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“So, if you’re still game, I think we can work out our kinks by keeping our…transactions…professional.” Her steps slowed a bit and she shook out her hands at her sides. “Do you still want to help me?”
I should’ve been groveling on my knees. Instead, Ginger was giving me a free pass and a second chance. All too soon, the tunnel opened into the large, chilly entry space.
The news had already spread of my demotion, and most of the outraged enforcers I passed raised their fists to show their support for me, even though the reason behind Yurst’s directive remained shrouded in secrecy. I hoped they would still feel the same after they’d heard the truth.
I waved off their questions. Soon enough, the word would be out. I didn’t owe everyone a personal explanation. Just my team, Sisip, Geo, Makir and Ginger. They deserved answers from my own lips.
Curiosity weighed down the air in the small alcove as we passed through. Before long, species other than Rock Dwellers would know my story. I’d locked down my emotions over my wrongful conviction an eternity ago, but unwelcome shame bubbled like a river of hot magma under my skin again.
Devile would twist the tale, planting doubt in my friends’ minds when he arrived. I needed to speak my truth first.
Ginger tugged on my finger, a welcome interruption to my spiraling thoughts. “Go ahead, JayJay, you can tell us.” I leaned into her soft encouragement and started. Once the truth came out, she’d run screaming.
I stared straight ahead. Brittle holes pin-pricked the black volcanic rock. “A little over two annums ago, I was framed for a crime I didn’t commit—luring a hellsna to a lobbyist’s dwelling. That hellsna destroyed her dwelling and ended her life.”
It felt like a hundred eyes crawled down my spine as the people I considered friends took a collective inhale in front of me. “The supreme councillors banned me from Yagras and exiled me to Tern.” Except for the murmured conversation from command central in the background, an eerie silence smothered me.
“Last rotation, Representative Devile, the Rock Dweller who framed me, informed Mayor Yurst of my conviction. He no longer feels I have the right…character to hold this position. That is why I’ve recommended Hill replace me.” My steady gaze fixed on Hill. “He has been steadfast and clever and works hard to balance the many opinions on the team.” Hill’s freckles darkened when I voiced my praise. “I understand you may no longer trust my judgment, but I urge you to take the greatest caution if Devile crosses your path.”
D’irk’s teeth clacked. “That’s the biggest blanting pile of mantu turd ever uttered from Yurst’s fat trap.”
“You’re still Protector JayJay to us.” Hill spoke on behalf of the team. Smoke poured from Saluda and Efred’s noses as they nodded in quick succession. Clacks from D’unter’s teeth echoed alongside D’irk’s.
Makir’s omega pheromones calmed my nerves, and Geo squeezed my elbow. “JayJay, I’m pissed you think we wouldn’t believe you. Mayor Yurst is a tool. Enough said.”
“While that may be true, it changes nothing.” Sisip’s ears flicked. “Hill, you will remain in the leadership role.” She scanned the crowd and raised her voice. “Diligence will be vital in Devile’s presence. And for the record”—Sisip lifted her chin in my direction, eyes softening—“JayJay’s integrity is not in question.”
The drumming of my heart slowed as my friends either bowed their heads toward me, patted my back or muttered condemning words about Yurst. A heavy weight lifted from my shoulders—one I had been carrying for so long that it felt like a part of me was missing. I swallowed hard as relief eased its way through my neck and shoulders.
An alarm rang from command central. New hellsna activity. Sisip glanced at her wristport. “The moon has just risen. What the blant are those little bastards up to already?” With twitchy ears, she stormed out of the alcove. The rest of the enforcers followed, hot on her tail.
Geo held Makir’s hand, but his steady gaze landed on mine. “You’re welcome back to the building crew anytime, even though that’s a waste of your talent.”
Geo and Makir left a moment later to prepare for their trip to the wastelands. Who knew when Yurst would deliver the promised parts?
“C’mon,” Ginger said.
Her cool fingers wrapped around mine and urged me toward the tunnel. Thank the goddess Sola, Ginger didn’t force any more needless apologies on me. My heart still pumped harder than it should have, uneasy at revealing that truth.
Ginger let go of my hand when we reached the doorway to my room, and she stepped on the box to slide the door open, bringing her to my height. She looked directly into my eyes. “Anyone who believes you lured a hellsna anywhere but off a cliff is out of their mind.” Then she climbed into the room as if she hadn’t just shaken my foundation. “If you ever want to talk about it…”
On unsteady legs, I lurched toward the moss mattress and sank into the blankets. Her unwavering faith had ungrounded me, and I anchored the heels of my hands into the soft moss, seeking purchase. A prickling sensation on my lap helped me find my center. The dorat. She curled in my lap, her lit-up coat on full display.
Ginger’s eyes widened, and she crossed the space between us in a couple of springy steps. “What—”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” I interrupted Ginger when she reached out to the dorat. “She’s not a pet. Her aim isn’t to please like Geo’s puppy doggies. She’ll only tolerate touch if she initiates it.”
Ginger took a step back. “How do you know she’s a she?”
“Her markings. A male dorat can still camouflage himself but will be a solid color when relaxed, usually brown.”
“Sometimes I just love being on another planet. It’s so fucking cool.” Ginger bounced on the mossy floor like a youngling. Her face radiated the same joy she’d worn the first time she rode a hoverbike.
“Well then, maybe it won’t be so bad if you can’t return to Earth?” I needed a reminder that this glowing, happy female could leave at any time.
The next moment, she folded into a cross-legged position on the blue moss floor, sucking in one cheek. “You better believe I’m going back to Earth. There’s no way I’m missing out on competing head-to-head with the best designers in the world.”Her brows pinched with conviction. “I’m already so much healthier. I kept up with you on the walk to and from the command center.”
She had kept up with surprising ease, hadn’t she? Why, if her treatment was going as planned, did I want to lock her up in our little cave and never let her out of my sight? Instead, I fingered the hem of her pretty skirt. “The judges will be nothing but impressed with you.”
