Starlight and Candy

by K. T. Flores

  A light hand on her upper arm brought her back to the present where Navarian officers and some Coalitionsists milled around in an apartment.

  Polaris wasn’t looking at Tauri but offered her a head tilt. “They brought a real Muse here to help,” she said softly.

  Tauri eyed the gray-cloaked figure. She couldn’t see much beyond their petite shoulders, but the way they moved was measured and quick.

  “A real Muse, huh?”

  “She’s a Prime. One of their highest ranked. That means the oligarchs and Coalition thinks this is way more important than they implied.”

  Tauri shifted uncomfortably. “Who would’ve thought a Vice scandal would get so big.”

  “Prime Isuri L’Atore is going to lead the main assault. Unless notified otherwise, all other personnel will remain here to safely monitor and assess the situation. Get ready to go,” Aneel announced.

  Tauri moved to the heavily tinted window, placing a hand on the glass. She watched as the Navarian officers simultaneously stormed several apartment complexes.

  Several robots crossed the street, but it wasn’t unusual for delivery bots moving in groups. One of them caught her eye as it trailed after the others, and she tilted her head, studying it carefully. It had come from one of the raided buildings but looked innocuous enough.

  Then another followed. And another and another still.

  The feeling in her gut was painful. She knew better than to write it off.

  Those are all decommissioned models—

  The image of the decomissioned robot in Fili's office rose, unbidden. It’s strangely hollowed out midsection. Then she remembered the robots in the factory.

  Hollow…

  A perfect place to hide and transport candy.

  She jerked straight, flying out of the room and into the street. “Get out of there,” she screamed, tackling the robot.

  Aneel and Cyril were close behind, asking her questions that she couldn’t understand.

  “Stop talking to me, and go get everyone out!”

  She turned and shot the five other robots that seemed out of place, aiming to incapacitate. She was shaking too much to cleanly shoot through their cores. Turning her attention back to the one she was straddling, she scrabbled against the robot’s front control panel with little success.

  Chaos was unfolding around her. People were shouting and gunfire echoed in her brain. None of it registered.

  She had figured it out. And she hoped she was right.

  Finally, she shot off the panel, yanking it away easily. There, nestled in the area where the robot’s core normally was, rested a package. The wires had been shoved against the sides, just like Helden’s robot.

  She pulled the package out and tore at the tape.

  It was full of candy.

  She looked up to see people dragging the other robots she had shot back into the safe room. Cyril was directing the officers.

  “Enacting Code NC,” the robot beneath her intoned.

  Hadn't Fili enacted Code NC at the warehouse?

  Oh, no.

  “They’re going to blow up the apartments,” she breathed, watching more robots hurriedly file out. “Cyril, they’re going to destroy everything!” she called, running towards him.

  “Tauri, no! Get back!”

  He was at her side in a moment.

  She blinked at his arrival.

  Suddenly, she was wrapped in his arms. Then, they were huddled behind cars.

  Right. Teleportation.

  “If something is going to blow up, then you don’t run towards it—”

  “We have to help them,” she exclaimed, ignoring his grip on her elbow.

  “There isn’t enough time. If I teleport again, we’ll be caught in the explosion.”

  He yanked her down, pushing her against the car. He covered her body with his, tucking her beneath his chin.

  “Cyril, please—”

  “Tauri, we can’t—”

  And then the world exploded.

  The ground shook and so did the car they were against. High pitched cries filled her head, and it took her a second to recognize the noise.

  Glass from the hovercar above them rained down and pieces of rocks and metal pelted their bodies. Just when she thought the heat was too much, it dissipated. There were only a few explosives that redirected thermal energy like that.

  Colors danced in the sky with another boom, and she gripped Cyril’s neck.

  “Firework bombs?” she breathed in horror, ignoring the twinges along her legs.

  They weren’t nearly as dangerous as the nitrocotton Fili used at the warehouse, but the street was full of people.

  “This is bad,” Cyril huffed into her ear.

  She laughed, trying to keep the hysterical edge from her voice. “Bad? There are civilians out there! They just bombed civilians. How did they even know? I—”

  Her holocomm began to trill, but the caller was unknown.

  “Who is that?” Cyril asked lowly.

  “I—I don’t… I don’t know.”

  She answered, and Fili shouted over the speaker.

  “You want to fuck with Vice? You want to fuck with me? You’re getting people killed, Solne. You should’ve just left all alone, you know. I warned you, and you still kept poking your little snout where it didn’t belong.”

  She glanced at Cyril, and his jaw ticked.

  The beginnings of music began to filter through, and Tauri furrowed his brow. She knew that music… But…

  Fili said hurriedly, “Pretty boy with you? I have his sister. I sent him an invoice in exchange for her. You have two days to get my units to me before she’s dead and more parts of the underworld disappear. I’ll be waiting in your old shop.”

  Ending where it began, Tauri thought bitterly, fingers tightening around her holocomm.

  “Cyril! Tauri!” Kira yelled in the background. “Please—"

  Fili clicked off before either of them could answer.

  But not before she could hear the singing.

