Pathfinder

by Gun Brooke

  “She didn’t threaten him!” Struggling against Adina’s grip now, Briar raised her voice. “She warned you about what’s going to happen. That’s entirely different.”

  “I realize the difference,” Tylio said coolly. “Many of the guests of yesterday do not. The social media are full of testimonies and accounts of what occurred. Someone even has a slightly grainy video of Caya coming out of her seizure, and you can hear her first words. This evidence makes it impossible for me to merely slap her on the wrist like I did with you and send her back to school.”

  “Oh, Creator of everything…” Briar slumped back into Adina’s arms. “She’s going to the brig. I’ve seen what it looks like there. The cells.” The cells weren’t designed for comfort. They had room for only a narrow cot and a small desk. That was it. Very little access to media and only basic rations when it came to food.

  “Sweetheart,” Meija said. “Listen to Thea.”

  The term of endearment combined with the president’s nickname made it possible for her to reel the panic back in. She took a few more breaths, meditation style, and straightened her back. “Yes?”

  “Caya isn’t going to any cell in the brig.” The president looked seriously at Briar.

  “No? Where’s she going? Oh, no. Please—”

  “Stop it.” The president rose so fast that everyone but Korrian jumped. Tylio sat down next to Briar and took both her hands. “I know you’re traumatized emotionally after everything, but you’ve got to quit jumping to conclusions.” She squeezed Briar’s hands until they almost hurt. “Caya isn’t going to the brig. First, it’s a security situation waiting to happen, and second, I don’t trust the prison guards at that level. It’s a badly paid job, primed for corruption to fester. We could wake up and find her gone, never to be heard or seen from again. She’s not going there.”

  Briar was wide open to Tylio’s emotions. The woman was not only determined to keep Caya safe, but she also had a personal stake in the situation. “Then where will she stay?”

  “In the presidential guest quarters on this level. Here, I have the presidential guards whom I trust with my life. I will handpick her guards and the staff who will cater to her.”

  “Excuse me, Madam—”

  “Please. Thea.”

  “Thea. Cater to her?”

  “She has to eat. She has to have books, entertainment, schooling, and so on. Her life isn’t over just because she’s incarcerated, albeit in a luxury prison.”

  Trembling, this time from a strange sort of relief, Briar squeezed Tylio’s hands back. “May I visit her?”

  Looking taken back, Tylio moved her hands to Briar’s shoulders. “I should have started with that. I wasn’t thinking. Of course you may. The visits will be supervised or monitored in other ways, though.”

  So relieved now that the arrangement wasn’t as bad as it could have been, Briar leaned back against Adina. “Thank you.”

  “Then there’s the matter of your accommodations.”

  “What about them?” Briar was concerned again and getting fed up with this back-and-forth effect on her emotions.

  “Just because you enjoy this celebrity status as Red Angel you’re still a target—or will be because of your sister. People realize you’re also a changer, so it’s a safety issue.”

  “I never claimed to enjoy being called a celebrity, or Red Angel, for that matter,” Briar muttered.

  “That said, it is what it is.” Raising her gaze, the president looked at Adina. “Commander, I understand you and Briar are lovers?”

  Briar felt Adina jerk next to her.

  “What? No, no. Not at all. Very good friends. That’s all.”

  “Really?” Confused now, Tylio looked back and forth between them. “I was certain…well, never mind. That’s none of my business. Briar’s safety and the status quo on this ship are, however. I want the two of you to share quarters.” It was clearly not a suggestion.

  “Yes, Madam President,” Adina said, her voice strained. “Mine are slightly bigger and have superior security upgrades.”

  “Perfect. That’s settled then. Once Caya has packed some of her things, I suggest you do the same, Briar. Little by little over time you can empty your old quarters and take all of your sister’s things to her here and yours to the commander’s quarters.” Tylio stood and adjusted her jacket. “Now I have one hurdle left, which is the last part of this solution. I have to sell these ideas to my cabinet.”

  Just as they all stood to leave, the door hissed open and the president’s husband strode in, looking angry.

