The Journey (Sanshlian Series Book 2)

by Dani Hoots

  Three to go.

  There was more loud shooting, as if they thought they could shoot through sold metal. It was just a waste of ammo. I was always taught to save the ammo, only shoot when I knew I had a kill shot, unless I just wanted to wound the person. That was pretty rare.

  I shot two more times around the corner and two more men went down. All that was left was one.

  “I—I surrender!” The last man yelled out. I let out a brief laugh.

  “Not falling for that one!” I called out.

  “I’m being serious, look.” I heard him drop his gun. “I’m not armed, now please! I have a family that needs me.”

  I never understood that logic, for a criminal to get me to feel sorry for them because they had a family to feed. Did they not realize the people they were about to attack also had a family?. They were showing no compassion to them so why would I ever feel bad for their situation? “Should have thought about that before you attacked this train. The Empire doesn’t allow criminals!”

  He was silent for a moment. “The Empire?”

  I forgot that the Empire didn’t have control yet. It was just something that I was used to saying before I sent a bullet into my enemy. I guess it didn’t matter now. I stepped out from behind the wall. He was indeed unarmed. “Yes. Now.” I raised my gun. “Goodbye.”

  The sound of a gun resonated through the car, the only problem was that it wasn’t mine. Felt like my heart skilled a beat. I gulped as I turned around to find a man collapse behind me. Dan stood there, gun raised, smiling.

  “Watching your back.”

  I nodded, looking at the man he just killed. “The insider?”

  “Yup.” He shot the gun again, at the man I was just about to kill. He hit the ground as well. “All done. Shall we wait for the authorities?”

  He killed with such ease. It was creepy actually, as it must have been what I looked like when I killed a person. No remorse, just as if he was picking a weed in a garden. After he had told me there was another way to win a situation without violence, I found it quite strange he was so quick to kill.

  I nodded. “Yeah, probably a good idea. It will help the Representative see that we will keep his people safe. Gonna delay us from leaving by a few hours though.”

  “Yeah, I was afraid of that,” he rubbed the red scruff that was appearing on his face. It had been a while since he had a chance to shave.

  I looked down at the bandits. They were all pretty young, for bandits I mean. None could be older than twenty-five. “Probably should have left one alive, so he could tell the tale of us killing his friends. Let fear spread across the criminal community.”

  Dan shrugged. “I think they will still get the message. Not like any others have been slaughtered like this. The Representative will let the planet know the Empire is now protecting them. It will go just as we want it to. Shall we alert the cars that all is safe now.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, that would be a good idea.”

  ***

  As I figured, it took a good few hours before we were able to leave the planet. The authorities wanted to talk to us, then they wanted to check with everyone on board, and then some paperwork. Stupid paperwork, it always got confusing since I didn’t actually exist.

  There was actually a video camera on the train so what we said was verified. I think the Representative got word of what we had done and got everything to move by faster as well. I was thankful for that, as normally when the Empire ruled all the planets, I could just slip in and out of a situation a lot quicker, not having to worry about all the paperwork. I left that for someone else to deal with. Like Tom or the others. They always loved that.

  It would be a good couple of days before we got to Anosira, so Dan and I got the chance to train in combat once again. On the nice hard metal floor.

  Yay.

  I was hoping that he would give me a break, but no. I was wrong. We trained the moment we stepped on the ship and probably would until we got off. And then more training when we got back, but at least that would be for my powers. Then I could feel even more powerful. I wouldn’t feel as weak as Dan made me feel.

  Then I could defeat Nygard.

  At least I felt I could release my frustrations while fighting. I could let out the anger I had for not knowing how to use my powers yet, some stupid guy almost shooting me on the train, the fact I had to lie to Jack again and again. I couldn’t wait until this was all over, I couldn’t wait until I could tell Joss to screw himself, that I was bringing forth peace in the galaxy and he could do nothing about it. Though, then again I would have to say that I finished the task of destroying Nygard once and for all. I couldn’t say it prematurely or I would be the one that was screwed.

