by Roxie Ray
But it wasn't. Not all of it, anyhow.
I still didn't fully understand the energy that allowed the ship to break the speed of light, but I did have some understanding of how that energy was channeled, and the controls used to pilot the shuttle. Manually, of course – the star charts programmed into the ship for navigation were utterly beyond me, since I was totally unfamiliar with this part of the galaxy.
Could I make the thing take off, if I put my mind to it? Probably. Could I figure out how to operate the basic programs, like life support and artificial gravity? I was reasonably certain that I could, yes.
Could I bring the weapons online, aim them, and fire them, if it came to that?
Yeah. I thought so.
And the hell of it was, during the time I spent with Lun, I hadn't seen any guards patrolling the perimeter of the tarmac. It was within the palace walls, after all, so Akzun's security staff probably thought no one would be able to get close enough to it to warrant posting guards around it.
The more I thought about it, the less escape seemed like an abstract concept instead of a real possibility. I wouldn't have to make my way to the exterior of the castle – just from the tower to the docking pad.
Carly, this is the most harebrained scheme ever conceived outside of an “I Love Lucy” episode, and you damn well know it, my brain lectured me sternly. Let's say you can somehow evade an entire palace full of guards and get down to the docking pad. Okay. Let's say your confidence in your ability to fly a fucking alien spaceship is based on reality instead of idiotic delusions of grandeur. Fine. You honestly think no one would come after you? This whole planet's at war with those fish people… you think there aren't any planetary defense networks that would swat you out of the sky immediately? Hell, for all you know, they can remote-control the ship and shut it down. Or blow it up. Oh, and assuming you manage to get past all that through sheer dumb luck, what then? You said it yourself: You have no idea where you are in relation to Earth, and the star charts are useless gibberish. What are you going to do? Just pick a direction to fly in, and hope you get it right? Odds are, you'll run into some other hostile species. One that wants to dissect you and probe your insides. Or lay eggs in your chest, or something equally horrible.
I shivered. I knew my chances of escape were slim to none. But more than that: Despite Akzun's behavior, there was some part of me that didn't want to leave him. The sex we'd had – the way our minds and hearts were connected, the way his body felt against mine, his passion for me – it was like nothing I'd ever experienced on Earth.
I wanted more of it.
God help me, I wanted him to stop yelling at me and start kissing me again.
Yeah, that's real romantic stuff. But what if he's done smooching and caressing me? What if he really does decide to toss me down in the basement, for the other people in the castle to suck my blood whenever they get peckish? What then, huh?
I didn't know. I felt like I didn't know anything anymore.
I curled up on the blanket, letting the tears come. I felt like I was losing my mind, like my heart was being torn in half.
I couldn't take much more of this.
12
Akzun
I paced around my chamber like a Krowbian Flame-Tiger, raging inwardly at Carly, at Lun, at Torqa and M'ruvev – but most of all, at myself.
“Having some trouble keeping the human woman in line?”
I turned and found Zark sitting on the sill of the open window, a smile on his face.
“That's not terribly surprising,” Zark continued, hopping down from the window. “I know you haven't spent a tremendous amount of time around human females – you've only had brief encounters with them during your diplomatic visits to Earth, to consult with their rulers. But they're far more temperamental and mercurial than Valkredian women. Carly will simply need time to adjust. The only question is: Will your temper allow you to grant her that time? Or would you rather assign her a cell in the lower levels and be done with it? If so, please let me know so I can be first in line to have a drink.”
The jealousy flared within me again, but one look in Zark's eyes told me that he wasn't being serious – he was just teasing me, trying to get a rise out of me.
Brothers. They always know just which buttons to push, don't they?
“I can't do that,” I replied tightly.
“Then you should probably stop threatening her with it, don't you think?” Zark turned a chair backward and straddled it, resting his arms on its back. It was an affectation that had always bothered me, and he knew it – he was still trying to provoke me. “After all, empty threats are not the tools of a wise or effective ruler.”
“So you've come to tell me what it means to be a good ruler, as well,” I snapped. “Wonderful. You're the third one today. Perhaps I should call in the cook or one of the cleaning staff, and get their opinions about the best way to lead an empire.”
“Now you're just being silly, brother. Have you told her that you want her to be your mate?”
“She knows. She found out while we were telepathically linked.”
He winced, drawing air in through his teeth in a pained hiss. “That is so much worse. Her species doesn't have psychic abilities… well, most of them don't, anyway. She doesn't understand that even if what we communicate nonverbally is what we might truly mean, our feelings must be ratified to each other out loud, to cement it. Otherwise, how is she supposed to know what's real and what's just a fleeting desire or fantasy? Especially when you don't even seem sure of which it is yourself.”
“It's this thrice-damned bloodlust!” I said, exasperated. “Even now that I've consumed blood from one of the slaves in the dungeons, I still can't shake its effects! I still can't tell the difference between my cravings and what I truly want! It's ripping me apart! How am I supposed to end this war – and make things right with Carly – if I can't even make sense of my own actions?”
