Chapter Ten #2
Camber replied, “The groups like wolves, vampires, witches, magi, shapeshifters aren’t out to the normal population on Brogan’s world.”
Ziggy took a swig of her drink. “It must be a strange realm.”
“We like it,” Brogan said sharply.
Ziggy held up her hand. “Please, I meant no disrespect. It’s just a different and interesting way of life.”
“Do your own people have any difference from the norm?” Brogan asked.
“No, I come from an unremarkable planet, quite a ways from here, that the Abnobians razed to the ground.”
Brogan shut her eyes as she felt her stomach drop. She’d really put her foot in it here. “Ziggy, I’m sorry.”
Ziggy smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You weren’t to know. I’m now a part of the resistance, but I try to keep on the outside so I can learn information from my guests, or people who pass through, and give it to Vorka’s people.”
Brogan cleared her throat, trying to appear more friendly. “You did help us out leaving Oipra. I thank you.”
“Not at all. I’m glad you were there to help my Camber. She’s like the little sister I never had.”
Camber smiled and lightly shoved Ziggy. “Shut up.”
“See?” Ziggy had a big beaming smile. “She even beats me up and abuses me like a sister.”
It was sweet to see Camber’s relaxed youthfulness come out. Brogan supposed Camber didn’t get to be off guard like this very often.
Ziggy clapped her hands together. “So, you’d like to stay and have some time to recuperate.”
“If you’ll have us. Just a night, because we need to rescue Vorka.”
Ziggy took her hand. “You will not help Vorka by giving Davor exactly what he wants—you. Other people in the resistance are helping with that. We need to keep you safe at all costs, Camber.”
Brogan had known Camber was special, from the first breath of her scent. But it turned out she was even more important to everybody, and Brogan knew she would protect her more than anything in the world—but then, she had to go home. Those two urges were contrary to each other.
“I suppose we could keep our heads down for a few days and maybe work on finding Brogan’s home on the map.”
“Would you like two rooms or…”
Brogan was surprised when Camber jumped in quickly. “Could we have adjoining rooms? So we can work on the map reading?”
“Of course. You can have my best suite, and feel free to order food and drinks from room service. You must be starving,” Ziggy said.
“Thank you, Zig. Could I have one more thing? Could you give us access to an RR room? I promised Brogan’s wolf a run outside.”
Ziggy stood up and theatrically kissed Camber’s hand. “You shall have my best room, with RR room attached.”
Brogan didn’t know what that meant, but Camber seemed happy. “Thank you, Ziggy,” Brogan said.
“I ask only one thing. That you both join me for dinner tomorrow night.”
“Ziggy, I’ve nothing like that to wear,” Camber said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll send some clothes up to you. I have your sizes from the scan we took as you arrived,” Ziggy said.
Camber stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ziggy’s cheek.
“On you go,” Ziggy said. “You’re to sleep and recharge. Our security is second to none. I’ll let you know if anyone comes through, looking for you.”
“Thanks again,” Brogan said.
Ziggy walked back to her office. Her most trusted member of staff, Rayne, was waiting for her in the corridor. Rayne had been with her from almost the beginning. They kept her counsel and helped everything in this business run smoothly.
Rayne presented as dark grey skinned and hairless. They had gifts that made Ziggy’s life so much easier, and helped the business run like clockwork, while Ziggy dealt with front of house.
“This was unexpected,” Rayne said.
Ziggy held her hand to the security pad that locked her office door. There was no simple retina scan like at the hotel room doors. More than once, people had tried to get into her private space, and it was too easy for an expert to have a scan of her eye to get in.
Instead she had programmable matter embedded within her that connected her to her security systems. “I have to play this carefully, or I could have a full scale war on my moon.”
“What do you need from me?” Rayne said.
“Eyes and ears everywhere. The security teams need to be around every corner. All ships scanned, plus try to scan for skin on the ships.”
The door slid open, and she walked in. Rayne followed her.
“I’ve invited them for dinner and games tomorrow night. I need them to be comfortable, and relaxed, and ready for anything.”
