You aren’t the only one who can play the self-sacrifice card, Varok.He lay slumped against the skimmer, and I wondered ifhe’d ever move again. The thought was like a knife to my heart, worse than any pain the cold could inflict.
Even my bad plans seemed hopeless. Only one too awful to contemplate stood a chance of working. I reached for the whisperlight and prayed.
22
VAROK
The darkness parted, and everything felt wrong. Above me, the crystal ceiling glowed a dim blue, and the air on my skin burned furnace-hot. This wasn’t the abandoned apartment Penny had found. Nor was it the bunker we’d hidden out in.
The Collectors’ hive. It had to be, but I didn’t understand. Beneath me, soft fur covered a hard, flat surface. I tested my limbs—no restraints, which was both good news and confusing. Why the luxury? The Collectors hated thieves, so I’d have expected chains and an icy cell if they let me wake up at all.
I put that mystery aside, focusing on a more urgent one. Where was Penny? The exasperating human wasn’t beside me in bed, and I didn’t feel her presence in the room. Groggily, I dragged myself to full consciousness and sat up.
Someone tended my wounds while I slept, well enough that they no longer hurt. Either I’d slept for a long time, or the Collectors had given me some very expensive medical attention.
“Ah. You are awake.” The voice startled me, showing just how distracted I’d been. Driin Attrobi, the Bauran Collector-Candidate, sat against the wall, eyes gleaming from under hiscrimson hood. “I owe you a debt, Varok, one I cannot easily repay. Any aid I can give you before your departure, I will.”
“I did nothing special,” I said, covering my confusion with empty politeness. “Any other would have done the same.”
The Bauran laughed, and I wondered what in the Void he thought was happening.I stole from your collection, and you’rethankingme?I wanted to shake the truth out of him but held myself back. He seemed happy to talk, and until I knew what had happened to Penny, I couldn’t risk making enemies.
“Nonsense, blessed friend, nonsense. When that damned human stole from my gallery, you could have done nothing or alerted our hosts and let them deal with it. Either way, it would diminish me in their eyes, perhaps too much for them to welcome me to the Hive. Instead, you went after the bitch yourself.”
That was the moment I decided to kill him. No one would speak of my human like that and live. It took an effort not to rip his throat out, but I needed to learn more. His death would have to wait.
“I don’t remember much, I’m afraid. My injuries…” I let the explanation trail off as I stood and stretched. The Bauran obliged by filling in the blanks for me.
“Of course, of course. Alas, no one else knows the details, since she wiped the sensors before escaping into the frozen city. It must have been a fine hunt, the human thief trying to reach her escape route, you heading her off, and all the time the treng hunting you both.”
Treng.At last the predators had a name, though it hardly mattered now.
“You caught her, of course, crashed the skimmer she stole, and tore off the damned whisperlight she used to hide her engine from the Collectors. The security drones tracked the signal and found you both. Though alas there’s no sign of much of thestolen artwork, you recovered my prize piece, the humans’ Mona Lisa. With luck, the human will yet confess where she hid the rest.”
He doesn’t know.The thought echoed through my mind, and I fought to keep it from showing.They’venot figured out that my ‘statue’ is fake. Penny is taking the fall for everything I stuffed into stasis, as well as the one thing she stole. Damn her beautiful eyes!
“Where is the thief?” I growled the question, hoping my anger would cover the other, softer feelings swelling in my heart. “I have a debt to repay.”
“Ah, well, perhaps that will be possible. Perhaps. Alas, I am not yet a hive-member. Only full Collectors can render judgement on a thief.” He clapped me on the shoulder, and I somehow resisted the urge to tear his arm off and stuff it down his throat.
“But you might wash and get dressed before we make a request,” Driin said with a thin smile. A glance downward, and I realized I was naked, and I needed a shower. As urgent as my quest was, Attrobi was right.
After my experiences on Wardal,a genuine hot water shower should have been a luxury to savor. Instead, I wasted no time, washing as efficiently as possible. My own clothes were gone, probably into a recycler. I couldn’t muster an objection—between blood and sweat and grime, they must have been beyond saving. Instead, I found a black and red robe that fit disconcertingly well. For immortal insects made of crystal, the Collectors understood clothes. Beneath the robe I found my comm bracelet, the only thing of mine they’d kept.
The robes matched Attrobi’s, and I wondered if that was a hint. Had the Hive decided my dedication was worthy of inviting me into the Hive alongside the Bauran? If so, I was grateful they hadn’t decided for me. Finding a crystal crown growing into my skull would have been an issue.
The old general walked with a spring in his step, eager to reach his benefactors and the immortality they promised. He talked too, a constant stream of details about his coming ascension that I tuned out as unimportant. Thoughts of Penny filled my mind, crowding out everything else.
Void damn the female. How dare she put herself in danger to protect meagain?I raged silently, a tempest of anger and regrets as I hurried to find her. Whether I meant to shout at her or kiss her was unanswerable, but I knew one thing for certain. However the encounter started, it would end with us mating.
Despite our shared peril, the thought made me smile as I reached our destination. Recognizing the viewing gallery above the arena wiped my smile from my face. If the Collectors had gathered us here, they likely intended to put on their deadly shownow.
Other guests milled around, a smaller and more muted crowd than before. The rest must have died trying to fight their way to their ships, which I realized must have sucked some joy from the event. Their bloodthirsty appetites hadn’t disappeared, but none burned with enthusiasm like on our previous visit.
Some even looked upset at the show. The Protectorate Scion who’d talked to Penny at the party—Lady Amyral, I thought her name was—raised a glass to me in a somber toast, and I wondered how much she knew before abandoning the question. It wasn’t relevant unless she was willing to do something to help Penny. If the pirate princess planned to help, she’d either tell me or not. I had more urgent issues.
My heart racing, I broke away from a startled Attrobi and hurried to the Prytheen servitor who seemed to be organizing the event.
“Mister Varok, my masters welcome you back,” she said, her voice warm and low. “We all hoped for your swift recovery, so that you would witness the criminal’s execution before we close the collection.”
