“Of course!” I muttered, running and grabbing the unconscious girl. I was being particularly slow today.
“Wait! What about the cuffs? She—”
“Zuhara O Kande can discharge large amounts of electricity and chances are she can fry these cuffs.” Lale didn’t seem satisfied, but I was the one carrying his love and he was stuck as a small winged cat.
“Which way?” I asked at the upcoming fork, not wanting to go back the way we had come.
“The doors to the fifth dock are—left!” I took the left and kept running, hoping the cat new better than to try and speak full sentences. Words were made for people who had time. “A right then the third door on the left.”
I followed it and we entered an open room that had to be the engineer’s garage. Finding my way out of that was no problem and then my holotrain was in view. I jerked inside, yelling orders.
“Prepare for immediate departure! Close the doors! Undo the brakes! Secure everything! Check off people! Holoscreen now!”
“Raven,” she yelled, swinging up and latching the latches.
“Siniste,”
“Dexter,” they yelled as they ran back to secure the storage car.
“Zuhara O Kande goes to do the latches; Nihilo has run to undo the catches!” She yelled as she got the doors.
As I got to the holoscreen in the control room and started pushing buttons, I came on the intercom introducing our new comrades. “Due to the psychotically evil tendencies of our host, we have been forced to make a swift departure from Vanguard Island. Your conductor may have also set fire to his lab, but that is a separate matter!”
I could hear Dexter and Raven’s laughter all the way through the train. “Joining us on our adventure and taking residence in our empty bedroom, I would like you to welcome Magnus Vanguard and Lale, lovebirds and Skypian/human experiments. Please treat them as you would any of our senior members. They will…”
I made my decision, looking at the exhausted cat and unconscious girl. “Be staying with us indefinitely. There will be a short probational period and if they fail, we’ll dump them at the next stop. Which is two weeks journey from here, so go ahead and settle down.”
A Simple Crush
“What the hell is this place?” I looked at Raven with no answer and my sentiments much echoed hers. “This place is… a living hell!”
“So… this is not what the rest of the world is like?” I shook my head at the human Lale and stared at the colored, beaten, sometimes nude Skypians being shepherded around by humans in fancy suits.
“Why aren’t they clothed? Is this—”
“No,” I cut off Magnus quickly before she got the wrong idea. “This place isn’t normal. Be careful around here. We’re going to perform once or twice before we leave, but we’re not staying here long.”
“Would you like me to post some flyers or something, darling?” I nodded at Raven and took a set of flyers from her. “If you encounter any problems, come back to the train and message me with the holoscreen.”
“Zuhara O Kande!” I called, stopping her before she disappeared into her holocar.
“Yes? I would sincerely like to rest.”
“Zuhara O Kande, if I’m not prying, I was just curious to if you’re feeling well or not. You’ve been a bit testy recently.” She smiled and sighed, jingling her head as she moved.
“Prince of night, your question is quite right. My kind do not sleep like you do during day, we sleep in an altogether different way. For three months of winter, to bed I do go. But I hold it off this year, because of reasons you do not know. Soon you will find my sacrifice to be quite nice.”
“Your riddles can be quite inconvenient Zuhara O Kande, but I got the gist of what you were saying. I will let you sleep as much as I can, but you’re irreplaceable.” The look that crossed Zuhara O Kande’s face made me turn red in the face. She laughed and walked away, making me even more embarrassed because I didn’t know why I was embarrassed.
I had just calmed down and was heading outside when I was pushed past roughly by an angry cross-dresser with a bad, very bad attitude. “I quit!”
“You quit what?” I followed Raven, sighing. I was having my own strange emotional surges and I didn’t want to deal with hers too.
“I quit the circus! I will not perform in this kind of place. This… this place is truly hell if ever there was one. You can do what you will, but I am not leaving my room!” I sighed, we couldn’t perform without her. Truthfully, our circus was already fairly skimpy to begin with and she was a star attraction.
“Raven, I would not ask you to do this, but you are a star attraction and the money we will make—”
“Able, darling,” Raven grabbed my shoulder, “You know I’d do anything for you, you’ve done so much for me… But I won’t do this. You can have the fliers back. I won’t be a part of this.” I frowned as she locked herself in her room and considered forcing her, but decided against it. I wanted to see what had upset her so strongly.
I was passed by a surprisingly pale Nihilo as I walked deeper into the city and after a few more feet, Lale holding Magnus protectively. I narrowed my eyes as I finally reached the main part of the city and looked around. Even though it was night, people were walking around happily with their Skypians chained behind them. They waved at me as I passed, laughing to themselves and whispering about my lack of a Skypian pet and poverty.
“You mother—” I knew the voice and the expletives falling from it easily. I hurried over to see what trouble Dexter had stirred up.
“Dexter! We’re going to be put in jail!” Siniste was trying her best and barely succeeding at restraining her spitting mad sister. The object of her attack, an equally mad and fancily dressed man was threatening her with every consequence under the sun. The Skypian she had been defending was curled in the corner, little more than a child.
