by Stone, Layla
Am I seeing this correctly? she wondered.
She pulled up the color photos and videos and found exactly what she was looking for in a video. It was hard to tell, but there were dark shadows in the tubes.
Her lungs stopped, but her hands didn’t. Sliding her hand in the air so fast it was like her hand had tremors. She saw the androids in the main area next to the round containers. There was a long hallway between that and the surgical table. But when Yelena saw the photo, there wasn’t anything.
That can’t be.
Not giving up, she continued skimming the photos until she reached the end. The last picture was of an office and a female staring right into the camera of the pod, her eyes narrowed, and her face pinched.
“Oh…crap,” Yelena breathed. “Veeda.” Clear as if she were standing in front of her face.
Pulling off the goggles, Yelena stepped out and faced Ansel. “Veeda knows we’re here.”
“Veeda looks different from when I knew her. I wanted to make sure it was her and not a tech hand.” Ansel’s eyes never wavered from hers.
Despite herself, she asked, “What did she look like before?”
“Wait, are you saying Veeda’s down there right now, and that she saw the pod?” Yon asked.
Yelena ignored Yon, hoping that Ansel would answer her question first. To her joy, he did. “Veeda is emaciated, and I’ve never seen her with hair.”
She tried to picture Veeda with hair, but it was pointless. The female was always a scary, skeletal person with hollow eyes and bony features. And if that weren’t creepy enough, her fingers were long and cold.
The memories of being on the table flowed back into Yelena’s mind for a moment, but she was quickly pulled out of her thoughts when Yon asked, “You didn’t need her help. You needed her to verify that the person you saw in those pictures was Veeda. Why didn’t you just ask her? Tell her what she was going to be doing.”
Yelena didn’t like the way he’d said it, but it was true. Ansel had already gone through the photos, would have known that there were people in the lab, and Veeda was in her office. But because he wasn’t sure, he needed her help.
Thinking of it that way, she was pleased to be able to help, and not offended in any way. In fact, she didn’t care about Veeda at this point. She cared about the Numan’s experiments. “There are people in those tubes.” Her finger pointed to the ground as if she knew exactly where the lab was.
Again, Ansel kept a straight face. “Yes, there are.”
“Are you going to help them?” she asked.
Ansel didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Pax and Yon.
Unsure what Yon was thinking, she held out the goggles. “You can see for yourself. I’m not lying.”
His voice hardened. “I didn’t say you were.”
She pushed the goggles into his hands anyway. “We need to help them.” Her voice rose with urgency.
“Calm down,” Yon said, his voice hard.
Shaking her head, she said, “No. You need to help them like you helped me. I know what it’s like to be in those tubes, praying for help every second and not getting it. I know what it’s like to cry, unable to fall asleep because your body is in too much pain. Veeda is the last person you see before you close your eyes, and then you wake up in a tube, feeling like there is fire under your skin. No matter where you move, or how much you scream, the pain continues. And no one can help you.”
Yon’s face didn’t flinch as she talked, and she was sure that she was talking to a wall. She couldn’t let those people down. She couldn’t let them be sold off to whoever had paid for them to be altered. No one deserved a life of slavery.
“Calm down before your illumia gets out.”
Yelena was amazed that, in that moment, Yon was more concerned about her illumia than helping those who had been kidnapped and experimented on. Yelena was so angry, she had to look away, but her voice didn’t waver when she hissed, “I hate that you’re not listening to me.”
Yon didn’t respond to that, and it solidified a truth Yelena didn’t want to acknowledge. Unfortunately, it was too large to ignore. They weren’t mates. Mates trusted each other.
She saw and felt Yon as he stepped closer, his head bent down right by her ear. “You know what I hate? That fact that all I can think about is keeping you safe. Protecting you from your past and trying to keep you focused on your future.”
He didn’t give her a chance to respond. Continuing on, he added, “But you keep throwing my efforts back in my face. And I have to tell you, it’s starting to annoy me.”
Keeping her voice low, no higher than a whisper, she said, “Telling me and everyone else that I’m weak and can’t control myself is rude. You’re not an Allus, so you can’t understand how distraught I have to be to let my illumia out.”
“I saw your bursts less than twenty-four hours ago.”
Her heart rippled at the reference. “You’re right, you did. But what you don’t know is how important Cami was to me, and how painful her death will always be. But from what you’ve explained, you’ve never felt deeply for anyone, so you can’t understand.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
His words were spoken so clearly, it cut her more than all the other words before. She didn’t want to believe them. She wanted to forever see him as a warrior. As a hero who had stopped at nothing to free her and the other Flourgs.
Yon wasn’t the male she’d thought he was. He was cruel and distant, and she doubted that would ever change. Which was why she said, “You’re right, I don’t. And maybe that’s a good thing.”
“Why is that a good thing?” His voice was harsh.
“It will be easier to forget you when this is all over.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she resented it, but it couldn’t be helped. She had to answer him because he was standing so close, using his body and voice to command obedience.
