by Lea Kirk
Their heavy breathing filled the silence that followed.
Ping.
“Nick?” Saku whispered.
“Mmm?”
“I think your comm is ringing.”
Huh. Who would be calling him this early in the morning…? “Oh, damn.”
“What?”
“It’s probably Dante. He agreed to make the rounds with me out to the Directionals today.”
Ping.
“Sounds cold.” Saku shivered in an exaggerated manner, a teasing way to illustrate her point. “Glad I am staying here. Where it is warm.”
“Funny.” He rose up on one elbow and leaned over her to grab his comm off the night stand, the action dislodging him from her. She made a small whimper of disappointment, and he gave her shoulder a kiss. “You can have him back when I get home tonight.” And every night for the rest of their lives, if he had his way. He tapped his finger against the comm. “Nick here.”
“My apologies for waking you, Nick.” Dante’s voice filled the sex-scented air and Saku rolled onto her back. Damn, her body was tempting, even this soon after their morning exercise. “The storm that was not due in until tomorrow picked up speed overnight. It should be over us by this evening.”
Nick locked gazes with Saku. “Well, that sucks.” Then he refocused on the comm. “Guess we’d better get going soon.”
“I await you at your door.”
“Ten-four, good buddy.” He disconnected the comm. “You know he’s here for breakfast, not because he wants to get going, right?”
Sakura ran her hand over her flat stomach. “Tinan.” She murmured the Matiran command to prevent pregnancy, then met his gaze with a grin. “I guess we should let him in and feed him, then.”
~*~
Nick crunched over the crusty surface of the snow-covered walkway, breakfast a distant memory and lunch a promise yet to be fulfilled. The path between East Village and South Village had been plowed once already today, so there was very little chance anyone would come through for a second pass. Not until after the storm. He cast a glance at the leaden sky. Even though the first snowflakes should start falling soon, he and Dante still had plenty of time to finish their rounds.
He wiped his nose with the back of his glove for at least the millionth time. If the frigid air didn’t sting his cheeks so much he might actually enjoy the walk. Right now he’d lay money on it being warmer in Siberia.
“Gryf and Graig did several training missions in this area as cadets,” Dante said.
In this god-forsaken, frigid place? “Wouldn’t that be considered hazing?”
Dante may have shaken his head, but it was hard to tell with the fur-lined hood covering it. “That is not a practice the old fleets condoned.”
“What about the Unified Defense Fleet?”
“Absolutely not.”
Nick glanced at his friend. If only he could ask about his wife. It’d been bugging him since that first meeting with the committee weeks ago, but asking would make him the nosiest person on the planet. If Dante had ever wanted to talk about his wife with him, he’d have done so way before now.
“I have been meaning to say,” Dante waved a gloved hand at Saku’s Hello Kitty duffle, “nice bag, Nick.”
“Don’t start, Dante.”
A trail of white steam accompanied Dante’s chuckle. “I sense something is on your mind. Dare I hope you have made the decision to return to the Collegium for your master healer’s level?”
“That’s not what’s on my mind, but, yes, I have been thinking about it.”
“Good.” That one word seemed weighted with hope. “Then, what is on your mind, son?”
Now, that was an opening if Nick had ever heard one. “It’s kinda personal, and probably none of my business, but how did things go with your, um, aunt-in-law?” What else could he call her?
“Her end was one of peace,” Dante replied. “I am blessed that the Holy Mother allowed me to be at her side as her journey here came to an end.”
They trudged forward, Dante not saying a word. Did he suspect what the next question would be? The silence stretched, the only sound the hiss of the breeze in the trees. Nick blew out a short sigh. No time like the present, and besides, Dante had asked. “I wish I’d known about your wife sooner. She must have been someone pretty damn special.”
“You are correct, Nick,” Dante replied. “That is personal.”
Fastest shut down in the history of shut downs. Not that he hadn’t expected it. “I’m sorry.”
“Veni.” You are forgiven.
