IceFlight Page 23

Darsey’s foot flew forward to strike Nightwing squarely in the groin.

  “Ouch,” he complained and raised an eyebrow when he looked down at her target. “Are you sure you forgive?” he asked pointedly, and she answered with a feral grin that she hoped showed more teeth than pleasure.

  She feinted left, but, as she moved, tipped forward and spun so that the back of her heel connected with Nightwing’s temple. Surprisingly, he staggered, despite his defense field, and raised his palm in the signal to break off.

  Darsey was tempted to misunderstand, but controlled the impulse and backed away instead. She silently ordered her new com out of combat mode and relaxed. It was a relief not to want to slay everything in sight. Not that she’d ever tell the kres that. Not any more.

  Darsey glanced back at Nightwing, who was perched on the edge of the console studying her. She returned his gaze coldly. She was willing to work with him again, but only because he had given her an illicit com and a plan of escape. She was still unsure how far to trust either of those things. How far do I trust you? she wondered, and he raised a brow in response.

  “You can all-times trust me, Darse. I swear it. You know the risk I’m taking with this. Com risk and training risk. Greon would gut me…”

  Darsey looked away, covering her mouth and pretending to yawn. Wing was so fixated on himself it was ridiculous, but he was right about the risk. He was making an effort and more importantly, her only escape plan had come from him. Her fingers strayed to the invisible com hugging her wrist, a habit that was already ingrained. She stroked the hidden metal and it seemed to warm with the contact. Her hand closed possessively around the unseen band and the kres frowned.

  “I’m pleased you enjoy the com, but it remains a loan. I need to swap it for a lesser one when we part.”

  “When you help me escape.”

  “Yes.” Wing held Darsey’s gaze and his fronds rose beseechingly. “Trust me. I will see you set for home.”

  She shrugged, before turning away. Could he sense how vulnerable she felt? Everything was about to change and her only hope of a good outcome lay with the monster who’d bought her and hit her and betrayed her. The monster taking her to auction.

  Darsey’s fingers closed around her com again. The monster’s com. His very best com, taken from deep storage and revealed to her as an act of faith. She still wasn’t sure if that was enough to restore her faith in him, but it was a start.

  A chime sounded from the console and Pertwing appeared. The icon looked at Darsey not Nightwing, which was warning enough for Darsey to taste bile.

  “It’s time,” the program announced and Darsey tasted more than acid.

  She wrapped her arms tight around her empty stomach and looked to Wing. He gazed solemnly back.

  “Ready?”

  “To escape? D-definitely.” Darsey caught her lower lip with her teeth and cursed her com’s combat protocol. Her panic had it surging, but what could she do? A slave auction called for a little hysteria. A hand brushed her shoulder, sending a shiver down her spine, but Wing stepped quickly back.

  “Remember we’re not going to the slave sale. I’m going to follow an irresponsible urge to explore the main market first and then carelessly lose you. After we book you on a reputable ship of course.”

  Darsey stopped hugging herself. “Greon will hurt you.”

  “Most likely.”

  “He might try to kill you.”

  “It’s possible.”

  Darsey shrugged. “You don’t seem too concerned.”

  “Neither do you.”

  “I don’t like Greon much.”

  Wing laughed at that and Darsey moved the mask of her face into what she hoped was a smile. “I know you’ll beat him. When you finally fight back, you’ll take him out.”

  “You truly think so?”

  “Sure. He’s got the brains and the looks, but you’ve got Jileea.”

  Wing laughed again and offered a bow. “Thanks for your faith, Lady. I truly hope you’re right, although if I die, at least you might feel some regret.”

  “Regret? Absolutely. Breaking in new owners is hell.”

  Wing didn’t laugh this time. Instead he stepped close to lift her hand to his lips. He held her gaze, while kissing the inside of her wrist. Damn, more spine tingles. Aliens were such a pain.

  Wing gave her an intense look that didn’t help the tingles at all. “That hell is one you won’t ever know again. But now, we needs must go.”

