Vanished (7 page)

His chin inclined. A flash of her resolve shone in his eyes. She mirrored the reaction, an exciting charge passing through the air between them. He left the room, his steps quick. She tried to figure out what passed between them, but nothing surfaced. She shrugged.
The doors slid shut behind him, but not before she heard the odd sound of someone being slammed against a wall and the hush of growled voices. 

S
he paused for a moment, worried about all of them. Were they so tense they were fighting outside her door, even? A sharp pain snagged in her chest at the knowledge that she wasn’t the only one suffering unseen scars. To pass the trials, one must only finish without dying or outwardly going insane.

The white suit in her hands reminded her of the damaged cloth on her body.

She reached behind her neck and tugged the zipper down a bit before grabbing the edges and tugging them apart to force the zipper down.  The material loosened and she dropped it around her waist. She peeled it down over her legs and tugged her feet out of it.

Her fingers trailed over the new scar, the hole the bullet had made when piercing her stomach. Memories surfaced. The frightened calm on Radek’s face, the fear, the need to save her soothed the terror she’d experienced. A small smile crossed her lips, his words recalled;
Stay with me.
Refusing to dwell on it further, she shook out the suit.

She stepped into the
clothing, pleased as it closed around her skin, protective in its cozy fit. With it snug against her, she stood, watching the stars. Pressing a forearm on the glass, she leaned forward. When her forehead rested on the cold surface, tears weighed at her lids, pain fighting to break free. Unable or unwilling to face it, she turned, pacing to the door with short, angry strides.

The door slid open, and a
familiar voice stopped her.

“Can we talk?”

Her glance jerked to Zoltan, and she studied him from the corner of her eyes. Every muscle in her body knotted, the thick stench of smoke rolling around her. Her hair whipped around her chin, her head shaking with such violence her neck ached.

“Get away from me.”
Her words burst forth more challenging than she’d intended.

His nonchalant posture - shoulder leaned on the wall, arms crossed, body relaxed – shifted as he straightened. He reached out, his fingers en route to her shoulder, but she smashed her wrist into it, knocking it away.

“I just want to-“

“If you don’t leave now I swear I’ll start hitting you and I won’t
quit until you stop moving.” She backed up a few steps, seething. Specks of red hazed her vision, the memory of him sending her into the grasp of the men who’d raped her rising with fresh vengeance.

He faltered
, stepping back as shock painted his features. Surging forward, his hand closed around her wrist. Ducking, his shoulder scooped her up. He yanked her arm, flipping her over his body. The ground smashed into her back. Still gripping her wrist, he straddled her hips.

“You’re angry, why?” F
ury shone in his eyes, and she struggled. Bringing her knee up between his legs, she fought. He grunted, refusing to let her free.

“You sent me to them!” Her scream echoed through the
halls.  “You sent me right to them, right into-“ Sobs choked off her voice, fear rising up in her mind, dark and threatening.

He backed off, scrambling away from her. The shock in his face twisted into agony. She curled up, tears streaming down her face.

“It wasn’t me, Ria.” His choked words met her ear.

When she finally looked up, he was gone. She retreated to her room, needing to be alone, needing to detangle the confusion pressing in on her.

Once her breaths slowed and she was in control again, she crawled into bed, refusing to deal with anything else. Sleep might calm the darkness gnawing at her.

She jolted awake. A dark, ominous presence loomed over her. Leaping from bed, she changed her suit with trembling fingers, fighting with the zipper.

When she’d finally wrestled the clothing on and managed to finger-comb her short hair into submission, s
he left in search of a task to divert the dark thoughts. With hesitant steps, she made her way down the stairs to the mess hall, praying Zoltan had found sanctuary in his room.

In the brilliantly lit
dining area, the empty bar overshadowed a white table surrounded by loud men. A speaker, his back to her, continued his story with exaggerated hand motions.

“And then I realized I was underwater. They wanted me to fight the frigging…” He hesitated, as if searching for the right word. “The kraken.”

Several sets of eyes darted to her, and the speaker paused, turning to stare. His expression twisted to a mixture of fear and worry. “Oh, hello. We’re exchanging… uh…” He faltered, the words sputtering to a halt as his face snapped to a hangdog expression.

“How did you win?” she asked,
crossing the distance to the table with limber steps. This, this could ease her mind. A free seat slipped before her, and she smiled at the one who’d offered it. The rest of the collective glanced away from her and back to the speaker.

Still struggling to get his words back, he stuttered
, tight red curls trembling around his face. “I st-st-st, uh, I stabbed out his eyes.” His copper-colored eyes darted from face to face around the table with the fear of a trapped animal.

“I stabbed out the eyes of a
mobile tree. Who the hell comes up with that shit?” Her words triggered a ripple of uncomfortable laughter.

More relaxed, the kraken fighter slammed a hand on the table, his face twisted with laughter.
“The look on your face when you saw the Cerberus puppy, I would have died, man. I had forgotten that bit of lore. My name’s Stenrad, by the way.” He offered her his hand, and she shook it, watching his hair bounce. His gaze locked on hers, and she wondered if he’d ever tamed those reddish curls.

“Papria. And the puppy
was
cute. Once he grew up I wondered if it was too late to flush him.”

Laughter echoed around the room again
, this time decidedly less tense.

“I’ve flushed things bigger than the kraken too, but never thought about taking him out tha
t way.” Stenrad shook his head amidst groans and a smattering of laughter. “Oh, Papria, the guys, the guys, Papria.”

She rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, that helps.” With a quick shake of her head a laugh broke over her lips. One by one, the men stood up, naming themselves.

