Marked Prince: A Qurilixen World Novel (Qurilixen Lords Book 2)

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Her feet trampled through mud, but she didn’t care. Mud reminded her of the clay pits from childhood, and she enjoyed the clomp and sticky pull of it against her boots. The one thing she could do without was the smell. The crush of bodies over a long period had marked the area with an underlying stench that even a breeze did little to resolve.

  Jaxx kept to the streets, away from the crowded sidewalks. Warped boards created the walkways but were hardly kept clean.

  Decay and rust ran as a theme through the structures. Patched metal repairs were held in place with corroded bolts and swipes of quick-drying polymers covered holes. The buildings were tethered together with rope. She couldn’t imagine any place more opposite to the Federation stronghold with its pristine and sterile walls.

  Jaxx kept glancing in her direction as if gauging her response to everything. His serious expression drew her back from the carnival of the city sights to the reality of why they were here. She clung to his hand, not wanting to risk an apocalyptic vision while so many people were curiously watching them.

  Suddenly a loud whack reverberated from between two of the dilapidated buildings, and a man stumbled in front of them. He tripped on the warped boards and slid across the muddy street. Jaxx swept Fiora into his chest and jumped out of the way.

  The man stopped sliding. He jumped up with a growl and charged back between the buildings. Fiora tried to watch, but Jaxx pulled her away from the fight.

  Salena stared back at them. Fiora nodded and mouthed that she was unharmed.

  As they walked down the street another fight, by all evidence unrelated to the first, broke out between a merchant and customer. Shouts escalated to into a brawl within seconds. The customer knocked over a stall of metal trinkets. Onlookers began to cheer, though it hardly seemed they were invested in who won. A woman ushered her child past the throng as if such were an everyday occurrence.

  “Meat. Less than a week old,” a woman yelled, not sounding very enthusiastic as she pointed toward her questionable wares. “We accept trade.”

  Jaxx escorted her at hurried pace as they turned through a narrow marketplace.

  “Half price love,” a gruff voice yelled. The man wore a dirty yellow shirt with holes in it. “One stone will get you a date with a pleasure droid.”

  “Half price for half a droid,” another man teased, mimicking Yellow-shirt’s voice. “Half a stone will get you his hand.”

  “He’d have to pay me for his hand,” a woman cackled. She jumped up and wiggled her hips, grinning a toothless grin. “Fifty-five stones!”

  Yellow Shirt dismissed her with a wave. “Even the mites won’t go under those diseased skirts.”

  Toothless pursed her lips to mimic a kiss and then smacked her backside.

  “That’s the man who stole our food simulators,” Jaxx said, nodding toward Yellow-shirt. “We’re still trying to find where he hides them.”

  She tried to pull her hand from his, but he held on tighter.

  “You don’t have to,” he said. “We’ll find another way.”

  “I’m here to help these people. Let me help.” Fiora slipped her hand from Jaxx’s and stared at the grotesque merchant.

  Ash started to fall, and all the people around her looked up at the sky in shock seconds before debris began to rain down upon them. She pushed past the dominant vision to peek beneath. She saw Yellow Shirt sneaking out of his house, and a vision of him in black ghosted over his currently lewd gestures toward the toothless woman.

  Fiora followed him with her mind, trying to pick out his secret. She watched him pull a piece of the warped walking boards behind his shop where he kept a stash of goods.

  “What are you looking at?” Yellow Shirt yelled. The present pulled her from the future. “What’s wrong with her? She got the radiation sickness?”

  Fiora touched her nose. It was bleeding. Blocking the death event made it harder to concentrate on the information she sought. Jaxx grabbed her hand.

  “We don’t want no sick here,” the toothless woman added.

  “Get her out of here,” another man yelled, his gruff voice indicating he was ready to make it happen if Jaxx didn’t.

  Jaxx quickly led her from the marketplace. They came out on a new street.

  “I hate using you for visions. I know how much it hurts you,” he said.

  “I appreciate that, but if I’m going to have visions—and I am—they might as well be useful,” she answered.

  “What did you see?” he asked, as they continued to walk after Grier and her sister.

