by J. J. Green
Was it because she was a mage? Other apparatus hadn’t worked on her in the past, like the weapon she’d stolen on Banner’s Moon, when she’d been working for the Sherrerrs. It had incapacitated all the other soldiers with terror, but she’d felt no effects.
If the process wasn’t working for her due to her difference from other humans, that would mean it hadn’t worked for her mage siblings! She’d thought they were in Deep Sleep, but they could be dead, drowned in nutrient.
She braced herself against the inner wall and kicked the outer shell with both feet, but the seal remained firmly intact.
The tiny nozzles sprang to life, spraying her in a cool, viscous liquid.
Carina screamed, and then knew no more.
Chapter Twenty
Carina woke, freezing, wet, and naked.
Hands were grabbing her, hauling her. She writhed, trying to break free, and slipped, landing hard on a cold, metal surface. Her sodden hair hung in ropes over her face, blocking her vision, her eyes weren’t working properly anyway. Everything looked blurry and all that she could hear sounded muffled and distant. She could make out shouting and cries of pain and distress, but they were distorted as if she was listening through glass.
She tried to stand, tried to get a grip on the smooth floor, but the mucusy liquid coating her made her slip. Then a massive hand fastened on her shoulder and brute strength forced her downward until she squirmed on her stomach.
“Stay down,” a deep, husky voice breathed hotly in her ear. “Stay still, if you know what’s good for you.”
She knew that hand, that voice. It was Pappu.
Lomang and Mezban had escaped stasis!
The giant had gained his freedom, and he was back to his old state, all submissiveness gone now that his brother and Mezban were in charge again.
She stopped struggling, knowing her efforts were pointless against Pappu’s brawn. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again several times, trying to make them work. The nutrient fluid had seeped under her lids and covered her eyeballs, but her vision problems were more than that—she hadn’t used her eyes since entering stasis, possibly as long as five years previously.
Her right cheek pressed against the floor, and her hair drooped over her face. She lifted a hand to move it away and was rewarded by renewed pressure on her back from Pappu. She grunted and dragged her hair from her eyes.
The opposite side of the Deep Sleep chamber was revealed to her, though the lights bloomed into fuzzy, pale yellow suns, and the lines of the walkways and capsules were undefined. Figures moved along the walkway, opening capsules and pulling out their occupants.
Sounds were becoming clearer.
Carina realized the voices she heard were speaking a foreign language—that was partly why she hadn’t been able to make out what they were saying
Yet when she concentrated harder, she found she did understand them. They were speaking the language of the Bathsheba.
“Here he is!” someone shouted.
“You’re sure?” a voice replied.
Lomang.
“Yes, I recognize him.”
“Fine,” Lomang said. “Do it before he comes around.”
A horrible, sickening crunch resounded, followed by the dull thump of a limp body hitting the floor.
It sounded like someone had died.
Who was he?!
Who had Lomang ordered to be killed?
She fought to rise.
“Stay where you are!” Pappu barked in Universal Speech.
“Get off me, you bastard! Let me up. If any of you have hurt one of my brothers…”
“It was not your brother!” Pappu hissed. “I’m telling you, if you value your life and your family’s lives, do not move!”
Carina collapsed, forcing down despair. If it wasn’t Ferne or Darius, could it have been Bryce?
People were moving on the walkway opposite. Men and women in uniform—she finally recognized Mezban’s troops—were forcing the groggy and disoriented mercs taken out of stasis to their feet and attempting to march them out of the chamber, though many could barely walk.
Pappu’s large hand was an implacable force on her back, pressing her down so hard she was having trouble breathing.
“Darius!” she called out. “Ferne! Parthenia! Any of you! Are you okay?”
“Your siblings are not here! Be quiet, or I will make you quiet.”
She knew too well how easily Pappu could make good on his promise, so she stopped resisting—for now. As soon as she got a hold of some elixir, she would put everything right again, only this time Lomang, Mezban, Pappu, and probably the rest of their troops too, would be spaced.
When the chamber seemed mostly empty and her vision and hearing had returned to normal, the pressure on her back lifted, and Pappu’s paw fastened around her bicep. He hoisted her to her feet with the ease of picking up trash from the floor.
As soon as she was upright, however, she immediately collapsed. Her legs wouldn’t bear her weight. They felt like jelly and as she looked down, she saw her thigh muscles were wasted.
Pappu lifted her again and began dragging her toward the steps. She stumbled, trying to get her legs underneath her as her feet scraped along the floor.
She was now shivering in the cool chamber, all the residual heat from the stasis capsule fluid dissipating into the atmosphere as she’d been forced to wait for the others to leave.
Then she saw him.
She screamed.
The meager strength in her lower limbs evaporated and she hung, limp, in the giant’s grasp, sobbing.
A few meters in front of her lay a man’s body, utterly still. The back of his head had been destroyed and his sightless eyes gazed upward.
Cadwallader was dead.
Before he’d even had time to properly return to consciousness, Lomang’s order had ripped the man’s life from him.
