Deception (Dark Desires Origins)

by Nina Croft

  “Thank you. And yes, I’ll stay here until it’s safe for you. I don’t want any harm to come to you and Dylan. You’re my friends. I’ve never had any friends before.”

  Christ, that made him feel shitty. He didn’t want her for a friend. He wanted to be her… He shook away the thoughts and pushed himself to his feet. “If you hear anything or see anything in the forest then go hide in the tunnels. I’m going to put a cloaking device on the entrance.

  “What’s a cloaking device?”

  “It’s a prototype. New.”

  “Like the teleporter?”

  It took him a moment to realize she meant when he’d magicked them out of her cell. “Just like the teleporter.” He caught Dylan’s gaze as he spoke.

  “Liar,” the other man silently mouthed.

  Yeah. Time to change the subject. Again.

  “We need to get back and analyze this information. But first, let’s go show Dylan your spaceship.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream forever.”

  —Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

  Destiny raised her head and listened. She’d been engrossed in her book, but she’d just reached the end—again—and now the outside world intruded.

  Had there been a noise? She concentrated and picked up the sound, analyzed it. Booted feet. For a moment her heart lifted. It’d been two days since she had seen Milo and Dylan. She’d missed them, but at the same time, she’d needed these days alone.

  So much information to assimilate.

  She loved reading. Sometimes she thought she could stay here in the forest forever, read all the books and then start over again.

  Other times, she wanted Milo back—she wanted to test out her newly developed skills. She was learning how humans behaved. Except there were so many possibilities. She needed to work out just what sort of person she was and then she would know how to act.

  Then she listened closely. There were more than two people headed her way. So unlikely to be Milo and Dylan. Milo had told her it was vitally important that no one else know where she was, and she didn’t want to get them into trouble. When she wasn’t reading, she spent most of her time wondering what Milo was up to. How was his investigation into Kinross going? Had they been telling the truth—all they wanted was to discover Kinross’s plans? Or was there more? She suspected the latter. She’d learned a lot about secrets and lies since she’d been reading. It wasn’t only bad people who kept secrets and then lied about them.

  Though she’d never believe Milo was bad.

  The feet were getting closer. Time to go. She rose silently, quickly checking the area in case she had left anything that might signal her presence. For a moment, she considered giving herself up. But only for a moment. Something told her she would not see the outside of her cell again if she went back now, and she wasn’t ready. So she slipped through the trees and headed for the entrance to the tunnels.

  There was nothing to see. Milo’s cloaking device had made the entrance vanish, so it appeared to be no more than an extension of the forest.

  She ducked inside, then turned so she could peer out, holding her breath as a group of four men appeared. All in green jumpsuits. All with weapons holstered at their waists. Dr. Yang had said they were coming to a brave new world. So why did these men need weapons? Who were they going to shoot?

  Would they shoot her if they found her?

  No. She was important. Of course they wouldn’t shoot her. But she suspected they would use the weapons to force her to return if she didn’t want to go. She pressed herself back against the wall, but the men gave no indication that they could see her. They appeared quite relaxed, talking among themselves, though she couldn’t make out the words. Finally, they passed the entrance and disappeared from her view. She sank down and sat with her back leaning against the wall.

  Why had Dr. Yang told her so little? What hadn’t she wanted Destiny to know? Was it something bad? Was it too much to ask that she just be told what the future held in store for her? Even if it wasn’t good, she could cope, especially if it was instrumental in the survival of mankind. She wanted to do her part. She just wished she knew what it was.

  Maybe she should write her own story. Milo had told her that stories helped people understand the world around them. So maybe if she wrote her own, then she would understand the meaning of life.

  Forty-two.

  The number popped up into her head. She’d just finished The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was one of her favorites. If she could choose a future, she would love to travel around the universe, visiting new places and meeting alien civilizations. With Milo as her copilot.

  Maybe she would write that story.

  Would it be a romance?

  Milo had said he didn’t do romance.

  Did he do sex?

  She’d known about sex before. In theory. Dr. Yang had provided her with books about the human reproductive process. Those books had never made her squirm. At least she knew her body’s reactions were “normal” when Milo kissed her.

  Even if he didn’t do romance, if she asked him nicely, would he kiss her again?

  …

  “Go right in,” Silas said, and leaned past her to push open the door.

  Elvira hesitated and spoke quietly. “How is he?”

  “Pissed,” he replied, opening the door and ushering her inside.

  As far as she was aware, there was still no sign of Destiny. She’d vanished off the face of the planet. From a locked cell. How could that even happen?

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the door and into Luther’s office. He was standing by the window, hands in his pockets, staring down, tension in every inch of his body.

  It wasn’t good for him, but she clamped her lips closed on the words. She didn’t think he would appreciate them right now.

  He turned, ignoring her, and spoke to Silas. “Anything?”

  “No.”

  “Damn.” Now he turned his attention to Elvira, his eyes cold as ice. She shivered. “How the hell did you let this happen?” he asked.

