, though. She'll be a right nightmare to lock back up now. Last time she got loose, she hid in the engine room for a week."

  Twig nodded. "And she ate three of my wrenches! Ate them!"

  Romy stuck her tongue out at the little halfling. "Well it's your fault for leaving them in the kitchen."

  "They were on my tool belt!"

  Romy snorted. "Tool belt, kitchen, same difference." The demon turned back toward Riff. "Ignore the little ones. I'm the most valuable crew member you have. Got any enemies you need clawed to death? I'll claw 'em!" She lashed her claws. "Got any nasty aliens you need bitten to death? I'll bite 'em!" She bared her fangs. "Got any poodles?"

  Riff frowned. "Why poodles?"

  "I like poodles." Romy wagged her tail. "I was hoping you'd have one around. They're delicious." She smacked her lips.

  "Right." Riff turned toward Piston. "Lock her back up."

  Romy gasped, let out a wail, and her eyes welled up with tears. "You can't make me go back! I won't go! I won't I won't!" With a wail, the demon leaped forward, barreling between the others. Her hair of flames crackled. Fast as wildfire, she leaped through the trapdoor in the floor, racing down into the engine room.

  "Great!" Twig said. "She'll be guzzling down fuel again and eating more wrenches." The halfling grumbled and raced downstairs after the demon. "It can take days to catch this one, and we'd be lucky to have any bolts left without chew marks on them."

  Riff sank into a couch and clutched his head.

  "Giga?" he whispered.

  The android nodded. "Music, sir?"

  "Yes please."

  Soon the sounds of guitar and keyboards filled the ship again.

  Nova flopped down onto the couch beside Riff, leaned against him, and patted his knee. "Not how you imagined your week would go."

  He sighed and leaned closer to her. It felt nice. Oh gods, it felt nice. It had been so long since he'd sat like this with Nova, seen her relaxed, felt her touching him.

  He looked at her. His ex-girlfriend. The fiery warrior he loved. Even now.

  I still love you, Nova, he thought, gazing at her freckled face, green eyes, pointy ears, hair like molten gold.

  "Nov, I'm sorry." He held her hand. "Honestly. I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess. I know that . . ." His throat felt tight. "I know that you found a better life without me. Fame in the arena. A fancy motorbike. A luxury apartment at Dune Plaza. A new life on Earth, better than the one I gave you. And I'm sorry." He looked around him at the ship. "You deserve more than to be dragged across the solar system inside a rusty dragon, a crazed cult in pursuit, and a demon guzzling down fuel in the engine room."

  Nova nodded. "I do. I was a princess of Ashmar once, you know, until I followed you away from my home down to that rock you call Earth. And I still follow you." Her eyes were suddenly damp. "Damn you, Riff. Damn you."

  Riff turned to look at Steel. His brother stood, stiff as always, his hand clutching his sword. "Sit down, Steel."

  The knight raised his chin. "A knight does not sit while defending his--"

  "Sit."

  Steel sat.

  "Look, brother," Riff continued. "I want to apologize to you too. I didn't want to drag you into this either. I know you were happy in your castle, with your horse, with--"

  "I was not happy," Steel said.

  Riff blinked. "But . . . you had it all. A castle, a noble steed, the life of a knight."

  Steel sighed and lowered his head. "Brother, I'm a relic of an older time. I know this. A rusty old relic, as Nova has called me. What's a knight without a battle to fight? Without enemies to slay?" He looked around him and nodded. "But now . . . now I'm a knight who found a dragon. Who found a quest." He squeezed Riff's shoulder. "Who fights with a brother he loves. We'll find Father. Our family will reunite, fighting together."

  A great, sniveling sound rose below. Romy's head thrust out from the basement, and she blew her nose into a handkerchief. "That . . . that was beautiful." Tears streamed down the demon's red cheeks. "Just beau--ow!" Romy glared down into the engine room. "Stop tugging my tail, Twig!"

  The demon vanished back into the basement.

  Riff sighed. He rose to his feet and began walking toward the bridge. "Giga, come with me. We're taking this hunk of junk to the nearest colony. We begin our search for my old man there. And if any Cosmians show up on the way? Do that dragonfire thing again."

  The android grinned and followed. "Happy to comply!"

  The HMS Dragon Huntress sailed onward through space. The music played on. Down in the basement, wrenches clattered, Twig cursed, and Romy wailed.

  Chapter 10

  Emperor In The Alley

  Grotter, Field Commander of the Cosmian Order, walked into the alleyway, his metal claw ready to draw blood. With every step, his body clanked and his anger grew.

  Starfire almost killed me, he thought, clenching his fist. He almost blasted my jet from the sky. If Grotter hadn't swerved his jet around, the dragon's fire would have burned him. Now fire seemed to blaze inside Grotter, an unquenchable rage.

  The alley was a narrow, filthy tunnel like the intestine of a Carinian stone-beast. Scraps of newspaper, Styrofoam cups, and empty beer bottles rolled across the ground. Laundry hung between the windows of the apartment towers that rose all around him. A homeless man lay by a trash bin, drinking spirits from a bottle in a paper bag. Muffled blues wafted from ahead, discordant wailing like dying cats.

