Out of Orbit- The Complete Series Boxset

by Chele Cooke

  A sudden pain of longing gripped her and she wondered about her family, whether they were safe and travelling well. She ran her fingers delicately over the nose of the carved wolf.

  “You were bought by the guard?” Nyah prompted again, taking a seat at the table.

  Georgianna followed Nyah and slipped into one of the seats opposite her.

  “Didn’t they tell you? Keiran and Halden made a deal.”

  “No one told me anything, apart from Taye saying that you were out,” Nyah said. “I’ve not seen any of them much. Alec would make the trip out here occasionally, but not since his brother…”

  She rested her chin in her hand, frowning deeply.

  “I’ve not even been able to see him to tell him how sorry I am. I knew Landon, even though I’d not seen him in a while.”

  “Why can’t you see him? Alec, I mean.”

  “Taye’s worried. He thinks I’ll be caught. I swear I’ve been locked in this house for…”

  Her eyes widened in horror and she grasped Georgianna’s hands.

  “Oh, Gianna, I didn’t mean… I’m sorry. I can’t compare this to…”

  “Nyah,” Georgianna warned, rolling her eyes. “You can be annoyed, you know. You were locked away far worse than I was.”

  Nyah nodded slowly.

  “I guess that I just thought things would be different. I thought I’d have my life back. Instead I’m in this house, day after day.”

  “At least Taye isn’t Maarqyn. He loves you.”

  She nodded and ran her finger around a knot in the wood.

  “The guard, does he treat you well?”

  Georgianna picked at her fingernail. With everything she knew about Edtroka, and about Keiran, she didn’t really want to talk about either of them. She didn’t know where to start.

  “Yes, he’s fine,” she said. “Much better than Maarqyn, I imagine.”

  “Volsonne Guinnyr did have a… a way of getting his point across.”

  Leaning closer, she reached out and placed her hand on top of Nyah’s. Her friend would hardly meet her eye and, since mentioning the commander, most of the colour had drained from her face.

  “What happened there?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary, for an Adveni, I suppose,” she murmured. “He was… I don’t know. I mean there were times when he was almost nice, though it usually came with wanting something.”

  “Alec speaks of him like he’s the worst of the lot of them.”

  “Alec got the shouting and the violence,” Nyah admitted. “It was different for me.”

  “He didn’t…”

  Nyah nodded.

  “Suns, Nyah,” Georgianna whispered. “I’m sorry. I wondered, but… I mean, I know you must not be alright, but does… does Taye know?”

  Nyah looked at her with a sudden fire and defiance that Georgianna had not seen in a long time. She had always been someone to get what she wanted and Georgianna knew the young blonde had made a decent living for the Carae, but she’d never seen her so determined.

  “No, and he’s not going to,” she said firmly. “Even Alec doesn’t… not really. He has his suspicions, but I don’t want pity, Gianna.”

  “No, no, I’m sorry.”

  “The annoying thing is Alec won’t listen to the information I overheard because of it.”

  “Maarqyn talked about work in front of you?”

  “Not often, but there were a few times. I overheard a conversation he was having with a woman. They were discussing the Volsonnar or, at least, his name came up. Then, they were talking about a dtyosyn.”

  “Dtyosyn?”

  “It’s Adtvenis for traitor,” Nyah explained. “I heard Maarqyn use it on Alec enough times that I thought they were talking about him, but they weren’t. The woman, she called the person they were discussing ‘brother’. I figured that it had to be another Adveni.”

  Georgianna jumped to her feet, knocking the chair over.

  “And Alec didn’t believe you?”

  Nyah watched her in shock for a moment before she shook her head.

  “Alec is…” she dropped her head. “He’s sure that there is a traitor in the Belsa, someone who’s selling information. He thinks that it’s why you were caught. He said that even if what I heard were true, he wouldn’t risk telling the Belsa anything right now.”

