Smirking, Cambien slid off his stool and closed the gap between us, his face uncomfortably close to mine, his body even closer. His amber eyes burned into mine, the unusual color flecked with gold and threads of silver. Lifting his hand, he stroked my cheek, before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I flinched but knew it would be a bad idea to pull away. Cambien was wasted, and there was no telling what he’d do if I tried to push him back.
“I have noticed these intriguing little things,” he said, dipping his head close to my ear, whispering so his words tickled my skin. “If I’m not mistaken, they are earpieces, are they not?”
My eyes went wide in panic. “Cambien, I—” Cambien placed his finger against my mouth with a cold, disappointed tut.
“Who are you speaking to with such secrecy?” he murmured, his glassy eyes narrowing. “How many more of you are there, hiding away?” A grim smile twisted his face.
I shook off his finger. “There’s one other coldblood on this mission with us, but that’s all. She stayed with the ship,” I explained, knowing there was no point in lying. If he found the truth out later, the retribution would only be worse. “We’re only here for a sample of blood. That’s all we came here for. The plan to reverse the opaleine’s corruption came after we’d landed. We saw what had been done and wanted to help.”
Cambien gave a tight laugh, letting me know he didn’t believe me. Why would he? The Vysantheans had brought nothing but trouble to his planet, throughout a long and painful history. They were still suffering the aftereffects now, thanks to the opaleine corruption. So what reason would he have to believe they had changed in any way?
He shook his head, lifting a drunken finger and pointing it in my face. “They will bring an army to colonize my home world, once and for all. It is all they’ve ever wanted. You are scouts, come to see if the plague remains.”
I took his hand in mine, his scales feeling rough and surprisingly warm to the touch. “No, Cambien, we’re not. We came to get a sample of blood, and that’s all,” I repeated.
He frowned. “Why do you need our blood, anyway? This seems like a long way to travel just so a coldblood can wrap their taste buds around a delicacy,” he said, pressing his forehead against mine, his hand gripping the back of my neck, pushing me forward. I jolted, struggling to break free, but his grip was too tight, his strength overwhelming. I wasn’t getting away from him anytime soon. Fighting fire with fire, I fixed my gaze on him, pushing my forehead harder against his.
“We… need your blood so the Vysanthean queen can make a… a universal index of sentient species,” I explained, the words tripping off my tongue. In response, his hand relaxed, opening a narrow gap between us.
Part of me wondered what might happen if I told Cambien the actual truth, letting him in on the secret of the immortality elixir. Maybe he’d have a way to fight against it. The more likely outcome would be Navan’s immediate infection with the plague, and Cambien rallying troops. Then Pandora would simply kill all the Draconians in retaliation, just as she’d already threatened to do. She was clearly desperate to annihilate them, and I wasn’t about to give her a reason to pull the trigger.
Cambien scoffed. “For underhanded reasons, I suspect?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. As far as I know, it’s for educational reasons, but who can say what the queen’s real motives are?” I admitted, knowing it was a more rational answer.
Cambien pulled away, looking thoughtful for a moment. “Are you working for the coldbloods of your own freewill?” he asked. It was an unexpected question that took me a minute to mull over.
“I am,” I said eventually. I mean, I was doing all of this with my own agenda in mind, and Navan and Bashrik certainly weren’t dictating my movements or behavior. The mission wasn’t my choice, but my actions since landing had been my own.
He snorted derisively. “You are about as free as a lacertilia caught in a lycosa’s web.”
“That doesn’t mean anything to me, Cambien,” I said apologetically, though I guessed the Earthen analogy would be insects caught in a spider’s web.
“The flying reptiles—they are lacertilia. The lycosa have many legs and live in webs, and they catch these reptiles, trapping them before devouring them,” he explained. “No, no, no—actually, you are like one of these insects, stuck in the sap of a tree,” he tried again, his voice slurring.
“I’m not trapped, Cambien,” I insisted.
