Chapter 22 Varok
VAROK
The darkness parted, and everything felt wrong. Above me, the crystal ceiling glowed a dim blue, and the air on my skin burned furnace-hot. This wasn’t the abandoned apartment Penny had found. Nor was it the bunker we’d hidden out in.
The Collectors’ hive. It had to be, but I didn’t understand.
Beneath me, soft fur covered a hard, flat surface.
I tested my limbs—no restraints, which was both good news and confusing.
Why the luxury? The Collectors hated thieves, so I’d have expected chains and an icy cell if they let me wake up at all.
I put that mystery aside, focusing on a more urgent one. Where was Penny? The exasperating human wasn’t beside me in bed, and I didn’t feel her presence in the room. Groggily, I dragged myself to full consciousness and sat up.
Someone tended my wounds while I slept, well enough that they no longer hurt. Either I’d slept for a long time, or the Collectors had given me some very expensive medical attention.
“Ah. You are awake.” The voice startled me, showing just how distracted I’d been.
Driin Attrobi, the Bauran Collector-Candidate, sat against the wall, eyes gleaming from under his crimson hood.
“I owe you a debt, Varok, one I cannot easily repay. Any aid I can give you before your departure, I will.”
“I did nothing special,” I said, covering my confusion with empty politeness. “Any other would have done the same.”
The Bauran laughed, and I wondered what in the Void he thought was happening. I stole from your collection, and you’re thanking me? I wanted to shake the truth out of him but held myself back. He seemed happy to talk, and until I knew what had happened to Penny, I couldn’t risk making enemies.
“Nonsense, blessed friend, nonsense. When that damned human stole from my gallery, you could have done nothing or alerted our hosts and let them deal with it. Either way, it would diminish me in their eyes, perhaps too much for them to welcome me to the Hive. Instead, you went after the bitch yourself.”
That was the moment I decided to kill him. No one would speak of my human like that and live. It took an effort not to rip his throat out, but I needed to learn more. His death would have to wait.
“I don’t remember much, I’m afraid. My injuries…” I let the explanation trail off as I stood and stretched. The Bauran obliged by filling in the blanks for me.
“Of course, of course. Alas, no one else knows the details, since she wiped the sensors before escaping into the frozen city. It must have been a fine hunt, the human thief trying to reach her escape route, you heading her off, and all the time the treng hunting you both.”
Treng. At last the predators had a name, though it hardly mattered now.
“You caught her, of course, crashed the skimmer she stole, and tore off the damned whisperlight she used to hide her engine from the Collectors. The security drones tracked the signal and found you both. Though alas there’s no sign of much of the stolen artwork, you recovered my prize piece, the humans’ Mona Lisa.
With luck, the human will yet confess where she hid the rest.”
He doesn’t know. The thought echoed through my mind, and I fought to keep it from showing. They’ve not figured out that my ‘statue’ is fake. Penny is taking the fall for everything I stuffed into stasis, as well as the one thing she stole. Damn her beautiful eyes!
“Where is the thief?” I growled the question, hoping my anger would cover the other, softer feelings swelling in my heart. “I have a debt to repay.”
“Ah, well, perhaps that will be possible. Perhaps. Alas, I am not yet a hive-member. Only full Collectors can render judgement on a thief.” He clapped me on the shoulder, and I somehow resisted the urge to tear his arm off and stuff it down his throat.
“But you might wash and get dressed before we make a request,” Driin said with a thin smile. A glance downward, and I realized I was naked, and I needed a shower. As urgent as my quest was, Attrobi was right.
After my experiences on Wardal, a genuine hot water shower should have been a luxury to savor.
Instead, I wasted no time, washing as efficiently as possible.
My own clothes were gone, probably into a recycler.
I couldn’t muster an objection—between blood and sweat and grime, they must have been beyond saving.
Instead, I found a black and red robe that fit disconcertingly well.
For immortal insects made of crystal, the Collectors understood clothes.
Beneath the robe I found my comm bracelet, the only thing of mine they’d kept.
The robes matched Attrobi’s, and I wondered if that was a hint. Had the Hive decided my dedication was worthy of inviting me into the Hive alongside the Bauran? If so, I was grateful they hadn’t decided for me. Finding a crystal crown growing into my skull would have been an issue.
