Ghost in the Machine (Corwint Central Agent Files) Page 29

  Orynn opened both her arms wide in return and bowed her head again. The deal was struck. She turned to Tara who was still fighting off the advances of the limiks. Tara started to protest, but Orynn smiled at her and gestured towards the limiks. “Please, choose eight and let us be done.”

  Tara nodded hesitantly and turned to the limiks while Hank paid Lacta the sixteen Chronae. One of the shepherds put a bit-less bridle around the nose and ears of Barshee and waited for Tara to make the rest of her choices. Tara picked seven more, mostly by saying which ones looked most like Hank, which left Lacta in a fit of laughter.

  The limiks were bridled and handed over to Hank and Brom who led them on board. One of the shepherds brought forth two small bales of dried grass for the limiks, which was also taken on board. As Orynn turned to go, Lacta called out to her one more time.

  “Ashae! You on way to see Grohin with these limiks, yes?”

  Orynn turned back and nodded. “I hope someday to be as wise as you, Lacta.”

  Lacta smiled and nodded. “Someday maybe. You give message for me to Grohin, yes?”

  Orynn bowed her head in submission. “Gladly.”

  “You tell Grohin I rethink offer he give.” Lacta crossed his arms across his wide chest. “Tell him I not wait forever though. Tell him Lacta stubborn, but not stupid. Tell him not be stupid either. Good trade.”

  “I will gladly tell him this message. Good trade.” Orynn kept her head bowed as Lacta turned his back and walked away, the limiks eagerly following in his wake.

  The trade was complete and there was no more talking to be done. With heavy steps, Orynn walked up the loading ramp and hit the close button when she reached the top. The ramp lifted and sealed behind her as the guise faded from her. Feeling better than this morning, she tried to smile genuinely as she walked over to the three as they finished settling the limiks into their pens. “You all did very well.”

  “I have a question.” Hank was idly patting one of the limiks on the head.

  “Please.” Orynn nodded. She was glad Hank was interested in learning more. Jehdra would be pleased with his progress.

  “I picked up on the whole insult thing, but why did you offer him twenty, and then why did he turn that down?”

  “That was weird.” Tara agreed. “Usually you start low and the other guy will try and take you for everything you’re worth.”

  Orynn smiled and scratched the nose of limik closest to her. “Gokem traders value fair trade over everything. It is always the trade initiator, in this case us, who makes the first offer and it should always be higher than what you want to pay. When I offered him twenty, it was a way to see how fair Lacta was. When he came back with fourteen, he was showing me how generous he was. You never take the first offer a Gokem gives you, because that is like throwing their generosity back into their face. I returned with a fair price for the limiks, which is two Chronae each, and the trade was settled.”

  Brom was spreading out one of the feed bales for the limiks. “Sounds complicated.”

  Orynn nodded. “It can be.”

  “Why did you let me choose the limiks?” Tara was trying to pull the corner of her bomber jacket out of the mouth of Barshee. “I don’t know anything about them.”

  “Lacta knew that.” Orynn replied, trying not to laugh as Barshee tugged back on Tara’s jacket. “It was a way of saying that all his limiks were of such a fine quality, that anyone could close their eyes and pick eight and they would get the best in the herd.”

  “Gotcha.” Tara nodded and yanked her jacket free. She looked Barshee in the face with a friendly scowl. “Poor thing. You really do look like Hank, don’t you.”

  “Hey!” Hank and Brom both fell into laughter. “Well if you’re done playing, let’s get this ship on its way to Tir.”

  “Alright.” Tara frowned. She was really starting to like the limiks. She waited for Hank and Brom to get a few steps away before turning to Orynn. “Coming?”

  “I will stay and keep them calm until we have left orbit.”

  “Okay.” Tara hesitated. “I know it’s not my business, but this morning... is everything ok?”

  Orynn was tempted for a moment to tell Tara what happened. It would have been nice to have someone to confide in again, but she couldn’t risk putting a wedge between Tara’s friendship with Ethan. “Yes, I just did not sleep well last night. Remnants of the Drasa, I think.”