  She couldn’t breathe. A hole in the bottom of her stomach opened up and began sucking out her insides. Both sides were sure that they had a traitor and Maarqyn seemed positive he knew who it was. The woman Nyah had overheard had to have been Ehnisque. Had Edtroka’s purchase of her confirmed their suspicions?

  What was worse, she knew now that Alec had never believed her story about Keiran. Had he, like Maarqyn, been waiting for his suspicions to be confirmed? However bad she had felt about lying to her friends, she realised now that Alec had never trusted her. He probably thought she was a traitor too. What would happen when Keiran returned and he told them a different story to her lie?

  “I’ve got to go,” Georgianna mumbled, picking up the chair and shoving it under the table with a bang.

  “Gianna?”

  “I’m sorry,” she called, flying towards the door. “I’ll come back, but… but I think Alec is about to ruin everything.”

  Her sides seized, sending spasms of pain through her. With every footstep, another jolt wrenched through her stomach. She couldn’t move fast enough. She couldn’t get enough people out of her way. Through the camps and down into the tunnels, Georgianna ran as fast as she could, panic growing with every step. If Alec hadn’t believed her, she had to make sure that she saw him before Keiran returned.

  She didn’t care that she’d been questioning Keiran’s loyalties herself. Even with Edtroka still keeping the details of his plan a secret from her, she knew that she couldn’t let it all go down in flames. If she could only explain, get Alec to hold off long enough, he would see that Keiran wasn’t a traitor; that he was trying to do more than they possibly could alone. Even Alec’s own blind bias against the Adveni couldn’t sway the entire Belsa. Though she had been angry at Beck before, she knew that he would listen and see reason. But her legs couldn’t move fast enough to keep up with her racing thoughts.

  She would leave a note for Keiran, telling him that it was urgent he found her. Then, she could find Alec and try to stop him from making a huge mistake. If he didn’t listen, Beck would have to be her last call.

  She dodged around the people travelling the main lines. Without pausing, she ducked into the Belsa tunnels and sprinted along the line. A light directed at her face brought her skidding to a halt. It was the light from a rifle sight and it blinded her. Georgianna huffed and lifted her hands high above her head, crossing her wrists.

  “I need to get past.”

  “Hold up a second,” the guard replied.

  “No, I can’t, I need to get in now,” she panted.

  The guard walked closer and though he dropped the rifle slightly once he had a clearer look at her face, he didn’t move to put it away.

  “Afraid I can’t, Medic.”

  “What?”

  “I got orders.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Her voice cracked as her throat tightened in fear.

  “Been told that you’re not to enter.”

  She couldn’t breathe. She could barely think straight. There was no reason that she shouldn’t have been allowed access to the tunnels. Beck had asked her to find information on Edtroka for them, so he couldn’t have written her off.

  Her stomach clenched. She lowered her hands, pressing them against her abdomen. There was only one thing that could have made Beck send out orders like this: something was going on inside that they didn’t want her involved with. Something personal. Something, perhaps, involving Keiran.

  She looked over her shoulder, taking a step away from the guard. She could run to find another entrance, but Beck wouldn’t have told this guard alone not to let her pass. Any line
she tried would be the same. She needed to get inside and explain.

  It was stupid, being stuck here. She didn’t know how severe the orders Beck had given were, but he had also told her that he’d never forgive himself if anything happened to her because of him.

  She straightened up.

  “If you’re going to stop me, you’re going to have to shoot me.”

  “Come on, Med, don’t do this.”

  “Let me past or shoot me.”

  Beck wouldn’t have given orders for her to be shot, she knew that much. Restrained maybe, but not shot. He had known her since she was born. Whatever he had asked of the guards, she was relatively sure that killing her was not an option. Georgianna stepped forwards.

  Sure enough, he didn’t raise his rifle.

  She swung, knocking the rifle sideways as the guard wrestled with the idea of whether to threaten to shoot her or not. Georgianna didn’t pause. Launching herself along the tunnel, the gloom swallowing her as an echo chased her between the walls.

