Marcus opened the door and rushed through, followed by two guards. When he saw we were safe, he turned to the guards. “Watch from outside.”
They saluted and left the room.
“What happened?” Marcus asked, looking at Marshal, who stared blankly at the ceiling.
She’s been hurt. Marshal can feel her pain and still has no idea where she is.
They’re torturing her? Marcus asked.
I nodded.
Has Ryad found out anything yet?
Nothing concrete. Whoever took her had a working knowledge of our surveillance system. She was taken in a place where the cameras were not stationed. It’s like they disappeared, I said.
Marcus blinked. Do you think there is any validity to what Master Lecity had heard about something that turned the user invisible?
My eyes widened. Do you think something like that is actually possible?
I don’t see why not, Marcus said. After all, you were able to Travel across the universe in a matter of moments. I have read a theoretical study about being able to bend light in such a way to make an object appear invisible. Other things disrupt the light waves so your eyes don’t register what’s really there.
I flopped back against the couch, not eliciting a response from Marshal, who seemed to have gone into a state of waking coma.
But how can we hope to fight something invisible? There is no way to make a defense against an unseen enemy.
Marcus smiled. There is always a way. You just have to think outside the normal parameters.
Enlighten me, I said. I needed something that would provide us with answers.
The person wearing the invisibility clothing or cloak is still there. We should be able to detect a heat signal.
I nodded. True. But is it possible for us to check those surveillance videos to find heat signatures?
Marcus shrugged. We can check with the technicians for sure, but from this point on, we can watch for anyone moving with any invisibility cloaking.
His calm reasoning eased a few worries and I hoped we’d be able to find the culprit.
My communicator buzzed and I looked to see the image of Ryad flash across the screen on my bracelet. I pressed the button and read a message.
The Healers reported a strange injury.
I wondered for a moment what that meant. I showed it to Marcus and his forehead scrunched up.
Why is he telling us that? Who could it be?
I shook my head, stood and moved from the couch. Should we go see what it’s about?
Marcus nodded and offered me his arm. I placed my hand on the crook of his elbow and allowed him to lead me to the door of the office.
I turned to one guard. “Please escort Marshal to his rooms. And send for a Healer to attend him.”
The guard nodded and entered my office. The other guards led us through the hallway. When we reached the elevators, we waited for them to open and were surprised to see Ryad inside.
He raised his eyebrows and I returned the expression. He shook his head and motioned for us to join him inside the elevator.
When the door closed Ryad explained. Two men showed up in the center city hospital with burns and a horrible sticky ooze stuck to the skin on their hands. The flesh had been charred so bad it wasn’t savable and one had a hand amputated. The other man lost a few fingers, but has suffered severe damage to his arm and shoulder.
I cringed at the thought of pain they must have experienced.
Who was it? Are they Rommaderian?
Ryad nodded. One was. The other is from Kas.
Kas? Marcus asked. He looked at me.
Who from Kas? One of the dignitaries? An aide? Itury’s lover?
Ryad shook his head. No, it was one of the ship’s crew. He’s in pretty bad shape, and refused to talk to me. Said he claimed diplomatic immunity.
I rolled my eyes. This would be a joy. If he didn’t want to say a thing, he didn’t have to. And without using something like the truth serum, which may or may not work on his genetic makeup, we’d never have a chance at getting anything useful from him.
Has he been healed? Marcus asked.
Ryad’s lips were a hard thin line. Partly.
Partly? I asked. What do you mean?
Ryad shrugged. I took the liberty of declaring him stable and made sure the Healers didn’t overexert themselves in the healing of such a horrific injury.
Ryad, we can’t torture the poor man.
He rolled his shoulders back, as if easing the fit of his uniform. I did no such thing as torture. That is against our regulations and the code of our world.
Marcus placed his hand on mine and pressed down. Do not question Ryad’s methods. He’s not hurting the man any more than what he did to himself.
What exactly did he do to himself? I asked.
He wouldn't say what caused so much damage. I did talk to Jordan from Rommader with better results.
I started to interject, but Ryad cut me off. Don’t worry, he was willing to explain the situation clearly. It seems he had been pressed into this mess against his will. He was one of the lab technicians in Salb and Nye’s lab. Though he had never seen the formula, he recognized the process and the handwriting as belonging to those scientists. He was threatened with bodily harm as well as injury to his extended family if he didn’t participate and help them create this formula.
Jordan tried to explain that it would be impossible to duplicate the experiment exactly since the lab had been destroyed, but the people holding them hostage didn’t care. They forced him to work in a small lab set up in a kitchen.
Who was forcing them to do it? I asked.
Ryad shook his head. Jordan said they wore masks and had something to disguise their voice. It’s unclear who it was.
They were brought the ingredients and forced to do the experiment. Jordan said he had no idea it would explode like it did.
Chapter Thirty
The Hospital
We made it to the armored vehicles to transport us to the hospital. Ryad must have been distracted because he allowed us to take only the guards escorting us. I was eager to meet with this person from Kas. I wanted to know if he had been healed enough or if I needed to insist on him being taken better care of. I was torn between wanting to be merciful, or executing him as a threat.