  She wanted to point out that it wasn’t her cell that Destiny had escaped from. That maybe if they’d treated Destiny better—as she’d suggested—then she might not have done her vanishing act. Except that didn’t make sense. How had she disappeared? It was like magic. She was a scientist—she needed a rational explanation.

  “She must have had help,” Luther said, and his tone held more than a hint of accusation.

  “No one even knew of her existence except you, me, and Silas. Who would help her and why?” She glanced at Silas. He’d gotten on very well with Destiny the other day. “Did she say anything to you? Did she mention anyone else?”

  He shook his head. “Nobody.”

  “Maybe your security isn’t as good as you thought,” she said. “Or maybe you have enemies.”

  “But why would they take Destiny?” Silas asked. “Why is she so important?”

  “It doesn’t concern you,” Luther snapped. He glared at Elvira. “Could your records have been compromised?”

  “Absolutely not. They’re on a closed system.”

  “So there’s no reason for anyone to take her. Which means she wandered off on her own. Someone left the door unlocked and she just walked out. And I want the name of whoever is responsible.”

  She wanted to say it wasn’t possible. Mainly because it had happened the night before Destiny had disappeared, and Elvira had given the guards a reprimand, which she was sure would have ensured no one repeated the error. But she kept her mouth closed because she didn’t have an alternative theory.

  “Now she’s wandering around the goddamn planet, starving to death. Or she’s been eaten by some pre
dator we haven’t discovered yet.” Luther took a deep breath, and Elvira could see him pulling himself together. Part of her liked to see him like this. Except she had a feeling that he held her responsible, and if Destiny wasn’t found then she would pay. Or her family would pay. Probably both.

  “What’s happening with the search?” Luther asked.

  “The drones are ready,” Silas said. “And we’ve called off the foot searchers. It will be easier for the drones to home in on anything of interest if we know there’s no one else out there.”

  “Then go do it. Find her.”

  As Silas turned to go, Elvira made to follow him. “Wait,” Luther snapped.

  She didn’t want to wait. Luther felt unpredictable like this, as though he might explode at any moment and she didn’t want to be around if that happened. She licked her lips, then stopped herself.

  Don’t show any weakness.

  Luther took a step toward her, pointed a finger at her chest, his eyes narrowed to slits. For a moment, he looked truly evil, and her breath caught in her throat. She held herself very still.

  “Know this,” he hissed, his face close to hers, “if we don’t find her, then I’ll make sure you never see your family again.”

  “You can’t do that, you can’t—”

  “You don’t know what I can and can’t do.”

  He rubbed at his left arm and her gaze locked in on the movement. “Are you feeling all right?” she asked.

  His eyes narrowed. “No I’m not feeling all-fucking-right.”

  Maybe that would be the answer. If he died—

  “I can see your mind working, but don’t even think it. Take my word—if I die, you’ll never see your daughters again. I have people on the Trakis Two who have orders to switch off their life support systems. They’ll suffocate in their tubes. Do you understand?”

  Her mind went blank. She stood unmoving, unthinking, concentrating on the warm breeze from the open window teasing her skin. This couldn’t be happening. Not when she had come so far. Done so much.

  Unfortunately, she did understand, and she wanted to scream that it wasn’t fair. Instead, she swallowed the sharp, bitter taste that rose in her throat. “This is not my fault.”

  “Do you think I give a fuck?” Spittle frothed on his lips. She’d never seen him like this. He’d always been so controlled. He wiped his forehead; it gleamed with a sheen of sweat and his face was pale and blotchy. He gritted his teeth. “Understand?”

  She nodded just as he clasped a fist over his heart and crashed to his knees.

  Elvira leaped into action, dropping down beside him. “Oh God. Don’t die. Please don’t die!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “For all evils there are two remedies—time and silence.”

  —Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

  What was she reading now?

  Had she finished Fifty Shades? Milo had never been into bondage or any of that kinky stuff. What if she liked the idea?

  Anyway, it didn’t matter. Milo had already decided he was backing off. No more kissing. And definitely no kinky stuff. She was obviously totally naive, had no experience; the decent thing was to leave her alone. Except he couldn’t stop thinking about her, what she’d feel like beneath him, or on top of him. What she’d taste like.

  Maybe he’d be doing her a favor if he showed her how good ordinary sex could be. Though he had an idea there would be nothing ordinary about sex with Destiny.

  All the same, he wasn’t going there.

  “You know,” Dylan said. “You need to get your head straight—”

  “My head is straight.”

  “Ha. And you seriously need to get laid and stop thinking about Destiny. She’s way too nice for you.”

  True. “I’m not thinking about Destiny.”

  “Liar.”

  They were on their way to yet another committee meeting. The whole committee thing was doing his head in. Whoever had said a committee was a life form with four or more legs and no brain had been spot on. Nothing ever came of the meetings. No decisions were ever made. He presumed Luther had already decided the answers and they were just going through the motions.

  “I don’t like it here,” Dylan said. “I want away from this bloody place, and back home. So we need to finish what we came to do. And find out how much of a threat Luther Kinross actually is. What are the repercussions of telling the dickhead to fuck off?”

