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“There is something else that concerns you.”
“Yes.” Her voice was so soft he almost didn’t hear her.
Koda tried to read her face. She had begun to show some facial expression when the two of them were alone together. He was finally breaking through the years of training the Facility had imposed on her.
“I would know why it is so difficult to tell me.” He sighed. “Come here, pita. I would understand.”
Claire walked back into his arms and buried her face in his chest. He held her against him. Sometimes she was so unsure of herself, she reminded him of a child. Though she was doing better every day, she still had a lot of ground to cover. Again, he set her on the desk and stepped between her legs.
“I am wor-concerned about the other MX.”
Koda nodded to encourage her to continue.
“Do you think Dren will take Anna to mate?”
She never ceased to surprise him. “I cannot say how Dren feels. I thought we would let nature take its course.”
“I do not know how mating usually works,” Claire said. “They spend a lot of time together. I know that Anna enjoys his company.”
“You are in a hurry to get her mated.”
“I feel responsible for them,” she answered.
Koda stroked her hair. “I know you do. I love that you are so protective of your sister empaths. We will see how their relationship progresses. Among my people, the female chooses who she will have.”
Claire’s expression relaxed, but then turned into a frown.
“There is more, pita.” Koda said, searching her eyes. “I would know what troubles you.”
“Why do you think something is wrong?”
“This is the first time you have ever sought me out in the middle of the day, in my office. Whatever is wrong, I want to fix it for you.”
Claire blushed and turned her gaze to the floor. “What if you cannot fix it?”
Koda kissed her forehead. “You should allow me to try.”
Claire bit her lip. “I feel unsettled. Is there news of Var?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Give him time. They are having com problems. We have been unable to contact him.”
“I am concerned.” She chewed her lower lip. “Var is scary.”
Koda caressed her cheek. “Var is a good male and a great warlord. I could not hope for a better Second. He is our Enforcer. He does his duty and he has a good and loyal heart. The scars make him look frightening. He thinks he looks worse when he smiles, so he rarely smiles. Var honors females.”
Claire said nothing. She appeared to be deep in thought.
Koda held her hand and waited. He knew this did not come easily for Claire.
“Yes, I worry that someone will be hurt. Anna thinks he has found Bess.” She looked away.
“Bess is an MX,” Koda said.
“Yes.”
“We had hoped he would find an MX to rescue. I was told that one was in the land of the slavers. If Anna thinks he has found an MX, that is good news, pita.” Koda had not had to work this hard to get information out of her in a long time. “I would know your thoughts.”
“She is a dream walker.” Claire gazed back at him.
“That does not sound dangerous, pita.” Koda rubbed her shoulders. “We do not dream.”
“You do not dream?”
“Not like you do, no.”
“Bess has had almost no training,” Claire said. “Her extra ability was considered useless.”
“I imagine Bess is as stubborn as the rest of the MX I have met. That seems to be a character trait you all share.” Koda teased her, trying to get her to smile. “Var might turn her over his knee if she proves difficult, but he will not harm her.”
Claire twisted her hands together, frowning.
Koda continued. “Var’s purpose in life is to do his duty. He follows the law and enforces it. Var protects the innocent. He will do all in his power to rescue the MX.”
Bess bit her bottom lip before continuing. “No training means she has no control. Control is essential to us. At the Facility, they never worked with her. She is not a strong empath, but that does not mean her extra gifts are weak. It only means that she cannot control those gifts as well. Bess did not display anything they wanted. Her handler did not work with her. Though she is a grown woman, socially she is a child. A child with a lot of power.”
“And you worry Var will harm her.”
Claire shook her head. Her voice was low when she spoke. “No. My concern is for Var and anyone else who may be close if she loses control of her extra ability.”
Koda did not hide his disbelief. “I would better understand the danger you think she poses.”
“She is a danger to everyone until she learns control,” Claire said. “We are not sure of her gifts.”
“I see.” Koda pulled Claire close again. “I would know if Anna is certain that Var has found Bess.”
“She is sure. Anna is never wrong. Her foresight is always accurate.”
“We will continue to try to get a message through to Var and Mack. Foord is waiting with the craft. I can send him after them. We can communicate with the ship. That is all we can do at this point.” Seeing that Claire was still uneasy, Koda continued, “We will hope that Var can win her over with his charms before she gets upset and loses control.” Koda offered in hopes of lightening the mood.
Still she did not smile.
That concerned Koda more than anything she had said.
Claire was worried about Var.
Chapter 15
Var was already up and getting ready to leave when she woke.
“I would not have anyone see your hair unbound,” Var said softly, moving behind her and gently gathering her hair in his big hands. “I would know what makes your hair do this. It does not hang straight down. It — fluffs — away from your head.”
