Fallen Star (22 page)

Khan lifted his goblet. “It seems that whoever broke into your head made the same assumptions that Sobehk did.” He sipped at the golden liquid.

Sobehk frowned. “What assumptions?”

Khan set the goblet down and focused on Fallon. “They assumed that you were a clever acrobatic thief, because that is all the program accesses, your physical abilities.”

Accessed her
physical
abilities? Fallon frowned. “For what? Am I supposed to do something,
‘Syr?
”

Khan pursed his lips. “When the code goes active, it turns you into a mindless killing machine.” His copper gaze hardened. “And then it kills you.”

A killing machine?
Fallon’s mind came to a complete screeching halt.

Khan leaned forward and tapped a clawed finger on the tabletop. “They have programmed you to be a sleeper assassin.”

An
assassin?
Fallon shook her head. “But that’s
stupid, ‘Syr.
”

Khan’s lip curled. “As I said, I don’t think they had any idea what your real abilities were.”

“If she’s supposed to kill someone ...” Sobehk leaned both elbows on the table. “Then who is she supposed to kill?”

Khan raised a brow. “That is an excellent question. You see, she only has half the code in her head. The person with the other half of the code is the only one who knows.”

Sobehk scowled. “How in bleeding Chaos do we find them?”

Khan tapped the tabletop with his finger. “It’s simple, really. According to what you and Isabeau have told me, she was set up specifically for capture. The rest leads me to believe that the assassin was deliberately sent to push her into displaying her fighting skills.”

The hair on Fallon’s neck rose. Tusk
had
been sent to her, she knew ... he had told her. But he had been sent to
die?

“I don’t believe they intended their assassin to be captured, but they obviously knew that Isabeau would be able to kill him.” Khan tilted his head at Fallon.

Fallon shook her head. “I don’t see how that’s possible. I never told anyone I knew how to take Tusk down.” She winced. “
‘Syr
.” She was speaking out of turn.

Khan patted her wrist. “Whoever did your physical upgrades would know exactly what you were capable of. And also, they
were
in your head. They could have deduced it.” He rolled his eyes. “Though I seriously doubt they were quite that bright, just from looking at the program they planted.”

Fallon looked away. They had deliberately sent Tusk to die at her hands. Tusk was deadly, true, and he had killed a lot of people, but mostly other bad guys. He’d never disobeyed the boss once. In fact, he adored the boss. And they had sent him to her to
die?
He had been betrayed, just as she had been betrayed. She closed her eyes as a fist of pain closed around her heart. All because someone wanted to show off her fighting skills.

Of all the stupid reasons to die.

Sobehk ...
Guilt stabbed right through Fallon’s heart. It was her fault Sobehk had gotten hurt. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking in his warm scent. He was alive. He lived. But he almost hadn’t. She leaned over and pressed her head against his side. Screw protocol. “I’m sorry.” Her voice came out in a tight whisper.

Sobehk’s hand slid down her back and he sighed. “It’s not your fault.”

She rubbed her cheek against his side. “It
was
my fault. I should have taken the knife.”

Sobehk’s hand slid through her hair. “You’re assuming that you could have gotten it from my hand.”

Fallon sniffed. “I could have.” She closed her eyes. “I
should
have.”

Sobehk groaned. “I’m supposed to protect
you,
remember?”

Fallon wiped at her damp cheeks and looked up at him. “So?”

Sobehk glared down at her “So?”

Fallon simply smiled.

Khan rolled his eyes. “May I continue?”

“Yes,
‘Syr
.” Fallon took a deep breath and sat up. Oh, yeah, she definitely wanted to know the rest of this.

Khan folded his hands on the tabletop. “If Isabeau had not taken three days to catch ...”

Sobehk winced just a little.

Fallon snorted, amused in spite of herself.

Khan cleared his throat and raised his chin. “If Isabeau had been caught as most
rehkyt
are, what would have been her fate?”

Sobehk swept a hand across his jaw and flushed. “The auction at Port Destiny.”

Fallon froze. Auction? A
slave
auction?

Khan nodded. “Then that is where the one with the other half of the code is waiting. We take them and we will know who the target is.”

