"I can't keep my ship?"
"No. You'll get a much bigger one, one day."
"But... what if I decide not to become... like you?"
"Then you'll be reimbursed, and you can buy another."
Pryan nodded. "All right, I guess. What happens to my ship?"
"Give it away."
"Or sell her?"
"You won't need the money, but do as you wish."
Pryan frowned, looking thoughtful, then turned to Tassin. "I want you to have her."
She smiled. "Thank you. I'll take good care of her."
"You'll have to keep an eye on the pulse field generator, and keep the klyon volt input valves well oiled, or they stick. And the rotational release wheel sometimes jams."
"Sabre will know what to do."
"Yeah, I guess so." Pryan shot a curious glance at the cyber. "Why doesn't he free himself now?"
"I think he's waiting for me to tell him it's safe."
"Right." He held out his hand. "Thank you, for all that you've done for me."
Tassin took it. "I'm glad for you."
He nodded. "Yes, you are. You're also very sad, and that's a shame. I hope you get home safely, and one day I'll come and visit you."
"I'd like that."
Ramadaus turned to Fairen. "I'll take my leave."
"My thanks, for your aid."
Ramadaus nodded and headed for the door, where the guards bowed to him.
Pryan watched him leave, then faced Tassin. "I don't like him. He wants to kill Sabre."
"I know."
Fairen sat forward. "You sensed that without touching him?"
"I don't have to touch people."
"Well. I'm impressed. You're more talented than I thought."
Pryan shrugged and shuffled his feet. "Riana was better at it than me. She taught me how to do it, but she could read people's thoughts too. That's why Trina hated her so much."
"Your sister was a telepath?"
"Yeah. If she looked at someone all the way across the room she could tell you what they were thinking."
"But you can't do that."
"No, I can only feel what people feel."
"Good." Fairen sat back, nodding.
"If he was a telepath, he couldn't be an Overlord, could he?" Tassin asked.
"No."
A short silence fell, and then Fairen glanced at Sabre. “Please tell him it’s safe now.”
Tassin’s heart ached at the prospect of the painful ordeal ahead of him, which she dreaded, but she longed to have him back. The cyber band's green lights seemed to mock her when she went to his side and placed a hand on his arm, drawing its attention. He turned his head towards her, his eyes staring through her.
"It's safe, Sabre. Trina's dead. Free yourself."
"Order not understood."
Tassin bit her lip, averting her eyes from his blank gaze. "Come on. Time to take control again."
"Take control of what?"
She glanced at Fairen, who watched Sabre with intense blue eyes that shone with concern and curiosity. She tried to touch Sabre's cheek, but he turned his head away.
"Sabre, come on. It's time. Ramadaus has gone."
"Are you sure he can hear you?" Fairen enquired.
"Yes. He's just... It takes a lot out of him."
"Is there anything that can be done to help him?"
"No. He can do it on his own." Tassin gazed at the control unit, willing him to enter the mental battle with it and win. The lights remained green, and Pryan stepped closer.
"Maybe I can help?"
"No, I think it would be a bad idea for an empath to get involved. It's very painful."
Pryan nodded, frowning, and Tassin glanced up at the brow band again, waiting. Several anxious minutes passed, then the topmost two green lights in the centre of the band began to flash.
"It's starting," she said.
The lights turned red, continuing to flash. She tried to recall what Tarl had said they meant, but could not. Another light flashed, and the first two stopped, remaining red, then the seventh control light flashed red. Another started to flash as the first steadied. Tassin found that she was holding her breath and let it out. A muscle in Sabre's cheek twitched, and she stepped back, releasing his arm. The fifth control light flashed red, then the fourth, and Sabre's hands snapped up to grip the brow band, his face tense. Tassin swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, her eyes stinging. He sank to his knees, then sat back on his haunches as the third control light turned red.
Red lights filled the brow band now; only the last two control lights remained green. Sabre keeled over onto his back, the muscles on his arms and chest bulging as he strived to tear the control unit from his skull. Blood seeped from around the struts, and his back arched as he convulsed. Pryan rubbed his head and Fairen frowned.
