“Eye cramp, mercenary?” The mocking tone had Felix grinding his teeth.
Speak of the devil. That was the phrase, yes? “You are supposed to be ‘fixing this,’ are you not?” Felix pushed away from the table and stood, stretching.
Trevon set down a tray of food on a small side table they’d set up in the extra room for just that purpose. “Eat. I’ll take over for a while.” He looked over to Levi, who sat another small table and had his head buried in printed-out schematics and calculations on the crystal. The Prizzoli had barely come up for air since Zeynar had handed the folder to him. “You too.”
Felix grunted and grabbed a sandwich. Zeynar crossed to Levi and nudged his leg with a foot. It wasn’t quite a kick.
Felix chewed and swallowed. “You are an ikpul.”
“Yes, I am a… bastard,” he said, switching to English, and the last word was unfamiliar. Trevon looked from Felix to Levi and back. “I could help you with English. I know all the bad words, all the insults.” The last was said in a teasing, coaxing tone.
Felix almost laughed. Almost, but he held it in. He would not give in to the charm of this man.
Levi, though, looked like he was thinking about the offer. Slowly he nodded. “I would appreciate that.” He rose and crossed to the food. “Thank you for this.”
Zeynar shrugged and took Levi’s seat, fingering through the papers. He wasn’t studying them, not really. He pulled out a few of the schematics and charts on wavelength, looked them over, then tossed them back on the table.
“I am afraid all this is useless. Yes, my father conducted tests, but he never figured out how to replicate the effect. And without a crystal to actively test, we’re not going to be able to know for sure if anything works.” He slapped a palm over another pile. “I don’t like making moves without all the information.”
Felix couldn’t resist. “Isn’t that what you did earlier? With Blue and Forrest? Didn’t seem to work out like you wanted.”
Zeynar lifted a brow. “And how do you know what I wanted?”
“It was clever.” Levi finished off one sandwich and picked up another. This one was lighter meat. “Or not clever, depending on the goal. But he did effectively push them closer together. Were you just testing?” He shot an inquiring look at Zeynar.
He laughed. “Yes, I was mostly testing. The boy came back with her. But he’s young, and people that age often don’t know what they really want.”
“And how old are you?” Felix raised a brow of his own.
“Old enough to know what I want when it’s right in front of me. And to do something about it.”
Felix stiffened. “Do not… screw with me.” Portia’s face flashed before him, a hurt so old it had mostly healed over. He’d thought her perfect, and he’d not recognized the façade until it was almost too late. That relationship had messed with him too badly, twisted something in him so that it nearly had broken. Just the idea of opening himself up again sent a bolt of panic through him. What if Blue…
Trevon held up his hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it. One more question, though. Why learn English? Mo’ata could have translated. And you are very proficient already, much more than our Prizzoli over here. Have a gift for languages?”
Felix didn’t answer, just went back to eating. The answer to that question was not so simple, and he refused to examine it. He was being a coward, and he knew it. He swallowed the last bite and took a quick drink of foka. While there was not much alcohol in there, it still burned slightly going down, refreshing him. “Let’s get back to work. Like you said, if we can not contain the crystal, then all of this is useless and we have bigger problems than fighting over one little girl.”
Zeynar snorted but said no more, just went back to reviewing the data spread before him. After a few minutes he pulled out one report with a small note scribbled in a corner of the top sheet. “If we can’t contain the crystal, can we contain Phillip? Drug him, as Blue put on her list? Tell me how this works, the bond.”
“There hasn’t been a true bond in ages. I don’t know any more about how it works than what I’ve already told everyone. Drugging him… no, I wouldn’t. Maybe as a last resort, but we don’t know if the bond would break. If it did, like it would if we simply killed Phillip, and if the crystal sought out a new host...” Weariness crept into Levi’s voice. “If the crystal seeks out a new host, then we lose any advantages we have.”
