"Whoever did this to you, Sigrid, I swear I will find them. I will hunt them down and kill them myself. I promise you. They will not live to see another day."
These weren't just words, and Sigrid knew it. Suko would kill for her—legions, if she had to. All she needed was a target.
"I already know who did this to me," Sigrid said. "And I know where he is."
The hand brushing through Sigrid's hair stopped.
"Then you shall tell me, my love, and I will kill him."
"It's Jones," Sigrid said. "It's Harry Jones. He's alive, Suko. We didn't kill him on Bellatrix. He's alive. And he did this to me."
"No, my love," Suko said. "He did this to
us
. And he will pay for that mistake with his life."
~ - ~
The forty-four refugees from the Merchantman vessel huddled together, strung out in the brush along the narrow stream. The afternoon light was quickly fading as the sun set beyond the hills to the west.
Nuria shivered and pulled the collar of her coat tighter around her neck. Something was wrong. Lady Sigrid was gone, and she had been for some time. Soon Nuria might have to face the fact that she wasn't coming back at all.
Clutching the slim eSMG to her breast, Nuria continued her patrol through the makeshift encampment, stepping carefully between the clusters of escapees. Most of them were asleep, huddled together in groups for warmth. Two of them had built a small fire; they sat warming their hands over the small flames. Nuria stopped to remind them to keep the flames low. The last thing they needed was sending out a signal flare to the roaming labor patrols. She'd already had her fill of the work camps. She would never go back.
Continuing her walk, she found Niklos standing on a rise. He had a pair of macro-binoculars pressed to his face, scanning the darkness.
"Can you even see anything with those?"
"The night optics are brilliant," Niklos said hopefully, but then his face fell. "But, no. There's no sign of her. No sign of anyone. I guess there's some good and bad in that."
"Where were those signals she told us about?"
Niklos pointed ahead. "There. Straight over that hill to the south."
Nuria looked at the eSMG in her hand. There was nothing for it. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
"Wait!" Niklos grabbed her by the arm. "She told us to stay here!"
"She also said she'd be back in a few minutes. It's been hours, Niklos."
"You
can't
go out there. Not on your own."
Nuria's shoulders sagged. He was right. Who was she to go trouncing off into the night? She was no warrior. But the magistrate had charged her with one simple task. Take care of her. Watch over her. Perhaps all the magistrate meant was cooking for her and washing her underclothes, but if she was in trouble, and if Nuria didn't go after her, then who would?
No one. There was no one else, and Nuria knew it. It was up to her. She would find her or die trying.
Chambering a round with a loud
clack
, Nuria shook off Niklos's hold on her.
"Watch the camp, Niklos. I'll be back in an hour."
"And what if you're not?"
Nuria turned back to him; he was only a shadow now in the dwindling twilight. "Then you'll have to go on without me, because I'll most likely be dead."
~ - ~
It was still hours before moonrise and Nuria couldn't see two feet in front of her.
She tripped for what had to be the fourteenth time, stumbling before righting herself. She couldn't see a blasted thing in this infernal darkness, and every tree root and branch appeared to be doing its damnedest to trip her up. Worse, it started raining again. The drops were large, cold and had her soaking and shivering in no time at all.
The ground grew soft and slick beneath her feet. Her back heel slid out from under her in the mud and she fell cartwheeling backwards, landing hard and winding herself. The eSMG flew from her fingers, disappearing in the darkness. Nuria gasped, reaching after it as it was launched from her grasp. Desperate, she scrambled to her knees, groping in front of her, searching, though she couldn't find it anywhere. She tried crawling in ever-increasing circles, but even that turned up nothing. The precious weapon was gone.
Clinging to a damp tree trunk, she pulled herself to her feet, only to realize that she was now thoroughly lost. Crawling in circles in the dark had left her completely without her bearings. Until now, she'd been using one of the hilltops for reference. But was it that one, or that one there? Blast it, they all looked the same! How she was ever going to find her way back—and how she might find Lady Sigrid, Nuria didn't have a clue. She hadn't only failed her mistress, she'd failed herself. She was going to die out here, lost and alone.
Depressed and scared witless, Nuria sank to her knees.
