by Morgan Hawke
A shimmer of possibility moved through her. A ship was woven into her possible future, the one she was trying to avoid. That had to be where the ghost was taking her. A shudder of alarm shook her. If she got on that ship, all futures closed to one dark thread.
“Is something wrong?”
“Wrong?” A spurt of sour humor startled a choked laugh out of Luxi. “You mean besides the fact that I’m the prisoner of a sadistic ghost that’s going to rape me?”
The ghost snorted. “By the time we reach our destination, it will not be rape.”
Luxi ground her teeth. “Yeah, right.”
A nasty chuckle echoed along her outer thoughts. “Tell me, how do you find wearing the binding?”
Luxi had been focusing on other issues for a reason: to get her mind off the knots pressing and rubbing intimately with every single step. But now he wanted to talk about it. She took a careful breath. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“This binding is not designed to be painful, merely stimulating.”
Luxi rolled her eyes. Gee, thanks. Now that her attention was on the cords rubbing back and forth against her clit, it was hard to ignore that she was definitely feeling stimulated. The cords were getting damp, too. Her clit gave an interested throb. Change the subject! Change the subject! Change the subject! “Um, there are painful ones?” She winced. Not a good change in subjects.
“A great many.” He chuckled. “Are you getting wet?”
“Uh ...”
“It is a simple matter for me to check.”
Fate no, she didn’t want him to check! “Yes.” Damn it.
“Good.”
Piss ... Luxi scowled and ground her teeth as she walked.
The lights flickered on directly ahead, revealing a heavy steel circular blast door. They had come to the end of the hall.
Luxi stared up at the door. “I can’t open that.”
“I can.” The ghost tugged her close to the right wall. He plunged his hand within and rummaged. “Ah!”
A ringing, grinding noise filled the small hallway. The door screeched in protest and rolled very slowly to the left. A siren wail blasted into the hall.
Luxi winced. Looks like somebody noticed that the door was open.
The ghost shoved her through the widening crack and into screaming pandemonium.
Chapter Fourteen
Luxi’s first impressions were big, dark, noisy, and crowded. They had come out in the middle of a busy, multilevel shopping bazaar choked with tossed-together stalls made of every conceivable material. The light was uncertain and came from a million different directions, none of which were overhead. Bodies, human and otherwise, mostly otherwise, jostled her as they fought to either get to the opening door, or from it, and everyone was shouting.
Shoved among the throng by the ghost, Luxi tripped a lot. The floors were painfully uneven with cables strewn across them. The smell of oil and aging steel was overpowering. So was the smell of too many bodies of too many descriptions. Alarms were shrieking everywhere.
Luxi flinched under the noise, then stilled. Alarms meant security was coming. Her talent shimmered with tension. It was time to escape.
Luxi let the ghost propel her forward and allowed herself to be jostled back and forth by the anxious crowd.
The ghost’s hands tightened in her hair and swore viciously as he fought to hang on to her.
It was coming; the opportunity was coming ...
Luxi felt a hard shove and found herself in the direct path of a rather large and fast-moving bi-pedal saurian. This was it. She froze, and braced for impact.
The saurian slammed into her with incredible force, knocking her spinning and breathless out of his path. Luxi’s hair ripped as she was torn right out of the ghost’s grasp. And over, and into, someone’s item-filled stall.
Luxi bit back a moan and opened her eyes. She had rolled into a huge pile of mechanical odds and ends she couldn’t begin to identify, and they had spilled everywhere. She shifted among the pile. Everything had corners and they were digging into every inconvenient place on her body. There were going to be some nasty bruises all over her tomorrow.
Someone was shouting obscenities very close by. She looked up. The bright blue humanoid shop owner was screaming at the massive saurian -- and the saurian was barking right back. She sucked in a breath. Time to go!
