Heart of a Traitor

by Aaron Lee Yeager

  “Well, I try not to bring it up. I’ve seen the way you bristle when others praise you for it. But, you shouldn’t have such hard feelings toward them. They don’t understand about you what I understand about you.”

  “And what is that?” Nariko asked cautiously.

  “That this body isn’t who you really are. Praising it feels to you like praising someone else, or at least someone else’s handiwork. And it reminds you of the curse, which you prefer not to think about. That is why I have always focused on the person inside and I find her to be a strong, intelligent, amazing woman.”

  Nariko turned to him, her eyes full of tenderness and gratitude.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly.

  “And, lock three,” he whispered.

  Nariko leaned in and kissed him herself this time, passionately and without reserve. She completely let down her defenses and opened up herself to the experience without holding back. The sensation felt brighter than the noonday suns. It was as if pure emotion flowed out of her and into her and the junction was the point where their lips touched. A bright, vibrant, glorious point.

  What is happening to me?

  Nariko could sense her mind changing. Her psyche was being re-written, changing her from a rational being to a sensual one. She could feel her priorities being overridden in her brain. Wanting to be held, wanting to be touched, wanting to hold and touch. With every passing moment her world became filled more and more with these growing needs. Every cell in her body began to burn with an unimaginable pleasure.

  You have always denied yourself physical pleasure. Now that you have had a taste of it, you will scarcely be able to think of anything else.

  Oh...Oh no.

  Nariko’s heartbeat was now thrumming in her ears. A dark hunger was growing inside of her, controlling her. She clawed at his back, tearing at the fabric

  Whoa, whoa, slow down there,” Don Kielter restrained, grabbing at her wrists.

  Stop! Control yourself.

  “I-I can’t stop...get...get away from me,” Nariko panted, biting at his lips. Nariko ran her fingers across his neck, her nails scraping into the flesh.

  “Oww, stop that, you are hurting me,” he complained, standing up.

  Nariko grabbed her head and screamed in pain. The darkness wasn’t just inside of her; it was all around her, saturating every cell in her body. The darkness flexed and the person that Nariko was cracked, threatening to shatter.

  Can you really be this foolish? Drak’Nal is a demon of rage and lust, just how did you think your body was designed to react?

  Don Kielter moved up to aid her, but she shoved him backwards. He stumbled over the slick floor, falling backward onto the ground.

  “Please, get away from me; I’m going to...aaaaaaah!”

  Reacting to the commotion, Michi and Ami ran in. “What is going on in here?” Michi asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Don Kielter said, scrambling to his feet. “She was kissing me and then...”

  “She was kissing you?!” Ami exclaimed, her hands shooting up to cover her mouth.

  “Ooh, this is so cute,” Michi said, clapping her hands together, “your heart is going through a magical time.”

  “I don’t want to have a magical time!” Nariko yelled. The room filled with a ghastly popping and hissing noise. Nariko grabbed the sides of her temples and staggered back and forth, nearly losing her balance. “Run Ami, Michi. Run away from me before I...ahhhhhhhh!”

  Michi took offense and placed her fists on her hips. “Well, if you are going to be like that, then you can just forget about me throwing a wedding shower for the two of you.”

  “I am so sick of you, Michi! How can you be so brainless? You waste all your time making plans for having a family. You know you can’t get married, you know you can’t have a child. If you got pregnant it would be a demon!”

  Michi placed her hands on her chest, her face overcome with grief. “I meant after we lift the curse,” she said softly.

  “That is never going to happen!” Nariko bellowed. “You’ll all end up just like me!”

  As Michi stood there, stunned, Nariko leapt forward and tackled Don Kielter to the ground, shredding his jacket and shirt off of him, her red eyes alight with twisted passion.

  In a jet of blue fire Sakurako appeared beside them and blasted Nariko with a flash of silver energy that knocked her off the man and sent her skidding along the slick cave floor.

  Michi dropped to her knees, devastated.

