Tethered (8 page)

Two Manikins at once?

“Zander!” She threw herself at the second, tripling her density as she hit it. Her weight floored it before it could reach Zander, but he’d turned at Tyree’s shout and the first Manikin wrapped its arms around his torso.

“Hold!”

The Manikins froze. Tyree scrambled to her feet as Zander shrugged off the Manikin holding him. He’d tied back his hair and the scars showed livid red across his face. His chest heaving, he stalked toward her and Tyree braced herself, sliding into combat mode at the aggression in his posture.

Her reaction stopped him dead. “I’m not planning to fight you,” he panted, raising his hands with palms toward her.

Tyree dropped her hands but anger kept her tensed. “Why two?” she demanded. “You’re human, not Inc-Su. What if you’d been damaged? How would the Tier-vane take another delay?”

His expression froze. “Point taken,” he acknowledged, inclining his head. “Although as we discussed before, human Manikins are programmed not to injure.”

“Still a risk.” Tyree bristled. Why was he making her job harder with recklessness?

Zander raised an eyebrow and put his hands behind his back. “I take it as part of your role as bodyguard, you intend to ban me from attempting it again?”

Actually that hadn’t occurred to me but...

“Yes. I forbid you to try it again. Not without me supervising, anyway.”

And that should be humiliating enough to stop you regardless.

“But we’re still on for our match?”

The eagerness in his voice made her smile. “You’re a persistent man, Zander.”

“Persistence and patience are necessary traits in my profession. Besides—” A sudden whirring silenced him, and the inactive Manikins came to life. Zander’s seized him around the chest again, and the one Tyree had floored grasped her ankle hard enough to make her shriek.

“I said hold,” Zander shouted, but neither obeyed. “Hold!”

Tyree kicked out as her Manikin tried to drag her foot from under her, and finished sprawled on her backside with the automaton clasping both ankles. “Monitor, end combat.”

The Manikin continued to drag itself up Tyree’s legs, pinioning her to the ground, its grip crushing her flesh hard enough to leave marks.

“End combat. Monitor!” Tyree yelped as the machine reached her thighs, its weight pinning her down, and then Misted out to evade it.

As it reached to grasp her again, she solidified and stamped repeatedly into its blank face as hard as she could. Designed to mimic a human assailant, the neck joint gave under the full force of a Su at maximum density. Unlike a real human though, a broken neck only impaired its vision as it reached for her throat. She tugged herself free and rolled aside. On her hands and knees, Tyree crouched in readiness as the crippled Manikin staggered to its feet, scanning blindly, head facing up to the ceiling. She spied Zander grappling with the other Manikin, its movements jerking as if not under proper control.

Tampered with!

But when, and by whom?
She darted around her Manikin as it stumbled blindly in her direction. The same person who had sabotaged the Monitor system with the paralyzing sonics? Had this been the backup plan?

“Monitor, end combat program!” she yelled, without much hope it would do so.

This was bad. The Manikins could keep fighting until both she and Zander were too exhausted to defend themselves. She could Mist out and escape. Zander couldn’t, and the Manikins might kill him in the meantime.

Tyree scuttled behind her damaged opponent. It whirled, trying to follow her by sound. She darted in, grasped the rounded head, and twisted hard. A horrible fracturing noise, worse than breaking bone, and the Manikin’s head came away from the damaged neck joint. With its guidance system crippled, the automaton hunched over and went into shutdown.

One down...

She dropped the head. Zander still held off the other Manikin but blood covered his chin and sweat showed dark on his clothing. Tyree jumped onto the Manikin’s back, but it spun and shrugged her off. She hit the wall hard. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

“Tyree!”

She sucked in a lungful against the pain in her ribs, and shoved up. Hooked one arm around the Manikin’s neck, and Misted out her hand to thrust into the wiring inside the neck. One swift tug, and the automaton collapsed with a fading whirr of sound.

Their heavy breathing filled the silence as Tyree stared at the broken Manikins, sickened, heart pounding hard enough to hurt. Her chest throbbed. The mechanical debris bothered her more than if the assailants had been human. Manikins were unstoppable by normal means, and tireless. Drek, if she hadn’t come looking for Zander...

