Down Among the Dead

by K. B. Wagers

  “A little,” I admitted.

  “She’s starstruck by you.”

  The comment was so unexpected I stared at her for several beats before I could get the words to finish forming in my head and come out of my mouth. “What do you mean, ‘starstruck’?”

  “You are the Star of Indrana,” she replied. “I was concerned for you on Sparkos for so many reasons, but that was a big one.” She smiled out at the activity below us. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know now if that concern was warranted.”

  “It was,” I admitted. “She was thankfully more in control than I was, and not willing to use it against me.”

  “It’s shifted again,” Gita said, and looked at me. “Maybe it’s different for you, but when she’s speaking to me or Emmory or the others, there is awe in her voice, in her eyes. Whatever secrets she’s keeping, and I’m sure there are many, she cannot keep that one hidden. I know the Shen claim not to have gods, but whatever she has seen of your future puts you up there in her estimation.”

  “No pressure.”

  Gita shook her head. “I’m telling you this so you understand why we’re not nearly as vigilant about her as your BodyGuards should be. I like her, though; all things considered I probably shouldn’t, but I do.”

  “Gita Desai, are you matchmaking?”

  Gita’s smile was so slight if I hadn’t been staring at her I’d have missed it. “I’m just observing, ma’am.” The smile vanished. “And cautioning you to be careful of your choices and to make sure that she sees the whole of you, not just the Star of Indrana.”

  “Well.” I cleared my throat and looked around at the assembled group that afternoon. I was standing at the front of the mess hall with Mia, Aiz, and Fasé by my side. “Here we are again with me giving speeches about impossible odds. I am, however, game for making my score two-nothing, if the rest of you want to come along for this ride.”

  The laughter eased my nerves.

  “Star of Indrana.” Emmory’s voice was crisp, cutting through the air. My people came to attention as one. The Farians and Shen all lowered their heads in our direction.

  “Our happy little alliance seems to have survived the first several days. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to play nice or you’ll answer to us.” I gestured at the others. “We’re leaving in a few days. Our next stop is Faria. What I’m about to tell you may mean this is your last stop, and we are fine with that if you choose to depart.”

  Aiz straightened at his sister’s side and looked out at the assembled crews. There wasn’t room for all the Shen, so our address was also being broadcast to the ships above the planet, a whole armada breathlessly waiting for word of an attack that wasn’t going to come. “My people,” he said. “We have fought long and hard for this day. I thought I knew what the future held, that our paths were set on one final conflict to determine our fates.”

  Mia picked up after only a moment of pause, and I wondered if they had rehearsed this, or it was just timing borne of their closeness. “The future is not set and I appreciate the help of our Farian allies in helping me see clearly. We value your lives and will not throw them away in a needless campaign.”

  “Lives are easily spent, Thínos. We will give them again and again!” Hamah called, and the resounding cheer echoed through the room.

  I saw the flicker of annoyance in Mia’s gray eyes as she held up a hand.

  “A wise woman said to me, less violence, not more, is always an option. You have all fought for so long and fought so hard. You’ve done this for us, for a chance for all our people to live. We want you to have that chance. My brother and I will honor that loyalty and go to Faria to put an end to this conflict once and for all.”

  I’d kept from staring at her when she spoke Dailun’s words into the open air, but I saw the Svatir standing off to the side with a smile on his face.

  Aiz continued speaking before the murmured confusion could grow in volume. “We have learned much these last few months with the Star of Indrana and even more with Fasé these last few weeks. We trust the Star as we trust all of you. If there is a way to make a home for our people without bloodshed, she is the one who will find it, and it is the greatest gift that could be given. One we do not deserve.” He pressed a hand over his heart with a smile.

  I saw the flash of hatred on Hamah’s face, felt the disappointment surge in my chest. Aiz’s talk with him had apparently not swayed the Shen’s judgment of me in the slightest. But he stayed silent and it was just as well, for Aiz’s passionate words pulled a cheer from the crowd louder than the previous one.

