by C B Williams
Wren glanced over at him and smiled. “I think you have been doing a great job, don’t you?”
“It’s not the same, though. They need you, Wren. What you give them, they need.”
Wren looked at the mug in her hands. “But the thing is, I’m not sure I’ve got what they need anymore.”
Mouse reached across her desk and covered Wren’s hands with her own. “Want to tell us what happened? How’d you survive the sniffers?”
Over Wren’s bent head, Mouse looked at Flick with raised brows. She had never seen Wren like this before.
Flick had. Give her time, he mouthed.
Mouse nodded, unconvinced that time was what Wren needed.
Wren looked up. “I nearly didn’t survive the sniffers,” she said. “Eloch saved me.”
“Eloch?” Flick said. “Who’s Eloch?” His scowl deepened when Wren’s mouth curved up.
“Eloch is the Champion of Entean, and I guess I need to begin with when I saw you all last.”
Apparently the story couldn’t be told without interruptions, but after several answered questions, mugs of tea, and bathroom breaks, Wren finally brought her friends up to date.
“I can’t believe you’ve been off planet,” Spider said.
Wren nodded. “I can’t believe it myself… first on a Space Station, then on Talamh. I actually got out of the ship and walked around on Talamh.”
Spider hiked his elbows on the table and leaned toward Wren. “What was it like? Talamh?”
“The gravity was lighter. People were more nimble, but on the small side. I’d swear they all had Sub-City blood and not UpperUpper. I’m actually a little taller than some, if you can imagine that. Do you know the history of that first colonization? Were they Subs? An experiment maybe? Subs are always the ones considered expendable. They act like Subs to my mind.”
“Not sure. I’ll find out if you like. May take some digging, it being some thousand years ago. I always wanted to go off-planet and explore,” Spider added.
“It’s always been my plan,” Wren said. “To get the Kin to one of the other planets.”
Flick’s head shot up. “Since when?”
“Since always.”
“How come you didn’t tell me?”
Wren sighed. “Because, Flick, I wasn’t sure it could work. But now? Now I’ve got some contacts. Now, it’s possible.”
“With Max’s help, it might work,” Mouse said.
Wren gestured at her uniform. “Not just with Max’s help. I’ve got a couple of new friends.”
“What if the Kin don’t want to go?” Flick asked. “I don’t want to go. I have no desire to go anywhere except away from Sub. Why can’t we move the Kin to Rubble? You and this Eloch person did just fine in Rubble.”
“But we were dependent upon Aiko’s supplies and what Little Sister brought us,” Wren countered.
“We could make it work,” Flick said.
“Fine, Flick. Come up with a plan, and we’ll see if it can work.”
Mouse’s head whipped around at Wren’s tone. “If you don’t want to be KinLord, Wren, then don’t jump down Flick’s throat. It would be easier to live in Rubble than to try to blend with the UpperUppers and eventually become colonized.”
Wren sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m tired.”
“Then rest,” Flick said. “Mouse can lend you her room since she’s not there that much.”
“Sure. Come with me, Wren.”
Mouse all but dragged her from the room.
“Why’d you jump all over Flick like that?” she hissed as soon as they were out of hearing distance. “He’s under a lot of pressure, here, trying to fill your boots. You cast a long shadow, Wren. We hear it all the time. If the Kin don’t like something it’s all ‘But Wren this and but Wren that.’ Got annoying a few months ago.”
They stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall. “Here’s my room, make yourself at home. I finally got a bed a week ago.”
Wren shot her a look but said nothing. “Thanks,” Wren said as they crossed the threshold. “I’ll just nap and then I’ll leave when it gets dark.” She sat on Mouse’s bed and pulled off her boot.
“You’re not leaving yet,” Mouse said and drew up a chair. “You can’t just come back and go away in the same day. What’s happened to you? We need to finish up that conversation at least.”
Wren squinted at her and shook her head. “Wow, not quite the homecoming I was expecting.”
