by Owner
Denties glared at each adviser, as if to assure himself that they were sufficiently cowed. He waved his hand to dismiss them.
As they turned to go, he spoke again, “No more excuses.”
Sopholies brought up the rear as they nodded and made their way to the door. They took their final bow and rushed past the guards outside. Once they were far enough away, they stopped. “We’re in deep trouble with this MX issue,” one of them said. Sopholies sighed. They were in a precarious situation for sure and he needed to think of something fast, a plan is what he needed. Denties was on the verge of doing something scary. Sopholies had seen it happen before. The inability to solve a problem was sometimes met with permanent consequences if Denties had a bad day. Sopholies noted the fear in the faces of the other advisers. “We will think of something,” he said.
Chapter 11
Bess practically vibrated in her eagerness to get wherever Var was taking her. She dared to hope and could barely slow her overactive imagination. The prospect of freedom was heady. She spent half the morning chastising herself for trusting the warlord at all, and the other half for not trusting him more. Bess tried to tamp down her excitement, but she had no luck. Although she could barely read anything from the warlord, she got no sense of deceit from him. He really had come to take her away from all the grippers and skas and uncertainty of her fate and he planned to deliver her to a safe place in a society that accepted those with differences. She was finally going to be able to talk to her kind and not have to live in fear and follow stupid rules. They could live together, all of the empaths. They would be in a place where she could be free of the Facility and all their rules. They could use their gifts to help people instead of...
She let her mind explore the possibilities of the foreign idea. Perhaps the warlord’s people were kind and maybe even enjoyed fun. Mack, the matchstick one acted lighthearted. Maybe Var acted like the “mean” one because he was in charge of this rescue mission and the rescue was not going according to his plans. People in charge of things had to be sober and more serious than others. Bess loved to watch vids and she thought she knew what “real life” was like for the normals.
Mid-morning, Var stopped the horse and let her down.
She moved stiffly at first. He watched her as if she were some exotic animal. Although she had no idea what he thought of her, he had a job and she could tell getting her delivered somewhere was important to him. She felt that from him and believed it.
Bess was self-conscious under his watchful gaze. She thought he probably didn’t miss much. That cool blue gaze constantly locked onto first one thing, then another and assessed. He noticed everything around him and she thought he evaluated her as coldly as he did their surroundings. She felt naked under his scrutiny and the guilt almost sucked her into the ground before she assured herself that no one knew. No one could know her dark secret because no one had survived.
Her heart jumped when she met his eyes again and he spoke. “You can project your emotions.”
Bess thought to make small talk to cover the awkwardness, but his statement closed her mouth. What she had been ready to say vanished like smoke in a windstorm. Her heartbeat picked up. He knew what a projection felt like. She was not a strong empath, but she did have the ability to project strong emotions across a short distance and they were very close on the horse. He felt it, and knew it was a projection. Most people mistook a mild projection like what she was capable of as their own emotion. If it registered at all, they didn’t realize it came from her. That had been another reason the Facility decided her gifts were useless.
She had been thinking about the incident. Did he feel her guilt? He said nothing else, so she ignored his statement.
Var sat on a fallen tree and offered her bread and cheese.
Bess remained standing while she ate. Sitting on the horse made parts of her sore that she didn’t even know were possible to hurt. Every muscle in her body screamed at her. Bess had thought it impossible to be more uncomfortable than the slave line. She had been was wrong. This was worse. She lifted the canteen, but it slipped from her fingers.
Var’s hand snatched it from the air before it hit the ground.
Bess froze. How was he able to move so fast? He had not even been looking in her direction when the canteen fell. He’d moved across the ground and stretched out his hand and…
She hugged herself, crossed her arms in front of her, and turned away to focus on the darkness of the forest.
The morning had begun to heat up after the sun chased the fog away, but now a cooler wind sang through the tree tops and clouds rushed to cover the sun. Far above them, the canopy of the forest was thick so that only small pieces of sky could be seen.
The clear blue sky of the morning became grayer as the day wore on. Bess felt something sinister in the wind as the woods darkened. She took several deep breaths to calm herself.
When he finished eating, he asked her again about the feeling in her hands and fingers.
“I-I’m just clumsy.” Her voice faltered and she looked away. Bess felt fragile right now and she didn’t know why.
She tried to level out her feelings. He’d startled her with his statement about projecting and she felt uncomfortable with his examination of her. As always, the feelings of guilt that came up too often made her nervous and jittery. That wasn’t the only problem though. Bess never felt like this. The stern warlord caused her emotions to fluctuate. He was so beautiful. She gritted her teeth to fight off the urge to touch his dark golden skin.
When he stood and moved a step toward her, she backed away from him. He reached for her. She jerked her arms back from him. He caught her hands and held them gently.
“Please don’t,” she whispered. “No one touches us.”
He smirked. “As you have said. I have no fear of your touch, female.” He examined each of her hands and asked her to grip his fingers. Her hands felt as though she touched raw electricity. “If you have any loss of sensation in your hands or fingers, tell me. Be truthful. I am still concerned you may have nerve damage.” His icy blue gaze locked on her.
