Gabriel's Ghost (55 page)

Kira pulled past the front drive of her house and into a narrow lane at the edge of her property. The lane was flanked by thick stone walls covered in ivy, and overhung by rows of dense, leafy trees. The entrance to the lane was so overgrown by foliage, it was almost impossible to see unless you knew where to look. This lane led to the family garage, and only Kira used it now. Visitors used the front drive. Friends had other ways to get in.

When she’d been a child, she’d thought the lane, with its cover and solitude, a silly addition to the estate. But her father had liked his privacy, coveted it more and more as the years went by. Kira hadn’t understood that need for privacy. She hadn’t believed it was right for people to hide behind walls. But then, she’d been an open and curious child, a guileless adult. Until her father’s death.

She stopped the van halfway up the lane, puffing out a breath. She didn’t have time to dwell on all the changes in her life. There was too much still to do. She opened her door and followed the others to stand a few paces in front of the van.

The transformation never ceased to amaze Kira. One moment, a perfectly ordinary van sat in the lane. The next, a beautiful, iridescent, hairless creature stood staring at them. Its huge multifaceted eyes whirled through purple to blue to green as it tilted its otherwise featureless head to one side. The long lines of neck and limbs made the creature appear taller and far thinner than it actually was, but since it could shift to most any visible shape, its body dimensions were relative.

That was close.

Kira smiled at its whispery voice floating through her mind. No matter their emotional state, the Shifters’ voices always sounded quiet to her.
Not as close as that,
Xep. He never suspected.

A human-like mouth formed in the iridescent gold skin of Xep’s face. The mouth turned up in a mocking smile. Though they did have a form of external hearing, Shifters had no natural mouths or vocal cords. They could only speak using telepathy when in their natural state. And only a very few humans could hear and speak back in the same manner. But Xep was fond of shifting just enough to convey all too human facial expressions.
He suspects, Kira.
the Shifter said as the mouth melted away.

But he doesn’t suspect this. He doesn’t suspect Shifters like you exist, Xep.

Jo reached behind a thick clump of ivy and tapped a code into a hidden panel, opening a disguised passage in the stone wall leading to the interior of Kira’s estate. The group ducked through the overhanging ivy and the door closed silently behind them. They walked over short, spongy green grass to a second secret hatch in the ground. This time, using her foot, Vettine tapped out the code that opened the door. After a short pause, a section of grass slid over with a hiss of escaping air. All six dropped down the ladder into a steel-lined tunnel, and Kira tapped in the code at a command panel to close the hatch again.

They turned and walked down the tunnel, lights overhead flicking on as they approached, flicking off once they passed.
Kira,
Xep’s quiet voice touched her mind,
It
will not be long before he discovers. Ennoren is a smart man. A cunning human. And he
is vicious.

Kira nodded, silently considering Xep’s words. She knew Ennoren was vicious, had seen it firsthand. Had run away from it in disgust and anger. And she knew he was clever. But she was clever, too.
We’re almost ready, Xep. We can hide from him until
then.
She looked at the Shifter walking beside her, hoping to catch some sign of emotion in a face she couldn’t read unless it allowed her.
This won’t be easy, Xep.

Nothing has been easy since the humans first came here.

Though no emotion came across in its mind-speak, Kira imagined the bitterness associated with that statement and it made her heart hurt. She closed off her emotional response forcefully and turned her attention to the tunnel ahead of her. She couldn’t change what had been done to the Shifters in the past, and she couldn’t save all of them now. But she could sure as hell try to save some of them.

He seemed very nice.21
Xep’s quick subject change caught Kira so by surprise that she stopped for an instant. The odd looks the other women gave her started her moving again with an embarrassed grimace.

Ennoren?
she asked.

Officer David Cario. He seemed very nice.

An uncontrollable picture burst into Kira’s mind of coffee-dark eyes, thick, dark hair and a dancing scar. Her stomach clenched and a tingle spread over her thighs. It had been much too long since she’d last been with a man, she thought ruefully.
He’s one of
Ennoren’s
, Kira told the Shifter, forcing her mind-speak to sound stern.
It doesn’t matter
if he’s the nicest man on Narava.