The old general walked with a spring in his step, eager to reach his benefactors and the immortality they promised. He talked too, a constant stream of details about his coming ascension that I tuned out as unimportant. Thoughts of Penny filled my mind, crowding out everything else.
Void damn the female. How dare she put herself in danger to protect me again?
I raged silently, a tempest of anger and regrets as I hurried to find her.
Whether I meant to shout at her or kiss her was unanswerable, but I knew one thing for certain.
However the encounter started, it would end with us mating.
Despite our shared peril, the thought made me smile as I reached our destination. Recognizing the viewing gallery above the arena wiped my smile from my face. If the Collectors had gathered us here, they likely intended to put on their deadly show now.
Other guests milled around, a smaller and more muted crowd than before.
The rest must have died trying to fight their way to their ships, which I realized must have sucked some joy from the event.
Their bloodthirsty appetites hadn’t disappeared, but none burned with enthusiasm like on our previous visit.
Some even looked upset at the show. The Protectorate Scion who’d talked to Penny at the party—Lady Amyral, I thought her name was—raised a glass to me in a somber toast, and I wondered how much she knew before abandoning the question.
It wasn’t relevant unless she was willing to do something to help Penny.
If the pirate princess planned to help, she’d either tell me or not. I had more urgent issues.
My heart racing, I broke away from a startled Attrobi and hurried to the Prytheen servitor who seemed to be organizing the event.
“Mister Varok, my masters welcome you back,” she said, her voice warm and low. “We all hoped for your swift recovery, so that you would witness the criminal’s execution before we close the collection.”
“Stop this,” I commanded, my voice ragged and full of fury. Behind the mask, I saw the Prytheen’s eyes widen, though she showed no other sign of fear.
“What are you saying, blessed?” Driin’s voice rose to a squeak, which I’d have found hilarious in other circumstances. “She stole from our hosts. They held back her execution so you could watch the event. What do you mean, stop?”
“I mean…” I paused, letting my brain catch up with my mouth.
What reason could I give the Collectors?
Why in the Void would they listen? I latched onto the first idea to cross my mind, filling in the details as I went.
“She is my prisoner, my prize. She is mine. The humans of Earth will pay me well for her return, and she has robbed others too. I shall auction her and make back enough money to fund an installation of antimatter art. My craft demands that you return her to me.”
Driin looked at me as though I’d gone mad. The servitor watched from behind her crystal mask. Silence filled the room, and I realized I had everyone’s attention.
The servitor broke the moment by bowing, and when she raised her head, the mask’s eyes glowed with a cold white flame. She spoke, or someone did. The voice coming from beneath the crystal sounded like a dozen people speaking in unison, none of them her.
“Honored guest,” it said, the words stretching strangely as though their speaker had forgotten how to shape them. “The Hive understands. The Hive sympathizes. The Hive refuses.”
I snarled something, but the speaker continued without a pause. “You will not suffer. We will pay you a fair price for your criminal, but our laws must protect the Collection. She has taken from it and will suffer the consequences.”
Had the Collector been within arm’s reach, it wouldn’t have managed more than half that before I tore out its throat. But killing the poor Prytheen servitor wouldn’t help Penny, only harm another innocent. I bared my teeth in a ferocious snarl.
“She is my property. I will ensure she faces appropriate punishment, that is fair, but I will not simply give her to you.”
“One hundred thousand Credits Imperial,” the Collector said. Driin’s strangled noise made me think he might die. “It is likely more than you will get for her at auction.”
I admired the speaker’s talent for understatement. While I’d never been a bounty hunter, my brothers and I had enough bounties on us to know the figure was ridiculously high. High enough that my lie foundered on it like a ship hitting an asteroid.
Still gasping for air, Driin clapped me on the back again. “There, my blessed friend, a win for everyone! Now come, let us drink to your riches and my immortality.”
My lie was dead, and I had no other to offer. I let Attrobi lead me away, his blather covering my silence as I ransacked my brain for another plan. Something clever enough to save my Penny from the monsters that would tear her apart in front of my eyes.