Moon Mark (4 page)

I tipped my head toward her, peering away from the intimidating rebellion leader. “I think I made a friend in him.”

Her snickering didn’t stop until tears fell down her cheeks. “How many marks of training combat do you wear on your wrists?”

My shoulders slumped. “Only seven.”

She chuckled again. “You’ll probably wish you had all ten when he gets back from this battle.”

I peeked his way. He was still glowering. “You may be right.”

She pulled close against her side. “I’ll protect you.”

His scowl only increased at her words.

My eyes narrowed on his, not to be cowed.

I won’t infect her with my Human-ness, Kireg. Don’t worry yourself too much.

The rebellion leader ground his teeth together and turned away.

“Now, that wasn’t wise,” she whispered. “Initially, Geo was the only one who wanted to save the Humans from the Dynasty. We’re here under his order.” When I glanced at her in shock, she nodded her head. “So don’t make him regret it.”

The brown dirt under my gifted black shoes and the setting sun were the only reminders of home. The wind that blew while we walked miles to our destination rustled blue leaves on silver tree limbs. Tiny red, unfamiliar lizards peeked out from under the yellow boulders. Black birds flew overhead that were as big as my body, their feathers gleaming evergreen as they turned, following us.

Nothing about this land was a welcome sight.

Except for the Kireg next to me, chatting constantly. I was positive by this point that Corza was trying to make me feel more comfortable every time a new creature made itself known—none were dangerous, she had insisted time and again. Her three bodyguards had multiplied to six before we left the spaceship, so they hovered constantly, occasionally glancing oddly at me.

I stretched my legs out in front of me, my stride appearing like I had wooden legs. But the burn in my muscles was threatening to make me limp. “Tell me again why your brother couldn’t spare even one vehicle?” He may not respect Humans, but he did love his sister—a hug given to her before he left for battle.

She rolled her eyes, sweat not even beading her forehead. The woman was a definite warrior, whereas I hadn’t trained physically in a few years. I generally sat behind a desk, evaluating data for my experiments.

For the fifth time, Corza muttered, “From our departure location, it was only ten clicks to our destination. It was thirty clicks to theirs. They are going to fight, a surprise attack in the night. They needed to be there early and in combat ready form. We don’t. We have food and beds waiting for us.”

I growled under my breath.

“If it makes you feel better, we’ve already walked two clicks.”

“Two clicks?” I shrieked, and wiped off my forehead. I couldn’t fathom what a ‘click’ meant to her. “That’s all we’ve gone?”

Corza glared at her bodyguards, who had grabbed for their weapons. Her attention turned back to me, and she stated patiently, “We aren’t running, to be polite to the Humans who are out of shape.” She lifted a brow, watching as a bead of sweat ran down my temple. “We would be halfway there by now if we were moving faster.”

I tried to control my breathing since we had so much longer to travel. “Appreciated.”

She nodded her head regally. “Accepted.” Purple eyes glanced at the seven tattooed marks on the underside of my wrists. “I do have a question.”

“Feel free to ask. As long as you don’t start running.”

Her chuckle was quiet. “Do the Humans not keep you physically trained after schooling?”

“Is that your question?”

“Yes.”

“No, they don’t. Not in my line of work.”

She grinned. “Where you blow inventions up.”

I held up my finger. “In the name of science and furthering technology. Don’t forget.”

“Do you, at least, know how to make a bomb—on purpose?”

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “Why?”

“I’m just curious.”

Her first lie. I may not be a Kireg, but I knew a lie when I heard it.

“I’ll just read your mind for the answer.” She shrugged.

“You are ruthless.” I wiped my forehead again. “And, yes, I’m trained in explosive weapons, and I know how to handle them without harming myself.”

“Interesting.” Corza was silent for a few minutes, unlike her usual talkative nature.

I glanced at her, the sun almost setting. It would be cooler soon and less oppressive.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I just find it extremely curious that your President gave up an engineer of your caliber.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, not a piece out of place. “So an Operator on your planet is an individual who handles operations of military equipment?”

My nose scrunched, uncomfortable with this line of questioning. “I’d rather talk about another subject. Preferably, nothing that has to do with Joyal’s military procedures.”

She instantly nodded. “Apologies. I pushed too far.”

“Accepted,” I murmured, my eyes catching on a blue glimmer in the distance. I squinted and pointed at it. “What’s that? Another animal I shouldn’t be afraid of?”

Her purple gaze followed where I was pointing. Then she stopped in her tracks.

I halted next to her, watching as her eyes narrowed. “I take it that’s not expected?”

“No,” she hissed, snapping at her guards.

“What is it?”

“It’s a Moon Mark.” Her guards flanked her, shouldering their way past me.

I shivered in the twilight, suddenly chilled. I peeked through two of the guards, and questioned, “What’s a Moon Mark? Should the Humans be alarmed?”

“It’s only one, so no. But a Moon Mark is a sign of hostility.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and rubbed at my arms. “From who?”

“From a Kireg. The Moon Mark shows they are ready to use their full powers.”

I blinked. “I still don’t understand.”

“We’re still a click away from the Mai border, so that’s a Sori resident.”

My attention honed on the blue glow. “So a member of the Dynasty?”

“Yes.”

The air left my lungs when blue sparks lit up one-by-one in a circle around us.

