Tracker

by Cyndi Friberg

  “You’ll keep me safe.” She punctuated the statement with a weak smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  He shook his head and took several bites of stew before setting his bowl aside also. Damn it. There had to be a way to ease her fear. “She’ll be fine, love. You have to believe that, if you want it to happen.”

  “I’m trying. Really I am.” She stood and went back inside the enclosure. Wenny lifted her head long enough to identify her visitor, then went right back to...mourning. The word seemed odd, but that was what Wenny was doing. She was grieving for all the things, all the companions, that had been taken from her.

  Sara lay down in the grass beside the cub. To his astonishment, Wenny crawled closer and curved her body into the warmth of Sara’s. Arrista had to be right. If the cub was desperate enough to cuddle with a human, this had to be about loneliness. Sara kept using a phrase. Separation anxiety. That was what she called this, so how could they treat it. Returning her to her mother wasn’t an option, but...

  Good gods above, was he actually considering this? He’d have to recruit Torrin for the mission or he wouldn’t even get through the door. “Sara, I’m going to run the tray back to the Wheel. Will you be okay for a few minutes?”

  She didn’t answer with words, just waved him on and went back to petting the cub.

  He started to leave, then realized he’d about given himself away and went back and picked up the tray. She watched him closely, brows drawn together over her nose. He just smiled and hurried to the Viper. After depositing the tray of dirty dishes in the recycler, he went in search of Torrin.

  Not surprisingly, he found the assassin working out with a spar-bot in the fitness center. Torrin paused the routine when Xorran stood beside the mat for several minutes. “Want to go a round or two?”

  “No. I need to speak with you.”

  “Can it wait? I’m almost finished.”

  Xorran nodded and went to the bench lining the perimeter wall. He sat and waited while the assassin finished his workout. The fitness center was always crowded. Xorran preferred his workouts in the privacy of his cabin, but many of the cabins weren’t large enough to allow for such a preference. He had no idea where Torrin was assigned.

  Finally finished, Torrin commanded the spar-bot back to its charging station and walked over to Xorran as he wiped off his face with a towel. “So what’s up?”

  “I need you to let me back into the Underground.”

  Torrin looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Why?”

  “The karron cub needs a companion. They’re not used to being alone and she refuses to eat. Needless to say, Sara is taking it badly, so I need to fix them both.”

  Torrin draped the towel around his neck with a laugh. “Thank the gods I’m not genetically compatible with humans.”

  “Will you help me?”

  “Probably, but what happens after I open the door for you?”

  Xorran stood up with a sigh. “I was hoping Arrista could help us with that.”

  An expressionless mask slammed down over Torrin’s features. “Go talk to her and get back to me with a viable plan. I’m not going near that female.”

  What a bizarre reaction. “What did Arrista do? She’s harmless.”

  “She’s obsessed with me.” He sounded horrified. “We saved her life so she feels honor bound to ‘serve’ one of us. Torak went back to his ship. You’re taken, so I’m the lucky fool she’s determined to ‘serve’.”

  Xorran laughed. It was obvious Torrin was anything but amused, but Xorran couldn’t suppress the reaction. “So have her clean your cabin and fetch your food. How horrible could that be?”

  “You have no idea. The female is...never mind. I will deal with Arrista, but in my own way and time.”

  Xorran held up both hands and contained his mirth to a compassionate smile. “Fine by me. I’ll talk to her and get back with you.”

  “Check my cabin. I keep throwing her out and she keeps coming back. I’ve changed the security code twice. We can’t figure out how she’s doing it.”

  Okay, so maybe this was a bigger problem than he’d first thought. “Which cabin is yours?”

  “Five-one-nine.”

  Deck five, cabin nineteen. Just down the hall from his. “Thanks.”

  The training center was on deck one, so Xorran took a lift to deck five. He wasn’t intimidated by stairs, but he was in a hurry. Sara wasn’t going to rest until this thing with Wenny was settled, and Sara had barely slept in three days. Besides, like the overlord, he didn’t want her outside after dark and the sun was about to set.

