by AJ Super
Nyx straightened and flipped the knife in her pocket open. She gripped the blade. It bit her palm but didn’t break the skin—yet. Just a little harder, and she would bleed. This man would die.
“I have a message from Mademoiselle la reine for you.” He neatly folded the dirty kerchief back into his pocket.
Nyx’s hand stilled. Was this man still loyal to the Queen’s Protectorate? Not the coup? She tipped her head. She couldn’t take the chance. Could she? But he came with the inspection team, who were unloading their equipment as they stood whispering, and he hadn’t alerted them about the rogue Star of Nyx… She narrowed her eyes. “What does my dear sister have to say?”
“Only one thing. The next time you see La Terre is the only chance you’ll have to rescue la reine et Erebus. Take it.”
Nyx blinked. Phoebe’s cryptic message meant absolutely nothing to her. She wasn’t planning on going after the palace-ship until after she got her clone army and the Battle Station Andraste. That was still weeks off. She had to have enough firepower to distract La Terre’s guns and enough people to take over the flight deck, the command deck, and engineering, as well as secure the prison-section to rescue Phoebe and Erebus. She may as well be attacking Earth itself with the immensity of the task, excepting that the Protectorate didn’t have a stronghold there. La Terre was that stronghold.
Was Phoebe saying that there was a chance coming up sooner? That she would only be able to rescue her sisters and not retake the city-ship? And why send this attendant?
“I’ll take it under advisement.”
“Tu es une salope têtue. Just do as son Altesse orders.”
Nyx crossed her arms. “Then tell me: why you? Why are you the one telling me this? Why isn’t she just… here? She can obviously get word out. Why can’t she get herself out?”
“She can’t get your sister out. So, she stays to keep her safe. Tu ne sais rien, brigand.” He walked past Nyx. “Even with your powers, it will be impossible to save them where they are.”
Nyx slowly followed the white and gold specter. He knew where they were on La Terre. It was valuable information that she would need to finish her rescue plans. She didn’t know what detainment level they were on and knowing would make securing them much easier. “Where is this impossible place?” She smirked. Nothing was impossible for her. She was powerful. If she bled, she could control and kill any person or Star. And if Erebus was still in La Terre’s systems, she’d be able to control the functions of the ship itself.
He didn’t break his stride. “The Hall of Stars.”
Nyx stumbled, jabbing her hand with the knife. The pressure broke the skin, and a warm trickle of blood escaped her palm and dribbled into her pocket from her fingers.
The Hall of Stars.
The beautifully buttressed passageway with soaring star-map etched doors to unknown rooms, it was the single, well-guarded way that led to the Queen’s Hall, where Nyx initially took on Phoebe. That hallway would probably have its guards tripled because of that, because of its precious prisoners, and because of the new person sitting on the throne directing the coup.
Her hand stopped bleeding, nano-medics healing her small wound quickly. She widened her stride and stalked in front of the Queensman. “How the Stars am I supposed to save them then?”
“Not my problem, brigand.”
The anger flared red hot up her spine, a thread pulled tight and burning. “It is your problem. Here we kill the messenger.”
He rolled his eyes. “Truly, you are an angry god. I did what I was supposed to do. I’ll continue serving Mademoiselle la reine as best as I can under the circumstances. Beyond that, I can do nothing.”
Nyx took a deep breath, cooling the fire in her stomach. She turned and started walking down the corridor to a small lift. “Fine. I’ll show you to your quarters.”
The Queensman nodded. “I’ll let son Altesse know you’ll comply.”
“Yeah. I’ll comply.” Whenever that was going to be… Putain de Phoebe.
22
Kai scowled on the view-screen in the meeting room. The narrow-wave flickered as Nyx sat at the desk. “I had Sarama route you through the Thanatos and encrypt the wave.” Nyx shook her head. “It’s not going to be a terribly stable transmission, so make it quick.”
Kai sighed. “At this point, better safe.”
The door to the meeting room beeped, and Nyx buzzed it open. Malcam strode in, blue eyes flaming.
