Poisoned Pawn

by Jaleta Clegg

  “You come now?” Rinth said, stopping his patting. He peered down at me, his face blurred in the fading daylight.

  Lightning flashed nearby, a brilliant streak of white light that grew strange shadows. Thunder cracked. Rinth jumped and huddled over me, rocking himself and crooning wordlessly. I rolled into a ball, trying to tuck my aching feet under me. The wind plucked at us, throwing things when we didn’t respond.

  I shivered uncontrollably, burning hot and freezing at the same time. It was unfair, I thought. I’d survived Luke only to be carried off by his pet to die of exposure. A sob caught in my throat and sent stabbing pain through my chest. I decided crying was not a good idea.

  Rinth cradled me against his chest. He rocked back and forth, his crooning mixing with the sound of wind and my own rattling breath. I smelled his fur, too exhausted to try to move away. He shuffled around to put his back to a tree and the wind. Thunder rumbled and rattled through the hills.

  “You come now,” Rinth said. “You come now find Miya come now Miya find.” He patted me softly as he talked, mangling the words as he grew more agitated.

  “I come,” I tried to say. My voice was only a hoarse croak. The effort set me coughing again. I saw flashing lights. Pain stabbed through my chest with each breath. I coughed up more blood.

  “Miya stay,” Rinth said, laying me on the ground. His furry warmth was gone.

  I shivered hard. I tried to call him back. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t stop coughing. My mouth was dry and parched and the pain burned deeper. I huddled on the ground until the shivering slowed and the coughing finally stopped.

  I heard a low growling that wasn’t the wind or thunder. I forced myself to open my eyes. Lightning cracked and showed me a scene I didn’t want to see. Rinth sat hunched a few steps away, facing down a long dark creature. Rinth raised his arms, making high pitched hooting sounds that hurt my ears. The creature responded with a low growl that made my hair stand up. It flowed around Rinth, moving almost like liquid. It had four long limbs and a very long tail and teeth that showed large and white against its dark fur. Its eyes glinted in the gloom.

  Rinth swung at the creature, a backhanded blow that sent it rolling away. It yowled in surprise. And then attacked, growling. Rinth grappled it, locking his thick hands around its neck. The creature clawed and bit. They both went down, rolling on the bare earth under the trees.

  My side was on fire as I dragged myself to my knees. I screamed, unable to make myself stop despite the agony it caused. Rinth beat at the creature’s head. It bit whatever it could reach, growling low. Its claws scraped down Rinth’s side. Rinth hooted mournfully and bashed the creature’s head on the soft ground.

  He was losing the fight. I saw dark smears in his fur. He left glistening streaks of it across the ground. I struggled to my feet, a stick clutched in one hand. I still screamed, sending white fire burning in my chest with every breath. I struck the creature, beating it feebly with the stick as it clawed Rinth.

  Rinth’s gray pebble eyes filmed over. His hands locked around the creature’s throat. Its neck broke with a loud pop. The creature gagged. Its limbs kicked convulsively one last time. It twitched feebly as it died. Rinth’s breath was ragged, tearing in and out with a horrible whistling noise.

  “Find Miya?” he said plaintively. His eyes focused on me. “Find Dace.”

  I dropped down next to him, the stick falling from hands that would no longer work. He knew who I was. Surprise and shock numbed me, freezing me in place. Where could he have learned my name? I stroked his face, my own breath tearing through me. I couldn’t find words to say. His eyes turned white. His breathing stopped. I slowly folded over him, my face resting on his chest fur. Tears ran down my face. I sobbed, despite the pain. I couldn’t stop.

  Golden lights bobbed and danced across the ground and through the trees. I watched them uncomprehending. They grew larger. Something hit my hand, fat and wet. It began to rain.

  The lights came closer. Voices called and shouted. I knew the words, somewhere in my mind. I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but lie on Rinth’s slowly cooling body and cry. I felt fuzzy, a gray film falling across my mind, drawing me farther away from the lights, from the pain.

  Hands touched me, pulling me from the gray fog. I wanted to slip away into the gray fog that promised an end to pain. Rain spattered across my face, mixing with the tears I couldn’t control.

