CHAPTER 19Erica reared from her bunk as Varl burst into her cabin. She was nude; the sheet fell, exposing the smooth expanse of shoulders and arms, the swell of breasts, the roseate circles embracing her n*****s.
“Kurt!” Shock made her voice shrill. “What in hell is that?”
It came again, a raw sound of absolute terror, harsh, grating, a sound torn from a human throat. The alarm blared. Varl swore, reached for the intercom, slammed his hand on the button.
“Cut the alarm! Cut it, damn you!”
The alarm died and the screaming died with it to leave a relative silence broken only by the sound of startled voices. Then, like the grate of a nail on slate, came a thin, keening moan.
“God!” Erica was standing, oblivious to her nakedness. “Kurt—”
“I thought it was you.” Relief made him abrupt. “L