“They haven’t given up.”

Tyree jerked her head up, startled by the calm tones of Zander’s voice. Only her enhanced Inc-Su control kept her from shaking like a frightened novice, but he sounded as though commenting on their daily schedule. A blow had split his lip, though he’d wiped the worst of the blood trail away.

“No,” she agreed. “They haven’t.”

“The Manikins must have been a backup plan if the neurosonics failed.”

“My thought too.” She drew herself tall. Zander’s expression had gone blank but she could sense his anger even through her shielding. See it in the tautness of his stance. “Are you all right?”

“All right?” The smooth composure faltered for an instant. “I’m fine. Are you hurt?”

“No.” Tyree put a hand to her ribs. Sore, but she’d heal without any treatment and she wasn’t about to admit to it.

“Let Callista check you—”

“No. I don’t need checking.”

“Fine.” Zander cast one final glare over the damaged Manikins. “I’m going to get security in to check these over and cleanse the Monitor system. Clearly something was missed after the first attempt.”

The sharp edge to his voice made her shiver. So controlled and yet so much suppressed fury in it. She almost pitied the security team. “I’ll do a quick sweep to check for anything else.”

“No, I want you to go back to your quarters. For safety.”

She gave him a glower that he returned steadily. “May I remind you that
I
am your protection, not the other way around?”

He made an exasperated sound. “Then come with me. Talk to security. And then
you
can walk
me
back to my quarters.” He led the way out and didn’t speak to her again. His silence felt like an accusation, and for once she couldn’t think of anything to say to break it.

This assignment sucks...

Chapter Five

Sleep time, and Tyree went on patrol. A new Monitor had been installed, bought in secret and under Zander’s supervision, but she no longer trusted their safety on the station. From now on she’d be double-checking everything herself.

As always, passing through the walls of the
Seclusion
left her chilled. Although they weren’t Su-proof in the inner section, the residue of energy that made the outer walls of the space station impregnable to her kind left its signature throughout the structure. But every night since her recovery, she had done a random tour of the inner section for her own peace of mind—what precious little it gave her.

A dozen rooms made up their private area: quarters for herself, Zander, Visaya, Pevanne, and Callista; the huge, scenic conference room where she and Zander ate and studied; the media suite, bathrooms, a food preparation area, and a medical bay. The outer section, surrounding their inner sanctum on three sides, was home to the security squad that protected them, with Su-proof, shielded walls, docking bays, and controls systems. No one from the outside could get into them—except, of course, the assassin who had come aboard with Tyree herself. Much to her chagrin.

On her first patrol, she had discovered that Visaya and Pevanne were bonded, or at least involved. Little embarrassed a Su, but finding them rigging as she passed through a wall had sent her scuttling back to her own room until her breathing had settled. Now she made a point of listening carefully before ghosting through their quarters on her tour of duty. She was no voyeur.

Tonight both of them were sleeping as she flitted thorough, her body incorporeal as she drifted. Callista sat reading as Tyree passed behind her, apparently unaware of the Su’s presence. The other rooms were dark and empty...until she reached Zander’s.

Here, she hesitated. Despite the initial attack on her, he was the one most at risk. The lights were out in his quarters, but that was no impediment with her augmented night vision. She passed through the living room and into his bedroom, to stop at the end of his bed.

Muted lights gave off a pale glow. Zander lay on his back, a sheet covering him almost to chest height, his broad torso bare. His breathing was deep and even, his face turned so that his scars were hidden against the pillow. Tyree crept closer, taking solid form as she did so, noting the firm muscles of his chest despite the scarring on one side. He’d clearly kept himself in shape, even after the explosion. The unmarked skin was a warm tan in color, and hairless. She traced the length of him with her gaze, lingering over the outline of his lower body through the sheet. By day he favored long, formal robes in shades of brown that hid his physique, much as the length of his hair hid the scarring on his face. Much as he hid most emotion beneath that diplomatic exterior.

