Age of Deception (The Firebird Chronicles Book 2)

by T. A. White

  Stubborn silence answered her.

  "Jin," Kira said in warning.

  Odin's grin widened, her feet kicking as she slurped up her drink.

  Kira slapped the table. "I mean it, Jin. I will dismantle you."

  Jin scoffed. That was the trouble of having a best friend who'd known you basically your whole life. They no longer believed your threats.

  Kira ignored the sinking feeling that told her no amount of threats would get Jin to listen, instead focusing on the problem she could solve. "I thought it was too dangerous to be seen together. Your rules, remember?"

  Odin's smile was impish. "Indeed, I do, but I thought I'd take a page out of the great Kira Forrest's book and break a few rules."

  "How did you get past the defense net? And why are you here?" Kira asked, not letting herself get distracted.

  Odin's presence was concerning on a number of levels. The least of which was she'd managed to pierce a system the Tuann seemed to believe couldn't be penetrated.

  If Odin had managed it, who was to say the Tsavitee hadn't as well?

  Odin's shrug was casual as she reached for her drink. "I have my methods."

  Kira's hand landed on her wrist. She squeezed gently in warning. "Explain."

  It wasn't that she didn't trust Odin—well, Kira didn't trust anyone really—so that wasn't entirely true. She'd learned to be cautious. She didn't like it when people acted outside of the norm. This was unusual behavior for her friend.

  Except for their first meeting, Odin had always been careful to only communicate with Kira via the forums and message boards. She felt—and Kira agreed—it was too dangerous to chance meeting out in the open too often. Their shared goal of finding the Tsavitee home worlds was dangerous. Too many people would have loved to get their hands on that information, or even the various possibilities.

  Suspicion deepened in Kira's stomach. She opened her senses, hunting for the telltale mental scent of Tsavitee mind meddling. Odin felt normal, metallic with electricity zipping along her thought patterns.

  Odin's gaze darted to Kira's ear. "Let's say a little birdie was very helpful."

  “Jin?" Kira questioned.

  "I didn't, Kira. I swear."

  Kira believed him. Jin's loyalty was unquestionable.

  "Not on purpose anyway." Odin's smile widened, revealing pointed teeth.

  An inarticulate sound escaped Jin, equal parts rage and denial.

  "Did you hack my encryption?" he demanded.

  Odin's mouth pulled down in a pout. "Was it supposed to be difficult?"

  Jin's gasp was outraged. "Did you stick one of your nasty little bugs in my code? You did, didn't you?"

  A chortle slipped out of Odin.

  Jin fell quiet as he went hunting for the stray code Odin slipped in.

  Kira groaned and scrubbed a hand over her face. She was going to hear about this later. "You really know how to leave an impression. He's going to be paranoid for months now."

  And Kira would be the one who had to deal with all his neurosis. Last time Odin had performed this stunt, Jin had been insufferable with his security protocols.

  Odin slouched in her seat, not the least repentant. "But it's such fun, and I needed him distracted so we can talk. Don't worry. I left him a few toys to make up for the teasing."

  Jin was going to need more than a pretty bauble to take out the sting of having his code compromised.

  Kira was never going to hear the end of this. He'd blame her because she was the one who found Odin.

  The only good thing about being planet-side was he couldn’t use climate control to mess with her.

  Odin set her chin on her hand. "It's good to see he hasn't changed at all since the old days."

  "Not everything is the same," Kira said, sending a significant glance around the room. It was a far cry from the accommodations of their last meeting.

  "No, it isn't," Odin said with a wistful sigh.

  Kira caught Finn casting them suspicious looks. He was not happy with her new companion. Not that she blamed him.

  "Do you think if I drew the privacy screen, he'd try to remove me?" Odin asked idly, noting where Kira's attention had gone.

  "Probably," Kira guessed. "You're welcome to find out."

  Odin snorted as she reached into her cloak. "Perhaps another time when the stakes aren't so high."

  Odin pressed her thumb on the button of the small ball she held. Kira's ears popped, the murmur of the bar falling away.

