Three Days of Night (5 page)

“Open your chute!”

The urgency in Ash’s voice let me know I had blacked out for a second or two. This obviously wasn’t the first time he’d told me. I pulled the cord. The violent jerk upward helped me to snap out of whatever it was I’d been thinking. I had to keep finding something to focus on besides how fucking high I was off the ground. This time, I focused on Morgan. I watched the way he maneuvered just below me and followed his lead.

As soon as we touched the ground I fell to my knees. If I hadn’t been wearing a hood over my face, I think I might have started kissing the ground. Morgan walked over and hit the button to retract my parachute.

He offered me a hand and I deeply regretted the gloves I had to wear. Not only did they hide me from the harsh Tarnak sun, they kept me from the feel of his warm skin. He’d already removed his gloves and helmet after helping me to stand. He was still wearing the dark mask that covered his eyes and as one lock of hair fell forward, the effect was devastating.

“You all right?” he asked.

I nodded and felt the weight of my hood again. Fuck. I really hated going out during the day. My hood reminded me of a mask I’d seen in a partially destroyed museum years ago. I think they said it was a type of gas mask or something that miners used to wear. I was grateful for Ashton and his brilliance in inventing the suit. It needed to be tight-fitting in order to allow me freedom of movement. I just had to get my mind to stop being afraid of it and I’d be good to go.

“I’ll be fine. We should get going. Any idea where we landed?”

“You’re just outside the marketplace. Morgan, you still wearing your earpiece?” Ash asked.

“Yeah, we can hear you.”

“You’ve got about half a mile’s walk and you’ll be inside the main part of the market. Our communications can’t get through there. I’m not sure why. It must be some security feature the new leader has in place.”

Something occurred to me then. “Maybe that’s why D hasn’t contacted us. Maybe he is inside the city.”

“He’s not supposed to be. The toll had to be paid at the guard station. That’s right outside the city gates and where our communication ends.” His voice was much softer when he spoke again and I wondered if Ash knew that Morgan was still listening. “Vivian? Please, be careful.”

I was just about to answer when Morgan interrupted. “She’s immortal, remember? She’ll be fine. Besides, she’s got me.”

Chapter Four

The guard station loomed into view ahead of us, a dark stain on an otherwise beautiful landscape. Tarnak was the opposite of Ti’al. Where Ti’al was desert and endless storms, Tarnak was an oasis. Lush greenery, non-toxic waterfalls and thousands of plants that had yet to be categorized. One half of the planet was used for open intergalactic trade. The other half was a popular vacation spot. People traveled from light-years away just to spend a week on Tarnak. And here we were, trying to avoid it.

“So, what’s the deal with Ash?” Morgan asked.

It was obvious he had been stewing over our last communication, though I had no idea why. Ash hadn’t said or done anything wrong.

“What are you talking about? He gave us our location and told us where to go.”

Morgan double-checked the device on his wrist to make sure we were no longer tuned into Harsh Reality’s frequency.

“What was all that ‘be careful’ crap?”

I stopped and looked at him. I had been looking at him more closely for weeks now, but I somehow failed to see one very important thing.

“You’re jealous.” This realization shocked me more than you might think.

Morgan didn’t even bother denying it. He simply turned around and kept moving toward the guard station. I hurried to catch up.

“He just cares what happens to me, that’s all. We’re close.”

He snorted. “You notice he didn’t tell
me
to be careful.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “You’re never careful. It wouldn’t have done any good.”

“What are we going to say to the guards? We don’t have the currency for a toll and if we tell them we’ve come to get D, they’ll never let us inside.”

It would appear he was going to ignore my last comment and let the matter about Ash drop.

“I’ve got a plan.”

This time it was Morgan who stopped and turned toward me. I decided to elaborate.

“I’m going to tell them we’ve come to trade. You are my pleasure slave and I’d like to select a new one.”

He looked too shocked to even laugh. “You’re trading me in?!”

I laughed. “It was the best I could do on such short notice. Don’t worry, I won’t let them have you.” As I started walking again I gave his ass a hard slap. Damn, that felt good.

One of the big cyborg guards on the top of the tower waved his arms at us.

“No time for a new plan. They’ve spotted us.”

