“It looks like tears to me,” Lara murmured. She continued to run her hands down my back, rubbing harder and harder. She licked her finger and scrubbed it over the marks.
“These.” Hana clasped my wrists. “These represent the elements. You are much favored by the elements. We have not seen marks like this for a long time. Our power is pretty much gone.” She hesitated. “Can you do anything?”
Lara moved in front of me with Hana now, and both regarded me.
Uh. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Hana nodded and spun behind me while Lara regarded me, finger tapping her lip.
“These,” Hana said as she trailed her hands along my spine to the dimples above my buttocks.” I do not know what these mean.” She returned to the front of me. There were faint lines along my belly and down my legs. Again, Hana hesitated. “Too early to tell if those are jatua.”
Lara snapped her measuring tape. “Anyway, time to measure.”
Without much ado, she got my size and told me I’d get my own custom clothing soon; until then, I could borrow hers. Lara bolted soon after, to make my clothes, I guessed. I wouldn’t miss her. Hana stayed behind.
“So what are jatua?” I asked while I slipped one of Lara’s dresses over my head.
“What do you mean? We all have jatua.”
“The Fost do. As far as I’m aware, my people don’t. Sometimes, to mark ourselves, we get something called a tattoo. They put ink under our skin; they look kind of like these. But I know I didn’t get any tattoos while I was here. What are these?” I ran my hands down my arms.
“Well, the Fost all have these marks. We are born with them. They show our history, our journey, and our trials. You can tell a lot about a person by studying their jatua. They are not inked onto us by other people; they are gifted to us by the land, like our magic. As we age, they change. The family we are born into can change, by who you let affect your life or as your power grows. It is an ever-changing canvas. I think it is beautiful.”
I nodded and rubbed my arms as I sat down.
I studied Hana’s jatua and recalled all that I’d seen. If what she said was correct, I’d soon be sporting my own sleeve or two.
How…cool.
My mom would have gone ape-shit. We argued forever over getting the one tattoo. A wistful smile tugged at my lips. I could just see her now.
“Finn tells me you are not from here. Not even close.”
“No, I’m from Earth.”
“What is Earth like?”
“Like here, in a way. We’re a more advanced race, but nothing like the Imani, I don’t think. It’s pretty there, different growing things. I miss it…”
Hana cocked her head sideways. “What are the men like?” She grinned and waggled her eyebrows.
“Men are the same everywhere.” We both laughed, sharing a sisterly eye roll. “More fighters here; we didn’t carry weapons. The Fost here seem more aggressive, overall.”
She peered at me from the corner of her eye. “You seem close to Finn.”
My heart thumped; now I knew why she stayed behind.
“He has helped me quite a bit since I got here.”
She smiled. “He is like my big brother. I care about him. Not that at one point we did not…” Hana cleared her throat. “But it would never have worked out. I would hate for him to be hurt.”
Brother? She turned after she said this and sat down at the table. I couldn’t help the relief that spread through me, and wasn’t that aggravating? Maybe we could be friends. I never had many girlfriends at home. Just Sarah. I never related well. I didn’t get into the fashion and styles most girls my age liked. I once had a friend spend two hours examining a single magazine that took me five minutes to flip through. She dissected styles and trends, talked purses and accessories. I was bored to tears. We ended up drifting apart. I couldn’t hide my indifference.
“I have no intention of hurting anyone,” I replied.
“Do not let yourself be hurt as well.”
Now that was interesting. Before I could find out what she meant by that, she asked me another question.
We talked for a long time about Earth. She wanted every detail. How we ate, what we ate, what we wore, and how we went about our day. Her curiosity was endless, especially about makeup, jewelry, and music. Definitely a girl. Their society’s development mirrored Earth’s, up to the discovery of electricity. They didn’t feel nature or the land should be channeled in such a way. They shunned the trappings of it. Their society chose to hold onto its roots. Words flowed as we bonded. Ute, while pleasant, would rather read or lecture than talk, most of the time. Plus, he sported this worshipful look now that freaked me right out.
After Hana left, I had trouble settling. I shook out the rest of the clothes Lara had brought: several dresses that resembled a slip and a few cotton shirts and pants. No leather; I guessed those were Finn’s clothes. The fact that I fit in Finn’s leather depressed me on principle. The dresses were in the requisite brown, blue, gray, green, and black colors. I put them on the nightstand and tidied up as best I could. There was no way I was tackling all those books.
I fidgeted and paced once I finished. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Where the hell was Finn? I needed news. I picked up books at random again. One caught my eyes with its designs. The title read Jatua. I opened the book and saw various tattoos, or marks, rather. There was an index of symbols and meanings, which I’d have to get back to later. The marks fascinated me, but the longer I sat without information, the more nervous I got. I hated this. I threw the book against the wall. Then I felt bad. I went and picked it up and dusted it off, placing it on the table.
I went to the door. The guards, Jack and Giggy, lounged outside. “Hey, Giggy.”
Both guards looked at me blankly. They would learn their nicknames.
“Are you talking to us?”
“No, the guys over there.”