Mouse softened. “Look, we’ve all been through a lot in a very short time. You should hear the three of us squabble, and Cricket gets in on the act, too. It’s just that Flick…” She paused. “Well Flick has feelings for you, Wren. You shouldn’t be so hard on him.”
“I shouldn’t be, I know. But when I look at him and he looks at me that way, I just feel guilt. A tremendous amount of guilt to add to all the other guilt I’m carrying around. I feel like I used him, all those nights he used to cuddle with me so I could sleep. He’s one of my best friends, and I’ve treated him horribly. And now—” Wren broke off.
“And now?” Mouse prompted.
Wren shook her head, her mouth a tight line.
“It’s this Eloch person, isn’t it? This alien?”
“I’ve got to help him get home. I owe him my life, Mouse, don’t you see?”
Mouse studied her friend. “Oh, I see. I see plenty. And,” she rose and rested her hand briefly on Wren’s shoulder, “it’s really none of my business, is it? Rest well, and we’ll talk more over a meal.” She turned to leave.
“Speaking of none of my business,” Wren called after her. “What’s going on with you and Spider? I’ve never seen you this way.”
Mouse laughed weakly. “Neither have I, and I’m not sure what’s going on with us. It started out as a challenge for me to even like him. I only made the effort because you told us to trust him. I wanted to know who I was trusting, and…well, I guess I like what I found out.”
“I guess so,” Wren said. She absently scratched her thigh where it was connected to the animated.
“Hurt?” Mouse asked and gestured to Wren’s leg where she was scratching.
Wren shook her head. “No. Itches. I don’t understand the technology, but where it interfaces with my flesh, it itches. Used to itch worse. I thought my leg had come back to haunt me.”
Wren pulled up the leg of the uniform and exposed the animated. The two looked at it silently for a few moments.
“It works just as well as a real leg. Better, actually. I can never damage it. But I miss my flesh. I tried so hard to keep it, Mouse.” She shook her head and added, with a smirk. “I suffered a lot of pain and agony for nothing.” She waved a hand. “I’ll try to rest now, Mouse. Perhaps you’ll show me around when I wake up?” Wren hiked herself onto the bed and pulled up the throw before settling into a comfortable position, facing away from Mouse.
“Of course,” Mouse said. “I won’t be far. And Wren, don’t be too hasty about leaving here. We’re happy you’re back. You can’t know how happy.”
“I’ve missed you all, too. I’ve worried over you all. Wake me in an hour if I don’t wake myself.”
“Rest well,” Mouse told her and closed the door behind her softly.
“Well?” Flick said when Mouse reentered the room and took a seat beside Spider.
“Well what, Flick?”
“Well, what do you think? How’s Wren?”
“Resting. When she gets up, I think I’ll show her what we’ve accomplished.”
Flick shook his head. “It’s not what I meant and you know it,” he said darkly.
“Wren’s been through a lot, Flick. We all have.”
“She’s in love with him, this Eloch bloke,” he said bitterly as he twisted the same pencil between his fingers.
“Flick, he saved her life. I’m sure she’s got some feelings of gratitude for him. And she told me she owes him. Wants to help him get back home. But love? Wren doesn’t let people get close to her, you
know that. Besides, she’s here with us. She’s not with him.” But she did wonder if Wren had fallen for the alien. It sure seemed like it to her.
Flick harrumphed and focused on his pencil-twisting.
Mouse sighed. “Don’t you have a meeting with Skip? We’re going to need to get more wood or coal or something. Blankets?”
“I don’t think Wren’s staying, Mouse. Going to go off with this Eloch. Mark my words.”
Mouse frowned. “And what of it? We’ve been doing fine here without her. Maybe it’s for the best.”
“I’m barely doing fine without her, Mouse. I’m barely doing anything. And now she’s back, and then she’ll go. Maybe it would have been better if she let us think she was dead. Maybe it would be better if she actually was dead. We could mourn her, pick up the pieces, and move on.”
