Her Cold-Blooded Master

by Lea Linnett

  Devis’ lips parted in surprise, but whatever reply she may have had was cut off by the buzz of Helik’s wristlet. It was an unknown caller, and he thought about dismissing it, but something made him pause.

  “Answer,” he commanded his wristlet, and almost leaped to his feet at the face that popped up on the vid feed.

  “Helik.”

  “Mother,” he replied dumbly, so shocked that he spoke the word in Trade, earning him a disgruntled look.

  “What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to ruin your reputation?”

  “I don’t care about my reputation,” he hissed back in Levekk Sar. “You made it clear you wouldn’t help. I had to try.”

  “Is this the human’s influence again? You’re acting like an oversexed adolescent.”

  Helik blinked at the screen, not sure he’d heard right. “I stopped being an adolescent a long time ago, Mother.”

  The Guide narrowed her eyes at him, her mouth downturned. “You must rescind your statement. You’ve appalled a great deal of people—including Councilors. At best, you’ll be blacklisted, and at worst, you may end up like your friend.”

  His gaze flicked to Devis, who was staring at the wristlet with an unhappy expression. Behind her, Scott had approached, looking bemusedly between them.

  “I can’t,” said Helik. “I’m preparing a ship. If things get bad, I’ll leave.”

  “There are some already suggesting that the Council send enforcers, Helik. You don’t have much time.”

  His stomach turned, but for the first time in a long while, his conscience felt strangely clear. “So be it. I have someone I’m waiting for.”

  Helis made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, and for a moment he thought she might hang up there and then. But then she leveled him with a business-like stare. “I can buy you two days. Maximum. If the enforcers come early, then I apologize. There are far more Councilors wishing to see you punished than there are those who support you.”

  Helik gaped. “You’ll help?”

  “Two days. That’s all.” She frowned, lowering her crested head. “I apologize. I could have been a better parent to you.”

  She ended the call before Helik could even think of a reply, his mind blank and his arm still hovering in front of him where he’d held up the holographic display. The silence stretched, only broken when Scott finally asked in a strained voice, “What was that? Is something wrong?”

  Devis turned wide, gray eyes on the human, her jaw still hanging open. “The Guide. She said she’d hold the enforcers off.”

  Scott’s eyes lit up. “That means Ellie might make it.”

  The levekk female nodded once, still looking shocked, and turned to Helik. “This is good!”

  Helik blinked, finally dropping his hand. Twin needles of fear and worry still pricked at him: he had no idea where Ellie had gone or if she’d even seen his message, and Roia’s attempts at finding her had turned up nothing.

  But beneath it all was a tiny thread of hope, and he clutched at it, hoping that it wouldn’t snap.

  “Do you think she’ll come?” Devis asked now, her voice turning subdued.

  Helik looked her in the eye. “She has to. I’m not leaving without her.”

  35

  Ellie’s eyes stung as she cracked them open, leaning her head against the wall and peering at the levekk sitting adjacent to her. His eyes were closed, his neck arched and his chin almost touching his chest, apparently asleep.

  She licked her dry lips, and her joints popped when she shifted in place. She’d been sitting in the same position for hours, nodding in and out of sleep, but she didn’t dare sleep too deeply, not with the levekk close by. He’d watched her for what felt like hours after she was dumped in here, and she didn’t fully trust him to keep to his side of the room, even with his legs and wrists bound.

  But with the ragged sleep and hours of waiting, she was now unsure just how long she’d been here. There were no windows to judge the time of day, and no one had come by to bring them food or water. It could have been over a day and she’d never know.

  She worried at her lip, hoping the Lodestars remembered to feed her more often than they fed her new roommate.

  Desperate for something to focus on to keep the sleep from her eyes, she turned her gaze to the alien again. He hadn’t moved much since she’d arrived—from calm or from his injuries, she wasn’t sure—except to relax against the wall. He had also remained silent, not even flinching when his ripped shirt snagged the bloody gash across his shoulder in a way that made Ellie wince. Then again, he did still have a sock jammed between his teeth.

