Obedience on Fire

by J D Morganne

  “You look upset,” Nano said. “Thought you liked kickin’ stuff.”

  “You have something to prove to your sister?” Jaxon found himself saying.

  Nano jabbed him in the jaw.

  Jaxon reeled, his vision waning. Nano was saying something, but his voice seemed to float through a narrow funnel. Jaxon swallowed the warm blood from his busted lip.

  “Shake it off.” Nano warned. “Faster.” He licked his lips, cracked his knuckles, humorous determination in his shuffling feet. “Get angry like you did yesterday. When you kicked over all our food.”

  Jaxon had control. He had control. He had control.

  He tried to speak again. “Your sister”—

  Nano’s fist grazed his chin. Jaxon lost focus, light, thrown into a disarray, stumbling like a child lost in the wilderness.

  Nano’s boxy fingers on his shoulders and then his face brought him back. He slapped his cheek twice. “Still with me?”

  21

  Beck knew Nano well.

  “You gon’ let him keep hitting him like that?” Aria said, after Nano punched Jaxon in the gut.

  “He’s training him.” Beck pushed her sunglasses up on her nose and sat back with her hands over her stomach.

  “Nano doesn’t train like this. Stop him.”

  Beck turned to her, partly surprised at the distress in her best friend’s voice. She was grateful she’d worn shades dark enough to hide her drooping eyelids. She couldn’t care less about Aria’s fascination with the robot. It was crippling her common sense. They needed to know how strong he was. And what better way to test his strength than to see his backed pinned against earth and his own self-control?

  “No,” Beck said, coldly.

  Aria knew Nano well, too. Better than Beck. Nano would train Jaxon, but this was something else. This was a reprimand, a consequence of Jaxon threatening his Emiir.

  “Did he say anything about the tunnels?”

  Aria huffed. “He reacted how you thought he would. Composed, but definitely curious.”

  Beck stuffed her nostrils with vanilla air before groaning.

  Nano never missed a breath or step. Jaxon wouldn’t keep up with him. He was already panting and pacing, while licking a cut on his lip. There was something intentional about the way he paced, each deliberate step like choreography. He moved like he had allowed Nano to hit him, like he would let him again.

  Beck leaned forward to see over the railing, taking in what must’ve been a self-taught strategy. Nano hadn’t picked up on it yet.

  Nano snatched up his rod from where he’d wedged it into the ground. He was about to slam it into Jaxon, but Jaxon blocked. The warm steel rammed into his arm, instead. He groaned when it cracked and snatched his arm to him, his face twisted in agony.

  “Do somethin’ then!” Nano raised his rod like a scythe, reading to swing again.

  Beck gripped the railing.

  Jaxon was a good person, but not this good. Not a saint. He wouldn’t stand there and let Nano kick his ass. He’d flipped a table to get to her. He confirmed her thoughts when the rod landed in the palm of his hand and he snatched it and Nano closer. He deftly planted his foot into Nano’s chest and yanked the rod out of his grasp. Then, he pounded his fists into Nano’s blocking arm and face. Nano blocked two blows, stumbled when Jaxon’s fist caught his cheek. He couldn’t catch his shock or his fall. He hit the ground, still reaching for his rod. He ran his tongue over his bloodied gums before spitting it at Jaxon’s feet. Teeth locked, jaw set, he climbed to his feet.

  “Happy?” Beck said to Aria, sitting back. She didn’t think any outcome would please her.

  Aria sat on the steps, cupping her sundress, her teeth clenched in anticipation. She huffed at what they all knew would happen. Nano and Jaxon’s animalistic circling turned into a full-fledged fight. Punches sounded like rocks on bone.

  “Stop them,” Aria begged. She kept teeter-tottering her concern between them.

  Beck rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna have to do something about the bickering if you want them both.” She stood. She ignored Aria’s glare digging into the side of her head. Nano was about to dive in for another knock upside Jaxon’s jaw, but Jaxon parried and jabbed, his right fist colliding with Nano’s chin. Nano staggered, canting left. His legs wobbled, a circus performer on stilts. He finally blinked reality into sight and regained his footing.

