Flames of Arousal

by Kerce, Ruth D.

  So that’s what had happened to his throat and why he hadn’t been able to talk.

  “You gave them codes?” She couldn’t believe he’d do that. Was that how Rave had gotten into her orbiter?

  “They already know our major codes. Frost got hold of them years ago. We only recently found out though. Unfortunately. Daegal waited until our weakest moment to use them against us. I gave Frost some additional secondary codes. Enough for them to trust that I wanted to turn. All cleared with Laszlo. Even without the secondaries they still would have been able to shut a large part of the Lair down, so all I did was reinforce what they already knew, with a few new keys thrown in, so I’d look legitimate. And before you ask, no, I didn’t give her any orbiter hatch lock codes. She wanted Lair specific codes only.”

  She nodded. So someone else had leaked additional codes or perhaps the operational codes were part of the ones Frost had originally acquired. The ones in question were Xylon’s base codes that all the other codes were built on. Otherwise, the Lair would have simply changed the existing O&S Codes to prevent any breaches. Base codes were highly protected, and only known by certain command ranks, as far as she was aware. She wondered how Frost had managed to get access.

  “Was Frost a command rank?” She’d never heard of the woman before being captured, so she doubted it. In fact, she doubted the woman had ever been a Warrior of any rank. She didn’t carry herself as such. She’d probably been a spy for the Lair, and then turned to work for Daegal.

  “No. Let’s just say she was able to fuck the information out of someone. Or rather distract him enough to steal what she needed.”

  “Oh.” Not good. A command rank should have known better than to be that vulnerable. But then, she’d gotten access to things she shouldn’t have by the same method. She knew the power of sex. And men always seemed most susceptible, given the right circumstances.

  On the issue of trust though, she doubted Daegal and Frost had ever trusted Kam at all. No matter the information he’d given them. The access he’d been allowed of their computer systems was local only, which proved it. She was the one who’d gotten them into the main controls. She might not know how Frost worked, but she knew how Daegal worked. And Rave. Nothing was ever as it seemed. “Don’t try to use the power, Kam.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve heard about Sonics. Not only is that power highly experimental, it’s a mentor power, like my electrical transference. If you don’t have someone to show you how to master it, you’re more likely to kill yourself than to be able to harm someone else with it.”

  “We may not have a choice, Halah.”

  “There’s always a choice.”

  He glanced over at her and his eyes narrowed, as if trying to figure out her reasoning. He didn’t say anything more, but he did increase their pace, for which she was grateful. Though still not at full strength from lack of enough food and the effects of having the collar on, she’d run all the way to his ship if need be.

  Every moment they stayed on the Sand Moon decreased their chances of escaping unharmed. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, for more than capture worried her. She was scared to death that Kam would try something he wasn’t trained to do.

  Obviously, he didn’t fully understand the danger of a mentor power. If he tried to use the newly acquired sound wave device in his throat, without the knowledge of how to control it, he would die. She’d seen it happen with trainees way too many times. And the sight had never been pretty.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lair of Xylon

  “What do you mean, she never made it?” Torque yelled into his vid-cell at the Council member on the other end. Though they’d re-channeled their comm devices, Council members had the same clearance as Class 1 Warriors, so they were still able to use their vid-cells. Torque’s heart pounded against his ribs, as visions of his sister lying injured somewhere, or worse—taken captive—filled his head.

  He knew Brianna’s team had encountered trouble with Egesa, but after the threat was over, she’d headed up to the Council Chambers. What could have happened to her?

  “I’m on my way down,” the head Council member responded.

  “Damn it!” He switched channels on his vid-cell. “Brianna, can you hear me?

  Brianna?” With a frustrated huff, he clipped the vid-cell onto his belt. “Brianna never made it to the Council Chambers.”

  “I heard. I’m sending out additional security right now to search for her,” Tara replied, turning back to her console. “Why’s Delemar coming down here?”

  “To take over. Why do you think?” Hell if he’d let that happen. He’d promised Brianna he’d keep the Lair safe, and he intended to fulfill that promise. No matter what.

  “When he gets here, what are you planning to do?”

  “I don’t know…yet.” He’d think of something though. “I’m surprised he even has the balls to come down here on his own, with a security escort.”

  “The prospect of command.”

  “No doubt.” If forced into it, he’d tie Delemar to a chair, though he’d rather not use force. Reason would work better. If the man would listen to reason.

  At least none of the Council members could override any computer or communications settings, even with their own personal codes. Torque had changed the codes, stabilizing their systems and preventing any further access by Daegal or anyone else.

  He’d also changed the way their systems interpret the base codes. Only he and Brianna knew how to decipher the changes, using a special communication method they’d developed as children. Even if someone hacked into their systems, the data they’d find wouldn’t help them.

  The only way the Council could retake control would be to acquire the universal, emergency override codes from a secure system stored in a chamber deep in the forests of Xylon. That chamber, accessible to Council members only, remained secure by a retina-check system. However, with the Lair locked down and transport-connector abilities offline, no way existed to reach that chamber at this time.

