Had the two of them been lying to her all this time?
Pretending to compete over her, when really, they were putting on some kind of show for the other Nirreth, maybe even for Richter, too?
Whatever game they were playing, Richter may not have scripted it, but he didn’t seem blind to it, either.
Richter seemed to want Jet to know, too.
At the very least, he hadn’t gone out of his way to discourage her from finding out.
The longer Jet thought about it, the angrier she got.
They’d played her.
They’d played her.
Laksri and his crap about her being a virgin. Getting her to admit she was nervous about sleeping with him again. Getting her to admit she was jealous, that she wanted him, that she didn’t want him sleeping with other women.
Getting her to seduce him in the end, by pretending he was fine with waiting.
Feeling her cheeks warm as she pushed the memory away, she gripped his skin tighter, shaking his arm roughly.
“Laks!” she said, sharp. “Wake up! Now.”
He didn’t move. The cadence of his breathing didn’t change.
“Laksri!” she said, louder. “I mean it! Wake up!”
His closed eyes didn’t flicker.
Jet was still staring down at his face, holding her breath, looking for any slight change, when a voice emerged from behind her, nearly making her jump out of her skin.
“I do not think that will work,” it purred softly.
Jet turned, jerking back on the bed so violently, she nearly fell.
She stared at the tall Nirreth standing there, thinking she had to be imagining him.
Once his presence sank in, a rush of adrenaline hit her bloodstream, tensing every muscle in her body.
“Trazen,” she muttered.
Without thinking, she glanced at Laksri on the bed.
The hairs stood up on the back of her neck as she realized her predicament.
Her mind whirled, even as her anger at Laksri and Anaze worsened when she realized she still looked to them for protection. She did here, anyway, in the Green Zone––away from the skag pit, and outside the Rings.
Neither of them was here now.
Her eyes shifted back to Trazen as the realization sank in.
She tracked his movements minutely even as her mind churned, pulling together facts. The guards outside must be on his payroll, or afraid of him maybe, given who he was. She fought with whether to call out to them anyway, even as she rose shakily to her feet.
“…You startled me,” she said, fighting to smile.
“A thousand apologies.” The Ringmaster smiled more genuinely, his eyes flickering down her dress. “I merely hoped to be of assistance.”
Jet swallowed.
Scanning rapidly through options, she settled on keeping her voice polite, speaking in her somewhat slow and heavily-accented Nargili.
“You have come to see how the prince is doing?” She gave him a polite, if overly-stiff smile. “That is very generous of you, Ringmaster Trazen. There is a challenge match tomorrow, is there not? You must be quite occupied in its design?”
His thin smile did not flinch.
If anything, his eyes grew more shrewd.
“Yes, Jet Tetsuo,” he said, matching her tone. “That design is almost completed now. I thank you for taking an interest in my work.”
He paused, his dark eyes seeming to grow deeper as he studied her face.
“…And you are correct, of course,” he added in a lower voice. “My duties are extensive. The new candidate of my mentor, Al-En Mosq, runs her trial match that day. Her very first, so the most important of all trials, as you understand better than many, even others of the Rings.”
Walking in a casual loop that brought his body closer to hers, he added just as smoothly,
“…There are many eyes on whether I make that trial difficult or easy for her.”
His dark eyes continued to weigh Jet.
“Perhaps you will break precedent and make a wager, Jet Tetsuo?” he said. “I would be happy to place any bets you may wish. It would be my honor.”
Jet hesitated.
Her eyes flickered to the Nirreth’s tail, almost in spite of herself.
She watched it as it snaked lazily behind him, deceptively casual.
Glancing again at Laksri, she knew even before she met Trazen’s eyes a second time, that she was in trouble. She wasn’t about to just stand there and cringe, like one of his usual human sacrifices.
“I will think about your offer, Ringmaster Trazen,” she promised. “Once I am able to examine the stats for the relevant candidates.”
He smiled, a vague humor touching his eyes.
Jet continued before he could speak.
“…I must now apologize for the brevity of our meeting,” she added politely. “But I really must be going.” She stepped pointedly to one side, her eyes level on his. “Since it is clear that Prince Laksri is unlikely to awaken until morning, I should really take myself back to the Royal Chambers––”
“I hear you are going on a journey soon, Princess Jet,” Trazen said, cutting into her words.
When she turned, his coal-black eyes focused densely on hers.
The look there wasn’t threatening exactly, but it briefly held her in place. After studying her reaction for a few beats, Trazen let his lips rise in another subtle, Nirreth smile.
“Perhaps you have not yet heard?” he said, his voice all politeness. “They have caught your human. The one you call Anaze. Judgment by the Guard was swift. They have recommended that he face Retribution.”
Pausing, Trazen folded his hands at the small of his back.
“Their judgment requires only the approval of the Prince. No one has any doubt that he will approve, however, once he awakens… considering the severity of the human’s crime.”
Jet felt her hands grow cold.
For a moment she couldn’t speak, but neither could she tear her eyes off the probing gaze of the muscular Ringmaster.