  Apart from the injuries and restraints, the levekk looked pretty clean-cut. His shirt—the parts not covered in blood, at least—was a pale blue, with fine golden embroidery on the collar that shined in the light peeking under the door. She supposed that was to be expected. If this really was Cara’s boss, and the owner of this apartment, then he was apparently a general in the CL-32 military—a kerfaan. They were supposed to be tough and polished to perfection.

  But the image was marred by his injuries, and now that he was no longer on his knees and glaring at her, Ellie could see the worst of them. She gasped at the sight, disgust bubbling up from her stomach, and she curled her toes against a sudden shiver of discomfort.

  The kerfaan had no claws. They had been clipped back like an animal’s, leaving only ragged edges and an exposed, darkened center. It looked wrong. The levekk took pride in their claws, even wearing clothes specifically designed to show them off. Clipping them was… barbaric.

  Had the rebels done this? She tucked her own feet a little closer to her body, shuddering. It must have been to stop the levekk from cutting through his bonds, but…

  Ellie looked up again at the levekk’s face but froze when she noticed him watching her. She averted her gaze, rubbing her bound wrists together behind her back as her neighbor grunted and shifted position. How long had he been watching her? She kept her eyes on the floor as he glared in her direction, feeling suitably chastised.

  It was quiet in the storeroom, the rise and fall of voices and the thump of footsteps and furniture outside muffled by the door. It reminded Ellie of her life back in Manufacturing, when Augusta would shuffle around downstairs while Lena sat in the kitchen banging away at some machine or other. The noise would almost have been comforting, if it hadn’t been the rebels making it.

  But as the hours ticked by, the noise faded. Eventually, footsteps passed through the corridor less often, and the voices lowered in volume, until the apartment was quiet. There were still some voices, but they were low, no doubt allowing those not on watch to get some shut-eye.

  The rebels were asleep, but Ellie was wide awake, buoyed by a newfound purpose. She needed to get out of here, she needed to warn Helik about the Lodestars’ ‘fireworks,’ and the longer she sat here, the more anxious she became. If Helik was preparing a ship to get off planet, then it was even more important that she get moving.

  She didn’t fear him leaving without her. She feared they’d shoot him out of the sky. She feared that he wouldn’t leave at all, putting him at the mercy of all those people who agreed with Cara.

  Ellie climbed to her feet, ignoring the way the kerfaan tensed. She knew where to go, thanks to Helik’s parting words on the broadcast. He was with Devis and Scott, and Ellie would fight through mobs of reporters to get there if she had to.

  Taz hadn’t bothered tying Ellie’s ankles together, so she tiptoed over to the door, pressing her ear against it. There was no sign of movement on the other side, only the distant rumble of a late-night conversation in one of the other rooms. She leaned against the door, pressing her weight against it, but it didn’t budge. Beneath the simple lock that the rebels had affixed was a regular levekk door, and it was sturdy enough that she wouldn’t be breaking through it anytime soon, even if her wrists weren’t bound.

  She sighed, backing away again, and glanced behind her to find the wounded levek
k watching her with narrowed eyes. She would have to ignore him.

  Let’s see.

  A sinking feeling pulled at her as she looked around. There were no windows to break out of, no vents or attics to climb into. Whatever had once been stored here had been moved out to make room for its new occupants, leaving her with no potential tools to escape. It was just an empty room.

  She sank down against a wall, her optimism failing. Again, she wished for Lena’s presence—she probably would have had a screwdriver in her pocket and used it to take the door off its hinges. Ellie rolled her eyes, lamenting that she didn’t carry around a pack of needles or something. Not that it would have helped; there were no locks to pick on this side of the door, and even if there were, she wasn’t sure she remembered how. Her childhood lessons with Lena seemed far off now, replaced by new knowledge on how best to burnish heat room tiles or fold a blanket.

