Chapter Two
I woke up in a real bed. Blinking in disbelief, I stroked the silky sheets, and hugged the pillow to my chest. Had mother slept here? I’d have to ask Grandmother. I bet I wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor anymore. Giggling in delight, I bounced up and down on the thick mattress. “Whee!” I could almost touch the ceiling. I never, ever wanted to go back to Gliese.
“I see you’re awake,” Grandmother said from the doorway.
I dropped to my knees and eyed her warily. Was she going to beat me? I could probably outrun her, but where would I go? “Sorry, Grandmother.”
“Breakfast is almost ready. Get dressed and come to the kitchen.”
More food! “Yes, Grandmother.” Quickly pulling on my jumpsuit and boots, I hurried into the kitchen and stopped dead. Uncle Enzo and Rocco were sitting at the table.
Uncle Enzo patted the chair beside him. “Sit. Narcisa makes the best frittata.”
I wasn’t sure what a frittata was, but it sure smelled good. I perched on the edge of the chair and glanced nervously at Rocco. He was angry about something.
“Who whipped you? Was it your father?” Rocco demanded.
I winced. He had seen my ugly scars. “My father never beat me. In Gliese, anyone caught stealing food is given ten lashes.”
“But you’re a child,” Grandmother protested, visibly upset.
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter how old you are. The penalty is the same.”
“Where was Kismet or your father when this happened?” Uncle Enzo asked angrily.
“They were sick with Lassa fever.” I rubbed the ache in my chest. “They almost died. When father could walk again, he killed the punisher.”
“Good,” Rocca spat.
Grandmother served me what looked like a brown crustless pie with chunks of stuff in it. “Once you’ve eaten, I’m taking you shopping for new clothes and boots.”
“I don’t have any credits,” I said sadly. I really needed new boots. Mine were too tight and hurt my feet.
Uncle Enzo put a small flat cake on my plate. “The Dragos clan takes care of their own. We will pay for everything you need.”
“Wow, thank you.” I could get used to having a family.” I poked the flat thing with my fork. “What is this?”
“That is a biscuit,” Rocco answered. “You put butter and honey on it.”
I stared at him blankly.
“No butter or honey on Gliese, huh?” Rocca asked as he slathered the stuff on the biscuit for me.
“Maybe Crom has some, but I’ve never been on his trawler.” I cradled the plate against my chest and gobbled down some frittata. Flavors I had never tasted before exploded on my tongue.
“No one is going to take away your food,” Uncle Enzo said. “Watch how we eat.”
I studied them for a moment and placed my plate on the table. They took a bite. I took a bite. They drank their coffee. I drank some milk.
“Much better,” Rocco said. He pushed a bowl over to me. “This is honey.” He put a spoonful of the golden liquid on my biscuit. “Try it.”
I took a cautious taste. Yum. It was sweet and kinda fruity. I stuffed the rest of the biscuit in my mouth and chewed happily.
Uncle Enzo sighed.
“How do you feel about red hair, Zadie?” Rocco asked.
“I’ve always wanted to look like my mother, but I got my father’s gold eyes and silver hair.”
Rocco buttered another biscuit for me. “My friend Emma will be here shortly to make you look like a Dragos. Would you like that?”
“Yep.” I snatched the biscuit out of his hand. “I like disguises. They’re fun to wear and it’ll be harder for Crom’s hunters or that scary battle commander to find me.” I took a big bite of the biscuit.
“You had a run-in with a battle commander and survived?”
The shocked look on Rocco’s face had me giggling. “Un huh, a battle commander named Jedrick. After I stunned him, he promised he would find us.”
“And he will. We must prepare for him,” Rocco said grimly.
Uncle Enzo rubbed a hand over his face. “What were you stealing?”
“Ditrim crystals.”
“Does your uncle still have them?” Rocco asked eagerly.
“He did yesterday, but I don’t know if he has found a fence yet.” I gulped down my milk.
Someone knocked on the door.
“That should be Max.” Uncle Enzo hurried over to the door and opened it. “Thanks for coming.”
Max? I gawked at the itty-bitty Askole standing in the doorway. He wore a red jumpsuit with a medic’s insignia on the shoulder, but I didn’t see a medical bag. I had never met an Askole before. I knew they had tentacles and black scaly skin, but I always thought they were a lot bigger.