“It’s curly,” Bess muttered. She barely breathed, waiting, while he braided and bound her long tresses. With her eyes closed, she enjoyed the sensation of his hands in her hair. It was calming. As an empath, she had experienced another person’s touch only rarely in her life. For all the violence she knew he was capable of, after all she’d seen him do, his gentleness when he touched her put her in a relaxed, almost trance-like state.
He was kind, in his way, but her heart broke to think that he was a mercenary who killed people for money.
She would be nice to him, a perfect little captive while she tried to think what to do. It had been so good to trust him and to have him take care of her, to feel like someone big and strong was on her side. If only he was... But, he was not and she had to face reality.
Var murmured, “Curly,” as if testing the word.
She felt his unease, but did not understand it. Bess waited, barely breathing until she could no longer bear the silence. “I-I have been wearing it down.”
“I did not say I preferred it bound, only that I want no one else to see it.”
Bess frowned.
“It shines like a beacon and draws attention to you.” The mood was broken. With that, he finished and stood up, ready to walk her out of the room.
“Is it well known that all MX have red hair and green eyes?” she asked.
“It is.”
His answer was harsh and she stepped back. She felt sadness from him. Was it sorrow that he was going to turn her in and the STS would kill her? Strange that a hardened mercenary would experience an emotion like that while going about making his living. There was much about the normals she did not understand and a lot about mercenaries she was sure she could never understand.
As they walked out of the old mall, Var turned and held his hand out to her. She hesitated a moment, shielded against his touch and put her hand in his larger warm one and allowed him to help her over the rocks to the clearing. Why did physical contact with him always shock her system?
Mack waited for them outside. He winked and smiled at her and handed the reins of one horse to Var
and mounted the other. Once more her captor settled Bess in front of him. She noticed that the blood on the metal hooks of his forearm band was gone. Instantly her mind flashed to those hooks ripping open a man’s throat yesterday. Now she understood why he wore them.
The warlords spoke in their language before Mack winked at her again and rode off in a different direction. What did they talk about in that language? Were they even now planning to give her to the Conglomerate while they pretended to be kind to her?
She had been naive to believe they would rescue her and take her to safety. Who in their right mind would try to help someone like her? People hated her. All because her kind could frequently know what the normals truly felt and thought. The MX were different and being different was to be feared and despised. Bess had often wondered how their dislike had turned into such a rabid hatred that they were kept separate from the general population. To her knowledge, no empath had ever harmed a normal. But then she came along.
Bess took a deep breath. There was nothing to gain by allowing bitterness to lead her. After all, she had known a lifetime of that. She would watch and wait for an opportunity. Until then, she would keep a level head and be aware of what was happening around her. She had to face the truth of what the warlords were. And Mack, with his smiles and the twinkle of mischief in his eyes, was a remorseless killer and mercenary, just like Var.
The brisk breeze made the day feel fresh and new. Sunlight filtered through the tall trees and made dappled patterns on the ground. The rain had cleaned the air. They made their way through the forest now cluttered with limbs strewn by the storm. She relished the intoxicating fragrance of the fresh evergreen woods. This scent would always remind her of Var, no matter what happened.
What a difference a day made. Just yesterday she had been excited about her future, believing the warlords were taking her to sanctuary. Yesterday she had a future. Yesterday she had hope.
At least now she knew. Her “rescue” was not for her benefit, but so he and Mack could collect a bounty. She could prepare for when they turned her over and turned their backs and walked away from her.
As they rode along, Bess received brief glimpses of Var’s emotions. From the flashes she got, she thought Var did not even like her. Despite his kindness, he held himself distant from her. He was uncomfortable interacting with her, but why? It made no sense. She understood that he would not want to get too close to someone he was going to sell. Maybe he didn’t know they were going to kill her. Would that make a difference to him? She forced her feelings down so she wouldn’t spook the horse and was soon lost in thought.
Except for the MX Handlers at the Facility, the only other people in contact with her had been the cursed slavers. All of them had been horrible. She had to accept the fact that Var was the same, only interested in turning her in and getting his danon. That he fed her and took care of her wounds was just because... Because what? He was a good person, but she was chattel to him. He had been around other MX. Had he sold them to the Conglo also?
There is no information that is not power. Information would help her survive. She was good at surviving.
A breeze stirred the trees up high and the air chilled her.
“Are you a gripper?” she asked softly. The horses continued on. Was he going to answer?
“That is not my occupation.”
“What are you?” She twisted around to regard him over her shoulder.
He smirked at her from his superior height, his blue eyes like polished steel. “I am Kryst warlord.”
“What does a warlord do?” She would find out all she could of his people. She remembered so little of what she’d heard.
“Specifically, I am the Enforcer of the Kryst Warlords. We make war.”
“And you capture MX.”
He paused, “On special occasions. We rescue MX.”
Why the hesitation? Perhaps his choice of words was designed to hide his true feelings from her.
“Who decides who you make war against?”
“We have a Warlord Leader,” he said.
“Did he send you after me?”
His silence was discouraging. “We learned of your whereabouts and I came for you,” Var finally replied.
