Ouroboros 2: Before (16 page)

He didn't want them to note how smoothly his armor operated. Even though they were both more than aware of its existence, he still had to hold onto what secrets he could.

Now, as the resistance moved around him, he wondered whether he should set his armor to full once more.

It was never a pleasant experience to be swamped by people you didn't know, especially when those people looked as battle weary and gritty as the Vexians around him.

He saw so many scars he gave up counting them or wondering how they'd been wrought.

He also saw an unnerving number of weapons.

While he did not immediately know their functions from glancing at them, he could guess they were all deadly.

The people around him didn't seem to be the kinds to knock people out and hope for the best.

Before Carson could think of something to say, Cara whirled on the spot and pointed an armored hand at Nida. ‘She's touched,’ she announced in a booming voice that echoed around the cavernous room.

Nida blinked wildly, and automatically took a step towards him.

He stiffened his back and stared over at Cara warily.

He would have to play this very carefully. He'd only come here because Nida had suggested it. If it had been up to him, he would have knocked Harya and Cara out.

But whilst he had gone along with Nida's wishes, that did not mean he was going to drop his guard. At the first sign of trouble by any of these resistance members, Carson would act.

He'd do whatever it would take.

‘
Touched?’ The question was picked up and repeated through the resistance in hushed, awed tones.

If Nida's skin had gone pink at the prospect of Cara and Nida's rapt attention, now she looked thoroughly sick. He half wondered whether she would throw up.

She didn't though. She simply stood there and stared out at the group around them with a wary, watchful gaze.

He had to remember that whilst it was Nida on the outside, the entity was never far from her. Not only could it take control of her voice, it could control her body too. If threatened—like she had been on the Farsight—Nida and the entity were capable of devastating power.

He still shook at the thought of what she'd done to those Barbarians.

No, he corrected himself firmly. Not her. The entity. And it had only been trying to protect itself, he reasoned automatically.

‘
Are you sure?’ Someone asked as they walked towards Cara.

As they strode through the crowd, Carson realized it was a man. Probably in his mid-thirties, he sported cropped black hair, a wiry, strong frame, and wore an outfit remarkably similar to Carson's—a scuffed leather jacket, a simple hessian-style shirt, and pants.

The man shot Carson a curious look, then returned his attention to Cara.

Though the guy looked standoffish, it was all too easy to see the interest flickering in his gaze as he watched Cara.

‘
I know what I saw,’ Cara spat. ‘She is touched,’ she pointed again at Nida. ‘If you don't believe me, go back to section 5f of the tunnels and see for yourself.’

The guy shrugged his shoulders, his lips kinking into a sneer.

‘
Please, Varo, she's telling the truth. I was there. I saw it,’ Harya suddenly said as she pushed through the crowd towards the man, Varo.

Varo acknowledged Harya with a nod, then turned his gaze back on Cara. ‘Are you sure she is not a spy?’

Cara's lips slowly pulled back from her teeth. It was categorically an intimidating move. ‘Varo, you know I would never lead a spy to our headquarters. Don't jest with me,’ she added in a warning tone.

Everything Cara said and did was imbued with so much fire and passion, standing near her felt like standing on the crater of a volcano.

Now was not the time to be impressed by how boisterous she was though.

Now was the time to find out whether this group was trustworthy, Carson thought as he took a step forward.

He made sure his move was smooth and non-threatening. Nonetheless, Varo suddenly twirled on his foot, plucked something from his belt, and pressed it against Carson's neck.

Carson could have doubled back. He could have reached for his gun and shot Varo before the man had even blinked.

But he didn't.

Instead, he simply stood there and stared into Varo's eyes, not a hint of aggression or even shock crumpling Carson's brow. ‘Really?’ he asked calmly. ‘Is that how you treat a guest?’

Varo slowly smiled. It wasn't a friendly move though—it was laden with warning and menace. ‘Why are you here?’

‘
Because . . . she's touched,’ Carson managed.

He didn't know what that meant, but he sure as hell hoped it was his ticket to getting these people to trust him. If he could convince this Varo and the resistance to help Nida, then maybe Carson could complete this mission sooner. Maybe he could find out where the next time gate was, or even better—where the dimensional bridge was.

Swallowing, despite the fact there was a blade pressed into his neck, Carson strengthened his resolve. ‘You're going to help us, and we're going to help you.’

Varo considered him in perfect silence. In fact, no one in the group spoke until Varo finally let the knife drop.

He took several steps back from Carson, considered him, then turned sharply to Cara. ‘This is on your head. If they turn out to be spies—’ he began.

Cara responded by spinning on her foot, grabbing the knife from Varo's hand, and yanking it free with such force, the man tumbled forward and stuck the floor on his knees.

‘
Was that really necessary?’ he asked as he picked himself up, glowering at Cara.

‘
You jest,’ Cara rebuked again. Then she turned to stare first at Nida, and finally at Carson.

Carson felt the need to stiffen under her watch. She appeared to have the ability to look right through him, and it made his back itch.

‘
Look, we can help you,’ Carson began.

‘
How?’ Varo asked, a calculating look crumpling his brow.

‘
They have technology,’ Harya interrupted. ‘Devices I’ve never seen. We could use them to finally win against the governor,’ Harya clasped her hands together as she pleaded with Varo.