  “What the hell’s going on, Gassinthea?” He hissed her name. “I was at the club and conducting some difficult negotiations when some more of your goons joined my security detail and extracted me. Not only that, but they took the longer route to get here. Have you any idea how depressing those culverts are?”

  “I’m terribly sorry we didn’t think to decorate the escape ducts, sir.” Meija smiled sweetly at the agitated man.

  “How droll. And here you all sit and make amusing remarks at my expense, when you should be out there prosecuting the little brat who threatened me.”

  “Hadler. You know that’s not true, and nobody is making amusing remarks.” Tylio shot Meija a knowing look. “And I extracted you to keep you safe. Caya Lindemay’s predictions are accurate. Now that we have changed your usual route to another one, hopefully we’ve eliminated the threat.”

  “You’re so gullible. For being such a hard-nosed president, you’re amazingly naive.” Hadler Tylio waved his arms, the ring on his right index finger getting tangled in the president’s hair, yanking her forward. She regained her balance quickly and slapped his hand away.

  “Step back, sir.” Immediately, two of the presidential guards took a few long steps forward and posted themselves between the president and her husband. The move looked so smooth and rehearsed, Briar could tell it had happened before, on several occasions. Glancing over at Tylio, Briar sensed the outrage and humiliation pouring from the president’s soul.

  Regarding her husband with obvious contempt, Tylio said a quick good-bye and left the suite. Briar and the others followed, and they walked together toward the elevators at the far end. Hoping to spot Caya, Briar looked around as they passed the quarters next to the president, but all the doors were closed. She missed her sister so much already, even if she knew they’d be together again tomorrow when their future hung in the balance.

  It was entirely possible to dread and long for something to happen at the same time.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Adina’s heart ached for Briar as the other woman stood just inside the door, looking utterly lost. She didn’t have the skills of an empath, but she felt the aftershocks of the day’s events reverberate from Briar anyway.

  “Please. Let me help you.” Adina eased closer to Briar, carefully, as she would approach an injured animal. “To begin with, I can help you unpack some of your things. I have plenty of space in my drawers and shelves.”

  Briar nodded and grabbed her bag. She had packed in total silence, and a mere look at her somber expression had kept Adina from saying anything until now. “Thank you,” Briar murmured. “I’m sure this wasn’t what you counted on. A houseguest forced upon you by the president, I mean.”

  Adina had to stop that line of thought immediately. “Listen. The circumstances are grim—not to mention heartbreaking. You need to understand that you’re not imposing on me. You’re here because such are our orders, yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want you here.”

  “What?” Briar put down the bag on the bed and turned around slowly. “Surely you can’t be happy about…” She gestured at herself and then the room. “This whole mess. Living with a changer. Having your reputation questioned.”

  “I don’t give a damn about my reputation. I have my duties to perform, and until now, that was all I cared about.” Frustrated at how hard it was to explain properly, Adina leaned back against a cabinet door. “This
is confusing as hell. I’m worried for Caya, for you, and at the same time, I’m glad you’re with me and not alone or, worse, incarcerated.”

  Briar’s eyes filled with tears. “I refuse to cry,” she said with a broken voice. “I refuse to feel like this. I hate it.” She sat down on the bed and covered her face with her hands. “I’m actually losing it. On the way here, I couldn’t block anyone’s emotions and felt as if they were swallowing me whole. Like hundreds of voices were talking at once, different emotions swirling in my mind, driving me crazy. I might just go mad. Lucky you.”

  Unable to keep her distance, and not even sure if she should, Adina sat down next to Briar and hugged her. This wasn’t something she was used to. She’d never been the touchy-feely type, but this woman, usually strong and hell-bent on saving people at any cost, made it possible. No, not possible—necessary. “You can cry. In fact, if our roles were reversed, you’d be telling me that.”

  “I know.” Laughing unhappily, Briar hid her face against Adina’s neck. “I talk a good game, don’t I?”

