CHAPTER NINETEEN
COLE
I hurried away from the barn, wanting to make sure there was enough distance between me and Rohinavon that there was no possible way she could overhear me.
Finding a Vangravian woman in my spare barn had shocked the hell out of me, but Xel’s suggestion that we call Aiden in had only made my fears worse.
Xel knew perfectly well that Aiden was in the military, and that he answered to the Alliance Parliament – despite Rohinavon’s insistence that she didn’t want to go through official channels – so if he honestly thought that was the best solution, there was a very high likelihood that we were officially up shit creek.
The entire situation had interstellar diplomatic incident written all over it, and the last thing in the world I wanted to be responsible for was accidentally starting a war.
But at the same time, condemning an innocent child to slavery, if this went wrong, was a horrifying thought. But surely Aiden would never let it come to that? Or maybe I was just overestimating how much influence he really had over any of this.
I called his comm when I got to the new barn, ducking inside to one of the stalls just to be extra careful.
The call timed out without him answering.
Yeah, okay, so he was busy saving the lives of eight new dimari.
But however much work he had to do right now, I couldn’t help reaching the conclusion that my current problem was bigger.
I called him again, and then a third time when the second call timed out.
Finally, the holographic screen sprang to life, and Aiden’s face popped up in front of me.
He looked absolutely livid, so I didn’t even bother saying hello, just blurted out my news.
“There’s a Vangravian female hiding in my barn who wants to apply for political asylum for herself and her infant son,” I said, making the news as succinct as possible.
The details weren’t entirely accurate – she’d already said she didn’t want to go through the Parliament – but I figured the statement would be enough to buy me the time to explain the rest of it without Aiden biting my head off.
Sure enough, Aiden froze, his mouth open, whatever he’d been about to say cut off as his eyes widened and his face paled. “I’m sorry, say that again?” he said, so I repeated myself, giving him a moment for the news to sink in.
“Holy shit,” he murmured. “A female?”
Taking that as my cue, I filled him in on everything else I knew, including Rohinavon’s request that her presence remain a secret.
I expected a quick denial from Aiden on that front, but instead, he just continued listening, his mouth tight, his head nodding slowly.
“So… what do we do?” I asked finally, after I’d told him everything I could think of.
“Fuck me,” he muttered, rubbing his face tiredly.
“It seems to be the week for dealing with problems I’ve never seen before.
Bloody hell.” He shook his head. “I think I’m going to have to come and talk to her.
I’ve got about a thousand questions, and if I take this to the higher ups they’re going to want to know I’ve seen her with my own eyes.
This is… big,” he said in conclusion, a fearful look in his eyes.
“I’ll come straight over. You’ll be there all afternoon? ”
“Yes. But maybe don’t wear your military uniform?” I advised him. “She’s cagey as all hell and knowing you’re from the military might tip her over the edge. And also… are you planning on bringing Kade?”
That made Aiden pause. “I was going to. Why?”
“She’s taking a real dislike to Xel. As far as I can work out, it’s nothing personal, just purely because he’s a dimari. But seeing Kade might just piss her off more.”
Aiden grimaced. “I take your point. But at the same time, Kade tends to be incredibly insightful when it comes to understanding either other dimari or things about Vangravian culture. I honestly think I’m going to need his advice on this one.”
I nodded. “I’m not saying don’t bring him. But maybe warn him that she’s going to be rude about it.”
Aiden nodded. “Thanks for the heads up. If we come in a chopper, will we be able to land in the back paddock?”
A chopper? God, he really did think this was urgent. “Yeah, that’ll be fine. I’ll see you soon.”
? ? ?
I sprinted all the way back to the barn, desperately concerned that Rohinavon would have decided to cut and run before I got back.
But as I skidded around the corner, I saw that she and Xel were still standing there, a couple of metres apart, both of them with their arms folded and scowls on their faces.
“Aiden’s on his way here to talk to you,” I told Rohinavon.
“He knows a lot about the dimari and all the politics that goes with that, so he’s definitely your best bet in terms of getting a positive outcome to all of this.
