THE RED MIST TRILOGY: The Box Set

by R T Green

  Lie. Buy some time. ‘Yes, Tiri. I will be there for you.’

  She let go of my hair, stood by the side of the couch and smiled. A warm smile, no hint of malice. ‘Good. It is late, we should retire to bed. Come, I will show you to your quarters.’

  She took my hand, led me into the walkway, and pressed a button on the wall, two doors down on the opposite side from my old place, and shepherded me in. ‘I hope you sleep well, Madeline.’ More cold, more indifference. I smiled sweetly to her, but with the hiss of a closing door, she was gone. And I knew for sure this time there was no point seeing if it would open from the inside.

  I glanced around. My new pad wasn’t so bad. If you liked living in a cupboard.

  Ok, maybe that’s a bit unfair to it. Nowhere near the size of Tiri’s palatial spread, it was decent enough. A wide bunk sat against one wall, a tall built-in wardrobe and low drawer unit on the other. The walls and ceiling were bare alloy... the biometal Zana had told me about, for sure. She’d said everything was made from it.

  Some kind of cushioned plastic covered the floor, warm to my bare feet. On the short wall, a doorway led to a basic bathroom; a just-big-enough shower, toilet and small basin with an illuminated mirror above it.

  It would do. One way or another, I wouldn’t be there very long.

  I fell into the bunk, uncertainty trying its best to floor me once again. The same old chestnut was rearing its ugly head, over and over.

  Why was I here?

  My captor and my dominator wanted to be my friend? It was there, in her eyes, in her body language. Whatever she saw in me, she wanted it.

  Why?

  I had two options. Hold out as long as possible, endure whatever she threw at me while I worked out how to escape. Or somehow become valuable... work on the fact she seemed to find me desirable, gain her trust. That might buy me some time too.

  Neither of those options seemed appealing. Or very likely to work.

  But they were all I had.

  I turned on my side, closed my eyes. Stop depressing yourself, think about something nice. I forced my thoughts to the incredible play couch... oh, that was nice for sure.

  Suddenly my inner goddess was there beside me once more, smiling sweetly in a self-satisfied kind of way, thanking me with her eyes for making her night. I was kind of glad she was there, a little company that wasn’t Tiri. Even if her smug face was annoying. She lay there beside me, telepathing her thoughts, making sure I knew what a wonderful time she’d had.

  It was wonderful.

  But how I wish it had been you and me enjoying its delights, Zana.

  Chapter 98

  Morning brought me a dose of harsh reality. I was supposed to meet Zana yesterday, but instead I was a guest at the royal palace. What would she think when I didn’t turn up?

  Would she believe I had let her down once again... the once too often?

  Is she gone now, forever?

  I wrenched my body out of bed, hit the shower. That was a whole new experience too. No water, just pulses of sonic light to cleanse the dirt away. I stood there for an age. The light was comforting, the faintest of tingles caressing skin that seemed to be more receptive than ever to the lightest of touches. My hands drifted between my legs... oh, my skin wasn’t the only part of me brimming with new life.

  The lasting effects of Tiri’s play couch were very pleasurably obvious.

  My finger didn’t seem to want to go anywhere else. My ghostly voyeur was screaming at me, standing by my side with a wicked smile on her face, willing me to raise the stakes. She parted her legs a little, clutched at her breast with one hand, squeezing and teasing her nipple to a peak of impossible hardness.

  Or maybe that was me. It was getting difficult to tell.

  We weren’t letting up, me, my inner voyeur and my finger. I caught my breath, leant back against the shower wall as a wave of divine sensuality tried to turn me to jelly.

  ‘Go on... throw a double-six...’ Who said that? Does it matter? My finger was working itself to the bone, my brain was spinning like a roulette wheel, the sonic pulses seemed to aim right where I needed them...

  Stop!

  What?

  Now?

  I cried out, in frustration I think. Maybe anger. Which one of us pulled the plug? And then I focussed on my companion, panting and breathless beside me. She was shaking her head, waggling a chastising finger at me.

