Onyx (A YA SciFi Retelling of Othello)

by Alicia Michaels

  “I want to,” he said, turning his back on her. “But you’ve been sneaking around behind my back doing God knows what and I… I can’t.”

  Shaking her head, she turned to leave the room. “Then you can sleep alone tonight. I’m not going to stand here and let you accuse me of something I didn’t do. I love you, but if you can’t trust me then…” She trailed off, leaving it at that.

  What else was there to say?

  Grabbing a sweater and throwing it on over her pajamas, she stormed from the chambers, forgetting shoes. But she couldn’t turn back. Going back into the room to face him now would be too hard. She paused just outside Isaias and Ellena’s chambers, fist poised to knock. At the last second she decided against it.

  Unsure of where she was going, she took off down the hall, blinking back blinding tears.

  Everything was so messed up, but somehow she had to fix it. She’d defied her father to marry Onyx, because she’d known their love was real. It was worth fighting for. Maybe the lieutenant could help her talk some sense into her husband. But first, he had some explaining to do about her bracelet.

  Starting off toward his quarters across the main hub, she hardly noticed the dark shadow trailing her until it was too late. It followed her to the end of the hall and the high, glass walkway leading from one side of the hub to the other. Caught off guard, she gasped when a pair of hands reached out at her from the dark and spun her around to face their owner.

  Her jaw dropped when she found herself face to face with her ex-boyfriend.

  “Reid?”

  “Dia,” he slurred. The smell of alcohol was so powerful on his breath, it caused her to gag. Despite his drunkenness, he was strong, clinging to her and trying to wrap his arms around her. “Baby, we need to talk.”

  “Don’t call me that. Let go!”

  She pushed against his chest, writhing in his arms. Their breakup hadn’t been mutual, but she’d thought he’d gotten over it. It had been two years.

  “Please, just hear me out. I know your feelings for me can’t be completely gone. We had something special.”

  She shook her head. “We dated for, like, three months, and it wasn’t even that serious. I’m happily married now, Reid. You need to let the past go.”

  “Happily? You don’t look so happy to me. You’ve been crying.”

  “That’s none of your business. Now, let go of me!”

  “I can make you happy,” he mumbled as if he hadn’t heard her. He held her closer pressing her up against the rail lining the side of the catwalk. “Just give me another chance.”

  Trapped and helpless against him, she couldn’t do much to stop him when he lowered his head and kissed her. She squirmed against him even more, kicking and flailing, but he only pressed her harder against the rail, choking her with his writhing tongue and putrid breath.

  Then, just as suddenly as he’d kissed her, he was gone, his body weight removed from her as if it had been snatched away. Falling to her knees and fighting for breath, she glanced up to realize that he actually had been snatched away—by her husband, who grabbed him by the collar and planted his fist in the middle of Reid’s face, resulting in a gory spray of blood.

  Chapter Nine

  Isaias dashed across the glass catwalk toward the scene rapidly unfolding—the moment he’d finally get to watch develop just as he’d planned. It took everything within him not to laugh hysterically at the sight of Major Onyx pummeling Reid, who was helpless to defend himself in his drunken state.

  “Isaias!” Dia cried, running at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. “Please, help me stop him! He’s going to kill him!”

  Sure enough, the major seemed oblivious to his own actions, let alone the fact that two people witnessed his brutal assault. His dark fist was coated in blood as he drew it back and slammed it into Reid’s face over and over. Blood stained the glass beneath them, and the front of Reid’s shirt.

  “Major!” he cried, running forward and grasping Onyx’s flying fist. “Sir, you have to stop!”

  “Get off of me!” Onyx bellowed, his strength beyond anything Isaias had ever encountered as he threw him off. He grasped Reid by the collar and lifted him to his feet. “Which of you had her first, hm? You or Cronius?”

  Reid couldn’t have answered if he’d tried. He swayed on his feet, his face a bloody, unrecognizable mess.

  “Onyx, stop it!” Dia screamed, throwing herself at him and attempting to pry him off of Reid. “It isn’t what you think! None of this is what you think!”

  He threw her off, sending her reeling into the silver railing.

  “Don’t touch me,” he growled, narrowing his eyes at her. “One man, I might have forgiven you for. But two? You’re a slut, Dia. You’re a dirty little whore, and I wish I’d never met you.”

  Isaias watched as her chin trembled and her chest heaved as sobs welled in her throat. Fixing his face into that practiced look of concern, he stepped forward.

  “Sir, maybe you should go back to your quarters. This has gotten out of hand. We can work this out after a good night’s sleep. No one has to know what happened here.”

  “Mind your business,” he snapped, turning his attention back to Reid. “If you want to help someone, get Cronius as far away from me as possible, because he’s next.”

  “No!” Dia cried, standing up and approaching him again. She reached out to grab his wrist just before he could deliver another blow to Reid.

