by Candy Nicks
"Vin must know you've come back for me. Won't he try to stop us?” They were half-way down the corridor, him dragging her like a reluctant child.
"Shh. No time to talk.” He leaned over the banisters and checked out the stairs. “All right, let's go.” Halfway down, Carine seemed to suddenly regain her senses.
"I told you, I can't. I made a deal with Vin. If they find me gone you'll never get out of the City."
He spotted the guard just in time. Felled him with a vicious chop to the neck. The man was tall and balding. Ancel rifled through his pockets for ID. The picture didn't look a lot like him, but it might get him past City security.
"That way,” he said steering her towards the dressing rooms. The one they usually used lay empty and the window-bars gave at the third blaster charge. He prayed that Lady Luck might smile on them for just a few moments more.
"You go first.” He pointed the blast-gun at the door and urged her towards the window. “Go on, I'll be right behind you."
"I can't, Ancel.” She turned her deep dark eyes to him, shaking her head sadly. “Freedom is just over that fence. Go for it with everything you have."
"Vin is dead. I killed him. How long do you think you're going to live once they find out?"
"You killed him? He's ... dead?"
"He deserved it, Carine. Deserves to roast in the Pit for all eternity. Now go."
"You killed him?” Her face crumpled.
"I thought you'd be happier, but yes, I killed him. And we don't have time to discuss it here."
She turned for the window, climbed through and jumped the few feet into the yard behind the club. He followed her, the blast-gun over his shoulder. It should have been exciting; his skin tingled with the thought that in maybe a few days they'd be on the way to somewhere they could call home. It felt good to be in charge of his destiny again. Or at least it would if Carine didn't look so glum. He cursed himself for forgetting that she still had to get through the perimeter.
Arms folded over her chest, she stared across the compound to the metal fence, designed more for ornament than to keep slaves inside. The invisible charge took care of that.
"Smile,” he said, measuring the distance between them and the road. “We're going home.” One of the dogs barked, answered by another. They'd caught their scent. A gruff male voice shouted them to be quiet. Ancel could only hope that the perimeter guard had been bribed sufficiently and that no-one had yet found Vin.
"I can't do it.” Carine backed away from him, breathing hard. “I just can't do it."
"It's not designed to kill, I told you. Only to disable for a few hours, perhaps a day.” He used quiet measured tones, partly because he didn't want anyone to hear them, and partly because he could sense her rising hysteria. As if trying to calm a skittish horse, he moved towards her, hand outstretched. “Take my hand. When we get to the fence, I'll carry you over as quickly as I can. It'll be easy, you'll see."
She raised a shaky hand to his, wide eyes asking for reassurance. “I promise I'll keep you safe,” he told her. “You can't stay here now. Vin told me the Mistress has asked for you.” Her head jerked up at that. “You know what she does to renegades?"
She nodded, slowly.
"Well then, let's go.” His fist caught her jaw and she crumpled into his arms. “Sorry, my love.” He hoisted her onto his shoulder. “We really don't have time for this conversation.” He pulled out the metal strip bearing his access code and pushed it into her bracelet. Nothing. He quickly released himself from his own, throwing the two pieces into a bush. Now all he had to do was get Carine out alive. He listened and waited. Counted to ten in his head and then, carrying his precious load, he crept towards the fence.
Chapter 13
She dreamed of Vin, dressed in white robes. Smiling and happy in Paradise, care of his borrowed soul. Then of Brynn, his voice bitter and accusing. Asking her why she'd made him love her and then left him there to die. Jana appeared beside him and called her a liar. She heard someone sob and realised it was her.
"You made it through.” Slowly, she drifted back into the land of the living. Ancel's voice chased away the dreams, his touch told her she was alive and not dead as she'd feared, heading for the Pit. “Lie still for a while and recover your senses."
"I thought you were the Companion. Come to take me to the other side.” She clutched at his arm, desperate to anchor herself here in the real world.
