Purple Worlds: A Space Fantasy (Planet Origins Book 4)

by Lucia Ashta

  I didn’t want to speak with the man, but I had to. “Aletox,” I called. His hands still flew across the illuminated panels that coalesced in the air in front of him. Lila stood to his side, her astute eyes following every one of his movements.

  “What?” His eyes didn’t leave his work. The transport machine continued its ominous whirring.

  “How long does travel to Sand take?”

  “Not long.”

  “Can you be any less specific?” I was trying to keep my temper, but being manipulated by this egomaniac was making me work at it harder than usual.

  His gray eyes jumped to meet mine, and one edge of his mouth curled upward. He realized he was getting under my skin.

  The thought of going anywhere with this man was maddening. He was a Vikas viper. When around a Vikas viper, there was only one wise course of action, and it was to put as much distance between you and it as possible, as quickly as possible. Every one of my instincts clamored to get the people I cared about away from him.

  Yet here I was, asking him questions about our potential expedition together. I growled, too softly for him to hear me, but it caused Dolpheus to take a step closer to me, leaving Kai alone, standing behind us.

  “I’m sure I could be less specific if that’s what you’d like,” Aletox said in that calm, steady voice that drove me crazy.

  I glared at him, realizing I didn’t want to be, only because I couldn’t afford to look weak at any time. Revealing that I wasn’t in control of my emotions was a sign of weakness. Emotions killed as many soldiers as their enemies.

  Dolpheus had my back. “Come on, man. Why’re you making this hard? Do you have any other mode than ball-buster?”

  Aletox arched a dark eyebrow.

  “If you want us to protect you on this mission,” Dolpheus said, “if we agree to go, which we haven’t, then you’d be better served endearing yourself to us. Because right now I’m pretty sure Tanus and I would have no problem leaving you stranded on Sand. If we go. So let’s try this again, how long will this trip to Sand take, assuming we agree to your deal?”

  Aletox smiled again, an unpleasant expression. “Our transport machine is the most advanced upon O. It doesn’t travel. It jumps. If you don’t take all day to make up your minds, we could be there before the Suxle Sun sets on O.”

  Wow.

  “Really?” Kai said.

  Aletox didn’t deign to answer him, even though Kai was already a better man than Aletox could ever hope to be. I hadn’t known Kai for long, but that was the kind of thing you could just know about someone. He’d managed to survive his difficult beginnings and emerge from them unjaded. It took a pure and determined heart to manage such a feat.

  “Now, can I return my attention to more useful matters?” Aletox asked, making it clear he didn’t believe for a moment that he required our permission. His attention was back to his panels before any of us had the chance to answer.

  Obviously, it wasn’t unreasonable of us to want answers to some basic questions before we jumped into a can with a conniving man to attempt interstellar transport. But I was tired of dealing with Aletox.

  I already knew what he suggested was dangerous, because of who he was and what he wanted us to do. But as much as I hated to admit it, Ilara had a point I could agree with, even if I wouldn’t admit it to her now. Life was risky no matter what we chose to do or not do. Better to live life for its remarkable experiences than to avoid them in futile attempts to avoid the unavoidable. Death comes for everyone.

  “Lila,” Aletox said across the way, “you see these specs right here?” He pointed ahead of him, to glowing writing and diagrams.

  “Aye,” she said.

  “Go to the transport machine. The sensor for the operations panel is next to the main latch. Confirm that all these specs match the readout on the transport machine’s panel. They should all be identical.”

  Lila nodded, scanned the numbers in front of her one more time, and walked to the machine.

  “She must have a sharp mind if she can remember all those numbers,” Kai said, moving up next to Dolpheus.

  “Aye,” Dolpheus said, sounding a bit impressed. I was too worried about what we were seemingly going along with to be impressed with anything like Lila’s intelligence.

