by Auryn Hadley
Giggling, she pushing him off her. "I think you like it."
"Maybe. We'll call it one hell of an afterglow."
Sal glanced back at the camp, the light of the fire tinting the sky. "It's why I cost so much, Kolt. There's two types of iliri, seducers like Blaec, and fighters, like Jase."
"So you're a seducer?" He sounded like he couldn't believe it.
"I'm both." She sat up. "I was an experiment. I'm not sure what they were trying to do, but they kinda made the perfect soldier. I can kill almost anything, and there's something about me that makes others want to please me. That's why the 112th is so loyal."
"But they're human, Sal. It shouldn't affect them."
She shrugged. "Blaec did. The CFC loved him."
"How? It's never touched humans before, not in all of our history."
Sal shrugged again, but this time she was smiling. "I have a theory, but no way to prove it."
"Care to share?"
"We link humans, Kolt. The Blades? Yeah, we got Zep in a link, which means we know how human minds work. I think it changed something."
"And you can do it?"
She nodded. "Linking is easy. Healing is a lot harder. We're not meant to have all the skills, so some work better than others. Thing is, the more I have, the more I can do."
He grunted at that. "Like kill with a touch."
"Shit." Sal looked at him. "Fetching. You touch things you can't reach."
"And?" He wrinkled his brow in confusion.
Sal pressed her lips together, her mind spinning. "I can kill with a touch, you can touch things far away. If I could fetch, could I kill the emperor without needing to touch him?"
"Do you want to?" he asked softly.
"Him? Yeah."
"Then you can have my skill, Sal."
She shook her head. "Not now. It hurts too much. I need to be someplace where I can relax a few days."
"Does it hurt as bad as the link breaking?" He stood and offered a hand to her.
Sal took it. "No. Nothing hurts like that. But copying kinda feels like a dagger in the brain. Knocks me out for a bit. The more skills I get, the more the next one hurts. It's like the world's way of preventing us from going out of control."
He grabbed her belt from the grass, passing it to her, then turned to grab their blanket. Sal buckled it around her waist, wondering what the humans would say when she returned with leaves in her hair. Kolt didn't seem concerned, draping the blanket over his shoulder as he tossed his arm carelessly over hers. He walked beside her over the hill, making no effort to hide what had happened.
"You're the Kaisae," he said. "What you choose to do with your body is no concern of theirs."
"It just feels embarrassing."
"Why? That you get off on killing? You're a predator. You think you should be ashamed of it?"
She chuckled and shook her head. "No. Thanks, Kolt, you always seem to say the right thing."
They crossed into the light of the fire and the men all looked up. Blaz caught her eye and smiled when he saw she was more relaxed. Rais looked over them both then returned his attention to his sword, scrubbing at a delicate groove in the blade. The other men couldn't hide their grins, though.
"Have fun?" Lorenz asked.
Sal tugged at her collar, exposing the wounds across her neck. "Yeah. You want a round?"
The men all looked at Kolt. He tossed the blanket on the ground, laughing. "Keep guessing, guys. Just be glad she won't kill you, now."
"It's really more the eating them than the killing," Sal teased.
"Serious?" Celso asked.
Sal tilted her hand in the air. "Yes and no. The iron in your body stops the maast. My instincts demand that I keep killing until I can claim my prize."
"Fuck," Shern muttered.
"That works too," she said with a giggle. "Instinctually, we're driven to seek the claim. Whether that's a kill or a man, doesn't seem to matter. Probably some holdover survival instinct."
"And that's the only way to stop it?" Blaz asked.
"Sleeping works, but it's not always easy to do. The longer we try to hold off, the more our bodies fight us, demanding something." She lowered herself to the ground, leaning easily against Kolt. "Blaz, let me show you something."
She reached for his mind, not surprised at all when he gave it to her easily. She wrapped him in her senses and leaned to the man next to her, Aleks, and inhaled. The delicious sweetness of human flesh flared in her mind, and Blaz gasped.
"What the fuck?" He sat up.
"That's how humans smell. None of you noticed the scent when we were in that meld?"