  “Marshall, this is the black line. Lennox is in the tunnels. I couldn’t stop her.”

  Georgianna took the first turning she found. The black line was one of the largest tunnels out of the Belsa encampment and easily the most populated. Keiran’s shack was on the other side, further east, and she didn’t want to be held up again. The smaller tunnels were thankfully quiet. Georgianna ran full pelt through the dark, bouncing off walls and ricocheting around corners.

  Before long, footsteps came up behind her, the thud of heavy boots hitting stone. At one point, she thought she saw the light of a rifle splash against her feet but she didn’t look back to see.

  Keiran’s shack was in sight. Through the low light she could see the sheen of sheet metal. There were people gathered on the far side. A shoulder peeked out from where the tarpaulin covered the entrance. Georgianna skidded to a stop. A groan of pain echoed down the tunnel.

  Keiran was in there. She was too late. He’d returned before she could tell him the story, before he’d seen Edtroka and had been warned that people suspected him. She’d let him walk in, unaware, and now she might be too late.

  Slipping her bag from her shoulder, she placed it down silently, nudging it against the wall with her foot. She crept a few steps forwards to peer around the side of the shack, wondering if she could get the jump on them. She didn’t have the fighting skill to fend any of them off, but if she caught them by surprise, she might be able to get past. Georgianna took a deep breath and launched herself forwards.

  Strong arms wrapped around her waist before she’d reached the first man. They lifted her off the ground, holding her kicking and screaming in mid-air. She had been so determined to reach the shack, to reach Keiran and Alec, that she hadn’t cared whether Beck would send people after her once she had passed the guard. She continued to scream, kick and claw, trying to pry herself out of the grasp of her unknown assailant.

  “George, come on, stop.”

  “Wrench, let me go!” she howled.

  A thud preceded another pained cry that rattled from the shack.

  Her nails left dark welts in Wrench’s skin. She smacked her head back against his jaw. He still didn’t let her go.

  “How can you… You can’t let them do this!”

  “Please,” he groaned. “Stop!”

  She could hear the pain in his voice, but she didn’t care. She didn’t know how Wrench could stand by and let them do this, how he could hold her back from stopping it.

  Falling limp in his arms, Georgianna felt his grasp loosen a little. She hung from his arms, tears gathering along her lashes. She panted and pushed herself back up. Wriggling around in his grasp, she turned to face him. This was hurting him, it was all over his face, but he was determined.

  “Please, Eli,” she whispered. “You’re wrong about him.”

  He shook his head.

  Georgianna steeled herself and pushed her foot off the ground. Driving her knee upwards, she slammed it between his legs. Wrench seemed to realise what was about to happen but didn’t let go. He howled and staggered backwards. Hunched over, he couldn’t grasp Georgianna as she flung herself away from him towards the shack.

  The men surrounding the entrance had heard the commotion she’d caused and turned towards her. They steeled themselves as she flung herself at them in a barrage of limbs and blonde hair.

  “KEIRAN!”

  Georgianna screamed and swore as two of the men grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back from the shack. Her kicks drove into shins, her fists smacked against arms and chests, but she couldn’t get free. Wrench, gathering himself, grabbed her around the middle again, but it was too late, the tarpaulin was being tugged back.

  “KEIRAN!” Georgianna screamed again.

  “What is she doing here?”

  Alec stepped out from beneath the tarpaulin.

  “I told you to keep her away.”

  “Tried,” Wrench coughed.

  “What did you do?” Georgianna spat. “Alec, what did you do?”

  He looked everywhere but at her. His jaw tightened as he glared past her. Without a word, he shook his head and turned away. Georgianna wrestled against the men holding her. The tarpaulin was pulled back again. Light flickered out into the tunnel and a man was shoved forwards.

  Keiran hit the ground with a thud. He took a rattling breath and coughed up a mixture of saliva and blood onto the tunnel floor. Bruises covered every inch of flesh she could see. His shirt had been torn down the back. Dirt and boot treads were pressed into his arms. Georgianna’s heart was ripped through her chest as she sobbed.