I doubted I’d be able to get away with that. Kas would declare war on us in a heartbeat. But if we could prove they were trying to steal from us, and forcing our people to betray us, the code of interplanetary conduct would allow us some serious repayment. We could demand almost anything we wanted in response to their breaking the treaties, especially on our own soil.
The Healers at the center moved like a well-run machine. They glided across the floors, helping those in the waiting area. We were escorted to another elevator and Ryad turned a key. The Kas crew member—Ryad said his name was Benju—must have been kept in a special place to warrant such treatment.
When the door to the elevator opened, I was surprised to see three armed guards standing outside his door.
As we neared his room, the guards stood at attention and opened the door for us. Upon entering I gasped at the sight and turned around quickly, but not before registering the patient from Kas was dead. The red staining his neck, chest, and all over the bed made it obvious someone didn’t want him to speak.
Marcus pulled me close and Ryad cursed. He stormed out to the hallway and grabbed the guard closest to him. “Explain how this happened!”
The guards scrambled into the room and by the shocked faces, it was obvious they had no clue they’d been guarding a dead man. The man Ryad yelled at shook his head and stuttered, trying to come up with a response.
“Who could have done this?” one of the guards asked. “We never left our post, Captain. I swear it. No one came in or out.”
I touched Ryad’s arm and he yanked it out of my grasp, smacking my face in the process. Marcus grabbed Ryad by the neck and pressed him against the wall. Ryad calmed i
mmediately and apologized profusely.
Silence, I commanded. I forbid you to rail on these guards. Marcus and I have a theory.
I turned to Marcus and asked him to explain. As Marcus told Ryad of our thoughts of an invisibility cloak or something to that effect Ryad’s eyes got larger. He turned to the guard.
“Go bring me Gimpol Scry.”
The guard nodded quickly and rushed off.
Who’s Gimpol? I asked.
He knows how to manipulate video feed. He may be able to isolate the wavelengths to look for heat signatures. Ryad moved around the room, looking at everything in there.
I realized the monitor was still showing a living person attached to it. I stepped closer and saw a small metal circle clamped onto the wires leading from Benju’s hand. I pulled it off and the alarm immediately went off.
Healers rushed into the room at the sound and stopped in shock to see the dead patient and a handful of guards and royals.
“What happened?” the Healer closest to me asked.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Ryad said. “I left him in good hands, I thought, and I come back to find him murdered right under your noses.”
“Did you check the window?” I asked.
Everyone looked at me, then rushed as one to the window. It wasn’t locked. Ryad examined the dust on the sill.
“She’s right. Someone got in the room from the window.”
“But how? This floor is up seven levels. No one could have gotten up here without being seen,” a guard said.
As they moved away from the window I took a step closer. There was a narrow ledge and someone skilled in climbing could have easily managed it.
They argued the impossibility of it and I kept quiet, knowing my theory of invisibility, as crazy as that sounded, couldn’t be proved currently. Until Gimpol, whoever he was, showed up to answer Ryad’s questions about filtering out the wavelengths on the video, it wouldn’t matter anyway.
I turned to Ryad. Where is Jordan?
Ryad cursed and bolted out of the room. Marcus turned to me and we followed quickly behind. Ryad must have felt under enormous stress to have forgotten Jordan with the discovery of Benju dead. Three doors down, Ryad disappeared into a room. Marcus reached the door before I did and peeked in. He looked relieved and opened the door the rest of the way for me. Jordan was still alive and well, surrounded by people. I wondered if the reason he hadn’t been attacked was because of the witnesses.
Someone must be in this room with him at all times, Marcus said.
Ryad nodded. Agreed. The other guards and a few of the Healers crowded into the room. Ryad barked a command. “Return to your posts!”
They scattered quickly and Jordan’s family stared at us with open mouths.
I smiled at them and moved to Jordan’s side. “I am sorry for your suffering. How are you feeling now?”
Jordan nodded. “I am well, Your Majesty. The Healers have done a fine job.” He looked down at the stump of his hand still wrapped in bandages.
His wife swallowed slowly and said, “Though one hand has been lost, they said he can be fitted with a prosthetic.”
I nodded. “That’s wonderful news.” I looked at his wife. “Have you been able to account for all of your family members?”
She nodded. “They are all safe and well. Captain Ryad has assured us they will be put in a safe place. And once Jordan’s been given the clearance from the Chief Healer, we will be relocated with them.”
“Do you mind if we speak with you in private for a moment?” Ryad asked Jordan. “The queen and king have a few questions they’d like to ask.”
Jordan nodded and Ryad called one of the guards back in. “I want you to escort these people to a room nearby. Be inside with them. Do not leave them alone at any time.”
The guard took Jordan’s family and disappeared down the hallway.
Are you able to hear us? Ryad asked, testing the telepathic connection. Jordan nodded and we settled in closer around his bed.
What can you tell us about those who abducted you?
