Candidate (Selected Book 4) (42 page)

"Think she's going to wait for me or catch me as I exit?"

"I guess we find out. We'll drop the force field on the backswing."

"Ready."

"Begin!" called out Jasmine. The bridge finished its swing back, and then it began moving forward. I began running, and then the Implac was scrambling backwards, screaming. I got to the end and leapt, swinging the staff. She tried to fend me off, but I came down, screamed, rolled once, and swung at the back of her legs. I knocked her down, right into the trap, but it had shut off. Still I went after her, catching her four times before she swept my feet from me. But I rolled away, and we both climbed to our feet. I charged her, swinging, and she dropped her staff with one hand, reached past my staff, letting it rake across her arm. She screamed, but she grabbed me by the back of the head, spun, and threw me from the platform.

Zero to two, and I took the punishment besides.

Our third point had the Implac on the bridge and me waiting for her. I moved closer, and she looked down at my feet. I couldn't read her expression, but I thought she might be smiling, thinking I had forgotten.

I hadn't forgotten.

"Begin!"

The force field dropped. The bridge began moving towards me, and the Implac was at the nearest end.

I scrambled backward, and I thought I barely made it clear. Then she leapt, and I ducked down, grounded one end of the staff, and caught her in the middle. Her momentum lifted her up and over as she began screaming. I tried to deflect her off the platform, but she fell square on it behind me, dropping her staff. I turned, shoved the staff away with mine, and then went after her. Strike and a scream, strike and a scream. She tried to kick me from her downed position, but I blocked with the staff and she screamed, and then I spun around and hit her in the side. She jerked away, and I did it twice more. She fell off the side.

I stood there, leaning on the staff and panting heavily, but looking down at her. She was staring at the ground, hovering over it. And then Dark Skies lifted her by the ankles. She began whimpering even before she was above my head, and she was screaming long before she got dropped.

At the end of the second drop, she emptied her stomach onto the arena grounds. Dark Skies actually let her kneel in mid air, heaving. Then she wiped her mouth.

And then Dark Skies lifted her and dropped her once more.

I moved onto the sliding bridge and waited.

"If I lose the rest," I said, "I don't care."

"Try to do better than that," Dark Skies said. "I wouldn't mind doing that a few more times."

The Implac was slow to get moving, and she looked pretty bad when she stepped onto the center platform. I waited at the center of the bridge, just barely closer to her, hoping the Implac would forget. But she held back and waited.

"Begin."

The force field dropped, and the woman didn't move. She waited, right in the center of the platform.

"Seriously?" I asked. "You're going to wait there? Where's that Implac killer instinct?"

And then I waited. The bridge went back and forth a few times. The woman didn't move.

"Fine," I said. "If you're too afraid to come to me, then move back so I have room to come to you."

She listened to the translation and then stepped back six steps. So be it. I timed it and ran, jumping over the danger area. As soon as I was committed, the Implac was moving forward, but I slumped to my knees, and her strike went wide. I grazed her legs then was past her. She screamed, but she kicked backwards, catching me in the chest, and I flew all the way off the platform.

I screamed during the first drop, but then I said, "Is it against the rules to pause at the top?"

"No."

"Is this as high as you can take me?"

"I can take you to the clouds, Andromeda."

"And catch me, even if I don't fall straight?"

"Yes, and catch you."

"Higher. A thousand meters."

And so she lifted me, dangling from my feet, and I wondered if I was insane. But I spread my arms. "Wait. Do you have cameras on me?"

"Several."

"Let me see the view from one, just until you drop me back in the cage."

A moment later, my image was superimposed over the view looking down. I blew a kiss to the camera, spread my arms wide, and said, "Do it."

I'd never been parachuting before. I don't know how high they take you. It's probably higher than three thousand feet. But I dropped for what seemed like a long time.

And I didn't scream.

"One more," Dark Skies said.

"Higher."

Two thousand meters. And then she lowered me into the cage, and it took a while for me to catch my breath.

"Sky divers," I said. "Eat your hearts out." I collected my staff, stood up, and jogged out to meet my opponent.

She got the next four points, but then I got one more. Dark Skies shouldn't have lifted her as high as she'd been lifting me, because my second time hadn't been that high. But I didn't say a word when she did it.

