Kiara stopped talking and stared at the horizon, her expression closed.
Joy radiated through me as I listened to stories about Maia. So much made sense. Had she disappeared that lunation because of Trix? Ah… every time I knew her a little better, she impressed me more. She was incredible. I had been so lucky to… my eyes burned. The memories brought longing. No. Later.
"Thank you." I swallowed the urge to cry.
Kiara smiled.
Together, we watched nightfall sweep across the sky. Black spread, shadowing the atmosphere.
"By the way, you and Trix…" I cleared my throat. "I mean…"
Her aura shifted. Alert. "What do you mean? She was just having fun. Only joking." For a moment, Kiara's gaze strayed. Almost imperceptible, but enough to betray a thought she seemed determined to avoid.
I raised an eyebrow. Hid a smile. A side of her I had discovered there. "You make a good team. Though she seems so different from the woman I met."
Kiara shifted restlessly. "That place changes people. Nobody's Land."
I nodded in understanding.
"Anyway, it's time. Let's go over the strategy."
Icy wind blew between us, but Kiara remained still. Only clenched her fists for a moment before relaxing them. "Sure you're doing this alone?"
"Hopefully, everything will go as expected." I tried to sound confident.
"Always be ready for surprises. Follow the map to that entrance. Two Vorovskoy mir members will be inside. Identify yourself to one of them and get the key from the floor supervisor. Know what to say?"
I nodded.
"Getting Trix out will be difficult. Just stick to the plan. The two guards operate by quadrant. You'll find time to get her out while I rescue the princess." Kiara grabbed the revolvers. I'll Devour You lay on the back seat. "Ready?"
I tried to stay calm. "Y-yes."
"We'll make it." Kiara watched my trembling hands.
I smiled with my eyes. "I-I'll do my best."
She raised an eyebrow.
"I know, I know." I swallowed hard. I had to give it my best.
"All right. Keep the gun hidden. Time to go. See you." Kiara left the car and vanished into the white landscape.
My turn. I checked the time.
Three. Two. One.
When I opened Khalmer-Yu's holomap, the locations appeared. I touched the steering wheel. A strange sensation. Thank goodness Kiara had taught me to drive. Without her, I wouldn't even know how to start the car. The blizzard affected its stability. Something we had anticipated.
Almost an hour later, I arrived.
I had never imagined driving a car. It was actually fun.
I walked toward the frozen lake. Maia had been here. I smiled at the thought. Followed the pixels clustered in the snow. Dug with my hands until the hatch's latch appeared. Gathered my strength and pulled. Shit. I was weak. Needed more exercise. Tried three times. Metal creaked. Gave way.
When I entered the dark channel, darkness swallowed me whole. Without the mask, the smell of blood, sewage, and decay hit me. My stomach churned. The rats' scurrying bothered me more. Well… at least I had company. I avoided touching the walls.
Kiara had said: twenty minutes on foot. I had walked ten. Fifteen, maybe.
A faint light. Cracks around a door. I smiled. Felt for the lock.
Opened it.
I blinked. Brightness hurt my eyes. A cramped room. Walls concealed everything. Two doors. The pixels pointed left. I followed.
"Who are you?" A deep voice behind me.
I froze. Cold traveled through my bones. I inhaled deeply and turned. Tried to keep my expression indifferent.
Before me stood Dmitry, a Vorovskoy mir member in Russian military uniform, its Russian flag crossed out with a red X. A rifle in his hands. Young. Twenty cycles at most. The heavy rifle contrasted with his still-beardless face. A boy in a uniform of violence. Patriarchy had always done this: turned boys into soldiers.
"I'm the doctor sent by Pakhan Mikhail Morozov. I'm here to examine the prisoner Trix," I replied in Russian. It had to work.
"Hmm. The doctor they said was coming. Why are you in this area?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
I lifted my chin. "A guard told me someone would be waiting down here. Is that you?"
His eyes lingered on me a second too long. An instant longer than was prudent. Then he nodded. "Y-yes. That's me." Dmitry looked away. "Follow me." He turned.
I sighed in relief. Smiled discreetly. Continued.
We reached the cell wing.
