Destiny's Blood (6 page)

It had been days of breaking, and months of healing before she could speak and move again. By then, Josmere and Yoma were used to sheltering her, to keeping secrets from her and leaving her in the dark. For her own protection.

A moan did escape her lips then, and she found the strength in her weary muscles to at least push herself up to a seated position. The handcuffs bit deep into her wrists, and her fingers worked frantically at pulling a pin free from the cuff of her jacket. With numb fingers she worked on the lock as the two men looked down at her
 
—
 
one with victory, and the other with hunger akin to lust in his orange eyes.

She felt the lock give way and her right hand was free.

“I need to know about her past, her family, her allies,” the colonel said, and the Kilita nodded.

“I can try,” he answered, his voice hoarse and thick. “But the last time, I couldn’t control it. I just unleashed her powers. And even then, the results were debatable.”

Layela narrowed her eyes as hatred renewed her strength. She would not let this man in her mind again. He would not have access to her powers and impose them on her. A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed hard. Her pin, barely two inches in length, was in her right hand, and the cuff was in her left. She would only get one chance.

“If you tell me willingly,” the colonel said gently, his voice still coated with honey. “I will spare you this.” The lie in his voice was all that she could hear, his curiosity about her powers so strong that it stoked every word. She was something different, and she knew that the Kilita had made that clear to him. A human with the power of ether.

She refused to look at them. She focused forward, taking deep breaths, forcing her muscles to resist the urge to run.

“I guess that’s a no,” the Kilita hissed, removing his regulation gloves
 
—
 
the same gloves Josmere was forced to wear. He took his time taking them off and securing them to his belt, and she was certain his orange eyes were glued to her. Adrenaline pulsed through her and her heart thundered in her chest.

“Last chance,” the colonel said. Layela looked at him then without flinching, her eyes making it clear she had no intention of telling him anything. He seemed pleased with this and nodded to the Kilita, who took a step forward, quickly closing the gap between them.

He was leaning down when Layela jumped up and brought her left hand with the cuffs to strike him against the side of the head, the impact resonating down her flaming muscles. She leaned against the wall and kicked him hard in the knees. He fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding temple.

The colonel was moving already, but she brought up her right hand and slashed at him, the pin small but effective enough to gash his hand and then his face. His eyes burned with hatred as he struck out and hit her right arm. What she lacked in strength, she made up for in speed. She reeled back, turned and quickly brought the handcuffs up again and hit him hard in the scalp.

The Kilita had partly recovered and grabbed her legs, toppling her forward. She screamed and went down over him, the colonel grabbing both her arms before she struck the floor, tearing muscles as he pulled her up like a rag doll with a firm hold. The Kilita still held her legs, and she fought to get free, but could barely move.

She struck back with her head, satisfied when she felt it impact the colonel’s chin. He groaned and his head flipped back, but his grip only tightened on her bleeding wrists, pulling a yelp of pain from her throat.

“Now, Chief,” he said, and she felt the Kilita’s broad hand search up her leg as she struggled to break free. His hand was too thick to go into the cuff of her pants and reach the skin over her boot. For a second, she thought he might need to let go of her legs to make contact with her skin, and she would get another chance to fight. Instead, he pulled hard on the right leg of her pants and ripped them, exposing her leg below her knee.

She felt weak from fear and blood loss, and inhaled sharply as his rough palm clamped her skin. The familiar sting of his magic coursed up her entire body and settled into her mind. Her head snapped back and a scream caught in her throat as the ether jolted her.

The quick motion made her dizzy. Her ether was awakened and old visions flashed to life, assaulting her tired mind. Then the recent vision of darkness that had claimed her peace while she slept was brought to the forefront for just a second, sharp and crisp and new, unlike all the other visions. Layela only had the time to recognize the face of her sister, seconds before her body and mind gave out and blessed darkness claimed her.

i

Avienne walked slowly, keeping an eye on the deserted street around her, the light cotton of her dress casting dancing shadows at the top of her shadow’s unnaturally long legs. She fought the urge to pull down on the back of the diminutive garment. The slightest breeze lifted it to an even more indecent height.