They both looked left. I hadn’t even indicated a direction. “I was, in fact, talking to you. If I wanted to get a message to Marin, how would I go about doing that?”
“We could relay it for you after our shift is through. They want you under tight guard.”
Aww, I felt so loved. “How long are your shifts?”
“We are your day guards.”
“So you don’t go off shift for a while?”
“No.”
“Can I write a note?” I pantomimed writing. “You know, to send a message to Marin.”
They blinked at me. And the light dawned. “Yes.”
A few beats. Come on now. “Can I have paper to write a note?”
“Yes.” Now they were just being dense.
“Oh, did you want that now?”
“Yes, please.”
“Give us a little bit, and we will get the materials.”
I nodded and went back inside. I tried to memorize some of the marks, but my mind wandered. I considered a book on the history of the Fost. There were several other histories there as well. Not just two races on this planet after all, but the two I knew were the Fost and the Imani, so I’d start with them. Before I could start, the wonder twins returned. They handed me some paper.
I stared at the paper then cleared my throat. I pantomimed writing again.
“Oh, you need ink.” They headed out.
They caught on quick. The lack of news was making me bitchy.
The paper was thick as linen. They soon returned, and I penned a quick note to Marin.
Marin,
As you are aware, I have been cleared of any involvement in what happened this morning. I wish to help. Please let me help. Would I be able to see the body? Maybe I could see something. Please.
Beta
To be honest, I didn’t know if he could read my writing. I could read theirs, but that could be a one-off. I gave the note to the guards to relay and lay down to read. From descriptions, the Imani were humanoid in shape, with slit eyes like the Fost, indicating their genetic similarity. I cou
ldn’t find any descriptions more detailed than that.
They’d had an industrial revolution like ours. Technological advances, one after another: strides in biologic research, advances in medicine, and forays into genetic engineering. The Fost described huge weapons that massacred large amounts of people, diseases that spread within days and killed indiscriminately. Huge ships they said could travel to the stars. That last was definitely true. All advances we’d made on Earth. The parallels gave me chills. One line stood out.
They are driven to create without consciousness. They do not fathom the consequences of their actions on themselves or others; that willful ignorance will destroy them in the end.
I stared unseeing at the page until Jack and Giggy returned with Marin’s response.
Elizabeth,
Any help is appreciated, but let me come get you. Do not leave with anyone else.
Marin
My finger ran along the note, along the Marin. He was going to let me help. My knees went weak. Thank God.
Chapter Thirteen
The door creaked open. Finn breezed in on a burst of fresh air. I flipped the note over and placed it on the table. I knew he wouldn’t like it.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” I patted the chair next to me. “Tell me what is going on. I’ve been going crazy!” I moved to face him when he sat down.
He stole a quick, hot kiss, mouth slipping across mine tasting of mint and male.
I withdrew, lips tingling, and nearly fell off my chair. “Stop that.”
“Just wanted to take your mind off whatever it was you were thinking about. You looked sad; now you just look angry.” He pinched my chin as a quick slash of a grin zipped across his face. “But there is no news.”
“None?” I wilted.
He shook his head. “No, nothing on the body. She was not abused. From what I understand, there is a clean hole through the center of her chest. Nobody has ever seen anything like it.”
A knock sounded and Marin walked in.
Finn jumped up.
“You wished to help? How do you think you can help?” Marin asked, straight to the point.
Finn’s eyebrows rose. “She wants to do what?”
Marin smiled. “She sent a note, asking to help find Gia’s killer. We could use your eyes. It is hard to exclude anyone; most do not have guards who can attest for them.”
“Can I see the body? I don’t know. I might be able to help.” I watched a lot of CSI. That sounded dumb even in my head, but I might be able to tell them something.
Finn added, “I would like to see her…the body, as well.” He faltered at this last.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed. He squeezed back; my bones protested the force, but I didn’t let go.
Marin hesitated a second, then nodded. “We should leave now.”
Marin left first and we both followed. Finn tried to keep my hand, but I pulled it away and laced both my hands in front of me. Marin put his hand on my lower back and led me forward as Finn put his hand firmly on my ass, propelling me. It didn’t take us long to get where we were going; I was galloping.
As we neared the building with Gia’s body, I slowed. A bone-deep feeling of wrongness grew inside me, evil. The closer I got, the more I didn’t want to go any farther. Cold choked me, stealing my breath. My heart pounded. I had to get out of here. I bolted back the way we came. Empty laughter rang in my head.
Marin tackled me after a few feet. “What is wrong?”
Dirt, no matter the planet, tasted foul. I sputtered as I shoved him off and climbed to my feet, breathing hard. I couldn’t stay here. That laughter was bad.
Finn planted himself in front of me. “What is the matter with you?”
“Can’t you feel it?” I asked as I shifted from foot to foot. The pressure built; cold scraped along my senses. I attempted to dart around them. They held out their hands and kept me penned. A scream escaped me, surprising all of us. My head pounded. I heard the sound of my pulse.
“What?” Marin asked as he grabbed my arms, pulling me against him. Finn moved close to us, and we all observed the building.