When he stopped at a desk, a female android handed him a nanokey. "The doctor?"
"Yes. Just arrived."
"All right. I'll get the wheelchair ready to take the prisoner to the medical wing."
Good. Everything according to plan. I followed Dmitry to Trix's cell.
He opened the door.
Bile caught in my throat. "Could you leave us alone?" I asked sharply. "Let me know when the chair arrives."
He nodded, closing the door. "I'll be right here if you need anything."
They must have left her only recently. Trix's wrists and ankles bled. Nanocuffs buried in flesh. Head lowered. Blood smeared around her mouth. I lifted her face. Strangulation marks on her neck. Her unconscious gaze passed through me. Trix's eyes widened. She smiled. Red. How could they endure all this and still smile? I wanted to care for her. Held back. Gave her a knowing look.
"Doctor? The chair's here." Another guard pushed the door open.
I turned. "Excellent. She needs more sedation."
The two exchanged a glance.
"She stays cuffed," one insisted.
I approached them unhurriedly and smiled with my eyes. "She may be a prisoner. From now on, though, she's my patient. The nanocuffs are therefore unnecessary. I'll need to examine her from head to toe. Bring your strongest opioid painkiller and one nanogram of botulinum toxin."
"T-toxin?"
"Are you questioning my methods?"
"No, of course not. It's…"
"It's…?" I tilted my head. "Would you like Mikhail to hear about this?"
Dmitry cleared his throat. "No, no, please. That's unnecessary." He elbowed the other guard, who hurried away. His gaze weighed on my back.
The truth was: inside, I was a playing card balanced upright. The slightest touch would topple me. Easy. I took a deep breath. Had to pretend. Do what I had been taught. I had done this so many times in Zenith.
The assistant returned with the vials.
I drew the liquids into the syringes and waited for stabilization. Pretended to clean the unconscious Trix's forearm. "You can put her in the wheelchair. Her resistance is down to zero. She's fully sedated."
Once they positioned her, I followed closely. At the elevators, only Dmitry and I remained. I confirmed the shift change. No other guards. No nanocameras on the floor. Empty. Like my mind.
"Taking a while, isn't it?" I broke the silence casually.
"Yes. Lots of floors." He smiled warmly.
I moved closer behind him. "What's that on your neck?"
He kept facing away. Awkwardly touched his nape. "Birthmark."
"Are you sure? A mark like that could be something else." I stepped closer.
"Really? What do you think it cou—"
I injected the syringe of toxin into his jugular.
The young man tried to raise his arm.
Too late.
That amount of natural poison was lethal. I could have neutralized him with 0.4 nanograms, but my intention was different. In Kiara's words: no witnesses. I caught him before he fell to his knees. "Easy… easy… it'll pass soon. Your muscles hurt, right? Soon, you'll relax…"
His face paled. Eyes open. Glazed. A spasm ran through his fingers before they became still forever. I wished his soul a blessed passage as I checked that we were alone. Dragged his body toward the tunnel. Its weight made it difficult. Left him in the darkness, just inside the doorway. Returned for Trix. Pushed the wheelchair, tilting its wheels to get them over the young man. Turned to close the door.
Almost there.
"Hey! What's happening here?!" A guard coming toward me aimed his gun.
My heart raced. Cold sweat. My palms grew damp. I touched the revolver at my back. Time stopped. I swallowed hard. Eyes open. Still. He would kill me. I would have to… have to shoot…
A force pulled me back.
PFFF I flinched at a suppressed shot.
Trix took the gun from my holster and shot him in the forehead. She groaned in pain and clenched her jaw. "Shit. Grab his body. I'll clean the blood. Move! What're you waiting for? Wanna get us caught?"
Everything happened too fast. Adrenaline took over. I was pulled back to reality. Dragged the guard's body by the shoulders into the channel. Held back the urge to vomit. Had to endure. With scattered thoughts, I breathed shakily. My frantic heartbeat throbbed in my ears.
I stood before two dead bodies.
Trix finished cleaning the blood. Pushed me toward the exit. "You looked like a real doctor." Her voice distant.
I answered with a grunt. Before I knew it, the frozen landscape consumed us.
