by Leslie Chase
I wanted to tell her she wasn’t good at this, whatever subterfuge she had planned. That she would only get herself killed if she tried something stupid. But the shot was taking effect and my strength drained from my muscles.
My worries faded too, the drugs leaving me sleepy and happy. I smiled up at Lisa and saw her smile again in response. That was all I needed to drift off in a happy slumber.
My trance kept me under for a full day before I woke again, this time with less pain to distract me. The injury was finally closing under the bandage, and my strength would return soon. Good. I would need it, now that Gurral and his warriors were here.
Long training and practice kept me from showing my recovery before I had to. I let myself come to consciousness without opening my eyes or speeding my breathing — a scout never knew when he might wake up in danger, especially from a healing trance that deep.
That shouldn’t apply when I was in a safe place though. Something had made my subconscious class the sickbay as unsafe, and as I woke I tried to pinpoint what it was.
I heard quiet, surreptitious movement in the room. Sometimes trying to keep quiet sounded more suspicious than moving normally. Like an absence of noise where there ought to be sound, it drew my attention.
Slowly, carefully, I opened my eyes a crack and looked. There was Lisa, quietly loading medical supplies into a rucksack. My first thought was some kind of emergency, but that made no sense — she wouldn’t be trying to keep quiet if that were the case.
No, she was stealing. The way she moved, her nervous glances at the door, made me certain. But why?
Because Gurral wouldn’t waste valuable medical supplies on humans, I thought. That stung. The supplies had belonged to the humans until we took over, and now that Arvid had given command over to Gurral things were going from bad to worse for them. If Lisa had to steal medical supplies to help her fellow humans, I would not judge her for it.
But the others would. Someone moved in the corridor outside the small room, coming closer. A prytheen warrior, I could tell that much from his quiet stride. He was almost at the sickbay door.
Whoever it was, he moved quietly enough that Lisa’s human senses hadn’t noticed him approach. I didn’t know what punishment Gurral would dish out to a human stealing medical supplies, and I had no intention of finding out.
Groaning, I stirred theatrically and sat up. Lisa gasped, a little strangled yelp of a sound that would have been funny in other circumstances, and dropped her bag as she turned towards me. It was hard to pretend I hadn’t noticed the thump of it hitting the floor, or the terror in her eyes as she kicked it out of sight, but I managed.
“You’re awake,” she exclaimed, then caught her breath and managed an unconvincing smile. “That’s… good.”
Before I needed to reply, the door slid open and Gurral stepped in. Lisa froze, looking like she wanted to vanish into the floor.
“What do you want, Gurral?” I asked, drawing his attention away from her. “I’m injured and I need my rest.”
“Not too injured to pick a fight with one of my men,” he said, grinning. The expression didn’t reach his eyes. “Myrok tells me you threatened to kill him over a human.”
I felt my fingers tense, claws sliding out of their sheathes before I could stop myself. “The human is mine. Claimed. He had no right to harm her.”
Gurral cocked his head to one side, looked at Lisa and then at me. Nodded once, a carefully measured expression. It would be easy to dismiss the man as a brute, a thug, but I saw through that to what lay beneath. He had the cunning and patience to be dangerous in the way a simple monster would never be.
A leader to be careful around, at least until I’d recovered from my injuries. He would make a strong leader for this growing clan, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“I’ll not take a warrior’s prey from him,” he said, carefully watching my reaction. “Nor will I let a human disrespect one of us. When you have recovered, you will be the one to slay her for her actions. In front of everyone, to make certain the humans understand that they cannot hide behind one warrior for protection from another.”
And so that the prytheen know you can control me, I added silently. I took a breath, thinking before I spoke again. If I was going to avoid his demand that I kill Lisa, I needed a good excuse. Only one excuse came to mind.
