by S. A. Tholin
"No."
"I'll bin it, then. Point is, you and your team are heroes, Commander. As far as anyone is concerned, whatever else you did, you did your job."
"But I don't want to do it anymore."
"Ah." Vysoke-Myto raised an eyebrow. "If you're sure, Commander..."
"I'm sure."
"I can tell. But your girl still has to do the mandatory three years. Have you considered that?"
He had, every sleepless night.
"Might be nice for her to have someone on the station looking out for her. Besides, what else are you going to do? Got something lined up?"
He didn't.
"Nothing that'll pay as well as this. And nothing that'll give you a chance to hunt down the demon's first wave."
Still he would've said no, but the red of the liquor was the red of the lichen, and in the steady hum of Vysoke-Myto's computer, he heard the demon's voice.
I will come for you, little sister. I will have you.
And he thought of how its nails had trailed a muddy pattern on Joy's skin. He thought of the heat of Finn's blood between his fingers, and the sounds made by bone that couldn't be pieced back together. And when he thought of the demon inside of her, the seething thing inside his chest flared and scraped.
He took the glass, swept the drink back, and when he gave Vysoke-Myto his answer, the old bastard smiled like he'd known what it would be all along.
◆◆◆
Two weeks in Primaterre hands had washed Cato from her skin. She stood in front of a large window, the stars her backdrop, and she had drawn a crowd, because in some ways, Scathach wasn't so different from Cato. New blood always turned heads, especially if it was young and pretty. She stood in that crowd of pilots and officers, and looked past them all to smile at him.
"Joy." The others ceased to exist, erased from a universe that had room for no one else but him and her.
"Constant." She took his hand, and he understood that purest of all was love.
He didn't care that he was in uniform or that everyone on Scathach would be running their mouths for weeks to come. He kissed her, long and sweet, and if the shadows were watching, let them. He'd be coming for them soon enough.
THE END
Thank you for reading IRON TRUTH.
Coming soon
BOOK TWO
of
THE PRIMATERRE SERIES
Follow S.A Tholin on Twitter @Tholin
