Viper turned back around. “Sorry about that. Just enjoying what may be the last night of my life.”
“I see,” Iza said, taking in the room. Despite only having two bags in her hands, Viper had found enough to make the space her own. She had her handheld and tablet on the small table in front of a lounge chair, and a few items of clothing were spread out over the bed.
“I hope you’re aware you might have doomed us all if Mr. Arvonen figures out where that map leads,” Iza began. “He’s a man hungry for power. For people like that, nothing is ever enough. This is no doubt only a stepping-stone along his quest for supremacy.”
Viper nodded as if she understood and then looked up at Iza, the fear back in her brown eyes. She flopped down on the edge of her bed and dropped her gaze to the floor, letting the tears spill out. “Game over, I understand. I didn’t want to do it. She had proof of what I’d done.”
Iza pulled the chair over and propped her feet on the bed frame. “I’m sure. Mech Neck did the same to me once. Look, you made your choice, and it means I can’t trust you. Whatever work you were doing for Douketis turned around and bit you in the butt, and now it’s become my problem.”
Viper nodded keeping her head down.
“How did you know where I keep it, since you’d never been in my cabin before?”
Viper gave a weak shrug as if that were answer enough. Iza waited for her to answer.
“Your cabin isn’t much bigger than the rest of ours. There are only so many places something like that can hide.”
Iza didn’t bother to ask how she’d bypassed the biometric lock on the door; that was nothing for someone with the coding abilities to access the ship’s root systems. “How much do you owe Douketis?”
Viper’s head flew up in surprise.
“Don’t give me that look. You owe him something. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have sold me out so fast. He helped you out of a jam and now you’re paying him back?”
Viper nodded. “He said I had to work on his crew for six months before he’d consider us square.”
“That’s only if you don’t take another thing from him. That means no food, no goods. You accept your cut of any jobs you do and that’s it. He’ll tally up everything he gives you and he’ll own you for life if you’re not careful.”
Viper’s jaw went slack. “Did you run jobs for Douketis?”
Iza shook her head. “No, someone just like him, though. Douketis is a hauler. He might be as crooked as Mr. Arvonen in some ways, but he functions like most captains. He’ll respect you if you pull your weight and give him the time you promised. Are you willing to go back there to pay off your debt?”
“Do you think he’ll take me back?”
“A smart dummy like you? Yeah, he probably would. He could use a coder. I’d also prefer to keep him from breathing down my neck about you, so it’s probably best you reach out to him when we reach Lynaeda. He can pick you up there and you can go your own way.”
Viper nodded her understanding.
Iza stood up and brushed her hands down the front of her pants. “I don’t have to warn you that if you cross me again, I’ll do more than send you on your way with a warning. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Captain,” Viper said, pulling back her shoulders.
“The only reason I’m allowing you to walk this time is because you’re just a kid. Your sister’s also my Healer. I’ve met your parents. I don’t want to make your mama and baba sad.”
Viper’s eyes filled again. Iza was about to leave but decided to add something she hoped might motivate the young girl. “You think they don’t care about you, but they do. I wish I had one parent still alive to worry about me. Keep that in mind the next time you brush them off.”
Iza left Viper behind her. Maybe something she said might stick with her this time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Iza woke with a start, listening for sounds of unrest, but the ship seemed quiet. The light snoring coming from the floor revealed the dog was asleep, too.
She sighed as she untangled herself from the sheets and climbed out of bed. She needed a warm bath and a decent night’s sleep, neither of which would happen tonight. Instead, she elected to patrol the ship as she did on nights when sleep evaded her.
The dog whined to come with her.
“No, you stay here and protect my bed. I know you’ve been sleeping on it when I’m not here, anyway.” Iza scratched his chin before slipping out the door.
She’d start in the cargo hold and make her way back to her bed. The corridor creaked under her footfalls, familiar and comfortable.
The cargo hold held no cargo. Most of the compartments and cubbies remained empty. She hadn’t had a haul in over a week, since the sheep. She hadn’t felt comfortable taking on any kind of work with her ship and android friend malfunctioning, not to mention she now had passengers occupying every cabin on board.
She’d been losing control since the announcement about her engagement to Karter. Having him on her ship made their relationship even more irritating, and Iza didn’t like others seeing the two of them together in close quarters; she needed to find him a new fiancée so she could be rid of him. Though Karter and Raquel got along well, there wasn’t a love connection there. To Iza’s dismay, she realized finding him a wife might be harder than it looked. She’d already stuck with him a lot longer than she had planned.
As much as she disliked Karter, his side of the deal still offered her an advantage she couldn’t get elsewhere: the opportunity to own the Verity free and clear. That would only be possible if he was alive, and that meant keeping him safe by being on the move.
Something caught her eye in the cargo hold’s rear port corner. “Hello? Who’s there?”
No answer. Whoever it was might be hiding, or playing a game. Neither seemed likely on board the Verity.
Iza pulled out her pulse handgun. She crept closer to the stacked empty crates where she’d heard the sound. Keeping her steps light, she approached with the weapon in hand charged and ready to fire.