  “I think your missing simulators are behind his shop, under the walkway, inside a large pit dug into the dirt. It’s where he stores all his goods,” Fiora answered. “It’s all I saw.”

  “Thank you.” Jaxx nodded. “That’s more than we had a few moments ago.”

  The roads were unmarked, and after several more turns, Fiora knew she’d be lost in the city if left on her own. She held tighter to Jaxx’s hand.

  “What is it?” he asked, concerned.

  “I’m lost,” she answered. “I was too busy watching people that I forgot to pay attention to where we were going.”

  “We’re almost there,” he assured her. “I won’t leave your side. I’ve stared at this city from above until I memorized its patterns. We’re not lost.”

  Salena glanced back to make sure they were still following before she and Grier turned a corner and moved out of sight

  A redheaded woman shoved a piece of dirty parchment into her hands. “Join us in the fight against—”

  “Back off,” Jaxx warned.

  “Don’t fall victim to fear,” the redhead said. Her stained gown had been patched and appeared clean. Her hair was pulled to the top of her head, twisted around the crown to keep the locks out of the way. “We must fight if we want our freedom from the tyranny of Shelter City.”

  Fiora pulled her hand from Jaxx. She unfolded the paper to read it before she thoroughly considered the action. The ash began to fall. She tried to ignore it.

  The redhead’s timeline flashed, but the instant burst was replaced with stronger images. The woman didn’t move. Her skin began to smoke and peel away from her face as if hit by a laser. Screams echoed but the redhead only stared at her with sad eyes.

  Jaxx took Fiora’s hand and the vision instantly disappeared.

  “You all right?” the redhead asked, frowning as she stared at Fiora’s nose. The blood must have smeared on her face. It wasn’t the first time she’d caught someone staring at her nose. She reached to cover it.

  “She’s fine,” Jaxx answered.

  “No,” Fiora said, forced to tell the truth.

  The redhead’s eyes narrowed. She sprang into action, attacking Jaxx as she ripped Fiora away from him. She shoved the heel of her hand toward his jaw. Jaxx’s head snapped back at the sudden assault but he only lifted his hands in defense, choosing not to hurt the woman.

  “Run!” the redhead yelled.

  Fiora stood with her arms to the side as a rush of agony overcame her. Fire rolled down the street, causing buildings to explode and people to cry out in pain. Panic ensued as people rushed past her like ghosts over the present. The fire came closer, so hot she could feel it bubbling her flesh.

  The redhead tried to pull Fiora’s arm to get her to safety. Fiora jerked away from her.

  “Stop.” Fiora’s voice was weak. She began to shake. “Jaxx. I can’t see you.”

  Jaxx rushed to Fiora. He put his hands on Fiora’s face, ending the vision. A rush of cool hit her body and she gasped for breath.

  “Look at me. You’re all right. I’m here,” Jaxx said.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. “There’s so much. We have to stop it.”

  “I know, love, I know,” Jaxx soothed. He ran his thumb under her bleeding nose.

  “What’s wrong with her?” the redhead asked, eyeing them warily.

  “Nothing,” Jaxx answered.

  “There’s so much,” Fiora repeated. “These
people shouldn’t be here. We have to make it stop.”

  “Shh, we will, my love, we will,” Jaxx assured her. “We can’t talk about it here.”

  “Jaxx, we have to go,” Grier appeared at their side. “We’re starting to draw the attention of sweeper borgs.”

  The redhead stared at Fiora a moment, before finally judging that Jaxx meant her no harm. “I thought you were hurting her.”

  It wasn’t much of an apology. Jaxx ignored the woman as he wrapped an arm around Fiora to guide her steps.

  “We have to walk,” Jaxx urged.

  “I know,” Fiora whispered, still teary as the remnants of grief rolled through her. Her legs felt wobbly.

  Fiora blinked in surprise as the redhead touched her arm. “You’re not from Shelter City, are you?”

  “No,” Fiora answered. “I was being held by the Federation. I escaped, and now we’re trying to—”

  Jaxx wrapped his hand gently over her mouth and walked faster. “I’m sorry about this.”

