“How do you creatures endure this level of frailty?” he asked.
“Well, if you’d been faster at seeing the danger, Anx might have missed your gut and just nicked your side,” Ania advised.
I warned you to take precautions, Angel said.
“I am being punished with one nagging female in my ear and another in my head,” Malachi complained. Liam laughed in his ear and tightened his hold. “How is this amusing, Liam?”
“I’m not sure, but it is,” Synar said. “Are you done whining yet?”
“Whining?” Malachi exclaimed, his voice sputtering as he repeated the word. He felt all of them trying not to laugh. “Dead bodies everywhere and me in the worst pain I can remember feeling. I do not see what is so funny in this situation.”
Boca moved her hands to his back, stepping in close to him. “The pain should be lessening. If you start getting aroused while I’m doing this, I’m going to ruin your future fun with your girlfriend. Just saying . . .”
“Pain is an excellent deterrent to unwanted erections,” Malachi said, hearing Chiang laughing nearby.
Soon though, the pain really did lessen, at least to a manageable level. Strength even returned to his legs.
“Okay. I think my body is recovering at last. Thank you, Boca,” Malachi said.
To his surprise, the little healer wrapped him in her arms for a gentle hug. “I’m glad we could save your host body,” she said. “I have a good feeling about it.”
Malachi snorted, but looked over to see the Greggor smiling. “Jealous, Chiang?”
“Not this time. I heard you growling over another female, remember?” Chiang said, winking at him.
“My reputation is ruined, Angel. It’s all your fault if I never laugh again,” Malachi said, almost regretful when Ania and Liam let go of him. It was very nice to be held. He’d pass on that level of pain again though.
He looked over then to see Kefira sitting up on the table. Tears streamed down her face. “I’m truly sorry you had to witness this. I’d be happy to block the memory for you,” Malachi said. And he meant every word.
“No,” Kefira said, her voice tight with grief. “I want to remember. I want to remember it was Anx who did the killing, even though my father tried to kill you. I have to know the truth of what is going on.”
“As do I,” Malachi said. Why don’t you just tell us, Angel?
The word of an emissary is no more respected than that of a demon. One is too evil. The other is too good. Neither is easily trusted. She will believe what she hears from Meen, Angel sent.
I find your spiritual wisdom annoying, Malachi sent.
I find your complaining amusing, Angel sent back. Tell Ania to wake up Meen.
Malachi looked at everyone and saw they were looking at him. “What?” he demanded.
“Your thoughts are very loud right now,” Ania said, choosing her words carefully.
“Meaning you and Liam can hear my part of my conversations with her, can’t you?” Malachi asked.
Liam shrugged. “Within a certain range, the communication is clear. Actually, I hear Angel as well as I hear you, when she chooses to let me.”
Malachi heaved out a breath. “Wake the Ler male, Ania. Let’s get this over with so I can go clean up. There’s nothing worse than wearing soiled clothes.”
He smiled at the chorus of agreement echoing his statement.
Chapter 31
They bound Meen’s arms and legs to the table before Ania released her hold on him. Synar watched her shudder with relief as she allowed him to escape the trance.
“Next time, we let Dorian do the binding,” he told her.
“I am fine,” Ania said with a shrug. “Meen’s mind wasn’t that strong. I just haven’t had any rest. Then there was the whole thing with Zella. It was a lot to take on all at once.”
Synar patted his mate’s shoulder as Meen came awake and struggled with his straps. “I know. I swear we’re taking a break after this is over. One way or another.”
He looked down at the angry male on the table. “Welcome back, General.”
“What did you do to me, Synar? I know what I did. I should be dead. You pulled me back from the source before my spirit could be absorbed. I felt it all happening,” he said. “Did you use your demon?”
Malachi stood near him and glared down into his face. “No. He did not use the demon. You were prevented from passing by another servant of the Creators.”
Meen chuckled on the table. “Sacred myths and fantasies. I know there is no real life after death.”
“You’re very limited in your thinking, General. It’s more like advanced energy physics and a power to transform any and all matter that exceeds anything your mind can imagine,” Malachi said.
“Tell us what’s going on in the Peace Alliance, Meen. Who is behind all the corruption?” Synar asked.
“Jilco and Anx still holding out on you?” Meen taunted.
“Both are dead. Anx killed Jilco and then killed himself. It started when we took on the task of finding the Allurean. What are we involved in, Meen?” Synar demanded.
“Why should I tell you anything?” Meen demanded back.
“Maybe you can redeem yourself before you meet the Creators,” Malachi suggested.
They watched Meen sober. “Trust me. You’re better off not knowing. It serves the interests of most creatures to believe the Peace Alliance is a benevolent guardian entity seeking peace for all planets. No one wants to know how that entity funds itself. Did you think this ship just magically came into existence? The Allurean would have funded Peace Alliance operations for centuries, maybe even millennia.”
“We were in the process of bringing her in. Why did you go to such great lengths to capture her for herself? Isn’t that taking away from the organization?” Synar asked.
Meen snorted. “I was trying to fund my own escape from the corruption. Jilco wanted his daughter out of it. Anx wanted asylum for his family. We thought if we had the Allurean, we’d have a way to wrestle control back. It would have worked if you’d just handed her over when I asked.”