  Jaxon laughed. “You good? You got a little…” He gestured to the blood seeping through Nano’s teeth and Nano tackled him to the ground. Blow-after-blow, he pounded at Jaxon’s face, meeting his arms.

  Jaxon had managed to land a punch when he got the upper hand, but Beck had seen enough of their squabble, which was playful wrestling now. “Stop. All right, all right.”

  She would be a fool not to consider her options. Jaxon had proven Cayman right twice now. Once when he swam from titan sharks. And now, when he’d landed a punch on the same man who’d trained all her Lions. She hated Cayman, but she had to admit when there was validity to his senselessness. If Jaxon had fought in other wars and couldn’t remember, being cautious made sense. But if Cayman wanted him, Beck had to have him.

  She glanced at him dusting off his pants and then at Nano, who had his hand out for Jaxon to slap—his form of bygones. Jaxon slapped it in agreement. And Beck realized something. He’d merged himself into Aria’s and Nano’s lives. “Get him started right away.”

  “Thought that’s what was happenin’.” Nano tried to wipe dirt from his t-shirt, but ended up smearing it more.

  “Permission to speak?” Jaxon raised his hand.

  Beck huffed. His audacious tone said he was still mad at her. “Gran-ted.”

  “Can I clean first?”

  “Let Ria…” She looked at Aria, who hadn’t tended to Nano like she would when she suspected someone had hurt him. “Let me look at you first.”

  She ignored Aria’s inquisitive gaze trailing them into the house. Jaxon followed Beck to the kitchen sink. He wasn’t wearing his gloves and made sure to keep his hands tucked beneath his armpits. She found it ironic that he could use those same hands to punch the shit out of her brother, but earth forbid he accidentally touched her.

  While she wet a dish cloth, he waited there, smiling stupidly. “You like getting your face pounded? You some kinda masochist?”

  “No,” he said, only tensing for a second when Beck pressed the damp, hot cloth to his bulged lip.

  Beck lost herself in the plaguing thoughts of him. He had and would cause never-ending problems. His bruises turned purple and were causing him obvious discomfort, but he didn’t say a word. She tapped the cloth against it.

  “Ah.” He snatched her hand. “Well, why would you do that?”

  It was the first time he had touched her. “You did it to yourself.” She reached to wipe away the blood and dirt on his face.

  “Hey.” He moved his head away instead of snatching her hand again. “Be gentle or I’ll do it myself.”

  Being gentle meant taking her time. Without realizing, she had been trying to get away from him. With as steady a hand she could manage, she cleaned the dirt from his chin. “He’s gonna be tougher. He’s gonna drive you over the edge.”

  Jaxon laughed.

  “What’s funny?” Beck said.

  “No, it’s… you already shoved me off a cliff. So. Plus, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Wouldn’t feel like I’m learning much if he didn’t do it this way.”

  “You’ve done this since you were thirteen, right? Should be something you’re”—

  “How’d you know that?”

  Beck stiffened her shoulders, silently screaming at her slip-up. She had been in his good graces for a millisecond before realizing she had to lie to him. He wasn’t ready to know the truth. His truth. “You told me.” She lied through her teeth. A weak lie she was certain he wouldn’t accept. He stared back at her and his expression was calculating. “In my trunk,” she added. He’d been drunk then, right? Maybe she co
uld make him think he’d lost some memories.

  For a moment, Jaxon seemed to consider that possibility, blinking in his curious way. But for only a moment. “No. I didn’t tell you that. Because it’s not true. I was in my thirteenth year when Farah selected me and fifteenth when I started training. Did that man—Cayman—tell you that?”

  “Yeah, well.” She yanked free one of his hands and made him hold the washcloth himself. She couldn’t tell him anything about Cayman. What if it turned out to be true? What if telling Jaxon the truth turned him into the monster Cayman claimed he was? And if it wasn’t true? He would never look at her the same if she accused him of something like that. What if he ran off? She’d lose her leverage. She might not ever see her younger brother again. “Make sure you get plenty of rest. And water.”

  “Wait.”

  Beck stopped, sighing.

  “In the tunnels, under Mt. Garrida, I saw something.” Jaxon told her about the tree and celecomb crystals.

  “And?” Was all she said.

  “And… do you have an old computer, anything I could hook up to the”—

  “We don’t have that kinda tech here. Already tol’yu.”

