by Nina Croft
“Not yet, anyway. How about President?”
“Too many bad connotations,” Silas replied.
Probably right. Nobody wanted to be grouped together with President Max Beauchamp. The guy had been a fuckwit. Secretly, Luther really liked the title of king. He’d had a fascination with King Arthur from when he was a child growing up in a high-rise council flat in Glasgow. But he didn’t think it would go down too well. The last monarchy in the UK had hardly been role models.
“God?” Silas suggested.
Luther laughed. “That might upset the Church.” Not that he’d usually give a shit, but right now he needed the Church of Everlasting Life on his side, however much he might dislike the idea. They had a lot of influence. At some point in the not-too-distant future, he was expecting a level of unrest. Right now, the troublemakers were quietly disappearing. But there were way too many Chosen Ones with an inflated sense of self-worth. All that talk before they left Earth about being the future of humanity. It had gone to their heads.
“Prime Minister?” Silas said.
“Hmm.” He considered it. He liked it actually. Still had a few negative connections, though. “How about First Minister?” He grinned. First Minister of the New World. “You can be Second Minister if you like.” After all, what was the point of being in charge if you couldn’t spread a little love around? “Well, that’s one thing off the to-do list. I’ll make the announcement tomorrow. So, is there something you need?”
“A couple of things,” Silas said. “We’re getting some aggro from the labor groups. It’s all very well making the troublemakers disappear, but there’s just too many of them. It’s going to interfere with the schedule.”
He suspected the main issue was that many of the Chosen Ones hadn’t exactly been chosen. They’d likely paid for their places. He, more than anybody, knew how easy that was. All you’d needed was money and connections, and there had been plenty of people with those. Likely many of the people building his castle had been billionaires back on earth. The thought made him smile but didn’t solve the problem. “How about children?”
“Children? Won’t that be seen as a little unethical?”
If Silas had one flaw, it was a tendency to be too…nice. “I’m not suggesting we use babies. Say between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Old enough to work, young enough to be malleable.”
Silas didn’t appear convinced, but he shrugged. “I’ll look into it.”
“You said a couple of things? What’s the other?”
“I just wanted to give you a heads up. The woman, Destiny, has disappeared.”
At first the words made no sense, and he had to remind himself of who Destiny was. Then his jaw clenched. “What do you mean she’s disappeared? She was in a locked cell, underground, with no windows. How the hell could she disappear?”
“We have no clue.”
Luther got to his feet. He paced the length of his office and then back again to stand in front of Silas, who appeared entirely too unconcerned, considering. Though Silas had no idea of Destiny’s role. Luther hadn’t shared that with anyone except Elvira Yang. And he would have to decide what to do about that when the woman was of no further use.
“Could someone have helped her?” But who? She knew no one except for Dr. Yang and Silas. He trusted Silas with his life and Dr. Yang had too much at stake.
“We don’t know,” Silas said.
“Hell, is there anything you do fucking know?”
Silas ignored his show of bad temper. He was used to him. Luther took a deep, calming breath. Where could she go? She was alone on a strange world. She’d maybe just noticed that some imbecile had left the door unlocked and wandered off. She would come back when she got hungry. But who the hell had left the door open? “Tell me what happened.”
“We had an alert earlier this evening. One of the new sensor alarms went off down on the lower level. A patrol was sent to investigate but found nothing untoward. While they were down there, they checked on Destiny and found she was gone. The door to her cell was locked, but she wasn’t inside.”
“How the hell is that possible?”
“Again—no clue. Obviously, no one is owning up to anything. They’ve started searching, but the place is a warren. We hadn’t realized how extensive the tunnels are.”
He frowned. “Man-made?”
Silas grinned. “Unlikely man-made. But not natural, that’s for sure.”
Had someone betrayed him? But who? No. It was just a stupid mistake. Someone had left the door unlocked. Destiny had left and closed it behind her. She’d come back on her own. Or Silas’s men would find her. He had everything under control.
Luther rubbed at his chest, felt the familiar ache, a twinge in his arm. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply. In. Out. Until the tightness left him and he could breathe easily again.
“I want you to take lead on this, Silas. You need to get her back. And soon.”
Silas frowned. “Why? Who is she? Why is she so important? Do you have a thing with this woman?”
“No. Of course not. And it doesn’t matter, because you don’t need to know. But take whatever resources you require and find her.”
“You want her alive?”
“Hell yes, I want her alive.” He took another deep breath. “I need her back. That’s all you need to know.”
Silas raised an eyebrow. “Okay. I’ll go look for her.” He turned and headed to the door. “I liked her, you know. Destiny, I mean. She’s a bit of a cookie, but she’s a nice woman.” And he left.
Luther hadn’t needed to hear that. He didn’t need to know how nice Destiny was.
He crossed to the window and stood staring down at his new kingdom.
The building work was going on even after dark, under the flare of solar-powered flashlights. His people all laboring away. They were building something good here. Something worthwhile. And everyone had their roles to play. His was to provide the vision, others to build it. Destiny had her own role, and Dr. Yang had assured him she was compliant.