"Yeah," Celso admitted. "Didn't know it was us, though. Figured it was some strange iliri thing. You gonna share with all of us?"
She opened their minds, pleased to notice how easily they formed a battle meld, and breathed in Aleks again. The men all groaned. Sal pulled her dagger from her back and smelled it, too, then laughed as the men's eyes grew wide.
"Steel smells like us?" Aleks asked.
"Yeah," Kolt said. "It's not the same, but pretty close."
"What does meat smell like?" Lorenz asked.
Kolt leaned forward and pulled a slab of pig from the fire. "It's not done," Rais warned, but Kolt shrugged it off. He shuffled it from hand to hand until Sal skewered it with her dagger, leaving Kolt to blow on his singed fingers. She inhaled, savoring the aromas, then took a bite from the edge.
"Well, fuck me," Shern said. "And everything is like that?"
Kolt grabbed her hand, taking the dagger from her. "Go look at the stars, Sal."
"Oh, right." She stood and gestured for them to wait as she walked out of the glare of the flames. As the darkness surrounded her, Sal closed her eyes, letting them adjust, and tilted her head up. When she opened them, the field of stars greeted them all.
"What color is that?" Aleks asked.
"Which?" Sal called back to him. "Focus on it, and I'll know." He did, picking out one of the stars in the sky. She looked at it closely. "Ultraviolet, I think. It's half that, half purple, kinda like orange is half yellow and half red." She turned to another star, the deep pulsating color one of her favorites. "Pretty sure human eyes don't see that one either."
Aleks couldn't contain his interest. "What color is it?"
"No idea," she admitted, turning back to the camp. "I didn't have parents, and the humans who raised me only taught me Glish. Since you can't see it, you don't have a word for it. I haven't really had time to learn all the things in Iliran that aren't a direct translation."
"Sal?" Rais asked, looking at her with a smile.
"Yeah?"
"Would you look at the trees the next hill over?" She did, and the Captain started laughing. "You see in the dark, too?"
Sal turned to him, her eyes constricting against the light. "Yeah. Not all crossbreds do, but most of us."
"Yes," Kolt told them. "I do, too."
"That fucking bastard," Rais muttered.
She released their minds and sank to the ground again, this time on the blanket Kolt had spread. "What'd Blaec do this time?" she asked.
"Saved our asses," Rais said softly. "Told us the Blades had trained in an area so knew it like the back of their hands, which was how they got us through the enemy line."
She chuckled. "That was a weak excuse actually. Taking soldiers through enemy patrols takes our night vision, usually Razor's tracking, our sense of smell and hearing, and Arctic's link so we can communicate silently."
"How did he keep it from us for so long?" Aleks wondered.
She just leaned back into the blanket. "Humans didn't want to know, so you always explained it away. That's why we cut ourselves to prove it. Hard to explain a wound healing before your eyes."
"Well, I for one, am glad you stopped hiding," Shern said.
The rest of the men agreed. Sal finished her meal feeling better than she had in days. The world really was changing, even if Blaec wasn't around to see it. He'd proven they could do it and she'd proven tha
t humans would accept them. By the time she finished eating, her eyes were too heavy to keep open. She fell asleep lying before the fire, curled on her side.
"Here." Aleks offered a small pillow to Kolt.
"She'll need this too," Shern said, passing across another rolled blanket.
Kolt looked across the flames and saw Blaz smile. "You hurt her, and I'll kill you," Blaz told him.
"Never," Kolt said. "I'd rather die."
Blaz tilted his head to the side, the corner of his lip tightening. You'd also better pull your head out of your ass. You can't follow her around like a lovesick dog and think she won't notice.
Kolt lay back, shifted the pillow, then moved Sal against him. Worked well enough for you.
Blaz chuckled. The difference is, I'm human. I know better than to fall for her. It's not like that between us.
Us either, Kolt assured him. She just needs someone to lean on.
Just don't tell me you're her big brother. Zep already tried that. Blaz shrugged. Cyno said she can't change her mind. If she claims you as hers, it's for life, so think real hard about what it is you're doing, Kolton.