  “Alright.” Tara eyed her suspiciously, but nodded. “Well if you ever want to talk, just let me know.”

  “Thank you. That is very kind of you.”

  Tara shrugged and turned. “It’s what friends are for.”

  Orynn watched Tara walk out of the hangar and sighed. The brownish grey limik next to her was nibbling on her hair, trying to get her attention, but her mind was a million miles away. They had forgiven her for what happened on Chronos. Tara wanted to be confided in, like a real friend. It was things like that which gave Orynn a small hope that perhaps Jehdra was right. Still, the events of the previous night were still too raw.

  They only want to be your friends because they do not know who you really are. If Tara knew, she would hate you just like Ethan.

  The voice inside her head was loud and painful in its honesty. She turned to the limik and scratched its chin. As the ship moved, the limiks bleated in protest and she tried to replace her sadness with an aura of calm. It was a battle to keep up the aura in her current state of mind, but the limiks were not much of a mental challenge. Within a few minutes, they had all settled into their cargo netted pens as the ship broke orbit and its gravity normalized.

  “I see our new guests are settling in well.”

  Orynn’s breath caught in her throat and the limik nearest to her bleated. She took in a breath to regain her calm and turned to the cold voice that had addressed her. The hard look in Ethan’s eyes dug sharp claws into her heart and squeezed. She wanted to cry and beg him for forgiveness. She wanted to yell and scream at him for leaving her so quickly.

  He said to trust him and then he left.

  She wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t help loving him. “Yes. The pens Brom assembled are quite sufficient.”

  Ethan stared at her in silence for a long moment. His mind was still a jumbled mess after the night before, and his emotions were still trying to sort themselves out. The only emotion he knew for certain was the feeling of betrayal and he was holding onto it with all he could. “I won’t tell them what you showed me.”

  Orynn nodded in relief. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me.” Ethan wanted to get this over with. The longer he was near her, the more the feeling of betrayal was fading. Unsure if it was some program she had put into his system, he couldn’t trust being this close to her. “It’s not for your benefit. I’m not telling Hank because it would hurt him. Once this mission is over, you will make your report to Jehdra and then you will leave this crew. You will leave their memories intact, but you will never contact us again. Clear?”

  Unable to form a reply, Orynn swallowed and nodded.

  “Good.” Ethan held out a small data disc in a green case out to her. “Here.”

  Orynn took the case from his hand, careful not to touch him with her fingers. “What is it?”

  “My schematics.” Ethan turned away from her, the sad sound of her voice threatening to break down the wall he had built up against her. “Thought I’d save you the trouble, if you don’t already have them.”

  Orynn gazed at the disc as tears blurred her vision. When she looked up again, he was gone.

  25 Wraith

  Walking back to her room in a daze, Orynn held the disc against her chest and was thankful the corridor was empty. Once the door to her room closed behind her, she took the disc out of the case and dropped the case to the floor. She gazed at the small silver disc as it lay flat in the palm of her hand.

  Her mission was done. She had secured her freedom.

  With a hateful scream of anguish, she clenched her f
ist around the disc. The pain in her spirit poured into the connection she created and the disc fizzled and warped, burning into the flesh of her hand. She fell to her knees and clutched the ruined data disc to her heart.

  What good was freedom when it came at such a cost? Slumping forward, she let out a pitiful sob.

  Why are you crying over him? He asked you to show him and then he walked away from you when he found out what you really were.

  “Shut up.” The voice was so loud in her head that it hurt.

  You are Vesparian. He doesn’t deserve you. He can’t deal with your power. He’s just a machine who could never understand you.

  Orynn’s eyes opened. The voice was in her head, but it didn’t sound like hers. As she regained her bearings, she felt the pressure against her shoulders and the familiar jaded black aura filling the room. “Merik?”

  “Took you long enough to come to your senses.” Merik lowered the hood of his trench coat and the reflector panels shifted. His body materialized as he crouched beside her with one arm over her shoulder. “All this sadness isn’t good for you. It clouds your judgment.”

