Nexus Point

by Jaleta Clegg

  Chapter 18

  Tayvis found a hollow at the base of a cliff hidden behind a pile of boulders. He set up camp while evening light turned the tops of the mountains to gold.

  I dropped on a rock, exhausted. The minor burns on my legs reminded me constantly of what had almost happened, adding their own layer to my misery.

  He tethered his horse in a thick growth of grasses. It munched happily, green slime dripping from its nose. It flapped its tail, moving deeper into the grass.

  Tayvis stacked wood in a neat pile on the ground, building a pyramid of the smallest bits before striking a spark into it. A thin tendril of smoke reached lazily into the air. Tiny flames flickered into life, licking eagerly over the wood.

  As I stared at the flame, feeling it grow in my mind, the burn on my leg throbbed. I couldn't look away. Flames ate the wood, reaching hungrily for more. Heat washed over me, stifling and oppressive. I was going to burn.

  "Dace." Tayvis crouched, his leg brushing mine.

  The flames trapped me, I stared, my eyes watering. I shivered despite their heat. A gust of wind carried smoke into my face. I coughed. The smell terrified me to the point I couldn't breathe.

  Tayvis turned me to face him. He cupped his hand around my cheek, blocking the sight of dancing flames.

  "They were going to burn me alive. They brought their children to watch." I closed my eyes, tears burning behind my lids.

  Tayvis pulled me against him. "It's over. You're safe now."

  I shook my head.

  "You're right, it isn't over yet. I'm sorry. I thought you'd be safe. Maybe I should have left you locked up with that pirate."

  His breath stirred my hair. His heartbeat echoed in my ears. The warmth of his arms sent my emotions tumbling in ways I'd never experienced. He made me feel warm and safe at the same time his proximity triggered nervousness and fear. I'd never let anyone get so close before. I pushed away, afraid of the emotional maelstrom.

  He shifted his hands to my shoulders, letting me have a little distance. He waited until I met his look.

  "You're going to be all right, Dace. You're tough. You'd have to be to get off Tivor."

  "Tivor was easy. They weren't trying to kill me." My voice trembled, a pale reflection of the emotional turmoil inside.

  His lip twitched, a small smile for him. He squeezed my shoulders before stepping away.

  I faced the darkness, away from the fire. I pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them. The stars slowly appeared. I tried not to think. All of my thoughts were disturbing, frightening, confusing. I only wanted to fly, I wanted nothing more. I thought once I got through the Academy and bought my own ship, I'd have it made. I sighed. My ship was gone and I was stranded on a world trying to kill me.

  "Dinner." Tayvis handed me his bowl. He sat near me to eat his own dinner from the pot.

  I picked at mine. It tasted like smoke. I put it aside.

  "Did I miss on the seasonings? You can cook next time," he said, his tone light and teasing.

  "I'll burn it," I answered, trying to be just as teasing. I didn't succeed.

  "It isn't that difficult."

  "I burn water." Even Miss Hadley at the orphanage had excused me from cooking after the first few disasters.

  "Burnt water is actually quite a delicacy. Eat it, Dace. There isn't anything else and we've got an early start tomorrow." He moved into the shadows behind me.

  His teasing comment helped. I ate his cooking, despite the bland taste. I kept my back to the fire. I didn't care if I froze, if I didn't look, I could pretend it wasn't there.

  Stars burned, small and impossibly far away. They gave me some comfort. Each night at the orphanage, after Miss Hadley locked me in my drafty attic corner, I'd pull aside a bit of loose siding to stare at the sky. As long as I could see stars, I could dream of a better future. It wasn't helping me here.

  Tayvis sat beside me, wrapping a blanket around us both. "There's only one."

  He lay against the rock, pulling me next to him. His touch warmed me, gave me an illusion of safety. I fell asleep listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

  I woke alone, wrapped in the blanket next to the rock. Dawn light seeped across the sky, pale rose and peach. I sat, rubbing at bruises. Tayvis cared for his horse on the other side of the hollow. The gear jingled as he buckled it on.

  I eased into stretches, habit from the Academy. By the time Tayvis finished strapping gear onto his horse, I had the worst of the kinks stretched out.

  "I figure we can be at Leran's camp by midmorning." Tayvis led his horse over. "If my map checks out."

  I shoved my boot into the loop, swinging myself onto the horse. Tayvis mounted behind me. The horse snorted.

  We ate while we rode, stale bread and greasy cheese. The sun crept from behind the rugged cliffs, bathing the land in golden light.

  We stopped at a stream to drink and rest the horse while Tayvis checked his handcomp. He squinted at the surrounding terrain.

  "Any of this look familiar?"

  I glanced around, then shrugged. "Maybe."

  Tayvis snapped the handcomp shut. He walked around, studying the ground intently. "This way." He pointed towards more hills and mountains.

