Chapter 8

EIGHT

The human's body was astoundingly weak and frustratingly slow. Her reflexes were atrocious, and her awareness of her surroundings was almost nonexistent.

She certainly didn't know how to harness her ka'qui.

If she did, she wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.

But he was one of the deadliest assassins in the Universe, and if anyone could coax the necessary movements out of her fragile human form, it was him.

How easily she broke. Her muscles ached. Ligaments were torn. Fatigue was setting in.

This body was already falling apart.

But it was unavoidable.

In order to survive, she had to endure short-term pain. If she was taken by these human males, she would probably go through much worse before he took her back. Better to sustain physical damage rather than risk having her mind broken.

Physical damage could be fixed.

Psychic damage, however, could be irreversible.

If she got into the wrong hands…

He knew very well what could happen.

What if the humans were aware of her potential? What if they wanted her for the same reasons the architects of The Program had wanted him?

Suddenly, he'd become invested in this game. He didn't want her to be taken. He wanted her captors defeated at all costs.

The only reason he hadn't killed that human male back there was because he wanted to conserve her limited energy for the other male… in case he proved to be a more formidable opponent.

At least, he told himself that.

The truth was, no human in this Universe could trouble him.

And yet… why did he feel the need to dwell on it?

He couldn't actually give a shit about a human's nonsensical qualms?

Surely not.

It was ridiculous. Her terror at the prospect of killing someone was palpable. Dragek found her human mindset utterly baffling. Why should she be afraid of eliminating a being that wanted to harm her?

And why should he even care?

He stalked down the lightless tunnel, using the ka'qui to guide them. With the breathing mask on, he found it easier to sustain her body. The toxins in her bloodstream were starting to be metabolized.

Her body was recovering.

Whatever it was, the poison must be non-lethal, designed to incapacitate rather than kill.

These humans definitely wanted to take her alive. If they wanted to kill her, they wouldn't have bothered using such a mild substance.

A faint sound alerted him to the other intruder. The human's steps were uncertain and hesitant. He was obviously looking for his comrade, but he must have sensed danger because he was attempting to be quiet.

The human's attempt at stealth was pointless.

Dragek could sense him.

As he stalked forward, he felt her resistance, her fear.

Relax. I won't kill him. I'll merely incapacitate him.

He vowed to take more care this time—to spare her body from any unnecessary damage. There was a delicate balance between keeping her alive and causing her irreversible harm, although he was fairly certain Tarak's medics could fix just about anything.

Hm. Humans. It must be hard to be so physically fragile. He'd never had to pay such careful attention to his movement before. His own body could take immense punishment, and whenever he became severely injured, his minders would simply take him back to the nearest facility and put him into stasis for nano-repair.

Excruciating physical pain was his frequent companion, but he'd learned to live with it and even embrace it.

Thank the Goddess those infernal bastards were no longer his masters.

Tarak al Akkadian was his master—for now —and even he had no inkling of Dragek's dream-walking abilities—a feat he wouldn't have dared attempt when he was under that bitch's control.

At the thought of the Mistress, the most intense urge to kill surged through him, fueled by incandescent rage.

But something quelled it—a little.

Her .

Sensing his anger, she recoiled from him—viciously, powerfully.

He felt her reaction in his very bones. He got a hint of what it could be like to possess a human mind and a human heart.

And he hated it.

Such weakness. Such incoherence and confusion. Perfect chaos.

He had to offer her some sort of reassurance. He didn't want her to fall apart. She might do something reckless and unpredictable, and he was already starting to tire from maintaining control over her.

That had nothing to do with you… or the human over there, who is currently pointing a weapon at your face.

What?

Let me deal with it.

Before she could react, he pushed her feeble body forward, moving her behind the attacker. The human male was much, much bigger than her, but Dragek wasn't bothered. His movements were slow and unrefined. He was the type that relied on size, intimidation, and weapons rather than skill. It was probably sufficient for his usual opponents, but Dragek was a different beast altogether.

Finally, the human became aware of their presence.

Too late.

He raised her arms and slapped the human right over both ears— hard.

In all sentient species he'd encountered in the Universe, the structures of the inner ear were highly sensitive, responsible for both hearing and maintaining a sense of balance.

Easily disrupted.

Humans were no exception, it seemed.

Disoriented, the male lurched around, grunting and blabbering in his native language.

There was no time to waste. She wouldn't be able to sustain this intensity for much longer.

He had to take the attacker down in one fell swoop.

A projectile weapon appeared in the man's hand. With a deft sidestep, Dragek snatched the weapon and delivered a vicious, well-aimed kick to the back of the human's knee.

His leg folded. He cried out in pain and fury.

Inside her mind, the human was paralyzed, terrified.

Let's end this quickly .

And so he did, quickly checking over the projectile weapon before firing it into the human's neck.

Pop.

A dart was released. Of course, it wasn't a lethal energy bolt or a solid bullet. He'd known that from the look of the infernal thing. It was some sort of poison designed to incapacitate.