Sabre writhed, forcing Tassin to retreat, and the second control light turned red. He groaned, a deep, husky sound of pain, and she stifled a sob, covering her mouth. Blood ran down his brow to drip onto the floor as his hands strained at the cyber band. The last control light started to flash. Sabre rolled onto his side, as tense as a coiled spring. The control unit blazed red, then most of the lights went out, save for a few flashing red ones, some of which turned green again.
Sabre lay still, breathing hard, then he unhooked his fingers from the band and flexed them, opening his eyes. Tassin went to his side and knelt, longing to embrace him.
She glanced at Fairen. "He needs a painkiller."
Fairen addressed the wall. "Commander, send a medic on the double."
"Yes, My Lord," the wall replied.
Sabre rolled onto his back with a groan, rubbed his brow and studied the blood on his fingers.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
He nodded, closing his eyes. "I'll be fine. I just... need a moment."
"Of course." Tassin placed her hand on his forearm in a gesture of concern and affection. Sabre's breathing slowed, but he looked drained, his face drawn.
"What happened to your hand?"
She glanced down at the bandage. "It's just a cut."
"And your ribs." He grimaced, rubbing his brow again. "I'm sorry."
She nodded, tears stinging her eyes. "It's all right. We're alive. That's all that matters."
Two men in white suits came running in and hurried over to Sabre at Fairen's gesture. One of them injected Sabre with a painkiller at Fairen’s direction, after which they retreated at his wave. Sabre sat up and bowed his head, resting for several minutes while the painkiller took effect. When he looked up, the lines of strain on his face had eased. He rose to his feet, helping Tassin up, and approached the dais.
"Thank you for coming."
The boy inclined his head. "I was glad to repay you for saving me. Your fight with Ramadaus' cyber was spectacular. Could you have beaten him?"
Sabre shook his head. "I might have, but not the cyber."
"They became synchronised, didn't they?" Tassin asked.
"Yes. When pitted against another of the same grade, cybers fall into training patterns, matching each other exactly. One of the shortcomings of a machine: no imagination. They weren't designed to fight each other. It might even be a deliberate ploy on the part of the Myon Two programmers, to prevent cybers being used for sport against each other. It doesn't stop it completely, but it makes it a bit boring to watch for several hours."
"I found it fascinating, and impressive," Fairen stated. "But you must be tired. Go and rest, if you wish."
Sabre nodded. "Thanks, I will."
Fairen signalled to the guards at the door. "Show them to a stateroom."
When they reached the luxurious suite, with its black and red décor, Tassin turned to Sabre as soon as the door closed and hugged him. He rocked back on his heels in surprise, then enfolded her in a gentle embrace.
"Hey, it's okay. What's wrong?"
"It was horrible, seeing you like that."
"I'm okay. Knowing that I could get
free if I really wanted to made it easier to accept, and... I wasn't thinking straight."
She looked up at him. "What did she do to you?"
"I don't know. I just felt really strange, like my thoughts weren't my own. I had feelings for her like I have for you, but I knew they weren't real, and yet I couldn't stop them. It was almost like being under cyber control, but not. I was still in charge of my body, but not my thoughts, which was worse, if anything. And it was hazy, like a bad dream I couldn't wake up from. Is this making sense?"
"I suppose so, but why couldn't you fight her?"
"I don't know. It was like I was drugged. I had no willpower. I could only do what she wanted, feel what she wanted."
Tassin hugged him again, wincing as her ribs protested. She did not care about the pain; she needed him to hold her more than anything. Sabre pried her arms away and led her over to the massive quilted bed, made her sit on it and settled beside her.
"You should be resting. I know how much cracked ribs hurt. And how did you cut your hand?"
She told him, and he shook his head, frowning. "You should have stayed out of it. That cyber could have killed you."
"I had to do something, and I thought if I could distract one of them you'd have more of a chance."
"If Fairen hadn't come when he did, it would have ended badly anyway, only you might have been killed as well."
"I didn't care, if you were going to die."
Sabre raised a hand and ran his fingertips down the side of her face, studying her intently, as if trying to plumb the depths of her soul with his piercing silver gaze. His fingers came to rest on her cheekbone and lingered there, his thumb caressing her skin, making her breath catch and her heart pound. He lowered his hand, drew her into his arms and laid his cheek on her brow.
