by Jaleta Clegg
I talked for an endless time. I told Lowell everything. I told him about that horrible evening when Luke had forced himself on me. I told him about all of Luke’s people who had come to the mansion. I told him everything I had heard or seen. I told him how I’d escaped, climbing the garden wall when the attack started. I told him about finding Tayvis. And losing him again. I told him about Luke shooting me and Dysun Farr. About falling over the waterfall and being carried away by Rinth. It all felt like some very strange dream.
The woman’s voice told me to sleep, a gentle suggestion. I drifted away, carried into a safe place where dreams were yielding and smeary, like rainbows in water.
Chapter Thirty-Two
When I woke again, feeling much more rested and alert, the sky outside the open door was streaked with sunset. I felt good. Things that should have been nightmares in my mind were like scenes from a vid I’d seen a long time ago. Whatever Lowell’s empath had done, it worked. I stretched, feeling only a slight twinge from my side.
“Are you awake?” A voice and a light in the doorway. I turned my head and saw Jasyn.
“What are you doing here?”
She stepped in and I saw the uniform she wore.
“Lowell didn’t make you join the Patrol, did he?” I was horrified by the thought. Was that Lowell’s price for helping me?
She looked startled, then glanced down at her clothes. She made a face. “No. He wouldn’t let me come unless I pretended, though. He made me the camp cook.” She put a mug and a lantern on the table next to me. “Soup. I thought you might be hungry. You looked so awful when they brought you in last night. I was worried.” She sat in the chair, twisting her hands together. “You look a lot better now.”
“I’m feeling better already.” I managed to sit and took a sip of the soup. It was heavenly.
“So what happened to you? We thought you were dead.” She turned her head away, her eyes suspiciously bright. “You went over the balcony at the club. I should have never made you go.”
“Jasyn, they would have just tracked me down somewhere else. They were convinced I was Arramiya Daviessbrowun, whoever she really is.”
“She’s a big fat pain in the butt. She’s here. Complaining about everything. Trying to flirt with all the men.”
“What? Back up a minute. You know her?”
“She and her extremely rich daddy showed up a couple of days ago and started ordering everyone around. She does look a bit like you. Nobody who really knows you would ever mistake you for her, though. I keep hoping she’ll choke on my cooking that she despises so much, but she hasn’t yet.”
I stifled a laugh. I pressed a hand against my side, my other hand still clutching the mug. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”
“I’m so sorry, Dace,” Jasyn said. “Is it bad? No one tells me anything. I had to sneak in here when your guard dog wasn’t looking.”
“Who?”
“That woman, Paltronis. She works for Lowell. He’s had her outside your door until just a few minutes ago. She’ll be back soon and probably throw me out.”
“Jasyn, you’re just confusing me.” I sipped her soup, relishing the rich taste. “What’s been going on? Tell me what you know, starting after I was kidnapped.”
“We looked for you. Clark had the police searching the ocean around the nightclub almost immediately. You were right about him. He’s Patrol. Lowell planted him on us. But he’s not one of Lowell’s normal people, he really is a pilot. His enlistment was almost up when Lowell came to him and asked if he wanted a special assignment. He wants to stay with us now. He said he’d ask Lowell for early discharge and if not, it’s only a week or two. We may still be here by then.”
I deliberately swallowed soup. So Clark was Patrol and worked for Lowell. Somehow I couldn’t make myself care.
“I know how you feel, Dace, but please don’t fight me on this. I want Clark to stay.” She looked away from me, out at the gathering night. “We’re getting married.”
I choked and sputtered soup all over the blanket. “You’re what?”
She hunched her shoulders. “He asked me to marry him and I said yes. He’s not like anyone else I’ve ever met. He doesn’t care that I never went to the Academy. He loves me, Dace, not just my face.” She looked back, her eyes pleading. “Say something, Dace.”
“Congratulations.” I wanted to laugh, but it hurt. I settled for grinning instead. I was jealous, horribly envious of her and Clark. I was also very happy for her and Clark. I was very confused inside. “It’s one way to solve our pilot shortage.”
