Adverse Effects

by Alicia Nordwell

  Nicklaus crowded me. “They’re staring at us,” he whispered. I grimaced at the feel of his anxiety pushing against me.

  “No.” The Caeorleians were looking in our direction, but at the door, not us. The door was still open.

  A cluster of guards surrounding Buphet came down the stairs. The former asheksi was naked, but so many of the people were. The thick red manacles around his wrists, bound to his waist, were shocking against his pale isitziu and paler skin. A wide band also fit around his throat.

  I swung around and planted my body in front of the group before they could enter. “Where are you taking that bastard?” I could not believe they brought him here. Like the traitor deserved safety among the people he betrayed!

  “Orders,” one guard hummed firmly.

  “Fuck orders! He isn’t supposed to come near my tziu. Let him die at the hands of the aliens he let land on Caeorleia.”

  “I won’t.” The guard didn’t flinch from returning my gaze. I narrowed my eyes. He squared his shoulders but still didn’t move.

  I had to find Yaseke, but I’d settle this first. Buphet sneered at me, and I bared my fangs in return.

  Witani strode toward us. “No one is being left to die in the nelhos’ attack. Buphet is still a Caeorleian. His punishment will not be over so quickly. Please let the guards pass with the prisoners, Dade.” She spoke calmly and firmly. The guards went rigid and saluted her.

  “Prisoners?” The word hummed through the room, and I could hear the faint sounds of shock. I ignored everyone outside the small group around me.

  “We secured the door behind us,” the lead guard said. “Anyone left up there….” He shook his head.

  A pair of Caeorleians held a litter stretched between them. “The entire guard section was decimated. Part of the medical ward was hit by secondary damage from its collapse. Some got out, but Dr. Handiburge was with this prisoner. A huge chunk of the ceiling crushed him. We had to leave him behind.”

  Oh damn. Polsh had been in that section. Witani didn’t react, so maybe she didn’t know. I wasn’t going to tell her—not with her in a delicate condition. If Polsh had been killed, there wasn’t anything we could do about it, and we had a bad enough situation on our hands.

  “Prisoners?” Witani asked. The guard gestured behind him.

  “Chip,” I said. He was alive. If these two had survived, maybe Polsh had too. I couldn’t ask the guards without Witani overhearing me, so I focused on Chip. The young man I’d known had at least interacted with us on some level. Now he stared straight up at the ceiling. He didn’t move, not even to blink.

  “Dade!”

  Yaseke rushed up holding Maerit’s hand. Pira was snuggled into Ryker’s arms.

  “I saw you were looking for him,” Ryker said. “The kids had to use the bathroom.”

  “Oh thank God.” I gestured for Yaseke to stand behind me by Nicklaus. “If he’s going to be down here, he stays over there.” I pointed toward a well-lit corner. “Two guards face him at all times.”

  I waited to see if Witani would object. Frankly, I could care less if she was pissed. She might be the Toleral’s heir, but I was a soldier who knew how to take command when things went to shit. The pounding blasts from the attack might be too far above us to hear any longer, but there was no denying the danger we all faced.

  “What about him?” The guard who hadn’t flinched from standing up to me gestured toward Chip.

  “Has he moved or spoken at all?” Witani asked.

  One of the medics shook his head. “He just lies there. There’s nothing we can find wrong with him.”

  “He was scanned?”

  “Of course. No devices like Seral’s nel—” The medical guy dropped his gaze and shifted his hands on the litter under Witani’s glare and ominous humming. Ryker rolled his eyes. “His tziu, I mean.”

  I wasn’t the only person on Caeorleia the people weren’t sure of. Knowing that took some of the sting from the guard’s reaction to my ability. Ryker didn’t let it bother him, either.

  They’d get used to us, or they wouldn’t. We couldn’t force them all to like us.

  “Then set him against the wall for now. We have injured here you need to treat.” Witani glanced at me. I nodded my agreement. Chip would be fine out of the way, close to the guards but not within Buphet’s reach.

  “Fine,” I said.

