Bride of Death (2 page)

There were only two gowns in the wardrobe and no bodysuits. She slipped on one of the gowns and its matching shrug. It was pretty, pastel and looked nothing like anything she had ever worn in her life.

Her hair hung down her back in a damp tangle, so she went in search of a brush and found a small lav with a lady-like preparation station. The women of this world must be the most useless creatures imaginable or at least so lovely that the men were willing to bend over and give them nothing to do.

She had no idea. She wasn’t even sure what it was that had possession of her.

She found a brush and went to work on her hair, cursing convention. She had wanted to shear her hair off when she entered the guard, but it was not allowed. Minimum hair lengths were dictated for men and women.

Once her hair was dealt with, she continued exploring her cushioned cage. Her wrap slipped down her arms, but it was so light, she barely felt it. A pressure plate in the wall begged her to touch it, so she did.

The wall of her room folded back with metallic thuds. A balcony extended outward, and she tasted the air of her home, marked by the tang of unfamiliar metals.

Saloa stepped forward, her bare feet on the metal decking. She looked around at a field of ships, each shifting and unfolding itself into an interlocking city. Where the kilometres of empty plain had been was now a landing metropolis.

She looked down and gasped. Two hundred feet up, she was standing on the side of the first landing ship. The wind tugged at her, and she slowly backed into the safety of the structure.

The aliens were reclaiming their territory, and they were doing it swiftly.

“The progress is stunning, is it not? By the time the Life Bringers arrive, there will be twelve cities just like this on the surface.”

She turned and locked her jaw to hold in her gasp. His skin was a reddish bronze, the highlights on it a soft gold. His hair was dark crimson with black strands mixed in, and the sleek wave reached his waist. He was out of his armour, but the black shirt and the vest with the rank markings labeled him as the man who had hauled her into the ship. She had never seen anything like him.

He stepped forward; his boots rang deliberately on the flooring of the chamber. “Welcome to the
Herald of Death
, Life Bringer.”

She backed away. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Because, it is what you are to us, lady.”

“I am no lady.”

His lips twisted in a smile, and she caught sight of sharp feral teeth. “And yet, our scans indicate that you are a breedable female of suitable age. That makes you a Life Bringer to our people. There is no other place for you.”

She swallowed. “Where are my men?”

“They are being held below and will join the servants when they arrive with the population carriers.” He stepped forward again. “They were very concerned about you as well, though two of them are dead.”

She bumped into the wall and stared up at him, wide-eyed. “You killed them?”

“They killed themselves. It seems your little gathering was prepared to die. I wish I had known it. I would not have left you alone.” His gaze was intense. His eyes a rich brown that seemed to take her in and approve of what he saw.

She blushed and looked away. “I have decided that any future is preferable to none.”

Long fingers cupped her jaw and turned her face to look at him. “Hmm...hair like sunlight and eyes the colour of a starry sky. Your men must be blind or stupid.”

Her blush took on a new intensity, and she licked her lips.

His pupil’s dilated, and he leaned in to kiss her.

Her reflexes took over, and he was flipped to his back in seconds, his arm twisted to the point of pain and his back arched.

He stared at her in surprise. “Well done, little warrior. I will not touch you without your consent again.”

“Take me to see my men.”

He frowned. “The brig is no place for a Li—for a lady such as yourself.”

“If my men are there, it is the perfect place for me.” She removed her bare foot from his chest and released his arm as she stepped back.

He gained his feet easily. “I am General Hinlior, and I will be responsible for your safety until you can join the Life Bringers in one of the cities.”

She nodded. “Sargent Saloa Winger. I do not understand what is going on. What do you want me for?”

He laughed. “I want you, but I am not a designated breeder. My people need any chance at creating another generation. We are dying, and this world was a frantic attempt to shore up our numbers before we fade into nothing.”

He dusted himself off and offered her his hand. “You will need my escort to travel through the ship, Lady Winger. It is not a safe place for a woman alone. Many of my men dream of elevation to breeder, and they will do whatever it takes for a family of their own.”

She slipped her fingers against his, and his dark hand closed over her digits with firm support. “You will take me to my men?”

“I will, but do not be surprised if their greetings are not warm. Their fate is far different from yours.”

It was the last thing that he said as he escorted her out of her quarters and down into the belly of the ship.

Her men were all in a group barracks, and their number was indeed only thirteen. She stood at the general’s side. “Private Naky. Are you and the rest well?”

The private was staring at her, and he moved toward her with a sneer. “Not as well as you, Sargent. Have you already spread your legs for them? Is that why you are here all soft and perfumed?”

She blinked and looked from face to face. Every man had a look of accusation in his eyes.

“I haven’t done anything. These were the clothes given to me after they cut me out of my armour.”

The men murmured. “Why did they have to cut you out? They just put short-term power cells on us and got us out that way?”

“I don’t know. Ask them.” She was getting angry.

Private Naky stepped toward her. “We can’t. They don’t speak Prothean.”

She felt the general’s hand jerk slightly.

General Hinlior spoke softly. “Some of us have learned your language.”

Private Nazy sneered, “Of course you have. Why have you kept Sargent Winger apart from us?”

“She is a Life Bringer. She will find her destiny elsewhere. You are prisoners of war. Your destiny will be in service to the Anvin people.”

Private Kuri snarled. “Why should she get off easier? She was leading us.”

“She is just as much a prisoner as you are. There is no chance for her to re-join your people. Her duties will serve the Anvin, just as yours will.”

Saloa felt the attack coming. Three of her men rushed her, with the intent to cause serious damage. She couldn’t figure out their motivation, she just started to move.

It wasn’t practice. The fists came at her with the intent to cause harm, and she was trying to stay uninjured.

