Venomous Heart

by Mary Auclair

  Prime Councilor Aav stared at Arlen, then at Khal. Arlen could almost feel her displeasure, her frustration at the feelings she was incapable of. Mantrilla simply weren’t made that way.

  “As fascinating as the bloodmate link is to me, I haven’t summoned you here to talk about your new bloodmate, Commander.” Prime Councilor Aav walked past Arlen and as she touched the pure blackness of the wall, it morphed into a full floor to ceiling window looking over the vastness of Aveyn. “There is a very real reason why I have left my Seat, why I endangered my hold on power. And your bloodmate and her brother, hybrid or not, are not it.”

  “I feared as much,” Arlen answered, casting a glance at a suddenly grim Khal over his shoulder. “Tell me.”

  Her mandibles clicked and black eyes stared out over the sea of green. A claw raked the window, the sound shrill and metallic, full of wrath and hatred, more so than any words could contain.

  “There is something on Aveyn that I need to retrieve.” Prime Councilor Aav spoke, her voice higher pitched now, more grinding. “Something that was once Knut’s, and that could throw the entire Ring into a chaos it would not recover from.”

  As Prime Councilor Aav spoke, a cold hand closed around Arlen’s gut. He knew there was a reason why the Mantrilla had come, a reason that had nothing to do with the humans.

  “If you want my help, the help of my Eoks, then you will have to tell me everything you know,” he said.

  Prime Councilor Aav spoke, her black eyes fixed on Aveyn. She told them everything, and as Arlen and Khal listened, dread descended over the room.

  A dread that threatened to cover the entire Ring.

  Ava

  I only need more time. Why can’t I have more time?

  Ava’s mind floated in a thick fog as she repeated the words over and over in her mind.

  But time had run out.

  She knew where the Exo-Heart was, where Knut’s vault was hidden, deep in the heart of Aveyn. All she needed was a bit of time to retrieve it. But Uril’s heart had decided otherwise.

  Where is Arlen? Arlen should be here. He would make this all right.

  Edmila stood silently by the side of the bed. She reached over the blanket, nudging Ava gently, bringing her back to reality.

  Ava shook away the fog of fear and read the chart. Again. Then again. No matter how many times she read the numbers, her brain flushed the information right away.

  This is it. There’s no coming back from this.

  “It’s not your fault.” Uril’s voice pulled Ava from her morbid fascination. “It’s mine. I should have rested better.”

  “None of this is your fault.” How did her voice sound so strong? All she wanted to do was curl up at the foot of Uril’s bed and cry. “It’s not as bad as you think. We still have time.”

  Liar. Time is the one thing we don’t have.

  “You don’t need to lie to me.” Uril reached for her hand and Ava looked up sharply. His golden eyes were as clear and knowing as they had ever been. “Just tell me the truth. How long do I have?”

  Panic circled her mind, and Ava fought its hold. Because her answer was his doom, because she was powerless. And because she couldn’t think of a world where he wouldn’t be there, looking back at her with golden eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a tortured frog’s croak.

  “Long enough,” Edmila chimed in, sitting on the bed at Uril’s side. “You don’t look that bad. In fact, you look much better than those two men who attacked you. You should have seen them when Captain Khal brought them in. Now, those two had the fright of their lives.”

  Uril snorted. “Cowards, attacking us like that.” He shook his head, displacing the oxygen lines that fed his lungs with the extra support they needed. He lifted his hand to replace the tubes and the effort made him wince, then pant. “But I’m not a coward.”

  “No, you’re not,” Edmila agreed, her face scrunching up with sudden emotion. “You’re the bravest person I know. The bravest person on Aveyn.”

  Uril smiled and pride made him straighten up in the bed. Edmila smiled back, obviously happy with the result of her intervention, but she didn’t know Uril like Ava did. Edmila didn’t see the slight twitch at the corner of Uril’s mouth, or the way his eyes stayed open just a bit too long as he prevented himself from blinking because he didn’t want to cry. Uril was scared—he was scared because he knew just how bad this was.