  “Huh?” For a fleeting moment Darsey was unsure what he meant, but then memory returned and there was nothing left to say. She pulled her arm free and turned to stride toward the door. She stopped abruptly when warning logos appeared in the air, followed by a line of light. It surged along the floor and walls with a growing hum, before sweeping over Darsey. She jumped back, straight into Wing.

  “What’s that?” she demanded and he smiled down at her.

  “Immigration scan. We’re cleared to land on Tsordia.”

  “Oh. Goody.” Darsey let the strange line vibrate past her, before attempting the door again. She made it this time. Unfortunately. Her trip down the passage was rapid and the flight along the link even faster. She reached the main hatch far too soon. A silver field blocked the opening and she watched herself grow in that mirror, while Wing pushed her forward. She threw her arms wide as if to embrace her future and her reflection became a cross ahead of her.

  Darsey shuddered, and then closed her eyes to hide from the sight of her own panic. She stumbled on the lip of the hatch, while her body stretched flat against the smooth chill of the mirrored shield. Wing landed behind her, warming her back, but everything ahead remained frigid.

  “We run,” Darsey whispered to herself, but it sounded more like a question than a plan. She opened her eyes to study her companion’s reflection. “What if we can’t find a ship due to leave?”

  Wing’s smile was reassuringly confident. “I’ll pay one to lift as-is.”

  “What if no one will?”

  “I’ll pay lots.”

  Darsey squirmed sideways to look up at the real kres. “You have lots?”

  “Hail yes. Millions.”

  “Millions? Really.”

  Wing frowned in apparent irritation at her tone. “Truly. Jileea was right. I was once a kres noble. Of course, after the Arck exiled me, he used a disHonor tax to take my inheritance, but he missed some. I’d already told my guardian, Crest, to stow all he could.”

  “So you’re rich,” Darsey stated, watching Wing closely, but his response seemed genuine.

  He just shrugged a hand and said with utter confidence, “Rich enough to buy anytime passage. Rich enough to buy a ship if needs-must.”

  Darsey absorbed his answer and felt genuine hope for the first time since her capture. Perhaps she really could escape and be beyond Greon’s reach before he realized. However, a waft of chill air interrupted her thoughts and she looked back down the link in sudden horror.

  A huge figure rocketed toward them and in seconds the Bandit’s leader was upon them. He slammed into the field, making it ripple under Darsey and throw streamers of light around the tunnel. He towered over her, before thrusting his face closer to study her intently. “She's inserted in Premier sale this afternoon, Nightwing.”

  “So soon?” the kres asked calmly, but his hand tightened on Darsey’s waist.

  “Ye. They’ve priority on any new species. Standing policy for centuries.” Greon frowned heavily at his Senior. “Perhaps I should do the on-sell. You’re an ignorant kres with no knowledge of this and no instinct for it either.”

  Wing tilted his hand in a ‘no matter’ gesture. “As you wish, sah. There’s no need for me to learn about slaving. It sounds most unsavoury. May I have shift-leave to visit the market?”

  He was stopped by an angry growl from his Leader. “No need to learn of slaving? Still fancy yourself a high and moral kres, eh? It’s past time you accepted the muck that supports this ship. Take the drakking
slave and don’t try to pass her on to my lower officers. You do the sales prep and the sale. Clear?”

  “Yes, Sah.”

  Greon’s lips quirked in satisfaction and he took a long, last look at Darsey. “She’ll bring a fortune, boy. And that’s what I expect. A fortune plus.” He punched a fist into the silver wall and it shattered. Shards of light flew away, leaving Darsey without support. Oh, crap-

  She fell forward through the hatch, into sunshine and Greon’s laughter, but Wing’s arm round her waist stopped her tumbling from the ship. She hung there, hardly aware of being caught, lost in the new world rising to meet them. The port below was still distant, but growing fast. The Bandit had floated in from space, clearly weightless and now drifting down while thrusters pushed it to-and-fro among a dozen other vessels.

  Darsey let Wing help her find her balance, but her attention was on the color and movement of the city below. Tsordia’s market centre was dazzling, even after the gaudy interior of the Bandit. There were ships everywhere, all docked so close it seemed impossible that their descending craft would find a space. The crater made by each landed vessel had shovelled earth into the shadows of the next. That soil glistened with oily rainbow hues, despite being piled into the shade of hulls that were almost as bright. Colorful towers rose against the subdued gray of the sky as far as Darsey could see.

