Ultimate Passage: New Beginnings: Box Set ( Books 1-4) (21 page)

F
inn took Ali outside
.

“Let’s get some distance from the house.” Ali pulled on his arm.

“Why?”

“I don’t want anyone else to know about my wings.”

Anyone else?
“There’s only Kal here.”

“I know. I cannot start telling everyone this secret. Not yet.”

“I understand.” He didn’t fully, but a part of him did a bit. Otherwise he would have told Kal about his flying, about the intensity of his emotions—so different than they were on Kormia.

“What if you can’t teach me to hide my wings? To look completely human? Finn, my problem is two-fold. I have to hide my wings from Asazi, but I also need to hide my skin from humans. Unless I’m to remain underground or hidden forever.”

“I know. I control it, other soldiers control it. You can too.”

“Those other soldiers were all males.”

He knew that, but he’d been hoping she wouldn’t think of it. He didn’t want to have yet one more obstacle for her to overcome mentally.

He’d been wanting to ask Ali for a favor; now seemed as good a time as any. “What happened between us, in the bed—” He didn’t know how to say it or what to say.

“I won’t tell anyone.”

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“But first I need something from you.”

“Wait—my teaching you how to blend with humans and how to hide your wings from Asazi is not enough?”

Ali looked down. “No. I need your forgiveness, too.”

He took a step back, prepared for the worst, but unsure what the worst could be. “Go on. Forgiveness for what?”

“Your woman. Target 41.” Ali bit her lip. “Marissa. I saw her. I saw her in her cell. I went to see her. I know it wasn’t right. I know she’s not the reason you ended the Binding. But I was curious.”

Finn was confused. “Did you hurt her?” Was that why Ali wanted forgiveness?

“No, but I did not help her. And then I came here and did what I did with you. It is difficult to explain, but there are these urges, to mate.”

He understood. Finn thought of the first few hours and days after he had left Kormia. Could he discuss that with Ali? She seemed like the only one who was going through what he had gone through.

“I think there is something in the food. Or maybe it’s something in the air on Kormia. I can’t figure it out. I want to ask someone, but don’t know who. You’re the only one I know who has gone through this.” Finn shook his head and made patterns in the dirt with the toes of his shoes. “Never mind. Let’s get you trained. We don’t have a lot of time, and when Kal says the vessel is ready, I’m leaving.”

“About the vessel. Finn, I did not get into a pod. I was not unconscious like we are supposed to be.”

He snapped his head up from looking at the ground. “And what happened?”

“That is just it. Nothing. No feeling of motion. No feeling like there was in the car when you drove us here. It was like I hardly moved. And it was not a long journey.”

She probably had fallen asleep and missed something.
“Of course it’s a long journey. The scientists have told us that it is. And that is why we have to be unconscious for it. And that is why—”

Was anything that he’d thought to be true, true at all? His head pounded with the uncertainties, the questions. And the biggest contributor, finding Marissa. “We need to stay on track. Time to teach you.”

He stood across from her, facing her in the moonlight. The sliver of moon cast shadows on her face, coloring her hair a darker shade of blonde, making her Asazi skin shimmer. “You have to control your pulse. You must stay in touch with your heartbeat and breathing. After you have mastered that, you will work on your skin. Our skin reflects our emotions because we are able to engage with it on a conscious level. This is something that humans don’t have.”

“Finn?” She shuffled her feet and ran her fingers through her hair. “You do not believe in the Sacred Writings? Our future? Our past? How we came to be?”

“I don’t believe in anything.” He leaned against a fencepost, wary of scorpions that might be seeking nighttime victims. “I don’t think I believed after my father died. But the logical part of me knows that something is amiss. I don’t know what it is.” He pushed off the fence and looked Ali in the eye. “But you know what? I do not care. I care nothing for what is on Kormia. My future, my life, is here on Earth, where things are simple.”

“I hope I feel the same for Earth one day. I do not think I have a home, not anywhere. I ran away from Kormia, but I do not know where I am running to.”

Finn wished he understood what she was going through, but his problems were different. And right now, his were more acute. She was not in danger, Marissa was. And he was on a deadline. “We need to get to work. If Kal says it is time, I will go. I do not want to disappoint you.” He almost said they were like brother and sister, but rethought it, as what they’d done was not what siblings did. “I care for you as a good friend. But if it is time to go, and you are not ready, I will still go.”