  They were stuck here, she admitted, feeling hollow. Stuck in a room in the dark when all she wanted was to be back with Helik. Hell, she’d almost be glad to clean again—at least then she’d felt like she was accomplishing something. What was once mundane now felt like fulfilling work when compared with the nothingness of this room, and she scoffed at the idea that she’d once felt trapped by the apartment’s walls.

  Then there was Helik. For weeks she’d been his secret, fighting the urge to scream her love for him from a freakin’ skyscraper, and now that he’d finally admitted to the world that she existed—that he loved her—she was stuck in a closet, powerless to go to him. Powerless to save him from whatever Cara and Taz and the Lodestars had planned.

  She refused to think about what those plans could be. Because when she wondered about ‘what,’ she started to fear that it could have already happened, her heart ticking like a clock.

  Her lip trembled, her breaths coming short, and she blinked back the frustrated tears brimming in her eyes.

  Maybe Helik was right. And Lena. And Augusta. Maybe she didn’t have what it took to look after herself—and her family—in the Senekkar. Maybe—

  The noise in her head was sliced clean in two by a low buzzing sound, like a piece of wood being drawn down a laundry washboard. Looking up in confusion, she saw the levekk staring at her, his eyes fierce. She blinked at him. Had he made that noise?

  Whatever it was, it shocked her from her panic. The kerfaan slowly shook his head from side-to-side, the only movement available to him with his arms and legs bound, and Ellie belatedly realized that it was meant to be a calming motion. She stared at the levekk, bewildered, but tried to match her breaths to the incremental movement, and soon she could think clearly again.

  She couldn’t let the fear overwhelm her. What had she always told herself? That fears were meant to be overcome. The scarier it was, the more reason she had to bring it to its knees.

  There had to be a way out of here. There had to be something she could do.

  The levekk shifted, tossing his head towards the door, and Ellie turned her attention to it. Suddenly, where before there had been silence, she now heard a faint scratching coming from the other side.

  She cocked her head, rising slowly to her feet. She sidled closer to the door, praying that the floor wouldn’t creak as she approached. The scratching was louder here, and she thought she could hear the faintest click of metal on metal. It almost sounded like…

  A louder click, and the scrape of the bolt being slid back, and Ellie was backing out of the way. She retreated until she was almost level with the levekk, her gaze tunneling as the door swung open with a groan.

  The figure that appeared was silhouetted, obscuring their features, but they were short, and Ellie soon recognized them. She put her hand to her mouth, stifling her gasp, until she couldn’t hold back her surprise any longer and squeaked, “Anna?”

  The human woman brought a finger to her lips, pushing the door gently closed behind her before thinking better of it and leaving a small crack of light to see by. She wasn’t as bright as usual, dressed in muted work clothes rather than the vibrant colors she usually opted for, and she had a small backpack strung tightly across her shoulders. “Ellie, are you okay?”

  Ellie stifled a disbelieving laugh. “I’m fine, but what the hell are you doing?”

  Anna didn’t pause, reaching for Ellie’s restraints and carving at the rope with a pair of scissors. “I’m getting you out of here.”

  “But what about the Lodestars?”

  The girl shrugged. “Most of them are asleep. If we’re quiet, we might be able to sneak past them.”

  The rope snapped free, and Ellie was left blinking stupidly, rubbing at her aching wrists. “But the broadcast, Helik—why are you helping me?”

  Anna grabbed her hand, her eyes large in the dark. “I can explain more later, but…” She bit her lip. “The things he was saying—and what you told me about Scott?—I want that future.”

  Ellie gaped at her, speechless.

  “Besides,” the girl continued. “You’re with Mr. Kaan, right? That’s why you’re in here? If you trust him, I trust him.”

  “Anna…”

  “No, really. That message was for you, I could tell.” She grinned, squeezing Ellie’s fingers. “Any levekk that’s willing to go that far to get you back must be all right.”

  A smile cracked Ellie’s face, her cheeks warming. She was right; he had gone far, and now was her chance to do the same for him.

  Anna dropped her hands, moving to peek out the door, but Ellie stopped her.