  The Bandit’s progress slowed and then stopped, before the ship suddenly dropped. Another craft was lifting below and their ship fell into its vacancy, barely avoiding a collision when the departing vessel accelerated upwards. Darsey held tightly to the hatch while they settled hard and two other ships swept past above them, disappointed in their hunt for a park.

  “That is so inefficient,” she protested breathlessly, but was quickly distracted again.

  They were in the shade now, surrounded by other hulls. However, the world was far from dull. The nearby ships’ outlines were blurred and their bulk softened by the rapid flights of hundreds of brightly colored birds. The air around the port was alive with motion. Flocks of brilliantly colored creatures dove and wheeled past them. They swooped between ships and around snaking tubes that hung in mid-air.

  Everywhere Darsey looked, there was movement. The slave market was alive with activity and bright display. She was transfixed until one of the closest birds dove straight at her. It grew alarmingly when it closed on the ship and she belatedly realized the bird was enormous. It hurtled at the link and Nightwing had to tighten his arm around her waist to stop her jumping backwards.

  “It’s kay,” he promised when the gigantic creature braked to a wing-whirring halt in front of them. “Transport,” he explained, although Darsey studied the strange apparition doubtfully.

  It seemed to be a bird, at least it had feathers and there was a blurred impression of wildly flapping wings above its back, but it was bigger than any bird she had ever seen. Much bigger and it seemed to have four wings. It hovered before them, too large to enter the link, and regarded her stolidly from eyes as dark and shiny as cannonballs.

  “Transport indeed,” Greon urged, before slapping Wing’s shoulder. “I’ve preset co-ordinates to the Premier auction house. Take her. Return with money.” The Leader lifted a beefy hand and a line of credit flowed from his wrist to a band above the bird’s closest claw. Its mouth opened in response and Darsey expected some sort of squawk, but there was no sound. Instead, the purple-tipped beak gaped further and the bird’s breast started to expand. The gold and orange feathers mottling its chest trembled before tipping to one side when a translucent blue pouch pushed past them. A gigantic bib expanded from the creature’s throat and continued to bulge while its lower beak dropped, gaping wide enough to hit the edge of the ship’s hatch. It almost landed on Darsey’s toes and this time she had to jump back.

  Wing caught her again, which was a habit she really needed to break, but Greon almost pushed them both from their perch. He barged past to leap onto the bird’s head, crushing feathers longer than his arms and making the creature dip then bob, with wings whirring. The Leader wobbled, before striding along the bird’s body to slide from its tail.

  A gleaming disc sliced through the shadows to catch him. Greon landed lightly on the flying circle, but looked back with a scowl. “I’ve business to attend.” His eyes strayed to Darsey and his tongue appeared between his lips. “Sale. Cash. Go.” A field shimmered from the disc and gold tendrils licked upwards to hide the Leader. He kept his eyes on Darsey until he disappeared and then his sarcophagus surged away, into an equally golden sky.

  Darsey dragged her attention back to the bird which studied her with one of those cannonball eyes. Her darkly stretched reflection stared back and she wondered how her other self could seem so calm.

  Wing steadied her once more and she realized she was leaning away from the bird. “Sorry,” he offered. “I should’ve told you about the squilliks. They’re safe and cheap. Quick too. Just step into the mouth and take the pouch opening. It’s this side of the tongue, not behind.”

  “Great,” she said. “If I hit stomach acid, I’ve gone too far.”

  “Most definite,” he agreed with a grin and then nodded at his com. “The Tsordian port just gave final clearance. We’re okay for planet-side.”

  “This is not okay,” Darsey sighed, but let Wing take her hand and followed him through the ship’s field and onto that flat, red beak. She was instantly hit by sounds and then, much more horrifically, smell. The drone of ships powering up and down, the roar of amplified instructions and the frantic beat of multiple wings would have seemed overwhelming if not for the scent. Instead, the smell from the squillik’s mouth demanded attention from every one of Darsey’s horrified senses.

