As she entered the room, her sisters jumped to their feet and ran to her, jabbering and asking her about the dimension beyond the rift.
With the air of one who had been decanted a full moment before her nearest sibling, Ruby told her younger sisters all about the world she had just walked on. The suns, the taste of the air and the freedom of wind all came alive in her mind as she described them to her sisters and the touch on her mind told her that her mother was listening as well.
Food was brought in and then it was time for bed. The sedatives in their meal ensured it. Ruby yawned, hugged her siblings and followed Tossas to her quarters.
Tomorrow would be the start of a new day and the possibility of a new adventure.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ruby geared up and listened to Janus describe the assignment. She was to retrieve a felon who had been considered too dangerous for their society.
“You have full authorization to bring him back dead or alive. Some would prefer dead, if I may be completely frank.” Janus was talking for his fellow techs and for the benefit of Dr. Vasser who was watching her closely.
She checked the charge on her dart gun as well as the stunners. The darts worked on compressed air in case there was a problem with electromagnetic interference. “So, no one will complain if he gets tossed through a rift on this one?”
“No. You have five days or one hundred twenty hours. The chronometer will chirp at the one-hundred-hour mark, warning you of the activation of the beacon.”
Ruby fought her grin. Janus seemed disappointed that the stabbing pain wouldn’t surprise her.
“The pain has also been reduced to a hard ache. It is now mandatory for all those working control to feel the level before they program your implant.” He looked over at the nervous man who was getting ready to test it.
She stopped him before he could do something stupid. “Don’t slam it on, turn it to low and then gradually increase it until you can’t keep your hand on the sensor anymore.”
Relief ran through the tech’s face as he turned the dial all the way down and then slowly ratcheted it up until his hand locked in place. “Good enough. Set the implant at that level and I will be on my way.”
On one of the seven platforms, Emerald made her appearance and gave a bright wave with one hand, shoving her retrieval forward with the other.
The tech set the programmer against her thigh and he keyed in the new hour markers and the intensity level. “You are ready, Ruby.”
She raised the scanner, caught the frequency and eased the fabric of space apart, creating a portal that only her kind could manipulate. She stepped through with a grin of anticipation, more keen than she could imagine being on another adventure.
Ruby stepped through the portal into a dense jungle. It was night here now and dark. Not too dark that her dragon eyes couldn’t see. Perhaps it was a good thing that on this world her days and nights were all mixed up. Hunting a dangerous criminal wasn’t on the top of her list of things to accomplish in her life, but since this was her assignment, the more advantage she had the better.
She slid through the dense foliage, keeping one eye open for her quarry and the other for life forms that may prove dangerous. Checking her scanner every few minutes, Ruby moved silently through the thick undergrowth, pushing leaves aside that were nearly as tall and wide as Tossas.
Taking a deep breath, she decided she liked the smell here. The way the air took on the scent of rotting vegetation, damp soil and the beautiful flowers that bloomed nearby. One plant in particular caught her eye as its flowers glowed pale yellow in the night.
The strange call of an indigenous creature had her turning to her left to see it huddled on a branch, shaking as though it feared some great predator, putting Ruby on high alert. It was hard telling what kind of feral animals hunted in the night here.
Water dripped down off the higher vegetation and onto her shoulder. Dew, she supposed. Now that the first drop drew her attention, she noticed the sounds of the small drops hitting the ground everywhere around her. Was it raining?
Mist surrounded her as she continued to make her way in the direction the scanner told her to go. With luck, the criminal was sleeping and she could just dart him and take him through a rift and be done with it.
She hated the thought of actually killing anyone. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it. She knew she could. It was in her nature. It was the female of the species who hunted to feed their kind before they’d become civilized—at least that’s what her mother told her.
An acrid scent reached her nose. It burned a bit and made her want to cough. She didn’t dare. Coughing would give her away. She needed the element of surprise to take her quarry alive and unharmed. Who knows? The target may have changed his ways after being left in this inhospitable jungle for however many years he had resided here. Who was she to play deity and end someone’s life on a whim? She would only kill him if he gave her no other choice. Probably.
Slowly, she approached the strange scent. A flickering light just ahead in the direction of the beacon caught her attention. It was orange and blazed brightly. Ah…a fire.
Ruby suppressed another cough as the smoke blew her way. She hunkered down in the vegetation, trying to figure out where the man was. The scanner said he was right in front of her, but she couldn’t see anything but the fire and what appeared to be the remainder of a meal.
She rubbed her hand on her thigh. It didn’t hurt, but it had become a nervous habit now. One she would delight in ridding herself of once they removed the beacon when the project was over. If she and her sisters were ever lucky enough for it to ever come to an end.
Glancing down at the scanner, Ruby checked it again. She fought the urge to hit the side of it with her hand when the thing still displayed the beacon directly in front of her when she couldn’t see a thing.
Perhaps he is invisible, sweetling.
Her mother’s voice inside her head brought things back into perspective and she moved forward slightly for a sniff. The smoke from the fire covered any scent she may have been able to discern.