  Lila moved in front of what I guessed was the main latch, waved her hand around, and a light show sprang to life in front of her. Her hands moved as quickly as Aletox’s for a few moments, then she read it, tapping here and there.

  “There are all a match,” she said.

  “Excellent,” said Aletox. “We’ll be ready to go soon then.” He addressed us, “I had everything prepped for our travel last week. We’re nearly all set. I need to confirm a few more settings and we’ll be ready to go. Prepare yourselves.”

  “He doesn’t give a shit that we haven’t agreed, does he?” Dolpheus said in a low enough voice that he made it clear he spoke just to us, but it wasn’t soft enough that Aletox couldn’t hear. Dolpheus didn’t care.

  I didn’t either. “You aren’t surprised, are you? He’s never cared about anyone but himself.” I meant it as a jab at the man who claimed to be my father, but I didn’t notice him even flinching. He continued as if he cared nothing about being the despicable, manipulating prick that he was.

  “Well he’ll have to wait until we make our decision whether he wants to or not,” Dolpheus said. “Because we aren’t getting in that can with him unless it’s because we want to.”

  “Right,” I said, but I felt as if this decision had been yanked out of my hands before I accepted that it had.

  Ilara was back to staring at the sun overhead, the resin panels dimming some of its brightness. “I think we should go.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, forgetting my determination not to do it anymore. “And I don’t think we should.” Even though I said it, I wasn’t sure I believed it. “There’s too much at risk,” I heard myself saying, even though I realized as the words slipped through my lips that risk had never intimidated me before.

  “There is,” Dolpheus, ever the loyal friend, offered.

  Ilara squeezed the hand she still held. “I have a feeling that we should go.”

  Just like that, I knew we’d be going. My stomach churned with the realization.

  “You said we’d go along until something presented itself to us, until it was clear what path we should take,” she said. “Well, I think this is the path presenting itself to us. This man is nearly dragging us along with him. The path is opening up for us to do this and nothing else.”

  She’s right, you know, Dolpheus said in my head, and I had to agree with both of them.

  “Besides,” she added, “it feels like what we should do. I won’t say it feels right, but it feels like the clear path forward. I’m going to do it.”

  The warmth of her hand in mine was sufficient of a reminder that here she was next to me, finally in the flesh (some version of it), and that I’d follow her wherever she wanted to go. I also knew Ilara well enough to know that she’d go whether I went with her or not. She might love me, but that love had never tempered her independence and her will to do as she pleased.

  I’d be damned if I let her undertake such a dangerous journey, locked up with a viper, without me at her side.

  So it seemed that I was going too.

  What do you think, Olph? I asked him silently. I wanted to give Dolpheus the opportunity to back out with his pride intact.

  What do you think?

  I think if she’s going, then I’m going. But you don’t have to. I’ve put you in enough danger lately as it is. I sensed Ilara’s cosmic eyes on me, but I didn’t turn to look at her. I owed my best friend my undivided attention. You have a choice, Olph, and I don’t think going along with this wild idea is the best one.

  Aye. It’s a wild and dangerous idea. But those are my favorite, you know that. Tan, I’m not letting you go without me. I have your back.

  And I have yours, I mind spoke, hopi
ng that I wouldn’t be responsible for delivering my friend to harm. So it’s settled? We’re going?

  Aye, I think so.

  By the oasis, Aletox better not try to fuck us over.

  He will. But we won’t let him.

  “You guys are doing it again, aren’t you?” Ilara asked. “Talking to each other in your heads?”

  “Definitely,” Kai answered for us.

  “We’re deciding what to do,” I said.

  “And have you decided?” Ilara asked.

  “Aye,” Dolpheus said.

  “You’re coming?” She grinned the kind of grin a woman who had little to lose offered when she was excited by an adventure that would intimidate most women alive. But not this woman.

  Ilara was a fierce woman, my fierce woman.

  “You didn’t think we’d let you guys go without us, did you?” Dolpheus asked, his own grin in place.