“Ce NAU branleur is going to be a problem,” Malcam growled as soon as the door whispered shut. “He gave me a list of activities he expects to entertain him over the two days he’s here and the inspection team is doing their job.”
Nyx nodded.
“I’ve ordered the shifts be cut to half-man so production will slow to the Protectorate’s expected rates. The excess from the last shipment has already gone, but the Protectorate just barely missed the transport.” He took a standing position behind Nyx’s chair.
Nyx put up a hand to Malcam. “Kai, please continue.”
Kai nodded to Malcam. “Progress on the warships is going well. We’ll have three ready at the end of the five-week timeframe, and two more three weeks after that.”
The ships Kai conscripted were old, but the Protectorate didn’t want them anymore and didn’t want pirates using them… And Xianlong V had a special relationship with the Medusa because of her father. She didn’t know the details, and probably didn’t want to know. Either way, Kai captaining the Medusa was fortuitous, and Xianlong V kept the big war cruisers intact for the daughter of Xaoc Marcus’ and her old fiancé on the promise that they’d get some bigger fish later. And Nyx figured what would be bigger than a Battle Station? She could always scrap the Andraste once this fight was over. She had to take the Andraste first, of course. But that wouldn’t be a problem with the Medusa, the Thanatos, and three war-cruisers.
Nyx steepled her fingers and leaned on her elbows. “I assume they have enough raw material. Do they need more cash?”
Kai shook his head. “They don’t want more payment. That’s the weird part. They’re covering the labor costs themselves and just taking what they need for repairs. I don’t get it. You sent those Greene twins to negotiate, and suddenly everything is gratis? What did they do? Brainwash everyone? Do they have some kind of special power? Are they Stars, and you’re just not telling anyone?”
Nyx exhaled softly. “Faith follows the faithful.”
“I don’t know what that means.” The view-screen jittered.
Nyx shrugged. “They found more followers, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Kai scoffed. “At this rate your little cult will take over the known universe.”
Nyx grimaced. She had sent the Greene twins away because they didn’t want to be anywhere near the asteroid mine, but they wanted to be of some kind of service. Little did she know that proselytizing would be so easy for the two. They seemed to be gathering quite a few followers to the Cult of Nyx, and they spread word of the Star of Nyx like ice melting in Elysion’s summer heat. She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Any movement at the Andraste?”
“None. Either they’re laying low, or Yoon’s timeline is going to be spot-on, and we’re not going to see anything there until the timeframe is up.”
“I guess that’s another uneventful progress report for the books.” Nyx leaned back and frowned.
“Before I sign off…”
“Yes?”
“I have a feeling this is why Malcam looks furieux.” He paused as Nyx raised a brow expectantly. “You have a Protectorate inspection team there, right?”
Nyx leaned forward. “We do. Why?”
“Caught some whispers on a couple encrypted waves that we decoded… Not much information. Just… don’t give them anything. They aren’t there for an inspection.”
“Figured that much out already,” Malcam grumbled under his breath.
Nyx glanced warily over her shoulder at the monstrous man. Then looke
d back at the jumping visage of Kai on the view-screen. “We’ll be careful. Thanks for the warning.”
“Nyx, just because we’re immortal, doesn’t mean we’re still not fragile,” Kai whispered. “Just remember what happened to your maman. I really mean it. Be careful.”
Just remember what he did to her maman. She covered her eyes with her hand and visions of Nue holding the back of her head bloomed between her fingers. Nyx slowly lowered her hand, face turning hard. “Good-bye, Kai.”
“Les Étoiles soient avec toi.” The screen flickered to black.
Nyx turned in her seat to stare at the seething Malcam’s face. “Why so angry?”
“That NAU branleur wants to see you fight.”
She grunted. “That’s a problem. Isabeau’s Blessing is tonight.”