  “Oh gross,” she choked when a fragrance resembling skunk-dunked, rotted fish wafted over her. “No way,” she protested, but, before she could resist Wing’s impatient pull, the stench vanished. It took her nose a further second to shed that first impression and realize the air was fresh again. She sagged gratefully against Nightwing, who seemed unusually distracted.

  “‘Sorry, I was slow to start up your com filter,” he offered tersely. “It’s long since I smelt a squill. They don't make good dinner partners.”

  “Oh, I don't know. After Greon...”

  They shared a smile, but it was brief. Wing’s com chimed and an image of the Leader appeared over it. “No delays. If the squill gets impatient it’ll eat you. I ordered express delivery.”

  Darsey looked to Wing in dismay, but his expression was now coldly unconcerned. He jerked his head toward their hovering transport. “Jump.”

  Greon disappeared, but Wing still moved at speed and disappeared into the gaping hole revealed when the squillik curled its tongue back into its throat.

  “Great,” Darsey muttered between clenched teeth, crouching to balance on the edge of the waiting orifice. She leaned forward, but before she could lower herself, the squillik moved. It tipped its head back, throwing its beak into the air and neatly deposited its reluctant passenger head first into its pouch.

  Darsey slithered past dry, smooth skin to slam into Wing’s shoulder. The kres caught her and righted her so that her feet slid past her head to join his, lower in the pouch. The bird’s throat muscles tightened around them and the elastic skin of its pouch contracted to hold them close. They were jammed together while it hovered briefly, testing the balance of its cargo.

  “What are we going to do?” Darsey demanded and her com helped keep the quaver from her voice. “Can you redirect the squill? Escape to the market like we planned?”

  “No chance. Greon gave it a priority order. It will take us to the auction house, but that could even work better.”

  “Better?”

  “Certain-sure. We'll register, but they won't sell you at once. They can't. They'll have to advertise and draw buyers. We can slip away while they're busy, with hours free before any search starts. If we're stopped I'll claim Greon wants you shown at the market to gather more intere
st.”

  “Yes.” Darsey squeezed Wing's arm in relief. “That could work. It has to.” She started to relax against him, but then grabbed his arm more seriously when the squillick suddenly dove toward the ground. It wheeled left, then right, using its momentum to pick its way past hulls they could only see as shadows. Darsey was reminded of her first time skipping against a planet’s atmosphere, alternately caught between gravity and freefall. Her stomach turned over, but experience helped her control it.

  “Fragrant and comfortable,” she observed dryly, and Wing laughed.

  “Greon booked this trip because it's cheap. A single credit a flight.”

  “He’s as generous as he is handsome. What does a bird do with money?”

  “Returns it to the gentik. They re-gened squilliks to carry passengers. The squills trade credit for fish.”

  Darsey raised a brow against Nightwing’s cheek. “They work for fi-ish ah-” she gasped, unable to continue, despite her experience with extreme flight.

  The bird was in heavy traffic, surrounded by other squilliks and dimmer shapes that were hard to see through the translucent skin. It ducked and dived, turning on a wing tip to scrape over one of the massive hoses that looked disconcertingly like giant worms.

  “Planetary link,” Wing explained in answer to her unspoken question. “The next, most cheap way to travel. Darse, when we stop bouncing around, I need your com.” She tensed against him, while fear surged through her. “Just for a time,” he promised. “You’ll be pre-sale scanned and the mermaridian would find it.”

  “Of course,” Darsey answered reasonably. After all she still had plenty of time for hysteria. Her wrist was resting against his and her com appeared when she released it. It sprang open and she shuddered while he quickly compressed it into his com’s storage.

  “Thanks. I think we’re near-there, but don’t worry. I’ll expand my com field to keep you fish free.”

  The squillik was climbing again, rising steeply with a muted rustle of wings while it struggled back toward the cloud layer. There were no further flashes of color from beyond its pouch. Their bird had veered from the path of most squillik flights. However, the subdued shapes that they could dimly see were now more numerous. They rose sedately around the squillik, like misshapen bubbles seeking some higher surface.

  “Private floats,” Nightwing murmured while their ride rose into the clouds too. “Like Greon’s.”