  Fasé took a tiny step forward as the cheers tapered off. “As the Star said, if you are in disagreement with our plan, you are welcome to depart and we will hold you no ill will. Those who stay may still be called upon to fight and die. What we seek to do here is bigger than all of us and serves a greater purpose than just Farian or Shen or Indranan. We hold the fate of the galaxy in our hands; do not hesitate in your choice. Make it and go forward.”

  “Ship captains, the meeting for your battle assignments will be at oh six hundred hours tomorrow with Admiral Hassan and me,” Mia said. “Briefing packets should be in your inboxes now; I will expect you all to have read them. Dismissed.”

  I took a step back as the crowd broke up, watching the people disperse. The few humans in the mix were spread evenly through the room, and I saw Iza and Indula joking with a pair of Shen. Three Farians exchanged a good-bye with Talos, and I arched an eyebrow in surprise when they clasped hands, their smiles genuine.

  “You’ve built something here, Hail,” Mia murmured at my side.

  “We’ve built something,” I replied. “Here’s hoping it survives.”

  “It will.” Aiz tapped me on the shoulder and tipped his head at the door. “Let’s go spar. I want to see how well you can keep that new restraint of yours in the middle of a fight rather than the start of it.”

  My heart leapt, or maybe it was just the desire to hit something that I’d managed to lock down so completely lunging on its chain. Either way, I had to make a choice, and making the best of it seemed to be the way to go. “Sure.”

  “Can we watch?” The question was from Hao, and Aiz paused at the doorway.

  “It’s up to her,” he said, pointing at me.

  I swallowed down the thousand protests. They’d all seen me fight already, or at least seen the recording of me and Hao. Even I’d watched it, despite Jo’s push for me not to. This was what I was now; I couldn’t keep hiding from it and fighting against it.

  I caught Emmory’s eye, and he gave me the barest of nods, his voice gentle over our private com link. “Your people love you, Hail; watching you fight isn’t going to change that.”

  That was the scary part that Emmory so easily put into words. I was different than the Hail they knew, but I wasn’t a wild animal. I could control this, control myself.

  I exhaled and smiled at Hao. “That’s fine. I suppose it will be good to get used to fighting for an audience.”

  There were some chuckles in reply.

  The news spread through the room and the base like wildfire, and a crowd waited for us at the door of the gym. Aiz had grabbed Hamah and Talos as he passed them in the mess hall, leaning in and whispering in their ears. They’d followed us to the gym and I raised a curious eyebrow at Aiz.

  “You’ll fight them,” he said with a grin. “I want to watch, and it’s impossible to do while fending you off.”

  I took a slow breath. We’d practiced with multiple opponents—sometimes me against Aiz and another Shen, or me and Aiz back to back against what had felt like a horde. This wasn’t anything new, and I apparently had fewer problems with killing Aiz’s people than I did my own.

  We moved to the center of the gym, the walls already ringed with spectators. I spotted Dailun standing next to Hao, worry in his eyes and his hands shoved deep into his pockets. I crossed to them.

  “You okay?”

  Dailun blinked his si
lvered eyes. “Yes, sorry, jiejie. I am looking for another memory.”

  “Something important?” I asked.

  “Maybe.” He shook his head. “I will stop for now, though; the break will do me good and I want to watch you fight.”

  “What happened to less violence, not more?” I teased.

  “It is still the better option, but I would honor your skills by watching even as I wish they were not necessary.”

  I gave him an impulsive hug, squeezing tight. “Thank you.”

  “Do you want advice?” Hao asked as I pulled away from Dailun.

  “I’ll always take it from you.”

  He snorted. “Watch the taller one.”

  I glanced back at the pair of Shen. “Talos has a mean right hook.”

  “I’m sure he does, but his posture changed when Aiz spoke to him just now, so keep an eye out. They’ve got something planned.”

  “Duly noted.” I tapped his outstretched fist. Whatever had shifted inside me, Hao was a constant, and I would trust his read on things better than my own in most cases.