  Ilara squealed and released my hand to squeeze my waist. Then she let go, too much enthusiasm running through her to remain still. “It’s going to be great.”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “Don’t be a sourpuss, Tanus,” she said. I didn’t know what a sourpuss was, but I could guess. “Now that we’re decided to do this, let’s have fun with it. It’s going to be a wild adventure.”

  “Without a doubt, it’ll be that,” I said.

  “That’s more like it,” she said, even though my tone wasn’t excited. Her growing enthusiasm was contagious though. Before long, I predicted the rest of us would be bubbling like she was, even if Dolpheus and I would keep a composed front on it.

  “Kai,” I started.

  He interrupted me right away. “If you think you guys are leaving me behind, then you clearly need more time to get to know me. Time that you’ll have on this interstellar adventure.”

  I could hear the smile in his voice without looking. “I can’t talk you out of it?”

  “Let me save you the trouble,” he said. “It’s dangerous, epic and unpredictable, I don’t owe you guys anything, I have no obligation to come along, the smart thing would be to stay behind. Am I missing any of your potential arguments?”

  “No,” I said with a sigh.

  “I was decided the second Aletox suggested it. If you guys go, I go.”

  “All righty then. We’re all going. We’re all fucking nuts,” I said.

  “Yes!” Ilara said, obviously unconcerned about concealing her excitement. She was literally bouncing on her feet. “Hey Aletox,” she called out.

  “Yes?”

  “None of us need to stay behind, right? You can operate everything from within the shuttle? And the retractable panels will close behind us on their own?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, shocking me. What was he playing at? Wasn’t he the one who’d tried to convince us this Ilara wasn’t the princess? “I can set everything so that all of us can travel.”

  “Excellent,” she said.

  “Yes, it is,” he said, giving her what appeared to be a genuine smile. I looked at it, faltering. For those few moments, he almost looked… nice.

  “I designed this transport machine so that everything can be done on site or remotely.”

  Fuck, he designed this thing? I said to Dolpheus. This was beyond the scientific brilliance I attributed to the man.

  Looks like it. Damn. And that also explains how the transport machine is back here when the King’s servant sent the princess off planet in it, on a one-way journey. The servant must have set it to return back here on its own.

  Must be.

  You realize, Tan, that if Aletox designed this contraption we know nothing about, he might be valuable and worth bringing along for his ability to fix the thing if it breaks.

  We’d have Lila, I hedged.

  And Lila didn’t invent the thing. You know how mechanical things work?

  Aye. Not always. Which was why Dolpheus and I avoided mechanical machines more often than not, and nearly always when they related to something important.

  Exactly. If this thing breaks, he can fix it. The risks of this mission just diminished.

  They had.

  “Since you all are just standing around there, I gather you consider yourselves ready?” Aletox asked.

  I heard Dolpheus, Ilara, and Kai say “Yes.” Apparently, I was the only one with a loud, thunking No echoing through my head.

  “Good,” Aletox said. “Then we can leave right away.”

  Aletox tapped the air in front of him a few more times, the screen faded, and he walked toward the capsule. “Join me,” he said.

  At once, Ilara obeyed, Dolpheus and Kai half a step behind her.

  What choice did I have but to follow? I followed the woman and friend I’d follow anywhere, apparently, even to foreign planets, knowing little if anything.

  I knew one thing for certain, however. This was guaranteed to change every single one of us in ways none of us had anticipated, not even Aletox.

  22

  Now that we’d made our decision, and even though there were several things I could think of that I might consider doing to ready myself for a journey few Oers ever undertook in their lifetimes—like offering appeals of protection to the Devoteds’ Something Greater I was pretty sure I still didn’t believe in—I didn’t do any of those things. Neither did my companions.

