by Chele Cooke
Once they were out of sight of people passing by, he stopped and turned to her. All thoughts of the listening device in his jacket were gone as he cupped her face in his hands, closing the gap and kissing her gently. She closed her eyes and held onto his arms, remembering it. Remembering him. He had surely left a mark on her.
“Are you sure about this?” he said.
She gave a half-hearted chuckle. “If I say no?”
She curved in to his body as he gathered her into his arms, holding her against his chest. His jacket was cold on her cheek, but quickly warmed to her. The feeling of his arms wrapped around her… It reminded her of the heat from the worm: binding and unnatural. She lifted her cheek from the jacket and stared at the material. It must have been how the Cahlven stayed warm despite the thinner clothing.
It still felt unnatural to her; not like the normal warmth and comfort of his arms.
“You can turn back,” he said. “Nobody would judge you for not going through with this.”
Georgianna shook her head and stepped away. “I can’t. I have to do this.”
“But—”
“Too many people have been hurt because of me, because I was scared and I turned away at the last minute.”
“George, that’s ridiculous. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t hurt anyone.”
“Edtroka?” she said. “Wrench?”
He shook his head. “They weren’t your fault. I can’t let you go in there just because you think you have some kind of score to settle.”
She placed her hands on his cheeks and, like the jacket, they warmed under her touch. But this was a natural and perfect warmth; just the way she wanted to remember it.
“I have to do this. For me.”
Keiran closed his eyes and let out a gentle sigh. He nodded. “Okay. But I’m staying with you. I’m done pretending.”
She wanted to argue that someone needed to look after the Veniche under the shield; they needed to know what was going on here if she went back to the tunnels. But she didn’t have the heart for an argument.
She smiled, grasped his hand, and steeled herself like he had done. “Alright. Let’s go.”
Olless met them at the end of the medical corridor and, before they’d even had a chance to say hello, she marched straight up and gave them the kind of death glare Georgianna only associated with Alec coming face to face with Maarqyn.
She ripped Georgianna’s hand from Keiran’s, grabbed Georgianna by the elbow and pulled her away, glaring over her shoulder at Keiran. “Stupid! Stupid and reckless.”
Georgianna gaped at Olless’ profile as she was dragged along. She didn’t know which to be more surprised by: that Olless clearly knew Keiran was still helping those in the tunnels and had still not passed the information on to the Colvohan, or that she’d seen them about to reveal their relationship and had come to ensure that their lies were not discovered. Now was not the time to ask why she had chosen to protect them, but the fact she was—that Olless’ shock and disbelief at the news of Veniche testing was not a lie—made her more confident in her plan. Everyone else thought she was making a mistake, and Olless’ protection felt oddly reassuring.
And so, Georgianna followed , letting the Cahlven woman keep hold of her elbow all the way to the door. She kept her expression blank, like Keiran had done outside the ship. As far as she was concerned, right now, Keiran was nothing to her. She was here to fulfil a deal and nothing more.
Olless led her inside, holding the door open for Georgianna to pass. When Keiran came to the doorway, she held her hand out. “You wait outside. You will remain to return Miss Lennox to the outside of the shield once we are done.”
Keiran growled under his breath. But he stepped back, taking position against the far wall of the corridor. He folded his arms and glared past Olless at Georgianna. She steeled herself under his gaze, and Olless closed the door between them.
“ Well, Miss Lennox, I hear that the testing went better than expected.”
Georgianna spun around, spotting Naltahn on the other side of the room. He was seated at a small table, with one of the communication devices in front of him. A projection was already lit above it, but all Georgianna could see in it was a reflection of the room, and of herself.
One of the Cahlven who had performed the earlier tests stood by the wall, hands clasped in front of him, staring straight ahead like a doll.
“I wouldn’t know, Colvohan,” Georgianna said. “I was given very little information.”
He waved a hand, avoiding her gaze. “There was no reason, I am sure. And I doubt you would have understood, anyway.”
“I am a medic, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Naltahn gave her a vague, belittling smile. “Of genetics?”
“Well, no.”
“And you understand the Cahlven language for complicated scientific information?”
She gritted her teeth. “No.”
His smile broadened. “Then clearly there was no need to explain it to you. You are the vessel, not the scientist.”
Georgianna unbuttoned her coat and threw it over an empty chair. “Then we might as well get on with it.”
She tugged down the shoulder of her shirt, ensuring that it was the opposite arm to the one Akhna had injected that morning. Naltahn leaned back in his chair, watching her. Olless stepped forwards and placed her hand on Georgianna’s shoulder. When she looked at her, Olless shook her head. She covered up the shoulder again, and her gaze switched between Olless and Naltahn. He looked amused, or troubled, by her assumption of where they would inject her. With his wide, unsmiling mouth, it was hard to tell.
Had she just given herself away?
No. No, she couldn’t have done. Most of the skin scrapings the scientists had taken had been from her arms. Surely the injection would go there as well.
