Labyrinth (Deuces Wild Book 3)

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Tabitha smiled at the Noel-ni. “Ranger Tabitha. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Abbot Dremmen. Good to meet you, too, Ranger, although it could have been on a more auspicious occasion.”

  Tabitha nodded. “So you’re the top monk around here. Is that why Scroat called you ‘father?’”

  Dremmen smiled. “No. He called me father because he is my son.”

  Tabitha almost fell off the rock she was perched on. “Your son?”

  “Indeed. He was abandoned here as a Skainlet. I raised him as my own since no one else would have anything to do with a Skaine.”

  Tabitha tried not to let her prejudice show. She watched Scroat work with Hirotoshi and Ryu to restore some order to the chaotic tableau in front of the temple. She had never seen anything so surreal. All her experience amounted to nothing when it came to the little Skaine monk.

  Dremmen was used to much worse than unasked questions. “You want to ask, go ahead. I can see you are asking in the name of knowledge.”

  “What was he like growing up? I mean, Skaines aren’t known for their social skills at the best of times. How did you cope with raising someone from a species genetically predisposed toward violence?”

  The abbot gave Tabitha a very hard look. “I do not know, dear human. Perhaps you can tell me?”

  Tabitha realized she’d overstepped. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  The abbot smiled. “And neither did I. It seems we both touched a nerve. Please, accept our hospitality for the night as an apology and as thanks for uncovering the corruption within the Order.”

  Tabitha smiled brightly. A few hours of R&R wouldn’t hurt. “That would be wonderful. I’ll have to go back to my ship to spend some time with Achronyx first. He’s been lonely.”

  The abbot tilted his head in question. “Is that a member of your crew? They are welcome, too.”

  Tabitha shrugged. “Not unless you suddenly lift the prohibition against EIs.”

  The abbot waved her off. “Oh, that. That was all Cuthbert and Silan’s doing. They persuaded enough of the Order to vote for it. As soon as I find someone who can recalibrate the systems, the ban will be lifted universally.”

  Tabitha jumped up and gave the surprised abbot a quick hug. “Thank you! I can help with the recalibration. I’m so glad I don’t have to come back and kick your ass about that.”

  The abbot looked at her doubtfully.

  Tabitha nodded seriously. “Some things you just can’t let slide, no matter how much trouble it causes.”

  That brought a chuckle from the elderly abbot that caught in his chest and became a rattling cough. “Oh, you sound so young, Ranger. Perhaps I should not have ‘let it slide.’ Perhaps this is the sign I’ve been waiting for to tell me it’s time to step down and enjoy the remainder of my days in contemplation.”

  Tabitha noticed that the confrontation was done. The monks were heading about their business, except for Silan and the other accomplices. “What about them?”

  The abbot considered them for a moment. “We only have one way of dealing with crime as severe as this. Help me up, would you? I have to go and commit murder in the name of peace.” His joints creaked as Tabitha pulled him gently to his feet.

  “You don’t have to execute them,” she told him as they walked over. “I can take them back to the Empire. They’ll be sentenced to hard time on some godforsaken mining colony in the ass-end of nowhere.” She snickered. “They’ll get plenty of chance to contemplate where greed got them while they’re building the future of the Empire to make up for the futures they took away.”

  The abbot looked relieved. “Such places exist?”

  Tabitha nodded. “If my Empress has a place to send the abused and weary, you can bet your furry ass that she has a special hell reserved for those who made that place necessary.”

  K’nthel System, Zaphod, Main Temple, Great Hall

  The candlelit hall was filled with music, laughter, and the smell of roasting meat. Tabitha sat with her back against the wall and her feet up on the bench. There was a plate of food on the table beside her, and a glass of the monks’ home-brewed whiskey in her hand. She leaned back and sipped her drink as she sank into the peace of the moment.

  Hirotoshi cleared his throat politely.

  “What?” She kept watching the celebration unfolding around them.

  “You did well. You were very…sensible.”