  She didn’t have my face anymore. She had Tiri’s. And Lisa’s. And Zana’s.

  You can’t fly solo, Madeline. Not allowed. You wouldn’t get the satisfaction anyway. Your sex belongs to everyone else now. Just give it a rest.

  I dressed, furious with both of us. My conscience, for drawing the line so abruptly and cruelly. And my inner goddess, for being such a horny bitch. What had I sunk to? A disobedient pupil brought up in front of the head for exploring her blossoming sexuality in the girl’s toilets? Am I about to get my knuckles rapped by my inner headmistress? This is too confusing.

  My outer self wanted to grab my favourite fluffy, run away and hide. My clit wanted to play truant and smoke itself to death behind the bike sheds. My inner lecturer let me off with a stern warning, telling me if I ever did that again there would be severe consequences.

  She was probably closest to the mark.

  Damn her.

  Lisa brought me food. Cold eyes threw the briefest of glances in my direction, and then refused to look at me.

  ‘No light-hearted banter again then?’ I said, maybe a little curtly.

  ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’ She was scurrying back to the door, fuelling my confused annoyance.

  ‘Hey!’ I grabbed her arm, spun her round so she had to look at me. I tried to soften my voice, not sure if I managed it. ‘What happened to the Lisa I met at Joe’s?’

  She lowered her eyes. ‘That was pretend.’

  ‘No, it wasn’t.’

  ‘Yes, it was. I was following orders.’

  ‘I’m well aware of that. Being drugged into unconsciousness makes that pretty clear. But don’t try telling me what happened before that wasn’t real. I’m no fool, Lisa.’

  For a moment her eyes met mine, and the cold stare was replaced with something else. Sadness, fear, I couldn’t tell. She opened her mouth, tried to say something but the words wouldn’t come. Then she pulled away from my grip, turned and ran her hands through her long cornrows.

  ‘Are you having fun, on her couch?’

  Where did that come from? Sentient thought deserted me, I said inanely, ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You know what I mean. I hope it is pleasant for you.’

  She knew what the couch did, why it was there. How? Have they all got one? My voyeur was suddenly envious. Lisa was leaving, walking to the door again, but I needed to know more. ‘What do you know, Lisa? Have you got one too... a couch I mean?’

  She turned back to me, laughed sarcastically. ‘Don’t be insane. It is one of a kind, fit only for a queen.’

  ‘So how...’

  She was gone. I slumped onto the sofa, more questions than answers once more. But I knew now the couch was an original. My inner goddess was in tears, ripping up the order she was about to send to Harrods. My real self forced coherent thought to return from its brief AWOL stint, turned Lisa’s words around in my mind.

  The look in her eyes; I finally knew what it was.

  It was jealousy.

  And I was the new kid on the block, instantly promoted to the number two position, sucking up to the leader of the gang.

  Chapter 99

  The mood in the shack wasn’t good. Ryland Cooper sat at the table, his head in his hands, a half-full mug of cold tea next to him.

  Another day had drawn to a close, and still not a scrap of progress.

  The dread in the pit of his stomach was trying to break him, made all the worse by the discovery he’d made that morning. He’d asked David and Tami if he could see Madeline’s room, but not told them the real reason.

 
; While he and Miles were alone the bedroom, he’d flicked a button on his wristwatch. One of the high-tech apps built into it was designed to flag up unrecognisable DNA. It was the device that, by pure fluke, had discovered the existence of Zana and her compatriots six months ago, and started the whole thing.

  When up close to unknown DNA, a tiny red light flashes.

  He’d scanned the room, and the dread was back with a vengeance. As Miles, standing next to him, turned away and ran a hand across his face, they both knew their worst fears had become reality.

  The flashing red light meant there was no doubt now who had got her.

  He hadn’t told her father, not then. He’d broken the news a little later in the day, knowing he couldn’t keep it a secret. As David held a tearful Tami in his arms, he’d thrown a desperate look to the two agents.

  ‘We need Zana now more than ever.’

