Snowburn

by Frost, E J

  “Is she—?” Kez asks from behind me.

  “Alive,” I confirm, feeling a slow, steady beat under my fingers. “Just unconscious. Looks like someone had a rough night.” I nod at her torn shadowsuit. The skin showing through is no longer svelte gold. It’s mottled with what look like chem burns. Guess Kimpler fought back. After checking for head injuries, I scoop her up and back out the way we came. Kez follows me into the passenger lounge, where I deposit Erin in a flight cradle.

  Kez stands beside the cradle, looking uncertain, shifting from foot to foot.

  “You gonna stay with her, kitten?” I already know the answer. I’ll miss Kez’s company on the flight back.

  Her expression twists. Some internal tension rising to battle across her features. Finally, she shakes her head. “She shot you. Twice.”

  I hold out my hand. Collect her against me when she takes it. Stroke her stubbly head, and kiss her forehead when she looks up at me. “So, should I off her?”

  “No!” Kez stares at me in shock. Then her eyes narrow. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah. You really think I’d kill your sister?”

  “She shot you!” Kez wails. I can see this is tearing her up. I tuck her tight against my chest. Cup my hand over the back of her neck. Look down into those big blues.

  “I forgive her, kitten.” My initial fury has passed and I can barely even muster any lingering resentment towards Erin. What’s important is that Kez knows no matter what she does to take care of those she loves, I’ll back her. “Don’t ever think I’d be mad at you for protectin’ your family. It’s one of the things I love about you.” See if that surprises her as much as her declaration on Outniss surprised me. I kiss her forehead and let her go.

  I’m at the door to the passenger lounge when she says, “Uh, Snow?”

  I look back over my shoulder at her. She’s standing where I left her, gripping the rim of a cradle like it’s the only thing keeping her upright. As I watch, stunned wonder floods her expression, suffusing her eyes with light. And she gives me the biggest, brightest smile I’ve ever seen.

  I wink at her, and hold that smile close as I head back to the flight deck and fire up the Marie.

  Once I’m clear of the raptor platform, the flight to Nock doesn’t take much of my attention. I flip the ship onto automatic so I can have something to eat and drink out of the cool tray. While I’m chewing, I check the passenger monitor. Looks like both girls are sleeping, although Erin may be unconscious. Hard to tell under all the derms Kez has plastered on her. Once I’ve eased the rumbling of my belly, I take the controls again to give the girls a smooth ride. If it were night, I’d leave the ship on autopilot and take a nap with Kez. But the airways are too busy during the day. I tap on the music system, dial up some Brukke to sing along to, since no-one’s awake to hear me, and entertain myself with thoughts of what I’m going to do to Kez once we’re alone again. I know she’ll need time with her family first. And there’s the run to Kuus; Doc Gray will be showing up at nightfall to perform my favor. But there will be time in a bed, too. Or in my hammock.

  Those thoughts give me a full cockstand that only fades to a dull ball-ache as the green, rolling soyu fields of Roysten give way to the urban blocks of Hemos and Nock. The cities by day lack any of the sodium beauty of night, and I’m glad Kez isn’t awake to see how ugly the industrial stacks are in the light. There are beautiful places on Kuseros, and throughout the Vespers, that I’ll show my kitten once this is over. For now, she’s seen the best that the two cities have to offer.

  I bring the Marie down into her berth at the Nock port, making sure to spatter the Starflare still parked next door with debris as I land. When the flight computer connects with the port docking authority, several messages pop up. I scan them. The usual adverts: everything from a guaranteed fifty-credit income per day from the comfort of your own cube to a miracle cure for Phogathian rectal worms. I read that one a little more closely. Rectal worms. Fuck me. Glad I missed that bit of local fauna.

  There are a couple of real messages. One from the head of Nock security with a terse apology for the now ex-guard. Bet Thea twisted his arm. Another from Maier bitching about me missing his poker game, and inviting me for a night out in the Delta. I chuckle to myself as I record a response. The Delta’s got nothing to interest me now. But to keep him sweet, I offer him the haul I had booked for tonight. It’s a short hop, just up to the Ceghatan Orbital and back. But there’s a decent profit in it, and I could use the time to work on the knives. Before I even finish clearing the other messages, he’s plexed me back to confirm he’ll take the run. Business done, I collect the best of the knives I have stashed on the ship, as well as all of my credits, forward calls to my house computer, and close down the ship.