Her pulse beat fast in her throat and her face felt hot. She read that he knew she feared him. Even with a breakthrough of reading him, she could not process any more than that. His touch on her felt hot. Bess blinked and looked away. Her anger gradually gave way to desperation, then to something she could not even name. She wanted, needed him to be nice to her. Was that because she enjoyed looking at him, or just because she was so desperate? She needed someone to treat her like a real person for the first time in her life. If she believed him, he offered sanctuary and freedom.
“I-I don’t have any d-damage. I’m certain,” she whispered. When she pulled her hands back, he let her go.
She went to the small stream to wash her face and hands before they continued their journey. Sitting very still, she studied her reflection in a small pool of water. He made her weak in the knees, but part of that might have been sheer excitement. A new surge of energy flowed through her.
It weighed on her mind as they continued. She’d decided to put her faith in him. It was only right that she explain her extra abilities. True trust required honesty. They rode for some time while Bess ran the dialog through her head. How would she tell him?
She decided to get it over with and hope for the best.
When they left the forest, reality forced itself on her again. The wide expanse of the river lay before them shimmering in the sunlight. Rocks of all sizes, and massive boulders lay strewn about the landscape on both sides of the river. The sounds of rushing water bubbled over the colorful stones showing that the river, while broad, was not deep.
The setting was beautiful. She bolstered her courage... “I have something to tell you,” Bess began.
“Not now,” Var said.
Bess blinked. She couldn’t discern what she felt from him, but he shushed her. Confusion made her wary and she tried to determine the reason for his heightened intensity.
The smooth rocks were worn by the river and showed muted colors of red and blue and yellow and beige. Bess admired their beauty in the clear water. The feeling of being in the open was strange after riding all morning in the thick forest.
The high canopy of the trees had barely let any light through the forest. Their ride had been pleasant although it was cool. Now the sun came out from behind the clouds and beat down on them. To her left, Bess noticed dark storm clouds gathering. Green leaves of the trees fairly sparkled in the sunlight against the dark blue and purple background of the storm clouds. The scene with its surreal spectacle and unusual light enchanted Bess.
On the opposite river bank, some women washed clothes on the rocks. They had a large black pot suspended on chains over an open fire. She marveled at the women going about their chores. They put clothes on wooden sticks and stirred them in the pot. Bess read their emotions even from this distance, the drudgery of another laundry day. She smiled at the simple work and the feeling of camaraderie among the women.
Var stopped to fill his canteen in the river. Bess thought that odd. He had filled it only a short time ago when they stopped to eat. She felt the coolness of the water on her bare skin even from atop the horse. They continued across the river, the horse picking its way carefully over the stones beneath the clear, fast-moving water.
Something felt off. As they neared the other side, Bess saw a crude shelter made of poles loosely tied together. The women hung the wet clothes on it to dry. The other bank appeared rockier and the forest sat further back from the river on that side.
Feeling exposed, Bess let her mind go out and search in case there were others close by with the women. She fought down her panic so she would not upset the horse. The women did not know. There were men nearby. Several men and they hunted her! They had tracked her and found her.
“Trap. It’s a trap,” she said.
“Do not be afraid,” Var answered.
Why did he say that? How could he be so calm? He knew?! He knew he rode into a trap, but he continued on! Var already knew about the men waiting for them, it was the only explanation.
He held her tighter as if to prevent her from jumping off the horse and running.
Bess tried to understand. She read some of the men easily. They planned to ambush them. Their eagerness to meet with Var felt like bees buzzing in her head. They thought Var was delivering her to them. No! She wanted to scream. How stupid of her. She’d trusted him. Why?
Their gloating made her ill. And Var… To think that he would do this to her after he assured her of his good intentions. Bile rose up and she fought back the sickness. The hurt in her heart was not so easy to regulate. Pain loomed over her, large and dark and overwhelming. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. He’d lied to her, repeatedly lied. And she’d been about to divulge MX secrets.
She stared at a rock formation upstream with boulders large enough to hide several mounted people. Bess searched with her mind. They waited for her. As she and Var passed the halfway point in the river, men rode out from behind the rock formation. The laundry women startled and one of them screamed as they scrambled to find a hiding place.
Var turned his mount and Bess saw another group of riders following them across the river. The men carried bows and arrows. STS. They wore the black and red uniforms of the hated Special Threat Squad of the Conglomerate. Var directed his horse to keep going toward the other bank. They almost made it all the way across the river.
They could not outrun all the men. The riders fanned in a semicircle waiting for them to exit the water. Her heart leapt to her throat. Their cruelty and utter lack of conscience were well known. They expected her. Var was delivering her to them. It was a perfect setup. She’d been betrayed. Again.
“Easy, mouse,” Var whispered to her, pulling the horse to a stop in the shallow water. Bess struggled, but Var held her close to his chest. She felt helpless against his strength, but the thought of hurting Var repulsed her.
“You have something of ours barbarian,” the heavy-set leader said from the bank.
“She is mine,” Var said. “I captured her.”
