Cael

by Annabelle Rex

  “Never mind all those things, we’ll both starve if we’re forced to stay out here much longer,” Cael said, grinning at the utterly unselfconscious laughter that bubbled out of her.

  “I’ll check what’s going on in a minute,” she said. “If it looks likely we’ll be out here for another night, I’ll find a supermarket so we can buy some actual food.”

  “Actual food sounds rather excellent,” Cael said. “I had to resort to eating some of your cereal while you were sleeping like a log. I don’t think it had particularly more nutritional value than your instant noodles. And it was very dry.”

  “You’re supposed to put milk on it,” Asha said, giggling.

  “Ah, that does rather explain why it was so arduous to eat.”

  Asha pushed herself upright, stretching again. “I’m going to get a shower,” she said. “Then I’ll get us something else to eat.”

  After a mix and match lunch of whatever she had in the cupboards - not a lot - Asha called Marta to find out what the situation on the ground was.

  “She says there’s been a big rally round this morning - loads of people going out with brooms and stuff, cleaning up the streets. A few people have tried to continue the chaos, but there’s been a load of peaceful protests against it. People linking arms and standing in front of shops that haven’t been looted, stopping others getting to them. That sort of stuff.”

  Cael called Tarkken and got much the same report.

  “The police are exhausted. They’ve been out all night trying to head off the trouble. But people are bringing them chairs so they can sit down, getting them cups of tea,” Tarkken said, sounding bemused by all of it. “I don’t know how one people of one city can have so many different sides to them. It’s confusing.”

  “Is there anything we can offer to help the clean up?” Cael asked.

  “I thought that’s what you’d ask,” Tarkken said, and Cael could imagine the brief smirk that would have accompanied this. “So I’ve already coordinated a clean up crew. I’ve postponed all engagements for the next three days, with a proviso that ongoing appointments may also need to be reviewed. Shuttles have been rerouted from other countries, and volunteers from the Station have come down to assist. The medical team are on hand to deal with officer injuries, the culinary staff are working with the staff at the hotel here to provide meals for everyone who’s been working all night, and the security team are out on the streets with other patrols. Everyone else has been paired with a Human team and is picking up a broom.”

  “And the general feeling?” Cael asked, anxiety prickling at his stomach, the echoes of that awful mob chanting in his ears.

  “Overwhelmingly positive,” Tarkken said, sounding entirely surprised about it. “Like I said, it’s confusing.”

  “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Asha said when Cael gave her the update. “I guess the people angry about the way the looters have ransacked the city have to also be angry about their politics. That makes them take your side automatically.” She smiled. “I think the fact that you’re helping everyone out will also bring people round.”

  “It’s the least we can do,” Cael said. “I’m assuming you’d like to head back to your sister now?”

  Asha nodded. “This… is going to be difficult to explain.”

  “Do you think Nell will be okay with everything?” Cael asked, wrapping an arm round her.

  “Eventually?” Asha said. “I know one thing, though. Mikey is going to be over the moon.”

  Cael didn’t need a translation to understand what that one meant. He grinned, pressing a kiss to Asha’s forehead.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  Driving back to the city in the sunshine was a very different experience to fleeing it in encroaching darkness. It was hard to believe that had only been the previous night. Now, the fresh, bright daylight sparkled off broken glass and smashed windows, but everywhere they looked people were out and about, helping each other. Some of the atmosphere from the tea party celebrations had been recaptured, and people flew their flags with pride.

  As they waited at a traffic light, Asha watched a group of people working together to clean up a religious building that had been graffitied in the night.

  “You know, sometimes I think Crastor has a point,” she said. “Not the theft and the profiting from it, but making the translator available to everybody and how it would be a new world overnight. Look at all these people helping each other. I just think... if we could all understand each other all the time, maybe there would be more of this. Maybe it wouldn’t take a night like last night to make people help their neighbours.”

  “I thought most people in the city had a reasonable understanding of English. Enough to be able to communicate, anyway.”

  “They mostly do,” Asha said. “But people still like to speak their own language. I would, if I lived somewhere else. The problem is, when people hear a language they don’t understand… It makes them nervous. We automatically assume the worst. They must be saying something terrible, they’re plotting to stab us. In reality, they’re probably just talking about what they’re going to have for dinner, or whatever Reality TV show is popular.”

  Cael thought of the suspicious looks he’d got in the park, the way no one seemed to want to approach him.

  “Do you think Humans think that of us, too?” he asked.

  “Oh, definitely. I bet when people - regular, on the street people, hear you and your bodyguard talking, they assume you’re plotting how to take over the world, or abduct their toddler or something.”

  Cael made a face. “Personally, I don’t see the point in abducting younger children. They make for terrible slaves. Unable to comprehend even basic instructions, possessed of far too much attitude and they just constantly demand juice.”

  Asha laughed, glancing at him, amusement shining in her eyes. “But you see my point? If everyone on the street could understand what you’re saying without having to rely on someone else to translate for them, maybe they’d start to trust you a bit more. We’d start to trust each other a lot more, anyway. It would solve a lot of problems, I think.”

