Deception (Dark Desires Origins) Page 6

  “The guys in green.”

  “Yeah. They’re the only people armed right now. Well, except us.”

  While they had surrendered the guns they’d carried the previous night—guns which hadn’t been returned—they had more weapons on board the shuttle. Weapons and booze. At least Rico had gotten the supplies right. “Things seem peaceable right now,” Milo said.

  “I doubt that will last. Most of the Chosen Ones weren’t exactly chosen. They paid for their places and they didn’t come cheap. These guys were players back on Earth. They’re not going to be happy getting downgraded to manual laborers.”

  Dylan had a point. But they were hardly in a position to comment—hadn’t they done the same thing? Bought their places on the Trakis Two, with little or no thought to the thousands of people whose futures they had stolen. Though he supposed by that point the real Chosen Ones had likely already been replaced by the paying customers. So there was perhaps a little justice. But it did make you think about just what they were populating the new world with. The cream of humanity.

  Ha.

  “What are you up to?” Dylan asked.

  “Nothing.”

  He peered a little closer. “You’re making a wand? Cool.” He sat down next to Milo, elbows resting on his knees. “What’s the deal between you and Rico, anyway? Is he really your uncle?”

  Milo wasn’t going there. It was none of Dylan’s business. “There is no deal.”

  “Come on. I saw the way the two of you were together. There’s history.”

  None he wanted to share, so he just shrugged.

  “And was Rico right? Do you think we should come out in the open about what we are?”

  “Why not? You don’t think humans are ready to accept us?” Actually, he was pretty sure the ones on Trakis Four were nowhere near ready.

  Dylan considered the question. “Maybe you—you’re like Harry bloody Potter, and even us werewolves have a chance—hey, we can be sort of cute and furry.”

  He’d seen Dylan’s wolf form, and “cute” it was not.

  “But vampires?” Dylan continued. “I’m not so sure. Humans are their prey. That’s never going to change, and most people won’t be too comfortable with that.”

  “There have always been humans more than willing to voluntarily feed a vampire. They don’t need to kill to feed on them.”

  “Maybe they don’t need to. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to.”

  “Well,” Milo said, “they’ll just have to learn a little restraint.”

  “Ha. Tell that to Uncle Rico.”

  “I have. Numerous times.” He thought about the sort of world he would like to live in. Free from prejudice and fear. “Just imagine…a world where we can be open about what we are. Where we don’t have to hide in the shadows. There’s so much of our nature that’s shrouded in mystery. We come out in the open and we have a chance to explore that, find out who and what we really are. Are we truly evil as the Church says?”

  “Well, if Kinross has his way, then you’re shit out of luck. The Church is going to spread like a pestilence across the universe. I figure he sees it as one more way to control the people.”

  “Then we’d better make sure Kinross never gets near Trakis Two.”

  Dylan shook his head. “I don’t think that’s going to be so simple. I think Kinross has his eye on the whole system. So if you want your own brave new world then we’d better come up with a plan to stop him in his tracks.”

  Milo was saved from replying as his attention was pulled toward the water. A boat was speeding around the lake. Dylan grabbed a pair of binocs and watched for a moment.

  “That’s the woman you were eye-fucking yesterday morning when we landed.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” But he grabbed the binocs and peered at the boat. It took a moment to come into focus. There was Destiny. No longer a prisoner.

  She was laughing up at the man beside her, the big guy in green who’d been in charge of taking their weapons last night. He was driving the boat. Without thinking, Milo got to his feet. He took a moment to place his new wand-in-progress safely in the shuttle, then strode down the ramp, Dylan close behind him. The boat was heading toward the small dock now, and he stopped a short distance away.

  He didn’t know her or what she would do. There was a chance she might just point him out and tell her new friend that he’d been nosing around below ground last night. Milo was pretty certain that would only lead to him getting locked in Destiny’s old cell.

  As the boat pulled up at the dock, she looked around in wonder—much as she had looked at him last night—as though she had never seen anything like him in her life before. She tilted her face up to the sun and closed her eyes.

  When she opened them, she looked straight at him. She started to smile and then stopped abruptly. Bright girl. She wasn’t going to give him away, after all.

  He watched as they climbed out of the boat and walked in the opposite direction—she had a great ass. She glanced back over her shoulder. He winked and she grinned, then hurried away.

  …

  Elvira had never seen Destiny so animated.

  She’d always been a happy child, content with the confines of her existence. It was only later that she’d grown dissatisfied with the answers she received and the restrictions to her life. Elvira had been careful with the information she had given, but Destiny was intelligent, too intelligent maybe. She was quite aware that her life wasn’t in any way “normal.”

  As she’d grown older, she’d also grown introspective, quiet, holding the questions inside. Because she’d learned quickly that she wouldn’t get any answers.

  That was partly the reason why Elvira had placed her in cryo when she had, because the questions had been getting too hard to ignore. But also because the time had been right for Elvira. She’d completed what she’d been brought on board the Trakis Four to achieve. She had more than paid for her ticket. And she was getting old; she was eighty-five, and if she wanted to live to see her children grow up then she had to go into cryo herself. And no way could Destiny remain awake without her. So she had gone to sleep as well.