They were in some sort of wooden outbuilding. Daylight shafted through gaps in the planking, striping the floor and illuminating the interior enough to see by. She lay on a makeshift bed of rough sacking, Ancel kneeling beside her, watching her fondly.
"How long?” She pushed up onto her elbows, groaning at the sharp pain that lanced through her head and jaw.
"Five, perhaps six hours. It's morning. We'll need to move from here soon."
"We're still in the City?"
"Yes, but I want us to leave as soon as possible. I could steal us a transport, but don't want to risk being caught. You'll need to walk out with me, as my slave."
"I can't feel my legs."
"Can you feel this?"
Gentle fingers skimmed her calf, circled her knee. Trailed over her thigh. “Yes, I feel that,” she said. “Won't they ask for ownership papers?” She laid her head gingerly down onto the sacking and let him massage the circulation back into her legs. Freedom, but at what price? How could the absolution be revoked if Vin was already in the afterlife? They would have found him by now. Be out hunting for them.
Ancel echoed her thoughts. “Once they find Vin and then the two of us missing, they'll put out an alert. I stole some ID from one of the guards, but that already might have been reported. I have a blank ownership token which I'll fill in for you. I'll pass you off as my slave and steal myself another ID."
She lifted her wrist. “There must be someone in the City who can remove this."
"Too risky. We cost the O a small fortune. Every bounty hunter on the planet will be out looking for us. We'll worry about that when we're safe on the other side of that wall."
"What about the scanners? I remember someone saying that blood would fool them."
"I've got a few new scars which might have changed my imprint, I don't know exactly how it works. As soon as you can walk, we'll purchase supplies. We'll need food and something to carry it in, and I need a writer to fill in the details on your token. And a knife and some spirits to clean the blade. If blood will fool the scanners, then that's what we'll give them."
Free they might be, but the ordeal wasn't over by any means. She rubbed her queasy stomach and sat up. “You hit me."
"Less painful than the perimeter charge."
"Yes.” She hadn't said goodbye to Brynn. Or Jana. “Use the guard's ID, Ancel. Don't put yourself in any more danger."
"I should have killed him. If he's reported it missing, they'll be on the look-out for us. I can handle myself, don't worry about me."
"I know that.” He needed to prove himself again, both to her and to himself. Reassert his manhood and re-establish his sense of self.
"Let's see if you can stand. If I carry you, we'll draw attention to ourselves."
Her legs felt springy, but she managed to stay upright. “I think I'll be able to walk in a few minutes,” she said, hobbling about the shed. “We must agree on a story, in case we're stopped at the gate."
"You are my slave, newly purchased. I'm taking you to the mines to sell your services to the workers."
"Will they want to see a purchase receipt?"
"I have no idea. I need a writer to inscribe the token with your details. It will have to do. And then we will go and find ourselves a new home."
The silence stretched between them as he waited for her reaction. “Carine,” he said, when she didn't answer. “I'm asking you to come with me. Be with me. Say you will. We'll start a new dynasty, in the Settlements. Make a haven for escaped slaves. For the dispossessed. A place where they'll be safe from the bounty hun
ters. A place where we can fight back."
The Goddess was fickle. Her promises meant nothing. Why did she allow them to hope for things that could never be? Carine immediately squashed the thought. Blasphemy would get her nowhere. With Vin dead, her only hope was the Goddess's infinite compassion and mercy. Would a lifetime of prayer and contemplation be enough to erase Vin's sins from her soul?
"It sounds wonderful..."
"It won't all be wine and roses, but it will be a life.” Ancel took her by the arms. “Carine, I've lived an idle existence of privilege and plenty. This life-lesson has been hard, but learned it I have. I stand before you stripped of everything I was, now looking forward to the man I might become, if you would honour me by walking by my side."
One possible future. Already fully formed and reflected in his eyes, in ever fibre of his being. She wanted nothing more than to take his hand and walk that path with him. Live the life. Share the joys and the sorrows.
