Vari's Choices

by Laura Jo Phillips

  She felt an odd buzzing in the base of her skull that, again, wasn't language, but she sensed fear and worry. “I give you my word that we will cause you no harm, and that your secrets are our secrets.”

  The tiklee looked from Vari to Declan, then back to Vari before shifting into a female Jotunn. Vari studied her for a moment, surprised at first by how much smaller she looked than Jinjie. It took her a moment to figure out that it was because she had no horns. Instead, she had a headful of curly orange hair.

  “You do being Jasan?” she asked in a high pitched voice.

  “That’s right,” Vari replied. “What’s your name, please?”

  “Me do being Zaza.”

  “I’m Vari, and this is Declan Dracon-Bat,” Vari said. “If you’d like to ride my shoulder, Zaza, you may.”

  “Me do be thanking,” Zaza said, then leapt up to Vari’s shoulder.

  Vari started up the stairs again and Declan followed, smiling to himself. He’d actually met a Jotunn once, nearly two centuries back, but had never suspected they were shifters. He was, once again, surprised by the scope of Vari’s knowledge.

  Vari reached the top of the stairs and sent her senses out to be sure there was no one nearby. Then she turned to Declan. “You have a question.”

  “Yes, I do,” he said with a little smile. “Why did you say we need to go to Control without stopping?”

  “The feeling I had before is gone now, and that makes me think I was right.”

  “Right about what?”

  “Us needing to go straight up to Control. It wasn’t about time though. I think if we’d tried to do the things that Jay and Kai are doing now, something bad would have happened.

  “Fortunately, I don’t need to listen to the other guard Doftles. They’re not going to know any more than the first ones did.”

  “Why not?”

  “The guards in the engine room had a limited mental process that I don’t fully understand. The last one was thinking about rotating duties with the Doftle in Transport and Atmosphere Control, and thought of them as equal to himself. When he thought about the Doftles in Control, he thought of them as superior.”

  “Superior? Do you mean higher in rank? Like officer to soldier?”

  “Not exactly,” she said, frowning. “Like that, but…more.”

  “The Xanti were hive creatures, and the Doftle liked them. Perhaps the Doftles are also hive creatures.”

  She thought about that for a moment. “I think that’s very close, but not exactly right. I’m hoping I’ll get more clues from the Doftles in Control. Or even better, answers.”

  “Straight up to Deck One then?”

  She nodded, then stepped through the doorway into Deck Five and waited for Declan to lead the way back to the main stairwell. They moved in silence, alert for any sign of the Doftles they knew were on the opposite side of the deck from them. They reached the stairwell without incident and relaxed a fraction to be back in the unrestricted area of the ship.

  Vari was mildly surprised that they didn’t encounter a single passenger on their way up the stairs to Deck One. Of course, most passengers used the elevators rather than the stairs, she reminded herself.

  “Where’s Control?” Declan asked when they reached the door that opened onto Deck One.

  “It’s in the bow, not too far from here,” Vari said. “Go through this door, turn right, then left into a wide corridor.” Vari glanced at the Jotunn on her shoulder. “You may want to seek shelter somewhere safe, Zaza. What we’re about to do is going to be dangerous.”

  “Zaza do be staying. Might do be helping if can.”

  “All right, but hang on tightly. If I have to move suddenly I won’t have time to warn you and I might move fast.”

  “Do be seeing,” Zaza said, a note of pride in her voice that surprised Vari. “Do be holding tight.”

  Declan opened the door and they stepped through it, turned right and began walking. When he turned left into the main corridor she moved up to walk beside him because it looked more natural than walking behind him did. Vari found it much more difficult to keep to a relaxed pace now and it took her a few moments to understand why.

  She’d spent seventeen days aboard this ship, walking through these corridors, visiting the different shops, lounges, cafes, and entertainment areas, watching the passengers as they went about their days. There were a lot more people than she was used to seeing on a liner, and a lot more families with small children who could sometimes be quite loud. But they hadn’t bothered her in the least. In fact, the overall atmosphere had been happier and more relaxed than she was accustomed to.

  Now, the corridors were all but deserted, the atmosphere subdued and frightened. The few people they saw were quiet, nervous, and intent upon getting to wherever it was they were going. Watching a thousand of their fellow passengers be murdered before their eyes no doubt had a lot to do with that. She hated that twelve beings…twelve…could do so much to hurt so many with so little effort.

  They passed a sign directing them toward Control and she reined in her emotions and focused on what she had to do next. When she saw the open doorway of a café not far from the end of the corridor, she turned into it.

  “Is something wrong?” Declan asked once they were clear of the door and he’d determined there was no one else inside.

  “No,” she replied. “Control is just around that next corner. It has three big windows set side by side about ten feet up from the floor.”

  “Windows looking onto what?”

  “Mostly a large recreation area between this row of shops, and another row on the opposite side of the deck. They’re there for the passengers I suppose, so they can look up and see the crew at work.

  “I’m trying to remember how far from the corner the windows are. I want to get against the wall, then slide over until we’re below the windows. That should be plenty close enough for me to hear them. If the windows are too close to the corner, I’m afraid we’ll be seen.”

