Part 5
Oxytocin
Third circle of the Empire
Tower of Crimes
We returned to Venerna the following night, while the newly conquered pione soldiers stayed in the Venom District, to conquer it in a chain reaction.
I hid in the columbas' chamber, fleeing from Kadi and the leaders of the revolution - those who might actually be responsible for my mother's death... But I couldn't hide forever.
That night, as I was getting ready for bed, Korrok entered the room.
I jumped back and huddled against one of the rock walls. How would I crush his head against the black spikes if he attacked me? The sheer terror on my face made him laugh.
"I don't think I'd be dressed up just to kill you in the middle of the night..." Korrok scoffed, and then I realized he really did look fancy, wearing some sort of vorrampe suit.
"This is the least I would deserve, don't you think? An appropriate attire." His husky laugh grazed my ears. "What is the occasion then?"
"To celebrate the taking of the Poison District."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you think it's too soon for that?"
"The Aulics tend to fight back faster when they think they have a chance of recovering the planet." He explained. "Their silence is our victory."
"And are you inviting me?" Korrok confirmed, as I overflowed with suspicion: "Why didn't you ask Plumala to come and call me?"
"Because the place where we're going isn't for tiny doves."
"And is it for tiny humans?"
"You've already shown us that you're not just that." I opened my mouth, but he continued: "And before you ask, Phaga didn't want to come call you because he 'doesn't want to see you with beds around', whatever he means by that." I blushed and immediately changed the subject:
"Why do you call him Phaga, anyway?"
"For the same reason you call him Kadi."
"Because the names we give are parts of ourselves that we leave with others to carry?"
"No. Because it pisses him off." I rolled my eyes. "We'll be in the parking lot in thirty minutes."
And then he left without tearing my throat.
• • • ֍ • • •
The echo of my heels against the stone floor announced my arrival in the parking lot. Kadi was waiting for me outside the ship, while everyone else was already inside. He was wearing a minimalist black suit that fit his body to perfection, and just as I savored it, he explored me up and down with his eyes.
I was covered in a satin dress that clung to the curves of my body, dyed red so no one would ever see my blood if it was spilled. The piece had a "V" neckline that went up in two thin shoulder straps. And from them hung chains of stones that fell to my bare back and jangled with every step I took, like the rattle of a rattlesnake.
That dress turned me into the elegant and dangerous creature I needed to be. Someone who could survive anything.
Upon noticing my presence, Kadi broke into a feline smile.
"You look like you're ready to kill a man."
I smiled. So he had noticed.
"And you look like a great victim."
We boarded the ship, and then Korrok took it off past Venerna.
We emerged from the black ocean that reached the slope and sailed with the ship beyond that satellite's atmosphere. In addition to Korrok, Lupan and Deinos were also on the ship, the last with a bandage in place of the missing arm. Apparently there was no pain to keep him from celebrating a victory.
Kadi and I sat by a window and he whispered, even though the beings around him had super ears and a super interest in listening to us:
"What you did for everyone in Poison District... I don't think anyone thanked you for that."
I lowered my eyes. I didn't deserve any thanks after taking the life of a being with my own hands.
"I just did my job."
"No need to hide it behind obligation." Kadi insisted, eyes on mine. "You can ask me a question if you like, as a thank you."
I raised an eyebrow, a smile at the corner of my lips.
"Are you assuming that knowing more about you would be the reward I would choose?"
"That's not what you wanted from the start:" Kadi leaned toward me, digging the knife in after meeting the target I was: "Answers?" I would love to have them... "I'm offering myself to you on a platter... Satiate your hunger."
I let the question escape me before I could stop myself:
"What did you lose?" How was the life he had let slip through his fingers and so yearned to regain? And could I help him win something worth staying with?
Kadi's eyes fled from me, wandering across the floor. I had touched a wound he had never been able to heal, stiff as an old cut but with the pain of an ever-new.
"This one hasn't..."