“Just like that? Over. Because you don’t like to hear the truth. Because you can make assumptions about me, but I can’t make them about you? Well, then, I guess you’re right. It’s good you came to the realization that you can’t handle me. Weak people like you can’t take me, and yet I still like to give you the benefit of the doubt. That won’t happen again.”
Yelena’s breath came out shaky, but she held her ground. Kept her eyes forward and didn’t feel even a tingle from her illumia.
Yon moved back and held out his hand. “Give my knife back.”
Yelena pushed her hand into her lower pocket and pulled it out, then held it up. He swiped it from her hand, not gently. His voice was low when he told her, “If I were you, I’d take a long look at this ship because it’s the last time you’re ever going on another mission.”
She nodded.
Yon turned on his heel and stomped to the door. “Ansel, you better have a Numan-proof cell ready by the time we get back. Pax, get your suit and be ready to deploy in three minutes.”
And then he was gone. The doors had just closed when she felt Pax by her side. “Thank you.”
Yelena didn’t know what he was thanking her for. Pax must have understood because he answered her internal question. “You confirmed it was Veeda in the lab and not some random female. Also, I figured the only person who could get Yon to go down there was you.”
“I didn’t get him to do anything. No one controls Yon.”
Pax lifted up her chin with a finger so she had to look at his face. “You don’t know him like I do. So when I say this, trust me. You have more sway over him than anyone ever has.”
21
Shadows
Yon and Pax were dressed in evo-suits strapped down with several phasers and other hand-held weapons. They were crammed in a lifepod, headed down to the planet from the bottom up so that Veeda didn’t see them dropping down on her lab directly.
Yon was still pissed at Yelena. For her not seeing everything he was trying to do for her. Seth of Stars should have warned him. Should have given him a feeling that
he was wasting his time with a female who was like all the rest.
Unfortunately for him, he wouldn’t be able to forget her as fast as she would likely forget him, because he was part Demon, and her taste was in his mouth, her scent on his skin, and he hungered for her like he’d never hungered before.
It was so intense that he had resented Pax the second he walked into the bridge, trying to take her away from him. Yes, he’d overreacted, but that was in the past. It was over now. It was good that he knew how quickly she could change her mind. She’d said that she was sure about them. Apparently, not.
“There is a possibility that Veeda could be waiting for us,” Pax said, drawing Yon from his mental rage.
“One can only hope,” he said arrogantly. He needed something to beat on.
Pax chuffed. “You know what I miss? You fighting in the ring with the new crew members who tried to make a name for themselves.”
Yon remembered. “I used to wonder why you never stepped into the ring. But then I found out that you went around making people bet on the fights.”
Pax smiled. “You made me a lot of money.”
Yon didn’t think he and Pax had ever talked about life on the star carrier. Talking about it now was new…and nice. “I had Hively place bets for me, too. I made myself a lot of money.”
“Hively? Who’s he?”
“She,” Yon corrected. “She was my best pilot. Would probably still be with the Federation if it weren’t for a nip that couldn’t get her to blitz him. He turned around and spread rumors that she was bad in bed, and word got back to her husband. A Yunkin. A grievance was put in, and security couldn’t validate if she did or didn’t do anything. The admiral council let the husband decide what to do. He divorced her and requested that she be exiled.”
Pax was stiff. “I don’t remember this.”
“You weren’t a commander then.”
“What happened to the guy who spread the rumors? And how did you know they weren’t true?”
Yon liked Hivley. She was pretty, smart, and an amazing pilot. Her scores were almost as good as his. They worked perfectly together. Years of flying together meant you got to know someone. “She was devoted to her husband. Wouldn’t have cheated.”
Pax asked again, “What happened to the guy?”
Yon had never told anyone what had happened. “I thought eventually someone would put in a report that he was missing. But no one ever did.”
Pax dark eyes sharpened. “You didn’t kill him.” There was no question in that sentence. It was said with confidence. That surprised Yon.
“No, I didn’t.” Yon had fought that internal battle for days back then, because he wanted to.
“Did you shove him in a lifepod?”
“We were orbit docked on Port Meno. I got in his face, knocked him out, and told him if I ever saw him on my ship again, I’d eject him.”
Pax sat there straight-faced for approximately one and a half seconds. Then his mouth slowly grew into a smile. “You got in his face? Or you knocked him out?”
“Both.”
Pax chuckled, and Yon thought it was appropriate to add, “But I didn’t stop there. W&T dropped the ball, too.”
“What did you do?”
“The lead officer who looked into Hivley’s case did the same disservice to her by not bothering to ask me or anyone else to validate the claims. I even reached out to her, and she ignored me. So, I made sure to be the one to take her down to Port Meno. I told her that I knew a place on Port Meno with the best food. A lie. She got appropatus worms.”
Pax’s head fell forward. “Mother of Seth, she must have spread it around the ship. I remember having those worms for two weeks. Wanted to cut open my stomach it hurt so bad.”
“Yeah, I know. I had to listen to you complain every day. I didn’t realize she had poor hygiene. When I saw it spreading, I had all my pilots report to their rooms, secure themselves inside, and wait it out until the ship was cleaned.”
