Chapter 31
Thirty One
Kira
The scorpion guided them to a set of blast doors that stood out against the rest of the honeycomb for how distinctly human they were.
“Someone’s made themselves right at home,” Raider observed.
They had.
Kira couldn’t decide if Belladonna’s leadership was reckless or—no, they were just reckless.
None of them must have served in the war. Otherwise, they’d know those blast doors would do jack shit against the hibernating Tsavitee if they ever woke up. They’d shred them as if they were paper.
“Dumbasses,” Kira murmured.
They would have been better served investing in weaponry such as the military’s Jambo than these. Those would at least pierce a Tsavitee’s tough body. The rapid fire function would give some of their leadership a chance to escape.
While Kira was considering the stupidity of Belladonna’s members, the doors opened on their own.
Raider had his rifle up and aimed into the room in an instant.
Finn and Talon flanked Kira, ensuring they could protect her in case something came out.
Amila and Solal were quick to take up similar positions around Graydon.
Kira glanced at him, reading the “be careful” in his quick look.
Something told her that wouldn’t be necessary.
She checked on the kids, finding them clinging to the back of Roderick and Arly’s legs. They’d certainly warmed up quick.
Caius moved up beside Kira as the doors finished opening.
Bez wasn’t with him. He stood at the back of the group as listless and lost as he’d been since Az’s death.
Kira sighed internally.
She understood his grief. She really did, but if he didn’t snap out of it, he might lose the only thing he had left.
Knowing it wasn’t her place to interfere, Kira turned back to the room.
“How long are you going to stand out there?” Jin complained. “I even opened the door for you and everything.” His voice lowered to a grumble. “How much more of a welcome mat do you need?”
Raider’s stance eased as he lowered his rifle. “Guess the Tin Man is no worse for wear.”
Kira paused at the number of dead bodies everywhere. “You were busy, I see.”
“Only some of this is mine. The rest were like this when I got here.”
From the way his wide eyes pleaded with her, she could tell he didn’t want her to ask any questions. She studied the bodies, trying to figure out why.
Jin’s kills were easy to pick out. They carried the marks of weapons fire. A few had bite marks. Those, Kira guessed, came from Jin’s spawn.
It was the rest that were the problem.
There were no marks to indicate wounds. If they’d been attacked by a Tsavitee, there would be signs. The same if the culprit had been human.
Poison maybe?
For now, Kira decided to leave the subject alone. Jin would tell her later anyway.
The wall to the rear of the room fell, crumbling as easily as when the Tsavitee had came through one.
Dylan stalked out of the wreckage, looking like something out of a B-horror movie.
Hair matted to his head, covered in some type of ichor that had dried, leaving it hard and brittle.
That same substance also coated his synth armor.
Then there was the blood.
He looked liked he’d bathed in it. There were also small pieces that Kira suspected belonged to the honeycomb stuck to him.
“His entrance and timing are impeccable” Raider whispered.
“That’s because he tagged me with a tracking device,” Jin said with a surprising lack of anger.
“You broke your promise,” Dylan rumbled.
“I did. Sometimes that will be necessary.”
“And if I decided to break mine and share the information I’ve learned? Because I felt it necessary,” Dylan bit off the last word.
“That’s up to you, bucko.”
Jin didn’t have to say what he’d do if Dylan ever took that route. Any oshota/master relationship would end. That was if Jin didn’t try to kill the oshota and anyone that information was shared with.
Kira really hoped that never happened.
Dylan grunted and glanced at Graydon. “I encountered some rebels on my way. Those who did not die, fled before I could stop them.”
Kira raised an eyebrow, impressed by how matter of factly he said that.
“It’s enough that they were here,” Graydon said. “Their presence helps Roake’s defense that they weren’t the orchestrator.”
Everything that happened with and to Caius could be laid at their feet. His kidnapping. The fact someone had worn his face to infiltrate Roake. Everything.
Still, Kira couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed over the escape of the responsible parties. She had questions for them. If someone really was creating another camp like the one she and Jin had grown up in, she needed to find and end it. Right now, there were a lot of loose ends.
Jin waggled his eyebrows at her, getting her attention.
No one except maybe Raider and Finn noticed as he performed a sleight of hand, flashing the data stone he’d sandwiched between his pointer and middle finger before it disappeared back into his clothes.