An icy finger stroked across the base of Nick’s skull and his step faltered. “Dante, we have compan—”
A heavily-dressed figure stepped out of the trees, blocking their path. Whoever it was, they were too short to be Anferthian, and they pointed the business end of what appeared to be an old-style Earth rifle at them. This was all kinds of suck.
He reached for his telum.
“Don’t.” The stranger’s voice was female. And vaguely familiar. “You’re surrounded.”
He cast a glance over his shoulder. Three more people blocked the most obvious escape route.
“Get their guns,” the woman said, and two of her flunkies stepped forward. “Don’t do anything stupid, Mr. Bock, especially if you want to see your little Asian girlfriend again. Her safety depends on your cooperation. All it takes is one word from me, and she’s toast.”
Shit, she had Saku? Who the hell were these people, and what did they want? Nick set the bag in the snow and raised his hands. Dante already had his up. One flunkie took both Nick’s telum and the bag, while the other disarmed Dante.
“Okay, let’s go.” The woman’s order was brusque, leaving little doubt who was in charge.
“Where are we going?” Not that he expected an answer, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.
“Shut up, Mr. Bock.”
Nick swallowed back a surly retort. No sense in pissing her off until he knew exactly where Saku was, and whether or not she’d been hurt.
Their captors directed them off the trail in single file formation through the drifts between the trees. How long would it take before K’rona or Storo realized they were missing? It could be hours, maybe even an entire day. Unless, someone from one of the other villages reported in that he and Dante hadn’t arrived. But, even that might not happen before mid-afternoon. Comm communication was dicey on a normal day, but with the storm bearing down on them it would soon be nonexistent. It would be all too easy to conclude that the healers had chosen to overnight at a different village.
Nick suppressed a groan. After a heavy snowfall, even the best tracker among the Anferthians would be unable to follow the path being created right now.
~*~
Sakura tapped her fingernail on the reflective black surface of the lab table. Why did the device seem to analyze data faster when she was not in a hurry? Not that she had anywhere to go, but it would be nice to know if she had the right recipe for atolce this time. She had been so close last time.
A jug fills drop by drop. A smile tugged at her lips. She could almost hear her mother’s voice reciting Buddha’s lesson. All right, then, she would let this jug fill and go find something else to do.
Ping.
Perfect timing. Someone had just come in the front door. She slid off the lab stool, stepped into the common area and gaped. Two familiar Terrian women stood just inside the doorway. Actually, one woman and her teenage daughter.
“Just leave your bag by the door, Flora,” the dark-haired woman said to the teenager at her side. “We’ll probably be staying in the guest cube with Uncle Dante.”
“Fine,” Flora said, drawing out the word in a typical teenage manner.
Sakura found her voice again. “Alex?”
Brown eyes flecked with bronze looked at her. Unusual coloring that she’d only seen on two people in her entire life. “Hi, Sakura.” Alex had a smile that would light an e
ntire city, if someone could figure out how to harness its radiance.
“What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
Alex shrugged out of her coat as she moved further into the room. “Everything’s great. Just here to visit my family and friends. We wanted to get in before the storm hit.”
“I didn’t.” Flora dropped her coat and hat on the floor then flopped on the couch.
Sakura gaped at the reddish stubble that had replaced the girl’s long locks. What had happened to all that beautiful hair? She met Alex’s gaze, and the other woman shook her head.
All right, then, the subject was not open for discussion right now. She cleared her throat. “Would you like something to eat? Or tea?”
“Tea would be nice, thanks. I’ll help you. What would you like, Flora?”
“Tea. And eggs, sunny side up.”
In the kitchen, Alex leaned close to Sakura’s ear. “She’s a little moody and doesn’t want to be here.”
Sakura gave her a small smile. “I had not noticed.” Then she reached into the cabinet and pulled out four tins of tea while Alex filled the kettle. “It’s nice to see you again, Alex. Where is the rest of your family?”