The advantage he referred to was Blue, and Phillip’s fixation. Felix carefully set down the remaining few bites of his sandwich, keeping a rein on his temper. More and more he was coming to hate the necessity of using her. It didn’t sit well with him.
Zeynar continued, either ignoring the undercurrents in the room or unaware of them. “Then tell me more about those who can use the crystals. Why did the bonding start with Phillip? Why not Etu, who had been using it longer? Is it the person, how the crystal is handled, or something else? How do you detect who will be able to use the crystals? Is it just a trial and error? Do the Elders go around with a case of them and see who responds? Do they have to use it before anyone can tell? Explain it to me.” He studied the paper as he spoke, then picked up a pen and circled a few lines.
“It is like… a selection,” Levi said. “All children who reach the age of five are brought to them. Those who can sense the crystals are taken and trained. Some, like me, become guards—agents for the Elders—or enforcers. Protectors. Some, those who are able to direct and control the crystals, are taken in by the Elders and groomed. Etu was one such, but his ability was just passable, if the rumors are true.”
“And you could sense these crystals but not use them?”
“It is true. I could sense them, track them, but I failed the test of use.” Levi looked away.
“I would call that passing, personally. These crystals are like the worst of drugs, addictive and soul destroying. You’d have to be a saint to use them well and wisely.”
“Saint?”
“Sorry, Earth term. Basically, you’d have to be beyond reproach, possessing only virtues, all that bullshit,” Zeynar said.
“Bull-shit?”
Zeynar laughed, and even Felix grinned. He’d learned that one already from Forrest. “Deceptive or misleading talk. It is a vulgar slang term,” Felix said.
“See? You are learning all the useful English terms already,” Zeynar said to Levi with a grin. Then he sobered. “Explain again how the crystals are contained on your planet. How are the potential users kept away from them or given a rest from their influence?”
Levi didn’t answer right away, staring into nothing, eyes narrowed. “The initiates are not blocked, but they are kept away from the crystals. Distance helped. Training was in one camp and quarters were in another. Guards rotate frequently. Distance is the only thing we use.” His eyes widened. “Distance. We need to put distance between Phillip and the crystal.” His face fell. “I fear it is too late for that. He can already use its power without being in direct contact.”
“Right, the connection Phillip has extends beyond a physical one. But any kind of bond or sense is always there without actual contact, or none of you would be able to sense the crystals without touching them. So how do we disrupt that connection?” Trevon mused absently as he stared at the report he still held.
Felix’s thoughts stilled. That was it. “Levi, at any point while on Karran or your own world, did you feel… muffled? Not just your awareness of the crystal, but in general? Blunted, like you couldn’t see something you should or you no longer heard something that you always had?”
Rumors had always abounded about Turamm—a particularly isolated world of the Alliance—that a portion of the population could sense thoughts and emotions. Though it was an open world, the people didn’t travel much, and when they did, they always wore jewelry made of Turammin. Turammin, a metal of high strength and conductance. Turammin, that when a current of a precise voltage was passed through it, it formed a shield most surveillance couldn’t penetra
te. The reception area of the Turamm branch of the Ministry was coated in it.
And then there was the man he’d once met, drunk in a bar just off the eastern shopping district of Tremmir. He wore chains of the metal around his neck, and cuffs of it adorned his wrists. He’d mumbled of his discontent at being given a job-run that forced him to leave his home. And he’d grumbled that he’d felt “blind,” like his head was wrapped in a haze. A little thing. Not much, but…
“Fuck. I am an idiot. A dolt, an imbecile.” Zeynar spat out unfamiliar words as he jumped up, waving that paper he’d been staring at. “It says it right here. Right. Here.” He spun and focused on Levi. “Did you ever go into the tunnels? I know you were in the shop, the scent shop, but how far into the smuggling tunnels did you go? How deep?”