"Looking for this?" a voice said from behind her.
Back on her feet, Nuria spun about only to see the shadowy figure behind her. It stood perfectly still, just another dark shape in a forest of dark shapes. For a moment she wondered if she'd imagined the voice, and that this figure was just a bush or fallen tree. Then it stepped toward her. It moved impossibly fast. Nuria opened her mouth to scream, but the figure reached out, snatching her by the neck. Nuria gasped for air, clawing at the hand that held her in its viselike grip. She panicked as she felt her feet lose purchase on the ground as she was hoisted into the air.
She kicked out as hard as she could. She connected too. Not that it did much good. She might as well have been kicking solid steel. The figure grunted and hurled her to the ground. Nuria scrambled for her miserable life, crawling through the dirt on all fours, trying to rise only to fall again.
There was something new in front of her, blocking her way. Trembling, she stared up. She opened her mouth to scream.
Impossibly strong hands grabbed her, spinning her around. One hand held her tightly across her chest; the other clamped down, covering her mouth. This new figure was undeniably female; Nuria felt the woman's slender wrists, the small breasts pressed up against her back. Yet there was something inhuman about that body, something cold and mechanical. Nuria thrashed against her, managing little more than a few muffled screams.
"Quiet, little mouse," her voice whispered in her ear. "We don't want to hurt you, but if you don't stop your thrashings, we most certainly will."
Panting, her eyes wide with fear, Nuria did as she was told.
"I've got her," the figure said. "
Ow!
"
Nuria bit down hard on the hand, kicking the woman in her shins. It was just enough to feel the grip on her slacken. Seizing the opening, Nuria ran. A hand reached out from behind, grabbing hold of her jacket. Nuria shrugged it off. Spinning, stumbling, yet somehow managing to stay on her feet, Nuria ran smack into yet a third figure. She might as well have run face first into a tree.
Winded, Nuria fell onto her backside. The three figures moved toward her. She was trapped. She was surrounded. It was over.
"Nuria?"
"Lady Sigrid?"
Sigrid stepped forward, just as surprised as Nuria to find each other here. Nuria was on her feet in an instant, rushing toward her only to collapse into her arms. Sigrid felt her arms come around her, holding onto her and clinging to her as if for her very life.
"Nuria! What are you doing here? I told you to stay with the camp!"
"I thought—I was worried. You never came back. I thought you were dead. I had to come looking."
"Nuria, you could have been killed!"
"She almost was," Victoria said. She was shaking her hand where Nuria had bit her, though whether this was an affectation of her programming or a throwback to when she actually had
real
hands, Sigrid couldn't know.
Victoria bent to pick up Nuria's dropped eSMG, handing it to Sigrid. "Running around alone in the woods? You best be careful where you point these things, girl."
"Please, Victoria!" Sigrid said. "She's terrified enough already. It's all right, Nuria. You're safe."
"I was so worried. When you didn't come back—"
"I know. And I
am
sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I meant to come back straight away. I just…well, I just ran into some old friends is all. This is Victoria."
Sniffing and still shaking, Nuria turned to Victoria, who gave a half bow, followed by a wave of her hand.
"And this," Sigrid said, turning to the other figure, "this is Suko."
As Suko stepped forward, Nuria gave a short gasp and took a half step backwards, moving behind Sigrid to peer over her shoulder.
Suko could look quite intimidating when she wanted to. She was much taller than Sigrid, or Victoria for that matter. She used her height to full advantage as she emerged from the shadows and walked toward them in ten carefully placed steps. Suko's beauty, while perhaps more nuanced and less obvious than girls like Leta, was equally undeniable. Perhaps even more so here in the dark of the woods, for it was in the dark of the wilds where Suko shone her brightest.
The simple halter and leggings she wore did little to hide her exquisitely sculpted muscles, nor her many scars slashing across her midriff, arms and thighs. Suko wasn't some soft, simpering creature to primp in front of mirrors with makeup and jewelry, she was a predator, as elegant and striking as she was deadly.
She moved toward them, coming to circle Nuria, sizing her up as much as she might prey, or in this case, a potential foe. Suko was stalking her.
"Who's the skirt?"