  “Enough said. I’ll handle the sweepers,” the woman stated. “Those buckets of rust are stupider than a pile of Federation rubble.”

  Jaxx removed his hand, and Fiora glanced back to see the redhead kicking a metal wall before taking off down an alley. The sound of banging followed the woman.

  “What are sweeper borgs?” Fiora asked. Two men ran after the redhead, following the ruckus she made.

  “The Federation reconditioned old rubbish collecting droids into cheap hitmen to police the citizens of Shelter City,” Jaxx said. “They’re not working with the smartest processors, but they are dangerous if engaged.”

  Grier and Salena waited near a narrow opening between two structures. Seeing them Salena slipped between the buildings. Grier and Jaxx barely fit as they all had to turn sideways to pass through. They turned a corner, still sideways as they moved into a shaded inlet.

  “Careful,” Salena said. “There’s a step up.”

  They turned yet another corner. Fiora held Jaxx’s arm, letting him guide her in the dark. A thud sounded, and suddenly there was a blue light coming from behind an old board that acted as a door. Exterior building walls made the secret nook, and sheets of metal had been laid over the top to create a hidden room of odd angles and mismatched colors.

  “Yevgen, are you here?” Salena called. “It’s Salena. I came before with Princess Payton.”

  Fiora was the last to step into the strange space. The blue glow came from a wall of monitors, all in various states of grainy dilapidation. Sounds seemed to come from all of them, creating a low murmur of tones that acted more like white noise. They appeared to be surveillance of the city, each one showing a different area. The largest, clearest monitor showed the outside of the Federation building and political housing on top of the cliff.

  “Yevgen?” Salena called again, looking upward. Her gaze followed along metal tracks in the ceiling.

  Suddenly the sound of rolling metal came from behind the monitors. A legless man sat in a sling that hung from the ceiling. It rolled along the tracks. His arms hung out of the side of the sling. When he looked at her, she remembered Yevgen wasn’t a man at all. He was a cyborg. His mechanical eyes focused in on her like a security camera. Fiora saw them appear on one of the monitors as his eyes zoomed in on them.

  “Future queen of the dragons,” Yevgen said, bowing his head. Salena’s face became focused on the screen and the image of starbursts appeared around her like fireworks. His voice wasn’t what Fiora would have expected. It had a pleasant quality to it. “An honor to see you again so soon.”

  “It is good to see you, Yevgen,” Salena said.

  “Prince Grier. Prince Jaxx,” Yevgen said to the men in turn, their faces appearing with less fanfare on the monitor. “I have seen you both several times sneaking through our city.”

  Yevgen’s gaze then settled on Fiora. A monitor behind him flickered, and a poster of her appeared on the screen. The image zoomed in to the scar on her forehead.

  “I am pleased to see you have found freedom, Lady Fiora,” Yevgen said. “I wondered if we would ever meet. I have been picking up communications about you for some time.”

  “Yevgen is the one who told us they were bringing off-world dignitaries into the facility for that big gala,” Salena said. “It gave us our opening to get to you.”

  “Yes. They were bringing generals and captains who needed convincing of Shelter City’s relevance. They tried to hide the reason for their landings with fake planetary clearance codes, but they referenced a soothsayer in their communications,” Yevgen added. “Thankfully, your escape did not help secure their galactic position. The general was very disappointed to lose you.”

  “Then I owe you my thanks,” Fiora said.

  Yevgen’s eyes dilated. He focused in on her as if registering her physiological reactions. The monitor showed a recording of Grier running them off the side of the cliff during their escape from the stronghold. As they fell, a large white cat had jumped from the trees only to drag a fallen soldier into the brush. The image lasted several seconds before it returned to the present. Her scar became a highlighted line for a brief moment as if he logged the anomaly into his database.

  “But I cannot say I would have recommended a level-one prisoner of the Federation’s return to the city,” Yevgen continued. “The general was not happy to lose such a prized possession.”

  Yevgen glanced to where Jaxx held her hand.

  “It would seem another has taken possession,” the cyborg said.