“Stand up!” Pappu ordered. “Yes, your commander was executed. What did you expect? If it weren’t for your powers you would be dead too. Now, move!”
Grief enveloped her.
The lieutenant colonel had been a hard man and difficult to get to know, but his position dictated that. He’d always been honorable, principled, and self-sacrificing, and she’d glimpsed another side of him—a softer side. If they’d had more time, she might have gotten to know him well, and that would have been to her benefit, not his. But now that time would never come.
The next few minutes passed in a blur as the giant yanked her the rest of the length of the walkway, past Cadwallader’s body, down the stairs, and out of the chamber.
She felt like an animal on a leash, only the leash was her arm and the collar was her shoulder. Pappu’s grip was a band of iron around her bicep, cutting off the blood to the rest of her limb.
Suddenly, rage flared up in her.
“Where is my family?! Where’s Bryce?! If you’ve hurt them, I’ll kill all of you!”
She tried to wrench herself free, but even if she hadn’t been in her weakened state, her strength was no match for the giant’s.
Instead, she bit his hand, grinding her teeth into his flesh.
Pappu roared.
He let go of her, and she dropped like a bag of stones.
His bloody hand drew back and then swept toward her. His knuckles cracked against her jawbone, snapping her head around.
The world receded, turning black. As she edged back from unconsciousness, she became vaguely aware of pain emanating from her face, but she leapt at the giant, power surging miraculously into her wasted legs.
But Pappu caught her deftly by the throat and lifted her up.
She dangled like a doll, choking, fingers scrabbling uselessly at the giant’s thick digits.
“Ah, little lady,” he said softly. “How I would love to squeeze the life out of you.” He drew her closer. “I haven’t forgotten how you left me in the grip of the mech. You poured shame on me, purposefully, and one day I will make you pay—slowly.”
He lowered her until the tips of her toes brushed the floor.
“But today is not that day.”
His hand left her throat, but before she could collapse, he lifted her by her waist and slotted her under his arm.
“Be warned, you belligerent woman. I may not be at liberty to kill you, but I can make you suffer.”
As she hung awkwardly in Pappu’s grasp, she tried to think of another way to hurt him, but then she remembered Bryce’s words when Lomang’s men had first surprised them on Ostillon. He’d pleaded with her, telling her to stop fighting, that she was going to get herself killed.
He’d been right, and the same applied now.
Expending the little energy she had on resisting Pappu was pointless and dangerous.
She would wait, find out what was happening and what Lomang and Mezban intended. Then she would wait for the right moment and strike.
This time, there would be no mercy.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lomang and Mezban sat side by side in the Bathsheba’s gym hall, their quarrels apparently forgotten or put aside. Somehow, Lomang had managed to find his ridiculous blue hat and had it perched on his head. Ten or twelve of Mezban’s troops stood behind them.
Carina peered at the men and women at the rear of the hall, sensing something not quite right about them.
Pappu had set her down as he’d entered the room. He pushed her and she stumbled forward, ending up on her hands and knees, her muscles still weak.
She raised her head.
Mezban’s look was imperious, but Lomang’s was inscrutable. He nodded at a woman standing at the edge of the gym. She walked over to Carina, carrying a cloth over her outstretched arms.
The woman bent down, offering her the textile.
After a brief moment of confusion, she took it and wrapped it over her shoulders. The piece of material was sufficiently large to cover her to her knees. With some difficulty, she stood.
“Where are my brothers and sisters? Where is my friend, Bryce? What have you done with them?”
“Our positions have exchanged now,” said Lomang. “It is myself and the magnificent Mezban Noran, Procurator of the Majestic Isles, Member of the Encircling Council, who will ask the questions, and you will answer.”
“I’m not telling you anything until I know the people I love are safe.”
She heard a heavy footfall from behind, then Pappu’s hand clasped her head, his fingers reaching around to squeeze her cheeks, pressing painfully into the bruise forming where he’d hit her.
“I think I can crush her skull with one hand, brother,” he said. “Would you like me to try?”
His grip tightened.
“You aren’t going to kill me,” said Carina. “So don’t bother threatening. You need me.”
Mezban leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. “We may not want you dead, but that won’t stop us from hurting you.”
“Oh, quit the dramatics!” Carina exclaimed.
She blinked.
The reason why Mezban’s soldiers looked odd had hit her.
She twisted her neck, wrenching her head out of Pappu’s hand.
“What’s going on here?” she demanded.
She looked behind her and through the exits. Only the giant stood to her rear and the doorways were empty and dark.
She tightened the cloth over her shoulders and took a step forward.
“Remain still!” yelled Mezban.
Pappu laid his heavy hands on her again.
“Let me go!” She felt like screaming in frustration. “Tell me who’s really in charge here! I’ll speak to them, not you.”
“Bring her closer,” said Lomang.
Pappu pushed her over to Lomang and Mezban.
“Tell me who’s giving you orders!” Carina demanded. “Is it the Sherrerrs? Did Kee catch up to us?”
“No one is giving us orders,” said Mezban. “You are under our command now, and you will do as we say.”
Lomang touched his wife’s arm, as if to caution her or remind her of something.