  Milo was betting rather serious. Kinross was obviously a planner. He would have foreseen that not everyone would be happy accepting him as leader. Especially as he couldn’t have predicted the end of the Trakis One and President Max Beauchamp diving headfirst into a black hole. Max had had an army on board the Trakis One, so Kinross must have had a plan to overcome that. But while they’d learned a lot from Kinross’s computer system, they hadn’t found any information on the weapons. Or about Destiny’s role. Presumably that data was stored in the parts she hadn’t been able to access. “I’ll go have another look in the tunnels tonight. My cloaking spell seems to be working. I can get in and out without anyone seeing. We’ll find out what he’s hiding down there, though I have a suspicion we’re not going to like it.”

  Luther was too confident and too well prepared. He likely had something hidden away to back that up. Some sort of weapons? But something big enough to be a threat to them on another planet? They needed to know the details. And decide how they could neutralize any threat. “Maybe we should just take the bastard out,” Milo suggested.

  Luther was always guarded, but between the two of them, he was sure it could be done. And they could take out that miserable bitch, Dr. Yang, as well. That would get rid of the threat to Destiny. And with a bit of luck, no one else would have a clue about her “role” and she would be free to do what she liked. Perhaps she could come back to Trakis Two with them. Live among the monsters in his new world where they no longer hid what they were. What would she think of him then?

  “Maybe we should,” Dylan said, pulling him out of his daydream. “But let’s find out a few facts first.”

  They were headed toward Camelot, which was how everyone referred to Luther’s headquarters—they’d be crowning him fucking King any day now. Everyone loved him. Or pretended to.

  Dylan came to a halt as they passed a building site on the edge of the lake. “Do you see anything wrong with this picture?” he asked.

  Milo studied the building site. It was swarming with workers in beige jumpsuits, guarded by the usual armed green-clad soldiers. He looked closer and his eyes narrowed. “They’re children.”

  “Or all very short people,” Dylan said.

  A little girl, she looked no more than twelve, was shoveling sand into a bucket. She had a round face and silky black hair, Chinese, at a guess. Tears made tracks through the layer of dust on her face, and her lower lip was caught between her teeth. She kept casting wary glances at the nearest soldier.

  “Am I the only one who thinks there’s something not quite right with this?” Dylan asked.

  “No. So much for the brave new world. Child fucking labor. And why? There are plenty of adults still in cryo. Why not wake them up?”

  “I heard a rumor that they were causing problems. Demanding their rights. Maybe Luther thought children would be easier to handle.”

  “Let’s kill him.”

  His muscles tightened as his gaze settled on a tall man in a red shirt, with dark brown skin and dark eyes, who was standing off to the side, surveying the scene, a small smile on his smug bastard face. Milo recognized him as Aaron Sekongo, the captain of the Trakis Four and also the designated member of the Church of Everlasting Life. A double tosser. He’d led the prayers at that first meeting.

  Without giving himself time to accept that it was a bad idea, Milo strode across the few feet between them and stopped, facing the other man. He forc
ed a smile to his face, though his teeth were gritted, and his hands fisted at his side. “What’s going on?” he asked, in what he thought was a pleasant tone.

  The man looked at Milo and the smile slid from his face. His eyes narrowed and his hand went to the cross pinned to his chest. He cleared his throat. “They are building the new Church. Soon my congregation will have a place to pray.”

  “And you’re okay with this?” Milo waved a hand to encompass the children.

  “With what?”

  “They’re fucking children.”

  “This has been cleared by Mr. Kinross and they are God’s children, doing God’s work. What could be wrong?”

  Jesus, another asshole to add to the might-have-to-kill list. He took a step closer and then halted as he felt Dylan’s hand on his arm. Milo cast him a glance and Dylan’s eyes widened. He turned slightly so the other man wouldn’t hear. “You might want to stand down,” Dylan murmured. “There’s steam coming out of your ears, your eyes have gone red, and the poor man is clutching his cross like you’re the Antichrist. Low profile, remember.”

  Milo took a deep breath and forced his muscles to relax. “God’s work,” he said. “Of course it’s a worthy cause. And it will no doubt be character building for the little children.”

  Captain Sekongo nodded, but his eyes shifted away. “If you’re heading to the meeting, then it’s been canceled.” He addressed his words to Dylan. “Luther is indisposed.”

  Permanently, with a bit of luck.

  The man obviously decided it was time to go. He gave a wary nod, then turned away and headed for Camelot.

  “You know,” Dylan said, “sometimes it’s possible to forget what you are. This isn’t one of them.”

  “I hate the fucking goddamn Church.”

  “You sound just like your Uncle Rico.”

  “Piss off.” But he’d grown up hearing those words. Rico also hated the Church, but then the Church had been responsible for burning Rico’s wife at the stake, so the sentiment was understandable. Milo’s hand went to the scar that snaked its way down the side of his throat, rubbing at the raised edges. His own reasons were pretty good as well. Bastards. “Let’s go.”