“The injections will go here,” Olless said, pressing three fingers against Georgianna’s ribs, right under her left breast. “Closer to the heart, allowing it to be transported through the body faster.” Georgianna winced at the idea, but nodded. “You should lie down.”
The marks on her back from the worm were still visible, though now little more than dots along her spine. But she knew that they would raise suspicion. Taking a seat on the bed, she swung her legs up and lay down, flat on her back. She pulled her shirt up, crumpling it just beneath her breasts.
Olless said something in their language and waved the other scientist over. He approached, drawing out a small box from his coat pocket. He unlatched the side and opened it up to reveal a syringe and three small vials of an amber liquid.
Georgianna jumped up, twisting to look at Naltahn. She rested on her elbow and stared at him. “The antidotes,” she said. “You promised they would be delivered when I did this.”
Naltahn reached into a pocket hidden in his uniform. He drew out an identical case and laid it on the table beside the projection.
The box was far too small. It couldn’t possibly hold antidotes for more than a handful of people. Her family and Beck.
“And the people here?”
Naltahn drummed his fingers on top of the box. “Once this is done, we will begin administering the antidotes, and once complete, they will be injected with this new virus.”
Georgianna pushed herself up further. “No,” she said. “We agreed that I would take the testing, that the virus would be administered only once we were sure it was safe.”
Naltahn picked up the case and tapped the corner of it against the table. “Deals change, Miss Lennox. We have no need for waiting. Now, would you like to continue?” She wanted to rage. She wanted to get up and walk out. But the antidotes in his hand kept her still. “You will be provided with the vials to administer to all those outside of the shield.”
Georgianna scoffed. “Then I want access to the others before they leave here. I want to know that everyone is alright.”
He nodded. “That can be done, but only after the administration is complete.”
> There was no way around it. Unlike the Adveni, who had no choice but to accept that she would administer the virus once she was certain it wouldn’t kill anyone, Naltahn had no such concerns, nor any reason to bow to hers. Once again, she considered getting up and walking out. But if she didn’t take the virus, it wouldn’t protect anyone under the shield from having it administered to them. All it would mean is that her father, her brother, and Beck, would not receive their antidotes.
She lay back down.
“Good,” Naltahn said. “Now, if there are no more objections, let us be done with this.”
Despite Naltahn’s words, the scientist still stood back, waiting for his orders. Olless delivered them quickly in their own language, and from the way the scientist glanced at Naltahn to check, Georgianna couldn’t be sure that the instructions were favourable. She couldn’t see Naltahn from where she was positioned, but he obviously gave the go ahead, because the scientist opened up the case again and laid it on the side of the bed next to Georgianna’s hip.
Unlike Akhna, he gave no warnings or concerns over pain. He didn’t speak at all as he uncapped the syringe and punctured the top of the vial, drawing back the plunger and filling the syringe cavity with liquid. He spread his hand across her ribs, pushing down with each of his fingers in turn, measuring out the spaces between her ribs. The injection was much the same as the one from Akhna, if in a more painful location.
He worked quickly, at least. The second two injections involved no spacing, and he punctured the skin almost in the same place each time.
Georgianna glanced at Olless. “Why not have it in a single vial?”
Olless shrugged and folded her arms. “It’s something about the virus mixing more efficiently within the bloodstream, allowing for smoother passage between people.”
Georgianna frowned and looked at the scientist as he ejected the needle from the syringe. “For transferring it to our children?”
His gaze met hers and he nodded before moving away. He still hadn’t said a word.
Georgianna blinked and pushed her curiosity aside. She raised herself up onto her elbows. “Are we done?”
Olless checked with the scientist, who nodded.
She sat up properly, adjusting her shirt to ensure none of her back would be visible. She jumped down off the bed and approached Naltahn.
He smiled—cold and emotionless—and held out the case he’d been keeping on the table. Georgianna unlatched the side and opened it up. Inside were three tiny vials and three identical syringes.
“Would you like Mr. Zanetti to be injected now?” he said.
She tried to keep her expression cool like his, but balked at the question. “Later. After all, if I get sick, you want him to be able to report back. You don’t want him dead outside your shield where you can’t track his illness, right?”
He shrugged. “It makes no matter.”
He drew out a larger case from underneath the table and held it out to her. “For your end.” There was a black handle curved around the latch; Georgianna took it. “We will expect you here soon to check on your kin.”
Georgianna nodded and lifted the case from his hands, cradling it against her body. “I’ll approach the Adveni for a meeting once everything has been finalised. We should tell them of our alliance together, don’t you think?”
Naltahn reached across the table and pressed a button on his device. The projection vanished. “I look forwards to it.”
He got up from his chair, collected the device, and swept past her without another word. He said something to Olless, then yanked open the door, pausing to meet Keiran’s gaze before stalking away down the corridor.
Georgianna didn’t know whether it was the Adveni virus, the Cahlven virus, or the knowledge that she wouldn’t be able to stop this before all the Veniche under the shield were infected. But as she collected her coat and followed Olless to the door, back to Keiran, she was already starting to feel sick.
“Hey. Are you alright?”
