“You know, I’ve asked myself that same question.” Saret’s forehead creased in an introspective frown. “You’re just a human girl – a pretty one, to be sure – but nothing all that special, to be honest. I didn’t understand at first why Korum was so obsessed with you. But then a funny thing happened, Mia –” he leaned forward, his eyes gleaming darkly, “– I started wanting you myself.”
He paused for a second, and then continued, ignoring the look of horrified disgust on her face. “Believe me, it’s been hell, seeing you all the time and knowing that I don’t have the right to touch you, that
he’s
the one taking you to bed every night. But now things will be different. When you wake up, it will be as if he never existed . . . and you will be mine, the way you should’ve been from the very beginning.”
Sickened to her very core, Mia tried to yank her hand away, hot nausea boiling up in her throat. He held her for a second, then let go, watching with a smile as she jumped back like a scalded cat.
“Never,” she hissed, backing away toward the wall. “Do you hear me? I don’t know what you’re imagining here, but I’ll never be with you willingly. You might be able to force me, but that’s all it will ever be between us, memories or not –”
“Why?” Saret asked, still smiling. “Because you think you’re in love with him? What does a twenty-year-old know about love? He seduced you, Mia, that’s all. When he’s gone from your life, I’ll do the same – and you’ll love me just as much as you thought you loved him.”
Mia laughed, her desperation making her reckless. The thought of forgetting Korum and being forced to share the bed of a would-be mass murderer was so repugnant she thought she’d rather die. Maybe she could goad him into killing her. “Oh, really?” she said contemptuously. “I’m not even the least bit attracted to you, Saret. You’re like dog food to me. I wanted Korum from the beginning – from the first moment I saw him. But not you. Never you. Do you understand me?”
As she spoke, she could see the smile fading from Saret’s face, his expression hardening. “We’ll see about that,” he said, getting up and stalking toward her. “Once your memories are gone, you’ll be singing a very different tune, believe me.”
“No!” Mia screamed as he reached for her. Her nails curved into claws, raked down his arms as he grabbed her. “Get away from me, you sick fuck! No!!!”
Ignoring her yells and struggles, Saret lifted her and carried her out of his office, his arms like iron bands around her body. Walking to the far side of the lab, he placed her on one of the floating planks by the wall. The intelligent surface immediately wrapped itself around her arms and legs, holding her completely immobile while Saret reached into the wall and took out a small white device.
“No!” Mia tried to twist her head as he approached her again. “No! Don’t!”
Saret paused for a second, looking down at her. “I’m sorry, Mia,” he said softly. “I wish it weren’t necessary. If I had only met you first . . . But this won’t hurt, I promise . . .” And pressing the device to her forehead, he gave her a gentle smile.
That smile was the last thing Mia saw before her world faded into darkness.
Part II
Chapter 6
Korum checked the time again.
Mia should’ve been home already. Her message had reached him twenty minutes ago, and he’d immediately cut short the testing session with his designers, unable to resist the urge to see her as soon as possible.
While waiting for her, he’d quickly prepared dinner, making her favorite
shari
salad and a mushroom-potato dish from a recipe given to him by Mia’s mother. He’d asked Ella Stalis for it before they left Florida, wanting to surprise Mia with it someday. He loved seeing her small face light up with pleasure and excitement when he did things like that. Her happiness meant the world to him these days.
Where was she?
Mildly annoyed, Korum queried his computer to determine her location. The complex device embedded in his palm was completely synced with his neural pathways – so much so that using it was the equivalent of thinking in a certain way. Not all Krinar liked the idea of being so integrated with technology, with many choosing to stick to old-fashioned voice commands and stand-alone devices instead. Korum thought it was idiotic to be so mistrustful, but then again, he had designed the computer himself and understood its limits and capabilities. Many of his kind had no idea how even simple human electronics worked, nor did they have a desire to learn – something he would never understand.
As soon as he sent the mental query, her location came to him with crystal clarity: the lab. She was still at the lab. The tracking devices he’d once embedded in her hands were proving to be quite useful, even now that she was no longer involved with the Resistance.
His lips quirking in a smile, Korum thought about her reaction whenever the topic of his shining her came up. She was like an angry kitten then, all tiny claws and ruffled fur. It made him want to cuddle her and fuck her at the same time – a confusing mix of desires she always evoked in him.
He supposed he should feel bad for shining her. And sometimes, he almost did. She resented the fact that he would now always know her location, not understanding that it gave him a tremendous peace of mind. She was so fragile, so human . . . If he had his way, she would never leave his side; he’d always keep her next to him where he could protect her.
But he knew she wouldn’t want that. It was important to her to have her independence, to excel in her chosen field and contribute to society. He understood and respected that, but it still didn’t make it any easier on him. When they’d been in New York – before he’d given her the nanocytes that made her less vulnerable – it had been all he could do to let her venture out on her own, especially in a human city where something as stupid as a car accident could easily claim her life. That’s why he’d always had a guardian following her then, staying no more than a hundred yards away at any given time. She’d never suspected, of course, nor was Korum ever planning to tell her. But it had been for her own protection; even back then, he hadn’t been able to bear the thought of anything happening to her.
Checking the time again, Korum saw that twenty-five minutes had passed. Why was she still at the lab? Had something happened to delay her? If Saret was making her work late again, he’d have a serious talk with him. By now, Mia had proven herself quite useful, and Korum was certain his friend wouldn’t terminate her apprenticeship even if she had to work fewer hours.