She sighed with relief when she stepped around the crates and found no one standing there. I’m as jumpy as a newborn kitten. I really need to get some sleep.
There was something shiny on the floor that shimmered even in the dark. She reached down to pick it up, wondering who’d dropped it, when someone hit her from behind. The black overtook her before she could let out a sound.
—
It was cold and pitch black when Iza came to on the floor of an unfamiliar room. She couldn’t see the hand she held out in front of her face. She tried to grasp her last memory through the throbbing at the base of her skull.
What had I been doing? She couldn’t sleep. That’s when she’d gotten up to wander the ship. Someone had been behind her.
Iza’s eyes flew open. However, she still couldn’t see anything. There were no identifiable smells in the place beyond the familiar scent of recycled air, too sterile to be an Enforcer cell. She felt the subtle vibration of an engine radiating through the decking.
That’s when she realized the hum of the sphere was still there. It grew louder now. It seemed to be all around the room.
Iza gingerly touched the side of her head, finding a tender spot where she must have been struck. She didn’t seem to be seriously injured, thankfully. Feeling more confident, she reached out to find the nearest wall. Her hand brushed a solid bulkhead behind her. She inched herself up to a sitting position and leaned against the smooth surface. It was too cold. She shivered.
A blood-curdling scream echoed down the hall outside the room. A loud, shrieking, desperate cry. The scream cut off as abruptly as it came.
Iza shivered again, but this time not from the temperature.
She began creeping along the wall until she reached the corner and buried herself into it. This was not the Verity. Whoever had attacked her had brought her to another ship.
Iza lost track of the hours as she waited. She wasn’t sure if her eyes were
open or closed when the knock sounded. Her head snapped up.
The door opened, letting in light from the corridor. It was bright and harsh and she had to cover her eyes until they adjusted to the brightness. There were two figures in the doorway and one of them approached, gruffly hauling her to her feet and pushing her forward. Iza stumbled into the corridor and saw that it was four times the width of one on the Verity. The three of them walked shoulder-to-shoulder and still didn’t reach the sides.
Iza was still trying to gain her bearings when they stopped outside another room. The door slid open and the humming of the sphere intensified.
Inside the room, the sphere was housed in some kind of amplifying device. It hung suspended in the claw-like mechanism, turning it in increments. Light emanated from the etchings in the sphere’s surface. A wide beam of light extended from the device to the wall of the ship. At its center was a circular portal of swirling light suspended in midair.
“Where did you get this?”
The humming in the room was so loud Iza could barely focus on what was being said to her.
She recognized the man in the middle of the room as Victor Arvonen. He was directing this show. There were two other people wearing white lab coats she recognized—the man and woman from Galminus, Elyse and Natanael. He must have caught up to them. They glanced nervously in her direction and to each other before turning back to their viewscreens.
“Do you understand what this sphere does?” Mr. Arvonen asked, changing tactics.
The guards who’d brought Iza from the holding room urged her to answer by jabbing the points of their rifles into her back. She glared at them from over her shoulder before turning her attention back to Mr. Arvonen.
“No, I don’t.” Iza had to grit her teeth together to keep them from resonating along with the sound of the humming that permeated the room. It was obvious she was the only one who could hear it. How did they get that box open?
“It’s a map of sorts,” Mr. Arvonen explained. “But I think you’ve already learned that. Otherwise you wouldn’t have enlisted the help of Karter and his archaeologist friend. Although, they don’t understand where it’s actually capable of taking us.”
“Is this the part where you ramble on and tell me what it does?” Iza asked, sure to roll her eyes and look as unenthusiastic as possible.
Mr. Arvonen only laughed. Then, he motioned to a guard, who nodded and turned to the door. Someone new entered the room. It was a young man wearing a white coat like the others. His face, however, changed when he caught sight of the sphere. He seemed nervous to be there with the others.
“Let’s get you prepped, shall we?”
The man who’d entered was still hesitating at the door. At Mr. Arvonen’s words, he moved toward the other people wearing lab coats.
“We’re on the brink of an amazing discovery,” Mr. Arvonen continued. “This device unlocks new worlds we had no hope of seeing in my lifetime.”
“You have your sphere. What do you want with me?” Iza asked.
“This sphere is much more than it appears. At first, we thought it was just a map—a way of locating the originators of the technology. Then, we learned it was capable of much more. Look at it,” Mr. Arvonen gestured with one hand to the portal, “a gateway to other worlds. But we can’t see to the other side by just standing here. The only way to know what’s over there is to enter. That’s where it gets interesting.” The brightness and over-excitement in his voice was something that Iza recognized in unstable people.
Here we go. This is the maniacal plan of a crazy man. She took a steadying breath. “This is all very enthralling. However, I have somewhere else to be, if you wouldn’t mind returning me to my ship,” Iza said, keeping her gaze squarely on the old man.