Luxi ducked her head and rolled cautiously out from under the pile. She pulled up her skirts and crawled on her hands and knees to the open back of the shop. There wasn’t much room to maneuver; the shop was right up against a steel wall. As soon as both aliens were out of view, she got up on her feet and bolted along the steel wall, scooting behind the backs of dozens of makeshift stalls. Got to find security!
The uneven floor and deep shadows were not at all easy to negotiate at a run. There was stuff all over the floor and her slippers just weren’t up to the task. Her feet were bruised in minutes. That’s it! Boots from now on!
Running on instinct alone, she slipped between precarious booths, ducked under narrow walkways, and darted into half-lit alleys choked with people of every kind. Her talent told her that she was on the right path, but she had no idea where that path was leading. Her talent shifted in her like whiplash.
She jolted to the side, away from the oncoming ... whatever it was, and rammed her shoulder against a pair of men in dark power armor. She yelped and fell.
They caught her elbows before her knees could hit the deck plates. “Whoa, take it easy!”
Luxi looked up in fright and prepared to run. Sojourn Corp. gleamed on their breast badges. She had found security. She sagged in their hands. “Thank the Maker!”
One of them shoved up his visor, showing startled brown eyes. “Hey, it’s that missing diplomat!”
Luxi blinked. They had been looking for her? Wow ... She gave them a smile, then darted a look around. Her talent was still shifting, the possibilities were still moving. She needed to get out of here. “My kidnapper is not far away; can we go? Like right now?”
The man grinned. “Everything will be fine now; we have you.”
Luxi smiled. “Thank you, but can we go?” She shoved at his armored side.
“Sure, we can go.” The men laughed and set her between them. With a heavy armored hand on each shoulder, they guided her through the heart of the bazaar.
One of the guards chatted code into his helmet communicator. He looked down. “Okay, your people are coming to meet you.”
Luxi blinked. My people? It took her an entire breath, and then it hit her. Leto and Amun were coming. They were her people. She had to blink back sudden tears. She’d never had people before. She’d had companies and employers and supervisors, but not people, as in, someone she mattered to.
“Hey, do you know who opened that big power door?”
The other guard snorted. “Like she’s gonna know?”
Luxi wiped at her damp cheeks. Fate and glory, her hands were filthy ... “My kidnapper did it.”
“What?”
Luxi lengthened her stride to get them to walk faster. “The lift from the assembly hall took us to the hallway on the other side of the door. He opened the door; that’s how I’m here.”
“How did he open it? Only the station master has those codes.”
Luxi shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try us.”
Luxi looked around. “I will, as soon as we get someplace safe.”
The guards turned a sharp corner to the left and a lift opened up right in front of her, not two steps away.
Leto, tall, dark and very menacing, and Amun, still in his deep-silver court robes, came out of the lift surrounded by four Sojourn security guards in full armor. Their mouths were tight and they looked positively furious.
Leto and Amun stopped, staring.
Luxi stopped, unsure what to do.
Amun lunged forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. “Thank the Maker!”
Leto looked around,
vibrating with tension. He held out his arm and herded everyone back. “Get back in. It’s coming.”
Amun turned, sweeping Luxi before him, and into the lift.
The lift doors closed.
Amun, Luxi, and Leto made a small knot in the back corner. Amun caught Luxi’s shoulders “Blood and fate, you are filthy!”
Luxi flinched. “I had to do some crawling. I’m really sorry about the silk.”
Amun smiled. “Clothing is replaceable; you are not. I’m simply glad you are all in one piece.”
Not replaceable? Luxi stilled in shock. No one had ever said that to her before. She turned her head and blinked. Fate, what was with her, crying over every stupid little thing? She grabbed her elbows and took a deep breath. Later, I’ll think about it later. She looked up at Amun. “How did you get down there so fast?”
Amun smiled. “We were already on the way.”
Leto grinned. “Your ankle bracelet has a transmitter in it. We were tracking you the whole time.”