  Cyril cursed, standing on unsteady feet. She yanked his jacket back before he could stomp away, shaking her head. “Don’t.”

  “So what, I’m just supposed to leave my sister? I have the units—”

  “Stop! You don’t know what else he wants. He could ask us to retract the statements we made to the oligarchs, or he could try and pin everything on us! We need to be smart and not make any rash decisions.”

  “That’s my sister—”

  “I know! I heard her, too.” She gripped his face in her hands, pulling him to her level. “I need you to just think for a minute. Use your head. We’re smarter than this.”

  A woman ran up to them, clothes tattered and charred. “Please, we need help evacuating! The entrance collapsed and—and—”

  “Where is the Muse?” Cyril interrupted, pulling from Tauri’s grip and turning to the stranger.

  “A robot shot her! She’s trapped and we can’t get her out. She’s not waking up, and… and—my son, gods above, my son… He’s stuck in there!” She dissolved into sobs, tugging Tauri and Cyril forward.

  Cyril tried to dig his heels in, but Tauri shoved at his back.

  Almost all the buildings along the block had been affected. Everyone was scrambling and shouting in languages Tauri didn’t recognize. She accidentally bumped into people, but they could only offer a cursory apology to one another.

  Cyril looked at the hole they’d managed to poke through the debris, setting his jaw. He crossed his arms and turned to Tauri.

  “I don’t have time for this,” he hissed, leaning close to her. “They might kill Kira and give us her body. Fili never said anything about keeping her alive.”

  “You can teleport through that space between the buildings, can’t you?” she countered, pushing her shoulders back and tilting her chin upwards.

  He could help these people.

  “Help!” someone shouted beyond the crumbled entrance. “My sister is dying! Help!”


  The fight seemed to rush out of Cyril, his eyes softening as he turned toward the apartments. He disappeared and reappeared with two people in each arm.

  “I’ll help,” he said, sounding choked.

  Tauri’s eyes filled with tears.

  He stood before her, rays of light catching his messy hair as they had that same morning. But his face was pinched, dirtied and bloodied. His eyes glowed in pain and fierceness. Tauri’s heart clenched, and the commotion around her disappeared for a moment. All she could see was him, and she knew. She had known the moment the words had stuck in her throat the previous night.

  There was a pang in her chest as she pictured the night sky. It was the first time in a long time since she’d thought of it. Her whole life, it was all she had wanted.

  But somewhere along the way, that had changed. She had always been free and running away didn’t mean she would stop thinking about the underworld and the overworld.

  And they still needed to find Kira.

  She felt the ghost of a smile on her face at the thought.

  “Sparkles, wait,” she said, grabbing the fabric at his hips before he teleported again.

  He pressed his forehead against hers. “Yes?”

  I have to go get her.

  She couldn’t risk all three of them getting caught.

  The words stuck in her throat, and she tried to tell him, but she couldn’t. He’d never agree to let her go alone, and she understood why. She wouldn’t have let him do anything alone, either. Not when Fili and his sister were involved. They were all too important to this game they had been playing. Losing anyone could change the outcome for Navar.

  Mistaking her silence, he hurried to comfort her. “It’s fine. It’ll be fine. I’ll begin transferring the units into a holder to give him. How could Ki have gotten caught? What has she even been doing—”

  “There’s a chance Fili will kill all of us,” she gently told him, squeezing his hands.

  “I won’t let him.” He nearly crushed her fingers with the strength of his hold.

  “But he’ll try. He won’t let us go.” She glanced down at her feet. He would know something was wrong if she looked at him a second longer. He’d gotten too good at reading her face. “Cyril, do you trust me?”

  An immediate, unwavering response: “With everything I am.”

  His conviction was too much. He was going to be so upset with her. But it would be worth it. If I can even save Kira.

  But she shook her head, shoving her uncertainty into a corner of her mind. She’d deal with it later, when the weight on her shoulders was gone.

  “You’re right. Everything will be fine,” she said, rubbing her thumb across his cheek. It was as much for him as it was for her. Did he have any idea what she was about to do?

  “I never used to believe that until I met you.” His smile was knee-wobbling and gorgeously destructive.

  “You didn’t believe in much if I recall correctly,” she joked, but her returning smile was unconvincing. She poked his dimple. “I can take care of myself.” She meant it to be reassuring, but he pressed his lips together, losing color around the edges.

  “I know.” His words crackled a little at the end.

  Do. Not. Cry, she scolded herself sternly. This isn’t a goodbye. You’ll see him soon.

  “We can’t do everything alone. It’s okay to let people help us. You taught me that,” she said, kissing him quickly. “I have to go find Aneel. He sent me a message about repairing some hovercars so we can evacuate the area.”

  The lie felt like the darkest chocolate against her tongue.

  He kissed her again, clutching at her hair and back, washing away some of the bitterness.

  I love you, she thought at him. So much.

  “You’re not alone anymore,” he murmured against her mouth.

  “Neither are you.”

  “After this, we’ll get my sister and figure everything else out.”

  She nodded emphatically, hoping he didn’t think she was too energetic. “I’ll see you soon,” she vowed, forcing herself to take a step back. And then another.

