by Skyler Grant
They finally stumbled into a set of quarters, largely decorated in black. Rena pushed him towards the bed and closed the door. An instant later, she had a gun in hand and leveled in his direction as she took a deep breath.
"The room is monitored but sex tends to scramble the system. With my blocker up they'll assume we're going at it hard for the next hour. Quinn Jade, the one I know, was a right bastard and I don't just say that because we dated. The question is, what are you?" Rena said, her posture and even her tone having changed. It was almost like watching the shift from Tourmaline to Tamara.
Quinn took a moment to get his thoughts back in order. You'd think that with as many wives as he had, getting turned on wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue, but if anything it was only a worse one and right now all his blood was very much in the wrong head. It was a dangerous state to be in.
Quinn said, "The Rena Vartan I knew was once a corrupt Marshall and became a crime lord. Very nearly became Empress despite her efforts otherwise. We dated too, although never quite got to the naked groping stage."
"My Quinn vomited on me," Rena said dryly.
Great, their universe would have to have that in common.
"I'm more of a gentleman," Quinn lied.
"Liar," Rena said. "I can tell. Mahara believes the Emperor is coming here. Yours, I must assume. Is she right?"
"Why should I tell you anything?"
"Because I have a gun pointed at your head and you really don't have any choice. I promise you, I can break your mind. Toy or apprentice, Mahara wasn't kidding. I'll do it if I must, but right now the flow of information goes in one direction and if it doesn't, I do what I must to stay alive."
That, Quinn believed. If she really could break him then even pointing a gun at his head was an act of mercy. She wasn't playing hardball and that was because she thought they might be on the same side. Given what she'd just said, Quinn could only conclude that meant on the side of the Emperor. Well, either that, or this was all just an elaborate interrogation technique. With the clock ticking town, Quinn had to take the chance this was real.
"Our Emperor is dead, along with the rest of the royal family. The person coming is our version of Selina, although she goes by Jinx. She's the most powerful Order mage in our Imperium, but not nearly as powerful as Mahara," Quinn said.
"The bloodline from Opalia somehow reactivated itself?" Rena said, her expression inscrutable. "Interesting. The Emperor dead. Chaos is winning where you’re from?"
"It isn't really a thing. The Emperor put up what we call the Divide, splitting the galaxy in half and separating the two sides. It was only recently breached after his death weakened it," Quinn said.
"This Selina of yours? You are her servant?"
"Married to her. Married to a lot of people really—in a Centauri," Quinn said.
Rena considered him and lowered her gun. "Rena Vartan. Imperium Intelligence, under deep cover obviously. If you have a way to prevent the arrival of your comrades you need to do so."
That explained a lot. It also made him wonder about the Rena from his reality.
"You're going to risk your cover for us?" Quinn asked.
"I'd rather not, but from what you say, your Selina could be considered a member of the royal family. The duty to my Emperor is stronger, but it doesn't mean I’m not obligated to try keeping her and her family safe, if it is within my power to do so," Rena said.
"I need to rescue my companions before doing anything."
"We'll give it an hour then, anything less isn't believable," Rena said absently. "Then I'll haul my new toy out to rub in Selina's face. We're rivals. I'll kill you to keep my cover, if I must, but we'll look for an opportunity."
It was as much as Quinn could hope for, and more than he'd expected.
12
"Even a loincloth would do," Quinn said.
Rena shook her head. "You're a new toy and I'm part showing you off and part breaking you in. That means no clothes. You'll get used to it, I went without for a month after becoming Mahara's property. The clans have different taboos than the Imperium."
Rena hooked her arm in his and opened the door to her quarters. The trip through the station was a lot like the first time, frequent periods of being pushed against the wall as things got physical. Quinn didn't know if Rena was into him or was just an amazing actress, and his response wasn't as much pretense as he'd have liked.