  Fiora followed his gaze down. She wasn’t sure she liked being called a possession but didn’t correct him. They needed his help.

  “Or perhaps you have taken possession of him?” Yevgen mused. “Another dragon prince tamed?”

  “Yes,” Jaxx said. “Without hesitation or regret.”

  “Any others with you?” Yevgen slid to look behind them. His eyes filled with electricity at the question.

  “No, no others,” Salena said.

  “This place is getting crowded.” A woman appeared from behind the monitors. She wore a black shirt with cross laces down the front from neck to stomach and tight pants with sleek boots.

  “Payton!” Salena went to the cat-shifter princess and hugged her. “What are you doing here?”

  “We’re missing a runner,” Payton said. She reminded Fiora of Grace. It wasn’t so much how she looked, but the way she carried herself. It couldn’t be easy being the rare female shifters on a male-dominated world. “He didn’t show to pick up his load of food supplies. I’m trying to find him.”

  Yevgen’s sling turned and rolled closer to the monitors. He pointed to a screen to show Yellow Shirt. “He was looking into the man who stole the food simulators.”

  “We saw him. Is that your runner or the thief?” Grier asked.

  “Thief,” Yevgen said.

  “Fiora might have a lead on the simulators,” Jaxx put forth. “Behind his stop, buried beneath the walkway.”

  “How…?” Payton began. “Never mind. That’s amazing. Thank you.”

  The monitor blipped, and Yevgen continued, “This is our missing runner. I fear he is dead. People who go missing in Shelter City tend not to be found.”

  A familiar face appeared on the screen.

  “That’s Brogan,” Fiora said.

  “You know him? Does the Federation have him?” Yevgen asked.

  “No. He’s on his way to the northern mountains with his sister,” Fiora said. “Brogan is safe.”

  “Dulla escaped her husband.” Yevgen gave a small smile. “Brogan is taking her to the mountains where they may live in peace. That is an ending I enjoy. There are not many happy endings to the stories of Shelter City. You know for sure that they are safe?”

  Fiora bit her lip and didn’t want to answer. “Brogan and the two babies will live. Dulla will die soon in childbirth.”

  Yevgen’s smile faded. “You say that with such certainty. The rumors about your future sight are true.”
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  “They are,” Fiora said.

  “Death of a mother. That sounds more like a story from Shelter City.” Yevgen sighed and nodded.

  “Fiora, I’m Payton.” The princess held up her hand. “I was pleased to see you escape the stronghold.”

  “Was that you dragging the guard when we jumped off the cliff?” Fiora asked, gesturing to the monitor.

  “It was.” Payton gave a small laugh as Fiora’s eyes widened. “Don’t worry. I didn’t eat him or anything. He woke up hours later with a nasty headache. I thought it best to give you all as far of a head start as possible. We didn’t need him alerting the others.”

  “Thank you for helping me,” Fiora said.

  “You’re welcome. I’m happy you’re free but I have to agree with Yevgen. You shouldn’t be in the city,” Payton said. “Not after what it took to break you out of prison. If they catch you again, we might never get another chance.”

  “I have to be here,” Fiora answered. She couldn’t turn away from so many future deaths. “I wish I didn’t, but I do.”

  “As much as I want to believe it’s because of my winning personality that you’re all here, I have to believe you’re looking for information.” Yevgen turned to the monitors. “What are you searching for, and what do you have to trade for it? Nothing in Shelter City is free. The future dragon queen already owes me a favor, so it will have to be something else.”

  “How about life?” Jaxx asked.

  Yevgen spun around on his sling and slid away from them. The monitor lights went from blue to yellow and began to flash a countdown sequence. “Threats don’t work on me.”

  “Calm yourself,” Grier stated.

  “It’s not a threat,” Salena assured him.

  “I wasn’t threatening your life,” Jaxx said.

  “I saw a bleak future. A great explosion is going to hit the city,” Fiora explained. She looked at the monitors wondering if this was the beginning of what she saw. “We’re here to stop it. We don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  The countdown on the monitors stopped and the yellow faded to blue. She took a deep breath. It was not going to be what caused the explosion.