Voyage of the Sanguine Shadow 1: Shadow Galactic (15 page)

They zipped along the highways and tunnels for
some time, and soon found themselves paying for shuttle tickets.  They boarded,
and the transport moved upward into the flight lanes, rocketing across the planet’s
surface at supersonic speeds.  It wasn’t long before the shuttle slowed and
stopped, and it began its descent.

After it had fully docked, Taryn led her
companions off the boarding platform, past a huddle of wonderstruck men and
women, all of them dressed in the same red and black T-shirts.  She rented a
luxury utility cab, and she and her companions climbed in.  Taking the
navigation seat, she entered their destination into the cab’s computer, and the
rover silently got up to speed.

For several minutes, they drove along a cosmetic
dirt road, up one face and down another.  At last, their destination drew
nigh.  “Oh, that’s it!” Taryn excitedly noted.  “There it is!  Do you see it?”

Seated beside her, Cajun leaned forward and asked,
“The purple glow?”

Gavin asked, “Is it more black lights?” and he
immediately regretted having opened his mouth to say anything.

Taryn giggled.  “Uh, no.  We’re outside now.”

“Right, I know that.  Sorry.” 

“It’s OK.”

Valerie squeezed Gavin’s hand, and Takeo gave him
a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Their taxi ascended a final rise, and the roomy
cab slowed.  The quiet crunch of pebbles and dirt under the tires fell silent
as it drifted to a stop at the pinnacle of the slope, and Varuna’s Sapphire
Waterfall exploded into view.  A trio of polished globes hovered over a wide
lakefront resort, capturing the moon, and they bathed a cascade of glowing
water in silvery light.  Infused with hundreds of thousands of glittering
gemstones, the rushing water was a fluid blanket of dancing stars, backlit by
caverns covered in thick coats of purple-glowing lichen.  At the bottom of the
lake, a massive pump system ingested the fallen stones and cycled them back up
to pour into the river that fed the waterfall.

“Oh, wow,” Jenn whispered, and she stepped first
from the taxi.  The others quickly joined her, and they crossed the road to a
rail-lined balcony’s edge.  Quietly, they spread out along its length. 
Speaking in whispers, they gazed upon the spectacle for some time.

·· • ··

Far from her companions, Zerki waited within her
own taxi as it closed on her destination.  Draped in palm trees, singing
orchids and jitterblooms, Varuna’s tropical-themed Barroi Bay Hotel and Resort
came into view.  Zerki exhaled steadily, mentally preparing herself as her cab
neared the hotel’s turnaround.  Dozens of taxis and chartered buses lined the
drive, where crowds of gentlemen and debutantes stood sipping drinks,
discussing sports and world events.

Before boarding her taxi, she had taken a moment
in her hotel room to don a fine, white gown, matching forearm-length gloves and
heels.  Along the way, she had curled her hair, setting it into a passable
formal updo.  A sharply dressed doorman approached, as Zerki checked her teeth
one last time.  The cab door opened, and she stepped out.  Politely, she
curtsied at the doorman, and made her way through the hotel entrance.

Inside the vaulted, cream-colored lobby, dark
green marble formed islands amidst a sea of white stone.  Many bore glass
tables and vases of exotic flowers, while others were home to sofas and coffee
tables.  Planters and their palm trees served as bookends for every couch. 
Yellow light shined from scattered chandeliers, adding to the gentle
yellow-green glow that seeped from the lobby’s many pillars.  Thick bands of
soft lighting adorned the high walls, exactly matching the green of the
pillars.

She took a moment to locate the registration desk
and approached.  After exchanging greetings with a young woman behind the
curved marble counter, she said, “I’m Zerki.  I’m here to see Sir Reynold
Cavendish.  He’s expecting me.”

The attendant nodded and stood up slightly,
pointing past Zerki.  “He’s having a drink at the Ice Bar at the top of the
building, but you’d better hurry.  I expect he’ll be retiring soon.”  She
smiled and sat back down as Zerki thanked her and took her leave.

Walking briskly across the lobby in the direction
the attendant had pointed, Zerki quickly found the elevators.  She took the
first lift that arrived, traveled 87 stories up, and her ears popped along the
way.  It slowed and stopped, and she stepped out onto plush carpet.

