As We Rise: Savage (As We Rise Saga Book 2) Page 4

  “If your mark is on your shoulder, then how does the village know about it? You never wear clothing that exposes your skin.”

  This time it was Sky who stumbled. “When I was found, the mark was on display and a few warriors caught a glimpse. Word spread that the blood-soaked daughter of the elder carried a curse on her shoulder.”

  “I don’t understand. If your people used to worship the Ancients, then why don’t they recognize a blessing from one?”

  “It has been over one hundred rotations since the clans have worshipped with any sincerity. We keep many traditions and celebrate the high holidays, but they’re empty. No one goes to the temples. You saw how derelict the one in the village has become.”

  The women stepped through the edge of the forest. Sky could see their temporary home and she sighed. Every muscle in her body was tense from the conversation. Sky hated speaking about her past, but she was thrilled to talk about clan history. Especially since it distracted Rana from the fact that Sky had destroyed an entire village. She wasn’t ready to share that story.

  “Okay, so the clans have forgotten about the Ancients?”

  Sky nodded thoughtfully. Until she received her mark, she’d been like the rest and never worshipped. Since then, she never really thought about her clan’s schism from the old ways as anything other than sacrilege. The idea that they had only forgotten softened Sky’s heart toward her people. Maybe they could remember…one day.

  “Many have forgotten, but a few sects thrive. Everyone knows of the cults, but either they dismiss them as rumors or refuse act against them, fearing the repercussions. There’s a deeply instilled fear, perhaps from a collective repressed memory, of the repercussions of defying the Ancients, especially Ocmus, Lord of chaos and desire. There are some perverted temples erected in his honor, but their form of worship is wrong and offensive to Ocmus.”

  “Lord of chaos. That doesn’t sound pleasant,” Rana mumbled.

  “Chaos is not inherently a bad thing. Scientists have proven that our entire world was formed out of the chaos of the void. Ocmus is also the Lord of desire. When desire is disciplined, it’s a beautiful thing, but when lust is out of control, people hurt those around them.”

  “Never thought of it that way. Which Ancient marked you? I think I remember you mentioning something…was it Lux?”

  Sky smiled at Rana. “Luz. She is the Lady of retribution and justice. Her power balances both Lord Ocmus and Lord Wieus, who is the Lord of shadows and stars. Luz, Wieus, and Ocmus made the Trine—you saw their symbol within the largest circle of my mark. Together they guided and protected the clans from the moment the people landed on twin moons until the instant they forgot.”

  “Your people’s history is very interesting,” Rana said as she followed Sky into the cottage. “I find it strange for a culture as technologically advanced as yours to have such a deeply religious past. On Leonis, we never found a higher power to worship. Our devotion is to science and progress. Well, progress of the technological nature. Our culture could use a little evolution.”

  “A little?” Sky chuckled. She began to pull items out of the cold storage and commenced the process of making a meal for the two of them. She studied Rana’s lanky frame and decided to add more protein to the stew.

  “Yes, we are backwards in many ways.” As Rana tilted her head, her implants widened and narrowed and then widened again.

  Sky wasn’t versed in cybernetics like Jo and had no idea what the movement meant. If she couldn’t see into Rana’s spirit, Sky may have been unsettled, but instead, she ignored the movement.

  “Don’t you think it’s ironic that although our cultures are vastly different, they are basically the same?” Rana mused. “I mean, both groups think the other is uncivilized and yet each has their own societal norms that the other thinks are repugnant.”

  “Yes, the soul reveals that no person is clear of transgression.”

  “You’ve mentioned the soul many times. Why is that?”

  “Luz granted me the ability to judge the integrity of a person’s spirit if I so choose. Most of the time, I must actively search, but there are special cases where the soul demands for me to see what it truly is. In those cases, my own soul acts like a scale. Are they leaning toward good or evil? I can discover the answer instantly.”

  “Wow!” Rana’s face filled with awe, but then melted into a nervous concern. “Did you ever look at my soul?”

