by Seven Steps
A second sound caught her ears. It came from above. A moment later, a small hole in the top of the ship appeared.
“Lex!”
The ship was suddenly flooded with green gas. It burned down Arees throat, weakening her. She felt the toma, once cold in her chest, begin to get warm. Then, she didn’t feel it at all.
The toma was dead.
Their one line of defense was gone.
They were going to die here.
“Lex!” She cried.
The green gas turned thick around her, cutting off all sight but the swirling puke colored gas. She fell to her knees, sputtering as the gas choked her.
The sound of the saw ended, replaced with the sound of heavy boots.
A pair stepped in front of her.
“Hello again, Arees.”
The voice was muffled, as if it came from behind a mask. But, nothing could hide the evil in it.
Eva.
CHAPTER 6
Sixty seconds.
Eva counted down the seconds in her mind. She checked her wrist comm just to be sure she wasn’t counting too fast or too slow.
Fifty-eight seconds.
“It must be hard for you to see them like this, Eva.” Jun-Su’s eyes were glued to the four cages just beyond the cargo bay. Each held an unconscious Venian. She then turned to Eva, a small, giddy smile playing on her lips.
Jun-Su appeared happier now. When they left Venus, she’d been a nervous wreck but now that Boikis was on board, a sort of peace and determination surrounded her. Her olive skin glowed, her dark eyes sparkled. She’d even changed her traditional, high bun hairstyle, instead opting for a low bun with a few tendrils hanging around the neck.
“It’s harder for me to see them alive,” Eva replied, drawing a chucking from Boikis, who stood directly to the left of Jun-Su. No, not stood. He towered over her. Though Jun-Su and Eva were of equal height, around five foot eight, Boikis was a tall, lean wall of muscle, tanned skin, perfect teeth, dark eyes and a square chin. His six-foot-four inch frame seemed to eat up the space in the room.
“Don’t worry, Eva,” Boikis said. “Soon, that state may change.” He walked to the front of Kiln’s cage, the powerful man staring down at Kiln’s unmoving form.
Jun-Su crossed her arms. “Not too soon, I hope.”
Eva’s eyes slid back to her wrist comm.
Forty-five seconds.
“How long until we are in the Martian atmosphere?” Eva asked.
Jun-Su smirked. “About twenty hours on this hunk of junk.”
Boikis turned back to Jun-Su. “This hunk of junk is one of the best Martian ships available.”
“Like I said, junk. Venian ships are twice as fast and three times as beautiful.”
“Without an army to pilot them, they are simply metal on a runway. You’d do well to remember that, Jun-Su.”
“Is that a threat, Boikis?”
“It is a gentle reminder, my dear.”
He ran one finger slowly down her cheek, locking eyes with her.
Eva had seen that look before. They’d been eyeing each other like that since leaving the Zenithian atmosphere. She wasn’t sure if it was attraction, hatred, or something in the middle, but it disgusted her nonetheless.
She had to admit, it was a surprise when the Grand Ambassador of Mars showed up on Venian soil. Jun-Su had told both her and Arees that Prince Praxis of Mars was father to her two children. The woman didn’t even offer an explanation when Boikis showed up. He simply bowed to her and escorted her and Eva onto this ship as if he had every right. It occurred to Eva that maybe Jun-Su was ashamed of Boikis’ position on Mars. After all, he was only an ambassador. In any case, she only knew that Boikis was the father of the children when Arees was dragged, unconscious, from her ship and into the cage. He’d asked, “Is this the woman who killed my son?”
When Jun-Su nodded, Boikis gave Arees a mighty kick in the ribs before tossing her in the cage and locking the door.
Won’t Arees be surprised when she wakes up?
Eva looked back down at her wrist comm and let out a breath of relief.
Six zero’s flashed at her.
The countdown was over.
“Jun-Su, there is something I should tell you.”
Jun-Su and Boikis ripped their eyes from each other and swung them to Eva.
