by Clara Woods
Healing was costing her the little patience she had. There was nothing to do, no exercising until the quick-heal bandage on her back had finished its job. Doctor Lund had ordered Lenah to stay in bed for two days and promised that she’d feel better and be healed by that time.
That had better be true. Otherwise, the sacrifice wasn’t worth it. Lenah grunted as she maneuvered her in-game ship through a maze of buildings. Ruins, she thought. It looked just like Asturis I might look if the Cava Dara got to it. Pathetic, Lenah shook her head, swiping away the screen of her game. The holodisplay vanished.
Everything these days reminded her of what was coming. She closed her eyes, and in front of her inner eye saw the video from the Syrr temple on Masis III. In her version, however, instead of the Cava Dara swooping down on the Syrr, she was seeing Syrr killing humans.
Was there even time enough to avoid that? Was it really true that no other corporate army was preparing except Cheung Corp? Lenah couldn’t be sure, but it would certainly fit into her impression of the ambassadors on UPL station.
And there was something else nagging at her. The thing Lenah least wanted to admit. She was afraid to see her father again. He spent a lot of time in his office, and that’s where he also had the access card to the mage farm. If Lenah did run into him, what would she say? ‘Hi dad, I’m just popping by to blow up our company’s greatest asset. Never mind me, but can you give me the access card?’ didn’t seem to cut it. He had promised that he’d explain himself the last time they’d talked. Had he meant that? Did she still believe her father was just a man who’d gotten himself into trouble with the wrong people?
“Some trouble,” she said under her breath before pulling up the flying game again. But instantly, the images reminded her of the Cava Dara, and she ended the simulation. It was no good. If her father had known, even suspected a little bit about what was coming, he should have gone and talked to UPL. Or some of the powerful corporate armies. Or even the Cassidians. Anything but having his daughter pursued and shot at by his criminal associates. All because of under-the-table business deals? What had Corinna said on Masis III? That she was only doing this to have the matter placed in capable hands. Lenah snorted, throwing her wristpiece down on the blanket and stretching out on the bed.
“Capable hands. Nonsense.”
“I see you’re already entertained,” a voice next to her said. Lenah turned to see Persia in the hatch, carrying a steaming cup of tea. Of foul-smelling, Cassidian marches tea. Lenah sniffed and sat up resigned to accept the cup.
“Sorry, I’m just…”
“Cranky, miserable, and weird?” Persia offered when Lenah didn’t finish the sentence.
“Maybe a bit cranky. But weird? I’m not the one carrying a hammer around everywhere.”
“That would be weird for you, but it’s not weird if you’re a professional gladiator.”
“Are you saying that weird is only what’s not normal to a specific person?”
“Pretty much,” Persia said and grinned. “Uz likes this disgusting tea. That’s normal because she’s Cassidian, and she grew up with it. Now, why you like it, I don’t know. That is weird.”
“You should try it, too,” Lenah said, steeling herself for the first sip. “It’s really reviving.”
“So they say,” Persia said, looking at the wall to get her nose away from Lenah’s beverage.
The hatch opened once more to show Uz carrying another cup of tea. “Hey, Persia, you forgot your own cup,” she said as she held it out. Persia gave Lenah a desperate look.
“You really should have it,” Lenah said, trying to hide a grin.
Hesitantly, Persia accepted the cup from Uz, but she couldn’t hide the frown on her face.
“Thanks, Uz,” Lenah said in her stead.
The Cassidian smiled and turned to leave when Lenah interrupted her departure. “Hey, do you know about any purple wood from Cassidia?”
Uz’s shoulders squared, and she turned around with a sudden movement. “Why would you ask that?” Each word was forced out with a sharp tone.
Lenah was taken aback by her reaction. “They were selling it at Neeth Station. I thought it looked really beautiful. Uz…?” Lenah trailed off as the Cassidian gasped, then clutched her heart.