  The girls are still sleeping when I poke my head into the passenger lounge. I move silently through to the ‘fresher, relieve myself, do a quick P-T-and-A in the fresher’s tiny sink to get rid of the worst of the sand, and change into some of the spare clothes I have tucked into the bottom of a locker. Old, worn fatigues, tank and street peds. They’re neither sexy nor anything I’d want to wear in a fight, but they fit, and more importantly, the orangutan’s ass has never been in them. They’ve also got pockets, which Ape’s clothes lack, so I can stash everything out of sight. I toss the monkey clothes into the zap can and close the lid on the blue flash. Hope he didn’t want them back.

  Ablutions done, I stroll back into the passenger lounge. I don’t make any effort at silence this time, and my footsteps wake both girls. Kez sits up, rubs her eyes, and climbs out of her flight cradle, grinning hugely at me. She’s remembering our last conversation. Or at least, my last words to her. When I hold my hand out to her, she comes and tucks herself against my side, wrapping her arms around my waist, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder. Yeah, those three little words made my kitten happy. I’m not going to over-use them – not my style – but I’ll definitely be saying them to her again.

  Erin wakes more slowly and much less happily, sitting up and frowning thunderously.

  “Do I want to know where we are?” She speaks carefully. The long tears around her mouth from our struggle up the bowship’s wall are shiny with salve, probably applied by my smart kitten, who must know that newskin doesn’t work on mucus membranes. Or erectile tissue, as I memorably discovered on K-G. There’s also a bruise on Erin’s jaw that’s only partially faded under a derm. Bet it hurts to talk.

  I’ll just have to keep her chatting, then.

  “Want to use the ‘fresher?” I ask Kez, to delay answering the Überbitch and further annoy her. Kez nods and ducks into the ‘fresher, still grinning brighter than a beacon. I lean against the ‘fresher door, listen to the sound of running water, and watch Erin until she starts to twitch, before I answer her. “We’re in Nock. At the port.”

  “On my ship,” she says.

  “If you want it to be,” I say, just to see shock widen those icefire eyes.

  “What do I have to do,” she asks caustically. “Kill you?”

  “You could try. Or—” I take the master control out of my pocket and make a show of tossing it and catching it, tossing it and catching it, until her jaw knots under the bruise. “I could give it to you.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Told you before.”

  Erin scowls ferociously at me, her expression so like Kez’s when my kitten gets her dander up. Only there’s no playfulness behind Erin’s scowl. She’s all business. Bad business. And I want that bad business as far away from my kitten as possible. “What, you want me to guess?”

  “Sure. Three guesses. You guess right, you get my ship. Guess wrong, then I guess you’re walkin’ back to Zhonnys.”

  She curls her lip in disgust, winces, and shakes her head. “Fuck you. I’m not playing guessing games with you.”

  I toss the master control and catch it with my left hand. Just to show off. “Enjoy your walk.”

  She climbs pa
infully out of the cradle, using her left hand, holding her right arm clamped against her side. Probably a broken ulna. Looks like Kimpler put up serious resistance.

  The watery noises behind me trail off and I shift away from the door before Kez opens it. Her eyes flick from me to Erin and her smile fades. “You need a medcen.”

  “I have a private doctor,” Erin hisses. Then pain that has nothing to do with her injuries creases her face.

  She had a private doctor. But I’d guess that’s a privilege reserved for assassins-in-favor, and Erin doesn’t look like one of those at the moment. She wouldn’t have been crawling into my ship, hurt and alone, if Tyng had forgiven her.

  “I’ll call you a taxi,” Kez says, snapping together her viewie.

  Erin tips her head, purses her mouth like she’s tasted something sour, and winces. “I don’t have any credits with me.”

  “I’ll pay for it,” Kez says. “And whatever treatment you need.”