  Tabitha smirked at him. “I know, I was completely awesome. And I rocked that cloak. Did you see how it flowed around me? Totally badass. I’m going to try to bring cloaks back.”

  Hirotoshi dissolved into chuckles.

  “What?”

  “I’m just happy to see you haven’t completely regained your sanity.”

  Tabitha kicked his chair. “Hey!”

  Hirotoshi shrugged. “It was a compliment, Kemosabe. Take it as you will.”

  Tabitha decided to just let it go.

  Hirotoshi scooted his chair back to its position at the table. “Did you finish the recalibration?”

  Tabitha scowled. “I’m trying to relax, Hirotoshi. I don’t want to talk about uncooperative defense systems that have been hacked with all the skill of a bistok on ice skates.”

  Hirotoshi made a sympathetic face. “That bad?”

  She looked at him with horror. “Worse. But I said I’d fix it, so I will. Are you happy that Silan and the others are secure in the brig until we’re ready to leave?”

  “I am.”

  They ate in companionable silence while they waited for Ryu to return from dancing with the monks. Hirotoshi pushed his plate away when Ryu came back with a tray of fresh drinks.

  “I thought you were party central tonight?” Tabitha teased as he put the tray on the table. “Your adoring fans want more. Look!”

  Ryu turned his head a fraction, then looked quickly down at the table. “Those three are a little much.”

  Tabitha eyed the three Torcellan females and smirked at Ryu. “The Torcellans love you! Maybe they heard about you from someone on Flex, and you’re secretly famous among the females?” She went in for the kill when he began to redden. “Ryu’s got fangirls!”

  Ryu muttered something into his drink.

  Hirotoshi was in a more contemplative mood. “So, Kemosabe, have you spoken to Brother Scroat at any length?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, he came by to thank me while I was working on getting the tech jammers turned off.”

  They stared at her expectantly.

  Tabitha rolled her eyes. “Fine, I admit I was wrong. Scroat is actually pretty decent, and I shouldn’t have judged him based on my preconceptions. Are you happy?”

  They both nodded.

  “And how will you approach similar situations in the future?”

  “Probably with the same amount of suspicion I do now, honestly. But I will at least consider the possibility that my assumptions about people may be a little…biased.” She sighed. “Okay, what’s the forfeit?” She scrunched her eyes as she waited for Hirotoshi to bring down the—admittedly well-deserved—motherlode of embarrassment upon her.

  Hirotoshi gave her his all-wise smile. “No forfeit this time.”

  Tabitha opened her eyes wide. “What? Why? Not that I’m complaining, but it just doesn’t feel right.”

  Ryu snickered. “You can do push-ups with me standing on your back if it will make you feel better.” He patted her arm. “You don’t need a motivator to remember a lesson this important, Kemosabe.”

  K’nthel System, Traveler’s Rest, Docking Bay, QBS Achronyx

  Tabitha had felt a little awkward putting Harry in cuffs after spending the last few days getting to know him through Stacy, who adored her father despite the insalubrious nature of his business.

  However, the law was the law. Harry was the last to be tried by Bethany Anne. He’d put out his hands for the cuffs without being asked after kissing Stacy goodbye and allowed Hirotoshi and Ryu to lead him to his fate.

  Tabitha knew that
Harry fully expected to be shipped off to a mining colony even farther out on the frontier than they were now, but he’d kept his word, and here they were.

  Bethany Anne was a few minutes late. They watched the feed to the Empress’ empty throne room patiently until she arrived. She came onto on the screen from the waist down. The camera wobbled and they saw Bethany Anne take the last few steps to sit on her throne and then she was there—poised, elegant, and ready to kick ass if necessary. “Hey, Tabitha. What have we got today?” She glanced down at the tablet that appeared in her hand. “Harry Barton. Let’s see…embezzlement, fraud, match-fixing. Racketeering on so many levels I’m getting a headache just scrolling through the list of charges. What do you have to say in your defense?” She looked Harry in the eye.