  Orynn shot to her feet and took a few steps away from him as he stood. “How? When?”

  “I snuck on board while you were taking your sweet time leaving port in Chronos.” He flashed her his dangerous smile. “Ethan absolutely hates it when I get past Zera’s sensors.”

  Orynn brought her hand up to her clip as realization set in. “My clip... You... last night? You were not in here when...”

  “Fuck no.” Merik scowled. “You think I wanted to watch that machine have his fun with you?” Merik hissed and spit to the side. “I hung out in the conference room. I was almost asleep when you started your memory sharing. Sorry, but I couldn’t help listening in.”

  “That was not meant for you.” Orynn’s anger swelled past her embarrassment.

  “It shouldn’t have been meant for him!” Merik yelled at her with heated rage. He closed his eyes and regained his cold smile. “But I guess you know that now.”

  Orynn looked away. “You do not understand.”

  “The fuck I don’t.” Merik growled and stepped closer to her. “You bared your soul to that machine and he couldn’t handle it. He left you alone last night after everything you gave to him. I saw it all, everything he did, but I came and I stayed with you.” His hand brushed her hair away from her cheek. “You talk in your sleep, did you know?”

  Her eyes went wide. “And this morning? You saw me...”

  “Nude?” His smile twisted and he growled softly, his aura moving against her seductively. “Oh yes, I saw that. You were captivating. Especially when you argued with yourself in the mirror.”

  She scowled and looked back up at him. “That was private.”

  “Was it?” He raised an eyebrow and took a step closer. She stepped away from him and he continued to advance on her. He followed her movements until she had backed herself against the wall. As she shuddered and her breathing sped, he frowned.

  “You’re acting like a caged bird again, Orynn. I know you are stronger than this, stronger than him.” He sneered. “He wasn’t worthy of you.” His black eyes looked over her face as he drew the back of his black-clawed fingers across her cheek. “I can be. Let me see you, Orynn. I won’t run.”

  “You do not know what you ask.” Orynn looked to the side as the pace of her heart quickened. She could feel his aura pushing in against her. It was so full of a carnal passion for life that it threatened to suffocate her.

  Merik placed his hands against the wall on either side of her head and leaned into her ear. “I know you better than you know yourself. I know you want to be free. I will never try to cage you, Orynn. You and I could make this universe our own. No more Central. No more rules. No more living to please the expectations of others.”

  “That is not what I want.”

  “It is.” Merik nuzzled into her hair and breathed in deeply.

  “Please stop.” Her voice was weak and full of heavy breaths.

  “Not until you show me.” Merik scrapped his fangs across her neck and brushed his lips against her skin as he whispered. “Show me who you really are.”

  “Stop.” Orynn felt the dark void growing around her heart at the insistent mental penetration from Merik’s aura as he fought to peel back the layers of her self-control.

  “Make me.” He grinned and bit down on her neck. He could feel his power over her growing. What she had done in the hangar had just been scratching the surface. The memory of the solarium had shown him that she was capable of so much more. He wanted to see how far down the abyss in her soul went.

  Sucking at the skin of her neck produced an involuntary gasp from her and he growled in response. “You want to be free. Let me free you from this cage they’ve put you in.”

  “Merik, please.” She tried to push him away, but his aura had her pinned in place against the wall. His hand held roughly onto her chin and pulled it up as his mouth surrounded hers. His kiss was harsh, fueled by a lust to devour her.

  For a moment, she felt herself give into its heavy gravity. When his body pressed in between her thighs, all she could think of was Ethan.

  Her heart stopped.

  The room spun.

  Darkness covered her eyes.

  He felt the first pulsing wave emanating from her mind crash against his aura and it forced him to release her from the kiss. The next wave pushed his body away from hers, followed by another that caused him to take several steps back. Her gaze lifted steadily to his face, her eyes both filled as lifeless orbs of pure mercury that reflected Merik’s black-eyed gaze back at him.