  Yaseke put a hand on my shoulder, and I stepped back, staying in front of him. He tucked his face against my shoulder as the guards took Buphet over to the corner and faced him like I demanded. Chip didn’t twitch when the medics set him down. They then hurried behind Witani toward the group of Caeorleians sitting and lying on the floor. Some held wraps against bleeding wounds while others cradled crooked limbs.

  I turned and wrapped my arms around Yaseke. “I was so scared you didn’t make it here.” I soaked up the warmth of his skin, the scent that was just him. Maerit hugged us, one arm around each of our legs.

  “Me too!” Pira demanded.

  Ryker barely held on to her as she lunged for us. I leaned over and grabbed her before he dropped her. “Careful, sweetie.”

  She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck, squeezing tight. “It was loud and scary,” she complained. “Where were you?”

  “I’m sorry.” I kissed the side of her head. “I’m here now. We’ll stay together.” I ran my hand through Maerit’s hair. “You okay?”

  He nodded. “I did everything Yaseke said.”

  My tziu leaned down and held on to Maerit’s shoulders. “You did great. I am so proud of you.”

  Maerit’s usual expression lightened, and he smiled.

  Yaseke stood back up and leaned against my side. I soaked up the silent comfort of his steady touch, his and the kids. “We can’t stay here,” I said. “I know I promised I’d stay out of the attack, but most of the guards are up there, fighting. Buphet knows more than he would tell us, I’m sure.

  “These humans were here for something more than him. The politicians and leaders behind the generals are sneaky sons of bitches. They always have plans within plans within plans.” I couldn’t relax. Finding Yaseke had been the most important thing, but now I had to make sure he stayed safe.

  This wasn’t over yet.

  “What can we do to help?” Nicklaus asked. He twisted his fingers together and bit his lip. “I can’t fight, but I can do something.”

  “I need help with the other kids,” Ryker said. “A lot of them got separated from their parents. We need to keep them together and safe until after everything calms down.” He spoke with perfect assurance that his isit would stop the attack and the humans.

  That was a lot of faith I didn’t share. Not yet.

  Nicklaus took a deep breath and stopped twisting his fingers into insane pretzels. “I’m good with kids.” Give him a task he could do, and Nicklaus was happy. He gathered the kids together in a group, and they went straight to him. I noticed there was none of the distance he warily kept from all the adult Caeorleians.

  Maybe when all this shit was dealt with, we could figure out how to drag him out of his shell. The Caeorleian kids weren’t that different from humans, except for the tiny claws and fangs. Pira hadn’t let me go yet, and hers were digging into my shoulder and the back of my neck.

  “Hey, little one. I need to help Witani. Can you stay with Yaseke? We’ll be together, I promise, but first I’m gonna take everyone someplace safe.”

  She looked at me, perfect trust in her eyes. She then kissed me on the cheek and went to Yaseke.

  “Be careful, Dade.”

  “I will. Stay with Ryker and Nicklaus, okay?”

  Yaseke nodded, and I bent down and kissed him. There wasn’t time, and it wasn’t the place, but I wasn’t letting him go without tasting him again. I flicked my tongue against his lips, then delved inside. Yaseke clenched his hand on my side when I pulled back. He kissed my neck.

  “When this is all over, we’re taking a vacation.”

  “Al
l of us?” Maerit asked.

  “Yes, all of us.”

  I’d never been on a vacation. “Sounds good. Maybe we can go somewhere in the middle of nowhere, like that hunting lodge we stayed in.”

  Yaseke turned a hot stare on me. “Sounds perfect.”

  Maerit was asking questions about where we’d go and what we would do there when Yaseke led him over to the kids grouped around Ryker and Nicklaus.

  I joined Witani who was staring at a com screen on the wall. She indicated several smaller screens. “We have footage of all the openings hidden in the city we can reach from here.”

  She flicked from feed to feed. Smoke, rubble… a human hand, red blood dripping down the fingers. A female Caeorleian ran past, a human soldier in pursuit. Witani jerked back, one hand covering her mouth and the other her stomach.