  Sickening, Grotter thought.

  Once the skelkrin masters arrived on this planet, he knew, they would clean up the filth. They would burn all the beggars, the musicians, the unwashed masses. They would tear down the hovels and alleyways. They would erect great towers in their stead, massive monuments of black iron. They would turn Earth into a world of might, of ruthless efficiency. A great outpost of the Skelkrin Empire.

  And I will rule this planet for them, Grotter thought. His mouth watered with anticipation. For my masters, I will turn the Earth into the greatest fortress the galaxy has ever seen.

  He sucked in air. Humans were weak. Humans were pathetic. Humans could lose their arms to the fire, lose their faces, lose half their insides. Grotter looked down at his body, a body more machine than flesh now. Skin, muscle, veins, all fused with tubes, metal plates, screws, gears, moving parts. A body both frail and strong. A clockwork worm.

  He kicked an alley cat, sending the vermin fleeing, and kept walking closer to the music. Bile filled his mouth.

  "But the skelkrins are strong," he hissed into the shadows. "The skelkrins are superior beings. And I, Grotter, am blessed to serve them."

  Finally, with the guitar wailing grown to intolerable volume, Grotter reached the backside of the Blue Strings club. The two girls stood there in the alleyway, leaning against a wall and chewing gum.

  "Hey, mister!" said one, a scrawny rat of a girl with frizzy yellow hair. "This here's our alleyway. Skedaddle."

  "Yeah!" said the other, a lanky girl with garish makeup. "We ain't letting no strangers in here, mister. Get lost!" She popped her bubble gum at him.

  Grotter stepped closer. A gust of wind blew back his cloak and hood, revealing his body and face, the flesh fused with the metal. He raised his claws, gears clicked, and the fingers flexed. The girls gasped and took a step back.

  "Your names are . . . Mandy and Tammy, yes?" Grotter stepped closer, a smile twisting what remained of his mouth. "Friends to Raphael 'Riff' Starfire."

  Mandy, the girl with frizzy yellow hair, flipped him the finger. She was trembling but managed to glare at him. "Who's our friend ain't none of your business, mister. What are you anyway, some kinda freak or somethin'?"

  "Yeah!" said Tammy, the girl with garish makeup. "Ain't none of your beeswax who we's friends with." She drew a gun and pointed it at him. "Now amscray!"

  Grotter stepped even closer; he now stood only two feet away from the girls. They backed up, pressing against the back wall of the Blue Strings. The wailing of guitars still rose from inside, and now they sounded to Grotter like screams of anguish. He brought his claw closer to the girls, letting the gears click, the blades move up and down. He fixed his red, dilating eye upon them.

  "Yes, I remember you two," he whispered. "When my men chased Riff out of this cesspool you call a club, you fired your guns at me. You let Riff escape. I will let you live . . . but only if you tell me where Riff fled to. I know he left the Earth. Where is he heading?"

  Mandy snorted. She turned toward her friend. "I've had enough of this bozo. You wanna go play some stickball?"

  "Yeah!" said Tammy. "Boring here anyways." She pointed her gun at Riff. "Now get lost, freak! Go suck on a rusty pipe, you piece of scrap metal."

  The girls tried to shove past him.

  Grotter thrust his claws.

  He grabbed Tammy by the throat and squeezed.

  The girl screamed and fired her gun. The bullets slammed against the metallic half of Grotter's face and ricocheted. He tightened his claws, and her screams died. Blood sprayed him.

  The second waif, that rat named Mandy, screamed and tried to flee. Grotter opened his metal palm wide. Light coalesced and blasted out, slamming into Mandy's back. She pitched forward, hit the ground, and her blood pooled. Weeping, she began to crawl away.

  Grotter approached slowly and knelt above the wounded vermin.

  "You could have lived," he whispered. "You could have lived to see my skelkrin masters arrive in all their glory, could have gazed upon their holy might . . . at least before they burned you." He shook his head. "The folly of youth."

  "Please, mister, I ain't gonna hurt you, I--"

  He thrust down his claws.

  She gave a last scream, then fell silent.

  Grotter flicked blood off his claw, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and patted his face dry. Killing was such a dirty job, but somebody had to do it.

  Two girls lay dead, but a third girl still evaded him. A girl more important by far. A girl who could change the fate of the Cosmos.

  "Where are you, my precious Midnight?" Grotter whispered.

  He turned back toward the Blue Strings. The old wizard had sent the pirilian here, yet she dallied. Perhaps she hid in the shadows of a nearby alley. Perhaps she hid in the swamps or forests of a distant world halfway across the galaxy.

  "And perhaps . . . perhaps you shelter her, Riff Starfire," Grotter whispered. His metal hand clanked as his finger-blades flexed. "I will find you, Riff, and I will kill you too . . . slowly. Lovingly. Bit by bit."