  Their haven darkened in the dimmer light, but only briefly. The squillik surged from the cloud and fresh color exploded around them. This time, the bird did squawk, an irritable protest against the shafts of light refracted by a giant prism overhead. A crystal structure floated above the clouds in monolithic splendour. Darsey could see it clearly, even through the bird’s pouch. A gigantic pyramid, it hovered alone within a rainbow haze. Every faceted face flashed brilliantly, bright enough to blind her without the protection of the pouch. Even from that haven, she could easily watch its dazzling approach.

  It was overwhelming, a creation of pristine beauty, but as they drew close Darsey realized its pure appearance was deceptive. Small shadows stained those translucent walls. Dark specks betrayed the movement of the prism’s occupants. The people inside were black motes in constant motion. The effect reminded her of some elaborately faceted snow globe that had been shaken to swirl soot instead of snow.

  “Wow,” Darsey whispered and, from the way Wing’s arm tightened around her, he seemed to agree. She was distracted from the spectacle by a sudden realisation. “You’ve never seen this before.”

  “No, as I’ve said, kres are not slavers.”

  “But…” She paused and tried to stay calm, although his answer was devastating. “You don’t know what they’re going to do. You’ve got no idea. How can you time our move? You’ve no more info on this than me. You… you’re clueless-”

  “Darsey,” he interrupted, holding her closer, and she froze again. “I’m here and I’m not leaving without you. I swear it. I don’t know all about this, but I’ll make it work. The mermaidean will want to keep you safe too. They can’t sell damaged goods. Any-all, I won’t let them hurt you.”

  Darsey swallowed hard. “Is that another promise?”

  Wing hesitated for a moment and she managed to pull away just far enough to study his features in the shifting light. He was staring back and when his fronds lightly touched her brow, she realized he had paused deliberately. He wanted to make sure that she knew his answer was genuine.

  “Absolutely. To this and every other oath. No one else will own you. Ever.” His grave statement was underlined by a brief mental touch that conveyed both honesty and commitment.

  Darsey tried to hold onto that moment of conviction, but it vanished when their transport suddenly rose steeply to tip them together in a tangle of limbs. The bird gave a final flurry of wings and managed to gain a claw hold on a crystal ledge. The squill teetered for a moment before the weight of its passengers tipped it forward into a more secure landing. Its beak fell open immediately, the purple tip slamming into a crystal floor.

  That jarring contact reverberated through its taut pouch, setting Darsey shaking so that Wing had to hoist her through the hole above them. Damn. She really needed her com back. She slithered free to slide down the beak and instantly forgot her discomfort when she landed in a world of wonder.

  Light, spacious and criss-crossed by rainbows, the building rising above her was a fitting setting for its sparkling denizens. People were everywhere, gliding over the transparent floor at a bewildering variety of speeds, some preposterously slow while others moved so fast they were simply a blur. Darsey was scarcely aware of Wing landing beside her. She turned in a small circle and then another, absorbing the building, the sky and the beings filling both.

  “Pretty,” he stated brusquely, and she laughed at the absurd understatement. They shared a smile, but he sobered first. “What happens within is not pretty at all,” he reminded her, and they turned together to face the crystal steps before them. The building seemed transparent, but its stairs were strangely shadowed and climbed sharply into inexplicable darkness.

  Darsey took a deep breath, her last taste of free air, before stepping over the threshold of the auction house. Her foot came down on the first crystal stair, but never struck it. Her step was arrested just short of the surface. She hit a cushion of air instead and teetered in surprise. The high surface unbalanced her and she almost fell. However, Wing stepped up beside her to tuck a hand under her elbow. They steadied themselves together and were abruptly gliding up the stairs, with the same smooth passage as those around them.

  The untouched crystal of the prism gleamed beneath them while they climbed with surprisingly little effort. Darsey felt her legs bend and flex, but the slightest touch was enough to lift her higher, to draw her further into the shade. Her eyes told her that she was climbing, but every other sense disagreed. Their progress felt more like sliding down a slippery slope.

