Devotion (Chosen by the Karal #5)(15)

“Darl,” he said into his communicator. “Close the ramp.”

“Is everything OK?” Darl asked worriedly.

“Just a precaution.”

And then he ran through the night, slowing when he reached the crowded streets so that he didn’t draw too much attention to himself. He had an idea, not a very pleasant one. But it might buy them some time.

He headed towards the railway arches. It was a place where the old and the infirm gathered, usually to take their last breath. Every couple of days a body truck would arrive and search the darkness for those who had given up on this life. As he entered the miserable place, the smell became almost unbearable. However, for Okil, out of the death and decay spawned hope.

There, sure enough, was the body of a woman and a man. They held hands in death, and he hated parting them, but their spirits had gone to a better place. He worked quickly to gouge out the dead woman’s chip, his fingers easily digging into the papery skin of her neck. Then he slipped Tikki’s chip inside the wound, sliding it as far as he could under her skin, hoping it would stay there.

Crushing the other chip with his boot, he then lifted the woman and carried her to the entrance. It would look too suspicious for him to carry her and then throw her into the canal, so instead he held her upright, his strong arms supporting her. Then he made his way through the streets, keeping to the back alleys as much as possible as he headed to the cesspit they still called a canal.

Making sure there was no one else around, he let the body slip into the water, watching to make sure she sank to the bottom. It took a few minutes, the thickness of the dirty, diseased water helping to keep her afloat. Then she was gone.

Sickened by what he had done, he turned towards the airport and tried to work out exactly how they were going to complete the next stage of his plan.





Chapter Ten – Tikki


“There, all sealed.” Darl’s voice held a hint of pride.

Her neck throbbed, but she knew they had to take precautions and removing the tag was a necessity. That didn’t take away the pain and she buried her face in her hands, trying not to cry. Only two weeks ago she had been planning to go to another planet to be with the man she loved, and see her sister again. It was all so perfect, so simple. Once she became old enough to enter the lottery it had seemed as if her life had come together in such a perfect way. Now it lay in tatters. Worse, other people’s lives were about to be put in jeopardy too. Including Okil’s.

“Darl, what will happen if your people find out about Charlie?”

His face was hard to read. The colours skimming his skin, out of control, were not. That bad. Maybe she should put an end to this; with no tag she would be hard to track. Perhaps she should take Charlie and run for it, and allow Okil and Darl to go back to their planet with Reja. She wanted her friend to be safe, which she might no longer be on Earth, because it was very likely that she had become involved in this too. If anyone had been watching her apartment, when they couldn’t locate Tikki, they might question, or torture, Reja for information.

Darl spoke quietly, his voice as reassuring as any good doctor’s should be. “Tikki, the best thing is if we go to Karal and then try to work out what is happening. It may be that you have to return here, although the Karal don’t usually let people leave once they have touched down on the planet. And I know you may think I am being entirely selfless, but that is not true. From what you have said, my people may be in danger.”

“You believe what Harri said? You really think they may try to start a war with Karal.”

He laughed. “Not a war. No. But let’s just say that there are ways they could try to control us. The fact your President is asking for space cruisers, for one. I don’t believe he intends to simply search for new planets. And if he does, he will also need our wormhole technology, which the Hier Council will never share. We cannot let ourselves be exposed to your species.”

“I never thought I would ever be caught up in something like this.”

“No? Even though your sister was?”

“My sister? Elissa?”

“I wondered if you knew. Now this must stay between us. She doesn’t know what we know. I think for her peace of mind it should stay that way, unless she chooses to tell you. But I think that you need to know all the facts to be able to put the pieces all together.”

“Know what?”

“Elissa worked for the resistance. She was in fact responsible for the deaths of two Karalians. Well, that is a little strong. She organised the demonstration against Karalians, but Harri, the man who was at your apartment, used her and planted a bomb.”

“Oh my goodness,” she whispered. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Because she was scared, ashamed. Guilty. It was why she was brought to Karal.”

“All this time I never knew.” Tikki shook her head. Did she really know anything, or anyone? All of this stuff had been happening right under her nose, and yet she hadn’t seen it. Her sister, and then Sienna. Secret lives, double lives, and she had been completely in the dark.

“Do you think that is the reason Charlie was given to me to be looked after? It was not only my friendship with Sienna, but because of Elissa too. Because she walked away from the resistance once she saw who they really were.”

“There may be some connection. But we may never know.”