I ground my teeth. “We need a plan.”
Chapter Six
“Let me go with you.” John leaned away from the wall.
I shook my head. “I need you here to help them.”
“I know Rexu. Rexu is why I’m here. I might have been dispatched from Pinao, but I was living on Rexu when I got tossed on that transport with my synthoplas and half a suitcase of stuff.”
Zar pointed at him. “He makes a good point. It would be better if you had a guide while you were there.”
I didn’t know what to do. “You were undercover with me. If you and I go we lose that, and leave only Marin. He wasn’t trying to hide why he was befriending Trill.”
Marin shook his head. “I got this. Aura knows how to get you off Lorn. She was down in the Tunnels a few times before we found her.”
John nodded enthusiastically, and Aura joined him. “I do. I do know where the ships are down there. If you need a captain, I’m sure we can find one—”
“We only need a ship we can buy,” John said. “I got the flying covered.”
“Time frame?” I asked.
Zar looked around. “That I’m worried about. He hasn’t killed since he’s been here, but in the past the pattern was every twelve weeks. We’re at…”
“Three months since we first saw him in the bar,” Marin said.
“Not good. We’re right in the time frame.” I didn’t like this at all. “Look, please promise me that you aren’t going to wait to take him down. You’ll do it even if we’re not back with Min. We can’t let him kill anyone. Not when the Humans here might recognize the kill type and pattern.”
It was quiet a minute before Aura spoke. “In a closed system, that would be a disaster.
The experiment would fail and there’d be chaos under the dome.”
Aura motioned to John and me. “Let's go. We're wasting time. We have Trill here and we can watch him. Maybe get some of that tracking shit down his throat. You two need to get off planet, and find out if you can save the angel.”
John looked at her. “Shouldn't we—”
“You need more than the clothes on your back?”
“Yes,” John stated. “I need synthoplas and my pocket watch.”
Elle snorted. “A pocket watch? With all this tech?”
“It's not his, it's mine.” I kept my voice quiet. “He has to have it if I'm going to be able to leave the planet. I can't be that far away from it.”
“A pocket watch?” Aura wrinkled her nose.
Zar nodded. “It's his lamp. John is his lampmaster. Brilliant, really.”
Elle stared at me. “He's had it all this time?”
John looked around the room. “I've had it since he was eighteen and he was linked to it. His mother and I were friends, and when she died, P’iliktus became my ward. We worked for months on a lamp that wouldn't attract attention or stand out, and yet was small enough to be tucked away.”
“John has always been my lampmaster. I've never had another. I've been lucky beyond reason. I hear other djinn stories about their horrible masters and awful wishes people have made. I cannot travel so far as another world without the watch. I will be pulled back into it.”
“Into the watch? But that's so tiny!” Aura was horrified.
John smirked. “The watch is just a part of his lamp. A mobile part that we can take and keep him safe. The rest is a box, the housing in which the watch rests and recharges.”
“The housing box is large. While I do shrink to accommodate the box, it's a lovely box with furnishings and a bed and even a small computer terminal I designed at the micro level so I could keep in touch. John has never felt the need to confine me save for one time…”
“The trip here.” He sighed. “Look, we need the watch if Pili is to have any chance of getting off world and saving Min.”
Nodding, Aura motioned them to the door. “At least now I understand why you keep that box carefully tucked away.”
We were in to their quarters and back out to the Tunnels in just a few minutes. John and I each carried a backpack full of his synthoplas. He didn't think he was going to need it. But better safe than sorry.
In his pocket, sat my watch. Safe.
The tunnels were at the bottom of the Complex, supposedly shut down after construction, but not really. It hadn't taken long for them to be up and operating after the Move In. All sort of illegal goods and services could be got down below. There had been a robust flesh trade, until John and Marin had discovered it and shut it down to rescue Aura. The slavers had left after they saw what John had done to two of the bodies in his vampire rage. The rest of it went on.
Drugs, sex, contraband, flights off planet. If someone in the Complex was willing to head to the Underground, they could find anything.
Aura led us through the twisting maze of tunnels that led down deep below and far outside the domes. Once we had cleared a quarter mile from the entrance, there was a hoverform there to speed us along.
The Complex was huge, nearly 45 miles highand 60 miles across. It was less than half occupied, and could have many more floors built into the dormitory domes. We sped out from under one of the farming wings—all the pipes gave that away.
The hoverform zipped along at a healthy pace and before long, it slowed and stopped at a fork in the tunnels. We hopped off, and Aura looked at both tunnels.
“That leads to the water supply and back to the Complex.” She pointed to the right. “So, we go this way. We should find another hoverform just a little way down.”
“Where are we?”
“Out by the lake. The fresh smokers that supply the water are out here. We'll go under the waterfall in front of the lake, and around the other side. The main off-world market is over there. We would have had to take a different tunnel to get to the on-world one.”