  Kira sat forward. "What did you just do?"

  "We need privacy for this conversation. I simply insured we got some," Odin said.

  Kira tensed. Finn wasn't stupid. His paranoia made Kira's look reasonable. If he suddenly couldn't hear them, he was going to know something was wrong. That would lead to him checking on them, which would inevitably give rise to questions. Questions Kira couldn't afford to answer.

  "Are you insane? Tech like that will draw notice," Kira hissed.

  Odin waved a dismissive hand. "Please, I'm not stupid."

  That was an understatement. Odin tested genius level on every aptitude test Kira had ever come across. She made Jin look slow in comparison. Blue would have sold her soul to be able to grasp even a tenth of what Odin understood.

  "To anyone outside a two-foot radius of this device, it will seem like we're talking about the city sights. Just keep your face pointed away so he can't read your lips, and we'll be fine." Irritation colored Odin's voice.

  "You're taking a dangerous risk," Kira said.

  Odin shrugged. "It's my risk to take."

  Not when Kira was the one who would pay the price. The Tuann didn't trust her. They might want her there. The yearning in their gazes when they looked at her was clear, but they were keeping their distance.

  Her time in the camps had marked her. Sometimes she wondered if the Tuann smelled the wrongness that clung to her like a miasma that wouldn't go away.

  "Not when it puts my mission at stake," Kira said in a hard voice.

  Odin was pivotal to their plan. She had to decode the information Kira salvaged from the Tsavitee wreckage. Without Odin, finding the Tsavitee home worlds would be nearly impossible. Kira would be reduced to throwing a dart at a star map and hoping she landed on the right solar system.

  Odin reached for Kira's arm, her fingers lightly brushing over the dermapatch there. Odin plucked the patch off Kira's skin, attaching it to her own in a casual movement Kira knew even the sharpest of observers would have trouble seeing through. The patch mimicked her coloring, becoming undetectable.

  Odin folded her arms before her on the table. "Happy now?"

  Kira fixed Odin with a flat stare. "Thrilled."

  Odin’s smile was brief as she stared out at the Tuann. "Fascinating, aren't they?"

  Kira didn't answer.

  Odin kicked her feet under the table as she set her chin on her folded arms. "I've found it interesting how similar the Tuann primus form is to a general. They're nearly identical, wouldn't you say?"

  Kira grunted. "Except for the whole glowing symbols thing."

  Runes and lines didn't appear on a general's skin during battle, and they didn't have a second form like Kira.

  "True." Odin's attention shifted to Kira, her stare piercing. "Your blue-haired friend sees a connection too."

  Kira stiffened, her blood turning to ice. "What do you know of Blue?"

  She couldn't help the dangerous rumble in her voice.

  Odin's lips quirked up playfully. "Only that she's sticking her nose in places people don't want her to. If she's not careful, someone might cut it off."

  Kira was quiet as she considered Odin's warning mixed with a subtle threat—though whether it was Odin doing the threatening was the question.

  Odin liked nuance. She rarely said everything she meant or meant everything she said. She might be warning Kira that Blue's curiosity was bringing her to the attention of some very dangerous people rather than saying Blue was stepping on Odin's toes.
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  Odin straightened, taking a moment to stretch. "You've landed in a very good place. I hope you decide to stay."

  Kira's gaze was sharp. "What does that mean?"

  Odin’s eyes were wiser than they had any right to be since she didn't appear much older than a human in their very early twenties. "More than any of the others, you've always searched for a place to belong. For a while, you thought that place was with humans."

  "And you think I've found that place here?" Kira didn't bother to hide her skepticism.

  "I think, if you let yourself, you would find happiness." Odin's lips curved. "Maybe even allies for your more ambitious endeavors."

  Kira narrowed her eyes. "Is that what this is really about?"

  Odin looked away, thoughts moving across her face. Her head sagged, and she withdrew a mini viewer from another cloak pocket. She clicked the side, and a screen popped up. On it, the photo of a woman caught in profile appeared.

