Dark Nadir Read online

  “Is clean,” said T’Chebbi, coming over to join him. She’d been checking the main room and was the last to finish. “Getting beaten up like that must be a family trait,” she said quietly to him. “Haven’t seen anything so bad since we got you back from Ghezu and Dzaka got worked over on the estate because of Kitra.”

  Kaid shot her a fulminating look before sitting down on the nearest couch. “Short of dismantling the lighting units and the air-conditioning, there are no surveillance devices to be found,” he said to Tirak.

  “Big change from the cargo hold,” said Giyesh. “I think they were expecting us. They knew exactly how many of us there are because the number of beds matches. Apart from the Cabbarans.”

  “Still prisoners. Door is sealed, we can’t leave,” reminded T’Chebbi, finding herself a seat.

  “Impressions of our hosts?” asked Kaid, looking around the room as people began to settle on the chairs and couches.

  “Their suits aren’t atmospheric,” said Mrowbay. “They aren’t fitted with breathing tanks, and the air’s enough like what we breathe to rule that out.”

  “Their translator spoke Sholan,” said Jeran, taking a seat beside Giyesh.

  “I noticed that,” said Zashou, returning from fetching a drink of water for Rezac from one of the bathing rooms. “Why our language when there are as many U’Churians? Seems very odd.”

  “Everything about this is odd,” said Tirak.

  “Could any of you look at their helmets without feeling sick, or was it just me?” asked Kate, sitting on a hard chair at the long dining table.

  “Not you,” said T’Chebbi positively. “I felt it too.”

  “I wonder if that’s a side effect or the purpose of the visors,” said Kaid. “The suits are certainly combat worthy. We could learn a lesson or two from them.”

  “The helmet’s ingenious,” said Manesh. “Won’t help us if we jump one of them, though. Be like trying to open a steel can with no opener or knife.”

  “Primes, the priest called them,” said Rezac. “Seniormost, the one in gray.” He stopped, catching his breath in obvious pain. “J’koshuk, the priest, he helped the medic that treated me. They have collars that inflict pain. He wears one. If we don’t obey, they’ll put them on us.” He paused again. “He was told to warn us.”

  “Well, now we see their claws,” said Tirak.

  Kaid noticed Zashou put her hand up instinctively to her neck. “They haven’t collared us yet,” he said reassuringly.

  “There’s no food dispenser, no water apart from in the sanitary facilities,” said Taynar morosely. “I hope they plan to feed us.”

  “No nibbles,” agreed Mrowbay sorrowfully.

  This lightened the air a little, making them all smile.

  “No scent, no mental presence. It’s as if they aren’t there,” said Kaid. “Are they actually alive?”

  “You mean artificial beings?” Tirak asked thoughtfully. “It’s possible. They call that Valtegan their interface. I don’t know how they managed to take us captive, but their technology is certainly more advanced than ours.”

  “And ours,” agreed Kaid.

  “They were expecting us,” repeated Giyesh. “Even down to the number of beds. Sixteen.”

  “Strange beds. Like beanbags back on Keiss,” said Kate. “And the furniture, it’s like ours, not for people with tails like you.”

  “You can tell that by looking at their suits,” said Tallis scathingly.

  “Not necessarily. They could have them tucked down one leg or have short tails! What’re your space suits like?”

  Kaid couldn’t stop his mouth opening in a slight grin. “She’s got you there, Tallis.”

  “Some of our soldiers have their tails amputated as a mark of their dedication,” said Tirak.

  All the Sholan stared at him in horror, but it was Zashou who spoke. “How could they cut off a limb?”

  “Eh?” Tirak looked confused. “You use your tails?”

  “For balance, and more,” said Jeran. “We still hunt on fours, don’t you?”

  “Wrong shape of legs,” said Giyesh, patting him on the thigh, grinning ingenuously and flicking her ears. “We came from trees, not the plains like you.”

