Rion (9 page)

She was going to wake up in her bed, her pulse racing, and laugh at this insane nightmare. But slowly the wind stopped plucking
at her. The swooping sensation faded. And she dared to crack open her eyes. The world was still alien, but they’d stopped
falling. Some unknown force floated them down gently toward a crowded square.

People sat eating, drinking, and playing games on spinning cubes. One man walked a six-legged canine. The diners acted as
if they hadn’t noticed Rion and Marisa’s crazy fall and subsequent landing.

“Antigravs caught us,” Rion explained. “Throughout the city they also prevent dragonshaping—something to do with electromagnetic
changes on a cellular level.”

Her feet touched the metal decking and her legs shook. “What are antigravs?”

“Safety devices. You’re okay now.”

“No. I’m not okay.” She was shaking so hard she had to hold on to Rion to keep from falling. “I thought I was going to die.
Again.”

He gathered her into his arms and cradled her against his chest. “I’m sorry. There was no time to explain.”

Her teeth chattered. Sorry wasn’t good enough. The Enforcer could have executed her. During that fall, she could have died
of fright. But she bit back the complaints. Rion’s warmth settled her. His solid strength was an anchor of familiarity in
this strange new world. She breathed in his scent, closed her eyes, and told herself that she’d been in tight spots before.
And there was nothing wrong with clinging to Rion if that righted her world.

He murmured soothingly, “Just hang on a little longer and we’ll find a safe place to hole up.”

“All right.” Her shaking subsided, and she stepped away from him. Taking comfort was one thing, but she couldn’t let herself
forget that he’d gotten her into this mess in the first place.

He half led, half carried her behind a slowly rolling automated cart that whistled and rumbled on metal wheels. After boosting
her onto the cart’s seat, he climbed up to sit beside her. “We can rest here for a bit. But not for long. Sooner or later,
they’ll figure out we jumped levels and are out of the grid pattern.”

She rubbed her temples, trying to understand. “What are you saying?”

“Isn’t the translator working?”

Struggling to control her fear and anger, she told herself that screaming at him wasn’t going to help. “I understand… your
words, not the concepts.”

Rion nodded and slung his arm over her shoulders, until their hips and thighs touched. “You’re suffering culture shock and
jump lag—like jet lag, only worse. The Enforcers will canvass the entire level up there before they search down here. But
with our pictures on their monitors, it’s only a matter of time before one of them spots us.”

“How long have we got?”

“Maybe ten minutes.”

“How long will it take to reach Phen?”

“An hour.”

“Then we need a disguise.”

“Good thinking. How do you feel about blue skin and silver hair?”

She blinked, recalling the people she’d seen with blue-and green-tinged skin. She’d assumed they’d been born that color. “You
can change my skin color?”

He winked. “We can change you from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. But it’s expensive, and I don’t have any
credit chips.” He slung his pack from his shoulder and removed two hats, handed her one and donned the other. “However, if
you can walk a bit farther, I brought some barter items.”

Marisa forced herself to tamp down on the fear. Instead, she made herself think about the safety of a disguise. Taking a deep
breath, she twisted her hair up on her head and put on the hat. “I’m good to go.”

She wasn’t, of course. Any moment she expected a tracer to tag her. Or for the Enforcers to swoop down and surround them.
But adrenaline kept her on her feet, kept her careful.

A few minutes later, Rion led her into a booth that housed a machine that looked like a four-sided ATM. After opening the
zipper on his pack, he removed five Krugerrands and placed the gold into a bin. The bin ate the coins, and credit chips came
out.

He handed her almost half the chips and pocketed the rest. “Gold’s even more valuable here than on Earth. Of course, after
the Enforcers examine the gold, they’ll figure out it came from offworld. They’ll try to find us here. But we’ll be gone by
then.”

Just knowing the Enforcers might once again be tracking them down made her antsy. She didn’t plan to linger.

He led her through a maze of stalls that reminded her of a flea market, with vendors selling carpets, machines, clothing,
and dozens of items she couldn’t identify. But despite her fear, what interested her more than the items for sale were the
aliens themselves.

While all were humanoid, with two legs and two arms, some had extra eyes in the middle of their foreheads. She saw men who
were tiny and slender, perfectly formed and very beautiful. And women with locks so long that to keep their hair off the ground,
tiny carts trailed behind to support it.

“How many races live here?” she asked.

“Tor has always encouraged commerce. Import and export taxes are low. Hundreds of races pass through this trading center daily.”

Hundreds? It appeared the galaxy was teeming with life—not so surprising when one considered the billions of stars. Still,
the sights amazed her. If she hadn’t been on the run, she’d have longed for a camera.

Rion took her into an establishment that seemed more substantial than many they’d passed. The outside window was painted with
beautiful images of humanoids, but the holographic images kept changing to display a variety of options in facial features,
bone structure, and even eye color.

“We don’t have time for more than a superficial makeover,” Rion told her.

“Thank God.” She preferred to at least recognize herself in the mirror.

“That’s the female side.” Rion pointed to an arch on the left. “Order new clothes, a skin tint, and a hair color option.”

“How long will this take?”

“Five minutes. I’ll meet you back here.”

Marisa walked through the door he’d indicated. She paused for a moment, wondering if she should take this opportunity to escape.
But where would she go with the Enforcers after her? She didn’t even know if she could find her way back to the transporter.
After she used the credits he’d given her for her disguise, she’d have no money. She’d already run from Rion straight into
the Enforcers.

Before making a move that might place her life in danger again, she needed to learn more about this world. So for now, she’d
stay with Rion.

Marisa expected someone inside the establishment to greet her. But as she stepped through the door, a mechanical voice issued
instructions. “Please follow the orange light.”

