Gabe
Page 13
He and his escort reached the cell block. Gabe hoped Keshara might be in one of the chambers as he walked mechanically past, but there was no such luck. He wondered where the Khagrish had incarcerated her for the night. He craved the reassurance of seeing she was okay, at least for now. There was a warm feeling in the back of his mind, almost a subtle hum, telling him his mate was alive, but he wanted the evidence of his own eyes.
Is that the mate bond? Pondering the meaning of the indefinable connection he felt to Keshara, Gabe became distracted.
“Stop,” Slibb said with a nasty laugh.
Gabe’s body froze in midstep and he toppled, unable to break his fall. The tech grabbed him at the last second and kept him from smashing his face on the floor, then laid him on his back.
“Gets me every time I pull that on one of you subjects.” Chuckling at Gabe’s close call, he took a portable braceletting machine from a cabinet in the wall, fastened a neurocontroller bracelet to Gabe’s wrist, and administered a mild dose of pain. “Testing the circuits.” His broad smile indicated the motive was more than conducting a simple test.
Bastard enjoys watching others suffer. Through the agony inflicted by the bracelet, Gabe’s rage intensified and his determination to destroy the Khagrish, starting with Slibb, was a stone cold trigger in his head, waiting for the right opportunity to unleash his well-honed military skills. The Sectors had trained him to be an effective, deadly warfighter and he’d lost none of his killing edge.
Unaware that Gabe had signed his death warrant for him, Slibb was in a good mood, issuing sarcastic warnings. “Don’t even think about your clever trick of climbing in the vents again. I had to spend a lot of time wiring the grates to administer a shock that’ll knock you flat and sound an alarm. Blanggin was not amused by your escapade. Stand up and face the cell.”
Again forced to obey, testing his reflexes to no avail, Gabe asked as he rose jerkily, like a puppet, “How long does it take this drug to wear off? Am I going to be left staring at the blank wall all night?”
Squinting, biting his lip Slibb ran a scan and did mental calculations. “Maybe another hour. Then you’ll have the shakes most likely, and by morning you’ll be fine. Ready for the Director’s next set of protocols. She has a lot of tests planned.” He turned off the force barrier. “Enter the cell and lie on the first bed.”
Gabe had never wanted anything as much as the ability to command his own nerves and muscles so he could pummel the Khagrish into the ground but, again, his mind was disconnected from the necessary circuits. When he was situated on the lumpy, thin mattress, staring at the spider web effect of myraid cracks in the painted ceiling, he heard the force barrier across the front of the cell snap into place.
“I left you dinner and a bottle of nutrient drink,” Slibb said through the buzzing energy field . “When you can get to the table, the meal will help with the after effects. Pleasant dreams.”
Gabe made an anatomically impossible suggestion for what the lab tech could do next, and then he heard the man’s retreating footsteps as Slibb left him alone with his bleak thoughts.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Keshara snapped into to full consciousness, finding herself in her cell, alone. She sat up with caution, in case there were lingering aftereffects of being stunned twice in such a relatively short time. Frowning at a scattering of cuts and bruises on her arms, from her fall on the rocks, she was pleased to see the contusions well on the way to healing, thanks to her Badari physiology. She glanced at the grate on the wall and wasn’t surprised it had been rigged with a mini force barrier. No one’s escaping the easy way again.
Her mouth was dry as if it had been stuffed with a towel and she made her way to the sink, since the table was bare of food or nutrient drinks. After rinsing her mouth and drinking a moderate quantity of the flat tasting water, Keshara straightened and looked in the mirror. Hesitantly she bared her shoulder, peeling the pink shirt she wore away from her body and admired the golden, circular mate mark. Touching it with her fingertips, she whispered her mate’s name, remembering the moment of special closeness when Gabe had claimed her and closed her eyes tight against the overwhelming grief assaulting her over their recapture. Hot tears flowed down her cheeks as she clutched the edge of the sink, hunched over as if to ward off a physical pain. Neither of us will get out of here alive now. I’ll never see him again.