Directly before her stood the entrance to an
establishment she could scarcely call a bar.  Draped in glass and crystal, it
was accented by frosty blue light and snow-white embellishments.  “But not very
tropical,” she chuckled to herself, and she scanned the location for a man that
matched Kanlen’s description. 
Large but not fat, bald with a full white
beard
, he had said. 
And he knows his gin
.

It was crowded, and she stood in the doorway with
crossed arms as she studied the throng.

“Ma’am?” came a voice to her left.  It belonged to
a tall man with chin and head stubble.  He was lean, dressed in a black suit,
and had deep blue eyes.  “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come in or move along. 
You can’t block the door.”

She answered, “Of course not.”  Chewing on her lip
for a moment she turned sharp eyes to the bouncer and asked, “What sorts of gin
do you stock?”

“You should ask the barman.”

“Right.”  Courteously, she bowed at the waist and
entered the Ice Bar.  She approached the counter and waved over an older fellow
dressed in a white suit and a black apron.

“Excuse me, what sorts of gin do you stock?”

With an appreciative nod, the barman answered,
“Every major label.  What are you looking for?”  His voice was deep and
throaty.

Zerki pondered.  “I don’t really know.  I don’t
drink much gin.  What can you recommend?”

After the barman listed the available brands, she
thanked him and stalled. 
I don’t know a damn thing about gin
, she
thought to herself and flushed slightly.  She reached into her purse for her
tablet and jumped when she felt a cold hand upon her bare shoulder.

“Try the Costa Dorada,” said a liquid baritone,
and Zerki turned to regard the man it belonged to.  His gray-blue eyes
twinkled.  “Over ice.”  He wore a pale gray suit with a white mandarin-collar
shirt and white fedora, the same color as his full, manicured beard. 
Barrel-chested with unusually broad shoulders, he smiled a perfect smile and
nodded toward the barman without taking his eyes off Zerki.

She quietly asked, “Cavendish?”

“The stunning Captain Ibarra, I presume.”

“You’re too kind,” she answered, and she blushed
somewhat.  Tucking her hair behind her ear, she musically cleared her throat
and asked, “Where can we talk?”

The barman set down two drinks, and Reynold took
hers in hand, tracing the lip of the glass absently with his thumb.  “Certainly
not here,” he intoned, and he handed her the snifter of gin.  “I was about to
retire, but I have time for one more drink.”  He lifted his own glass and
stepped back.  “This way, please.”

“Lead on,” she replied and followed Reynold to a
door that opened out onto a balcony.  He waited for Zerki to step through,
whereupon he joined her, closing the door behind him.  Casually, he approached
the rails of the balcony.  Zerki soon stood at his side, and she lost herself
for a moment in the sea of gleaming lights far below.  She sipped her gin.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?”

She nodded.  “It is.  I spend so much time looking
at the stars, I forget sometimes how beautiful… how beautiful…  Whoa, this
stuff is strong,” she muttered.

Reynold set down his glass and steadied her. 
“Easy now,” he said, his voice rich and soothing.  Zerki’s knees buckled, and
he caught her as she fell.  She never saw the traces of powder embedded in the
ridges of his thumb and index finger.

·· • ··

At the balcony overlooking the Sapphire Waterfall,
Taryn and her companions decided to head back.  Gavin’s head had finally
cleared, though in its place a mighty headache now roared.  Valerie had given
him some painkillers, but they hadn’t yet kicked in.

Over an hour passed before they had returned to
the VelAquant.  Jenn and Cajun bid them all a sleepy goodnight before heading
up to their respective rooms.  Filan and Takeo decided to go see the famed
Galaxy Tunnel before retiring.  Takeo promised to be as quiet as he could when
returning to the room that he shared with Gavin.

“It’s OK,” Gavin replied.  “My headache’s finally
gone.  You can be as noisy as you like.”

“I’ll still try not to wake you up.”

“Sure you don’t want to come with us?” Filan
asked.

Gavin nodded and deeply yawned.  “I’m sure. 
Thanks, though.  Maybe if I get up early enough, I can check it out before we
go.”

Takeo chuckled.  “We’ll tell you all about it
during the shuttle ride back to the
Shadow
.”

Gavin was too tired to protest, and he waved his
friends on with a smile.  “I can’t wait.”

“Valerie?” Filan asked.

She shook her head and covered her own deep yawn. 
“I’ve seen it before.”

“It’s not worth seeing again?”  Filan’s voice was
hopeful.

Valerie laughed quietly.  “It is, but not
tonight.  I need some sleep.”