  She stumbled into me. I caught her, then balanced her when she pushed away from me.

  “I’m sorry! That soldier… he….”

  “It’s fine.” I’d felt her fear and hatred, but barely. Now that I had space and time to think, it wasn’t the first time since the attack that I’d felt someone else’s emotions without being swamped by them. It was like I’d built a wall, or a dam, that slowed the transfer to a trickle.

  I blinked.

  “I don’t feel like that about you. I know you were one, but—”

  “Not necessary, Witani. I know.” I patted her arm, feeling a little embarrassment. “We need to go outside the city. The humans are here for a reason. Getting you to safety is important.” She needed a place to rest because I’d also caught a lot of exhaustion. She was mentally fit, but physically she wasn’t in top form. “Can we get to the jungle from here?”

  “Yeah, there’s one tunnel that ends at the edge of the lake.”

  That didn’t sound promising. “Just one exit?” That wasn’t the best planning. Buphet had to know about this safe room, and we had to assume the humans did as well.

  “There are several that go to places in the city. There’s also one that goes under the city to the far side that ends in the jungle.”

  No one would expect us to flee in that direction. Most people fled to the nearest place that looked safe. No matter how many humans there were, they wouldn’t have enough to cover all the exits and maintain their attack, unless the city was completely overrun. “We need to get as far from the city as we can.” I tapped the screen. “We go into the jungle.”

  We wouldn’t make it easy for them to find us, if the humans were hunting Witani or Buphet. A group of soldiers this large would be ready to move, in orderly formation, in minutes, gear distributed and shouldered. A group of civilian men, women, and children took forever.

  Seral had sent enough guards to send four in front of the group and have four on our tail. I didn’t count the two I ordered to watch Buphet. At first the guards ignored me. Sometimes I longed for the obedience of my troops.

  Sometimes.

  Things came to a head when Witani’s isitziu paled. She swayed on her feet. Ryker caught her and forced her to sit down. I knew she wanted to lead, but she had to consider her health. She finally agreed to listen to our requests for her to stop trying to do everything when one of the medics agreed with me.

  She had the kids around her in the center of the group, along with the medics and Chip. Yaseke and Ryker walked with them, keeping the kids in line and from being scared. Their high-pitched little hums were muted when Ryker hushed them.

  “We’re going to walk to the edge of the forest. I know everyone is scared, and tired, but we’re not safe here.” I left out the reason why. We didn’t want a panic. “Once we get to the jungle, we’re going to split up. Smaller groups will be safer. The forest lodges are well hidden. Stay inside, stay safe.”

  I walked with the guards in front. Witani overrode their reluctance when she handed me a weapon and put me in charge of the exodus to the jungle.

  The tunnel wasn’t as tight as the stairs. The tension of the march was familiar, though I wasn’t wearing a bulky uniform, just a pair of shorts. The size and shape of the Caeorleian weapons weren’t so different from the pulse rifle I’d carried for years, just smaller and more lightweight.

  Getting outside the city was paramount. I’d save these people from whatever hell the humans had planned for them, all in the name of greedily consuming another planet. For now, we were deep enough underground not to worry about the tunnel collapsing under the attacks knocking down buildings, but I didn’t like being in the confined space for too long.

  The only good thing about how much time it took to get out was night had fallen. It’d be easier to hide our exit in the dark.

  I sent the guards to check the perimeter while I stood by the door. Thick bushes with curly leaves and feathery plumes had grown over the doors, camouflaging them perfectly until we forced them open. One guard returned and gave the all clear.

  “Come on, everyone out.” I ushered the first group up the stairs and out the exit, scanning the trees and sky. Each guard led a group of evacuees in a different direction. Two guards went with the children, and adults paired up with them for safety. They were headed for the closest hunting lodge. Soon I was left with the last group.

  “Let’s go.” I waved at Buphet and his guards. “You lead. I want him in front of me.”

