by Megan Derr
Sean was silent, not buying a word of it. The Draconis had started to speak again when his in-lens suddenly flashed blue. Incoming call, if it was on standard settings…though that begged the question of how he was wired to the ship, but Sean realized tiredly that there were already a dozen mysteries pertaining to the Draconis. What was one more?
"This is Spring," said a sharp voice.
"This is Fall," the Draconis replied. "What's your location?"
"Close," the voice snapped. "What in the stars have you done now? This was supposed to be a simple matter, and you've bungled it quite nicely. I wish Winter would give an order to wring your neck."
"I'm sure he will at this point," the Draconis sighed. "It's not my fault I matched with a magics capable Rehab guard."
Spring groaned. "Only you. Rendezvous in fifteen minutes. Be ready. Spring out."
The Draconis gave an affirmative reply, but Spring had already cut the connection. He looked at Sean. "I'm truly sorry."
"Yeah," Sean said tiredly. It wasn't the Draconis' fault he was magics capable. If what Cyan had said was true, it wasn't his fault they'd matched either. "There's no way to…unmatch?"
"No," the Draconis said. "I'm afraid we're stuck. It's part of the reason people hate us." His face twisted with anger and bitterness.
"So you turn around and kill them?" Sean asked.
Genuine hurt and agony filled the Draconis' face. Then his expression turned bitter. "Not that I expect a Rehabber to believe me, since no one else did, but I didn't mean to kill him. We were fighting; it got out of control."
"As mad as I got with my dad, I never fucking killed him," Sean said. It was stupid to argue about this, but he couldn't seem to help himself. If he stayed quiet too long, he'd give in to his panic.
That handsome face hardened, but Sean could see there was pain as well. "Your father wasn't trying to destroy your entire race," the Draconis said. "Look, neither of us wants you here. I promise, as soon as I can, I'll drop you off somewhere and be done. Until then, stop throwing insults at me. I'm well aware I'm a murderer and escaped convict. I don't need constant reminding." Sean nodded. It wasn't as though he could argue much, was it?
"I guess I'll have to put you to sleep again," the Draconis sighed. "Stars, I really didn't need this."
"I'm not going to put up a fight," Sean said with a sigh of his own, conceding reluctant defeat. Really, it was better for him to be kidnapped. "Where the hell am I supposed to go? If they caught us, they'd lock me up right beside you—if they didn't drag me into a dark corner and kill me. I have no fucking choice, really, but to go with you. So just fucking unlock me. You don't hurt me, I won't hurt you."
The Draconis frowned at him, then shrugged and moved to undo his cuffs. Sean slumped as soon as he was free, working the soreness out of his wrists and ankles. He froze as the Draconis deactivated and unlocked the collar around his neck. Calloused hands, surprisingly warm, circled his wrists. There was a brief, tingling heat and then Sean realized his wrists felt better. He jerked his head up. "You…healed me?"
"Yes," the Draconis said. "You could heal yourself, you know. It's the magics you got from me. I got teleportation from you. Most impressive."
Teleportation? That was his magics? And healing from the Draconis? Those were two of the more powerful defensive magics. Sean swallowed. He'd never known his magics; his entire life had been about hiding his magics, not learning them. "Thanks," he said, and pulled his wrists free of the Draconis' touch. "Uh. My name is Sean. Sean Noor."
"Mendel Ekard. I truly am sorry about this."
"It doesn't matter," Sean said tiredly. "Let's just do whatever it is we're doing. I'll figure out the rest later." Nodding and looking as miserable as Sean felt, Mendel turned and led the way out of the room.
Chapter One
One term later
Planet Number 2051225 (Telve), Imperial Tower
"Einn!"
Looking up at the sound of his name, Einn shook off his brooding, and said, "Lark, I was starting to worry. Did you get it?"
"Yeah," Lark replied, looking as tired and strained as Einn felt. He impatiently shoved back an overlong strand of reddish-brown hair and set down the small case he was carrying. "Finally had to break the bastard's nose to get it, but it hardly upset me to do so."
