Quest For Earth (25 page)

‘Where are we going?' panted Lilith. ‘We could go to my rooms. I have missed you, Maaka.'

‘Nothing has happened for you to miss,' he growled past his clenched jaw.

They hastened around a corner into a narrow laneway where shadows lay dark and deep. He released his hold.

‘There can never be anything between us. I have told you this, before,' he snapped.

Her sharp inhale sounded like the hiss of a snake. ‘Do not be so hasty to repulse me. Imagine the pleasure we could share together.'

Maaka snorted. ‘No thanks. I don't bed the sisters of my friends. Besides, it's not safe for you to be anywhere near me.'

She shrugged. ‘I'm not worried. You're not the only one with friends … except mine are in high places.'

‘Like who?' he shot back at her swiftly.

‘It will cost you.' She moistened her lips with the tip of her pink tongue.

‘The price is too high,' he drawled. He narrowed his eyes, watching her every move as a faint ripple of anger flickered over her face. ‘Your brother told me of your role as sacred handmaiden of the temple. What were you doing in the Star People's quarters?'

‘My job.'

‘Who with?'

‘Again, Maaka, such information will cost you.' She stepped closer and placed her hands on his chest, a smile spreading over her angelic face.

Maaka brushed her hands aside then rubbed his tense jawline. ‘Lilith, this is important.'

‘You are boring me.' She lifted her hands in a pretty gesture, the charms on her bracelet tinkled like tiny bells. ‘I was told my services were required. That is all.'

‘Who was your mark?'

‘Maaka, I cannot say. It is against the rules of our order.' She smiled, waved her hand in the air again. ‘A lonely man. But I can assure you, it was no one of importance.'

Now, why do I not believe her?
He stared into her guileless face until he turned aside. ‘You had best be on your way.'

Lilith caught hold of his sleeve. ‘Come to my room.'

‘No.' He shook her off.

‘What are you doing in the city? You told me you would never return and yet here you are,' her voice rose, rife with suspicion as ripe as rotting fruit under a hot sun.

‘I am foraging for medicine.' He shrugged. ‘Why else would I be here?'

‘I want you to stay away from Jerry. He was stupid to help you. You know what they will do to both of you if you are caught.'

‘No one knows I am here,' Maaka evaded. She was right of course. Each time he returned to the city, he risked the lives of anyone who gave him aid.

He hooked his thumbs into his belt and shifted his stance. There was speculation in her bright eyes. He spoke, his voice deep with meaning, ‘And you will not betray me, will you.'

Chapter 17

‘I attended your temple today.' Sherise looked across at Kade who had her scuffed boots propped on the table.

The other shrugged and stuffed a cube of cheese into her mouth. She chewed, her cheeks bulging, a smirk twisting her lips.

Bree stopped poking at her evening meal of wilted green vegetables. ‘I wish I'd been with you. We used to go to church every Sunday …' She broke off and grabbed her plate. Her chair fell to the floor as she flung the plate onto the counter and rushed from the room.

‘What the …?' Kade snapped her gaze from the doorway, back to Sherise. ‘You people are really weird.'

How much information would their hostess be willing to divulge? Could she trust her to not reveal the topics of their conversation if she was questioned?

Perhaps she would do well to remember that Kade was militia. Or was she?

Sherise patted her mouth with a coarse napkin before folding it neatly and placing it beside her plate. ‘What is it that you do, here in the Fortress?'

Kade's boots hit the floor with a thump as she straightened. She sighed and put her elbows on the table, propping her chin in her hand.

‘I'm a deputy. A Deforbryian, but I'm saving hard. Soon I'll have enough to purchase some mute-ops and …' she snapped her fingers, ‘… I'll be a bona-fide Puridean.'

‘What is a mute-op?'

‘Purity is all. Purity of the mind, the soul and the body is what we all aspire to and sometimes, for those who aren't born pure but have the creds, you can pay for the transformation. A mute-op.' Kade's eyes shone.

‘This will make a difference to you?'