Sobehk shook his head. “But how do we find one person in that morass? There will be over a thousand Skeldhi attending that event!”

Khan lifted his glass. “We put Isabeau up for auction. The one who buys her has the second half of the code.”

What?
Fallon jerked back and nearly fell over. He wanted to put her in a slave auction?

Sobehk growled. “You can’t be serious!”

Khan smiled and it wasn’t pretty. “I assure you, I have no intention of selling my
rehkyt
. I was thinking more of merely tempting the buyer into coming out of hiding.”

Sobehk’s brows dropped low over his blue eyes, and his mouth set in a white line. “How? Exactly.”

“You set her up to be auctioned, and I pose as your
nehkyx
, your handler.”

Sobehk shook his head. “You, as
my
handler?”

Fallon frowned. What the heck was a handler?

Khan raised his brow. “You are still recovering from an accident, are you not? I assure you, the news of the incident aboard the
Vortex
was not kept under wraps. So a handler would be quite appropriate, if not expected. As long as we keep the story as close to the truth as possible, it will be believed.”

“They’ll never believe she’s still mine.” Sobehk shook his head. “Your DNA marks her ...”

“So does yours.” Sobehk smiled, and his copper gaze chilled. “She drank you down during the fourth course, remember?
‘Syr
Tah says your mark is as prominent as mine.”

Sobehk narrowed his blue eyes at Khan. “You did that on purpose?”

Khan waved his hand in dismissal. “Does it matter why I did it?” He focused on Sobehk. “Because of it, you can pose as her selling owner.”

Sobehk frowned. “Khan, what are you up to?”

Khan’s chin rose and his mouth tightened. “I am out to find the target of an assassination. If my suspicions are correct, then the target is among the council members.”

Sobehk jerked back. “What?”

“Think!” Khan jabbed a finger toward Sobehk. “A
rehkyt
that kills an assassin like that creature where all can see? Naturally she would have been marked for
upuaht
training. Therefore, she was deliberately set up to be so marked. How many Skeldhi can afford an
upuaht
rehkyt?
”

Sobehk’s hands became fists on the tabletop. “Only a lord could afford one.”

“My point exactly.”

“Night and Chaos ... A lord is planning an assassination?”

“Not all that unusual. Lords kill each other all the time.” Khan shrugged. “But Isabeau is a female. She could have been made to appear to be a
saysehn
rehkyt
, a common pleasure pet, if her conformation had not gone so obviously Prime. Though I doubt that will be a factor. Too many do not look beyond a pretty face to see if it has teeth.”

Fallon felt a sudden curl of warmth. Khan thought she was pretty?

Sobehk shook his head. “What does Isabeau being female have to do with anything?”

Khan set his elbow on the table and propped his chin in his hand. “Sobehk, in case you haven’t noticed, our Isabeau is rather small and delicate in appearance.” He looked over at Fallon.

Fallon tilted her head in confusion.
Delicate? Since when?

Sobehk snorted. “But she’s not!”

Fallon frowned. She wasn’t exactly sure she was pleased that Sobehk didn’t find her delicate.

“No, but she
looks
that way.” Khan sat back up and pressed his fingertips together. “And the only place the big
upuaht
rehkyt
males are not allowed to enter ...?”

Sobehk looked down at the tabletop with a frown. “The
Ehnyad
enclave -- the council lords’ personal chambers -- have that restriction.”

Khan nodded. “Correct. The
Pshent
enclave, the court of queens, does not allow
upuaht
or Primes of any type, male or female, but the
Ehnyad
enclave only restricts males from entering.”

Sobehk straightened. “You think Isabeau has been set up to assassinate an
Ehnya’dhyt?
A council lord?”

Khan leaned back. “We won’t know until I have interrogated the person with the other half of the code. But it
is
a possibility.” He nodded toward Fallon. “Isabeau is an
upuaht
grade
rehkyt
capable of taking down a mimetic cyborg assassin. Whoever she’s supposed to kill must have some pretty strong guards if they think they need someone with enough killing power to take down a fully grown male
upuaht
rehkyt
, if not more than one.”

Sobehk frowned. “But she’s a Prime and wearing the ear-cuffs of an
upuaht
in training. Obviously she’s capable of killing.”