  The day had been a wasted one. The posters had brought results. Pretty much every one unwanted. A multitude of calls had come in from people who knew exactly where she was, and then asked how much money was up for grabs.

  They’d followed up on them all, knowing they must, just in case any were genuine. None of them were. The shack had become search HQ. They’d split into two teams, following up false leads, trekking the streets for any sight of either girl.

  And then as darkness brought an end to another day, they’d sat around the table and talked through a change in strategy.

  ‘I know you guys don’t want to hear this, but we gotta alter things.’

  On the same page, David nodded. ‘Guess there’s no point looking for Madeline now. We have to concentrate on locating Zana.’

  Coop nodded sadly. ‘The only way those fucking aliens could have got here is in another shuttle. Must have been the one they used to transport the guys we cleaned up off the floor in Zana’s apartment. They must have been watching the whole damn show on Dawson’s hill...’ He broke off, the anger in his voice choking him.

  Tami put a hand on his arm. ‘Do you think they followed Zana here?’

  Miles nodded. ‘Bloody well sure they did. But it begs the question, why did they not just grab her?’

  Tami let out a little cry. ‘Maybe they have. They have them both.’

  Coop slammed his fist on the table. ‘Fuck!... sorry.’

  Miles shook his head. ‘It’s possible. But I think somehow Zana eluded them... hence the Muslim dress, only a couple of days ago. Madeline was taken in the hope of flushing her out.’

  ‘And if they have already?’

  No one answered. It would have been too depressing to put into words.

  Tami picked up Coop’s cold tea, went to the kitchen area to make them all a fresh brew. David stood up, stretched his weary body, turned to head for the washroom. ‘You guys think it’s time to get the commissioner involved?’

  ‘And what do we say, David? Madeline hasn’t turned up because she’s been abducted by aliens. She’s somewhere in Tobago in an invisible spaceship, probably in the middle of the rainforest. And there’s also another girl we can’t find, dressed as a Muslim woman. Oh, and she’s an alien too.’

  He grinned, despite his desolation. ‘Yeah, get your point.’

  He disappeared through a door, and the two agents were alone at the table. Miles was all too aware of the hopelessness trying to defeat his friend. He spoke in a low voice.

  We have to concentrate on Zana now, mate.’

  Coop lowered his head. ‘Yeah, I know. Don’t feel right though, like we’re abandoning Madeline.’

  ‘We’re not jolly well doing that, and you know it. Just like you know that finding anyone imprisoned in an invisible spaceship is next to impossible.’

  ‘Fuck you and you’re blunt English words, Miles.’

  He knew it wasn’t said with any malice. ‘Guess you’d like me to play with the pendant, mate? See if I can figure out how the hell it works?’

  He nodded. ‘Yeah, without unfriendly aliens knowing you is, if such a thing is possible.’

  ‘Give it my best shot, bud. But the fact we’ve got it at all is somewhat worrying, don’t you think?’

  Coop buried his face in his hands. He knew it was a question Miles didn’t need answering. The pendant was Zana’s lifeline, she would never part company with it unless there was good reason. And it must have been inside the full-body abaya she was wearing, extremely unlikely to have been ripped off by accident if there had been some kind of scuffle in the trees behind the shack.

  No. She’d dropped it deliberately, a desperate crumb of a clue she’d hoped someone who knew its significance would find.

  Chapter 100

  The hours passed, agonisingly slowly. There was little to do, other than think. And discover that sometimes, too much thinking time results in over-thinking.

  Lisa’s nose had been put out of joint, that much was certain. My inner goddess was sulking like a spoilt brat, that much was painfully obvious. My sensible side was confused, that much was... confusing.

  And then the nausea was back. Yet another wrecking-ball of a scenario was coming at me at a vast rate of knots. Zana said she had to go back to her shuttle. Did Tiri follow her to Tobago, not me? Had Zana somehow given her pursuers the slip, so they’d come after me instead, believing we would be together?

  By the time we returned to the scene, it was all over. There was no sign of you or Zana.

  Tiri’s words. She had no idea Zana died, or came back to life. She’d assumed we were together. And now she’s assuming I’m going to give her up.