Morgan didn’t seem very pleased by this news, but fell into step behind me just the same. As we approached, the guard exited the tower and walked out to meet us. He could have passed for an extremely good looking Barrakan. There was an eyepiece over his right eye that gave off a red glow. He was bald, and part of his head appeared to be metal. So was one of his arms. The top of his knuckles on his right hand (on the arm that seemed otherwise normal) looked like they were rigged to shoot some kind of small projectiles. The rest of his face and body looked wonderful. I couldn’t help wondering what other parts he might have had enhanced.

To my surprise, he greeted us with a smile.

“We’ve come to trade,” I announced before he could ask.

His smile widened. “And what have you come to trade?”

“My pleasure slave.” I indicated Morgan to my right and he rolled his eyes. “I’d like a new one.”

The guard looked him up and down. “Not exactly waving your flag anymore, huh?”

Morgan’s face turned red and I fought the urge to laugh. For once I was glad my face was completely covered.

“Not exactly,” I agreed.

He looked at Morgan again, more closely this time. “Hey, aren’t you—? Yeah, you’re that guy,” he said, pointing as he spoke. “Hey, Max! Look down here! It’s him, it’s Jester!”

The one he called Max looked completely normal, as did most of the cyborgs on Tarnak. Only the older models or the ones who were severely damaged ended up looking like the guard standing in front of me. Most of them only had a few minor enhancements. Artificial parts out of necessity were the most common. You know, lose and eye in a bar fight and have it replaced, that sort of thing.

Max had long dark hair and a roguish smile. I
really
wondered what parts of him were artificial. I was surprised when he walked over and clapped Morgan on the shoulder.

“You’re the one who got us free from that horrible slug. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Morgan was obviously surprised too. “Well, I … um, you’re welcome.”

“Yeah,” the other guard added, “we
hated
that bitch. The only reason she got into power was because of the army she controlled. But when she died they said ‘fuck it’ and left. It was the damndest thing.”

It seemed to just occur to them what I had said about why we were on Tarnak. Max looked at me and when he smiled I wanted to sigh. He was
really
good looking.

“Are you telling me that your pleasure slave is Jester?
The
Jester?” He laughed. “How the hell did that happen?”

Morgan shrugged and even with all his body armor, the movement seemed effortless. “She won me in a card game.”

“Well,” the big guard said, “that’ll teach you not to gamble.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Max said. He moved forward, making a complete circle around me. I tried my best not to follow him with my eyes, but kept looking at the other guard. “I’ll bet what’s underneath here is not so bad to belong to.” At those words I turned to face him and he laughed. “You guys are so full of shit. You’re probably that gorgeous red-headed vampire he works with. The Crimson Kiss, isn’t it? Why else would you hide from the sun?”

“What makes you think it’s the sun I’m hiding from?”

Max took another step toward me. I refused to back up and the fronts of our bodies brushed together. Can’t say I didn’t like it. He was almost as hot as the sun blazing overhead.

“Remove your hood and prove me wrong. Otherwise, come see me after dark.”

“Why?”

He smiled again and the effect was breathtaking. “Because I’d like to see you close up, without the hood.”

“Does that mean we can go?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He stepped aside. “You and your
pleasure slave
are free to go. I don’t care what you’re really here for, just don’t cause trouble.”

Max gestured to someone standing on the top of the city wall. After a moment the big metal gates swung open. As soon as we stepped inside someone called out to my right, “New model! Biggest dick ever commissioned on a sex droid!”

Morgan shook his head and laughed.

“Tightest pussy on the market!”

“Best boobs around!”

The good news was, they weren’t auctioning off real people or A.I.’s like Bob. These were droids created strictly for the purpose of sex. They weren’t programmed with identities or the capacity to translate emotions. But some of them sure as hell looked real, and that disturbed me. However, this part of the market was completely legal. We were looking for what was known as the underground market. It wasn’t actually
under
the
ground, but it was all totally illegal. That’s where we’d find the pleasure slaves and I was betting that’s where we’d find D. Everyone knew the underground market existed. However, its location was constantly being changed, which made it very difficult to police. Unfortunately, that also made it hard as fuck to track down.

We searched for a few hours with no luck, but I did find a great outfit I wanted to buy on our way out. That is if they didn’t lynch us for pulling D out of the auction.

Finally, I approached one of the sex droid vendors out of desperation. I ran my hand over one of the models he had on display, cupping the cock in my palm.

“Can you tell me where I might find something
more
?” I asked.

He took a step toward me and raised an eyebrow. “You looking for a larger model?”

I looked the droid over again as if trying to make up my mind.