“I’ve thought that myself,” Wren said, leaning against the doorframe.
The pencil flew from Flick’s fingers and landed on the floor, forgotten.
Wren glanced at Mouse and shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. You were right about some things.” She crossed the floor to Flick, pulled up a chair, and sat, straddling it, her face so close to Flick’s that all he could see were her eyes. Her familiar, alive eyes.
“Thought about just leaving you all, letting you think I was dead. Nearly did. But you see, I couldn’t. I’m a selfish bitch, Flick. I knew I wasn’t dead, and I needed you, all of you, to be okay. I needed to see with my own eyes that you were all okay.”
She reached out and tugged his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry, Flick, that things can’t be the way you want them to be between us. They never could be. But that doesn’t mean I love you less, need you less.” She drew back so she could see his whole face. “And it does my heart proud knowing the Kin are in your capable hands, Flick. They’re yours. You’re their KinLord now. If you say they go to live in Rubble, then that’s where they’ll go.”
“Wren, you can’t mean—”
“No, Flick, they’re yours, and I do mean it. And since we’re talking truth, I don’t know how I feel about Eloch. Maybe I do love him. Scares the crap out of me if I do. Probably won’t do anything about it, either. But I owe the man my life. The Board of Colonizers threw him away. He deserves to get home. It’s the least I can do to help him. And if that hurts you, then I’m sorry, but I can’t make myself be what you want me to be anyway. I’ve been through too much, now, and it’s changed me.”
Flick drew her back to him and kissed her forehead as Wren threw her arms around his neck.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I’m sorry, too.”
“What now?” Mouse asked after a while. She reached into her pocket, retrieved a handkerchief, and tossed it. “Here, catch. Clean yourselves up.”
Wren caught the handkerchief, careful to use only half when she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “What now?” she asked Flick after he used the other half.
“Now I figure out how to survive in Rubble,” he announced, shoving the handkerchief in his pocket. “Didn’t think you’d want it back, Mouse.”
“Not now. When it’s cleaned.”
Wren smirked, her heart suddenly lighter. “Since I’ve lived in Rubble, perhaps I can help.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Chapter 14
Reunion
Wren threw a snowball and watched it explode when it smacked against the wall across the street from Eloch’s encampment. Rubble was blanketed with snow, a first in her lifetime. Maybe even a first in several lifetimes. She’d never known rain could turn into anything other than rain. The only place not covered with several inches of the white stuff was the circle of melted snow rapidly icing over where Aiko’s shuttle had touched down.
She puffed out a breath and retreated to the warmth of the encampment, grateful for the solar heater and extra blankets Aiko had left with her. She dug out the paper-thin solar blanket and busied herself attaching it to the doorway. She didn’t like not being able to see anyone approach, but the warmth it provided was well worth it. Already she felt her muscles relax, and she could no longer see her breath. She decided to make a cup of tea before she went back out into the cold to create some sort of warning system, not that she expected any unwanted visitors.
Still. Caution First meant survival.
She hooked up the portable kitchen, another gift from Aiko, turned on a burner under the teapot, and waited. She caught herself grinning as she thought back to the rustic encampment Eloch had devised. Hadn’t he known about all the equipment Aiko kept in The Startdust’s storage?
She looked around and felt a little pang as its emptiness sank in. A thin layer of dust lay on the table, chairs and counter spaces. As if on cue, she sneezed and decided she’d clean after she had her tea.
“Why wait?” she asked herself and picked up a cloth, moistened it with the tea water warming in the kettle, and wiped down the table and chairs.
The pot whistled. The rest of the cleaning would wait.
As she sipped her tea, Wren’s thoughts drifted back over the past three weeks. She was grateful she had released her Kin to Flick. All agreed it would be better to keep it secret that she was still alive. For the moment. So Wren had only stayed a few more days, to help Flick fine-tune his leadership skills and devise a migration plan for the Kin. As long as it was cold and the Kin were healthy and safe, they would remain where they were. When the weather changed, they would begin their move.