  “I said don’t touch me!” he bellowed, pushing her away again, harder this time.

  Dia cried out as she lost her footing, careening back against the rail, arms flailing wildly. This time, her momentum took her up and over the silver beam, and with an inhuman scream of terror, she fell out of sight. A moment later came the sound of breaking glass, another mewl of agony, and then the sickening thud and crunch of impact.

  Onyx’s answering cry was even louder, even more inhuman… even more terrifying as he dropped Reid to the ground and ran to the rail. Leaning over it, he reached down as if to catch her… far too late.

  His voice echoed, it’s agony like music to Isaias’ ears as he screamed out, “Dia!”

  Isaias stepped over Reid’s prone body and glanced over the railing, his eyes locking on the broken, limp form of Dia Tian below. If at all possible, things had worked out even better than he could have ever planned. What could a man do that was worse than taking a man’s life?

  Taking the one thing he loved most in the world.

  Eyes wide, he turned to meet the major’s gaze. Summoning his most accusing tone, he narrowed his gaze and shook his head.

  “You killed her.”

  She wasn’t dead yet.

  As Onyx knelt beside Dia’s twisted and mangled body, he detected the rise and fall of her chest and heavy, wheezing breathing. Sobs tore threw him so powerful he could hardly breathe, and tears robbed him of his vision as he gingerly slid one hand beneath her head and lifted it. Blood soaked her hair, wetting his fingers. It trickled from her ears and the corners of her mouth. Her limbs were twisted like a rag doll’s, and her breathing told him she’d probably broken several ribs. She wasn’t dead, but there was no way she’d survive.

  “Dia,” he whispered, his voice ragged and hoarse from screaming.

  Watching her go over the side of the railing had been the single most devastating moment of his life. He’d thought losing his family and home planet had been the worst, but nothing could compare to this pain.

  “Dia… I’m so sorry. I did this to you, I… I’m so sorry.”

  She sobbed, turning her face in toward his chest. He held her tight, kissing her forehead.

  “Onyx, I… I never…”

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I don’t care about any of it. I’d forgive you anything if I could change this. If you could live, I would forget about all of it. Despite everything, you are the love of my life. You gave me hope in humanity, in the world. When I didn’t have anything or anyone else, I had you. I love you. I would nev
er have stopped loving you.”

  She nodded, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the blood. She tried to smile, but it turned into a painful grimace, stained red by her blood.

  “You didn’t mean to,” she whispered between labored breaths. “It’s not your fault.”

  He shook his head, his own tears dripping from the line of his jaw and splashing on her cheeks, mingling with hers.

  “I can’t do this,” he groaned, his emotional pain manifesting as a physical ache in his gut. “I can’t survive… I can’t live without you.”

  “Yes, you can,” she whispered. “You will.”

  Glancing around him, he found shattered shards of glass all around them. Glancing up, he realized she’d slammed into a light fixture on her way down, causing it to shatter. That had been the sound he’d heard. Reaching out, he closed his fingers around the largest shard he could find.

  “I don’t want to,” he whispered, his eyes fixated upon the shard. It was the only way. He could never be the same without her. She had been his reason for living. He’d had nothing before her, and he’d have nothing after… not even a life.

  “Onyx, no,” she whispered. “Don’t.”

  “If you’re not in this world, there’s no place for me in it,” he declared, lifting the shard to his throat. “Wherever you go, I go. My people believe that souls destined to be together will find each other after death. Do you believe that?”

  She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut as more tears squeezed from their corners. “Yes,” she whispered. “I do.”

  He nodded. “Open your eyes. Look at me.”

  She obeyed, her lower lip trembling. “Onyx, I’m afraid.”

  He forced a smile. “Don’t be. It’s almost over. Soon, you won’t feel any more pain. You’ll close your eyes and wake up someplace else. When you do, I’ll be there. I promise.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

  He waited until her breathing had slowed and stilled, and her chest ceased moving. Her head slumped and he knew she was gone. Sniffling, he lowered his head to kiss her one last time, heedless of the blood. The shard of glass had sliced his fingers, causing him to bleed, but he hardly felt the pain. He felt nothing as he brought it up to his throat, and sank it into his flesh. He remained numb as he dragged it from one side to the other, barely registering the hot gush of blood that followed.

  Chapter Ten

  Napet Space Station

  Three months later

  Lieutenant Cronius March waited until the sound of running water had ended before stepping from his bathroom stall. He fixed his eyes on the man standing in front of him, head lowered as he dried his hands. A quick glance around him revealed that they were alone. Ensuring it stayed that way, he crossed the bathroom and locked the door.

  Isaias Royce straightened, lifting his head at the sound of the lock sliding shut.

  “Lieutenant,” he said coolly.

  “I suppose I have to call you Lieutenant now, too,” he replied, walking across the bathroom toward him slowly. “Congratulations are in order on your promotion.”

