by Lili Zander
That’s easy. Once the woman we’re searching for is safely on a shuttle, he wants you to kill us.
We get rid of the Overlord by agreeing to attend tomorrow’s banquet. Once he leaves, Saber turns to us. “We better find her quickly,” he says grimly. “I have a feeling that if Zimmer finds the woman first, we’ll never see her alive.”
7
Raven
Boarus 4
Sundown, FifthDay of FourthMonth
There’s a sense of excitement in the air. When I arrive at the arena, it is already almost full, even though the choosing isn’t underway, and the contestants won’t be introduced to the spectators for hours. The vendors are doing a brisk business selling hot tea, coffee, and even slenti to the hundreds of people crowding into the stadium.
Please let me be chosen.
The selection process is far from transparent—the Overlord just picks the humans he fancies, Overseer Thrip had said yesterday, his voice caustic—and there’s no guarantee that I’ll find a sponsor, but as my mother used to say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
“Good luck, Raven,” Joanna whispers, squeezing my hand. The choosing is a public holiday in the colony, and everyone dresses up for it. Underneath her long coat, Joanna is wearing a bright red top and a purple skirt that trails to the ground. I’m just wearing my standard-issue jumpsuit, but in recognition of the holiday, I’ve braided bright ribbons into my hair. If Ma Kaila were here, she’d probably tell me that I look like a bird.
Great Spirit in the Sky, please let her still be alive.
We walk up to the entrance, where a couple of uniformed human guards stand. “She’s going to the choosing,” Joanna says to them, her voice filled with pride.
The guards give me the once-over. “What’s your name?” one of them, the one with the kinder expression, asks me.
“Raven Unnuk.” My parents were executed for treason fourteen years ago. Overlord Zimmer wasn’t even the ruler of Boarus 4 then; his father was. There’s no reason to think that anyone will recognize my name or remember who my parents were.
“Do you have the gift?”
Unbitten humans are not allowed to participate. “Yes.”
I get another searching look. “Really?” The other guard looks skeptical. “You’ll be tested, you know. If you haven’t been bitten…”
I cut him off, trying not to think about the vampire that bit me, about the way his body had danced under the onslaught of the enforcers’ weapons, about the way he’d crumpled to the ground. “I’ll be fine.”
The first guard nods. “Do you have a sponsor?”
I shake my head. “I’m hoping to find one today.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Good luck,” he says, and I think he means it. “There aren’t too many vampires in attendance this year.”
Fuck. Some vampires take the tournament extremely seriously, picking their humans well in advance of FourthMonth, and helping them with their training. Others join the fun much later on, waiting until the day of the Choosing to decide on their pick. It’s these vampires I was hoping to impress today.
Or attract. Joanna’s words ring in my ear. Your hair is long and beautiful, and your body is strong. If the right vampire took an interest…
I swallow hard. No need to think about that yet.
The guard waves me through, and another guard, a woman with black hair twisted in short braids, receives me. I enter the smaller ante-chamber, small only in comparison with the arena itself. More guards are milling about here, as are a handful of human servants. In one corner, near the Overlord’s throne, are about a half-dozen contestants.
Judging from their expensive clothing and bored expressions, these are the ones that already have sponsors. They’re probably from Sector One or Sector Two. They’re rich, and their families have been bitten for generations. They dress like vampires, and they follow vampire conventions, choosing to stay indoors during the day, only emerging at night.
The guard pulls out a syringe. “I need a sample of your blood to confirm that you’ve been bitten,” she explains.
Without comment, I roll up my sleeve and offer her my arm. She jabs me a couple of times, searching for a vein. It hurts like hell, but I do my best to appear impassive. No-one is overtly watching me, but I’m not stupid. Everything I do in this room will be observed.
Eventually, she’s done. She adds my blood to a small vial, and after a couple of seconds, the contents turn golden, indicating the presence of vampire DNA. “You’re all set. Come on.”