Feeling the sensation of the mate bond between the two of them was reassuring to some extent but she wanted to be in his arms right now and far away from this dreadful place.
Keshara stumbled to the bed and fell onto the thin mattress with a sob, curling herself in a ball with the pillow and giving full rein to her grief. Eventually she ran out of tears and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Without much hope, she tried the telepathic link, casting for contact with Gabe, even though there was no mind touch possible between them. The mate bond didn’t bring communication, only a wonderful sense of belonging to each other. An unbreakable link, as represented by the golden circle marks.
There were so many things she’d wanted to say to him—years’ worth of conversations she and her mate would never have now. She hoped the Director wasn’t going to make him suffer. Farahnnim could be vengeful and inflicting pain unaccountably amused her. Keshara shoved away memories of watching the Director discipline others over the years or personally supervising punishment meted out by Ashla or the techs.
After washing her face, she lay on the bed again and redirected her telepathic efforts, seeking out Palinna and her other sisters but careful to exclude Ashla from her mental quest. This conversation wasn’t meant for the First Daughter, whose telepathy was lackluster at best, but Keshara didn’t want to take any chances tonight. She was able to connect immediately with the other Second Daughters and for a few minutes the mental channel was a raucous chaotic swirl of questions and concern for her well-being.
One at a time. I’m in my cell. I’m fine, just a few fresh bruises. I don’t know how long I may have to talk and there are things I need to know. She exerted her authority, such as it was and the loop fell silent. Have any of you heard what’s to be done with Gabe? Have you seen him?
Palinna answered, her ‘voice’ sad in Keshara’s mind. I was told he’s going to the Director’s lab tomorrow, for tests and then apparently she’s going to give him the elixir and put him in stasis as a permanent source for DNA. What about you? What has Ashla said of your fate?
Swallowing hard, thinking of the horrors Gabe had revealed to her, she said, I’m to go into the annex.
A difficult time ahead then, Raeblin said. After which you’ll be in the paradise valley, praise the goddess. I’m so relieved—
No. Heartsick, Keshara cut her sister off. I’ll be dead, my body and spirit having been sucked dry to make the Director’s precious elixir. We wondered what the elements in the formula might be—now I know. There is no valley. No joyous place inside the mountain where our sisters live in peace and wait for us to join them one day. They’re all dead. Or soon to be, like me. It was all lies.
Total silence on the telepathic link.
Guessing her sisters were as shocked, horrified and disbelieving as she’d been when Gabe first told her what he’d seen in the annex, Keshara recited the facts as he’d shared them with her, finishing with: He saw all of this with his own eyes, sisters. Jezari and the others lying in extraction pods, the Khagrish machinery ripping whatever Farahnnim needs from their bodies and spirits—we’ve been fools.
He—he could be the liar. Palinna’s comment was tentative and hopeful. We know he hates the Khagrish. Maybe he seeks to turn us against them.
Gabe is my mate, claimed by me. We love each other. The goddess blessed our bond with her golden mark. He’d never lie to me. I believe him. Keshara had no doubts. Growing excited, irritated she hadn’t considered this possibility before, she threw a question out to the others. Can you come to me, sisters? Free me tonight? And then we can free Gabe and go see the truth of the an
We’ve all been locked in our rooms. Ashla said it was for our own good, because the Director wanted to be sure no one got in the way of her experiment with the human. She said punishment would be severe and she’d rather not have to administer correction or pain to us while she’s busy with other priorities. Palinna sounded angry now. More lies?
Alone in her cell, Keshara nodded involuntarily. The Khagrish don’t trust us, they’ve never trusted us. Farahnnim trusted Ashla to keep us in line and so she did. But not any longer. Did she say when you’d be released?
Raeblin answered. Sometime tomorrow. I asked her because I have early shift duties in the far garden.
After I’ve been placed in the annex, no doubt. Ashla doesn’t know Gabe told me the truth about the pods and the elixir but she would definitely be afraid of my asking you for help to save him. She wouldn’t expect me to ask for help for myself, since as far as she knows I still believe her big, elaborate lie. But you wouldn’t make any effort to rescue him on your own, would you, if I was already gone to what you believed was a good destiny? Even if I’d been allowed to see you and made you promise?