Trying to breathe evenly, she followed the orange neon light on the floor into a room with a tub. The automated instructions
continued. “Remove all clothing and jewelry before stepping into the tub.”

She did as instructed, feeling very vulnerable as she stood naked in the tub. Now what? Did she sit, stand, or lie down?

“Choose your preference.”

A panel in the tub opened, and a screen popped up. She picked silver skin with a slight blue tint and shiny silver hair. She
also got a choice of clothing that was more appropriate for clubbing than for a fugitive. But blending in with the general
populace was her immediate goal. She ended up wearing a minidress with a halter top and strappy sandals that made her think
Manolo Blahnik was an alien.

“Please insert five credits.”

She placed the chips into a blinking slot. Marisa had no idea what to expect. She should have asked Rion more questions. But
when silver flakes began to fall from the ceiling, then spun around her before adhering to her skin, she held out her arms
and watched in amazement. Her skin turned silvery blue, the flakes drying on contact. Other flakes stuck to her hair and turned
it silver.

Wow. She could make a fortune with this machine back home. Talk about the end of prejudice. When anyone could change skin
color or features, ethnicity and race based on looks became irrelevant. This machine alone could have stopped wars and saved
millions of lives. When the flakes stopped falling, she climbed out of the tub and dressed. Her shoes were now dyed to match
her new clothing, which looked way too large, but after she put it on, it shrank to fit her perfectly. Nice technology.

Still, reluctant to leave her own clothing behind, she scooped up her Earth things and tucked them under her arm.

Rion stood waiting for her in the lobby, and she handed him her old clothes. He took in her hair, her skin, her short dress,
and he whistled. “You look… amazing.”

She almost thanked him for the compliment, before she bit back the words. Damn him for making her feel good. She shouldn’t
care what the hell her kidnapper thought about her appearance.

Rion shoved her clothes into his pack, which gave her time to check him out. He’d also chosen silver skin tint, and his hair
was now navy blue. He wore a dove gray shirt with royal purple piping and charcoal pants. Somehow the clothing suited him
more than his Earth clothing ever had. His shoulders looked broader, the cords in his neck thicker, his chest more powerful.
Despite his effort to blend, Rion would draw attention wherever he went.

He escorted her out the door. “We haven’t much time.”

“How do you know?”

“An Enforcer squad is sweeping the area.”

With her silver-blue skin and hair, she felt less conspicuous. But Merlin had no trouble finding them. Out of the corner of
her eye, she glimpsed a flutter of Merlin’s wings as the owl dropped onto an overhead ledge.

Keeping an eye out for Enforcers, Marisa stayed beside Rion as they threaded their way between slower groups of people, traveling
at the same pace as the fastest pedestrians. Breaking into a run would draw attention—or so she assumed.

“Enforcers, ahead,” she whispered.

“Stay calm.” Rion held her tightly and she ducked her head, letting the hat shade her face.

Marisa held her breath until the Enforcers strode right by them. Thanks to the disguises, they didn’t stop.

“That was close.” After the encounter, Marisa couldn’t stop shaking. “How did the Enforcers get so much power?”

“It’s complicated. But the bottom line is that people on Tor were fearful of an invasion. In exchange for the safety and protection
they wanted, they gave away too much power and freedom. Eventually the Enforcers took over, dominating… everyone. Now they
are too powerful for the citizens to abolish them. But what is worse is that some of us suspect that the Enforcers are covert
members of the Tribes.”

That old saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely seemed to be a universal constant, not just a pattern on Earth. Marisa
kept walking, her mind spinning from one angle to the next. “If the Torans feared a Unari invasion, wouldn’t it have been
to their benefit to have helped you after you escaped your world?”

“The Torans fear Honor’s dragonshapers as much as they fear the Unari.”

“Why?”

“They believe Honor wants to take over Tor. That’s why the antigravs in the city prevent dragonshaping.”

Her mouth went dry and she licked her bottom lip. “Are you telling me that—”

“Yeah, if they find out we are dragonshapers, they shoot on sight.”

So much for eliminating prejudice. She pressed her arms against her sides to hide the scales on the insides of her arms.

“It’s doubtful anyone here will recognize you have the scales of a dragonshaper.”

She recalled him saying that the dragonshapers on his planet didn’t have her telltale marks. “So everyone on Honor can dragonshape,
and none of these Torans can?”

He nodded. “Our ability to fly and breathe fire has kept us at war for thousands of years. We’ve had an uneasy truce for the
last few centuries. Since my people can’t dragonshape here, they don’t like to visit.”

“I understand.” To stay alive, dragonshapers needed to feed periodically on platinum and hydrogen in dragon form. Being in
a place where she couldn’t morph was akin to being a fish out of water.

“We’ll have to leave before it’s time to feed.”

She gave him a hard look. “How are we going to leave?”

He smiled. “Phen and I have a plan to retrofit a spaceship.”

If the land comes under disaster or perilous times, we must be willing to die so the land may live.

—H
ONORIAN LEADER

C
ranky, footsore, and in desperate need of sleep, Marisa gritted her teeth and followed Rion around another corner.

Rion noted her flagging pace and took her hand. “Just a little farther through the spaceport and we’ll reach the rim.”

He’d said the same thing over an hour ago. “Is Phen on the rim?”

“Yes. But it’s farther than the last time I was here.”

Since she’d already noticed how the buildings around the city’s rim moved from place to place on silent air sleds, she nodded
and forced one foot in front of the other.

Beside her, Rion stiffened, and his gaze darted past two Enforcers. Suddenly he stopped, spun her around, and planted his
lips on hers.