  The stairs passed too fast for Darsey’s liking, but although they rose rapidly any ceiling remained far above. It receded as fast as they climbed, so that it stayed a distant and uniform height, with no sense of a solid roof. However, the light slowly changed from white and blinding to a more muted gold. They floated off the final stair of the highest landing into a central atrium.

  In front of them a massive waterfall fell through the pyramid, a silver curtain blocking their path. It filled the entire landing and Darsey tried to stop and stare, but the floor wouldn’t let her. Instead it kept flowing forward and carried her with it. She tried to walk backwards, but the strange cushion of air accelerated to waft her faster, straight at the monstrous waterfall.

  "Wing," she squeaked and her fingers found her companion's hand. She squeezed tighter than she intended, but Nightwing didn't flinch.

  "It's kay. See."

  Darsey stared unblinking at the silent curtain of water she was rushing toward. They hurtled into it and she grabbed Wing’s arm with her ot
her hand, but the flow parted ahead of them. A vee shaped gap appeared above the path, looking like the ripple left by a speedboat. She had to duck her head against his shoulder to fit, but it worked.

  Wing put his arm around Darsey while they slowed to a sedate drift under the weight of a ten story waterfall. Silver boiled above them and the light grew dim. The path under their feet began to glow blue and when she glanced up at the kres he looked haggard. He also looked starkly alien and she suddenly realized how familiar his strange features had become to her. She’d started to see him as just another person, but that didn’t mean he was human. Not even close.

  Darsey looked away with a shudder and her spasm seemed to trigger a nightmare. The bridge under them pulsed red while a siren sounded and then the silent waterfall began to roar. She looked up just as the shield protecting them vanished.

  The water fell and Darsey fell with it. The weight of a giant fist pounded her while she plummeted down into darkness and the noise was so overwhelming it seemed as solid as the water. She could hardly feel Wing’s fingers clamped tight round her wrist, but she knew they must be there because she was still alive. His com field was the only thing keeping her that way and she prayed he wouldn’t let go. Not that it really mattered, because the impact when they finally hit the bottom was going to be brutal. His shield would be overloaded and they would both die anyway.

  Darsey gulped, while the universe roared past faster than ever. She could hardly think with her senses completely swamped, but there must be a way out. Service tubes or hatches? Anything at all?

  Yes.

  The word appeared unexpectedly in Darsey’s mind, but before she could make sense of it Wing’s fingers dug deeper into her wrist. She tried to protest, but had no breath to cry out, even when he jerked hard on her arm. It felt as if it was being wrenched from its socket and she arched in pain, then was abruptly moving, being pulled sideways through the water as she fell.

  There was a flash of light ahead and everything instantly felt worse. Darsey’s shoulder was throbbing, she could no longer breathe at all and the waterfall was deafening. She lay on her stomach gasping like a fish out of water and finally realized that was exactly what she was. Out of water.

  Darsey moaned then tried to move, twitching her limbs in an effort to feel where she was. The floor beneath her was, well, definitely floor and incredibly welcome. It sloped up into darkness, feeling cold and rough, while a thin film of water ran over it.

  Someone shouted in the darkness and she jumped. “Darse. Darsey. Are you hurt?”

  Darsey wanted to answer, but was shaking too much to speak and had no idea what to say anyway. Was she hurt? She ached everywhere and her arm was on fire, but apart from the trembling everything seemed to be working. There was movement beside her and the slap of someone crawling closer, then a brief touch brushed past her thigh. Fingers found the back of her hand and settled there. Warmth returned at once, shooting up her arm even before Wing’s com field flowed over her again.

  “Are you well?” he asked in her ear and Darsey managed to laugh.

  “Considering the dramatic high dive I’m fine. Where are we?”

  “Feeder chute. It adds cleansing agents to the falls, along with any auctioneers who fail to reach their targets.”

  “Really?”

  “Harvesters are strict bosses.”

  “Oh. That’s not very reassuring.” Darsey shuddered and huddled closer to Wing in the dark.

  “Apologies.” His other hand settled on her knee and she let it rest there. “I fear my reassurance is still rather damp.”

  “It’s water logged, but that’s okay. It’s just this whole situation is making me nuts.”

  “You wish to eat?”

