Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

You're needed in the command center. Join us there. Ashrael's mindvoice echoed in Dragek's thoughts as he made his way through the vast, curving corridors of the Fleet Station.

He hadn't been on the station before, but he knew how to find the command center because Ashrael was broadcasting his presence blatantly enough that anyone who possessed even a sliver of ability would be able to detect it.

He'd been summoned.

It was obvious.

He went like a trained varhund because he had no choice in the matter. He'd swapped one exacting master for another.

But at least these masters allowed him to know things other than servitude and pain.

As he walked down the corridor, assuming a leisurely pace—he didn't feel the need to rush on account of the general and the Silent One—he crossed paths with several of the station workers. Lean, efficient, clad in dark uniforms and hurrying somewhere or other, they studiously avoided him.

Citizens of the Empire. Born and raised in the Capital, no doubt. These were the kinds of Kordolians he'd rarely had the opportunity to encounter, and when he did, that person tended to end up on the receiving end of his silent dagger.

Dragek sensed their uneasy auras, bristling with suppressed curiosity and a hint of controlled fear.

He pretended to be indifferent, but he couldn't help but wonder what his existence would have been like if he'd been born without the Talent—without the trait marking him as katach.

Would he have been like them, living an ordinary life of service? What did they do once they were freed of their official duties?

How did they think?

So many things about them were a mystery to him. Perhaps he had more in common with the human, Jade, than his own kind.

A sliver of tension danced through him as he thought about her—away from his protection, in the care of Noali and whoever else Tarak had assigned to watch over her. She was a prize, a rare gem in a bucket of dull stones, brimming with the Talent and yet having no idea of how to use it. She had no idea how precious she was.

Or how alluring her presence was becoming to him.

It wasn't just her wild power that attracted him.

It was her softness, her endearingly human vulnerability and innocence wrapped in a fragile veneer of toughness. How could such things coexist within her?

How had a human like her—so powerless —even tolerated existing without getting mentally crushed underneath the weight of the entire Universe?

Well, at least she wasn't powerless anymore.

What she would become once she realized her true power…

Only time would tell.

At last, he reached the chamber where Ashrael and Tarak were located. He didn't bother to mask his presence—he just strode in through the Qualum doors, which melted away as he passed, obviously programmed to allow him entry. In the past, if they were locked, he could have opened them by using his ka'qui to project the bio-sig of another, but that was very, very draining. The times he'd done it, he'd been left with only a small amount of energy to kill his target.

"Now that you've attended to your pressing business, it's time to put you to work." It was Ashrael who greeted him, speaking aloud out of deference to Tarak.

The general sat in a high-backed chair alongside a holo depicting an intricate starmap. Half his attention was on the Universe outside, seen through a transparent window that spanned from floor to ceiling. The other half was on the starmap—a dizzying array of slowly moving glowing specks.

"Your former Mistress controlled more Silent Ones than you." As Tarak's attention landed on him, Dragek went still, suppressing his involuntary reaction to the general's intimidating aura. "We suspect there were at least a dozen or more held under her thrall. Did you know any of them?"

"We encountered each other rarely, but I did know some of the others in the cluster. She pitted us against one another." He remembered being praised for his kill-count; for the speed at which he'd carried out his missions, the statistics flaunted before the others like some blood-drenched badge of honor.

He'd always been one of the best in his cluster, but he wasn't always at the top.

There was another.

Kashiel.

But he was too unpredictable; too volatile. Kashiel would miss an easy target, then score half a dozen near-impossible kills.

That's why Dragek had been more favored by the Mistress. Some of the others in his cluster had deeply resented him for it, especially the sisters. Although they were exceptionally rare—a female Silent One was almost unheard of—the Mistress would treat them far more harshly than the males. He didn't know why, and the one time he'd tried to intervene, the sisters—Sanek and Jisha—had reacted with fury.

So he'd kept his distance after that.

"As you are well aware," Tarak continued, "when your Mistress was killed, your comrades were all released from the mindbond. I want you to help us build a profile on each and every one of them, especially anyone you think could be problematic. We don't know whether all of them will be as pragmatic as you when it comes to choosing sides."

Dragek resisted the urge to bask in the general's slight praise. He didn't possess any real loyalty toward these Kordolians. He was only doing this for the promise of freedom, after all. "I'll give you what I can. As for them choosing sides—I would not presume to try and guess what others of my kind could be thinking." He briefly met Ashrael's blank gaze. The Silent One was impenetrable once more, having withdrawn his aura so he was almost undetectable. "I can give you clues as to their temperaments, nothing more."

"That will suffice," Tarak said. "It's good to have some sense of one's limitations. Now, to the real matter at hand."

"Obviously, you didn't summon me here just to pick my mind," Dragek growled.