“I know you want a reward for your efforts. Just give it to us and save yourself the trouble of a long, hard journey. It’s a long ride back to your craft. The Conglomerate has taken special interest in this one. There is another one around here somewhere. Go find that one, you can have it. We’ll take this one off your hands.” Bess heard the leather of his saddle creak when the man leaned forward. He assessed the men on either side of him before he spoke again. “Give it to me. Now, warlord.”
Bess looked into the eyes of the STS leader and almost doubled over from the pain and shock. Random thoughts from the man assaulted her. The words “mercenary” and “barbarian” burst through to her consciousness with a clarity Bess seldom experienced.
Var worked for the Conglomerate. He’d been hired to capture her and turn her over to the STS. Feelings from the STS leader bombarded her. He felt immense disgust for Var. She choked.
The agitated horse nodded his head up and down and pawed the water. “Calm yourself, girl,” Var said.
Bess realized too late that the horse picked up her fear. She did not intend to transmit it. Bess calmed herself and sent soothing thoughts to the horse, but hearing the STS leader refer to her as ‘it’ and processing what she read from him left her thoughts scattered, her emotions in tatters. All the old oppression and humiliation hit her along with the sick disappointment of Var’s deceit.
The familiar feeling of being trapped and vulnerable settled over her. She might as well still be at the Facility. In addition to that, she read the thoughts of the STS leader clearly, and the realization that Var had duped her, set her head to reeling. Anger flowed out of her and replaced her fear. Feel that! She thought to herself as she let her anger out.
The women on the bank screamed. The fire they used to heat their wash water surged into the sky, causing them to shriek and run toward the trees.
“The girl is mine,” Var said.
They were all wrong. She belonged only to herself and she would get away from all of them.
“We are not unreasonable, warlord. We will split the bounty. We’re all friends here. You should be well satisfied with the money.” The STS leader said.
Well funded! Var had said they were well funded. With the assets of the Conglomerate to back him, she was sure he did think himself well funded. Little did he know they seldom paid their debts and whoever tried to do business with the Conglomerate most always regretted it.
Bess felt the arrogance of the STS leader and it inflamed her. To her shock, Var let her down. She stood almost knee deep in the cold water. He was giving her to them with no resistance and no remorse. Dizzy from her whirling emotions, she still took comfort from his nearness. She cursed herself for a fool! In her panic to get away, Bess staggered on the rocks and fell on her hands and knees in the river. The cold water soaked her clothing. She began to shiver, whether from the cold or the shock, who could know?
Var drew his sword. The light glinted off the metal when he charged the men. How did he hope to defeat so many? Why did he fight them at all if they hired him to catch her for them?
The women were nowhere to be seen. Their laundry abandoned. The fire fanned the lower hanging branches of the small trees. Bess bit her lip at the idea of the fire spreading to any surrounding brush. She gave up trying to gain her feet and watched Var engage all the STS on this side of the river. She should have counted them.
Bess turned to see four horses picking their way through the rocks in the river coming up behind them. Var already fought five or six. The battle blurred, men fell under Var’s blades. Two on the ground no longer moved. He fought on the dry ground of the river bank. Three advanced on him. He moved his sword from one side to the other as he backed up. She watched in horror as Var fell to his knees and spun around on the ground. His sword sliced through most of the thigh of one approaching on his right. He
stood in one fluid motion, but never stopped spinning. His drove his sword straight into the middle of the chest of the one closest to him. She caught the light of his blue eyes as he glanced at her. Var pulled the last one off his mount to slide the hooks on the outside of his forearm across the man’s throat. Blood sprayed in the air, caught in the changing light. It arced out as if the crimson droplets might float forever before falling back to the ground.
A shadow loomed over her, and a heavy net fell on Bess. Its edges were weighted with rocks. She fought to get out, but struggled in vain. Bess wondered if she should just let it take her down into the water.
Chapter 12
Denties settled back pulling his hand across his bald head. Slick. He was slick. This morning’s meeting upset him and he prided himself on never letting anyone see him upset. Swiveling in his chair, he observed the world outside the windows. He missed seeing the sun, which reminded him to open a desk drawer and take 3 pills out of a bottle. Tossing his head back, he swallowed them. He did not want a vitamin D deficiency.
Denties suspected the handlers at the Facility sold the empaths instead of disposing of them. They should have ended the handlers as well as the MX. He ordered the execution of the man in charge of the shutdown. If only the people who worked for him were smarter. He sent the STS in, but most of the empaths had disappeared by the time they arrived. Now they chased MX in almost every society, they scrambled to reclaim assets that should never have been allowed out of their control. It put him in a bad mood.
His accountants checked into the finances of the handlers and other Facility staff. A few of the more foolish ones left a money trail. Those were executed at his command. That, at least, had been an easy cleanup.
He heard the stories of astounding abilities being attributed to the escaped MX. Stories and superstitions born of the feeble minds of the common people, made him more anxious to destroy these creatures.
The handlers could not have missed the abilities if the stories were true, unless the handlers were as weak minded as the commoners. Yes, he should have called for the execution of staff and empaths alike. He could have come out with a story that the empaths went wild and burned down the facility and everyone in it. He could have come up with something. That would have prevented this problem.