She forced a nod to break her frozen stillness.
His words were familiar. Amalthea had talked about this very thing during their trip to see the creatures that were made when the Rishis messed with the lives of humans. The point of seeing had been obvious then. Now, she wasn’t sure what to make of Zibanitu’s words.
“I’m glad you agree. It is because of this point that I must ask this of you.”
She frowned, already losing the path of the conversation. “What are you asking?”
“I think it will be good for all of us if the rest can see you. Meet you. We can stop the rumor mill in its track, then get on with figuring out what to do with you.”
It was answers she wanted. She didn’t care about their curiosity. She wasn’t interested in a meet-and-greet. She had no wish to interact with any more of them. They only managed to muddle her life with ever-increasing sludge.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times but there was nothing to say except what might get her into trouble. But his blank expression that didn’t give her an inch towards knowing what he thought, shook loose her tongue. “What do you mean meet them? What’s the plan?”
His smile lit his face. “Very good. I’m glad you understand.”
She opened her mouth to say that’s not what I said, but he’d already turned.
“DREW, please open communications.”
A male voice answered, elegant accent hinting at Olde English. “Of course, Sir. Stand by.”
After a blink, the voice resumed. “Rishi, communication channels are opened. The Council is standing by.”
“Very good. Please connect us.”
30
Zibanitu moved back through the door and Dee didn't know if she'd been dismissed or should follow. A Soldier stepped up behind her, his looming presence and stern expression enough indication that she go.
The room on the other side was large, devoid of furniture. This absence of accessories was made up for in technical gadgetry. On every inch of wall space hung cameras and monitors of all sizes. The sterile floor was lit from beneath in glaring white, its smooth surface marred with thinly scripted numbers the size of her hand, circled in various colors.
Soldiers followed from the conference room to push Dee farther inside.
The room filled fast. Soldiers already stationed around the perimeter now fortified with Dee's personal security. Others stood at a raised control center that reminded Dee of what she'd expect to see on some movie-made starship.
Eyes forward, she strode towards the number she was directed. Zibanitu placed himself over another in the center of the room. When holographic images flickered to life around her, Dee started. After hearing communication channels are opened, this was not what she'd expected.
Two figures came into focus, their transition from panes of light to forms of varying blues brought Dee's chin to her knees. Here was technology she'd only ever seen in movies mastered years beyond its commercial availability.
Her heart skipped a beat before tripping over the next. The technology the Rishis held would make it impossible for her to escape.
Before a sob of defeat could manifest, Dee stepped away from her number, not wanting whoever her image was beamed to seeing her break. Eyes clenched, she caught her thoughts at the edge of self-pity, turning them to fuel the rage tamed under the promise of new information.
This rage was easily stoked, allowed to come to a boil by her acceptance that these Rishis were never going to relinquish control. They were never going to let her go back to her life. Her hopes were for nothing. Her trust in their care ignorant naivety.
Whether or not Zibanitu noticed Dee's violent attention turn to him, his Soldiers did. Four pairs of boots stepped towards her, demanding her attention. She could take four, but there were too many others to fight to get to the source of her problem. At least not without a weapon that would kill them. Table legs and fists wouldn't get the job done.
Still, she scanned the room, calculating odds, devising plans. Her confidence, fueled by the violent nature of her inner-voice whose itch to fight had never cooled, built in direct line with her rage.
She let out a breath, accepting this ws not the time for a fight. She forced the tension from her posture, and the Soldiers backed off.
Stepping back to her place, she waited to see what scheme Zibanitu activated. It was obvious he'd had this meeting set up long before she'd agreed to join him. She wondered what his plan B was to force her here if she'd decided not to come.
She blew out another breath, and with it, her rising temper.
Zibanitu introduced her to the holograms. Simply to distract from her frustration, Dee squared herself to those who'd come to gawk.
The Rishi who spoke first had long hair that spilled around sculpted cheekbones. Tight pants and cropped halter top only expounded her pure sexuality.
"Well, she's not much to look at, is she?" The Rishi's words exemplified her scowling expression.
Dee glowered back, noting her tapping didn't work on the electronic constructs.
"Very nice, LeSath. Can't even wait to be introduced to the girl before you start?" Another new face spoke, his words undercut with a hint of laughter. The long, thin lines of his body were graceful, even as the motions of his hands coinciding with his words were quick and precise. Shaggy hair bounced across his eyes from the animation. He was as tall as the woman who'd spoken, but Dee thought dancer rather than basketball player.
A third figure materialized, and Dee grinned at the friendly face.
"Amalthea, it is really good to see you."
It was true, and that truth shocked Dee.
The matriarch smiled a warm greeting, but LeSath's voice cut off the opportunity for words. "That's great. She already rammed her way into the story and had her turn. It's time for the rest of us. She doesn't even need to be here."
"A little early in the conversation for you to have your panties in a twist, isn't it, LeSath?" The tall male winked in Dee's direction, and Dee fought back a grin, failing in covering a full smile when LeSath lunged for him. She disappeared from sight, her pounce taking her out of line of the technology that allowed them to meet this way.