Einn grunted and waited impatiently as Lark opened the case and pushed the lid up, then extracted the injector inside. Loading a capsule, he pressed it to Einn's arm and pulled the trigger. Einn grunted again from the brief burst of pain, the icy wash of serum that flooded his system. He closed his eyes, slumping in relief.
He listened to Lark inject himself, then slowly dragged his eyes open and tilted his head back to look up at the spire of the Telve Imperial Tower. It seemed almost endless, the way it vanished into the high, dark clouds above. Lights were slowly turning on, activated by the steady descent of night. A breeze sprung up, making him shiver.
His coat was nearby, but Einn left it. The climb was going to be long and arduous, even for him, and extraneous fabric would only impede him. Lark sat down next to him and handed him a sack of water. His skin was a dark, dusky red, lurid against Einn's gray-toned skin. Einn sucked the water down, then crumbled the empty sac and shoved it into the pocket of the jacket he was leaving behind. "Everything is ready?"
"Yeah," Lark said. "Ship is prepped; we can run faster than a Kreskan in a whorehouse."
Einn snorted, mouth quirking in an almost smile. "Just make sure you're here to catch him."
"Don't tell me how to do my job," Lark groused. "I've been breaking the law a lot longer than you." He restlessly pulled out the stunner from a holster strapped to his thigh and fussed with it for a minute, before shoving it back into the holster. "I really can't fucking wait to get off this planet. Who in the stars is so special he hides on goddamn Telve? No one comes here unless they want to die a slow and painful death."
Rolling his eyes, Einn replied, "We've been here two whole days, and no one has killed us."
"We have omnipasses," Lark replied. "I really don't get why this guy is so special."
Einn called up the file with a thought, his in-lens flashing and data moving across his right eye. "He's one of the most famous scientists in the IG, with a specialty in the evolution of magics. As to why he's here on Telve: he can kill with just one touch of his hands. Not even the Telve are immune, even though he's half-Telven. Worse, not even humans are immune, since the ability is some sort of environmental magics. What do they call it—micro-environmental or something like that?"
"I'm a pirate, how should I know what it's called? I prefer to know as little as possible, anyway," Lark said tightly. The in-lens in his left eye flashed. "City is closing up for the night and the tower is sealing. We are officially locked up tight. Only way in is you, rock spider. I'll be waiting on the ship. Don't screw up."
Einn nodded and stretched out his long legs, then stood and did the same with his arms. He flexed his longer fingers and again eyed the tower. Despite everything, he could not help the thrill of anticipation that raced up his spine, pumped through his blood, and sped his heartbeat. He hadn't been to his home planet of Fornar in five terms—a little over a decade, actually—and he had no desire to return, but the love of climbing had never left him. Even travelling the stars could not completely compare to climbing, defying gravity solely by skill and will.
Full dark fell, and Einn clasped Lark's hand briefly. "Cling to the rocks."
"Good luck to you, too," Lark replied, smiling briefly.
Einn nodded and strode off, creeping from the greenery where they'd been hiding and racing toward the tower. No guards impeded him; this close to the Imperial Tower, the Telven relied on magics and their reputation for protection.
His in-lens flashed as he called up necessary specs to avoid the traps that sought to impede him, slipping easily across the lawn, over a low wall, and finally into the courtyard. He darted quickly across the stones, boots nearly soundless on the dark stones.
Reaching the towers, he smiled in anticipation and examined his options, eyes seeing easily in the early evening dark. Examining the spire, he planned his hand and foot holds, then reached up, grabbed hold of the first one, and began to climb. He moved at an easy, steady pace, trusting only his skill because he had a long way to go and, by the end, would need his magics.
A light came on in a room as he passed it by, and Einn froze—but after a few minutes, the light went out again, and with a soft sigh of relief, he kept climbing. Up and up he went, until he reached the halfway point. He didn't look down, simply adjusted his balance and rested for a few minutes. Sweat coated his brow, made the nape his neck wet and itchy, but Einn ignored it.
When he was rested, he resumed his climb, this time using his magics as the air got thinner and colder, and the stones grew more poorly maintained than those on the bottom half of the tower. He climbed until he was another quarter of the way up, then slowly stepped halfway around the tower, before pulling himself onto a balcony that had the small, white marking he had been told would identify it.