  Torque figured he might end up banished again for making the unauthorized changes. But in times of war, rules couldn’t always be followed. Not if one wanted to survive.

  “Torque?”

  The confusion in Tara’s voice set him on alert, and his focus switched, concentrating on her words. “What is it? Is it Brianna?”

  “No. I’m getting a report from the Initiation Chambers.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

  “What’s the report?” Nothing should be going on down there right now. In fact, the Initiation area should have been evacuated.

  “An initiate has escaped.”

  Escaped? She had to be reading the report wrong. That didn’t make sense. “What do you mean escaped? We don’t hold initiates as prisoners.” He stepped over to her station to look at the coded information as it streamed across her screen.

  “I don’t understand it myself. Something about Brianna ordering an initiate, a man, to be held there. Included is a reference to some sort of special project. And look…” She pointed to the screen. “Laszlo.”

  “Laszlo,” Torque repeated, his voice low with the sound of strain. What the hell?

  Tara glanced up at him. “Strange, isn’t it? But that’s Laszlo’s icon. It seems two Class 3 Warriors have been injured, too, and taken up to the med-lab. No names listed.

  I’ll try to get more details.”

  Laszlo and a special project. Torque didn’t like the sound of that, but he didn’t know whether to be truly concerned or not. He definitely had no interest in a botched Initiation.

  If the Warrior undergoing the rite decided to defect, well, he hated to see that, but the worst the man would probably do at this point was attempt to find his way to the surface with the intention of contacting some Agent to be taken off-planet. Not that he would succeed. The Lair was locked down.

  Some Egesa had found a way insi
de. But the only way they could have possibly gotten in was through that small glitch in transport-connector security they’d found months back and thought to have fixed. He had the security techs checking into it again.

  Whatever was going on, this initiate wasn’t top on his “to be handled” list, right now. “Just find Brianna. Unless the man is a reported threat to the Lair.” Better cover his ass, just in case. The person could have been planted by Daegal as a spy.

  “I’ll see what I can find out on both counts.”

  “Wait.” A disturbing thought crossed Torque’s mind. “Something I need you to do first.” He shook his head. Damn, he hated to think it might be true. But if so… “Find out from Brianna’s security team what lift she took up to the Council Chambers.”

  “Why? What are you thinking?”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her, but didn’t voice a response. To say the words aloud made them too real a possibility.

  Tara’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit! Lift 6? Do you think it’s possible?”

  “Find out. Quickly.”

  She nodded and turned back to her station.

  * * * * *

  Sand Moon

  “This way,” Kam whispered as they made their way past the security monitors.

  Halah followed him through the dark tunnel, staying close. Shitty lighting. One wrong move and they could become permanently separated.

  While in the slave cages she’d heard rumors about “cave holes” on the moon, where people fell into the ground, never to be seen again. Her unease escalated to a high point, with no sign of relief.

  Even more than falling down a hole, the absence of Egesa worried her. Her and Kam’s location had to have been identified by now. “Why hasn’t security materialized?”

  Kam shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe they can’t in the cave. The walls might contain a blocking mechanism of some sort, natural or otherwise. But keep watch. They might appear at any time, even if they have to get here on foot.”

  They stopped in front of an electronic gate. Multicolored lights flashed, showing it as active and locked. She saw a control box, but had no idea how it worked. When Rave had brought her down from the surface they’d passed no such gate. They’d just entered a coded, security lift. “Now what? Do you know an access code to get us through?”

  “No. Can you short it out?”

  With her power lower than normal, she might end up electrocuted. But no other way out existed for them. They didn’t have time to backtrack to find the alternate exit.

  She decided it best not to tell Kam about the danger. He might change his mind and stop her from the attempt. “I can try. Stand back.”

  Kam retreated several steps, giving her the room she needed.

  She leaned forward and tapped her fingertips against the control panel, simultaneously sending a charge. The jolt of electricity ran from her body to the panel.

  Another jolt ran back from the gate and through her body. She screamed and was thrown backward.

  Kam caught her, and both of them landed on their butts. “Damn! Halah! Are you all right?”

  After shaking off her disorientation, she grinned up at him. “Wow! That was a rush.” She laughed. “I think I just got recharged.”

  “Shit. You scared me to death. I thought that return jolt killed you.” He helped her to her feet, and then ran his hands up and down her body. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She swatted away his hands. “I’m fine. Look. I think I did it.” The lights around the gate had gone dark. The control panel looked destroyed.

  Kam turned and studied the bars. “Hey, yeah, looks like it.” He walked over and pushed at the gate. It opened easily. Looking back at her, he smiled. “Good work.”

  A pounding behind them caught their attention, and they both turned.

  “Oops,” Halah replied. “I think we’re about to have company. Sounds and smells like Egesa.” She crinkled her nose in disgust.

  “Let’s get out of here.” They stepped through the gate and ran for the cave entrance.

  “Can you use your communication device to help us?”

