by Casey Lea
“Yes,” she whispered, hoping it was true.
Raptor snapped a fresh com into place on her wrist and it brought instant relief. She clung to him with growing strength while the world spun past. It settled quickly to show a ring of hostile faces. The mob was quieter, but showed no sign of breaking up.
Her protector took a careful step toward the conveyor belt and forced an armored shoulder between two of the spider-bitten crowd.
However, the male and female ignored him to stare at Amber. Sweat ran into their eyes, but they remained unblinking. She gulped and when Raptor tried to lead her past they reached for her. Distant fingers gripped the com field over her arms and thunder rolled across the plaza when Raptor fired.
His blaster scorched the sky and everyone ducked away from the fireball expanding above them. Raptor tucked Amber under him, sheltering her until the blast faded. He pulled her upright, but they were still surrounded.
Amber tasted something sharp and spat red. A bloody glob landed in her palm and the crowd stirred, but Raptor’s out-sized weapon whined again, so no one moved. She looked up and grinned despite her split lips. Even if her bodyguard couldn’t part the crowd itself with his blaster, his glare might work just as well.
Raptor eyeballed those closest and tried to move again, but the response this time was worse. People pushed at them and someone even shoved his armor. He didn’t budge, although Amber flinched. She couldn’t get dragged down like prey. Not again.
A louder hum sounded, coming from the palace draped over the cliffs above. It crackled briefly and then Falkyn’s amplified voice boomed out.
“HOLD. BE STILL. SLEEP.”
The effect was immediate. The people surrounding them crumpled. They fell where they stood, tumbling onto each other and settling into a deep sleep.
Unfortunately, Raptor went down too. He sagged to his knees, before falling on his back with a clash of metal.
Amber struggled to resist, but her body had responded as quickly as everyone else’s. She wilted, to lie across Raptor’s chest, and her eyes began to close. She was almost asleep when his armor brushed her cut cheek, making her wince. The pain helped her fight Falkyn’s order.
She forced her eyes open and managed to push up onto her knees beside Raptor. His clenched jaw had finally relaxed and he was snoring. She had to shake him hard to make him stir and he seemed dazed.
“Where am I? What is this place? What am I doing here?”
“Raptor? Falkyn sent you to save me.”
The confusion left his eyes and he rolled to a crouch. Amber forced a smile for him, but he remained serious.
“I’m sorry, my Lady. Don't be too hopeful. The Arck sent me to escort you to safety, but he also told me to get you off his planet.” Raptor studied her with something that resembled sympathy, despite his set jaw. “What a mess.”
His mind was implacably shut, but his hands were very gentle when he helped her to her feet.
“I need to get you on a ship.”
“To Blossom,” Amber gasped and realized fate had finally caught up with her. “Take me to Lady Darsey.”
44
The Spider and the Fly
Raptor placed a hand on the small of Amber’s back to guide her along a carpeted passage to the Flight of Fancy’s observation deck. She could feel the tension in his fingers and sense his readiness to protect her. He must have traded every favor the Spacing Bureau owed him in order to empty out the other passengers who should have been aboard. She was incredibly grateful. She needed time to think and was desperate to be alone. Anyone passing nearby made her flinch.
Amber blinked back tears. “You’re much nicer than you used to be. To me.”
Raptor’s arm darted round her waist to stop her in the entrance to the observation deck and footsteps sounded from the chamber ahead. Amber pressed back into the shadows, until a single crew member had ambled past.
Raptor led the way again without comment, either verbal or mental. It seemed he understood her trauma. He settled her in silence on a soft bench-seat, under a crystal canopy that looked out into real space. The ship had launched and Kresynt was shrinking in the center of the dome. It looked like a snowball wearing a grey and green belt.
Raptor bowed and Amber managed to smile without wincing.
“I hope I’m nicer than my previous incarnation,” he said gruffly. “I’m certain-sure trying.”
Surprise brushed away Amber’s swollen smile. Raptor didn’t seem the sort of person to care what others thought of him. “Why?”
“I got over myself.”
Amber’s whisper of doubt grew louder. “What?”
“Is that not what the humans say? I finally realized I had to trust my Arck. I’m going to be true to my orders. I will keep you safe, my Lady.”
The promise was sincere and Amber felt its depth. The last of her suspicions faded away and she impulsively hugged Raptor. He instantly went stiff and she drew back with her hair rustling.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“I’m not the one with blushing hair,” he said roughly, but she caught him smiling as he turned away. It seemed her bodyguard had a heart after all.