  Kaid caught a faint sound from outside. “Quiet,” he warned, getting to his feet as the door began to slide back, admitting two guards. They stood, one to each side of the doorway, covering their group with rifles as a floating stretcher was brought in. Following it was a shorter figure in the gray tabard.

  “Your companion is returned,” it said. “She will need caring for.”

  Kaid moved quickly over to the floater. “How long?” he asked.

  “She will recover in a few days. The poison was very advanced. It will take some time to clear from her system, but she and the child will survive. Her medication is here.” He gestured to one of the guards and Kaid was handed a pack containing several ampoules and a pressure hypo. “Give her a dose every thirteen hours.”

  “Recover?” echoed Kaid.

  “Child?” said Rezac, trying to get up.

  “You must remove her from the floater,” continued the mechanical voice. “She needs rest. We would have wished to keep her longer, but it was decided the distress it caused her injured mate would not aid his recovery.”

  “Put her here,” said Jeran, moving the low table so the way to the hurriedly vacated couch was clear.

  Throwing the pack to T’Chebbi, Kaid gently lifted the unconscious Jo and carried her to the couch, laying her carefully down.

  “The rest of my crew, where are they?” asked Tirak.

  “They are housed nearby. Do not concern yourself. Food will be brought shortly by our interface. You will not harm him again or punishment for all will follow. Is this understood?”

  “We understand all right,” said T’Chebbi with a growl as the soldiers and their leader left.

  Rezac was trying to stumble over to the couch. Seeing him, Kaid held out a supporting arm, helping him sit down beside her. She lay still, her face pale against the silver blanket in which she was wrapped. One arm, a cannula and drug pack attached, was draped across her chest. Her hair was damp and she was wearing clean clothing.

  Kaid moved back, gesturing to the others to give them some privacy. He hadn’t realized she was pregnant, but he should have expected it, given their new Link. Equally obviously, it had been news to Rezac. Another complication to add to the many they faced. At least she and the cub would live. This was what she’d been concealing from him on the Profit.

  As Rezac’s hand closed on Jo’s, she began to stir.

  “Jo,” was all he could say.

  Her eyes flickered open and she frowned, trying to focus on him. “Rezac?”

  “Here. How do you feel?”

  “Better, but not good,” she said, turning her head to look around her. “Kaid. We’re all here?”

  “All,” he said.

  She nodded, looking back to Rezac. “You’re hurt,” she said, pulling her hand away from his to reach up and touch his face.

  He winced and she looked again at his hand. “Oh, Rezac, what did he do to you?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

  “It’s nothing, my own fault,” he said. “I shouldn’t have called out like I did, but I couldn’t let him bite you.”

  A look of panic crossed her face. “The bite! I’ll turn on you, Rezac, on all of you! He told me I would! You’re not safe with me here!” She began to move, trying to sit up.

  “No, not now,” he said, leaning forward slightly to cup her face in his hand. “They’ve reversed it, Jo. You’re going to be all right, believe me.”

  T’Chebbi was handing out the fresh clothing J’koshuk had brought. She came over to Kaid with his. “They knew she’s pregnant by Rezac,” she whispered.

  He nodded, putting his finger to his lips. “Later,” he mouthed.

  * * *

  Kaid carried Jo into the middle sleeping room, placing her carefully in one
of the strange beds, pulling another over for Rezac and seeing him bedded down beside her, then he left them alone.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you’re carrying our cub?” Rezac asked, his hand caressing her face. “He’ll be fine,” he hurriedly assured her. “They said he was fine.”

  “He?” she asked, holding his other hand carefully.

  He blinked, realizing that he’d given a sex to their child.

  “You said he.”

  “I just sense it,” he said. “Why did you keep this to yourself? Are you ashamed? Do you wish you hadn’t conceived?” He tried to keep his voice even, not let her hear his concern.

  “No, Rezac, never that. I would have told you when we reached safety. I was just so afraid for us, and for . . . him.”

  He nodded. That he could understand. Had he known she was pregnant, his fears for her would have been even worse. Leaning forward, he gently licked her cheek, changing it to a kiss when she turned her face to meet his.