  We both walked. The horse followed Tayvis, towed by the reins. Tayvis paused every few steps to study the ground. I couldn't tell what he was looking for but he seemed to find it.

  We climbed a ridge to a wide meadow next to a cliff of blocky gray stone.

  Tayvis tied his horse to a tree branch. "Look familiar to you?"

  "Maybe."

  "Is this the campsite?"

  "I don't know."

  "Nothing looks familiar?"

  "I don't know," I said again. "I didn't take wilderness survival or ground tactics or map recognition at the Academy. I didn't think I'd ever need them."

  He turned away, walking slowly and studying the ground.

  I hated the hot tightness in my chest. I folded my arms defensively as I walked the other direction. Tayvis had no right to make me feel stupid for not knowing. I worked up a good dose of anger. It helped mask the hurt and confusion underneath. Tayvis made me feel too vulnerable.

  I peered through a break in the bushes. A narrow path cut across the dusty ground beyond.

  "This is the camp." Tayvis stood right behind me.

  I jumped at least a foot, my heart hammering.

  "Leran took the pack horses that way." I waved at the path through the bushes.

  "How long was he gone?"

  "A couple of hours maybe. I don't know. I was asleep."

  "It can't be far. We'll walk from here." He stripped his horse, hiding the gear under a bush, then staked it out on a long length of rope.

  I kicked rocks, feeling even more stupid. I'd seen enough vids to suspect what was happening. I liked Tayvis, more than I wanted to admit. But what future could I possibly have with a Patrol Enforcer? I found it easy to forget, here on Dadilan, who he really worked for. I shoved all of those dangerous thoughts to the back of my mind. It wouldn't matter soon. I'd get off Dadilan, go my own way, and never come anywhere near him again.

  "Are you coming?" Tayvis waited on the path.

  I kicked a last rock before following him.

  "You seem distracted. Want to talk about it?"

  "No." It came out short and angry.

  He let it drop. We walked in silence.

  The path led up a long slope, twisting between outcrops of stone and bushes taller than my head. The steep climb left me panting when we finally came out on top. Tayvis barely sweated.

  The slope flattened into a wide ledge at the base of another cliff. Spiky trees grew in sparse clumps. Yellow and orange flowers grew everywhere else. Tayvis squatted, studying the dirt in front of us.

  "This way." He headed to his left.

  I crunched after him, my boots loud on the rocky ground. Tayvis walked almost silently. I sounded like a herd of horses in comparison. I trudged after him, sweating and hot
and trying to hold onto the anger I'd worked up earlier.

  I really did like him. I hadn't had to beat him to get him to be nice. I didn't think I could if I tried. At the Academy, I'd had to pound the bullies into the ground before I earned their grudging respect. They ignored me after I proved I wasn't an easy target. Tayvis was different. He scared me, but not the way I expected.

  The ledge wound around the side of the mountain. The rocky cliff stretched overhead, offering at least the illusion of shade. The other side dropped away, the steep slope turning into a sheer drop. The ledge narrowed and ended at a wide tumble of rocks. I studied the precarious slide of stone, hoping Tayvis wouldn't try scrambling across it.

  He paused, hands on hips as he looked around. A gnarled tree stood right at the edge of the drop down. Dense bushes hid the base of the upper cliff. Water seeped from the face above the bushes.

  I sat down on a boulder, fanning my overheated face. Tayvis handed me his canteen. I drank the warm water without comment. He walked towards the bushes, disappearing into their leafy tangle. I groaned as I followed, unwilling to let him out of my sight.

  I shoved leafy branches out of my way. The trickling water had undercut the base of the cliff, creating a shallow cave. Tayvis knelt, brushing his hands through the sand of the cave floor. He stood, dusting his hands on his pants. "We're too late. Leran's cleaned it out. There's nothing left here to find." He ran a hand through his hair. "I need something solid against him."

  "Suspicion isn't enough?"

  "I need hard evidence or the charges won't stick. I hoped to catch his shipment here."

  "Does this mean we aren't going to the Patrol base?"

  "You're going, Dace. This isn't your mess."

  "You swore me into the Patrol." I didn't know why I argued to stay on Dadilan one second longer than I had to.

  "And now I'm ordering you back to the base."

  "I haven't done anything to help. That was one of your conditions."

  "You caught the notorious pirate, Dysun Farr, and the misguided swindler, Ricard Blake. Single-handedly, too."

  "Now you're just trying to make me feel better about deserting you."

  "Is it working?"

  We walked out into the sunlight.

  "Seriously, Dace, you don't belong here. I should never have sworn you into anything."

  I shrugged, uncomfortable with his caring.