  Darsey smiled and tipped her head back against Wing’s shoulder. “No, it’s an expression. It means the situation is making me crazy.”

  “Ah. Agreed. I have nuts.”

  Darsey choked and started to laugh, turning her head into his chest in an effort to stop before she became hysterical. His arm went round her shoulders and despite the rush of the waterfall everything seemed suddenly very still. She lifted her head and his breath touched her lips, as soft as a whisper.

  Darsey jerked out of Wing’s embrace to scrabble away from him, up the slope and further into darkness. What was she thinking? She was about to escape from an alien slave market and absolutely could not afford any distractions. Something in her chest gave an unexpected pang, but she pushed herself further up the tunnel anyway.

  “How do we get out of here?” Darsey demanded and sensed Wing climbing closer. She gulped, but the sound was covered by the roar of the falls and she turned her back on him to keep feeling her way, while she crawled up the chute. Her groping fingers suddenly found a rough edge and one hand slipped over it.

  Darsey lost her balance and tumbled forward, into the colder, deeper darkness ahead. She shut her eyes, digging the nails of her other hand into the crumbling lip, but Wing caught her round the waist from behind. He pulled her back before she could fall, then hugged her close and this time she made no effort to escape.

  “Congratulations,” he yelled in her ear, “you found the exit.”

  “I w-wouldn’t recommend it.”

  “Indeed.”

  Something clicked tight around Darsey’s wrist, but there was no smooth flow of warmth. Instead energy slammed into her, making her arch back against Wing. He grunted, his arms tightening around her, but she found her balance and grew still. She had her usual com back, the one he always lent her for their sparring bouts, but for the first time she didn’t want to punch him the moment she put it on. It seemed she finally had its amplifying effect under control.

  Something groaned deep in the pit beside Darsey and she levitated, half-turned and mule kicked back into the blackness. Her feet failed to connect with anything, but her palms slapped down against slimy stone and she pushed off in a half-tuck to flip over Wing, landing crouched on his far side.

  “What the hell was that?” Darsey demanded and felt her companion shaking beside her. “Are you okay?”

  “Are you?” Wing sniggered and she realized he was laughing. “That noise was waste being ejected further down the shaft. They must be cleansing the lower levels.”

  Darsey’s cheeks burned and her nails cut into her palms when she clenched her fists, but then a giggle rose up her throat too. “Someone flushed the toilet?”

  “Indeed. They release excrement from compression storage into fertiliser tanks below. The Bandit has transported such before.”

  “How appropriate.” Darsey brushed a finger over her com and a faint glow rose from her wrist. She looked up to smile at Wing, but he was watching her warily. “What? Oh no, Iet me guess. We have to climb up the sewer.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Is that going to be as bad as it sounds?”

  Wing finally returned Darsey’s smile. “That will be dependent.”

  “On what?”

  “How quick you climb.” Wing turned away to hoist himself onto the edge of the dark shaft, before giving her a serious look over his shoulder. “Follow fast.”

  “How?”

  “Like this.” Wing launched himself across the drop, so that his right side hit the far wall of the shaft an arm’s length away. He wedged himself there with his right forearm and foot hard against that wall and braced his left arm on the near side, with that foot anchored on the edge of the opening. “Just crawl up. Only shift one limb at a time. Keep pressure on the others. Your com will help.”

  “Oh good,” Darsey muttered, but Wing was already gone. He relaxed and fell, slithering down the shaft and out of sight. She threw herself forward to dangle over the drop again. “Wing.”

  The insolent alien grinned up at her from less than a foot away. “You go above. I’ll catch you if you fall.”

  “Oh.” That was surprising and strangely comforting. “Alright. Just don’t get distracted staring up my skirt.”

  “It cou
ld be worth the drop,” Wing called and Darsey’s cheeks were warm despite the fact that she was lurching out over the chill void. Her right side slammed into the far wall, but she hardly felt it. Instead she shivered at the heat of his fingers closing round her ankle. “I’ll take your weight” he grunted. “Get well braced. Order climbing friction. From your com.”

