“How are you feeling?” he asked in universal, as she stepped forward.
She had a furry, rodentlike face, and there was a bald patch on her torso from the wounds she’d taken at the hands of Priest’s fanatics. “Better. Katur’s waiting for you.”
“Is he in a good mood?”
The alien female made a chittering noise he took for laughter. “The best you can expect, brown man.”
“It would’ve been worse if I hadn’t brought you back to him,” he predicted.
At this, Keelah nodded. “This way, please. I hope you understand how privileged you are to walk among us. All other outsiders are killed the moment they set foot in our territory. For you to be permitted a return visit . . .”
“I understand the honor extended to me,” Tam said.
He was eager to finish this and return to Dred’s side. Despite his words to Einar, he was worried about her as well. But some courtesies couldn’t be rushed or hurried. If he didn’t present the offer just right, there would be no second chances. And if he offended Katur, his people would execute Tam without hesitation. In this endeavor, he was a long way from Queensland and completely on his own. Of course, that was part of the thrill.
With half an ear, he listened to Keelah’s words and made polite responses. It was funny how much more civilized the aliens were than the rest of Perdition, most likely because so many had been sentenced, not for dire offenses, but because of their difference from humanity. New Terra had become insular and hostile to aliens, offering harsh punishments against those who were caught dirtside illegally. Which meant these folk might have been condemned to this hellhole for immigration offenses.
Damned Conglomerate bastards.
But Tam was past the point of being surprised by anything governments might do, after what he’d seen on Tarnus.
Keelah led him to a meeting room in what had probably been maintenance. Down here, the rooms were cramped and small, narrow corridors riddled with rust and heavy wear. He could still see signs of the old crew who had walked these halls in heavy boots coated in oil, impossible to eradicate all signs of the past, he supposed.
“I greet you in peace,” Katur said, as they entered.
He resembled Keelah in that they appeared to be the same species, but his features were sharper, and the male’s eyes were a keen amber, his fur a brindled brown where she was copper. They were a small and nimble species, from what Tam could tell, and he had insight as to why Katur had been chosen to lead when he didn’t seem like an obvious choice, based purely on size and strength. That indicated he had intellectual qualities that made him powerful, enough that oversized species like the Rodeisians would still follow him.
“As do I,” Tam answered.
Though it wasn’t protocol, he bowed as if he were greeting royalty. Katur seemed to appreciate the courtesy. “Sit down. Now that my Keelah has recovered fully, I’m willing to listen to your ideas.”
It went without saying that everything hinged on Tam’s finding the right words. He revealed none of that pressure in his calm mien. “Thank you,” he said. “This enterprise could be of great mutual benefit.”
* * *
DRED awoke to incredible agony, unsure how long she’d been out. Her shoulder burned; her side throbbed; and the pain in her gut defied description. Worsening the situation, someone had stripped her naked and was kneeling over her on the bunk. She couldn’t imagine Tam or Einar permitting one of Lecass’s cronies to rape her corpse—plus she wasn’t quite dead yet—so something terrible must’ve gone down after the challenge.
A riot, maybe?
She forced open her eyes and was astonished to see Jael crouched over her, a knife in hand. I didn’t see that coming. Since he hadn’t been around during Artan’s regime, she hadn’t expected him to side with Lecass. But the bastard paid him to see it done, even if he lost.
“I can’t fight you,” she croaked. “So I hope you’ll be quick.”
Instead of answering, he slashed his arm open; his blood trickled into the wound on her stomach. She couldn’t see when he moved to the side, but she felt the hot liquid dripping onto her shoulder as well, then he repeated the process on her ribs. By the time he finished, he had slashes all over his arms.
The room was haloed in a corona of light. Everything seemed really far away, too. “I’m not sure where you went to medical school, but transfusions don’t work like that.”
He sat down on the bed beside her, studying her face. “That’s not what I was doing.”
“Enlighten me.”
“You’ve seen me heal, right?” It was clearly a rhetorical question, but Dred nodded because he seemed to be measuring her ability to focus. “Well, the ability’s conveyed in my blood, at least in a limited sense.”
“So you’re jump-starting my system. How long does it work?” It was a wonder somebody hadn’t locked him up to use as a medical miracle.
“Once it’s outside my system, I have no idea how long it retains its properties. But look, the shallow slice on your ribs is already starting to heal.”
With trembling fingertips, she explored the bloody patch of skin and realized he was right. “You’ll be in trouble in here if anyone else finds out.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “I would’ve been out there, too.”
“You said they ran experiments on you. They didn’t discover this?” If they had, there was no way they’d have stashed him here. Dred suspected he’d have been dissected and used to manufacture salves and ointments for fast healing.
“No. They were more interested in learning how much I could heal and trying to figure out how to reproduce me. I don’t think it ever occurred to anyone to see if my abilities were transferable. And they’re not,” he added, as if worried she would consider eating him to absorb his talents. “At least not permanently. After a few minutes outside my system, the blood goes inert. I know it’s foul, but I’ll have to do this repeatedly through the night to keep you alive.”
“Can you survive that much cutting?” she asked.
He laughed. “I’ve nearly been exsanguinated, love. If I lose too much, I slip into a coma until my cell counts get back to normal.”
“Good to know. Then if you can live with the loss, I can deal with the blood.”
“I can’t have anyone else in here. As you pointed out, if anyone else knew—”