  Maybe she should never have woken her. Just left her in cryo until she was required. But somehow, she hadn’t been able to do that. She’d given herself all sorts of reasons as to why—that she needed to wake her to check she was functioning optimally, that there had been no damage from the cryo. But really it was the little voice inside her whispering it’s not fair.

  She exhaled. Since when was life fair? She wasn’t that naive.

  Destiny was bouncing, laughing at something Silas said, thrumming with life.

  Had she done the right thing?

  At that moment, Destiny turned to glance over her shoulder and stopped, her eyes widening. Elvira followed her gaze. Two men stood a few feet away, watching them. There was a hint of familiarity, but she couldn’t work out where she had seen them before. Both were tall, broad at the shoulders and lean everywhere else. Elvira had always considered herself beyond the lure of sexual attraction, but they were…stunning. Both dark haired, the one in front wore the yellow shirt of a second-in-command. He had golden eyes and an amused smile.

  The other wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt, and the black ink of tattoos trailed down his arm—she hadn’t seen ink in a long time. And he wore some sort of amulet on a chain around his neck. He had mesmerizing silver eyes that were narrowed on Destiny, a frown between the dark slash of his brows. She turned back to look at Destiny, who was still staring at the man, but she must have sensed Elvira’s gaze as she glanced toward her then hurried after Silas.

  Elvira looked back at the silver-eyed man. He was still watching Destiny but seemed to sense Elvira’s interest and turned his attention to her. For a second, she froze. There was something slightly threatening in his expression, his nostrils flaring. As his gaze met he
rs, she remembered where she had seen them before. They’d been landing yesterday as she and Destiny had left the ship. Destiny must have seen them then.

  They’d arrived on the shuttle from the Trakis Two.

  For a second, she hesitated, then called out to Silas. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  She walked toward the two men. As she approached, the man in jeans turned to his companion and spoke quietly; the other shrugged but strode away.

  Elvira stopped in front of him. He towered above her and she had to look a long way up, while an inner voice whispered to walk away. To be patient. Luther had told her that he would find out about her family. And she trusted him. Didn’t she?

  But this man had come from the Trakis Two. He would obviously have contacts there. And she wasn’t doing anything wrong asking about her family.

  A shiver ran through her as she forced herself to hold his gaze. There was something almost inhuman about him. She shook away the thought. She was being fanciful.

  “I’m Dr. Elvira Yang. I was third Scientific Officer on the Trakis Four.” She offered her hand. For a few seconds, he just stared at it, then a smile curved his lips and he reached out and shook her hand.

  “Milo Velazquez. How can I help you, Dr. Yang?”

  She licked her lips. She was nervous and almost didn’t recognize the emotion. What was there to be nervous about? Nothing. “I have family on the Trakis Two,” she said. “My daughters. I was wondering if they’d been woken yet.”

  “I wouldn’t know. I’m not part of the crew.”

  “But could you find out?”

  He studied her for a minute, and she couldn’t read what was going through his mind. Finally, he gave a brief nod. “I’ll ask the captain.”

  The tight band around her chest loosened. “Thank you. And you needn’t mention this to anyone else.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Why would I?”

  “No reason.” She forced a smile; she’d never been good with gratitude. “It’s just…I know I should be patient but…”

  “But it’s been five hundred years.”

  “Yes.”

  He gestured toward where a group of Chosen Ones, dressed in beige jumpsuits and supervised by three armed men in green uniforms, were digging foundations for a new structure. “Do you know what they’re building?”

  She’d seen the plans in Luther’s office. “A church.”

  She wasn’t a big fan of the Church. In the years before they had left Earth, the traditional religions had faded in popularity to be replaced by the expanding Church of Everlasting Life, which had seemed to appear out of nowhere. Saffira Lourdes, their founder, had quickly become one of the president’s most trusted advisers. Elvira had met her once. She’d been an interesting woman, but an odd leader for a religious cult. The new church had frowned upon any research into genetic modification, and Elvira’s own work had ground to a halt. Until she had been approached by Luther.

  “Christ,” he muttered. “Just what we need in the brave new world. Same old crap.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “You’re not a member, Mr. Velazquez?”

  “No. Not a member. Not a believer. And call me Milo.”

  “Captain Sekongo of the Trakis Four was a designated member of the Church.” All the crew rotations had at least one designated member, supposedly to care for the spiritual health of the crew. “He’s high up in their hierarchy, and he’s all set to take control now that Saffira Lourdes is out of the picture. I also believe he’s a friend of Mr. Kinross.” Likely he had offered the support of his congregation in exchange for their new church.

  “So is Kinross a member?”

  Somehow, she doubted it. “I’m not really sure. You’ll have to ask him.”

  “I’ll do that.” He was silent for a moment, but she was quite aware he had other questions. “The guards,” he said. “Where do they come from?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Are they Chosen Ones? Or was there a military force on the Trakis Four?”