My arm is bleeding in three different places. Giving the blood a rueful look, I follow her up the center aisle. “Overlord Zimmer,” the guard announces, her voice cutting through the chatter. “This is Raven Unnuk. She wishes to participate in the tournament.”
The conversations cease, and silence rolls over the antechamber. The other contestants turn toward me, and when they see me standing there, in my mine-issued jumpsuit, devoid of ornamentation, their expressions turn sneering.
I stiffen my spine. I will not be cowed.
The Overlord studies me, his eyebrow raised. Does he see the ten-year-old child who was sent to Glacis? The child whose parents were taken away from her in the middle of the night and executed for plotting against the Shayde Empire? Does he see the woman who has learned, in the hardest and most brutal way possible, how to survive?
Or does he see the woman his enforcers have been searching for since SecondDay, the one who was bitten by a vampire in Sector 21?
He can’t recognize you. Your hood was up the entire time. Stay calm.
Overlord Zimmer’s face remains expressionless. “Where is your sponsor, girl?”
I lift my head high. “I seek a sponsor today.” My voice carries through the antechamber. The few vampires in the room look bored by the proceedings, and my next words are provocative, designed to attract their attention. “One who is discerning enough to understand my strengths.”
It works. Whispers break out in the crowd, only to die down when the Overlord holds up his hand. “That is either a courageous opening statement,” he says, “Or a foolhardy one. Do continue. What do you have to offer?”
His gaze crawls over my body, its touch oily and repulsive. His expression turns leering. I suppress a shudder. I will do almost anything to survive, but if the only way to participate in the tournament is to bed this man, I would rather walk out onto the ice to my death.
He’s not the only one who can sponsor you. There are others. I address my next words to the members of the audience who are standing on the sidelines, watching to see what might happen.
“My name is Raven Peace Unnuk. My mother was Shila Hope Unnuk. My father was Tak Ateneq.”
From the way the Overlord’s eyes suddenly narrow, I know he recognizes the names. Good. He will soon learn that I am not as helpless as he might think. “I have spent ten years in Glacis, and another four in the mines.” I give the other contestants a deliberately dismissive glance before turning to face the small knot of assembled vampires. “I am stronger than them. I am faster than them. I am tougher than them. If you take a chance on me, I will not let you down. I will win this tournament in your honor.”
My words are brazen. I have no other choice. If I am to be noticed, I cannot be coy. I must act as if I can win. I must believe in myself.
The room erupts in conversation, this time unchecked by the Overlord. A female vampire steps forward, her expression intrigued. She’s about to open her mouth to sponsor me—I know it—when the Overlord shakes his head sharply. With a shallow bow, she melts back into the crowd.
Why doesn’t he want me to compete?
“Well?” The Overlord looks around the room, but his gesture has been noticed. Nobody is prepared to defy him. Not a single vampire looks at me.
Long moments pass. Nothing happens.
The Overlord smiles coldly. “It appears that no-one is willing to take a chance on you. The rules of the tournament are clear. Every human who wishes to participate need
s a sponsor.”
My heart sinks. This was my only chance to get off-world. I don't have any other options. The enforcers will be at sector 23, if not tonight, then tomorrow, or the night after. Not even the Great Spirit can save me from dying.
I gambled. I lost.
I nod curtly to Overlord Zimmer, concealing the despair that runs through me. I will not let anyone see my emotions. Those are mine, and mine alone. “I thank the Overlord for his consideration.” I fight and fail to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. Then I turn around to leave.
“Just a minute.” A strong male voice fills the room. “Are you telling me that nobody, none of you, is willing to give this woman a chance?”
I freeze in my tracks, hope blooming like a sapling within me.
“Turn around,” the same voice continues.
I do as he commands. The crowd parts and I see my mystery benefactor for the first time.
He’s a vampire, of course. No human would dare speak with that much authority, not in the presence of the Overlord. He's tall. His hair is red-brown in color. His face is bearded. A sense of barely-contained menace emanates from him. He looks strong. Confident. Dangerous.
