Val paused. He was right, she didn't make sex jokes. She didn't have time for them, usually. She shook the thought away and continued. "When I killed their host they faced imminent deactivation. I knew they'd killed me too. It was harder and harder to focus and think and my body wouldn't respond to what I told it to do anymore. So with my last thoughts I grabbed onto the one and only thing that made sense. I invited them to join with me."
Dag'on's lips were parted as he stared at her. His black eyes seemed less bottomless and more awed and horrified. "You… you mean you're part machine?"
Val shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Better than death, anyhow. They bonded with me and are a part of me now. I don't know if I'm part machine or not. They kept me alive until I could heal and recover— in fact they even helped me do that faster. If I lost them all I don't think I'd suffer for it, other than the fact that I've come to rely on them."
He stared for several long seconds and then shook himself. "But how do they know what to do? I mean… you didn't tell them anything, or program them, or… I don't even know. How do you command them?"
Val reached up and tapped the side of her head. He noticed her fingernails were black, matching her new outfit. "They're up here too. That was his masterpiece, creating nanobots capable of integrating with the mind and understanding thoughts. I don't need to know how to program them, they know how to translate what I want into what they need. A change of clothes, a disguise, or simple blades and weapons."
He whistled. "That's… I don't know."
"Amazing?" she suggested.
"I was going for disturbing or frightening," he said. "Sorry."
She shrugged. "Understandable. A human with something that threatens metas and their natural powers is bound to ruffle some feathers. That's why nobody knows but me and, well, now you."
His eyes widened. "Seriously? Nobody else?"
She shook her head. "I've never told anyone."
He frowned. "Why me?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "Probably a combination of Brill's blessing cooling me down and your pheromones sneaking their way into my head and loosening me up towards you."
"Well… I'm honored," he said. "I hope there's nothing after this contract is over that causes me to betray that trust."
Valerie frowned. "What could cause that?"
"Since there was no confidentiality clause in this contract, another contract could force me to divulge it. The odds are long, after all, mostly I end up bound to clients that desire pleasure."
Val gave him a steely look and asked, "You have no code of honor or decency?"
He sighed. "I do, and I use that to negotiate my contracts accordingly. Most of the time there is no problem. Save for times, like this, where I had no control over my contract. I believe I have a privileged life most of the time, but this is a considerable offset I've never had to deal with before."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said.
He winced. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be difficult. I am trying to be as honest and fair as I can be."
She shrugged. "It is what it is."
"What does that even mean?" he asked. "I've heard it many times, but it's never made sense. Of course it is what it is, otherwise it would be something else. Whatever it is."
Val smirked. "Roll with it. That's what the saying is all about. Not much that can be done so don't worry about it, just take the hit and keep on going."
Dag'on sighed. "Well, you're secret is as safe with me as can be. So long as no one other than you ever binds me in a contract like this one."
Val nodded. "Good. I'll make sure that doesn't happen then."
He studied her for a moment and then glanced away when she offered him nothing more. He only stared out the window for a few minutes before he turned back to her. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but why do you want to hate metas so much? Other than the obvious, I mean."
"The obvious?"
"Most of us are arrogant. I am too, I admit it, but I like to think I'm different because I've spent so much time with humans. Intimately, I mean. I've gotten to know them and gotten an understanding of how humans think and feel. You're strong, in your own way, even if you don't have special powers and abilities. Well, most humans don't."
Val smirked at the end of his explanation. "Yes, most don't, but we still find a way. The condescension metas give us is irritating, but it's not all that bad."
"It's not?"
"Not unless I'm already in a bad mood," she said.
He nodded and waited for her to continue. He was about to give up when she opened her mouth.
"Metas killed my… well, what was he. I call him my fiancé, but our engagement was a thing of words. He hadn't gotten me a ring yet. Not because he wasn't sure, we just weren't worried about it. We had our whole lives ahead of us."
Dag'on let out a soft grunt. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, me too," she whispered. Val shrugged. "That was seven years ago. More or less. He was with a friend practicing some spells and something went very wrong. The metas they were practicing on— goblins— broke free and attacked. Tark was killed, either by them or in the fire and collapse that followed as the goblins broke free."
Dag'on winced. "Goblins… savage and crude, but dangerous when cornered. You say they were practicing spells on them?"
"Yes, charms and protective enchantments. They weren't hurting them."
Dag'on sniffed. "Would you feel threatened if someone practiced spells on you?"
Val held up a hand. "I know, they just wanted to escape. And at the time humans and metas were at war with each other. Still, they took away the only thing that mattered to me. I joined the Army right after that so I could fight back, but it never filled the hole."
"I'm beginning to understand," Dag'on said. "So now you fight to save metas because of the ones you killed?"
Val smirked. "Hardly. Those deaths were justified. We were at war and I was saving human lives. That was my job."
Dag'on bowed his head. "From a soldier's perspective, that makes sense. Much like my contracts, I must do what is required in them."
Val considered what he said before responding, "I guess on some level that makes sense."