She owed him nothing less than the truth of why she couldn't. How can I burden him with that? Better the sorrow of parting than the grief of knowing what she'd done to save him. It would destroy him.
"I would love nothing more,” she said. “And if I could, I would walk with you to the ends of the planet. But I must go home. I have many sins to atone for, and I can only do that given time and the peace of the Temple."
He didn't let go. “Your sacrifice will atone for your sins. Isn't that how it works? Balances and ledgers? What you did to secure my release. A life spent helping others will wipe clean what you were forced to do at the O. I will build you a new Temple. You can start a new order. Anything you want."
"What I want no longer has relevance. I need to be near the Source, the Mother. I can only do that in the Temple."
"I don't understand you.” He let go now and stepped away from her. “I had hoped that there might be something between us that we could build on. You might not yet see it as love, but that will grow. We loved once. We can again. What did you do that was so terrible you feel you must shut yourself away for the rest of your life?"
"I can't tell you."
"This is ridiculous. Yes, you can. We're not a pair of star-struck lovers in some one-credit romance. Together we can deal with whatever comes."
"I refuse to burden you with it."
"I can carry it. I love you, Carine and will love you more with each passing day. No-one will love you as I do."
"Believe me, the burden would defeat even you. Can't you see that it is precisely because you love me that I cannot tell you?"
"You want to protect me from it. Yes, I understand that, although I am not a baby to be coddled. All right then. I don't love you. Will you tell me now?"
She pressed her lips together to stop herself. How could she tell him that his killing Vin had probably destroyed the only chance she might ever have of revoking the absolution? When she made to touch him, he raised his hands and warned her away.
"No,” he said, stepping back. “There is nothing so foolish as a man who's opened his heart to a woman and had it served back to him with bitter herbs. Give me a moment."
He wasn't about to give up. She could see that in the set of his mouth, the way he raised himself to his full height and squared his shoulders. Regrouping for another attack. Outside, she heard muted voices, the metallic rattle of a shutter being raised.
"I think my legs are working now. We need to go."
"I can be just as stubborn as you, Carine. You've taught me the benefits of patience. I will give you the time you need, but I will not give up on you. Come."
You will be waiting a long time, my love. “Ancel, I know this hurts. It hurts us both. I cannot explain, but I need to know that you forgive me for it."
He let out a long, weary breath. “I think I liked us better when we were Bonded. You were mine, and I yours. End of story. This ... is ... more complicated than I imagined. I forgive you everything, both past, present and future. Will that do?"
She hugged him then, and he allowed her arms to circle him without protest. Captivity, and the Bonding, had changed him. The swaggering hero in the sun-emblazoned tunic and hair that fell to his waist like a shower of gold had given way to this man of quiet strength who would stand, solid as a rock, in defence of those he loved.
"It will do very well,” she said. “Take me home, Ancel."
"I'm not giving up on you, Carine. Remember that. Wherever you run to, I will find you."
They crept from the shed, along an alleyway and into a street lined with stores. She had no idea how far they were from the O, or what lay ahead, but her heart sang with the knowledge that this man loved her as much as she loved him. That thought would sustain her in the years to come.
* * * *
"Over there.” Ancel pointed out a tall balding man, dressed from head to toe in leather. “I will be right here."
Carine opened her shirt to reveal the thin-strapped dress she still wore beneath. Pulling off her pants, she handed them to Ancel. “Do you think it will work?"
"You need to distract him. Get him into the alleyway and I'll do the rest. But be careful, they're wise to tricks like these. He looks like an Overseer and they're not stupid.” Ancel reached out and dropped one of the straps of her dress. “Don't take any risks."
"What do I say? And what if he sees this?” The tell-tale bulge of the slave bracelet showed under the shirt's cuff. Nothing they could do about that.
"I don't know. Ask him if he wants to have a good time. If he wants a fuck. Improvise."