I-I don’t honestly know, especially if we remained comforted by the old belief that the annex led to the life of rewards and luxury beyond the gates. We’d have been concerned but happy for you. Palinna sounded troubled. You’re our sister but he’s an outsider, unknown to us. Do the Khagrish know you’re mated? Does Ashla?
No. Keshara remembered how Gabe had talked about Alphas and the power they wielded. She knew she wasn’t an alpha-born but she was desperate to save him. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax and then summon up whatever gifts the goddess had given her, to compel her sisters to do her will. Promise me under the gaze of the Great Mother, you’ll do everything in your power to find him and free him tomorrow once you’re let out of your rooms. It may be too late for me by then but I can go to my fate with peace if I know you’ll work together to save him. And yourselves. Swear to me you’ll honor my final wish.
There was silence and she imagined with a twisted smile how much she’d shocked them with her vehement demand. Her message had felt different to herself, as if there’d been a crackling of energy in her head that flowed along the invisible line of communication. Dizzy, she lay with her head on the thin pillow and closed her eyes while she waited.
We give you our word. Palinna spoke for the others.
Had her friends had shut her out of the loop while they discussed her imperious command? So unlike anything she’d ever done before but then she’d never been a mated female trying to save the beloved man she’d claimed either. Thank you, she said in a tiny mental whisper, suddenly exhausted. I love you all and I’ll miss you. Tell Gabe my last thoughts will be of him. She cut the loop off before anyone could respond. Tears were threatening to overwhelm her again and there was nothing more to be said. Now to marshal her strength to deal with the ordeal ahead of her, involving whatever would be done to her to prepare her for the extraction pod in the annex.
A sound at the force barrier caught her attention and she sat up to see Slibb accompanied by a robo server, bringing her an elaborate dinner, the plates and bowls crowding the robo’s tray. Keshara remembered with a flash of rage how each time a new woman had been selected for the annex, the entire group had been treated to a celebratory supper the night before, presided over by Ashla. Those meals had been bittersweet occasions because their friends were leaving them, and faced an unknown ordeal, but then—according to the lies Ashla and the Khagrish had fed them—would live the rest of their days in luxury and peace. And reunion in the future with the other Badari left behind. Only not in this life.
“Take it away. I’m not hungry.” She lay back.
Instead of doing what she suggested, Slibb opened a portion of the barrier and sent the robot through into the cell, sealing the barrier again, clipping the corner of the mechanical unit in his haste. “Unload the tray,” he said.
Annoyed, Keshara sat up again, arms clasped over her knees and glared at him. “This is a farce. We both know there’s no happy future waiting for me.”
The lab tech recoiled and did a double take. “What are you talking about?”
“Where’s Gabe? How is he? Can I see him?” She rose and walked as close to the barrier as she dared, ignoring the robo and the food.
Avoiding her eyes for a telltale moment before answering, Slibb said, “He’s perfectly healthy. He’s uh occupied right now with a session of uh sensory tests.” Voice gaining strength, the tech added, “You’re not to be allowed to see each other again. The Director wants no more complications to her ongoing experiment protocols.”
“Falling back on your techno gibberish?” Keshara gave up on wresting information from Slibb and wandered to the table where the robo waited. The selection of dishes included her favorites and she picked up a stalk of crispy green to nibble, dipping it into the thick sauce for the meat casserole. “All right, hang on.” She moved the dishes and as the robo floated away toward the door, she set the half eaten appetizer on the plate and retreated to the bed.
The robo moved into the corridor and Slibb reset the full barrier. “You really should eat,” he said as he lingered in the hall. “Even if you aren’t too hungry.”
“Why do you care?” Dread swept over Keshara and with sudden understanding, she asked, “Is the food drugged?”