And hot.
Two other uniformed vampires flank him. One of them has dark skin, short, spiky black hair and a smile on his face, while the other, also impossibly gorgeous, looks like this room is the last place he wants to be.
“Well, Klaus?” My benefactor turns to the Overlord with a mocking smile. “Why don’t we make this tournament a little bit more interesting?”
Overlord Zimmer chuckles through gritted teeth. “Do you intend to sponsor the human, Saber?”
“Indeed, I do.” The vampire—Saber—stalks toward to me, as sleek as a s’kal cat, and just as dangerous. He stands in front of me, close enough that he’s within touching distance. Up close, I see that his eyes are glacier blue in color, as clear and bright as the ice deserts in the mid-morning sun. “It’ll liven up the proceedings.”
“So be it,” the Overlord says. “That gives us ten contestants this year. A good number.” He smiles salaciously in my direction. “Saber, I assume you and your men want to inspect your human.”
I exhale shakily. By the laws of Boarus 4, Saber, by agreeing to sponsor me, has bought me until the tournament is over. He has the right to bed me, to share me with his fellow vampires and to feed on me. I have become his property.
Only until the end of the tournament, I tell myself. You do what you need to do to survive.
I stay where I am, my eyes lowered submissively to the ground, offering the vampire my neck. He’ll want to feed on me. Some of them prefer the feeding to be private, while others like an audience to watch as they claim their human. I don’t know what my new master prefers. He might even order me to strip naked, and I will have to obey.
Every eye in the place is on us. “You’re trembling,” Saber says, pitching his voice low so no one else can hear. He takes my hand in his. “What do you think is going to happen?”
I don’t have time to respond. He takes a breath, and his nostrils flare. “Well, well,” he says, a note of shock threading through his voice. “Today seems to be my lucky day.”
8
Saber
Boarus 4
Sundown, FifthDay of FourthMonth
We'd been on this hope forsaken hellhole of a planet for nearly two days, and we hadn’t got anywhere with our investigation.
Until the Choosing. Until she walked in, brave and courageous, and asked for a sponsor.
Raven Peace Unnuk.
It’s obvious why the Overlord didn’t give her a chance. He was afraid she’d win. Nero’s done some digging. Zimmer’s placed an unwisely large wager on his own champion, Tomas Cabal, with the Oensi Federation. He’ll do everything in his power to see that Cabal wins.
I wasn’t planning on intervening.
Then Zimmer told her she couldn’t participate. Her face had stayed expressionless, but her shoulders had slumped by a fraction.
That slump tugged at something inside me that I thought was lost forever.
So, I did something rash. I stepped forward and challenged Klaus Zimmer.
I took her hand in mine. Three small drops of blood dotted her forearm, and when I caught the scent of her blood, sweet and dangerous…
…I understood what Levitan had done.
This is the woman Zimmer’s men are burning the colony to find. I’ve been searching for Raven, and now, I’ve found her.
And we’re in more trouble than we’d expected.
The easiest way to kill a vampire is through tainted blood. Two hundred years ago, a virus almost wiped out thirty percent of Starra’s vampire population before it was contained.
I’m a student of history, but that’s not the only reason I recognize what’s in front of me.
Thirteen years ago, on my first tour of duty, our fighters had taken some damage, and we’d landed onto the abandoned planet of Parimi to assess the situation. The captain had sent a couple of us to scout around. Purely by accident, we’d stumbled onto an underground resistance cell. A laboratory, where they were cooking up a blood weapon to be used against us.
When I smell Raven Unnuk, the memories come rushing back. The dots connect. The floating pieces of the puzzle click into place, and I realize why Harek Levitan wants this woman so badly. Why they killed Ottar Thistle. I understand why the Overlord is willing to burn giant swaths of his colony in his search for this human.
Adam Masev was right. In three months, Empress Astrid comes of age. When she does, her Ruling Council won’t make decisions anymore. They’ll function as advisers only.