  Nariko rolled to her feet and jumped up, crawling along the ceiling like a spider and dropping back down on top of Don Kielter, tearing at his shoes and pants with unrestrained wanton power.

  Again Sakurako intervened, her hands erupting in blue flame as she grabbed Nariko’s shoulder.

  Nariko howled in pain as Sakurako pulled her off her prey, then flipped over and grabbed Sakurako by the neck, the two of them rolling around on the ground in a death grip.

  Taka fluttered in and surveyed the commotion. “Girls! Girls!” she said, “You are both pretty; there is no reason to fight.”

  “Shut up Taka and get the sedatives,” Keiko yelled as she ran by with Sorano, carrying gravity shackles.

  Sorano jumped into the dog pile with a cheer and managed to fit a ring of metal around one of Nariko’s kicking feet. Sorano tapped the rune and the ring tightened then fell heavily to the ground with a metallic thud, locking it in place.

  Keiko managed to get one around Nariko’s wrist and with a thunk it was pinned to the ground as well.

  “Here it is,” Taka announced as she swooped in and landed on top of Nariko. Ami fit a gravity lock around Nariko’s free foot and Keiko finally managed to pry Nariko’s final hand off Sakurako’s neck and fit one on there too.

  Nariko barked and bayed, wrenching and yanking at the restraints that held all her limbs down, cracking the cave floor, but the gravity locks held.

  Michi straddled Nariko and plunged the medical syringe into the side of her neck. Nariko bucked and bowed her body as the powerful drugs ran though her system.

  Nariko’s red eyes shot open and she focused on Michi. “I...I’m sorry,” she said in a fading voice. “I’m so sorry...”

  Finally Nariko’s struggles faded and she lay there, shackled to the floor. Her breaths were quick and shallow, like a dog panting. Her eyes dull. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

  “This is a complete disaster,” Keiko exclaimed, tugging on her hair, now a shimmering red. “The sale occurs in just a few hours and if our mission fails then the entire campaign fails.”

  “It does?” Taka asked, impressed. “How so?”

  “Inami wouldn’t tell me,” Keiko explained. “She said it was vital to the mission that we not know and that we couldn’t know why we aren’t supposed to know, either.”

  “That does sound like her,” Michi sniffed.

  “Why didn’t Nariko tell us that her...um...condition was this far gone?” Don Kielter asked, nursing the wound on his neck.

  Nariko hissed something as she lay there. Everyone moved in closer to hear it clearly.

  “I was trying to save you from Inami, she’s going to get you all killed,” Nariko murmured, half conscious.

  “No, that’s not the reason,” Sakurako said, stepping forward, her silver eyes alight. “She knew that if she told us, we’d have to isolate her. She was just trying to save her own skin at the cost of our safety.”

  “No,” Nariko moaned. “Inami is mad; she’s going to attack...”

  “Tell them how many times you have died!” Sakurako insisted.

  Nariko grew silent and turned her head in shame.

  Sakurako pointed a finger at Michi. “You’ve died twice since Correll.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you only once,” Sakurako said, pointing at Sorano. Sorano nodded grimly.

  “And Ami...” Sakurako said, trailing off. “Okay, I can’t read her, but you get the point.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever d
ied,” Ami said, thinking hard. Keiko frowned to hear it.

  Sakurako pointed at Nariko. “I’ve been in her mind. She’s died twelve times now.”

  Everyone went silent at the revelation.

  “I thought I was high at three,” Taka mentioned.

  “Yesterday was my fourth,” Keiko said quietly, “But I’ve never heard anyone going as high as twelve.”

  “We’ve got to abort the mission,” Sakurako implored. “We’ve lost our point man and the Marshals are going to be everywhere. If we go out there and try to interrupt this sale, we’re all going to be killed, captured, or worse.”

  “But we can’t abort the mission,” Keiko groaned, rubbing her brow. “If we don’t stop the sale then we’ll never get the item back.”

  “What item?” Don Kielter asked as he put on a new jacket.

  “The Eagalo Stone.”