  Isaias turned to face him, his expression smug. “You just can’t stand it, can you? All the smugness you felt at being promoted over me, and where has it gotten you? In another few years I’ll outrank you, and maybe you can be my ensign.”

  Cronius sneered, his nostrils flaring in disgust. “Careful, Lieutenant. A man can never have too many friends in the army. He can, however, accumulate too many enemies. I am not a man you want for your enemy.”

  As he’d expected, the idiot grinned, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Is that supposed to scare me? Do you have any idea who you’re messing with? I could destroy you.”

  Cronius raised one eyebrow. “Like you destroyed Major Onyx?”

  Isaias frowned. “What the hell are you talking about? The man got jealous because his wife was sleeping around and killed her. Then he felt guilty for what he’d done and killed himself too. And good riddance, I say. He never belonged here anyway.”

  Cronius’ hands shook as he continued on toward Isaias, his fingers closing into fists.

  “Major Onyx was a good and honorable man,” he said, voice shaking with rage. “He loved his wife, and she was all he had in the world. That, and a position that he worked hard to get and keep. And you, who has had everything handed to him his entire life, just couldn’t be happy with what you had. You had to envy him, and for what? Because a pretty girl chose him instead of you? Because he had the nerve to pass you over for promotion? Because a man from another planet earned more respect in his life than you ever will?”

  Isaias grabbed him by his lapels and shoved him backward. “You’re the one who needs to watch himself. I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Shrugging out of his hold, Cronius reversed their positions, grasping Isaias’ throat and slamming him back against the tile wall.

  “You can play stupid all you want, but we both know you drove Onyx to do what he did. Did you think I wouldn’t find out that you manipulated your friend Reid into kissing her on the catwalk that night? Or that you were the one that planted Dia’s bracelet in my bathroom for Vivian to find?”

  “You can’t prove a thing,” he hissed, his breath growing rapid and shallow as he fought to breathe.

  Cronius smiled. “Oh, really? Tell that to your wife, who told me that you explicitly asked her to steal the bracelet, or Reid, who ratted you out for almost getting him killed.”

  Isaias’ cocky expression melted away, and for the first time he looked genuinely afraid. And Cronius March, a man who had lost everything, found strength and pride in his moment of triumph.

  “You think you’ve won,” he whispered, leaning closer and tightening his fist around Isaias’ throat. “Now that he’s out of the way, you’ve been promoted, and all is right in the world of Lieutenant Isaias Royce.”

  Drawing in a ragged breath, Isaias raised his chin in one last moment of defiance. “It’s your word against mine, and we both know how convincing I can be. I won’t do a day of jail time for any of it. Even if I did manipulate him, he did it all himself in the end. Dia’s blood is on his hands.”

  Cronius nodded. “You’re right.” Moving swiftly, he retrieved the knife from his pants pocket and flicked it open. Isaias gasped, legs buckling as Cronius jammed it into his side, right between his ribs. “And now your blood is on mine. I’ll bear the burden gladly to see a great man avenged.”

  Cronius stabbed him again, twisting this time, rewarded with a fresh spurt of blood. Isaias’ legs buckled, and Cronius stepped away from him. Standing over him, he watched as the newly promoted lieutenant fought for his last breath, falling over onto his side. Taking up a handful of paper towels, he cleaned Isaias’ blood from his knife and closed it, sliding it back into his pocket.

  By the time he turned to leave the bathroom, Isaias had gone still. His eyes stared after Cronius, fixed in the shock he’d experienced in death.

  Unlocking the door, Cronius made a quick exit, putting as much distance between himself and the bathroom as possible before he reached into his other pocket to retrieve the item he always kept there. Smiling, he opened the pocket watch that carried a picture of his Della inside. With his fingertip, he traced the lines of her beautiful face. And in that moment he understood that he hadn’t just done it for Dia and Onyx—he’d done it for Della, too. Because no love so pure and real should have been cut short so tragically, the way his and Della’s had been. The way Dia and Onyx’s had been. As he made his way home for the night, he took comfort in the thought that two lost souls now rested easier.

  About The Author

  Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. With seven Fantasy and Science Fiction titles under her belt, Alicia strives to write multicultural characters and stories that touch the h
eart. The mother of three and wife to a soldier, she loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.

  Alicia can be found on the web at any of the following links:

  www.fantasybyalicia.com

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  www.goodreads.com/alicia_michaels

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  More by Alicia Michaels

  The Lost Kingdom of Fallada Series

  Beyond the Iron Gate (Prequel)

  Daughter of the Red Dawn (Book 1)

  Child of the Sacred Earth (Book 2)

  Rise of the Tide (Book 3)

  Tempest’s Fury (Book 4)

  The Bionics Novels

  The Bionics (Novel 1)

  The Resistance (Novel 2)

  Sharing Spaces Series

  V-Card (Book 1)

  Brat (Book 2)