“I can see the fear in your eyes,” he whispered, taking my hand in his and kissing it gently. “I can help free you from the clutches of those coldbloods, if you want me to. I have ways!” He tapped the side of his nose, his slit nostrils flaring.
“What ways?” I asked, curious.
He leaned closer to me. “I know how to get to a tremendous Fed outpost, where you and your delicious friends will be safe from any Vysanthean who might want to shackle you in their subtle form of slavery. I know you are scared now, but I will save you—and you will never be scared again,” he promised.
Fearing that a certain eavesdropper might be listening in, I frantically raised my hand to Cambien’s mouth. I had no idea if he was talking about the same Fed outpost that Navan was going to take us to, but I couldn’t have him spilling any beans where the Fed were concerned. I didn’t want Pandora to even consider that’s what we might be scheming.
“I don’t want to hear any more, Cambien. You’re drunk. I should leave you to it. Just give me the cure, and I’ll be on my way.”
“No,” he mumbled against my hand. “I will show you where they are, and I will take you to them. I will take you away from those coldbloods and give you a better life,” he said, his voice still too loud, even with my hand muffling it.
“Please, stop talking,” I whispered.
“You know what the Fed is, right? Well, the outpost is—” he continued. Knowing he wasn’t about to shut up anytime soon, I reached into my ear and pulled out the earpiece, throwing it to the ground and stamping hard on it. If Pandora had a problem with me being offline, which she undoubtedly would, I’d just have to tell her it broke, or one of the Draconians discovered it and destroyed it. In the meantime, I just hoped she was listening in to what the others were doing, instead of my particular activity.
“Why did you do that?” Cambien asked drunkenly, staring at the crushed device on the ground. I kicked it away for good measure.
“Look, Cambien, my friends and I aren’t in league with the coldblood on the ship. In fact, she’s a freaking nightmare,” I said, realizing I had a window of opportunity. “She’s the reason we had the earpieces in, because she wants to hear everything we’re saying.”
“Why is she not with you? If she is so frightening, where the blazes is she?” Cambien remarked, staring around, lifting his arms in a humorous gesture.
I smiled. “She’s too scared to come off the ship, in case the plague is still around,” I admitted. “The thing is, we’ve been trying to get rid of her, but she isn’t giving us the chance to do that. She’s always one step ahead.”
“Does she smell or something? What is so terrible about her? If she’s a monster, don’t even think about abandoning her here!” he warned, hiccupping loudly. “Although I suppose she must be bright if she stayed on the ship while sending all of you out into the wilds. After all, one of you did catch the virus.”
“She’s a key member in a group of rebel coldbloods who have been blackmailing us so they can overthrow the two Vysanthean queens,” I said, trying to get him to focus. “You can imagine what would happen if that came about. I’m not saying it would be any worse, but I’m definitely saying it wouldn’t be any better. These rebels would tear across the universe, invading and destroying everything they came into contact with.”
He chuckled. “Vysanthe in political unrest again, eh? Maybe our gods are smiling down on us, after all.” He laughed, taking a lengthy sip of his refreshed drink. I wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but I didn’t feel like I could stop him.
“Actually, that’s one of the real reasons we’re here, though the rebel coldblood in the ship doesn’t know about it,” I said, lowering my voice to a whisper. “We’re actually trying to gather allies to our cause, to stop the Vysantheans from creating an immortality elixir. If they succeed in making it, it would give them the ability to take over the universe. Picture what they did to your planet and multiply it by thousands,” I said, hoping something was getting through to Cambien.
In a matter of moments, he seemed to sober up entirely, his amber eyes studying me. I wondered if this had all been a ruse to try to get me to talk. If it had been, I was sad to say that it had worked. I had told him everything in the hope that he could help, though I still refused to mention Earth. There didn’t seem to be any point in putting that in the mix.
He frowned. “An immortality elixir?”
“Yes, all three factions—the two queens and the rebels—are in a race to make it first.”
