by Lili Zander
But with the enforcers hunting me, I won’t survive eight-and-a-half days, let alone years.
They might not be hunting you, I tell myself, trying to calm the sick pit of fear in my belly. Not since my first day in the re-education camps, when I saw a teenager beat a small boy to death for his ration of food have I been so terrified. I don’t want to go back to Glacis. Four years in the relative freedom of the mines, and I’ve grown soft.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I rock back and forth. It’s only when my alarm goes off that I start to pull myself together. All day, I’ve been sitting in my pod, imagining the worst. The holos are useless. The official channels don’t mention the raids, and even on the unofficial channels, everyone’s too afraid to talk about what’s going on. If I’m going to survive this night, I need information.
Time to head to the mines.
I’m walking to Sector 20 the long way around, avoiding the tunnel that was the scene of my bite yesterday when someone falls into step beside me. It’s Joanna, the girl from my history class. Her head is lowered, and her hood covers her face. “Keep walking,” she says, her voice barely audible. “The Overlord has eyes everywhere.”
I spent all day freaking out, but I’m not a rookie. I survived ten years in Glacis. I know better than to draw attention to myself. My stride doesn’t falter, not even a little bit. “Why are you here?”
“There were raids all over the colony yesterday,” she replies. “An entire row of houses in Sector 21 has been burned to the ground.”
Keep moving. Don’t stop walking. “What? Why?” But I know the answer. The Shayde bit me in Sector 21.
“They’re looking for someone. A girl who was bitten, whose cloak was found inside a tunnel.”
I swallow. She knows it’s me. “Are you going to turn me in?”
She lets her cloak swing open, and I see a bundle of fabric pressed against her chest. The spare cloak she promised me yesterday. “My brother is already in the camps,” she says grimly. “If it comes out that I’m attending an illegal history class, I’ll get ten years, minimum. Even though my parents have been gifted with a bite.” She takes a deep breath. “That might happen anyway. Ma Kaila has been arrested.”
My heart hammers with shock. “She has?”
“She’s been taken to the Overlord’s dungeons,” Joanna says grimly. “They will torture her. If she talks…” Her voice trails away. “Hamed wants me to make a run for it. Between the two of us, we have just enough blood to get off-world. What are you going to do?”
“Nothing. I work in the mines, remember? I can’t afford to leave.”
She gives me a sidelong look. “The tournament comes with an all-expenses-paid trip to Starra. The Shayde capital is massive. It’ll be easier to disappear there.”
“I still need a sponsor.”
“There are ways to solve that. You’re not Shayde-pale, but your hair is long and beautiful, and your body is strong. If the right vampyr took an interest… if you undid your braids for him…”
Become the mistress of a Shayde. Part my legs for him and let him touch me, take me. Let him feed on my blood. Can I do that to stay alive?
We’re almost at the mines. Joanna pulls out the cloak she’s concealed under her robes and hands it to me. “Think about it, Raven,” she says, her voice urgent. “It might be the only way.”
She didn’t have to come here. She didn’t have to warn me. Her actions are a kindness that I can never repay. “Peace be with you, sister.”
Run, Joanna. Run fast and run hard. Run like the wind.
6
Nero
Yeah, yeah, I’m the impulsive one.
That’s just another way of saying that I listen to my instincts, and I’m not afraid to act.
We’re halfway to Boarus 4 when the bug Zeke planted in Levitan’s office picks up a conversation. “We have a problem,” a woman whose voice I don’t recognize says, sounding nervous.
“I don’t like problems,” Levitan replies. “What is it?”
“The Overlord of Boarus 4 is showing signs of independence. He’s searching for the girl.” The woman hesitates. “The Empress has expressed her displeasure at the colony’s output. I believe Zimmer intends to placate her by offering the girl up.” She gulps. “If the Empress finds out about the project…”
“She won’t. I’ve sent Saber Hafsson to retrieve the girl. I’m confident that he’ll find her before Overlord Zimmer’s men.”
