His Fire Maiden

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Rick led the way with Jackson, quickly stepping as if he wished to hurry through this part of his mission.

  “Grab anything of value,” Jackson ordered. “This will be the last time we come here.”

  Dev strode alongside Violette, not touching her again. Lucien and Viktor whispered amongst themselves. It sounded like they bickered, but she couldn’t hear what their argument was about.

  “We should wait here in the hall,” Evan said to his wife. “I don’t want you to see them.”

  Josselyn evidently didn’t listen as their footsteps continued to follow into the large prison hold in the center of the compound. The open room served as a staging area for those locked in stone. Lucien and Viktor took off to explore the far rooms for valuables.

  The first statue prisoner wasn’t what Violette expected to see. The Federation’s official images of the failed immobile prisoner project had shown men with bound hands standing dignified in a red stone-like state. Their expressions were serene and their posture relaxed. The Ice Complex prisoners were terrified. Arms rose eternally to hide faces as if that gesture could have saved them from this fate. After being imprisoned, they’d been murdered in their defenseless states. Their body parts had been broken off. Skulls had been crushed. Stone limbs were thrown into piles. Violette walked past a woman’s head. Every detail of her screaming mouth could be seen. Another man was locked in what looked to be prayer, or perhaps he was begging his captors for mercy.

  “The perfect prisoners,” Rick stated with a sarcastic drawl. “They don’t sleep, don’t eat, don’t piss, don’t beg for mercy.”

  “Bastards,” Lucien swore, having heard Rick’s comment as he came out room only to disappear into another one.

  “No one deserves this,” Jackson agreed.

  “It shouldn’t be like this,” Violette said. There were, at least, a couple dozen prisoners, maybe more. None of them were dressed in prison-issued suits. They were in gowns and tunic shirts. Even their hair wasn’t the standard prisoner cut from a hundred years ago. She had hoped that there might be a way to free whoever was left here. They’d thawed Josselyn from her prison, and Violette could get her hands on more medicine to reverse the effects of an imperfect freezing process. But, there was no saving the people here. If the prisoners were thawed from their stone state, they would instantly die from their injuries.

  Violette pulled the dark cap from her head to expose her ears and head. She breathed hard, looking at the red dust coating the floor. They stepped on bits of the statue. Footprints marred the dust, presumably from when the crew had visited the prison the first time.

  “No, no, no,” Josselyn whispered, rushing past Violette to go to a small boy on the floor. He couldn’t have been more than thirteen years. Long hair hung over his eyes. “I know him. This is Tyson. He played with my brother. They put him in stone and then shot him as if he were some target for practice. There are laser marks on his chest. He…” Josselyn turned and pointed to a woman close by. “And that’s his mother. Murielle worked in my home in the kitchens. She didn’t do anything to anyone. She…”

  Violette inched away as Josselyn’s grief built. There was nothing that could be done.

  “Do you see?” Josselyn demanded, turning to find Violette. “This is why I had to…”

  This was not what Violette expected to find. Yes, what happened here was horrible, but that didn’t mean her father did it. He had tried to rescue Josselyn. The holo-box proved that. He pardoned her. He tried to get her out.

  “I know all of them,” Josselyn told Evan, crying. He murmured something comforting to her.

  “These rooms are clear,” Lucien announced as they rejoined the group.

  Violette had to get away from the misery in Josselyn’s voice. She followed the old footsteps on the floor, assuming they would lead her to what she needed to see next.

  “There is no honor in this,” Jackson approached Josselyn. His tone was flat, almost militant in its clipped tone. “And nothing we can do to change events. We will honor them by telling their story.”

  “Jackson is right,” Lucien said.

  “We’re prepared to scavenge for the truth this time,” Viktor added.

  “Medical laboratory is this way.” Rick brushed past Violette. “It’s where we found the lot numbers for the prisoners on a handheld. We couldn’t assess the computer because we didn’t have the code, but we’re hoping you’ll have more luck being as you’re Federation.”

