I Am Not Junco Omnibus: Books Four - Six (71 page)

She points to her head, just above her ear. “I saw.”

“You have a sight gift?”

She nods and tips her chin down, a little embarrassed.

Incredible
. Her father must be a genius with a nasty death wish. I’ve never heard of such a thing. She should not be so forthcoming about it, though. “Does your father tell you this is illegal? That you’re not even supposed to exist? Let alone be walking around the city, bathing in the river and talking about seeing the future?”

She nods again. “I have been told. But I have also been told to fear nothing. That you will protect me.”

I bellow out a laugh. “You’re pretty sure of yourself! I’m but one god among thousands here. I am no one and if they come for you, I would not be able to stop the culling of a machine.”

“You’re not really a god,” she challenges, ignoring the half of my statement that said I’m not her protector. Her blasphemy is a crime punishable by death, and she says it casually, like she’s telling me I’m late for dinner. “You just seem like a god because you’re so much smarter than the natives and have technology. And I’m not really a machine. I have a soul. Machines do not have souls.”

I have no words. I have nothing to say. My mouth hangs open but nothing comes forth.

A machine with a soul?

I don’t know how to answer her assertion, so I do what men do when a woman catches them off guard and they lose control… I take it back with a kiss. A soft kiss. Her lips taste like apricots and sugar. She breathes into me, proof she’s not a machine. She’s real, she’s breathing. I touch her face and drag my fingertips down her cheek as she stares into me with those multi-colored eyes. “Why do you have eyes like that?”

“I was made for you, Lucan. I am yours. I am a gift from Ea and my eyes are your proof.”

“You’re a gift?” I look away and laugh. “Your father was instructed to make you, for me, by Our Father?”

She nods. “Yes.”

“But
why
?”

“To persuade you to help us. To secure the Bridge and send away the Angel Aesin.”

A ploy then. “Hmmm.” I should be angry, I should be livid. I should get up and walk away right now. But there’s no way I’ll do that. Not yet. I need to learn more. I’m not an impulsive man, I pride myself on my clear thinking and patience. That is the difference between a man and a demon. My father is more demon than man, but I will not let myself become that way. “We should go see your father. I need to talk to him.”

“They’re expecting us, but not until after the sunset.” She smiles and I smile back and I realize that I’m not mad. Not even slightly perturbed. Not in the least. I think she is the perfect gift and I never want to give her back. She was made for me. She is mine.

I lie back on the sand hill and pull her back into my chest. “We can watch the sunset then, Amelia. Then we’ll walk slowly back to your father and see what this is all about.”

“You are a calm man.”

“Thank you. I actually try very hard to be even and rational. I don’t like violence, or fighting, or harsh words.”

She sighs at that. “Ea was right, you are special.”

I sit up for this, bringing her with me because she’s lying on my chest. “You
talked
to Ea?” I’ve never even met him properly and he’s my grandfather. I saw him once, just once. And that was at my father’s punishment cycle. I was embarrassed to be there, I hate drama, so I hid in a corner for the entire process.

“He guided me to life.”

I lie back down and consider this. Ea sanctioned her, must’ve been the one to gift her with sight. She was made for me. Which means Ea knows me.

This needs to be sorted.

But not yet. I still have time.

We watch the sky change from orange to red and then a deep purple. We lie still and keep silent until the purple is the color of night and the starlight shines down on us. Today was the most perfect day. I’ve never bothered to actually watch a sunset before. Ever. Because I’ve never found anything on this planet to be beautiful until today. And now I think it’s all beautiful and I never want to leave.

Amelia leans her head into my neck and sighs. Her breathing slows and I know she is asleep. Soon my breathing slows as well, and I drift off thinking about sunsets.

The cool night air against my chest stirs me awake hours later, long after most people have left the riverbank and gone home. Amelia is sitting down by the water eating sweet plums lying on an open piece of cloth. She drags her fingertips through the water to wash away the stickiness between bites.

I get up and brush the sand off my black armor, then join her down near the river’s edge, squatting instead of sitting. “Here, I have enough for you,” she says, looking up at me with her stunning eyes as she hands me the dried fruit.

I shake my head. “We should get you home, Amelia. It’s late now.”

She wraps the fruit back up and sticks it in her pocket, then takes my outstretched hand and allows me to lift her to her feet. We walk slowly and in silence. It’s not awkward with the pressure to talk. It’s just silent. The streets are not empty, but very close. Which means the sun will rise soon. The first day of the new year will start. Two days ago I was looking forward to this day. It meant one less year I’d be stuck on Earth. One more year closer to Archer morph and being sent home to start my real life.

But now I feel different. I understand a little better why some of the avians would want to risk banishment to have a native woman. I don’t condone how Aesin goes about it—taking them one after another as he sees fit. But I do understand his drive. And he rules this planet. He is the one in control here. He can, in fact, make up rules as he goes.

But all that comes with risk and the fact that Amelia exists, claims she was given a soul by Ea himself, when Aesin has specifically forbidden the making of simulated life while we’re here—well, this is a problem. Ea doesn’t live here, Ea doesn’t rule here, Ea should not be interfering with Aesin’s world.

And Crage is doing the same thing. Asking me to join them. Sending this woman to charm me and lead me to whomever this father of hers is. I have never liked to be manipulated, not even back on the home world. I came here of my own volition. I chose this life to create some wealth, take it back, settle into my career, my family, and my purpose in life.

