Darkside Blues

by Anna Carven

  The First Division had welcomed her with open arms. She had a cool head and steady hands and she never gave in to panic on the battlefield. Over time, the rest of the Kordolian soldiers under the General’s command had come to accept her too, even though she was an anomaly onboard Silence.

  A Kordolian female acting as a military medic?

  It was unheard of.

  Zyara thought she might encounter trouble as the sole female onboard a cruiser full of male warriors in their prime, but if any of the Kordolian soldiers had lusted after her in secret, they were too afraid of General Tarak’s wrath to ever show it. The leader of the notorious First Division was fiercely protective of his medic.

  That’s why this Human’s response to her had surprised her. Zyara wasn’t used to being looked at in such a way.

  “Would you not react in the same way if I were to disturb you in your sleep, Kainan?” She tested his name, trying to draw a reaction from him.

  “Call me Kai,” he murmured, his voice low and silky, like a fine Jentian weave, “and I wouldn’t really know about that. I haven’t slept in years.”

  Zyara didn’t know what to make of his odd statement. “You haven’t slept?”

  “Not since…” He shook his head, pressing his lips together. Those sensual lips were the only hint of softness in his hard face. “You make me say too much, Kordolian.”

  Zyara shifted, preparing to get up off him. She wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, and she didn’t like the fact that her pulse rate was rising. She didn’t like the fact that there was a strange sensation coiling in her lower belly.

  Kai’s depthless black eyes brimmed with amusement. He moved slightly, and Zyara felt something hard pressing up against her.

  It was his erection.

  Zyara’s arousal flared to life. She gasped and pulled herself off him, jumping to her feet as if she’d been scalded by fire. Kai followed suit, rising gracefully to his full height, with not a hair out of place.

  “Do you want me to take you back now, Kordolian?” His voice was laced with delicious tension.

  “Zyara,” she corrected him. “It’s Zyara. And yes, I think I should return now. Thank you for allowing me to use your facilities, and for the change of clothes.”

  Kai inclined his head. “It would probably be better for the both of us.”

  “Agreed.” She tried to calm her beating heart. “The girl… did she survive?”

  “She’s going to be fine,” he said softly. He reached into his dark jacket and retrieved something, a thin, flat card that glinted in the soft light. “I am personally indebted to you,” he said. “This is my calling card. If you press your finger here, it will connect you directly to me. If you show it to the people at the gate here, they will grant you a meeting with me. If you ever need anything on Earth, please let me know.”

  He said it with such supreme confidence, as if he actually had the power to grant her anything she desired on this strange blue-and-green planet.

  Humans. Such impossible creatures. She didn’t understand them at all.

  Zyara took the card, her fingers brushing against his. He had long, graceful hands, but they were marked with scars and calluses. They were the hands of an artist, a fighter, or a killer. On one of his fingers was a golden ring depicting a serpent-like creature eating its own tail. Its eyes were tiny red jewels that sparkled in the darkness.

  Kai’s expression grew distant, his eyes glazing over for a brief moment. It was so quick Zyara almost missed it. Then the look was gone, and Zyara wondered if she’d imagined things.

  Until he spoke. “It seems I won’t have to take you back after all,” he told her. “Because your escort has arrived.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  She walked out into the courtyard to find Rykal and Kalan standing in the centre, surrounded on all sides by menacing black-suited Humans who looked ready to fight to the death.

  A quiet menace permeated the atmosphere, although Rykal and Kalan, clad in the characteristic black nano-armor that covered their bodies from neck-to-toe, appeared deceptively nonchalant.

  Zyara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was a Human habit she’d picked up from Abbey, of all people.

  But in this case, the gesture was probably appropriate. Males. They had a tendency to get overly dramatic.

  “I’m fine,” she called out, her voice echoing through the cool morning air. “Kai was just about to take me back.” She came to a halt before the two Kordolian warriors, meeting them eye-to-eye. “How did you find me?”