Levi’s eyes widened. “Not far. Just enough to confirm the trackers I’d planted worked. I made it about a mile, then I started to feel disoriented. Like—”
“Like something was messing with your sense of direction,” Zeynar finished, satisfaction radiating from him. He thrust the paper in Felix’s face. “The draining chamber. They moved it. Had to move it out of the main tunnels. At first they were right under the main house, easy access.”
Felix snatched the report and read the scrawled note. “Interference of waves; no turammin.” He and Zeynar were thinking along the same lines. “Too easy.”
“Maybe. We lined all but the outermost tunnels in it years ago. We need to test this.” He snatched up his comm and was almost out the door when he must have realized neither of the other two were following. “Let’s go. We need to see if this will work. Get your asses in gear!”
He smiled despite himself. Ass… in gear? It must be another one of Earth’s idioms. Blue and Forrest used them frequently as well, and they were nonsense more often than not. He wasn’t sure this particular one was translating correctly into Common. No one’s ass had gears.
He followed Zeynar out of the room, Levi close behind him. He couldn’t wait to tell little Blue what they had discovered. They still needed to confirm it, but it looked like there may just be a way to come out of this.
He wanted to see her smile. As he strode down the corridor, he refused to think of what that meant.
BLUE
Blue squinted her eyes at the footage, then blinked a few times. Everything was blurry. Reaching out, she paused the surveillance feed and leaned back. “I need a break.”
Jason paused his own. “I think we all do.”
She, Jason, and one of Zeynar’s men had all been assigned the task of going through the additional footage sent over by Sora. Meanwhile Forrest and Mo’ata compiled what they found with the information from Brendan Faust and tried to spot a pattern. Things were coming together, but it was slow. Levi, Felix, and Trevon were working on how to block the crystal. They’d gone charging down the hall a few minutes ago but had refused to say more than that they had an idea.
Reaching out, Jason pulled her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s get some food. When did you last eat?”
She blushed. Mo’ata had woken her and Forrest with a tray of food and an admonishment to not laze around all day. It had been sweet and slightly awkward. She had been vaguely embarrassed for Mo’ata to see her like that, snuggled in bed with Forrest. Until then, she’d kept her time with the two of them separate, no overlaps. And she hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk to Mo’ata about what had happened between her and Forrest. She figured he knew, what with the sly grins she’d caught him giving them. This morning had been… cozy. Intimate, even if it was just for a moment.
I’ll have to get used to things like that.
“Blue?” Jason pulled her back to the present. “Food?”
“Oh, yeah. Ummm, I had breakfast.”
“It’s past lunch. I think food is a good idea.” He took her hand and led her to the hall. “We’ll bring the other guy back something.”
“Killian.”
“Hmmm?”
They were nearly to the bottom of the stairs, and the smell of roasting meat and fresh bread had her stomach rumbling. “His name is Killian. He came with Trevon.”
His hand tightened on hers. “Right.” He stopped at a small table in the corner. “This looks like a good spot.”
A larger table close to the front windows was also empty. “What about that one? We could get the guys down here as well. They probably haven’t eaten either.”
His face closed. “Of course.”
When they were seated, he asked a server to check on the various rooms assigned to them and to deliver the message. A few minutes later she returned. “I did not get any answers.”
Right, the Terrible Trio had left a little while ago. Something about the three of them together screamed Trouble! at her, like either they’d all beat each other senseless or start a brawl somewhere. She wondered briefly where Mo’ata and Forrest were, but wasn’t too concerned. They had the other of Trevon’s men with them, Jonas, for backup. Things were a bit scattered right now; maybe they were just at the stables.
They put in their order, Blue asking for stew, and waited. The food arrived shortly after, and she dug in. Warmth exploded in her belly and spread through her. “Thank you for dragging me away. I really did need this.” She tore off a chunk of bread and dipped it in the gravy.
He shrugged. “It’s nothing. Plus, I would have thought one of the men hovering around you would have come to check on you to make sure you’re taken care of.”
She paused, another bite of bread halfway to her mouth, and raised her brows. Maybe Trevon could help her figure out how to do the one-eyebrow trick. I’ll ask when I’m not mad at him. “I wasn’t aware I needed someone to feed me.”