“So you were all in this together. Why did you kill her if she was so valuable to you?”
“You made me lose my temper and I couldn’t take the risk that I’d be found out for my deeds. I decided to take the whole ship with me and send a loud message about what they could do with their extortions. The implant in my heart is not the only one I have. There’s one in my brain. There’s one in Jilco and Anx too. In fact, there’s one in every employee in the Peace Alliance. They use it to track everyone, Synar. Even you.”
“That would have been good to know back when I lost my Siren,” Synar said, knowing the brain chips would have to be investigated.
“You joke, but an honorable death is better than what those behind this would do if they knew I had intended to blackmail them back in exchange for my freedom,” Meen said. “Let me die, Synar. Pretend you know nothing. Do your job and live to be old. They’ll let you live out your existence in relative peace so long as you don’t ask too many questions.”
Synar stood and looked at the row of his best people. He had called Dorian and Gwen to come hear Meen’s confession. Now they waited with grim expressions. It was the closest he’d seen Gwen come to looking defeated. His volatile Earthling commander believed in what she did for a living. She believed in the process. He knew this had to be hard on her to hear.
Beside Dorian, Warro stood with his lips pressed tight together. He’d asked Warro to come and now almost wished he hadn’t. That Siren looked as stricken as Gwen by the news. He’d been intending to go back to his ship. What would Warro do now that he knew? It was not going to be easy for him either. Sirens had a level of integrity that defied lying, even for the best of reasons.
Lastly, he looked at his mate. Ania stared back at him calmly. She accepted the flow of life better than most. For the first time, he saw that her experience was helpful in cases like this. He could only imagine all
the evil she’d seen in her years of existence. But he did wonder if she worried about their children. He did. What kind of life they have?
Down to every individual, no one commented on the validity of what Meen was saying. There was the resonance of truth in every word the Ler male had spoken. The Peace Alliance was corrupt in some faction. At least some of the Peace Alliance’s highest officers and officials were being blackmailed into doing things they didn’t want to do. Most organizations had a little of that going on. How deep did this conspiracy go?
Meen squirmed against his straps as Synar looked at Jilco and Anx still in a pile.
“Can you name the ones in power that are doing this?” Synar asked, making a decision that they might as well hear the worst of it.
“No,” Meen said. “But I can tell you how to fix your ship so my death will not mean yours.”
Synar snorted. “We actually figured that one out on our own.”
Meen quieted then. Synar could actually see the arrogance leaving.
“Then why haven’t you killed me?” Meen asked.
“We intended to take you back to the Peace Alliance,” Synar said, lying to the male because he had no idea what the emissary intended to do concerning him. Would she come out and let him pass? Since he didn’t control her, he had no way to know.
“Just kill me, Synar. I know I don’t deserve your mercy, but they might come after you if they think I told you anything.”
Synar looked at Ania. She nodded. He looked back at Meen. “You’re probably right. Anything else you want to add?”
“It wasn’t personal. You’re a worthy warrior. I killed your people and you still didn’t give up. Perhaps I wouldn’t have either if I wielded your demon. Maybe I could have changed my destiny,” Meen said.
“I wouldn’t have given up even without Malachi. You threatened my entire crew. I have a powerful will to live, and an even more powerful one to do what’s right,” Synar said.
Meen shrugged against his trappings. “Before you kill me, have your doctor remove the chip from the back of my head. You might glean something from it. Blast the area so that my body will appear to have been damaged there. Leave the ID in my arm so they know it’s me. Leave the implant in my heart, or they’ll find a way to kill all of you just so you don’t know that they would go so far. Don’t tell them you figured out how to disarm the self-destruct code. Tell them I confessed it under torture. This is all the help I can give you. Now let’s get this over with.”
Synar looked at Chiang and Boca. “Will you remove the chip from his head?”
“Yes. Want me to kill him in the process?” Boca asked.
His lips twitched, but Synar bit back the smile. The Sumerian’s bloodlust shouldn’t strike him as funny. Maybe it was just ironic. He wished he could answer yes just to give her something to do with all those feelings. It wasn’t going to be easy for her to break that angry response. Boca was sometimes worse than Ania.
“No, thanks. Meen’s death will come when it’s time. Don’t make him suffer while you do it. We’re not sinking to his level. Remember that. Give the chip to Warro to work on, if he’s agreeable,” Synar said, looking at the silent, frowning Siren. Ji nodded tightly.
“Okay. Looks like we got a couple more bodies needing cold storage,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
“Liam? Gwen and I will see to the bodies. You and Ania should get some rest. I’ll come back and see to Kefira,” Dorian said.
When Synar looked to her, Kefira was staring off at the wall. He walked close enough to speak softly and still be heard. “Say the word and I’ll have Malachi remove all this from your mind.”
Kefira heard the offer and knew Liam Synar’s intention was good. But he could not stop her destiny. She doubted the emissaries would have let Malachi be successful.
“No. I have to go back to the Peace Alliance. If they will let me take my father’s place, eventually his blackmailers will come to me. I have the help of the emissaries. They’ll tell me what to do.”
