Chapter 12
Twelve
Kira
Choosing two books from the pile Jarek had given her, Kira tossed them in her bag on top of the rest of her things.
There wasn’t much. One change of clothes.
Several pairs of underwear. The Tuann version of emergency rations.
A hard bread that contained all essential nutrients—and actually didn’t taste half bad.
A few weapons she’d picked up here and there.
A zuipi. A couple of grenades that scrambled matter.
And the akieri that had once been her father’s.
The books were a last minute impulse. The Tuann word for Osiri had caught her eye. Before she could stop herself, it was already in her pack. For good measure, she’d thrown in the second book. The rest could wait until her return.
Finished, Kira shouldered her pack and took one last look around the space. During her time in the military, she’d moved on countless times, but somehow, this felt different. Bittersweet in a way she wasn’t expecting.
She glanced across the hallway to her parent’s door. Maybe that was why. This place represented a connection to her past. To two people who’d eagerly anticipated her arrival. Who’d died trying to protect her.
You didn’t easily walk away from that.
Kira crossed the hallway and rested a hand on the door. “Goodbye.”
This isn’t forever, she told herself.
Turning, she found Raider and Finn waiting for her. Packs similar to hers at their feet.
“You done with all the touchy feely stuff?” Raider asked.
“I am. Are you?”
Raider and Finn shouldered their packs as Kira walked past them.
“Finished half an hour ago,” he said.
Kira grinned. “I thought your eyes looked red.”
Raider stopped to touch his face. “They do not.”
“Whatever you say, Raider,” Kira called as she reached the first of the many flights of stairs that they’d have to travel to reach the world gate.
Raider looked at Finn in panic. “She’s lying, right? They’re not red. They look perfectly fine, don’t they?”
Finn barely glanced at him. “I’m unwilling to comment on human departure ceremonies.”
Kira nearly choked on a laugh. She was grateful to be in the lead so Raider couldn’t see her expression.
Mostly, she’d been teasing, but his reaction made her want to poke him some more.
She wouldn’t because she wasn’t a monster. But, oh, it was tempting.
The two followed her down.
And down.
And down.
Until finally, they reached a set of ancient looking doors deep in the heart of the fortress.
As with most things Tuann, ki was needed to unlock them.
Since she was unable to access her soul’s breath, that left Finn to do the honors.
He stepped up to set his palm on the blue gem at the center of the insignia carved into the stone doors.
It looked like a starburst. A pair of lu-ong twined around the gem, until you couldn’t tell where one left off and the other began.
Closing his eyes, Finn channeled his soul’s breath, letting it flow through the unique pattern that represented their House. One that mirrored the entanglement of the lu-ong in front of him. He added a personal flourish at the end that acted like a signature of sorts.
The doors parted, revealing the circular platform on the other side.
“We’re here,” Kira announced, stepping through.
Raider sounded resigned as he followed. “Back where we began.”
It did feel oddly like they’d come full circle. The gate through which they’d arrived on the planet stood framed against the backdrop of the cliffs and ocean.
In this case, the “gate” was a pair of pillars upon which complicated runes had been carved. The structure of the language was utterly alien to Kira despite the fact she carried some of those same runes on her skin. Most of them were invisible until her primus came out to play.
She didn’t know who was responsible for the runic language or where it came from. Just that only the very oldest and most educated among the Tuann could read it.
Silas was one such person.
An adviser of her uncle’s and one of the only Tuann she’d met who showed any indications of age, Silas greeted Kira with a warm smile that showcased the crow’s feet around his eyes and the soft lines creasing the rest of his face. “Heir—it’s good to see you well.”
“You too.”
Kira actually meant it.
Silas had always treated her with understanding and empathy.
He, like Quillon and a few others, was a big part of why Kira was willing to make her home with Roake.
He’d impressed her with his wisdom during some of the long conversations they’d had since her arrival.
His quiet, gentle nature had helped ease some of the awkwardness that stemmed from being a stranger in a strange place.
“This her then? The little heir?”
Kira’s smile vanished as the Tuann who’d asked the question looked her over with an insulting gaze.
“Kira—this is Bez. Bez—this is Roake’s heir. At least pretend to be respectful,” Silas scolded.
Bez remained slouched, half lying against his pack. His disdain apparent.