“What is it?”
“I can’t go with you to Mars.” Eva tipped her chin to the cages. “Neither can they.”
Jun-Su’s face flushed with agitation. “Why not?”
Suddenly, the door to the cargo bay flung open, and ten women with Venian Blasters rushed down the stairs, their guns trained on Jun-Su and Boikis.
“It seems that I have another engagement.” Eva pulled the key from the chain that hung around her neck and unlocked the doors to the cages.
Jun-Su gasped. “Eva, what are you doing?”
“I am taking them.”
“What?” Boikis barked. “Where?”
“To a place that will help them understand what happens when they hurt people.”
Jun-Su’s face went from agitation to plain anger. “Eva, I told you that you would get your revenge in time.”
“I can’t wait for time. I want it now.”
With the doors unlocked, four of the burly women each grabbed a body, and dragged it from the room.
“Eva don’t do this,” Jun-Su warned. “We have a plan.”
“Plan’s change, Jun-Su.”
“We will find you. You do know that, don’t you? And when we do-”
“Where I’m going, you can’t follow. Goodbye Jun-Su. Boikis.”
“Eva!” Jun-Su screamed. “Eva come back here. Eva!”
CHAPTER 7
Eva’s ship hovered over the small, yellow planet.
Sitting in her pilot’s chair, she brushed a finger over her lips as her crew moved around her, preparing to land, and drop their cargo onto the surface of the hot planet.
They let me leave.
The words played over and over in Eva’s mind as the ship began its descent through the sulfuric atmosphere.
They let me leave. They watched me walk out that door back on Earth and never thought twice about me. For all they knew, I could have died in the cave-in. I could have been attacked by those giant, disgusting rats or those gator things. Why would they just let me walk out? I was the only one doing what was right! I was the only one who was following Embrya’s orders. Embrya should be furious with them! Instead, she gave my toma to that harlot Arees and now its magically working? She played me for a fool! They all did.
The landing gear squeaked as it extended out of the ship. A few moments later, the ship touched down on the smoking ground.
He said he loved me. He kissed me, then he left me for her. HER! That murdering, wicked woman. How could Lex do that to me?
They landed on a metal plate that descended into the cooler air of the small underground spaceport.
He’s probably kissed her. He’s probably told her that he loves her now. She’ll see. It’s all an act. Lex doesn’t love her anymore then he loved me. The second some other woman crosses his path, he’ll leave her, just like he left me.
A woman at the controls turned to Eva. “Empress Eva, we’ve arrived.”
“Thank you, Bess.”
What is it they say about a woman scorned? Eva wondered as she stood and walked to the hold.
She never thought the saying would apply to her. Then again, she never thought many things would happen. She never thought that Nadira would allow her to walk out of her life. She never thought that Lex would leave her. She never thought she’d see the day when Arees was hailed as a hero. She never thought her life would change as drastically as it did.
Yet, here she was. Only steps away from Gomorrah, with the people she had once loved most in the world about to be its next victims.
Yes, the old saying was true: Time changes everything.
CHAPTER 8
Nadira weakly stood
in her cage.
She didn’t know how long she’d been unconscious, but her body felt as if she’d drank too much wine. Her stomach churned, her vision blurred, and she had a terrible headache.
Where am I?
The small, dark room was unfurnished except for four cages, one of which she was currently trapped in. The cages weren’t the glass cages that Venian slaves were held in. These were gray, with vertical bar running all the way around it.
The aroma of sulfur hung heavy in the air, burning her eyes and further blurring her vision.
Where am I?
“Kiln?”
“I’m here, Naddie.”
She sensed him stand and looked to her left. One cage separated them. A body was sprawled out on the floor of the cage. A shot of red hair caught her eye.
Lex.
She looked to the cage on her right.
Arees.
What happened? The last thing she remembered was her and Kiln in bed together. What happened after that?
“Kiln, where are we?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked back at Arees body. “Are they?”
