CHAPTER 39

What had they done to him? Bruises and cuts littered his skin; dried blood from his nose caked the lower part of his face and the top of his clothes.

She shoved at the horrifying thought that, while she had been resting and taken care of, this man had been tortured and abused. She walked toward him, hand out in a peaceful gesture, showing she didn't mean him harm.

No, she realized. The bruises and cuts hadn't gotten worse from the night before when she had stopped his beating. As horrible as his condition was, Draven had kept his word. There was something wrong, though. Jhudur studied her as she crept closer, his hands shook and he licked dry cracked lips. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated.

Withdrawal, she realized, stopping before she got any closer. He really was an addict.

Suddenly, her plan seemed ridiculously stupid. She glanced at the door...or where the door should be. How long would it take her to get out if he decided to come after her.

Jhudur chuckled. “I'm not going to hurt you,” he whispered. “I'm not that desperate yet.”

She didn't answer him, but she didn't move away either.

“Why are you here?”

“Tell me about the Y'kil,” she offered.

Hope lit in his eyes before fluttering out. He groaned and rocked himself, curled around his stomach. She realized that the pile of filth in front of him was vomit. He was literally sitting in his own waste.

“It is too late,” he told her. “Mine was a fool's errand. We should have left the Livarians to die and kept our own final days short.”

“What kind of attitude is that?” Mia snapped, then, remembering the guards at the door, she quieted.

Jhudur blinked at her.

“Look, this sucks, I get it,” she whispered, and then scratched her head. “Well, no, not really. But I know that life is worth living, and any attempt to save it is good and the right thing to do. And I know that eventually when the drugs leave your system, it will get easier and you'll see it, too.”

Jhudur just stared at her. She opened her mouth to try again, but his harsh laughter caught her off guard.

“You have it all figured out, do you?”

Her mouth clamped shut. She watched him laugh for a moment.

“Fine,” she seethed. “Keep your misery, die here in your own filth, I don't care. But I didn't ask to be brought here, and you will not mock me for trying to live.”

That shut him up.

“Now, what can you tell me about the Y'kil?”

Jhudur narrowed his eyes.

“Your Prime does not believe me.”

Mia shrugged. He had gotten himself into that position on his own. Jhudur grunted and hunched over himself again. Maybe she had wasted her time entirely.

“I am nearly one thousand years old,” he rocked a little.

She looked at him. He was in rough shape, but there was no way that he was more than thirty. Still, she stayed, waiting, clinging to the chance he would say something that might help her understand the feeling she had that something bad was about to happen.

“The Y'kil come. They come and come and nothing can stop them. Destroyers of worlds. Parasites.”

Ah. Well, that didn't sound good at all.

“What are they?” she asked.

Jhudur jumped as if surprised to have found her there.

“They are you, and they are me.”

Disappointment slammed through her. She had hoped for answers, for some clarity, but instead he was raving. How much did he even live in reality anymore? Looking at the space around him, she would guess very little.

“How can that be? Did you see the world that they came from?”

He nodded. “My world. It was my world once.” He was quiet for a moment and then he looked at her again. “I have failed my duty. I was to close the door. At all costs,” he shook his head. “But I do not have the key, the World Key. Your Prime has it. He has opened the doors and now the Y'kil are coming.”

“Right, we've established all of this,” she crouched.

He began muttering again, as he had on their journey.

“Earth will be next, then all of the others. All the worlds, all the dimensions until they have devoured time itself.”

“Whoa there, Jhudur,” she crooned softly, “come back to me now. I need to know what I'm looking for. What do the Y'kil look like?”

“They are you and they are me,” he chanted. “I must get the World Key, have you seen it?”

Mia shook her head. This was pointless.

“It is a carving, made of wood and yet not wood. A smooth circle with only one delineation on its exterior.”

Recognition shot through her. She had seen that. It was the pendant that Draven wore around his neck, beneath his clothing and armor.

Jhudur looked at her feverishly.

“You have seen it. You know it.”

He leaped at her before she could react, and Mia was left to ponder how very, very badly she had miscalculated. She opened her mouth to scream but he was on her, his hand smothering her face. His face no longer handsome but caked in grime and crazed.

“You must get it for me,” he demanded. “Promise me you will bring it.”

Mia squirmed against him. His strength had not diminished with his condition. She heaved and twisted before, at last, he relented slightly. She sucked in a long deep breath and regretted it instantly. He stunk of waste and vomit.

He blinked at her, a shocked and slightly shamed expression coming over his face.

“Woman, this is important. I am dying. Without the Corpah, I will lose more and more of my sanity until I no longer remember what I have to do.” He shook her firmly but did not hurt her. “You must bring me the key so that I can close the door.

“I don't have it,” she told him, “the Prime does.”

“Then bring the Prime. Our time runs out.”

He released her then, jumping away from her like she might burn him.

“I will distract the guards. Bring the key to me if you value anything that is good. If you want to live as you claim.”