The room they went to was a strange sight. In some ways it was clearly a torture chamber, Quinn had been in enough to recognize them. The shackles from the ceiling, the drain in the floor, the table filled with horrific-looking instruments. What was unusual were the plush couches that lined a few walls and the mini-bar set up. There was space for watchers to watch, to enjoy themselves.
Fortunately they weren't currently occupied. Unfortunately, the room was in use. Kara lay on the floor unconscious, red flickers of power still covering her body. Dela was naked and hanging from her wrists, blood streaking her skin as red lightning flickered along her body as well, and she whimpered.
Selina was there. Her eyes turned towards the doorway and hardened at the sight of who had arrived. "Rena. Fail completely already and need some help? How thoroughly predictable."
Rena tilted her head up towards Quinn and captured his lips in a lingering kiss, letting it play for a long moment as her hand caressed one of his buttocks. When she pulled away it was to give Selina a challenging look. "I've already got what I wanted and left mine wanting more. You haven't broken even one of them yet?"
The wounds on Dela weren't particularly skillful. Quinn had been tortured by the best and by sadists too. The wounds on Dela were done for fun, not optimal placement. From the wall behind her an umbilical was attached to her back, a professional medical setup. Whatever was done to her she wouldn't die, although unlike a standard medkit it wasn't in any rush to heal her either, just to keep her alive and conscious. Nasty work, this whole place was nasty work.
"You got the easy one and we both know it," Selina said, her hand tightening around a scalpel she held and she slammed it into Dela's midsection, twisting the blade as Dela screamed.
There was magic coursing through both Dela and Kara. Quinn hadn't even known that such sustained effects were possible. While he'd seen things like enchanted weapons and armor, this was something different. In Dela it was neutralizing her implants, in Kara her natural healing function. Quinn didn't know if either of them would be a match for Selina's magic normally, but in their current state they definitely weren't.
Selina's moment of torture did reveal her back, and one rune that Quinn hadn't seen curved along the rear of a shoulder.
That made her a three rune Chaos mage. Rena had one—if she'd even fight on their side if it came to matter. If Kara and Dela were capable of fighting that would give them one super-strong, regenerative fighter and one fighter with strong scanning abilities and combat implants. Was that a winnable fight? If it could be managed, Quinn didn't think there would be a better chance.
Quinn got handy with Rena and when he had the opportunity whispered, "Can you do anything to neutralize the magic on them?"
Rena didn't respond in words, but she gave a tiny shake of her head. It was a bit much to hope for, and if she and Selina were of the same magical heritage than it was a question of raw power. Mahara had put the spell on Kara, and Selina on Dela. Both were more powerful than Rena.
"Ugh," Selina said, rolling her eyes at them. "At least put all that energy to good use. Ever fuck these girls, boy? Ever want to? If you were my pet, I'd let you do anything you wanted to them."
She was taunting Rena, and there was something of an opportunity. Oh, not what she suggested, but if he could get close to them maybe he could do something with his own power. It was different than Mahara's, different than those of her apprentices. Maybe it wouldn't be a matter of raw power.
Quinn let his eyes drift to Selina, play over her and then the captives. Rena was supposed to have broken him, so he said
, "I don't like them. I'd want to hurt them. Let me hurt them and I'd be so good to you."
"No," Rena said sharply.
"Be my guest," Selina said with a challenging look at Rena.
Quinn disentangled himself from Rena and moved towards the chained Dela. Selina stopped him along the way to press a kiss. Quinn gave himself over to it, treating it with the same abandon he'd shown Rena.
Selina wasn't even interested in him, not really. Her eyes were looking beyond him to Rena, who Quinn could only hope was doing her part and looking outraged. Selina was moving against him with such vigor it damned near took things all the way, but at the last minute she pulled back.
"Enjoy yourself, and then we can enjoy ourselves. Rena is invited to watch, of course," Selina said.
"Toy, get back here," Rena snapped.