  I love you, he sent, wincing as he hurt his bruised face on hers.

  What will become of us, Rezac? Soon I’ll be in no state to escape, even if we get the chance. How can we bring a child into this captivity?

  I don’t know, Jo, but we’re together, among friends. We’ll survive, never doubt that!

  * * *

  “The bite went wrong because she was pregnant,” said Zashou, joining T’Chebbi at the dining table. “It’s a miracle they were able to reverse it. Gods, what a mess!” She pushed a hand through her blonde braids. “Pregnant and captive. She must be terrified.”

  “How do you feel about it Zashou?” asked T’Chebbi. “Can you cope, having lost your own cub so recently?”

  “My cub was born dead, malformed because of the laalquoi in our food on Jalna. It should never have been conceived,” she said. “Jo’s good for Rezac in a way I could never be.” She sighed, looking down at her hands, examining the claw tips. “We were ill-fated from the start. I wish he’d met her before me.”

  T’Chebbi snorted derisively. “Liar! You love him as much, you just refuse to admit it to anyone, even yourself.”

  Zashou’s ears laid back angrily. “You’ve no right to say that!”

  “Is truth. I feel it. Why not admit it?”

  “He has Jo now,” she said stiffly.

  “Needs you both. Loves you both as much,” T’Chebbi said quietly.

  “How would you know?” she demanded.

  “I’m at the edge of a Triad. I don’t even have as much as you.”

  “And Kaid’s besotted with Carrie,” snapped back Zashou. “Have you no pride?”

  “More than you. I admit my need, and I know Kaid needs me as much as her. Don’t be a fool, Zashou. Not too late to tell him how you feel. No disgrace to do it even now. Our situation similar, only Kaid met Carrie before me.”

  “You were at the Brotherhood together before she even met Kusac! Or was it when he went back in time?”

  “He saw her in visions from the God,” said T’Chebbi, breaking eye contact. “Rezac’s not beneath you. His family is as good as yours.”

  “You don’t know anything about him!” she said angrily. “You and Kaid are equals! It was never that way between us!”

  “You sold yourself to keep the family going—married money,” pointed out T’Chebbi. “Rezac has too much pride to do that.”

  Zashou began to growl low in her throat. “Why are you so damned concerned about Rezac? What’s it to you? Unless,” she stopped, ears pricking forward. “Unless you know something I don’t know about Rezac. Is Kaid his father? Is that what happened when they went back in time?”

  T’Chebbi looked up, catching sight of Tallis hovering nearby, realizing she’d said too much. She forced a laugh. “They didn’t go back that far. Arrived only days before your rebellion struck, told you that already.” She got to her feet. “Look at the size of our prison, Zashou. We got to get along. We don’t need you and Rezac fighting all the time. Sort yourself out now. Come to terms with what happened. Gods, it’s been how long? Two years at least!”

  “I had a life before him, T’Chebbi! A husband, a family . . .” she began.

  T’Chebbi leaned forward till her nose almost touched the other female’s. “Had Valtegan overlords! Had living in fear as a telepath! You blame Rezac for troubles he didn’t cause!” She pulled back and stalked off to the other side of the room where Kaid and Tirak sat deep in conversation.

  The damage had been done, though, and as she tumbled ideas over in her head, Zashou wondered if they’d gone back twice because they got it wrong the first time. A shadow fell across her and she realized Tallis had settled down opposite her.

  “It must have been a shock for you, that news about Jo,” he said, his tone ingratiating. “Now everyone’s rallying round them, just because they got injured through their own stupidity. They’re making you look like the jealous one. You have my sympathy, Zashou.”

  She couldn’t believe she was hearing this! How dared he say that! She spat a few choice swear words at him, then told him to remove himself before she saw him off. With extreme satisfaction, she watched his ears flatten backward in acute embarrassment as he slid from the seat and beat a retreat to the other, smaller table.

