by Roxie Ray
“And I'm supposed to believe you're interested in letting me help more people? This from the bastard who's sent hundreds of terraformers to die on purpose? Bullshit.”
I'd finally found my voice, but it was a little girl's. I didn't even recognize it. As I spoke, the Lunian pretending to be my father loomed even larger above me. It almost seemed as though my rage and pain were nourishing him.
He laughed, and oh, it sounded too much like my faded memories of the way my dad used to laugh. My heart felt like it was being torn from my chest. How could Karaak choose this form to taunt me? How could he be such a horrible beast?
I am offering you a chance to fulfill a destiny greater than you could ever dream of, Paige. An opportunity to be part of something beyond your wildest imaginings. You no longer need to be a prisoner. You no longer need to be shackled to the pitiful limitations of your own humanity. You will never have to be afraid or vulnerable ever again.
You can become part of the ultimate power in the universe... a power that will reshape the very forces of nature, and make things as they should be once and for all. A power that will banish all doubt, fear, hesitation, loneliness, helplessness. A power you can use to heal entire star systems, or bring them to their knees. All will worship and adore you. All will live and die in awe of you. None will ever dare forsake you again, as your father did. The choice is yours.
I should have rejected whatever he was offering immediately. I knew that. He was evil. I knew that too. Most of all, I knew that he wasn't my real dad, that he was just wearing this face to confuse me and tap into the feelings of abandonment I'd wrestled with my entire life.
I knew all of that.
But the thought of never having to be alone or adrift again... of never having to rely on men like Umel or Surge or my father to make me feel protected...
Well, it couldn't hurt to hear what he had to say, could it?
“What do I have to do?” I asked in a tiny, timid voice.
Karaak chuckled ominously.
To experience godhood? There is very little I ask in return. The one who calls himself “Hakkas”... he came into my prison under false pretenses, that much is clear. He recruited you to assist him. That is why you were examining the bodies in the morgue so carefully, wasn't it? Tell me his true identity, Paige. Tell me who he is working for, and how much he knows. Tell me what he is planning. Answer these simple questions, and your place in what is to come will be assured.
A chill ran through me, sudden and shocking, as though I'd been doused by a bucket of ice water. Maybe Surge would find some way to prevail, and maybe he wouldn't. Maybe Karaak would triumph, and somehow seize the kind of power he was bragging about. Maybe I'd spend the rest of my life alone and miserable.
But I believed that Surge was a good man – alien – person.
And I didn't believe Karaak was. Not for one second.
So how could I betray a good man for a bad one? No matter what happened after that, how could I possibly live with myself?
If it makes you feel any better about your choice, you don't even have to speak these things out loud. Simply lower your mental defenses and allow me to retrieve the information for myself. That way, you won't have to take any of the responsibility onto yourself... and you will still reap the rewards for your cooperation.
I didn't have to say a word. All I had to do was relax and let him in.
No.
Fuck that.
Because he'd just told me the one thing I needed to hear, the one thing that gave me hope that Surge and I could still defeat him: He couldn't just reach in and grab what he needed from my mind on his own. He needed me to surrender it willingly.
And I'd be damned if I was going to do that.
So I fought him harder. I shut every door in my mind, drowning out my own thoughts with song lyrics, nursery rhymes, recipes, stupid old jokes... anything to keep him from finding what he was looking for.
I could feel his rage and frustration, like a boiling ocean of pure bile.
You dare to fight against me? You dare to resist, when I offer you power greater than anything a mere Earthling has ever known? So be it, then. Keep your foolish secrets from me for as long as you can. The plans I've set in motion have been in place for centuries. You cannot stop them. No one can. And when the entire universe bends its knee before me, mark my words: There will be a reckoning. One you will not escape.
I sat up in bed sharply, gasping for air, my entire body drenched in cold sweat. The cell was silent, though I could almost swear I'd heard the faint final echo of the scratching sound that had been plaguing me for the past couple nights.
I peered down at Suzanne. She was curled up on the lower bunk and snoring gently.
I mopped my face and arms with my thin blanket, trying to regain my composure. Sure, I'd managed to fight off Karaak's mental assault... but his words still stuck with me, no matter how much I tried to banish them.
If I did what Karaak asked, I wouldn't have to spend the rest of my life as a prisoner.
Could Surge really promise the same?
I desperately wanted to believe he could. I wanted to believe everything would work out somehow, and we'd end up on Valkred together.
But with the stakes this high, I couldn't be sure.
15
Surge
Thanks to the topsy-turvy laws of whatever dimension I was trapped in, I couldn't tell how much time had passed since Karaak had thrown me into the seg cell.
It felt like it had been about fifty years.
The bugs kept chittering inside my head... insulting, undermining, nibbling away at every corner of my identity and sense of self-worth until I felt like my soul was chewed full of holes. Fighting off their constant assault took every ounce of mental and emotional strength I could muster.
I took a deep breath, preparing to hold it, to defy their noxious incursion for as long as possible... when suddenly, the dark dimension was snatched out from under me, and I found myself in the seg cell again.