  All hope of him communicating with anyone outside of Knowledge was carried away with her words. His shoulders sunk, as if he’d drained himself of all the energy it took to keep himself composed. For the first time, Beck looked into his eyes and felt his pain. Panic swept over her. Was she wrong for feeling like she owed him? She owed him at least the truth. And she’d give it to him. She would tell him everything. But not now. “And it’s not welcomed here.”

  “Beck…”

  Nano and Aria ran, laughing, into the kitchen, putting an end to their conversation.

  Beck wasn’t sure if Jaxon’s retreat was because of his new fear for Nano’s serious side or fear that Aria might be jealous. Either way, she had lost his attention, which, if she was being honest, left a small knot thumping in her chest. “Good luck.”

  22

  Jaxon took his time eating his fruit salad. Today was the day, and Nano’s training course spanned the entire front yard. Jaxon chewed like a sloth, one small bite after the other. When he finished, he went outside.

  “Bout time.” Nano shuffled to him. “You like? I did it myself.” If his course was a woman, he would’ve spun her around to show her off. He bragged to Jaxon about obstacles and barriers Jaxon didn’t have names for ascending into the sky.

  “All earth?”

  “Yezzur.” He placed his hand to his heart and closed his eyes in satisfaction. “A work of sheer beauty, is it not?” He prodded Jaxon’s shoulder. “Stretch while we’re talkin’. Follow me. I shall bless you with a tour.” He led Jaxon to a wall of wheels made of dirt, so high Jaxon couldn’t see where it stopped. “I call this the Climbin’ Wall of Doom.” He shook giddily.

  The height stupefied Jaxon. In the middle of his toe-touches, Nano tugged him to the next barrier.

  “Hurdles.” He shot his open hand out to high hurdles shooting from the ground. “Over-unders. Monkey bars.” He dragged Jaxon to a pit of mud submerged into the ground, covered by a lengthy net. “I call this the Crawl or Die.”

  These were terrible names, but they instilled the fear Jaxon figured Nano was going for. He grabbed his ankle and stretched his legs behind him, looking further on. Nano’s course went on forever. Wall climbs, ropes, mini mazes, all of which were sure to exhaust him.

  “Normal stuff. Plus, the occasional surprise obstacle from me. You do this stuff when you was army trainin’?”

  Jaxon had trained, nights and days through any weather, but nothing like this. “I trained in sims.” There, he felt pain, but never got hurt. Here, his toes clenched at the thought of Nano pummeling him with fists of sand.

  “Simulations?”

  He paused for a second, surprised Nano knew what that meant. “Y-yeah. In Obedience, my queen required intense training.”

  “But that was fake, righ’? This ain’t a ‘sim’. For example, gimme fifty push-ups.”

  “What?”

  Nano grinned like he’d farted and was waiting for Jaxon to smell it. “Give me fifty pushups. Now. Drop down now.”

  “I thought this was about manipulating.”

  “Siiixty,” Nano hissed, gripping his rod, his smile more sinister.

  Jaxon dropped to his hands and knees and planked himself to push-up. Taken back to his days in the academy, he was as compliant as a Crimson. The last time he’d done a push-up was to pass the time alone in his apartment.

  “Great Mother Earth.” Nano shook his head, his jaw dropped in shock. “Beck did better push-ups at seven. How old is you again?”

  Jaxon tried to speak through his panting but couldn’t form the words.

  “Hello? I’m talking, Enkindler. What’s your age?”

  This was all-business Nano. “Nineteen,” Jaxon managed to cough out. “My nineteenth year was in February.”

  “Febrii? You just turned nineteen?” Nano shook his head. “Don’t matter. Still pathetic. If we could go back in time to when you was seven, I’d walk up to you and tell you that ya nineteen-year-old self is weak and pathetic. Move faster.”

  Jaxon collapsed on his thirtieth push-up. Hot air poured into his lungs like scalding water. He needed more but sucking it in made it harder to breathe. He flipped the cap on his eucalyptus necklace and inhaled its minty aroma. He replaced the cap and went back to his push-ups, none of the movements graceful, none of them quick. “You don’t… have… to berate me… to get… your point… across.” He spoke through gritted teeth.