“I don’t know.”
Nadira closed her eyes, and tried to feel her toma.
No energy greeted her.
The toma was dead.
Fear crept into her belly, sending her hand flying to her stomach in a vain attempt to rub the terror away.
“Kiln-”
Suddenly, the door creaked open, flooding the room in dim, yellow light. A shadowy figure appeared in the doorway.
“Eva?”
“Hello Naddie.”
Nadira’s stomach fell. If Eva was here, then nothing good would come of it.
“Eva, what are you doing here?”
“Here is where I say goodbye. For now, anyway.”
“What are you talking about? Where are we?”
“Just a little place called Gomorrah.”
Gomorrah?
Nadira turned to Kiln, saw the panic in his eyes. He was never scared of anything. The fact that he was scared now terrified her.
What is Gomorrah?
“Before I leave you here, Naddie, there is something that I need to tell you. You see, I don’t want you to die without knowing why. I want you to understand just how much you hurt me. Just how betrayed I really feel.” Eva’s voice shook with emotion. “When we were back on Earth, you weren’t there for me. You were more concerned with Lex’s happiness then mine, and that really hurt.”
Two more women walked into the room. They unlocked Arees cage, and dragged her out.
“I loved you Naddie, and you just let me walk out of your life as if I didn’t mean anything to you.”
The women returned, opened Lex’s cage, and pulled him out.
“I wanted you to fight for me. I wanted you to act like you loved me. But you didn’t. And for that, you must die.”
A woman came to stand near Nadira’s cage, and pointed a Venian blaster at her head. The first two women went to Kiln’s cage and unlocked the door.
“Be a good boy, Kiln, and go peacefully with these nice women.” Eva’s eyes never left Nadira’s.
“I am not leaving here without her.”
“Nadira will leave, just as soon as I’m finished with her.”
Kiln’s voice dropped into a growl. “I’m not leaving here without Nadira.”
“Don’t worry, Kiln. I don’t intend on killing your precious Nadira now. That time will come later.”
The two women pulled Venian blaster’s from their belts and pointed them at Kiln.
Nadira gasped. “Please don’t hurt him, Eva.”
“There you go again, Nadira,” Eva cried. “Worried about him. Here I have been pouring my heart out to you and you haven’t even said as much as a sorry, but I threaten your slave and then you want to beg for mercy? Where are your priorities? Where is your loyalty to me as your friend?”
“Eva, I’m sorry that you walked out on us on Earth. But that was your choice. You didn’t want to follow Embrya’s rules, and you left. There was nothing that I could have done to stop you.”
“You could have come with me.”
“That’s not what Embrya wanted.”
Eva barked a single laugh. “What Embrya wanted? I was doing what Embrya wanted! I was bringing Arees to justice!”
“Embrya said to follow Lex. That’s what Embrya wanted. Follow him as if you were following me. Those were her words. But your toma didn’t work and you didn’t want to follow a man, so you left. You left, Eva. No one left you. No one told you to go. You left us.”
“You should have come with me.”
“And where would that have left me? As Jun-Su’s personal servant?”
“That’s not the point. We were friends, sisters. You should have come with me.”
“That’s not loyalty, Eva. That’s foolishness. There is a difference.”
Eva shook her head, as if Nadira had just said that saddest thing in the world.
“You know what’s the worst part, Nadira? The worst part is that if I were Kiln, you would have followed me. Do you deny it?”
Nadira opened and closed her mouth, guilt pulling her face into a frown.
“That’s the difference, Nadira. I would have followed you out that door. I would have walked with you through the fire, but you? You will follow only one thing in the world... him. You love him more than me. You love a man over me, your friend. That is the worst part. How could you?”
Nadira’s bottom lip trembled, but she stayed silent.
She did love Kiln, more then life. To deny it would be a lie.
“Denounce him,” Eva whispered. “Denounce him and I will let you live.”