  Cael watched her. She wasn’t looking at him, concentrating on driving. Her lips were curled in a small smile, the tension she’d been holding in her body the day before gone. He got the feeling this was a glimpse of the Asha she could be, when all her energy wasn’t dedicated to just getting by. Thoughtful, clever. Not afraid to challenge the status quo.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Okay?”

  “Okay, we’ll make the translator available to everybody. We’ll roll it out as soon as the aftermath of the riots is sorted. It will take some logistical planning. We’ll need to train Humans to assist in delivering the procedure. I don’t think our medical teams would be able to meet demand. But I think, within a month or so, it could be done.”

  She cast him a disbelieving glance. “You’re going to do what I suggested? Just like that?”

  “Why not? You made a compelling argument.”

  “Most people would just say ‘Hm, that’s interesting, I’ll take that under advisement’,” Asha said.

  “Well, I’ve taken it under advisement, and I’ve decided it’s a great idea.”

  Asha narrowed her eyes. “Do you make all your policy decisions that quickly?”

  “Normally I consider for at least thirty seconds,” he said, grinning. “But this one seems like an obvious win.”

  “Not just humouring me?”

  He put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “Absolutely not,” he said.

  As they got closer to their destination, Asha called Nell.

  “Answerphone,” she said, as the call ticked in to an automated message. “That’s odd.”

  She tried again a few times, only ever getting the answerphone. Then she called Mal.

  “Is Nell with you?” she asked. “I can’t get through to her.”

  “Probably on the tube,” Mal
grunted. “She called me first thing this morning to say she felt alright about staying home now.”

  “Okay,” Asha said, “I’ll try her again in a minute.”

  She ended the call, then glanced at Cael.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if Nell went out this morning. You know what kids are like. Mikey would have been annoyed all yesterday that he didn’t get to go to the park, he’d be desperate to go today instead. I should have called ahead a bit sooner. Caught her before she left.”

  “We’re not in any rush,” Cael said. “If we have to wait around a little while, it’s not a problem.”

  “I don’t think she’ll have gone as far as town,” Asha said. “There’s plenty of other places round here that would appease Mikey. More likely, we’ll have to wait until he’s had his fill of the swings or whatever.”

  Cael laughed. “I guess children really are the same across the universe. Sassi has very stringent rules about what she can consider an acceptable length of playtime.”

  “Always five more minutes?”

  “Always,” Cael said.

  They turned onto a quiet residential area. Rows of uniform houses stretched out down long, straight roads. They weren’t horrible, but they were small, squashed in, and with no distinguishing features. Cael wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart, but for the numbers attached to the doors. Most of the houses at least looked well kept, although there were some letting the street down - the windows boarded, or the guttering hanging loose. Bunting still hung from most of the windows, adding a little cheer to the otherwise unremarkable street.

  Asha mounted the curb and pulled the motorhome to a stop. It didn’t quite block the street, but it wasn’t far off.

  “I’ll go and see if she’s in,” Asha said. “Do you mind giving me ten minutes? I should probably at least try to explain the last twenty-four hours.”

  “Of course,” Cael said.

  “If she’s not in, we’ll make a Plan B. Maybe go back to your security team at the hotel and get Nell to meet us there.”

  She jumped down out of the motorhome, then headed for one of the front doors, using her own key to let herself in. Cael watched the door click shut behind her.

  Five minutes passed. Long enough for Nell to be in. Cael hoped Asha was able to explain in a way that wasn’t too outlandish. Much like Marta’s good opinion mattered to him, Nell’s was of huge importance, too. This was Asha’s family, the people she cared about most in the world. He didn’t want them to start off on the wrong foot.

  Ten minutes passed. Fifteen. Cael watched the door, waiting for Asha to reappear. Even for her to stand by one of the windows and give him some sort of sign that things were going okay.

  Twenty minutes. Nothing.

  An uneasiness came over Cael. He unclipped his seatbelt, looking round at the street. There wasn’t anyone about. Everything felt still, like a breath being held. He picked up the hat from where he’d left it the previous day, covering his hair before stepping out of the vehicle

  He walked across the road towards the house Asha had gone inside. The curtains at the front were closed, and when he stood by the front door, he couldn’t hear any voices. He reached for the door handle, turning it. The door clicked open.

  For a moment, he hesitated. If Asha was busy talking to her sister, the last thing he wanted to do was interrupt before she was ready. But she’d said ten minutes and it had been much longer than that. He debated giving it more time, but in the end, the nagging sensation that something was wrong won out. He pulled the door open and stepped inside.

  The door opened into a narrow corridor. He pulled it closed behind him. There were stairs at the end of it, and doors on either side. Only one of them was ajar. Cael headed for it and stepped straight into a nightmare.

  Chapter 15

  A GRIZZLED LOOKING MAN HAD ONE arm around Asha’s chest, holding her in place, the other hand pressing the blade of a knife towards her neck. Two other men, both of them enormous - muscled and tough - were flanking him. On the floor opposite, another woman had her arms wrapped around a small child, keeping his face turned in to her shoulder and neck so he couldn’t see what was happening. Nell and Mikey. Asha’s eyes widened when she saw him, fear writ clear on her face.

