Raven's Sphere

by Melissa Koberlein

  Cole opens his mouth to reply but promptly shuts it as Emery enters the hall.

  He’s by my side in a nanosecond, wearing a tan Cadmarian suit like Garrick’s. “Raven, you look beautiful. That color reminds me of your old hair.”

  He smiles, and I can’t help but beam back at him despite the bile at the back of my throat from my previous conversation. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

  Emery looks past me as a server pushes a cart into the hall from the kitchen. “No way!”

  A traditional Cadmarian dinner includes courses of vegetables, fruits, cheeses, and baked goods. But to my dismay and surprise, Garren has acquired some of that dreadful cat food that Emery loves so much. His face is lit up for the entire dinner as he plows through at least a pound of the stuff. For the rest of us, including Garren, we make our best attempts to not gag with each spoonful of snarp on Emery’s spoon. She’s working hard to win him over, and my stomach churns at the thought of Emery alone with her.

  After dinner, she asks him if he would like to take a walk with her.

  “Yes, I’d…” He stops and looks in my direction. “Can Raven come too?”

  “I’ve asked Mr. Mason to escort Raven this evening,” she replies sweetly.

  Escort? Huh? Before I can reply, Cole strides over to me and offers his arm. “Miss Nevar?”

  Damn him and that smile to hell. I want to slap that stupid grin right off his face. Inwardly, I groan. Damn it, she knew exactly what she was doing. She’s punishing me by forcing me to spend time with Cole, who she knows I loathe, and separating me from Emery. Wow. She’s good. Her ability for social maneuvers and manipulation is top-notch. I should be taking notes. Ugh. As if it were possible to loathe myself even more than I already do.

  Biting down on my lip so hard that I taste blood, I reach up and take his arm. I whisper in his ear, “I hate you.”

  Cole whispers back, “I know. Just smile and look pleasant.”

  Through my teeth, I whisper, “Fuck you.”

  “That’s my girl.” He guides me out of the room and onto the walkways.

  I drop my hand as soon as we are out of Garren’s sight. There’s a guard assigned to us, instructed to be no more than two feet behind us at all times.

  “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” Cole asks, looking at the setting suns, one smaller than the other, just above the water.

  I quicken my pace, not wanting to engage in any of his niceties. How ridiculous. I mean, I know we are being watched, but I’m not going to have idle chit chat with a traitor.

  “Come on, Raven, you’ve got to at least talk to me,” he pleads, stopping on the walkway.

  I turn and face him, crossing my arms. “What’s there to talk about?”

  Cole turns to the guard. “Can you give us a little space? I mean there are monitors everywhere. Ten feet?”

  The guard presses a comm device on in his ear. “Mr. Mason is requesting a ten-foot leash.”

  Appropriate. He is a dog.

  A few seconds pass. “Eight feet.”

  “Thank you.” He grabs my arm and pushes me further away.

  I fight against him. “Cole, stop it. It doesn’t matter. What are you doing?”

  “I want to talk to you, and you’re going to listen.” His grip on my arm is insistent.

  I push him away and throw my hands up in the air. “Fine, what is it that you have to say to me?”

  Cole leans in closely. “I need to explain things to you and tell you why I did what I did. Will you hear me out?”

  He pauses, eyebrows raised. Not that it will make the tiniest bit of difference, I nod, reluctantly.

  “You were right about me finding out about the sphere on Mythos. I did sell the information to Garrick. That much is true. You, of all people, should understand why I’d do something like that. Frankly, whether you want to admit it or not, you would have done the same thing.”

  He’s not wrong. “Yes, but—”

  “Hang on, I’m not finished.”

  I roll my eyes and wave my hand for him to continue, not caring about his story either way.

  “I had no idea that you would be part of the price tag. So here’s what I didn’t do. I didn’t know that the Cadmarians planned on killing an entire race of people. There was no reason to think they would. I thought they were just going to steal the sphere. In fact, I offered to do it for them for some extra pay. But Garrick told me he would handle it. So I went back to Zeta. The money was to pay back Teagan for some stuff. Then you show up with Emery. Damn it, Raven, how do you get yourself in these situations? I mean what are the chances you end up with the last Mythosian, who just happens to have the most sought after weapon in the galaxy?”