The rest of the points happened right in front of my cage. We weren't using the cage to end the challenge, and so it closed after I stepped out, and I had little room to maneuver.

The Implac took a long time to come to me, however. I grounded the staff and waited. She took a very long time. But the murder in her eyes was clear when she finally arrived.

"She's going to try to really hurt me this time," I said. "If she's beating me badly enough, and I can't escape, pull me off sideways."

"We'll protect you," Clover whispered.

The barrier went down, and the Implac charged me. She powered through two strikes of the staff and slammed me backwards into the cage behind me.

Then she began to pummel me with her hands. I crumpled under the onslaught but she pulled me to my feet and hit my face hard enough to throw me from the platform.

I hung in space, dazed, staring at the ground.

"My face," I said. "Cameras on it."

"I'm on it," Dark Skies said. "You're done, Andromeda. Concede."

"You have to drop me. Do it."

"No."

"You have to. Do it."

She lifted me and dropped me three times. I thought I was going to be sick this time, and I couldn't control the falls, but I held it together until she lowered me into the cage.

I collected my staff, stood up, and turned to the Implac.

"Please stop, Andromeda."

I wiped at my face. It was bleeding badly. I stepped forward and then waited. They weren't opening the cage door.

"Open it."

"No."

"Open it!"

"No."

I looked for Jasmine. She was standing in her place, her eyes on me. "Jasmine Brighteyes," I called out. "Honor is not satisfied. Open this door."

Jasmine spread her arms, and then I knew Dark Skies was lifting her. She rose into the air and floated over to me, setting down in front of the cage door. She turned to me and stepped closer.

"Andromeda," she said. "We do not allow this to happen to our humans. We do not. This event is over."

"It is over!" I screamed, "When it is over! That woman," and I pointed past Jasmine, "Violated me."

"I know," said Jasmine. "I know. But we do not do this to our humans. We do not. I cannot allow it."

She turned around and walked to the edge of the force field. Then she spoke in an alien language, but Clover translated to me.

"This event was to push your opponent from the platform. I allowed strikes as a tool to do so. I specifically disallowed pummeling. I told you to control your power. You could have easily thrown her. Instead, you did that to her. This is not how we treat our humans. You are forfeit."

Then Jasmine turned around and walked to me. The cell door opened as she approached, and then she pulled me into her arms, picked me up and carried me from the arena.

I don't know what happened to the Implac after that. I asked Jasmine to not tell me. She assured me I'd never see her again, and that was enough for me.

I never have.

"Stop it," I whispered. "Put me down."

"You're going into the chair."

"No! I have a job to do."

"No you do not."

"Jasmine, this needs to be my choice. I have a job to do."

"You are going into the chair."

I stopped fighting her. "Will you let me out for tomorrow?"

"Yes."

I started to cry. "Will it heal?"

"Yes."

"How bad is it?"

"Don't touch it."

She carried me the entire way, and there were technicians waiting. They pointed to a chair, and I thought it was the same one as last night.

The technicians pulled the boots from me. I held Jasmine's hands in mine, and she looked down at me. Then the technicians worked on the jumper, pulling it from me. I stared at Jasmine and let them do to me whatever they wanted, but I winced a few times.

"I think she got my ribs."

"Everyone heard it," she said. "The chair will fix it."

"By morning?"

She didn't say anything.

"Jasmine, please."

"We'll see," she said. "Oh, Andie."

"I'm sorry," said one of the techs. "We need to take the visor."

It dimmed immediately and then someone removed it. I blinked up at Jasmine, but the chair was already swallowing me. I clutched at her hands. "It hurts."

"I know. You won. She forfeit."

"She won. She kicked my ass."

"She intentionally broke your ribs. She intentionally broke your cheek. We do not do this to our humans! Do you hear me? We do not. I have to let go now, Andie. Let go of my hands."

I nodded. It was hard to let go but I did. She pressed my hands down, and then the chair finished swallowing me.

And I slept.

* * * *

It was some time later that I woke, still cradled in the chair, but my face exposed. Jasmine was there as was someone looking very doctor-ish.

"Well, young lady," he said. "Fighting with Implacs is not good for your bones."

I flicked my gaze to Jasmine. "What day is it?"

"Thursday morning."

I looked back to the doctor. "How bad am I?"