Zark shrugged, not unkindly. “When it comes to what you should do about Carly, or how to separate your bloodlust from your real feelings, I'm afraid I have no idea what to tell you. Except that if you give her a chance, she might be the one who's able to save you from yourself. Which you would dismiss as nothing more than nonsensical romantic idealism, no doubt.”
“I would.”
“I suspected as much. But,” Zark went on cheerfully, “when it comes to leading your people and ending the war, well, that's something I might be in a better position to help you with.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “How so?”
“Torqa found a match for the DNA M'ruvev sent us in our military index. A warrior in the Fifth Fleet named Gruk.”
“So this… Gruk was the one who helped steal our ships and used them to attack the Aquavor?”
Zark shook his head. “Not quite. The DNA matched partially, but not exactly. Gruk only has one living relative: a cousin named Marug. One who's spoken out publicly against the treaty with the Mana. We tracked him down and got a precise match from the organic matter on the debris. His alibi didn't hold up. He was the one piloting the Valkred ship that got damaged during the assault.”
“If he wasn't a real warrior, no wonder the Mana managed to tag him with their blasters a couple of times,” I mused. “But who were the other pilots in the attack? For that matter, how did he gain access to our military craft for unauthorized use? All of the vessels in our fleet are heavily guarded.”
“I don't know about you,” Zark said, “but I'm inclined to believe that he had help from someone on the inside, and Torqa agrees with me. Marug is being subjected to her tender mercies at the Detention Facility even as we speak.”
“Then we'd better join her at once,” I replied.
“I knew you'd think so. After all, we wouldn't want her to have all the fun, would we?”
Moments later, Zark and I were riding toward the Detention Center in my personal armored hover-car. Palace guards on hover-cycles rode ahead and behind, keeping an eye out for potent
ial threats.
When we arrived at the Detention Center, armed officers met us at the gates, leading us into the innermost cells – the ones reserved for the most dangerous enemies of the state, the ones where prisoners were subjected to hideously inventive torments until they gave up their secrets.
The ones designed by Torqa herself.
“You'll want to put these on, sir,” one of the guards said, handing a pair of helmets to me and Zark. They were outfitted with thick tinted visors. We were given heavy sets of gloves, as well.
“What are these for?” Zark asked, putting them on.
The guard winced. “You'll see.”
The cell door slid open, and we stepped inside.
It felt like we had stepped onto the surface of a sun as it was about to go nova. I squinted, recoiling against the intense heat.
“I believe you've taken us to the wrong room,” Zark said to the guard. “This appears to be the sauna.”
Every inch of the walls, ceilings, and floors was glowing with intense purplish-white ultraviolet rays. A young Valkredian was suspended in the middle of the room, naked, hanging from a series of tubes and wires like a defenseless insect caught in the strands of a predator's web.
His skin burned bright red, and it took me a few moments to realize that entire sections of his flesh had been stripped of multiple layers – in some areas, I could even see through it to the organs and sinews beneath. He was pitifully skeletal, his skin stretched tightly over his skull and bones. The surface membranes of his eyeballs were dried out, making it impossible for him to even blink. Most of his hair had fallen out, and was lying on the floor around him in clumps, smoldering against the heat lamps and filling the air with its burning stink.
And he was screaming. By the stars, he was screaming louder than any creature I'd ever heard before.
“Ah, gentlemen! Welcome!” Torqa raised her voice to be heard over the din. She raised a glass of artificial blood in our direction. “Would either of you care for a drink?”
“No, thank you,” I said, examining the apparatus that was holding the prisoner in place. “This is the offender, I assume?”
“Indeed. This is Marug, who allowed his hatred of the Mana to overwhelm his loyalty to his own people. Who chose to steal a fighter craft and take it on a joy ride that ended with the senseless destruction of the Aquavor. I hope you'll forgive him for not bowing before you, Blood Ruler, given the circumstances.”
“Dare I ask about the particulars of his current accommodations?” Zark asked. He was trying to sound upbeat, but I could hear how queasy the sight made him. He knew the importance of securing the empire and severely punishing those who threatened its interests – but still, he had no stomach for torture.
Torqa's incessant sneering and posturing may have been almost unbearable, but at times like these, I was reminded of just how valuable she can be.
“I'm delighted that you asked!” Torqa said eagerly. “As you can see, the removal of the epidermis allows the ultraviolet rays to essentially cook the little traitor from the inside out, even as these tubes feed a very special concoction into his veins – a chemical compound of my own invention, which robs the nutrients from his body at a vastly accelerated rate. He's literally starving for blood.” She leaned in close to the prisoner, teasing him. “But we won't let you die of thirst, will we? No, it will only feel that way, a dozen times over, until you tell us what we need to know.”
“I can't!” Marug eyed the glass of red fluid just out of his reach, his tongue sounding like sandpaper against his lips. I could tell that he wanted to weep, but his tear ducts were so dry and irritated they looked like cured meat. “You know I can't! You know what will happen to me! Please, please, just kill me and be done with it!”
“There's no need for that,” I said, stepping closer and trying to hide my revulsion at the sight of him. Large patches of salt were dried on his torso, flaking off and hitting the floor every time he tried to wriggle against his bonds. “We don't want to kill you, Marug. We don't even truly want to torture you.”