  Kira sucked in a breath, reaching for the viewer and pulling it closer. "When was this taken?"

  Kira's gaze lingered on the woman's features—ones as familiar to her as her own.

  "Three weeks ago."

  Kira looked up sharply. "Two weeks after my encounter with the generals."

  Odin inclined her head. "They're trying to draw you out."

  Of course, they were.

  Honestly, Kira should have expected this reaction. They would know she'd do nearly anything to find Elise, and this tactic guaranteed she'd come to them, practically hand-deliver herself into their trap.

  "Where was this?" Kira asked.

  Odin's hesitance was marked. Kira leveled a hard glare on her. She could see why Odin might want to withhold the information, not wanting Kira to run off and destroy years of planning, but that wasn't how this partnership worked.

  "Near Osiris."

  "That's in Haldeel territory," Kira said, unable to hide her surprise. What would Elise be doing there?

  Kira's fingers drifted over the person’s features. They were nearly the same as they had been. Perhaps her face was a little thinner, maybe Kira imagined the haunted expression in her eyes, but overall, that was the woman she'd thought dead because of Kira until she realized Elise's fate had been much worse.

  The urge to find the first ship off-planet was nearly overwhelming. Kira hadn't been this close to Elise since Rothchild.

  "Do you have a plan for when you find her?" Odin asked. All trace of playfulness had faded. "A real plan?"

  Kira's silence held a note of stubbornness.

  Odin jabbed a finger at the picture Kira still cradled. "You'll be up against a planet filled with millions of your greatest enemy when you're nowhere near top form."

  Odin tapped the disrupter, her expression meaningful. "They know by now that you're coming. Your burst is gone, and you have no allies except one insane drone and a hacker. How exactly do you think you're going to save her?"

  Kira sat back. "From the looks of things, I won't need to find their planet. She’s out in the universe again. Much easier to find her out here than there."

  Odin lifted an eyebrow. "And what if she fights you? I don't see any Tsavitee chains on her, do you?"

  Kira's expression darkened at the implication. Her gaze dropped to the photo. Odin had a point. The Tsavitee had perfected mind control. The fact they'd let Elise out meant they were confident in her brainwashing. It was doubtful she'd escaped on her own. If she had, she would have wasted no time contacting Kira. Jin would have told her if he'd found activity on any of their old message drops.

  Kira's stare was stony. "It wouldn't be the first time I've faced impossible odds."

  "You weren't alone then," Odin pointed out.

  "I'm not now either. I have Jin."

  Frustration chased across Odin's face. "You're not usually this obtuse."

  Kira fixed her with a dry look. "Usually the people I trust don't make an end run around me after I've taken considerable risk getting information they said they needed."

  "Perhaps I don't want to watch you commit slow suicide. Because if you take on the entire might of the Tsavitee horde, that's what it will be."

  Well, when she said it like that.

  "If you fail, they'll have both of you. You know what that would mean," Odin said.

  It was a nightmare that haunted Kira's dreams. The Tsavitee were merciless, but their unseen masters were worse. They lacked a sense of right and wrong.

  They were deceptive. Deadly. With a thirst for power that would consume the universe if left unchecked.

  For some reason, they found Kira's genetics fascinating and believed it held some mystery they wanted to unlock. Kira was just as invested in making sure they failed.

  "The others don't wish to see you die either," Odin said carefully.

  Kira's gaze was cool. "They're welcome to lend a helping hand."

  Odin sent her a reproachful frown. "You know why they won’t."

  Kira looked away. Yes, she did. Most days she didn't even blame them. They had safety in anonymity. With childhoods as traumatic as her own, she couldn't begrudge them the peace they had found.

  "You have options they don't have, anyways," Odin said.

  "You know why I don't."

  Odin's sigh was grudging. "I guess I do."

  Commotion at the door caught Kira's attention. Her eyes widened as Raider pushed his way inside. He paused, scanning the room before his gaze fell on hers.

  "Crap," Kira breathed.

  Odin twisted. She caught a glimpse of Raider and spun around. "This isn't good."