The silence was beginning to bore her and she felt too unsteady in her heels to walk very far. She glanced back at the shadows, where she knew her brother hid and waited, and felt some comfort in the fact that he would be even more bored than she.

She still couldn’t believe he had talked her into this.

“This is wonderful,” she mumbled as she readjusted her top. “Ardin is going to get all the fun, and all I’m getting are laser burns from too much hair removal. Just great.” She yanked on the top to pull it down, ripping one of the thin straps, and the shirt lowered even further on that side.

She swore loudly, the sound partially covered by the familiar hum of an approaching land vehicle. She stood at the end of the sidewalk, waiting for the vehicle, forcing her disenchantment with the entire situation behind very fake eagerness. She couldn’t believe some girls actually were eager to make this kind of money.

As the vehicle approached, she idly wondered what her father, the great Captain Malavant, would think to see his daughter dressed this way. She felt some pleasure at the thought of what punishment Ardin would have received for encouraging his little sister to do it.

Her lips curled up and she threw her thick hair sideways. It glowed like fire in the dull sunlight. As two vehicles approached, she forced herself to remain calm, and suddenly felt more naked for her lack of weapons than her lack of clothing.

Relief washed over her when she saw they were military vehicles, the covered beasts humming over their hover engines as they gracefully glided down the streets. The first one slowed but kept going, and she smiled and waved, although the dark bullet-proof windows betrayed nothing of its occupants. The vehicle was nearly past her when the driver hit the propulsion, and wind sent her skirt flying up. Her face became as red as her hair, and she bit back the urge to scream an insult that would make even the most ardent soldier blush.

She feared the second vehicle wouldn’t stop either, which would lead to endless teasing from her brother, but its engines quieted and one of its side doors opened.

A man wearing the grey outfit of a detention centre guard smirked at her, the laughter of his comrades piercing the silence of the street.

“You need a lift, sweetheart?” the man asked in an accent she didn’t recognize. She guessed he was trying and failing to be charming. Nonetheless, she managed to smile.

“No, but thank you!” She was surprised by how young and happy her voice could sound. She would need a strong drink after this. “I was, um, I was hoping perhaps I could inconvenience you to lend me some money?”

Two drinks.

“I want to head to Rigel,” she continued as the man’s eyes observed her body appreciatively.

Three drinks.

“I want to be a dancer!” Ugh. Dancers on Rigel were hardly reputed for cultural or classical moves. She had a vision of drinking her entire profits.

“I might be able to help you with that,” the lead man said as he cockily stepped out of the vehicle. He was tall, which was good, but she couldn’t stop staring at his single eyebrow. She hoped he would interpret it as admiration.

Maybe she could take part of Ardin’s profit for a couple more drinks.

Avienne smiled and cocked her head back a bit, signalling to the alley behind her.

“I’ll be right back,” the man called to his crew, as they laughed and jeered.

Avienne put her hand on the man’s chest, stopping his advance.

“I’m hoping, to, um, make a lot of money tonight,” she said, giving him a crooked smile which in different circumstances had sent men fleeing in terror.

The man’s eyes lit up at the implication of spending an entire night with her, instead of just a quick back alley tumble.

She would beat Ardin up, steal his money and head to the nearest bar.

“Don’t wait up,” the man called back and, amidst their laughter, she heard at least one of his comrades mention that they would call in a temp to replace him, and to enjoy his early birthday gift.

Perfect
, Avienne thought, walking ahead so that he wouldn’t see victory flash in her eyes. The
Destiny
was ready to intercept that call and assure them a replacement was on the way, which Ardin would supply. Now all they needed was a uniform.

The engines powered up again and the vehicle was gone. Silence surrounded them, and the instant they were within the sheltered, windless confines of the alley, she felt his hand reaching for what little her skirt hid. She whirled around, kneeing him. As he bent and gasped for breath, she elbowed him hard and sent him sprawling to the ground, unconscious.