He sighed. “While I would be happy to join your cause, I will not lead my people into another war they cannot win. We have learned our lesson where the coldbloods are concerned, and as long as we can keep them from our shores, we will stay neutral in any battles.”
“And if they come knocking on your door?” I pressed, feeling my hopes fade.
“We’ll fight back if we must, but they will not come here. What you’ve told me of your coldblood antagonist comforts me—that the threat of the virus remains potent in their memories,” he continued. “It is why we must keep the Draconians here, where they can be safe. Although, there is still some persuasion to be done.”
I was desperate now. “You have to help us, Cambien. You’re one of the strongest races in the universe. If you joined us, others would follow,” I insisted, but he just shook his head and stroked my cheek.
“Sweet creature, whatever you are, you are heartbreaking in your pleas. Indeed, I believe you could melt the heart of any man who heard them,” he murmured. “However, you cannot, and will not, sway me. My people come before any other. We have no interest in becoming your allies.”
Crestfallen, I turned my face away from him, not wanting him to see the glimmer of tears that welled up in my eyes. For a moment, it had seemed like the perfect solution, and now I had to deal with the fallout of my dashed hopes.
I didn’t flinch as he lifted his hand and turned my face back toward him, his gaze leveled at mine. “All is not lost, dearest,” he whispered. “While we have no interest in risking war, the Titans are always game for a fight, so long as it entertains them.”
I stared at him. “The Titans?”
“They will help you in a way we cannot,” he promised, pausing for dramatic effect. “That is, if you can convince them not to kill you and your friends.”
Chapter Seventeen
Why would they want to kill us?” I asked with a sinking feeling.
He shrugged. “They are not… How can I put it? They are not a delicate species, like you seem to be.”
I flashed him a withering look. I was tired of aliens calling me weak. “You should never judge a book by its cover.”
“Well, how else are you supposed to choose one to read?” Cambien mused.
A thought came to me. “Wait, which Fed outpost are you talking about? Do you know the location of one?” I wanted to know if he meant the same one Navan had mentioned.
“My word, you have a lot of questions. Good thing I’m the patient type.” Cambien chuckled. “I promise there will be time to answer them all later, but right now, your friend needs you,” he added softly, all semblance of his drunkenness gone. “We should go.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“I should hope that you do,” he replied with a grin.
As I followed Cambien out of the bar, my head reeled. I felt exhausted, my brain bombarded with information. Who were the Titans, and how could we reach them? More to the point, how would we stop them from killing us? If they were that volatile, maybe they weren’t the right kind of people to ally ourselves with. Then again, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Plus, if them joining our cause somehow created a domino effect, prompting more species to join us, then that could only be a good thing, right?
Against all my expectations, Cambien had managed to renew my sense of hope. I mean, I wasn’t quite willing to forgive the way he had touched my face without my consent, but now didn’t seem like the time to have an argument about it. I could school him in proper conduct later.
Reaching the Pyros’ hospital, we descended into the sweltering heat of the underground ward once more. Cambien had returned the jar of nano-insects to the inside of his tunic, but I could hear them knocking against the glass as we entered the silent room. Shaking them so hard seemed to have pissed them off.
The others were sitting on the vacant bed beside Bashrik’s, the side curtain pulled open to reveal his new opaleine crust. I shuddered to see what he’d become, knowing he was still conscious in there. Navan, however, wasn’t sitting with the others; he was walking up and down along the far wall, his hands balled into fists. Nervous faces looked over at us as we approached. Navan skidded to a halt, his expression relieved.
“Riley, you’re back,” he sighed, prompting Angie to smirk.
“Just like I said she would be,” she chided. “Captain Anxious has been burning a hole in the hospital floor for the past half hour,” she added wryly. Navan grimaced with embarrassment.
“I haven’t been! I just—I was just wondering what was taking so long,” he said, eyeing Cambien with distrust.
“She went to get Cambien, just like she said,” Lauren replied. “And look, here he is! Nothing to worry about.”