I nodded, feeling the distance grow between us like the universe expanding, making me desperate to have him close again.
"So... Tell me about a cringing moment you've been through."
He broke into a smile and ran his hands through his hair, ruffling the strands he could never control.
"To feel ashamed, I would have to make mistakes... But I'm not that kind of person." Kadi joked.
"Forgive me for underestimating you, but I think that's pretty unlikely."
He pretended I had just made a big discovery.
"On second thought... There was a time when I was embarrassed. But only once." I approached to hear the story. "When I was with the collectors, my ship wasn't big enough to fit a bed, so I slept in a tent on the landfill." Kadi said, a confession of his distant past. "I was once changing my clothes in it when a wind hit the tent and ripped the nails holding it to the ground, making it fly away and leave me naked in front of all the collectors, running desperately while everyone laughed at me..." I hid my face in my hands, stifling my laughter. "Good times... Korrok was there..." I sent a look at that beast, piloting the ship. "He laughed at me the hardest, but at least he helped me get the tent back..."
And then he killed my mother.
• • • ֍ • • •
We flew into the ocean from an unknown planet and landed inside a glass dome nestled deep within the edge of an underwater cliff. Inside, a set of steps led to the surface inside the structure, while others descended into the depths of the abyss, where the ground seemed to have given up on existing... From a huge window I looked down into the void below, where I swore the darkness had a voice, a life, a conscience, calling me to where my screams would be drowned and my fears would come true... I wondered how far the darkness hidden in those depths took; and what it did with those who dared to descend in it...
When the leaders decided to go upstairs, I started breathing again.
"This is the Tower of Crime." Kadi whispered in my ear. "On each level some crimes are allowed, more and more heinous the closer ir gets to the bottom. There, the price to enter is higher, but the tower pays back the ones that enjoys it to the fullest." I raised an eyebrow. What kinds of beings were those who ventured into the depths of this Tower? Perhaps those who were with me... And maybe Korrok was planning a visit there at some point. "Depending on what you do, it's even possible to earn starstones here."
"Is that why we're here?"
"No... Because no starstone can match the adrenaline of entering a den of beasts and leaving alive."
I knew that feeling more than I should.
"Not to mention the bottom is a great place to dump bodies..." Lupan added with his vulpine tone, and I leaned over the window once more.
What corpses could be hiding in those depths? Were those from my past there too? Or did they prefer the darkness of the core? I climbed the stairs away from those questions, not wanting the answers.
We reached the highest and most illuminated level of the tower, completely surrounded by windows that let in the beams of moonlight, tinged with the blue of the waters around us. Behind the glass surreally colored sea creatures swam and floated, gleaming beneath the lights like jewels.
Inside, shelves of exotic drinks lined the shell-encrusted walls whose colors ranged from gold to coral hues that littered the edges of the flooded precipice. It was hard to believe that a place like this could be real... A purely beautiful haven, until we immersed ourselves in its hidden layers of depravity.
"I'm bored already." Korrok growled. "Let's go down a few levels." He turned to go but stopped when he realized that neither I nor Kadi had moved. "You know where to find us."
And then they descended into the darkness.
Kadi and I stared at each other, covered in the turquoise light that danced through the windows. We were completely alone, surrounded only by shelves full of drinks and the sounds of creatures swimming in the depths outside.
I walked between the shelves and ran my finger over the bottles.
"Want a drink?"
"On second thought, I wanted something else in my mouth..." He leaned toward me, those bold eyes warming my body, and I knew the angle of my raised eyebrow could cut diamonds.
"I'm not on the shelf to take when you're thirsty..." I snapped, as my distracted eyes read the labels on some of the vials. "'Supernova Flames' or 'Winter Asteroid'?"
Kadi approached slowly, his hunting footsteps bringing him to me. He leaned his shoulder against the window beside me.
"Why don't you mix the two?" He purred. "Hot as an explosion, cold as a glacier... Almost a dose of you."