  He pressed something into her hand, kissing her knuckles.

  “I’ll see you soon,” he echoed before disappearing.

  She unfurled her fingers, shutting her eyes tightly when she realized what he had given her.

  His taminite ring.

  She placed it on her right ring finger. It hung loosely before reshaping itself to fit perfectly, glinting in the sunshine. She stroked the metal, still warm from his skin, before breaking into a sprint towards Cyril’s hovercraft.

  She was running out of time.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Did Fili realized the mistake he had made?

  The question kept bouncing around in Tauri’s head, and she couldn’t decide the answer. If he were smart, he would’ve moved Kira as soon as the call was over.

  A few years ago, Tauri had helped reprogram robots for the Antiox, an underworld club. She also helped fix the robots’ charging ports that were stationed one building over, deep into the ground. It had a hallway, with several rooms on each side. The owner of the Antiox told her they often rented the extra rooms as storage units. It wasn’t particularly uncommon, but there was something special about these.

  Every Sunday, there was a certain band that performed at the Antiox. And the lead singer of the Syrup Sunday had a distinct and lovely voice. Tauri enjoyed listening to them and had heard their music from the club while she worked in the underground storage units.

  And the faint crooning of Syrup Sunday during Fili’s message was all Tauri needed. He was either keeping her in the Antiox storage units, or she was being kept somewhere in the club.

  If this was where Kira was held, all the entrances would be guarded. She couldn’t walk in without causing alarm. But she did know the building next to the Antiox shared ventilation with the underground space. And she knew it had a cupola vent that would lead her right into the rooms.

  She doubted Fili knew about the connected ventilation system.

  As predicted, it wasn’t guarded.

  She stared at the eight-foot gap between the roof of the bar she was standing on and the roof of her target building, wiping her sweaty palms against her pants.

  It was a four-story drop to the ground.

  “I can do this.”

  Can you? That’s a long way to jump. And an even longer way to fall.

  “I know that,” she snapped at herself.

  Doubt crept into her mind, but she pushed it away. She couldn’t afford to ruminate. If she did, she’d lose whatever bravery had gotten her this far.

  She stepped back a few paces to get a running start, then leapt, forcing her eyes to stay open, willing herself forward.

  There was air against her face, and her ponytail whipped around. A feeling of freedom swelled in her chest, and the world around her disappeared. She was weightless. But then her torso slammed into the wall, legs flailing to get a footing as her arms reached to hold onto something.

  The wind was knocked out of her, and she gasped.

  She began to slip.

  “No, no, no.”

  Her fingers clawed at stones.

  Breathe.

  She began to swing her legs back and forth, building as much momentum as she could. She felt herself slipping. With a warbled cry, she threw her legs over the edge as her fingers gave out. She lay on the rooftop for a moment, chest heaving.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” she breathed.

  It took a minute to banish panicked thoughts of her mortality before she found her way to the large air vent. Wiggling down, every sound she made heightened her senses, made her heart pound louder.

  She crawled through the storage space, peeking into every room. Dust filled her lungs and clung to her hair. She tumbled into one of the rooms as the grate below her fell, coughs wracking her body. She gulped the air, rubbing her nose viciously.

  She was in the room with the charging rob
ots. Relief flooded her limbs, and her legs felt like jelly. If her counting had been off by even one, there was a chance she would’ve been captured alongside Kira.

  Her shoes made no sound as she tiptoed to the small window on the front of the unit. People were welcome to cover them, but the owner of the Antiox liked to send people down to check on the robots every few hours.

  She gasped, sliding down the door as her eyes met someone else’s. Had she been spotted? She peeked out once more, but the person was surveying other parts of the hall and talking to someone. The darkness had kept her hidden.

  A second person came into view, and one of the men rapped on the window, laughing.

  It had to be the room Kira was in. They wouldn’t leave her unattended. But was someone else in there with her?

  Tauri hoped not.

  She hurried back to the vent and placed down her holowatch and holocomm. If she got caught, she didn’t want anyone getting her personal devices.

  She needed a rowdy distraction. Something that could hold their attention for long enough to get Kira into the vent. Could she teleport?

  Tauri set her jaw. If Kira couldn’t teleport, then the distraction needed to be louder. Longer. More obnoxious. She glanced around the charging room, her clammy palms rubbing her cheeks.

  All the robots were in their charging stations. There had been at least ten when she’d worked in this room, but there looked to be near double that now.

  The control panel was simple, retaining the layout she had suggested. There were more wires than she remembered, but it wasn’t surprising. There used to be an evacuation switch that would force all the robots to leave at once for the nearest exit. Was there also the button that made them recite menu items?

  She felt behind the panel and smiled widely. Bingo.

  “I’m going to need a smidgen of chaos, if you don’t mind,” she said, patting a robot’s head. “And I think you’re exactly what I need.”

  She pressed both buttons on the panel, startling when the machines came to life. They went for the doors, prattling off names of drinks and entrees as they flooded into the hall.

  “What’s going on?” someone yelled.

  She crouched along with the sea of robots, readying her raypistol.