Sapient Salvation 1: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Series) (11 page)

At first I saw only bright light. From the light, two figures took shape. One was talking, but I was not interested in him.

The other was looking right at me, his blue-green eyes so intent, as if he were trying to absorb me through his gaze.

It was him.

I don’t know how I knew, but I was sure: this was the man who’d been standing on the balcony when I’d first stepped onto Calisto.

I wanted to pour myself into those exotic eyes, but my eyelids grew too heavy. My senses numbed again, those mesmerizing eyes and the voices fading away.

*

The throbbing at the back of my neck was the first thing I became aware of when I awoke again. The remnants of a dream, of aquamarine eyes, tried to solidify in my mind, but slipped and faded away before I could clearly recall it.

The muscles of my neck and back cramped, and I froze with a groan. Through clenched teeth, I breathed into the spasms, and once they passed, I moved more cautiously.

The sighs and groans nearby told me that the other Obligates were rousing, too.

I raised a tentative hand to the back of my neck and brushed it with my fingertips. I winced at the feel of the metal disc, but there was no pain. Just the throbbing, which I’d at first taken for the throb of a swelling wound but now realized it was a faint pulse at the site of the implant, in sync with the rhythm of my heartbeat.

The rest of my body felt different, too. A silent buzz seemed to reverberate in every cell. My attention was somehow sharper. Heightened. No, it was my senses that were more aware.

I felt more
alive
. As if I could feel my own blood singing through my vessels, feel on the air the night-black of the dress I wore and the bleached white of the sheet against my bare arm, sense the radiance of every object and person in the room.

My heart pounded as I tried to take it all in.

“Rise and move to the foot of your bed,” came Akantha’s voice from somewhere in the room.

I did as she commanded and drew slow breaths, trying to calm my pulse. Looking back and forth, I saw stunned faces with wide eyes. More than anything, I wanted to ask the purpose of the implants in our necks. On Earthenfell, we’d been told only that Earthens who had implants, who worked directly for the overlords, needed the implants for communication. My eyes widened in apprehension. Could the Calistans read our thoughts through our implants?

I turned to Orion and our eyes met. I raised my brows, and he responded with a slight dazed shake of his head.

“You will be allowed a brief meal and break to use the facilities, and then Lord Toric will receive you at your formal introductions,” Akantha said.

Finally, a clue about what to expect. I looked down at my rumpled black dress and tried to smooth the creases across my stomach. Would we at least get fresh clothes to go before the alien Lord?

Back in the hallway, Akantha opened the cabinet and nodded at it. “Retrieve your vessels.”

A curvy Obligate with waves of golden-blonde hair pinned up behind her ears appeared to be trying to get Orion’s attention. She moved close to him and bumped him with her elbow a couple of times. When Akantha’s back was turned to secure the door of the room we’d just exited, the girl stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. Kalindi was her name, if my memory was correct.

Orion looked down at her in question, and then cast a furtive glance at Akantha. He seemed about to respond to Kalindi when Akantha finished with the door and looked down, reaching for something in her pocket.

Another female Obligate, a lithe young woman with a sprinkling of freckles across her button nose and stylish bobbed hair the color of sherry wine, had also been trying to catch the eye of one of the male Obligates. That young man had the same muscular build as Orion. Perhaps they’d both come from machinery.

Others had also been shifting and jockeying while Akantha’s attention was elsewhere, I realized.

Unease crept through me like a chilly morning mist. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on among some of the Obligates, but I got the distinct impression that it was something I needed to decipher.

The freckled Obligate didn’t seem to notice that Akantha had turned her attention toward us. The girl pulled at the young man’s arm and gave him an imploring look. The first part of what she said was lost in the rustle of shoes and clothing, but I distinctly heard, “. . . to work together as a pair.”

She might have gotten away with it if the hallway had not gone silent just as she’d finished whispering.

Akantha narrowed her eyes as she stalked to the girl. When the Calistan whipped out her hand, I thought it was to strike the Obligate. Instead, she grabbed the girl’s wrist and pressed her short wand against the girl’s arm.