Kolt looked at the delicate girl in his arms. I am. She deserves something better than me. He kissed the top of her head and sighed, closing his eyes, begging for sleep to take him.
Chapter 42
The next morning they were up before dawn. The first pale light tinted the sky when Blaz shook Kolt awake. He reached for Sal, but her eyes were open, watching him.
"Morning, Kaisae."
"Morning Blaz," she said.
"You willing to ride with me again, or you gonna try to eat me?"
She yawned, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. "I'm good," she promised.
"Who'm I riding with?" Kolt asked, his voice rough from sleep.
"I'll take him," Aleks offered. "My girl's fresh still."
Rais laughed as he tied his things behind his saddle. "You're taking that hunk of man from me?"
"You can have him if you want, Captain. Didn't know he was your type."
Rais shrugged. "I like them tall and dark, but I prefer the kind with tits."
Sal giggled. "Trying to say I should ride with you?"
"Nah, too short and a pale."
"Still missing Rayna?" Blaz teased.
Rais shrugged. "Only in the mornings. Not many women can ride all day, then ride all night, and still wake up with a smile in the morning."
"I'm gonna tell her you said that," Sal teased.
Rais groaned. "Shit. I forgot you two are close now."
Sal pulled herself to her feet, patting Rais's shoulder as she made her way to the bushes beyond. "Yeah. Where do you think I learn all the kinky shit?"
"Fuck." Rais leaned his head on his saddle. "Kolt, please tell me she's joking?"
"Probably not, but I wouldn't know. I think Rayna's got shit on every man in the elites."
"Wouldn't shock me if Sal did too," Lorenz said as he saddled his horse.
"She's not like that," Kolt insisted.
Blaz chuckled. "She's not, but she still has shit on us. You know she's a reader now, right?"
"What's that?" Shern asked.
Reads thoughts with a touch, Murah explained.
"It's only skin to skin," Kolt told them. "She also tries not to look."
Lorenz grinned. "Oh, protective now?"
"Isn't a new thing," Kolt assured him.
"He's been watching my back for six years," Sal said, striding back into the camp. "If you count, you'll realize that was before I was conscripted. Yes, Kolt and I have some history."
"Sal?" Rais turned to her. "I was asked for a favor."
"Blaz told me. It's ok."
The Captain nodded. "Just wanted to make sure I hadn't crossed the line or something. Kolt? When did you change your name?"
"Fuck," Kolt muttered. "When I failed out of the Blades. Thought it was a species thing so started using my middle name."
"Syrik," Sal said, remembering the alias he'd used. "Syrik Enik Kolton?"
"Yeah. My sire was Enik, so my amma used her last name, but took the human convention of three names."
She nodded. "Wondered how you'd gotten such a human name."
Blaz tossed the last blanket into his pack and turned to check his girth. "So which do you prefer, Sal? Enik, or Syrik?"
"Syrik," she said without thinking. "But I also know what it means."
"Oh?" Kolt asked.
She refused to look at him when she answered. "It's a type of thunderstorm."
"Huh," he mumbled, walking toward his ride without another word. "Never knew that."
Blaz swung into the saddle, moving to let Sal up behind him. "What'd I miss?" he asked her softly.
"When he's not wearing jewelry, Kolt smells like a storm." She settled against his back.
"And?"
She shrugged. "And Enik isn't a very Iliran name."
"And?" Blaz asked again.
"And he's spent most of his life pretending to be a human. A lot of iliri would resent him for that. Hearing I don't?" She bit at her lips, remembering how it had felt when the Blades had accepted her. "It's nice, Blaz. Confusing, but nice."
They moved out as soon as the sun was truly above the horizon, Sal's senses guiding their way. They talked as they rode, keeping the conversation light, making the kilometers pass quickly. The men of the 112th Mounted had no fear of her, even if they didn't truly understand her species, but instead of guessing, they asked.
First, it was Celso, curious about their language. "So how did you communicate with the grauori? I mean when you first met them?"
Murah whuffed in amusement. Same way you do, human. You're hearing Grauoran thoughts right now, but they make sense in your head.
"Figured a brerror wouldn't bother to learn Glish." Sal cocked her head at the male, teasing him.
