Shadow's Chosen (Dark World Mates Book 3) Page 14

  It was Nezka's turn to stare at her in bewilderment. He had no proper words at first until all he could do was laugh.

  Elise glanced back at him in surprise. "What?"

  "We aren't leaving here. Not for some time."

  She stared back at him, confused. "I'm sorry?"

  "We are staying here."

  "I...what do you mean staying here?" she said in a more forceful tone.

  Here we go.

  "I mean exactly that. We aren't leaving this place until I deem it safe to do so," he said firmly. "Or if by some bad chance we are forced to."

  She crossed her arms in a defensive stance. "We can't stay here. My people are waiting for me. We don't have time."

  "We have no choice. You are in no way ready to continue on in your state. You can barely walk. If you try to so much as run, you'll aggravate your wounds even worse. We would need to stop every hour just to put on more salve to keep the wounds from being infected. And when the time comes when we have to fight or run from whatever enemy we face, I won't be able to carry you, and you won't be able to defend yourself properly. So." He dropped the salve back into the bag and picked up the painkillers along with the canteen, handing them to her. "You will take these. You will rest. The salve will do its work but will take at least a few days—"

  "A few days!" she nearly choked.

  "—and a couple more after that just to be sure," he concluded. "You also are malnourished, the wounds draining your energy even more. Until you are healed and able to run and fight on your own, we go no farther."

  She opened her mouth then closed it again, unable to find a response but wanting to argue all the same. "You don't understand. My team doesn't have a few days. Who knows what the Red Blades are going to do to them? Who knows if they'll be alive in a few days?"

  "That is a risk we will have to take," Nezka said. "But if they’ve kept the first group for as long as they have, chances are whatever they have planned is not yet ready to be set in motion. My guess is because they are still searching, hoping to find you. Or perhaps waiting on more humans to come. Who knows? What I do know is I didn't get you this far just to see you die at the next gate. Because that is what will happen, Starling, if you don't stay."

  She remained quiet, looking up at him still with an eye of defiance until her expression changed to one of confusion then annoyance. "It's Stirling," she said and turned from him to plop herself down on the longseat. She sat there seething and thinking, and he watched, waiting, until she finally looked back at him. "Fine. But if I am able to recover quicker than you say and can prove it, do you promise we will go?"

  He looked at her for a long moment then came over and put out his hand. She huffed, gazing out the window, hoping he wouldn't catch one corner of her lip curling ever so slightly before she took his hand and shook it.

  Twelve

  Elise took the first day in stride, trying her best to be patient, to just let herself rest and heal, knowing if she exerted herself and fell back on her recovery, Nezka would see to it that they stay longer, and she couldn't let that happen. She knew fighting him was useless as she was too weak, and if she even tried to leave on her own, he would likely find her and carry her back.

  In truth, she wasn't keen on attempting to leave anyway. For one, she knew her emotions were driving her too much. She could hear Adrien's voice in her head, telling her it would be foolish to go on in her state, that the smart move would be to hunker down and wait till she was at her best and ready to complete the mission without fail. It was the smart, logical thing to do, even if she hated sitting or lying around doing nothing. And boy, did she hate it.

  So, the day wore on, and she slept some and took what food Nezka found and drank as much water as he could fill in the canteen, part of her grateful for his help while another part was irritated that she needed it at all. She grew uncomfortable at the thought of being so dependent on him when he could so easily disappear and never return. But though he disappeared often, usually to find more goods, he always returned and was there when she woke up, turning the fire or preparing some meal from a package or can that she couldn't identify but forced herself to eat. He was silent for most of the day, and Elise was fine to just watch him in a half-sleep state as the painkillers kicked in, putting her in a sort of light daze.

  When night approached and it grew dark, Elise became more restless. She wanted to get up and walk, but Nezka deemed it unwise, and she heard Adrien's voice in her head again, so she let it go, if only for tonight. It helped to know that the salve worked faster when she was at rest, and when Nezka checked her wounds, he concluded that they were healing at a good rate, faster than he expected which meant they might very well be on their way sooner, and that gave her hope, so she did her best to be patient.

  She sat in her chair, sick of sleep, the painkillers beginning to wear off, watching as Nezka rekindled the fire. When he was finished, he sat opposite her and sifted through her bag. He'd gone on his last run for the night, returning with several food packs and a refilled canteen. He'd also found several other items in his search—another canteen, a small green block of something she didn't recognize, and a single cord of metal rope, which he hung on his belt. She asked him where he acquired such things, and his answer was in no way shocking.

  "Some loner on my way back from the alleyway," he said.

  Elise shook her head. "I know we need to survive and may have been forced to take a few provisions, but now you’re just blatantly stealing."

