“No one will ever guess you were a Reeka,” he replied. “Except those who have already seen you.”
“I’ve taken care of it.” Veknor’s dry whisper carried through the room on a dark warning, and the shadows gathered around him.
“How?” Fredri cow?arrco was intrigued.
“Inner demons work so well for me,” Veknor replied, and his laugh this time was dusty and touched with savagery. “Now go. Go and get The Overlord’s approval and leave me to entertain in private.”
Wondering who his friend was going to entertain, but not really wanting to know, either, Fredrico led Rani from the room.
As they walked silently through the fortress, he saw the men and women look at Rani with lust, but there was also fear. It seemed the seductress also held a touch of menace, and in a place like this that was a heady combination. Or maybe it was just to him. For sure, he had to give many of the people who looked twice at Rani a merciless glare, causing them to hurriedly drop their gazes and turn away.
At the door to The Overlord’s chamber Rani laid her hand on Fredrico’s arm and drew him to a stop. Questioningly he looked up at her.
“Fredrico,” she said softly.
“What is it?”
She hesitated only momentarily. “I’m still me.”
“I know.” He smiled. “You’ll always be you, no matter what.”
Her answering smile was small.
“You’ll always be mine,” he added softly. “Never forget that, Rani. Behind the illusion of the dark seductress, I have the Reeka. Always.”
This time her smile was wider.
“Now, it’s time to face the music.” Opening the door, Fredrico gestured expansively. “Enter and dazzle, warrior.”
The Overlord was most pleased.
~ * ~
The Darknen
Striding down the long corridor, The Darknen listened to the screams of the traitor echoing through the air. The fool. Did he really think The Darknen would show mercy?
The time was so close. He had it planned. He had his army. He had everything ready. Soon he would have The Overlord at his mercy, and he would laugh in his face as he tossed his demons aside, slaughtered his army and destroyed his fortress. Did he think he was the only one who controlled demons and monsters?
“Fool.” He laughed. “Such a fool, Overlord.”
Soon the Inner Sanctum of the Outlaw Sector would be his. He would rule, he would crush any rebellion, and he would spill over into the Lawful Sector. The universe and beyond would be his to crush, life and death would be at his whim.
~ * ~
In the little chamber the crystal globe shivered. Black fog roiled, fury made the crystal splinter. The need to destroy was almost all-consuming. Ragged swirls of black fog escaped the cracks to whirl darkly in the air. Raw power surged and ebbed.
Destroy. Kill. It was almost time to be free to annihilate the enemy.
~ * ~
Outlaw Sector, outskirts
Planet Ylan
Witch’s Home
The sleek black space ship was as menacing to look at as the occupants. From the shelter of the veranda Ceri watched it wheel chedize="+through the sky to land nearby. The ramp came down and the man who strode down it looked as menacing as his ship.
He strode up to the bottom step of the veranda and stopped to look silently up at her.
She returned Abra’s regard just as silently. His very bearing was one of quiet confidence. He didn’t question her, he didn’t ask what had happened or seek a reason, he simply asked. “Ready to go?”
Ceri took a deep breath and nodded. When she turned to thank Beulah who stood behind her, the witch woman simply shook her head and smiled. They’d already said their goodbyes.
Following Abra to the bounty hunter ship, Ceri wondered what the future would hold for her. Older in years, yet as young as the day she was first frozen. Younger than those of her sister warriors who she had grown up with and fought beside. An oddity.
Entering the ship, she followed Abra down the corridor. She nodded to Ricna and Vane before entering the cabin to which Abra gestured. It was the same one she’d inhabited previously. It almost felt like home.
“Let’s go,” Abra called out in the corridor. “Set the course for Comll and the Reeka settlement.”
Laying the sword down on the table, she unstrapped the laser belt from her hips and laid it beside the sheathed sword. Sitting on the edge of the bunk, she thought about Comll.
It seemed she was going home after all.
Home. The word was strange to her tongue. Home had always been with her sister. Now it was her alone, in a world she didn’t know anymore, with Reekas who had grown up and matured while she hadn’t aged at all. Sister warriors, true, and some of her own blood, but strangers all now. Time changed people.
Changed all but her.
Just exactly where was she supposed to fit in the new world to which Abra was taking her?
~*~
Inner Sanctum of the Outlaw Sector
Overlord’s Fortress
Exasperated, Rani threw her arms out to the side. “I can’t damn fly! What the bloody hell does that mean?”
“That you can’t fly,” Fredrico replied calmly.
“I could fly when we fought that rotting corpse! I was in the air, blasting power around, shooting the shit out of him. So why can’t I fly now?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
Stomping around the pit, Rani scowled. “It makes no sense.”
Veknor watched her. Beside him The Overlord regarded the pair in the pit with interest and a little bewilderment.
“Why can’t she fly?” The Overlord asked Veknor.
“Power,” Veknor answered. “The fight was laden with mystical power, demon power, all kinds of power. It needs intensity enough to make her flight power kick in.”
“But she can fly if the situation calls for it?”
Veknor listened to the voices whispering beside his ear. Nothing stirred the air, no wraiths shimmered in the sunshine flooding the platform above the pit. But voices, evil, knowing and mystical, whispered to him.