"I kahn spheak da werds," he tried. It's hard, though. My mouth wasn't made for all the letters.
"Sal?" This time it was Blaz. "What does Iliran sound like?"
"Beautiful," Kolt answered. "She speaks it perfectly too, with the right accent." He turned to her and switched to Iliran. "Everything still good between us?"
Sal smiled and answered in the same language. "Yeah. I owe you again, but it's good. I'm a little embarrassed, but that's it."
"No reason to be," Kolt assured her. "Just friends, Kaisae."
"Thanks." She glanced at the faces listening, all too aware how personal their words were. "It matters, Kolt. You keep saying it doesn't, but it matters."
"So do you."
"What does il bax genause mean?" Blaz asked. "The inflection on that makes it sound powerful."
Kolt looked at Sal and raised his eyebrow. "You started this."
She nodded. "It translates to ‘it matters,' but it's not exact."
"What is exact?" Blaz asked.
Sal tilted her head to the side and chewed at her lip. "Um, the closest in Glish is ‘you altered my destiny,' but that's not quite what it means. Kinda like the phrase about hitting the road."
Kolt nodded, thinking about it. "It's pretty close, Sal. I'd translate it to ‘you earned my fate.'"
"Yeah," she turned her eyes to Blaz. "When we say it, it means that we owe a debt stronger than our lives. That the actions of someone have changed the world and we will repay them until things between us are balanced again." She shrugged.
He nodded. "Then il bax genause, Kaisae." Blaz smiled at her over his shoulder.
Our debt is even, Sal told him. Your pain for my love. Your horse for my pride. There is no debt between us, which is why you've always been a friend.
And yet I still want to pay you back over and over. Maybe some things can't be repaid, and we're left with nothing but trust.
She nodded and leaned against him. Then il bax genause, Blaz. You do matter. You always will.
He patted her leg. "So what do you think of my boy?" He glanced at her, seeing if she accepted the change of subject.
"He's
almost as good as mine," Sal said. "And yet we both wish we didn't own them."
"Blew that one, didn't I?"
"It's ok," Sal told them all. "I don't have a need to avoid the thought of Blaec. It doesn't hurt any more or less if I hear his name."
"They mourn their dead by telling stories of their lives," Kolt said.
"They?" Aleks asked.
"Yeah." Kolt gestured to Murah, trotting between the horses. "Your mutt and I have a lot in common. We're called brerror."
"Were," Sal corrected. "Murah chose the 112th, you chose the Blades."
Kolt shrugged. "Still, I never participated in a lot of our traditions because I had no pack."
"What's brerror?" Lorenz asked.
"Loaners." Sal looked at Kolt, and he nodded for her to go on. "With grauori, they can end up brerror for any number of reasons. Loving the wrong colored mate, having a skill that's too powerful, or even just refusing to drop their gaze. Once they're run out of a pack, it's hard to find another, and the title hangs over them."
My amma dared to mate with a rafrezzi, Murah explained. I am aufrio but shunned because of it.
"What about you?" Lorenz asked, unaware of how delicate the subject really was.
Kolt shrugged. "For some reason, our line has dark skin. We look like humans."
"So did Jiesa," Blaz pointed out.
"And her cousin, Razor." Sal flicked her ear back, checking to see if Kolt put it all together.
"Where'd they come from?" he asked.
"Lewes," Sal said.
Kolt sucked in a breath. "So was my amma. She moved north to Yarrin when she got pregnant."
"Gotta be something in the water," Aleks teased.
"Yeah," Sal muttered. "Geo's got relatives that way, too."
"And he isn't exactly pale," Blaz agreed.
Sal wondered about that as they continued on. Maybe it was simply a family trait, like how some humans had large, hooked noses, even though most didn't. It didn't seem like being dark skinned made them any more or less iliran. Just like the color of their hair didn't seem to matter. She decided it wasn't worth worrying about so pushed it from her mind.
Just after midday, Sal saw the first signs of Issevi on the horizon. The silhouette of the town walls just broke the line of trees around it, a few taller buildings reaching toward the sky.