  He tilted his head in a shrug. "I take what I need."

  Elise watched as he took up his new canteen, unscrewed the cap, and drank. A spicy, strong scent struck her, stinging her nose. She eyed him and the canteen suspiciously.

  "Is that what I think it is?"

  Nezka took one more swig before setting the canteen on his lap. He didn't smile fully at her, but his eyes glowed bright enough for her to recognize his sly, amused expression. "What do you think it is?"

  Elise stared into his eyes, and he stared back. "Care to share?" she asked at last.

  Nezka hesitated, considering it. "It might be unwise..."

  She rolled her eyes and reached out her hand. "I've eaten enough. And the painkillers are nearly finished."

  He paused a second more then offered up the metal bottle. Elise took it and sniffed the top before taking a sip.

  Yes, it was exactly what she thought. The spicy liquor burned as she swallowed, making her eyes sting. "Ah, who knew?" Elise choked. "The drogin are skilled in rum-making too." She took another drink despite the burn then offered the canteen back to Nezka. "I know it's super egotistical, but I never thought there would be so many things that were similar to Earth and here or anywhere else for that matter. Makes the universe seem...small." She watched him drink again then said, "Is it like that where you're from too?"

  He set the canteen on one leg and looked up at the domed window above. "Yes, some." His eyes flitted back down to her. "Though things might be similar, they are still different—unique—in their way."

  "Like what?" Elise asked.

  He shook the canteen. "Our drink which is similar to this is called liquid bluym. It derives from a certain nectar in a plant. The actual bud can be smoked, and there are different breeds."

  Elise smiled. "We have something of that kind too."

  Nezka gestured to the window, to the bridges and towers above. "The city I live in is not so different from this one. There are more ships, and the cloud cover is thicker, foggier, but the lights are similar, though we have more tech, more bots. We also have more levels, and they are better sectioned off."

  Elise could envision it well enough. She thought of home and knew it couldn't compare. "Earth's cities aren't nearly as impressive. We don't have an undercity like here, but we have bad parts that look just like it. Our buildings aren't so tall, and the cities aren't even close to as big." Elise shook her head. "I thought they were quite the achievement but after seeing this? Well, the higher city, anyway. Yeah,
we still have a long way to go." Elise picked up her small gun by the chair and turned it in her hands. "Our weapons can't compare either. Kinda scary to think we are more behind than we thought. But it's good to at least know what we're up against. And some things you can only improve so much. I mean a gun is a gun no matter what it spits, and a blade is a blade no matter how it cuts, right?"

  Nezka tilted his head, and she felt her face heat up. Maybe that drink was making her talk nonsense.

  He set the canteen on the ground then took out, from one of the inner pockets of his armor suit, a set of blades. They shined with a dark purple that almost seemed to glow. She'd seen them briefly before when he had been practicing with them. He flipped one with ease in his hand, and Elise could see they were unbelievably thin and sharp, the handles cut with some complex symbols and designs out of a material that looked like black stone or metal. He threw one across the inner wall, and it was so fast Elise didn't even catch it, but it stuck true and deep into whatever material made up the wall. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the blade returned back to his hand. He threw it again, this time at the floor, and there, it struck deep also, only the floor was made of a far thicker material, maybe stone or marble. He flicked his wrist again, and there it appeared, in his hand.

  "How?" Elise said after a moment of frustrated shock.

  Nezka smiled. He flipped them one more time before they disappeared back into his inner pockets. "You remember the guns the Red Blades used," he said, "how we couldn't use them because they are locked to their signature?"

  Elise nodded.

  "My blades are the same in a way. They call to only me, to my pull. It may seem...fantastical."

  "More like magical," Elise said.

  "But it is an old tech. They are connected to me like another appendage only separated. The pull might be something magnetic or maybe of a more complex physics, but my cells lie within. Where I go, they go."

  "So much for a blade just being a blade." Elise laughed softly. "Where did you get them?"

  "I’ve had them since I was a childling. I don't remember a time I didn't have them."

  Elise looked at him oddly. "So, as in, you were born with them?"

  "I don't know. I don't remember that far back," Nezka said, his eyes glazing over for a brief instant. "I only remember them being in my hands as they took me from the ship, along with this." He brushed his fingers along the beaded necklace at his throat.

  "And your parents were just cool with you having blades as a kid?"

  "I didn't know my parents, so I couldn't be sure."

  Elise opened her mouth in a silent 'oh.' "I'm sorry," she said and found she truly meant it. "What about others of your kind? Did they have blades too?"

  "I don't know. I've never met others of my kind," Nezka answered.