What have you done?

She hadn't been able to figure that out yet? She was so naive, so unused to the harsh realities of the Universe outside this planet's green-and-blue bubble. She wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a weapon designed to kill and one designed merely to incapacitate.

He still had the other weapon, of course, the energy-gun that he'd made safe and tucked in the waistband of her pants.

Let's be real here, human. Whatever I just shot into his body would have been circulating in your bloodstream right now if I hadn't done anything. Does your concern for some hostile stranger override your own sense of self-preservation?

Of course not. She seemed offended. That was good. Better for her to be angry rather than afraid and in denial of reality. I just wasn't sure what that thing was. Now I can see that he's alive—still breathing.

Why do you care so much whether these people live or die? They're out to harm you. He was genuinely curious. Her way of thinking—he couldn't fathom it. If he weren't feeling so benevolent toward her—and he didn't really understand why he was like this, either—he would have just snapped their necks then and there.

She bristled under his control. These guys work for someone. They're just following orders. They probably have families—mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, children. At the end of the day, somebody's going to miss them. Besides, they weren't out to kill me, so I don't wish for them to die, either.

You have a strong sense of… justice. It took him a moment to find the right word. What did he know of justice, anyway? All he'd learned was discipline, consequences, and death. He'd been trained to take life under the orders of another. He'd never had the luxury of understanding what was right and wrong.

He'd existed in a void, deprived of his own free will.

What did it matter if he killed some clueless, insignificant human?

According to her, it mattered, apparently.

I just do what I feel is right… and I think accordingly. She radiated both relief and resignation as he made her take a step back from the unconscious human. As he did so, searing pain shot through her right foot.

For reasons he couldn't explain, pain grounded him and gave him clarity. It distracted from the bleakness of his existence and made him feel a little less numb.

But now, when he was plugged into her brain and her nervous system…

It hurt.

And he couldn't embrace it the way he usually did.

You did that when you kicked the man in the back of his leg with all that force. I wouldn't be surprised if something in my foot is broken.

Don't you have proper footwear? He wasn't entirely sure why he was chiding her as if she were a young child.

I… Mentally, she sighed. It's a long story. I didn't have time to find my steel-toe cap boots. These are just my walking boots. Kind of hard to think about health and safety when you're on the run, you know?

And now you have a broken foot. He couldn't believe how flippant she was. Tch. Humans.

What was that?

Never mind.

Well, you're the one who made me kick him.

It was imperative that I immobilize him immediately. Why did he even feel the need to justify himself to this human? Stop bickering.

She wrestled with him for a moment, then went still in her own mind. Then… will you release me now? Because I can't seem to break free of your mental hold.

Her plaintive words surprised him, and there wasn't much in the Universe that could surprise him anymore.

He had no idea he'd been holding onto her essence so tightly.

How strange.

He deftly untangled his consciousness from hers, releasing the threads of control. A weird sensation coursed through his extracorporeal form. It felt as if he were in his very own body and his skin was being peeled away from his flesh, only it wasn't painful or even unpleasant.

There. Better now?

No. Inside her own mind, the human went very still. I am not. I need to get out of here.

He felt her panic, a state that was so very alien to him and utterly disturbing.

Why was he here, anyway, bothering with a human who meant nothing to him?

He had other things to worry about—there was the not-insignificant matter of Tarak al Akkadian and his cursed plans. If he fucked up, the General might throw him in stasis for an eternity—or simply kill him.

Not to mention the other demon of his kind—Ashrael.

They controlled him now.

He'd swapped his mental prison for an infinitely more dangerous one.

What did he want, anyway?

Freedom?

Death?

Not this, anyway—cavorting inside some strange human's consciousness while his real body remained unguarded.

Why should he care about what happened to her?

She has the Talent, and not an insignificant measure of it, either…

She is rare.

What's it to you, anyway?

Contrary voices fought for supremacy in his mind.

It was time to leave.

Her fear and confusion threatened to swamp him.

No. He would not allow it.

Definitely time to leave. He had to regain the consciousness that bastard Ashrael had stolen from him.

Unshackled from his mental control, he felt her move; she ambled through the rocky tunnel with great difficulty, pain shooting through her foot.

How difficult it all was for her. For the first time in his existence, he was able to appreciate the ease at which he moved through the Universe. Compared to humans, he was immensely strong, fast, and agile.

He almost— almost— felt a sliver of sympathy for her.

"I'll be fine," she said aloud, gritting her teeth. "You can go now."

Very well.

He cast his ka'qui wide, searching for the familiar draw of his own body, hoping he'd recovered enough from Ashrael's sneak attack to regain consciousness.

But before he was able to locate his own form and anchor himself, he was viciously yanked away by a greater force. For a heartbeat, it felt as if the Universe itself was being ripped apart at the seams.

There was a roar inside his head, like the rush of an atmospheric storm against the fallible walls of a ship.

Dragek? What are you..?

And the last thing he knew before he was swept away was the sound of her calling after him…

As if he was already someone familiar to her.