  Arlen, where are you? I need you.

  Uril knew he was out of time, and yet, his young mind was focused on showing a brave face instead of begging Ava to go out there and retrieve the Exo-Heart to save his life.

  And that was when she took her decision. This was it. It was this incredible courage in one so young and so frail that decided her.

  She was done waiting for a miracle. For someone to come and make everything better; pave the way to the remotest corners of Aveyn so she could go in and retrieve what would save Uril’s life.

  Arlen might not come back in time. Khal was with him, and Kamal had gone with Aliena for another round of supplies. Ava was alone, truly alone with her burden.

  And it changed nothing. She wouldn’t abandon Uril. Not now, not ever.

  “Don’t worry.” Ava kissed Uril’s forehead, pushing the heavy locks of black hair off his brow. “I told you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Uril tried to smile, but exhaustion made his eyelids heavy and soon, he was sleeping again. He would keep on sleeping, she knew… until he slipped through the gap between worlds and fell, never to wake again.

  “Stay with him at all times.” Ava locked eyes with Edmila, who blanched under her stare. “I will be back in a few days, a week at most. He should be able to hold on that long.”

  “What are you going to do?” Edmila was obviously scared and confused, but Ava didn’t care. She was already halfway through the door.

  “What I should have done as soon as I found out where the Exo-Heart was.” Ava turned, burrowing through the medical equipment Arlen had sent from the medical center to Uril’s room. She had everything she needed right here to keep him going as long as she could. “I’m going to retrieve it. I’m done waiting for a miracle.”

  When Edmila blinked blankly, Ava showed her the tiny piece of paper with the geographic coordinates written on it. “I know where the Exo-Heart is. I finally found Knut’s vault.”

  Ava shoved the paper back into her pocket as Edmila stared at her.

  “You can’t go out there alone.” The girl’s voice was shrill and full of panic. “Just wait until Commander Arlen or Captain Khal come back. They will know what to do.”

  Ava hurried around the room, retrieving a backpack from Uril’s closet and quickly filling it with a couple of items she would need. Nothing much; a few pouches of food and water rations. A blanket. She wouldn’t need much more.

  “Dr. Yrakan is very competent.” It stung, but it was the truth. Ava was used to being the only one who was able to care for her patients, but she wasn’t the only doctor in the Ring—far from it. “He will know how to take care of Uril and the other patients while I’m gone.”

  Edmila pursed her lips and her face twisted with anger. Ava paused, then went to the girl. When she reached for her arm, Edmila didn’t flinch.

  “I know you think I’m abandoning you.” Ava shook her head, then pulled her hand away. “But I have no choice. I can’t wait for Arlen and Khal to come back. They could be on that Mantrilla ship for days, and then it’ll be too late. None of the other Eoks have been willing to contact Arlen for me.”

  Edmila’s anger seemed to vanish and the girl nodded.

  “No one but you cares for Uril like I do. You will be all he has left.”

  “But how will you do it?” Edmila looked around the room like she would find answers there. There were none to be had. “There are guards around the halls, on the grounds outside. They will catch you before you can leave.”

  “They don’t know this place like I do.” Ava
smiled, but it was a sad smile. “I’ve been locked up in this house all my life. You think I won’t be able to avoid a few big blue hunks?”

  Edmila shot a frightened glance at the door. And at that, Ava’s smile turned predatory. The girl trembled as Ava inched closer.

  “Those guards were posted there just a few hours ago; they don’t even know what I look like. Who’s to say you’re not the doctor and I’m not the assistant?”

  Edmila’s eyes grew wider as she understood Ava’s plan. She was afraid.

  Normally, Ava would take pity on the girl, but pity was a luxury she couldn’t afford. “Keep it up for as long as you can. Do it for Uril.”

  Edmila’s mouth trembled, but her eyes went to Uril’s sleeping form on the bed. When she nodded, her mouth didn’t tremble anymore.