“Why you?”
Var sighed, “I am familiar with this society and this area.”
“And you have other MX you’ve captured?”
That flash of aggravation slipped through his well contained emotional walls.
“We rescued other MX and they are with us.”
Bess took a deep breath. Her breasts moved on top of his forearm. The muscles of his arm were as hard as the man behind her.
If only he felt the same longing she did. She shook her head, trying to banish her thoughts. Bittersweet feelings clung to her like his scent of dark spices and evergreen trees. Bess wondered what he would do if she just asked him why he was working for the Conglomerate.
Her back was pressed against his hard chest. He had a knife in the harness he wore. She wiggled so it didn’t press into her spine. They rode for a time before she continued her questioning.
“Why?” she asked him.
He gave no answer.
“Why do you hunt us?”
“We offer sanctuary.”
“Why?”
“It is the decent thing to do,” he said.
Decent. Did he think her dense? “But you’re a bounty hunter.”
“I am the Enforcer of the Kryst Warlords.”
“The STS leader said you were a mercenary hired to track down MX and turn them in to the Facility.”
The silence was deafening.
“No, little mouse, the STS leader did not say that.”
She felt the hardness he wrapped around himself like a cloak. Bess paused. Maybe she could bluff her way through this. “You are a mercenary, the STS leader said so.”
“Yes. We are mercenaries, but I did not hear him speak those words, I would know why you think he said them.”
“You were busy fighting,” she began.
He shook his head slowly. “I have excellent hearing mouse.”
He had her there.
“It is not so easy for some to lie to empaths,” she said with a shrug. Maybe she could put him on the defensive.
“I would have an explanation. Now.” He pulled the horse to a stop, got down, and pulled her to stand in front of him. On the ground, he towered over her. Bess was sure it was part of his intimidation tactic. She stood with her back to the horse, the big warlord crowded her. He was using his cold expression and physical size to shake her confidence.
It worked.
“You know we read emotions.”
“I am eager to learn the emotion that means ‘mercenary’.”
Bess sighed. She was unable to look into his intense blue eyes. “Sometimes I can read what people think.”
A beat of silence hung between them. “I would know if you read my thoughts.” He held her arms and she felt pain coming from within him. Why was he in pain because she knew what the STS leader thought?
“As you have said, warlord, you are not human. I cannot read you so easily.” Anger building, she put her hands on her hips. Everyone hated the empaths because sometimes they knew the emotions and thoughts of others. He was no different. “And yes, I do sometimes read you.” She wanted him to know that lying to her would not always work.
He considered her words for a few moments.
“You killed all of them.” It bubbled up out of her. She had not even known she was about to say it. But there it was.
Var nodded. “Yes, I killed them. They were in my way. We are being tracked.” His voice was deep and gravelly and completely void of remorse.
“How?”
“I believe they are professional trackers. Hunters.”
“Does life mean nothing to you that you risk your own so easily?”
“I wonder that life means so little to you that you tried to take your own just days ago.”
Silence hung in the air, but she forged ahead. “They were waiting for us,” Bess continued. “I think you knew it was a trap even before I did.”
Var said nothing. He was a warrior. She felt the danger from him and something else when she tried to read him. Var would always play by his own rules. She read that clearly. If resolving a situation included killing people, he had no problem with that.
“Look at me. I am no threat to you,” she flung at him while lifting her palms in a gesture of helplessness.
He stepped back and looked away, frowning as though he struggled with something.
“Whatever you are hiding, it must be truly awful.” Bess regretted it as soon as it left her lips, but there was no calling it back. She felt pain from him then, and shame. But why?
As they resumed their ride through the forest, Bess puzzled on the enigma that was her captor. Little sunlight made it through the canopy overhead so they were in shade most of the time. The breeze was cool and she was grateful for the warmth of his body against her back.
Now and then he stopped the horse for no reason she could perceive. After a time, he would proceed.
“I wonder why you continued riding into their trap if you knew,” she said.
“A better question is why they waited until we were in the middle of the river before attacking us. The STS are better trained than that. If they had moved on us in the forest, they would have had a much better chance of success.”
He made a good point. Bess was quiet then. She had a good idea why the STS had waited until they were surrounded by water to attack. They knew about her. Her stomach dropped and she feared she might throw up again. They knew. Was that the reason the STS had taken such an interest in her? What would Var do if he found out? She was panting and the horse began to prance. Deep breathing got her panic under control and Bess sent calm thoughts to the horse. Unfortunately, the dread that settled over her colored her world gray.
Her life in captivity had been hard. Neglect, deprivation of food and water and rest left her weak. What the STS didn’t know was that she was a stronger empath now. Much stronger. Her control was shaky, but her extra abilities had flourished since she’d left the Facility. Those who escaped the Facility were hunted down and ended. She couldn’t even count on her handler to take part of the blame. He was already dead. She was doomed if the Conglo got her back in their control.