  “Who the fuck is this?” the man holding Asha - who had to be Crastor - said.

  Cael held up his hands submissively, his eyes glued on Asha. Terror coursed like ice through his veins at the sight of the knife so close to the pulse in her neck. It wouldn’t take much - a little more pressure, a slip of the hand… Cael only hoped Crastor was smart enough not to risk a murder charge.

  Cael’s brain raced, trying to think of something, anything, he could do. This was Randar’s arena, not his. He didn’t know a damned thing about fighting. Any attempt on his part to intervene physically would probably lead to them both getting killed. So he stood, helpless, hating himself for being powerless to do anything to protect Asha and her family. He caught her gaze, hoping she would forgive him, hoping he would get a chance to earn her forgiveness. And he saw the look in her eyes change from terror to something else. An idea. A plan.

  “Evoraiva,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.

  “Talk?” Cael said, confused for a long moment. Then Crastor frowned at him, and realisation dawned. “Right, yes, talking. I’m good at talking. Funny, though, when you find yourself in a situation like this how you suddenly can’t think of anything to say.”

  Crastor glanced between Asha and Cael, then to the other heavies around the room. “What’s he saying?”

  “A big fat nothing, really,” Cael said. “Utterly uninspiring. If this were a movie, I’d be saying something incredibly moving. Something to bring the audience to tears. I’m really wasting my moment, aren’t I?”

  “What is he saying?” Crastor growled.

  “It’s like ever since I met you, you’ve knocked all the words out of me. No doubt my staff will be delighted by this development.”

  He paused, swallowing hard. Crastor kept the knife pressed hard to Asha’s throat, but his eyes were darting from Cael to his two thugs and back again, something that might have been uncertainty in his eye.

  “My sister told me to be careful what I wish for when I told her I didn’t want to be Matched with someone boring. I guess she was right in a way, because I don’t think I’ve ever been this afraid before, and it’s not a pleasant feeling. I’m not just quivering on the inside, I’m shaking like a leaf. And I don’t really understand that one, either, do leaves really shake? I’ve not particularly noticed them shaking. Perhaps it’s only specific Earth trees.”

  Asha didn’t move, didn’t make a sound, but her eyes did narrow a fraction, as if she couldn’t quite believe what he was saying.

  “I might not quite have mastery of your language yet, but I do know one thing - you are everything I could have wished for, Asha, and I definitely have no regrets about making that wish. I would much rather be with someone who has the capacity to make me feel this afraid, than with someone I struggle to feel any depth of feeling for. And stars, I wish there was something else I could do besides stand here and nervously blather on. It does appear to be working, though, they’re all looking rather unsettled. And he no longer has the knife to your throat.”

  Asha wasted no time in driving her elbow hard into Crastor’s gut. He staggered back, all the air punched out of him, knocking in to the table, the knife going skittering out of his hand. Asha grabbed the nearest thing to her, a chair, and swung it in to Crastor. The man toppled backwards, landing hard against the edge of Nell’s kitchen table and dropping to the ground. Something glass shattered as it hit the tiled floor, spraying shards across the room.

  Cael went for Crastor’s knife, but someone grabbed him from behind, throwing him to the floor. He looked up to see one of the two heavies leering over him, brandishing the knife in his direction. Cael scrambled backwards, but in the enclosed space of the kitchen, there wasn’t anywhere for him to go. His
back hit a cabinet almost instantly. The big man above him grinned.

  Then abruptly stopped, swallowing hard as he suddenly went pliant, raising the knife in submission.

  “Drop it,” Nell snarled, Crastor’s knife pressed hard into the thug’s throat.

  Wisely, he did as he was told. Cael reached to grab the knife as he stood up, in case the third man got any ideas. Asha stepped across the room towards him.

  A clicking sound made everyone freeze in place. Asha turned to face Crastor, who was picking himself up from the floor, a small handgun held out in front of him. Cael’s heart pounded, that little piece of metal inspiring even more terror.

  “Why don’t we all just calm down a moment,” Crastor said, smiling a yellow toothed smile.

  He reached in his pocket, one hand still holding the gun out in front of him. For a moment, Cael held his breath, but Crastor only pulled out a vape, putting it to his mouth and taking a deep inhale. He blew the smoke out of his nose, momentarily making him look like a Human mythological creature, the dragon, and filling the air with a sweet, sugary smell.

  “That’s better,” he said, then turned his attention to Asha, who straightened her back and lifted her chin, meeting Crastor’s gaze with such bravery that Cael simultaneously wanted to scream at her not to be an idiot and kiss her for being magnificent.

  “I just knew you were going to be a problem,” he said. “Some people when you push them, they become like putty in your hands. Others, they might look like the slightest wind would blow them over, but they prove to have spines of steel. I had this bad feeling you would be the latter, my dear. Suspected you would do everything you could to weasel your way out of our agreement. That little conversation we had last night, bartering for more time… It just tickled at the back of my mind and not in a good way. That’s why I came here first thing this morning. Figured if I waited long enough you’d show up and try something. And now you’ve tried, and you’ve failed.”