  “I’m not Federation,” Violette denied.

  “Close enough, starshine,” Rick answered. The endearment didn’t sound very pleasant. She found herself almost wishing he’d call her Velvet Violette again, or some such ridiculous nickname.

  “I’ll bring up the screen,” Lucien said, moving to the system console in the medical laboratory. “I don’t have the codes to do much else.”

  Violette stared at the floating screen as it appeared over the computer console. Lucien stepped out of her way. All portable equipment had been cleared from the room, as was protocol when decommissioning a facility, but since the computer was wired into the main complex, it remained intact.

  She slowly sat before the console and contemplated what she should do. Lying was always an option, but then she’d come for the truth. It was the only way she could decide what path to take. She closed her eyes, trying to remember how to calculate the code to unlock the device.

  “Can you open it or not?” Jackson asked.

  “I can’t concentrate with everyone staring at me,” Violette snapped. She gave him a hard look.

  “Wait outside,” Dev ordered the others.

  With some reluctance, they agreed.

  “Thank you,” Violette said. “I promised you’d I seek the truth, but I can’t think with all of them staring at me like I’m the gatekeeper of all things evil.”

  “They don’t think that.” Dev leaned against the counter. “They believe you to be an honorable person.”

  Violette arched a brow.

  “Misguided, but honorable,” Dev amended. He ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek. “And beautiful.”

  “I doubt beauty enters into the equation.” She leaned into his hand. “How are you still warm?”

  “Your face is almost as red as mine. Put your hat back on.” He handed the cap to her. She didn’t remember dropping it. Taking it, she slid it over her head. It was warm from his hold.

  Violette wasn’t military, but since her father was a general he’d taught her how to access basic military files. Anything too highly encrypted would have needed bio-signatures of some kind.

  It took a moment, but she was able to figure out a basic password that allowed her mid-level access. “It’s not much, just facility maintenance records. Since the prisoners were in stone, there were no feeding schedules, exercise hours, or anything else to note. I can get you some names, but no crimes. There is an old incident report for a couple of the guards who had an argument that ended in punches. Most of it is inventory supplies and requisition requests. I’m sorry. I know you wanted something fantastic to expose this place, but there’s…” Violette paused as she scrolled through the work orders and memos to the earliest ones. The first file had her father’s military identification number on it. “My father.”

  “What does it say?” Dev leaned over to look at the holographic screen. She felt his heat against her neck. She turned to him, seeing his cheek near her lips.

  “It’s a personnel file.” Violette didn’t open it.

  Dev looked at her. His mouth was close to hers. She felt his breath on her lips. The warm caress was intimate, and she breathed him inside of her.

  “Open it,” he said. “You’re here for the truth.”

  She nodded and turned to the screen. The file had a picture of her father as a young man. He looked different out of uniform. His clothes matched those of the broken prisoners. The image turned, showing first his front and then a profile view of his upper body.

  “Jack Steph
ans, Florencia Moon Coalition lead informant for sector five, status active, trusted,” Violette read. She scrolled down the file, coming to a later entry. “Recommended for a high honor for his role in securing the Fifth Moon, as well as his work in subduing the rebel leaders hiding there. All rebellion has been terminated. Promotion: Ice Complex Five Warden. New file, classified.” She frowned. “He never told me he was a warden.”

  That would mean the general did know what happened here, at least enough of it. It also meant Josselyn had told the truth. Jack Stephans, Florencia Moon Coalition lead informant for sector five. He was the Federation’s inside man to what had happened here. Why else would they have promoted a mere local spy to warden so quickly unless he proved in some great way he could be trusted? She thought about the broken statues, posed in fear. Her father was a monster.

  “I don’t think he was the warden when the statues were broken,” Dev said, as if that would be a comfort.

  Violette’s heartbeat quickened, and she tried to keep her composure.

  Rick appeared at the door. “Anything?”