  “Seems like”— Nano bent down to him— “that’s the only way I can get it across. You talk too much. I need thirty more and ten more for too much talkin’. Can hardly understand that Obedient accent anyway.”

  Jaxon’s arms shuddered as he lifted. He groaned through the burn. It hurt but he wanted it. No, he needed it. Despite Nano yelling, Jaxon knew training with him was his choice. If this pleasurable pain proved he could make choices for himself, he would take it.

  He couldn’t recall his lieutenant berating him about the number of push-ups he had done. Naruchi’s Academy for Exceptional Military Combat had focused more on prayer and obeying Kamiaka’s commands than… exercising. Plus, he’d had access to the technology inside him, which had made training easier. “Beck might’ve…” He talked between panting, “slipped and said… you know… how to work… the tech in the tunnels.”

  “She say that?” Nano said, with a knowing chuckle.

  Their Door had access to technology. New opportunities had arisen for Jaxon. New hopes. “I might’ve inferred. Your nickname’s Nano. Where’d… that come from?”

  Nano looked at him sideways, as if to ask what that had to do with him. He looked away, rubbing his square chin and Jaxon could tell he had annoyed him. “My dad, man,” he said, after a while.

  Jaxon paused, sat up on his knees. “You know about celtech?”

  “That shit from where you from? Nah. I know about our tech.”

  Jaxon shifted, annoyed too. Nano had to know he was asking for the same reasons he had been asking questions since he got there. He reached into his pocket and brought back his celrings. He handed them to Nano and went back to numbing his muscles.

  “What I’m supposed to do with these?”

  “Everything,” Jaxon said, because telling Nano they contained his whole life sounded foolish. “They haven’t worked since I got here. They need”—

  “A connection?” Nano finished, trying the rings on for himself. “Damn, these is nice.”

  “What operates the tunnels?”

  Nano looked up as if remembering Jaxon was there. Was he angry at him for inquiring? “Don’t matter. I can’t help.” He handed Jaxon his rings, checked behind him and turned back in one smooth motion. “Beck got laws about that.”

  Jaxon knew she had laws. “Big fan.”

  “Then respect’em or the skyrail’s that way. I’m sure you leavin’a fi
x all our problems. Or get you strung up or killed somewhere.”

  “Oh, the possibilities are endless.” Jaxon had a million running through his head right now, and a plan for each one. For each one he needed tech. To survive, he needed his AI system working.

  “Focus on ya trainin’.” Nano snorted with a smirk. “Finish. Then, we’a eat. I got somewhere to take you.”

  After three long hours of jumping hurdles, climbing ropes, crawling through mud and Nano bludgeoning him with surprise spirals of dirt, Jaxon limped back to his room. He needed another shower. He needed Aria to make sure he hadn’t broken any bones. He needed someone to carry him. He pushed through his door but was too weak to close it after him. His bed was a few steps away, but it felt like miles. He collapsed onto it, welcomed the hissing of his fans.

  He buried his face in his pillow. Was there any way Nano could put him out of his misery and still get back to Obedience? He turned onto his side, smudging the sweat and dirt from his face into his pillowcase.

  “Hey.” Aria stood outside his door. “Hard work-out?”

  Jaxon groaned.

  “Well, sorry to say, I’ve got to get you up again.”

  “Why do I deserve that?”

  Aria laughed. “Nano wants to take you somewhere. Said to put you in an ice bath.” She tossed a towel onto his bed. “Get naked and meet me in the bathroom.”

  Grunting, Jaxon snatched the towel, but didn’t undress. Holding the wall, he made his way to the bathroom to Aria. Earthy sage wafted from a mortar on the counter at the other end of the room.

  She stood in the middle of the floor, over a tub of thick, white ice. “I said undress. I was gonna do an Epsom salt warm bath with essential oil rubdown, but Nano said ice... So…” She faced him. “When you’re ready.”

  Jaxon wasn’t afraid to submerge himself in ice. He craved relief. But he couldn’t fathom Aria seeing him naked—being in the same room with him… with the door shut. Nano was in the same house. He’d kill Jaxon. He’d kill him. Shrugging, Jaxon stepped toward the bath. “Why do you want me undressed? Is this a bet?”