I exhaled shakily. By the Succubi, that had been close. Too close.
The door opened, and Karaak's imposing figure filled the frame. Next to him stood a jailer I didn't recognize – a tall, lanky Mana with ragged fins and a battle-scarred face.
“I trust your stay with us has been a pleasant one so far?” Karaak asked mockingly. “No complaints about the accommodations?”
I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much the effects of the dimensional emitters had rattled me. If it meant being tossed right back into that insectile hell, so be it. “I still have nothing to say to you, Lunian.”
There was a brief flicker of disappointment on the warden's face. Then he pulled his lips back into a grotesque grin, revealing every one of his yellowed razor-teeth. “To tell the truth, I had almost hoped that would be the case. Which is why I wanted to introduce you to Korkos' replacement. His name is Lachii. He was dishonorably discharged from the Manaean military for subjecting prisoners of war to unspeakable cruelties which violated numerous intergalactic treaties. Thankfully, I was able to offer him a position that would allow him to indulge some of his more... shall we say, extreme appetites.”
Lachii smiled, nodding.
“If anyone can persuade you to share your secrets, it's Lachii.” Karaak turned to him, speaking conversationally, as though he were inquiring about the weather. “Perhaps a demonstration is in order?”
The Mana stepped forward, entering the cell. His speed and reflexes were damnably fast – before I could even bring my hand up to block, his webbed hand clamped down on my shoulder, triggering a nerve cluster with such intensity that my entire body seized up. It felt like I had electricity running through me, causing every muscle to violently tense at once.
I gritted my fangs and fought against the pain, unwilling to give Karaak the pleasure of hearing me cry out. I wanted to fight back, to smash the fish-man's face against the wall over and over until it crumpled in on itself – but for the moment, I w
as paralyzed. I would have to bide my time, wait for the perfect moment to overpower him and make my escape. Any attempt I made now would be a waste of time. Even if I brought down Lachii, there was still Karaak to contend with.
So I'd have to be patient. Not easy for soldiers like Dhimurs... but as a spy, patience had always been one of my greatest allies.
That, and my ability to withstand the extreme pain of interrogations.
“Unwilling to let me hear you scream, eh?” Karaak chortled. “As you wish. I have plenty of other matters to attend to... it is a big prison, after all. I will leave you in Lachii's capable hands for now. And if he tires of you, he can always send you back to the insects for another night. Or two.”
The warden stepped into the shadows, and a second later, he was gone.
Lachii released my shoulder, and I bristled, preparing for his attack. “Do your worst, Mana. You'll get nothing from me.”
He took a step back, smiling. “First of all, my planet is 'Mana.' I am a Manaean. Not that I'd expect a Valkredian to care much about the difference. As for 'doing my worst'... it's a tempting offer, given how many years I spent fighting you bloodsuckers during the war. But as it happens, I'm here on other business. My name is Tetro. I trust you've heard of me?”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Tetro? You're the one who came to Valkred with the human woman, asking for asylum?”
“The very same.”
“You don't look like the holo-pics that were included in your file,” I said suspiciously.
“That's because I'm undercover, just like you are. The real Lachii was quietly arrested for war crimes. Right now, he's probably in a cell next to the real Hakkas. Khim was able to install psychic inhibitors and duplicate the genetic process she used on you, so I could use his identity as a disguise while Dhimurs arranged to have the details of his military discharge pop up in Karaak's automated search for new jailers.”
“They... sent you in here to help me?”
“Dhimurs figured you could use some backup when he didn’t hear back from you. Sharon wasn't happy about it, of course. She didn't want me to put myself in more danger. But if we can put a stop to Karaak's abuses, it will certainly be worth the risk.” Tetro flexed his webbed hands, studying them. “It's strange, being in someone else's body, isn't it? Hearing their thoughts, resisting their impulses. For a moment there, I almost wanted to keep torturing you... I had to remind myself that I'm Tetro, not Lachii. Has that sort of thing happened to you too?”
“Something like that,” I muttered darkly.
“So, for the moment, here's the plan,” Tetro went on. “I don't know how long Karaak plans to keep you down here, but as long as I'm on duty, I can at least make sure the emitters are turned off. Meanwhile, I'll let Paige know who I really am, and we can work on a way to get you both out of here.”
“Not good enough,” I growled. “I can't stay down here. I need to see Paige myself. The whole prison must know that I’ve been locked down here by now. I need to know that she’s still safe, that the other Sives haven’t turned on me – and on her, by extension.”
The Manaean looked skeptical. “That's too risky. You'll have to trust me for now. I'll keep her safe.”
“Absolutely not. Protecting and comforting her is my responsibility and privilege, not yours.”
“I know how stubborn and hardheaded you Valkredians can be,” Tetro countered. Clearly, he was having difficulty controlling his temper in the face of my resistance. “But this is not the time or place for that. Every second we waste arguing increases our chances of being discovered. You must do as I say.”
