Mission (2 page)

The horned man turned his head, and she met his dark amber gaze with her own. He nodded his head slightly, and she returned the gesture.

“What did you do?” The guard spoke softly.

“What I always do, I calmed things down.”

After the man on the med bed had been repaired, Jewel was returned to the cell.

Shivohn was taken away and a food dispenser, tiny toilet and sink, and privacy shading was added to Jewel’s space.

“I guess they like to reward people immediately.” She worked out the dispenser and summoned a hot meal, carrying it to her bunk to eat. There weren’t any utensils, but she managed to work on her finger-eating precision.

She watched an endless parade of guards collect and deliver women and men. The women didn’t seem too upset by their situations, and she could hear a few of them bragging.

Jewel heard the word
chosen
being thrown around a lot, but since she had no frame of reference, she just tucked herself in and got some sleep.

A hand shook her awake. “Come, you are needed.”

Jewel swung to her feet and walked to the doorway where the second guard watched her warily.

They didn’t touch her this time.

“What is different?”

“The station has decided to keep you, so we were all asked to watch the vid of your acquisition. The medics had to argue to keep you for their use instead of your being placed in the female fighter quarters.”

Jewel smiled. “It is nice to be wanted.”

He snorted, and they arrived in medical where more than a few pairs of eyes pointed in her direction.

Her patient from the night before was there again with a long slice to his bicep. She admired the tone of the muscle under the fawn-coloured skin. He was sitting up, but she could see the pounding of his pulse in his neck.

The doctors beckoned her closer and her guards nudged her gently.

She stepped toward the patient, and the frantic beat of his heart eased. He extended his hand to her. “Come here, mistress.”

She cocked her head. “Why?”

The medics and attendants froze in place.

“Because I wish to take in the texture of that skin.”

“That is not why I am here.”

He tilted his head and thought for a moment.

Jewel took in the black lining around his eyes that seemed natural, the smooth texture of the skin, slightly flat nose and the amused curve of his lips. His wide neck suited his head, the myriad black braids spilled back from his forehead leaving the horns exposed. She had seen Dhemons before, but he wasn’t one of them. These horns were more elk and less sheep-like.

“Please take my hand, mistress.” He nodded his head, dipping his horns toward her.

“Of course.” She stepped forward and placed her hand in his. His fingers swallowed hers in a warm, comfortable grip.

He leaned back in the chair they had him in, and the doctors immediately began repairs to his flesh.

Idly, Jewel experimented with her calm. The patient received the full force of her peculiar aura, but she rotated the exposure around her, watching the people around her calm in waves.

When the doctors completed their work, they nodded at her and her guards stepped forward.

Jewel tugged at the grip on her hand. “Your healing is complete. You must let go now.”

He opened his amber eyes with a lazy smile. “Why?”

She frowned at the echo of her own question. “Please, let go of me.”

He released her and smiled. “Thank you, mistress.”

Out of reflex, she said, “You are welcome.”

The guards took her by the arms and escorted her back to her cell. Her duty was done for the day.

* * * *

The security supervisor watched the scans of medical, and he chuckled. “She is playing.”

The medical administrator frowned. “Shivohn said she had no emotions.”

“Not that are readily apparent, but watch, she is sending waves of calm through medical and retracting it in a wheel-and-spoke pattern.”

The administrator ran his hand through his feathers. “Is it dangerous?”

“No, but it could be beneficial. If she can calm all of medical, we can reduce the amount of sedation used and reduce recovery time.”

The administrator looked at him. “Are you sure you aren’t a doctor?”

“No, I am just a humble security officer, here to make sure of the safety and health of all those on the station. It seems Stormyo has begun to attach to her.”

“He is getting close to his season. We will find a suitable breeding partner for him when that time arrives. That little creature would probably calm him right out of his rut.”

The security officer shrugged. “She might, but she might not. Stormyo does do better with repairs while she is there, but you might want to schedule some bathing and a change of clothing. She isn’t one of the women for intimate interaction. She will need to shower and dress before coming to medical.”

The administrator blinked. “I had not thought of that. All of my employees are actually employees. They have their own quarters.”

“Yes, and she is still in the cells until you devise an actual job description or rank for her. Think it over.”

Y’tan, the security supervisor, looked down at the close-up of Jewel Springs’ face as she stared at Stormyo. If you knew where to look, the attraction ran both ways. It was just harder to tell with the Terran.

He hoped that the Imperium got their act together sooner rather than later. He was only going to be able to keep the Terran in a neutral position for so long before the winners began demanding her. Rumours were already circling about the woman who should have been in the fighter quarters and battling on a daily basis.

The guards who had seen the capture vid liked to talk.

* * * *

Jewel did push-ups, sit-ups and chin-ups in her cell. The rest of the time, she was bored and playing with her calm. She had managed to work it into strands, and she played with using it to stop arguments or let them fire up again.

It felt unfair to play with them like that, but without a data pad to entertain her, she was going to have to do it the old-fashioned way.

It took two days before she was summoned to medical again. She wanted a bath and a change of clothing, but the guards mentioned that it was urgent.

Bathing in a tiny sink just wasn’t doing it for her.

Jewel walked into medical and blanketed the entire space with calm. Her guards had to lead her to a private alcove where the horned man was getting work done on his inner thigh.

“Hello, mistress. Would you hold my hand?”

She blinked and walked to his side. He looked pale. He must have lost a lot of blood. She took his hand and he closed his eyes.

“Thank you.”

Jewel shivered as he stroked her palm with his thumb.

“Are you cold, mistress?”

She looked down and stared blankly into his eyes. “No.”

She cocked her head. “Did you win or lose?”

He smiled. “I won, of course. Do you not know who I am?”