  “You’re always there for other people, but I think it’s been a long time since someone was there for you.” Adina knew this was true. Briar was an expert at caring, giving, and putting herself through hellacious experiences if that helped someone else. When it came to accepting help—or mere caring—from others, Briar flailed and resisted it as if her system had developed antibodies against such things a long time ago.

  “I feel so weak. I hate it. And I shouldn’t be thinking of myself when Caya is being—”

  “Is being tended to and supervised by the president herself.” Adina shook Briar gently. “You can’t change anything right now. Caya is safe where she is. Tylio won’t let anything happen to her. She wouldn’t have risked alienating her entire cabinet and military advisors if she wasn’t planning to complete whatever plans she has.”

  “She did risk a lot.” Briar tilted her head back. “And the whole thing about allowing me to continue working…albeit under your guard.”

  “I’m glad she saw reason about that. If she hadn’t, I would’ve pointed out the risk of riots if she’d thrown Red Angel in the brig.”

  “Oh, Creator of all things…that’s such a thing, isn’t it? That whole angel business. I swear, if I find whoever started that rumor, I’m going to air-lock them.”

  Adina had to laugh at Briar’s affronted expression. She was tough, this redhead, but she also looked adorable when she was annoyed. When she was truly angry, though, Briar could put the fear of the Creator in anyone.

  “What’s so funny?” Briar relaxed more against Adina. “Am I amusing you, Commander?”

  “Not at all, Miss Angel. You’re quite dull and boring.”

  Briar guffawed. “Adina! You’re showing sides I never knew of.”

  “Only because you bring out the best in me.” Adina deliberately sounded facetious but was entirely serious. Briar did bring out something in her that Adina thought had died a long time ago. The playfulness, the appreciation of small, everyday miracles. Even if Adina had yet to trust she could open up fully to this part of herself, Briar made it a possibility.

  Briar raised her still-trembling hand slowly and ran her thumb along Adina’s eyebrow. Holding her breath, Adina pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, trying to calm her nerves. Was Briar sensing her conflicting emotions or…

  “Yes. I can’t help it,” Briar said, smiling wryly. “Your feelings are so overpowering and we’re so close. You don’t have to fear me. I don’t absorb them or store them. I may learn to tune in more, but the thing is, when I’m this close to you—oh, damn it, Adina, all I can do is to submit to my own feelings. It’s as if your emotions put a magnifying glass on mine. I can’t hide from them.” Briar pressed her cheek to Adina’s. “And I don’t want to!”

  “You don’t have to.” Adina pushed her hands into Briar’s hair, amazed at how silky it felt as the curls wrapped around each finger. Briar was pulling her in even with her golden-red strands. Gently holding Briar’s head, Adina kissed Briar lightly, so as not to startle her, but Briar immediately seized her. Opening her mouth beneath Adina’s, Briar ran the tip of her tongue along Adina’s lower lip.

  “I’ve dreamed of this,” Briar whispered against Adina’s mouth, her hot breath a caress in itself. “I despaired, as I knew it could never be, despite how we felt. Yes, I knew—of course I knew—how you held back. So did I.” She brushed her lips back and forth across Adina’s.

  Adina gently buried her fingers in Briar’s hair, and unable to resist, she pressed her lips fully onto the sweet-tasting mouth teasing her. Meeting Briar’s tongue with her own, she deepened the kiss and explored Briar’s mouth. Her heart racing, Adina sucked Briar’s lower lip in between her teeth, pulling gently. The kiss turned into yet another kiss and then one more. Briar’s intoxicating moans spurred Adina on, and she kissed her way down Briar’s neck. Licking a hot trail around to the other side, she found a plump little earlobe demanding her attention.

  Briar clung to Adina and pushed her hands in under the collar of her uniform. “You’re overdressed,” she said, gasping for air. “I can’t feel you…I want to feel your skin.”

