Encrypted (41 page)

Yes, Tikaya could
understand that temptation. She stepped toward him and softened her
voice. “Even if you joined voluntarily—
especially
if you joined
voluntarily—why didn’t you write, Par? How could you let us
believe, for a whole year... We had your
funeral
. I stood next to your
weeping sister and parents. This devastated them. And me too. I
spent months trying to get over...” Her voice broke. She was still
struggling to resolve this new reality with her
memories.

Parkonis avoided her eyes. The distant
clanking continued, like metal beating against rock.

“
I should have written,”
he said. “I just didn’t know how to without explaining everything.
I was heading off to Turgonian territory, and I knew it’d be
dangerous. I didn’t want you to worry.”

“
Worry! I thought you were
dead. How could worrying for your safety be worse than believing
you dead?”

“
I know, I realize that
now. I was a fool. You were always the smart one. You weren’t going
to marry me for my brains, were you?” He grinned, a disarmingly
boyish grin that she knew well. And she knew when he was using it
to cover something.

She folded her arms over her chest. “Did you
not want me to worry or did you not want me to find out about the
language?” She watched his eyes as she spoke, waiting for—yes,
there was a wince. “Colonel Lancecrest said his brother wanted me
on the team from the beginning. Are you the one who talked him out
of recruiting me?”

Parkonis looked away. “I told him you
wouldn’t work for relic raiders, yes.”

“
You wouldn’t either, at
least I didn’t think so. But we do funny things for a chance at
history, don’t we? I’ll wager you wanted to be the first to
translate this new language, something you wouldn’t be able to lay
claim to, not solely, if I came along and helped.”

He opened and closed his mouth several
times, and she knew she was right.

“
I didn’t think we’d be
gone that long,” he finally whispered. “I thought, when we got
back, we could pick up where we left off...”

“
I understand.” Tikaya
sighed. And she did. Hadn’t she been enticed by that language
too?

“
You do?” Hope widened his
eyes.

“
I understand, but I
wouldn’t have made that choice. I would have wanted you to come
along, to be a partner in the translating, even if it meant you got
the credit.”

“
But I wouldn’t have
gotten credit. You were always first.” He shrugged helplessly. “It
was always you.”

She rubbed her face and wondered if that
clanking was in her skull. He was missing the point. Or she was.
Maybe she couldn’t truly understand what he felt, always being
second best. Either way, she was beginning to think it would have
been too much between them, even if Rias had never come along. She
thought of him, of all he had lost, and of the temptation Sicarius
had laid at his feet. So much more than accolades. But he had
rejected it because of her. At least, he had before Parkonis showed
up and kidnapped her. What if Rias believed he had lost her? Would
he no longer have a reason to say no to that temptation?

“
Tikaya?” Parkonis
asked.

She tried to focus on him, though a new
urgency fueled her intent. She had to escape and find Rias before
he made a choice he would regret.

“
Whatever happens here...”
She squeezed Parkonis’s arm. “I want you to know that I love you,
and I’m beyond relieved that you’re alive, but I can’t go home with
you. I can’t marry you.”

“
What?” He reeled back.
“Because of that Turgonian?”

“
No.” She did not want to
get into that now, but Parkonis grabbed her arm before she could
step away.

“
Don’t be a fool, Tikaya.
You don’t love that monster. How could you? It’s a clear case of
captive complex. No matter how badly you’re treated, you start
sympathizing with your captors, even wanting to please them,
because you’re grateful they’re not killing you.”

“
I know what the term
means, and that isn’t the case.” If anyone had captive complex, it
was he. Even after hearing how he had come to be here, she could
hardly believe Parkonis would be a party to this weapons-selling
scheme.

“
It’s not your fault. I
forgive you. You were just trying to stay alive. Who knows what
that monster would have done if you’d fought him?”