  He went to cabin nineteen and activated the visitor alert. Even if she was inside, would Arrista respond to the door? He had his answer few seconds later when the door slid open, revealing the elf.

  “My master is training. May I take a message?”

  “My master”? Holy shit, this was worse than he’d thought. “May I come in? Torrin knows I’m here.”

  She hesitated, but eventually stepped back and motioned him inside. Torrin’s cabin was identical to his. He went to the sofa and sat. She chose the chair facing him.

  He wanted to get back to Sara as soon as possible, but he couldn’t help asking, “Why do you consider Torrin your master? He has made it clear it’s not an honor he wants.”

  “We do not have a choice. He saved my life. There can be no doubt General Alonov would have killed me if Torrin had not carried me to the world above. If one saves another’s life, the rescuer then owns the life he saved.”

  “According to whom?”

  She just stared back at him blankly.

  “I understand that you’re grateful,” Xorran tried again, “but Torrin isn’t comfortable with being your master.”

  She lowered her gaze to her folded hands, hiding behind her pale blue hair. “Have I displeased him? I’m trying very hard to serve, but he won’t tell me what pleases him.”

  “It would please him for you to take advantage of this opportunity and figure out what pleases you.”

  She shook her head, sounding even more miserable. “I am Niffal. We are bred to serve.”

  “There are no designations here, Arrista. You are free to be whatever you want to be.”

  Tentatively she glanced at him, but confusion still creased her brow. “But I want to be Torrin’s faithful servant.”

  Okay, he was starting to see why Torrin was in the training center kicking the shit out of a spar-bot. Then it struck him. She literally knew nothing else. She had never longed for freedom because she had never experienced it. It was tragic. And it was far too complicated a matter to solve right now.

  “Is this why you are here? Does Torrin want me to pleasure you?” Now she sounded mechanical, as if she’d shut off her personality. Her expression was equally blank. She looked like an exotic doll.

  Xorran closed his eyes and clenched his fists. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out why she would react this way. Isolaund was such a bitch!

  He cleared his throat and looked into her pastel-blue eyes. “You do not need to pleasure anyone unless you want them, Arrista. That will never be expected of you again.”

  She finally reacted. Uncertainty knitted her brow and clouded her gaze. “Then why are you here.”

  “I’m determined to get Wenny a companion and I need your help. Torrin has agreed to get me back into the Underground, but I’m not sure—”

  “Oh sir, you cannot!” She came up out of the chair and moved toward him. “They will be ready for you now. Guards will be posted at every portal. There is no way to sneak inside.”

  “I have to do something.” He threw up his hands, hating his helplessness. “Sara is terrified Isolaund will attack her because Wenny is so sick.”

  “Weniffa is not sick, she is sad, and I am working on a solution.” She sounded sincere, even insistent. “You must trust this task to me.”

  “If we can’t sneak back into the Underground, there is no way you can either. Explain your pl
an to me.”

  She looked uncomfortable, but returned to her seat and told him, “There is another cub like Wenny, one who is struggling with what is expected of battle cats. Her name is Luppa. My sister is one of Isolaund’s assistants and I can speak with her mind to mind.”

  “Has she agreed to help us?”

  “The city is sealed,” Arrista explained. “That’s why your scanners did not detect us. Merella will need to venture above before we can communicate, but her work with the karrons allows her to come and go as she pleases.”

  “How will she know you need to talk to her?”

  “Simple pulses can penetrate the shields. I have been signaling her since I left Sara. Merella knows I need her, but she must have a valid reason for going above. She will contact me as soon as she can.”

  “Then your sister will just bring Luppa to us? Won’t Isolaund miss the cub?”