“Gryf and the rest of the kids are at his parents’.”
“I should be there, too,” Flora groused from the living room.
Sakura suppressed a chuckle and measured out the loose leaves. “Nick did not tell me you were coming.”
“He has no idea.” Alex leaned against the counter. “Where is Nicky, anyway?”
No explanation why she and Flora had come unannounced? How odd. “He and Dante are out visiting the Directionals. They will be back this evening.” A twinge of apprehension shot through her. She frowned. Where had that come from?
“Everything good between you two?”
More than good. Excellent. She tried to suppress a grin, but it did not work. “Oh, yes. Very good.”
“Ooh. Dish.”
~*~
It seemed like hours went by before the mysterious woman raised her hand to signal a stop.
Beyond the trees was a wide expanse of snow-covered plains stretching as far as Nick could see. She moved to the edge of the trees, her head tipped up as her eyes scanned the grey sky. Great, she must be watching for a skimmer or something. A dark dot on the horizon grew until a small, windowless surface shuttle landed close by on the open plain.
“Let’s go,” the woman said.
Nick folded his arms. “Where’s Sakura?”
The woman’s hazel eyes became slits. “Waiting for you, I’m sure. Get moving, Mr. Bock, because I will happily take it out on her if you don’t.”
A firm hand grabbed him by his bicep and a telum pressed into his side. The growl forming in Nick’s throat lodged there. No choice, again. His escort hustled him aboard the craft and shoved him into the seat next to Dante. The door was latched and a moment later they were airborne.
Chapter Seventeen
Sakura cracked an egg against the edge of the bowl. The shell crumpled under her fingers and slimy egg splattered over the counter. “Shit. Oh!” She slapped her other hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Flora.”
The fifteen-year-old girl sitting at the table grinned.
Alexandra paused her pacing. “She’s heard worse, in two languages.”
“Three,” Flora corrected.
“Great.” Alex gave the ceiling a beseeching glance, then resumed her pacing. “Something’s wrong.”
Sakura moved to the sink to rinse her fingers. “You feel it too?” The vague sense of unease in the pit of her stomach had flowered into a sour stomach. Not even the tea seemed to be helping to settle it.
The furrows between Alex’s brows deepened. “I’d hoped it was just my over-active imagination, but if you’re feeling it to then….”
Then something must be wrong. Was something about to happen, or had it already? Sakura swiped her wet hands with a dishtowel then tapped her comm pinned to her shirt. “Nick Bock.”
Comms did not work great in the mountainous area they were in, especially when the weather turned inclement, like it would be in just a few more hours. But maybe, just maybe, she would catch him. She gave the comm another tap. “Nick Bock.”
Nothing.
“Dante Dacian.” More silence. A large blob of lead settled in Sakura’s stomach and she exchanged a look of concern with Alex.
“Maybe it’s just the weather,” Flora suggested. Even she appeared worried.
Sakura gave her comm another tap. “K’rona Zurkku.”
“Hel-lo, Sakura.” K’rona’s carefully spoken English words drifted from the small device.
“Have you heard from Nick or Dante since they left this morning?”
“Nac. No. I will find Storo. Stand by.”
“Okay.” Sakura caught her lower lip between her teeth. They had to be all right. What could possibly go wrong? The paths between the villages were always well maintained. There had not been enough snow recently to obscure them, even the outer rim path should be obvious. Only a complete idiot could get lost on that route, and Nick and Dante were not idiots. It would be easy to dismiss the blanket of impending doom wrapped around her if Alex were not feeling the same way.
The front door banged open and K’rona swept in, “Fyhen! Allazandra!” The joy on her face was undeniable.
“Fyhen,” Alex responded, then almost disappeared in K’rona’s enthusiastic embrace.
Storo stepped through the doorway, Ita directly behind. “We tried to comm the Directionals, but could only get through to West Village. The healers have not arrived there yet, but that surprises us not at all. West is their final destination, and they were not expected there until near evening meal. B’iha, Nero, and one other have gone as runners to North, South, and East. They should be no longer than two hours.”