He squinted at her, evaluating. It didn’t matter if he was telepathic; he wouldn’t get anything from her. She’d learned that much from Jovani and Cierra and any other telepaths that made the attempt.
“You’re a very,” he seemed to search for the right word, “independent sort of person.”
“Yes,” Iza said, unable to keep the question out of her voice. What is he getting at?
“It surprises me, is all. Why is my son traveling with someone like you? It’s obvious you survive well enough on your own. Yet, you surround yourself with a rebellious dynastic heir and a TSS Agent. What possible use would they serve?”
“Well, if you knew your son the way I do, you’d understand.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Devon is too much like his mother.”
Iza squared her shoulders. She was careful to keep her features neutral. “Why do you care how I conduct my business and with whom?”
“Yes, I see the evidence in your eyes now. Emotional attachment fogs the mind at times,” he said waving his hand as if dismissing the idea altogether. “That’s probably why you didn’t realize your TSS Agent has been communicating secretly with his superiors. I don’t know what he’s doing in our sector, but I’ll put an end to his spying soon enough. I’ll deal with all of you accordingly.”
His last words had an ominous tone like he’d already made up his mind about what to do about them. That didn’t bode well for her leaving the ship.
Iza glanced around the room again, looking for a possible escape or a weapon. The smooth consoles and lab equipment afforded nothing to help her. Neither did the two guards pointing pulse rifles at her back. Getting out of the room would be hard enough, but finding a way off of the vessel would be even more difficult.
“I’m sorry, are you planning to bore me to death or what?” she asked.
Mr. Arvonen shook his head and sighed. “Such beauty and yet so filled with venom. Frivolous matters fill the minds of the young with nonsense and they have no patience for the drama of reality.” He turned his back on her to face the young man who entered after Iza. “Let’s prepare the device. Step forward, young man, don’t be shy. This is a chance of a lifetime. You’re privileged to see something no one else has. With your help, we will bring in a new age of control and power that we’ve never experienced. Witness how the Arvonen Dynasty will come to rule the known universe.”
He had a flair for the dramatic, Iza noted.
The young man they’d brought in had listened to this speech before and clearly wasn’t a believer. His eyes grew wide with terror, and the guards had to force him toward the pulsing portal. He stood to one side of the opening between the sphere and the wall.
“There you go, step right into the light. It won’t hurt you,” Mr. Arvonen said.
The young man seemed less than convinced. Electrified tension built in the room, making Iza wish she could step back. She guessed the screams she’d heard earlier had probably come from a previous text subject. Everyone braced themselves, except for Mr. Arvonen.
“Don’t forget now, take a quick peek around and come right back,” Mr. Arvonen instructed like he was speaking to a child about to cross the street.
The young man visibly swallowed, closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before he stepped forward. His eyes opened and he squared his shoulders. Head held high, he strode into the portal. After a quick electrical pop, he disappeared into nothing.
Mr. Arvonen and the others held their breaths in anticipation.
What are they waiting for? Obviously, the guy had disappeared, but still they waited.
Then the odor of death filled the room. Whatever they had been waiting for, they received confirmation. The smell of charred meat gone bad permeated everything.
Iza’s stomach churned and heaved to empty the contents of her stomach. She was thankful her last meal had been hours ago as there was nothing left to vomit. The guard behind her coughed conspicuously. The two scientists on the other side of the room held up small square towels to their faces, covering their noses and mouths.
Even Mr. Arvonen had a small square of material he held to his face, breathing in deeply before he spoke. “How many is that?”
Elyse answered. “Th
at’s twelve, sir.”
“Begin decontamination.”
“Shall we bring another subject?” Natanael asked.
“No, she’s already here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When the alarm sounded, Joe leaped from his bed and raced to the flight deck. He hadn’t bothered to put in his brown contacts; it wouldn’t matter in an emergency.
“What’s going on?” Joe asked.
Trix was standing alone on the flight deck. “Iza, they have taken her.”
“What?” Joe stared down at the console and read the signature of a shuttle and then a much larger ship leaving the system, where the Verity had stopped for a decoy cooldown stop on the way to Lynaeda.
The others arrived a minute later, roused from sleep by the alarm.
“It seems someone deactivated the ship’s security systems and boarded the Verity while I was still running my diagnostic,” Trix revealed. “They escaped in a shuttle.”
“Who took her?” Braedon asked.
“It was the Arvonen One. They took Iza.”
“We need to go after her,” Joe said.
“She told us to go to Lynaeda,” Viper pointed out.
“That doesn’t matter now. Joe shook his head. “We’re not going without her. Why would Arvonen take her, anyway?”
“Wait, where’s Raquel?” Karter asked, looking around the group.
“She is not on board the ship. It appears the Arvonen shuttle also took her,” Trix said.
“Cierra, take Trix and do a quick check around the ship make sure she’s not lying some place unconscious.”
Cierra stared at Joe open mouthed then back to Trix in horror. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’d prefer to take a real person with me.” Then to Trix she added, “My apologies.”
Divided Loyalties (Verity Chronicles Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 24