He was quite taken with you. And you with him.

And you’re an expert on the subject, aren’t you, Xep?
Kira thought at the Shifter irritably.
How would you know anyway?

Kira looked at Xep. The mouth that had formed in its face was grinning at her. She snorted and turned away, hoping Xep hadn’t seen her blush.
Stuff it, Xep.
Kira muttered. If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn the Shifter chuckled at her.

Chapter 2

Kira stood at the edge of the elaborately carved red stone bridge, trying to slow her thumping heartbeat. The public transport line stopped just at the edge of the Grand Bridge. She was the only one who’d gotten off. No government-funded transport dared cross that bridge. Visitors were left to walk into the Docks -at their own risk.

She’d crossed that bridge before, walked the gray flagstone streets of a city built above the Dreic Sea and supported by wooden pillars sunk into the sediment below. She’d even dealt with some of the less than lawful citizens of the Docks. But always during the day.

Night settled over the area, dark and forbidding. The moons had yet to rise, leaving only the stars and the glow from the city to light the bridge. She hesitated for a minute more; but it was too late. She couldn’t back out now. Squaring her shoulders and straightening her black cropped jacket, Kira stepped onto the bridge.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

The unexpected voice made her gut clench and her hands shake for just an instant. She fisted her left hand, letting her short nails bite into the flesh of her palm. She was in control again when she turned to face the stranger cautioning her. Recognizing the face made her smile and relax her hand; then her smile dropped to a suspicious frown. “What are you doing here?”

David stepped from the shadows just across the road and strode toward her. He wasn’t in uniform, but there was still a formality to the way he wore his loose black pants and tight turtleneck shirt. His black leather jacket was a nod to the current fashion fad, but it looked too new and clean. “I should ask you the same question,” he said in that smoky voice she found so toe-curling. “This place isn’t safe at night.” His dark gaze lingered on the red mini-dress and red calf-high boots she wore.

“I’ve been here before.” She raised her chin, a small smile touching her mouth. “And this isn’t exactly a place where the Guard are welcome.”

“I’m not on duty tonight. And we’re not forbidden entrance.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“Maybe I’m looking for something...hard to obtain.”

Kira narrowed her eyes. The Docks were notorious for providing things “hard to obtain.” The city was run by a family of very powerful and very dangerous criminals. The government called them a mafia. They bought and sold illegals, smuggled goods and people, ran gaming and prostitution rings, auctioned slaves, both alien and human, pandered to the drugs and technology trades, and all in the open streets and canals of the Docks.

The Guard didn’t go into the city -officially.

Government propaganda had it that the encroachment of the law into the well-established city would only start a bloody, vicious war. As long as the criminal element remained localized in the Docks, they were no danger to the citizenry. Common gossip vouched that the Mafia paid high-placed officials well to keep the law out of the city.

Common gossip also held that the Mafia possessed certain alliances and weapons that scared even the “all-powerful” planetary government.

“I wouldn’t have taken you for a Docks patron,” Kira said at last, still not convinced of David’s excuse.

“I wouldn’t have guessed it of you, either,” he countered. “I haven’t heard your explanation yet.”

She bristled at the underlying order. It came dangerously close to reminding her of her ex-husband. The man, she reminded herself, who paid this man’s salary. “And I don’t suspect you’ll hear it any time soon,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She turned and started across the bridge, her earlier fear replaced by indignation.

David fell in step beside her. The thick sea air moved across the bridge, through the buildings, carrying with it the scent of fish and an underlying hint of something Kira couldn’t name and wasn’t sure she wanted to. She paused at the edge of the bridge, letting her eyes adjust to the soft orange glow of the city streets. Then she headed down the first major walkway into the heart of the Docks, trying to ignore the man that had followed her over the bridge. To her irritation, he stayed beside her.