Reach out with our senses. You know someone is there. Otherwise, you would have stormed into the clearing by now, searching for clues to where he has gone. He is there. You just cannot see him. The only question that remains, her mother continued, is whether or not he sleeps.
Her mother was right. What if the man was awake and this was a trap? He may already know where she was. Adrenaline raced through her blood at the thought.
That’s it, dearling. Breathe deep and quiet. He lays there in front of you. Sleeping or not is of no consequence. Raise your stunner, set it on high stun and aim for the beacon. You cannot miss at this range. Once he is in an unnatural state of unconsciousness, you can send him home…alive.
You’re right, Mother.
Her mother chuckled softly. You have never seen a creature who could make himself invisible and no one bothered to tell you he could do so. Lack of sight is one of our species greatest fears. A blind dragon can never fly. It is only natural to fear a thing that takes it away from us.
Dialing the stunner to its highest setting, Ruby aimed at the beacon and fired. She didn’t expect the roar of anger at her action. Holy hell. The stunner didn’t work on him either. Why didn’t they tell her these things? Now the target was on the move and she couldn’t see him to shoot. What the hell was she going to do now?
The sound of something crashing through the brush to her left had her heading that way cautiously. The last thing she needed was to run head on into him. What if he was stronger than her? Even if she was stronger, how do you overpower someone you cannot see? uestions. Next time she would ask more questions before she left on an assignment. She had no business haring off to parts unknown with nothing but a scanner and a few weapons when she knew so little about her quarry.
You can change your appearance, too, dearling.
Her mother’s voice in her head was so calm she wanted to scream.
How? How can I change
my appearance and why didn’t they teach us that at the compound?
Ruby could almost feel the shake of her mother’s head. Do you think I would tell them all of our secrets? As long as the clothing you wear is made of natural material, you can change to match your surroundings. Have you ever heard of the chameleon in your studies?
Of course she had and her mother knew it. You know I have, Mother. She paused. Are you saying that I can change my body and clothes to match that of my surroundings, that I, too, can become invisible?
She felt her mother’s smile. Yes, sweetling. You can also become a harder target. Look at your surroundings. Watch how the light of the moons glistens off the dew-damp leaves, pay attention to how the vegetation moves as you make your way through it and tell your mind you want to look just like that.
Ruby watched as her skin and leathers took on the appearance of the surrounding jungle. She was stunned that she could do this all along and never knew. How could she not know something so amazing about herself?
Thank you, Mother, but how do I hide the scanner and weapons?
Unfortunately, you cannot. Her mother sighed. You must either hope he cannot see them through the vegetation or you must leave them behind and concentrate on hand-to-hand combat.
The prospect of hand-to-hand combat didn’t distress Ruby. What concerned her was leaving the scanner and never finding her prey. She shook her head. I’ll just have to take my chances with the equipment. I can’t take the chance that I will lose him.
She had no scent for him because the smoke from the fire still burned her nostrils. The acrid stench either masked her quarry’s scent or plain just made it so her sense of smell wasn’t as acute. She suspected the latter.
Taking a deep breath, Ruby tested her theory and gave a grim nod. She couldn’t smell a thing now. She would have to rely on the scanner and hope her sense of smell would return as she put distance between herself and the fire he left behind. It was just a good thing everything in this jungle was so damp and his fire had been in a pit. Otherwise, she would have the added worry of a forest fire as she continued her search.
By the time on her watch, Ruby had been in this dimension for six hours when the sun began to rise. Warmth radiated down from the sky as the vegetation began to steam in the extreme heat from the large gas giant that heated this world. Ruby’s only comfort as the world grew more and more humid was that there was obviously plenty of water around somewhere and her invisible target was going to find it.
Ruby didn’t bother her mother with asking for assistance, her hunting instincts knew what to do.
Another handful of hours passed before Ruby came upon a spring-fed stream with water clean enough to drink. Her target had made a straight line right to it. She was certain the last few water holes they had passed were also of a drinking quality, but they had smelled unsuitable. Her tongue felt stuck to the roof of her mouth when she finally came upon a spring with sweet water that smelled good enough to drink. Despite her own supplies, the scents that assailed her nostrils made her mouth water. She wanted a drink in the worst way.
Ruby almost fell upon it with glee when she reached it. Not only did she finally have something to drink, but also her sense of smell was back if she could scent sweet water. Knowledge, gained from her mother at some time or another, told her good, drinkable water had little odor. That she could smell it, told her that she could finally track again.
Tilting her head back, she scented for her prey. Even though she had no idea what he smelled like, he would not smell like this lovely water, nor would he smell entirely of the dirt and loam of the jungle. When she scented nothing but the jungle and the water, Ruby bent her head to the spring and drank greedily before refilling her canteen.
Time passed quickly as she hunted her prey. Why was he running? What could he possibly think she was doing here? Did he think she was here to kill him? Perhaps if she were a different kind of hunter, he would have the need to worry. However, Ruby did not intend to kill him unless he forced her to the action. She may have been born to fight, but she was no killer.