  “Dace?”

  My name and a voice I knew I wanted to hear. I couldn’t answer. The gray fog filled my mouth, filled my mind with nothingness.

  Warm hands gathered me up, chasing the grayness away. I started coughing again, thick wet coughs full of blood. The hands gentled, holding me still. The pain burned in my chest.

  “We have to get back,” another voice, loud over the wind and thunder. “We have to walk. How is she?”

  I wanted to say I was fine. Nothing that a little rest wouldn’t cure. My teeth chattered, echoing in my head. Nothing seemed to work. I couldn’t talk, couldn’t make the words come out.

  “Bad.”

  The word was in my ear, deep and concerned. It rolled through my mind over and over.

  Hands again, warm against skin so cold it ached. Something rough wrapped around me, tucked around my chest, changed the pain into stabbing. Someone screamed, faint and hoarse, and I realized it was me.

  Hands lifted me, carried me. Water poured over me, hard drops of rain striking me in the face. I couldn’t move. I hung on, the grayness retreating farther with each stab of fresh pain.

  More hands, a rest, more pain. More rain pounding against me. More steps, more red pain.

  The rain stopped hitting me, though I still heard it, smelled it on the wind. Thunder muted to dark muttering, the grayness angry about losing me.

  Hands moved over me again, lances of pain from the touch. Something sharp stabbed my arm and the pain retreated. Hands patted my face, voices asked me if I was all right. Voices talked about me as if I weren’t there. Voices described broken bones, internal bleeding, medical terms that I didn’t know.

  Vibrations rumbled through me. Someone was next to me, wrapping me in blankets, holding me. More pain, tingling pain, as circulation returned, as I slowly warmed. The vibrations shook me. Hands stroked my wet hair, pushing it away from my face. Warm hands touched me, cupped my cheek. I leaned against a body that smelled faintly of spice. I slept, drifting in and out of darkness.

  The darkness claimed me and I slid gratefully into it.

  * * *

  I woke slowly, rising from the soft darkness that held me. I tried to resist. There were reasons I didn’t want to wake up. I couldn’t remember them. I quit trying and just drifted on the fog that filled my mind.

  Sound came first. I heard the soft sound of people talking some distance away. There was a soft rustling noise that my mind eventually identified as wind in trees. Someone nearby shifted and coughed.

  Smells came next. A hot smell, sun on wood, overpowered most of the others. I smelled trees, grasses, growing things mixed with the scent of damp rain. I smelled the sharp scent of antiseptics, but faded, an older smell.

  I felt the rough blanket over me, scratchy and warm, catching on skin rough from scratches. I shifted slightly, afraid of waking the pain again. It had been dulled with meds, but my ribs gave a warning twinge as I moved.

  I held still, waiting for the pain or a return of the muffling fog. Neither came. I finally opened my eyes, admitting to my fuzzy self that I really was awake.

  The roof overhead was low, curved, and dark green. I blinked, wondering where I was. I shifted my head, slowly, waiting for pain that didn’t come. I was in a small room, mostly round, with a rough wooden floor. The walls and roof were a half dome of green plastic. The single door stood open to a view of sunshine and trees. Sunlight spilled over the floor. The only things in the room were me, the flimsy cot I lay on, a tiny table covered with medical equipment, and a woman sitting in a chair next to my cot. She was polishing an
d repairing a nasty looking set of body armor. She wore a black uniform with the Enforcers insignia prominent on the front. She saw I was awake and put her armor down.

  “Am I…” I stopped. What came out of my mouth sounded more like the dying croak of some swamp monster.

  “Would you like a drink?” The woman’s voice was low, pleasant. “There’s water on the table.”

  It may as well have been in the next star system. My body wasn’t listening to a thing I told it. The woman leaned over and helped me sip from the bottle. Her hands were warm and firm under my head.

