Cold Mark (22 page)

Twenty minutes later, he came to an abrupt stop, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

I dropped next to him, staring up at the canopy of leaves, the moon's light barely filtering through. I wasn't sure how many miles we had just run, but the way my side was killing me, I guessed it was near three. Sucking oxygen like it would quickly expire, I didn't bother moving for a full ten minutes.

Then we were back on our feet, once again sprinting through the forest.

Sweat drenching my body, my clothes sticking to me like a second skin, I laughed quietly ten minutes later as we both halted in our tracks. I snorted so hard, the stabbing pain in my side jabbed back, making me flinch.

I still pointed at the two large sticks that hovered in the air, making a large 'X'. "You put them on the stairs before we left it?"

"Yep," Jax wheezed, walking quickly to the entrance of the invisible hov-craft. "And I marked almost all the bases of the trees we passed with the yellow rubber on my shoe, so I could find the way back here in the dark. It's why I walked in the back on the way to the city, instead of letting Stiller lead the group." He shrugged, knocking the branches away. "I feigned a stomach cramp. Stiller believed it since he could feel my worry. He just didn't know what I was
really
worrying about."

"Genius," I muttered, watching as he tapped on the hov-craft, bringing it into full view, still programmed for his fingerprint. A code entered a second later, and the door opened for us. After we had climbed inside the parlor, he activated the cloaking device once again and shut and sealed the door.

Dropping his bag on the white couch, he unzipped it. Inside were space travel wear. As I lifted one out, along with a helmet, it appeared a little outdated but no worse for the wear.

"Where did you get these?"

He snorted softly. "You really don't want to know."

"But I do."

He shrugged, and started stripping his shirt over his head. "There's a museum in Center. While you were busy eating sweets, I was at the museum stealing their first ever space suits." He winked as he began undoing his pants. "And procuring us a vehicle."

I chuckled as I tore my own shirt over my head, and then started on my pants. We needed to hurry. No time for privacy. "Is there oxygen in them still?"

"Yeah, I made sure to test them."

"And this hov-craft can get us to Joyal?"

"It better."

"Jax ... "

"Yes, it has all the newest technology for extended space travel, and when I flew it earlier, the thing damn near flew itself."

"So the coordinates are really all you need."

He nodded, grinning like a fiend as he shoved one of his legs down into the suit. "You ready to leave Triaz, Braita?"

I was already putting my helmet on and sitting on the recliner. I strapped myself into the chair with the hidden safety belts. "More than ready."

Jax took a seat next to me, tapping on the halo-screen before buckling himself in. "We're only one more tap away." He glanced at me. Even though I couldn't see his eyes through his helmet, I knew he was asking me silently one last time.

"Do it."

His pointer finger landed on the halo-screen.

Tossing my helmet off as we landed, I immediately unstrapped. I was on my knees in front of Jax in a mere heartbeat. His helmet hung down, and his body was wrapped in deep tremors. I had no clue how he had managed to land the hov-craft. The farther away from Triaz we had gone, the worse he had become.

I pressed my fingers to unlatch his helmet and tore it over his head. "Jax! Are you all right?"

His gray eyes were bloodshot and he whispered, "The bag. There's medicine in there."

Instantly, I knew he was having a reaction from being away from the other half of his Vaq. He needed Stiller, not drugs. But I hurried to the bag, even as pounding began to sound on the door to the hov-craft. Fumbling with shaking fingers, I found the bottle buried in the bottom of the black bag. Tipping four into my hand, having taken that many before I had received my Solo, I helped Jax take them. I sat back in my chair and waited. It wouldn't take long for the pills to kick in since he had never taken them before. Our people outside could wait. They knew it was us because Jax had transmitted our incoming arrival—for fear they would blow us out of the sky.

I did ask, "What was your mission, Jax?"

In a hoarse voice, he growled, "This ship. Our president had received word of it two years ago, and Joyal doesn't have the minerals it needs to create this technology. When the tsunami occurred, it was the perfect opportunity for a spy to infiltrate the east of Triaz. Our government plans to clone everything it needs to duplicate it so our citizens will be safe from the natural disasters our planet living on the ground causes."

All of it made sense since Joyal was prone to underwater earthquakes, except for one small fact. "Why didn't they just ask Killeg and Phila for assistance?"

"They did." He rested his head back on his seat, his eyes beginning to glaze from the drugs. "The Plumas denied assistance when our President wouldn't meet their demands."

"What did they want?"

Jax snorted, the edges of his lips lifting in a sloppy smile. The medicine was definitely kicking in. "The Plumas wanted access to Joyal's oceans. Apparently, we have fish here with certain enzymes that help with infection. Triaz doesn't. Our President was an asshole and said no."

My blink was slow. "Why did you get assigned the mission and not me?" I wore ten marks on my wrists. I was just as capable as he was.

Jax snickered and lifted his right hand, pinching his fingers together. "Because I'm just a wee bit better than you in test scores." He laughed outright. "
Cow
."

I glared, but it held no heat. "I can still kick your ass on the mats."

"Only half the time." He waved his hand at the door. "Will you open it now so they'll shut the fuck up. My head is pounding."

