Ki Book One (11 page)

There was a gun by his feet, and she
recognized it instantly as belonging to the Zeneethian scouts. In
his hand he played with a white-backed device that sent a
flickering blue glow over his face and hand as he played with
it.

It too was Zeneethian. She had seen such
devices before. The scientists that had held her captive for the
past year always used them.

It made her shudder.

He looked up sharply. “I said don’t move.
You’ve been through a lot.”

She waited for him to call her a Tarkan in
a dismissive voice and tell her she’d deserved what she’d received.
He did not. Instead his gaze darted back to the scanner in his
hands and he continued to poke at it with a concentrated and
thoughtful expression
.
“It’s incredible,” he muttered under his breath.

“
You can use it?” she hazarded, watching
him with as much attention as she could muster.

He shook his head after a pause, then he
met her gaze, his expression keen. “But I’m working on it. I think
I am beginning to understand this interface. It uses vectors to
display incoming information. I’ve been able to change the radius
of these scans using the controls,” his lips spread into a smile as
he laughed, “I’ve even been able to scan inside things. I can
see
inside
that
tree. I can even see inside the leaves.”

There was a glow about him, an energy she
had never seen. Wildly at odds with the usual anger
he’d displayed, it buoyed her.
Despite her best attempts to stop herself, she smiled along with
him.

“
I can even see inside you,” he brought the
scanner around and waved it between them.

Now she recoiled, fighting against her
lethargic limbs to bring up a hand to block him.

“
It’s okay, it can’t hurt you... I think.
No, I’m sure; those soldiers wouldn’t have used it on you unless it
was safe. They’ve been prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to
get you back alive.”

“
Put that thing down,” she
croaked.

“
It looks like you’ve got heavy bruising to
your left leg, around your middle, and over your feet,” he gulped
as he spoke, his face flushing under the stubble radiating up his
jaw.

Was that guilt at the bruises he’d helped to
cause?

He shifted up, getting to his knees, still
staring at the scanner.

She tried to hide behind her hand, even
though it was painful to raise her arm.

“
You show up as white, while everything
else shows up as blue...” he trailed off as concentration crumpled
his brow. Shifting towards her, still on his knees, his lips parted
slowly. “It’s not you though... it’s something inside
you.”

“
What are you talking about?” alarm spiked
through her, almost giving her enough energy to clamber to her
feet.

“
There’s something inside you. Some kind of
device, no bigger than a fingernail, just under the skin of your
left forearm. I think it’s releasing a radio signal. Something
they’ve been using to track you. That’s how they found you at the
farmhouse.”

“
They saw the explosion,” she shook her
head.

“
No, they tracked you there. Just as they
tracked you to the cabin. It’s the only explanation that makes any
sense.”

She shivered back, her gaze drawing towards
her left arm. Now she had no sleeves, she could see the flesh
easily.

She didn’t want to believe him. Her whole
escape plan had been predicated on the hope that by using the
crystal she could get away from them. If they’d always been able to
track her, it had been an empty and foolish hope.

Jackson finally lowered the scanner. His
gaze shifted quickly to her arm then back to her face. For a man
who usually bridled with anger, he looked hesitant and unsure. “We
should remove it,” he hazarded.

She gave a quiet gasp, her breath shaking
through it. “But—”

“
If we don’t, they’ll continue to track us.
If you ever want to get away, we have to remove it.”

She went to shake her head, but stopped.
Instead she took a painful swallow, squeezing her eyes closed.

She brought her trembling fingers up and
pushed them along her left forearm, looking for any hint of what he
spoke of.

A device implanted within her arm that
could let the Zeneethians track her. Years ago she would have
thought such a tale wild and impossible. The last year had taught
her how true it could be.

Wincing as she opened one eye, she nodded
briefly.

He shifted forward. “It’s just under the
skin, I promise.”

“
Do you have a knife?”

He shook his head, expression so clearly
filled with remorse it
was as if he was a different man from the one who’d tied
her to a chair. “I’ve found a sharp stone.” He produced a long,
thin, sharp-edged rock from his pocket.

With unsteady hands, he brought it down to
her arm. His skin was so pale he looked as though he was about to
throw up.

How curious that the thought of dragging her
barefoot through a hay field and lacerating her feet was nothing to
this man, yet he now shook at the prospect of delivering another
cut to her body.

Was he changing?

She wanted to stare up into his eyes to
check, but with his face so close to hers, she felt too confronted,
too exposed.

He lay the scanner beside him, staring at
the picture on the screen as he grabbed her arm with the slightest,
most tender of touches. Sucking his quivering lips in, he brought
the rock down.

She tried to control her reaction, tried to
block out the pain. A normal priestess could do it. Skilled in
emotional suppression, this would have been child’s play.

She was no longer normal, and the past year
had left its scars. Screwing up her face, she jerked her head to
the side and tried not to scream. She felt the stone dig down, and
couldn’t help but flinch against it.

Jackson tightened his grip, bracing her
arm against his knee. “Nearly there,” he promised in a quaking
voice.

With one more scrape he yanked the stone
back. “Got it.”

She pulled her arm out of his grip and
instantly closed her fingers around the wound. Though blood
trickled easily through them, she shifted to face him.

He was staring down at something in his
hand. That look of deep concentration was back on his face, pulling
down his lips and narrowing his eyes.

Gulping, he shook his head sharply. “Hold
onto that wound. I’ll be back to tie it up. I just have to get rid
of this first.”

“
Jackson,” she tried to get to her feet to
follow.