  Gita gave me a nod and a smile that didn’t quite erase the fear clinging to her eyes. I stepped in, pressing my forehead to hers but not saying anything. There wasn’t a need for words from my Dve; I knew her concerns, I shared them. This was territory as unfamiliar as it was familiar. Everyone here was about to see what I was capable of doing in real time. It would change how they thought of me—for good or ill. There wasn’t time to worry about it. All I could do was fight.

  “Relax into it, Hail,” Johar said as she took Gita’s place. Thumping me in the chest when we separated. “Make them work.”

  I nodded, exchanging a nod with Zin and then Emmory as I turned to face Aiz. He was leaning against the wall next to Mia, propping one foot up on a nearby seat.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  Aiz smiled. “They’re going to be trying to kill you. Stop them. Don’t kill them.”

  Relief and disappointment blossomed in my chest.

  I nodded once, shaking my arms out as Hamah and Talos split and circled me. The noise level in the gym dropped off with the precision of a silencer nuke. I had fought Talos, who was the taller of the pair, on a number of occasions, but the only fighting interaction I’d had with Hamah had been the two times I kicked his ass.

  That, coupled with the anger I was sure he was feeling over Mia’s announcement just now, meant he’d be looking for payback.

  I turned my back on Talos, trusting that he wouldn’t be reckless enough to charge me at the insult and gestured at Hamah with a wicked smile. He complied, rushing at me, and I saw Aiz roll his eyes to the ceiling with a shake of his head.

  33

  I dropped low when Hamah was a step from me, planting my shoulder into his diaphragm and flipping him up and over my back.

  Talos, sadly, was too alert for his own good and dodged Hamah’s falling body. I blocked his first punch, landed one in return to his side, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed my knee into his crotch. The sympathetic groans from some of the crowd broke the stillness. I grinned, adrenaline and the unadulterated rush of pleasure at finally getting to fight rushing through me.

  I shoved Talos away, my focus on Hamah as he scrambled to his feet.

  Straight into my kick.

  I dared a glance at Aiz. He was laughing and shaking his head.

  “Drop.” Hao’s order echoed in my head over our com link and I obeyed without question. Talos’s kick sailed over my head. I rolled in the opposite direction, bouncing to my feet with my hands up.

  Talos had recovered from the miss and grinned at me. “You got a warning on that kick,” he said. Hamah was still on the floor, but not unconscious, and Talos blocked me from going after his downed companion again.

  “You think?” I threw an easy punch that Talos blocked, dancing back a step before he could get a grip on my arm. “Maybe I’m just that good.” I kept one eye on Hamah as he struggled to his feet. I didn’t want him up, but there wasn’t a way to circle around without engaging Talos, so I surged forward.

  Talos chuckled, blocking my punch as expected. I collapsed my arm, clipping him in the ear with my elbow as I caught his right hand with my left. We tangled briefly, nothing but the sound of our breaths filling the air, until I was forced back a step. I took the loss, bending a knee and deliberately giving way so I could get loose of his grip.

  The bright flash of hot pain rolled along my side as we separated and the hand I reached back came away wet with blood. “Bugger me.”

  Talos winked.

  My smati wasn’t screaming alarms at me, just flashing an injury warning in the corner of my vision, so it wasn’t a fatal wound, but I felt the blood running down my back, and, worse, I couldn’t see the weapon he’d used on me.

  Hamah was on his feet, if still unsteady, and my BodyGuards had all gotten the notification of my injury when it happened. The shift in their mood was almost immediate, furious silence falling once again as I backed away from both Shen, giving my smati time to tell me that Talos had opened a gash about fifteen centimeters long and six deep along the left side of my back. He’d missed my spine, which was probably what he’d been aiming for, but not by much.

  “Hail, use the injury, make them think you’re hurt worse than you are.” That was from Zin, his voice steady and soothing on the com link.

  I smiled, trying to inject as much worry into it as could be faked, and took more breaths than I needed, stumbling a little as I continued to move to the side.

  Hamah once again took the bait, though this time there was some coordination in their attack and Talos was right on his heels.