  Darsey gave a silent command and instantly felt like a fly, papered to the wall. Every point of contact with that smooth surface was suddenly velcro tight. She hung there for a surprised moment, letting her pulse slow, before launching herself upward. She rose less than a foot, before being jerked to a stop and left hanging, to rock from side-to–side. Her limbs remained stuck to the walls while she dangled between them. Her gut tensed and she looked down past her feet to check whether the kres was laughing at her.

  Wing gazed solemnly back. “Lift your fingers first then the forearm below to peel them free, but only release one grip at a time. I’ll help if you need support.”

  Darsey began to climb, trying hard not to think about how far they had fallen and how long the ascent would take. She concentrated on each limb instead. Peel and press. Peel and press. She knew Wing was at her heels, but he climbed silently and she might have been alone in that dark shaft. She shivered and the hand she was placing suddenly slipped.

  “Ah,” Darsey cried and fell to dangle from one arm and a single foot. She must have been rushing, moving too many holds at once and now she was sliding, her weight pulling her back down the wall. She swung her free leg, searching for purchase, but before she could panic Wing gripped her scrabbling foot.

  “Hey,” he said calmly, “don’t kick.”

  He broke off when the sound of metal grating against stone echoed down the shaft from above.

  Darsey froze too, but only briefly. She was moving as soon as Wing pushed her foot back against the wall, while he surged upwards on her heels, half carrying her. The tunnel shuddered around them and she had to stifle a yelp, but kept on going. Peel and reach higher. Peel and stretch. Peel. Grab. Work round the body. Don’t look down and don’t look up. Just climb.

  Something rumbled overhead more loudly than before and Darsey did look up. Straight into a muddy rain of decompressed waste. A brief rectangle of light far above vanished in a storm of slurry. She almost screamed, but instead managed to close her eyes as well as her mouth, just in time.

  Darsey clung like a limpet in that stinking waterfall, but it took all of her com’s power to hold her in place. She swayed between the walls while slime ran down her skin and dark snot crusted her eyelashes. Her stomach heaved and she shuddered. Great. A garnish of vomit was just what she needed. The only consolation was that it was bound to hit Wing too. She grimaced with her chin tucked against her chest, but the thunder of that far too solid rain began to fade. Silence slowly returned.

  Darsey couldn’t be sure the fall was over, with her skin too coated to feel, but oh how she hoped it was. She clung tight in absolute darkness, with her eyes glued shut and breathed deeply though the small hole her com had kept open.

  “Go,” a voice croaked just beneath her and Wing wedged his shoulder under her lower foot. “Before they flush again.”

  That thought was all the incentive Darsey needed. Blind and scrambling, half supported by Wing, she climbed as she had never climbed before. She darted upwards like a monkey scampering for the canopy. When her head hit the ceiling above it was the most welcome pain of her life. She didn’t even mind when Wing ran into her and jammed her harder against the top of the shaft.

  “Hatch shut,” he gasped and Darsey began to grope above her head.

  The metal surface felt smooth and featureless. She pried around its edges, digging in her nails in an effort to find a gap, but there was nothing. She gulped a breath that sounded disturbingly like a sob. Freedom was so close- she choked back that ridiculous thought with another gulp. Escape from this shaft would lead to the exact opposite of freedom.

  Darsey sagged and Wing stretched an arm under her thighs in support. “I won’t let them sell you,” he promised as if reading her thoughts. “We’ll find a way out.”

  Darsey grimaced at the idea of Wing rummaging through her mind, but was distracted from the kres when the hatch shuddered and coughed above her head. She threw herself to one side and her com enhanced muscles slammed her against the wall. She pressed herself into the dented metal shaft and closed her crusted eyes. However, there was no fresh flow of effluent, only silence and brighter light filtering past her eyelids. It took Darsey another second to realize Wing was shaking again.

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “No, never. Do I seem suicidal? Though…” He paused and there was further shaking. “Your com response is most cute.”

  “Cute? Would you like my-boot-in-your-face cute? ‘Cos I can do that.”

  “I’m sure. Hush, I used Greon’s access code to open the hatch and I hear footsteps.”

  A hand the size of a ham reached past the open hatch to circle Darsey’s neck. She only had time for a strangled squeak before she was hoisted from the shaft.

  24

  Sales Prep