  Me? So this is my fault? I cross my arms.

  “Well, then I realized you had feelings for the boy, which made things worse. You were finally acting like a normal person for the first time since you left Zeta. There was no way I could persuade you to give up Emery and the sphere, so I decided to help you.” He runs his hand through his hair and looks out into the darkening sea. “I’m still Zetian, you know, granted not the best of us, but still…and, if I may, I did save your ass to get off Cadmar in the first place. I could have just left the two of you on your own, but I didn’t. I was trying to buy time so that I could figure out what to do next. But then you screwed all that up by not charging the ship, and we were on a crash course with Verta Moon. That’s when I made the decision to call my contact while you and Emery were putting the sphere in the fuel cell. It was the only way to survive the moon.”

  He stops and chances a glance at me.

  I’m trying my best to not toss him off the walkway, which is difficult all things considered.

  “Before you give me that look, my plan worked. You and Emery are alive and unharmed. Well, for the most part.” He touches the slightly yellow spot on my cheekbone where the guard hit me with the back of his hand.

  I swipe away his hand like a pesky gnat, my ire surfacing. “I’m fine. This is all a likely story, but there’s just one problem. You never, not once, told me what you were up to. Why is that, exactly?”

  Cole shifts from side to side and stares back at me, his gaze penetrating mine as if the expression alone is enough of an answer to my question. I raise my eyebrows, waiting for a real answer even though I already know I can’t trust whatever that may be.

  “First of all, I didn’t think you’d be this mad at me for doing what we both do all the time. And don’t you dare try to deny it. If you heard about the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, you would see dollar signs just like I did.”

  He pauses, and I kind of want to acknowledge that I did have those same feelings when I first met Emery. But I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.

  “You always want to think I’m out to get you.” His voice is strangled like he’s having trouble finding the words. He looks out at the vast Cadmarian waters, his eyes unreadable, hands on his hips. “I can’t, for the life me, understand why.”

  I’m not sure how to answer him. I’m still so angry, yet I feel a small sense of…I don’t know…remorse? Is what he’s saying true? Have I been unfair?

  Then he’s talking again. “Do you not remember what we were like together? Or is it that you don’t want to?”

  I rub my temples and look out at the sea. He’s right. I don’t want to remember. He was a part of the life I’ve tried to forget. My head aches, and I’m weary from the conversation. What good could possibly come from talking about the past?

  I glance back at him. His eyes are filled with contrition and something else, something I don’t want to touch. Part of me wishes I could just forgive and forget all that has happened. That way he’d leave me alone for my last bit of freedom. But there’s no way I can do that now. Not when Emery’s life might be on the line. I can’t let my guard down. Never again. That ship has hyper-jumped.

  “You’re dodging my question. Why didn’t you tell me what you were up to?”
/>   Cole looks back into my eyes, and I feel the gravity of his heart bearing down on me. He grasps my shoulders, his masculine scent not only on my skin but in my mind, coercing my subconscious into submission, cajoling my face toward his, his intense blue eyes on mine. “Because I care about you, damn it!” He sighs and lightens his grip on me. “And you care for me too. If only you’d admit it.”

  I stagger back from him, breathless, my mind awhirl. His sincerity is stifling. He’s telling the truth. But why tell me this now? Breathe. Get it together, my mind tells my heart.

  “You say you care about me? How’s that work? By screwing me over and not telling me?”

  He rubs the back of his neck, his brow furrowed. “Don’t you see? The old Raven, the Raven I grew up with, she resurfaced, and it was because of Emery. I couldn’t take that away from you. I tried to fix my mistake. I didn’t want you to know that it was because of me that Emery’s people died. I didn’t want the only girl I ever cared about to hate me more than she already does. Maybe I’m a coward for that. But I was stuck. I couldn’t tell you the truth, and I couldn’t get myself out of the mess either.”

