Dance of Time (4 page)

“My name is Magistrate Elbrod, and I am delighted to have you here. This is a very tense moment for my people.”

He had gill slits that fluttered nervously.

“Your people are amphibious?”

“Yes. We have land and sea disputes, and if all goes well, today will bring in a forced truce. So, once the wedding is officiated, they have to consummate it. That is the final point for the union. You will be on duty until after that blessed interaction.”

Zez nodded. “Where do you want us?”

“Behind me so that you can see all of those assembled as they enter the hall.”

Immune commented, “And they can see us.”

“Well, you only look vaguely like law enforcement, but you are also dressed for the occasion in something other than uniforms. It will confuse folks enough to make it easy for you to perform your duties and keep everyone safe.”

Zez nodded. “Would anyone be alarmed if we disarm the guests without saying anything?”

Magistrate Elbrod smiled. “That would be why we have asked you here. If you can disarm them without causing a fuss, that would be appreciated.”

Zez looked at Immune. “If my partner and I could have a moment to plan, that would be welcome.”

“You have seven minutes. The families are preparing to exit the water.”

Zez pulled Immune away from the magistrate and smiled. “If I freeze them, can you pat them down for weapons?”

“Of course. When do you wish to do it?”

“Once everyone is inside. If there is any violence before that, I will grab them.”

“Fair enough. Am I looking for anything in particular?”

“These folks like poisons. Spikes, vials and projectiles.”

“So, I will keep an eye on the upper levels. You will monitor the guests.”

He had caught onto her hint that assassins might be lurking in the upper levels. She noted thin tendril of his mist crawling up the walls to scan the balconies.

Zez watched the incoming guests. Each family entered from a separate door, and the hall was filled with silent and hostile men and women in wet formal wear.

The bride was dressed in wet green silk, and her groom was in a yellow, long tunic that stuck to his skin.

The magistrate rang a gong, and the happy couple approached him.

Zez froze everyone and nodded to Immune. “They are held.”

“Frisking.” Immune disappeared as the thick fog that was his natural state filled the chamber.

Weapons began to appear, and they were piled in front of Zez’s feet.

It only took five minutes, but she had an arsenal in front of her. No wonder they had been called in.

He re-formed next to her and held her hand. “Ready?”

She nodded and the procession resumed.

A few of the guests patted their pockets and frowned, but the magistrate began the ceremony.

Zez was finding it hard to concentrate on the crowd as Immune stroked his thumb across the back of her hand. The slight touch was distracting, but she had a job to do.

When the magistrate pulled out the binding needle that would be used to pierce the hands of the couple, binding them together in blood and pain, Zez moved forward, freezing the assembly again.

She took the needle and examined it. With a frown, she took it to the side of the room and grabbed a bottle of wine.

“What is it?”

“At first guess, it is poison.” She used a napkin and wine to clean the needle.

She repeated the cleansing three times before she was satisfied that anything remaining would not be toxic.

“The magistrate?”

“Or someone who wanted to implicate him. Either way, it will be fine. The needle won’t kill anyone.”

She set it back in the magistrate’s hand and returned to her position, taking Immune’s hand again. “We have to look the same.”

He chuckled. “I am not complaining.”

The magistrate brought the needle down through the hands of the young couple.

Zez watched for flickers of disappointment or confusion in the expressions of those assembled, and to her surprise, it was the bride.

This was an arrangement that had nothing to do with the couple sealing it. The bride had wanted a war and a scandal, and instead, she had gotten married.

Zez watched the bride carefully as the wounds were bound and the couple filed to the couch that was arranged at the back of the hall, behind the spot where Zez and Immune were standing.

A gauze curtain was drawn, and Immune squeezed her hand. She froze the room again.

He sighed. “I didn’t check the bed.”

He quickly rifled through the bedding and patted down the grim couple, “This is a rough start. They are both armed to the teeth.”

The weapons joined the pile at Zez’s feet.

She wrinkled her nose. “Killing people is far easier than keeping them from killing each other.”

He chuckled and took her hand again. “As soon as the consummation is over, we can leave. They can destroy each other all they like once the truce is in place.”

She sighed and let things commence.

She removed the formal clothing and put on her daily suit the moment they got back to the ship.

She got herself and Korlin cups of tea as he lifted off and took them out of the atmosphere along the authorized corridor.

She hung onto his tea until they were on their way to wherever they were needed next.

“That could have gone better.” She murmured it while watching him key in the next round of coordinates.

He chuckled. “It was official and consummated. The rest is up to them.”

He extended his hand to her, and she put the cup of tea in his grip. “Thank you.”

She sighed and stared out at the stars. “It is still a miserable way to start a life together.”

“They were forced together and obviously don’t like each other.”

She sighed. “It isn’t at all like Mikki and her beau.”

“They are in love?”

Zez snorted. “They like each other and have a mutual attraction. I don’t know if love comes into it.”

He sighed. “So, you don’t think they live for each other?”

“You can’t really live for someone else. You can live with them and want the best for them even if it costs you, but their life is their own, as is yours.”

“And yet, around the universe, acts of bravery and atrocity are all carried out in the name of love.”

“Which is just an excuse for impulsive behaviour.”

Korlin chuckled and sipped his tea. “You never dreamed of finding love?”

She snorted. “I don’t dream. Existence is hard enough without bringing fantasy into the mix. Well, except for the fiction I read. That is just fun.”

“So, all the tales of those Terrans doesn’t stir something within you?” He sipped at his tea.

Zez grinned. “They do, but that can be taken care of with three minutes of privacy.”

He pivoted in his chair and sprayed tea away from the console. Korlin looked at her with a strange smirk. “Three minutes?”

“It kills the urge, and I get on with my day.” She sipped her tea with her feet up on the edge of the console.