“Saber Hafsson? With all due respect, Jarl Harek, are you sure that’s a good idea? The Hafssons have always shown a regrettable tendency to act as they see fit.”
“Are you questioning me, Frida?” Levitan’s voice turns glacial. “Jarl Saber is eager to make up for his failures in Rothis. He will follow instructions.”
I snort. He really doesn’t know Saber.
“Ottar Thistle destroyed months of research before he escaped.” He sounds irritated. “The human is our only hope that the weapon survived. When Saber’s team brings her back, you know what you have to do.”
“Of course, Jarl Harek,” she replies instantly. “Get what we need from her, and then kill her.”
Saber and Zeke have joined me in my cabin, and they overhear most of the conversation. “Well?” I demand, glaring at Saber. I became an enforcer to protect people, not to aid and abet in kidnapping, torture, and murder. “Is he right? Are you going to follow instructions?”
“Of course not, Nero.” His expression turns grim. “I’m going to get to Boarus 4. Find the woman. Find out what she knows. And if she is innocent, I give you my word. I will protect her.”
7
Raven
I go through the next few nights on auto-pilot. Arnie Hento comes by to collect the blood tax. The enforcers finish their door-to-door search of Sector 21 and move onto Sector 22. One more sector to go, and they’ll find me.
Ana Begić’ lives in Sector 21. She tells me that the enforcers had a cloak in their hands when they knocked on her pod door. “There were three dogs and at least a half-dozen men,” she says.
So they have my scent. It’s only a matter of time.
The vampyr had sacrificed himself to buy me time. He’d deliberately run out into the open ice, instead of ducking among the buildings, where he’d be hidden. He gifted me more than his bite. He gave me his life, and what am I doing with it? Cowering. Hiding.
On FourthDay, I finally make up my mind. I don’t know why the Shayde bit me. I don’t know why the Overlord’s men are hunting me. But I’m done being passive. I’m going to survive.
First things first. I need to go to the choosing.
There’s a sense of excitement in the air at the arena. Almost a thousand people are already gathered to watch the competitors be announced.
I really hope I’m one of them. The selection process is far from transparent—the Overlord just picks the humans he fancies, Overseer Thrip had said yesterday, his voice caustic—and there’s no guarantee that I’ll find a sponsor, but as my mother used to say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
“Good luck, Raven,” Ana whispers to me, squeezing my hand. The choosing is a public holiday in the colony, and everyone dresses up for it. Ana is wearing a bright red top and a purple skirt that trails to the ground. I’m just wearing my standard-issue jumpsuit, but in recognition of the holiday, I’ve braided bright ribbons into my hair. If Ma Kaila were here, she’d probably tell me that I look like an ancient-Earth bird.
Great Spirit in the Sky, please let her still be alive.
We walk up to the entrance, where a couple of uniformed human guards stand. “She’s going to the choosing,” Ana says to them, her voice filled with pride.
The guards give me the once-over. “What’s your name?” one of them, the one with the kinder expression, asks me.
“Raven Unnuk,” I reply. My parents were executed for treason fourteen years ago. Overlord Zimmer wasn’t even the ruler of Boarus 4 then; his father was. There’s no reason to think that anyone w
ill recognize my name or remember who my parents were.
“Have you been bitten?”
I nod quietly, trying not to think of the Shayde being shot down by the Overlord’s enforcers.
“Where is your sponsor?”
“I don’t have one yet. I’m hoping to find some.”
He frowns. “Good luck,” he says, and I think he means it. “There aren’t too many Shayde in attendance this time around.”
My heart sinks. Some Shayde take the tournament extremely seriously, picking their humans well in advance of FourthMonth, and helping them with their training. Other Shayde join the fun much later on, almost waiting for the last-minute before deciding on their pick. It’s these Shayde I was hoping to impress today.
Or attract. Joanna’s words ring in my ear. You’re not Shayde-pale, but your hair is long and beautiful, and your body is strong. If the right vampyr took an interest…
I swallow hard. I’m not ready to think about that yet.