Quinn didn't listen. As he'd touched Selina he'd let his power explore hers, and when his hand touched her runes he drew what he could both in terms of power and understanding. Possibilities swirled around him now and he thought he had a plan. This Selina wasn't his Jinx, but in a way she was. Who he was, what he was now as a Chaos mage, was intimately connected with those might-bes. Just as he had a connection to Jinx, he thought had a connection to Selina.
One he could use.
13
Quinn had never purposely tried to draw power from Jinx, but he was distantly aware it was possible. At times he'd experienced some of the same flashes of insight granted by the power of Order. It was while being intimate with Kalisa he'd first gained his powers, and in some way there too he'd drawn from her runes. That night it had been as if he had lain with a thousand different versions of her.
It wasn't his imagination. Quinn could feel the jolt of increased power running through him, more than he'd ever handled before. This Selina was a Chaosian and her magic was, if anything, even more compatible with his than Jinx. His vision into the future expanded from a few seconds into something more like twenty seconds. It wasn't futures he needed though, it was possibilities.
Quinn stepped towards Dela and, curling his hand into a fist, delivered a blow into her abdomen. He couldn't hold back, not without raising suspicion. It wasn't wasted effort, the moment Quinn made contact with Dela's flesh he got a flash of new possibilities—hers.
Quinn was looking for something specific. Neither Kalisa or Mara's family had ever really succeeded in making properly magic-resistant implants, but Sand had. It was possible, and knowing it was possible Quinn knew exactly what he was looking for. A reality where Dela had her implants modified after hooking up with Sand, one where they'd been tweaked to provide magical resistance against Chaosian magic.
It wasn't an instant sort of thing. Quinn had to punch Dela several more times, each blow sending her rocking within the chains. Her eyes were half-open, watching him through a dull glaze of pain. He wasn't sure how much she was aware, or if Dela had any idea what he was trying to do. He only hoped that she would understand.
It almost surprised Quinn that he found what he was looking for. Quinn had done something similar once when he needed to break the grip of that drug, and he'd bought himself a few seconds freedom from the effects.
Quinn had no idea how Dela’s implants that Kalisa provided operated, but he had to hope that they'd recognize they were under attack. That even when this effect faded they'd be able to copy what worked, emulate it in some way. As the magic went into place for a moment he saw the clarity in Dela's eyes, and the implants dulling the pain.
That was enough. Quinn pulled away and took a deep breath.
"You know Mahara will give him to me when I tell her how useless you were at holding him. Maybe she'll give you to me too," Selina told Rena.
"Or maybe she'll give you to me for flaunting her orders. I think you'll look good in those chains. I think my toy will enjoy hurting you just as much as he's enjoying hurting them," Rena said.
Quinn tried to put the disturbing banter out of mind as he moved towards Kara, but Selina stopped him again. "Now, now. Show me how grateful you are for letting you play."
The embrace with her this time went on for frustrating minutes. While she might wear Jinx's face, her body was different, not quite as full. This version of her was leaner, harder, not just pierced but also scarred in places Jinx wasn't. Not just a sadist, but a masochist as well? Probably, it was best not to dwell on it. Instead, Quinn again drew in as much power as possible from her runes.
When they finally broke off he moved over to kick at Kara's prone body. Here he did more harm to his foot than her. His healing factor neutralized or not, her skeleton structure still had a lot in common with a tank. There was literal armor plating beneath her skin.
No fancy possibility was needed here. Quinn just needed to neutralize the magic for a few seconds. Kara didn't need healing to become dangerous once she regained consciousness. She'd still be combat-trained and super-strong. It was easy to snare on a reality where she hadn't been hit by the magic and transition the state over.
It didn't last long. No longer than five seconds, but it was enough time for her body to flood with combat hormones. Kara didn't so much as stand, as flip to her feet.
"What?" Selina asked, taking a startled step backwards.
"Kill the monitors," Quinn called to Dela. He wasn't even sure if her implants were capable of that, but this was more for Rena's benefit. He knew she had a blocker that might interfere with Dela’s efforts.