  I was the queen’s pawn in a complicated game of chess, being moved around the board to tease her opponent from safety. A game played in stages, interspersed with leisure breaks, when she made her moves on me instead, designed to lure me into a false sense of security.

  That brought its own problem. Pawns aren’t worth much in a chess game.

  My harsh reality was growing darker. The red dapples on Tiri’s body reminded me of those of a leopard. She was a chess-playing wildcat, catching her prey and then teasing it, tantalising it, before she bit its head off.

  My inner goddess was tut-tutting again. Reminding me she was snatched from the brink of ecstasy not so long ago, a needy and smouldering look in her narrowed eyes. Ok, you know-it-all bitch, I shouldn’t be thinking things like that. My captor is beautiful, seductive, and giving. I should be grateful.

  Yeah, sure.

  My evening meal arrived, without Tiri. Or Lisa. Someone else was my waiter this time. She was all Calanduran, dressed in a trousered uniform, all prim and military. Her smoky-pink skin and red markings were the lightest I’d seen, much paler than Tiri’s. She looked very young, and I wondered if on Calandura you were born white, and slowly dappled-up with each passing year.

  She threw me a disinterested smile, placed the tray on the table. I asked if Lisa was ok, she smiled in a slightly-embarrassed way and left the room.

  It seems like unless you plied them with alcohol, Calandurans were not the chattiest of races in the universe. Not that I knew that many.

  Of course the food was delicious. I knew Lisa had cooked it, her signature was everywhere. I wished she had brought it, so we could maybe have talked a little. I doubted I would have got anything resembling answers to questions, but at least she would have been there a little longer than miss prim and proper.

  Where are you, Tiri? I need to let you know I can play chess too.

  Another hour passed, and I could feel myself drifting into sleep. When the door hissed aside, for a moment I wasn’t sure if it was reality or another dream.

  But Tiri was there, and my heart began to beat harder.

  ‘How are you, Madeline?’ She smiled to me warmly. ‘You look tired.’

  ‘Not really. Just taking a little nap; that’s what pets do to relieve the boredom.’

  ‘Yes, I am sorry there is little to fill your day.’

  ‘Don’t you have a collar and lead you can put round my neck, take me for a walk in the woods?
’

  ‘Please don’t be like this.’

  Someone inside was tutting again, chomping at the bit because the giver of her pleasure had arrived, warning me to keep my irreverent gob shut. ‘Please forgive me Tiri, I just need something to fill my day when you are not here.’

  ‘It will not be too long before things change, Madeline.’

  ‘How long, Tiri? Tell me please?’

  ‘I do not know for sure, it depends on a number of factors... including you.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Yes, you. If you do what I wish. Come, please.’

  She took my hand, led me back to the palace, and beckoned me to sit on the sofa.

  ‘I shall shower, and then we will enjoy some pleasure.’ So you just assume? She slipped off her gown. Naked, she headed into the bathroom.

  My inner voyeur was suddenly grinning like a Cheshire cat, already touching herself in anticipation of the play couch. My outer self had a completely different agenda. And slightly shaking hands. You’re not getting your hands on me tonight, Tiri.

  But while one of me was dripping with confidence and licking her lips, the other me was wondering what the consequences of saying no would be.

  Tiri came from the shower, her skin all zingy and glowing. She seemed to sparkle as she walked in her ever-confident way to the sofa, held out a hand. ‘Are you ready for me?’ she whispered.

  I didn’t take the hand. ‘I know why I’m here, Tiri. Although I’m a little surprised you haven’t demanded to know where Zana is yet.’

  For a moment she looked taken-aback. Then she moved away, gave a little laugh. ‘You are thinking too much, Madeline. I know exactly where Zana is.’

  Ok, that wasn’t what I expected to hear. And maybe what I didn’t want to hear. She was probably lying, but it wasn’t the best idea to tell her that right then.

  ‘And where is that?’

  She turned to look at me, her green eyes narrowed, cold. ‘Did you believe you are here because of her?’