Angels and Ministers of Grace Page 17

  She was enormous, but the dim light made her look even larger. The back half of her body was a huge, bulbous sac. The front half was propped upright by two sets of legs; the third set folded across massive thoracic plating. Her huge head was encrusted with outgrowths, the purpose of which was lost on Anya. The large pincers and working mouthparts were more than enough to hold her attention and cause her to shake uncontrollably. The Queen made a series of strange clicks and hissing whistles.

  "Come," a booming mechanical voice reverberated in the room, making Anya jump. "Stand here." The Queen extended one of the legs across her chest and pointed to a spot in front of her.

  Anya guessed that she had some sort of translator. Trying to work up the courage to move, Anya gave a little shriek of surprise as her escorts began shoving her forward again. She'd forgotten them when she'd seen their mother. On trembling legs, she moved to the spot indicated and tried not to quake.

  "You are afraid."

  "Yes," she squeaked and cleared her throat, tilting back her head to see above her. She tried her best not to cower in terror as the Queen's huge head loomed over her.

  "It is just. You are a fragile species."

  One of those long legs curled in towards Anya and nudged her on the arm with surprising gentleness. Remembering the captain's advice to move as little as possible, Anya curbed the urge to wrap her arms around herself and hunker down on the floor like a scared child. "We are, My Queen."

  The head lowered even further, and the Queen's feelers drifted over her skin feather light, that acrid odor intensifying like a cloud around her. Anya held her breath.

  "You are the one who can make others feel?"

  "I am."

  "You will attempt this with me now."

  That wasn't something Anya had been expecting. She gaped up at the huge form before her, not sure how to respond. "Ah…I'm not sure that I can."

  "Make the attempt, human."

  It was not a request, and Anya bit her bottom lip in consternation. What would the Queen do if she could make her feel things? Nervously, she shifted her feet before reminding herself to hold still. "Um…I will try to—make you hungry, if that's okay."

  "Proceed."

  Anya had a difficult time unraveling her talent when every instinct she had screamed at her not to let her guard down, but she managed it. The Queen was an impassive mass above her as she stretched out her own brand of feelers. It was unsettling to say the least for her to discover that she could feel no emotion from the Queen whatsoever. She could feel the presence there, the deadly intelligence that hung over her, but she could sense no anger, no passion, not even curiosity. When she delved a little deeper, she was able to sense pain in the Queen's second joint of her third leg and the discomfort that her egg sac gave her…she could feel sensation but no emotion. It wasn't very comforting.

  With an unsteady breath, Anya gave her a gentle push. The Queen remained impassive and unmoving. So she pushed harder. Still nothing. Anya wasn't about to put her full talent into it, especially not after what she'd been through with the telepath. "Anything?" she asked and then held her breath.

  "I am not hungry," was the booming answer, and Anya sighed in relief.

  "I guess it doesn't work with you, My Queen."

  She stiffened to feel a leg curl around her back, the force of it indenting her fragile flesh. The Queen bent her head close again, her pincers a whisper away from Anya's face. "You are certain that you tried?"

  "Yes!" Anya squeaked again, watching her life pass before her eyes and positive that she was about to die. But the Queen let her go and reared back above her.

  "It is good," the mechanical voice thundered as she folded her massive legs across her body plating again. "Your female leader tells me that you sing."

  "Yes," Anya whispered, unable to speak any louder. She was seriously considering fainting.

  "I am unfamiliar with this vocalization. You will do this now."

  "Y-you—want me to sing for you?"

  "That is correct."

  "I'm—I'll need a minute."

  "Why?"

  Because you just scared the holy hell out of me, and I'm not sure I can remain standing let alone sing, she thought, but didn't say aloud. "We—do breathing exercises to prepare," was the best she could come up with, but this seemed to satisfy the Queen.

  "Proceed."

  That word was going to be in her nightmares from now on. She was certain of it. Taking several deep breaths and wishing she could put her head between her knees, she cleared her throat, hummed a cord to make sure she could actually do it, and then closed her eyes before beginning a song. It wasn't her best rendition, but who would expect that of her now? Keeping her eyes closed did help, and her voice strengthened as the song progressed. She sounded almost normal when she finished.

  "Interesting," was the only comment the Queen made when the echoes of her voice faded from the cavernous room. "For what purpose do you do this?"

  "Why do I sing? Because it feels good. Because I like to make others feel good. Because it's fun…"

  That massive head tilted to one side in what Anya swore was puzzlement. "Those are not suitable reasons."

  Anya suddenly realized that the Queen would have no idea what she was talking about when she used words like feeling good and having fun. "Um…it's a form of communication. It's like speaking only it conveys more—" Anya found herself gesturing vaguely with one hand and returned the offending hand to her side with a swift jerk, flustered. "Ah…it conveys emotion and more depth of c-character."

  "Why is one form of communication not enough?"