Flattening himself just out of sight, against the wall, he tightened his hold on the knife he'd purchased. Ready for one to one combat if it all went wrong—he couldn't risk Carine with a blast-gun charge. He'd have preferred jumping someone without risking Carine at all, but City-folk knew better than to go alone into dark, isolated places. After an hour of waiting for someone to enter the alleyway alone, they'd become desperate.
The man stopped, grinned widely and shook his head. Carine followed him for a few steps and then gave up. Damnation, it wasn't working. Before Ancel could call her back, she'd approached another man. This one looked like a merchant, tall, but stick-thin, and hefting a pack on his back. He looked at Carine as if she were carrying the plague. Ancel distinctly heard the word security as the man hurried past her. The last thing they needed was the police on their tail.
The street fell silent, and Carine stood alone, hands on hips. “Carine.” he said. “Don't take any risks. Get back here."
She could be reckless to the point of insanity. “Carine.” he said again, horrified to see her approaching a man built like an armoured transport. The man listened with an ever-broadening smile and then groped for her breast, falling towards her with a lurch. Clever girl. The man looked drunk as a tavern-fly.
She walked casually ahead with the man staggering behind her into the alleyway. He went down like a felled tree, without even knowing what hit him.
"Arnik of Pitloss. General trader. Got that?” Ancel flashed Carine the name on the ID papers. “You're Wandia, my slave. We stay with our original story—that I'm taking you to work in the mines as a pleasure slave."
"Wandia?” she said, arching her brows. “Who's Wandia?"
"Don't ask,” he said, glad that she'd kept her sense of humour in all the drama and emotion. “Follow my lead. There can only be one person in charge."
"I will."
He could almost hear her thinking, unless I think of a better plan, but hoped she'd taken his point. One wrong move now would be disastrous for them both.
"Do you think they've found him?"
"Vin? Possibly. Someone will have noticed the lack of a guard at his door. Why has his death upset you so much?"
"It's you I'm worried about. All that killing..."
"My eternal soul? I don't kill for pleasure, Carine. I'm sure that counts for something."
She, thankfully, didn't take up the argument. Moon-Child. Eagle. Enemies. Enemies must die. It had been as simple as
that—until he'd met Carine. She was all the colours in between the black and white that had been his life.
He aimed a kick at the trader, who had regained consciousness and was now groaning at their feet. The man slumped back down, cracking his head on the paved surface. Ancel took out the smaller knife he'd purchased. “The scanners,” he said. “We must think this through logically. You came in as a slave and you leave with the same status. Is your stomach injury healed?"
She lifted her dress to show the thin red line—all that remained of Martha's attack. “The medi-pak did its job well."
"Good. With luck your configuration will remain the same. I have new scars, but I think it's fresh blood that confuses the scanners."
"What if the O has alerted the gate-keepers? If I go through as a slave, won't they be waiting for me?"
"You can't go through as a Citizen with that bracelet on. They're bound to be checking for bracelets and implants."
"And you? You need to go through as a Citizen. Do they scan Citizens?"
"If they do, we might be in trouble. I'm hoping the ID is all I need, but we may as well have insurance.” He lifted his shirt and made a swift slash with the knife, just above his ribs. “Get a binding on this, before it stains my clothes. All we can hope is that we've got this right and that it's enough."
The wound, though only skin deep, bled freely. Carine bound it as best she could while he contemplated how they'd get out if they failed at the gate. If that happened, they'd be taken anyway and this whole nightmare would start again. The Mistress might not care about Vin as a man, but they'd assaulted her property and for that she'd want revenge.
"All done.” Carine's voice cut through his thoughts. “Why don't we try our luck at the walls? Wait until nightfall..."
He pulled down his shirt and wiped off the knife, replacing it in his pack. “Too high,” he said. “We'd need time and climbing-ropes. And even if we did, the bounty hunters would either be waiting at the bottom, or just pick us off and trade us in dead. This is our best shot, but we must get moving now. Carine...?"