Elemental (6 page)

“Luminarium!” Meir took his hand away from
my waist and stroked one of the nearest crates. “That explains a
lot. I wondered why the Leaders of Talia would allow
any
ship to leave the planet.” He looked in my direction for a fraction
of a second.

“Yes.” Malik grunted. “Whatever else
happens, the Mamood war machine must be funded.”

With a warning look to me, he put his hand
on Meir’s back and led him to the other end of the room. I stayed
where I was and turned my back to them, trying to be sneaky. The
small room couldn’t hide their whispers no matter how hard Malik
tried. If he wanted to be that naïve, I’d let him.

I smirked.
So devious.

When Malik thought he had pulled Meir far
enough away, he said, “You know I’m putting my life on the line by
helping you… and that… girl.” He barely choked the last bit out.
Was I that repulsive to him? “I get that my father is bound to you
by the Oath, but I am not.”

I wanted so badly to turn around and see
Meir’s face, but then remembered it would be hidden behind the
mask. I pressed my lips into a tight line and continued with my
charade.

“I’ll do it, though,” Malik continued,
“because my father asked me to and I will not dishonor him through
disobedience. However,” he paused for emphasis, “if she keeps
making these damned mistakes like dropping her weapon and tripping
up a
ramp
, I will turn her in myself.”

“I’ll say something to her.” Meir’s voice
sounded warped and sinister, not at all like his soothing tenor. It
was almost metallic. I jumped when I heard it then froze, hoping
Malik hadn’t seen the movement. “She knows how desperate her
situation is. She’s trying.”

I was completely confused now. Meir’s harsh
tone did not fit in at all with his calm words. Suddenly it dawned
on me. He was speaking through the mask. What with the grotesque
face and now the voice, this suit had a greater purpose than just
protecting its bearer—it also was meant to terrorize.

Malik didn’t speak, and I imagined he was
weighing Meir’s words. Would my
trying
be enough for him?
We’d see.

“Now tell me something,” Meir continued.
“Since when have the Mamood been willing to ship so much Luminarium
to one buyer all at once?”

Malik chuckled. “You’re not one of the
Leaders anymore, Meir. You are no longer privy to that
information.”

“Regardless, I’m curious. And it’s not like
this is exactly top secret.”

There was another short pause before Malik
spoke. “This is not a shipment the Leaders of Talia are happy to
deliver. You’re right; even for the Soltakians, it is unusually
large, but the Kofra has insisted upon it. It’s always about the
money with him, anything to fund his army. Nevertheless, the
Council remains suspicious. You should know… the inspectors will
look for any reason not to send us off.”

“What could they possibly want with it all?”
Meir was mumbling now and I guessed he wasn’t expecting an answer.
He got one anyway.

“That is just what the Council wants to
know. There are rumors the Soltakians are expanding their
fleet.”

“All this for their military? Impossible.
There must be millions of gems in these crates.”

“Exactly. But as I said, the Kofra is hungry
for the payload it brings and refuses to listen to the
Council.”

Another pause. “What do you think our odds
are of leaving, then?” I couldn’t ignore the worry in Meir’s voice.
Suddenly, I was filled with hopelessness. If my savior doubted,
then how could I not?

Malik’s tone turned sharp, like he was
speaking through his teeth. “If everything is not done perfectly,
we will not leave today and that girl’s chances of getting out of
here on anything but
Sho’ful
will be severely diminished.
But even if we do leave Talia, we still have the checkpoint to get
through and that has its own set of problems.”

“Tell me.”

“Two unknown spacecraft have been seen
within the Kofra’s territory today.”

“Traders?”

Malik laughed. It was dark, and slightly
hysterical. “Not unless you know of a planet that outfits its
freighters like battleships. Massive battleships.”

Meir groaned, or growled. Behind the mask,
it definitely sounded like a growl, and I shuddered. “Security at
the checkpoint will be doubled, at the very least.”

“Yes. But we do have one significant
advantage: the Kofra really wants this freighter to get to Soltak
as soon as possible. He doesn’t get paid until it does. It is my
duty to remind the inspectors and the guards of this fact. Speaking
of… the inspectors should be arriving shortly. Get the girl
ready.”