  Dev shook his head in denial. “She’s in, but there’s nothing useful.”

  “I’ll copy it anyway for Lucien to go through.” Jackson pushed past Rick and withdrew an information transfer disc from his snowsuit. He laid it on the computer mainframe. The holographic screen appeared to be sucked into the disc before returning to normal. Jackson slid the disc back into his pocket. “Temperature is dropping outside. We need to leave if we’re going to scavenge what we can from the castle. Josselyn knows where all the real treasure is hidden. If you’re done here, let’s get moving. I don’t want to become another one of this moon’s human icicles.”

  Chapter 21

  “Holy space balls, I forgot how cold this place was,” Rick said, falling into stride next to Dev.

  “I can’t feel my space balls,” Lucien complained, holding his lower stomach.

  “That’s cause you don’t have any balls,” Viktor answered.

  “More balls than you do,” Lucien argued.

  “I’ll show you how big my—” Viktor retorted.

  “I will slap you both,” Dev said calmly. The brothers stopped fighting and gave Dev a sheepish look, which he in turned ignored. Dev looked at the indicator on his wrist. “It wasn’t this cold last time we were here.” Touching Violette’s arm to get her attention, he inquired, “Are you doing all right? You’re not too cold?”

  “My balls are fine, thank you,” Violette answered with a smirk. Lucien and Viktor snorted with laughter. Before Dev could say anything, she quickly amended, “I’m good. Let’s just keep moving.”

  Dev thought about joking back but didn’t want to encourage the brothers. Usually, he’d be worried about Rick, but there was something about this place that made the pilot unusually somber.

  Dev admired Violette’s strength. The last four days spent with her in his bed had been as close to perfection as any man could hope for. Attraction wasn’t the problem. It was everything else in their lives weighing down on them.

  “It’s strange, right? Nothing has changed since we’ve been here. I mean, look, those are our footsteps,” Lucien pointed at the ground, “and there is where Josselyn’s feet dragged as we brought her back to the ship.” He gave a short laugh. “Sorry about that. We didn’t intend to almost drop you.”

  Josselyn paused to look at where he indicated. Dev knew this journey was painful for the woman. It had to be. They had all seen the torment she’d gone through after they freed her. He wished there was a way to show that anguish to Violette so that she might understand. Then again, he wished there was a way to show Josselyn how much Violette was hurting after the death of her father. Violette was like him in the sense they both hid their emotions from others. Perhaps that is why he understood her better than most. Or perhaps she’d let her guard down just enough when they were alone to allow him to peek inside.

  The homestead had been built in a style far removed from Federation standards. A security wall circled the inner village and medieval castle. Jackson led the group through the main gate. Evan and Josselyn huddled together as they followed closely behind Jackson. Rick had cut the rusted metal lock on their first visit so getting inside was much more efficient this time around. A trail of prints led them under a second lower wall’s arch. Dark spires and round towers were built into the walls, with walkways along the top sections.

  “Look at those plants,” Violette pointed out. Dev nodded. Grass shard stuck up from the ground like shiny narrow blades. “And those homes.”

  “They’re called cottages,” Josselyn answered, not turning to look back at her sister. “Our mother was the reigning lady, and she knew all the people who lived in the village. She would visit the cottages and make sure the people had everything they needed. She loved children and celebrated every new village birth. No one had a bad word to say about her. Everyone loved her. She was a true lady in body and spirit—delicate, charitable, kind, sheltered.”

  Dev watched Violette’s face carefully. He saw the eagerness she tried to hide. When she looked around the village, it was as if her eyes couldn’t take in what she was seeing before moving to the next object. She had no memory of her mother, and this was the closest she would ever come.

  “Ignore the cottages and outbuildings,” Josselyn said when Viktor began to stray off course. “Everything you’ll want to salvage will be inside the castle.”

  Violette stopped walking and looked up. Gentle white puffs of air left her parted lips. The frozen castle loomed over the surrounding village. A sheen of ice preserved the stone beneath.