“Nice job!” Ardin said as he stepped out, laughter lacing his eyes. He had obviously enjoyed the show.

“I need a drink,” she said simply, and he handed her a small canister. She had never been more pleased to be predictable.

When she had taken a good swig, he handed her a leather pouch with some real clothing in it, and he began stripping the uniform from the soldier.

“I still don’t like that you’re going in there alone,” Avienne said, wondering how he planned to hide his long hair. It was not exactly standard uniform. But then, according to rumours, very little was done according to standard at Gullwing.

“I’ll be fine,” he grunted as he pulled the man’s pants off. Avienne forced herself not to comment as she pulled her knives free. “Just stick to the plan and I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Avienne nodded and walked into the darkness, wondering why in the world she had given the canister back to Ardin.

C
HAPTER
5

H
er head hurt. Her mouth tasted of copper. Her limbs were too heavy to lift.

Moments passed before she could even feel anything aside from pain, and the first sensation to return was the cold of metal underneath her. Her coat was ripped and her left arm was uncovered, the flesh debating between pain and numbness.

She took another few deep breaths, her ribcage only complaining where it hugged the hard ground. Another good sign. Broken ribs took dangerously long to heal.

She managed to move her feet, slowly, pleased that nothing seemed broken there either. Her head ached, and her ears were still ringing, but her mind felt empty instead of assailed by visions she could not control or decipher. She must have passed out when the Kilita had tried to pull visions from her mind, and so escaped the torture she had gone through years ago.

She sobbed in relief, her heart still pounding hard as memories receded slowly.

It had just been a beating, and a beating she could deal with.

She slit her eyes open, light clinging to the end of her eyelashes, little white dots breaking her bleak, blurred vision. She opened them all the way, only able to see metal, cold and blue from the light.

She lifted her head, pain exploding at the movement, nausea clinging to her. The world tilted and cold sweat poured from the few limbs she could still feel. She waited a moment, gathering her strength, and then, eyes closed, sat up the rest of the way, crossing her legs to support her sore and tired body.

The world spun a few more times, her discomfort centralizing in a line racing from her head to her stomach, her entire neck throbbing. She swallowed hard and breathed deeply, the world stabilizing again.

She dared to re-open her eyes. She was still in the small metal room. Another deep breath steadied her enough to glance to her right; then, after several other deep breaths, her left.

Metal. No chair, table, or even a protruding light. She guessed the ceiling must have some breaks in it where the light fixtures were kept, but the very idea of bending her head back to look for them made her neck throb.

She sat and focused, as she used to do when she and Yoma had to wait for a guard to pass, or a store to close, or someone to look away.
Thief’s breaths
, Yoma used to call them, laughing as she acted out stealing a breath.

Layela hadn’t found it funny, but she had understood. It was, in some ways, better to imagine you were stealing someone else’s breath than having your own breath stolen by your inability to act. Layela had always been better at that, the waiting. But now, she needed to get out, before they came back. She had no doubt the Kilita would break her mind again, and although she also knew she would tell them nothing, she feared her mind might not come back from the darkness next time.

I know your last name isn’t Delamores.
How had the colonel known? Did he have Yoma, too? Was she near, in a windowless metal room, hurt and alone? She tried to sense her, but her head only throbbed and her heart felt nothing beyond its own fatigue.

Layela looked up at the door again, at the handle that kept it closed. It seemed a long shot, but what if they had believed it unnecessary to lock it?

Ridiculous.
But still...
She imagined her sister scolding her for being a pessimist and not believing that the easy way out was actually possible. Layela felt both strength and bitterness at the words, wondering if that was what Yoma had done, leaving just when everything was finally settling down for the first time in their life. A vision that the Kilita had half managed to unlock from her mind teased her then. She had seen her sister’s face. But something had been wrong. Could that have been the vision that had kept her from sleeping soundly of late? And had the Kilita seen it as well? Had he managed to rape her mind again?