Very busy indeed.
Graydon signaled it was time to leave.
Jin hopped off his chair. “This was a nice sojourn. It was good to stretch my muscles and what not.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Kira took in Dylan’s stony expression. “I have a feeling it’s going to be awhile before you’re let off Ta Sa’Riel again.”
Jin may have bitten off more than he could chew with that one.
Kira wished him luck. She’d long since given up on trying to rein Jin in on anything but his most insane of plans.
The children tackled Jin as soon as he walked out of the room, swarming him with an enthusiasm that was surprising given their short acquaintance.
Caius came up beside Kira. “They’re not usually so friendly—or trusting.”
“Jin has a way about him.”
Children loved him. They always had.
“I didn’t say it before but thank you,” Caius said.
Kira glanced at him, uncomfortable with his gratitude. “Do you know who will look after them now?”
“I’m still figuring that out,” Caius confessed. “The least I can do now that their parents are gone is to ensure they grow up in safety.”
Kira fidgeted with the cuff around her wrist, exploring the tiny micro-fissures along its surface that she hadn’t really noticed before. “I have a friend who might be able to help with that.”
It would take some begging, and the outcome was by no means guaranteed.
Selene could very well say no. Always before they’d limited themselves to orphans with no remaining ties.
Caius’s involvement presented a challenge.
Kira got the feeling he wouldn’t be content to send them on their way and forget about them.
He’d expect updates. Regular reports as to their wellbeing and safety.
Maybe even visits so he could ascertain for himself how they were doing.
Kira suspected Selene might have some pretty heavy objections to such an arrangement.
“She’s shy, so it’s not a guarantee. But she’s taken on children under a similar set of circumstances,” Kira admitted.
She tried not to fidget under Caius’s stare, knowing she was taking a big risk. From all accounts, Caius was scary intelligent. He’d know—or at least would be able to piece together—a little of what she wasn’t saying.
“I’ll think about it,” Caius said.
“Let me know what you decide.”
Or don’t.
As long as he didn’t ask her any further questions on what sort of children Selene protected or where those children came from.
Caius considered Kira, his gaze intrusive enough that she began to grow uncomfortable.
“What?” she asked, not bothering with politeness.
“I think I met your sister,” Caius announced.
Up ahead, Jin jerked, looking back at them.
Kira signaled him not to interfere.
“Did you?” Kira asked, remaining composed despite the way her pulse pounded in her throat.
Caius’s slow smile possessed a little too much shrewdness as he eyed her. “Interesting woman. Really likes plants.”
He was talking about Pityrodia Augustensis, Kira realized.
“You sound admiring.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Those plants of hers saved my life. When we were recaptured, I was so sure she’d follow. I worried about it actually. Thought I even saw her at one point during my torture.” Caius pretended to shrug. “I guess not.”
Kira wouldn’t be so sure. Some of Belladonna’s higher ups—those not dealt with by Jin’s swarm—had been killed by something.
There’d been no marks on them and no signs of trauma.
By all appearances, they died quickly and mostly painlessly.
Gus was as likely a culprit as anyone. She might have seen Kira coming and decided to fade into the background.
Jin glanced back at her, his careful expression showing he was paying more attention to their conversation than he should have been.
“Ah, well, I’d still like to thank her for what she did for us,” Caius continued.
“I hope you get the chance.” Kira stepped past him. “The person you came across could have been anyone though. Likes plants isn’t exactly a descriptor.”
“She called herself Gus,” Caius told her back.
Kira couldn’t help the way she paused to listen.
Caius sauntered toward her. “She also had the same habit as you of ending conversations whenever they made her uncomfortable.” He lowered his voice so only she could hear.
“Don’t worry, little heir. Her secrets are safe with me.
” He gave Kira a mischievous smile. “I will find her though. We have unfinished business, she and I.”
Caius smiled at Kira again before sauntering over to the children, taking the two youngest by their hands as the eldest tagged along at his heels.
Oh, Augustensis. You have no idea what you’ve done.
Caius was as bullheaded and dogged as Graydon. Maybe more so since he didn’t have the dignity of the emperor to consider.
Gus had better hide. And hide well.
Caius would hunt her. He wouldn’t stop until he found her either.
“What was that about?” Jin asked, coming up to her.
“It seems Caius has a new fixation.”
“On Gus?”