"What about your boyfriend's friend? Did he survive?"
"She," Val corrected. "I was told she didn't. I didn't stick around long enough to ask questions."
"I'm sorry again."
"Don't be. Turns out she survived."
"Oh! Well that's good. Have you and she gotten together to talk about it?"
"Where do you think we're going?"
Dag'on blinked as he digested her words. "She… you mean… she's the necromancer?"
"Apparently," Val said before turning to look out the window. The ground and building were covered with snow, proving they'd entered the cold zone. A chill passed through her that rivaled the stark white beauty of the snow and ice outside.
The Zipper rounded a cluster of buildings and passed along an open section that led to a gated and fenced off area. It was a cemetery, although in the cold zone most of the tombs were above ground. The Zipper neared the station and slowed before descending.
"Is it cold in the Warrens here too?" Dag'on asked.
"Not quite as bad," she said. "But remember to be thankful for the cold."
"Why in the hell would I be thankful?"
"Because if you're cold, it means you can still feel. That means you're still alive."
Dag'on's lips parted in a gasp as the Zipper door opened and cold air swirled in and threatened to steal their breath. He clutched his arms to his chest and flexed his muscles instinctively to try and keep his body heat.
Val stepped out of the Zipper and waited. "Last chance to go home," she suggested.
He hesitated and then followed her. "And miss a chance to repay your favor? No way."
She nodded and started walking ahead. The snow eddied and swirled around her but she ignored it and kept moving to the inevitable confro
ntation she would give anything to avoid.
Chapter 10
"Mephisto's balls, it's cold out here!" Dag'on sputtered as he followed Val into the cemetery. "How are you not freezing?"
"Nanotech," she said over her shoulder. It was true, her machines were keeping her warm even though she could feel the cold starting to seep into her skin. The problem was the high energy burn her nanobots had to use to keep her warm was degrading them. Without a fuel source they were cannibalizing themselves. They could feed on the glucose in her blood or even her flesh if it was necessary, but she rarely reached that point. The nanobots were great for keeping her body in bikini shape year round though.
Val led the way to the office near the front of the cemetery and tried the door. It was locked, earning another curse from Dag'on. She tried the buzzer and waited for over a minute.
Dag'on stomped his feet and rubbed his arms. "Now what? Explore on our own?"
"This shouldn't be locked and unattended," Val said. "At least not during daylight hours. This is odd."
"Maybe the caretaker is out doing rounds or fell ill today?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Fell ill? When was the last time you knew anyone that had a legitimate sick day? Other than because of a serious injury or disease?"
Dag'on shrugged.
Val turned back and put her hand on the cold metal door. Some of her nanobots swirled down her poured onto the metal and around the edge of the door that was too thin for even the thinnest of knives. She waited and watched as the grey film on the door thinned but never disappeared. After several seconds the nanobots rushed back up her arm, bringing a fresh warm that surged through her arm all the way to her shoulder before it faded.
"What are you doing?" Dag'on hissed through chattering teeth.
Val pushed on the door and smiled as it swung inward. She stepped in out of the wind and stepped aside so he could follow.
"You destroyed the lock? How?" he sputtered as he looked down at the edge of the door.
"Every girl's got a few tricks up her sleeve," Val said and pushed the door shut. She looked around the small entry room and decided on a nearby chair. She grabbed it and pushed it against the door, wedging it shut.
"Is it cold in here or am I still numb?"
Val nodded. "The heat's off or turned down. Saving energy while no one's here, maybe?"
Dag'on grunted. "Well someone's here now, let's see if we can turn it back up."
"I hope we're not here that long," she said.
"Okay, so what are we doing then? Is there an entrance to the Warrens in here?"
She shook her head. "I doubt it. I'm not sure where it would be, but I'll know it when I see it."
"How?"
"I went to the wizard academy for a year, but I can't use magic. I am, however, an adept."
His eyes widened. "You're full of surprises! Like a physical adept, or just one that can sense magic?"
"I considered going down the physical path, but it would require working with too many wizards and witches. After what happened, I wasn't ready to face that. So no, I can only sense magic."
"Pity, having someone able to punch holes in walls and dodge bullets would have come in handy."
Val stopped herself from defending her choices. He had no right knowing any of her past or her reasons. She kept spilling more and more of it though. She had to stop doing that, it was dangerous. Dangerous for her and maybe even for him. She had enemies, after all. Humans and metas she'd put away. Many of them wouldn't be imprisoned forever.
Val pushed the troubling worries away and said, "I do all right on my own."
He grunted and studied the fog of air he'd breathed out into the chilly office.
"Look for anything unusual or suspicious," she said. "Anything out of place or something that doesn't make sense."
"Like us?"
Val smirked. "Yes, like us."
Dag'on began to look through the small lobby. Val kept an eye on him as he fumbled about and proved he had no clue what he was doing. She moved into the adjoining office and looked the desk and decorations over before she started opening drawers and going through them. Dag'on joined her after a few minutes and watched her examine the contents of the drawers and check for hidden spaces in them.