Unlike most oshota Kira was familiar with, he wasn’t wearing synth armor.
Though his bearing and musculature pointed to his being a warrior.
He was dressed simply in a green, long-sleeved shirt and tan pants.
A brown belt wrapped around his waist several times.
It had a sheath for a zuipi and another for his en-blade.
His skin was a medium brown. His hair had texture even when pulled back from his face in a messy tail. His pointed ears had hoops through the cartilage along the tips.
All in all, he resembled one of the space pirates featured in the holovids Kira and Jin used to watch.
While Bez removed the toothpick he was chewing on, his companions remained slouched against their packs, looking Kira over with similarly judgmental gazes.
“Doesn’t look like much, does she? Pye and Arly could break her with their pinky fingers,” Bez jeered. “It’s better to let my people handle this. We don’t need some gently bred heir and their adherence to tradition fucking this up.”
Raider nudged Kira. “Hear that. He called you gently bred.”
“I heard.”
It was hard to take offense when the person insulting you was so far off base. It was kind of laughable, actually.
“What’s so funny?” Bez asked with a stiff look like he was trying to decide if he should be upset or not.
Raider forced the smile off his face. “You’ll see. Won’t he, Finn?”
Amusement lurked in the back of Finn’s eyes as he made a noncommittal sound.
Bez’s sneer turned nasty as he caught sight of Kira’s oshota. “What is that traitor doing here? Shouldn’t you still be sipping at Luatha’s teat?”
That wiped the humor from Raider’s face.
Kira’s reaction wasn’t much different. Insulting her oshota wasn’t something she took lightly.
Noticing the shift in their mood, Bez went for the jugular. “The truth stings, doesn’t it?”
Kira and Raider were quiet. Right now, the other man was being obnoxious but he hadn’t quite crossed the line. If they waited long enough though, Kira was sure he’d get there.
“Give it a rest. You’ve been bellyaching since last night. This is the Overlord’s direct order. If you or your pod have a problem with that, we can find someone to replace you,” Silas said with a look that had Bez straightening.
“Not necessary. We’ll manage somehow. Just wanted to make sure that the old man hasn’t gone senile,” Bez grumbled sourly.
Raider lowered his voice as he leaned closer to Kira. “Why is it that everyone we meet takes an instant dislike to your face?”
Kira drove her elbow into his side, smirking at his grunt. “Are you sure it’s not yours that they’ve taken a dislike to?”
Bez noticed their interaction. “A human, Silas? Really?”
Raider’s insulted expression surprised a husky laugh from Kira.
“See? Not just me,” she teased.
Raider shrugged her away, not taking his gaze off Bez. “Why is it that Tuann insults are always so unoriginal? You’d think such a long-lived race would be a little more imaginative.”
“Watch your tongue, human. We’re about to leave polite society far behind. You never know what could happen. Maybe that offensive tongue of yours gets ripped right out of your mouth.”
“Is that a threat, wizard?”
“I don’t know, human. Does it sound like one?”
Kira kept expecting Silas to intervene as he had with her, but so far, he seemed content to wait and watch. Guess that meant it was up to her to step in before things turned violent.
As usual.
“Raider—we’re supposed to be making friends. Not more enemies,” Kira said, speaking through her teeth as one of Bez’s companions straightened from where she was leaning against her pack. The other man with them didn’t move.
Raider didn’t look away from his stare down with Bez. “I don’t know about you, but these aren’t the sort of friends I care to be associated with.”
“I can’t argue with that,” Kira agreed.
The startled gaze Bez shot her might have been amusing if she wasn’t trying to keep him and Raider from each other’s throat.
“That being said, let’s not antagonize them any more than we have to. We might need them later.”
As cannon fodder, Kira added silently.
By this point, she’d given up on them adding any value to this mission. She’d be lucky if they didn’t end up as hindrances instead.
Raider’s shoulders relaxed as he grinned, going from attack dog to guard dog in an instant.
“Crazy bastard,” Kira muttered with a small shake of her head.
Silas’s expression caught her eye. The barely there smile was that of a proud mentor.
She was pretty sure he’d let that happen on purpose.
More than a little angry from all the grandstanding, Kira looked away from Silas to offer Bez the politest “fuck you” smile she could muster. “Anything else you want to get off your chest? I’m all ears.”
In fact, she almost hoped he said something.