“What makes you think we are under another’s direction?” he asked.
“Your soldiers aren’t armed! And someone killed Cadwallader with a blow to his head, not a pulse round. If you’re the ones in control around here, where are your troops’ weapons?”
“Why would I arm my troops if we have control of the ship?” Mezban countered.
“Because you have more than a hundred trained and experienced mercs you just took out of stasis. Only a moron wouldn’t arm their guards. And I don’t think you’re that stupid.”
Fury flared in Mezban’s features and she spluttered with rage.
“Calm yourself, my love,” Lomang said to her. “Her words are the twittering of a bird in a cage.”
He continued in the foreign language, no doubt imagining Carina couldn’t understand him, “And yet…she does have a point.”
“What point is that?” asked Mezban viciously in the same language.
“Her correct assumption that we are not the true masters of this vessel will impact her willingness to work with us. Without her cooperation, the—” he said a word Carina didn’t recognize “—may see fit to sell us as a delicacy, rather than as slaves.”
“I don’t like the bitch,” Mezban muttered. “We should have killed her and kept the children. They’re enough of a bargaining tool.”
“My dear,” Lomang urged, “the children are too scared. Their fear robs them of their ability. This one may be our salvation.”
As the conversation had gone on, Mezban had been steadily glaring at Carina. Suddenly, her look sharpened and a new understanding lit her face. “I think she comprehends us!”
Carina tried to maintain a blank expression, but she didn’t appear to convince the woman of her ignorance.
Mezban drew away from Lomang and jabbed a finger at Carina. “Do you speak our language?” she asked in Universal Speech.
There was no point in dissembling. Now Mezban suspected Carina understood she would never be careless in speaking around her again.
“I understand a little,” said Carina. “Enough to know I’m a bitch.”
Mezban scowled.
Lomang rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward to speak to her.
Carina was shocked to see his paunch hang down between his spread thighs. The last time she’d seen the smuggler, he’d thinned all the way down to a normal weight.
How long had he been out of stasis? Certainly long enough to put on some fat.
How long have I been in Deep Sleep?
“Perhaps there is a little truth to your guess,” he said to her. “What if I were to tell you that there are other masters—even more powerful than Mezban and myself—who would be interested in what you and your siblings can do? And that the knowledge of this power could mean the difference between life and death for all of us?”
“I would say I see no reason why my ability should save you,” she replied fiercely.
“I told you not to talk to her!” Mezban blurted. “You fool! Idiot!” She struck her husband with the side of her fist.
“Please, my darling, have patience. There are many roads we may travel yet, and none can foresee all ends.”
“I see an end for you!” yelled Mezban. “And if they don’t do it, I will!”
She jumped out of her seat and strode away, her little legs and arms swinging.
Lomang sighed, but his gaze followed her adoringly.
The small woman neared a doorway, but then abruptly halted. All anger and indignation appeared to ooze out of her, and she took a step back, her arms dangling at her sides, her jaw hanging loose.
Lomang slowly rose to his feet. “Mezban, my love, come here.” His tone was soft and fearful.
But his wife seemed frozen. She only stared at something beyond the door.
Though Carina couldn’t see the object of her fear, the feeling was infectious. She shivered under the cloth she was clutching tightly
to her chest.
The gazes of the soldiers at the end of the gym were fixed on the black opening.
A squeak escaped Mezban’s lips, and she dropped to her knees.
A long, slim, dark gray limb clad in exoskeleton entered the room.
Horror clasped Carina’s throat.
The limb was followed by another, and then a third.
A searing silence permeated the atmosphere. The only sound was the click of the creature’s limbs on the tiled floor.
Carina had heard tales of these aliens when she was a child—terrible tales of abhorrent acts, of children murdered, of people being eaten alive, of entire towns depopulated.
The stories had been so awful, she’d begun to suspect the beings were made up, that nothing could be so evil.
But then, when she was nine years old, they had attacked the small, impoverished settlement where she lived. She’d seen the dreadful things with her own eyes and witnessed the truth of their rumored ability to time-shift. She’d seen they were real.
Commander Kee had not caught up to the Bathsheba, set on revenging the death of Sable Dirksen, and nor had some traitor among the Black Dogs wakened Lomang and Mezban from their Deep Sleep. Their release was due to another event entirely: the arrival of an enemy of all humankind.
The ship had been taken over by Regians.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Carina!”
Darius leapt up and ran toward her.
“I can’t hug you,” she said, looking down at the cloth she was gripping to her chest. “This is all I’m wearing.”
“But I can hug you!” the little boy announced.
She bent down, and he wrapped his arms around her neck, tugging her lower.
Two of Mezban’s unarmed guards and Pappu had brought her to a suite of rooms, pushed her through the door, and then closed and locked it.
To Carina’s immense relief all her siblings were inside, and they showed no signs of any injuries. Ferne and Oriana were lying on the floor, an interface screen between them, and Parthenia was standing behind Nahla, a hairbrush in her hand.
When Carina caught her oldest sister’s eye, she looked away quickly and continued to brush Nahla’s hair.