"No." It was Ashrael who answered, a hint of amusement in his tone. "My mate could have done that if she wished."

"She could try. " The thought of anyone being able to breach his mental shields—no matter how powerful—was abhorrent to Dragek. Except for when Jade had pulled him into her dreams.

That was different.

That was innocent.

Pure.

He'd never encountered a soul with so much absence of malice.

"A situation has arisen." The air between them grew thick with tension. Tarak ignored their sharp exchange. "One that will put your skills to good use."

"Oh?" The prospect of a mission made Dragek's anticipation rise. "You want me to kill someone?"

"Not necessarily. From now on, you're more than a simple killer. Under my orders, you will use your judgment in any given situation."

"And what is the situation, exactly ? "

"A ship full of human hostages," Ashrael replied. "Females on a transport, their lives at stake. Not only that, there are hybrids on that ship. Human-Kordolian children. The self-styled new emperor, Amun, is trying to trade their safety in exchange for his freedom. He is not to be trusted. We need to neutralize him and safely bring them under our protection. Even a single loss of life is unacceptable. "

"Then let me go in and kill him," Dragek said. "I can use the qim and take him out in an instant."

"It isn't that simple. You think I wouldn't have already done that?" Ashrael snarled, not-so-subtly reminding Dragek of his superiority in using qim. "There's something off about Amun. One of our own—First Division—is already onboard. According to his reports, the situation isn't all that it appears. Amun shouldn't be killed. He's far too valuable. Unless our orders change, he is to be taken alive."

"That's… surprisingly merciful," Dragek muttered.

Tarak gave him a cool look. "It's strategic. The information contained in his head could be the key to bringing down our enemies. Besides, there's an unknown variable on that ship. Before anything else, your task will be to neutralize him."

" Him? " The feeling of anticipation rose even further, sharpening Dragek's thirst for battle.

"A Silent One from your cluster. We haven't been able to identify him as of yet—he's been more elusive than expected."

"Why am I not surprised?" Elusive was what their kind did.

"He's very skilled at hiding his presence from detection. Noali was about to touch his mind briefly, but he quickly disappeared. We don't know whose side he's on, but in this case, given the stakes of the operation, you are cleared to kill him if necessary."

"Then what of this Amun… and the human females… and the children?" Dragek thought of humans again—of how soft and helpless they were—like Jade. He couldn't help but feel a certain way about the fact that a group of them— innocents— were being held hostage by one of his kind. Not only that, there were children. "What if there's an imminent threat?"

"Our man onboard— Enki— will handle that. And given that Ashrael will be accompanying you, there's no need for you to worry about such things."

Dragek turned to the Silent One. "You're coming?"

Ashrael bared his fangs in a faint grin—Dragek couldn't tell whether he was being good-natured or vicious. "I've always wanted to carry out a mission with another of my kind. Who knows, perhaps there might come a time when there are enough of us to form our own Division."

"Impossible," Dragek scoffed, although he could admit that such a thought was strangely exhilarating. But who in the Nine Hells could convince a group of extremely difficult killers to work together? "In any case, why just the two of us? You have the entire First Division at your disposal."

"I do," Tarak agreed. "But out of all of us, only you and Ashrael have the ability to completely avoid detection from others who possess the Talent."

"You want to take advantage of the element of surprise."

"Indeed. After all, nobody outside Darkstar knows we have a weapon like you at our disposal."

"Hm." Dragek nodded, seeing the logic in Tarak's moves, even if he didn't completely understand the strategy. "But it's a fast-moving craft, and we've been stationary for too long. Even the fastest ship in your fleet won't be able to catch it."

A chilling, fang-tipped smile crossed the general's lips. "There are other ways to cross the Universe, you know."

Dragek stiffened. "You would send us through an interdimensional rift? A wormhole? " Even he knew those dark portals through space and time were unstable.

"We haven't spent the past revolution stabilizing it for nothing. Quell your unease, Dragek. Ashrael's mate would never let him go if we hadn't proven the portal to be safe. As long as you carry out my orders and don't do anything stupid, you will be able to return to your human."

"She isn't my..." Dragek trailed off as a surge of warmth coursed through him, seeping into every cell and fiber in his body. His senses were stretched taut, almost more acute than before—although how could that be possible? And he knew without a shadow of a doubt that back there… when he watched her sleep, she'd somehow… imprinted herself upon him.

Irritation coursed through him. He didn't understand this. Neither could he control it—a new experience for him. "Let's get this over with."

Perhaps a good fight would help clear his senses and his head.

And strangely enough, he wasn't even thinking about disobeying Tarak.

He'd chosen his side, and now he was all in.

For better or worse.

Swapping one madness for another.

Only this time, he had a choice.