Ever since the Blessing of the Four Apostles, the miners had been praying for more Blessings from Nyx. But Nyx had been reluctant, she didn’t want just anyone to be immortal, and she didn’t want to just randomly build an immortal army of fanatical followers. She decided to compromise by infecting Isabeau, since the woman was part of the circle that was planning Phoebe and Erebus’ rescue and would be commanding one of the warships going against La Terre. It was going to be an easy, quick thing in the ring… The largest gathering point in the mines. Somewhere all the miners could go to see Nyx smear her blood on Isabeau’s forehead and call it special.
“Is there any way to keep him away from the ring?” Nyx lifted her knees into the chair and hugged them.
“I don’t think so.”
Nyx bit her cheek. “We’ve been able to hide the fact that I’m a Star, the Star, so far… Especially the Star that these miners worship. Just by keeping me mostly out of sight. But I’m going to be front and center tonight… It’s going to be pretty obvious what’s going on if we can’t come up with something.”
Malcam crossed his arms. “Fight her.”
Nyx snapped her head up. “What?”
“This place was built on blood and fighting. Let’s keep the tradition.”
“I thought we weren’t going to have any more of that.” Nyx shuddered.
“You don’t get it. The strong rise. Make the Blessing a fight. A fight to the death. Her death.”
Realization lit across Nyx’s face. “Isabeau will have to earn her Blessing by cutting me, then by experiencing death. The miners will see her rise from the dead, but the NAU representative will just see her fall in a fight.” She smiled. “If he wants to find something wrong here, he’s going to have to dig deeper. We’re gonna have a fight.”
23
Isabeau stood panting in front of Nyx, her gold hair sticking to her sweat-dampened face. She still hadn’t cut Nyx, but the sheer look of rage and determination painted across her straightened lips said she would—eventually. But Nyx didn’t have time for eventually. The NAU representative was visibly getting bored with the show. His eyes wandered to the silent, reverent crowd too often, and he had started to yawn. Sooner or later he would start getting suspicious of the oddness of the miners watching.
Nyx side-stepped a poorly telegraphed lunge and thrust and planted her palm on Isabeau’s back, pushing her to the ground. She shook her head. Her blood needed to be visible to the acolytes to make this Blessing thing official. Isabeau had to earn her place. And the NAU representative expected a bloody end. Isabeau was going to get her throat cut, and that would be an end to a potential enemy and excellent ally. Nyx sighed. “You should have told me you couldn’t fight.”
“I’ll do anything to live,” Isabeau hissed and rolled away, extending her knife and making Nyx lift her arm to block the flailing blade.
Crimson oozed from her forearm from the split maroon fabric of her jumpsuit.
Isabeau was on her feet again. “See. Je peux te couper, ma cherie!” She breathed hard.
Nyx smiled and pressed her hand into the blood and walked up to Isabeau and stroked her cheek, smearing wet sanguine across white skin. Isabeau relaxed. A cheer let up in the crowd outside the glass cube. The NAU representative leaned forward in his seat.
Nyx’s white tendrils swirled with Isabeau’s silver fog and lit a small white flame, connecting their energy. She reached back with the knife in her hand. And plunged it into Isabeau’s gut, slicing upward.
She grabbed Isabeau’s back and whispered in her ear, “It hurts the most the first time.”
Isabeau’s eyes bulged, and she coughed, a thin spray of blood spattering across Nyx’s face. Nyx yanked the knife from the woman’s gut and let her crumble to the ground. The knife fell with a clatter. The crowd bounced as another silent cheer rose from the crowd. Nyx whipped her head around, seeing only mouths moving in the quiet cube as Matthews raised an arm where he stood outside the ring, a warning look on his face amidst the loyal. But the NAU representative looked unalarmed and pleased as he stood clapping politely. A couple of the acolyte miners walked into the ring and picked up Isabeau gently, solemnly, and took her out.
Nyx turned to the crowd and raised her un-bloodied arm… If the NAU representative was still out there, she didn’t need him seeing her healing ability. He’d likely figure out who she was. Right now, she was just some broken debtor forced to mine and fight because she wasn’t worth the more luxurious sex worker lifestyle on the asteroid. A lifestyle he was taking great advantage of, and much to Isabeau’s dismay, promising all the workers he was with money, fame, ways off the asteroid, if they came with him. No one seemed to be taking the shady offer, but if Nyx hadn’t come… There was no telling what may have happened to Isabeau’s harem.