  The water was musty tasting. It hurt to swallow. It slid down my throat, soothing as it went. I drank more. It took half the bottle before my mouth no longer felt furry and dry. She took the bottle away then eased my head back onto the pillow. The pain was there, dull and muffled, as I moved. My side was stiff with bandages. I lay still, breathing lightly, until the pain faded again.

  “Am I under arrest?” I asked.

  “No. Why should you think that?” She adjusted a tiny screw in her armor.

  “The last few times I felt like this, I was.” I stared at the ceiling. “If I’m not under arrest, then what am I?”

  “Very lucky, from what I hear,” she said. “The only serious injury you’ve got are three cracked ribs. Everything else should heal quickly.”

  “What happened?”

  “There are quite a few people who would like to know that. You don’t remember?”

  “Things got a bit fuzzy, about the time Luke shoved me over the falls. What happened to him?” I tried to sound as if I didn’t care, but I trembled at the thought that Luke might still be out in the forest.

  “Luke Verity? Also known as Luke Vance, Lark Vengeance, and half a dozen other names? He should be arriving in the brig of a Patrol cruiser in orbit about now. He’s headed for a lifetime immigration pass to the nearest prison world.”

  I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

  “His men,” the woman continued, “are mostly in custody. Last count I think there were still half a dozen missing. Presumed dead.” She shifted the armor in her lap, working on a joint, using tiny screwdrivers to adjust the servo.

  “Then it’s over,” I whispered. I closed my eyes against sudden hot tears of relief.

  “All except the explanations,” she agreed. “Lowell said he’d be by later.”

  I sighed. I should have known he’d be nearby. “He’s here, then.”

  “I haven’t ever seen him get emotional over a case before. He took this one quite personally. He isn’t the only one, either.” She looked at me with frank curiosity. “So, who are you?”

  “Who are you?” I threw back.

  “Commander Paltronis. Special Forces Division of the Enforcers, currently on assignment to Commander Lowell’s personal staff.” She leaned back, working on another piece of her armor. “I don’t usually get to be involved in any fighting. It’s been…” She fished for a word. “Interesting. Usually I just stand around and look intimidating.” She finished with the piece of armor and set it on the floor. She picked up another section. “I think I prefer standing around looking intimidating.”

  Things grew quiet as she continued to work. I stared at the ceiling, letting pieces of memory float and connect.

  “Where’s Tayvis?” It had been his voice in the rain, his hands that carried me.

  “Last I saw of him, he was shot full of tranquilizers and dragged away so the medtech could get to you.” She put her armor down then studied me, her hands dangling and idle. “I’ve never seen him so upset. We had a bet going for a while among Lowell’s staff on whether he was human or an android.” She half smiled, a quirk of one side of her mouth. “I can collect my winnings now.” She shifted on her chair to face me. “Do you know how many women have tried to catch him? And you succeeded. Just what did you do to him?”

  “I wasn’t trying to catch him,” I protested. He’d said he loved me that night in the woods. I remembered, and tucked the memory away.

  “Maybe I should have tried that.” Paltronis laughed, a quiet chuckle.

  “What happened to Rinth?”

  “That creature? It died protecting you from the bushie. Lowell had us pack up the body. Full burial with honors, after we figure out his species.”

  The sound of flitters coming in overhead rattled through the hut. She looked up, her smile fading on the edges.

  “Lowell’s back. Should I tell him you’re awake or would you prefer to sleep a while longer?”

  “I may as well get it over with,” I said.

  “I’ll go get him.” She stood and left, moving with a feline grace that reminded me a lot of Tayvis. Maybe all of Lowell’s agents moved like that, maybe it was required in their training. I made myself stop before I lost control and drifted into the gray fog again.

  Lowell came into the hut a few minutes later. Paltronis was right behind him along with two other women, both young. Lowell stood over me, his face as masklike as ever. Only his silver eyes betrayed any emotion. They looked relieved.

  “Are you feeling well?” he asked.

  “No. I feel like I’ve been dragged backwards through every bush in the forest.” I glanced down and realized the green dress I’d been wearing was gone. I wore someone else’s tan Planetary Survey uniform.