  Ava didn’t waste any time. She untied her hair to cover her pointed ears, then walked directly to the door and opened it, clutching her small screen to her chest and darting frightened glances at the two tall, muscular Eok guards. They looked down at her with a mixture of boredom and curiosity.

  “Goodbye Doctor Ava,” Ava shouted toward the room where Edmila stood by the bed, clad in her identical synthetic cotton uniform. “See you tomorrow.”

  As the guards’ eyes went back to staring into the nothingness in front of them, Ava kept walking. She didn’t stop, her steps confident as she made her way through the mansion.

  Because the Eoks might have found Knut’s fleet of transports, but they hadn’t found everything. And when they found out she was gone, it would be too late.

  The path to where Knut kept his most prized transportation vehicles was strangely anti-climactic. The few guards she came across didn’t even glance at her, and after she’d left the main building through a small service door, she was on her own.

  It wasn’t long before she slipped through the darkened hallways and entered the vast cave where a fleet of shining, luxurious hover transports waited. She made a beeline for the smaller, completely black transport at the very back of the cave.

  This had been Knut’s favorite vehicle. A marvel of technology, and virtually untraceable.

  After a few moments of panic, Ava was finally able to start the engines, then she activated thermal and magnetic shields so strong that no one would see her leave.

  Then she was gone into Aveyn’s wilderness… and to a fate unknown.

  16

  Ava

  An hour later, Ava piloted the transport at a dizzying speed, her hands clenched on the controls as she flew just over the tree line and toward the Southern Hemisphere of the planet.

  It had been a long time since Knut had trusted her enough to let her roam free in a hover transport, and even though she’d put the exact geographic coordinates into the control panel, she was still full of doubts.

  Maybe I should have waited longer. What if Arlen is already back?

  But it was too late now. She had left, and if she came back empty handed, she knew that Arlen wasn’t going to let her escape twice. He was probably fuming right now.

  Then something caught her eye—far away in the distance, but getting closer quickly. She slowed down the transport and stared, her mind a blank, as two other transports lifted from the ground, hovering over the horizon straight ahead of her.

  Who could this be?

  Her thoughts were followed by the realization that it didn’t matter. Whoever it was, she couldn’t be found. Ava scrambled to reduce the speed of her transport, her hands scrabbling over the controls. Her elbow touched the wheel and suddenly, she lost her balance.

  The transport jerked from side to side and Ava cried out, grabbing the wheel with both hands. She realized that she’d over-corrected and tried to regain control, but it was too late. She was going too fast and she wasn’t an experienced enough pilot.

  The transport spun out of control in a gut-wrenching, tunneling free-fall.

  Ava screamed, her hands on the wheel, trying desperately to correct the trajectory. The treetops were approaching fast, and she knew, she just knew that if she crashed into the forest at that speed, she was as good as dead.

  Her heart beat so hard it hurt and then, finally, she saw her salvation in the form of a glittering blue lake, just off to her side. After another mind-shattering moment of fear, she jerked the wheel to set a course toward the lake.

  The next second, her world was engulfed in a wall of water as the sleek shape of the transport met the surface.

  Water swallowed everything, barely slowing the transport down as it glided under the surface. A strange world appeared behind the glass as she sped toward the rocky bottom. Tears slipped down Ava’s face as she tried to correct the course of the transport, barely avoiding rocks and fallen logs as she still sped down.

  The lake was deep—so deep, and still the transport kept sliding in deeper.

  Finally, as rocks gave way to sand, the transport crashed, kicking up a thick cloud of sediment from the near dark bottom. Ava’s chin slammed down against her chest as the restraint locked her in place in her seat.

  Her head swam with pain as she blinked. Elation filled her mind as she lifted her hands in front of her, then lowered her gaze to her body.

  She was alive. Alive and unhurt.

  Then she looked up and all joy deserted her. The transport was lying at the bottom of the lake, embedded deep in the muck. She stared up through the transparent ceiling and at the sky, whose blurry surface shimmered far above. She was trapped deep below the surface. Far too deep to be able to come up.