Persia put her cup on Lenah’s desk with a determined clunk and went to check on Uz. But before she could close the distance, Uz shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said in a croaked whisper.
“What is it with that wood?” Lenah asked.
Uz clutched her chest again.
“Uz?” Lenah inquired. She was starting to worry. She made to get up from the bed but stopped as Uz started talking.
“That must have been Cascra wood.” Uz shook her head more vehemently. “I can’t believe humans are smuggling that.”
“Why? What is so special about that tree?” Lenah asked, intrigued and confused at the same time.
Uz looked at her. “On Cassidia, we consider these trees sacred and in no way would we ever destroy one. Or transport any part of it off-world. You could say they hold the secret to Cassidian magic. They grow extremely slow. Even the small branches will be centuries old.”
“What do you mean they hold the secret to your magic?” Persia asked the question that had also been on Lenah’s mind.
“I…They have something to do with our vertex,” Uz said slowly.
“With the vertex?” Lenah echoed. “How?”
Uz shook her head. “I already said too much. Any human—any alien—caught with Cascra wood is considered to have committed high treason and would receive grave punishment. The High Priest might even declare war over such a matter.”
“War? Over a few logs?” Lenah asked.
Uz nodded. “It’s not just a few logs. It’s so much more than that.” She turned around and opened the hatch. “I’m sorry. You better forget I ever said anything. Even knowing this is dangerous.” The hatch closed behind her, leaving Lenah and Persia to stare at each other.
“That was unexpected,” Persia finally spoke.
Lenah cleared her throat. “I can’t say I expected a reaction like that. I just thought that the wood was really pretty.”
Persia nodded and picked up her teacup once more, but instead of drinking, she just swirled the liquid around.
“You should really have it. I promise the experience is better than the smell,” Lenah told her, swallowing from her own cup. She watched Persia slowly taking a sip, her face morphing from disgust to surprise.
“Ooh.”
“Good, right?”
Persia nodded.
“How are you feeling?” Lenah asked as she watched her empty the whole drink. Persia had been even closer to the explosion than Lenah. It was almost a miracle that nothing worse had happened to her. She’d fallen hard and twisted her leg, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed by a day in bed with a quick-heal bandage. Lenah had been less fortunate. Her injuries—a big piece of shrapnel had wedged its way several centimeters into her lower back—were taking two days in bed to heal.
“Still sore, but I’m feeling fine.” Persia looked down on her leg. “It could have ended differently.”
“It could have.” Lenah agreed. “Thank the blazing stars for a cyborg with hearing implants.”
“Yeah. He’s been very useful,” Persia said after a short pause.
Lenah lifted an eyebrow. “If that was your attempt at a compliment, are you sure your ex left you because of your age?”
“I’m neither old nor bad at compliments. But the cyborg did kidnap us. You seem to have forgotten that when you started to admire his muscled bicep.”
“His bicep?”
“Yep, the fleshy one. Of which he has only one. I’ve seen you ogle it. Several times.”
“Er.” Was that true? Was she ogling over Cassius? Maybe she had looked a few times. She had also come to appreciate him for the honest person he was. But ogling?
“I haven’t forgotten that he kidnapped us,” Lenah said.
“But I’ve also forgiven him for it. He’s a good guy and a friend.”
“I hope so. We keep accumulating weird people. And things.” Persia rolled her eyes.
“If you mean Lorka and Zyrakath, I agree. Is Uz still trying to get a full retelling of the events on Masis III out of Zyrakath?”
“Yup, when I last checked, he was still barely talking to her.”
Lenah smiled. She could only imagine how those two were making each other unhappy. No wonder Uz was providing them with tea instead of spending time on her project.
“Lorka has joined up with her to help out,” Persia said.
“Well, at least Zyr likes him.”
“Zyr?”
“Yep, I’ve decided to give him a nickname. I’m sure he’ll love it.”