“Gerand, at your service.” Dark eyes, olive skin and startling freckles offset a serious exterior, and she offered her hand. He shoo
k it, his grasp tight as a vice, his intensity easing a bit.

He sat and another reached for her hand. Taller than most of the others here, his stocky build and rough features contrasted his light touch and pale blue-green eyes. “C
amter, miss, nice to meet you. The way you handle a sniper rifle puts the guys here to shame.”

She grinned, liking him already. He sat, the blond next to him fixing obsidian eyes on her, offering his name with a hearty handshake. “Opreden.”

On his other side, navy strands shielded the eyes of Ferner. His shake was quick, leaving a slight impression before vanishing without a trace.

Then, a more familiar face. T
hin, recurve-bow lips and a protruding jaw line that stole attention away from narrow, hazel eyes. The man who’d stood by her when they’d left the facility introduced himself as Xteral.

Once they’d sat again, Camter glanced at her. “I’ve never seen anyone take a bullet with that much grace. You didn’t even yell.”

She shrugged. “Pain is relative and I had a solid team. Hard to be afraid when surrounded by badasses.”

A chorus of “Hear hear!” echoed through the room.

Stenrad let out a sharp, yelping laugh. “Are you kidding? Last time I took a bullet I cried like a girl for weeks. Fuck restoration tools, that shit hurts for a month!”

Gerand glared at the man. “
Language
.” The snarled word accompanied the slam of his palm on the table. Stenrad jumped, but recovered quickly.

“Calm it, gramps. I doubt she’s offended.” He gave her a quick sideways glance. “Are you?”

She narrowed her eyes, staring him down until he squirmed in his chair. A smile crossed her lips and she shook her head. “I’m messing with you. I don’t care.”

Stenrad winced. “She’s good. Gerand, she’ll give your scary a run for its money.”

A few grins broke out and Stenrad called for more beer, before asking if she would like a drink. She shook her head and got to her feet.

Offering the table
a quick salute, she left them to their conversations. White floors gleamed at her while she crossed to the flight deck. In the first and second chairs she caught sight of heads and powerful shoulders overshadowing white seats.

She placed
Vendas by the dark green, neatly trimmed hair. He spoke, his words prompting her to cross her arms. “I never expected a revolution to be led by a hot albino girl who’d just been through the ringer. That woman’s a loaded pistol. Well, sniper rifle.”

Radek
’s husky voice answered. “Don’t talk about her like that. Objectifying her after what she went through? That’s just stupid.”

Light shifted through hunter locks as
Vendas glanced over at the other man. “You mean to tell me you don’t think she’s gorgeous?”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t.” Radek turned his chair, and his glance caught her. His expression shifted to embarrassment but Vendas didn’t seem to notice the other man’s
suddenly shadowed features.

“I mean, I swear, if she was interested-“

Radek coughed and Vendas didn’t miss a beat. “She’s right behind us, isn’t she?”

Radek gave a small smile and Vendas turned his chair, giving her a smile. “Care to settle an issue for us?” He arched a brow.

She glanced back and forth between the men. For a moment, a flash of her old self flickered, taking control. “Yeah, I’m gorgeous.” With a quick smile, she thrust a hip to the side, pressed a hand to it and turned her head to accentuate her profile. The men choked and she grinned. It felt good to have that shred of who she’d been before, even for an instant before ugly memories pressed in.

“Hot damn.” Vendas smiled, before turning back around. “Now that that is settled, have you had a chance to meet everyone?”

“I’m missing two.”

“Overwhelmed yet? I bet you’re missing Blaran and Hadrain.” Vendas threw her a grin over his shoulder.
“They’re night owls. Any trouble?”

She shook her head, her encounter with Zoltan running through her mind. She didn’t need these boys to fight her battle for her. She could deal with him.

Vendas nodded, his eyes studying her face as if he knew something wasn’t quite right. He seemed to dismiss it, though, to her relief. “Radek, why don’t you take her below to Blaran and Hadrian’s hammocks?”

“On it.” Radek propelled himself out of his chair and stalked toward her, his burly body at odds with his cat-like grace. Thos
e blue eyes locked on her face with a mixture of apology and invitation. “Follow me.”

She nodded, falling in line
as he led her out to an unmarked hall. Jogging to keep up with his long-limbed gate, she slammed into him as he turned. His hands shot out, catching her ribs. A surge of terror smashed into her gut. Bringing her elbows down on his wrists, she broke his grasp. He tensed, before giving her a playful grin. The fear dissolved, replaced by a jolt of thrill. His fists flashed up near his face. He bounced a bit and shook his head.

Lifting her own fists, she gauged the distance between them and the spread of his feet. Diving forward, she rolled between his legs. Before he could turn, she leaped to her feet and pounced on his shoulders.

Gripping his head with her thighs, she evaded his questing hands. She swung her weight around and down the front of him. Her weight ripped him forward. Her hands touched the ground. Curling her legs and his head to her chest, she took advantage of the momentum to slam him into the ground. Quick grace had her on her feet and bouncing off a few steps before he could react.

He sat up, hand on his neck. “Damn. You’ve got some moves, as unorthodox as they may be, they work.”

She reached out, offering him her hand. “It’s all about momentum and force. You’ve got a good seventy pounds on me, at least, but I know how to use them against you.”

He chuckled, grabbed her hand and got to his feet. “You know, the guys would learn a few things if you were up to sparring.”

The thought sent an icy shiver over her. Radek paused, his expression thoughtful. “You know, I didn’t even think about this before doing it. I just did what came naturally without regard to what it might do to you. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “I enjoyed it. I mean, at first, when you grabbed me... well, that freaked me out, but after that it was natural.”
She choked back the next words trying to escape.
Your grin melted the fear.