  “Zaza do be looking.”

  “Are you sure, Zaza? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Do being not worry,” Zaza said. “Doftle do not being see up their noses.” With that she leapt off of Vari’s shoulder and vanished through the doorway.

  “What was that about Doftle’s noses?” Declan asked.

  Vari grinned, surprising herself. She just couldn’t help it. “I think she meant that the Doftle can’t see what’s beneath their own noses. Jinjie can mangle a phrase better than anyone I’ve ever heard of, but I suspect Zaza could give him a run for his money.”

  Declan wondered what Doftle’s noses had to do with…well…anything, who Jinjie was, why Vari grinned that way when she spoke of him, and why he ran for money. He hadn’t found any answers to his questions by the time Zaza returned and leapt up to Vari’s shoulder.

  “Do being far as this wall to corner,” she said, gesturing to the back wall of the café. Declan and Vari looked toward the wall she indicated and Vari nodded.

  “That’ll work,” she said. “Declan, maybe you and Zaza should remain here.”

  Declan arched a brow at her and she nodded, knowing there was no sense in arguing. She started toward the door when he stopped her with a touch on her shoulder. “Have you tried to reach them from here?”

  “Yes,” Vari said. “I get noise that I know is them, but I have to get closer to separate them and to hear their thoughts clearly. It was the same before. I suspect it has something to do with the density of their skulls.”

  “I will lead,” he said. “If necessary, I can hold all three of them in place with Air, but not for very long. Two I can hold a little longer, one I can hold for half an hour, maybe more. If all else fails, we shall discover whether or not dracon fire can be added to the list of methods for killing a Doftle.”

  “I might like to see that,” Vari said as she stepped back to let him go first. After using his dracon senses to be sure the corridor was empty, he left the café with Vari clo
se behind him.

  Declan inched up to the corner and looked around it. There were three wide panels of thick plasti-glass about ten feet off the deck, just as Vari had said. They provided him with an excellent view of the brightly lit Control room, and the three Doftle inside. They appeared to be having a heated discussion about something, but the thick plasti-glass prevented enough sound from escaping for him to make out what they were saying. He watched and waited, but none of them bothered to look up through the window even once. Their behavior was distinctly different from the guards they’d encountered in the engine room, just as Vari had suspected.

  The corridor was clear and the Doftle were preoccupied. There wouldn’t be a better chance. Keeping his eyes fixed on the arguing Doftles, he waved Vari forward.

  He saw her in his peripheral vision as she crossed the corridor at a quick walk, then put her back to the wall. He didn’t take his eyes off the Doftle until enough time had passed for him to be certain they hadn’t seen Vari. Then he joined her.

  They worked their way along the wall until they were just below the first window. Declan looked at Vari, and she nodded. They were close enough. She closed her eyes and went into a near trancelike state that he now knew meant she was listening to the Doftles.

  Declan was astounded by Vari’s level of courage and fortitude. She was without a doubt a warrior, and a damn good one, too. She thought ahead, prepared for what she suspected was coming, and followed through on her decisions without hesitation. She faced everything that came at her without flinching even though he could feel her fear and worry at times.

  A soft gasp startled him from his thoughts. Vari was pale, and there was tension around her eyes. He touched her arm and she looked up at him and nodded that she was all right. He saw her swallow hard, then clench her fists for a moment before relaxing her hands. Then she closed her eyes again and he knew she was tapping into another Doftle. He waited, alert for danger, but keeping most of his attention on Vari. After a few minutes she opened her eyes again. Some of her color had returned and she looked more thoughtful than horrified.

  “Sound shield?” she mouthed silently.

  He nodded and created a shield around their heads only, saving as much magic as he could in case they needed it. He was sure he’d still have enough energy to wrap up two of the Doftle if necessary.

  “Two of the Doftles want nothing more than to kill more passengers. It’s like a fever to them, something they can’t seem to stop thinking about. They’re arguing with the third one about it, insisting that the youngest children, the babies and toddlers, are of no use and should be eliminated now.”

  Declan clenched his jaw tightly, fighting his emotional reaction to Vari’s words. His dracon reminded him sharply that under the circumstances, such an action would place Vari in danger. His rage instantly cooled, allowing him to focus on what Vari was saying.

  “The third Doftle is trying to convince them that if they kill the children now, the remaining passengers will snap. If that happens, they’ll be forced to kill a lot of them, and they were ordered to bring back as many as possible.

  “That’s his argument, but it’s not the truth. The truth is that he hates the idea of murdering innocent children. Just the thought of it is making him ill. He’s desperate to hide his true feelings from the others. If they knew, they’d kill him.”

  Declan nodded his understanding, but said nothing. He knew she wasn’t finished yet. “There’s something about their thought patterns, or their brains, I’m not sure what it is, but it’s…different.”

  “Is it because they’re insane?”

  “Maybe, but I don’t think so,” she replied. “I’ve sampled the thoughts of hundreds of different sentient species and I’ve never come across anything like this.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  She looked up at him with a lopsided smile. “Something radical, I’m afraid, which actually goes against the grain for me, believe it or not.”