Even so, her mind whirled.
Had Richter known they already had Anaze in custody?
Or had he simply known what would happen once they did?
“Are you not relieved, Princess Jet?” Trazen pressed. “I would have thought you would be most pleased that they found him so quickly. After all, it is not a good time to have a terrorist running loose inside the realm, whatever his… racial limitations.”
Jet cleared her throat.
“Where?” she forced herself to say. “Where did they find him, honorable Ringmaster?”
Trazen shrugged, as if the detail was inconsequential.
“I am told he was found in the canals,” he said. “They were forced to send other humans in after him… and a culler ship, when the former did not work. Whatever the truth of the matter, this Anaze was collected after a struggle. The Guard passed their judgment less than an hour later.” He paused, watching her expression. “I am told the Queen has already given approval. She awaits Laksri’s word out of respect, but the arrangements have begun.”
Jet nodded without quite meeting his gaze.
She knew what “collected after a struggle” meant.
It meant they’d beaten him, stung him, likely in excessive quantities, possibly to the point of unconsciousness. They would have questioned him after they stung him, under the guise of needing the information to inform their decision-making.
Jet wondered why that aspect of things didn’t worry Laksri or Anaze more, given what he might say under the influence of the venom… then decided she didn’t want to know. Knowing them, Anaze had taken some drug, or built up an immunity in some other way.
As the thought rose, it occurred to Jet that she’d started to think like them.
She couldn’t think strategy now, though.
She couldn’t.
She knew a few among the Royal Guard might not have stopped with a simple beating, depending on what Anaze had done to
get into the Prince’s quarters. Even if he managed to get past them without killing anyone in the Guard, the embarrassment of a human slipping through their security measures would be enough to infuriate them.
Jet fought back and forth in her mind about asking to see Anaze, then realized Trazen wasn’t the person to ask that question of.
Nodding instead, she tried to look relieved, and likely failed.
“Prince Laksri will be very pleased with that news,” she said finally.
“I am quite sure he will be,” Trazen agreed. “Although I would imagine going to Astet, at a time like this, could be inconvenient… for both of you,” Trazen added politely.
“I admit to some disappointment, as well,” he continued in a purr. “Given the high scores Al-En Mosq’s human achieved in her demonstration, I had hoped to see you introduced to this new candidate sooner rather than later. I believe the two of you will make for a quite thrilling and mentally stimulating challenge match. One I would be honored to design.”
Pausing, he gestured in a small flourish.
Jet watched his tail so carefully, she almost missed the last of his words.
“…But it appears my services will be required on Astet, as well,” he added.
Jet blinked, looking up. “What?”
Trazen paused, giving her a look that struck her as carrying more scrutiny than she would have expected.
Shrugging, he seemed to dismiss whatever he found.
“Yes,” he confirmed in a low murmur. “There appears to be a shortage of game designers on all the worlds these days.” He glanced at Laksri on the mattress. “That, or there is some other reason. One they did not see fit to share with me, in asking me to participate in this auspicious event.”
Again, that razor-sharp smile.
“Either way,” he added. “I can only hope I am to be flattered by this inclusion, rather than the reverse. It is so difficult to tell sometimes. Is it not?”
Jet found her mind whirling again.
What was he up to, exactly? Did he really think she would buy this feeble attempt to seem conspiratorial? Or was he implying something else? Maybe he thought he was being lured to Astet to be killed? Maybe he thought he’d been targeted for looking into Laksri’s past, perhaps by the Queen, or perhaps by Laksri himself?
Actually, knowing Richter, the idea wasn’t totally crazy.
Getting rid of Trazen would make all of their lives easier.
The look in Trazen’s eyes confused her, though, even with most of the effects of the venom finally having left her system. He seemed to be trying hard to get some kind of reaction out of her, but she had no idea what it was.
Did he think she had something to do with Anaze’s attack on Laksri?
Maybe he thought she and Anaze were working together, or that she was some kind of spy for human terrorists? Was he making a veiled threat about something happening to her if anything happened to him on Astet?
More unnerved than before, Jet took another cautious step towards the door of the recovery room.
She glanced at Laksri on the bed, willing him to get up, to at least open his eyes.
Her nerves rose higher when Trazen followed her openly that time, stepping just enough into her path that she felt her body tense. Looking Trazen over in spite of herself, a low pulse of panic reached her. This guy had won every Rings match he’d ever fought, including challenge matches against larger opponents.
Unlike Al-En Mosq, he also hadn’t let himself go.
Jet had even seen some of Trazen’s matches, as a part of her training.
More than one had been brutal enough to make her turn away. Trazen may not be in top form now, like he had been then, but she had no illusions about his abilities.
Laksri called him a killer.
Jet didn’t even have her sword.
She wore a flimsy dress and sandals, and her hair hung down, reaching the middle of her back. She felt better equipped for a summer pool party than any kind of smackdown. Looking at Trazen’s muscular arms, she fought to think.
After the barest pause, she decided the direct approach was her only option.
Well. More direct, anyway.