  When I got on the ship, I quickly hid the gem in my quarters, in a pair of one of my extra boots I brought. I figured it would be the best place to put it, not that Dan would really go searching for it since he didn’t know anything about it. He knew I had disappeared but he never knew it was to retrieve something. If it came up with Joss, I could easily put in my mind that I was there, that I hadn’t run off. At least I did learn that from my mother.

  After a couple of hours of training, I retired to my quarters and pulled out the gem. It didn’t seem like anything special and I had no idea how it was going to help me find Sanshli again.

  “So you did find it?” My mother appeared in the mirror across from my bed.

  I nodded. “That I did. Now what I do?”

  “You have to wait until the time is right, when the light of darkness shines once again. Then you will be able to find Sanshli.”

  I let out a moan and collapsed on my bed. “Another freaking riddle? You have got to be kidding me? Why can’t this ever be easy, why can’t it be just, here’s Sanshli, good luck in destroying Nygard.”

  “Because you need to make sure all of the people from the future are on Sanshli to reverse this.”

  I jumped up. “What? You never said that! How am I supposed to even accomplish that?”

  “You will find a way. The clue will help you understand.”

  “I’m sick of this! Why can’t you tell me?

  “Because there is more to all of this than you understand.”

  I rubbed my face. “Then tell me! How am I going to defeat him? I thought you were supposed to help me, but you won’t even train me besides shielding my mind. Why can’t you just give me all the information?”

  “That’s just the way it is. You have to learn to live with it.”

  I thought about saying something back but there was no use. She doesn’t like my snarky attitude. I wanted to say that I had lived through such horrible things growing up, that she just dumped me on a backwater planet to be eventually captured and forced to take medication that would make me into a fighter that I had to spit out every day. Then there was the incredibly painful trauma of being forced to fight and kill children the same age as me that I trained with and formed friendships with. Then, after that I was taken out by the Emperor to become his servant, a killer, an assassin. I had gone through enough hardships that I just wanted it all to be over.

  Was it too much to ask to live a normal life? Not be made to kill others, to have to fulfill a prophecy, to not be tortured like this?

  But that wouldn’t happen. That would never happen, I was destined for hardship, never being able to enjoy the things that I wanted to. I didn’t even know what I enjoyed, to be honest, everything I have done has been part of a mission. Life was just one mission after another.

  “Okay,” I sighed. “I will figure it out, I always do.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  I grumbled under my breath. “I got to get some rest. Dan has been over working me lately, training me to become a better fighter.”

  I thought she was going to fade away, but instead she looked at me quizzically. “Dan? Who’s Dan?”

  “He’s just one of the Emperor’s lackeys. Nice guy I guess, but one scary fighter. I can’t even beat him in hand-to-han
d combat.”

  Violent was silent for a moment. “Just promise me you will be careful. And don’t forget to shield your mind. You never know who can read your mind at any given moment.”

  “I know, I know.”

  “Listen to me, Myra. Promise me you won’t let your thoughts slip, that you will keep your mind protected.”

  “I will,” I whispered. “I promise.”

  “Then sweet dreams, my love.” And with that she disappeared.

  It was odd, she never had such a reaction like this before. Dan was a nice guy, I wondered why she was so suspicious about him. Though, then again, she was suspicious about Lance as well, until I explained to her that he was just obsessed with me. I guess after everything that has happened, she has trust issues. Although, so do I, yet something about Dan felt familiar, felt like I could believe in all that he says. It could just be curiosity, as I wanted to be strong like him. Whatever it was, I would figure it out. I always did.

  I pulled the covers over myself and listened to the ticking pocket watch until I fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 14

  We arrived at Anosira just as planned. No space pirates stopping us or Republic criminals, thank goodness. I didn’t want to have to deal with that kind of paperwork again. It was a hassle.