Sending another mental query, Korum reached out to the communication device he’d made for her – what she called her wristwatch-bracelet. To his surprise and growing disquiet, he couldn’t connect to it at all; it was as if there was only emptiness where digital signals should’ve been.
Something was wrong
.
Korum knew it with sudden certainty. Raising his hand, he stared down at his palm, his eyes following the tiny pulses of light playing underneath his skin. It was a way for him to concentrate, to utilize specific mental pathways that were more complex than those required for basic daily tasks.
This particular path was not something he’d used in recent weeks, not since the Resistance was defeated. Mia didn’t know about this either, and Korum wasn’t planning to tell her. There was no need; he’d stopped using the device to monitor her activities. The only reason why it was still on her is because the process for removing it was fairly complicated – and because he liked the idea of having it there for emergencies.
Keeping his eyes glued to his palm, Korum sent a deep probe, activating the tiny recording device hidden underneath Mia’s left earlobe. It would allow him to hear everything in her vicinity and, more importantly, to check on her vital signs.
As soon as the device came on, some of the tension left his muscles. She was okay, her heartbeat strong and her breathing steady.
And yet . . . Korum frowned, listening carefully. Everything was quiet – too quiet. If she was still working, she should’ve been moving around, talking to whomever had delayed her. Instead, it was as if she was asleep right now.
Asleep . . . or unconscious.
As soon as he thought of the second possibility, he knew he was on the right track. But why would she be unconscious? This didn’t make any sense. And was that . . . ? He listened again. Were those someone else’s movements he was hearing around her?
His unease morphed into full-blown worry.
Getting up, Korum strode swiftly to the wall and exited the house. Pausing for a few seconds, he sent a mental command to have a transport pod created with all possible speed. While the nanomachines did their job, he reached deep into the recording device’s archives. All the recorders he designed worked like that; even when they weren’t activated to broadcast in real time, they were still collecting data and storing it internally.
It took a second, and then he was accessing the recorder’s memories, scanning through them to find the right spot. He started with the exact moment when Mia sent him her message. Instead of listening to the recording at normal speed, he had his computer create an instant transcript, which he then read in a few seconds.
And as Korum understood what he was reading, every cell in his body filled with volcanic fury.
He couldn’t even begin to process the magnitude of the betrayal – nor the sheer evil that was about to be unleashed by a man he’d considered a friend for the past two thousand years. And Mia . . . No, he couldn’t think about it. Not now, at least. If they were all to survive, he needed to focus, to control his rage and pain.
Utilizing every ounce of willpower he possessed, Korum reached for the coolly rational side of himself and began to analyze the best way to handle the situation.
* * *
Saret watched impatiently as Korum finally left the house and created the transport pod. Now his nemesis would come looking for Mia, hopefully with minimal – if any – suspicions.
Of course, it would never do to underestimate him. The bastard always had some nasty surprises for those who did. Still, Korum had no reason to think anything sinister was going on, and he would certainly never expect Saret to try to kill him.
It was unfortunate that Mia had come across those files today. Saret had always known that someone could snoop around and figure out that Saur hadn’t been quite as knowledgeable about memory erasure as he’d been portrayed to be. Saret should’ve moved the files, but everyone in the lab knew better than to access other people’s work without Saret’s explicit permission.
Everyone, except one human girl, as it turned out.
Then again, maybe on some level, Saret had wanted her to find out. He’d enjoyed explaining his plan to her and watching the emotions on her expressive little face. She hadn’t understood fully, of course, still too caught up in Korum’s web to think clearly.
It had made him angry, what she’d said about not being attracted to him. She’d been lying, of course, trying to goad him into doing something stupid. He was a Krinar male in his prime; he knew full well that human women desired him. And she would want him too; he had made sure of that.
He would be gentle with her at first, not like Korum had been when they met. Saret had seen some of the recordings from the beginning of their relationship at the trial, and it had made him angry, the way his nemesis had handled her then. Saret would make a better cheren, he was certain of that.
Now where was Korum?
Frowning, Saret looked at the image again. It appeared his enemy was in no hurry. Instead of flying to the lab, Korum was standing next to the ship and leisurely chatting with some Krinar woman Saret had never seen before. He was almost . . . flirting with her?
Fucking bastard, already cheating on Mia.
Well, no matter, Korum would get here soon enough. And when he did, he would be in for a nice little surprise.
Unbeknownst to all, Saret had spent the past several years building a high-tech fortress within the lab. All Krinar buildings were durable, meant to withstand anything from a nuclear blast to a volcanic eruption. His lab, however, went a step further: the walls were weaponized – designed to kill anyone who tried to enter once Saret activated the protection mode. They were also impenetrable by any form of nanotechnology because Saret had installed the same shields that served as the Centers’ defenses.
It hadn’t been easy, doing this. Weapons were not something that the general population had easy access to, especially specialized nano-weapons like those embedded in his walls. Saret had been forced to call in a lot of favors and spend a sizable chunk of his personal fortune to get everything set up exactly as he wanted it. It had cost him even more to keep everything a secret.
Now, however, it would all pay off. In another couple of days, the nano-weapon that he planned to use in the Centers would be ready. The dispersion devices with the nanocytes had already been planted in all the key human cities.
All he needed now was patience.
Another ten minutes, and Saret was losing what remained of that patience. What the hell was taking Korum so long? Had Saret underestimated his enemy’s attachment to the girl? It looked like the bastard was still flirting with that woman. There he was now, laughing and touching her arm.
What the fuck?
Whatever happened to his obsession with Mia? Had she been just a toy for him all along?