Synar nodded. “You’ll come see us when you know. You’ll come see us and we’ll help you. That will be our secret. Always remember that you have a safe place here with us.”
Kefira lifted a hand to Synar’s shoulder and slid off the medical table she had been sitting on. “I feel very old right now. All the light is gone from me.”
“There is nothing I can say to make this better,” Synar said.
“No. I know there isn’t,” Kefira agreed.
Chapter 32
Ji wandered the nearly empty hallways of the Guardian 13, trying to assimilate what he had heard from Meen. His mind still struggled to believe that two generals and a high ambassador were dead because they feared some power above them.
Who held such power over generals?
He couldn’t believe the horror running through his mind. Disbelief had started to be the normal response to all daily challenges since he’d joined Synar’s crew. Yet at the moment, in the middle of his fourth or fifth interrupted sleep cycle, only one thing kept coming up as a crystalline fact with no second thoughts attached to it.
He couldn’t leave Seta now. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her. His connection to the Ethosian was not something he was willing to excise from his energy when her safety and well-being were at such high risk.
She had been missing from the list of officers Synar had called to hear Meen’s confession, but he understood why Seta had been excluded. If he’d been Synar, he’d have excluded her as well. The Ethosian female was still grieving for her sibling. Her captain no doubt feared she would break from the trauma of what Meen had shared. He couldn’t disagree with that, but it weighed heavy on him. He didn’t like thinking Seta would be walking around unprepared.
With his thoughts so clearly on her, it didn’t surprise Ji to find himself standing outside Seta’s quarters. He wanted badly to knock, but what would he say? Let me in because I’m afraid we both might die before you know how I feel about you?
She wasn’t ready to hear that. He knew it as well as he knew he wanted back inside her a thousand times more. He closed his eyes and prayed. Who knew? Maybe the Creators really were trying to help them. Maybe they’d hear his pleas.
“Ji? What are you doing outside my door at this time of the night?”
He opened his eyes to see Seta standing in her doorway. Her hair was tousled and messed by what obviously had been a restless sleep. She wore a ripped shirt and baggy pants that looked like they belonged to some skinny male. He was used to the females he courted dressing to seduce him. Black seduction. Red lace. Froths of pink and white. He’d never wanted a female like Seta before. Worse now, he didn’t want anything else. But one night in his arms hadn’t even dented the shields she had in place around her heart.
“I was restless and wandering the halls,” Ji said. “Sorry if I woke you.”
“You woke me because you think very loudly,” Seta said, tucking her hair back as well as she could. She felt unkempt. She felt like she should have prepared herself for him when she hadn’t even known he was stopping by. Stupid, she decided. It wasn’t like he was trying to unnerve her.
“You heard my thoughts?” Ji asked.
“No. I heard you whispering fiercely. These are useful for more than just elegant hangers for ear adornments,” Seta said sharply, pointing to both ears. His chuckle vibrated through her—pleased her. “I’m too tired to play tonight. I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I have bridge duty tomorrow and have to get some rest.”
Ji sobered. “Are you too tired to hug a jaded Siren until he calms down enough to sleep as well? I will not take advantage if you let me stay.”
“Yes. That’s what you said last time. By now you know I can’t guarantee the same,” Seta said, crossing her arms. Her breasts were already interested. And the tips of her ears tingled at his nearness. She should never have bonded with him. She’d heard Sirens were addicting. “You might as well come in, Ji. My sister’s pa
rting words was that I should let you show me happiness. Let’s try hugging until we sleep. Hopefully no evil generals will interrupt us before the sleep cycle ends this time.”
“You sound like a child when you’re tired and cranky. I don’t know what to do about my feelings for you,” Ji complained.
“How about we save that discussion for another time then?” Seta said, leaning on the door. “I’m tired, Ji Warro. Are you coming in or not?”
“I sleep in the nude,” he said.
“Well, I sleep like this because I get cold,” Seta said.
“Not tonight, you won’t,” Ji promised. He stepped across her threshold when she opened the door wide enough for him to enter.
Trusting Ji to make sure he secured her quarters, Seta stumbled back to the sleeping platform and crawled onto it, leaving a space for him to lie beside her. He could make the decision to stay or he could leave. She wasn’t going to let it matter either way.
Ji looked at her back turned toward him. She wasn’t nearly as unaffected as she pretended. He had smelled her arousal as she fled from him.
Sighing at his weakness for her, Ji closed the door quietly and locked the two of them away from reality for one more night.
***
After assuring him they would check Angel’s host body again, Malachi reluctantly went to his quarters and put his body down to rest. The healing Boca had done was very effective, but proper rest was needed for a full recovery.
He hadn’t even stayed to see the results of what Chiang and Boca had removed from Meen’s head. He didn’t even know if Meen lived or died after the surgery, and at the moment, he didn’t care.
Angel knew where he was. He was sure she would come and wake him if she needed him. She’d already done that twice.
Two hours passed and he finally grew bored with resting. He went to the cleansing area, letting the warm recycled liquid pour down over his shoulders. After standing there until he grew bored with that too, he dried himself and went to inspect his body for damages.
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