As she predicted, there was another hoverform there. I knew from walking around and studying maps, the geology and natural formations of Lorn were damned huge. It was a colossal planet, and everything was upsized. The waterfall was nearly three miles wide, and the specially engineered turbines spun in the liquid to supply part of the backup power. The water was nearly pure alkali. The fresh smokers were tapped below the lake bed and the perfect pH water was pulled out before it could get to the lake. That was what made the Complex possible.
“What the plan?” Aura asked as we moved through the tunnel.
John answered. “We're going to buy a ship and head to Rexu. That's where Min last was.”
She choked. “Excuse me? Buy a ship?”
I couldn't stop the laugh. “Yes. Why?”
“Do you know how much—”
Putting a finger to her lips, John stopped her. “You still do not realize how fucking wealthy I am, do you? Yes. We are going to buy a ship. We'll sell it when we get back.”
“Shit, John.”
He leaned in close to her. “My little succubus, you will want for nothing. Ever.”
“Not the place,” I mumbled.
John glanced at me. “Actually. We should. If I feed now, I won’t need the synthoplas.”
I rolled my eyes and sat down cross-legged, facing away from them. Once the vampire got blood on his mind, there wasn't much to stop him. I'd walked in on the trio way too often, and knew that first hand. “No sex, you two. Just take a little blood and move on.”
Which was impossible for them. He took blood, she took sex.
Aura looked well satisfied by the time we pulled out of the tunnel and into the cavern where the market resided. John didn't look disappointed either.
I was quickly distracted by the market and the cavern. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but certainly not the organization I saw in front of me. Everything was clearly marked and there were signs that could be pulled down in moments. There was a hustle and bustle in the little market, and comings and going revealed the stalls and lodgings, and the ship port just behind.
Aura, striding through the market, motioned us to follow her.
“How many times has she been down here?” I asked John, quietly.
“Dozens. She works with the brothel to make sure the employees are safe and not slave traded.” He watched her backside as she took measured strides. “I think she also likes the spare sexual energy she can absorb here. She's really embraced that side of her since Marin and I moved her in with us.”
“So, they really do crave sex.”
Raising an eyebrow, John smirked. “You have no idea. Two of us, and she's always ready to go. Always.”
“That is so not a complaint.”
“She even likes to watch me and Marin.”
“Still not a complaint.”
“Hell, no.”
“I can hear you.” Aura threw a smile over her shoulder at us. And it was a filthy smile for John. “The port is just ahead. But we're going off to the right, to talk to the captains and dealers.” She stopped and waited for us. “I don't know if you can just buy a ship. I think they all come with captains.”
“Did I hear you want to buy a ship?”
Aura gasped and stepped back against John. There was a tingle in the air, and I knew the two of them were talking in the way mates can...silently, through a link in their minds.
The man there was less man and more toad. He was every bit the slimy, underground dealer. Sizing him up, as if the link he and Aura shared didn't pass him all the information he needed, John nodded.
“We are looking for a ship.”
“Not all ships have captains. Are you a pilot?”
“I am. Do you have anything with Human markings.”
“I may be able to help you.”
“Yes or no.”
The toad-man stared at John, maybe trying to use some psychic influence on him, but failing. Miserably. He finally nodded. “Yes. I have Human. For you and the girl?”
“Me and the djinn.”
His toady little mouth made a perfect O as he turned and looked me up and down. “A djinn.” His hands rubbed together. “For the price of his lamp, I will give you any ship you want.”
“No deal. Currency only.”
He narrowed his eyes. “It will take a lot of currency. His lamp will get you anything.”
“Not for sale.”
The toad-man rubbed his hands together. “What can I give you to reconsider—”
I flashed my magic in the tunnel, easily blinding the toad-man, and when it faded to acceptable levels, a small blue flame burned in my hand. “The lamp is not his to give. You will not ask for it in trade again.”
The creature bowed and backed off. “I do apologize.” But his eyes landed on Aura. This guy was just asking to have a limb ripped off.
John turned to his mate. “We’re here now, my little succubus. You can head back. I wouldn’t want to distress you when I remove this parasite's head. As I am planning to do because he keeps casting his eyes on things that are not his.”
The toad-man grunted, and turned to walk away. “Follow me. I will show you what I have. You’d better have the currency, and it had better be good.”
I hurried ahead while John leaned down to give Aura a kiss goodbye and shoo her off back to the Complex. She was in danger here, beyond the market, and I didn’t blame him for sending her off. A moment later he strode up next to me alone, and spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
“We’re looking for anything that looks like a normal Rexu ship might. It’s a middle class planet without much fanfare or wealth. There are wealthy people, but they live in enclaves. We need the day to day workers.”
I nodded, just enough to for him to see that I understood.
The toad-man didn’t disappoint. His idea of a few ships was a full hanger of them, with markings from every planet in the solar system: Pinao, Famiil, Creda, Wreston, Emalo...and Rexu. The Rexu marked ships sat in a far corner. Most of them were in poor to “you’re kidding, right?” shape.
We picked our way through and after just a few minutes I spotted something I thought might actually get us to Rexu without popping a vacuum. I tossed a chin in its direction and John followed.
“How much?”
“For that? The Djinn’s lamp.”