“How would I?”

His lovely eyes narrowed as he thought about it. “I suppose you could have been a fan before you were hired here.”

“I am not hired. I was taken from my mission as peacekeeper.”

A calculating gleam came to his eyes. “So you are in the pens?”

“The separated cells where the other women and men are?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The doctor working on his inner thigh cleared his throat. “That is enough, Springs. We are trying to work here.”

She went quiet but the patient squeezed her hand lightly.

“I have been looking to invest in a companion, mistress. It has been quite a while since a woman has not fawned over me for who and what I was. Would you mind meeting with me outside of medical?”

She shrugged.

The doctors and assistants watched her as she remained quiet.

The patient stroked his hand up her arm, and she blinked at the heat that followed the light caress.

When her body flickered to life under the touch, confusion rolled through her. She jerked back with a frown.

She kept him calm but moved out of his reach. No one had touched her with any kind of interest since she was a teenager. When her talent flared, she had the unintended effect of numbing her partner to the point where sex was no longer an option.

Confusion rioted in her body as he continued his sly smile while the doctors completed his repair. She guessed that he knew something she didn’t know and that was as dizzying as anything else.

Jewel remained close to him but out of reach until she was dismissed.

She headed back to her cell with the guards and sighed at the punishment she was about to endure. Her food unit was gone and the cell walls were now transparent again. Her minimal privacy was gone.

Her interaction with the patient was obviously not a desirable event. Sighing, she took a quick sponge bath and headed for bed. If she couldn’t do anything else, she would just sleep until she was summoned again. Exercise would burn calories she didn’t have the ability to replace.

Jewel waited two days with only water. She was weak, shaking and unsteady on her feet when they took her to medical again and demanded that she calm their horned patient again.

She took two steps toward him and fell to her knees. She was working to calm him, but she felt a weird pushback on her mind.

Jewel heard an uproar in the medical center and arms lifted her before placing her on one of the beds.

“Treat her before you touch me. Put it on my account.”

His words echoed in her ears. Everything sounded like it was being shouted down a tube.

“Champion, she doesn’t need treatment.”

Jewel listened to her guard’s voice. He was the one that spoke to her.

“Why is she so grey, so weak?”

The guard cleared his throat. “She hasn’t eaten since she saw you last. Doctor’s orders.”

Jewel looked over at the assistant who was approaching her with a hypospray. The burning hiss struck her, and she jolted but hands held her down.

Five more shots were administered before her vision cleared. She sat up and nodded. “I am fine. Apologies for the disturbance.”

An assistant brought her a glass of juice and it gave her a boost of energy. “Thank you.”

The patient was next to her. Looking down with concern. “Why didn’t you eat? Was the thought of seeing me so unpleasant?”

She shook her head. “No. There was no food.”

His look of concern must have changed when he looked away from her, because the doctors took a step back. “I see. That won’t happen again.”

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and swayed a little. “You are bleeding. You need medical attention.”

“Yes, but you are not stable.”

“I am fine. I can make it through your repairs.”

“That is not why I am concerned. I believe I have a solution.” He smiled and picked her up, the gash on his arm and wrist bleeding as he carried her.

He settled in the station where he was normally repaired in relative privacy, and he kept her in his lap.

“Proceed with the repairs, Doctor.”

He extended his arm toward the stunned physicians.

The doctor nearest them picked up his kit and started work. Someone with the look of an administrator came to them and he inclined his head.

“Champion Stormyo. We regret the discomfort you must have felt while waiting for treatment. I promise there will be no delay after your next injury.”

Jewel felt the chuckle before she heard it.

“I know. She is coming with me. If you will not care for her properly, I will.”

Jewel sat quietly for the half hour that the repair took, and when she tried to rise from the Champion’s lap, he gripped her with an arm around her waist.

“Excuse me, sir. I need to return to my cell.” Her guards were shifting nervously, so she calmed them.

“No. If the station wants to play games with your health, I will simply tuck responsibility for you under my wishes.” He smiled softly. “I am Stormyo.”

“I am—”

“Springs.”

“Jewel. Springs is my surname. My parents’ name.”

His arm tightened on her waist. “A lovely name.”

“Thank you. What are you saying?”

He got to his feet with her in his arms. “You are coming with me.”

The administrator looked at him in frustration, and Stormyo stared at him for a moment in clear challenge. When the challenge wasn’t taken up, Stormyo walked out of medical via an exit that Jewel had not left through before.

“I can walk.”

“I want to carry you. We are returning to my quarters via the private walkway used by fighters who have won more than five fights in a row.”

“What happens when you lose?”

He smiled. “I don’t lose.”

The hallway was sparsely lined with doors, some transparent walls showed elegant apartments and others were opaque.

He paused in front of a door and pressed his hand to the plate. The door disappeared and he stepped into a room three times as large as Jewel’s first apartment.

“We are going to bathe and I will send for appropriate clothing for you.”

“Wait, what?”

He grinned. “I need to wash off the blood, and you haven’t had access to soap or a change of clothing since I first saw you.”

She blushed. “I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“Oh, it isn’t. I recognize the bloodstain on the cuff of your dress from our last meeting. It was a safe guess.”

He smiled and walked through the living space and into a bathroom that could have doubled for a swimming area. The bathing pool was huge, and a separate lav was off to the right and a dressing area to the left.

Jewel was still wobbly when he set her down, and she didn’t put up a fight when he pulled off her grey gown.

To her surprise, he helped her into the water without any weird groping. The water began to churn the moment she was in it, and he chuckled at her gasp, taking her gown and leaving the room.

Jewel found a shampoo that smelled like pine and musk. She lathered up with relief and dunked her entire head as she rinsed.