Dropping neatly onto the balcony, Einn gingerly tested the door, lip curling in disgust when it simply slid open. Only a fool assumed that being high off the ground was sufficient protection. Slipping into the room, Einn stood a moment to get his bearings. His in-lens flashed again, calling up blue prints. Einn dismissed them, then turned left and strode down a short hallway to a room at the south end of the apartment.
A single bed and a bureau were the only pieces of furniture, and he could just see a door that led to a bathroom. Einn stifled a sigh, wishing he were anywhere else in the world, but his arm still throbbed where Lark had injected him, reminding him all too well why he wasn't anywhere else. He took a step closer to the bed—then froze as the man in it stirred. "Who is there?" demanded a sharp, clipped voice. "Lights!"
Einn narrowed his eyes as the lights came up, and smoothly drew his stunner. He stared at the man sleeping naked in the bed. The file hadn't contained a picture, but it had contained a description: dusky skin, violet eyes, black hair with streaks of white, broad build, average height. Einn smiled with exaggerated congeniality. "Dr. Bikendi?"
Bikendi glared at him but said nothing, though Einn saw his hand start to move. "I wouldn't try that if I were you," Einn said, motioning with his stunner. "I'm afraid your presence has been requested, and I am here to serve as your escort."
"Escort yourself right out of my room, and I hope you break your neck on the way down, you fucking Fornarian," Bikendi snarled.
"Being rude won't help anything," Einn said, and pulled the trigger on his stunner. Bikendi jerked as he was hit and cried out in pain before he slumped, unconscious, on his bed. Holstering his stunner, Einn went to the bureau to find some clothes. Throwing them on the bed, he first pulled out gloves and yanked them on, then took out another set and tugged them onto Bikendi's hands. The last thing he needed was to actually let Bikendi's hands touch him and wind up dead. He'd put up with too fucking much to die so stupidly.
Picking up the clothes, he got Bikendi into them with some effort, then lifted him up and settled him over one shoulder. Walking back down the hallway, he laid Bikendi down on the floor right in front of the balcony door. From the pouch strapped to his left thigh, he pulled out the descent device that he and Lark had picked up once they knew their latest assignment.
When the device was strapped to Bikendi and the poor bastard was as ready as he was going to be, Einn hefted him again and moved out onto the balcony. His in-lens flashed as he communicated with Lark, waiting patiently at the base of the tower. When Lark replied, he threw Bikendi off the balcony, closed the balcony door, and then began the long climb down.
Down was always easier than up. Einn relied on his magics ability to stick to any surface and descended as quickly as he possibly could, and as soon as the ground was close enough, he let go and went into a controlled fall, rolling as he hit the ground. He quickly regained his feet and bolted back across the courtyard, over the wall, across the lawn, and away into the night.
Einn reached the port in record time, dripping sweat and dizzy with exertion. He bolted up the gangway of the Dragonfly, in-lens flashing as he ordered the doors to close behind him. When he reached the bridge, he heard Lark speaking to the traffic towers, clearing them for departure.
Custom class starship X-11944654, the dragonfly
Einn didn't start breathing properly until they were well away, cruising as fast as they dared until Telve was a blip in the distance. He collapsed in the communications chair. "Thank the skies."
Lark grunted in agreement. "Bikendi is in the holding cell, still out cold. Better call and say the job is done, get the drop off coordinates."
"Yeah, yeah," Einn grumbled, ignoring that for the moment and going to the medic station. He pulled out a towel to wipe the worst of the sweat from his face and neck. Throwing the towel aside, he finally went back to the comm station and punched in a long string of numbers. A moment later, a face appeared on the main screen.
The man was breathtakingly beautiful. He had a narrow, elegant face, eyes the soft gray of the Brelar cliffs of Einn's home, and golden-brown hair woven into a braid that fell past his hips, brilliant against his dark green and black robes. His nails were long, gleaming with dark green polish as he set aside the data pad he had been reading. "Captain," he greeted coolly in the smooth, elegant tones of one who had spent his entire life on Zero.