  Instead, we stood just where we’d been, watching Aletox finalize the preparations that would seal our fates. I’d transported more times than I could count, nearly all of those times successfully, so it wasn’t the thought that we’d be here one moment and someplace else the next, even if it was another planet, that got to me. It was the realization that I wouldn’t be in control of what happened to us, nor would anyone I trusted.

  When I transported, I could feel the certainty of the process in my trusty gut the entire time. I could tell if things were going well and if I’d end up where I wanted to go in one piece or not. I experienced the process of transporting in every part of myself. It wasn’t something I chose, it was unavoidable. Transporting the way Dolpheus and I did it literally tore you apart. There was no way to avoid feeling it. Whereas at first the sensations had been uncomfortable to the point of causing anguish, I’d grown used to it. I relied on the physical disintegration of my body as a confirmation that everything was as it should be, as twisted as that was.

  In Aletox’s can, I’d have none of that.

  For a fleeting moment I considered whether Dolpheus and I could transport in the way we always had and meet the rest of them on Sand. But no, of course we couldn’t. Not only had we never transported beyond Planet Origins before, but Ilara insisted she couldn’t transport. I wouldn’t entrust her to Aletox alone. If she was determined to travel to Sand, the only way for her to get there was via Aletox’s contraption. Which meant I was going in it too.

  There was no getting around it. I was being dragged, pulled, and coerced into doing this.

  If I were preparing to transport in my usual way, I’d already be stilling myself, seeking that quiet that was necessary to achieve the process. But now? I couldn’t think of a single thing I could do to prepare myself to defend against Aletox’s inevitable trickery or the unpredictable machinations of his invention.

  My sword and knives were in place. I patted them for reassurance. They were all I’d have to defend us on a foreign planet. It was a good thing they’d never let me down. I was so glad Dolpheus and I’d retrieved my weapons when I was arrested at the palace. I’d feel naked heading into the unknown without them.

  Shit, Olph. The horses. The thought arrived suddenly, followed by a wave of guilt that I could forget our reliable friends.

  Damn, Tan. I forgot all about them. We can’t leave them out there.

  No, we can’t. Dolpheus and I might not have many human friends we could count on, but we could trust our horses. They’d never let us down. I loved my horses more than I loved most people.

  We have to go get them, Dolpheus said.

  Of course we
do. But what do we do with them? We don’t have time to take them back to my estate. Aletox is ready to do this now. And we can’t transport with them.

  We could try, Dolpheus said, but we wouldn’t. He knew it. It was too dangerous. If humans that attempted transporting could end up with their body parts rearranged in a far less pleasant way if they couldn’t hold their minds absent of thought and fear as was required, it was more perilous for animals. We couldn’t coach our horses not to freak out mid transport to avoid losing the perfect design of their bodies forever. It was why no one transported with animals.

  I didn’t bother answering Dolpheus, his had been a desperate suggestion. I suppose we have to tell Aletox of the problem, I said. He might have a solution, someone he can assign their care to until we can return.

  As much as I don’t like giving Aletox any more information about us or how we traveled here, I think we have to. He’s probably already assumed we arrived here on horseback, anyway.

  I’m sure he has. But I don’t think his knowing about the horses hurts us in any way. If anything, it might serve to reinforce the idea to him that we aren’t capable of transporting on our own without horses as much as he thought. I couldn’t transport out of the palace when he half-rescued me before he left me to fend for myself.

  And, Dolpheus followed my train of thought, an enemy that underestimates us becomes less of an enemy.

  Exactly. And Aletox is most definitely an enemy, no matter what lies cross his lips.

  All right. Let’s hope whomever Aletox entrusts our horses to takes good care of them.

  Or we’ll kill them upon our return.

  Precisely, Dolpheus said, even though neither one of us would. We’d fully earned our reputations for ferocity. But outside of the realm of military engagement, we weren’t unfair. Regardless, even if we wouldn’t kill those responsible for mistreating our animals, they wouldn’t enjoy our reaction. There were many ways of punishing that didn’t involve death, and some were just as bad.