His back went ramrod straight. “I didn’t mean…” His cheeks colored, and he closed his eyes. “Sorry. I’m still getting used to the idea that you’re here. Really here. I didn’t think I’d see you again, see any of you.” There was a faint glimmer in his eyes before he blinked it away.
“I get it. But”—she jabbed the bread at him for emphasis—“I’ve fielded this line of talk so many times already. Between you, the Dynamic Duo, and the Terrible Trio, I’d be stuck rolled up in, I don’t know, a fluffy cloud-blanket of bunny fur and locked away in a closet for the rest of my life. Well, maybe not by the Terrible Trio. Or Forrest. Okay, Mo’ata is the worst culprit, but still.”
He snorted out a laugh. “Terrible Trio?”
“I just get the feeling if left alone, they’d get in trouble. Or make it. Big time.”
“I think you may be right.” He relaxed back in his seat. “What are your plans after this?”
“After we avert the end of the worlds as we know them?”
He nodded.
“I go to school.” If there was a slight whine to her voice, she was going to ignore it.
“I could try to help out there, talk to the Dean, see if we can smooth the transition some,” Jason offered, earnest. “I think that would be great. I haven’t gotten a new off-world assignment yet. We could spend some time together, really catch up. I could help show you around.”
“That would be nice. I know Forrest will appreciate it as well. He’s planning to try to get into the art program at the university.”
He nodded, smile still in place, though it looked a little forced now. “I’ll see what I can do there as well.”
“Blue.” Forrest appeared beside the table. “You need to get out to the barn. Beast is acting weird.” He grabbed her hand, and she rushed out the side door after him, Jason following right behind. “We can’t get him to calm down. We’re afraid he’s going to hurt himself trying to get out of the stall.”
Blue yanked her hand from Forrest’s and rushed to the rear of the barn where Beast was housed. Loud, squealing neighs and the sound of hooves and horns crashing into the stall walls set her heart pounding. What could have set him off?
A sense of worry, fear, and anger reached her. It was vague—she almost didn’t notice it—but as soo
n as Beast caught sight of her, he calmed down and so did the worry.
She halted just outside of the door, and Beast stuck his head over the top, sniffing at her. He snorted once, then grabbed the edge of her collar in his teeth, tugging gently. She hurried to open the stall door and slipped in. Beast crowded her into the far corner and stood in front of her, giving off his growl of protection.
“What. The. Hell?” Forrest stared at them with his mouth open.
Mo’ata had his back to her, gaze locked on the doorway to the barn. Jason looked around, a slightly bewildered look on his face.
“What just happened here?” Blue placed her hand on Beast’s side, trying to soothe him and push him out of the way at the same time. He didn’t budge.
Moments later the cubs came tumbling through the barn door and raced to Beast’s stall. They climbed up the stall walls and perched on top, crouching, hair raised. Images of Beast blocking her, keeping her in the corner crowded her mind along with a sense of satisfaction.
“Something’s coming. They can tell.” Mo’ata’s low voice just reached her over Beast’s growls. The cubs soon joined in, sending out high-pitched cries of warning.
We were going to have a talk about these animals when this was over. And how the hell did they get out of the room?
Beast pressed into her harder just as Jason cursed. “Shit. Someone grab him. Get him down on the floor.”
A blur of orange robes and red hair flashed by, heading to the front of the barn. Beast blocked everything but a small glimpse of a now empty corridor. The back of Forrest’s head came into view.
“What is going on up there?” she hissed.
Forrest’s shoulders hunched, but he didn’t turn around. “I think that’s Etu. At least it looks like the guy Levi found on the surveillance. He’s speaking in Common, and I can’t make out much more than Phillip’s name. Fuck.”
Blue pulled out her comm and started to call Levi, then thought better of it. She hit the contact for Felix.
“Blue?”
Beyond Blue Frontiers Page 20