“Understood.” She nodded, her jaw set, wearing that same look she’d had when they were young and she was told she couldn’t play with the older ones.

I
t wasn’t easy
, but by the time Kal came to get Finn, he and Ali had wrapped it up and were sitting in the living room. Sprawled was a better word for it; he was sprawled across the sofa, rest eluding him, and Ali was in the recliner, in a deep REM state.

“Ready?”

Finn jumped off the couch. “More than.”

“What’s going on? I thought you were in bed.”

Ali sat up and rubbed her eyes. “I wanted to talk. Finn has always been a good listener.”

Finn was glad she made up the lie. He didn’t want to lie or have to explain it to Kal. He opened the front door.

Kal glanced at Finn’s hands. “Are you not taking a bag?”

“To what end? They will relieve me of it the moment I arrive.” Though he did want to take weapons. Did he ever.

Finn needed to talk to Kal about flying, but he didn’t know if he should tell Alithera about it, if she should know. That sort of information could be dangerous if it ended up in the possession of someone who could not be trusted. He’d spent the rest of his time before he departed teaching her how to hide her wings. He abided by her request not to tell Kal. Guilt-ridden from so very many secrets, Finn was ready to go, though his heart was heavy.

Alithera didn’t allow him a moment’s privacy with Kal. Still reluctant to tell her, Finn maintained silence on the subject of flying and his fully-functioning wings. So he waved goodbye to them after a quick hug to Kal, but not Alithera. He was not yet over his self-loathing about their sexual encounter, and no amount of justification could make him feel better. A big part of that was because he knew there was no justification for his act. Another part he couldn’t handle was that he had no one to discuss it with.

He deliberated wearing the mask that would make him unconscious. He wanted to avoid it and see what happened. But what if something happened to him and he couldn’t save Marissa? This was not the time to experiment with anything which might hinder his ability to find her.

He put the mask on and breathed deep.

H
e was awakening
from the journey, expecting the vessel’s main door to open and someone to come in for him. He was getting impatient with the wait and the rigorous emotions that his thoughts were driving him toward. He was ready to catapult himself out of his pod and begin pounding on the door just as he heard the air pressure whooshing a release and signaling someone’s arrival.

He took a deep breath, stretched, and tried to put on a nonchalant look. He’d donned his Asazi uniform before he climbed into the pod for his return home. When he put it on he’d noticed that he’d lost some of his bulk. He was still muscular, just a bit leaner.

He forced himself to exhale, anxious to see who would be first through the vessel’s door.

Finn could not contain the smile making its way to his face when he saw Nevim. “Uncle—”

It vanished when he saw the next Asazi to follow Nevim in. Another Governor-Select.

“Ornin,” Finn said with a nod.

Ornin’s face flooded with a deep orange color. “That’s Governor-Select Ornin to you, insubordinate traitor.” Ornin’s words were drenched in toxicity.

Granted, Ornin had never been Finn’s friend, but this attack seemed unwarranted. Not eager to make more enemies, Finn clamped his lips shut, clenched his jaw, and looked to Nevim for guidance.

Nevim turned to Ornin. “We should let the Council of Governors-Select determine his guilt, rather than condemning him individually right now.”

What guilt? Finn turned to Nevim for an explanation. His uncle gave him a cautionary look, as if advising him to say nothing.

Finn slowed his breathing and tried to control his pulse. His forearms subsided from a hue of dark orange.

“Ornin, allow us a moment of privacy.” Nevim’s tone was patient.

“You do not outrank me.”

“That has no bearing. Out of respect for his father, my fallen brother who sacrificed his life for Asazi, you can do this.”

Ornin gave a tense nod, turned on his heel, and exited the vessel.

Nevim turned to Finn. “How are you?”

Nevim took measure of Finn. Finn felt certain he’d noticed the weight loss. He could probably see the bags under his eyes, the result of sleep he’d missed for more than a few nights, chasing Marissa and dealing with Alithera. Not to mention the stress of mentally preparing to come back to Kormia.