  Then she stopped smiling as she realized that if someone like him was scenting her vulnerability, then her relationship with Rezac was a matter for common gossip. T’Chebbi was right. In this close a community, there were no secrets, and if she didn’t want to remain an object of ridicule, she’d have to rectify it now. She slid her head down onto the tabletop, resting it on her forearms. Why had it gone wrong? T’Chebbi had been right again, she had liked Rezac at the start. Even he knew that because she couldn’t hide it from him on their Link days. If only it hadn’t been for their damned Link, they might have had a chance at a lasting relationship. She’d never loved Shanka Valsgarth, her husband. It had been nothing more than a marriage of convenience. His money for her family’s social position.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to see Kaid.

  “Would you like to go and lie down?” he asked. “Tirak and I’ve been allocating rooms. We put you in the inner one on the right with Manesh and Mrowbay. Thought you’d be happier with some female company at least. We need to keep the middle room free for those with Link days.” He hesitated, eyes darkening briefly in a pain she could feel at the memories the phrase engendered. “Jo and Rezac are in there just now. We have two days before Kate and Taynar need it. We’ll have space in our room then. I’ll leave it up to you three to decide who sleeps where.”

  “Why are you so protective of him, Kaid?” she asked, too emotionally and physically exhausted to care any more. “Are you his father? Did you go back too soon?”

  Kaid looked startled. “Of course not. What gave you that idea?”

  “You’re so alike. Jo noticed it.”

  “You’ve got an active imagination,” he said, moving away.

  She watched him as he walked back to the table. There was something about him, something in the way he moved, held himself, that reminded her so strongly of Rezac—but she was too tired to think it through. Sleep sounded like a wonderful idea. She pushed herself up from the table and made her way through to the room she’d been allocated.

  Lifting off the folded cover first, she flopped down into the giant pillow-shaped bed. Almost instantly, it molded itself to her shape with a fluidity that was quite unnerving. And it was warm against her pelt, almost as if it was alive. She was too damned tired to even care if it ate her while she slept. At least she’d know nothing about it and it would mean an end to her troubles.

  * * *

  J’koshuk stood at the back of the room watching the wide screen. He had to peer around the group of three gray-robed figures, but he could see enough to know he wanted to remain where he was, at the back, and hopefully inconspicuous. They were watching the crew of the M’ijikk. They had been placed in a large, sparsely furnished open room. A dozen table
s and benches were all the comforts they had. At one end, a partition had just been drawn back, revealing the cages of their food animals. The doors were triggered open and the terrified animals leaped out and scattered among the Valtegans.

  After the initial stunned reaction, chaos quickly followed as people dived in every direction in an effort to catch them. J’koshuk groaned inwardly as he watched the partition close, preventing them from recaging the creatures. Didn’t the Primes realize what they were doing? The presence of the Sholans had set everyone’s aggression level sky high, then they’d been taken captive without the opportunity to retaliate. Now this. It wouldn’t be long before so much fresh blood and raw meat would send his people over the edge. Then they’d turn on each other.

  A calmness descended on him as he realized the Primes knew exactly what they were doing. What better way to reduce the number of captives and make sure those they retained were the best of their kind? One island of relative calm remained; those surrounding the general.

  It was silent—neither the robed ones nor the guards were communicating verbally between themselves in a way he could hear, and no sound penetrated from the room beyond. It was a stark contrast to the scene they were watching and sent a chill through him.

  A hand closed on his arm and he yelped in shock. It was the guard beside him. Silently he followed one of the gray ones out into the corridor, then into a room opposite.

  “These are your quarters. When you are not required, you will stay here. Your collar monitors your movements at all times. When we need you, there will be a pulse against your neck like this.”

  Against his throat, he felt a sudden firm pressure that was gone almost instantly.

  “The door will be opened and you will be able to leave. You will come to the room we just left. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “If you prove dependable and worthy of trust, you will be allowed the freedom to leave this room when you finish performing your daily tasks. If you transgress, you will be punished and your freedom revoked. Should you transgress a second time, you will join the next culling. Is that understood?”