Levitan isn’t planning to go out without a fight.
It seems impossible to believe, but I have to confront the evidence in front of me. Harek Levitan, member of the Ruling Council, Regent to the Empress, is working with Klaus Zimmer to build a biological weapon, one that has the power to destroy every vampire in the galaxy.
Many things remain murky, but one thing becomes crystal clear. This woman carries the disease in her blood. If I take her to Starra, Levitan will kill her outright to preserve his secret.
I will not let him have her.
All of these thoughts flash through my head as I breathe her in. The seductive tendrils of the taint wrap around me, but underneath, she smells of smoke and soap. Clean. Strangely enticing.
The Overlord is a fool. He rigidly and slavishly follows protocol, and at this moment, I'm deeply grateful for that. Because if he’d been any closer to the human woman, instead of looming over all of us on his throne, he’d have smelled her. He would have realized who she is.
Zeke clears his throat, snapping me out of my fog. I look up to realize the entire room staring at us, their gazes avid and gluttonous. Raven’s still offering me her neck.
“Come with me.” Without waiting to see if she’ll obey, I spin on my heel, signaling for Zeke and Nero to follow, and march into a side room.
Zeke and Nero have known me for a very long time, and they know I’m acting strangely. “What's going on?” Nero asks as soon as he walks into the room. He grins cheerfully at Raven. “Nice speech out there.”
I open my mouth to tell Nero what I’ve discovered but close it almost immediately. Zimmer probably has ears everywhere. Sure enough, Zeke shakes his head slightly. Not now.
“I just couldn't wait to get a taste of my newest toy.”
The words are wrong. They claw and almost stick in my throat, but I force them out because things just got very dangerous. Zimmer and a roomful of enforcers are on the other side of that door, and Raven is the woman they’ve been searching for. We’re well-trained, Nero and Zeke and I. Lethal, even. But we can’t fight two dozen enforcers and keep Raven alive at the same time.
There is a couch in the small chamber, and I sit down on it, pulling Raven onto my lap. The fireplace is lit, and waves of warmth fill the room. Raven’s muscles remain stiff, but she doesn't fight me. “Come on, you two,” I tell Z
eke and Nero, my smile hungry and feral. “You’re welcome to a taste.”
They’re not fools, either of them. The moment I call Raven my toy, they know something’s up. I can count on them to follow my lead and play along.
Raven’s face goes pale. She swallows hard but doesn’t move away. Sorry, little one, I think regretfully. Zimmer’s going to walk into the room any minute now, and he’s going to try to persuade me to retract my sponsorship. I have to make him believe I’m thinking with my dick. So tempted by the thought of you that I refuse to listen to reason.
We need to wipe up her blood. Normally, I’d lick her arm clean, sealing her cuts at the same time, but because of the taint, I don’t dare. Before I can formulate a plan, there’s a sound at the door. Exactly on cue, the Overlord walks in. “Well, well,” he says, smiling lasciviously. “After you declined the entertainment I offered when you got here, I was beginning to think that the soldiers on Starra lived like monks.”
He gives Raven a dismissive look. “I’ve clearly been remiss in my duties as host. This woman is a miner, Saber. She's not bad looking, I'll grant you that, but allow me to provide you better amusement. This one doesn’t look like she’ll do much of anything in bed.”
Underneath his disdain, I feel his fear. He’s terrified that Raven will win the tournament. I smile inwardly, cold and vicious. The Overlord is scum. It would give me a great amount of pleasure to see Zimmer squirm at the hands of the Oensi.
Raven tenses in my arms but has the good sense to stay quiet. “She meets my needs,” I say easily, tightening my grip around her waist. She is a slight little thing. Her skin is soft, and her eyes are a sparkling blue. Her dark hair is long and braided. In her braids, she's tucked in small beads and colorful ornaments, and they sparkle when she moves. Her mine-issued jumpsuit is unflattering, but it can’t hide her curves.