“Speak for yourself,” Torqa laughed. “I'm having a lovely time! Why, I'm hoping you continue to resist… I could happily do this all night!”
I ignored her words, doing my best to keep my focus on Marug. “You are an idealist, committed to your beliefs. I understand that – you saw what you perceived to be injustice, and you took bold action to correct it. But you've been caught, and now you must face the consequences. If you simply tell us who you were working with, and who granted you access to military vessels…”
“I told you, I can't!” he wailed, his terrified eyes flickering over to Torqa. No doubt he was dreading another round of anguish from her. I couldn't blame him one bit.
I took a breath and tried again. “If you cooperate with us, your pain will end, and you will be granted a life sentence instead of execution. Now please, be reasonable. Don't force us to continue this horror.”
He hung his head, shook it gently, and mumbled something under his breath.
“What was that?” I leaned in even more closely, straining to hear. “What did you say?”
Marug raised his head again, staring directly into my eyes. His skin was burning so vividly I could feel the heat coming off him in waves, smell his innards roasting.
“I said you don't understand,” he whimpered. “But you will. Soon.”
Suddenly, Marug's arm snapped free of the bonds that were holding it in place. I tried to leap back, away from him, but I was too slow.
He snatched my sidearm from its holster on my hip, pressed the barrel to his temple, and pulled the trigger.
His brains hit the floor in a gruesome spatter, sizzling against the ultraviolet panels.
He slumped in the restraints, dead.
“Damn it!” Torqa shrieked, storming over to the door. It slid open, and she yelled into the corridor: “I swear to all the Succubi, whoever secured this prisoner's restraints is going to answer to me!”
I stared at his remains, rage roiling inside me like a whirlpool.
M'ruvev's deadline was fast approaching – and the one solid lead we'd had just evaporated before my eyes. We still had no idea how to find the other members of this conspiracy, or stop them from stealing more ships and waging their own private war against the Mana.
We were back to square one, with nothing to show for it.
“How could you allow this disaster to happen?” I challenged Torqa, advancing on her. “He was our best chance at ending this crisis, and you were too focused on your sadism to do your job properly!”
Torqa's eyes widened, and she shrank away from me. I couldn't remember ever seeing such shame and remorse on her face before, and I relished seeing her smug smirk disappear for a change. “You have every right to be upset, Blood Ruler. You know I've never lost a prisoner during any of my interrogations… they never die until I allow it to happen. I'm as angry about this as you are, I assure you. I swear I'll do whatever it takes to make this right, even if I have to personally scour the entire galaxy for answers.”
“Your assurances won't stop M'ruvev's clock from ticking,” I snapped. “I'm returning to the Stronghold. When I get there, I want the Drekkir ambassador waiting for me on my comm line so I can take matters into my own hands. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Blood Ruler,” she answered in a tiny voice, her eyes lowered in submission.
I turned on my heel and stormed out, with Zark following close behind me.
13
Carly
I sat on my bed, operating a small data pad that Dhako had delivered to me. His English wasn't very good, but based on what he said, I was fairly certain that Zark had asked him to bring it to me.
The inscription on the main screen appeared to confirm that: “Carly- This will give you access to the books in the leisure suite's library. For your entertainment and edification, may I recommend that you start with File 17Ǿ2911Ɋ? -Z”
That was… shockingly nice of him. His broth
er could learn some manners from him, that's for sure.
Still, I had to admit that even though Zark seemed friendly and charming, Akzun was the one I couldn't banish from my thoughts.
It took me a few minutes, but I managed to figure out how to make the data pad work. Zark had been kind enough to reprogram the language option to English, so I didn't have to fumble and guess at it too much. I took his advice and chose the file he'd suggested.
When I started to get a sense of what I was reading, I couldn't help but laugh. It appeared to be a novel written over a century ago, a story about a Blood Ruler who, improbably and against the advice of the palace advisors, chose a human mate. The genders were swapped, but the similarity to my own situation was still kind of eerie.
I flipped through the scanned pages, eager to find out what would happen to these star-crossed lovers. In the story, the Valkred practically revolted when they learned that their leader had chosen a human consort instead of a member of her own race. It destabilized the Valkred empire's standing in the galaxy, inviting other species to take advantage of the dissension and attempt conquest. It drove a wedge between the Blood Ruler and the members of her family. It caused tremendous drama and utter chaos. Their union appeared to be completely doomed.
But…
As I reached the final chapters, I found that – just like in most Earth stories – the seemingly insurmountable conflicts between the main characters were still resolved with a happy ending. The human male managed to prove himself a worthy mate, and against all odds, became a hero to the people of Valkred. The palace staff, the Blood Ruler's family… everyone accepted him in the end, and the two were wed.
“And they lived happily ever after.” I chuckled wryly. I guess some things are just universal.
Had Zark given me this book to give me hope? To show me that the idea of a Valkred Blood Ruler choosing a human mate wasn't entirely unheard of here, even if it had just been relegated to fiction so far? To make me believe that it might be possible for me to have a future with Akzun after all, if I could only find some way to distinguish myself to him and to the rest of the Valkred?