I bit my lip and the bait of his smile as I poured the two liquids into a glass for me and another for him.
"Too bad if my friendship is too complex for you..."
"Why do I feel your 'friendship' is a punishment?"
I stared at him from behind the layer of my eyelashes.
"Maybe because you deserve one."
He moved even closer and I swallowed hard, but my mouth was no longer asking for the drink now that my lips had shifted their attention...
"So beautiful..." Kadi whispered, his fingers sliding down my face and lifting my chin. "And with such a sharp tongue..." His other hand slipped down my back and his fingers played with my bare skin, digging into my waist. "You can say all these things, but your body doesn't lie to me..." Then he pulled me against him, destabilizing me with the shock.
"And what is it saying now?"
He then whispered:
"It's asking me to take this dress off..."
For an instant I unlearned to breathe.
We were alone, hidden, just me and that smile of his, realizing the effect he had on me. I was completely hostage to those predatory eyes and the desires of my own heart, pounding so loudly that I had no doubt he could hear it. I bit my lip in an attempt to keep quiet, but I couldn't contain my whisper:
"Why would I put it on just for you to take it off?"
Kadi leaned in, lips hovering at my ear:
"Because the best treasures are buried..."
He pulled back to return his eyes to mine, but I couldn't let him go that far again, not now that he was within my fingertips. When my hand wrapped around the back of his head and ventured through the wavy strands of his hair, he broke into a surprised smile. His touch then pulled me closer, softer than the satin fabric that covered me, but capable of blazing fire paths through me. I simply melted into his arms.
"Kadi..." I sighed...
And then his lips flew to mine.
He set me on fire more than the supernova drink ever could, soft and intense, scraping, sucking, my lips on his teeth, my body in his hands and my sensitive spots between his fingertips, taking, twisting... I felt his thirst opening its way into my mouth and I invited him inside, while his hands steadied my body against him and his arms around me held me like the whole world, not letting me fall into that precipice that had called me so much to the bottom.
I lost my breath as his hand roamed my leg through the slit of my dress, on a trail that climbed higher and higher into dangerous territory at the peak of that mountain. His body fit mine so perfectly that I wondered what the clothes were still doing on the way, and when I felt the effects of my presence on his body - his gaze, his breath, his heart and so much further down - I slipped my fingers inside his clothes and caressed the rigidity of his body, so determined to destroy me, invade me, reside in me...
He gasped and tore his lips from mine, letting me fall into the dangerous eyes of the most attractive man in the universe, two emeralds I would delve so deep to find... His teeth took my ear, devouring me from the softest parts until he reached my heart, his lips descended to the skin of my neck, collarbone and below, while his hand took my leg, thigh and higher, caressing, entering... And with every gasp of mine, the bottles on the shelf at my back sang. I took the sharp angle of his jaw and pulled it back to my lips, like a bottle to my mouth.
"I need you in me... Now..." I purred, and Kadi pulled away to study me. For a moment I thought he would never come back, but his hand gently cupped my face, as if I had become fragile. In his hands I felt so precious... I wanted to be in them all the time.
"Patience... I'm not going anywhere before I pay off my debts... With myself, and with you too..."
"One day you told me you weren't a human of your word..."
"And yet here I am, ready to fulfill my end of that bargain when you ask."
But for how much longer?
A smile spread across his face and I couldn't help but do the same. He made me laugh, stared at me as if I was charming, kissed me until my legs lost their meaning and understood my pains... I wanted to be with him, enveloped by the sound of his voice... I wanted his breath on my neck at night and his war embrace in the morning...
I wanted him to stay.
Kadi reached out and picked up the full glasses that sat precariously on the shelf behind, offering me one of them.
"A toast..." I suggested and he lifted his glass in response. "To the universe who made us these worlds..."
"And to time, to make eternal moments like these..."
Then the tinkling of our glasses took over the night.