  “I’m afraid the dress you had, no matter what it was worth new, was only good for rags,” Lowell said, watching me. He took the only chair and sat, straddling it. He rested his chin on his hands on the back of the chair.

  “Excuse me, sir,” one of the young women said. She pushed past him. Her uniform was silver, with a medtech’s symbol on her collar. She checked me over quickly and professionally. “You’ll be fine in a day or two,” she said when she finished. “Except for the ribs. Take it easy for at least another two weeks.” She peeled the pain patch off my arm. “Do you need another one?”

  I shook my head. I could live with a bit of pain. It was better than the throbbing headache I’d eventually get if I used any more pain meds. She packed up her things and left.

  “Well?” Lowell asked.

  “Well what?”

  “What happened?”

  “How about you tell me and we’ll both know.”

  “I know you don’t like me, Dace. I’m here to help you this time. Trust me.”

  “Only as far as I can throw you, Lowell. What’s it going to cost me this time?”

  He just sat, watching me and not saying anything.

  “Last time you let me get arrested.”

  “Last time you provided some invaluable information on the Sessimoniss. I did get all criminal charges dismissed.”

  “And I ended up paying over twenty thousand credits in fines. How much is it going to cost me this time? Every time I end up helping you, despite everything I do not to, it costs me.”

  Paltronis was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide a smile. The other woman watched me with eyes wide in disbelief. She flicked a glance at Lowell, obviously surprised by his reaction. Or lack of one.

  “You’re back in one piece, more or less, and I’ve managed to catch someone I’ve been following for some time now.” His lips twitched. “I’d call it even. Especially when I count in the amount of food your friend Jasyn has cooked.”

  “What does Jasyn have to do with this?”

  “I think I’ll let her tell you later,” he said. “Right now, what I’d like is your version of events.”

  “You want me to tell you what happened?” I didn’t want to, I wanted to shove it into a dark corner of my mind and forget all of it. Except for parts of that one night with Tayvis.

  “That is what I asked you, Dace. Just start at the beginning. I believe you were at a nightclub on Ytirus?” He waited, his head cocked to one side.

  I swallowed hard and turned my head away. I didn’t want to relive it. I had enough nightmares without adding new ones. I wanted to forget. Completely. Especially the Rigellan anatomy lesson Luke had given me
.

  “Dace,” the other woman spoke. She laid a soft hand on my shoulder.

  “Who are you?” I asked, too tired to care about being polite. I wanted them all to just go away.

  “She’s a very good empath,” Lowell said. “Well trained in victim counseling.”

  “It’s common for victims to want to forget,” she said.

  “You can’t help,” I said. “I’m as psychic as a rock.”

  “She’s also trained in methods of hypnosis,” Lowell said. “It would be very helpful if you could just relax and cooperate. Please.”

  I turned my head on the thin pillow. Lowell watched me closely. He looked old, tired. He looked as if every pain I’d suffered, he now suffered. I was amazed to realize he cared about me, but still didn’t trust him. I shifted my gaze to the woman.

  “What do you want me to do?” I said, giving in. Maybe it would help.

  “Just close your eyes, and listen to my voice,” the woman said. Her voice was soft, a pure alto, infinitely soothing. I closed my eyes. Her voice washed over me, warm and comforting. She began a crooning chant, repeating phrases over and over. I relaxed, floating in a warm, dark cocoon.

  “There were three of them,” I said, suspended in that space where I was safe, where nothing could hurt me. “The front one gave me some kind of drug and then dropped me off the balcony.”

  “What did they look like?” Lowell asked. His voice was warm, rich, deep. His question was not an intrusion.

  I described the men who had kidnapped me, seeing them clearly in my mind. The woman cradled my head in her hands, her fingertips resting on my temples. Her touch was light, soft and warm against my face. I drifted deeper into the soft darkness.

  I heard my voice continue, answering Lowell’s questions. What had happened to me was distant, I felt nothing as I watched my memories. I told him details I didn’t know I knew. I described how I’d come here, how Luke had taken me from the men. I shivered slightly when I remembered Luke. The woman stroked my temples. Soothing feelings of safety washed through me. The shivering was gone.