Fallon started and recognized the weights dangling from the bottom edge of her ears, about a finger-width above the lobes.
So that’s what he put in my ears.
She lifted her hand, but for some reason couldn’t make herself touch them.

“You would think so.” Khan sighed and shook his head. “However, too many males assume that a female cannot kill them, simply because they are smaller.” He rolled his eyes and smiled slightly. “I had sisters, I know better.”

Sobehk stared at Fallon. “Khan, I am in no condition to protect her from a lord and his guards when he comes to collect what he thinks is his property after the auction.”

Khan smiled, showing his long teeth. “But I am, and I have a full coterie of
mehdja’dhyt
 -- security and intelligence officers -- on this ship.”

Sobehk turned to Khan. “Won’t this ship give away the fact that the
Mehdjay
, the Office of Intelligence, is aware of this ... conspiracy?”

Khan raised his finger. “Not if we proceed as though you never left the
Vortex
. I have spoken to the captain and he is going to make sure that the logs state that both of you are still aboard.” He set his hands flat on the table. “The most obvious reason for the presence of
mehdja’dhyt
 -- intelligence officers --
is
the auction. I assure you, my ship will not be the only one there. The
Mehdjay
office is always looking to acquire high quality
upuaht
grade
rehkyt
.” He smiled. “Though not every
Mehdjay’syr
 -- lord-officer -- has the resources to buy one such as Isabeau.”

Sobehk shook his head. “There’s a big gaping hole in this plan of yours, I can smell it. I just can’t see it at the moment.”

Khan rolled his eyes. “There are a number of gaping holes in it, one of them being that one look at our Isabeau will show that she’s not only sighted but semi-trained.”

Fallon sat up straight. “Does this mean I get to drop all the manners stuff?”

They both turned to her. “No!” they chorused.

Fallon cringed back. “Fine, whatever. Yes,
‘Syr
.”

Sobehk scrubbed his hand along his jaw. “I suppose I can say I had her trained somewhat to deal with her aggressive tendencies?” He looked over at Khan. “And perhaps drive up the price?”

Khan’s brows rose. “Indeed. She
is
a Prime and your best catch to date, so it would be quite logical to try to get the best price for her.” He frowned at Sobehk. “Are you in need of your medication?”

Fallon’s gaze jerked to Sobehk.

Sobehk looked at the colored band around his wrist. “Yes, damn it.”

Khan rose and approached Sobehk. “To bed with you.” He held out his hand.

“I can get up on my own.” Sobehk rolled forward. “I’m not that much of an invalid.” He fell back on the cushion. A look of surprise widened his eyes.

“Is that so?” Khan leaned down to catch his arm. He frowned at the colored band around Sobehk’s wrist. “You’re late for your treatment.” He reached down and levered Sobehk onto his feet. “Come on. I’ll call the medic as soon as you’re settled in bed.”

Fallon jumped up and slid Sobehk’s other arm over her shoulder.

Sobehk lurched toward the bed between them, his face pale and his mouth somewhat gray. “I hate this.”

Khan snorted. “I’m sure you do, but I don’t need you overextending yourself. No more waiting on the meds. I need you in the best possible condition by the time we get to Port Destiny.”

Sobehk rolled his eyes. “Yes,
‘Syr
.”

Fallon dropped his arm and moved in front of him to pull off his sash and tug at his robes. Sobehk had been very clear that Skeldhi did not sleep clothed. Ever. She pulled his long robes from his shoulders, tossed them over her arm, and dropped to one knee to tug at the ties to his kilt.

Khan nodded. “Remove your robes as well, Isabeau.”

Huh?
Fallon darted a startled look at Khan.

Khan smiled. “You’re going to make sure Sobehk remains comfortable while he sleeps.”

Yeah, right ...
Fallon curled her lip just a tiny amount as she unwrapped Sobehk’s kilt. She would wait until Sobehk was asleep and then find someplace else to nap.

Sobehk snorted as he stepped out of his slippers. “I don’t have the energy.”

“Oh, no?” Khan chuckled. “That is simple enough to fix.”

Fallon collected his slippers and turned toward the wardrobes to put Sobehk’s belongings away.