“You’re fine with it?” she asked, searching my face.
“I’m happy for you, Jasyn. Very happy. I like Clark.”
“You do?” She leaned over and hugged me. I hugged her back, almost spilling soup over us both. It hurt but I didn’t care. She took the mug away from me, laughing and crying at the same time. “You need to eat, not spill.” She set the mug back on the table.
“When is the wedding?” I asked when she finally sat back, letting me go. I eased myself down on the narrow cot. My ribs ached.
“As soon as we can get somewhere where it’s legal.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re the ship’s captain. I’ve heard that captains can perform marriages.”
“Tell me you’re joking. Jasyn, I don’t know anything about marriage. You can’t ask me to do that.”
“No,” she said, deflating visibly. “But it was an idea. I’ll talk to Clark. We’ll find a way. As soon as Lowell lets us go and we get off this planet.”
She squeezed my hand.
Paltronis stuck her head in the door.
“I was just leaving,” Jasyn said, standing quickly.
“You can stay, except Hom Daviessbrowun and his lovely daughter are complaining about dinner being late. Lowell would appreciate you back in the kitchen.”
“Lowell owes me for this,” Jasyn muttered. She turned to me, taking my hand in hers. “It’s good to have you back, Dace.”
“It’s good to be back.”
She squeezed past Paltronis, muttering about food and demanding people who should starve a few times. Paltronis bit back a grin until Jasyn was safely out of the way.
“I’d really hate to meet her in a dark alley,” Paltronis said. “You have quite the interesting friends.”
“You wouldn’t believe some of the people I’ve met.”
“I’ve heard about some of them. Very impressive.” She cocked her head to one side. “Why don’t you work for Lowell? You’d be a lot safer.”
“I don’t get into these things on purpose.”
She didn’t answer. She just shook her head and sat on the chair. This time she pulled out a small reader, thumbing through several things on it. “You want me to find you a reader? You’re not supposed to go anywhere until at least tomorrow. Lowell’s orders.”
“What about the bathroom?” Parts of my body were checking in. I’d been on the cot for quite a while.
Paltronis set the reader aside. “Latrine is just across the way. Can you walk or do you want carried? Or maybe I could talk Lowell into delivering a groundcar for you.”
“I’ll walk,” I said. I swung my legs off the cot. I wasn’t dizzy. My side still pulled a bit. The pain was a very dull nibbling at the back of my mind. I stood and realized I was barefoot. I frowned at my feet, wiggled toes and wondered why I didn’t care that they were bare. The bottoms of them were covered with a thick layer of bandages.
“It’s grass and a bit of dirt,” Paltronis said. “Nothing that should hurt. Especially with those bandages.” She waited patiently for me.
“I feel fine,” I said, frowning. I was puzzled for a minute until I remembered Lowell’s empath. Apparently her hypnosis had helped with more than just the most recent traumas. Either that or the medtech was extremely gifted herself.
The night outside was soft, the sky still fairly light. A few stars twinkled. The air smelled fresh, of growing things and the recent rain. The camp was situated i
n a small meadow. Several of the huts glowed soft green from lights inside. Warm yellow light came from several lanterns strung high between the rows of huts. It would have looked peaceful except for the number of Enforcers around carrying large weapons.
I used the bathroom. We went back towards the hut I’d been in, Paltronis walking beside me. Her presence kept everyone else away, except for a very determined woman who came out of one of the larger huts. She was dressed in a rich version of poor man’s camping clothes. She stalked down the grassy path between the huts, nose in the air. She caught sight of me and changed her direction. She came at me like a battle tank, determined and unstoppable. Paltronis stepped in front of me. The woman pushed her aside.
“So you’re the one,” she said, eying me up and down. “They thought you looked like me?” It was obvious she considered it an unflattering comparison. She thrust her face close to mine. I took a step back. I didn’t like this person, who must have been Arramiya Daviessbrowun. She squinted. “I guess there’s a general resemblance.” She stepped back. “You have some nerve causing us so much trouble.”