“Interesting. I have never thought much about the sex drive of the Citadel Specialists.”

She shrugged. “It isn’t just the Specialists. The impulse to procreate is a strong one. I am just happy that my body is so easy to fool.”

Korlin ran his hand over his face.

She smiled. “You have your physical mannerisms down.”

He gave her a wry look. “Thank you. I was a peacekeeper when I left my home, and after a few years of behaving like a solid, I think I blend in fairly well.”

“You do. So, why did you leave home?”

He twisted his lips and set the programming for the next destination. “I wanted to meet other races and find someone whose soul resonated with mine.”

“Oh. Interesting. How has the hunt gone so far?”

He chuckled. “Not well. I have had a few relationships, but the idea of a disembodied mate is not something that they were willing to entertain for the long term.”

“Narrow minded.” She smiled. “You can reach everything under the bed and in the top cupboards. Nothing wrong with that.”

His shoulders were shaking. “You make a very valid point. I will have to add that to my social resume.”

She set her cup down and rubbed her temples.

“Headache?” Korlin frowned.

“Yeah. It is either push through it or sleep. Personally, I would like to see where we are going next before I try and figure out what I have to do.”

Tendrils of mist trailed away from him, and she felt a cool touch against her scalp. “What are you doing?”

“I am giving you a massage. I am fairly experienced at removing headaches.” He smiled and opened a data file.

She sighed and closed her eyes as the tendrils of cool mist trailed over the tension spots and applied gentle pressure.

She groaned as some of the pain left immediately and sighed as the rest was slowly rubbed away. “You have practiced this frequently, I suppose?”

He chuckled. “Learning different species’ pressure points is par for the course when you are a peacekeeper.”

She rolled her neck and turned her head into the pressure. “Well, thank you. It is helping tremendously.”

She twisted her lips and stifled a moan as the tendrils moved to her shoulders.

The strange feeling of being touched without contact was pushed aside when the pressure massage was giving her relief she hadn’t had in years.

She slowly slumped in her chair as her body surrendered to the lack of tension.

When she was boneless, he queued up the display in front of her and showed her the next mission. She had to work with animals once again and freeze a herd of wild creatures while they were inoculated.

She chuckled. “So, you will be wielding the needles?”

Korlin sighed. “Fifty at a time. The inoculations are necessary.”

“Yeah, I can see that. One introduced species has endangered everything.”

A bird had been the contaminating feature. One pet, one escaped animal had brought an infection that spread rapidly through the beasts of Krilatico.

The beasts that she was going to freeze were the lynch pin of the ecosystem. If they could gain a resistance to the infection, they might just survive.

Zez chuckled. “I never thought of myself as a vet, but this is beginning to look like a trend.”

Korlin smiled. “I am a little relieved at the options. There are situations out there that you don’t need to face. At least not yet.”

She made a face and nodded. Right, she was a murderer in his eyes. “Right. Excuse me. I am going to grab that nap after all.”

She headed to her quarters and flopped down on the bunk. For a moment, she had forgotten what she was in his eyes. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. The emotional crash was too painful.

* * * *

Korlin checked the ship’s sensors, and he found Zez in her bed, tense with a chaotic brainwave pattern. Something had upset her.

He thought back to the moment when she had shut down and replayed what he had said.

He had mentioned keeping her from the more dangerous situations and avoiding them.

“Damn it.” Given his earlier comments on her homicides, she must think he didn’t trust her.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to think with her murderous background, but everything she said matched the reports. She wasn’t trying to remove her culpability in the deaths, but she didn’t regret them.

As a peacekeeper, he abhorred senseless killings, but those killings weren’t unmotivated. She had reason to do what she did, and if she hadn’t, her sister might not have had the time to survive.

The survival of the innocent was what he should have focused on during their discussions.

The light touch that he had been able to engage in had proved that her body was compatible, but he had just trashed the best chance to see if Commander’s instincts were still good. He had been offered a partner by the best matchmaker in the Sector Guard, and he had told her she was a cold-blooded murderer. His skills with solids had not evolved as far as he had hoped.

* * * *

She watched the herd thunder toward her, and she walked to stand squarely in front of them.

The beasts were ten feet tall at the shoulder and each of their six legs ended in a powerful hoof. The three eyes across their foreheads gave them a full range of view and helped them with the local predators.

“Zez! Freeze them.”

She didn’t look at Immune; she focused on the beasts, and the moment they were only metres from her, she locked them in time. Under their hooves, the grass froze in the act of being crushed, and she stood with her hands folded in front of her.

“You can begin inoculations now.”

Fifty injectors lifted in his tendrils, and he began the process of trying to undo what one careless hand had done.

The idea of infecting the herd with a similar strain of the disease was interesting. If successful, it would let the herd spread the more benign infection that was easy to defend against and thereby give the other animals a fighting chance.

The idea of benign infection was a little odd, but stranger things had saved lives, so Zez was willing to help.

It only took an hour to complete the herd injections, from eldest to youngest.

“We are done, Zez.”

She nodded and stepped away from the centre of the herd, walking calmly out of the path of the beasts and up the hill to where Immune was waiting.

She took a deep breath and released the herd; the silence was broken in an instant by the pounding thunder of hooves.

In under a minute, the field was clear of all living things except for Immune and Zez.

She turned and walked toward the shuttle.

“Zez, wait.” Immune had the injectors trailing behind him like a mechanical trail.

She paused and turned. “Yes, Immune?”

He sighed and stepped toward her. “I am sorry that I called you a murderer.”

She scowled. “It is what I am.”

“It is part of what you are. The rest of you is a charming, funny and devastatingly attractive woman that I would like to get closer to.”

The entire bulk of his speech surprised her.