  I was kind of surprised that nothing happened, because let’s be honest, I was having a stroke of bad luck. It felt too easy, just traveling back and forth between two planets. I felt like something was missing, that there really should be an attack or something going horribly wrong.

  Dan didn’t manage to break my bones this time either. I was also thankful for that. It was a pretty routine travel with him, sleep, eat, check systems on the ship, then train, eat, train, and sleep again. We switched off sleeping times, so someone was always awake of course. He slept right after I did, as I ate and checked systems. We got into the groove of things just as we arrived to Anosira, which meant I would have to shift my schedule once again. That was one problem with traveling, having to change one’s routine, especially food and sleep. After a while, though, I got the hang of it. I never liked sticking to one routine too long anyways. Made life seem boring.

  We reported straight to Joss, as he wanted to know how everything went. We, of course, reported from the planet when the Representative agreed to siding with the Empire, it was on the news and everything. He had already told the senators to go back to Valle and tell Wes that his loyalty and the planet’s loyalty were to the Empire. He also thanked us for saving a train full of his people, though he made it sound more like there were quite a few Imperial troops on the train when it had just been the two of us. That was probably a good thing, though, as Dan and I weren’t your typical Imperial soldiers.

  I had a feeling that the Republic would attack soon, and that the senate was freaking out. Wes would finally have his wish in attacking Ttkas, though he wasn’t going to have the element of surprise on his side this time, not to mention all the Imperial forces that were now heading that way. Whatever, that was someone else’s job, not mine.

  No, mine was much more complicated.

  Anyhow, Joss wanted to know the details of what happened on Ttkas. He wanted to hear an account of how I did from Dan, if I was any trouble. I wasn’t I swore, but I wondered if Dan would mention that I had disappeared for a brief amount of time. Even if he didn’t, Neil may read his mind and see that had happened. Hopefully he trusted Dan enough to not resort to such measures, but I highly doubted it.

  The gem I had already taken to my room on Anosira and hid in another pair of boots. I honestly had no idea where to put it otherwise. Joss would look everywhere if he found out about its existence, and search me. So maybe he wouldn’t think I would be stupid enough to put it in my spare boots.

  Dan and I met up again and arrived to Joss’ office in the palace. Joss clapped as we walked in. I looked at him, confused. Clapping at us was not something I would have expected. He even looked happy, which was something I hadn’t seen in a very long time. As for why, I had no idea.

  “Very, very good defeating those bandits. It forced the Representative to side with us, knowing we will keep his people safe. Nice work,” Joss said.

  “Oh, yeah, that,” I mumbled. So it wasn’t the mission, it was about the train. I should have figured. “That was not planned.”

  “It wasn’t?” Joss smiled as he stood up. I glared at him. He had sent those men to our train so that we would deal with them personally, and show the Representative what we were capable of. It was a set up, I had been used yet again.

  Joss went on. “Anyway, I have sent him the codes to land on Anosira, he should be sending men soon. Imperial officers have already been sent in his direction to take over all the armed forces and weapon manufacturers. Wesley isn't going to know what hit him.”

  “Which means the Republic is going to retaliate soon. We will need to prepare for that,” Dan said. I agreed, but I wasn’t one to get ready for a war like this. I was the one behind the scenes usually, assassinating those who came in the way of the Empire. I wondered if that would be my next task, after learning my powers of course.

  “Yes, I am working on that,” Joss explained. I was definitely glad I wasn’t in his shoes at this moment. I would have to have to deal with all the stuff that he had to plan in order to keep his power over other planets. Though, I guess by now he was used to it. “Some of the other generals will be stationed at the planet, ones that aren’t from the future, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. As for you two, I want you to train Myra in using her powers. She will be vital to us once that is done. So in the meantime, you two are stuck on the planet.”

  “If you wanted me to train, then why did you send us to Ttkas?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to just send someone else?”