  “Yours was one that forced me to see.” Sky watched Rana squirm and smiled to herself. If she were like Jo, Sky would let Rana suffer for a few minutes, but Sky couldn’t do it. “You have a good soul. It’s well balanced and pure. Don’t worry.”

  “It feels weird to know you can do that,” Rana shivered. “Is that the only perk to your gift?”

  “No. I can access the other half of Luz’s nature: retribution. Her vengeance fills me and amps my natural abilities. I’m faster, stronger, more accurate, have greater stamina, and my reasoning is heightened. These powers come to me instantaneously when I’m in the presence of a truly dark soul.” Sky watched Rana rest her chin against her fingers. Rana’s eyes weren’t expressive in the traditional sense, but Sky could tell she was enraptured with Sky’s story. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure,” Rana shrugged her shoulders.

  “For a woman who was raised with no religious beliefs, I find it strange that you are quick to believe what I am saying.”

  “If any other person told me this, I wouldn’t believe them. You don’t strike me as a one who weaves lies for the hell of it. Plus, I’ve seen you fight—you’re scary good. I have also watched your people, and I cannot deny that they are touched by your Ancients. The way you all seem to melt in and out of the shadows has to be a gift from your Lord Wieus.”

  For the second time, Rana brought to light something Sky had never considered. The clans did have an otherness about them that she hadn’t seen matched throughout the system. It was something Sky would have to research.

  “Will you tell me about the priests and the village?”

  Sky clenched her jaw and the rest of her body followed suit, tightening until her muscles screamed in pain. She had just begun to relax in her secrets and then Rana ripped the bandage off, exposing a deep injury that Sky wanted to keep hidden. With a few uneven breaths, Sky relaxed until she finished ladling soup into bowls.

  “I will. Just not today. I have shared much and grow exhausted.”

  Rana squeezed Sky’s hand as she took the offered bowl. The gesture was full of comfort and understanding that needed no words. In comfortable silence, they sat and ate their fill.

  Six

  The next seven cycles were uneventful. Sky and Rana ran to the practice field where they met up with Barrow and Fern to train. Rana was a quick study, and Sky felt a drop of relief each day Rana progressed beyond her expectations.

  But the clan grew agitated at Sky’s presence. Rumors of the woman with the facial tattoo who died at Sky’s feet spread like a spark in kindling. The way their mistrustful eyes lingered on her and then shifted to Rana raised the hairs on Sky’s neck. The last thing she wanted was to put Rana in the crosshairs because of some misinformation mixed with generations of prejudice.

  Sky took a deep swig of the yosu berry wine and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the fruity, yet slightly smoky flavor as it coated her taste buds and softly burned her throat. She tried to remember why she thought it was a good idea to go with Barrow and Fern to the village tavern.

  Rana’s cybernetic eyes had flittered in excitement and her lips pulled into a toothy grin when Barrow suggested the trip after their final maneuvers. Sky had been keeping the woman away from the clan as much as she could, but Rana would become restless if she stayed under Sky’s thumb for much longer.

  “This rotation’s wine is excellent.” Fern smacked her lips appreciatively.

  “Yes,” Sky agreed. “I haven’t tasted yosu wine in four rotations, but this batch is better than anything in my m
emories.”

  “I’ve never tasted anything like it,” Rana gushed as she gulped down the rest of her cup.

  “If you don’t slow down, I’ll have to carry you home, and I promise that you will regret losing control at tomorrow’s practice.” Sky took Rana’s cup from her and set it on the edge of the table. Rana’s full bottom lip pouted in response and Sky felt justified. Rana was intoxicated.

  “I love this planet, and I love youuuu,” Rana shouted with a giggle as she threw her arm around Barrow. Barrow laughed and patted Rana on the head in a brotherly gesture. He shifted to move Rana’s draping body away from his lap, but allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. Fern shook her head as she watched him with amusement. Sky opened her mouth to remark on the inappropriateness when Rana turned and flung her arms around Sky, professing an even deeper love at the top of her lungs. Rana’s voice hardly rose above the ambient noise, but those at the closest tables turned to glower at the Elitian.