  Erin sniffs. “I just need to access a credit printer. I’ll pay you back for the taxi.”

  Kez lifts her eyes from her viewie and looks hard at her sister. “Okay. The house code is WA85592.”

  Erin frowns and her gaze turns inward for a moment. “That’s . . .”

  “Granna’s house code,” Kez finishes for her.

  There’s a long, taut silence. I reach out and pull Kez against my side. Maybe she bought her grandmother’s house for sentimental reasons. Or maybe so her sister could find her. But Erin didn’t know, which means she never looked.

  “Fine,” Erin snaps. “I know where to send it then.”

  Kez shakes her head. “God, don’t bother. Come on, Snow.” She tugs on me and I follow her as she moves toward the door to the central corridor. “Your taxi will be here in three minutes.”

  “Just a sec,” I say. I hold out the master control. Giving the Marie to Erin seems like a better and better idea all the time. I wanted her to promise to leave the system as part of the guessing game, but maybe just giving her the opportunity to escape is enough.

  “No!” Kez reaches out and snatches the master control out of my hand. Stuffs it so forcefully into my pocket that I have to hitch my pants up.

  “Kitten,” I reproach her gently. It is my ship.

  “No, I don’t care. She doesn’t get your ship.” She nearly drags me out of the passenger lounge. I’m chuckling by the time we reach the central corridor, and lift her off her feet as the door snicks shut behind me.

  “You’re such a forceful little puss.” I swing her up into my arms and buss her all around her cheeks and chin until she’s laughing in spite of her fury and pushing at my chest. I carry her the few meters to the ship’s ramp, and when it cycles open, outside and to my trike.

  We wait on the trike until Erin’s taxi arrives, and leaves with her in it. Without a word of apology, or farewell. Überbitch. I tap the master control, watch as my ship closes itself up, spreads its solar sails to the mid-day sun. Kez is a warm weight against my back. As I fire up the trike and turn towards the port exit, she slips her hand down the front of my pants again. I don’t stop her, but this time I call her on it.

  “Pretty sure that’s a civil offense, kitten. Public indecency.”

  She peers over my shoulder without moving her hand. “Nothing’s exposed,” she observes.

  “Uh-huh. Wanna tell me why you keep stickin’ your hand down my pants?”

  “It’s warm.” She shrugs against my back. “I don’t get to do this when we’re in bed.”

  “Fuckin’ you in this position would be tough.”

  She muffles a laugh in my shoulder. “But you’re so flexible.” She rubs her fingertips through my pubic hair and I’m glad the little monster is in its usual position down my left trouser leg.

  “I’m not complainin’, kitten. Just curious.”

  “When you’re looking at me, I feel connected to you. This way I still feel connected to you, even though I can’t see your face.”

  “O-kay.” I steer the trike into the exit queue without removing any point of connection. Let the new guard make of it what he wants.

  Gig’s just pulling up in front of the Warren when we arrive. He must have kept the skimmer redlined to make it back nearly as fast as the Marie, although I didn’t push my ship and flew the thermals wherever I could to conserve fuel. There’s a crowd around him. The beautiful girl, Ape, Chiara and a herd of rabbits. As soon as Kez swings off the trike, the rabbits switch their attention to her, and cluster around her feet. She picks up Ronnie and tucks him under her arm. Helas, Bunker and several others go up on their hind legs to put their soft front paws on her thighs. She shoo-es them back into the house.

  I lock down the trike and am just about to follow Kez when Nev comes towards me, arms outstretched. I glance around to check where Kez is. Find her standing at the top of the stairs, looking at me. I meet her eyes, watch closely for her reaction. Maybe we’re past jealousy, her and me, but if we’re not, I want to know before I make the mistake of letting Nev touch me.

  Kez shrugs.

  Nev goes up on her tiptoes to hug me. Presses those soft, full lips against my cheek. She smells like ripe fruit. I don’t have to lick her skin to know how she’ll taste. Don’t have to touch her to know how soft she’ll be under my hands. Her belly brushes against mine and I force myself to remember carrying her down the stairs of the Eddle Hab, stained with Junior Pimp’s spunk, glazed out of her mind with Hex, to keep the little monster under control.