  The guards set off first, then the medics passed. They shifted their grip on Chip’s litter, and the silent man’s head lolled to the side. He blinked rapidly, and his head rolled back the other direction. Poor fucker. Who knew what the military scientists had done to him?

  Pira slept in Yaseke’s arms, and Maerit began to droop as he marched by Ryker. Just like our time on the Collectors’ planet, he soldiered on without complaining. He was a good little lad and so strong. Insisting on being the last of her people to leave, Witani helped me shut the doors on the tunnel exit.

  “You okay?” I whispered.

  She nodded. “I’ll make it.”

  The attacks hadn’t stopped with nightfall. We could see flashes over the city and hear booms. Hopefully the humans wouldn’t get entrenched in the city.

  What were they here for? Why attack? Why the residence? What were they hoping to accomplish? Killing Buphet and any other humans we had captive? Was their knowledge so damning? I had a lot of time to think as we walked. I kept my eyes peeled, scanning the jungle around us, but we could only go so fast.

  We took the farthest retreat, and the medics were having a hard time getting Chip’s litter through the jungle. We couldn’t take any roads, so we were stuck with animal paths that wove through brush and sometimes heavy foliage. The sound of the nighttime animals grew the deeper we went.

  Buphet stumbled and fell. Without his hands, he face-planted into the mud. My petty sense of satisfaction wasn’t very mature, but the bastard deserved every speck of pain and humiliation he suffered. Buphet had….

  He’d been communicating with the humans. Military humans, not just scientists. They’d been on Caeorleia long enough to build a compound not far from the city.

  Yet they hadn’t shared their knowledge with the scientists. I’d watched Seral question the doctors. They hadn’t known about the humming vibrations the Caeorleians made. Or that Nicklaus and I could hear, and understand, that language. If they’d an inkling of the possibility, they would have tested us.

  What was their objective? How was it different from the others’? Planetary rulership, rather than allowing the Central Council to sweep in after they did all the work? We’d assumed they were all working together, but what if that wasn’t true? I’d heard plenty of grumbling over the years, even from superior officers, about the danger they faced for scant reward.

  Fighting two different military attacks would change everything. Seral had released nanos on the human ships that had left orbit, but these guys weren’t exposed.

  Fuck! Buphet would have to be interrogated further. He could be the only person who would be able to tell us what was going on. He’d been in that room w
ith the higher in command at the compound. Somehow he’d kept information back, knew things we hadn’t even thought to question!

  I worried over my concerns until we got close to the lodge. Witani said she wasn’t sure exactly where it was hidden. Her father’s father had built it, but the lodge had fallen into disuse. We stopped to let the guards explore both paths. I crept up close to Witani. She was exhausted, leaning against a tree during our brief halt. Maybe she’d heard something from her father before the attack and knew more about Buphet’s interrogation. If she didn’t, I’d question him myself. I squatted beside her so our hums wouldn’t travel too far in the quiet.

  “We need to talk.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Witani turned her head to look at me. “What?”

  I quickly outlined my concerns about the human military’s ability to speak with Buphet. “There must be a schism somewhere in the ranks. How far up it goes he might not know, but he should have some insight into what the ones here want.”

  “Besides our planet?”

  I rubbed my hands over my face. “They could have had that already. They’ve been here a while, and with Buphet in their pocket, the city’s defenses were meaningless. He could’ve taken them down anytime.”

  Witani narrowed her eyes. “The true question is, if they could take out the residence at any time, why did they still need him?”

  There was something I wasn’t getting. Some detail that slipped past me. It teased at the corner of my mind.

  Buphet… human military… Chip.

  Human military. Buphet. Chip.

  Chip.

  “Chip,” I hissed under my breath.

  The men carrying his litter had set him down on the ground, but his head was turned. His eyes stared at us, the dim light reflecting off his blank stare.

  But were they really blank?

  “Witani, Yaseke.” I kept my voice level and gestured for them both to follow me. “Keep an eye on the kids,” I said to the guards. I reached for Yaseke and pulled him close to me. I leaned down and nuzzled his neck as we walked a few lengths into the jungle just outside of the circle of dim light.