“And you have some nerve talking to her that way,” Paltronis said, menace dripping from every word.
“Would you like to be put on report?” Miya Daviessbrowun glared down her nose at Paltronis.
“I’d like to see you try,” Paltronis answered.
Miya whirled on me, hands on hips. “Don’t think you can get away with anything. Daddy says it was all planned by that Commander Lowell. He sent you here deliberately, trying to make trouble for us.”
I walked away from her. Miya Daviessbrowun was not someone I really wanted to get to know. She came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder. I bit my tongue against the sudden pain.
“No one walks away from me like that,” she said.
Her little scene attracted spectators. They wore uniforms, pale green, tan, black, and a few silver. None of them looked like they cared much for Miya or her daddy.
“Let go of her,” Paltronis said.
“Or what?” Miya yanked at my shoulder.
Paltronis took Miya’s hand in a gentle looking hold. Miya gasped loudly.
“Or I’ll break it,” Paltronis said quietly.
Miya sputtered, wincing every time Paltronis shifted her grip.
“Let her go,” Lowell said, stepping into the circle of watchers. The circle broke up, the spectators moving away. Lowell took Miya’s arm.
“That horrid woman threatened to break my arm,” Miya whined. “I’m going to complain to my daddy about it.” She pouted. It was an act, I could see the real Miya in her eyes, glaring at me.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Lowell said, smoothly pulling her away from me. “It’s what she’s trained to do.”
“People like that should be kept in cages or something,” Miya said, allowing Lowell to lead her back to the large hut.
“She should be in a cage,” Paltronis muttered.
I bit back a grin. “So she’s the one they thought I was?”
“From everything I hear,” Paltronis said as she led me back to my hut, “she’s the one that deserved to be kidnapped. All she’s done is whine and complain.”
“No one deserves Luke.” Though the memories were safely distant, they were still nasty. I’d never felt so helpless in my life. Luke had done it deliberately, a subtle psychological warfare that I’d lost from the beginning.
“No one deserves Miya either,” Paltronis said. “Except maybe her father. He’s actually worse. We’ll keep him away from you.”
“Thanks, I think.”
We reached the hut and I sat on the cot. I wasn’t nearly as well as I thought. My side was starting to ache. I lay down, pulling the blanket over me. Paltronis settled on her chair, apparently for the night.
“Are you going to keep everyone else away, too?” I asked.
Paltronis glanced up from her reader. “Not unless you want me to.”
“That depends on who they are.” I frowned. “Where’s Tayvis?”
She smiled, shaking her head. “Still asleep last I heard.”
There was a soft knock at the door. Clark stuck his head in. “Can I talk to her for a minute?” he asked Paltronis.
“Alone, I assume.” Paltronis took her reader and stepped outside.
Clark came inside. “Jasyn said she told you.”
“That you really are Patrol and that you asked her to marry you and she said yes.” I yawned. “Congratulations, Clark. If you ever hurt her, I will find a way to kill you.”
“Then you’re fine with it?” He looked relieved.
“Welcome aboard the Phoenix.” It felt good to say the name of my ship. I was Dace again. I didn’t have to pretend. I didn’t have to worry about someone killing me if I slipped.
“She said you were but I had to check.” He turned to leave.
“Clark?” I said. He turned back. “Don’t make plans yet, for the wedding.” I had a very sneaky idea.
“Did she ask you?” he said, looking concerned and puzzled.
“Yes. I’m thinking about it.”
“There isn’t a rush,” he said. We heard a loud clatter from outside and the distant sound of shouting. “I’d better get back. She hasn’t been in the best mood lately.”
“I met Miya. I understand.”
He laughed and left.
I went to sleep.
When I woke again it was morning, very early morning. Paltronis dozed in the chair by my bed. I stretched. My side was still a bit tender. I watched the sky outside grow brighter blue. A bird squawked in the bushes. A light breeze ruffled the trees. I felt almost myself again.
