Page 45

Sherrod

F rom that night on, when the stress was too much for both of us, she’d ask me to take control and I would. I knew without her having to tell me that this trust was a rare, beautiful gift she was granting me, and I treasured it.

But just as it was a relief for her to let go, it was soothing for me to have that control, when virtually nothing about this situation was within my grasp.

I couldn’t control who she fought, nor find a way to infiltrate the Krynn wing of the station. I couldn’t even get an audience with Lady Seraph anymore to demand any kind of explanation as to why Cypher had attacked Zephyr.

The moment we signed that fucking contract, I had no say in anything, and neither did Zephyr.

I needed to do something for her. I needed to protect her, even though she could take care of herself.

And so having this respite every night, to be the one to give her such pleasure and help her to process the unknowns around us, it was just enough to make all this bearable.

As the Blood Celebration progressed, and the defeated fighters were thinned from the group, more of the syndicate leaders were anxious to get Zephyr at one of their special parties.

I was able to fend off most of the invitations, until the semifinals when one of the Forenzi underlings cornered me in the VIP booth and made it very clear that his mistress wasn’t happy that Zephyr was refusing her invitation to what would likely be one of the rowdier parties of the celebration.

“She is focused on winning,” I told the Zorestran male, “and spends her nights healing and preparing for the next fight. Maybe that’s why she beat the Forenzi champion so handily.”

The male’s eyes narrowed and he took a menacing step toward me.

“Careful, Vasquez, just because Krynn has extended her protection to you doesn’t mean accidents can’t happen.”

“I’ll remember to convey that to Lady Seraph.”

A glimmer of genuine fear blazed in the male’s eyes before he turned on his heel and walked away.

“What was that all about?” Zelena asked, decked out in Krynn red tonight.

“Same as it has been, they want her at their party.”

“Her refusal has made her even more desirable than she was after the free-for-all.”

“Do you think I should’ve pushed her to attend the parties?” I asked, my pulse refusing to calm down. “I had thought it better that she didn’t, but that’s ended up pissing off the syndicate leaders. Now I feel like I need to worry about threats coming from multiple directions.”

“You’re antsy tonight,” Zelena whispered.

“It’s the semifinals and we’re no closer to what we came here for,” I whispered back.

“I might have information on that. I won’t know until later. And I think you made the right call about the parties. It was best to keep her out of the way of anyone who might want to sabotage her in order to get to Lady Seraph.”

That made my shoulders relax, just a little, and I heaved out a long breath.

The horn blared, signaling the start of the match.

The crowds were in a frenzy tonight as Zephyr stepped into the arena to face off against the Bryson champion.

They were the most evenly matched fight so far, and I knew that fact had me more one edge than anything else.

If she lost, I knew it would anger Zephyr, but I could also get her out of here, safe and sound.

On the other hand, if she won, then we could stay a little longer and try to find Norris or the bio weapon but Zephyr would have to fight in the championship match.

My only comfort came from the fact that so far, all of Zephyr’s injuries had been superficial bruises and a few cuts. Nothing broken, or life threatening. With any luck, tonight would be no different.

It became evident almost immediately that our luck, on that front, had run out.

The Bryson fighter was a mountain of a woman, her fighting skills honed to inflict maximum damage quickly before she tired.

I’d thought we had been prepared for almost anything, but when Zephyr took the first punch of the night, I could tell something was different.

She staggered, her eyes wide and unfocused.

When she fell down, I swear my heart stopped.

I felt someone staring daggers at me and looked over to see Lady Seraph with a deep scowl on her face.

If Zephyr lost, I was sure that Lady Seraph would retaliate.

No matter what the bigger plan might be for this celebration, she was counting on Zephyr to humiliate the other syndicate leaders by beating their fighters.

So losing would be fodder for everyone else, and Lady Seraph would not let that stand.

Bryson’s fighter was now kicking and stomping on Zephyr, who was trying to roll out of the way.

Before I could stop myself I was sprinting for the exit, intent on getting down there and stopping this.

There was no way I letting Zephyr get seriously hurt over this.

We’d just have to flee, that was all there was to it.

I didn’t give a shit what Lady Seraph had, or who; it wasn’t worth Zephyr’s life.

But a hard, huge hand clamped down on my shoulder and stopped me. It was one of Lady Seraph’s guards and when I turned to look at him, the guard shook his head.

“I don’t need her permission to—”

The crowd roared and my attention was pulled back down to the arena.

Somehow, Zephyr had managed to get on the other fighter’s back and she had her forearm pressed against her wind pipe, cutting off her air.

Even still, she slammed Zephyr into the walls, which had been enhanced with an electrical charge for this bracket of matches.

I worried how many times Zephyr could take that before her cyber circuits would fry.

But it didn’t take long before the other fighter slumped onto her knees and fell over, unconscious.

The referee called for Zephyr to be the winner and I let out a long breath, leaning on a nearby table.

“That was close,” Lady Seraph said, her gaze cold as she stopped next to me. “Too close.”

“I agree,” I said, not bothering to keep my anger in check.