Oddly, Luxi felt both reassured and annoyed. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten. On second thought, she’d never worn one before, so she had no real reason to remember. She shook her head. Never mind, I’ll think about it later! She rubbed her grubby hands on her dirty silk robe. “I think he was taking me to a ship.”
Amun looked over at Leto. “I suspected as much.”
Leto wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grinned. “Yeah, but we have you now.”
Luxi smiled at Leto. He was warm, solid, and smelled wonderful. Her core gave a hungry throb, and then another. She still had that rope thing on, and it was doing its job a little too well. Her thighs were wet with aggravated excitement. The guards were the only thing keeping her from begging one of them to press her up against the wall. She took a deep breath. Think about something else! “What happened with the captain that attacked you? Did they arrest him?”
Amun sighed. “He was not taken into custody.”
Luxi sucked in a sharp breath. “What? Why not?”
Leto snorted. “Diplomatic immunity.”
Amun sighed. “But he has been escorted off the station and to the jump-gate.”
Luxi released a breath. “I was so worried.”
“You?” Leto grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “When I saw that ghost drag you off, I about leaped through the grid!”
Amun cleared his throat. “Being crisped beyond redemption would not have done anyone much good.”
Leto scowled. “Not all of me is physical.”
Amun set his hand on Leto’s shoulder. “But some of your more interesting parts are. I’d prefer if you kept them intact.” He smiled. “For me.” He turned to Luxi. “However did you get away?”
Luxi grinned. “I followed my talent. There was a loophole in the possibilities, so I took it.”
“Good girl.” Leto looked over at Amun and clenched his jaw. “We really need to deal with Vincent ...”
Luxi shook her head. “It’s not Vincent we need to worry about.”
Amun frowned. “No?”
Luxi’s hands tightened on her elbows. “I think the ghost is really in charge.”
Amun nodded. “I thought that might be the case.” He turned to Leto. “We do need a specialist.”
The lights flickered.
Luxi looked up and shivered hard. “It’s the ghost. He’s going to stop the lift.”
Amun turned to Leto and caught his wrist. “Whatever happens, do not leave her side.”
Leto scowled. “Why? Where are you going?”
“To collect our specialist.” Amun smiled. “Unless you’d rather I stayed with Luxi ...?”
“No.” Leto scowled. “Get that specialist, and get back fast -- and take the damned guards with you!”
“I intend to.” Amun’s smile disappeared. “Do whatever it takes to survive.” He turned to Luxi. “I want you both in one piece.”
Leto nodded and set his hands on his blade hilts.
Luxi looked up at him. “Leto, he’s a ghost -- all ghost. Your weapons won’t have any effect on him.”
Leto smiled nastily. “Oh, I know.”
The lift stopped. The four guards shifted uneasily.
The commanding officer turned to the guard closest to the panel. “What the hell just happened?”
The guard peered at the lift panel. “We’ve stopped somewhere between Bronze and Silver.”
The door opened on darkness
The guard stared at open door. “I didn’t know there was a floor here?”
The commander scowled. “Neither did I.”
The gray-green uniformed ghost formed in the doorway and focused on Luxi. “Enjoy your little run?”
The guards stared at the open doorway, clearly seeing nothing. “What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know!”
“Do something!”
”I am doing something! The panel’s not working!”
“Then do something else!”
Luxi clenched her fists and glared at the ghost. “Go away.”
The ghost smiled. “Oh, but you have something I need.”
Amun took hold of Luxi’s shoulder. “Luxi ...” He looked toward the door and drew in a breath. “Blood and hell ...”
Leto closed his hand tight on Luxi’s other shoulder. “You can’t have her.”
The ghost focused on Leto. His eyes narrowed. “You ...”
Leto bared his teeth in something that didn’t even remotely resemble a smile. “Yeah, me.”
The ghost tilted his head and his gaze focused on Luxi. “This lift is a rather large number of floors from ground level.” He smiled. “Shall I drop it?”
The lights flickered in the lift and the floor shuddered. The guards shouted in alarm.