“She is more than just my prey. She is my khara.” I’d intended that to be a lie, but as soon as the words left my lips, I knew it wasn’t. My heart thumped in my chest, so loud I thought even a human would hear it. It took all my discipline to not look around at her, but I felt her in the room beside me. Her presence gave me confidence and strength, and I realized I’d been hiding this from myself from the moment we met.
From the moment she shot me, I reminded myself, amused at the thought. I’d laid eyes on the love of my life and her reaction had been to put a laser bolt through my body.
Gurral watched me, weighing my words and judging me. His scarred face hid his emotions well, though a growing anger leaked through. “Your khara? That seems… unlikely, Torran.”
The crowning irony would be if he didn’t believe my ‘lie’ now I’d realized it was the truth. If the stakes hadn’t been so high, I would have laughed. Instead, I met Gurral’s gaze with a deadly stare, daring him to argue.
“There have been other mated pairs who fought each other,” I reminded him. “In the old ballads—”
“Oh yes, the old ballads tell of many things,” he said, sneering. “Giant space beasts, god-like energy beings, love that spans centuries. I don’t put too much stock in those tales.”
I shrugged. “Very well. You do not have to believe them. Just me.”
We looked at each other long enough that I wondered if I’d overplayed my hand. If he pushed it, I’d have to fight him, and though my injury was healing it would be long days before I was back to full strength.
On the other hand, Gurral had much to lose by appearing weak. If he attacked me now, still on my hospital bed, his warriors would see him as a coward.
His lip twitched, showing an emotion I couldn’t read before he hid it behind his perpetual sneer.
“Zaren doubted that humans could be our kharas,” he said carefully. “And that was the death of him. I shall not make his mistake, so I offer you my congratulations.”
I let out a breath. But Gurral wasn’t finished yet. “It will be your responsibility to keep your human out of trouble, though. Khara or not, she took her life in her hands challenging Myrok — if you do not keep her under control, you will have to answer for her mistakes.”
“I will make sure she understands,” I rumbled. It was the best compromise I could hope for. Far more reasonable than I’d expected from Gurral, and I trusted neither him nor it. “Soon I will be able to pull my weight again, and I will make amends to Myrok.”
“Good,” Gurral said, offering me his arm. We clasped wrists as though we were old friends, and his fingers dug into my arm. Testing my strength, asserting his dominance. I met his eyes and squeezed back.
His eyes narrowed, hiding a wince, and I relaxed. Good. He wouldn’t take me for easy prey. But if he saw me as a rival that might be even worse. I had a fine line to walk, doom waiting if I made a single misstep.
“We need your skills,” Gurral said. “Terasi trusted you, which is all the recommendation I need. Now she’s gone and I need you to scout for me. This farm is a good start but we must gather more humans if we are to feed our people and build up a secure base. And this planet is dangerous — finding a safe route to their settlements will not be an easy task. I lost warriors on the journey here and do not intend to lose more if I can help it.”
Ah. So that’s what he wants from me. It would have been easy for him to kill me and appease his follower, but if he had a use for my skills, he wouldn’t waste them. Gurral planned ahead, which made him more dangerous than some random warlord. But it also gave me some security, a path to acceptance in his new clan.
As long as I helped him and didn’t threaten his leadership, I would be safe and so would Lisa. That was tempting even if the price was to hunt fresh slaves for his workforce.
“The wildlife is dangerous, especially without equipment to deal with it,” I said cautiously, nodding. “Traveling any distance has its risks. But I can find a way — if we know where to find the humans.”
Gurral’s smile broadened. “That’s not a problem, not with the communication equipment here. The humans are gathering into their own communities, and some of those are close enough to reach.”
And of course the colony pods communicated with each other. The humans might come to regret that feature of their technology.
“I will be fit to scout soon,” I told Gurral, hiding my reluctance behind my genuine excitement at getting back to hunting. Tracking down human communities to raid wasn’t what I had in mind, and his cunning eyes looked deep into my soul, searching for signs of deceit. I didn’t know how long I’d be able to keep him fooled.