The instigator chuckled, looking at his fingers while LeSath repositioned herself, her eyes daring anyone to say something.
Zibanitu held up his hands for order, exasperation dancing in the lines of his eyes.
Dee hadn't anticipated the group would obey. That he had actual control over the group, shocked her.
A female voice broke through the room, devoid of holographic imagery. It took Dee a moment of searching to realize another Rishi had joined the assembly, voice only. "Shouldn't we find out what she is before we start passing her around like some cheap toy?"
"Phecda. Nice of you to join us." Zibanitu's voice betrayed no connection to the newcomer.
"Don't forget about us." Pollux's hologram stepped into the room. If Castor was with him, the Twin stayed out of sight.
Dee froze as a seizure of guilt pressed over her.
"Desiree." The Twin bowed from the waist. "I hope these stiffs haven't been keeping you from your training.”
She smiled, relieved he wasn’t mad that she'd decided to leave his protection. It seemed like months since their last training session that had been less than two weeks ago.
LeSath's words cut through the air. "Right, right. Let's rub it in, all you who've had your time."
Dee turned a loathing gaze to the Rishi who met it with her own sizzling glance.
"Well, well. Hasn't learned her place yet, has she? Don't worry, boys. I'm sure I'll be able to do what you've all failed."
"Boys?" Amalthea wasn't impressed with LeSath’s attitude either.
LeSath rolled her eyes. Dee might have laughed at such a human expression if she hadn't been contemplating all the ways she wanted to kill her. "Right, and you, Amalthea. Not that you'd know what to do—"
"Thank you, LeSath." Zibanitu's voice brought the bickering to a ha
lt. Dee wondered how long the reprieve would last. Of all she'd wondered about these ancient Beings, none of this was quite how she imagined.
Zibanitu used the moment of quiet to introduce Dee to those who hadn't yet had the pleasure. The male she didn't know was introduced as Nash, and the bodiless voice belonged to Phecda. LeSath was the sexual predator who no longer needed an introduction.
Dee ticked off the Rishis she'd met in her head. Of the Twelve Houses, she'd met Amalthea, Castor and Pollux, Asellus, Sabik Han, Zosma, Porrima, and Zibanitu. Adding LeSath, Nash, and Phecda, left two unaccounted for.
"If the focus of this conversation is fairness, we'd just like to point out that she was with us for less than six hours."
"Oh? I suppose you dropped her off with Asellus and came right home?"
Pollux opened his mouth to respond to LeSath's flippant comment, but Zibanitu was there to diffuse the conversation once again. "I'm sure everyone can have more time once we've all been able to assess our guest. For now, those who haven't been able to judge the situation for themselves will get the opportunity."
Dee knew she didn't like any of Zibanitu's implications. Assess? Judge? What right did they have to either?
"I'm not sure I'm on board with the idea of being passed around." She hadn't decided to speak. The words were out of her mouth before she could reconsider them.
Silence settled as all attention was pulled to her. She set her chin against their weighted stares, even as she felt her face flush red.
Quiet stretched. Of all possible reactions to her interjection, silence wasn’t on the list.
Flustered by the hush, Dee rushed to speak. "I'd decided to stay with Zosma, accepting his claim—"
The room exploded in speech. All but Zibanitu, who stared at her with an unreadable expression, had an opinion that couldn’t wait to be heard.
Dee met his gaze, detachment cloaking her in self-assuredness that allowed her to match the Rishi leader’s studious appraisal. She looked at him as Hamal's Master. As the one who'd sent his human pet to look after her. The one who'd meddled without meddling. The one who oversaw and protected despite the risk to his own.
She reconsidered his robotic expression and cold demeanor, wondered at his motives that sought to preserve his people in a world that continued to move and change around them.
But did it matter if he worked under altruistic guidelines? It didn't mean his desires, their desires were more important than her own. Whatever was necessary for the Rishis to maintain themselves should not supersede Dee’s right to her own life.
Zibanitu's words filtered through a fog of thought. "Zosma's place in all this will be assayed. Until then, all we can offer is an apology that your wishes cannot be honored at this time."
She wasn't sure if she should laugh, scream, or cry. Maybe all of the above. Knowing none of these would do her any good was the only thing that kept her rage from exploding to violence even as her eyes scanned the room, continuing to judge her chances for taking them all.
Conversation about where she would go and the conditions surrounding the visits went on around her, but she didn't pay attention. They'd decide on their own without her opinion anyway.
"I'll forego my visit for a vial of her blood." Phecda's voice brought silence to the conversation.
The words echoed in Dee's head. She knew she didn't like the sound of that.
They all considered the request. Dee pressed her shoulders back while they examined her under new light. His gaze moved first to Amalthea, then Pollux, silently imploring them to help her.
But there was no need.
The lights flickered.
The images of the Rishis strobed.
A surge faded everything brighter just before it all blinked out.
The sound of Soldiers pulling weapons, repositioning themselves filled the dark room.
"Rishi, it appears we are being hacked."
"Appears so, DREW, or is it that we are being hacked?"