  No, no, it wasn't. Their only saving grace was Odin had never lowered her hood. Good thing too, because Raider would have known exactly who she was—or at least who she used to pretend to be. Any attempt at subterfuge would be over then.

  "I hope you have another way out of this place," Kira murmured.

  Odin was already scooting out of the booth. "Think about what I said."

  Kira didn't get a chance to respond as Odin walked past her, moving without an ounce of hurry. She was just another Tuann going about her business, in a cloak, while taking a back exit to avoid being spotted.

  Kira fought the urge to sink her face into her hands.

  Raider's narrowed gaze moved from Odin's retreating form to settle on Kira. There was a marked pause before he started her way.

  She took a hasty sip of her drink as Raider joined her. She swallowed its warmth, as he stopped next to her table.

  Kira was the first to speak. "I trust I didn't damage relations too badly."

  Raider lifted a shoulder. "No worse than they already are."

  And there was the crux of the problem. The Tuann were suspicious of outsiders, which meant the possibility of a lasting alliance was an ephemeral dream at best.

  "Actually, some interesting things happened after you left," he said.

  Kira waited.

  "I don't think Rheya's ploy worked out the way she intended. If I read them right, the oshota of House Roake seemed almost impressed that you didn't try to knock her head off her shoulders," Raider said.

  Kira swirled the liquid in her drink. "That would be a first."

  He grunted in agreement.

  His gaze was thoughtful as he considered her. After several seconds, he slapped the table as if reaching a conclusion. "Come on, I know what we should do."

  He didn't give her the time to ask questions, heading toward Talon and Finn.

  Kira watched through narrow eyes as the three exchanged words before Talon reached beneath the bar, pulling out several glasses and two bottles of liquor.

  Raider faced Kira and tilted his head to a table in front of one of the bay windows overlooking the harbor. Reluctantly, Kira heaved herself to her feet, curious in spite of herself.

  "What's this?" Kira asked, meeting Raider at the table as he started setting slim glasses the length of her pointer finger in two neat rows.

  "Do you remember that dive bar we visited on O'Riley shortly after o
ur first battle as Curs?" Raider asked.

  Kira paused before smirking. "I remember Courtland getting so drunk he couldn't see straight and walking into a door. He had a black eye for weeks."

  Raider paused and pointed at her. "Oh yeah, we all got put on extra duty for a week because of that."

  Extra duty was used as a punishment in the military. Most shifts were a determined length of time. Sometimes eight hours, other times ten or twelve. Whatever the length, extra duty took place after normal working hours and on days off. Sometimes it was cleaning the flight deck. Other times it was swabbing the head—or bathroom as civilians called it.

  "That was the first night we remembered the fallen." Raider took a seat and grabbed a familiar-looking tequila bottle. He started pouring the liquid into one row of the shots. "You said as long as we told stories about them, they'd never really be gone."

  Tired of standing over him, Kira took a seat. "I know what I said."

  "That night, we drank to each person we'd lost." Raider capped the tequila bottle and reached for one she suspected held keeva. "We still do that, you know. Every year on the anniversary of the war's ending, we remember them."

  Pain ran through Kira at the evidence of another aspect of her former life she'd been absent for.

  "What I remember most from that night is you ending it shirtless while wearing a pair of boxers on your head," Kira said, pushing away the bad feelings.

  Raider paused in pouring the keeva. "I never did figure out whose those were."

  "They were Walker's," Kira said. "He dared you to do a triple flip off the bar. When you only did a double, he gave you them as your penance."

  Kira snickered at the look of horror on Raider's face.

  "That bastard. He always swore he didn't do it."

  "Elise tried to warn you, but you refused to listen. Said something about how no one would malign your skills."

  Raider pulled a face. "We were all so young."

  With no idea of what was coming.

  Raider finished pouring the keeva into the last of the glasses. He picked up one and gestured for Kira to do the same. "Tonight, we'll create new memories. I think it’s time we put our brothers and sisters to rest, don't you?"