“I must see to Paige's well-being myself. If self-preservation is an instinct you possess, water-breather, I strongly suggest that you get out of my way and let me see her. Or we can settle this with our fists, if you'd prefer.”
Tetro fumed for a moment, but then sighed. “There is nothing I'd like more than to knock you out and stuff your obstinate ass back into that seg cell... for real, this time. But we don't have time to waste on fighting over this. If I can't dissuade you, then at least I can ensure you're not found out.”
“How?”
He reached into his jailer's uniform, removing a compact piece of technology the size of a thumb. I recognized it immediately – I had been equipped with one as well, prior to my mission. A miniaturized cloaking device. The same kind I'd used to smuggle the package of rax into Karcerikus.
“I have one of those already,” I told him.
“Good, because you'll need yours to sneak through the prison undetected,” he replied. “But this one can be attuned to your biological feedback and left here in the seg cell. The holographic emitters can even be rigged to project a static image of you, in case anyone decides to switch off the dimensional fields and look inside. It should fool the station's sensors long enough for you to do what you need to and come back.
“But Surge... it won't hold up under close scrutiny, and sooner or later, Karaak will return. If he does and he realizes you're not really in the cell, our plan will collapse and all hell will break loose. There's a good chance that none of us will leave here alive. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Thank you. I'll do everything I can to get back here as soon as possible.”
He nodded, scanning me with his cloaking device so it could mimic my appearance. “How familiar are you with the layout of the prison?”
“Not as familiar as I'd like. I've only been here a few days.”
The Manaean produced a small hand-drawn map of the facility, wrapped around one of the jailers' key cards. “I was able to duplicate the card that was issued to me. I thought it might come in handy. Move carefully, don't let yourself be caught, and remember: The portable cloak has a limited energy supply, so use it sparingly or you won't have any way to come back down here without being detected.”
I walked out of the cell and down the corridor, keeping to the shadows as much as possible and holding the cloaking device in my palm. As I did, I heard Tetro reactivate the dimensional fields and suppressed a brief shudder, grateful that I was no longer inside to feel their effects.
Before I used the key card on the door to the upper levels, I activated the cloak, just in case anyone was waiting on the other side.
The hallways were empty, and I slipped out of the cloak again, creeping up a series of service ladders. There were repulsor lifts that most of the prison staff used to move up or down the levels of Karcerikus, but I couldn't risk hopping one in case someone else decided to use them and accidentally jostled me.
Once I reached the ladder that led to the level the infirmary was on, I triggered the cloak again and emerged into the corridor, carefully side-stepping the inmates who were being led to the cafeteria or the showers by administrators. It felt like some child's game – not that I'd had much use for games myself when I was young.
Except for war games, perhaps.
When I reached the clinic, I unlocked the door with the key card, stepping inside. Paige looked up, confused. From the expression on her face, I could tell how frightened and anxious she'd been in my absence – there were dark circles under her eyes, and it looked like she'd been biting her nails.
But to me, she was still the most perfectly beautiful person in the entire galaxy. The sight of her made the feathers on my wings tingle with relief. Every fiber of my being needed to close the space between us, to grab her and feel her heartbeat next to mine again. To revel in her touch, to hold onto her so tightly that we joined into a single being of pure happiness.
She squinted at what she perceived as empty space as the door shut behind me. “Is someone there?”
I deactivated the cloak... and she gasped, rushing into my arms and kissing me fiercely.
16
Paige
“They told me you were in the seg cells!” I said breathlessly as I showered Surge with kisses. God, I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my life! “How did you get up here?”
“In a moment,” he a
nswered, laughing gently at my amorous onslaught. “First, let's get someplace where we won't be seen.”
I nodded, taking his hand and pulling him into the medical supply closet. I shut the door behind us and braced it with a few crates of bionic transplant organs. The label of the one on top was marked “Hearts” in several alien languages.
How romantic, I thought with a giggle.
We stood facing each other, the shelves around us so cramped and close that we were almost touching. I could tell he was keeping his wings folded as tightly as possible so he wouldn't knock anything over. I wished for just a few more inches of space, so he could unfurl them enough to wrap them around me.
“It seems Tetro was sent in undercover after me, just in case I needed backup,” Surge told me. “He let me out of the seg cells so I could come and see you. So I could let you know that I was all right, and that you must not give up on me... or us.”
“Oh, Surge.” I put aside my surprise at the news of Tetro's presence and kissed Surge again, putting my arms around him and running my fingers through the feathers of his wings. They fluttered happily in response. “I was so scared. I thought I'd never see you again.”
“I would never allow that to happen, Paige.”
I nuzzled him under his chin and caressed his neck with my lips as I began to undo the fasteners on his prison uniform, kissing each new area of exposed pale flesh as I peeled the coveralls down off his shoulders and arms. His muscles flexed in the dim light of the closet, as though this small room – the whole prison, for that matter – could barely contain him.
Once his stiffening cock was exposed, I sank to my knees before him slowly, raking my fingernails down his firm pecs and abs just hard enough to leave a series of light scratches in their wake. He let out a low moan, towering over me.