In the meantime, how about you come over to my house? I’m guessing you’re hungry, right?”
Her scowl deepened, but she didn’t contradict me.
“Do you have any injuries? Do you need any medication?”
“No, I’m fine,” she said stiffly. “But… I would be grateful for some food.”
“Sure, yeah. Come on.” I started heading for the door, but quickly realised that Rohinavon wasn’t following me. “Are you coming?”
Her eyes narrowed as she continued to stare at me. Then she asked, “Do you have any children, Cole?”
The question came a little out of left field, but I could see why she might want to ask it. “No. But I have a whole stable full of animals that I care for on a daily basis, if that’s any comparison.”
She gave a sideways sort of shrug. “My son is my entire world. I upturned a centuries-old system and defied an entire legion of warriors to get him safely away from my planet. Do not underestimate the things I would do to keep him safe. Because if you betray me, I will end you, and burn your entire planet to the ground.”
I paused, then looked her up and down again, slowly.
She was armed, I realised belatedly, though I could see no obvious place she would be storing a weapon.
But she’d shown no fear of either me or Xel, and while that could potentially be explained away if she’d been trained in hand-to-hand combat, I was now forced to reassess exactly how difficult it would have been for her to escape her planet.
They would not have let her go easily. And it occurred to me to wonder how many bodies she’d left in her wake.
There were weapons in the galaxy that were small enough to store in one’s pocket, at the same time as being powerful enough to wipe out a room full of people in under ten seconds.
I had no idea which weapon in particular she had, but I was suddenly certain that it was a powerful one.
Not knowing quite how to reassure her, I placed my hand over my heart.
“I promise both you and your son that I will do everything in my power to see you safe. Aiden cares deeply about the welfare of the dimari. And if we can prevent your son from becoming one, he’ll be all the more eager to help you. ”
She watched me for a long moment, and I did nothing to hurry her along. She had no reason to trust me, and everything to lose if I was lying.
“Fine,” she agreed eventually, setting off towards the door.
I led the way down the dirt road, then across the paddock, pointing out some basic landmarks along the way, but trying not to say too much, lest I end up sounding like a tour guide.
It was only as we were approaching the cottage that it occurred to me that Rohinavon hadn’t said anything about my scars.
Perhaps she wasn’t all that familiar with what humans looked like, and hadn’t realised there was anything unusual about me.
Or perhaps she simply had more important things on her mind.
Either way, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Mr Beans greeted us at the door, rubbing against my legs as I went in first. But Rohinavon wasn’t nearly as calm about the greeting as I was.
“What in the blazing heavens is that?” she shrieked, jumping backwards out of the door, and crashing straight into Xel.
“It’s a cat. A domestic pet,” I explained. “He won’t hurt you. He’s quite elderly. We decided to give him a home until he dies.”
“Does he bite?” she asked, not seeming terribly reassured.
“No, not at all. He’ll probably try to jump up onto your lap or rub against your legs, but that’s just his way of being friendly.”
“Oh. Well… all right, then.” She edged into the room, skirting around Mr Beans, while Xel closed the door behind us. I led the way into the kitchen. “Is there anything in particular that you can’t eat? Or anything you particularly like?”
Rohinavon looked a little embarrassed at that.
“Unfortunately, Vangal is a very insular planet. We grow our own food, and the ruling council has long held the view that we don’t need to import anything from other planets.
Our own native species are enough. So I found out on the smuggler’s ship that…
” The scales across her chest shone violet for a moment, and I recalled a similar reaction on Xel, whenever he’d seemed uneasy about something.
“I don’t actually know what most of your foods are.
So… I’ll have whatever you’re having, I suppose. ”
That was interesting. She was brazen and determined when she needed to be, but also ready to admit when she didn’t know something. The open humility was both refreshing and unexpected.
I decided on something fairly simple – chicken and salad sandwiches. It was a bit early for lunch, for Xel and myself, but I didn’t want to embarrass her by making her eat alone.
Was that even a thing for Vangravians? I knew nothing about their culture or their planet, so perhaps I was making a big deal over nothing?