  “Traced you through your comm,” Rykal shrugged. “Did you think we’d just let you wander off into big bad old Darkside without keeping tabs on you? Normally, we would have gone after you on foot, but that landflyer is an impressive machine.” He let out a low, appreciative whistle. “Nicest piece of Human technology I’ve seen so far.” He glanced at Kai, quirking his eyebrow. “Though your battles leave a lot of room for improvement.”

  “Don’t concern yourself with our affairs, nonhuman,” Kai said sharply. “It isn’t your fight.”

  Zyara blinked. The tone Kai used with Rykal was different, his voice hard and cold. He obviously wasn’t intimidated by the two Kordolian warriors, unlike most Humans they encountered.

  Rykal and Kalan shrugged. “You’re right,” said Kalan. “Come on, Zyara. Let’s go. The girls have been worried sick about you. I’ll bet Xal’s going out of his mind dealing with them right now.” He snorted with dark amusement, but his odd violet eyes were trained on Kai. “You were fortunate that Zyara was on the scene, Human. She’s no ordinary medic.”

  “Evidently.” Was it just her, or did Kai sound a little snarky?

  What was it with these males all of a sudden? It was as if everyone wanted a piece of her. Zyara sighed. “Let’s go.” She squinted against the rising sun, which had painted the surrounding buildings a surreal shade of orange. Her vision was beginning to blur, and a throbbing headache had started in her temples.

  She put that down to the effects of last night’s alcohol.

  Zyara vowed never to touch the stuff again. It was poison. Kordolians clearly didn’t have the same tolerance for certain substances that Humans did.

  Dozens of hostile Human eyes were pointed in their direction, and although Kalan and Rykal hadn’t done anything but look threatening, the tension hadn’t abated.

  Kai was the only familiar Human face in a sea of black and white, and when he looked at her with his molten black gaze, her inner resolve unraveled just a little bit more.

  Oh, this Human was dangerous. It was with both relief and regret that she stepped away.

  “Remember, Zyara,” Kai said as she left, flanked on both sides by two lethal Kordolian warriors. “You know how to find me. If you ever need anything at all, please let me know.”

  Zyara looked back, briefly meeting his eyes, a shadow of a smile playing across her lips. As much as Kai intrigued her, and as much as she wanted to explore this strange, nuanced Human world of shadow and light, she doubted she’d be back.

  They existed in completely different universes. She had a duty to fulfill, and Kai lived in a world she didn’t understand.

  The good thing about last night was that she had saved a life. Emboldened by the liquor flowing through her veins, she’d trusted her instincts and rushed forward without a thought for safety or protocol. Zyara was glad she’d been in the right place at the right time. She’d stopped the Human girl, Melia, from bleeding to death.

  As much as Kai felt he owed her some sort of return favor, Zyara disagreed. The ability to heal was a gift and a privilege, and she didn’t expect anything in return.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Kai tried to push thoughts of Zyara from his mind as he entered the outer compound. Several of his subordinates knelt on the stark pavement, their heads bowed. Banri guarded the entrance, his expression grim.

  The ethereal Kordolian was a distraction; he should forget about her altogether, especially now, when everythin
g was poised on a knife’s edge.

  Life and death hung in the balance. The outcome of his conversation here would determine that.

  Kai walked slowly around the square, his leather shoes echoing loudly on the black concrete. No-one dared move. He tried to keep a tight leash on his anger, taking his time, letting them sweat.

  Finally, he spoke. “Can any of you explain to me why the original route wasn’t adhered to?” His voice was soft, but it was loaded with menace. “Why someone thought it would be a good fucking idea to drive a convoy down the Glory Strip at close to midnight, with the Boss’s daughter onboard?”

  Silence. They knew their lives hung in the balance. Kai thought of Melia, lying unconscious in the hospital, her left shoulder bound up in a bio-sleeve, her tiny body pumped full of antibiotics in an attempt to ward off multi-resistant organisms.