One set of feet started walking back to me
and I pretended to be grossly interested in the finer details of my
weapon. I heard a door slide open and then close. I went over their
conversation in my head, focusing on two little words: “that girl.”
I knew there was so much more I should have heard. The truth was, I
did “hear” it, but I couldn’t think of anything but the way Malik
spit out his oh-so-special name for me, as if I was nothing. Who
did he think he was? I looked at the wide end of my rifle, truly
engrossed now, and imagined it had a new purpose—contact with
Malik’s face.

“We need to talk.” I jumped at Meir’s
metallic voice. I had forgotten all about him during the brief
moments of my sadistic fantasies. I really needed to get that under
control. I wasn’t used to having such an awful temper. Of course,
I’d never been around enough people to really have it tested.

When I turned to face him, I nearly jumped
again. As it was, my heart just skipped a beat. I had to remind
myself it was only Meir.

I peered around his shoulder to where he and
Malik had been talking. “Where did Malik go?” I really wanted to
say “that boy,” but I wasn’t about to get snarky with the giant in
front of me.

“He has to greet the inspectors and make
sure the crew is ready to go.”

“Oh.”

I bit my lip. Meir stood very still and I
was sure he was trying to teach me a lesson. I wasn’t taking this
seriously enough. I didn’t grasp what Malik and Pallaton were doing
for me. I dipped my head, letting the shame wash through me. Meir
only knew how I was acting outwardly. What would he think if he
knew I’d contemplated Malik’s murder on more than one occasion in
the last few minutes? I was suddenly disgusted with myself.

Had I completely lost my mind? What kind of
person was I? Who seriously thinks about murdering someone?

My body folded in on itself. I no longer had
the strength to stand. Meir caught me before I hit the floor and
leaned me against the wall.

“What’s wrong?” His voice was anxious, even
behind the mask.

“I’m sorry, Meir.” I struggled to choke out
the words. It wasn’t that I didn’t mean them. I just hated
admitting I might be a disappointment to my savior. “I’ve been very
awful.”

He laughed silently. His shaking body no
longer did a very good job of propping me up. I nearly toppled to
the floor. “You haven’t been that bad. Just a little… awkward.”

I shook my head. “Meir, you don’t know. I
thought about killing him.”

Now he really laughed out loud, not the
silent little chuckles of before. I pursed my lips.

“Who? Malik?”

I nodded.

He laughed a few more seconds then struggled
to compose himself. He coughed. “Well, as long as you’re sorry, and
you won’t have those thoughts again.” I was sure I heard a smirk
behind all that.

He pulled me away from the wall and led me
past the maze of crates to the back of the room, where he and Malik
had been talking.

“What is all this stuff, by the way?”

“Fuel, essentially.” He turned to face me.
“They’re gems that react differently when subjected to intense
amounts of heat.”

“Differently how?”

“I’m not a scientist, Ella. I just know
something
does
happen, not
how
it happens.”

“So, what
does
happen?”

He chuckled. “They explode.”

“This is a good thing?”

“It is when the explosion creates enough
energy to power a warship for centuries.”

“But doesn’t everything else blow up along
with it?”

He shook his head and I could hear the smile
in his voice despite the distortion. “They have ways to contain it.
Now I think it’s time I prepared you a bit for the inspectors.”

I gulped. I didn’t know what Meir thought he
could do to prepare me. I was hopeless. We would be lucky to escape
with our lives. Well, Meir would be. I was pretty sure Manoo had
special plans for me.

“The Tarmeans are slave soldiers—highly
trained and efficient.” We had reached the rear wall and I noticed
a seam in the smooth metal. I wanted to ask Meir what it was, but
he continued talking. “It’s not likely that the inspectors will pay
any attention to us because they’re really just here to inspect the
goods, but should they speak to you, you must respond immediately.
If they ask you something, give them as short of an answer as
possible and do so with confidence. The Tarmeans may be slaves, but
they are some of the more ‘professional’ and highly respected
slaves.”