"We have him," Einn said.
Smiling in a way that always made Einn want to shudder, the man replied, "Good. I'll relay the drop off coordinates." He ended the call before either of them could reply. Einn slumped over the console, burying his face in one hand.
Lark let out a sigh that expressed every thought in Einn's head. "I wonder how much longer we'll have to do this before he finally just fucking kills us."
"Too much longer," Einn said bitterly. He glared at the console as it chimed an incoming message and mashed the necessary buttons to accept it and read the message that popped up on the screen. 2147151, 5.14.9586540 09.37 19:30 ZT. "Ship 958650," Einn muttered and rotated his chair around to the master console. "Registered Merchant Class, The Serpent."
Lark glanced at the message, and then moved to the navigation and pilot console. "Bangkok. That's in Quad 3. We'll have to go to Helior and request a light jump, otherwise we'll never make the meet time." He pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up. "I'm going to make us some food and wake-ups; we're clearly going to need them."
"Don't we always?" Einn said. Lark did not reply, but Einn hadn't expected him to. Left alone on the bridge, he began to put together permits and light jump requests, pausing frequently to rub his eyes when his vision blurred. He looked up with a grateful smile when Lark reappeared and set a plate of food and a small glass filled with a thick, dark red substance in front of him. He made a face and drank it quickly. "I really can't wait for the day we no longer have to drink this shit. I would like to get a real bout of rest."
"I would like not to be poisoned," Lark said bitterly, and settled down at navigation again, quickly chugging his own wake-up. "This is what, the tenth scientist we've taken?"
Einn nodded, and then said tersely, "If we're going to Bangkok, we're probably picking up more…"
"Victims," Lark finished, voice flat. "We really should have just let the bastard kill us."
"It wouldn't have done any good," Einn reminded him for the thousandth time. "We'd be dead, and he'd just be using someone else." He didn't bother to add that someone else probably would not have been keeping careful track of everything they did in the hopes that they, or whoever found their bodies someday, might be able to make use of the information to save the people they were kidnapping.
Lark grunted but said nothing further.
Einn wolfed down his food, then went back to work. "Permits are ready. Contacting the Helior Light Gate." He punched in the contact codes, and the main screen lit up to display a man with dark red skin and dark brown
hair. He was dressed in the uniform of the Infinitum Government's army, the Authorities: a dark gray jacket that fastened with silver frogs at the right shoulder. "Sergeant, this is ship X-11944654. We're requesting a jump."
"Jump permits?" the sergeant asked.
"Sending now," Einn replied, and punched a couple of buttons on his console.
A moment later, the sergeant grunted, and said, "Permits verified, sending jump protocols and clearance codes. You'll be permitted to jump in three hours ZT and have a two-hour window. Fee is five hundred points."
"Transferring funds now," Einn said, in-lens flashing as he activated the ship accounts, and with a few more button presses, he transferred the money. "Thank you, sergeant." The sergeant grunted and the screen went dark. Einn yawned and slumped in his chair. "I really fucking hope we get a little bit of down time in Bangkok. If I have to survive on wake-up much longer, I won't have to worry about the next injection; I'll just die from exhaustion."
Lark did not reply, scowling at his screen while he fussed with the navigation and pilot controls. "You should go check on Bikendi," he said eventually. "He should be awake by now. I left food for him in the mess."
Einn nodded and stood. "I'll look in on him, then I'm going to clean up. Buzz if you need me."
"I will," Lark said, and went back to fussing with his controls. Einn sighed and walked down the hall to the mess at the back of their small ship, retrieving the tray of food on the small counter. Back in the hall, he went down a short set of winding stairs to the below deck area, which housed the guts of the ship, a couple of storage rooms, and the holding cell.
He flicked on the lights and peered through the bars at Bikendi, who glared right back with eyes that glowed lavender. "Doctor."
"Who are you, blood bag, and why in the hell are you kidnapping me?"
"I'm just following orders," Einn said. "I don't know what the fuck they intend to do with you, though I can guess, given your reputation."