  Ava tapped on her control panel, but the engines only sputtered. She was embedded too deep, she couldn’t pull out. Panic enclosed her mind as she stared around, checking the cabin for leaks.

  There were none. The transport was cleared for short distance space travel, so it was perfectly watertight.

  But that didn’t do her any good if she was trapped down there. Soon, she would use up whatever oxygen reserves she had in the small cabin.

  No one will come find me here. I’m so stupid.

  Ava pushed her head back against the headrest of her seat, shutting her eyes. Time ticked by, minutes blurring into hours as she tried to keep her breathing shallow and to use as little oxygen as she could, but she knew she was only delaying the inevitable. The cold from the depth sank into her body, still clad only in the cotton uniform, and she let it. Maybe if she was lucky, she would pass out from both hypothermia and oxygen deprivation before true panic set in.

  “I’m going to die here.”

  Nothing but an echo answered her, and Ava understood she was right as her breath began to condense on the glass. There was no way she was getting out of this alive.

  “No, you’re not.” A voice blared over the communication board of the transport, crackling with interference, but unmistakable. “But you would deserve it.”

  “Arlen. How? Where are you?”

  Ava blinked and stared out of the translucent transport ceiling, but saw nothing but small fish and rocks at the bottom of the lake.

  “Just hold tight. I’m coming for you.”

  Her hands went to rest on the glass as she watched the endless depth of the lake. Then, a large figure appeared, swimming with an impossible speed, making a beeline for the sunken transport. After a few minutes, Arlen’s face hovered on the other side of the glass. In his mouth was an oxygen extractor, providing him with what he needed to swim so deep down.

  But he has only one. How are we going to swim back up?

  It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she didn’t want to die in there alone, and trapped.

  Arlen motioned to her and after a while, she understood. He wanted her to unstrap herself and move to the side. Her fear cranked up as she understood what he was about to do.

  “No.” Ava shook her head. “If you break the glass, the water will crush me. I won’t be able to swim back up. You need to get more help. I don’t have oxygen for long in this small space.”

  Arlen motioned again, his gesture imp
atient, confident. Ava swallowed. She knew there was no time to call anyone else. He was her only chance.

  Her hands shook as she unbuckled herself from her seat, then scooted across to the other seat, as far away from Arlen as possible. They locked gazes and he flattened his hand against the glass. Ava stared, then placed her palm on the other side. They looked at each other, their hands separated by the glass, until she nodded. That simple gesture was more reassuring than anything else he could have done. It tempered the rising panic in her gut to a manageable level, and she took a shaky, steadying breath.

  As Arlen drew his arm back to hit the glass surface, Ava hunched over, protecting her head and face with her arms.

  Then a wall of water as solid as brick hit her. It flooded the inside of the cabin, exploding in a rush fueled by the pressure of being so deep. Ava screamed, but her voice was drowned in the liquid that filled her mouth, then her throat.

  The panic she had managed to hold back finally won. Her eyes shot open underwater, but all she could see was a blur. She didn’t know which way was up or down, she was completely disoriented in the strange aquatic world. She fought the water, kicking and twisting, wasting precious energy in a useless struggle.

  Then two arms closed around her, forcing her to be still. Arlen’s face appeared in front of her and she floated there, panic filling every fiber of her being as her lungs burned with need. She knew she would try and breathe in—and then, she would die. Her last survival instinct would also be her doom.

  But Arlen pulled the oxygen generator out of his mouth and pushed it unceremoniously into hers. Ava breathed the thin air greedily, sucking on the mouthpiece to extract the water’s dissolved oxygen. As she did so, Arlen swam, one arm locked firmly around her while his powerful legs pumped.

  He swam fast and steadily, strong legs kicking as his free arm pumped the water, going straight up. Soon, Ava’s panic died down and she tried to give him the oxygen generator back, knowing he needed it, but he ignored her.