  He found a shady spot to sit. I sat near him. We ate in silence, listening to distant birdcalls. A breeze tickled through the flowers and sighed in the tree shading us.

  "Well, well, isn't this the picture of sylvan tranquility?"

  I shot to my feet, my hands balled into fists ready to fight.

  Ameli stood behind us, her hands on her hips and a smug smile on her face. Her blond hair blazed in the sunlight. The two men with her aimed stunners our way.

  I slowly lowered my fists. "You don't want to do this, Ameli."

  "Why not? Leran wants you dead, after you made him look like a complete and utter fool. I wasn't too pleased, either." She lifted a hand, studying her nails. "Are you enjoying slumming with the peasants?"

  "Are you?"

  She polished her nails on her bodice. "Shoot her."

  The guard on the left obliged. My legs numbed. I collapsed.

  "And the muscle," Ameli added.

  Tayvis dove over me, tackling one of the guards. The stunner flew wide. The other guard waded into the fight. They wrestled on the ground, crushing the flowers. Ameli rolled her eyes as she picked up the stunner. She shot all three of them.

  I inched my way across the ground away from her.

  "Not smart, Dace." Ameli shot me again.

  Tingling pain raced through my nerves. I swore silently.

  Ameli frowned as she bent over Tayvis' body. "Sleeping with the Patrol?" She lifted his limp wrist. The diamond tattoo showed clearly. "Why am I not surprised?" She dropped his arm. "Get up." She kicked her guards.

  They muttered as they got clumsily to their feet. Their glares were divided equally between me, Tayvis, and Ameli.

  "Bring them both. I've got an idea." Her smile gave me shivers.

  They dragged us to the gnarled tree leaning over empty space at the edge of the cliff.

  "Tie them together." Ameli waved her stunner.

  With Tayvis unconscious and me unable to move, they had no trouble. The guards rolled me next to Tayvis, wrapping rope tightly around us.

  "Were you stupid enough to think Leran wouldn't keep this area monitored?" Ameli kicked my leg.

  I twitched, my leg too numb to move. My mouth still worked, though. "So you're going to drag us to Leran?"

  She smiled again, her blue eyes deceptively innocent. "That would require work. No, you are going to die slowly. It's so much more fun."

  The guards hauled us to our feet, shoving us into an embrace. Tayvis leaned heavily on me. He wavered unsteadily but at least his eyes were open again. I wrapped my arms around him, hoping my mostly numb muscles would support us both. My legs itched as the stunner gradually wore off.

  Ameli adjusted the ropes, yanking at the knots. She shook her head at the guards. "Use these on him. He's more of a threat than she is." She pulled out a pair of metal cuffs.

  They pulled his hands behind me. The cuffs snapped closed. Tayvis winced.

  "You make such a cute couple." Ameli wrinkled her nose.

  Tayvis staggered. I stumbled, pulled by his weight. The guards shoved us upright.

  "Tie her hands behind him," Ameli said.

  The guards dragged one of my hands over Tayvis' shoulder, tying it into the ropes twisted around us. My other arm was already around his waist, holding him up. The guard jerked my hand farther around him, then tied it to the ropes. The guards tied the last rope, a very old one, around Tayvis, then snaked it between us to the spiky tree. The guard pulled a last knot tight.

  "Sweet, isn't she?" Tayvis said.

  I told him exactly what I thought of Ameli. Sweet wasn't remotely part of it. He raised his eyebrows.

  "Now I believe you went to the Academy. Although those terms are usually heard from the engineers, not the pilots."

  "Neither skill will help you here," Ameli said. "Push them over, boys."

  Tayvis planted his feet as the guards approached. The guards eyed him warily.

  "I said to push them over." Ameli tapped her foot impatiently.

  "But," the first guard objected.

  Ameli cut him off. "They're tied up and still half stunned. What are you waiting for?"

  Tayvis tensed, his muscles bunching.

  Ameli lifted her hand, showing us a second weapon, not a stunner, but a blaster. At this range it would take off both of our heads.

  "Don't even try." She waved the blaster at Tayvis. "Step back, now, or I'll kill her by shooting off bits."

  I glanced at the drop, swallowing nervously. "Just shoot me, Ameli. You're going to kill us anyway. I'd rather die quickly."

  "But this way is so much more entertaining. The rope only reaches halfway. Eventually, either it will break or you'll die of thirst. Unless, of course, you give me what I want."

  "And what would that be?" Tayvis asked.

  "I'll have to think about it. Three steps back. Now."

  A streak of energy scorched the rock next to my foot. I flinched. Tayvis took a step towards the edge. Ameli raised the blaster, pointing it squarely at my face.

  Tayvis' arms tightened. "Ready?"

  We jumped together. A blaster shot ripped the air where I'd been standing a second before.

  Ameli's laugh followed us as we fell.