Cambien grinned, draping his arm around my shoulders. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. We’ve been keeping each other very busy at the local watering hole.” He winked at Navan as I shrugged him angrily off my shoulders.
“Behave yourself,” I snapped, shoving him in the arm.
Navan lunged forward, his hands still balled into fists. I stopped him, pressing my palms against his chest and looking up into his eyes. I didn’t need his help when it came to lecherous creeps. I’d encountered enough of them in high school to hold my own against them.
“He’s winding you up, Navan,” I said quietly. “He’s an idiot. He’s not worth your anger.”
“What were you doing at a bar?” he asked, his tone slightly defensive.
I sighed. “We were just talking. He might act like a complete tool, but he’s got some useful information inside that scaly head of his,” I explained. “I’ll fill you all in later.”
“She was certainly thorough in her interrogation of me,” Cambien chimed in, evidently determined to rile Navan up for his own amusement. “Although I can’t say I’m not disappointed in your choice of men. If you were looking for a hothead, I’d have volunteered my services. I can’t imagine this specimen keeps you very warm at night,” he remarked, smirking all the while.
I rolled my eyes. “He keeps me plenty warm. Now will you get on with what you came here to do?” I flashed Cambien a warning look.
“For you, anything,” he replied, blowing me a kiss.
Navan’s face twisted in anger. I could feel his heart thundering beneath my hand, but I wasn’t about to let them fight it out here, not when Bashrik was still in danger.
“You behave yourself, too,” I murmured, moving off to Bashrik’s bedside.
I glanced down at the figure in the bed, and my stomach lurched. Petrified strangers were one thing, but when it was someone you knew… The sight was horrifying. The opaleine had fully taken over his body, every part of him weirdly melded together into one mass of stone. Where his features had been, there were just lumps and indents, marking out a nose, a mouth, a pair of eyes.
“Since he’s only been infected for a short time, do you think he’ll have lost any memories when he wakes up?” Lauren asked with a morbid curiosity I shared.
“Don’t tell me this one is your lover?” Cam
bien sighed with disappointment.
Lauren flushed pink. “No! He is not my lover!”
The Draconian grinned. “Ah, then he must be yours,” he said, flicking his wrist in Angie’s direction. She was about to respond, when he cut her off, answering Lauren’s question instead. “I told you before, it varies from patient to patient. Some are less susceptible to memory loss, while others can lose great chunks of their past, not remembering the faces of their parents, their friends, their children. You will have to wait and see which side your friend lands on.”
With that, he pulled out the jar of nano-insects. Their wings thrummed against the glass. He was about to unscrew the lid, when Navan reached out to stop him, his hand fastening across the Draconian’s wrist.
“What are you doing? Those are the things that did this in the first place! Are you trying to infect me, too?” he growled.
“Get those things away from Bashrik!” Angie shrieked, swiping at invisible bugs in the air.
“It’s fine!” I said, calming them. “These insects are reverse-engineered. I know they look like the plague-carriers, but they’re the opposite. They’re the antidote-carriers.”
Lauren nodded. “They deliver the antivirus in the same way they deliver the virus?”
“Precisely.” Cambien sighed. “Now, if you could remove your hand from my wrist, I can get on with saving your friend’s life.” A moment of tension bristled between Navan and Cambien, amber eyes glaring at slate eyes.
Eventually, Navan removed his hand, allowing Cambien to screw the lid off the jar of nano-insects. The Draconian pursed his lips, giving a high-pitched whistle that called out two of the insects. Fluttering in the air, they awaited their next command. Again, Cambien gave a whistle, and the two creatures swooped down to Bashrik’s stiff, frozen body.
With a scraping sound that sent chills up my spine, they burrowed into the stone casing, disappearing beneath the opaleine crust. We looked at each other nervously, not knowing what to expect. Would it all melt off? Would it break apart? Would it dissolve, like it had never been there in the first place? I’d never seen anything like this before; there was no way of preparing for it.
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