Varo snorted. ‘Is this true?’ He turned to Carson.

Carson didn't answer.

Yeah, sure, he had technology, but there was no freaking way in hell he was going to let anyone from this time period have it.

It was bad enough that Harya and Cara had seen his device and armor in action. He would not add to his temporal misdemeanors by giving this resistance access to technology from thousands of years in the future.

‘
Is this true?’ Varo repeated, a vicious note to his voice.

‘
Yeah, but no,’ Carson managed. ‘I can't give you my technology,’ he said, thinking fast, ‘I need it to help her,’ he nodded towards Nida.

Varo considered this possibility.

‘
He wears a Goddess tear,’ Cara suddenly noted, nodding down to the device on Carson's right hand.

Varo stared at it, and for the first time, his expression slackened with something other than anger.

He looked impressed.

Then, in a flash, he also looked greedy.

‘
A Goddess tear,’ Varo said slowly. ‘What else?’

‘
He possesses some kind of armor I have never seen nor heard tale of. The government do not have anything of its like. It must also be a gift from the Goddess,’ Cara concluded.

Carson remained silent.

He did, however, close his fingers around the majority of the device over his right hand. He also let his left arm hover close to his pocket and his gun.

‘
Armor? What kind of armor?’ Varo questioned, his gaze once again igniting with greed.

Carson didn't like this.

With every passing second, his back slicked with sweat and his teeth locked harder together.

He wanted to get out of this room now. He wanted to leave Varo and the resistance far behind him. Hell, he even wanted to get away from Cara, despite how intriguing and frankly attractive she was.

‘
A gift from the Goddess for the protection of the touched,’ Cara now snapped, striding forward as she did. She faced Varo and glared at him. ‘Stop these games. We must help them. If the government were to find out about her,’ she gestured at Nida, ‘you know what they would do.’

Carson felt cold.

Very, very cold.

He didn't like the sound of that. What exactly would the government of this corrupt and violent regime do to Nida? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pleasant.

A fact Nida likely realized as she shuddered again.

Every movement she made was watched by the group—every breath, every blink, and every shiver.

It was as if they half expected her to burst into flames.

Carson swallowed.

He had to find out what was going on here.

He had to take control of this situation before it took control of him. He strode forward. ‘Cara is correct—these are gifts from the Goddess for protection of . . . the touched,’ he managed, though it was hard to force that word out. ‘I'm not going to give them to you. I need them. But we can still help you.’

‘
And we can help you,’ Cara began.

‘
Do not make decisions for this group,’ Varo warned. ‘I speak for this resistance cell.’

‘
But you do not speak for the whole resistance,’ Cara spat. ‘If you would like, I am more than happy to share this news with Commander Xu. Unlike you, she will know what to do.’

Varo bristled.

Cara simply smiled.

As for Carson, he stood there and he waited. Completely on edge, he didn't know what Varo would do, but he did know he could not trust the man.

He'd seen the greed burning in his gaze, and as Varo now glanced over to Nida, the look he shot her made Carson sick to his stomach.

‘
You can either help us, or we leave,’ Carson snapped, taking a step back and aligning himself close to Nida.

‘
We will decide whether you can leave,’ Varo said dismissively.

Then he gave a nod.

Carson knew what it meant.

He'd given nods like that himself.

Non-verbal commands.

Without thinking, Carson activated his armor to full.

He no longer cared how many people saw it.

All he had to do was protect Nida.

There was a collective gasp from the group as his armor seamlessly shot out form his gauntlets and covered his whole body. It would be the first time Harya or Cara would have seen the transformation in full, and he watched as their faces slackened with surprise.

Carson took a deliberate step in front of Nida. ‘Don't threaten us,’ he said in a low, warning voice.

Varo's mouth was wide open, and he stared at Carson's armor with obvious shock. ‘You did not lie,’ he said in a shaking voice, ‘the Goddess really has blessed him with armor.’

‘
Listen to him,’ Cara snapped, stepping forward and facing Varo, even locking a hand on his shoulder to center his attention.

‘
Listen to her,’ Carson added. ‘You threaten us again, and I will walk out of here.’

Nida did not say anything. In fact, she'd been deathly silent ever since she'd walked into this room.

Carson desperately wanted to pull her aside to check on her, but he didn't have that luxury.

They were currently in a standoff.

And Varo would get to decide what would happen next.

‘
I know you've got snipers,’ Carson pointed out as his armor’s on-board computer warned him of that fact. ‘I know you've got traps set up along the perimeter. But you should also know this—I’m going to do anything to protect her. So you choose wisely.’

Varo, for the first time, lost his confident, arrogant edge. He looked nervously from Carson to Cara.

Cara had not once flinched. Despite the fact Carson was essentially threatening the entire resistance, she simply stared at Varo with a hateful gaze.

‘
Choose,’ Cara snapped.

Varo eventually put his hands up in a slow and deliberately drawn out move. ‘I will not threaten them,’ he said tersely.

Then he looked over at Carson's armor, and once he'd surveyed it in full, behind Carson to Nida.

Instinctively Carson shifted until his bulk hid Nida from view.

‘
So you'll help us?’ Carson clarified.

Varo didn't answer immediately. Eventually he gave a short nod though.

‘
Say it,’ Cara warned.

‘
I pledge this cell of the resistance to the protection of the touched,’ Varo smiled.