* * *
Too soon they were leaving Werren and his ship behind. She and Devyn said their good-byes and headed toward the hotel.
A number of buildings stood in fragments from bombs and blasts, reminding Alix of giant, rotting corpses that attested to the brutality they had silently witnessed. HAWC Keepers patrolled the streets in such a huge number that she saw one every few hundred yards, each poised as if ready to kill anyone who looked threatening. Children ran about, filthy and half dressed. She and Devyn passed a number of street people who begged them for food or money. Devyn gave them all he had on him in cash, and by his face she knew how deeply he felt for each of them.
"You'd think the HAWC could feed them," he muttered, his voice heavy with hatred.
Alix rubbed her hand down his arm to soothe him, and his tensed muscles relaxed a bit.
Every few feet, they passed more HAWC soldiers.
"Don't look at them," Devyn warned. "They'll take that as an open invitation to harass us."
She kept her gaze on the ground in front of them and followed him to the hotel. Without any problems, they checked in and got their rooms. A smile curved Alix's lips as she realized Werren had ordered them adjoining suites. They propped open the door that separated their rooms and Alix joined Devyn in his suite while he ordered dinner.
Hanging up the link with the kitchen, he sighed. "I'm going to call Calix first; then I'll see about finding Taryn."
Alix nodded. "Do you want me to leave while you talk to your uncle?"
He shook his head. "It involves you. You might as well stay and listen."
The speed with which the emperor came to the link to talk with Devyn amazed her. She guessed Uncle Calix to be in his late forties, though he could easily have passed for thirty-five. An air of power and charm clung to him.
"Hey, little toggle!" he said with a smile. "Your mother has been crazy with worry over you. She's about made me slanted."
Devyn laughed, the sound warming Alix's heart. "I'm sorry. I'll call her as soon as I hang up."
"So what's happened? Why haven't you been answering her calls?"
Pain flickered across Devyn's face and she saw Calix react to it. "Are you in trouble? If you need me—"
"No trouble," Devyn assured him. "My ship was attacked and destroyed."
"Are you all right?" the emperor asked, his face even more concerned.
"Yeah," Devyn said, his voice ragged. "But Sway was killed."
Calix looked as though Devyn had slapped him.
He closed his eyes and winced. "Have you told Crill and Claria?"
"Not yet."
Calix shook his head. "I'll do it. You've been through enough. How are you dealing with it?"
"I guess I'm all right."
"If you need me—"
"I know. That's why I'm calling. I've got something that I need you to handle."
Calix lifted his brow expectantly. Alix stiffened, knowing this was it. She held her breath, praying the emperor could help.
Devyn glanced at her and she caught his smile of reassurance. "What are the procedures for freeing slaves?"
"Why?" Calix asked, his gaze suspicious.
"I've got a friend who needs emancipation."
The emperor stroked his chin, his features pensive. "Well, there's paperwork that has to be filed on the home planet. You need a team of investigators to talk to present and previous owners."
Hope burgeoned inside Alix. Only her father had ever owned her. Maybe she would be free after all.
Calix continued, "Once the investigators get release from all the owners, then they run a posting with slave dealers to see if anyone else has an additional claim. If anyone comes forward with a legitimate claim, you can buy your friend from them, provided they're willing to sell."
A lump closed her throat.
"And if they're not?" Devyn asked.
"Then there's nothing you can do."
Alix's heart slid into her stomach and she feared she might be sick.
Devyn nodded. "How long will all this take?"
"A while. Maybe as long as a year or two."
Pain consumed her. A year or two. The words echoed in her mind. Dear God, she would never be free.
"Can you get started on it?" Devyn asked, his voice sounding like a stranger's to her hollowed-out soul.
"Sure," the emperor said, picking up a pen and a scrap piece of paper. "What's your friend's name?"
"Alix, A-L-I-X, Garran, G-A-R-R-A-N."
"And where's he registered?"
"She's registered on Praenomia."
"Okay," Calix said with a smile. "I'll get on it. You take care and please call Malena."
"All right. Thanks a lot, Uncle Cay, I owe you much."
"My pleasure."
Devyn turned to face her, expecting to see joy. Instead, terror darkened her features. "What's wrong?"
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at him, her face as pale as a ghost. "Irn will never let me go."
"Does he own you?"
"No, but what if he comes forward like he did—"
"He won't," Devyn assured her.
One tear ran down her cheek. "How do you know that?"
"Alix," he said, moving toward her, "trust me."
"How can I?" she asked, and put more distance between them, her voice becoming hysterical. "I'd rather be dead than have him . . . have him . . ."
She broke into tears and ran into her room, slamming the connecting door.