  “Isolaund has been making excuses for Luppa, but she’s running out of time. The Guiding Council wants to discontinue the battle cat program. They feel it’s too expensive and there is no real need for battle cats anymore. They are watching every move Isolaund makes. Very soon she will have no choice but to send Luppa to the labor pool. I will tell Merella to hurry that decision along, and then she will deliver Luppa to us rather than take her to the labor pool.”

  He leaned back with a smile. “You win. Your plan is much better than mine.”

  She smiled and it transformed her features from pretty to stunning. With her iridescent skin and light blue hair she was unusually beautiful. What was Torrin’s problem? Any male would love to mate with such a striking female.

  If they were actually willing.

  And therein lay the problem. Arrista felt honor bound to “serve” Torrin.

  Xorran doubted that it would do any good, but he had to try one more time. “Heather is the only one left in Sara’s cabin. Why don’t you go sleep there? I’m sure Heather would appreciate the company after all she’s been through.”

  She shook her head, looking shy again. “I must stay with my master.”

  Damn. Looks like Torrin had lost his cabin for a while. “Please let me know as soon as Merella responds.”

  “Of course.”

  He returned to the habitat and found Sara much as she’d been when he left her. Rather than try to get her to leave the cub, he let himself in and joined her on the grass.

  “Our link is still active,” she warned. “I know you’re up to something.”

  He spread out on his back and folded his hands behind his head. The sky was so filled with stars it didn’t look real. “I was up to something, but Arrista talked me out of it.”

  She laughed, sitting up so she could see his face. The cub was between them, still fast asleep. “What does that mean?”

  “I was going to sneak back into the Underground and steal another cub for Wenny.”

  She just stared at him. “You’re serious?”

  “Of course. I told you I would do anything to make you happy. Didn’t you believe me?”

  “Yes, but...no, I guess I really didn’t. I thought you meant little things like bringing me coffee in the morning. Thank God Arrista talked some sense into you. That would have been suicide!”

  “If her plan doesn’t work, I’m still going. I will not have you torturing yourself about this cub.”

  “I’m sorry. I try not to get attached, but Wenny got to me from the start. She’s so sweet, so loveable. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to harm her.”

  “I understand that, but there is only so much you can do.”

  She nodded, but sorrow still smoldered in her eyes. “What’s Arrista’s plan?”

  He explained about Luppa and Merella. “Arrista seems confident that Merella can pull it off. I say we let her try.”

  “I agree.” She paused to stroke Wenny’s back, needing the contact more than the karron. “But if this fails, you must promise me you will not sneak back into the Underground. It’s much too dangerous.”

  If he gave his vow, he would have to keep it. He considered vows sacred. “One step at a time, love. Now let’s go to bed.” He stood and held out his hand, but his stubborn mate lay back down.

  “I’m not leaving her out here alone. She only fell asleep because I lay down with her. I’m not being stubborn. Okay, I’m not just being stubborn. She needs me.”

  He shook his head, knowing it was hopeless. “Fine. Then I stay too.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  He couldn’t see her face, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

  WHEN POUNDING ON HER door awakened Isolaund she threw back the covers with a snarl. Certice leapt to the floor, echoing Isolaund’s displeasure. Slipping on her robe as she ran to the door, Isolaund shouted. “Can we go one godsdamn day without you pounding on my door?”

  As if to answer her question, Alonov overrode her privacy protocols and opened the door. He yanked her into her outer chamber, then kicked Certice in the face. The karron yelped and shook her head. Her momentary disorientation was long enough for Alonov to shut the door.

  Then he turned on Isolaund. “You conniving bitch!”

  She swallowed hard. She’d given the recording to Indrex late last night and the council hadn’t met yet. How had Alonov found out?

  He stomped toward her and she backed up, matching him step for angry step. “Why are you so angry?” It was a stall tactic. She had to twist this to her advantage. Maybe blame it on Indrex, claim she didn’t know about the pendant and he was using it to spy on them both? Could she sell it? Alonov was no fool.