"You're an amazing, beautiful, stupid girl, you know that?"
Tassin relaxed against him, smiling. "I'll agree with the first two."
He chuckled, his breath catching in a strange little hiccup. "I don't deserve you."
"What's wrong?" She tried to pull away, but his arms tightened.
"Nothing." Sabre lay back, holding her close. The temptation to relax beside him was strong, but she fought it, raising her head to gaze down at him. He closed his eyes, but tears seeped from under his lids and ran down into his hair. Tassin wiped away the wetness, marvelling at the depths of his gentleness.
"It's all right to cry, you know."
"It's not very manly, though, is it?" He rubbed his eyes.
"It is, actually. It's human. Is it because you killed Trina?"
"No."
"Then what?"
He sighed. "Always the inquisition."
"I want to know."
"You always do."
"Why don't you want to tell me?"
Sabre opened his eyes, raised a hand and stroked her cheek. "It's you."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Why? What have I done?"
"You love me."
"Oh." She blinked, recalling her admission to Ramadaus.
"And I'm now convinced."
"That I love you? I would have thought -"
"No." He shook his head. "That I love you."
"Oh." Tassin stared at him, dumbstruck, and he pulled her back down onto his chest.
"Promise me something."
"What?"
"That you'll never do anything that stupid again."
"I don't think it was stupid."
He chuckled. "You wouldn't."
Tassin hugged him, her heart aching with profound joy, bringing with it a deep sense of fulfilment and belonging, as if being in his arms was the only thing that mattered, and, in that moment, it was. It had been a long and difficult ordeal that had brought her to this moment of utter contentment, and her dream had finally come true. For some time she revelled in her newfound happiness, listening to the steady sounds of his breaths and the rhythmic beat of his heart. When she raised her head, he opened his eyes.
"Let's ask Fairen to ma -"
His hand clamped over her mouth, surprising her, and a faint frown tugged at his brows. "How about you wait until you're asked?"
She pulled his hand away, smiling. "All right, no need to get violent."
"Violent?" He snorted, then chuckled.
She propped her elbows on his chest and rested her chin on her hands. "Speaking of violence, do you still think of umpteen ways to break my neck when we're close like this?"
"There are only three ways, and no, I don't."
"When did that stop?"
"A while ago," he said.
"That's good. What about that flashing light?”
“That’s always going to be there, but I’ve learnt to ignore it.”
“So when are you going to ask me?"
He smiled. "When I'm ready."
"Can I give you my answer now?"
"No."
"But you know what it is, anyway."
"No surprises there, I suppose."
Tassin giggled, and gasped as her ribs protested. Sabre pulled her close again and rolled onto his side so she could lie in front of him, enfolded in his arms.
"Get some rest."
Tassin sighed, her heart filled with intense happiness. She sensed that he still had much to learn about being human, and the fact that he had not even kissed her when he had admitted his feelings spoke volumes about his inability to express himself as a normal man would. Then again, he had all these warning lights about proximity and probably prudery, further inhibiting any natural inclinations. Once more they had overcome the obstacles in their path and would soon be on their way home again, this time in their own ship, albeit an old one. Fate seemed to be smiling, and the future looked rosy at last. She let her hopes invade her dreams as she slipped away into the soft dark arms of sleep.
****
The Cyber Chronicles saga continues in Book VI, Warrior Breed, Book VII, Sabre, Book VIII, Scorpion Lord, Book IX, Precipice, and many more as yet unwritten.
About the author
T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and her family moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa. T. C. Southwell has written over forty novels and five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she earns a living in the IT industry.
All illustrations and cover designs by the author.
Contact the author at [email protected]
Acknowledgements
Mike Baum and Janet Longman, former employers, for their support, encouragement, and help. My mother, without whose financial support I could not have dedicated myself to writing for ten years. Isabel Cooke, former agent, whose encouragement and enthusiasm led to many more books being written, including this one. Suzanne Stephan, former agent, who has helped me so much over the past six years, and Vanessa Finaughty, good friend and business partner, for her support, encouragement and editing skills.
The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord Page 26