Slibb shifted from foot to foot and scratched his head. “It’s not what you think, nothing lethal, just benign compounds to make tomorrow easier for you.”
“Goddess, you people lie so easily. Easier for me, right. As if any of you cared.” She rolled onto her side, facing away the cell entrance. “Leave me alone.”
Withdrawal from the damn drug wasn’t too bad, Gabe decided—an hour or so of random spasms and isolated shooting pains in different quadrants of his body as his muscles came under his own control again. Hydrating with as much of the nutrient drink and water from the cell’s sink as he could keep down relieved the symptoms to some extent. There were three clusters of earthquakes during the night, which at first he’d dazedly assigned to his own wooziness from the drug but by the time the last set hit, and the entire building vibrated, he realized the tremors were coming from the volcano towering far above the lab’s plateau. Doesn’t say much for the geological stability of this place. The Khagrish sure didn’t choose wisely when they built here. Maybe the aliens were unfamiliar with the seismic mechanics of volcanism. Not that he was an expert but he had to believe increasing levels of quake activity such as they were experiencing now were a bad sign.
In the morning, Slibb brought him breakfast, another meal too bland and disgusting to be excited about. A robo carried the tray into the cell through a partially shuttered force barrier while the lab tech held a stunner aimed at Gabe’s heart from outside the room. Apparently, the Khagrish had learned to be cautious of his capabilities after the first escape. Pity.
Surveying the meal, Gabe frowned at the usual lumpy gruel and a nutrient drink, with a surprisingly ripe piece of fruit. He picked the one inviting item up and bit into the tart green-and-white speckled flesh with real enthusiasm. “How do you have fresh fruit up here on a snow covered mountain?”
The force barrier crackled into full coverage as Slibb lowered his weapon. “We’ve got gardens, an orchard, all kinds of stuff. The Director had the plants and the supplies flown up here in the early years, and the Daughters take care of all of it. The girls do all the grunt work here, in case you hadn’t noticed, under Ashla’s sharp eyes and heavy hand. The system works out great for me, for sure—all of the comforts and none of the dirty work. Except in the lab. We’ll be processing your so-called mate for the pod this morning, by the way, so I’ll be back for you this afternoon. I’m sure you must have been anxious about the agenda for the day.” Laughing, the lab tech sauntered away.
Gabe sat at the table and closed his eyes, praying first to his own Lords of Space and adding a quick plea to the goddess to watch over Keshara until he could rescue her. The Khagrish in this facility were not going to defeat him, and he was going to take Keshara and the others to the sanctuary valley.
Guzzling the nutrient drink, he ran methodically through possible scenarios for later in the day, when he was escorted to a lab, thinking through the offensive actions he could take, depending on whether he was drugged or restrained and how many people he had to fight his way through to gain his freedom. Today was his last chance and he’d hold nothing back.
It’s us or them, he said to Keshara in his head, wishing he possessed a telepathic link to her. The bond hummed a little more loudly for a second, as if he’d plucked the string on a musical instrument and he took comfort from the connection.
Gabe spent a good amount of time evaluating the possibilities in his cell for creating makeshift weapons. Eventually, he set to work making a lethal stabbing weapon from a piece of metal he’d managed to break off from underneath one of the beds, bending it back and forth until metal fatigue set in and he could wrench it free. The shard had a sharp tip which he’d honed a bit on the bed frame. He wound strips of fabric ripped from the underside of the mattress in a braided crisscross pattern at the blunt end to make a better grip. Not knowing when the Khagrish might come for him, he hid the crude shiv inside his prison jumpsuit where it would be easy to grab but not visible. He wished he had time and material to make a better weapon, but one was better than none.
Even though she did grow hungry as the night wore on, Keshara limited herself to a slice of bread and a few of the raw vegetables, figuring those were the least likely to contain whatever drugs the Khagrish wanted to dose her with. Why make it easier for them? She drank water from the tap to wash down the inadequate meal and tried to go to sleep, but her thoughts were in a tangled whirl. She didn’t reach out to her sisters again. They couldn’t help her so why impose her sorrows on them?
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