Luxi grabbed onto Leto to keep from falling. “No! Don’t”
The ghost smiled. “Then come along, so they can get on with their ... lives.”
Leto’s lips curled back from his teeth. “You bastard!”
The ghost grinned and his eyes narrowed. “You can come, too, if you’d like to be consumed.” His gaze slid to Amun, braced next to Leto and clinging to Luxi’s other shoulder. “If fact, you can bring your other companion, as well.”
Amun smiled slightly. “Thank you, but I’ll pass.” He released Luxi’s shoulder and stepped back.
Leto looked back at Amun.
Amun’s mouth tightened.
The ghost shrugged. “Shall we proceed?”
Leto squeezed her shoulder.
Luxi wrapped her arms around herself and stepped toward the ghost with Leto at her side.
The ghost backed away from the doorway.
“Hey!” The guard commander moved toward them. “You can’t get off here!”
Leto and Luxi stepped off.
The lift door closed with blinding speed, leaving them in utter darkness. Hollow bangs came from the other side of the door, and faded.
“Alone at last.” The ghost’s voice was an icy wind.
Electronics hummed and archaic lights flickered on directly overhead. Several popped and went out, but enough stayed on to show an enormous, empty oval-shaped room. Plain steel girders rose along the curved walls and arched upward. The far walls were enshrouded in darkness.
Luxi looked around. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere private.” The ghost smiled. “Where I can feed without disturbance.”
Luxi jerked back around to stare at the ghost. Icy shivers slid down her spine.
The ghost nodded slowly. “Oh, yes, I’m afraid it’s time.”
Leto casually strode toward the ghost. “Out of sheer curiosity, are you from Terra, say about the turn of the nineteenth century?”
The ghost stilled. “I am.”
Leto nodded. “I thought I recognized the uniform.” He smiled shook his head. “You are quite an old boy.”
The ghost narrowed his eyes. “Far older than you.”
Leto looked up at the girders ov
erhead. “Well, yes and no.” He turned back to the ghost. “You see, I was born at the turn of the twenty-second century, but I didn’t actually lose all my biological components ’til centuries later. You’ve been dead longer than I have, but I was alive a lot longer than you.”
The ghost scowled. “I had a living host.”
Leto shook his head. “Not quite the same thing.” His raised his chin. “Oh, and for the record. You are not feeding on Luxi.” He grinned. “She’s my dinner date.”
The ghost unsheathed his sword and knife. “Do you honestly think you can stop me?”
“Blades?” Leto rolled his eyes dramatically while pushing Luxi back. “You’re using blades? Where’s your imagination?”
The ghost froze and his brows lowered, clearly at a loss.
Leto laughed. “Oh, please ...! You and I have been around long enough to know that true spirit-beings don’t need weapons when we fight.” His body froze in place. Darkness shimmered around him, and then a black form stepped forward, out of the cyborg shell.
Leto’s phantom body was shaped exactly the same, but he consisted of boiling black shadow with a gleam of scarlet flame for eyes. His long mane floated behind him in smoky tendrils. A shimmer of tiny lights, like blinking circuitry, winked throughout his form. He spread his arms wide and his fingers extended into claws as long as his forearm. “Real phantoms are weapons, all by themselves.”
Luxi shivered under the impact of her talent. Leto’s ghostly voice was a cool, insinuating autumn wind with a hint of smoke, compared to the ghost’s dead-of-winter chill.
The ghost stepped back and his lips pulled back from his teeth. “Demon!”
Leto laughed. “You have no idea.” He began to expand and reshape into a monstrous two-legged form of boiling, winking shadow that was all claws, serrated scales, and fangs. “Shall we dance?” He dropped to all fours and charged, his shape flowing into something resembling a scaled feline, complete with lashing tail.
The ghost danced out of reach and slashed out with his sword.
Leto moved under and around the blade like smoke. He laughed. “Oh, come on! You’re supposed to be a bad-ass! Let’s see it!”