“Dexter!” I interrupted and she turned, catching my gaze and falling prey. She stopped fighting, but her anger refused to fade. “We aren’t here to fight with their way of life.”
“Well maybe we should!” She snarled.
“You filthy little—”
“Hey!” The girl who intervened, dragging the man back took my breath away and I was left speechless in her wake. “What’s going on here? Is there really a need for violence? Why can’t we just talk it out?”
Ado was smiling as she turned to look at Dexter and Dexter stared at her with nothing but shock on her face. She tried, but failed to hide it and Ado looked at her like she was insane. The man, however, was more intent on being seen as the one who was right that he didn’t even care that an awkward moment had just passed between the girls.
“This-This… Thing!” He finally shouted and it took my hand to stop Dexter from jumping the man. “Was trying to tell me how to manage my Skypian! I have five of them and I bloody well know how to manage them! Especially for a poverty stricken ground—”
I didn’t know the regionalized curse word he used, but it was obviously derogatory. I tried to capture the man’s mind to stop this shamble, but quickly had to hide my surprise as he didn’t even flinch. This place was wrong… very, very wrong.
“He was beating the kid—”
“I can damn do what I damn please to my Skypian!” The man moved to step on the child, but I grabbed his arm, spinning him easily with my strength.
“Sir, if you are going to discipline your servants without reason, they will no longer understand the implications of such action.” My excuse was top notch and my tongue was dripping chocolate, but the man took offense.
“You—” Ado grabbed the man’s arm this time as he decided to use his cane as a weapon.
“Sir, is violence really necessary?”
“Forget this! You can have the wretch! He’s ruined by now anyway. Bloody Skypian lovers!” He hissed, storming away.
I stared after him for a minute and looked up to try and dissuade the crowd we had gathered with my gaze, but they were as impervious as he
was and their Skypians were staring intently, probably recognizing their own kind. I bent down to help the boy and quickly move us away from the center of attention, but he curled in on himself, squishing himself closer to the ground. Something inside me twinged and I smiled at him, telling him with my eyes that he wasn’t in trouble. It took him a minute to smile back, but he reached in the small threadbare pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small crumble of moldy bread.
“Oh no, I can’t take that.” The boy shook his head and forced me to take it, smiling with teeth missing before running after the man who had abandoned him.
“That was odd,” Ado muttered. “What exactly did you say to him?”
“This place is seriously… no, there’s not a curse word that could describe this. We better be leaving soon.” Dexter shouldered past me with Siniste apologizing for her and chasing after.
“They…” Ado fell silent as she met my gaze and recognized, not me, but her feelings for me. She stirred my interest too and even though I couldn’t help but think of Zuhara O Kande laughing at me, her hair jingling and her skin the color of the night, I let Ado through my defenses. “Do I know you?”
“Do I?” I purred and she blushed, grinning just a tad goofily.
“I don’t know…” She whispered and I couldn’t resist. She was almost like a piece of prey that had just pranced in front of me and rolled over. But knowing her, she would be kicking me with all her might the second I got close.
“That sounds like an exciting story, one I would be delighted to hear. I’m Able.” I held out my hand and she took it.
“Ado…”
“How do you feel about dinner?”
“If I can choose the restaurant… I know it’s a bit funny, but I’m not fond of the Skypets…” She looked like she had cursed and was blushing horridly as she said it.
“I will follow your lead if you tell me of these Skypets. I’ve never seen anything like this.” I did follow her and as I followed, my mood soured incredibly.
The boy I had saved was in good condition compared to some of the other Skypians. He at least had food. As we walked there were Skypian in all conditions, each one wearing a shock collar so if they disobeyed, they could be put down. The fancier people had diamond collars, feathered or jeweled groin cloths their only clothing. Some of the worse of Skypians were on all fours following their masters, their backs bent from work and their ribs shining from malnutrition. Very few had anything covering them despite the chilled weather.
“It’s the new fad, to have Skypians as pets or servants. People like to drag them around and the more you have the better off you are in society.”
“Hmm, odd.” It was the only thing I could say. Everywhere I looked, there was a Skypian being punished for doing practically nothing. One was being whipped for coughing, one kicked for looking a human in the face…
“I can’t stand the way they treat them though.” Ado shuddered and I looked at her, overly excited by her dislike of their treatment. Maybe wiping her memory had removed her human supremist attitude and given her a new outlook on life. “Not even animals should be treated this way. They could definitely use better treatment.”
“Yes, better.” Well, at least it was something.
“And more importantly, it’s illegal! No Skypians except with pardon from the government is allowed on Earth.” There it was. Ado was Ado, memory or not. “But you probably don’t want to hear about all that. Here’s the place I was talking about. Skypian free.”
“Thank you and I am far from bored with your conversation… Though I do admit, I’m curious as to who you are.”
“Well…” She drawled, stirring the water she ordered even though there was no need. “I really don’t know… I woke up in a hospital. I had been there for almost two months in a coma and when I woke up, I had no clue who I was and no one else did either.”
My total memory wipe had done that much damage… intriguing. “That’s horrible!”