Sakura let her shoulders droop. So long? Anything could happen in that amount of time. It only took twenty to thirty minutes for a person to succumb to hypothermia, and less to bleed out. A shudder surged through her. Oh, god, what was she thinking?
K’rona’s fingers brushed her arm in a gesture of comfort.
“The runners go with the wind at their heels. All will be well, fyhen.”
~*~
A shiver slithered through Nick as he and Dante were ushered down a corridor. Was it from the cold or icy dread filling his gut? And why had their captors forced them to remove all their cold-weather gear? Especially since it didn’t seem like the heating bill for this place had been paid recently. Even the specially engineered synthetic material of his byssys t-shirt wouldn’t be enough to regulate his body temperature for long.
He aimed his nastiest glare at their guide’s back. The same guide who was still warmly bundled in his camo outerwear.
It seemed he and Dante might be expendable. But what about Saku? Mystery Woman had ignored all his questions about Sakura. She’d seemed down right annoyed with him when she’d left him and Dante with their current guard. Annoying the person with the gun probably wasn’t his greatest idea, but goddammit, he just wanted to know if Saku was safe.
Who the hell was she anyway? The hazel eyes did seem familiar, but he’d be damned if he could place her. She was definitely Terrian, though. Caucasian. But that was all he’d figured out.
“In here.” Their guide—a Matiran—waved them through an open door with his telum.
Nick stepped into a large, sparsely furnished room, Dante right behind him. A few chairs and a medium-size table were shoved to one end of the room. At the other end, Mystery Woman gestured wildly at a viscomm screen. He frowned at the Matiran woman on the screen. Given the draping black coverings over her head and face, she clearly did not want to be recognized. There was no doubt of her gender and race, though.
He turned his head and carefully kept his voice low. “Any idea who they are, Dante?”
“I feel I should know the woman from the trail,” Dante murmu
red back.
The woman on the screen moved. Vivid, jewel-tone aqua-marine eyes met Nick’s gaze. He frowned. He’d seen her eyes before, somewhere.
“Haesi Velo,” Dante spat the name like a curse, and with good reason.
Whoa. It was Haesi! The last time he’d seen her was the day he’d helped take control of the slave ship. Graig had stopped her from killing Alex, but the woman had escaped. After the role she’d played in the down-fall of the Matiran Guardian Fleet and the ensuing invasion of Terr, he had hoped the galaxy had seen the last of her. Apparently that had been too much to wish for.
Disgust rose in the back of his throat at the memory of his first encounter with the traitor. He had been eighteen when she’d walked into the slave cell he shared with his sister, Gryf, Dante, Graig, and a few others. The brief, possessive touch of her hands had elicited a strong reaction from his teenage self. A reaction he wished he could forget ever happened.
“Nicholaus Bock.” Her voice was honey-smooth. “The promising youth has become a man.” Her gaze raked him from head to foot. “A very desirable man. It is a shame you had to interfere with my plans. I had hoped to one day reap your field.”
“Right.” He jutted his chin in the direction of the Terrian woman. “So, who’s your little side-kick here?”
“You just don’t know how to shut-up do you?” Mystery Woman said.
“Not really, no.”
“That’s Kelly Rossler, Nick,” Dante said, his narrow glare directed at the woman.
Mystery Woman reached up and pulled her scarf down, tucking it under her chin. “I’d like to say it’s nice to see you again, Nick Bock…but it isn’t.”
Jesus Freaking Christ! This was turning into a reunion of people he could live the rest of his life without seeing again. Back during their Camp One days, Kelly had had a vendetta against all things alien. Not surprising since her eight-year-old son hadn’t survived the invasion. But everyone on Terr had experienced tragedy and loss, and most had been able to move on with their lives. Not Kelly. It was because of her and her small, boisterous, anti-aliens group that the dissenters had been moved off Terr in the first place.