John lost it. He bared his fangs and his eyes glowed red as he slammed the toad-man against the wall. “I am not here to bargain with the djinn’s lamp. I am here to buy a ship from you. I can just as easily drain every last drop of what passes for blood in your body and fly off with whatever the hell I please. Somehow, I think you prefer the money.”
Toad-man nodded and John dropped him.
I raised an eyebrow. “You know I could have done that, too. I’m pretty capable of threatening to kill people.”
“But I rather enjoy it,” John answered, without humor.
The salesman was properly scared, but he did manage to come up with a number. I choked on it, and John just raised an eyebrow. “Really? And you think that’s fair after you tried to buy my friend and ogled my mate?”
“I could take some off the top.”
John glanced over at me. “Would you mind taking a look and giving me a real assessment of what this would be worth?”
Nodding I walked up the stairs into the small ship. And it was a small ship. It would barely hold six people and their suitcases. I turned on some of the systems and checked that there was fuel enough to at least get us to Rexu. It would fly. It was not anywhere near what John would usually demand. He had a vast monetary reserve on all three of the Metas planets. His wealth was sick, and this little ship was way below his norm.
It was exactly what we needed.
Dropping down the ladder I waved my hand. “Eh. So-so. Not the nicest thing I’ve ever seen. A little low on fuel.” I quoted him a number.
Toad-man gasped. “That’s an insult.”
“That’s a gift.”
“Make it half again and I’ll fuel.”
The toad-man and John were in a stare off for just a moment, and then John nodded. “Fuel it. Done.” He slipped the backpack off his shoulder and threw it to me. I didn’t stay to listen to the rest of the conversation. We had a ship and I had to prep it.
7
Pragma
Three hundred years.
From star to star to star, he watched and waited. He never pressed, he never begged. He supported and cared.
Not only for his angel, but his friends. Those who called him family.
He could always be counted on. There was never a question of his loyalty. It ran deep and ran true. For three hundred years, he learned and waited and watched.
He watched me.
He waited for me.
And I did not see him.
Chapter Eight
We flew low over the high hills behind the Complex. Dodging and darting below the scans from the building, we had to make sure that we were at least a thousand klicks from the exit of the spaceport.
For safety, John took us twelve hundred klicks. Once we hit that, he pulled us straight up and hit the boosters to get us out of the atmosphere.
One might almost think that it was too easy to get out of the Complex. That for all the security inside, it was just too simple to fly off planet like we had. At the same time, though, I knew most of the residents on Lorn were not as wealthy as John and even great power and abilities didn't speak nearly as loud as money.
Still… fly that way, you'll be good? Odd, but...Probably money, again, applied at the right time to the right people.
Lorn shrank beneath us. Rexu was on the other side of the solar system this time of year, so we wouldn’t have too short of a flight. We had to make an arc pass around the sun, and just as we passed it, I saw all the stars in space appear.
“Shit, I don’t want to see that again.”
“Three hundred years was a long time to stare at those stars.” John nodded, and pursed his lips into a line.
I had to ask. “Do you think that Vaimm is gone?”
“Long gone. The last broadcast from some of the satellites c
ame in last year. It’s destroyed itself completely. The atmosphere was starting to freeze and fall to the ground.”
That hurt to hear. It had been, in my mind for so many years, a gorgeous place of lush, verdant valleys and hills, with sweeping crystal blue oceans and stark grey peaks. That was what five-year-old me believed it still was.
We’d done the right thing for our people. I hoped.
Rexu appeared in the distant left-hand corner of the window. It was a smallish planet, but not the smallest, and we approached the side that was all water. Dark blue, oddly-tinted almost purple, it wasn’t exactly welcoming. John’s expert flying skills dove us straight for the center of the ocean, and at the last second, pulled up and had us skimming the surface. The shockingly clear water revealed a surface full of animals. Raxu wasn’t known for the depth of its ocean—and its rich and delicious sea life.
“Where am I heading?”
I pulled out my handheld. “I have her last known address, and we can start there.”
“How did you get that?”
I smiled. “Brami. Doing what every little kid does. Repeating their address to make sure they remembered where to go.”
“Nice. So Trill doesn't even know you got this?”
“Nope.” I handed over the small device, and John tapped in the information. “When I had Marin check the database, this wasn't even the last known. I asked him to work with Kodone to uncover how Trill got there, and where he had come from.”
“Do you have Trill’s last known?”
“Yeah, it's about ten miles from Min’s.”
We skimmed along and the ship’s planetnav took over for John, flying us a little higher than we had been. We watched the greenish purple land speed by, and within about twenty minutes, just as the sun was slipping behind the horizon, the ship slowed and headed us for a landing area.
The landing pad informed us that the address was about fifteen minutes walk from our location. We walked it, even though the information offered to call a ride for us.
And it felt weird. Very strange to walk down the broad avenue that seemed to be the hallmark of most human settlements. There were residences on either side, and those were filled with common people who did common things.
One Thousand Wishes, One Thousand Stars (The Complex Book 0) Page 5