  Gotcha, I thought, and held in the smile that would give me away.

  I moved at the last second, ruining the angle of their attack, and caught Hamah by the throat.

  I couldn’t crush his throat, couldn’t snap his neck. The answer came to me as he landed a brutal punch in my injured side and the pain snarled to life. Rather than try to control it, I instinctively took the lesson Mia had taught me about the energy around us, and it was unbelievably easy to grab onto that pain in the same manner. Only this time I used it like a weapon. I dragged it up through my arm, forcing it through my hand into Hamah’s throat.

  He dropped like a rock, startling Talos enough to give me the space to grab his punch and twist his arm behind his back. I drove him toward the wall where Aiz was, people scattering out of the way as I bounced his head off the surface, and then dropped him at Aiz’s feet.

  “A knife? Really?” I said, stepping on Talos’s wrist until he groaned.

  The voice in my head wanted more, but I shook it off, standing still until the urge to fight ebbed, then faded as I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes for a moment when the room gave a slow spin around me. I opened them again; Aiz was grinning at me.

  “Low-tech seemed the way to go. Did you crush Hamah’s throat? That’s technically going to kill him.”

  “He’s fine.” As I said it, I heard the Shen roll over with a loud curse. “I just”—I grinned—“gave him a bit of the pain I was feeling from his punch.”

  Aiz’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling while Mia gaped, and as a pair they crossed the gym to where Hamah was lying still, gasping for breath.

  I bent and helped Talos to his feet. He smiled down at me. “A good fight, Star of Indrana.”

  “You’d have done better if Hamah weren’t so damned reckless.”

  “Possibly, but I knew that was a risk going in.” His dark eyes sparkled with humor and he touched his forehead to mine. “Turn around and let me look at that.”

  I did, coming face to face with Emmory and Zin, the former catching me by the arm when I wobbled. “It was a good fight,” my Ekam said, and the pride in his eyes made my heart swell.

  “Thanks.” I hissed when Talos pressed his hand to the cut on my back, but the pain vanished almost instantly, and the warmth flowed through me, easing away the remnants of the fight.

 
“Good as new,” Talos said.

  “It’s appreciated. Make sure someone looks at you, I’m probably not in any shape to—” I gestured vaguely, the words escaping me.

  “It’s an honor to carry bruises from you.” He grinned and winked. “I should go check on Hamah.”

  “A concussion is not an honor.” I rolled my eyes and called out after him, “Get fixed, or I’ll tell Mia to look for you specifically when we need someone to scrub the bathrooms.”

  I tightened my grip on Emmory’s arm when he started to move away. “Give me another minute to get my feet under me.”

  Sybil slipped through the crowd and I looked down at the Farian when she put a hand to my side, tilting her head and closing her eyes. I felt the smallest surge of energy, easing the loss of adrenaline.

  “Thank you,” I murmured.

  She opened her eyes, winked, and moved away.

  “I take it you don’t know what that was about any more than I do,” Emmory murmured, and I snorted.

  “I’m flying as blind here as the rest of you.” I reached my free hand out to Hao. “Thanks for the assist.”

  “That kick would have broken your neck,” he replied, bumping his fist to mine. “Glad I could help.”

  “You all helped.” I looked around at them. “I can’t do this without you. Thank you for being here.”

  “You fight—” Hao whistled. “We could make some serious credits in the cage matches on Mars.”

  I thumped him in the kidney and he yelped. Gita rolled her eyes and Emmory sighed. But the tease broke through the last of my fading adrenaline and their worry like sunlight after a vicious storm.

  “Where did you learn to do that?”

  “Do what?” I looked over my shoulder at Aiz. Talos and Mia were helping Hamah limp out of the gym. “He really needs to learn some control,” I said. “It’s going to get him killed for real one of these days.”

  “Hail.” Aiz grabbed me by the upper arm and the people around us stiffened. “You should not have been able to do that. You struggle with the easiest healing, with gathering energy from outside of you.”