Sighing, she sat down on a boulder to eat. The dry rations they gave her to carry did little for her appetite, but she was near starved. She checked her watch and frowned. She had been following the convict for nearly ten hours
Come out, come out wherever you are. She frowned at the thought. He wasn’t that far ahead. She lifted her nose to the slight breeze. A myriad of scents filled her nostrils. Delicious-smelling enticements that made her mouth water. Ruby almost dropped her rations on the ground to run to find the source. What’s come over you, girl? She stopped herself just in time. Whatever it was that smelled so tasty couldn’t be good for her. It never was. She’d learned that at a young age. They all had.
Sighing, she sat back down on the rock and contemplated where she would spend her resting hours. She needed to rest or she may not have an easy time of bringing the fugitive in.
Finally, she checked her scanner again. He had been in the same spot for over an hour. He’d finally stopped to rest, he was injured or he had given up. Whichever one it was, she had him now. Drawing the dart gun, she headed in the direction the small blip on her scanner indicated and drew down on the spot where he slept.
She would only get one shot, two if she was lucky before he got up and ran again, she’d better make them good ones.
Drawing in a deep breath, Ruby held it, aimed, then pulled the trigger twice in quick succession aiming for two spots, approximately a foot apart. When they hit, it didn’t knock her prey unconscious as she’d assumed it would.
He rose up roaring, his hands going to the spots on his body where the little red feathers stuck out and ripped the darts from his skin. How interesting! The darts didn’t render her prey unconscious. They seemed instead to stop him from cloaking himself yet again.
He looked up at her from a face so beautiful it almost hurt to look at him. “What in the hell do you want? Wasn’t it enough they incarcerated me here for some imagined slight? Now they send someone to hunt me. Well,” he spread his arms out to his sides, “if you plan to kill me, now is your best chance. Just do me a favor and make sure you get me between the eyes. I’d rather die quickly if it’s all the same to you.”
“I’m not here to kill you.” Ruby tilted her head and frowned. “What do you mean you’ve been incarcerated here for some imagined slight?” Didn’t the techs say he was dangerous?
“I can cloak myself, lady. I can disappear. They told me I would never be free again. I could either work for them as their involuntary assassin or I could live the rest of my days alone on a world barely able to sustain my life.”
Ruby looked around doubtfully. “What do you mean by that?” She waved her arm. “This world is teaming with life.” It was also teeming with all of those delicious smells that made her mouth water and her stomach grumble a protest at its state of emptiness, even though it was full.
“Yeah,” he laughed. “It’s teeming with life alright. Try to eat some of it. Almost all of it makes me sick in some fashion. There are only a handful of things I can even stomach and none of them taste as good as what you smell right now.”
How did he know what I’d been thinking? She shook her head. There was no way. He must just be remembering his own first days here. Ruby bit her lip. What if what he said was true? It wasn’t fair to incarcerate someone just because of a deity-given gift. She and her sisters knew that better than most.
She lowered her arms and tucked the dart gun back in its holster. “I—I don’t know what to say.” Of course she didn’t. She never expected this. Hell, who would? She ran her fingers through her hair and bit her lip. “I would love to help you, but I’m afraid I can’t. I have come to retrieve you and I have to bring you back dead or alive.”
He barked out another laugh. “I’ll bet they requested dead.”
“What I meant was, I can’t go back without a body. You have a tracker inserted in your arm.” She held up the scanner. “That’s ho
w I found you. I could say you were dead, but if I do that, they’ll want a body because every life form sent to other worlds using the dimension-transport method has to return home.”
“Why? When they sent me out here, they were adamant that I would never return.” He narrowed his eyes and clenched his hands at his sides. “Or is this another one of their fucking tricks? I won’t kill for them, you know. I am no one’s assassin.”
Ruby wanted to help him. She felt that he was telling her the truth. She felt it deep in her gut. She could see the government exploiting his talent and punishing him for not using it for their purposes.
“I wish I could help you. I really do, but I can’t think of a way to convince them there was no body and how would we get your tracker out of you?”
He shrugged. “The tracker has been out of me for some time now.” He pulled on a chain that hung around his neck. “I forgot it was even there until you mentioned it.”
On the end of the chain was the small tracking device. Apparently, he’d cut it out of his arm on his own. Ruby checked his arm for the telltale scar and found none she thought big enough.
“How did you…”
“It’s a long story.” He started to walk back the way they’d come. “Follow me and I’ll tell you on the way.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“So you’re telling me that you had a companion and he cut the tracker out of your arm?” She trotted along beside him to keep up. She was tall, but he was much taller and she almost had to run just to keep up with his walking pace. No wonder she’d had a hard time catching up with him.
“Yes. We were…” He paused for a moment, his face growing tight. “Let’s just say that we were more than friends. He came with me to keep me company, to fulfill a promise to himself and to me.” He laughed. “It was so easy for him to sneak past the guards. They had not informed the lab that we could become invisible at will. They never expected anyone to voluntarily become a virtual castaway in another dimension.” Pushing past a thorny tree, he pulled the branches back, seemingly oblivious to the pain, as she hurried through the small opening he created for her. “We were a couple.”
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