“I really do need to go, Ringmaster,” she murmured, gesturing politely. “So if there isn’t anything else…?”
She stepped forward as she said it, ready to slip past him.
That time, he dropped the pretense, stepping directly into her path.
Jet forced her eyes up. “Ringmaster?”
She cleared her throat, keeping her eyes on his, not looking directly at the tail weaving sinuously behind his back.
“Did you require something else of me?” she said, sharper.
He didn’t answer.
Jet fought to keep her expression still, but grew more and more aware of the motion of his tail. It swayed far enough out to the sides to make her nervous, although he hadn’t threatened her with it directly yet. Still, it floated near enough to her body that she struggled not to flinch.
She was about to speak to him again, when the tail whipped around abruptly, catching her in the thigh. Jet jumped back, smacking down with her arm.
She moved fast, trying to block his attempt to sting her even as she got out of his tail’s way. Both moves were pure reflex, but both came too late.
The barb caught.
Jet’s attempt to escape only came close to knocking her off her feet. She struggled, kicking out at him, letting out a panicked shriek when the barb dug deeper into her flesh.
Trazen caught her elbow before she could fall, holding her there.
His other hand followed, strong on her opposite shoulder.
When she fought to kick him, he dragged her close enough to block her with his body. She tried to knee him, but he absorbed the blow easily by shifting his thigh to block, gripping her hair in his hand.
Trazen held her in place as she continued to fight him, seemingly oblivious to the blows of her fists and feet.
He stopped her only when she reached for his tail.
She’d meant to yank the barb forcefully from her flesh, even if it took a good chunk of her leg with it, but his steel-like fingers clasped her wrists, holding her hands away as the venom let go. Jet abruptly felt sick as the first rush hit her bloodstream, dizzy beyond anything she’d felt when Laksri had done the same.
Her mind shifted into an odd, gray space that remained strangely clear.
She found herself wondering if the sickness came from mixing two different males’ venom, or if it had something to do with Trazen stinging her unwillingly.
Jet couldn’t come to any conclusion.
She turned over the different possibilities in her mind, and realized too many variables existed. The combination of her blood and Trazen’s might be a factor. Some Nirreth venom might be more compatible with some types of human blood. Her levels of adrenaline could be affecting things. The fact that Trazen’s venom might be more powerful than Laksri’s might affect things, too… or the fact that some Nirreth could supposedly sting at different doses if they were skilled enough.
Jet turned this all over, trying to remember the first time with Laksri, on that culler ship.
That had been different, too.
Despite Richter’s threats that multiple stings hurt worse than a single one, none had hurt as much as that first sting.
But it still hadn’t felt anything like Trazen’s.
She realized she was already doped.
She tried to think past the sensations flooding her bloodstream. Pieces of clarity sifted through her mind, but the venom made it difficult to sort through those, too.
Then, the thoughts just stopped.
Her mind fell into a gentle peace.
She stood there, staring up at Trazen’s eyes, watching them grow deeper and brighter as they looked at one another.
His face grew expressive in those few seconds, until she found she couldn’t look away from its dramatic planes, or the way his skin seemed to glow under the
artificial lights. He was unusual-looking for a Nirreth, she remembered. His cheekbones protruded higher and more dramatically from his face. His lips formed a less-curved line, and then there was the unusual almond shape of those deep-black eyes, eyes that seemed to see through her as he stared.
The gold flecks in them grew gradually brighter, until she got lost in them.
The gold rim looked like the corona of a sun.
He was beautiful… he had always been beautiful to her.
A beautiful serial killer.
As his face slowly came back into focus, she realized his fingers touched her. Her eyes drifted down to where he stroked her arm, then back up to his face, where his eyes studied hers with equal care.
She started to speak, to try and communicate with him in some way, when he stung her again. He stung her in the side that time, near to where Laksri stung her earlier that day, right through the thin material of the dress she wore.
Jet could only look down, staring at his dark tail against her skin.
She saw some blood when he removed the barb from her flesh, but by then, she could barely remember why she should care.
He touched the place where he’d cut her.
She felt regret on him, even an apology.
Through the haze of her thoughts, something about that regret confused her. Jet couldn’t remember why, though, or why his guilt might have surprised her.
When she looked up next, Trazen had an arm around her shoulders.
He held her tightly, watching her face as he stung her a third time.
He let the venom out slowly that time. He emitted a low grunt as he did it, then immediately stung her again, on the same side, crushing her body against his as he let go even slower.
She felt something slide out of his control.
She watched it go, fascinated.
He was kissing her then, biting her neck, his tail wrapped around her leg.
Somewhere in the back of Jet’s mind, she felt a faint stirring of unease.
She couldn’t reconcile that with what she felt through the venom. She couldn’t reconcile it with what she felt on Trazen himself.
Nothing she felt in him alarmed her.
The nagging worry that there should be something to alarm her only confused her.
The Complete Alien Apocalypse Series (Parts I-IV Plus Bonus Novella): An Apocalyptic, Romantic, Science Fiction, Alien Invasion Adventure Page 53