  He managed to hold her gaze for a full eighth of a second before he looked away. “Nothing, my Empress. I did what I had to do to get by when my wife died and left me with Stacy, and it just grew because that’s the life I fell into. You become the hunter, or you become the prey.”

  Bethany Anne pursed her lips. “Hmmm. And if you could go back, would you make a different decision?”

  Harry shook his head. “No. I am what I am.”

  Tabitha sat off to the side, only half-listening to Bethany Anne’s examination of Harry’s life and motivations. She wasn’t uninterested, just distracted. She’d had time to think about her time here over the last couple of days while Barnabas, Stephen, and Bethany Anne had been holding court sessions in the ship’s larger meeting room.

  Had she been guilty of the very same thing she was so passionate about stamping out? She hated speciesism. Hated it.

  But she had dismissed Scroat as an ally from the start simply because he was a Skaine. She hadn’t been completely open with Hirotoshi and Ryu when they’d asked about her conversation with him because she’d still been dealing with the turmoil the conversation had caused her.

  There was one good Skaine. Well, one good Skaine and Durq.

  If that had been the only conclusion she’d come to, she might not have been so unsettled. But logically, Tabitha knew that if there was one good Skaine, there had to be more. That was what she was struggling to get her head around.

  “Tabitha!”

  Tabitha looked up at the screen.

  Bethany Anne arched an eyebrow. “Are you ready?”

  Tabitha frowned. “Ready for what?” Harry stared at her, and she realized what Bethany Anne wanted. “Oh, yeah. Um…” She got up to pace while she spoke. “Harry has committed a shit-ton of crimes. Like, so many crimes. You might even call him a crime boss. So he definitely needs to be punished.”

  Bethany Anne’s mouth twitched. “I thought you were speaking in this man’s defense? You’re not endearing me to him, Tabitha.”

  Tabitha waved at the screen. “Hang on, I’m not done. This whole place is so crooked I’m surprised the hull integrity holds. On a station packed with corruption, he’s not the worst. On that note, I don’t think Harry would be best corrected with physical labor. I have a better idea.”

  Bethany Anne tilted her head. “I’m listening.”

  “He should be sentenced to clean this place up. Get it fit to fund the Order like it’s supposed to. When you get my report, you’re going to want me and the Tontos to stick around here for a while anyway.”

  Bethany Anne considered Tabitha’s proposal for a moment. “Sounds good to me. I think we’re done here?”

  Tabitha nodded that they were.

  “Then I will see you after I’ve read your report. Stick around and help Harry for now.” The Empress ended the call, and the screen went blank.

  Harry stared at Tabitha in shock. “I can’t. Where would I even begin?”

  Tabitha slapped his arm as she walked past him to leave the meeting room. “We’ll figure it out, Harry. Same as we’ll figure out how to best deal with Iona.”

  Chapter 14 Nickie

  Rebus Quadrant, Aboard the Penitent Granddaughter, Cargo Bay B

  Nickie ignored the sweat pouring down her forehead and laid into the punching bag with renewed purpose. She’d woken up early from a dream about her aunt and headed straight to the bay to burn off the apprehensive energy it had left coursing through her.

  She felt Meredith hovering around the edges of her consciousness, but she didn’t give her a chance to interrupt. Nickie appreciated the space; this was something she needed to figure out for herself.

  Everything was moving so fast, and she didn’t know if she wanted to keep up or run. Her first instinct was to run, her next to fight her way out. The problem was that she could neither run from nor fight emotion, and since she was done with numbing hers with drugs, the only thing she could do was face up to her feelings and work through them.

  Hence the punching bag.

  The chain holding the bag creaked in protest at her continued assault, but the seams held this time. She pulled back to catch her breath and allowed it to swing to a stop. Why did this shit have to be so difficult? It should be simple. When she hadn’t wanted to be around people it had been easy enough to cut them out. Why did it have to be so hard to let them in now that she felt ready to connect again?

  She turned it over in her mind while she worked out. There was no easy fix, she concluded. She would just have to keep rolling with it as she had been doing and work out how she felt about it when they were done with the mission. With that decision, her skin ceased to itch with the intensity of her emotions.