“What are you going to do?” Rayne said.
“Protect this moon and the people that rely on it.” Ziggy looked up at Rayne and said seriously, “You understand what I’m saying, Rayne?”
They nodded and left.
The walls of the office were brushed silver, which enhanced the look of the garish neon sign on the back wall saying Ziggy’s Place.
Ziggy touched a security sensor under her metal desk, and the wall with the sign disappeared, revealing a corridor hewn out of the moon rock. She entered the corridor, pressed another sensor, and the wall reappeared, leaving anyone who entered her office to find it empty.
She walked further into the rock corridor, and it led to a room. In it were walls covered in weapons and one computer table. Ziggy sat down and her fingers danced over the programmable matter screen.
Eventually a voice said, “Report.”
Ziggy took a breath and said, “I have her. I have the Map Keeper.”
When Camber and Brogan got into the elevator to go to their rooms, Camber couldn’t hold her guilt in any longer.
“Brogan, I’m sorry I played that trick on you when we arrived. It was childish.”
“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t in the best of moods.”
“No,” Camber said, “don’t let me off so easily. You’ve just been ripped from your home, having to take in all these experiences, and I made it worse. I’m sorry, and don’t say anything to make it seem less, just accept it.”
Brogan smiled. “I accept.”
The elevator doors opened, not to a corridor of rooms, but to two huge double doors. “I haven’t stayed on this floor before,” Camber said.
“Do you come here a lot?” Brogan asked.
“Not all the time, or people might notice. That wouldn’t be good for me or Ziggy.”
There was a retinal scanner at the side of the door. Camber put her eye to it, and she heard the doors click open.
“It can’t be just this room on this floor,” Camber said.
“Ziggy said it was her best room.”
“I know, but she’s turning away good money to let us stay here.”
“Can we go in?” Brogan said.
Camber opened the door and said, “Wow.”
The small entrance opened up onto a large sitting room area, with a couch, a dining table and chairs, and beautiful pictures on the wall. She turned to smile at Brogan, who was looking open-mouthed at something.
Brogan said, “Wow.”
“What is it that make you wow?”
“That view from the large windows, overlooking the city. Are these real, or projections like the elevators?”
“They are absolutely real. Come on, let’s go look.”
Camber took Brogan’s hand and led her over to the windows. “This is the view you don’t see from the foyer walls. This is one big city, up here and down below the moon’s surface. There’s everything you could want in a party world. Above and down below.”
“Where are we?”
“We are in a penthouse suite at the top of the first and most expensive hotel on the moon. Ziggy is spoiling us. I know she has an apartment in here. This hotel goes deep into the moon where all the more expensive, more high end social gathering places are, but all the more gritty, cosmopolitan life is out there,” Camber said.
Brogan looked at her. “It sounds like you’ve tried it.”
Camber sighed as she remembered an exciting night out with Ziggy and her friends.
“I tried, well, Ziggy and her gang of friends tried to take me out on the town. We got an hour into the night, just enjoying some food, and word got around that Drazani arrived to check for resistance members. That meant me. Ziggy whisked me back to this hotel and had her security staff hide me.”
Brogan frowned. “So you’ve never had a normal life? Being youthful, having crazy nights out, having too much to drink, and realizing it was a bad idea when you have the mother of hangovers the next day?”
“No, I just run, and hide, and hope I can do this Map Keeper job the best I can. I don’t mean to sound as if I’m sorry for myself. It’s a great honour to be chosen, but it’s hard sometimes.”
Brogan instinctively put her hand on Camber’s back and hoped it wouldn’t be rebuffed. She didn’t always know the right thing to say, but touch was very important to wolves, and she hoped it would convey a sense of comfort and understanding.
She watched Camber closely as she closed her eyes and mentally shook off her negative feelings. Brogan could tell Camber wasn’t used to sharing or being vulnerable.
Vulnerability could get Camber captured, she supposed. She felt Camber calm under the touch of her hand.