“Well, not really. Some nice people adopted me even though I’m old enough to be an adult and took me home with them. I’ve been here ever since.”
“Really…” I shook my head, faking awe. “I would go crazy not knowing what had happened to me. Are you doing okay? I mean are you okay with not knowing?”
She moved a lock of hair away from her face and I was shocked to realize that she had grown her hair out since I had last seen her. “Well… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but what does it matter? I mean, I have dreams. Why should the past control me?”
“Really? And what are these dreams of yours that are so strong?” Her face instantly brightened and I was shocked at the desire that forced my canines out. I wanted to bite her… and the feelings that went along with it.
“I want to be in the Earth Guard.” I stared at her and she grew self-conscious, rubbing her hands on her knees. “Don’t look at me like that! I know how selective they are… but I’ve already passed the written exam. It’s funny though… they’re sending out a general to evaluate me… They don’t usually do that.”
“That is funny.” It wasn’t funny, rather they had recognized their tool and wanted it back. Broken or not, it was an asset they could use. “Why are you up this late anyway?”
“Oh, the people here may be nice, but they’re kind of weird. They stay up till around five and sleep till three or later.” I nodded and stood, leaving a coin for our drinks and the small condiment she had ordered and had yet to touch.
“Well, I wouldn’t rush, but I have to perform maintenance checks on our train before I head to bed.” She stood up swiftly, forgetting her food.
“Oh, uh, can… can I see you again? I mean…”
It was a bad idea and I didn’t need Zuhara O Kande and her expansive wisdom to tell me. “Sure, I’ll meet you at sunset, here.”
“Sounds like a da—I’ll be there.” She amended, but belayed it by skipping away.
I came back and walked to Zuhara O Kande’s train for a batch of her nasty blood substitute. She was surprisingly awake and her eyes narrowed as I entered. She shoved the drink at me.
“Think before you act and try to have just a little tact. I’ve told you once and I’ve told you twice, you never seem to heed my advice. Play with fire if you so desire, but the consequences will be dire. You should listen and listen well, listen to your heart and what it tells. You’ve found already one you need, don’t lose it due to greed. All it would take is one single word…” Zuhara O Kande sighed and just made a motion to shoo me away.
“What—”
“You disappoint me in more ways than one, no go, shoo, away from me run! Maybe in time you will find a clue, then I won’t have to pester you.” Zuhara O Kande didn’t look me in the eye as I tried to figure out what was wrong and it hurt me. Zuhara O Kande meant a lot to me… I stopped for a second trying to figure out what a lot meant, but my stomach was aching and my mind swirling so I let it go. Some things could wait for another night.
Raven caught me as I headed to the control room, but I knew her question before she asked. “We’re staying at least one more night.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing…” She muttered, stalking away.
“You and me both.”
* * *
“You came.” Ado stared at me in shock.
“Yes?” I nodded, looking at her confused.
“But… You… Well.”
“You know, you don’t know much about me.” I couldn’t understand her confusion, but she seemed to rely on her emotions a lot, which was potentially my fault, so it seemed logical to her.
“Then tell me about you!” She jumped and grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the town. She took me to the coast and let me talk as she stared off into the sea overcome by water plants.
“I’m the conductor of a holotrain. We’re a traveling circus and… I enjoy seeing and learning new thing. That’s really all there is to me.” It was all I wanted to tell her.
“I doubt it… I just get
the feeling that you’re really intelligent, stubborn, fun, annoying sometimes…” She fell silent and shook her head. She was right, except for the annoying apart, but it wasn’t for the reasons she believed. They were her hidden memories, not some fairytale first love experience like she was thinking.
“You can’t know that.”
“But I do!” She cried, turning me and I surprisingly let her do the motion. “I don’t know why but… I like you. I know you; it’s like we were one soul in a past life.”
That was certainly one way to think about it. “You can’t possibly love me.”
“I do.” My stomach and the heat searing through me begged for me to attack her. She wanted it, I wanted it, why not? “We’re soul mates! I want to spend my life with you.”
I tried to use logic to get out of it. I was grasping at straws and my emotions were getting the better of me. “Think for a minute Ado. We wouldn’t work. You want to be an Earth Guard and I travel all the time. We would never see each other—”
“You could join the Guard too! Be my house husband! There are options just tell me, tell me you don’t feel the same way. We could fight Skypians together and protect the Earth!” Despite the viciously degrading words she had just said, as I looked down into her defiant, almost angry in its passion face, I lost.
I joined my mouth with hers and it took too much effort to keep her tongue away from my teeth. She was like a wolf, snapping at me, trying to dominate me and it was addicting. I wanted to dominate her, eat her, I… Zuhara O Kande’s face popped in my mind and for a second I felt guilty, then I met her eyes. Eyes as old as time, eyes that saw things I couldn’t, that understood things that baffled me, eyes that sought the same thing I did but differently… flaring with a fire all its own in its craving for thought, eyes I wanted.
“Yours is not the kiss I crave,” I muttered and pushed her back, a little unsettled by the pain on her face.
“That’s fine! I know you will come to love me. You’re a good man and—”
Majesty Page 17