  Declan surprised himself by grinning. “I think I could force myself to believe that if I had to.”

  “That’s good because I’m dragging you along for the ride.”

  “Really,” he said, scratching his chin. “And how’re you going to do that?”

  “By asking you to aid and abet me by wrapping one Doftle in Air. Can you do that?”

  “Yes,” he replied, frowning suspiciously. “Why?”

  “Because I want to capture the Doftle who doesn’t want to kill the children.”

  “You want to capture a Doftle.” She nodded. “Wouldn’t you rather have a dog? Or a cat? I’d even spring for a raktsasa if you want a pet that badly.”

  “Nope, sorry, I want a Doftle,” she said. “Nobody else has one, and I gotta be the first.”

  Declan sighed heavily. “Well, at least you picked a sane one.” He scowled down at her. “He is sane, right?”

  “As far as I can tell, yes,” she said with a smile. “No guarantees though.”

  “Guess that’ll have to do,” Declan said, then caught sight of Zaza’s expression and chuckled softly.

  Vari looked down at the Jotunn and laughed too. “We’re just teasing, Zaza. Well, sort of.”

  Zaza gave her a little smile that was obviously forced and said nothing.

  “Any ideas on how to proceed?” Declan asked.

  “If the fire foam is released, it’ll kill all three of them, so we can’t do that.”

  “If I hold all three of them with Air, I’ll only be able to do it for a couple of minutes, and then I won’t be able to hold any of them.”

  Vari nodded. “If you can hold one, I’ll use the dairi to kill the other two.”

  “You seem hesitant. Are you bothered by killing two more of them?”

  “I might have been if I hadn’t just listened to them arguing to murder all the babies on the ship,” she said. “My concern is that there’s only a few feet between these three Doftle and the hull, which gives me a lot less room for error than I had in the engine room. If something goes wrong, we won’t be able to evacuate the passengers until the task force arrives, and I don’t think any of them can hold their breath for a week.”

  Declan smiled, but it was brief. “I’m sorry, Vari, but I don’t have enough power to immobilize all three of them without Jay and Kai.”

  “I know,” she replied. “Don’t worry, I got this.”

  “Which one is the sane one?”

  “The one right above us.” She looked up at him. “I never imagined taking a Doftle prisoner, but this one is different, Declan. I think finding out why he’s different is worth the risk.”

  “I agree.”

  “Do you mind if Zaza moves to your shoulder for a few moments?”

  “Not at all.” Zaza looked at him doubtfully, then back to Vari.

  “It’s safe, I promise.” Zaza immediately leapt onto Declan’s shoulder, taking Vari at her word.

  Declan removed the Air shield while Vari closed her eyes and reached for calm. A moment later her eyes flew open. “The two who want to kill the children have decided to do it despite the third’s objections.”

  “Kill them now,” Declan said, his voice that of a Jasani warrior, deep and commanding.

  Vari closed her eyes, reached for zentsu, marked the locations of her targets, then stepped away from the wall while summoning the dairi from her waist. She threw it with a twist and flutter of her fingers, causing it to slice through the first target, then loop around to the second before returning to her hand.

  She stood ready, her senses seeking further threats. Only one Doftle remained and he was shocked and a little afraid to discover that he was incapable of moving no matter how hard he tried. She relaxed and opened her eyes to see Declan beside her, focused intently on Control.

  “Vox the men in the hold,” she said in a low voice.

  Declan reached up with one hand to tap his vox, opening the channel without taking his attention from the Doftle he’d wrapped in bonds of Air. While he spoke to
Kai, Vari looked around for an entrance, but there wasn’t one in sight, and they had no time to waste searching for it. She removed the dairi from her sleeves and threw them with a curling motion, causing them to roll up tightly into flat disks that then hovered in front of the window. Another movement of her fingers caused micro lasers to peek up around the outer edge of each disk before she sent them spinning around the border of one of the large panels of plasti-glass.

  Vari reached over and tugged on Declan’s arm, urging him back just as the section started to fall. Since it was plastic it didn’t shatter or pose a danger, so she left it as it was and summoned the dairi back to her sleeves. She turned to Declan who relaxed his vigilance on the bound Doftle, satisfied he wasn’t going anywhere for the time being.

  “Captain Finch reports that the containers have been transported into space. Both exploded within seconds.” Vari’s knees felt weak with relief. That had been far closer than she’d expected.

  She looked up at the opening four feet above her head and was considering the best way to get up there when Declan placed his hands around her waist and lifted her. She grabbed the edge of the window sill and pulled herself up.

  Declan heard a faint, furtive sound, like a shoe brushing carpet. He spun around in time to see a Doftle raising a hand laser, its eyes on Vari as she pulled herself through the window opening. He reached for his knives and threw them, his hands a blur. Both blades struck their targets at the same moment that the Doftle squeezed the trigger.

  Declan spun back, his heart in his throat, fighting his instinct to shift in response to the threat against Vari. It took him a moment to realize that she was unharmed. She hung motionless, half in and half out of the window opening, staring wide eyed at the scorch mark on the back wall of Control directly in front of her.