“They have us surrounded,” Corza hissed, her gaze flicking to each blue light in the dusk. She held up a quick hand to her bodyguards. “No Moon Marks. The Humans have no barriers, and they’re reading them. We’re far outnumbered in Kireg numbers, and they know it.”

I took a step back from her group and glanced at the 299 Humans still marching forward, unknowing anything was amiss. I switched to English and shouted, “Stop moving. Everyone form up. The blue lights are hostiles.”

In an instant, the Humans altered course and formed a tight, full circle. They faced out toward the unfriendly Kireg, on the balls of their feet, prepared for an attack. Or to run if needed. In this position, they could scatter to the wind and knock any attackers off balance. The aggressive Kireg might outnumber the protecting Kireg, but with the added Human numbers, we stood a chance.

We need weapons.

Corza glanced at me through two guards, having watched the Humans move. “That was smart, but we don’t have enough weapons for them. They will be on their own with only their fists and feet if we move to retaliate.”

“And if we do nothing? What happens then?”

“From what I can read off a few of them, they’re just hunters. They’ll sell you to the highest Dynasty bidder.”

I cracked my neck, wishing I had stayed in shape. “Give me numbers. What will be the death toll if we hand ourselves over versus fighting back.”

She shook her head. “You’re looking at this all wrong. It’s not about data analysis. The hunters won’t kill the Humans. They’ll trap the Human minds and sell each of you, no matter the end outcome.”

My spine stiffened as unease crept in, my voice soft. “Then we fight. If even a few can get away, it’s better than just handing ourselves over.” My brows lifted gradually. “But you already knew that was the best option for the Humans. You had moved past us. You were thinking of how your people could swindle their way out of this without having to fight, too.”

Her lips thinned into a hard line. “If I’m hurt or captured, Geo will not handle it well.”

I whispered in pure sarcasm, “And he is the next ruler. You can’t have him commit suicide over your death or torture.” I shook my head, keeping my thoughts clear, counting the newly revealed stars I stared up at. “Dammit, I like you, too.”

“And I like you” she answered, her tone sad.

“Then I’m sorry for what I’m about to do.” My gaze snapped to the Humans. “
Run for your lives!
”

The Humans scattered, racing out in a circle as fast as they could.

It was too much for the Kireg next to me to handle.

Even when I saw a Moon Mark up close for the first time.

A blue glow hovered over each of the guards—but not Corza. She didn’t try to retaliate.

I stared in fascination for too long. The glow was a reflection of their person. It was vision I wanted to hold onto so I could examine all the complexities.

But Corza barked, “Run, Madeline. Run!”

I snapped out of it and raced with my people. I ran where we had come from since more hostiles were in the direction of the borderline. My adrenaline picked up, seeing Humans making it past the few Kireg on this side of their surrounding circle. I pumped my arms, and my legs had never moved so fast.

I faltered when the Human next to me stopped cold, but I kept pushing forward.

Humans were gradually becoming barriers in my path, their forms unmoving.

I twisted around them, even knocked into some of them, but they didn’t even blink.

“Mother Joyal, please help me,” I prayed on a panting whisper.

Then the world, the galaxy, ceased to exist.

All I saw was a radiant blue light.

I was finally at peace. And I never wanted to leave it.

Freezing water jarred me awake. But I was standing, not sleeping in a bed.

And I was naked.

I threw my hands up to cover my face and screamed.

It wasn’t the only shout of terror. Multiple female shrieks were heard on both sides of me.

I turned from the water and ran…right into a tiled wall. “
What is happening?
”

“I don’t know!” A Human slammed against the wall next to me. Her large brown eyes were bloodshot, and her face was covered with streaks of dirt that dripped down from the water. Her teeth chattered as she tried to hide her nakedness. “I just woke up here.”

I chanced to peer back over my shoulder, my chest heaving with each labored breath taken. The Kireg were behind us, three of them in lab coats and scarves around the eyes. They held the hoses that sprayed down the ten Human women inside this bathroom stall. Brown mud, blue grass, and tinges of blood splattered the floored tiling and began to clog the drain in the center of the room.

My chin trembled in terror, and my hands shook against the wall. “Mother Joyal, we were captured.”

One of the Kireg jerked a hose in my direction, and the water shot up into my face. I screamed as it hit my eyes, the water mixed with a foul smelling antiseptic. I ducked my head down and shielded my eyes while tears ran down my cheeks. Clumps of dirt were falling off my body as the water streamed down it, my toes burning from popped blisters I couldn’t remember getting.

“Subject 14, turn around!” a Kireg male shouted.

When no one moved, not understanding, I was suddenly facing forward.

I hadn’t done it willingly.

“Next time, listen, Subject 14,” the Kireg barked.

My whole body trembled in fear, it eating up my spine. I swayed where I stood covering my eyes while I was hosed down, my mind not able to comprehend my situation.

“I think I might faint.”

“Don’t,” he ordered, now washing my bruised knees. Where I had gotten the bruises, I didn’t know. “This is the first time you subjects have been released—and each of you are a damn mess. They barely kept you fed in the boxes you were in with your own waste. It took us all these months to negotiate a deal for the entirety of the Humans captured. And we want you willing, not under the influence since we got lucky and were able to capture a few Kireg today, too. So, if you don’t want to be controlled, do as you’re ordered.”