Chapter 12
TWELVE
She couldn’t believe it. She’d kissed him. He’d kissed her back. It had been hot.
Combustible. Ridiculous, honestly. That alien made her feel things she had never felt before with any human male.
That probably wasn’t ideal, but her worry was vague and distant.
Jessa, who was so used to closing herself off, was enjoying the openness she felt with Virak.
It was like a break from her life, which had been full of struggle. Here, she could just live.
Jessa’s feet moved quickly down the empty corridor toward the training room.
Only last night they had touched—skin to skin—and now she couldn’t wait to do it again.
How far would they go today? Maybe he wouldn’t even be here.
Virak had made himself scarce all day. He had been mostly holed up with his advisors and military, and hadn’t even invited her to the evening meal.
Paeri had said Virak hadn’t left his throne room once.
The sandstorm must be causing some real problems. It had intensified.
Now, it was very audible in most corridors.
The overhead domes, which had been dimmed by the whipping sands, were now completely covered.
Interior lights had to be used everywhere, which weren’t as bright or pleasing as natural light.
Jessa’s heart beat hard as she placed her hand on the training room door.
She hoped he would be inside. Even if he didn’t want to repeat the previous night’s hot encounter, she wanted to see him.
She thought she heard a sound inside. It was hard to tell, with the dull roar of the sandstorm raging above.
The door slid open. Instantly, a strange smell assailed her nostrils. Jessa’s senses went on alert. It reminded her of the damp, sour smell she recalled from standing on a New York City subway platform. It wasn’t something she’d smelled on Virilia.
Her throat tightened. Something wasn’t right. The room was so dark, except for the pale lights on the ceiling. It was usually brighter in here when Virak trained.
She crept forward. Instinct told her to be quiet and cautious.
Her soft-soled shoes made no sound as she gingerly crossed the training room floor.
She could make out the hulking shape of the training robot, motionless in the center of the room, as if awaiting its opponent.
As she passed it, she saw the glow of severed power-supply tubes on the robot’s neck.
It had already been defeated, but by whom?
It wasn’t like Virak to hide. He’d shown no signs of being a prankster. His lack of appearance ratcheted up her fear level. Where was he?
On the other side of the training room, a garage-sized door sat open to a dark place beyond.
That was new.
Jessa had never seen a door there before. She assumed it housed the robots, maybe a weapons room or something like that. But maybe not?
She pressed her sweating hands together and said, “Virak?” Her voice sounded tremulous. “Are you here?”
She paused and listened. The only sound came from the training robot, who spat out hissing sounds as power leaked from its severed tubes.
This was a bad idea. She turned and started back to the door in a run. Halfway there, something grabbed the back of her jumpsuit and jerked her to a stop.
Jessa’s breath knocked out of her lungs.
She twisted around to fight back, but found herself looking up into a pair of small yellow eyes in a large green face.
The creature holding her with enormous fists, had to stand ten feet tall.
It moved on at least six, thin spiderlike legs.
A long, thick tail swished behind it like an angry iguana.
She gulped back every sound but a frightened squeak when the creature bared long, sharp black teeth that gleamed in the dim light.
What shit did I walk into? Jessa thought frantically.
She glanced around but saw no sign of Virak.
He could be dead. He could be lying somewhere bleeding to death.
Maybe they took him. “W-who are you?” she asked.
The creature blinked at her. No comprehension shone in its eyes. Of course, it didn’t have a translator.
Then, the thing dragged her toward the rear of the training room, where that large, garage-sized door sat open and dark and gaping.
She had to escape. Recovering her wits, Jessa struggled in the enormous creature’s grasp.
It still held her by the fabric on her back.
She reached for the fastening on her suit—if she could slither out of her clothes, she could make a run for it.
But the other arm wrapped fully around her waist and yanked her straight off her feet.
Flattened against its side, that sour, dank subway smell was like a punch to the nose.
The being holding her moved quietly on those thin, insect-like legs. It was probably fast. Jessa had to wait for her next chance and she had to find a weapon.
About ten feet from the open door, a figure emerged. Virak stepped into the pale light. Shirtless and sporting several gashes on his pale skin, his muscles bulged. Sweat gleamed on his skin. His chest heaved with exertion. His tail swished like a furious tiger, barb exposed and ready to swipe.