  His smile twisted with satisfaction. “That’s better.”

  “Velsae narusa.” You should not have done that without permission.

  The strange, hollow vibration of her voice made the corners of his lips lower slightly. “I’m not afraid of what you are, Orynn. I want to feel it surround me and breathe it in.”

  Orynn tilted her head to the side. “Breathe?”

  The sharp tendrils of her aura shot through his chest and the smile fell from his lips. The feeling of her Wraith’s aura moving inside of him was more powerful than he could have ever imagined. Through arching bolts of black lightning, his mind shot back across the connection as his lungs burned for air.

  Her aura snapped and popped in growing currents surrounding them, cascading against the walls of the room and flowing like black molten fire up to the ceiling. The lights flickered and Zera gave a beeping protest as the electrically charged air pulsed around their bodies.

  Lashes of pain struck against him and the reflector panels of his jacket shredded with loud crackling bursts of heated energy. He wanted to scream, but his voice was trapped in his throat. Rips appeared in the black cloth of his shirt and the red of his blood filled in the cracks. The depth of the void around her heart consumed his mind and he fell to his knees in ecstasy.

  The door to her room slid open and the light of the hallway flooded in. The tall shadow cast by Ethan fell over Merik, but the Trexen could not see it. All his vision showed to him was the truth that existed in Orynn’s spirit, and it had shocked him. The darkness was so much shallower than he had thought. Beyond it, trapped under the chains of the Wraith that bound her, was a burning fire so bright that it blinded him. It brought tears to his eyes as his lips mumbled through the gathering blood in his mouth.

  “Orynn!” Ethan grabbed Orynn’s arm and yanked her away from Merik. Zera’s sensors had gone mad moments before and he had raced here with the worry that something happened to her. Instead, he found Merik kneeling in a growing pool of blood at her feet and the look of death in her eyes. She had unleashed the Wraith within her, and it had every intention of killing the Trexen.

  Her emotionless eyes turned to him and he shook her shoulders. “Stop this! You are going to kill him!”

  Slowly, the look of recognition softened her expression and the clouded haze left her face. With a shudderin
g gasp, her lungs filled with air again as her knees weakened beneath her. “Ethan? What happened?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know.” Ethan glared at her. He moved aside and pointed at Merik. “What is he doing here and why were you trying to kill him?”

  “What?” Orynn’s eyes refocused and looked over to Merik. He was slumped over, coughing up blood as the lines across his chest oozed with the sticky red liquid. “Oh no.” Orynn shook her head and backed away from them. “Stay away from me.” Backing herself into the corner, she slid down to the floor and trembled.

  Merik spat out a black chunk of congealed blood. “Medical bay. Now.”

  Ethan yanked Merik off the ground and supported his weight. The Trexen tried to walk with Ethan, but ended up being mostly dragged the four doors down to the medical bay. As Ethan lowered Merik down onto the examination bed, the Trexen coughed violently.

  “Novasil.”

  “No shit.” Ethan turned to grab a vile of Novasil and an injector from a nearby cabinet. While Novasil was a pain killer for most Common races and a potent drug to T’jaros, for a Trexen it was a very effective healing agent. Shoving the glass vial into the injector, he angrily grabbed Merik’s arm and shot him with it.

  “Fuck!” Merik growled and yanked back his arm as the Novasil burned a stinging path through his veins. The relief was almost immediate and his breathing steadied.

  “Ethan?” Hank’s voice called through the com unit. “Is everything alright?”

  Ethan walked over and tapped the link. “Yeah. We have a stowaway.”

  “What? Who?”

  “Just Merik, again.” Ethan wondered how much he should mention about what he had just witnessed, but he wasn’t even sure what he had seen. “It’s why Zera’s sensors went off. Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with our guest.”

  “Alright. Let me know if you need any help with that.”

  “Will do.” Ethan shut the com unit off and turned back to Merik. The Trexen was still coughing lightly, but the bleeding had stopped. “What happened?”