  “Wait…” She turned back to the levekk on the floor, who was watching them warily. He looked as pissed off as he had the whole time, but he’d kept quiet. “Pass me those scissors,” she said to Anna, and with the blades in hand, slowly approached the levekk, her hands raised non-threateningly.

  “Ellie, what are you doing?” said Anna, a note of panic now wheedling into her voice.

  “This guy’s been here for weeks. We can’t just leave him with them.”

  “What if he gets us caught?”

  Ellie paused, searching the levekk’s face. He was military. It was unlikely that he’d be on their side, and he’d heard them talking; if his disgust for her and Helik was greater than his hate for the rebels, then there’d be nothing stopping him from ruining their escape. She glanced at his wounds. Surely, no one who’d been through that would turn around and support the people who hurt him?

  “If I untie you,” she whispered to the levekk, “please don’t give us away.”

  She didn’t wait to see his reply, gingerly grasping the pair of socks in his mouth between the tips of her fingers and pulling them free. The levekk’s hard expression momentarily softened, his eyes closing as he worked his jaw, but still he made no sound.

  “Thank you,” she muttered, moving to snip open the bonds at his wrists and ankles and trying not to stare at the claws on his hands, which had been similarly mutilated. Once finished, she pulled back, regarding the levekk cautiously as he cleared his throat, massaging the places where he’d been bound. There were dots of blood there, the scales peeling up from where they’d rubbed against the rope, but no more hidden wounds.

  “Ellie, the coast is clear. We should go.”

  She nodded, but when the levekk looked up at her, she hesitated to follow. “Are you all right, sir?”

  The alien looked up at her with an incredulous expression. He tried to speak, but his mouth was too dry, and he took a moment to swallow. “B-been better,” he croaked. He rose unsteadily to his feet, stretching out his limbs as he did so, and the room darkened slightly as Anna shied away from him, almost slamming the door shut by accident. The levekk they’d rescued was tall—possibly taller than Helik—and Ellie gulped, taking a step back.

  “Y-you can come with us if you like,” she squeaked. “But we have to go.”

  The levekk nodded, but didn’t move to follow, and so Ellie and Anna crept out into the hallway, blinking against the bright lights.

  ---

  It was a clear s
hot to the staircase, and the front door beyond. Ellie had no idea where her belongings were now, but decided that it wasn’t worth trying to find them.

  They tiptoed along the corridor, cringing whenever the floor so much as squeaked. Most of the doors along the hallway were shut, no doubt hiding sleeping rebels behind them, and Ellie desperately tried to calm her pulse, scared to even breathe too loudly.

  They were almost to the stairs, only one more open doorway in their path, when Anna came up short. She pressed herself flush against the wall, and when Ellie peered around her, she saw a hand blocking their way, palm flat against the floor, no doubt supporting someone’s weight as they leaned back whilst sitting. The hand was small and thin, with three fingers, each topped with the strange, worm-like touch pads that all cicarians sported, barely visible from this distance. She took in the dusky pink skin and the bug-like, segmented joints, and instantly recognized Deeno, the mouthy cicarian from the other night.

  The voices of the lookouts had been audible from the storeroom, but here they were even clearer.

  “What the hell are you playing a five for?”

  “It’s the only good card I have!”

  “Bullshit!” That was Deeno. “There’s only two of you left in the game and I haven’t seen a single fucking Kerfaan card.”

  “Yeah, if you don’t have anything good, then this hand here must be loaded.”

  “Maybe someone’s hiding them,” said the second voice. “’Cause I’m not fucking lying.”

  Anna turned, giving Ellie a wide-eyed look and shaking her head. From the sounds of it, the group was huddled around the doorway. There’d be no chance they could sneak past without being seen.

  “Would you idiots just fucking play?” said a new voice, this one metallic and female, reminding Ellie just a little bit of Roia.

  “Stay out of this, Terrina.”

  “No! I want to play another round and you guys are dawdling.”

  “Everybody quiet,” snapped Deeno. “The last thing we need is Taz screaming in here ’cause we woke her up.”