Patiently, The Overlord waited.
Vekn cizeoicor turned his hooded head towards him. “Do not worry. The mystical forces inside her, the demon who rides her soul, will come forth when we need it to. If we need her in the air, she will go up.”
“I’ve never had a flyer.” Intrigued, The Overlord watched her closely. “Beauty, mystery, power. What a delight to have in my midst.” His pupils dilated. “Fredrico is a fortunate man to have one such as she.”
“They are fortunate to have each other.” Veknor edged back into the shade. He didn’t like the sun anymore, he now preferred shadows.
From the platform Veknor and The Overlord continued to watch as Fredrico instructed Rani in her powers, teaching her how to control them. Orange light flared, stones piled in the centre of the pit shattered. A guard nearby exploded, his body simply blowing apart.
The Overlord clapped his hands in delight.
Rani swore.
Fredrico shook his head.
Veknor felt nothing. The guard wasn’t supposed to explode, he’d simply been there to move things as Fredrico instructed. It looked like Rani needed more guidance on her aim, but her power was strong and deadly and when combined with Fredrico’s, well, it was devastating.
He’d watched them practice, he’d guided them himself, ensuring their darkness merged without sexual heat. Now that had been a surprise he hadn’t expected. Fredrico’s darkness and Rani’s orange malevolence together produced pure, unbridled lust between them. Dark desire, cruel carnality, lust in its basest form seemed to override them whenever their powers combined for a lengthy time. That had been something none of them had realized until after a full hour of them merging their power, Fredrico had taken her down onto the ground with every intent of ravishing her, and she’d been a more than willing, though fighting, partner.
Even The Overlord had lo
oked startled for the very first time that Veknor could ever remember.
Veknor had strode into the pit and grabbed Fredrico’s shoulder, and that had been the dowser on their lust. His power, a cold, red light, had speared through Fredrico and into Rani, effectively smothering their carnal desires. Rani had tossed Fredrico aside like a sack of sand and leaped to her feet, rapidly back-peddling until the wall of the big pit was at her back. Fredrico had walked around in a full circle, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands before coming to a stop and taking deep, calming breaths. Veknor had just stood there and thought about the whole thing.
And the voices had provided the answer.
That was why they needed each other. Rani and Fredrico were deadly on their own, but their powers consumed each other and when entwined for too long, it flared into unbridled lust. Veknor was their steadying influence, his power washing away the lust to leave them just deadly. His presence kept them focused.
Wasn’t that just ironic? If he’d been the person he was before becoming a dark mystic he’d have found it amusing. Now it was just interesting, something he had to learn how to control to work for them.
It hadn’t been easy. At first Rani was resistant to even letting her malice override her, and it was only The Overlord’s order that had made her reluctantly obey. Fredrico, as usual, didn’t say much, but Veknor could sense when tension rode him, and that was when Rani was inwardly upset. Her anger and ranting his friend could take without a twitch of the eyebrow, but when something really upset her, even though she never showed it outwardly, Fred ctwa couldrico would tense up. Veknor could feel it. It made him wonder how far Fredrico would go for Rani, who he would defy, and what he would risk for the Reeka. Veknor had no doubt it would be everything.
But that wasn’t a worry because they were all tied together and nothing would get between them. He’d personally see to that, as The Overlord’s dark mystic... and as Fredrico’s friend.
Time passed as Fredrico guided Rani, and Veknor guided all three of them into combining their powers into a single deadly source. Several days passed and The Overlord watched.
And the voices whispered to Veknor.
He, Rani, and Fredrico were making great strides of progress, but it wasn’t fast enough. He knew it, the mystical forces knew it, and spies with news confirmed it.
The Darknen was powerful and they needed to be in control of their powers to fight effectively. Fredrico was a calm user, focused because he’d had several years to learn about his own power. He only had to learn to merge them with Rani’s effectively. But Rani was still new to the whole thing and when she grew impatient it was liable to be a little unpredictable, as proven by exploding the hapless guard.
Two nights later as he stood in his lonely chamber, he felt the familiar presence in his grey-tendriled sanctuary, and he went inside himself to seek it out.
::You’re back.:: He knew better this time than to search for the owner of the voice. This time he stood still.
::I’ve been back several times.::
A small smile played around his lips, surprising him. ::I know. I felt you.::
::But you didn’t throw me out.::
::No.::
::Huh.:: The expression was so young.
::Do you come seeking shelter again, little one?::
::No. Yes. Maybe.::
::So many choices. Which is it?::
The answer didn’t come straight away. He felt the air stir in his sanctuary as though someone was pacing. He looked, straining to see through the drifting grey, but refusing to reach out with any powers for fear of scaring the intruder away. Somehow, the presence was almost... comforting.
::You need to fight now.::
::Fight?::
::I know what you plan. I see it.:: A faint touch in his mind, a brushing of small fingers that startled him.
Now he wasn’t so sure this intruder wasn’t a little more dangerous than he thought.
::The Darknen:: The young voice sounded a little fainter. ::You need to attack now. You need to fight now.::
::What do you know of The Darknen?:: Veknor spoke more sharply than he intended.