  Impatient, Adina pulled back and tore off her uniform jacket, not caring one bit about the clasps she ruined in the process. Tossing it on the floor, she pulled Briar close again. Briar buried her face against Adina’s neck, nipping at her skin with her sharp little teeth. The small sting sent tremors up and down Adina’s entire abdomen, and she pictured herself pushing Briar down on her back and pulling her clothes off. She wanted to bury herself in the passionate body next to hers, feel Briar clench around her fingers and suck on…

  Adina gasped as Briar’s hand found her right breast. This was too fast. Too soon. Still, how could she stop when all of her dreams were becoming a reality, when the woman her very soul yearned for was right here?

  A distant rumble shook the bed. At first, Adina’s one-track mind thought it was their passion, but only for a moment. She slipped right back into military mode when the emergency klaxons began to sound in the corridor.

  “Oh no. What now?” Briar stood, looking dazed. “Caya! Have they—”

  “Let’s find out.” Pulling on her jacket, only to tear it off with a curse and run it through the pattern buffer of her clothes dispenser, Adina engaged her communicator. “Commander Vantressa to the bridge.”

  “Admiral Vayand here, Commander. We read a massive explosion in the aft part of cube one.”

  “Can you be more precise, please, sir?” Gesturing for Briar to pull her shirt back on, Adina fastened her jacket.

  “Decks four, five, and six.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  “Good. I’ve deployed your team, medics, extinguishers, security, and law enforcement.” Vayand spoke briskly. “If this is yet another white-garnet incident, we have a chance to identify the perpetrators.”

  “Aye, sir. Vantressa out.” Adina motioned toward the door. “I don’t feel it’s safe to leave you here. You have to come with me. Perhaps I can arrange for you to remain with Caya while I deal with this.”

  “As long as I know she’s all right, I’d rather stay with you.” Briar stuck her chin out. “And don’t argue.”

  “Fine. Come on.”

  They ran through the corridors, and it didn’t take them long to smell smoke and run into fleeing people.

  “Keep going, keep going,” Adina called out to the frightened individuals they met. “Stay on the right side of the corridor to make way for the responders.” The smoke was thicker now, and as they neared the end of the corridor, Adina could tell the damage was extensive. “Stay back,” she said shortly and held up a hand to Briar. “I shouldn’t have brought you. This whole area is unstable. We may have to start an EM-jet.”

  Adina prayed to the Creator it wouldn’t come to that. This was cube one, which among other things held the parliament and the residential area for its members, including the president. Security was
going to be a nightmare if they had to evacuate all of the senior crew and civilian leaders before performing an emergency jettison into open space. This also meant dropping out of magnetar drive, which wasn’t as easily done as on a single, smaller vessel.

  “Adina. Look.”

  Turning around, Adina found Briar had moved and was now on her hands and knees at the edge of the hole. She’d pulled her shirt up over her nose and mouth but was still wheezing and coughing.

  “Are you crazy? I told you to—”

  “Just look!” Briar tugged at Adina’s jacket and made her kneel next to her. “The floor down there on level ten. Don’t you see? It’s blue!”

  *

  Briar’s lungs stung, but she toughed it out as Adina began barking orders into her communicator.

  “Commander Vantressa to the bridge. Where the hell are the medics? I see wounded on all decks down to level ten. Tell them to prepare for smoke inhalation and trauma. Anyone approaching the scene needs a level-four protective suit at least. I’m bringing a civilian to safety and need someone to get me the president.”

  “The president, sir?” the bridge officer asked warily.

  “Yes, you heard me correctly. Tell the fleet admiral. He’ll know. Vantressa out.”

  “Am I the civilian? I can get myself out of here without you having to waste any time on escorting me.”

  “I don’t doubt that for a moment. That’s not it. You need to get back to Caya. Her vision is starting to sound way too accurate, and if the part about the blue floor is true—”

  “That’s why you need to talk to the president.”

  “No. You and Caya will do that. I’ll inform you once we start identifying the casualties. By then you will have told Tylio about the blue floor, and she can prepare herself for what may have occurred.”

  Briar wasn’t sure she wanted to be the one who told their highest-ranking leader her husband might be wounded, or even dead. “All right.”