Puffing out her cheeks, Filan lamented, “And so
the night ends with Takeo and me going off on our own.”  Her expression quickly
brightened.  “Sweet dreams, both of you.  See you in the morning.”  She wrapped
her arms around Takeo, and they disappeared into the thinning crowd.

“You OK on your own?” Valerie asked as she walked
with Gavin to the elevators.

“I should be.”

She slipped her arm around his elbow.  “Just don’t
fall asleep on your back.”

“I told you, I’m sober,” he insisted.  “I’ll be
fine.”  The elevator arrived, and they stepped into the car.  It climbed nine
floors, and the doors opened.  She walked with him to his room, and he slotted
his key, causing the lock indicator to turn green.  He pushed it open
slightly.  “Night, Valerie,” he said with a wistful smile.

“Is it OK if we talk for a little bit?”

He squinted, gauging her body language.

“What?”

“You’re not kidding.  Good.”

She smirked, swatted his side with the back of her
hand.  “No, I’m not.”

He pushed the door open completely and gestured
inside.  “After you.”  Despite stepping back, he was on the wrong side of the
door, and Valerie ended up squeezing past.

Once inside, she unzipped and shrugged out of her
jacket, tossed it unceremoniously onto the TV table, and she visited the
bathroom sink.  Gavin tracked her as she hunched over, testing the water, and
her pink bob fell across the side of her face.  She wore black jeans and a
black, V-neck tank top with a laurel of silver skulls printed on the front,
seated under a vibrant red rose.  From just below her right shoulder to just
past the elbow, a dozen thick-lined and evenly spaced five-point stars wrapped
her arm.  In the mirror, he could see a colorful, highly detailed dragon coiled
around her left shoulder, snaking down into her forearm.  Behind it, an ancient
temple garden filled the rest of her upper arm’s fair canvas.  “Gavin, you’re
staring,” she teasingly noted without looking at him, and she rubbed her hands
together under the warming water.

“Sorry,” he said and looked away.  “None of my
friends have tattoos.”

“I’m not your friend?”  Tucking her hair behind
her ear, she cast him a playful wink.  Before he could stammer out a response,
she said, “It’s OK, you can stare.  If I didn’t want anyone to see, I’d have
had the work done somewhere else on my body.”  She soaped up her hands,
scrubbing them as she hummed “Happy Birthday” to herself, and her hair fell
back into place.

Gavin nodded and stole another glance.  “Do they
mean anything?”

As she rinsed her hands, she straightened
somewhat, looking to the ceiling as she considered.  “Yes.”  She toweled dry
her hands and regarded Gavin with a tentative smile.  “They all tell a story. 
You sure you want to hear it?  It’s not a happy one.”

“I’d be honored,” he replied, and he stepped aside
as she crossed back into the room.  Two twin beds had been set against the
wall, and a spacious gap lay between the farther bed and a sloped window that
was as wide as the room.  A lounge chair, an ottoman and an end table occupied
the space between the beds and the window.  A nightstand with a ceramic lamp
atop it stood between both beds, and across from it was the TV table and an
empty closet.

Valerie eased down onto the edge of the nearer bed
and slid over toward the pillows.  “Never mind, then.”

“I don’t understand.”  He sat down near the foot
of the bed.

“If it’s an honor just to listen to me talk, then
you’re already putting me on a pedestal, and I hate it up there.”

Gavin stared forward.  “I feel like I’m saying
everything wrong.”

She leaned back on her arms.  “No, you’re speaking
your mind, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  It’s what you’re thinking that
isn’t going to work.  How you see me.”  She exhaled heavily.  “I’m not above
you, Gavin.  I’m not.  As long as you see me that way, we’ll never be close. 
You’ll never really know me, and that’s what I need most right now.”

His heart pounded in his chest, and he felt like
he was crawling in the dark.  “I want to be that for you.”

“I know you do.”  She smiled playfully and
regarded him sidelong.  “You’ve been in love with me since we talked that first
time on the shuttle.”  With an amused laugh, she added, “Of course, I think
you’ve actually fallen in love with every good looking woman on the
Shadow
,
but there’s something special you feel for me.”  She leaned forward and reached
across to squeeze his knee.  “You’ve got a big heart, Gavin, but you need to
believe in yourself before you’ll be any good for anyone.  When you do, whoever
you fall in love with next will be a very lucky girl.”