  I turn away from him and stare up at the fortress. Emery is walking those halls with Garren right now, and I’m out here with this crazy ass wreaking havoc on my resolve. “So what you’re saying is that not only did you deceive me, but you did it because you care?”

  “Yeah, I guess that about sums it up.”

  This can’t be happening. I’m on death row, and now he’s decided that he cares for me? I spin back around to face him, my heart pounding like a drum, and shove him hard. “You have lost your damn mind. What are you expecting me to say? I don’t trust you.” I stab at his chest with my bionic index finger for extra emphasis. “Do you hear me? I. Don’t. Trust. You. I should never have trusted you. I knew you were hiding something. I just couldn’t figure out what it was. Now I know, and let me be perfectly clear, I can never trust you again for as long as I live, and that’s looking like days.”

  “Oh yeah, that reminds me.”

  “Reminds you—”

  Before I can finish, Cole grabs me by the shoulders and crushes his mouth against mine, knocking me so off balance that we topple backward off the walkway and drop ten feet, crashing into the water, dress and all.

  I flail against the waves and Cole, trying to right myself. What the hell is he thinking? I’m about to beat the crap out of him when he grabs me by the neck and draws his mouth to my ear. “They can’t hear us down here. Be ready tomorrow. I’ll come for you. You secure Emery. I’ll get the sphere.”

  Then he backs away from me and raises his hands as the guards aim down at us from the walkway.

  Now you want to help me? Now? I sigh, looking at his water-logged silhouette. Something inside me, something betraying my anger at what he’s done, forces me to whisper, “Don’t touch the sphere with your bare hand.”

  Then we are being pulled from the water by Garren’s guards.

  18

  Escape

  Day three in the fortress.

  My last day. Whether I go to prison, die, or go free, I won’t be living this pretend life of luxury anymore. First on my list of tasks, I request my weaponless black battle suit and go back to my short, blue locks. If I’m going out, I’m going out as me. Now, what the hell am I going to do about Cole and his plan, if he even meant what he said?

  He said he would take care of the sphere and I should get Emery. Even if that were possible, how on Zeta is he planning on getting us off Cadmar? I mean, I’ve come up with some crazy plans before, but getting the three of us and a highly guarded weapon out of the most militarized fortress in the galaxy is no simple feat. I groan. Today is going to be anything but easy. Cole never mentioned a meetup point or time, but we didn’t have time to discuss that. So without much of a plan, I head for Emery’s room with my personal guard in tow. Best to keep Emery close all day.

  I knock on his door a few times, but there’s no answer. Breakfast already? I walk down to the dining hall only to find it empty. Where is he?

  Garren walks into the hall with her practice battle gear on.

  “Looking for Emery?” she asks, calculating.

  “Yes, Your Majesty. I haven’t seen him this morning.”

  She studies me for a minute, probably trying to gauge if she should tell me where he is. She points to a window to my right. “Look out, just there.”

  I look out. Emery is outside with the sphere. He’s levitating it up and down, back and forth. “What’s he doing?”

  Garren moves to the window to stand next to me. “He’s practicing.”

  I’ve got a bad feeling about this. “For what?”

  “He needs to master the sphere if we are to use it, of course. Wasn’t it you who told me only he could wield it?”

  I swallow slowly, hoping she can’t read my apprehension. “Well, yes, but…”

  “We are translating some ancient digital scrolls that were found in the monastery on Mythos. They might hold the key to understanding why only Emery can touch the sphere. In fact, one of my advisors believes we will have a breakthrough soon.” She watches me closely, testing the information, to gauge if I know more.

  I shrug. “Well, good luck to you, Your Majesty. Can I go see him?”

  “Of course, but please don’t distract him from his practice. We need him ready for my brother’s next move.”

  She’s goading me. Okay, I’ll bite. “Emery will never go along with that.”

  Garren watches Emery thoughtfully, unaffected. “Oh, yes he will. We have you to hold over his head.”