Marissa.
“Where’s Marissa?” He took his uncle’s hand to rise out of the tight-fitting pod. He hadn’t expected her to be here to greet him, he knew better, but that hadn’t stopped him from hoping.

“She was taken into custody upon arrival.”

Something in his uncle’s tone told him that he was holding back. He’d heard that tone before, the day Nevim had told Finn that his father had fallen in battle. “And?”

“The Council met. They decided against a trial.”

Finn dropped to one knee. “That can’t be. When do they plan her release?”

“She was released not long ago.”

“What? Which exit?” Finn leapt to his feet and headed for the door. He’d just passed over the threshold when two Asazi guards raised their weapons, blocking him.

“Finn, come back, please. Now.” Nevim used his commander’s voice, from when he was out in the field.

Finn had heard that tone when he served in a squadron next to the one Nevim commanded. He knew that tone well. He did an about-face after giving the soldiers a look to let them know he wasn’t intimidated.

He approached Nevim. “What’s the meaning of this? Guards? For me?”

“Yes. You are to be escorted to the Council for a decision as well.” Nevim lowered his voice. “There are a few who are calling for action, an attempt to stop our assimilation and peaceful colonization on Earth. I do not have to tell you what side Ornin is on.”

“I don’t care about all that. I only care for Marissa’s wellbeing. She is carrying my child.”

“Yes, I know.” Nevim leaned in. “I gave her a TripTip blade. She’s not completely unarmed. And she is quite a hellion, that human. You should see the bruises on Talik’s face.” His voice was as low as a whisper could be.

“Yes, but she’s
my
hellion. And I won’t rest until I find her. She is not a soldier, Uncle. She is a—she had a restaurant—she cooked and served people. She has no skills at self-defense.” Though he wondered about Talik’s face. What could Marissa have done to him?

“Perhaps so, but she managed fairly well against Merck.”

“Probably luck,” Finn muttered. “I have to go to her. I will die trying. Or...” He paused. He didn’t want to say it, but he had no other choices. Of that he was convinced. “Or I will kill trying.”

“I believe you. Please. No more than an hour.”

“I can’t guarantee that. Go, Uncle. I do not want you here when—if—I disgrace my military oath. Go, now. Please.”

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Nevim headed for the door. “Finn, I will see you in Council. This will be resolved.”

Finn saluted, sure this would be the last time he would do so. “Tell me one thing. What exit?”

“Lesser League.”

“Uncle, why did he call me traitor?”

“They are looking at treason.”

“A charge that egregious should have resulted in my banishment. I don’t understand why they want to bring me in.”

“Because they know it is what you do not want. They know you want to save her.”

“Who? How do they know?”

“Talik.”

“Thank you. I will see you on the brighter side of the lands.”

“Wings be with you.” Nevim made the sign over Finn.

Finn fought back scoffing laughter at the religious beliefs of his uncle. This was not the time to antagonize him.

Nevim turned and left. The door remained open behind him. Finn knew the guards were still there, that they would try to block him. He needed a plan. He turned around the vessel, slowly, taking note, working on a strategy.

Finn crashed into the console, knocking things down, making as much noise as he could, then collapsed to the floor, coiled, poised and very ready. Both guards rushed in, dropped their weapons, and hovered over him.

Finn swept his foot under one, knocking him flat. Finn roared, grabbed one of the weapons, jumped to a stand, and cracked the other one on the head with the butt end. He didn’t want to fire a weapon for fear the noise would bring more soldiers around.

The second one collapsed, unconscious. The first one stumbled to his feet. One strike to the jaw, and he was joining his fellow soldier on the solid metal floor.

Finn grabbed the second weapon and the ammunition refills from their belts, then hurried to the door. Verifying that there was no one around, he ran across the plank, down the first hallway, took a sharp right and waited, pausing in the alcove. If it had not been for all the hours he’d spent exploring the hallways and tunnels of the settlement, he’d have been in a lot of trouble. That misspent teen life would give him the means to hide and to make it to the tunnel that led to the Lesser League exit. His uniform should provide him with a cover that would keep him safe, at least until word got out that he had fled. For now, he had to trust that the general public did not know that the Council of Governors-Select had not met, had not made a decision, and that no one was looking for him.