  When he’d left the hospital, she’d still been asleep. He hadn’t gotten the chance to look into her brown eyes and tell her that everything was going to be all right.

  He would have stayed by her side, but he needed to get to the bottom of this.

  Something had gone terribly wrong. These were his people, and they knew nothing but loyalty. So the order had to have come from a higher-up; someone with enough clout to be obeyed without question.

  “Who gave the order to change the route?” His question pierced the still morning air. No-one spoke. No-one moved.

  Kai waited for an answer. None was forthcoming. He took a few steps forward, coming to stop in front of a man called Miroslav.

  “Miroslav,” he said quietly. “You were the lead driver. You helped plot the route. I’ll ask again, and only once. Who. Gave. The. Order?”

  Miroslav flinched, but didn’t look up. “You did, Master.”

  Kai froze. “What?”

  His subordinate didn’t say anything.

  “Look at me, Miroslav.” Kai stared down at the man as he slowly lifted his head. He squatted down so that he was face-to-face with the man, meeting sea-colored eyes. “What did you just say?”

  “Y-you gave the order to divert course, Master Kainan.”

  Kai had done no such thing. “What makes you so sure of that, little brother?” He slipped into the speech pattern of the streets, switching to his native Eskulin, the default language of Darkside dwellers. It was a bastardized mixture of Japanese, Mandarin, Malay, English, and dozens of other ancient tongues.

  Miroslav followed suit. “The order came through the private Network. It had your bio-sig attached.”

  “Did it, now?” Kai’s anger threatened to explode. Had someone been able to mimic his personal signature on the Networks? He’d only heard of such a thing being done once or twice in his lifetime. It was near-impossible to pull off.

  Whoever had done this had to be extremely brave or incredibly stupid. When Kai got ahold of them, they were going to die a slow and painful death.

  Kai stood, looking down at his people. If what Miroslav was saying was true, then they weren’t at fault. They’d just been following orders.

  And apparently, those orders had come from him.

  “Tarkin, is what he’s saying true?”

  “Y-yes, big brother. We all got the same order. It was verified as having your bio-sig.”

  Kai suppressed the urge to swear viciously. He had made so many enemies that it would be difficult to narrow it down to a list of potential suspects.

  Whoever it was would have a lot of resources at their disposal. Hacking an electronic bio-sig was no simple task. Replicating one so accurately was almost unheard of.

  It wasn’t impossible, but it was very, very difficult. A job like that could take years to set up.

  “You’re all confined to the compound until I get to the bottom of this,” Kai snapped, as he stared at the bowed heads of his soldiers. He heard a soft sigh of relief from several of them. They’d been granted a momentary reprieve.

  “I’ve always been fair to you,” he said slowly, as he started to walk away. “You all know me well enough by now. I’m not some vicious cartel boss who prefers death over uncertainty. I am going to check the datafeeds from all four vehicles. If I find evidence that any of you have dared cross me, you had better make preparations for hara-kiri, because what I will do to you will make you wish for a swift death.”

  Kai’s voice was as cold as winter ice. There was no emotion in it; he kept his anger close to his chest and let it permeate every thought and fiber of his being.

  He just didn’t show it.

  “Tread carefully, little brothers and sisters, because I’m watching your every move. And from now on, it’s verbal orders only until I get my bio-sig fixed. Do you understand?”

  He was going to have to get his bio-sig recalibrated as soon as possible, and then he was going to get to the bottom of this.

  Another threat had surfaced, and someone important to him had been hurt. Threats Kai could deal with. They were part and parcel of his existence, and he warded off danger all the time. Even though he had risen high in the ranks of the Urubora, danger and violence shadowed him at every step.

  It came with the territory, and Kai had accepted that.

  What he couldn’t stomach was Melia getting hurt in the process.

  There were rules to follow when carrying out business in Darkside, and someone had just broken the rules in order to get to him.