"Now? You have some swelling around your face, but we repaired the bone. We repaired the ribs. That's probably going to be tender for a while. I am not authorizing you for any further combat events for at least a week, and you'll be back here for a full exam."

"Am I going to hurt?"

"Probably. If it is too much, we can put you back in for another day or two."

I looked back to Jasmine. "How much time do I have?"

"Two hours."

"I'm hungry, and I want a bubble bath. Do you think I could have a bubble bath?" I turned to the doctor again. "Do I need to ice it?"

"No. Heat is good now. Icing is to stop the swelling before it happens."

"Yes, Andromeda, we can arrange a bubble bath," said Jasmine.

At that, the bed receded the rest of the way. Jasmine had a robe for me, and she covered me until I was completely free. Then she helped me sit and I pulled the robe on. She and the doctor steadied me as I climbed from the bed, and then she knelt down before me and put slippers on my feet.

Then she stood, wrapped an arm around me, and together we slowly walked away.

"Where are you taking me?"

"My apartment," she said. "I'll feed you in the tub."

"You don't have to do that."

"And yet you aren't going to fight me."

"No. I won't fight you."

We didn't talk the rest of the way. She led me straight to her bathroom, and the tub was waiting. I checked the water then dropped the robe and climbed in, Jasmine supporting me until I sunk down into the water. I closed my eyes.

"Thank you," I whispered. "Now take that foolish blouse off and put on a proper one."

She snuffled, and a moment later she was caressing me with tentacles. "Food is coming."

"Thank you," I whispered again. "That was a big audience. Did you sell tickets?"

"Of course not."

I soaked quietly for a minute. "Jasmine. The Kitsune apologized to me."

"I know."

"Is she one you wanted me to impress?"

"Yes."

I opened my eyes. "Why?"

"Because she is very, very important, Andromeda."

I closed my eyes again. "I don't care about that. I want someone who will treat me with kindness."

"Well, she's married. She wasn't here to decide if she wanted you as a mate. She was here to meet you."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because you're an experiment, and she wanted to know why."

"Oh. I'm sorry I ruined that for you."

"You changed it, somewhat dramatically, I think by the time you finished dancing with her."

I heard a noise, so I opened my eyes to look. Clover was in the doorway, and she had, of all things, a picnic basket.

"May I stay?" she asked.

"If you have time and Jasmine doesn't mind," I said. "Jasmine, are you really feeding me in here?"

"You soak," she said.

The two did something with the food. I didn't even have to open my eyes. Jasmine simply said, "Open," and then she slid something into my mouth.

It was all delicious.

"Clover?"

"Yes?"

"If I ever suggest something like that again, will you please ask Dark Skies to grab me, drug me into oblivion, and order me to forget it?"

She snorted. "Yes. Sugilite is asking about her, Jasmine. For that matter, so are Cherish, Soft Rain, and just about everyone else."

I sighed. "I missed all the interviews yesterday. I wanted to watch them."

"They're recorded."

"It's not the same." I opened my eyes and turned my head. "How did Julie do?"

"I have four males expressing an interest," Jasmine replied. "They all know what she wants, and they know she has health limitations."

"If you can fix my face, can't you help her with that?"

"Of course we can," Jasmine said. "But not until she is either mated or signs an employment contract."

"I thought so. I didn't tell her. I want her to think whoever wants her is happy with her the way she is."

"They are," Jasmine said. "Two physicists, a mathematician, and I'm not sure what Dr. Neeks does. They started asking her questions about her thesis paper and seemed quite pleased with her answers."

"Good," I said. "I need to see that video, and I need to see her before she goes into the arena."

"Of course. Video is available as soon as I get you a new visor."

"I brought one," said Clover. "But..."

I reached up, and the side of my face was tender.

"I should get up," I said. "Things to do, people to see, Catseye to hug."

"We'll give you a little privacy," Jasmine said. "The room across the hall has your clothes."

"Thank you."

* * * *

They were both waiting when I stepped into the living room. I took my hugs, long, slow, and very gentle.

"Thank you for taking care of me," I told them. "I need to speak with Julie before she goes to the arena."

"She's in the second batch, right before lunch," Jasmine said. "First is at 9:30. Second at 11:00. It's 8:50 right now."

There was a visor case on the coffee table. "Is that mine?"

"Yes. It's not going to be comfortable."