“I’m looking for something a bit more
lively
.”

His smile made my skin crawl. “Are you looking for the underground?”

“Maybe. If that’s where I can find what I need.”

I reached behind me and waved for Morgan to stay back. I could sense him moving closer and I didn’t think this guy would talk if he recognized us. I’m not sure why, I just had a feeling.

The vendor took something out of his pocket, but I couldn’t see what it was.

“What’s with the hood?” he asked.

“I don’t like the sun.”

He handed me a small card. “Go to the middle of town, past the fountain. You’ll see what looks like an abandoned shop. Slide this key in the door.”

“Thank you.”

“I certainly hope you find what you need.”

Morgan was standing just outside the open shop front. When I turned my back on the vendor a look of rage passed over Morgan’s face. As soon as I reached him I put my hand on his arm to stop whatever it was he was about to do.

“Did you see the way he looked at you?”

“Of course not, I had my back turned.”

At this he smiled, but only slightly.

“Have I told you how irresistible you look in that skin-tight outfit?” Morgan’s voice always had a deep rumbling sort of appeal to it, but now it sounded husky, almost breathless. I’d say he was definitely turned on. From watching me walk around in an outfit that didn’t even let me show my face? Hmm, kinky.

“No, tell me about it,” I teased.

He smiled and popped me on the ass. “I just did. Let’s get moving.”

It was a hot day and as we made our way to the middle of town I felt like I was boiling inside the uv-suit. Morgan didn’t look much better off in two layers of body armor. I had been distracted temporarily from the closed-in feeling of the suit. But now it was really starting to get to me and I was only half listening when Morgan started to talk.

“Vivian, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” He paused while I looked around for the fountain the vendor had mentioned.

“Mmhm.”

“Well, I’ve got a lot of things I want to talk about, actually. But here’s where I decided to start. If you aren’t involved with Ash and Bob is only your companion these days—”

“There it is!” I’d just spotted the fountain. Damn, it was huge. I looked over at Morgan and he appeared thoroughly confused. I had only heard half of what he’d said and none of it really registered. The sun, even though it wasn’t touching my skin, was beginning to seriously weaken me. Vampires simply were not intended to take mid-day strolls. I could tell he was disappointed, just by the look on his face. It made me feel like shit.

“Morgan, I’m sorry. I want to hear what you have to say, but D is being auctioned off somewhere. We really need to focus on finding him. Besides that, the sun is really starting to get to me. I think I might faint if I don’t get out of it soon.”

He waved his hand as if brushing away his thoughts. “You’re absolutely right. This is a bad time. I shouldn’t have mentioned anything here. It’s just that I can’t think about anything but—”

I would have shut him up the way I shut Ash up. But I couldn’t expose myself to the sunlight. Instead I placed my finger over his lips. Once again, I regretted having to wear gloves. His normally smooth hair was tousled after having worn a helmet. When combined with his dark eyes and mask, it only added to his dangerous appeal. He looked deadly and sexy at the same time. The wind brushed past us, causing a lock of hair to fall forward over his mask, directly over his right eye. He took my hand and turned it over, pressing a soft kiss against my palm. Damn these gloves to hell.

“I want to talk to you too,” I said softly. “It’s probably a bad idea.”

“Terrible,” he agreed. “But we need to talk.”

“Yes,” I whispered, “we certainly do.”

“There’s the shop.” Morgan released my hand and stepped in front of me. He didn’t point, I’m guessing because he didn’t want to draw attention. I moved to the side of the large fountain and saw what he was talking about.

“It fits the description,” I said.

The shop looked just like the vendor described, abandoned. As a matter of fact, it looked positively run down. I wondered if the key would even work. I glanced around at the crowd. No one was paying attention. This part of the market was reserved for those seeking artificial parts. Almost everyone around us was missing one part or another. I’d say they definitely had other things on their minds besides what a couple of strangers were doing. Morgan moved in close behind me and I slid the key through the slot on the door.

It opened with a barely audible click. Morgan pushed me quickly inside and closed the door behind us. The room was pitch black. I could see in the dark, so I reached behind me and took Morgan by the hand.

“It’s completely empty,” I whispered, taking a look around. “There’s a doorway on the other side.”

I moved slowly to keep Morgan from stepping on me. He put his other hand on the back of my hip. The contact was slight, but intimate. I liked it. The more I was near him, the more I wanted his hands on me.