  I stop breathing. So that’s the plan—take over the galaxy and everyone in it, and she’s going to use me to force Emery to do it.

  “Enjoy your last day.” She smiles, nodding at her guards to watch me, and sachets confidently out of the room.

  Starfire! I can’t just lie down and be hauled off to prison and used as a pawn. I’ve got to get Emery away from her. My chest heaves, and I can’t catch my breath.

  Okay, calm down. I glance around the room.

  Water.

  I sit down at a table and gulp down a glass of water as I work out a plan. Get Emery alone so I can clue him in on Garren’s plan. But how? There are monitors everywhere and a guard with me at all times. I turn around and smile at my personal guard standing by the door. He smiles and nods back. He’s got to go first. Then what?

  I groan inwardly. I hadn’t thought about the biggest kink in this whole ordeal—Emery’s life, my life, and the future of the galaxy rests in one person’s hands—Cole. I drop my head to the table.

  We’re screwed.

  Cole’s plan becomes apparent at exactly twelve o'clock Cadmarian time. The sun is high in an azure, cloud-dotted sky with a slight breeze from the west. Temperature, as always, is a balmy eighty-six degrees and the makings of another beautiful day. That is, until the explosions start.

  Standing in the hallway outside my room, I react, my survival instincts kicking in. I elbow the guard standing behind me in the stomach and swiftly round his back, to hit him over the head with my titanium fist. He drops to the ground in a motionless heap. I take his pistol and extra ammo. “Thanks, buddy.”

  I creep down the hallway to Emery’s room, taking out cameras when I see them. I teeter back and forth close to the floor as another explosion rocks the fortress, knocking expensive vases and statues off pedestals in the hall. Oh man, Garren is going to be so pissed.

  I open the door to Emery’s room and find him crouched down next to his bed. I wave for him to come to me.

  “Raven, what’s going on?”

  “I’m getting you out of here. Garren isn’t what she seems. She wants to force you to use the sphere to hurt innocent people. Stay close to me, okay?”

  He grins, his eyes knowing. “Well, it’s about time you figured out she’s no good. That’s the Raven I know.”

  “You knew?” I smile down at him.

  “Yep.”

&n
bsp; “Okay, kid. Let’s go.” I grab his hand, leading him to an outdoor walkway above the water.

  Guards and servants run as chaos erupts throughout the compound. I look around to see where the destruction occurred. Smoke wafts into the sky from at least five different directions. Cole must have taken out the guard posts at the far ends of the fortress. Brilliant. Give the guards something to do while we make our exit.

  “Hang on,” I say.

  We dash down one of the outlying walkways back to ankle-deep water on our way to dry land. Will Cole come through with the sphere and a ship to get us off this pretentious planet?

  I have no idea which direction to run. I haven’t seen any landing pods near or around the waterlogged fortress, but my survival sense tells me we should head east toward a grove of trees sprouting up from the sandy beach for cover.

  “Halt!” I hear behind us and recognize the tone. It’s that space nugget who decked Emery and me in our holding cell.

  “Get down,” I whisper to Emery, who’s standing behind me. I turn, my pistol raised and fire a split second after Emery dives to the sand. The guard’s body jerks and falls to the ground. I stride over to him and kick his side. “Not so tough now, are you?”

  After no response, I jolt him one more time for good measure. I grab his ear comm unit and place it on my own. Better to know what Garren is up to. I glance back at Emery, who is now standing, dusting himself off.

  “You could have shot me, you know?” he says, cheekily.

  “Nah, you were perfectly safe the whole time. Besides, I have it set to stun.” I grab him by the neck and rub my knuckles across the top of his head.

  He pushes me off. “All right, show-off. What now?”

  “It’s low tide. We head to that mangrove.”

  Evading the guards is so much easier when I can listen in on where they are. We manage to encounter only two more, which I easily dispose of before we make it to the band of trees.

  Garren’s voice sounds on the comm, “Apprehend the girl and boy at all costs. You now have permission to use live firepower.”