Georgianna braced against Keiran’s arm and righted herself, shaking her head a little as she blinked and tried, once again, to get her eyes to adjust to the gloom in the tunnels. “I’m fine. Just tripped.”
She peered down at the floor, looking out for uneven ground or errant rocks, of which she knew there were many. But she realised, with rising panic, that she couldn’t make anything out. The ground, just like everything around her, was still blurry and dark. They’d already made the turning into the tunnel that led to their small camp, and her eyes weren’t adjusting. Even when she glanced sideways at Keiran, his features were fuzzy, as if she were looking at him through a film, or he was standing on the other side of the Cahlven shield.
Her heart pounded. Georgianna still wasn’t sure if the nausea swirling around her stomach and rising into her chest was real, or if it was her fear playing tricks on her. Despite the snow and freezing winds above ground, she felt hot and stuffy within the tunnels. Being careful not to alert suspicion from Keiran, she clung to his hand and began to undo the fastenings on her coat.
“I don’t have to go back,” he said. “Olless knows it’s a lie. I could stay with you.”
Georgianna shook her head, though instantly regretted the motion as her sight blurred further. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. “But Naltahn doesn’t. Olless was keen to keep us apart where he might see it. We need you to go back. We have to know what’s going on in there.”
“We don’t have someone inside with the Adveni.”
Georgianna braced her hand against his arm, nestling in at his side. “No. But… I dunno. I guess I trust the Adveni more.”
“You trust the Adveni more?”
She tried to disguise her shuffling feet, feeling out the ground instead of taking proper steps. “I know it sounds weird.”
“It sounds crazy. Reckless, George. I mean, suns, it’s Maarqyn.”
“I know, I know. But, I know what to expect from him. It’s not that I trust them as much as I trust in what to expect from them. The Cahlven—”
“Are an unknown. We have ten years of experience with the Adveni.”
“Exactly.”
Keiran rested his temple against the top of her head. He extracted his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He jerked up his head, pulling them to a stop. “You’re freezing.”
“What?”
Keiran turned Georgianna to face him. He placed the case of injections by his foot and cupped his hands against her cheeks. His touch felt clammy and hot. “You’re freezing cold.”
She brushed him off, shaking her head. “I’m fine. Maybe you’re just not used to it because you’ve been in that ship. They have systems keeping things warm.”
“George, I’m not kidding.” He grasped the front of her coat and pulled it around her. “It’s those injections.”
She could hear the concern in his voice, but as she gazed up at him, trying to think of a way to calm his fears, she realised she couldn’t see the concern in his face. She could barely see him at all. His face was even blurrier than before, with his grey-blue eyes indistinguishable from his skin.
Georgianna smiled and nodded. “I’m going to look after myself. Just… let’s not make a big deal of it, okay? My da’s already going to be upset that I took the injections without telling him.”
He frowned.
Or at least she thought he did.
“I’m not promising,” he said.
She sighed and reached out, grasping a few times before she found his hand. He tilted his head down. He was probably more suspicious than ever as she drew herself close again.
She started to walk, taking small and slow footsteps until Keiran took the lead, guiding her out of the tunnel and up to their train cars.
Georgianna froze, and Keiran turned back, peering at her. She wasn’t watching him, though. She stared at the tunnel cars, as the panic that had been rising in her chest now leapt up into her throat, making it hard to breathe. Her head s
wam, and tears sprang into her eyes, making the outline of the car even fuzzier. Light spilled out of the doorway in a bright, wavering blob of orange and yellow.
“What is it?”
“I can’t go in there.”
He stepped closer. “Of course you can. Come on, I’ll be with you. They won’t be angry. They’re just concerned. It’ll be okay.”
Georgianna wanted to pull her hand from his and hide her face. She wanted to press her fingers into her eyes and rub until the world was clear again. But she didn’t dare let go of his hand; she wasn’t sure she’d be able to find it again.
“No, Keiran. I can’t go in there because I can’t see where there is.”
Somewhere far away, Georgianna could hear people talking, arguing. They tried to keep their voices low, but the occasional word or phrase would slip out louder than intended before they were quieted by the others.
“They’ve already blinded my daughter. What more are we supposed to wait for?”
Keiran had helped her into the tunnel car that had once been shared by Lacie and Jacob, but was now a drop point for whoever wanted to sleep. He’d covered her in Cahlven heated blankets, despite her protests that she was too hot already, and had left her alone, telling her to try to get some sleep while he went to update the others.
They were all gathered outside the tunnel car.
“No, I will not calm down! That’s my kid!”
“She is scared and sick.”
Georgianna thought that sounded like Dhiren, though his voice was low and hard to pick out. She could imagine him placing his hand on her father’s shoulder, forcing him to pay attention in the way Dhiren did so well. Despite his initial brusque nature, Dhiren could be a calming influence when he needed to be. Maybe it was because she knew how much he’d been through; when even he remained calm it meant that a situation couldn’t be that bad.
“You want to scare her more by freaking out, or getting angry?”
Clearly, her father thought Dhiren as reassuring as she did, because he barely gave a murmur in reply.