  “Keiran, Keiran, I’m sorry. I tried!”

  “I’d keep quiet if I were you,” Alec warned. “You’re…”

  “Don’t talk to me!” Georgianna growled murderously. “Don’t you fucking talk to me.”

  A boot collided with Keiran’s side.

  “Up! Get up, vtensu!”

  “George…” Keiran coughed.

  “I said, get up!”

  A man stepped forwards. Pulling his rifle from his back, he shoved it forwards, slamming the butt into the back of Keiran’s head. His chin hit the ground with a crack, bringing another grunt. Blood stained a patch of the floor.

  His shirt fell open across the back of his shoulder as he pushed himself up. Any fight Georgianna had in her was snatched away in a single moment. Blood was smeared across his skin, oozing from a series of gouges in his flesh. Salt was dissolving in the blood, but she could see the white lines where they’d buried it in his flesh. These men, Alec included, had carved a criminal symbol into Keiran’s shoulder. It was a banishment mark any Veniche would recognise, but she’d never actually seen it on a person.

  Grutt.

  It was usually scrawled on walls, an accusation carved into a house. The person who lived there sold information, they betrayed their own, they were worse than the Adveni. Seeing that mark, no one would ever treat Keiran the same again.

  Tell me, how many does it take to pin a man down while you carve out his flesh?

  Georgianna covered her mouth, staring at the mark. She’d never considered it before. She’d been told about the marks, even seen one or two before the Adveni arrived, but she’d never stopped to think about the way they must have howled and cried in pain. How men with expressions of loathing and anger would pin them down while one approached with a knife.

  It took a long time for Keiran to push himself to his feet. Swift kicks to the ribs from the surrounding Belsa only crumpled him down again. His energy to fight was gone. Finally on his feet, he wavered as he looked at her.

  Her breath caught in her throat. She pulled against the men holding her, trying to reach him and tell him that it would be alright. She would make sure that it was alright. Wrench and the other man tugged her back even further while the others surrounded Keiran.

  Two men grasped his arms and began leading him down the tunnel.

  “Where are you taking him?”

  “He�
��s being taken up top,” Wrench murmured from behind her, his grasp finally loosening enough that she could catch her breath. She didn’t. “We can’t have traitors down here, George.”

  “You’re banishing him?”

  Wrench was silent for a long moment as Keiran and the other men disappeared from sight.

  “No,” he muttered. “They’re killing him.”

  When the sound of footsteps finally faded, Wrench released Georgianna’s arm and stepped away from her. He crouched down, burying his face in his hands.

  “Casey’ll want her out, Wrench,” the other Belsa said. Georgianna looked at him and realised that she didn’t even know his name.

  Wrench nodded, but he didn’t look up and made no move to help eject her from Belsa territory. Georgianna bit her lip, staring at the huddled man who had been her friend, and Keiran’s.

  The Belsa did not release her. He grasped her arm as tight as he had when she’d kicked and screamed. If they managed to get her past the guard, she wouldn’t have a chance of stopping what was about to happen. She’d not trusted Keiran, she’d thought him a traitor, but she couldn’t let them kill him.

  Georgianna curled her hands into fists, trying to think of a plan. She needed to stop thinking about Keiran’s cries and the sick look of satisfaction on Alec’s face. Alec’s twisted look of triumph wouldn’t go away. Before Georgianna could properly think about what she was doing, she’d lifted one of her hands.

  “Bitch!” the Belsa howled, releasing Georgianna and cradling his nose.

  Georgianna didn’t wait. Her entire hand throbbed in pain, but she didn’t care. She shoved him with both hands and sprinted away down the tunnel, a string of obscenities following her.

  Wrench had said that Keiran would be held in the tunnels for a few more hours. It was too dangerous to take him up top in the middle of the day. So, instead of heading after them, she sprinted in the opposite direction. If anyone could stop what was about to happen, it needed to be someone who actually had some power.