  “You know damn well why I’m angry. Your sniveling brother called an emergency meeting of the Guiding Council. They’re in there right now plotting my doom.”

  “What are you talking about?” She put on her best little-girl-lost expression, but the bastard only laughed.

  “Innocence hasn’t been believable on your face in years.”

  “Tell me what you’re talking about. Why would Indrex gather the council?”

  “I have people watching every access point into the central computer. One of my people detected you manipulating a surveillance feed and notified me. Before I could decide what to do with you, I hear about this meeting. Coincidence again? I don’t think so!”

  Damn it. She should have kept those files somewhere else. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Someone must have used my access point.”

  He lunged for her like a raptor, fisting the back of her hair as he sneered. “Cut the shit, Isolaund. I’m not in the mood to spar with you.”

  She glared at him, but helplessness swelled inside her. Again, he’d caught her without the protection of her cats. And Certice had been with her this time!

  She’d seen lust flash in his gaze more than once. Could she use that to shift his focus? “What are you in the mood to do?” she purred softly.

  “Wring your fucking neck.” He took something out of his pocket and forced it into her mouth.

  The metallic taste of blood spread across her tongue and she gaged, trying to spit out the small, flat object.

  Without explanation he let go of her hair and stepped back.

  She spit the thing into her hand and wiped the blood from her lips. She looked at her palm and froze. Trepidation sped her pulse and knotted her stomach. “Where did you get this?”

  He just leered at her.

  “Where did you get this!” It was a demand this time.

  “The poor creature was on its way to the labor pool. My knife was probably a mercy.”

  Luppa. She gagged, then ran to the sink and vomited. She had Luppa’s blood in her mouth. “Why? Why would you take this out on a helpless animal?”

  He laughed. “You really do love those filthy beasts more than people, don’t you? And the ‘why’ is simple. You’re going to tell your brother not to convict me. In fact you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he votes to dismiss. This was a warning, little girl. Betray me again and I’ll kill them all in the most gru
esome ways possible.”

  WENNY JOLTED AWAKE, springing up from the ground as if it had been electrified. Luppa. Luppa. Luppa.

  Sara blinked away sleep’s haze, confused by the cub’s strange actions. “Settle down, love. What’s the matter?”

  Go. Go now. Luppa. Luppa!

  The name echoed through Sara’s mind along with Wenny’s fear. For half a second she thought that Arrista’s plan had worked already. But Wenny wasn’t excited to see her sister. She was terrified.

  “Xorran. Something’s really wrong.”

  Wenny went to the gate and butted her head against the barrier over and over.

  “Luppa’s in trouble. Where’s Wenny’s leash?”

  Now! Now! Go now!

  “Screw it,” she muttered as she rushed over and opened the gate. “Don’t run too fast or you’ll lose me!”

  Wenny took off like a shot, but slowed down when she heard Sara’s words.

  Sara ran as fast as she could, glancing back to make sure Xorran was coming. He had a pulse pistol in one hand and he looked furious. Oh well, she’d deal with his anger later.

  Wenny zigzagged through the trees, leaping over any barrier small enough to clear. Sara did her best to keep up, but every time she lagged behind, Wenny paused and let her catch up. Finally Wenny veered sharply right, then stopped abruptly, calling out in a forlorn tone to make sure Sara found them. A karron cub lay in the underbrush covered in blood. Dreading what she’d find, Sara carefully felt for a pulse. When the faint beat throbbed against her fingertips, she released a grateful sigh.

  “Is she alive?” Xorran asked from behind her.

  “Yes, but she won’t be for long unless we get some help for her.” It was probably wiser not to move her, but it would take twice as long to run all the way to the Wheel, and then bring someone all the way back here.

  Xorran decided for her. He reached past her and scooped up the cub in his arms. Luppa was limp, but made a soft cry. He shifted her high against his chest and Sara saw the source of all the blood.

  “Dear God, someone sliced her open and just left her here to die. We need to get pressure on that wound.”