‘Sure will, I'll no longer be a member of the lowest of the low. I'll have access to better lodgings. I'll be able to study instead of working with the dredges. I'll be one of the pure. I'll be allowed to have a family.' Kade scowled and shoved back from the table, as if annoyed she had said so much.

‘You have a lot of laws that curtail your freedom.'

‘Laws keep us safe,' Kade snapped. ‘Our rituals keep us pure.'

‘I thought you may be militia, a soldier.' Sherise indicated the beige uniform. Her head buzzed with questions she longed to ask, especially about the rituals, but the sharp glint of suspicion in the other woman's eyes gave her pause.

‘We don't have soldiers, only peacekeepers. You've met some of them; Lieutenant Colonel Rothe is one.' Kade shrugged. ‘All Deforbryians have to wear this colour, it denotes our status. I'm a deputy, which means I work for the peacekeepers and hunt down runners.'

‘Runners?' It was becoming more and more apparent to Sherise that a strict class society existed within the Fortress. It was a city where the citizens' every movement was monitored and assessed. Her fingers shaking, she fiddled with the napkin, soothing the rumpled fabric into crisp folds. How could she ever forget that, sometimes, regimented restrictions bred resentment? And look where that had led her people?

To war and almost total annihilation.

‘Yeah, stupids who think it's better in the Outworld and try to leave the Fortress. Personally, I don't know why we bother. Let 'em go I say. But then, every so often, a mutant sneaks its way inside the city. Part of my job is to also hunt them down too. Which reminds me.' Kade slapped her tunic until she found the pocket she was looking for and slipped her hand inside. ‘Hot on the wire is this mute, allegedly spotted in the city today. This bozo sure must be important. We don't often get orders to kill on sight.'

She tossed a folded sheet of paper onto the table. ‘Go on, take a look. Maybe you met him when you were on the outside.'

It was silly to feel so anxious. Why should it be him? But Sherise's hand shook as she picked up the paper and soothed out the folds.

Her stomach heaved and fell into an abyss.

At least she'd had the forethought to hold the paper in front of her face, shielding her reaction from Kade.

For the face staring back at her was Maaka's.

He was here in the city. Why?

Please, goddess Cercis, keep him safe.

Disconnected thoughts whirled through her head while Sherise fought to contain her anxiety. She wanted to rush out the door, find him, protect him, and berate him for his rash behaviour. Somehow, she remained in her chair. She refolded the paper and placed it on her plate, hoping all those long aons of training in keeping her feelings hidden from others had paid off. She buried her trembling hands in her lap, certain the other woman would hear the frantic beating of her heart. Some of her tension dissipated as Kade paid her no attention, busy chugging down her drink.

How had Maaka entered the Fortress undetected? A memory of Kondo slapping a Darkon warrior zipped into her mind. It reminded her of how he had pounded Maaka's back on the road to the Freebers' settlement.

Kade slammed her hand down onto the table, making the remaining plates, and Sherise, jump. Her gaze zeroed in on Sherise. ‘I also do patrol duty, making sure people ain't poking their noses into places they ain't supposed too. You were spotted outside the archives building, walking up to the door. Looked as if you were trying to get inside. That place is strictly off-limits.'

The warning in the other's voice rang with subtext.

Kade strode to the door but before she left the room, she lowered her voice and continued, ‘Course if anyone only wanted to peek through the windows of a few government buildings, then that would be different.'

Sherise blinked. Her focus crystallised and she nodded as their gazes met in mutual understanding. ‘Say one rone?'

‘Huh?'

‘I believe that is an hour in your time.'

Kade nodded. ‘Wear black.'

Whether she was friend or foe, Sherise still was uncertain, but this was an opportunity she intended to take.

***

‘So, where do you wanna go?' Kade whispered, as they hastened along the dark streets later that night.

‘I want to get inside archives building.'

Kade reached out and grabbed Sherise, jerking her to a halt. ‘No way! That's a hot potato.'

‘What?'

‘Means you'll be arrested and so will I. The best you could do is look in a few windows.'

‘Are you positive? What about a rear door? There has to be more than one entrance.'

‘I said I'm not sticking my neck out for you. But I'm happy to make sure you don't get lost. Our streets aren't that well lit at night.'