“
He’s not a monster. I
know our people have no reason to like him, and you even less, but
he did save your life from that assassin. We can trust him. He
disobeyed orders two years ago, and he refused to have our
president assassinated. He’s been exiled since.”

“
Exile?” Parkonis snorted.
“Is that what they told you?”

“
He’s only here because of
his familiarity with these tunnels—he was part of the original
mission that found them. He’s been as much a prisoner as I. He was
the only ally I had.”

“
Tikaya, don’t you see?
It’s all an act. That man outranks a captain. If he’s been
pretending to be a prisoner, it’s only been to fool you, to win
your sympathy. He’s insidious, they all are. They’ve been tricking
you.”

“
I’m not a fool,
Parkonis.”

“
It’s not your fault. They
say he’s a genius. He’s probably a master of
manipulation.”

Tikaya groaned and dropped her forehead in
her hand. Why couldn’t he just be jealous? Instead, he thought she
was an idiot who had been brainwashed. This was a glimpse of what
going home would be like. Torture. Her heart cringed at the idea of
never seeing her family again, but maybe her notion of sailing off
to some obscure port with Rias was a better idea than she
realized.

“
You have to come back
with me, Tikaya. We’ll take you to see a doctor, someone who can
heal your mind. You just need distance, some time to return to your
old life. If—”

The lighting flickered and went out.

Tikaya whirled, but blackness swallowed
everything. As with the marines, the raiders had been relying on
the alien lighting and nobody had lanterns lit. Timorous voices
called out questions while others cursed in irritation. The symbols
at the weapons door and on the panels still glowed, but they did
not provide enough illumination to diminish the darkness.

“
Tikaya?” Parkonis’s hand
bumped her chest, then found her arm.

She gripped him back. With the light gone,
she abruptly grew aware of how many thousands of feet of earth lay
above their heads. Since she had been unconscious for the trip to
the raiders’ cavern, she did not know the way back. Half a dozen
tunnels exited this place, so one could wander forever in the
darkness.

A distant roar sounded. Or one could wander
until one was eaten.

“
Not them again,” Parkonis
whispered.

She recognized it too. The humanoid
creatures they had fought the first day.

Parkonis’s grip tightened. It did nothing to
reassure her, not like Rias’s would have. She started. Could Rias
have manufactured this? As a distraction?

Light appeared at the edge of the camp.
Lancecrest strode toward them carrying a lantern, and she felt
silly for her panicked concerns about not finding a way out. Of
course, the raiders would have kerosene and lanterns, just as the
marines did. Enough to last many days, she was sure. The roar came
again. Closer this time.

“
Come.” Lancecrest waved
an arm. “Return to camp until we figure out what’s going
on.”

“
Gladly,” Parkonis
muttered.

Tikaya glanced over her shoulder. She could
no longer see the tunnel Lancecrest had said led to labs, but she
wondered if this might be her opportunity to disappear. Had Rias
created this for her sake? Or did he think she wanted to be here,
with Parkonis?

Gali stepped out of the shadows, her pistol
aimed at Tikaya.

Right. It would take more of a distraction
to escape, and sprinting into dark monster-filled tunnels without a
lantern and a means of defense would be unwise.

Inside the camp, more lanterns had been lit.
People hustled about, grabbing weapons. An unclaimed bow and quiver
rested on a crate, and she weaved through the clutter toward it. If
those creatures were coming, maybe Lancecrest would not object to
arming her.

A heavy hand landed on her shoulder.

“
You’re sitting here out
of trouble,” Lancecrest said.

Before she could protest, he grabbed her
arms and drew them behind her back.

“
Wait,” she said. “I can
help fight. I know how to use a bow.”

“
I’ll keep that in
mind.”

A moment later, Tikaya knelt with her wrists
tied behind her. She endured it with no more than a sigh until his
hands fumbled at her ears.

“
No!” She ducked her
head.

Too late. Lancecrest removed her spectacles.
Everything more than a few feet away grew fuzzy.

“
I doubt you’ll wander far
without these.”

