"I'm going to assume that you all know what the Maji are and what they can do?"

We all sat in Zed's living room, waiting for the answers to questions we still held. I couldn't help but what the drink Zed had poured himself as it swirled around in his glass. Whatever it was, it was the brightest shade of purple I had ever seen.

"I'm also going to assume that you all know what CD is?"

My brows scrunched up on my forehead, "What does a drug have anything to do with the kidnapping of Maji?"

Zed met my gaze. Pointing a finger at me, while still holding his drink, he said, "Because, dear Temperance-Jude, that drug and the Maji are impossibly linked."

Although my blood instantly began to boil when he used my full name - no one, no one, used my full name. Ever. I tried to squash the feeling down so I could focus on what he was saying. Fortunately for me, Kade got there first.

"You're talking in riddles. What are you saying here man? You saying the missing Maji have something to do with cosmic dust?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Zed leaned back, his legs looked miles long in those pinstriped pants. "Haven't you wondered where it came from? How it was just suddenly there on the market?"

Kade shook his head. "Can't say I have. We don't deal in drugs."

"A smuggler who doesn't deal in drugs?" Zed smirked over the rim of his drink, "How admirable of you."

I had about had enough of Zed beating around the bush - or the pile of drugs, as it were. "Spit it out already. What do the Maji have to do with CD?"

Blue eyes met my own. With only a coffee table between us, I decided that Zed must have Nakeer in his blood. No one had eyes that blue but the Nakeer. I would know. "Because, my dear. The Maji are the drug."

"What?"

"In order to create CD, you need a Maji. In order for a Maji to create CD, you have to kill them."

Looking at the faces of my friends, I saw emotions ranging from disgust to confusion. Poor Axon looked like he wanted to puke. Swallowing down my own feelings, my hands gripped tightly to my knees. "But that doesn't make sense. How do you create a drug from killing someone?"

Zed shook his head, setting his drink down on the table between us. Like he suddenly realized what he was talking about and couldn't stomach it. "I don't know - I've never asked for specifics. We had some GPF officers in here not long ago, bragging about their latest catch." He gave me a meaningful look, "Maji, obviously. Next thing my guy knew, the officer pulled out some CD and started talking."

Kade's upper lip curled but before he could say whatever was on his mind, Zed held up a hand. "I kicked them out, before you say something. I don't mind some drugs in my house but not that one."

"Why?" Lenna's brows pulled tight on her forehead. "I mean what makes it different than the others?"

"Have you ever tried it?" When no one spoke, he let out a dry chuckle, "Yeah, I figured. See, taking CD can be fun at first. Gives a good high for a while. But the longer you ingest it, the stronger is becomes. It builds up in the bloodstream. I've heard cases of users suddenly having abilities like the Maji. But that's not a good thing - because then they die."

Leaning his elbows on his knees, Kade's shoulder brushed with mine. I hadn't noticed how close we had been sitting. "They OD?"

Shaking his head, Zed lifted his drink to his mouth again. "No, it's the drug. At some point the body can't handle it anymore and it kills them." He downed the rest of his drink. "So no, I don't allow such a volatile drug in my establishment."

We still didn't have all of the answers. I didn't get it - how did you create a drug by killing someone? It wasn't like the Maji had any powers like that. And if there were, they would've been so rare it would've been impossible. A pit was forming in my stomach; I could feel the hives rising on my legs and arms even though I couldn't see them through my clothes. We were missing something big. Something important. "But how-."

Bangs sounded downstairs. Screams started next. Doors were slammed.

We all jumped to our feet faster than I had ever seen us move before. Lenna and I made it to the windows first. I could've puked at the sight below us. "The GPF, they're here." I spun on my heels and glared at Zed, this had to be his fault. He must have called them; reported me.

But the man raised his hands, his eyes wide with shock, "I didn't say a damn thing, kid. I swear it. What happens in my house stays here."

Kade growled, grabbing his coat off the bar where he had tossed it at some point. Under other circumstances, I would've admired the way his long sleeve shirt clung to his body. But now was definitely not the time for that. "Well someone must have! We need a way out - now!"

Snapping into action, Zed led us to the back of his bedroom. Who needed a bed that big? You could've fit at least five people in it. He pressed a section of wall beside the nightstand and the wall split, revealing a tunnel. How was there a tunnel on the top floor of the building? "This leads to a set of stairs to the roof. You'll have to jump to the next when you get up there."

Lenna and Axon went through first. Kade put his hand on the small of my back to push me in first but I stopped. Looking up at Zed's face, I hoped my eyes bore into his like I wanted them to. "You betray us and there isn't a damn planet in this galaxy where you could hide."

He was silent for a beat, the only sounds coming from below us. Then a smirk grew on his lips. Looking past me, I knew he was looking at Kade. "I like her. You'd better keep this one safe."

Kade's hand pushed me again, a little harder this time. "I plan to."

We were just inside the small passage when Zed gave us a mock salute. "May the stars protect you, friend." The wall closed, leaving us in pitch darkness. I could see fairly well, thanks to my Nakeer heritage, but I didn't say that out loud. Taking Kade's hand, I led him towards the narrow metal stairs and we climbed.

On the roof, Lenna and Axon were hiding just before the edge of the building. Even three stories up I could see the flashing lights from the GPF speeders below us. We had to get out of here. Edging close to the roof-line, I eyes how far the next building was. It wasn't too bad, maybe ten feet or so. But it was lower than this one, so the landing would be hard.

Kade stood beside me for a moment before nodding. "Alright, we need a running start. I'll go first, I can help if anyone you short it a bit."

I wasn't sure about this plan and by the color of Lenna's face, she wasn't either. But Kade didn't hesitate, when he ran from one end of the roof to the other, he went full throttle. When his feet left the edge of the roof I held my breath until he landed on the other side. He rolled to lessen the impact, but he was otherwise unharmed. Axon went next, his recent growth spurt aiding him in making the distance.

Lenna was up and her face showed up unsure she was about it. Out of all of us, she didn't like heights much.

Taking her hand in mine, I gave it a squeeze. "We got this, together."

Her tan skin was pale-looking. I saw her swallow before nod once. "Together."

Taking a good running start, we leapt from the building. Even living in space where we occasionally experienced zero gravity, this was something else entirely. We could fall to our deaths at any second and anti-gravity would not hold us up. The building got closer and closer, almost like it was moving in slow motion, before the street below us disappeared and we landed with a thud. We both rolled to try and ease the impact on our legs but my feet still felt like I'd just landed on concrete.

I hadn't even caught my breath when Kade and Axon ran over and were pulling us to our feet.

"Move! We need to move!"

Laser fire hit the ground beside my foot. Spinning to look behind us, my blood ran cold when I saw the roof swarming with GPF, their laser guns held at the ready. Another shot went by my head and we ran. Thankfully, the majority of GPF agents were bad shots or I would've just gone down. Hard.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop would've been fun, if we weren't being pursued by people who wanted us dead. Well, wanted my friends dead at any rate. I doubted my father would be very forgiving if someone shot me. When we couldn't jump a distance, Kade led us down the stairs beside the building. I had forgotten that most of the buildings on Antares looked liked the ones on Earth. Being one of the first colonies meant that there hadn't been much outside influence yet.

As soon as my feet hit the ground I was running. Where were we? Did Kade even know? We had ran the wrong way to get back to the Phoenix. We'd have to make a big circle to get back to her and lose the GPF at the same time.

By the time we made it back to the ship, the suns were beginning to set outside the Dome and I was drenched in sweat. Only when the ship was locked up and were safely inside did it suddenly click. "Where's Axon?"