The camp outside woke slowly, more people walked past my open door as time passed. The sunlight brightened, shadows grew less dark. I fidgeted and finally decided to get up.
Paltronis opened her eyes as soon as my feet hit the floor. The smell of breakfast cooking floated in on the breeze.
“You feel like eating with the rest of them?” she asked me.
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
She looked out the door at the morning light. “It’s still a bit early for Miya and her daddy to be up. We should be fine.”
“Would you really have broken her hand?”
She smiled, a cold, deliberate smile. I was very glad I wasn’t her enemy.
“Do you want to use the camp showers first?” she asked with a glance at my hair.
I touched it and wished I hadn’t. It was stiff with things that I didn’t really want to think about. I nodded.
I felt much better after I was clean. My hair was still damp. I was surprised to find how long it was getting. I combed it with my fingers.
Paltronis interrupted me by knocking on the door and asking me if I was all right. I finished fastening my borrowed uniform and told her I was fine. We went to breakfast.
Jasyn saw me come into the cooking hut and gave me a quick smile. She was busy behind a monstrous stove. The smells in the hut were marvelous. Paltronis steered me to a corner table, out of sight for most of the hut. We sat on benches, me with my back to the door and facing Jasyn. Paltronis watched the door.
Jasyn brought me a plate. She had a second one for Paltronis. No one else was being served, I noticed. They had to line up by the stove. Clark was back there, sleeves rolled up past his elbows. He had a smudge of flour on his chin.
“You look better today,” Jasyn said to me.
Someone shouted for her. She rolled her eyes and hurried back to cooking.
The food was wonderful, crispy brown cakes with some kind of berry sauce. I was halfway through my plate of them when Lowell came to sit with us. Paltronis got up and took her plate somewhere else as Lowell slid onto the bench. I chewed the bite in my mouth and then pushed my plate away. My appetite was gone.
“What do you want now, Lowell? Are you here to get me to join up?”
“I came by to see how you were doing.” His face and eyes gave nothing away. He cocked his head to one side
, watching me as he slid a salt shaker back and forth on the rough table. “Do you want to join the Patrol? You’d be a lot safer. You’d have backup.”
“What good did it do me here?” I asked tiredly. “You planted Clark on us. Isn’t that backup?”
“We got here before Luke killed you,” Lowell said in his mild voice, as if we were discussing the weather.
“Why are you after me, Lowell? Why me?”
Lowell shifted on the bench, looking away. “Believe it or not, Dace, I do care what happens to you personally. It’s dangerous in my business.” The last was whispered, a comment I’m not sure I was meant to hear. He blinked and looked back at me. “I need you to go to Tivor.”
“I know. Tayvis said something about it. It would destroy me to go back there, Lowell. I can’t.” I’d grown up on Tivor and spent every minute of my childhood fighting to escape. I looked down at my hands, twisting my fingers together on the table top.
“What are you bullying her about this time?” Tayvis spoke behind me. He slid onto the bench next to me.
“Good morning, Ensign Tayvis,” Lowell said, a subtle accent on Tayvis’s rank.
“You want me to jump to attention and salute you? Put me on report, Lowell. I can’t get knocked much lower.”
“You can withdraw your resignation,” Lowell said. “I want you back, Tayvis.”
“Your price is too high.” Tayvis took my hand in his, knowing Lowell was watching. His fingers were warm. “Find someone else, Lowell.”
“I’ve tried.” Lowell looked old and tired, his face more lined than I remembered. “I have to try, Dace. Please, consider my offer.”
“You haven’t made one yet. You’ve told me what you want. What are you willing to give me?”
“You’d actually consider it?” He drummed his fingers on the table.
“No,” I said. I was suddenly sick of it, all of it. I wanted my ship, my own clothes. I wanted far away from anything Patrol. Tayvis squeezed my hand. Everything except Tayvis, I amended.
“I didn’t think you would,” Lowell said.
We were interrupted by a man with a clipboard. He slapped it on the table and glared at Tayvis.