Tyree crouched at his side, staring at his profile. What went on behind that handsome face? He was charming, intelligent, constantly questioning her. But how much of that was a front he chose to present to her, and to the world? Considering what he’d gone through in the last few months, she doubted his emotional wounds had healed any more than the ones marking his skin.

Zander drew a sudden, deep breath and turned his head, revealing the scars. Tyree leaned closer to stare at them. The explosion must have ripped most of his face away. Human medical care wasn’t as sophisticated as the Inc-Su regen capabilities, but six months of proper corrective surgery would’ve removed most of the damage. What was the third reason that had driven him to refuse even that?

She touched her collarbone. She’d switched off the shielding for her patrol but kept her aura held in. If she let it loose, she could sense everyone on the
Seclusion
. The temptation to touch Zander’s aura was so strong; her breath caught. It was something she’d only do to a potential target. The urge to do so with him was unnerving.

It had to be the peculiarity of their situation. He was her partner, not her target. He was her responsibility, and yet he’d been her savior when her own incompetence had caught her out. She shook her head. Everything about this mission, everything about him, confused her. It would be so much simpler if she’d just been there to kill him.

She reached a thread of auric energy toward him. Warm greens drifted back to her—the color of sleep and relaxation. It soothed her in a way she’d only felt in Refuge before, and the similarity startled her. She hadn’t expected that kind of comfort from a human. From him.

His eyelids flickered, and he stirred. The shock jolted her back to reality. She shouldn’t be in here, watching him sleep, invading his aura. It broke unspoken etiquette among the Inc-Su. She had a job to get on with, even if she hadn’t officially been asked to patrol.

She pushed to her feet just as Zander murmured a name. “Mirsee.” He reached out to the empty space in his bed.

That single gesture, the grief and loss it symbolized, punched her in the gut. Pain flowed into her. His sorrow was a darkness hanging over them both. She Misted out and left his room.

Someone was moving around. She felt that as she took solid form outside Zander’s quarters, but as soon as she reached out her psi senses, the awareness dissolved. That wasn’t right.

Anxiety coiled in her stomach and she Misted out again, allowing her to race down the central corridor faster than anyone on their feet. She froze at the end, solidifying. In her corporeal form it was easier to focus those senses, but even now there was only the faintest hint of something out of kilter at the far end of her range.

She growled her frustration. A sweep over all the rooms within the shielded security zone revealed nothing. Except...She pinpointed her unease. Pevanne was missing.

Pevanne?

But he was Zander’s most trusted aide, the man closest to him. Of course, that would make him the perfect assassin...

The shadow on the outskirts of her aura became a sudden dark presence grasping her wrist with a strength that made her gasp. She spun, instinct flipping her into combat mode without conscious effort as she rammed her assailant into the wall.

Pevanne met her gaze steadily.

“What the frig...?”

Pevanne raised a finger to his lips and stalled her outburst. “Quietly, my lady.”

Tyree bit her lip. The majordomo simply stared at her, making no effort to struggle as she stood with her arm braced across his chest, her other hand wrapped around his wrist. He wasn’t afraid of her. He wasn’t fighting her.

She eased back a little. “What the hell are you doing, Pevanne?” she whispered.

“My job.”

“Sneaking around here in the middle of the night?”

He raised his eyebrows at her words, and she shook her head.

Yeah, so I was doing it too, but I
am
Zander’s bodyguard...

“So what
is
your job?”

“Same as yours, my lady. Protecting the master.”

Sheesh, how much use did this guy think he would be?

“What can you do that I can’t?”

As if in answer, Pevanne grasped her upper arms and lifted her like a feather on the breeze before slamming her into the wall behind. Pain ripped down her back and she tried to Mist out, tried to break his grip but he held her firm. As she struggled, he leaned his bodyweight against her, keeping her prisoner as he placed a hand over her mouth to silence her.

“Quiet and I will let you go,” he promised.

Tyree quivered in rage and panic. The power in his body and her inability to Mist out meant she was helpless. And yet he wasn’t trying to hurt her further, so she nodded agreement.