Sherise sighed. She would investigate some other time when Kade was not dogging her like a second skin. What was the woman's real motive? Her swing from indifference to sudden helpfulness was hard to trust. Perhaps she was under orders to keep Sherise in her sights at all times? That made the most sense but hardly seemed necessary considering the city was grid-locked with vid-cams.

She remembered the fervour in Kade's voice when she had spoken of becoming a Puridean. Then her intent gaze when she'd handed over the wanted poster. Did she think Sherise knew something about Maaka's whereabouts?

Keep your enemies close,
whispered her brother's voice inside her head.

‘Why are you helping me?'

‘I'm curious at all this snooping you're doing. You don't trust us and I want to know why.'

‘I'm cautious, that's all. Most of our questions have gone unanswered and I witnessed for myself the harsh living conditions of the Outworlders.'

‘So?'

‘Why not share your food and medicine with them?'

Kade took a long moment to scan the street, then turned back to Sherise. She was frowning. ‘I don't know,' she admitted slowly. ‘We've been taught to fear them and the Outworld.'

‘Perhaps your teachings are wrong. Or you could think for yourself.' Sherise waited, but the other woman didn't respond. Eventually she added, ‘I wouldn't mind another look at the temple. I assume it will be empty considering the curfew.'

‘It's this way.' Kade set off with Sherise following close behind.

‘Tell me about your teacher. Is he also a believer in your gods and worships in your temple?'

‘Of course he does,' scoffed Kade as they jogged down the road.

‘Is he a Puridean, like you?'

‘What else would he be? You ask some really strange questions. He preaches about living the life of the Pure and presides over the masses held in the Corporation building. There's not much more to know. Shush now, we're almost there.'

She wished she had gone against Kade's demand and woken Bree to accompany them. She could do with a friend watching her back. Even the Relic warlord's presence would be welcome. Too late now.

They left the dark shadows of the lane and edged their way around the well-lit arena. They darted from pillar to pillar until they reached the entrance in a manner that only served to increase her anxiety. The square was empty of life … Why the need for such dramatic manoeuvres? The vid-cams were bound to be recording their every movement. And yet no militia burst into view to demand they return to their quarters.

She stared at the temple doors, flung wide in invitation.

Could it be a trap?

Sherise entered.

Inside the main hall a few candles remained burning, throwing a feeble light over the empty space with its hard marble floor. The idea of kneeling in prayer on this cold surface for hours on end didn't engender any enthusiasm in her. So different to the temples on Darkos where there were plenty of colourful cushions, fountains with the music of trickling water and the scent of soothing incense. She pushed the memories aside. At the far end was a podium standing on a long dais. There should be rooms beyond. One, perhaps, would lead to the High Priestess's chambers. Now there was an enigma. It might behove her to learn a bit more about the High Priestess. Sherise sighed softly. Her list of things to do was growing by the minute.

They were halfway down the hall when Kade caught her arm. ‘Did you hear that?'

Sherise held her breath and listened. Nothing. She shook her head and shrugged out of the other woman's grasp.

‘I'm sure I heard something. I'll check it out.' Kade strode back down the hall and out through the door.

Sherise closed her gaping mouth.

‘By Cercis's cloak! I do not believe it,' she said, her voice bouncing off the walls. She stomped towards the podium and stood on the dais, staring at the walls, roof, floor. Surely there would be a passageway somewhere leading to other rooms. She pursed her mouth as she absently fingered the rough woven material of the tunic she wore.

Not possessing a change of clothing, she had squeezed herself into a dark tunic and pants Kade had found at the back of a dusty cupboard. With every movement the material rubbed against her skin. She scratched at the itch teasing the tops of her breasts. Really, she didn't see why she could not have worn her own clothes.

A faint drift of cold air caressed her face. The warning jerked her back to her surrounds. Too late.

Before she could grasp the handle of the knife hanging from her belt, her mouth was smothered by a hard hand and a man wrapped his other arm around her waist, hauling her backwards. Caught off balance, she thumped against the warm body behind her. Heart hammering, her quick breaths sucked in a familiar scent that tugged at her very essence.