But things are not going at all like I planned. I’ve been here years longer than I should. Commanded by Aesin to remain until the mining operations are finished. That’s decades away in Earth time. Perhaps even centuries.

We reach the quarter where Amelia’s home is located and I’m not surprised at where we end up. I figured as much when she said east side of town. Gibborum Plaza is where all the biotechnology occurs. Plant genetics being the most profitable, but the manipulation of the native genome to make stronger slaves is also a high priority. Gib must refer to the institute as a whole.

Her father is the institute.

I stop walking once the buildings come into view. “I’m going to watch you go home from here, Amelia. I won’t be talking to your father.” A visit to the institute in the night would send a message to my own father that I am conspiring. A message I’m certainly not going to send at this moment. I let go of her hand and pull back with a sigh. “Go. I’ll make sure you’re not bothered until you get to the gate.”

She begins walking away, not even calling out goodbye. As if she understands that I’m a coward. That I’m afraid of taking a stand just because I wish to return home and leave this hot, dry, dusty planet behind me.

She turns after walking several paces and smiles. “I’ll be at the river tonight.”

I say nothing.

She turns again and walks slowly and calmly to the gate where the guards open up for her like she’s a queen who needs no introduction.

Surely they must know what she is? Surely everyone here knows that this is against the laws?

I blow out a breath of air and realize the air is much hotter now. That means sunrise is upon us and I need to get to work.

Chapter Sixteen—TIER

Polar Friendly

The window showing the Seven Cylinder Seals blacks out, but the room erupts into a cacophony of questions. I hold up my hand to signal silence and my request is granted. The men fall silent. I point to Gideon. “Go.”

“So what is Junco’s job here?” I’m about to protest, but he clarifies. “Not the final order, fine, I can wait for that. But what’s going on, Tier?”

“Gideon, I’ve deduced who ya work for, I should be askin’ ya the same damn question. What’s going on? Why are ya here?”

“I’m her handler. I am the one who will give the final order.”

“What’s yer best understanding of that order? Guess, if ya don’t know. I need to understand this as well.”

“It’s a choice. Choose, human or avian. Is that not what it is?”

“I said it was, in a way,” I say, looking at him sideways. “That’s close, but not quite accurate. She will choose—death or death.”

Gideon is far more satisfied with that cryptic answer than he should be and this is a red flag for me. “And what should her choice be? I mean, I’m assuming we’re feeding her answers still? I’m supposed to give her an order, so I guess I should know going in which choice I should force her to make.”

I take a deep breath and picture that last moment in my head. Junco on the ground. Gideon kneeling over her, screaming. Screaming that order in her face. The time is so close now, this has to be truth that I’m seeing. Farsight isn’t always accurate. It’s temperamental until the final hours.

Those hours are upon us.

“Tomorrow is a good day to die, that’s just the facts.”

“Which choice, Tier?” Gideon growls at me. “I need to know this.”

“Why? So ya can take that information back to Inanna and she can fuck it all up again?”

“You have no idea what we’re doing, just as I have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Inanna knows. Lucan knows. Sera knows. These three
do
know what we’re doing. So if Inanna is conspiring, if Inanna is contradicting what I’m saying, if Inanna thinks she can execute her own plan by derailing ours, she is wrong. We will
all
die if we get this wrong. It’s precarious, every bit of this plan is precarious. And everything hinges on Junco. Do not,” I growl back with more anger, “do not even
think
to stop Junco from executing that final order. Do ya understand? No matter what it is, it must be carried out.”

I turn to Subjack and point. “Go.”

“Will she die?”

“No, Junco is High Order. She cannot die. She can be punished in a multitude of ways, but she is impervious to actual death. She is eternal now.”

“How can I help you, Tier?” Junco’s father asks.

It shocks me for a moment. His sadness. I feel it profoundly. “Your job is over, Subjack.”

He’s shaking his head as I speak. “No, I feel it. I have something I’m supposed to do yet. I know it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not a part of yer final Destiny then. I have no more requirements for you.” I point to John Hando. “Go.”

“How will she get out of the Pillar?”

“I defer to Gideon for that.”

Everyone shifts to look at Gideon. “Sera. This was planned from the beginning. Of course, we were just going to corral Inanna for the duration. She’s our wild card as well, Tier. Sera ordered me to order Junco to dissipate her in there.”

“So ya take yer orders from a machine.”

He sucks in air at my insult. “Whoa there, Tier. That was uncalled for. Especially since you were babysitting Junco’s HOUSE for the past few days. Sera is so much more than an AI.”

“Gideon, my clutch mother was an AI. Don’t tell me what an insult is. Sera is a machine, as was Amelia—”

“Was,” Annun interrupts. “Was? Is Amelia—”

“Dead, Annun. Amelia is dead. The High Order came this morning. Lucan is gone, Amelia is dead. My brother Rikan is a hostage. This is where we’re at right now. This is real, folks. This is happening and it’s happening as we speak. My father is on trial and as soon as he’s pronounced guilty the war on Earth will begin. They will be looking for Junco and since she’s unavailable, this will get messy. The sooner she can be removed from that Pillar”—I shoot Gideon a look—“the better off Earth will be. Ashur is in charge of holding them at bay now that things are derailed, but he’s preoccupied with Selia and Ryse is preoccupied with Esta. So don’t expect our efforts to be heroic when it comes to humans. We’re out for ourselves, just like you are.”