The pressure eased.
Control.
I turned to look at the trees that encircled the building. We were in a part of level three I’d never seen before. Nothing seemed out of place, not that I’d recognize if anything were out of place.
The chill faded. I rubbed my hands down my arms. I shuddered and my skin crawled. The taste of wrongness lingered on my tongue.
“Nothing...nothing...never mind.” I tried to wiggle out of the man sandwich, but they wouldn’t budge.
“No, tell me what it was you felt,” Marin insisted as Finn surveyed the woods.
“I felt cold and I had to run.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just had to get away. I just had to.” Tears pooled in my eyes. Marin’s hands ran down my arms. I covered his hands with my own.
“Finn.”
Finn nodded at Marin and we entered the building.
As I walked through the doorway, I looked back. They’re out there. It had to be the Imani. I wasn’t imagining it, was I?
A lantern glowed on the ceiling. The room was bare except for the body lying on the table in the middle of the room. We studied her. She was covered up, but I moved the sheet. She’d been a young girl, ten at most. I’d expected it, but it was still an unwelcome sight. She had blonde hair with blue stripes, and a light tan. With her eyes closed, her face appeared waxen and stiff. There was a gaping hole in the middle of her chest. The edges were crisped, burned. No blood stained the sheet or marked the body. She had no signs of anyone having cleaned her up, either; there was still dirt in her hair.
“Where was she found?” My voice sounded loud in the quiet room.
“Out by the farmlands, beyond the Forg encampment. Not sure why she was out there, but her father said she liked to take walks. Probably to meet a boy. I do not know.”
“Was there much blood?”
“They said there was none.”
“On Earth, we have guns that, if held close enough, could cause burns like this, but there would still be blood, and it would just be charred at the front here, not all the way through. We have nothing, where I’m from, that could do this.” This was also beyond the Fost, from what I’d seen. They carried knives, swords, arrows. Some maces, some axes. Nothing that could have made this wound.
I looked up.
Marin palmed his eyes. “If I remember my history, the Imani have a weapon that could do damage like this. Ute might know what it is called. We will have to ask him, but he is upset right now and with his family. She was an only child.”
Finn squatted down, close to the body. He took a deep breath. “There is a strange odor around her. Do you smell it?”
Marin and I both leaned down and sniffed.
“No,” we replied together. Jinx. I smiled at him and he squeezed my shoulder.
Finn inhaled again, moving around the body. Something someone missed?
“Show me where you found the body.”
We traveled outside with the guards trailing us. The farmland wasn’t far away. The area wasn’t blocked off, but there were guards milling about. Finn bent down and started to crawl on all fours. Without a word, he stood up and began to run. Unlike my panicked bolt earlier, he moved with a purpose. We raced to catch up. He kept going up into level two. We were near the gate when he stopped abruptly and slowed as he approached an outcropping of rocks.
In front of us was all the blood we’d been missing.
“Maybe she was going for a walk or coming back from one. Maybe, as you said, a date with a young man. Was her dad on watch?” I walked to the back of the rocks.
“No.” Marin answered.
I continued my thought. “Whoever killed her, killed her here, then picked her up and took her to the farmland and dumped her body.”
“So she was found right away,” Finn mused.
“What were you
smelling, Finn?” Marin asked
“I could smell him.” He struggled to put words to what he smelled. “Or her. But I think it is a man. I would know him if I came across him.”
“How can you smell him?” Marin asked.
He glanced at me, then Marin.
“I just can. And he smells…sick.” He shrugged his shoulders and leaned closer to the blood in the grass.
I looked around. A little girl was killed with an Imani weapon within a few days of my own arrival in Imani clothes. This was no coincidence. They were here, the Imani. Were they after me or the Fost? Did I lead them here, or did they lead me here?
“Can you track the scent any farther than here?” Marin asked.
Finn took his time walking a circle around the murder site. “No. The scent starts here.”
I’d knelt down while they were talking. My hand reached out and touched the edge of the grass near the blood. I wished I could see what happened here.
All around us, a golden fog accumulated on the ground. I jumped back. A sweet-looking Gia formed in the mist. She was playing with her hair and walking toward the spot where she died. A cloaked figure dropped down in front of her. She didn’t appear to notice, lost in her daydream. Everyone looked up to see where the figure came from, but the haze didn’t extend up that far. The figure pointed a weapon and shot her, no warning. Gia died without even realizing the danger. Her arms flew out; her outline was clear in the blood, through the haze. It was a clean hit. The cloaked figure leaned over, ran a hand along Gia’s face, plucked at something on her neck, then picked her up and strode off toward the farmlands.
As the figure faded away, Marin turned to me. “What was that?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to know what happened and then that.” I gestured at where the image had been.
There was murmuring from the guards.
Marin approached me; his hand grazed my cheek. He raised his voice and spoke to his men. “I am clan chief. You will tell no one of what you saw here today. Do you understand me? If I hear of any talk, there will be repercussions.”
Must Remember: Dead or alive, they want her back. (Solum Series Book 1) Page 10