The Obligate screamed and writhed, trying to yank her arm away. Akantha held the wand to the girl’s arm for a couple of seconds and then let go, and the Obligate stumbled backward, crashed into the wall, and fell in a heap to the floor. She moaned in agony, holding her arm.

“Let the others see,” Akantha commanded.

Gasping, the girl stared at Akantha as if she didn’t understand.

“You.” Akantha turned her gaze on me. “Make her stand and hold out her arm.”

I gulped, hurried to the wall, and hauled the girl to her feet. Her chest was heaving, though she managed to hold back tears. I gently peeled her fingers away and unfolded the arm she had clutched to her stomach.

When I saw the angry wound, I inhaled sharply through my nose. Obligates around me gasped and shifted their feet. The injury was circular, about the size of a medium coin. The edge was dark with burnt blood, as if Akantha’s device had singed the skin. The center was a blistered and bloody oozing mess.

“We have the technology to heal such a wound and leave no scar or trace,” Akantha said, her tone almost nonchalant. “But you will wear this wound as a reminder, for the whole lot of you, that there are consequences for disobedience.”

I winced, trying to imagine how the girl could keep from screaming in pain. Her arm needed to be dressed or it would get infected. The poor girl needed painkillers right away.

“Line up,” Akantha said, flicking her fingers at us with a bored look as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The injured Obligate hadn’t yet retrieved her jar of soil—she’d probably been too busy trying to talk to the boy—so I went to the cabinet and got it. I clenched my jaw, trying to hold a neutral expression and avoid looking at Akantha, hoping I wasn’t somehow overstepping the rules by carrying the girl’s jar.

I let out a small relieved breath only when the Calistan woman began leading us back the way we’d come. I walked in front of the injured girl, a jar in each of my hands, listening to her ragged breaths and whimpers.

Instead of going back outside, we walked through white hallways. At some point we took a turn and passed through a glass walkway into another building, and then we were filing through windowless passages of a different sort. Calistans pushing carts of linens, food, clothing, and other items moved back and forth, in and out of swinging doors. I caught brief glimpses of what looked like storage and supply rooms and caught a whiff of freshness and soap that reminded me of washing day.

By the change in the architecture, I guessed we’d left the hospital or processing building where we’d received our implants. The new building was constructed of a dark material that I couldn’t identify—something between metal and smooth stone.

It took me several minutes to realize that these Calistans with the carts and supplies were probably servants. As when we were outside, each one bowed to Akantha. And they all eyed the jars of soil and examined me and the other Obligates as if we were well-fed pigs going up for auction at market.

We went up many flights of stairs—I stopped counting after fourteen—and Akantha let us into a large, half-circle room, with tiered seating lining the curved wall.

“This is where Lord Toric will receive you later tonight,” Akantha said. She gestured to a raised platform along the flat wall, where there was a large carved wooden chair.

Memories of the pavilion back home came to mind. There was hardly time to look around before Akantha herded us through a little arched alcove to one side of what I assumed was Lord Toric’s throne. I crowded in with the other Obligates and looked down a narrow hallway lined with doors on both sides.

“Males, one to each room over here.” Akantha gestured to our right. “Females, this side.” She gestured to the doors on the left.

Again, I felt a bit like livestock. I handed the wounded girl her jar, which she took with a tight nod. Her face was pale and constricted with pain. My heart went out to her, but there was nothing more I could do.

I went to the third door on the left, drew a deep breath, and reached for the handle. The door swung open smoothly, revealing a small room that looked . . . comfortable, actually. I whipped around when the door snapped closed behind me, and there was another quick click of a lock sliding into place. I reached for the handle, but as I’d expected the door didn’t budge.

I sighed, suddenly bone-weary. If I had to be trapped here, I might as well rest a moment. The heightened sensations I’d felt when I first woke with the implant were fading along with my energy, and I almost wondered if I’d imagined them.

There was a backless divan against the far wall of a space that was larger than the room I’d shared with Lana. Next to it stood a small table with a dark stone pitcher and clear drinking glass. And food.