He waved at her to hide in an alcove she hadn't noticed before; the bathroom, she realized when she obeyed. Her hands shook and it took everything she had to keep her thoughts together and do as he said. Right now, she really didn't want to go against his wishes. He was setting her free, again. She wouldn't be stupid enough to make the mistake a third time.

She ran a hand over her face. What had she been thinking, trying to reason with an addict? She was lucky he hadn't killed her when he had the chance, out of pure vengeance...or paranoia. Stupid, stupid woman. She waited, wondering if she should cry out. The guards would be in the apartment in a heartbeat, but how quickly could Jhudur end her if he chose?

It turned out she didn't have to decide. It seemed Jhudur was an amazing actor…mostly because Mia wasn't sure he was acting at all. He wailed and thrashed against the windows in the main living space. It didn't take long before the door opened and one of the Livarians rushed in.

“What...here now you crazy fucker, quit that.”

Mia waited, her nerves strung so tight she was worried they would snap; the second guard wouldn't leave the hallway just yet. A meaty thump and a curse set Jhudur's wailing to a higher intensity. The Livarian wrestling him growled. The second guard rushed in.

“We aren't to damage him,” the second guard reminded.

“He damaged me, I'm just getting him back under control,” the first guard grunted again as Jhudur struggled.

Mia peeked around the corner of the wall, ensured both guards had their attention on Jhudur—she really didn't want to explain the ridiculousness of her decision with them – and then slipped from the door. After that, it took little effort to get out of the apartment.

The courtyard was blessedly empty; she stood for a moment, getting her bearings, and then skirted the building, avoiding the apartment windows and aiming for the direction she knew Ashley and Becky had gone. Were they still waiting for her?

The street was empty, as well, something that might have given her pause except that the small flashes at the border of the energy shield were still occurring randomly. She would have to remember to do something extra nice for Phoebe.

Across the street, there was a set of smaller structures, the size of garden sheds. When Mia had explored the compound, she had found most of them locked and most of the others empty, but a few had humming sounds of machinery coming from within. She chucked it up to some kind of maintenance set up and left it alone. She slipped across the street and between the structures. The other side of the group of buildings opened into the front garden the women had first been led through.

“Mia!” Ashley dove at her from behind the last shelter, a smaller shed with the door wide open. She grabbed Mia's arm and started dragging her toward it. “What the fuck? What took so long?”

“Uh...”

From within the building someone cleared their throat. Ashley pulled Mia through the doorway. A strange scent hit her as she looked around. The space was more crowded on the inside, filled nearly to the brim with odd looking crates and barrels. A smaller box had been pushed into the center, a bowl on it. Becky sat crossed legged next to it looking at them with brows raised. Or, rather, looking at Ashley.

“Oh...Right,” Ashley muttered. “We're glad you're safe.”

Becky kept staring. Ashley stared back, and then glanced at Mia sheepishly “We would really appreciate knowing how things went.” She looked back to Becky, “there, is that better?”

“Much better,” Becky nodded.

What?

“Have you two...been drinking?” Mia leaned over. There was liquid in the bowl, but it was clear. Still, that told her very little.

Ashley nodded happily. “Becky is helping me be more...you know...”

“Friendly,” Becky supplied, and then grinned widely. Her eyes glazing over for a moment. “Social training.”

“Uh...”

Ashley palmed the control and the door slid closed. The interior walls began to glow until the shed was dimly lit.

“Clever bastards, aren't they? All this technology...but they still haven't found us. We're going to hang out here a bit longer and then pretend we were making our way back to the dorm from the apartments,” Ashley plunked down next to the make-shift table. “Come on, you've gotta try this stuff, it's amazing.”

“Uh...”

“You promised,” Ashley glared at her. “Besides, the Prime's team isn't back until just before the evening meal, as long as their mission goes well.”

Mia stared at her.

“What? I work the kitchen, the men talk.”

“What mission?”

“What were you doing in that apartment? Who were you talking to, and why?” Ashley countered.

Mia sagged down onto the ground trying to sort through what had just happened. She blamed it on her mother. She'd always bring home losers and spend days convincing Mia to have compassion for them before they showed their true colors. She was a sucker, even when the truth stared her right in the eye. Still, maybe she could get Draven to talk to the Kirich. Maybe a hit of his drug would make him lucid enough to understand...

She reached for the bowl.

“Just sip it,” Becky warned. “It's pretty strong.”

“Where did you get it?”

She indicated one of the barrels behind them.

“So you just found some random barrels and decided to take a drink from what was inside? On an alien planet?”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “I recognized the drink, Mia. Yoa uses it a lot in the kitchen. We aren't stupid.”

“Yoa?”

To her surprise, Ashley blushed. Really blushed.

“Everyone calls him Chef, but his name is Yoa.”

Mia allowed herself a small smile. It seemed the gossip had been right. She lifted the bowl, took a sip, and grimaced. Ugh. That was some strong crap; the same drink Draven had offered when they had shared a meal at the elite house.

“Now,” Ashley insisted. “Tell us everything.”