Nabukko, page 28
“It was only half-assed.”
“I’d die if I got a full ass out of you!”
I couldn’t help the giggle that tumbled out of my mouth. Soon Keir and Lethia were also chuckling, their differences briefly stowed away for the time being.
We were near Engineering now, slowly winding our way through the camp, our pace leisurely and without intention.
“Gia shoulda nixed that man ages ago,” Lethia said, gliding between Keir and me. “Woulda saved every last one of us a heap of trouble to come.” She threw her arms around our shoulders, grinning broadly at the grimaces on our faces.
“Maybe you should have told her that another twenty or thirty times,” Keir said as he neatly slipped out of Lethia’s grasp. “You know Gia. Always pays attention to nagging. Craves it, in fact.”
I tried to wiggle free as well, but Lethia had gotten wiser from Keir’s smooth escape; her arm tightened around my neck, but not so much that it was beyond mildly uncomfortable.
“Ah ah ah,” she taunted as she waggled a finger at me. “Not yet. I need some information first.”
“You’re slightly crazy, you know that?”
“Ha ha! So I’ve been told a dozen times over. It’s only a matter of perspective, though. Some the masses call sane are crazier than me.”
“Okay, okay—what do you want to know? Or are you that type that takes pleasure in a little torture, regardless of the fact that I’ll tell you everything I know?”
Lethia’s head flew back with the force of her laugh. I struggled to remain upright.
“Eff! You are just a hoot! If only you had stumbled on us sooner. I, for one, would have been spared weeks of boredom!”
“Brilliant. I knew my Academy training in commedia dell’arte would be useful one day.”
On the other side of Lethia, Keir laughed so hard he snorted.
“Terrific. I shall fetch you a red nose once my interrogation is over! Now, what in Deimos’s name are we going to do about Eoghan?”
Keir stopped laughing almost instantly.
“I’m sorry, what?” I choked out.
Lethia waved her free arm around. “Eoghan! You know, the cute man with that tiny dimple and the hair that’s always perfect! I swear he could roll down the bad side of a mountain and still look fresh as a Neptune Class on its maiden voyage!” She reached over and patted the top of my head. “Don’t think I didn’t see what happened between you two in the mess hall. He’s just a little lost right now—wandering in the same maze for years, the poor sap—but with the right encouragement he’ll come around!”
My cheeks burned. I didn’t want to talk about this with Keir literally standing a meter away. “Lethia, I don’t—”
“Don’t be such a goopy pile of Fuscus, Eff! I know that you know that he’s got a foolish crush on Miss Head Honcho! You can’t be blind to that!”
I averted my eyes, not wanting to let either Keir or Lethia see my face.
Yes.
Of course I had known.
It had been obvious from the moment Gia had caught Eoghan telling me about the Nabukko and how it had transformed from their home in the stars to their home on an unknown world.
My brain immediately wanted to focus on the bigger mystery of the Nabukko and this planet. I knew it was deflecting, trying to keep me safe from possible heartache and difficult questions. If I ignored my uneasiness, it might go away. I wasn’t ready to face this yet. I’d have to, eventually, but I couldn’t do it right now.
“What are you suggesting here, Lethia?” I said, trying my best to keep my voice level and free of emotion.
She stared down at me for a beat too long before releasing her arm. I stepped away quickly. I knew she hadn’t intended any harm, but I was uncomfortable with the sudden human contact. I guess living on my own in the wilderness still had some residual effects.
Keir noted my movement, one eyebrow lifting just barely.
Lethia had not taken note, however, electing instead to launch into a list of possible ways that I might irrevocably grab Eoghan’s attention.
“—and, of course, you could always just lie in wait for him in his dorm, dressed in nothing but the nude—that would make an impression he couldn’t ignore!”
I gasped. “Lethia! I am not going to do that!”
She gave me a wide, crooked grin. “Oh, I know you wouldn’t, darlin’. I just wanted to see your face when I suggested it!”