He held his long, twin blades out to his sides. Thick, blue syrup-like goo dripped from them. His eyes held an odd, red glow as they flickered over her. He showed no emotion. His face was a mask of cold fury.
Virak spoke, loud and clear, but Jessa couldn’t understand him. Her translator informed her that it was not calibrated for that language. Great.
The creature holding her replied to Virak in the same fast, guttural language. They seemed to have an argument. Maybe about her. Probably, since her captor squeezed her tighter with each exchange.
Then, to her horror, a glint of silver drew her notice to a shadow moving in the darkness behind Virak. Jessa dragged in as much breath as she could. “Behind you!” she gasped out.
Virak lithely stepped to the side and dropped to a crouch, just as another of those green beasts moved in, wielding two long, curved metal poles, each tipped with long, curved blades on each end. The creature grinned and spun them with expert hands.
Virak bared his pointed eyeteeth and raised his blades.
Jessa’s ribs ached with the intense pressure of the creature’s grip. If this brute squeezed any harder, they would snap like toothpicks.
Her abductor decided that this was his chance. He hauled her through the open doorway. Virak disappeared from her view, but she heard the clash of metal on metal echoing through the chamber.
The light was dimmer where she was being taken. Jessa could barely make out racks of blades of all sizes and shapes. All of it was well out of her grasp. They reached a smaller opening on the wall. The creature had to duck its head to enter.
It was a tunnel—narrow, rough, and completely dark. Panic turned her limbs to mush.
Sounds of Virak’s fight were snuffed out by the tight, narrow passage walls.
This was not how she thought the evening would go when she slipped from her rooms ten minutes ago.
Lights began to crowd the corners of her vision. Her head felt heavy and her mind was fuzzy. She wasn’t getting enough air to breathe. At least she wouldn’t be conscious when this creature killed her.
Suddenly, she was dropped. Her bottom hit the ground and her aching ribs expanded as air rushed to her lungs. She dragged in a deep breath and scrambled away, feeling along the wall.
Metal rang against the stone. Scuffling feet and heavy breathing were close, but it was so dark.
She peered into the darkness and saw the faint red glow of eyes.
Virak. She had no idea how or why his pale blue eyes had turned a glowing shade, but there was no mistaking who it was.
He was here, fighting with this massive monster.
He grunted in what sounded like pain and her chest tightened. The creature let out a furious bellow.
Jessa flattened against the rough wall. Then, a large body dropped to the floor, which vibrated through the corridor. All that was left was Virak’s heavy breathing and her barely contained whimpers.
“Vi-Virak?” she stammered out.
There was a pause, then a rough, “I’m here.”
Jessa felt her way over to him, following his voice and the dull glow of his red eyes. Her hand connected with his arm. He jerked, then stilled. A large hand came up to her hair.
“Are you alright?” he asked. “Were you hurt?”
“No, but you were.” She resisted the urge to run her hands all over him. He felt tightly wound and, for some reason, unnaturally warm. “Are you okay? You feel hot, Virak. And your eyes are, well, sort of glowing a little. Did you know that?”
“What?” He seemed startled. “No, I didn’t.”
“It’s fading away now. Wow. What caused that?” she demanded. “Are you sick?”
“I’m fine. Bleeding a bit, but nothing fatal.”
“Let’s get you to a medic,” she said. “Is it safe to go back to the training room?”
He sighed. “We can’t go back.”
“Why?”
“Because this is an escape tunnel. They are programmed to be locked for a full daylight cycle before opening again. I barely got through before it shut.”
“That’s a terrible design,” she commented.
“These tunnels are an escape route, but they’re also a vulnerability in the event of an attack.
” He reached for her hand and started walking in the opposite direction from the training room.
“To keep them secure, they are programmed to seal automatically when there’s been an unauthorized breach. Like now.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Jessa held him with one hand and felt the wall with the other. After the open spaces of Tagja City, this tight passage felt claustrophobic. They trudged along. Between the darkness and the narrow space, her nerves grew increasingly frayed. “Where are we going?”
“There should be a terminal ahead with some supplies, if those Sifters haven’t raided it all.”
“Sifters? That’s what those guys were?”