  “I think I should take her home before her confessions turn into proposals.” Sky slid out of the booth, pulling Rana with her. “Thank you for the drinks. See you tomorrow?”

  “Until dawn!” Fern raised her cup and Barrow followed, repeating her words robustly.

  “Until dawn,” Sky replied.

  “Me too,” Rana slurred.

  Supporting her with one arm, Sky removed Rana from the establishment. She had led Rana more than halfway back to the cabin before the tightness in her muscles began to loosen. Although she felt there was no one following them, Sky checked their surroundings at regular intervals. Her mark pulsed warmly, but underneath, a spark sensually crawled over her skin, igniting a deep yearning. For what Sky couldn’t place, nor could she recall when she’d felt the peculiar sensation before.

  The memory was right there on the edge of her mind. It was like an out-of-focus picture just on the periphery. Rana stumbled and Sky guided her arm around Rana’s waist, steadying her. The sensation continued, dancing over Sky’s skin like miniature static shocks.

  Sky’s UAB chimed, but she kept moving. Rana’s legs had begun to wobble as if her bones had dissolved and all that was left supporting her weight was unsubstantiated flesh.

  The UAB chimed again, this time in the three-burst pattern that signified an urgent message. Only Jo had the ident-code to send a message to Sky on this frequency. Sky searched for a place to lay Rana down. Luckily, they had reached the clearing around their cabin, and there was plenty of soft grass for Rana to rest on.

  There’s some crazy shit happening. Connect with me for a holo message.

  Rana typed out her response, asking Jo if it could wait until she got back to the cottage.

  No.

  Sky’s brain flew into hyper drive. Every imaginable scenario was assigned a percentage of likelihood while Sky activated a program on her UAB to scan the immediate perimeter. There was a blip on her screen for a second before it was gone. Sky activated the holo projector and displayed a map of the area around herself and the cottage.

  Her thoughts were hushed as she stared at the edge of the forest through the blue haze of the holo projection where the blip had occurred. Sky thought she saw an outline of a person, but when she blinked it was gone. Her sensor remained blank.

  Must have been an animal.

  With a final look at the tree line and quick check to make sure Rana was okay, Sky typed in the codes to Jo’s personal frequency. Her UAB connected with the Kismet and Jo answered.

  Jo sat in her quarters. Her brown hair flowed down in crinkly waves as if she just removed it from a tight braid. It made her look younger than her twenty-one rotations.

  “I was waiting for you,” Jo grumbled. “Do you think I have all night to sit around waiting on my security officer to report?”

  There was a shuffling behind her, and a messy mop of black hair rose from somewhere behind Jo’s left side. Raiden’s green eyes twinkled as he ran his fingers through his hair and propped up on an elbow. Sky raised an eyebrow at his naked torso and turned back to her captain.

  “It looks to me like you had no problem entertaining yourself while you waited on me.” Sky’s lips lifted into a wicked grin. “You didn’t send me an urgent comm just to brag of your carnal exploits, did you?”

  Jo shrugged. Sky knew Jo wasn’t ashamed of her sensuality, but the faint pink that dusted Jo’s cheeks proved that Sky had made a direct hit with her assumptions.

  “If I wanted to brag about my salacious activities, I would have sent you a vid.” Jo smirked as Raiden kissed her shoulder, pressing his lips hard against her skin to smother the cocky grin Sky knew would be there. Sky shook her head.

  “What is the emergency, Captain?” Sky brought the conversation back around as she double checked the perimeter.

  “Yes,” Jo’s voice dipped low. “Deviant sent us back to Ianthe, this time to its moon Eris for a typical cargo run, where Raiden discovered something that we think pertains to you and the clans.”

  Sky’s brows lifted in shock. The thought of this pertaining to Sky or the clans was low on her list of expectations. She waited for Jo to continue.

  “While we were on the planet’s surface, we stumbled across what looked to be a slave trade in progress. There were at least fifteen women with tattoos in the same style of the ones I saw on the clan warriors. They were even on the same location: their lower arms. I saw at least four different symbols, but there were multiple sets of each.”