“I imagine you have other things to do here,” she snapped, stopping to stare up at him. She found it disconcerting that despite her high-heeled boots, he was still several inches taller than her. In heels, she was the same height as Ennoren, and she’d considered him a tall man. Even more disconcerting was the scent of David’s cologne, a combination of musk and spice blended with the leather smell of his jacket. It managed to tease her senses without overpowering them. She wanted to lean closer to that faint smell, to fill her lungs with it.

“I’ll walk you to where you’re going,” he said, ignoring her dismissal. They stood alone on the main street, washed in orange light. He glanced again at the miniskirt and the long length of thigh it exposed. “I wouldn’t be comfortable letting you walk there alone.”

Kira stared at him, her emotions shifting rapidly through amazement, to anger and finally settling on amusement. She smiled. When his eyes creased suspiciously, she laughed, a sound that boomed in the quiet streets. A man in a dark body suit and flight jacket who’d just stepped out of an alley glanced toward them, then gave them a wide berth.

Kira forgot to be afraid or angry. She patted David on the arm and grinned. “Very gallant of you. Not necessary. But a gallant offer nonetheless. Would that I could allow it.” He frowned and she hurried on. “The...hard to obtain item I have to get here is sold by a man that wouldn’t take kindly to me appearing with a...bodyguard.” She said the last with an upward lilt in her voice, half questioning, half teasing him with the title. “Besides, I’m sure you’re not here to follow a virtual stranger around. Go about your business, Officer. I’m well able to take care of myself.”

He didn’t quite smile, but his scar jumped under the twitching muscle of his jaw. “Okay. As the lady wishes.” He bowed from the waist, which only made her laugh more. She walked away from him, enjoying the tingles he’d started in her body. When she felt his gaze still following her, she added just a bit more swing to her hips. It had been a long time since a man had made her feel this feminine, this sexy.

She turned a corner, crossed a canal, and headed down a second narrow street. Her momentary thrill at flirting with a handsome man vanished behind the need to stay

alert and ready for anything. She watched the shadows as she walked through the alleys with as much attitude as she could muster. The surrounding buildings were all several stories tall, with a variety of cast-iron or stone balconies and window boxes decorating the stucco facades. In daylight, the colors varied from muted creams, corals and tans, to darker blues, purples, oranges and greens. The canals, kept cleaned by the natural currents of the Dreic, still held a faint fishy smell that permeated every alley and building in the city. The Docks had been fashioned after the Earth city of Venice in Italy. And if the pictures were anything to go on, Kira thought the Docks a close if not exact replica.

She crossed a second bridge, the dark waters of the canal reflecting the orange glow of the street lamps, and ducked down a final alley. The club’s entrance wasn’t easy to find - you had to know the exact door. The owners had designed it that way. She stepped up to the ordinary-looking green wood door, stared at the brass knocker. The cooling autumn breeze that managed to flow down some corridors and streets in the tightly packed city didn’t reach into this particular alley. A trickle of sweat inched down Kira’s spine. She raised her hand and hoped silently that the information they’d bought had been worth the price.

She knocked with bare knuckles against the thick wood, a pattern that was supposed to allow entrance without question. The door opened and she came face to face with a very large, very hairy Binnean doorman. The Binnean were one of the few alien races humans had encountered since embarking on their exploration of the galaxy. The species was known for its strength and violent tendencies. When the Binnean didn’t ask her her business but merely stepped aside for her to enter, Kira felt lightheaded with relief. She walked over to the long brass and glass bar which ran the length of the ground floor and took a moment to study the club, adjusting her eyes to the smoky light.

Everything was black and gold. The marble floors, the arched ceilings, the second floor galleries, the glossy tabletops, the golden glow of imitation candles, even the majority of the patrons wore some variation of black and gold. No, she decided after a more thorough look. Most of the men wore some combination of black and gold. Most of the women wore bright, flamboyant colors. But there were too few women in the club to notice those flashes of color on first glance. Kira wondered at the small number of women, but was glad that their informant had told her to wear red.