Amber turned back to watch Kresynt become a pale marble in the dark. It was likely she’d never see it again. She felt a pang for the world that had been her home for ten generations. Falkyn was down there somewhere and little Harry – still healing. It was time to draw the danger far away from them. Past time. Her treacherous heart, enjoying the love of a family, had almost betrayed them all.
Amber needed to flee this world and its webs. Get ahead of Pierce again. At least she could thank her ex-husband for one thing. She wasn’t blindly waiting for death like most people. She knew what her fate was, so she could face it. It was time to stop wallowing in her grief and embrace it. Her life might be nearly over, but she was in control of what remained and that was a relief.
***
Raptor retreated a discreet distance and stopped with his back to the wall to watch over his charge. His lady finally seemed to have learnt silence and he studied her profile as she sat quietly under the stars. She looked almost gaunt, her cheekbones in sharp relief and her pain momentarily made his chest feel pinched as if it was hard to breathe. The attack by the mob had been unexpectedly lethal, but then he hadn’t thought she’d run so far and so fast. Now that he’d caught up he would keep her safe. Whatever it took.
A tickle on the back of Raptor’s hand made him glance down. A tiny spider, so lacking in color it was almost transparent crawled over his knuckles. If he hadn’t felt it, he never would have noticed it. He smiled and lifted his hand to his lips.
“Careful,” Raptor whispered. “Don’t reveal our secret, little one.”
The spider obediently scuttled up Raptor’s sleeve and the guard returned to studying Amber. He hoped it would be an uneventful trip. His lady needed her rest before the excitement truly began. He studied her closely and had to hide an indulgent smile.
It was difficult to believe Ambrosia still thought she had time to waste with her friends. She remained charmingly naïve, but he had no intention of waiting a year for his next meal. Perhaps he’d meant it at the time, but hunger was a powerful motivator, which had rendered their tentative agreement void. She would have deduced as much if she truly knew him.
Raptor tucked another stray arachnid up his sleeve and checked the web it had woven between his fingers. The report was gutting and he snatched a breath to keep his stolen body upright. It seemed his plans had been forced off track by some mongrel Flight and a couple of humans. His soldier spiders had been attacked on Blizzard. Their ranks were decimated and his timetable seriously delayed. He’d no longer be able to feed as soon as he had his pieces in place.
His borrowed organs knotted at the bad news, while his stomach growled. His next meal was tantalizingly close. He let his heavy lids fall for a second, finding fresh patience. The formation of new tunnels and construction of
fresh troops would take time, but the delay was acceptable. The altar was ready and soon all the puppets he needed for his drama would be in place. Food for his eternal body, plus a little entertainment for his eternally lonely mind.
Ambrosia stirred and looked back at him, then beckoned him to join her on the bench. It was unexpected, but delightful. He hurried forward and dropped to the seat beside her.
She offered a smile that made him struggle not to grin back. Her face was no longer swollen and the bruises were yellow instead of blue, but she had not yet reclaimed the beauty of their youth. Of course she hadn’t retrieved her full mind either, thanks to his arachnids, but he didn’t miss her sharp intelligence. Not at all.
It had taken all of his brilliance, supplemented by his children’s cunning, to sabotage her neural development while she was still a foetus. Fortunately the crystal she’d stolen millennia past still called to him and she’d been easy to find. She was always easy to find.
Amber stirred beside him and gave a small gasp. She must still be in pain and Raptor rested his hand lightly on hers. She turned hers over, palm up so she could tangle their fingers together. She twisted to frown up at him, but he avoided her gaze by tilting his head back to study the stars.
“You seem different in every way,” Ambrosia said. “Warmer, perhaps? I’m not certain-sure, but you’re easier to pass time with.”
“Good.” He paused to fight the smile trying to crawl across his numb face. “I hope to spend much time with you.”
“Raptor,” she said, “thank you. For stopping the mob. I don’t know what I would have-”
“Hush. Don’t speak of such. I’m here to protect you and will do so with the uttermost strength I possess.”
That seemed to satisfy his lady, who twisted her neck to look overhead too. The stars stared back, still and pitiless, far beyond the twinkle induced by the atmosphere.
“It’s nice to feel safe,” Ambrosia whispered and this time Raptor couldn’t hide his smile.
“Indeed it is.”
He clasped her fingers more tightly and his heart lifted. She sat beside him, all unknowing and held his hand, while the future raced to meet them. This was going to be delicious.
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