  “WHAT?!” Taka, Sorano, Ami, Michi, and Sakurako screamed, almost in unison.

  “We weren’t supposed to know that either,” Keiko said. “I noticed it over Mai’s shoulder back in the shuttlebay.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Sorano grilled.

  “I didn’t think I’d have to,” Keiko admitted. “The mission looked like it was going fine, and I really didn’t want to think about it.”

  “No one tells us anything,” Ami complained.

  “Wait, this stone thing, is this bad?” Don Kielter asked, putting on new shoes.

  “It’s apocalyptic,” Sakurako stated, stroking her silver hair with both hands. “The Eagalo Stone is incredibly dangerous. What’s more...”

  “Without it we can’t end the curse,” Ami said sadly.

  Everyone stood silently, the occasional drip of water pinging in the darkness.

  There was a small muffled noise. Everyone looked down to see that it was Nariko speaking softly. “Let me help you,” she said. “I can get it back.”

  “You are in no condition to complete this mission,” Keiko appraised.

  “I have to,” Nariko said weakly.

  “Why?”

  “Because if I don’t, what is happening to me will happen to you as well,” Nariko explained. “I don’t wish that on anybody, especially...my...especially my friends.”

  Keiko’s expression softened and her hair changed to indigo. She knelt down and placed a hand on Nariko’s shoulder.

  “Awww, she called us her friends,” Ami squealed in delight.

  “We are your friends, you big monster,” Sorano said, kicking Nariko in the shin. “Just don’t tell anyone about it, okay? We have a reputation to maintain.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Nariko coughed, looking at Michi. “You will be a mother someday, and you will be a great one.”

  “Thanks,” Michi said, her eyes becoming moist.

  “No, we cannot trust her!” Sakurako cautioned.

  Nariko rolled her head over and forced her eyes to focus on Sakurako. Nariko’s expression was full of hurt and pain.

  “How can you say that?” Taka shouted, her wings trembling with anger. “Oppa-mon stood up for you and your witchcraft when no one else would.”

  “I-I’m sorry,” Sakurako admitted, looking at Nariko as she tugged on a strand of her silver hair. “In my heart we will always be friends, but we can’t trust you anymore. You’re not in control of yourself anymore. You are too dangerous.”

  Nariko said nothing, but leaned her head back, a trickle of silent tears running down the side of her face.

  “So, what do we do?” Michi asked Keiko.

  “Why me?”

  “Well, you’re Gocho, with our Gunsho down that puts you in charge.”

  Keiko stood up. Everyone was looking at her, waiting for an answer. Slowly she straightened her clothes and straightened her shoulders. “If we abandon the mission, we abandon any chance of ever being free,” she said solemnly.

  Keiko’s hair changed to an ocean blue and her eyes became focused.

  “We proceed.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The Ebony Spires of Achatberg Palace

  The assassination of Emperor Neîndoios left his political party in disarray. In the attempt to elect a successor, the Dulceaţă party vote split between his son Şters and his nephew Dezmoşteni, leaving the Asociaţie party candidate with the popular vote. The Dulceaţă party sued and the appeals court process would leave the Ashtari without an Emperor for the next seven cycles, during which time the Luminarch’s Revolutionary Army conquered an amazing twenty two star systems.

  -Excerpt from The Fall of the Ashtari, suppressed by the Marshals 22.03.4112rl

  Nariko could not help but be amazed as Brannon led her around the white drawing room of the Achatberg Palace. White chairs meticulously carved from rare animal bones from worlds she had never heard of, rugs of the finest materials stretching from wall to wall, immense crystal chandeliers as big as a house hung from the ceiling, lights positioned to cascade the room with beautiful resplendence, every inch of the walls were carved, embossed, or leafed with precious metals in some way. Decorations enough for a dozen rooms all competed for her attention. It was somewhat overwhelming as Brannon told her the history of each painting, each carving, and each vase.

  All the while he held her hand in his. Nariko could feel the warmth of it and imagined that it was Don Kielter’s hand holding hers. She could feel herself blush at the thought.