22 Fight Training
Cassius slammed into Lenah before she could gather her concentration, and she tumbled onto the floor of the cargo hold, now affectionately called their training arena. Since they were not hauling any cargo, they should probably rename it formally.
He doesn’t treat me like a girl, Lenah gratefully thought as she jumped up in one smooth motion. He had also shown her how to fall well. A lesson she had mastered, thanks to ample practice. Her back was healed, and she was active again.
As soon as Lenah got up, Cassius came at her once more. She danced out of his way at the last moment, constantly staying in motion with her feet and moving from one side to the other. He came storming after her, and she had to avoid becoming trapped against the wall by shoving a quick image toward his mind of her slipping by on his right side. She didn’t have enough time to plant a complex suggestion while trying to evade and dodge, but something reached Cassius as he shifted his course over to the right. He corrected again after one step, but that step was enough for Lenah to slip by on his left side and free herself from becoming pinned. Cassius caught on quickly, reaching her with a few nimble steps.
Lenah couldn’t duck out of the way; instead, she launched a fast kick toward his shin, and, at the same time, she tried to implant an image of momentum. Before her idea could stretch out sufficiently, her butt connected with the metal floor. Her suggestion evaporated, having never reached him.
Cassius stepped back, giving Lenah the chance to find her footing. This time when he came at Lenah, she was better prepared and more determined. She found his mind early on, a cloud she had become very familiar with, and sent him the image of slippery ice instead of the metal plating that they were standing on. Cassius waved both arms, trying to make up for the perceived imbalance. Lenah added the sensation of falling and his stomach lurching. With a crash of metal against metal, he went sideways and fell onto the floor. Lenah stepped up, grabbed his neck, and imitated applying one of the grips he’d shown her. The one that would make an opponent instantly unconscious.
Cassius grunted, lifting his arms in defeat. “Tomorrow, we train without your mind magic,” he finally said, getting up from the ground.
“Why?” Lenah asked, her breathing heavy.
“Because you need to know what to do even if those abilities of yours aren’t working.”
Lenah grumbled but didn’t object. In the last few weeks, she’d already temporarily lost her abilities twice. She still had no idea what had been going on that second time on UPL station. “Fine, but less hauling me to the ground.”
Cassius grinned down at her. “And less stumbling over my own feet for me.” He bumped her shoulder with a friendly gesture.
“That was pretty awesome on my end,” Lenah said, grinning back at him. “Not only does it keep your attacker off their feet, but it also distracts any companions while they try to figure out what happened or if there is something slippery on the floor that will make them fall as well.”
“You should have inserted the image of a pile of banana peels.”
“Good idea! I’ll keep it for next time.”
“Can’t wait,” he moaned, grabbing a towel from a crate stacked against the cargo hold’s sidewall and wiping his face. He bent to fetch a second towel and offer it to Lenah, who accepted and wiped her face. She was drenched compared to him, who was barely sweating. But at least he had broken a sweat. Now and then, she might stand a chance against him, but she’d been doing it less gracefully than he. And only thanks to her magic.
“Let’s go for another round,” she said, taking a sip of water from a bottle she had brought.
Cassius nodded and took her bottle, taking a sip for himself. They drank in comfortable silence for a minute before walking back into the center of the room.
Lenah took a position opposite Cassius. This time, she tried to reach him with a full-on kick, a technique he wanted her to become better at, anyway. She could manage fine from a standing position but couldn’t wrap her head around the right timing when they were actually fighting. Cassius stalked up to her, fists raised. Lenah lifted her arms but in a defensive gesture, not to actually box with him. Even if he weren’t a cyborg with an enhanced arm, she was no match for his skill.
She started to side-step him, a movement he copied, even though she knew that he was holding back. They continued like that, with Lenah waiting for her opening. The movements were almost like a dance, and she felt good in those moments. No time to ponder her fears of confronting her father. Or Cassius’s bicep, she thought, looking at the very object. Damn Persia for having pointed it out. Now Lenah was looking.