Rolling her eyes, Sigrid let out a long sigh. There were times when Suko's possessiveness was a delight. And there were other times…
Suko loved her, unabashedly and unconditionally. To be loved with such abandon was a rare gift and one Sigrid cherished dearly. But Sigrid was not a prize Suko would ever share, and woe betide anyone who dared to come between them. Often, Suko's jealousy resulted in bouts of lovemaking that were so frenzied they left Sigrid a quivering, useless mess for days; it was as if Suko were driven to mark her territory, making sure the world knew that Sigrid was hers and hers alone. Even now, standing within such close proximity, Sigrid felt the pulse of Suko's possessive desire radiating between them, a curious byproduct of their enhanced genetic code.
Nuria must have sensed it too, as she made sure to keep Sigrid well between them.
"Suko, this is Nuria," Sigrid said, doing her best to keep her voice even.
"Nuria?" Suko said. "And who's Nuria?"
"Nuria is my…" Unfortunately, Sigrid's voice chose that moment to falter and crack. Coughing to clear her throat, she continued, as if nothing happened. "Nuria is my…she's my lady's maid."
"Your…lady's maid?" Suko said, with raised eyebrows. "I thought you told me you only just escaped five days ago. How on Earth did you acquire a lady's maid in five days?"
"Well, I suppose she came with the title."
"Title?"
Nuria leaned out from behind Sigrid. "She is Lady Protector of the Free Southern Territories, Ms. Suko. Named by the magistrate herself."
"Lady Protector? Now I am impressed," Suko said, not sounding impressed at all. "And what exactly are the duties of a lady's maid?"
"Oh, the usual," Sigrid offered offhandedly. "It's just normal stuff. Cooking. Taking notes. Attending meetings. Cleaning."
"Cleaning? And when she's done washing your underthings, I suppose she helps with your dressing and undressing?"
"And bathing, your ladyship!" Nuria offered helpfully.
Sigrid felt her jaw tighten. "Thank you, Nuria. That will be all."
"Of course, Lady Sigrid," Nuria said, stepping back with a quick curtsy.
"We really should be getting back," Sigrid said, hoping to change the subject. "The others will be wondering where we've got to."
"Others?" Suko said. "You mean you brought more of them? I'm guessing there's an entire staff? What shall we expect? Cooks? Valets? Perhaps an entire harem of concubines."
"Concubines!" Sigrid said, face-palming herself. "Blast it. I forgot." She had completely forgotten about the seven rescued comfort girls. What on Earth would Suko say about that?
"Concubines?" Suko said. "Seriously?"
"It's not what you think."
"It sounds
exactly
what I think!"
"Well, it's not exactly a
harem
," Sigrid said. "Not as such."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Camp
Sigrid took more care as they made their return to the camp. After terrifying Nuria in the woods, she didn't want to startle any more of the refugees tonight. Closing on the encampment, she spied three men and seven women standing guard at intervals on high ground. They were well hidden amongst the trees, though it didn't stop their heat signatures from being perfectly outlined against the cool backdrop of rocks and shrubs.
She was just wondering the best way to alert them when Nuria ran forward yelling, "We're here! I found them! She's back." She tripped once in the dark, stumbling before righting herself to continue her run.
Hearing the commotion, there was a great stirring in the encampment, muted voices rising in volume as they saw her approach. She soon found herself swarmed as several of the refugees rushed to welcome her back. Four of the rescued concubines gave Sigrid particularly lengthy hugs while Suko observed with folded arms.
"What
is
it with you?" Suko said.
"Sorry," Sigrid said as more of the escapees tugged at her arms and came forward to shake her hand. "I suppose it's been a trying day for everyone."
Word of their return spread quickly, but not as fast as the news that she wasn't alone. The Night Witch had brought her sisters. Suko's presence drew the most attention; Sigrid heard their hushed whispers and saw the way they pointed; there wasn't any need to tell them Suko was like her. It was obvious to everyone.
Victoria, on the other hand, they gave a wider berth. Despite Dr. Garrett's attempt at a more human
makeover
, there would always be something undeniably mechanical about her. Victoria seemed to regard the refugees with equal curiosity, and her head turned as if on a swivel, scanning them as they circled around her.