She bent, twisted, struck upward and broke Kuri’s nose. He stumbled back, spouting blood. She grabbed Losso’s arm with her own and twisted it, jerking upward until it dislocated with a pop.

Stekker grabbed her hair and pulled back, so she waited until their bodies made contact and then slammed her head back hard. He grunted and released her, staggering back, but by the time he straightened, the Anvin guards were in the room and the rest of the Protheans were on the ground.

General Hinlior stroked her head and checked her. “Are you injured?”

“No. Shaken but intact. I think I need to sit down.”

He nodded and led her out of the holding barracks and back up to the higher levels. Her whole body was quivering with tension, but when her stomach suddenly snarled, she realised that part of her problem was lack of food.

The general’s features kicked up in a small smile. “You are a normal being then. I was beginning to wonder.”

“Wonder what?”

“If you needed to eat. You had not mentioned it, and it is customary to gain the upper hand by forcing the prisoner to request food.”

“Well, that worked out very well. I don’t think that food would have crossed my mind. I have never been very good at listening to my body’s signals.”

“You worked quickly when you were attacked.”

“I did. That is one thing I have always been good at, knowing when I am in danger.”

He opened a door, and he escorted her into what seemed to be the officers’ dining room.

Dozens of pairs of eyes turned to look at them, and she blinked rapidly. “Now would be one of those times.”

He straightened and something in his posture made the gazes return to their original positions.

A table was off to one side, and he led her to it. Her stomach snarled again, and she put her hands over it as if that would work. “I request food.”

His smile changed to a grin that confirmed he had some very sharp fangs. “And you shall have it.”

A junior officer came to the table and brought one glass carafe and one metal. Two cups of glass and two of metal were placed on the slick surface.

General Hinlior spoke in a liquid tone, and the junior officer nodded sharply and turned away.

The general filled her cups and his own. “The cold liquid is water and a juice mixed together. The hot is a sweetened stimulant that should help steady your nerves.”

She chuckled. “Sugar, huh?”

“Sweetener.”

“How is it that you speak Prothean?”

He blinked and smiled. “The Death Bringers are not just a defense force. We have jacks built into our skulls that allow us to install information. When our final probe reached you, it recognized your language from our archives. A dozen of us learned it, but the knowledge is scattered throughout the ship.”

“Why not all of you?”

“It was not necessary. We only needed a few in case there were prisoners taken. Your men below have two guards with the knowledge of your language. I did not realise that the language was Protean until your men spoke of it.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because, my species is dying and yours has a reputation for overpopulating. I think your participation will be in high demand.”

Suddenly, her appetite went flat. She had a very good idea of what that participation would entail.

She cleared her throat. “I don’t know what you are thinking, but my people mate for life. I am not going to be passed around to see which one of your kind can plant something.”

He sat back. “I believe you are mistaken. All of the Life Bringers have a choice in the men they take, but the men they have access to are carefully selected to improve our species.”

She shivered. “It still sounds creepy.”

She didn’t say anything else until the food arrived. “What are Death Bringers and why aren’t you eligible as breeders?”

He had just taken a bite, and he coughed a little. “Is that an invitation?”

She realised how it must have sounded, and she closed her eyes for a moment. “Pretend I didn’t say that last part and answer the first.”

He grinned and answered between precise bites. “The Death Bringers are both the first to land and the last to leave any planet we are on. Each enclave has their own contingent. We are made up of the men who do not pass the first selection rounds as children.”

“Oh. You are tested that early?”

“We are.”

She prodded at the unfamiliar food and then started to eat it one deliberate bite at a time. She managed to swallow, and after the fourth bite, she said. “What happens to the women who aren’t able to bear children?”

“They are trained in service industries and have mates if they choose. Every now and then, they begin to breed and those cases are the saddest. They have no control over their lives from that moment onward. They leave their families, their child is raised by its father and they begin rounds of matings to make up for lost time. Unfortunately, many go mad, and from there on, they are kept in a secure facility and artificially inseminated.”

She blinked. “That is horrible.”

“That is the last resort of a dying species.”

“Not to be crude, but why doesn’t your species breed via test tube or false wombs?”

“We do, but the offspring of technology has a certain lack of empathy for others of its species. We need to be brought to term by a loving mother. The bonding is imperative.”

“What happens then?”

He blinked. “The child is given to its father and raised until it is four or five. Then, it is tested and enters the appropriate crèche. Education takes over with regular parental visits.”

She rubbed her forehead and continued nibbling through her meal. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

He twisted his lips. “Eleven brothers and three sisters. None of my sisters are Life Bringers.”

“Oh. So, no nieces or nephews.”

“On the contrary. Two of my brothers have been successful breeders.”

She blinked. “Oh. Nice.”

“I think so. My bloodline is one of the few that has survived intact for the last twelve generations. We are a proud family, such as we are.”

She smiled at the pride in his tone. “My parents were educators, and I have two sisters, both with children and husbands.”

“Are you proud of them?”

“Yes. I was a disappointment in some respects, but they loved me. I never doubted that. I volunteered to die so that my brother-in-law could be with his family.”

He went quiet.

She sipped at her juice and said, “Every man there was prepared to die. They all gave up their place on an escape shuttle so that someone with a family could see their children grow. Why didn’t you kill us?”

He blinked several times before staring into her eyes. “There was no honour in killing so few. Once the EMP knocked you out and the medics scanned you, I determined that if you matched the initial scans, you would be held in honour on this ship.”

She finished her meal and sipped at the metal cup. The contents were rich and sweet, as promised. Even the smell perked her up.

Saloa asked the question she wanted an answer to. “Why did you cut up my armour?”

“A Life Bringer should never be on the battlefield.”

She snorted. “And yet, I am not even bruised from the earlier fight.”