  “It’s not connected to my orbiter. I hadn’t planned on Pitch being here to receive messages. The comm was only set up to contact Laszlo. And we’re too far away for him to give us any aid.”

  They reached the mouth of the cave and stopped short. A surface-based gang of banished Egesa blocked their path.

  “Shit,” Kam swore under his breath.

  “I hope you have a secondary plan.” As Frost’s security team neared from inside the cave, Halah automatically moved back to back with Kam for the best defensive position.

  “Warrior Rule 126.”

  In the next instant, the air beside Halah shimmered and Kam was gone. Somehow, he’d materialized out, leaving her to fend for herself. She stared at the two gangs of Egesa closing in on her. “Damn you, Nextor!” she screamed.

  One Egesa—the leader of the underground security team, indicated by the markings on his uniform—stepped forward. He drew a disruptor from his belt. No way could she fight the security team and win. They were fully armed. Even the other Egesa gang now backed off. She took a few steps toward the mouth of the cave. Did she dare try to make a run for it?

  Suddenly, Halah felt a tickling in her midsection. She froze, recognizing the sensation. Well, fuck.

  In the next moment she dematerialized and then rematerialized inside a ship. She spotted Kam and Pitch immediately, standing off to the side. She released the tight breath she’d been holding and made eye contact with Kam. “Funny. You should have told me. You said you couldn’t contact him.”

  “No, actually, I said my communication device wasn’t connected to the ship. But I did have an emergency materialization button.”

  “Really? So how did I get here? Personal transports can’t just snatch someone up without an energy source on their body to lock on to.”

  “You are an energy source,” Kam told her.

  Yeah, well, she supposed that was true. “I never much thought of myself that way, but I guess you’re right. You still took quite a chance of that working though.”

  “Not really. I stuck my emergency backup materialization button in your clothing.”

  “I activated both methods at the same time,” Pitch told her. “Just to be certain.”

  “A backup?” She smiled at Kam. He’d made certain she wouldn’t be left behind.

  “Thanks.” She now wondered which energy source had saved her. She needed to check into that later. The knowledge might come in handy someday. “Why didn’t you get us out of there sooner?” They could have materialized out right after he got her collar off.

  Pitch answered. “The devices have limited range. You needed to get to the surface first.”

  “And they can only be used once,” Kam added. “If I’d misjudged the distance, we could have been trapped. I wanted to wait until we got well out of the cave, but the option was taken away from us.”

  She nodded, but wished he’d trusted her enough to have told her the plan. Or maybe he’d left her in the dark for another reason. If recaptured, she wouldn’t have any information for the Egesa to get out of her, other than her knowing about a Xylon transport somewhere on the moon. Not that she ever divulged any info unless it was her own idea. As a Class 1 Warrior, she’d been trained to endure even the wickedest of torture without breaking down.

  “I’m just glad you’re both safe. Welcome aboard, Halah,” Pitch said to her. “It’s good to have you back on our side. Sorry to report though that I’ve been searching the moon for Josella and nothing has shown up on the tracker.”

  Halah’s gaze shot to Kam. What the hell was Pitch talking about? Had Kam betrayed her again?

  “Relax, Halah. He doesn’t know,” Kam replied. “Don’t jump to any conclusions. I can see your mind working overtime. Everything I told you is true.”

  She relaxed, but not completely. She
wouldn’t feel totally at ease until she finally saw her sister for herself and knew that Josella was safe and sound.

  “I don’t know what?” Pitch asked. “Now what are you keeping from me?”

  “Let’s just get into space,” Kam said, moving toward the pilot’s seat. “I’ll explain after we’re clear of the Sand Moon.”

  * * * * *

  Lair of Xylon

  “It’s confirmed, Torque,” Tara reported, her voice hitching. “Brianna entered Lift 6, according to her security team.”

  Torque simply stared at her, his pulse racing too fast. “You said nobody was in that lift before it crashed.” His lungs burned from not being able to catch a full breath. “I knew those damn readings were wrong!” He couldn’t think. First Braden, now Brianna.

  “We sent a team down there to search the wreckage. Have they reported?”

  “Last time I checked, they hadn’t found anything. I called them off and assigned them to more vital areas.”

  “Well, call them back! I want every inch of that rubble searched and researched.”

  Tara slid out of her seat. She wrapped her arms around him, and they held each other tightly. After several speechless moments, she broke the silence. “It’s too late, Torque. You’re going to have to face it. If she was in there, she’s dead.”

  He pulled back and looked into her eyes, which revealed nothing as usual.

  Sometimes he envied her ability to do that. Right now, it angered him. “Face it? Just like that? You know, Tara. You really can be a cold bitch at times.”

  She gasped and without warning, struck him hard across the face. “How dare you say something like that to me? Brianna was my sister, too. I loved her just as much as you.”

  He rubbed his cheek. “Well, until there’s a body, she’s not dead. Get on it!” He wouldn’t give up on Brianna. He couldn’t.

  Swiping away a tear, Tara returned to her station.