The two women stared at each other, the air turning heavy around them.
Eva’s voice turned soft, pleading. “Denounce him, and I will let you live.”
“What will happen to Kiln?” Nadira asked.
“He will stay here with the others and take his chances, but I will be merciful. I will leave them here and I will never come back. But you, you will be with me.”
Eva took Nadira’s hand.
“Please, Naddie. Stay with me.”
Nadira felt her heart rip in half. This woman standing before her was her friend, her sister, her fellow Venian. They had spent the last year of their lives sharing secrets, chasing their dreams, and knitting their hearts together.
Nadira loved Eva. No matter what Eva had done, or was planning to do, nothing could change the love that she felt for Eva in her heart.
But Kiln called to her on levels of her soul that Eva’s love could never reach.
A pardon had been placed in her lap.
She couldn’t take it.
“Eva,” Nadira shook with the emotions that coursed through her.
Guilt.
Fear.
Sadness.
“Eva, I can’t.”
“No.” Eva choked out. “No, Naddie, please don’t do this. Please don’t leave me again.”
“Eva, I can’t leave him.”
“But you can leave me?” Eva let out a blood curling scream, her fingers turning to claws. “You betrayer! I tried to give you mercy but you are so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid woman!”
Her anger turned to Kiln.
She grabbed a blaster from one of the woman and aimed it at Kiln’s face.
“Eva no!”
Nadira hurled herself at Eva, only to be held back by a nearby Enforcer’s powerful arms.
“If I kill him, then there will be nothing between us anymore.”
Kiln’s eyes held no fear. They stayed on Nadira, not acknowledging Eva in any way.
“Eva, please.”
“No. He is the problem, and this blaster is the solution.”
“If you kill him, I will never forgive you. I swear that on my mother’s life I will hate you forever.”
“Good. Because I already hate you.”
The blaster shook in Eva’s hand, her
finger heavy on the trigger.
The room was silent. All except the sound of Eva’s tears hitting the floor with sharp slaps.
With a scream, she aimed the blaster in the air, and pulled the trigger, blasting a hole in the ceiling.
“I tried to save you!” She cried out. “I tried to save you, but you wouldn’t listen.”
With hatred in her eyes, she turned back to Nadira. “I’m going to enjoy watching you die.”
She turned on her heels, and marched to the door.
The feeling of relief was short lived as Nadira and Kiln were pulled from their jail, dragged through the spaceport, and flung into a dark room.
Two heavy doors shut behind them, leaving them in complete darkness.
A dissonant beep, loud enough to shake their teeth, resonated around them. Nadira looked up, struggling to see what was happening. The wall in front of them flashed the words:
CLOSE YOUR EYES
Before the words could register in her brain, searing hot water pumped from every wall, burning her skin. She tried to run, but there was no escaping the burning water or the acidic soap that splashed in her face and ran down her nose and throat. The blistering hot torrent was so powerful that her body was thrown to the ground, rolled backwards and pinned against a wall. She curled into a ball and prayed that the pain would end.
Was this what Eva was talking about? Was this the death she had imagined for them?
Then, as quickly as it began, it was over.
Nadira took a deep, gasping breath, unsure if her body was intact. She shivered. Her body stung as though a million stabbing needles were attacking her from every angle.
“Nadira?” Kiln wrapped his arms around her. She latched onto him. The water had ripped their clothes from their bodies, leaving behind only wet skin and the remains of the liquid poison that had cleansed them. “Are you okay?”
She broke from his hold, crouched on all fours and vomited up the metallic water.
Another loud beep.
LEAVE THIS AREA.
A wall opened up revealing a light.
“Nadira, we have to go.”
She dry heaved. Kiln tried to stand her up, but her legs gave out.
He hoisting her up in his powerful arms.
She clung to him with all of the strength she had left. The inside of the room was dark and the light in front of them was blinding. She closed her eyes and waited for the death she knew was coming.