  Unforgivable.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Zyara watched the green-eyed twins, a Human boy and girl, with a growing sense of unease. It seemed they were changing before her very eyes. Their dark pupils had narrowed to thin slits, and they glared at her through the window. Although she knew they couldn’t see her through the one-way barrier, their twin, almost-glowing gazes were disconcerting.

  This morning, it was back to work as usual. The surreal events of last night seemed like nothing more than a distant dream.

  “This is the effect of the virus?” She turned to the Human doctor, Lorelei Asher, who was watching the twins with a dispassionate expression.

  “This is what Dracaera does,” she said. “If you were to walk in there right now, they’d probably try and tear you to shreds. We’ll have to sedate them.”

  “They haven’t been this bad before.”

  “No, but that’s because they haven’t had their monthly dose of suppressant. The last shot they had was back in the facility, and I’d estimate that it’s almost completely out of their system by now.”

  “So they’re regressing?”

  “The physical effects, the DNA-modulatory effects of the virus are accelerated, inducing rapid changes. They gain physical advantages, but the changes come at a price. Mentally, they revert to simple predators. The mere sight or smell of blood, for example, is enough to drive them into a frenzy. You can see how we’d want to suppress that trait. If we could induce those physical advantages without the cognitive side-effects, we’d have enhanced Humans on our hands.”

  Zyara glared at the Human doctor who stood beside her. Her neutral tone was beginning to irk Zyara. How could she be so nonchalant as she watched these two Human children turning into mindless beasts? This Dracaera virus, which had been forcefully introduced into their bodies, was destroying them, turning them into something less-than-human.

  Zyara was disgusted.

  “How do we stop it?” Zyara bit back on her anger. Right now, she needed to keep a cool head. She needed to find a way to help these children.

  “The only way is to dose them with suppressant. If they don’t get it within the next forty-eight hours, they’ll be lost.” Lorelei shrugged. Zyara glared. Although the Human was acting aloof, she couldn’t hide the fact that there was a black Kordolian slave-collar around her neck.

  Lorelei had been brought back from the SynCorp research facility along with dozens of Humans and aliens who had been experimental research subjects.

  General Tarak and his crew had brought them here, to this ranch in the middle of the desert, where the Kordolians had set up a
base. Many of them had been in need of intensive medical care. There were far too many for Zyara to take care of on her own. So because Zyara had required assistance, Tarak had slapped a slave-collar around Lorelei’s neck and ordered her to help treat the victims. The General didn’t trust the good doctor one bit, and Lorelei knew that her life hung in the balance.

  One mis-step, and she could be forced to endure extreme torture, delivered through the collar. It was an archaic device, a symbol of the Old Empire. Zyara hated the damn things.

  But General Tarak’s orders on this were absolute.

  So far, Zyara had to admit she’d been an invaluable source of information. She knew the medical histories of all the victims, and as far as medics went, she was half-way competent.

  After all, she’d engineered many of these experiments herself.

  “So how does one obtain this suppressant?” Zyara had run blood samples from the twins through multiple analyses, but so far, she’d failed to come up with a compound that could treat the virus. It annoyed her that the Humans had achieved a feat she hadn’t yet been able to crack. If only she had more time.

  A doubtful look came into Lorelei’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but Simavir is very, very expensive to manufacture. Even in SynCorp we only ever carried very limited stock. It’s going to be virtually impossible for you to obtain at short notice.”

  “And why didn’t you warn us about this earlier?” Zyara fought to restrain her frustration. She was half-tempted to activate the slave-collar herself.

  “I’m sorry.” For a moment, Lorelei’s blank expression cracked; she looked genuinely apologetic. “With all that’s happened these past few weeks, it just slipped my notice. I didn’t realize they hadn’t received their last shot before leaving the facility. I should have informed you at the start, but the reality is that once you took the twins out of there, any hope of obtaining their next dose of Simavir was lost. You won’t be able to get it at such short notice.”