As I looked around for a spot to set my jar, my stomach rumbled. I’d barely eaten anything in the past two days. A tiny ledge that jutted from the wall next to the door had an indentation that perfectly accepted the base of the jar.

I went to the cart, filled the glass, and drank until it was empty. The dry air made me feel brittle, as if I could never get enough water. I filled the glass again and sipped from it as I bent over the tray of food.

A small oblong loaf of brown bread, a tiny round dish with dark vinegar in it by the aroma, a few thin slices of cured meat, and—

I covered my mouth with one hand, stifling a tiny laugh even as tears sprang to my eyes. There were two bergamines on the tray.

Was it possible that these fruits had come from the very orchard where I’d worked so many days? Could these be bergamines from my very own collection bag, perhaps picked the last day that Court and I had . . . I squeezed my eyelids closed and shook my head. Court did not deserve to take up any space in my mind.

But thoughts of home seemed to sap my strength further, and I sank to the divan. I absently ran my fingers over its fabric. It was nicer than anything from home, nicer than anything I’d ever seen, in fact. The little table was beautifully constructed as well. It shouldn’t surprise me—of course the overlords had fancy things. But I was a slave, regardless of how I fared in the competition against the other Obligates. It seemed odd that a room for a slave to rest in should have such lovely things.

I reached for the bread and ate slowly, hoping my stomach wouldn’t rebel after so many hours without food.

I touched the implant and traced the edge of the metal disc where it met my skin. The skin there was sensitive, but not painful. I could still feel the faint pulse of the device.

There was a soft click at the door, and it swung inward. I rose to my feet, my heart lurching.

A woman—an Earthen woman—stepped into the room. She wore a tunic and loose trousers made of a lovely emerald green fabric. Her brown hair was streaked with white. She seemed nearly old enough to be my grandmother, yet she moved with a grace and sensuality that gave her a youthful energy.

“Maya, I am Iris,” she said, stopping a few feet away and folding her hands at her waist. “It is my job to offer you guidance during the competition.”

A hot bolt of emotion shot up through my chest. This woman was a friend, I knew it immediately, and it was so unexpected I nearly wept.

I went to her and held out my hand. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Iris,” I said, my voice wobbling. “I didn’t know I would have a personal guide.”

“I have been where you now stand,” she said, squeezing my hand and then letting it go. “I’ll do my best to help you prepare for each phase of the competition.”

“You were—?” My eyes widened. “Oh! You won when you were an Obligate? And you’re part of Lord Toric’s harem?”

She shook her head with a faint smile. “Not Lord Toric’s. I was a woman of Lord Alec’s harem—Lord Toric’s father. But I am now retired.”

I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I realized my mistake. She’d served the previous Lord, probably before I was even born. “You’re allowed to just . . . retire?”

“The women of the harem still have duties even after we’re finished serving as companions to the Lord.” She sat on the divan and patted the cushion next to her. “But that is a far-off concern. Let us focus instead on more immediate things. Our time is limited, and I imagine you have many questions.”

I sat and angled my knees toward her, relishing the chance to speak to someone who seemed concerned about my welfare. “Yes, I do. I hardly know where to begin.” I blinked several times, and then suddenly remembered Akantha’s punishment of one of the female Obligates. “There was an Obligate who was injured—burned. Her wound looked extremely painful and needs to be dressed. Is there some way to make sure she gets help?”

Iris inclined her head and reached out a soothing hand to touch my forearm. “Do not worry over her. She will receive the care that the Mistress of Tournament judges she is allowed.” She shifted, crossed one leg over the other, and clasped her hands around her knee. “You need to turn your attention to yourself and your own survival, Maya.”

My mouth went dry at her grave tone. “Yes, of course. I suppose I want to know, well, what will I face in the first round of the competition?”

“The first challenge of the Tournament of the Offered will be a test of physical and mental fortitude. It is to cull the weak.”

Cull the weak?
I shivered at the ominous phrase.

“But won’t the men have a huge advantage in that type of contest, if it depends on physical strength?” I asked.