I sat down on the sofa and pulled the box to me. I opened, and a visor waited for me. "May I?"

"Yes."

I pulled it out. Jasmine was right. It was a little uncomfortable, but I put it on anyway. It activated, and I saw immediately I had mail."

"It's the same one?"

"No. That one was cracked. This is new."

"It has my old settings."

"Oh. Yes. Those upload to the server."

"Ah. Nice. I'll check my mail later. I should go visit Julie."

"You'll have to do it between batches," Jasmine said. "You have visitors. They'll be here in a minute or two. But Clover and I need to talk to you. Normally, once the women are in the arena, I talk to them. I try to convince them to be a willing mate. And I explain about the ribbons. We want you to do it."

I thought about it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll need you there if there are questions or agreements to make." I thought more. "And I think if we're going to do that, I should go out there as a mating candidate, not your employee."

The two exchanged a look, then Jasmine said, "We'll trust your judgment."

"Do the women have shoes?"

"Some were wearing slippers when we took them."

"I bet the sand is hell on them."

"They usually come away ruined," Jasmine said.

"I think you should give them sandals, Jasmine."

"We'll discuss that in the future."

"I should be shackled," I said. "And led out like they are. But may I have one of the kimonos?"

"Yes," she said. "Are you asking for sandals?"

"Some of them have robes, so if I have a kimono, that's in keeping. But if most of them are in barefoot or slippers, then I will go barefoot. Will the sand be hot?"

"Later, it can be, but we cool it before the event. It's warm, but not hot enough to burn."

"You should give them sandals."

"And I said we'll discuss it in the future. Your guests are here." They both stood and then I received a tentacle from each to pull me to my feet. By the time I turned, several aliens were moving in.

"Greet the Kitsune first," Jasmine said into my ear. "Give her a moment, then you may greet the others."

Sugilite stepped through the others and around the sofa, coming to a stop a few feet in front of me and looking me up and down. I stepped forward and offered a hand. "Good morning, Sugilite," I said. "A big day today."

"A big day today, she says," said Sugilite. "You are a foolish human."

"I took my honor back, and she lost hers," I said. "I could have looked past it if she had been only a little less invasive. But she went much too far."

"Although I would not have ignored it," Jasmine added from behind me.

"You and I started poorly," Sugilite said.

"We did." I smiled. "You engaged in subterfuge. That was very naughty of you."

She stiffened for a moment, her ears swiveling forward. "I will repeat: you are a foolish human."

"Far too foolish for my own good," I agreed. "I didn't like you when we first met, but I think I was wrong."

Her ears twitched again. "Perhaps not. I can be difficult to like. I would like to share a meal and a portion of your time."

"I would like that as well. I am not in control of my schedule for such things, and I do not know if I can be charming for another day or two."

"You are still hurt."

"A little, yes, and today will be a long day."

"Is tomorrow too soon?"

I looked at Jasmine. "Am I available?"

"Yes."

I turned back to the Sugilite. "I may need a nap before we meet, and I do not think too much excitement would be good."

"We will share a quiet evening," she said. She stepped forward, closing the rest of the distance. She took a hand in one of hers and then reached up to very gently touch the side of my face. "Very foolish human."

"Perhaps, but a proud human. Would you have done it differently?"

"Yes. I would have assassinated her."

I couldn't help it. I laughed, then apologized. "I'm sorry, but I bet you're just the Kitsune to do it, too. But would you really?"

"Yes. If she had done that to me, she would be dead. I think poison. Slow poison, but I would want to look her in the eyes when I applied it. Perhaps I would have asked her to dance, and given it to her then."

"I wasn't aware that option was available to me," I said. "I will remember it next time."

She wrinkled her face, squeezed my hand, and then stepped away. The next time I looked for her, she was gone.

The two Wookies were next, and I took gentle hugs from both of them. "Thank you for your help," I said.

"The Kitsune is right," said Soft Rain. "You are a foolish human. In the future, if you must battle an Implac, you will ask me to do it for you."

"I believe Jasmine Brighteyes has ensured I will not have a similar need, but if I do, I will remember your words." I touched my face in emphasis. "Am I still pretty?"

The Wookie took my question seriously, studying my face. "You will be prettier in a few days, I believe."

"Administrator Brighteyes, I believe this Wookie just implied I'm not pretty anymore."