“I wonder if you’ll play with me the way you played with that little girl,” a voice sounded behind her.
Nyx pivoted, hand still in the air, eyes widening. The NAU representative stood in the glass cubed ring with her, unbuttoning his blue and red jacket, stripping it off so that his bared muscular chest rippled in the harsh blue light.
She dropped her hand. “I’m not going to fight a guest. Let alone a man of the Protectorate.”
“All so loyal to the Protectorate and your queen.” The stern-faced man sneered. “What would happen if your queen wasn’t your queen anymore?”
Nyx tensed.
“Never mind. You feeble vermin wouldn’t understand.” He bent down and picked up the knife she had stabbed Isabeau with, and then he toed the other knife and kicked it to Nyx. “I can guarantee that I won’t be the one dying in this glass prison.” He grinned wider, an Elysion viper ready to strike.
Nyx bent to pick up the knife, and the man swept in with a knee to her face and a downswing of his knife, plunging it toward her spine between her shoulder-blades. She shifted her balance to the side and pushed his knee, throwing him off-kilter and causing him to stumble a couple steps forward. Nyx swept up the knife as she spun out of the way with the momentum from shoving him aside. She faced him and lowered her center of gravity as he turned back to her, rage in his beady eyes. Nyx flipped the blade of the knife to run along her forearm.
She couldn’t kill him, but she couldn’t let him cut her, or kill her either. This had to be a draw, and he was clearly a fighter, and one who didn’t fight fairly.
Nyx breathed easily. No use in panicking. This wasn’t worth panicking. He feinted twice, telegraphing the move with a slight twitch in his right hip and shoulder. Then his face went blank, and his body still. He wasn’t twitching anymore, and his next move wouldn’t be a feint, but something far more dangerous. He was a wildcat going for the kill.
Nyx was wrong. He feinted right, then smoothly moved left as Nyx quickly adjusted her weight to avoid the unexpected feint and tossed the knife from one hand to the other, lunging in a seamless thrust. Nyx’s momentum kept her moving in tandem with him. She sucked in her breath and pushed her balance backwards… and hit a solid body behind her.
Arms reached around her and grabbed the blade of the knife plunging to her heart. The blade wrenched up and out of the NAU representative’s hands and large bloody paws grabbed t
he sneering man’s forearm.
Nyx ducked under the arms reaching around her and spun behind Malcam as the knife dug into his palms.
The NAU man snickered. “I thought you didn’t get your hands dirty.”
Malcam snarled, “Only the little things. My best fighter isn’t a little thing.” He threw the snickering representative to the ground. “No one said anything about you fighting. If you get hurt, we get in trouble. You don’t fight.”
The muscular man stood. “I suppose you’re right. And while Yangxi X is the lowest producing asteroid, it still produces. And you are loyal. To the Protectorate,” he said with a warning in his voice.
Malcam’s face darkened, and he nodded.
“Fine.” The man grabbed his coat from the floor of the cube. “I suppose my duty here is done then.”
Malcam narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“We’re only here to confirm your loyalty. Your true loyalty. Protectorate or queen.”
Malcam set his jaw. “No inspection?”
The NAU representative shook his thinning brown hair. “To be honest, your response when you said you’d obey la reine, that was disappointing.
Malcam’s eyebrows shot up.
“However, looking at the records, you’ve only reported to the Protectorate, never to the queen or her people. Especially this last debacle with the previous foreman skimming. It shows where your loyalties lie definitively.”
Nyx’s heart raced. She had merely forgotten to have someone report the losses and returns to the queen and the queen’s people. After all, Phoebe wasn’t really there to report to. But instead of looking suspicious, it looked like they were declaring their loyalty? Nyx bit her cheek. It seemed so backward. But somehow her mistake had proven helpful.
The NAU representative pulled his jacket on, leaving it unbuttoned. “We won’t take up any more of your time.”
“Yes, sir,” Malcam said, perplexed.