The guard waves me through, and another guard receives me. I enter the smaller ante-chamber, small only in comparison with the arena itself. More guards are milling about here, as are a handful of human servants. In one corner, near the Overlord’s throne, are about a half-dozen contestants.
Judging from their expensive clothing and bored expressions, these are the ones that already have Shayde sponsors. They’re probably from Sector One or Sector Two. They’re rich, and their families have been bitten for generations. They dress like the Shayde, and they follow Shayde conventions, choosing to stay indoors during the day, only emerging at night.
The guard walks me up the center aisle. A few people notice me, but their expressions aren't curious, just blandly indifferent. Why would it be any different? I am an O-positive human who works in the mines. In this room, I am nobody.
“Overlord Zimmer,” the guard announces, his voice cutting through the chatter. “This is Raven Unnuk. She wishes to participate in the tournament.”
All of a sudden, the conversations cease, and the antechamber fills with silence. The other contestants turn toward me, and when they see me standing there, in my mine-issued jumpsuit, devoid of ornamentation, their expressions turn sneering.
I stiffen my spine. I will not be cowed.
The Overlord studies me, his eyebrow raised. I don't know what he sees. Does he see the person who entered Glacis as a ten-year-old child? The child whose parents were taken away from her in the middle of the night, to be executed for plotting against the Shayde Empire? Does he see the woman who has learned, the hardest and most brutal way possible, how to survive?
Or does he see the woman his enforcers have been searching for since FirstDay, the one who was bitten by a vampyr in Sector 21?
I can't tell. His face is expressionless.
“Who is your sponsor, girl?” He asks, after a long pause.
I don't have one. That is not the answer I need to give right now though. I straighten my shoulders again and lift my head high. “I seek a sponsor among the Shayde,” I reply. My voice is clear and carries through the antechamber. The few Shayde in the room look bored by the proceedings, and my next words are deliberately bold, designed to attract their attention. “One who is discerning enough to understand my strengths.”
Whispers break out in the crowd, only to die down when the Overlord holds up his hand. “That is either a courageous opening statement,” he says, “Or a foolhardy one. Continue then, miner. What do you offer that your fellow humans can’t?”
His gaze turns leering. Perhaps he thinks that I will continue to be bold and undo my hair in front of the entire assembly.
I am about to shock him, but not in the way that he thinks.
“My name is Raven Unnuk,” I continue. “My mother was Shila Hope Unnuk. My father was Tak Ateneq.” From the way the Overlord’s eyes narrow, I know he recognizes the names. “I have spent ten years in Glacis, and another four in the mines.” I give the other contestants a deliberately dismissive glance before turning to the small knot of assembled Shayde. “I am stronger than them. I am faster than them. I am tougher than them. If you take a chance on me, I will not let you down. I will win this tournament in your honor.”
My words are brazen. I have no other choice. If I am to be noticed, I cannot be coy. I must act as if I can win. I must believe in myself.
Louder whispers break out among the assembled people, this time unchecked by the Overlord. A female Shayde steps forward, her expression intrigued. She’s about to open her mouth to sponsor me—I know it—when the Overlord shakes his head sharply at her. With a bow of her head, she melts back into the crowd.
Why doesn’t he want me to compete? Does he know I’m the woman he’s hunting for?
“Well?” The Overlord looks around the room, but his earlier gesture has been noticed. Nobody is prepared to defy him. Not a single Shayde steps forward.
“I'm sorry, miner Unnuk,” he says. “It appears that no-one is willing to take a chance on you.” His smile is cold. “The rules of the tournament are clear. Every human who wishes to participate needs a Shayde sponsor.”
My heart sinks. This was my only chance to get off-world. I don't have any other options. The enforcers will be at sector 24, if not tonight, then tomorrow, or the night after. Not even the Great Spirit can save me from dying.
I gambled. I lost. There is nothing more that can be achieved here.
I bow to Overlord Zimmer, taking care to conceal the despair that runs through me. I will not let anyone see my emotions. Those are mine, and mine alone. “I thank my Lord Shayde for his consideration,” I say quietly. Then I turn around to leave.