  She stood back from the bag, catching her breath for a few minutes. And then, undoing the tape from her hands, she headed back to her quarters to grab a quick shower and a change of clothing before she went to find breakfast.

  The aroma of breakfast cooking drew her along the corridor. She followed the food smells to the mess, where she found everyone except John already tucking into Grim’s offerings. Grim pushed a plate and a steaming mug toward her when she sat down at the table.

  “Morning!” Adelaide chirped.

  Nickie took a grateful sip and peered at them all over the rim of her mug incredulously. “You’re all so…bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

  Keen snorted. “You make that sound like a bad thing.”

  Nickie let a smile slip. “No, it’s just a bit more than I’m used to first thing in the morning. It’s good that morale is high. Everyone will be at their sharpest for the mission.”

  “It’s the change of scenery,” Keen told her with a grin. He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “It’s giving me a new lease on life. I feel like I could climb a mountain.”

  “That’s great,” Adelaide quipped, “because we’ll be doing that soon enough if John’s description of the volcano is accurate.”

  Grim chuckled. “It’s definitely a change from construction and farming.” He stood and picked his plate up. “We have equipment and supplies to pack.”

  Nickie went to push her breakfast away. “There’s no time like the present. We’ll be at John’s coordinates in a couple of hours, and I still need to go over the plan with the prince himself… if he ever drags his ass out of bed.”

  “No, you finish,” Grim told her. “We’ve got this.” He didn’t give her a chance to argue. He swept from the mess, herding Durq, Adelaide, and Keen with him.

  Nickie kept eating, turning when she heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the mess.

  John walked in a moment later and made a beeline for the remaining breakfast items. He selected a piece of fruit and poured himself a mug of coffee before taking the chair across from Nickie. He peeled his fruit without taking his eyes off her.

  She got annoyed with that before even ten seconds had passed. “What?” she snapped.

  John grinned. “How did you sleep?”

  Nickie scowled. “Fucking terribly.” She saw the crestfallen look on his face and held up a hand while she clarified. “Not because of the bed, which I was going to thank you for, by the way.”

  “You’re welcome,” he supplied. “But you
still didn’t sleep? You don’t look like you didn’t sleep.” He paused. “I have to ask. You’re enhanced, aren’t you?”

  She nodded and poked at her food. “Yup.”

  John was suitably impressed. “Are you really a Grimes, Grimes?”

  Nickie nodded. “It’s not a big deal.” She prepared herself for the inevitable fanboy questions about her grandfather. It was why she kept her name to herself if she could. That shit was tedious in the extreme to deal with.

  John’s eyes widened. “That’s… That’s just…”

  “Still not a big deal,” Nickie reiterated firmly. “I’m estranged from my family.”

  John looked at her with something approaching pity. “It must be pretty lonely out here by yourself.”

  What the fuck? She scowled at him. “What makes you think you know how I feel?”

  John shrugged. “I dunno, maybe because in history class it always looked so tight at the top of the Empire. I thought you might miss them.”

  Nickie snickered, diverting him from his questions. “They made you learn about my family in school?”

  John nodded. “Uh-huh. So why are you all the way out here instead of living it up back in the Federation?”

  Nickie sighed. “That is a long and complicated story.”

  John sat back with his coffee and regarded her interestedly. “I’m listening.”

  Nickie wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him a single thing about herself. Then again, part of her longed to talk about the road that had led her here. She put it down to the effects of her broken sleep and decided this was a good time to just go with it. “The short version is that the Empire broke up, then my Aunt Tabitha was sent away, and I couldn’t handle it. I went on a bender to end all benders, and my Aunt Bethany Anne told me to shape up or ship out, so I shipped out and lived the party life until I got a rude awakening.”

  John shook his head. “Your ‘Aunt Bethany Anne?’ The Empress is your aunt? So many things make sense now. So what’s the long version? Space is a big place, and people move around all the time without their relatives going off the rails.”