“Unbelievable,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.
“It’s one of my more charmin’ qualities, yes.”
Keir still hadn’t said anything. He gazed intently at the stars, at Jupe, at the sun quickly slipping away beyond the craggy peaks, gone once more until the new dawn.
Lethia yawned, loud and obnoxious. “Well, I’m plain beat. Being too early and too late will do that to a gal. You two can manage the rest of this walk on your own, I take it?”
Lethia suddenly grabbed my arm, winked at me, and whispered so quietly it was barely audible, “Let me know how it goes!” before sauntering off toward the dorms at a brisk pace.
I stared after Lethia in shock for a beat. Had she intentionally mentioned Eoghan in front of Keir just to make him jealous? I shook my head. I couldn’t keep up with this kind of subterfuge.
“If you need me to play the dashing hero—you know, just to switch things up—I’d be more than willing,” Keir said, interrupting my wayward thoughts. His tone was light, but I could instantly tell that the offer was real. He’d have jumped in immediately if I’d needed it.
The thought warmed me more than the summer sun ever had.
“Shall we set up a secret signal then, for the future?” I said. “Whenever one of us needs the other to be the dashing hero? Bird calls, perhaps?” I smiled as I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. Keir’s eyes tracked the motion.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I think bird calls would be too obvious. We need something a little more . . . subtle.”
“What do you suggest then, oh dashing hero?”
Keir’s smile widened, and my heart fluttered. Then his eyes flicked to my hand. No, not my hand. My ring. Not for the first time, I wondered what his interest in it was.
“Bring up your ring in conversation, or say ‘jade’ even. You can also just twist your ring, but you already do that a lot when you’re thinking, so it might get a bit confusing for me. Still, I’d take the risk of showing up as your dashing hero too many times, if necessary.”
I cleared my throat as my cheeks blended in with the colors of the sunset. “What will you do?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have a ring to twist, but I can still mention yours.”
“Or say ‘jade’?" I suggested.
“That too.”
I glanced down at my hand, twisting it slightly. Keir was suddenly standing closer. I sucked in a breath.
“Just a test run,” I squeaked out.
He chuckled. “Did I pass?”
“Mmm-hmm. Flying colors and all that.”
A great Crash! rang out above us, and I tensed, only to realize that the sound had been thunder. A few drops leaked onto the dark soil, gentle and easy, but the electric feeling in the air promised millions more to come.
I held out my hand, palm upward, to catch a raindrop.
“I suppose we should hurry back,” I said with a sigh. “I want to sneak in a shower before things get too dicey.”
Keir agreed, and we double-timed it back to the dorms. I noticed several others in the camp scurrying along the pathways as well, all eager to escape the guaranteed downpour.
Keir walked with me up to Gia’s room. I cautiously opened the door, nervous that Gia, Raud, or even Eoghan would be inside.
It was empty. I let out a sigh of relief.
“Thanks for the escort. As always,” I said in a mocking tone.
“I’m going to have Benedeck add it to my official dusty roster,” Keir said with a smile. Then he said hesitantly, “Would you . . . like me to also escort you to the showers?”
I had been stuffing a clean change of clothes into my bag but stopped short at his words. Was Keir suggesting what I thought he was suggesting?
I felt breathless, but not for the right reasons. This was going too fast, and I wasn’t sure what I felt about him or Eoghan. Things were strained with Eoghan right now. And with Keir . . . I was happy in the warm glow of sweet conversations and delicate feelings, and I wasn’t ready for this ephemeral thing to become tangible, corporeal. Not yet.
I faced him, but kept my eyes diverted. “Keir, I appreciate the offer, but . . . no, I’m okay by myself.”
Keir’s eyes widened a bit, and I swore a faint blush made his cheeks glow. “Oh! No! No—I wasn’t suggesting . . ."
“Oh, well . . .” I chuckled, feeling sheepish. I sent my eyes on a journey around the room, to the bare walls and the plain beds, to the heavyset door and the orphan window.