For today, though, I’d passed his test. With a nod, Gurral turned and stalked out of the room as quietly as he’d entered. Did the man sneak everywhere? The door slid shut behind him and Lisa and I were alone once more.
She let out a long, shuddering breath and sat back against the counter. Her face had gone white as cometary ice, and even now her eyes were fixed on the door. When I reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, she flinched back as though she’d forgotten I was in the room.
“You are safe,” I told her. “I will protect you.”
“Why?” Lisa asked, her voice shaking. “Why are you protecting me? I shot you, I nearly killed you.”
My laugh surprised me almost as much as it did her. “Should I hold that against you? You were defending yourself against an attacker, and I respect that even if the attacker was me."
“Besides, you missed.”
That was enough to make her glare, color returning to her face as her cheeks heated. Her look of outrage just made her cuter.
“I did not miss,” she objected. “If I had, I wouldn’t have been stuck here tending your damned wound.”
“You missed everything vital,” I corrected myself. “If you had a prytheen medical system here I’d be fully recovered by now.”
“If we had a prytheen medical system it wouldn’t work any better than the rest of your technology. You’re damned lucky any of the medicine we have can help, and that Henry here has a good biology database.”
Her virtual companion appeared, a ball of golden fur that bounced happily as she scratched behind its ears. It might be an absurd interface but I couldn’t help smiling at the sight, and it did seem to relax her.
I nodded, conceding her point. “In that case I owe you and Henry a debt for saving my life. Let me repay it by taking care of you.”
Telling her about the khara bond that joined us would be complicated, and this wasn’t the time or place. That’s what I told myself anyway, though I wondered when the time would be right. Was this simply an excuse to put it off?
No, Lisa’s life had been upended too many times in the past days. Telling her that she was my mate, that fate had chosen us for each other, that might be too much for her. She was near her breaking point already, and I couldn’t afford to scare her away. Not when I was all that kept her safe from the other prytheen.
“I’d better go,” she said after a pause, lifting my hand from her shoulder. I saw the reluctance in her eyes and almost smiled — she wanted to be near me as much as I wanted her company. But she had other duties and I needed my rest. If she stayed in arm’s reach I doubted I’d be able to restrain myself.
So I nodded. “Go, but be careful. Myrok is angry, and he will take that out on you if he gets the chance.”
7
Lisa
Out of sickbay, safely away from Torran, I stopped to get my emotions under control. Fear and relief flooded through me leaving me a trembling mess.
Why did Torran have to wake up in the middle of the night? Why had Gurral chosen that moment to visit him? I’d chosen my time carefully, the middle of the night when everyone ought to be asleep.
Just bad luck, I told myself, squeezing my eyes shut and trying not to give in to panic. Neither of them knows you’re trying to escape.
I had to hope that was true, that Torran hadn’t noticed my bag of stolen supplies. Walking south to the settlement in the mountains would be difficult and dangerous — no way I would try it without first aid supplies for me and Malcolm.
I’d abandoned the bag under a table in the sickbay, and I had to hope no one found it and looked inside. There wasn’t any explanation or excuse for why I’d hoarded supplies for a trip, and if I got caught with them I knew that Torran’s protection wouldn’t be enough. Even if he backed me up, which I wasn’t sure about. He’d protected me twice now, but if he realized I intended to run away, would that change?
I couldn’t risk it. Despite how much I wanted to trust him, a mistake wouldn’t just kill me. Malcolm’s life was in my hands and no matter how good the alien warrior made me feel, I had to keep my focus. My brother’s safety came first.
Torran can’t have missed what I was up to, I thought, replaying the scene in my mind. I’d been right next to Torran when he woke, and if he hadn’t seen or heard me grabbing the medicine, he had to have heard me drop the bag. I swallowed my fear, trying to build up my resolve. That just means I have to leave quickly, before he decides to check what’s in the bag or tells someone about it. I have to go tonight.
The thought terrified me, but at least I wasn’t putting it off any longer. I got my breathing under control and pulled myself together, going over what I laughably called a plan.