“Just a minute.” A strong male voice fills the room. “Are you telling me that nobody, none of you, is willing to give this woman a chance?”
I freeze in my tracks, a brief flicker of hope within me.
“Stop, human,” the same voice continues. “Turn around.”
I do as he commands. The crowd parts and I see the man who spoke for the first time.
He’s Shayde, of course. No human would dare speak with that much authority, not in the presence of our Shayde masters. He's tall. His hair is red-brown in color, long and braided. His face is bearded. He wears the uniform of an enforcer, but he looks nothing like the enforcers on the colony. There is strength in him and a sense of barely-contained menace. This Shayde, whoever he is, is dangerous.
And hot.
Two Shayde flank him, both wearing the uniforms of the enforcers. One of them has short, spiky black hair and a smile on his face, while the other, also impossibly gorgeous, looks like this room is the last place he wants to be.
“Well, Klaus?” The Shayde turns to the Overlord with a mocking smile. “I think that it's time to make this tournament a little bit more interesting, don't you?”
Overlord Zimmer chuckles, though his eyes are displeased. “Do you intend to sponsor the human, Jarl Saber?”
“Indeed, I do.” The Shayde—Jarl Saber is his name—moves toward to me. He stands in front of me, close enough that he’s within touching distance. Up close, I see that his eyes are glacier blue in color, as clear and bright as the ice deserts in the mid-morning sun. “It’ll liven up the proceedings. Come closer, human. Let me taste you.”
Surprisingly, the words aren’t layered with compulsion. If I wanted to, I could resist.
I swallow hard. By the laws of the Shayde, Jarl Saber, by agreeing to sponsor me, has bought me until the tournament is over. He has the right to bed me, to share me with his fellow Shayde, to feed on me, and whatever else he wants.
Only until the end of the tournament, I tell myself. You can do this.
I do as the Shayde orders, stepping closer to him and offering him my neck. He dips his head and takes a deep breath, and his nostrils flare. “Well, well,” he says, so low that only I can hear him. “Today seems to be my lucky day.”
8
Saber
Adam Masev was right. Boarus 4 is about as cold and bleak a place a
s you can find in the Empire. Most of the planet’s surface is frozen, and it seems largely uninhabitable. The only reason anyone lives here is because of boarium. There are eleven thousand residents here, all connected in some way, shape or form with the mines. Ten thousand humans and one thousand Shayde, all tightly packed into pods in twenty-five sectors.
Ottar bit the human in Sector 21. The night we arrived, the three of us headed out to see the tunnel where it happened. “You should be careful,” Zimmer warned us. “The humans have taken to forming gangs in the outer sectors, looking to rob anyone that passes by. They won’t dare attack a Shayde, of course, but I’d feel a lot better if you took armed guards along.”
Predictably, Nero asked the obvious question. “If gangs are roaming around, why don’t your enforcers do something about them?” he demanded.
Zimmer looked puzzled. “They’re human,” he said. “Why would I waste my resources on them?”
It’s administrators like this—greedy, venal, absolutely convinced in the superiority of the Shayde—that gives the Empire a bad name and spawns a thousand rebellions.
The Overlord isn't stupid enough to directly oppose us, of course. Instead, he's organized banquet after useless banquet in our honor, tying up our time so we can’t do the work we’ve been sent to do. Today, he’s trying to get us to attend the choosing. “We get so few visitors from Starra,” he says, his tone fawning and obsequious. “Everyone is very excited to meet you.”
If it weren't for Zeke's hacking, I'd have exploded by now. But my teammate has broken into Zimmer’s systems as soon as we landed on Boarus 4, and he’s tracking their search for the woman that Ottar Thistle bit. So far, they haven’t found anything.
“We’re here on a mission, Overlord Zimmer,” I reply, doing my best to keep the irritation out of my voice. “The Night of the Shayde is extremely important, of course, but that’s not the reason we’re here. We need to find the human woman.”