Wren had returned from the visit to Aiko’s ship with a list of even more requests, and the catalog of debts she’d racked up made her extremely uncomfortable. She didn’t like owing anyone anything, even though Aiko assured her repeatedly that she owed nothing. “I guess we keep different books,” Wren had replied. Somehow she’d pay the woman back.
“So now that’s settled, what do you need?” Aiko had asked.
And Wren told her.
Before they moved, she wanted to make sure the Kin had a secure and inconspicuous supply line. Wren volunteered to explore the tunnels not destroyed by their escape from Sub-City. But the Martials would be aware of those tunnels, and she wasn’t sure what she’d find. A shuttle would be better. A shuttle with a cloaking device, even better. A shuttle with a cloaking device and a pilot would be perfect. Aiko had a pilot in mind.
It was a start.
Wren took a sip of tea and played with different scenarios in her mind until she caught herself drifting toward other issues she had put off, namely Eloch and what to do with her life now she was no longer a KinLord and assassin-for-hire.
She set her cup down and began to pace. Whenever she thought of the man, she got so twisted up inside. It wasn’t fair. What can one do when a force the likes of a hurricane blows into your life? She kicked at the earthen floor with her Animated, the constant reminder of what she’d gone through with Eloch’s help.
Another person she owed.
She’d discussed how to help Eloch with Aiko as well. But, as Aiko pointed out, there was no way to plan Eloch’s return to Entean until Eloch reappeared from the south.
Which was why Wren was back at the old encampment.
Not only did it offer her the solitude she craved when she had decisions to make and events to plan, but Wren would be the first to know when Eloch returned.
And until he returned, Wren could spend the time plotting the next steps in her life. Did she want to find out who had massacred her Kin, or did she want something else for herself? Or did she even need to choose?
She happened to be out gathering wood when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark blur coming straight at her. Dropping the wood, she reached for a knife and turned just in time to be hit by the full force of Little Sister’s enthusiastic greeting. With a half laugh, half cry she found herself flat on her back, wood scattering in all directions, and her face being washed to the chorus of yips and joyful rumbles.
“I’ve missed you, too. Let me up, Beastie.” she laughed and pushed the sniffer off.
> She stood and brushed the snow off her leggings while Little Sister burst into a series of circles and figure eights around her, kicking up plumes of snow.
It made her laugh. “You’ve got some new moves there, looks like,” she told the delighted creature.
And then she felt him, turned toward him as inevitably as a full Animated responded to a nerve signal, and locked with his magnetic gaze.
Somewhere in the back of her mind Wren recognized the difference in him. It would have frightened her, but his intensity first overwhelmed and then consumed her. Eloch strode up to her, his cape swirling behind, and dropped his staff to sweep her up in his arms.
He gave her no chance to think, just started planting kisses, beginning at her forehead, then her eyes, her cheeks, lips, neck, and back to her lips. They began as gentle, butterfly kisses, but gradually deepened. Some were short, some he lingered over. All pushed her into a fire, a heat she’d never felt before.
No longer able to think through the firestorm of passion, she gasped his name in surrender and burrowed her face into his neck, inhaling his scent as he carried her into the warmth of the encampment.
Did the doorway’s curtain part for them? Surely not.
He set her down, smoothed her hair and said not a word.
He didn’t need to.
His bold eyes, burning deep and green, told her enough.
With gentle yet insistent hands, he helped her undress. The clothes seemed to melt away, with the occasional klink from one of her knives. If she had been able to think, she would have been amazed at how they disappeared like magic.
But she was too focused on touching and touching, finally touching that broad chest and those strong shoulders. All that beautiful golden skin that had tantalized her for so long was now offered to her to explore. In the candlelight his skin was even more golden. And he smelled so good, so wonderful, like a deep forest, or what she imagined a deep forest would smell like, all clean and damp and musky warmth.