She arched an eyebrow at my defiance and I just held her gaze, not giving a shit.

“See that she’s given the best medical care. We want her in top shape for what’s next.”

I was so focused on just getting to Zephyr that Lady Seraph’s words hadn’t penetrated until after Zephyr had a full work up in the med bay and we were back in our suite of rooms.

‘What’s next’…not the next fight or match but what’s next. What the hell does that mean?

“A broken rib and fractured wrist,” Zelena solemnly read out the medical droid’s report. “Healing dislocated shoulder, sprained fingers on the—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Zephyr winced as she sat up on Zelena’s bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked.

“To get a drink.”

“You need treatment.”

“And rest,” Zelena interjected.

Zephyr slumped and then hissed in pain. I knew that her nanites were already mending things; that’s why she was so sensitive. Normally her pain dampeners would be pumping meds into her system.

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted.

Zelena frowned at her with thinly veiled worry, while I ran my hand over my face and hair so many times I was worried I was going to make myself bald.

“What?” she snapped after a few more seconds of our silent stares. “This was the deal, remember? I see this through until we can get into the Krynn wing of the station or the Krynn compound.”

“At this rate, you might not make it till then,” Zelena said.

“Wow, loving the faith.”

“It’s not a matter of faith,” I fired off. “This woman wasn’t just trying to beat you, she was trying to kill you.”

“And she didn’t succeed. That doesn’t mean I want to fight in the championship though,” Zephyr admitted, to my relief. “But unless we can figure out a way to sneak into the Krynn wing of the station and find Norris and the virus, I’m going to have to. So, any suggestions?”

I turned away from her, pacing and trying to come up with a plan, a way out, anything. I was about to throw up my hands when Zelena spoke up.

“I received some information, which might help, but it’s risky.”

“Riskier than getting my ass kicked every other night?” Zephyr asked with a wince. “Let’s hear it.”

“I’ve been asking my courtesans to keep their eyes open for any crack in the Krynn security.

For days, nothing. Then, this morning one of them found something.

I was waiting to get confirmation before bringing it to you and as I said, it is risky.

I haven’t had a chance to really sift through the information—”

“It’s fine,” I said, impatience making my voice sharp, “just give it to us.”

Zelena nodded, overlooking my tone.

“There’s a window of about five minutes early in the morning when the meal preparation droid delivers a large case on a hover cart.

This case has all the meals for the day for the Krynn guards and attendants.

It’s followed by Lady Krynn’s meal, but that one is checked and tasted before being allowed to enter the wing.

The other meals, however, are never checked.

It would be a tight fit, but the two of you could ride in that case. ”

“Where does it end up?” Zephyr asked.

“A storage area. Now,” Zelena pulled up a schematic of the Krynn wing.

“How did you get that?” I asked. “I’ve been searching for schematics this whole time.”

“My courtesans are very, very good,” Zelena said with an eyebrow waggle.

Her tendrils were calmer now, and they glowed blue, a sign she was in a better mood.

“The kitchens where the meals are prepared and packed don’t have guards.

You should be able to get into the compartment around five in the morning.

After the meals are packed into the cases, they’re left to be picked up by a droid-operated hover cart and there’s a brief window of time where they are unattended.

That’s when you can get into the case without anyone knowing.

When you get to the Krynn wing of the station, the case will be taken to a storage room where the meals will be sorted and put in different units to await the staff.

One of my courtesans will cause a commotion that morning, and pull the staff’s attention.

You’ll have a few minutes to sneak in here,” she expanded the kitchen on the 3D hologram to show a narrow compartment that ran the full length of that section of the station.

“This is a dumb waiter, it’s not used very much these days, but it’s still functional.

And it runs directly into Lady Seraph’s private wing.

You’ll get off here,” she circled the section with her finger, “and then it’s a short walk, down this way, to her quarters. ”

“It can’t be that easy,” I said. “What about surveillance, a key code?”

Zelena put her hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side.

“You seriously expect me to do everything?”

And then she grinned before throwing me a data stick.

“The code is changed every day, so when I said you had a narrow window, I meant it. You have to get from the kitchen to her room in five minutes or the code will change and lock you in that hall. As far as surveillance goes, there is none this close to her personal quarters.”

I stared down at the data stick and then back up at my best friend.

“Zelena this is…thank you.”

She waved it away.

“It’s what we do, right? Now, go get some sleep, and I mean sleep you two. No extracurricular activities tonight!”

Zephyr flushed and gave me a flirtatious look, but I knew that tonight would be the one night I would have to deny us both because the way she was holding her side meant she was far more injured than she was letting on.

“What will you be doing while we do this?” I asked after Zephyr left the room.

“I’ll have an alibi, don’t you worry,” she said. “And just in case, that drive also gives you access to my private shuttle. It’s cloaked, dock seventy-b.”

I threw my arms around her and held her close.

“You’re incredible.”

“Don’t get mushy on me,” she chided, her voice thick with tears. “Just don’t die, okay?”

I gave her suave smile and spread my hands in front of me.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m like a cockroach, I can survive just about anything.”