by Jenn Lyons
bloody book.
Rhodes had no idea of its importance though. That he remembered it at all was more hallmark of his impressive memory and attention to detail than any emotional attachment. He remembered how excited Shana had become, how as the woman (whom he had nicknamed “Eve” for want of a better name) had grown gravid it had become necessary to sedate her to stop her screaming—to stop everyone else around her from screaming too. He remembered the day they had scheduled the C-section, when Maia-Leia Shana had sent him on a fool’s errand of viral sample cataloging that Rhodes had not shirked, knowing she was providing him with the excuse that would save his life.
He could only watch in horror from the tower as the maternity ward erupted in fireballs, the initial burst so white and pure he wondered at first if it was a nuclear explosion. No survivors but Maia-Leia Shana, whom he found crippled, crawling, babbling to herself, completely out of her mind. No other Sarcodinay survivors on the entire island, no matter what their proximity, each one found dead with their minds annihilated. Zaladin had killed every witness a Sarcodinay High Guard could read, and left Shana so insane with her own particular brand of psychosis that she was as good as useless, unable to explain what had happened coherently, her mind fractured beyond repair.
Rhodes had never said a word. He hadn’t dared, knowing that Tirris Vahn’s focus on him would bring to light his own secrets. He’d already started smuggling nanites. Shana hadn’t cared. Tirris Vahn would.
Although Shana’s records indicated that she’d given the mother a lethal injection immediately after the birth in preparation for a no-doubt-fascinating autopsy, Alexander was understandably reluctant to take Shana’s notes as reliable evidence. Every lab sample and every computer model had been destroyed. There was no sign of the mother, and no sign of the—
I turned and looked at him, mouth open, unable to hide the shake in my voice as I whispered a single, strained word: “Twins?”
Alexander started, surprised, and I turned red as I realized what I’d done. His eyes narrowed. “That’s not nice, Mallory. Shouldn’t you have permission?”
I looked away, turning to put my palm against the large window overlooking the Temple. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what I was doing.” I faced him again and redoubled my glare. “Tell me about the twins.”
He sighed. “I never saw them with my own eyes. Scans picked them up. Fraternal twins. A boy and a girl. Shana told me later that they were both pale-haired, like their mother, with human blue eyes.”
I put both palms against the glass, pressed my forehead against it too, and the fact that I was the world easiest sniper target be damned. I whispered: “That temple to Maia-Leia Shana’s goddess. That’s my mother, isn’t it?”
Alexander looked uncertain. “They destroyed all the samples...I have nothing to compare...”
I raised my head slightly. “That’s my mother, isn’t it?” I growled the question again.
“Yes,” he snapped. “She was. Maia-Leia Shana is too interested for you to be anyone else but Eve’s daughter. As for Zaladin’s connection...” There was a heavy accusation in his voice, but Alexander didn’t say it out loud.
I closed my eyes and let me forehead hit the glass again with a thunk. High Guard did not suddenly just decide to disobey orders. High Guard did not commit what was effectively treason, even if their masters were breaking the Tridates. Zaladin rebelling against Tirris Vahn, shirking her leash to secretly make his own decisions, to lie to her about my abilities and train me when he was supposed to be breaking me, was outside every known precedent of Sarcodinay behavior...unless he was the bonded-mate of my mother. The pair-bond was the Sarcodinay equivalent of marriage, backed up by pheromones and radical shifts in brain chemistry. It’s the reason that Sarcodinay laws were so hard on promiscuity, why homosexuality was incomprehensible to them, why they had no concept of adultery or romance. Mate loyalty superseded every other kind, which is why pairings were approved only by priest-geneticists like Maia-Leia Shana, and all other pairings were classified as rape—an offense punishable by the death of both parties. On rare occasions that a Sarcodinay broke the rules, they typically did anything they could to cover it up—to protect the life of their partner, as well as their own.
I had never heard of a High Guard making such a lapse, not even a rumor, but theoretically it was possible. And if he had, and against all logic the union had resulted in offspring—I shuddered. Please no.
I thought of all the things that Zach had meant to me: tormentor, teacher, friend, protector, first love. I felt faint and nearly ready to cry, and a small sob escaped me. I was now faced with the very real possibility that I needed to add a new word to the list.