A second electronic voice cut off any answer Zi's AI might have given. "Please stand by."
Dee laughed, recognizing DOT's voice.
Zosma's image snapped into the room, his blue-white hologram the only light. "Zibanitu, interpret this as my formal protest."
A vacuum of sound settled.
Dee held her breath, held her laughter from breaking the tenuous pause, afraid the shatter of quiet would erupt in a chaos that would redefine the word.
Zibanitu's conversational tone broke the suspension. "I should have expected you wouldn't read the papers I sent."
"As if we're mere humans forced to abide by some trickery of law? That's what those papers were, yes? Lawyer piffle elucidating how I'm not entitled to what is mine?"
"Asellus and the Twins lodged a formal grievance against your attack on Asellus' lands."
Zosma clamped his teeth together so hard Dee watched the muscles in his jaw beat a pulsing rhythm.
Zibanitu tilted his head, looking Zosma over with an expression that had him irate. The clenching of his hands at his side and a subtle growl just audible enough for Dee to hear how quickly the conversation would escalate from mere words.
Dee wondered if Zosma had Soldiers close at hand to storm Zibanitu's estate if he didn't get what he wanted.
Excitement pulsed through her at the thought of a rescue.
"The girl is here under my protection. Until her safety is assured, I think it's in the best interest of all that she remain so."
"With The Ophiuchus after her, I don't see how you can possibly guarantee her safety if you allow her into weaker territories."
Zibanitu's shoulder twitched in a gesture that might have been a shrug. Dee's eyebrows rose at the dismissal of this genuine threat. Sabik had found her, twice. If he'd had a mind, he could have taken her from Asellus'. She didn't believe Zibanitu thought The Ophiuchus would stop coming after her. So, what was his game?
"Maybe it's time for me to join my forces with The Ophiuchus. I'm sure I can work something out with him to ensure Desiree returns to my House."
Zibanitu sighed dramatically at Zosma's threat. "There is this assumption that the girl's worth is something worthwhile. We should remember there is another way this can go."
The click of gun safeties releasing filled the rooms as Zibanitu’s Soldiers trained their weapons on her.
Euphoric stillness settled in her limbs, even as her heart-rate rose. Her eyes took in those Soldiers she could see, knowing there were many more behind her. Too many. But the odds did not matter. She felt in her bones, in her very being, that here was a fight worthy of her.
Hate filled Zosma's eyes, his expression covered with warning for what might happen if Zibanitu made good on this threat.
Zibanitu was unphased. "I see you don't think I'm bluffing. I'm glad. We've already had to shoot your alleged creation to save her from herself. My people are willing to do that again, and more, should the need arise."
Dee took a shuddered breath, unwilling to start the fight but unsure she would survive if she didn’t. So many bullets might not be survivable.
"You shot her?" Zosma's eyes flickered to her face.
She dipped her head in assent of the claim.
Porrima's voice came from behind her, and Dee shook with the effort not to turn. "You all need to see how serious we are. How serious we take our security."
The lights came on. Amalthea, Nash, and LeSath flickered to life.
Dee blinked against the sudden brightness.
A shot rang out.
Blackness took her.
31
She wished she were dead.
Dead would set her free from this life that hadn’t been hers to control in a very long time.
-Get your ass up. Get your ass—-
She clicked it off. The voice in her head could keep its advice. She didn’t care. She was done. She was over it. She would just lay here in this bed until someone came to force her out, then she’d make them kill her.
There
was nothing worth getting up for.
Someone poked her.
The sensation brought her from the bliss of mindlessness.
She grunted annoyance but didn’t move.
“Her wounds are healed. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
She recognized Doctor Blackwell’s voice, wondered at her presence.
Then it came to her: They’d shot her. Again.
First from the back, then the front. Then, too many times to count.
She must have fallen. Must have passed out.
Why wasn’t she dead? Hadn’t she asked to be dead?
Like it were a dream, there was no coherent thread of time.
A dream.
She was home! She was in the king-sized bed in her father’s house. This had all been nothing more than some wacky dream.
Relief engulfed her.
She jolted forward, a move to push her towards getting out of bed.
Her motion scrambled those in the room. When her eyes opened, she found herself looking down the barrel of a rifle.
She froze.
Gaze trailing up the stock of the weapon pointed down at her, she met the unwavering stare of Kanchi.
Brain not grasping the reality that faced her, she tilted her head in question.
“How do you feel?” The doctor’s voice was strained.
Dee panned her head towards the voice. Her senses had an easier time monitoring the Soldiers movements than they did focusing on the human behind her.
There were others in the room. Two near the door, another in the corner behind her. Nathan and Seth and a female she hadn’t met. And Kanchi, who continued to hold his rifle with a steady arm.
The doctor asked another question, but Dee couldn’t focus.
Her mind came awake, but her lids were too weighted for them to open.
Drowning in self-pity, she let the arms of depression hold her.
Kanchi, ever vigilant that he might be needed to subdue her, remained. Him and four others. Soldiers sent to guard her, but not those three who’d been there last time she’d woken.
We Are Forever (Rishi's Wish Book 2) Page 20