  “That is the clan mark,” Sky stated. Her usual neutral tone was edged with anger. Her fingers shook from the rising fury, but an underlying fear softened the outrage. “Do you have proof?”

  “As soon as we realized what we were witnessing, I started to record,” Raiden answered. “Siaren is currently encrypting the files for you.”

  “It gets worse.” Jo shifted as if making her physical body comfortable would lessen the force of her words. “They were placed on an Elitian vessel, one with the diplomatic seal painted on the side.”

  The world fell away, and for the first time since she came back to herself lying in the silt of a recently flooded riverbed with swollen tear-soaked eyes and the dried blood of an innocent on her hands, Sky felt lost. Tears pricked at her eyes as the mark on her shoulder flared violently.

  “Sky…” Jo whispered. “Have you noticed anything on Kore?”

  “No. I have spent my time here training Rana to fight and avoiding the ire of the clans. There hasn’t been time for me to notice anything unusual.” Sky kept the sightings of the man in the shadows to herself. She was convinced he wasn’t an enemy. Something about him seemed familiar. Comfortable. She shook her head, trying to clear away all thoughts of the mystery man.

  “Jo, have you spoken to Deviant about this?”

  “No. I figured you would want to make that choice since it involves your people, but if you want my opinion, I think we should include the CCI with this. Whatever they are doing with your women, it cannot be good if they’re going to Leonis.”

  Sky opened her senses and connected with the warmth that Luz placed inside of her. She examined her own intentions and weighed them against her options, allowing the wisdom of the Ancients to guide her to a decision.

  “I agree, but I want a chance to investigate here first. Tell Deviant I will keep you informed of every discovery, but I’d like it if he didn’t send you far from Kore. We may need his help, and I trust you to come to my aid when it’s needed.

  “If I had it my way, I’d stay in geosynchronous orbit with Kore until you need me, but I’m sure Deviant has other plans.”

  Sky smiled at her captain. That sincere loyalty was what attracted Sky first to Apollo and then later his daughter. Jo helped fill the space that missing camaraderie the clans once provided.

  “Are you talking about Deviant?” Rana stumbled to a stand and half walked, half lunged toward Sky.

  “In a way,” Sky answered as she shifted her UAB to record Rana.

  “Hello Rana,” Jo greeted with a pinched brow. Ra
iden sported a similar look before he chuckled softly. Jo shot him an annoyed look.

  “Joooo… Raiiiden.” Rana waved as she slurred her greeting.

  “Did you get her drunk?” Jo grabbed her stomach as she laughed.

  “Believe it or not, she only had one glass of wine.” Sky snickered. “I had to rush her out of the pub because she was rubbing herself all over one of her instructors.”

  Jo’s laugh deepened. “I would have never…”

  “Are you on Deviant’s ship?” Rana asked, her cheeks bright red against her porcelain skin. Sky didn’t think the color was entirely the fault of the alcohol.

  “No. We will rendezvous with him in two cycles.”

  “Oh,” Rana pouted.

  Sky and Jo shared a knowing glance before saying goodbye. With a final scan of her surroundings without seeing anything, Sky led Rana back to the cabin. She couldn’t shake the suspicion that someone watched her the entire way back.

  Seven

  Sky awoke with a new purpose. She would not only uncover why clanswomen were spotted on a foreign planet, but she would expose those who allowed this atrocity to happen.

  She felt a twinge of worry, involving herself in something that would bring even more danger near Rana, but Sky couldn’t let her people suffer at the hands of the Elitians. She couldn’t shake the uneasiness that unfurled in her gut during Jo’s comm the previous night.

  How did the women find themselves on Eris?

  “Rana, there is a change of plans today,” Sky announced as her charge shuffled into the kitchen. Rana winced as she stepped into the bright light filtering in from the mid-morning suns.

  “I figured as much when I woke up and the suns were already bright. I had thought to stay in bed, but then everything from last night came back to me,” Rana whispered while rubbing at her temples. She groaned. “Let’s forget that I was uncharacteristically crass, and I swear to never let myself get that inebriated again.”