• • • ֍ • • •
When I got up the courage, we descended to the level where Korrok, Lupan, and Deinos were sitting in a dark corner, untouched, while creatures fought on all sides, and no one would dare disturb them. When we approach, that privilege extended to us.
But they weren't alone.
Another being was joining the leaders at the table, a creature whose species was easy to identify even from afar: a human. And when he turned over his shoulder to face us, I realized he was the host.
"What is he doing here?!" I growled.
"Look at this! All humans are here now!" Korrok greeted us, cynical and venomous, with his claws wrapped around the host so that the human could do nothing but cringe. "Our friend here was telling us that Phaga suggested he join the revolution, if he didn't have anything better to do..."
We all turned to Kadi, who held up her hands in surrender.
"I thought you guys liked recruiting."
"We do." Korrok continued. "And that's exactly what we're discussing here..."
No... He couldn't be serious!
"This is a bad idea!" I replied. "He is not reliable!"
And he didn't deserve to get anything he wanted!
"Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that." Deinos added. "Nice to know there's another sensible creature among us."
"And you, Lupan? Can't you smell how bad this is?" I tried. And the canouro snorted.
"I sniff neither thoughts nor the future, Donecea. But the fear this human is feeling seems enough to not worry about him." If he was so scared, then what was he doing there in the first place? "And sometimes the wisest choice is not to disagree with Korrok."
"That's why I trust your judgment." The vorrampe joked, showing its sharp teeth, maybe smiling, maybe not. "Besides, if we gave an Aulic's daughter a chance, then why not him?"
"Because I have reasons to hate the Aulics!" I tried, but I didn't even know if I really had one... Maybe I should let the revolution crumble from the inside out with its own mistakes, but when I remembered what Deinos told me about his past and all the hopes that the revolution carried, I had a hard time just letting it happen... Even though I wanted so badly to destroy those responsible for it. "And he only cares about whoever pays the most."
"Phaga is not very different." Korrok growled, sending him a sharp look. Did the vorrampe know he wanted to leave? "If you deem our new friend so unsuitable for this cause, sapiens, then carry him to the last level of this tower and kill him with this new... Enhancement of yours." He said, simple and scary, as I cringed. "It wouldn't be a crime here."
"I would love it." I growled, not knowing if I was actually being sarcastic. "But murder is not on my list of activities to celebrate our victory."
"You don't know what you're missing..." Korrok hissed. "It's decided then! Welcome to the revolution, Judin!"
I opened my mouth to retort something, but Kadi pulled me to the opposite end of the chaotic environment, dodging the chairs that were thrown up into the air.
"Sometimes it's not worth disagreeing with him." Kadi whispered and I nodded. We were fragile... I couldn't forget. "And maybe he's just negotiating enhacements for the revolution...
"But he won't even make him pass a loyalty test!"
"I can try to convince Korrok to keep him imprisoned, if that will calm you..." Kadi tried and I agreed. "He must have bought an easy entry into the revolution... And these tests started to get easier over time anyways. Eventually they would disappear."
"Easier with time?" I raised an eyebrow. If Kadi thought my test had been easy, then...
"What did you have to do?"
He didn't respond for what seemed too long, until he fell into my gaze, a safe haven for his, the only one who seemed to be able to understand him. His lips then revealed that part of his past that tortured him, that part he could no longer hide:
"I killed someone..."
No... I wasn't the only one...
"Who?"
"A human..." He confessed. "But I never got to know his name or see his face... It was just a shot in the back, impersonal enough that I didn't even feel guilty." Without guilt? That sounded hollow, like lies you tell yourself on the mirror, because I could see it up to his chin, forcing him to stand on his tiptoes so he wouldn't sink into the darkness inside.
He had killed a human... Just how I could never, just how Judin tried, just how my mother did.
My mother...
Killed by the rebellion, her murder ordered by Korrok - a vorrampe that would send a human to do the job, in exchange for some purpose, and, perhaps, some starstones too...
"That person could have been my mother."