I rose from my seat and helped him to remove his safety belts. "Let's get changed first before they come storming in to strip this place bare." I paused. "And I want to see if Killeg left any of his potions behind."

Jack's dark brows rose. "Why?"

"Because I never expected our President to be so damn covetous. You've completed the mission, but what do you think he's going to do with us now? A man who doesn't share well, will do whatever it takes to protect what is his now that he has his prize."

Jack's hazy regard sharpened as he stared into my eyes. "We should probably grab a few inconspicuous weapons, too." He paused. "Just in case."

"Yes, no shit." What the hell had he gotten us into?

As we exited the hov-craft onto the ground of our home, Plata, my suspicions were well-founded. The front of my body was slammed against the landing pad, two government agents grabbing my wrists and placing them in laser-cuffs.

Jax landed right next to me a second later, his warm breath rushing over my face with his hard landing. He growled quietly but allowed the three government agents to cuff him.

I glared from the ground. "Two for me. Three for you. I don't think my reputation precedes me."

Jax laughed right in my face, one of his cheeks smashed against the hard ground making his smile crooked. "When did you become so vain, Braita?"

I shrugged a shoulder and grimaced as the agents none-too-gently yanked me to my feet. "When it became obvious you think you're better than me."

He was pulled up right next to me. He still wore a grin. "I said only a wee bit."

"Oh, fuck off." I scowled once more and then tilted my head to the walkway. "We're getting arrested and shit. Let's try to act like we're taking this seriously."

Because we were. We were taking it damn seriously.

The agents stepped back since we were in laser-cuffs, giving the proper amount of distance Humans did on Joyal. They indicated we should follow them and started down the trail.

Jax snorted at their backs as we walked sedately behind them. "Not even a 'welcome back.'"

"Very rude, indeed."

An agent glanced over his shoulder, studying us silently.

"He thinks we're weird," I grumbled, staring right back at the agent. He was the one who had snuck his knee in my back to hold me down.

"The barbarian race has afflicted us."

"The dastardly devils."

He paused as we stepped down a brightly lit stairwell. "Okay, let's try to be serious."

"Okay." I lasted twenty seconds. "Do you think the President will give me his autograph?"

"Maybe. On your execution paperwork."

"I'd already thought about that. I was talking about, like a statement from him saying I've beat you in score during our combat training."

"We're back to that?"

I shrugged. "I haven't really left the topic yet."

"I have. You see, my dear friend Braita, I will always ... " He trailed off as Plata's government building came into view. "Probably time to shut up now."

"Yes. That might be wise."

It was a stupid move. We were both thrown in a jail cell. Together. We weren't even searched.

Our peaceful Human counterparts didn't think the way the Mian did, a small blessing.

But we sat. And waited. For three damn days.

We were lucky they brought us food.

And, between Jax and me, we had enough medicine to keep him properly drugged.

We kept our conversation light, knowing the area was chronicled.

The President waited for us to slip. To indicate we had turned. Become the enemy.

We never gave him what he was looking for.

So, late on the third night, we were summoned. Sans laser-cuffs.

Bless Mother Joyal, because they chafed horribly.

Four agents—we were down one now—showed us to a conference room. I sat comfortably on a black chair while Jax investigated a halo-screen in the corner that was on a repeating loop of Plata news. Nothing much happening on our home planet from the looks of it. Just tons of sunshine and the reconstruction underway from the tsunami's destruction.

"How long do you think he'll make us wait?" I asked in a bored tone.

"Probably a good hour." Jax sat next to me eventually. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me when he finally arrives."

It took three hours, and two trips to the bathroom, for him to grace us with his appearance. Though he entered the room with no fanfare, only three agents—down another—and two of his advisers. They sat across from us in the quiet.

I allowed my best friend to snore in their faces for a full minute since the President had made us wait days before I politely nudged Jax. He awoke with a start, but quickly shook off the sleep, seeing we had company. He wasn't any more impressed than I was.

Jax sat forward, placing his hands on the table, allowing the President to see the red marks left from the laser-cuffs, and asked bluntly, "Did I steal the right hov-craft for you?"

The President's smile was miniscule in the extreme. "You did."

Jax's brows rose. "And, still, I don't hear even a 'thank you.' Instead, my accomplice and I were detained on Joyal land for three days. Would you care to elaborate why?"

Keen, intelligent eyes stared back at us. The President was no fool. "By all accounts, the surviving Humans became slaves on Triaz. How is it you two were able to escape slavery and steal the leaders of the easts personal hov-craft?"

"Plumas," I corrected him. "Their title is Plumas."

His attention hovered back and forth between us, ignoring my jibe. "I'm waiting."

Jax responded in a bored tone, taking control. Which I was grateful for since I was a horrible liar. "After the 'arrival ritual' where most of us died, Braita and I were chosen to go to the east as slaves. We both bare ten marks on our wrists, which gained us certain privileges not all Humans were given. The Mian are a warring people, but they are not without their mercy.

"We were given the opportunity for freedom through combat inside an arena called the Crank Pit. If we won thirty matches, then we would be granted our freedom. Worthy in the eyes of the Mian." He shrugged a shoulder, lying out his ass. "We won our battles and gained our freedom."