"Alix!" he called, trying to open it, but she had it locked. "Please let me in."
"Just leave me alone."
Devyn clenched his fists, his fury blinding him. Why wouldn't she listen to reason? Irn had no claim to her. So why was she frightened? Why wouldn't she believe him when he said he would get her free?
Women, what could you do with them? Sighing, he turned around and went to call his mother.
Alix lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Devyn had invited her to eat two hours ago, but she hadn't answered him. Instead, she lay here trying to think of some way to free herself.
As long as two years. The words kept echoing in her head. Two more years of fear, of worrying that someone could come forward and claim her.
Over and over she could feel the sting of the scanner burning her slave code into her back, hear her mother's last pleas, see her brother's face when the dealer sold him, feel the groping hands, the humiliation.
Dear God, she couldn't stand the thought of being placed on an auction block, or one of her children suffering that horror.
She loved Devyn, but she couldn't stay with him and hope for something she knew she could never have. No, her freedom must come first.
"Alix?"
She started to open the door, but stopped herself. If she saw Devyn one more time she'd never find the courage to leave.
"I know you're upset," he said, his voice tired. "I've left a plate on a warmer in here for when you get hungry. Taryn's staying at the Lira Hotel down near the south landing bay and I'm going to see him for a while. If you need me, you can call the desk and they'll transfer you to his room. I also got you a new debit card. I'll leave it on the bureau, in case you want something."
She listened to the rich, refined tone of his voice. Pain wrapped around her heart. This was the last time she would ever hear him. She held her pillow to her face and sobbed.
Stay with him, you fool.
But how could she? Even if Devyn didn't treat her as a slave, it wouldn't change her legal status. If something happened to him, where would she be? Sold to the highest bidder. Their children right at her side. Fear and pain tore through her. If she did stay with Devyn, she could never have a child.
Yet how could she stay with Devyn and not have children?
Suddenly, a new horror occurred to her. What if she were pregnant now? Her sight dimmed and her heart sped up. Why hadn't she thought about that sooner?
"Because you are a fool," she snapped at herself, angered over her stupi
dity.
No, she must get out of here before it was too late. Before Devyn could stop her, and before she found out something she didn't want to consider.
"I'm sorry, Devyn," she whispered, knowing it would tear him apart for her to leave. "I just don't have a choice."
Forcing herself up off the bed, she waited until she was certain he'd left. She entered his room and took her debit card, ignoring the pain in her stomach, then quickly crossed back into her own room.
With a deep breath for courage, she tossed the key card for her room on her bed and left the hotel.
Chapter Nineteen
Devyn entered his hotel, his mind churning over Taryn's words. Take Alix and run. He smiled. Leave it to Taryn; he always came up with a radical solution.
And yet it didn't seem so radical; in a weird way it almost made sense. Why not take her and live on Twrdr? At least stay there until Calix could get her freedom. That way if anything happened, no one would be able to claim her.
Come to think of it, they had a pretty good pediatric school in the capital city. His smile widened. It'd be perfect. He wanted to fly upstairs and tell her; instead he had to wait for the lift, which seemed to take an eternity. He tapped his foot against the floor, anxious to get to his room and tell Alix the good news.
At last the doors opened on their floor. He took four steps into the hallway before he saw the HAWC troops leaving his room.
"There he is!" one of the Keepers said, pointing at him.
Devyn frowned, not quite afraid, but definitely cautious.
"Captain Devyn Kell?"
He looked at the sergeant who approached him with a frown. "Yeah?"
"We've got a warrant here for your arrest."
Anger scorched him. He hadn't done anything wrong. "For what?"
"Murder and smuggling."
Not this again. Was this a horrible replay of his brief trip to Nera? Only this time, he didn't have Zarina here to pull him out of the fire.
"Look," Devyn said, trying to maintain his calm. "There's some kind of mistake."
"No mistake," the Keeper said, handing him a computer ledger with the posted charges.
Devyn scanned it until his eyes fell to the name of the informant—Alix Garran.
Disbelief poured through him, only to be quickly replaced by cold fury.
"Alix!" he shouted, dropping the ledger and running past the Keepers and into his room.
They came after him, blasters drawn, but he didn't care. He had to find Alix and see what the hell was going on.
He pushed open the adjoining door and immediately his gaze hit on her key card. All the fight drained out of him with sickening slowness. She'd not only left, but turned him in for crimes he hadn't committed. How typical of the female sex.
The Keepers slammed him against the wall and gyved his hands behind him. Devyn grunted, but the physical pain couldn't compare to the agony that shredded his heart. The Keepers could beat him, for all he cared.