  “Why were you held prisoner out here?” Violette asked. “It makes no sense as to why they’d—”

  “Shh,” Rick commanded. He raised his hand. Everyone turned their attention toward him. He lifted a life sign scanner they had acquired from a “technically” abandoned, locked, hidden ESC cargo crate on a remote planet. Jackson walked over to the pilot to look at the device. Rick scanned for lifeforms in the distance.

  Dev stepped protectively closer to Violette. Very quietly, he said, “They imprisoned Josselyn in one of the towers. She was too heavy to move, so they left her. That fact probably saved her life. When the other prisoners were broken, she was left unharmed.” He pointed to the tallest tower where they’d found her. “She was up there.”

  Rick hit the device several times. “False alarm. It’s not picking up anything now. The temperature must be causing it to glitch.”

  “Atmospheric reading still normal,” Dev said. “But the temperature has dropped a few degrees. Let’s keep moving.”

  As they neared the castle’s front door, he detected the crushed area where Lucien and Viktor had gotten into a fight next to the sad frozen remains of some small hairy creature. He braced his weight against the door and pushed hard, bouncing his shoulder until the ice seam gluing it shut broke free.

  “Let’s get to work. Coms stay on,” Dev ordered. Jackson had given him the lead on this part of the mission since he’d be with Josselyn and Violette the whole time and needed the authority to make judgment calls for the group if anything when wrong. “Stay in pairs and follow the maps Josselyn drew for you. Try to find the personal items she requested, otherwise, take the most valuable and transportable. Check in at each stop. Expandable crates are in your packs. Don’t load them too heavy. We still have to drag them down to meet the ship if it’s too cold for the hover attachments to work.”

  A soft light came through narrow windows from outside to illuminate the entryway. When everyone had entered, Dev pushed the door closed.

  Rick turned on the castle power. Flickering light flooded the inside from torch-shaped fixtures on the walls. “You heard the man, let’s get to work.”

  Lucien and Viktor took off in one direction. Jackson and Rick went in another.

  “I don’t suppose we can find me a girlfriend this time,” Lucien’s soft voice came through the coms as they walked away. “Statue girl turne
d out all right for Evan.”

  “Sure, rocket boy, we can try defrosting that dog-creature outside. I think you might have a chance with it,” Viktor answered.

  “I’m not listening to this,” Jackson’s voice interrupted. “Dev, please, can we leave com-links on, but not open?”

  “Fine,” Dev stated. “Turn off the open channel, but leave them on. Be careful. It might look sturdy, but there is no telling the damage weather and time have done to this structure, especially in the timber-enforced sections. If you get your asses trapped under rubble, I might not dig them out.”

  Chapter 22

  “I want to show you something.” Josselyn nodded that Violette should follow her. The groups had split up to explore the castle, but Dev and Evan kept the sisters together. Violette knew what they were trying to do. It was clear Evan wanted them to bond, and Dev wanted to make sure she didn’t try to attack Josselyn. As an independent woman, babysitters annoyed her, but then, she had threatened to kill her sister on several occasions, so their concern was probably warranted.

  Strange personal items filled the abandoned castle, and decorations hung as they had for over a hundred years. Time had stopped in this place, and Violette again had the feeling she was trespassing in someone else’s memory. Josselyn led the group to a large dining hall. Tables were lined up in even rows on the stone floor. Dinnerware was set out as if a meal had been interrupted. Whatever food would have been on them looked long disintegrated. Josselyn took a couple of the plates and goblets and handed them to her husband. Evan pulled out an oversized expandable crate and put the items inside. She noticed carvings that reminded her of the wooden door to her father’s office.

  A cylinder fireplace was in the middle of the room. Violette would have loved to start it. Maybe then feeling would come back to her fingertips. There were more torch fixtures to light the way. Banners covered parts of the walls in large woven strips.