Tikaya craned her neck, trying to see where
he was putting them. He stuffed them in a pocket without any
concern for protecting the lenses.

“
Bastard,” she
growled.

A shot fired, echoing from the closest
tunnel. Everyone in camp dropped behind cover, but no squad of
marines burst into the cavern. Three more shots followed, along
with a distant angry yell. Still, no one entered. The raiders
shifted uneasily.

Tikaya could not imagine the Turgonians
tipping their hand before attacking, but maybe they had run into
the creatures. Or Lancecrest’s traps.

She could not stay here and wait for
something to happen. A nearby lantern gave her enough light to see,
and the white and green fletching on the arrows in the quiver
caught her eye. She edged closer. Maybe if she could filch an
arrow, she could use the head to cut her bonds. That would be
easier if her hands were in front of her, but she had to try.

Something fluttered above the tunnel
entrance. It was too far away for her to identify, but someone
fired. Black powder smoke wafted into the air.

“
That was a bat, you
lummox,” Lancecrest said. “And you just confirmed to the Turgonians
that we’re in here.”

“
Sorry.”

“
Scientists with guns,”
Lancecrest muttered. “What was my brother thinking?”

As the smoke rose higher, slowly
dissipating, a faint white beam appeared in the haze. Tikaya
blinked, wondering if she imagined the light. But, no, even with
her spectacles off, she could see a beam. It reminded her of those
emitted by the cleaning machines. Maybe that was all the “web” was,
a pattern of beams crisscrossing the cavern, invisible under
regular illumination. But if smoke revealed them, one might avoid
them.

Ideas percolated in her mind. But first,
escape.

Staying low, she crawled toward the crate.
Though men and women crouched all around her, their focus was
outward. Why worry about the tied, half-blind philologist?

A couple more feet brought her to the
quiver. Gali glanced at her and frowned, a what-are-you-doing
expression stamping her face.

Tikaya attempted what she hoped appeared a
guileless smile. “Can you help me find my spectacles?”

The woman scowled.

“
Incoming!” someone
barked.

All eyes turned toward the closest tunnel.
Tikaya rose, turned, and slipped an arrow out of the quiver.

No noticed. She dropped to her knees,
putting her back to the crate. She found the sharp metal head and
maneuvered it until the edge slipped between her wrists. Careful
not to cut skin, she eased it up and down against the rope. The
awkward position made it impossible to apply much pressure. She
held back a scowl, knowing this would take a while.

It was not marines but two black bipedal
creatures that burst into the cavern. Even without her spectacles,
she recognized the towering muscular beings. The illusion spell did
not fool them; they barreled straight for the camp.

Muskets fired and bows twanged.

Tikaya rubbed the arrowhead against her
ropes.

The practitioners threw up an invisible
barrier, and the creatures bounced back while men and women fired
through it. The scent of black powder permeated the camp. Smoke
stung Tikaya’s eyes, but, in the rising haze, she spotted more
beams in the air. They crisscrossed irregularly, nothing
symmetrical or predictable like a spider web. None had more than a
foot or two of open—safe—space between them. Even if they were
visible, climbing past them might not be possible.

The rope snapped, and her wrists came
apart.

She eyed the back of the cavern, trying to
guess the distance to the cleaning cubes and the tunnel next to
them, but, even if she had her spectacles, darkness would have
thwarted her estimates. On the other side of the camp, Lancecrest
stood, reloading a rifle. The creature battle had him distracted,
but she did not see how she could retrieve her spectacles without
him noticing.

In front of the camp, blood streamed from
the beasts’ dark flesh. Their muscles flexed and strained as they
hammered the invisible barrier. Roars of pain and anger echoed
through the cavern. Sweat gleamed on the practitioners’ faces. One
flexed his fingers. A pulse of power hammered the beasts. They flew
backward, and landed hard, but they came up roaring with anger.
Another volley was fired at them.