  “You know as well as I that we wouldn’t have been able to deal with the planned attack by the Republic if you didn’t persuade the Representative to join us. Besides.” His glance shifted to Dan. “I wanted Dan to tell me how you behaved, if you seemed at all out of the ordinary.”

  Dan was quick to answer. “She didn’t do anything, Emperor. She simply did as she was told. She is quite good at her job, actually. I was surprised.”

  I was amazed that Dan didn’t tell him about my disappearance, but I hid those thoughts from my mind. I had no idea if Joss was reading my mind or not. Or if he was reading Dan’s and if so, whether or not he would say anything.

  I smiled. “See, nothing to worry about.”

  Joss didn’t seem too persuaded by what I said. “Fine, but if I catch you doing anything out of the ordinary, Myra, I swear I will make you wish you were never born.”

  “Oh, believe me, I know.” Not to mention I already wished I was never born. I didn’t know what Joss could do that would be any worse than the things I had been through, though I didn’t doubt he could be creative.

  Joss sighed. “Very well, you are dismissed Myra. Dan, I still need to talk to you.”

  Dan nodded and I turned and walked out of the office. I didn’t want to have to deal with Joss more than I needed and was glad I could leave. I could feel my anger climbing every time I saw him and it was getting harder to hide.

  Speaking of hiding, as I stepped out of the office, I spotted Tim in the distance.

  “Shit,” I whispered. I had nowhere to go without passing him, and I didn’t want him to try and talk to me. I didn’t want to have to lie to him again. It was too hard.

  Then all of a sudden, General Logan appeared before me. I didn’t want to do it, I knew I would never hear the end of it, but I knew it was the only way to get Tim to stop pursuing me.

  So I quickly grabbed Logan and shoved him against the wall.

  His green eyes widened. “What the f—“

  Before he could finish that thought, I pressed my lips against his. I couldn’t tell by his body if he was resistant or persuaded by the fact I was kissing him. He kind of just stood there, taking it and not caring, that or secretly plotting
his revenge against me. Most likely the latter if I knew Logan like I did. I turned a bit to see if Tim saw us. He did, his face appearing heartbroken. He turned around and started for the opposite direction in order to get away from both of us.

  I stopped kissing Logan and let him go. He simply frowned as he looked at me. I didn’t know what to say so I just stood there, silent, waiting for him to speak.

  He finally sighed. “Was that necessary?”

  I wiped my lips with the back of my glove. “What?”

  He looked like he was about to punch me, but took a deep breath, letting it all go. “Is that what you do every time you are trying to avoid someone? If I recall, you did kiss Thomas on Ttkas after you betrayed the Empire.”

  I shrugged, wanting to forget about kissing Thomas. It was probably one of my lowest points in my life. “Depends. It worked, didn’t it?”

  Rolling his eyes. “Just don’t do it again. You are lucky I didn’t kill you.”

  “Would like to see you try, Pete. Or it’s Logan now isn’t it?”

  “That it is. Now leave me be. Unlike some people, I have work to be done.”

  “I have work to do too!” I called after him as he walked off. I let out a brief sigh as I headed towards the training room, a little excited. It was my first day learning to use my powers after all.

  Also, I didn’t realize before now that Logan was a good kisser, even if he wasn’t trying. He tasted like citrus.

  ***

  Dan didn’t take too long speaking with Joss in private and met me in the training center. There were a few other people there and I simply started practicing on the bags before Dan came. It was always my “go to” item for training, as I did a lot of hand-to-hand combat. It was definitely worth my time to build on my strengths.

  When Dan did come in, he motioned me to leave the training room. “Come, we are going outside to train.”

  “Really?” I asked as I hurried after him. “I haven’t done that before. I usually train inside actually. Never occurred to me until now that I really never went outside much. Except to run, of course. I guess it had to do with me wanting to stay close to the Emperor in case he needed me for something. That, and I usually scared people that I wasn’t supposed to out in the open.”