  I pat her once, and step back.

  She takes my hand and looks up at me. Huge brown eyes in the perfect oval of her face. “I just wanted to say thank you. You and Kez saved my life. I haven’t been myself for the last few days. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”

  I won’t hold it against her, but there’s not much that will change my opinion of her, either. And either she doesn’t understand her own charm, or the perpetual come-on is just second-nature. Whichever, I don’t like it. “Yeah, okay.”

  She smiles and leads me toward the house, still holding on to my hand. I don’t know how to extricate myself without insulting her.

  Kez gives me the perfect excuse when she offers me Ronnie as we reach the top of the stairs. Slanting a smile at my astute kitten, I take the floppy bunny, flip him over onto his back the way I saw her do, cuddling him like the world’s biggest baby in my left arm, and rub his white, furry tummy. He goes limp, and starts tooth-purring so hard he rattles my shoulder in its socket. It’s disconcerting, the rabbit’s reaction to being petted. To be so completely trusted by an animal I could kill with a single movement. But it’s also very gratifying. Like every other facet of being with Kez.

  Nev leans across me to coo. “Isn’t he the sweetest?”

  “Yeah,” I say. I give the bunny-tummy a firmer rub. Maybe if I press his stomach right, he’ll fart. Do rabbits fart? Most animals do. I figure a rabbit fart will back the beautiful girl up a couple of paces.

  Kez moves to my other side, carrying a double-armful of rabbit. Bunker by the coloration as well as one I don’t recognize, its dark red pelt ablaze in the sunshine. Bunker may be a handsome specimen, but the flame-colored rabbit is a show-stopper.

  “You got the prettiest,” I say to Kez.

  “This is Ember,” she says, nodding at the red rabbit. I notice she’s careful not to jostle or jiggle the bunnies the way you would a human infant. Guess they don’t like that sorta motion. “She’s still a juvenile.” I wouldn’t have guessed that. Hard to tell when the rabbits are the size of medium-sized dogs. “I just got her last month to breed with Bobble when they’re both old enough. She’s settling in really well. A week ago she wouldn’t let me pick her up like this.”

  “Thought they weren’t test tube bunnies.”

  “They’re not,” Kez says, a little indignantly. “I just like trying new colors. Besides, a flame sable would sell for three times what Chalk’s current litter will go for.”

  “And we’d have the only ones i
n all of the Vespers,” Gig chimes in from behind us. Ape and Chiara trail him, hand in hand.

  I already knew that Kez and Gig were the brains of their particular outfit. I hadn’t realized it extended all the way to the economics of bunny breeding. But my kitten is a practical woman, with a lot of mouths to feed, and if she can turn a credit off something, she will.

  The rabbit herd, moving in a multi-colored, hopping carpet, precedes us into the house. “They don’t try to escape?” I ask Kez.

  She snorts. “They know where they’re fed.”

  Inside, the rabbit herd disperses. The human herd stays together to the kitchen where, from the foodstuffs spread over the counters, I’d say they were in the middle of making a meal. No wonder they’re all around. The human herd knows where it’s fed, too.

  Kez sweeps it all with her blue gaze and turns to Ape. “Can you fry up a couple of stickles, too? That should feed all of us.” She glances at me. “Are you okay with fish for lunch?”

  “Sure. I’ll be in the ‘fresher.” I’ve had enough of sand in my ass.

  “I’ll join you.” Kez takes my hand and we leave her herd finishing their preparations.

  Kez decides we don’t have time for anything but a shower, and since the bathroom has two doors, neither of which lock, we shower separately. The ache in my nuts is getting to be a real distraction, but wanking off in the shower with Kez less than two meters away will probably upset her. At least I get rid of the sand. Once I’m wrapped in a towel, I join Kez at the bathroom’s big triple sink. She watches me run a whisker over my jaw. I put my free arm around her as she begins to clean her teeth.

  “When you’re done,” she says, around a mouthful of foam. “Would you do my hair?”

  “All the way down?” I ask. Kez will be beautiful to me no matter what she does, but I kind of like her bangs. I’ll be sorry if she shaves those off.