"What'd you do to that guy?" she asked.
What had I done? What… it struck like lightning. Everything spun. I raised my hands to my head. I killed a person. Killed someone. Killed that young man. Now what? His family? His friends? Everyone who cared about him? WHAT HAVE I DONE?! I took a life. Took a life.
"Hey, you okay? You're pale." Trix's words sounded distorted.
Sounds, my vision, everything misshapen. I killed a person. I killed a person. I killed a person. My throat burned. My eyes watered. My hands were numb. Air scarce. I blinked, but the world around me stayed blurred.
"Finally here," Trix said to a silhouette.
"C'mon. They'll sound the alarm," Kiara said distantly. "What happened to her?"
"Dunno. Looks like she froze."
"Let's go. Take the princess. She sprained her ankle. Had to carry her the whole way here." Kiara sounded irritated.
"Shit. Are you fucking kidding?" Trix huffed. "C'mere, girl. Keep quiet."
Anichka let out a shrill whine of protest. "You're covered in BLOOD. You'll get me dirty!"
"I'll punch your face. You'll pass out real quick."
"Why do you hate me so much?!" Her voice caught.
"Shut the fuck up. I'm all fucked up here. And I still have to carry the precious princess." Trix mimicked the princess's thin voice.
The two moved away.
A firm but gentle touch squeezed my arm. "What happened? Ah, no time. C'mon." Kiara pulled me along. Steady, but careful.
As I staggered, tears froze on my face. "I-I-I k-killed…"
"Ah…" Kiara wrapped me in a hug. "Take it in. Take in everything you're feeling. It's hard, but you need to do this now."
My throat hurt as I swallowed tears and vomit. "I-it's too much."
"I know. But you're stronger than you think. Try to stay calm."
"Get in. Keep quiet." I heard Trix's voice. "Where's the medical kit?" She turned to Kiara.
My bones shook with every step. I bit my lips so hard a thin trail of blood escaped. Iron flooded my mouth. I forced myself out of the numbness.
"Didn't know you two were that close." Trix narrowed her eyes.
"Shut up. Kit's under the back seat."
I pulled away from Kiara's embrace. Planted my feet. "I-it's okay." I wiped the frozen drops from my cheek. They burned.
The android nodded.
"Just saying. First time I've seen you like that with anyone. Not even Maia." Trix sounded carefree, kit in hand.
Kiara got into the car and immediately started it. Her shoulders stiffened. Only for a second. Then relaxed as though nothing had happened. "The fuck are you talking about?"
"Shit. How do you use this again?" Trix changed the subject.
"Clean it first, you idiot."
I lost focus on their conversation.
I watched Anichka, who seemed untouched. Just as we had left her, except for the broken ankle. The princess swung her legs and cast distressed looks at the two mercenaries. What had happened inside? Whatever it was, it must have terrified her.
I, on the other hand, was strangely calm. As though anesthetized. My mind emptied. My heartbeat slowed. The bitter taste in my mouth disappeared. Torpor took over my being.
"Trix," I said apathetically. "Inject that anesthetic to ease the pain."
She picked up the syringe. "Great. Inject it here?" Looked at Kiara.
The android glared at her. "Go fuck yourself if you think I'm taking care of you. Figure it out."
Trix threw her head back and roared with laughter. "One day you will…"
"Quiet, or I'll rip your eyes out." Kiara clenched her teeth.
They exchanged a look. Silence reigned. Then they laughed.
I frowned.
"Removed her nanotracker?"
Kiara rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously fucking asking me that?"
Trix shrugged and lit a cigarette. "Just checking. Where to now?"
"The chalet. Then we deliver the princess."
I had the impression that the place, the situation, made Kiara uncomfortable. She hid it well. Something told me the weight she carried would disappear once we returned to São Paulo. Well, that was what I thought.
"Can't wait to…" Trix said.
Their voices mingled. Faded.
Holding all those emotions and thoughts inside had cost me dearly. My blood pressure dropped with the tension, and my body grew heavy. The world spun. Someone said something, but it was too late. I was already falling. My Crone took over in the darkness.
I'm going to faint. I'm going to fai…