“Think, Lisa,” I muttered. The planet was dangerous and neither Malcolm nor I were experienced hikers. Earth didn’t have that much wilderness left to walk around in. As much as I hated to admit it, Carrington’s hunting experience would have been handy for this trip.
But while I hoped the prytheen would just write off the two of us, the more people involved in the escape the less likely they’d be to let us go. Putting that thought aside I went back to listing the gear Malcolm and I would need.
We’d need medical supplies, in case one of us got hurt. That I’d taken care of, assuming I could get that bag back. We’d need food for the trip. Fortunately the prytheen didn’t pay much attention to the nutrient goop dispenser. They made a token effort to stop us stockpiling food but I’d managed to put aside a few days’ worth. It might not be appetizing but it gave us a chance.
The big problem was weapons. Crashland wasn’t a safe planet and the journey would be too dangerous without them. Maybe, if we still had our ultrasonic protection, we could do without. Arvid had seen to that, though.
I brushed my fingers across my wristband, feeling the furrows Arvid’s knife had cut into two of its three speakers. The remaining one was enough for audible sounds — Henry could still bark — but not to broadcast the signal that kept native wildlife away.
Without rifles we stood no chance of making it to another settlement. Even with them, we didn’t have much of a shot, but better to take it than wait here for Myrok to take his vengeance. Even if Torran kept me safe, Malcolm was vulnerable.
The prytheen did care about those, of course. They kept a careful watch on the armory, one of the prytheen watching it every hour of the day. I had a plan for getting past him but it wasn’t safe and it had to be the last thing I did before we left. As soon as they discovered weapons were missing they’d be on high alert and that would blow everything.
Which meant that I needed to get my brother first, grab the weapons, and run. With luck we’d be too far away for the aliens to track down and they’d assume we’d died in the woods.
The family sleeping areas were all occupied by prytheen now, and the humans had been relegated to one of the storerooms. Packed as though we were just farming equipment. It made my blood boil, but I refused to let that anger distract
me as I opened the door and slipped inside.
The small space was packed, sleeping bags laid out next to each other, and in the dark I had to step carefully to avoid treading on someone. Fortunately, Malcolm slept near the entrance and the dim light from my wristband’s holo-emitter let me see well enough to find him quickly. I looked down at my brother’s peaceful sleep and regretfully crouched over him to wake him up.
“Quiet,” I hissed as Malcolm woke, my hand clamping over his mouth and muffling his gasp of fear. After a moment’s half-asleep panic he subsided, calming and looking up at me with sleep filled eyes. He looked exhausted, and no wonder. The prytheen kept their human slaves hard at work every waking hour.
“We’re getting out of here,” I whispered into my brother’s ear. His eyes widened and he nodded quickly, pulling himself out of his sleeping bag and grabbing his boots.
“How? Where are we going?” he whispered. At least he knew to keep his voice down, even if he was asking questions I didn’t have a good answer to.
“South,” I told him, leading him towards the door. “We’ll sort out the details as we go. But we can’t stay here. They’ll kill us.”
“This is because of me, isn’t it?” He looked back, worried, as we slipped out of the storeroom and slid the door shut silently behind us. I guessed what he was thinking and winced guiltily. If we managed to escape, Gurral might decide to take it out on the other prisoners.
Nothing I could do about that, though. I took a little comfort in the fact that Gurral and his men couldn’t afford to actually hurt their human slaves much in retaliation — they were already short on workers and couldn’t afford to lose more. They’ll increase security, make it harder for others to escape, I told myself, but they won’t punish anyone who stays.
I almost believed it.
Malcolm repeated his question in an urgent whisper as I led him towards the armory. I turned, taking my brother by the shoulders and looking into his eyes.
“No, Malcolm, it’s not your fault,” I told him. “None of this is your fault. The prytheen are the ones to blame for everything they’ve done, not us — don’t let them convince you that you deserve any of this.”