  Brannon paused and pulled out his chiming communicator. “Oh, I almost forgot, my father is conducting an important sale and everyone is required to attend.”

  Finally.

  “Well, should I wait for you here?” Nariko asked charmingly, giving his hand a little squeeze.

  “Not a chance,” Brannon insisted. “What better time to introduce my fiancé to him?”

  “Oh, I’d love that!” Nariko exclaimed, wrapping her gloved hands around his arm. “Just so long as I won’t be interrupting anything.”

  “Of course not, Betti.”

  Brannon’s hover-carriage was readied and before she knew it, Nariko was being whisked off luxuriously through the city. While Brannon prattled on about his family’s history, Nariko unconsciously ran a fingernail across her lips savoring the sensation.

  I can still feel his kiss.

  Nariko blushed brightly and thought about being with Don Kielter again. She nuzzled up against Brannon’s chest, pretending it was his instead. She wanted to know everything there was to know about him. Every moment in his life felt fascinating to her and she wanted to be a part of them all. She wanted to know everything that pleased him, everything he enjoyed, and she wanted to do them together. In her giddiness, she imagined that there was a lifetime of memories to make and Nariko couldn’t wait to get started.

  The other me was right, it’s all I can think about now.

  Nariko sat up and looked out the window as they entered the Platin District, where the Faust Family hot-room was located. Not just a room, but rather a pair of buildings, the hot-room was designed to facilitate high-price transactions between hostile parties. Each building featured a high-security garage and screening room that led down a reinforced ferrocrete hallway. The hot-room itself was divided in half by a transparent wall of carbon laminates of the highest possible density. Even tank-grade weapons would do little more than stain the surface. In the center of the partition was a simple transparent rotating column with a receptacle on each side. The column would rotate only when both sides had sealed their item or items into the column and together pushed the acceptance rune.

  The point of a hot-room was to make trust a non-issue. If Inami’s plan was to be understood, it would become an inescapable trap for whoever was coming to purchase the Eagalo Stone.

  Brannon became serious. “Look, I-ah, I’m sure you know at least a little about my family, but I want you to know everything.”

  Brannon took her by the hands and looked into her eyes. Nariko gave him a look of complete devotion as she had practiced.

  “A lot of my family’s sales
involve dangerous goods and dangerous people and as my wife you will be called on occasionally to be placed in harm’s way because of that, but I want you to know that I will make your safety my highest priority, higher even than that of my own life.”

  Nariko ran her finger over the engagement necklace around her neck. “I knew what I was getting into when I accepted your gift,” she said steadily, adding a slight tremble to her voice for effect.

  Nariko looked up and made her eyes dewy like Keiko had taught her. “You’re worth it.”

  Brannon smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Nariko smiled back.

  “Oh, I never noticed how pointy your teeth are,” Brannon mentioned adoringly. “Is that common on your world?”

  “What?”

  Nariko opened up her purse and pulled out her compact mirror. Checking herself out without letting the panic show on her face, she examined her teeth. Each of them now came to a small point.

  Oh no! My body is changing on its own. Before it only changed when I died.

  “It’s...considered to be quite a lovely trait among my people,” Nariko lied, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

  “Well, I think it’s adorable,” Brannon said, snuggling her in close.

  Adorable? I look horrid.

  The hover-carriage began to slow and Nariko could see the walls of the hot-room building as they approached the garage. Carbon scoring from plasma burns dotted its surface and fumes smoldered from fresh wounds dug into the ferrocrete.

  There has been a fire-fight here within the last few minutes.

  The mission called for Nariko to maintain strict radio silence until her side of the hot-room had been subdued, but something had obviously already gone wrong.

  What happened?

  The hover-carriage pulled into the garage and the heavy blast doors began to close behind it. Nariko reached up and tugged on her earring to activate the transmitter, but got nothing but static.

  The line is being jammed.

  The blast doors closed and sealed themselves into place.