“Eff,” Keir said, his voice drawing me back so that he was the only thing in the room I noticed.
“Yes?”
He stared at me for several heartbeats before glancing away. “Uh . . . never mind. I should let you go before the storm comes. I hear the rain starting to pick up already.”
I bit back my disappointment and simply nodded instead. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
The warm water smoothed the worries from my mind as it flowed through my hair, down my arms, over my thighs, onto my feet. I allowed myself a full minute to cleanse my mind and soul, eyes closed against the gentle torrent, before hastily scrubbing myself with soap.
The rain pelted down from the dark sky, echoing fivefold from the metal roofs and walls. I could hear it over the sound of my shower. I suppose I could have just stood outside, but that would have been awkward. And not nearly as warm.
Several bouts of thunder volleyed across the valley peaks, the sound waves crashing and colliding so violently that I could feel their war reverberate through the walls into the ground, little spawns of energy reaching up to tug at my toes.
“Must be an insane temperature inversion,” I muttered to myself as I switched off the facet. I toweled off and dressed quickly, wondering if Nabukko had set up lightning rods as part of its storm preparations.
I stuffed my wet clothes in my bag and readied myself to dash back to Gia’s room. I thrust the door open and launched myself out into the waiting curtain of rain.
I’d only made it a few meters, though, when I heard it.
A shriek. A woman yelling.
My feet skidded to a stop. I blinked away rain droplets as I cocked my head, listening for the sound again.
The thunder beat itself against the mountains, lightning egging it on. The rain cheered at the spectacle.
Had I mistaken the sound of a woman shouting for an integrant of the storm? There was a cacophony of noises around me—it wouldn’t have been difficult to do.
I whirled around—surveying the showers, the laundry building, the dorms—attempting to uncover anything that seemed unusual. The rain obscured my sight rather splendidly, however. Someone could have been hiding in the shadows, and I would never have seen them.
“Hello?” I called out. “Anybody there?”
No voice responded from the shadows or the rain.
I doubted anyone could even hear me over the storm.
Yet I was almost certain I had heard a shout. It must have been nearby, then.
Another scream pierced the damp air. But this one was different, full of shock. Terror had laced the first one.
The scream had come from the direction of the laundry building.
I didn’t hesitate, spinning on my heel and sprinting toward the small structure. I tugged at the door, and it sprung open forcefully.
I dashed inside, fists raised—
—And pulled up short.
A young woman stood by the washing tub. Her hands covered her mouth as she gaped at the figure lying draped across the edge of the tub.
The figure’s head was submerged, one arm floating alongside her head, the other dangling so that just the tips of her knuckles brushed the cold floor.
The statuesque woman glanced up at me in shock, her eyes unfocused and sodden with unspilled tears.
“She’s dead,” the young woman whispered.
Chapter 24
One second passed, and then another.
“Dead?” I repeated.
The young woman standing near the tub wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her eyes had latched back onto the girl whose head was currently floating in suds and dirty water.
I rushed over, dropping to my knees to pull the woman out. She wasn’t heavy, but I needed to twist her body to lay her on her back.
“Help me!” I shouted at the statue, whose mouth still hung ajar. She didn’t move, too shocked to think straight, so I grunted and heaved the limp woman over.
It took me a moment, but I recognized her face.
“Kestra,” I breathed. Her face was pale and wrinkled.
But it was her eyes that gave me shivers. They were open and glassy.
"Ice . . ."
I reached for Kestra’s arm, feeling for a pulse.
Nothing.
Still, I had to try and help.
“Don’t just stand there!” I yelled up at the young woman. “Go get help!”
My shout startled the young woman out of her shock, but she just started screaming when she looked down at Kestra’s distant gaze.
“She’s dead! She’s dead! By the two moons, she’s dead!”
She was pacing now and getting hysterical, but I tuned her out as I tilted Kestra’s head back. I placed my hand over the center of her chest, counting the number of compressions as I went.
“ . . . twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!” I bent down and forced air from my lungs into Kestra’s. There was no response. I tried again.
No response.
I launched into another set of compressions, each thrust feeling more useless than the next.
How long had she been dead?
No, that was the wrong question.
Why was she dead?
Dread settled over me as I considered the possibilities. Could Kestra have slipped and hit her head, accidentally drowning herself in the wash tub? Did she have a medical condition that rendered her unconscious at preciously the most inopportune time?
Or, was she murdered?
I finished the second round of compressions and tilted Kestra’s head back again, forcing more air into her lungs again and again.
She didn’t so much as sputter, cough, or twitch.
I pushed down on her chest in rapid succession for the third time, but I knew it was pointless. I would keep at it, though, until either my arms gave out or help arrived.
I spared a look for the young woman still shouting and pacing next to me. If she wasn’t going to fetch help, at least her racket should eventually draw attention, even with the storm raging outside.
Who would murder Kestra? The girl had had an insane preoccupation with detail, but she was just an average member of the crew as far as I could tell. She wasn’t head of a division, wasn’t dating anyone, blended in with the crowd.
I only then just realized that the killer might still be nearby. Could it be the hysterical young woman pacing next to me? I shook my head. Sure, it could have been an accident. That would explain the other woman’s reaction. But she didn’t seem like the intentional killer type.
“ . . . twenty-five, twenty-six—”
The door suddenly burst open, a gale of rain and people flooding inside the washroom. Raud, Gia, and Jarl were the first to rush inside, their presences fanning out to assess the situation. Keir and another man I didn’t know slid in behind them.
“She’s dead!” wailed the young woman, tears running down her face. “Kestra’s dead!”
Gia’s eyes sought mine out, and I sat back, nodding gravely. “She’s not breathing. Not responding to CPR.”
Gia’s eyes were wide, but she jumped into action immediately.
“Jarl, do a perimeter sweep. Check for people or animals nearby. Search for any potential evidence,” Gia ordered. “Remik, please calm down Eris—escort her back to her room if you have to—then go notify Merula at once. Keir, inform the Doc about Kestra. Raud, send for Nahova and a patrol unit.”
Jarl, Remik, and Keir all nodded, making motions to exit and carry out Gia’s commands. Keir’s eyes briefly settled on mine, promising that he would be back and all would be fine.
If only he’d had the ability to promise such things.
“I think Jarl can postpone his search,” Raud shouted sharply. “We have the killer right here in front of us!”
I was confused for a half second before I realized that he was talking about me.
“You can’t be serious!” I argued back. Sure, I was sitting on my knees right next to the body, but I had been trying to give her CPR, for Luna’s sake!
Keir rolled his eyes, and Gia shook her head in disbelief. But then Jarl, getting out a pair of restraints, said, “I should take her into custody.”
Gia glared at the weathered man. “Stand down, Jarl. Eff isn’t going anywhere. You are to complete a perimeter sweep. Do I need to repeat my orders again?”
Jarl blanched and looked uncertain. But then he straightened up and belted out, “No, sir!” before marching out.
Gia turned on Remik next. “Take Eris to her room then return here. Make sure no one enters except for Merula, Nahova, the Doc, the patrol unit, or any of us. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” Remik responded before gently, but firmly, escorting Eris out of the washroom. She was no longer shouting or crying, just silently staring at Kestra’s body lying motionless on the floor.
Raud had me pinned down with his gaze, righteous justice scratched across his features. Gia turned to him next.
“Raud, go get the Doc, then wait outside once you return.”
“Are you crazy? No way am I leaving you alone with a killer, Gia!”
“Raud, I am as combat capable as any guard. You know that. We went through the same training regime at the Academy, plus I’ve completed all my additional requirements for command training. So you know full well that I can handle myself should the need arise. Right now, I need you to follow orders. Can I count on you to do that?” I silently commended Gia’s tact; she knew how to deal with ornery soldiers when the job demanded it.