The presence retreated quickly.
::Don’t go!:: Knowing it could be the worst thing he could do, Veknor stopped himself from stepping forward. He lowered his voice, forced calmness into it. ::What can you tell me?::
::Just attack. Attack now. Now!::
There was a sudden rush of wind, cold and bleak, whipping the grey tendrils around and blocking his vision.
::Wait. I need to k c. I cold now more! How can I trust you if you don’t show yourself?::
The wind dropped as suddenly as it started. He could feel the intruder still in his sanctuary, and then small fingers touched his eyes and a young voice ordered harshly, ::See!::
He saw, and he screamed. The vision tore through him, staggering him back. The past and the present, and the answer to it all.
He couldn’t even begin to recover from it before there was a familiar ripping of his psyche and then nothing. The intruder was gone.
But the vision and answer was now Veknor’s.
Coming down into his physical body, he took a deep breath and felt the air whistle through his dry throat. Leaving his chamber, he sought out The Overlord.
~ * ~
Lying in what had become her usual spot, in Fredrico’s bed with his arm around her and her head pillowed on his chest, Rani watched the small glow lamp turn lazily on the wall across the room. Of everything she did, sharing her body with this man was the only thing she enjoyed and to which she looked forward. Well, that and just being in his company. Basically, she simply enjoyed being with Fredrico, even though he did annoy her with the ease with which he wielded his powers.
Okay, annoyed and impressed.
She was even more impressed with his control of the calming violet streak that shimmered through them both. He could draw it forth to calm her, to turn rough sex into gentle loving, to gauge her mood and react accordingly. He swore she did it to him but she doubted she had the same ability. Maybe it was just better to accept that something alien that dwelled inside them along with their darkness just seemed to know exactly what they needed and when it was required.
Whichever it was, the violet had seeped through them this night and their lovemaking had been gentle, passionate, and caring. They didn’t take from each other but gave, and now they lay quietly, contentedly, in each other’s arms.
In this hellhole they called home, they’d found their own private heaven.
Fredrico drew lazy circles on her arm, and she snuggled into him. “How did someone like you ever end up in this place?”
“Blind stupidity and an over inflated ego,” he replied.
“Really?” Curiosity piqued, she came up on one elbow to look down at him.
He met her gaze steadily. “I was a two-bit space pirate, full of myself and ready to take on the universe for every real and imagined grudge.”
“So how did you end up in The Overlord’s service?”
“It started as small jobs for bigger outlaws, and when I was unbelievably stupid and would have a go at anything no matter how dangerous, I came to the attention of The Overlord. I thought I was such a big man, working for the fearsome Overlord. Turned out I was bloody stupid.”
“You got so far enmeshed there was no way out.”
“Veknor tried to warn me.” He twined a lock of her hair around his finger.
“He was here before you?”
“A couple of years before me, long enough to know what I was getting into. I didn’t listen, of course.” Fredrico’s grin was humourless. “The ego thing again.”
“You don’t seem to have an ego.” Resting her palm cingThon his chest, she felt the steady thump of his heart beneath.
“You soon lose it out here.”
“Is that why you’re so close to Veknor? Because he taught you the ropes?”
“I’m close to Veknor because he watched out for me,
taught me what I needed to know, and he saw me through my darkest days.”
Rani studied his sombre, handsome face. “He was your closest friend.”
“And still is.” Fredrico sighed. “When I was lonely, when I battled my personal demons, when I struggled with my powers, Veknor was there. He laughed at me, with me, made me see humour, guided me, and helped me to accept what I had become. He was my lifeline.”
She thought about Veknor as she’d first met him, his handsome, ebony face, his quiet manner, his self-assuredness. “I can see him doing that.”
“I won’t ever forsake him, Rani. If he needs me, I’ll be there.”
She met his gaze steadily. “We’ll be there.”
His eyes warmed, and he drew her down to kiss her tenderly on the lips. “I have a best friend and now my own woman, my light in a dark tunnel.”
“Flatterer.” She grinned down at him. “Ceri would laugh herself sick if she heard that.” As soon as the words left her mouth, tightness filled her chest and she glanced away.
Almost immediately Fredrico’s hand threaded through her hair to cup the back of her head, and he guided her down again until she reclined once more against his chest. His hand slowly traced up and down her spine, and she relaxed against him with a quiet sigh.
“My turn.” The words were a soft rumble in her ear. “What was the young Rani like as a child?”
She couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips. “A devil, my mother said.”
“Your favourite memory?”
“The local boys trying to court me.”
“And was there one special boy?”
“No. I was seventeen and a shocking flirt. It drove my parents to distraction.”
“You were close to your family.”
“All Reekas are close. It’s a tribal thing. Was, I guess. I don’t know what is happening now. I guess... I guess I never will.” She couldn’t hide the wistfulness in her voice.
Fredrico’s hand came up and around to cup her shoulder and he hugged her close. “You and I, Rani, have closeness. We have that something special that binds us.”
“Violet lights? Demons? Hot sex?” She tried for a joke to lighten the mood, not wanting to dwell on the past and what she could never have with her family again.
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