He appraised my appearance again and mumbled
something. I didn’t catch most of it, but three words were pretty
clear: “…just the goods…”

I knew what Meir was thinking. If the
inspectors took one look at me, they’d know I wasn’t one of their
“respected slaves.” I’d be caught and Meir would die.

Blood rushed to my head, clouding my
thoughts and obstructing my vision. Black spots started popping up
in front of my eyes and I was certain my legs would turn to
complete mush long before the inspectors arrived.

“I can’t do this. I can’t do this.”

“Of course you can.” He grabbed my shoulders
with his broad hands and forced me to look at him. I almost
imagined I could see his soft, black eyes through the mask. “Don’t
forget that I’ll be with you the entire time.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t… Maybe this was a bad
idea.”

“Shh… I hear them coming.” He let go of me
and turned with his back to the wall. I mimicked him as best I
could and clutched my weapon as tightly to me as possible.

Sure enough, I could hear muffled voices
just outside the door. A speaker above my head crackled to life as
a voice came over the intercom.

“This is Inspector 443 of the Talian Traders
Board. Submit your code, Tarmean.”

Meir jerked around to face the wall and
punched in six numbers on a small keypad next to the seam I had
noticed earlier. The wall slid open at the seam with a soft hiss
and three men entered the cargo hold, one of whom was Malik. They
brushed past us without a word, and with digital display in-hand,
the person I assumed was the head Inspector quickly got to
work.

My head started to swim as I clenched my
neck and locked my knees. The black spots in front of my eyes grew
bigger and began blocking my peripheral vision.
Why is it
getting so hot in here?
I wondered.

I swallowed, but as much as I tried, my dry
mouth wouldn’t moisten and the room wouldn’t stop spinning. I
wished I could lean against the wall for a moment. Just a
moment…

I slammed my foot against the floor to
steady myself after I nearly toppled over. The thud echoed in my
eardrums for a fraction of a second.

Inspector 443 snapped his head up and with
curled lip and piercing eyes, he glared at me, and then turned to
Malik.

Panic flashed across Malik’s face for a
microsecond. It was so fast, I wondered if I’d imagined it. His
face was cold when he addressed the Inspector. He shrugged. “Damn
newbies. What are they sending out of the camps these days?”

The man wasn’t placated. In fact, his face
grew suspicious. “Nothing but the best, and
you
know that.”
He took two large strides to stand in front of me. He wasn’t as
tall as Meir or Malik, but he still towered over me. I fought back
the tears. “What’s your number, slave?”

I was speechless. What number? No one had
said anything about a number. If I thought I was terrified a few
seconds ago, that was nothing compared to the horror I felt as the
tall inspector in his dark robes glared down at me with venom in
his eyes.

There was no stopping it. I gasped for air
as the panic really set in. I was going to die and I was bringing
my savior down with me.

I turned to Malik, pleading, but he stood
like a cold statue. I then remembered what he’d told Meir. That if
I didn’t behave better and act like I knew what I was doing, he
would turn me in himself. Clearly, he was not going to help. I was
dead.

Malik confirmed my suspicions when his
frozen face thawed and he moved to stand in front of me. “Speak up,
slave!” He drove his fist into my gut, and one of the armor plates
sliced into me.

Not
what I was expecting, but I
didn’t have time to think about that. I was far too busy heaving up
my insides. I dropped the stupid weapon and followed it to the
floor. I was done pretending—let them kill me. After that blow, my
burning and spastic body wanted to die. On the bright side—and it
was really hard for me to find anything positive at the moment—I
didn’t have to answer the Inspector. All the air had been knocked
out of my lungs. I couldn’t speak if I wanted to.

“I said speak!” he screamed louder and hit
me again.

The precious little air I had managed to
fill my lungs with now went out in a whoosh. Forget what I’d said
to Meir, I wanted Malik dead. Though my body jerked out of control
as my oxygen-deprived muscles tensed, my mind was still perfectly
clear. The weapon I had dropped was just inches away.
Five-point-three seconds, huh? I could wait that long.

And all through this calculated plan for
Malik’s murder, I continued to gasp for air. In fact, little more
than a second had passed as I contemplated his demise—no one even
noticed. But it was no use. I was still dry-heaving and choking,
gasping and wheezing. My insides burned, begging for death.