Father.
“Mallory?” Vanessa’s soft voice was apologetic. “I’m sorry, but I have to interrupt.” She nodded to the screen in front of her. “He’s here.”
ggg
I sat on his luggage when he came back from the meeting. I leave the lights on so there is no chance I’ll surprise him. Surprising Zach is a very quick form of suicide.
He raises an eyebrow. “Lory, how did you get in here?”
“I broke into the security panel and rewired the connections.” I glance down at the luggage. “Why are you leaving?”
“Because I am under orders. Unlike some students, I know how to follow rules.” He glares at me pointedly, but I ignore the accusation in his stare.
“You’re being sent to kill someone? Then you’ll be back?”
He sighs. “Yes, I am being sent to kill someone. And no, I will not be back.”
“You weren’t going to say goodbye.”
“No, I wasn’t. It would have better that way.”
“For whom?”
“Lory—”
“Is it because of me? Because of what....what happened?”
Zach sits down in a chair and puts his head in his hands.
I press ahead. “Nothing happened. Nothing really happened. It’s not like you’d get in trouble...”
“You’re right, Mallory. Nothing happened. That time. What about next time?”
I swallow uncomfortably. “There won’t be a next time.”
“Is that so?” He looks skeptical. “Last I checked, Lory, training you requires us to be in very close physical contact, and it’s now undeniably obvious that you’re going through puberty. Boys and girls are separated after that, Lory, for their own protection. The close contact is dangerous. One of us would lose control.”
I sniff. “We don’t have to. I mean...it’s not like I can force myself on you, if you’re not interested—” I stop and blink at him, taken aback by the feelings I can sense bubbling inside him. “You are interested though, aren’t you?” My mouth falls open. “You’re not leaving because of me. You’re leaving because of how you feel about me.”
Zach looks at me, shocked.
Finally he says, “Be... careful. Lory.”
“But Zach... don’t go! If you like me, why there is a problem?! You know we can be careful enough that no one will find out. Hell, I’ve got the monitoring on this room on a loop right now. They’ll never find out...” I start to unfasten my jumpsuit.
He grabs my hands. “No!”
I struggle. “But—”
“No!” His face twists, and anger seeps into his voice. “You are fourteen-years-old, Mallory. You are a child! I will NOT have sex with you!”
“I am NOT a child! What are you afraid of? That you’ll enjoy it!?”
He slaps me.
Zach doesn’t hit hard, not as hard as I know he can, but it is startling and brings tears of shock to my eyes. I turn away from him.
“You’re going to become a graceful and lovely woman, Mallory, but you’re not there yet. You need time. I know that it’s scant consolation right now, but there will be plenty of men, plenty of lovers, any of whom would make you happier than I would. Might I recommend you start off with someone your own age, instead of someone old enough to be your father?”
I swa
llow bile. “You’re just scared you might actually care about someone.”
He flinches as if I’ve slapped him back. Slowly, he nods. “Maybe so. Maybe so...but I took a vow to protect you, and now I find the person who is the greatest danger to you is myself. I have to leave.”
“You wouldn’t hurt me.”
Zach shakes his head as he scoffs harshly. “Haven’t you been paying any attention all these years? How many times do I have to put you in the hospital before you’ll believe that I will hurt you?”
Zach walks over and picks up the suitcases. He walks to the door.
Just before leaving he pauses and turns back. “I can’t really teach you any more, you know. You’re better than any other student I have ever taught. Were you a normal Sarcodinay, you would be pronounced High Guard tomorrow, but because of your circumstances, Lorvan will demand a final test—a test of loyalty.”
“What is it?” I ask numbly.
“You have to fight your study partner.” Something about the way he says it makes me look up.
I frown at him. “Paul?”
“The one who lives, graduates.”
Fear sweeps over me. “I won’t fight Paul! I’d kill him!”
“Then they’ll kill you both.” His eyes are penetrating, almost glowing. “You have six months before their little drama unfolds. Write a different ending to this tragic farce.”
He closes the door behind him. I never see Zacharei again.
ggg
A Sarcodinay megacity is very much a living organism. Like a living being, it consumes materials for