"Nothing," she said as she closed the last drawer and straightened.
"Now what?"
She walked up to him and slipped past him, coming close enough to brush against his muscled chest on her way through the doorway. "We keep looking," she said and turned her back on him.
What was wrong with her? She barely even noticed his pheromones any more, had she finally gotten used to them or had they stopped working? Or worse, had they gotten to her and that was why she was acting like this. It was mild teasing and flirting, at best, but for her that was significant. She clenched her jaw and noticed that Dag'on had already checked out the restroom off the lobby. That left the door that led back into the rest of the building facilities.
She tried the door and pushed it open. A sign on the door read, "Employees Only," but relying on that instead of a lock to keep people out was an open invitation. She walked through and looked down the hallway. Three doors faced her, one on either side of the hallway and a third door at the end.
Her hand slid down to her hip and brushed across the fabric of her jumper. She frowned. Her gun was in her apartment and her nanobots had worked through the fuel the lock provided them. In a normal environment they could be powered from her body heat alone, as long as they weren't doing anything other than lying dormant and waiting. Providing warmth to her, on the other hand, created an energy deficit.
Val looked around for another energy source. The problem was she'd already broken into the building without obtaining a warrant or even reasonable evidence to justify her actions. Vandalism would make things worse if they found nothing. That left her with one option. She set her jaw and gave the tiny machines permission to feed.
Her body warmed from the inside as the nanobots flowing through her arteries feasted and shared their energy with their brothers. In seconds she felt them all active and on standby awaiting instructions.
"What's wrong?" Dag'on asked, clueless to the internal metamorphosis she was undergoing. "Which door do you want to try first?"
Rather than answer him with words her nanobots flowed down her arm and filled her palm with mass. The mass swelled and grew, stretching out and taking the familiar shape of an eight inch knife with a very sharp edge on either side of the blade.
"Oh! You can… wow!"
Val flashed him a weary smile and lifted a finger to her pale lips to indicate silence. She moved to the door on the left first and waited for him to move closer. She took a breath and tried the handle. It turned in her hand without resistance or noise.
She nodded and pushed. The door swung in but she didn't let go. An empty table long enough for a body was in the middle of the small medical office. Counters and cabinets lined the walls, including several vials, jars, and tools that were lying haphazardly about. The table was empty, save for some dried and frozen stains.
Val blinked and focused on seeing the auras in the room. It was as dull and lifeless as it first appeared. She scowled and turned around, prepared to call the entire thing off. A jar on the counter caught her attention. It was practically glowing with leftover magic.
"What is it?" Dag'on hissed when he saw her staring at the jar.
Val picked up the jar and looked inside of it. There were traces of some sort of liquid inside the jar. A viscous liquid that couldn't easily be poured or drained out. She reached in and scooped her fingers along the edge of the jar, wiping a smudge of it free. She held her finger up and watched as the leftover sludge glistened on her skin and began to sink into her flesh.
Her eyes narrowed. She commanded her nanobots to attack and watched them rush down her arm and swarm over the substance. She felt her finger tingling as it served as a battleground for the tiny machines. In seconds it was over, the sludge wa
s gone. Her finger felt like it was on fire though, and the fire was spreading as the nanobots swarmed back up her arm and retook their place as tattoos.
"What just happened?" Dag'on asked in a low voice.
Val shook her head and watched her arm. The warmth spread across her chest and to the rest of her body, filling the nanobots with energy greater than they could store and forcing them to vent the remainder as heat.
"Val, you're red. What's going on?"
She shook her head again and set the knife on the counter top next to the jar. She used her hands to rip at the shoulder straps of her top and pulled her arms out of it. She had to push the figure hugging garment down her body so she could stand nude in the room while her body got hotter and hotter.
"What— this isn't good! Should I get someone or do something? Do you need water or medicine or something?""
Val held up a hand and croaked, "Wait."
He hesitated and nodded while she endured the waves of heat. It kept building, causing sweat to bead on her forehead and drip down her face, neck, and between her breasts. Still she waited until, at last, the heat plateaued and then began to lessen. It decreased drastically, dropping to nearly nothing in a matter of seconds.
"You're sweating? What in the hell…"
"It's over," she whispered. Now that the energy surplus gone the cold began to set back in, chilling her worse than before with the fresh sweat on her skin. She bent over and grabbed her jumpsuit and pulled it back up her body. She stretched it out getting her arms back through the shoulder straps and pulling it back in place. She tugged at the neckline and noticed how her frantic attempt to take it off had popped stitches and stretched it beyond simple repair. "Oops."
"Can't you fix it like you did before?"
She nodded. "Yes, but I have to be careful," she said. "Every time I change something there's less and less of the material I can work with, unless I add something else to it. That and my nanobots need energy, I have to manage that. Fighting off that potion wiped them out and destroyed a few hundred thousand from overcharging."
"Hundred thousand?" he gasped. "You have that many?"
Arrested in Peace (The Complex Book Series) Page 7