  She could feel a frown pulling her brows together. She thought about Silas. He was obviously ex-military, but he was also a friend of Luther’s. It was clear that they’d had some sort of connection back on Earth. So how had Silas gotten a place on the fleet? Had he won the lottery and just happened to end up on the same ship as his old friend Luther Kinross? It seemed highly unlikely. It was more probable that Luther had somehow procured him a place. But whose had he taken? And what of the others? She tried to count up how many guards she’d seen around the place, but she hadn’t been paying that much attention. Plenty, though.

  Who had been left back on Earth so Luther could have his army on hand when he arrived in their new world?

  She shook her head to clear the thoughts. “I have no idea who they are,” she said. “Well, thank you. You’ll let me know if you find out anything about my children?”

  “Of course.”

  She turned to go. Destiny and Silas were almost out of sight, and it made her a little nervous. She didn’t think it was a good idea for them to get too friendly. She wasn’t sure how much Luther had told Silas about Destiny, but from his reaction to her, she was guessing not a lot.

  “Tell me.” Elvira paused at the sound of Milo’s voice behind her. She turned reluctantly. “The blond woman.” He waved a hand to where Destiny was standing in the distance with Silas. “Who is she?”

  “She’s nobody,” she said dismissively and then hurried away. The familiar pain churned in her gut. Pain she wasn’t ready to analyze and certainly not give a name to.

  She’d done what she had to.

  Chapter Ten

  “Ah,” said the jailer, “do not always brood over what is impossible, or you will be mad in a fortnight.”

  —Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

  The walls were closing in on her. The ceiling pressing down. Her mind was being compressed and a scream built up inside her.

  Destiny had thought going outside would help. Instead it had only increased her restlessness.

  Why? Why was she locked up in here?

  She remembered Milo asking her what she’d done wrong.

  And she still didn’t know.

  She sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the door. Then leaped to her feet and took the two strides across the room, tugged on the handle. Nothing happened. Of course it didn’t, because she was locked in here like a zoo animal—she’d read about zoos back on Earth and couldn’t believe they’d existed. That animals had been locked up. Except here she was, just as helpless.

  No, not helpless. She gritted her teeth, then drew back her fist and punched the rock wall.

  Ouch!

  The pain brought her back to herself. Resting her forehead against the grill in the door, she forced her breathing to slow, then ran a calming mantra through her mind.

  We exist for the greater good. I must not question. When the time is right all will be revealed. I am at peace with my world.

  Over and over again until a measure of calm returned.

  They all had a role to play in this new world. This was hers. She didn’t need to understand why; she just had to do her duty, as they all did. Milo was wrong. They had to all work together for the good of humanity.

  Should she have told Dr. Yang about her visitor?

  Maybe. But it would have gotten Milo into trouble, that much she knew. Probably they would lock him up as well, and she couldn’t bear that.

  The outing that morning had been wonderful, though. She’d liked Silas, loved the fresh air, the sun on her face. Then she’d felt a prickling on her skin, a sense of someone watching her, and when she’d turned, the whole world had come into focus and then narrowed on that one point. There he was.

  Milo had such a sense of power and life to him. An aura glowing around him. She’d found herself smili
ng and had to clamp her lips together in case she gave him away. He’d watched her in return, one dark eyebrow raised. And she’d forced herself to look in the opposite direction. Then Dr. Yang had gone to talk to him and that had given her the perfect excuse to ask Silas who he was. Very casually, of course. She’d been careful not to reveal that they’d met or how. She was learning subterfuge. Did that make her a bad person?

  Silas had said Milo was one of the representatives from Trakis Two, but other than that he didn’t know. Apparently, he was a bit of a mystery. Not a crew member like the other representatives. She was working out who everyone was. The crew members wore a uniform of black pants, black boots, and a shirt, different colors for different roles—Dr. Yang’s was red because she was a scientific officer. Then there were the workers. They wore jumpsuits like hers, but beige. And most of them did not seem happy. She’d seen an argument break out; the man had thrown down his tools and demanded to see who was in charge. He’d been marched off somewhere.

  Then there were the men like Silas. They wore green jumpsuits and carried weapons.

  Lastly, there was her and there was Milo. Both different. Her in her yellow jumpsuit and Milo in his blue pants and black, tight-fitting shirt. She liked that they had something in common.

  Even if she was never going to see him again.

  Because she was locked in a cell.

  An idea had been building in her mind since she’d gotten back from the trip outdoors. Silas had promised her that he would be back tomorrow to take her out again. How difficult would it be to slip away from him then? She was fast. She’d just have to pick her moment. Maybe when they were close to the forest she could disappear into the trees. She wouldn’t go for long, just a few days or even hours. She could climb the mountain, paddle in the lake. Explore this new world. Maybe visit Milo in his shuttle. Once the idea entered her mind, she couldn’t get it out again.

  A faint banging sound drifted down the corridor, and she lifted her head to listen. Then it was gone. Maybe just her imagination.