“Zadie has been living in Gliese and I want you to give her a thorough checkup. I doubt she’s had any of her inoculations and who knows what kind of diseases she’s picked up.”
“I don’t get sick,” I stated.
Max’s tentacles squirmed around his head. “Never?”
“Uncle Ax thinks it’s because I have the berserker gene. He never gets sick either,” I answered.
Rocco’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “Berserker gene? Your father was a berserker?”
“No, just Uncle Ax, but when he goes into his berserker mode, he does stupid stuff.”
Max bared a mouthful of sharp teeth. “Most male berserkers suffer from testosterone overload when they summon their powers. That triggers aggressive behavior and lack of rational thought.”
Huh? I wasn’t sure what testosterone was.
“Can you do anything about the scars on Zadie’s back?” Grandmother asked.
Max pulled out a bio scanner and ran it over me. “Other than being underweight, Zadie is in good health.” He frowned at the readout. “It is obvious the child never received proper medical care for her wounds, and it will be difficult to remove the scars at this point.”
“Why didn’t Kismet take you to a medic?” Grandmother cried.
“She couldn’t. I was locked up for a week and she was too sick to walk. One-eyed was my guard and he liked to hurt people. He laughed every time he poured Sel Gris on my back to stop the bleeding.” A shudder shook me as I remembered how badly it had hurt, but I refused to scream like the others.
“Good God.” There was a look of absolute horror on Uncle Enzo’s face.
I patted his knee. “It’s okay. Father killed him too.”
“That you still live is a miracle,” Max exclaimed.
“Father said it was because of my berserker and Coletti genes.”
“We should have never stopped looking for Kismet,” Rocco said grimly.
Max held up a pressure injector. “Can I vaccinate you, little one?”
“I guess. Is it gonna hurt?”
“No and good children get a lollipop.”
“What’s a lollipop?”
Max pressed the injector against my neck. “Candy.” There was a little sting. “All done.” He held out a round, rainbow-colored piece of candy with a stick attached to it.
I took it. “Am I supposed to eat it?”
“You lick it,” Grandmother replied.
I gingerly touched my tongue to the lollipop. It was sweet and tart. I smiled at Max, “I like it.”
Three females dressed like gypsies rolled large suitcases into the room. The older one gushed, “Sorry, I know we’re late, but the enforcers have roadblocks set up and are checking everyone’s identification.”
“There was some kind of firefight on the west side of the village,” the second female added.
Rocco and Uncle Enzo exchanged glances.
The younger female fluttered her eyelashes at Rocco. “I didn’t see you at the tavern last night.”
Did she have something in her eye? And why was Rocco staring at her boobs?
“I was busy.” Rocco’s commlink beeped. He took one look at the screen and stiffened. “If you ladies will excuse us, we have urgent business to attend to.” He rushed out the door with Uncle Enzo right behind him.
Max followed them out.
“Aren’t you just the sweetest little thing,” the older female exclaimed and pinched my cheek.
I wanted to punch her but one glance at Grandmother’s face and I giggled instead.
“I made the ID card you asked for. Once we’ve completed the child’s makeover, I’ll add the photo.” The older female held it out.
Grandmother took the card and studied it carefully. “Excellent work as usual, Helena.”
“Thank you.” Helena fingered a lock of my hair. “It will take Marsela about an hour to change her hair color and Elena brought clothing in the size you requested.”
“Excellent. Let’s get started.”
Two hours later, I stared at myself in the mirror and grinned. My red hair and green contacts changed my appearance dramatically. I bet even Uncle Ax wouldn’t recognize me. The green smock dress and white flats with bows added to my harmless air.
“Ready to have your pictures taken?” Helena asked.
I nodded and smiled shyly.
“Don’t move and your dimples are adorable.” Helena inserted the ID card into her scanner and hit an icon. The ID card popped back out and she gave it to Grandmother.
“Perfect,” Grandmother said in delight. “You project innocence so well.” She handed me the ID card. “Don’t forget your alias is Anna Stavos.”
“I won’t.” I studied the photo. For the first time in my life, I resembled my mother.
Uncle Enzo rushed in and gave Helena a handful of credit chips. “Leave. Now.”
Without saying a word, they grabbed their suitcases and left.
“What’s wrong?” Grandmother demanded.
“Central Command is shipping our men out tonight.” Uncle Enzo fixed his gaze on me. “We need your special abilities to save them.”
“Get me to their power source and I’ll disable it.”