Not a lot. I was told to work with Benju and we were to follow the instructions on the formula. We did it to the best of our ability, but the lab conditions were beyond ridiculous. There was nothing to make the shavings and to distill the langstrom. The flames from the kitchen stove were completely inadequate, but we were told if we didn’t do it immediately, our families would suffer and then we’d be put to death.
Was Benju threatened as well? I asked.
Jordan nodded.
I turned to Ryad. Do you think it was someone from Kas doing this? Forcing one of their own to do it?
He shook his head. I honestly don’t know. I can’t imagine Kalson or Laela trying to force their own people to do this. However, Benju said they gathered the materials from merchants all over the city, but the things our merchants don’t sell were stolen from the Kas ships.
How were these men found? I asked. If they were being held hostage and the formula backfired causing that damage to their hands, why weren’t they just disposed of?
Jordan blinked in surprise. Ryad looked at him and asked for an explanation.
I don’t know who called the Healers, Jordan said. The only thing I remember after adding the last two ingredients in the formula was it exploding immediately and splattering my hand. We had to do them simultaneously over the beaker so Benju poured one and I poured the other. It reacted so fast, it covered our hands before we had time to move. And the pain was like nothing I had felt before. It burned deep into the flesh until it hit the bones. I wished I could die to free me from the pain.
Jordan looked at what was left of his hands.
I remember running to the sink to try to wash it off, but the water made it worse. I doubt there was anyone in a mile radius who didn’t hear our screams.
Ryad leaned over the bed, looking down at Jordan. Were you guarded by others while you were running the experiments?
Jordan cocked his head to the side. Yes, also in dark robes and masks. But I have no idea what happened to them. One moment we were working on the experiment, the next I found myself dosed with painkillers and a Healer ministering to me. Between the time I placed my hands in the water to then, I don’t remember anything. What did Benju tell you?
Ryad scowled. He’s been murdered. Throat slit.
Jordan sat up straight. Is that why you all rushed in here looking for me? You thought I’d been killed too.
Ryad nodded. You are in more danger now than when you first arrived.
I want my family to be protected no matter what the cost. Let them get me instead of them. But please protect them. I’ll tell you everything I know.
Ryad placed his hand on Jordan’s shoulder. We will do everything in our power to keep your family safe. We don’t want whoever took you to have anything over you. We’ve also moved all of the other lab technicians to safe locations and hope they won’t be able to press anyone else into trying the experiment again.
Jordan glanced out the window. Why hasn’t whoever it is left the planet? These kinds of projects are easier done in zero gravity. That’s why we had a chamber for low gravity in the lab.
I gazed out the window at the deep blue sky. All flights have been grounded until we solve the murders.
Chapter Thirty One
Stay With Me
My eyes burned and I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but there was too much to do. We’d had a debriefing with the Grand Council. With Ryad leading the investigation, he spent thirty minutes going over what had been learned. The Grand Council seemed to disbelieve what had happened, and Jonah was particularly obnoxious.
I closed my eyes and dropped my head onto my crossed arms on the desk. If I just rested for a moment, I could return to the more important matters.
Marcus’s hand on my shoulder woke me, and I struggled to remain awake, but my body screamed for some rest. He spoke to me and I shook my head, trying to clear it. I pushed myself away from the d
esk and tried to stand, but I wobbled in place. Marcus wrapped his arm around me to steady me.
“Here, come with me.” He pulled me close to his side and moved to the couch. As he moved me over to the sofa and turned me around, I knew he’d leave me there alone, and I suddenly did not want to be alone. I needed to feel connected to someone somehow. I wanted to know I didn’t have to shoulder this entire burden myself. I was so blessed to have his companionship thus far, but I wanted a little more.
His hands held my upper arms and when he tried to let go I grabbed his hands. Feeling strangely bold, I tugged on his right arm. “Please stay. Sit by me?”
Marcus’s eyes widened for a moment and he nodded, then sat next to me. Our bodies didn’t touch and my eyes stung at the emotional distance I felt. I hadn't let go of his hand so I placed it on the leather cushion between us. I leaned my head back against the couch and sighed.
“Will we ever figure this out?”
Marcus didn’t respond and I tried to turn my head to look at him, but I was asleep before I knew if he’d answered or not.
When I awoke, I found myself leaning against Marcus. My head rested on his shoulder and my hand was numb. I flexed my fingers and realized I was still gripping his hand in mine. I tried to pull my fingers out of his, but his grip wasn’t letting go either. I turned my head to look at him and saw his face was relaxed in slumber. His breath came slow and steady and I watched the rise and fall of his chest.
This man could be mine if I’d let him. But would he want me? He had always kept his distance. Never once giving me any indication he felt anything for me as a woman. I corrected myself, thinking back to the dance. He had held me close; that dip at the end sent shivers down my spine. But other than offering me his arm as we moved from place to place, this was the first time since the dance we’d had any physical contact.
I realized suddenly I wanted it. I wanted everything from him. My father had chosen wisely. Marcus was the perfect man to lead our world. He was the perfect man for me. But in my pride and stubbornness, I had killed any chance before it was even a possibility.
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