Where the hell was she?
Chapter Thirteen
“…joy takes a strange effect at times, it seems to oppress us almost the same as sorrow.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Destiny was on the point of exploding, and she hugged her arms around herself as though she could hold all the excitement inside. But she couldn’t.
She’d never felt anything like this.
Unruly emotions bubbled up inside her and a big grin kept trying to escape. No doubt Dr. Yang would have taken one look at her and given her something to calm her down. But Dr. Yang wasn’t here.
Milo was. And his friend Dylan, who, while not having quite the same effect of twisting up her insides as Milo did, was still very exciting.
But thoughts of Dr. Yang did sober her a little. Dr. Yang had given her everything and all she had asked in return was obedience. Destiny was going against everything she had been brought up to believe in. She would go back, but first she just wanted a little time to explore these new feelings. What would that matter?
“Which way?” Dylan asked, dragging her from her thoughts.
“That way,” Milo replied. “You go first—your eyesight is better.” And then they were off and running.
For a moment, she stood rooted to the spot. Then she took a deep breath and leaped after them. And with that one leap forward, something shifted inside her, as though she was shedding a huge weight that had been dragging her down.
This freedom might not be forever, but it was for now, and she was going to savor every second until she went back.
Dylan disappeared into one of the tunnels, Milo close behind him, and she followed into the darkness. For a second, she slowed; while there was no light in the tunnel, she could hear them moving fast ahead of her. Putting her hand out in front
of her, so she wouldn’t crash into anything, she followed as fast as she could. But they were getting away from her. Clearly more confident in the dark than she was, and their legs were longer. She increased her speed, but then hit a wall as the tunnel turned a corner and she tripped and fell, banging her head as she went down. Ouch! She couldn’t hear them anymore and panic engulfed her. She wanted to call out but was scared someone else might be in earshot, though the sound of their pursuers had faded. She heard…nothing.
She was alone. She was used to that.
But she didn’t want to be alone anymore. A sob rose up inside her and she swallowed it down.
Then footsteps sounded ahead of her and a light flashed in the darkness. She pushed herself up, and she was kneeling when Milo appeared. He stopped in front of her, the flashlight playing over her, and she blinked.
“Taking a rest?” he asked.
“I fell.”
He shook his head, but then without saying anything further, he reached down, gripped his hands around her waist, and lifted her from the floor. A second later, she was flung over his shoulder. A hand clamped on her bottom, and a squeak escaped her mouth, and then they were moving.
This time he kept the flashlight on, but she couldn’t see much because she was upside down and her face was pressed against his back. So she closed her eyes and just concentrated on the strange sensations rushing through her body. The hand on her bottom was having a weird effect—she was guessing some manifestation of sexual desire. She was trying to analyze the sensation; she was hot and achy and little tingles were running from his palm all over the rest of her body, settling between her legs and in her breasts. Strange and not unpleasant. He increased his speed and she bounced, and his hand squeezed, and heat flooded her.
She scrabbled for something to hold on to but couldn’t get a grip, and in the end, she wrapped her arms around his waist, closed her eyes, and held on tight. Finally, he slowed and came to a standstill. He stood for a moment, not breathing hard despite the sprint while carrying her.
He placed her on her feet. She stood for a moment, getting her balance, and then looked around her. They were in another cavern, though this one was more of just a widening of the tunnel, the same dark yellow-orange walls, a low ceiling, and no opening to the outside world. She could almost feel the weight of rock pressing down on her.
Dylan was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest. “What kept you?” he asked.
“I fell,” she said, defensive. “Milo carried me.”
“So I saw. Quite the knight in shining armor, isn’t he?”
“Piss off, Dylan.”
She’d read about them in her history books. “Are there still knights in armor?” she said.
“No, of course there aren’t.” Dylan frowned. “Don’t you know anything?”
She sniffed. “I know lots of things. I know…” She tried to think of the most impressive things. “I know Einstein’s theory of relativity. I know how genetic modification works, I know all the kings and queens of England, and the presidents of the Unites States. I know—”
“Enough,” Dylan snapped, though he was smiling. “I get the point.”
“Leave her alone,” Milo said. “She’s spent her life on a spaceship. Give her a break.”
She smiled at him, and he scowled. What had she done wrong now? She had no clue how to behave in these situations. “Can you teach me to be normal?” she said.
Dylan choked.
“Us teach you?” Milo snorted. “We’d have to be normal to be able to do that. Normal is vastly overrated anyway.” He looked around. “Seems like we’ve lost our followers, but I still have no clue where the hell we are.”
“Let’s keep going in the same direction,” Dylan suggested. “If we don’t come across a way out in…say an hour, we turn around and head back, and hopefully they’ll have stopped looking for us.”
“Why are they looking for you?” Destiny asked.
“Well, they obviously don’t want anyone to know what they’re hiding under Luther’s brand-new castle.”
“Luther?”
“Luther Kinross. He’s our Lord and Master.”