The male Demon chuckled again. “Damn it, Yon, you’re making me like you.”
Yon chuckled at that until the lifepod jerked before they landed. Both Yon and Pax activated their helmets, checked their suits one more time, and then opened the door. Immediately, Yon’s helmet registered that the outside air was one hundred and forty-seven degrees Fahrenheit.
The helmet had quantum communicators inside. Pointing east, Yon said, “Lab is that way.”
Pax activated his suit’s stealth mode and floated in the air for a moment before flying in the direction Yon pointed. Activating his suit, Yon followed Pax. He was able to adjust his flight speed and direction with the microsensors in his hands.
The land was dry and scorched, most of it looked like ash or burnt clay. Yon wondered if the planet had ever sustained life. And if not, why would Veeda choose to build a lab here?
During the flight, neither he nor Pax talked. Yon had always wondered what Pax fought like. In all the years he’d spent on the Angny planet, he’d never had a chance to see the others fight. He was looking forward to seeing it in person.
The flight took over an hour, but they wanted to make sure that they weren’t detected. As they neared the area, Pax and Yon reduced their speed and got back to their feet. This time, Pax pointed to a spot in the ground. “Entrance is over there, but I think we should go through the air vent.”
Yon had the map blueprint on the side of his helmet. He didn’t see a problem with going either way, so he agreed. “All right.”
Getting in was easy, but when they dropped down in the halls, several androids waited with their own phasers. The first shot bounced off the wall, leaving a dark black mark. “They’re using 9D laser guns,” Yon announced.
“I know.” Pax jumped to the other side of the hallway and focused his efforts on the androids behind them. Yon took aim on those in front.
The first android took a hit to the chest and bounced. “Their metal deflects the photon shots.”
“I know!”
Yon aimed at the eyes and changed the phaser to electric shards. This time, the hit took the android down. Yon grabbed the metal creature by the neck, held him close, and used him as a shield for the next two androids.
Then he threw down the disfigured hunk of metal and grabbed another one as he proceeded down the hall, not looking back, expecting that Pax was doing the same thing.
Yon’s first phaser was out of charge. He dropped it and grabbed another one that was belted to his waist.
He debated for a half a second at the first door he came to, wondering if he should go in or continue down the hall. Deciding that he could come back to it as soon as he finished with the androids in front of him, he continued.
A mistake. As soon as he passed the door, he heard it open behind him and immediately felt the heat on his back. The burn radiated below his shoulder. Turning around, he shot at the four new red metal bastards.
He took a hit on the other arm. That’s when he heard Pax say, “Got a lot of admirers over here. You bored?”
Pax needed his help. Yon replied, “Taking a hit, will be there in a minute.”
“No rush, just thought you’d like to find a rebound bot after your blowup with Yelena.”
Yon felt his nostrils flare. Pax was a bastard for bringing that up. “My money’s on the androids,” Yon bit out while taking another hit. He swung the lifeless piece of metal into the smaller group and attacked, taking the next three androids out with one shot each.
“Fifty keleps says I have to rescue you before this is over.”
“You’re the one asking for help,” Yon reminded him.
Yon grabbed another body and rolled with it as he deflected several shots peppering the air, the ground, and the walls. Moving back, he tried to open the door, but there wasn’t a clear way to get it open. No handle, no sensor, no electronic lock.
Growling, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pad of putty blast. He stuck it on the door and moved out of the way. The explosion was quick and
reverberated down the hall.
“Maybe I should come see what kind of party you’re having. Sounds more fun than mine,” Pax said.
Yon moved through the hole, leaving the red metal android to see more. It was a large room with a single medical bed inside. Several ceiling contraptions with drills, pinchers, and things he didn’t understand surrounded the bed, but even to him, with no memory of being here or being experimented on, it looked eerie.
He moved quickly but watched the medical equipment, wondering if any of it could be activated remotely. As he moved, he kept checking the door and saw that no one had followed him.
When he reached the other side of the room, he saw another door, this one also without an entryway. So, he blasted it open, as well. This time, he saw an office. He stepped in and saw several files on the desk. He ignored them and kept moving. At the other end of the room was another door. This one was motion-activated.
As soon as it opened, he saw a wide-open space filled with several glass spheres, pipes along the walls, and sheets of dark and light metal secured together with large bolts.
The air vents were high in the ceiling. At least four stories up.
Shadows shone in some of the spheres. Or at least they looked like oblong shadows. Nothing was identifiable as being humanoid. No legs, arms—nothing.
At the far end of the containers, Yon saw humanoid-looking people. All of them were wide-eyed with their hands against the glass as if they were too stunned to even move.
He remembered Yelena’s words. Remembered how much pain she had been in, how much she’d wished that someone would save her. No one had come.
Being where he was now and seeing their faces, Yon had to admit that he liked being the one who was going to save them. He passed the shadows and ran straight for the humanoid ones. When he got closer, the individuals backed up to the other side of the container as if he were the dangerous one.