  Elise's eyes widened, and she grew still with shock. How could someone have never met another of their kind? She thought about what he said before, about not remembering how he acquired his blades, and it started to click. "When you say 'they took you from a ship,' are you saying you were taken? Like..." Using the word abducted seemed wrong. "Like someone kidnapped you?"

  Nezka didn't say anything for a moment. He picked up his canteen again and took another drink.

  "I'm sorry," Elise said, thinking maybe it wasn't her place to ask. "It's none of my business."

  Nezka's gaze fell to the fire. His eyes flickered against the flames as if they were made from the same source. "Or I was saved. I can't be certain," he said in a low voice. "But it was then I was brought to the city and..." His gaze directed back to her. "I was trained."

  Elise thought over his words carefully. "Trained to be a bounty hunter?"

  He lifted his hand, tapping at his ear.

  "Does that mean yes?"

  "Yes," he said.

  "That explains...a lot, actually." She could still vividly remember the fight back at the pit.

  "Does it?" He tilted his head.

  "It certainly explains why you are such a good fighter and tracker and know the things you do," Elise said and blew out a short breath. "Guess I should have gone into bounty hunting instead. Maybe then I wouldn't have gotten my ass handed to me in that pit."

  "You got a taste of what the training is like at least," Nezka replied indifferently.

  Elise frowned. "They throw you in a pit and make you fight?"

  "It was to weed out the strongest among the weak," Nezka said. "If you came out alive, you could continue on with your training."

  "That's barbaric."

  Nezka shrugged. "It works."

  Elise thought that over and realized he was probably right. When your life was at stake, you learned to give it your all or die trying.

  A light went off in her head with a crazy idea.

  "Could you teach me?" she asked. "I mean to fight like you?"

  She expected him to laugh but was surprised instead when he didn't. He gave her an inquiring stare then seemed to seriously consider it.

  "You are in no position to train in your current state," he said, looking her over.

  "Right, I get that," Elise said. "But when I am better I mean. I was trained to fight too and always considered myself pretty good at it. But after what happened in that pit and seeing you pretty much wipe the floor...I could afford to relearn some things."

  He was quiet for a long moment, and Elise let him be. As he looked away from her to stare out one of the windows, Elise took the chance to study him better. To really see him. It was odd to think that this alien she believed she hated was now someone she was considering to be her teacher.

  And maybe she didn't really hate him so much anymore. Sure, he had been a real jerk at first, but knowing what she knew now and realizing how alone he truly was, she was beginning to see him as just...a survivor. A lone wolf who had to fight to stay alive. And sometimes that really roughened up a person, made them hard and not always nice. He was violent and harsh because it was what he knew. But she had seen another side of him now, a side that was loyal and sincere, and that darker part was not the whole person. In a way, she could say maybe he wasn't so bad.

  He turned from the window to gaze back at her, and for a moment, Elise felt a slow heat rise up her neck and face as if he might have heard her thoughts. The way he looked at her made her feel exposed.

  He lifted his hand slowly and tapped his ear.

  "Yes?"

  "Yes," he said. "When you are recovered enough and ready."

  Elise smiled and sat up a little straighter, feeling the swell of excitement building in her already. If she could learn to move like him, to strategically strike and dodge in a way no human had, she might actually have a chance at defending against these tougher aliens, have a chance at fighting her way to her team without having to worry about another bad break like in that pit. She wasn't always for violence, only when it was necessary. And something told her any chance of negotiating would be slim to none. So, if she had to fight, she'd do it with all the ferocity she had witnessed in Nezka. "This partnership may not be so bad after all," she confessed.

  Nezka smirked. "Was it always so bad before?"

  Elise shrugged, taking the canteen from him and another quick swig, letting the liquor slide down her throat before saying, "It's had its moments. I didn't really care for the big squid."

  His pupils sharpened to a pinpoint, and his smile grew. "Too bad. I quite enjoyed that part."

  Elise arched a brow at him. "Even when your face got blown off?"

  "It did hurt a bit."

  "I'd hope so. If you didn't feel pain either, I'd think you were a god or something."

  "A god of what?" he asked, curious.

  Elise reclined in her chair, studying that broken part of his face. It was awful, to be sure. But the rest of him wasn't so bad. "God of death," she said, watching his expression closely.

  Nezka didn't look offended. He considered it seriously then seemed to agree. "I'd say that is fitting enough. Even if I don't particularly enjoy
death."

  Her brows rose. "You don't?"

  "Not entirely, no," he said, throwing another piece of broken canvas into the fire. "In fact, I'd say I enjoy life even more. Especially the ritual of creating it."

  Elise had to sit there for several seconds to understand exactly what he meant. When she thought she knew, she felt the heat rise in her face again. A particularly explicit image shot through her mind, and she quickly swatted it away, her body growing warm.