“
I have to get rid of this. There’s a
ravine a few meters to the west. I’ll throw it down there. It’s a
pity to get rid of such incredible technology, but we need to get
them off our tails.”

He turned and ran forward. Though his lope
was uneven, he kept a healthy pace.

He would be injured, she realized as she
leaned back, peeking down at the wound under her hand. Last night
he must have fought the soldiers off all on his own.

Zeneethian
scouts... how had he done it?

Before she could process that thought, he
was back. Nodding at her, he leaned down beside her. “I’m going to
rip off a section of your robe to tie the wound up. It shouldn’t
bleed for long, but we need to keep it covered.”

Though her first reaction was to push him
off, just as she’d done last night, she contained herself. At least
he’d warned her this time.

Turning her head to the side, she did not
watch as he used the same sharp stone to cut through the hem of her
robe and pull off a long section of fabric.

She was aware that her move made him puff
out a slight laugh. This time he did not follow it up with any
insults though.

Maybe he really was changing.

Once he was done, he saw to her wound. He
dabbed at it with some excess fabric, then produced some herbs from
his pocket, crushed them, then packed them against the wound,
wrapping them down with the long strip of her robe.

He was efficient, quick, and looked as if
he’d done this multiple times before. She opened her mouth to say
something, but stopped herself. Of course he’d done this before;
he’d been in the war.

Resting back on his haunches, he took a
deep breath, wiping his bloodied hands on his pants. “Those herbs
are a natural analgesic, they also have antiseptic properties. You
should be fine.”

Slowly she nodded.

A lot had just happened.

Jackson did not pause to catch back his
breath though; he grabbed up the scanner and waved it in front of
her again. Soon a satisfied smile spread his lips. He turned the
scanner to his side, in the direction he’d gone to get rid of the
device from her arm. “It’s worked,” he spoke through a laugh.
“You’re no longer glowing white, which I assume is a real good
thing. The scanner is locking onto the device all the way down that
ravine instead. Let’s hope those boys in white make the same
mistake.”

As he spoke, his accent became thicker.
That twang that was so distinctive of the Ashkans deepened. It was
almost as if he
was
letting himself go. As if he was finally dropping his guard around
her.

“
You strong enough to stand?” he nodded
down at her, cheeks pushing up in a concerned smile.

Could she trust him? Would he turn on her
again like he had last night when he’d been ready to force wine
down her throat?

She watched him warily, and it was obvious
he picked up on it. He stiffened, that smile drawing down slowly.
“Look... I’m sorry about... everything.”

“
I’m still a Tarkan,” she
interrupted.

He nodded, not meeting her gaze. “I know,”
he hesitantly looked up at her. “And I’m still an Ashkan. And those
soldiers are still,” he ticked his head to the side, “whatever the
hell they are.”

She still stared up at him cautiously.

“
I fought in the last war,” he stood up,
stepping back.

Feeling her cheeks pale, she readied for
another volley. “I know that—”

“
No. That’s not what I meant. Hear me out.
I fought the Tarkans. I lost my fiancée to them.”

She felt cold as he spoke, and brought her
hands before her, lacing her fingers tightly
. “I’m not a soldier. I’m a priestess. I
am not involved—”

“
I said hear me out,” he interrupted again.
“I have every reason to hate your people, and I do. But I’ve never
had a reason not to... until now.”

She could have fallen over. If she hadn’t
been seated, she would have stumbled. Feeling her face slacken with
shock, she waited for him to take back what he’d just said.

“
I know you’re not a soldier, Ki. I hope
like hell you’re not a spy and this whole thing hasn’t been an
act,” sighing heavily, he crossed his arms, “but I just don’t see
how it could be an act. I’m a scientist now, not a soldier. I have
to go on the facts as I see them, not what I’d like them to
be.”

“
Jackson, what do you mean?” she asked, her
voice quiet and hopeful.

“
That I’m going to trust you. For now.
Don’t go selling me and my people out though, because—”

“
You’ll drag me through a field and tie me
to a chair?”

“
I’m sorry about that. And no, I’m not
going to tie you to any more chairs. I’m trying to hold out an
olive branch here, but you’re not making it very easy.”

She raised an eyebrow, but stopped herself
from snapping at his insult.

Something far too important was happening
here. If it could be trusted, it appeared Jackson was softening to
her.

She’d been almost entirely alone for the
past year. The thought of having someone to rely on....

A tear pooled at her eye and trickled down
her cheek. She hated herself for being this emotional, but she did
not have the energy to fight it. Bringing her hand up, she clamped
it over her eyes, hiding behind her crooked fingers.

“
Ki,” he whispered, the surety gone from
his voice, “why are you crying? Are you still in pain?”

“
No. But you’ve given me an ultimatum, so
it’s my turn to give you one.” She let her hand drop, not caring
that her tears flowed freely and obviously. “If you make me trust
you and you turn on me again....”

She couldn’t come up with a threat; she had
no power to follow through with anything. All she could do was lock
him in her watery gaze and try to make him understand how easily he
could hurt her.

It was one of the most intense experiences
of her life. Neither of them shared a word, but their expressions
were enough.

Trust, or something like it, began to
grow.

As the wind blew through the trees around
her, bringing its biting chill along with it, she felt something
shift. That tight energy of suspicion that had filled her gut since
she’d fallen to earth yesterday morning began to loosen. It would
take more, so much more, for her to fully trust this man. Yet for
now she would try.

Chapter Seven

Ki had slept most of the morning. He’d made
her do it. Considering what had happened to her over the past 24
hours, she’d barely been able to walk, let alone keep up the pace
they needed to reach the pass.