She must have looked a moment too long, because Cassius jumped forward, closing the distance between them before she could even step back. Frantically, Lenah targeted his mind with the first thing that came into her head. She pushed the image of her wearing nothing but a thin black negligee with a deep, plunging neckline and walking into his cabin toward him. Cassius’s eyes popped wide, and he gasped as he came to a sudden halt in front of her.
Lenah, realizing what she was doing, pulled back from his mind as if she were burnt. What had she been thinking? Why was that the first thing that came into her mind? Blazing Persia and her talk about biceps. Cassius looked at Lenah, his green eyes locking onto hers.
Was he mad? Or disgusted? He had never overtly shown any interest in her, apart from a few touches that might also have been in friendship. Nor had she. Though she had admittedly been thinking about him—just a little bit—and maybe wishing that he would think about her too.
They stood in front of each other for several seconds, staring into each other’s eyes, until Cassius’s arms reached for her, his real hand finally closing in around Lenah hair on the back of her head. Awareness tingled in Lenah, and she knew that she wanted to kiss him. She nudged closer, lifting her face and met his lips.
His kiss was not tender; he was kissing her hard, his tongue asking permission to explore her mouth almost immediately. Lenah let him take charge, then, a while later, she asked for the same privilege. Triumph roared through her. Maybe he had been thinking of her. Her arms came around his neck in a possessive gesture.
His hair was softer than it looked, which surprised Lenah, especially belonging to a man where everything else seemed to be either metal or muscle. She didn’t know how long they kissed, but finally—reluctantly—Lenah let Cassius’s lips part from hers. He didn’t step away, and she didn’t let go of him either, holding his gaze, unsure what to say in words, but hoping that she could say it by keeping her arms locked around his neck. He stepped even closer, both his arms coming around her, and engulfed her in a hug.
A very nice hug, Lenah decided, throwing away all worry about being with a cyborg or an ex-smuggler. He was a man. A nice looking one at that, and she felt safe in his embrace.
“I would ask you out for dinner, which I’m sure you’re used to, but I fear I don’t have anything to offer other than instant urash and rice meals.”
“Is there no beer left?” she asked softly against his chest.
“I don’t think so. I didn’t buy enough to last us several occasions.”
“Hah, so you do admit that it was you who put it on t
he shopping list. I knew it.”
He chuckled, then looked her in the face. “I was afraid you’d figure it out sooner or later.”
“That you cheat with your shopping list?”
“That I was interested in having a beer with you.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Not necessarily,” he said, lifting his hands in a diplomatic gesture. “I’d call it a risky move.”
“Huh.”
“Hmm…” Cassius said, struggling with his words. “That image that you sent me, do you actually…” He cleared his throat, looking almost shy.
Lenah cut him off immediately. “Well, it did distract you from hitting me.”
“It looked…” he cleared his throat again, “very good. Do you really own it?”
“I do,” Lenah admitted, feeling smug. “Though I don’t have it with me.”
“Too bad. I wouldn’t mind seeing it sometime.” Cassius flashed a boyish grin.
Lenah’s cheeks flushed, but she grinned back at him, avoiding his eyes, not feeling the weight of the worlds for the first time in a while.
23 Who’s Cassius?
Lenah and Cassius were alone in the common room where Lenah was heating instant meals for them both. She was getting that date after all, she thought to herself, trying not to outright grin at Cassius who was sitting at the table, wiping his implanted arm with a blue cloth. Not the most romantic, but it was also going to be their last meal before reaching Astur and her home—her former home.
The heating unit beeped, and Lenah pulled out the two meals, setting one in front of Cassius and the other one opposite him.
Their eyes locked briefly, before he nodded his thanks and put the cloth aside.
“Are you glad you have them?” Lenah asked as they both started to eat. He didn’t pretend not to know what she was asking about.
“Yes, and no.”
“They do make you strong, and you hardly have to worry about anyone.”