Dela's muscles strained and the chains holding her snapped violently as she landed on the floor in a crouch.
"You really are completely incompetent," Selina growled at Rena as her runes flared red.
Kara surged at her and threw a punch at her head. Unlike how Kalisa fought, Selina made no move to dodge. The punch seemed to lose force at the last instant. What should have knocked her out instead became almost play-acting.
It made sense. Mahara's magic was breaking, and she could directly counter forces or destroy things. Selina must be able to neutralize force used against her as a combat tactic.
However Kalisa could be worn down, because the mana held inside a person wasn't infinite, and Quinn was fairly sure he'd been pulling from some of Selina's supply and she could be overwhelmed too.
"You two on her. I've got this one," Quinn said, moving to square off against Rena. This one was for show, to maintain her cover, but that didn't mean he wouldn't make it look real.
A thrown punch at her stopped dead and Rena gave an exaggerated yawn. "I should have known someone would have to be faking to be interested in her. I mean, really. Don't worry, pet, next go we'll take our time and I'll break you in properly."
Dela and Kara tag-teamed Selina. Dela still had the medical umbilical in her back. She must have known what it meant because she took most of the blows. Where Selina's hand hit Dela, flesh melted and bones shattered, but with the umbilical attached they quickly regenerated.
It took less than a minute for Selina to finally go down, a kick from Kara at her midsection connecting with full force and sending her flying to slam hard against a wall.
14
Quinn doubled over in pain. It was like his insides were trying to dig their way out of him. The agony centered on his right arm. There, on his forearm, a shimmer of red as a rune formed. It came with a dizzying rush of new power, and more pain than he'd expected.
"She's on our side," Quinn said, as Kara turned on Rena after Selina went down.
"I wouldn't go that far," Rena said, letting out a frustrated breath as she looked about the room. "This is a mess. Have you given any thoughts as to just what three naked people hope to do against a station full of clan warriors? Congratulations, by the way. You don't usually get a rune without a kill."
"Hey, I've got clothes," Dela said, detaching herself from the medical umbilical before she moved over to a pile of discarded garments in the corner and began to get dressed.
Quinn caught a look at her wristcomm. One hour and forty minutes. That little? Time had been passing fa
ster than he'd realized. He'd have to think about his new rune later, it was too much to consider right now.
"I'm rather hoping the talented superspy has some ideas. You must have had some thoughts before you brought us here?" Quinn asked.
"I was rather hoping, if reunited with your people, you could go back where you came from," Rena said.
"I'm more of the shooting and punching sort than solving weird magical stuff," Kara said with a helpless shrug.
"On that whole clothes issue ..." Quinn said.
Rena rolled her eyes. "Cupboard by the door. There are some changes there in case you get too bloody during a torture session."
There were, simple athletic garments in a variety of sizes. Soon everyone was dressed. Unfortunately they weren't any weapons, but Selina had been armed and soon Kara and Dela each had a knife belted at their waist.
Dela glanced down at Selina. "You should kill her. She is a spiteful, vindictive, and petty creature. However familiar her features, you are better off with her dead."
"I can do it," Kara said.
The others gave her a look and Kara shrugged in response. "What? We do what we have to do. This isn't Jinx."
"It really isn't. She hurt me. She loved hurting me," Dela said and shivered. "I think even if I hadn't been hooked up to that thing she'd have killed me when she got carried away."
"Are you going to be okay?" Quinn asked her.
Dela gave a pained laugh. "What is a little torture? I mean, terrible, right, but my implants have me standing. I can suppress the memories, if I have to."
Quinn decided, "No killing her, but we need to keep her unconscious. Can we do that?"
"String her up," Rena said with a nod towards the chains.
Kara shackled her into place and Rena attached the medical umbilical to Selina's back. A few taps at a tablet on a nearby panel and she nodded. "There. That will hold her under until someone shuts it down. The room is reserved for the day, but others might investigate. She’ll be found eventually—maybe sooner."