She frowned, trying to remember if Dr. Yang had ever mentioned this Luther. But she couldn’t recall anything. “What about President Beauchamp?”
“Disappeared into a black hole.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yup. Along with the whole of the Trakis One.” Dylan studied her for a moment. “Where have you been?”
Locked in a lab and then locked in a cell. But she didn’t say the words because they sounded a little…disloyal. And she owed Dr. Yang everything. So she just gave a shrug. “I was in cryo until only a few days ago and I haven’t caught up on everything yet. Where do we go next?”
She wanted to go everywhere, see all there was to see. And she wanted Milo to teach her everything he knew. Everything.
“I reckon we’ve come about half a mile due north,” he said. “Which means, right now, we’re under the lake.”
Destiny glanced up at the ceiling, imagining all that water on top of them.
“And if we keep going in the same direction,” Milo continued, “then hopefully there will be some way out of this tunnel system on the other side.”
“That will be the opposite side to where the encampment is,” Dylan pointed out.
“Not a bad thing. Away from prying eyes. With luck, they won’t suspect it was us down there, otherwise we’re fucked.”
She tried to recall where she’d seen, or heard, that word before—certainly not from Dr. Yang. “Getting fucked is a bad thing?” she said.
Dylan laughed, but Milo just blinked at her. “In this instance? Yes.”
“And what do we do with our new friend?” Dylan asked, waving a hand in her direction.
Destiny held her breath, waiting for Milo’s answer. He wouldn’t send her back, would he? She had every intention of going back. Of course she did, just not yet. A day or two. Just to look around. To maybe climb the mountain and swim in the lake. To lie under the sun and watch the birds fly overhead.
“She can’t come back to our shuttle,” Milo said. “I imagine someone will be searching for her.” He cast her a look, his eyes narrowed as if trying to work out who or what she was.
“I won’t be a nuisance,” she said. “I can sleep in the tunnels. I don’t need much.”
He stared a moment longer, then gave a shrug. “Let’s get out of here first and then we’ll decide.”
She beamed him a smile and he shook his head. Was he regretting letting her come along? Probably.
“Who do you think made these tunnels?” Dylan asked. “They’re not natural. If you look closely you can see the machine marks. And no way could Kinross have done this in the time he’s been here. And why would he, anyway?”
“I’m thinking aliens.” Milo grinned. “Are you thinking aliens?”
“Hell, yeah.” They both glanced around. “Do you think they’re still here?” Dylan asked.
“Invisible aliens? Or maybe they’re just shy.”
“According to Dr. Yang,” Destiny offered, “there is a less than 0.001 percent chance of encountering an intelligent alien life form here.”
“Killjoy,” Dylan muttered.
He clearly didn’t like her comment, though she wasn’t sure why. Were all people this hard to understand, or just men? She’d never had this problem with Dr. Yang.
“Maybe they were visitors not indigenous to the planet,” Milo suggested. “And now they’ve gone back to wherever they came from.”
“Or perhaps they’re waiting around the corner, with laser guns to blast us.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t—” Destiny started, but she stopped when Milo rolled his eyes. “What did I miss?”
“He has a wild imagination, that�
��s all,” Milo said. “Let’s keep going.”
Dylan headed off down the tunnel opposite the one they had come out of. Milo looked at her. “Are you okay to walk?”
Did he want to carry her again? Certainly, part of her wanted him to. The sensation of being held had been…nice. But she also didn’t want to be a burden. She needed to appear strong and capable. The last thing she wanted was to give him any excuse to leave her behind or send her back, thinking she was weak and needed protection.
She stood up straight and gave him a bright smile. “I’m good.” And of course she was. There was light this time, Milo had kept the flashlight on, and they were walking, not running in the dark.
Dylan had already disappeared from sight and Milo gave her a last look then followed.
It was strange. She had the feeling that out of the two of them, Dylan was the “nicer” person. There was something not so “nice” about Milo, even though she enjoyed his company, but she couldn’t work out what it was. A darkness behind his eyes. A coldness. At the same time, she sensed that it was only because of Milo that she was still with them. If it was up to Dylan, then she guessed she’d have been back in her cell or abandoned or worse. But for some reason, Milo was okay with her coming along. She wouldn’t go so far as to say he actually wanted her there, but he wasn’t totally averse to the idea, either. The thought widened her smile and put a skip in her step as she followed him.
She liked watching him move. She’d never seen an animal up close, not even a mouse, but he reminded her of what she would have imagined a big wild cat—a lion or maybe a tiger—would have moved like, all smooth, easy grace and coiled energy. Ready to pounce. A shiver ran through her. She really was feeling a little strange.
Dr. Yang had told her there were animal fetuses in cryo on board the Trakis Four. They would be woken up and brought to full-term growth if the conditions were right. One day, there might be lions roaming the forests. Or wolves. She’d love to see a real, live wolf. Maybe there was something similar already in the forests. Silas had told her that they were going to set up teams to explore the planet, make an inventory of any indigenous creatures. She would love to be part of that.