Alix had betrayed him. After all they'd gone through together, she'd left him behind and fried his gizzard worse than even Onone. He was a fool. He almost deserved to die for a crime he hadn't committed. Life no longer seemed worth the effort anyway.
* * *
Alix stopped to eat at a small, homey restaurant.
Taking a back corner seat, she scanned the occupants, who appeared the typical motley assortment of city clientele. She typed her order into the table ledger and waited, her stomach rumbling.
Maybe she'd been rash to leave Devyn behind. She buried her head in her hands and stared at the glass-topped table. If only she knew what to do. Why couldn't she see into the future for just an instant? Long enough to divine a course of action. Or see what she should do.
Devyn or freedom. What a choice.
And now that she had it, what would she do with her freedom? Sign on board a new ship? Keep running from Irn, always looking over her shoulder? How long would it take to earn enough money for a down payment on her own vessel?
A waitress brought her food out. Alix tipped her, then sat and stared at her food, her appetite suddenly gone. Devyn had given her so much more than a job. He'd given her hope. For the first time in her life, she'd had a reason to look forward to getting up in the morning—seeing him.
Even now, her skin tingled from the memory of his touch, his warmth. Could she stand even one day without seeing his bashful smile, hearing his laughter?
But slavery . . .
Her stomach twisted. Possibly two years before she could be free.
"Oh, Devyn," she whispered. If only she had someone to talk this over with. But the only friend she'd ever had was Devyn. The only person who had ever held her when she was hurt or lonely was Devyn. Could she really give that up?
Sliding her debit card into the slot to pay for her food, she left without tasting it. She would probably regret this. But there was still the tiny part of her that hoped. The tiny part of her that Devyn had created. And there was one thing she knew for certain—without Devyn she would definitely be miserable.
"Okay, flyboy. Two years, or I'm gone." She pushed open the door of the cafe and laughed at herself. "Okay, maybe two and a half."
Alix wanted to run the distance back to the hotel, but she forced herself to continue her walk.
As she approached the hotel, she saw a group of Keepers milling around. Frowning, she edged her way around them, trying to look inconspicuous. Why would they hover around her hotel? Coincidence? No, not the way her luck ran. Links hissed and popped.
"We've got him," a voice said from one link. "We're headed out. Open the shuttle."
Alix took two steps, then froze on the corner. The hotel doors opened and out stepped Devyn, surrounded by Keepers.
What the . . . ?
They forced him into the shuttle and took off before she could even blink.
"Move along," one Keeper said, pushing her.
Alix stumbled forward, her mind numb. What was happening? "Why was that man arrested?" she asked the Keeper who had spoken to her.
"He's a wanted felon," he said, his voice dispassionate. "Now go about your business."
Her eyes widened as fear gripped her. The charges on Nera! But Devyn had said they were phony. And she believed him. Devyn wouldn't murder anyone. Panic tore through her. She had to get him out of jail. But how? What was she going to do?
She closed her eyes and let the frustration consume her. If only she were Zarina, she could think of a brilliant plan, but she lacked military abilities or connections.
Connections . . .
Taryn. Maybe he could help. Alix licked her dry lips and whispered a small prayer that Taryn hadn't left the planet. He had to be here or else she didn't know what she'd do. No longer caring if she caused a scene, she ran in the direction of the south landing bay.
It didn't take long to find Taryn's ship. The sleek, black Trebuchet freighter stood out among the smaller, older ships. Running up the ramp, she met a large, burly Deucalion, his hands crossed over his chest, his frown fierce.
"What do you want here?" he asked in a strange, melodic accent.
"I need to see Taryn."
The guard scanned her body, a sneer on his face. "I do not know you, human."
"Please," she begged, realizing this must be one of Taryn's bodyguards. "I'm here on Devyn's behalf. He's in trouble."
The Deucalion's features changed immediately to concern. "Come with me."
He paused at the ship's entrance and faced her. "If you lie, human, I'll tear out your heart and eat it."
"I'm not lying."
He nodded, then continued down the narrow corridor. Alix followed him into the ship, but almost stumbled at the rich luxury surrounding her. And she had thought the Mariah exceptional!
"In here," the Deucalion said, opening a door for her.
Alix walked in and stopped. Taryn sat at a card game with another Deucalion male.
He looked up and frowned. "Hi, Alix, where's—"
"De
vyn's been taken by Keepers!" she said, too excited for niceties.
His mouth fell. "He's been what?"
"I saw them put him in a shuttle." Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She had to help Devyn. "When we were on Nera, they said he was wanted for smuggling and murder."
The League 3: Paradise City Page 26