  Stumped, Anya stared up at her for a long moment until sudden inspiration struck. "Well, it's like body language. Don't you communicate to your—er, offspring with certain motions?"

  "I do."

  "And you also communicate through pheromones or chemicals?"

  "Yes."

  "Why do you need both?"

  "It is necessary."

  "Well, it's the same with us. We find it necessary to have many different forms of communication." It wasn't a perfect answer, but Anya was hoping it would do. No such luck.

  "But your female leader does not sing."

  "Not everyone can sing…"

  "Then she is defective."

  "No, of course not! It's just that—" Anya felt a cold sweat trickling down her spine and wondered just how long she'd be trapped in this hell hole. "The captain prefers to communicate with speech and body language only, whereas I like to communicate with singing as well. Aren't there some of you who don't use all the chemicals you could communicate with?"

  She was afraid she was just babbling now, but the Queen's reaction was different. She clacked her pincers together with a resounding boom and brought her head down again, touching Anya with her feelers. "Then you are a queen."

  "Wh-what? No…"

  "Only queens can produce all of our chemicals—only a queen can communicate in full."

  "I don't—that's—"

  "You may leave now, little queen. Tell the other female that I approve."

  "But I'm not a—hey!" Her escorts had surrounded her again and were moving her without ceremony away from their Queen. "I'm not a queen!"

  There was no response, and Anya was herded with all speed into the tunnels.

  "You guys in a hurry?" she muttered in giddy relief at being let go. Of course, there was no answer. The way back to the entrance seemed much shorter, and Anya wondered if they'd taken a different route to confuse her. Not that it mattered—there was no way she was going back in there even if she could find her way to the Queen's chamber.

  With no little resentment, Anya noticed that the captain was not waiting for her when she emerged. Three of the escorts turned and went back into the tunnel once Anya was across the threshold, but one remained at the entrance. It settled itself on the threshold and became as still as a statue except for the occasional wave of a feeler. She wondered if it was just waiting for her to leave or if it
was the doorman.

  Either way, lingering was the furthest thing from her mind as she quick-stepped away from the Hive and down the corridor towards her own quarters. Once inside, she breathed a sigh of relief, not only for getting safely home, but because her quarters were empty. She didn't think she could handle explaining that little jaunt to her friends just now. The first thing she did was contact the captain.

  "Oh Anya! Good, you're out. How did it go?"

  "Did you know she was going to test me?"

  Her belligerence didn't go unnoticed. Marta lost her smile and tilted her head to one side, eyes cautious. "Test you?"

  "Yes! As in, she wanted to know if I could affect her with my talent."

  "Could you?"

  "No or I'd probably be dead right about now!"

  "I doubt that very much. I made it clear to her that you were an asset and not to be harmed."

  "You could have told me that before I went in there and she scared the snot out of me!" Marta suppressed a smile, and Anya narrowed her eyes on her. "You weren't testing me, too, were you?"

  "You've become so cynical in such a short period of time, Anya. I'm sorry she frightened you, but she honestly meant you no harm. Besides the testing, how did it go?"

  "She told me to tell you she approves," Anya muttered with resentment, well aware that the captain hadn't answered her question.

  "I had no doubt. Anything else?"

  "Yes. She thinks I'm a queen."

  That surprised the captain. Her eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. "And just how did that happen?"

  "She made me sing for her and then asked me why I do it. I don't know, we got on some weird discussion about communication, and she came to the conclusion that I'm a queen." Anya shrugged helplessly, unable to understand it herself, let alone explain it to the captain.

  "Interesting."

  Anya could almost see the calculations going on in the other woman's stern face and sighed wearily. This day was getting to be way too much for her. "I need to go lie down."

  "All right, you get some rest," Marta murmured with absent concern before terminating the communication from her end.

  Anya shook her head and wandered away, rubbing the back of her neck to get the stiffness out. She was tired. Bone tired. She was a pawn in a very wild chess game, and there weren't just two players. Who knew how many aliens the captain had involved in her game and what they were capable of?

  "Sleep," she muttered, almost staggering towards the bedroom. It would at least stop the whirling in her brain for a while. Dropping face down on the bed, she was asleep before she'd taken her third breath.

  Her dreams were incredibly vivid and disturbing. She was constantly running—running away from a creature that was both the captain and the queen. She was lost in a place that was both the earth and the station, though neither one seemed familiar. She only stopped running when she ran into Jason, who for once was not angry with her and took her into the safety of his arms. Weak with relief, she tried to tell him what was after her, but he only shook his head and kissed her. She forgot about the creature as heat spread like wildfire through her body and she wrapped her arms around him with desperate passion. But his shoulders felt harder than flesh, and his mouth…

  She opened her eyes to see that he'd turned into a Shriek, his insectoid arms clutching her with malicious strength. Horrified, she struggled to get away, her own cries ringing in her ears.

  "Ani!"

  The familiar voice pulled her from sleep, and the dream melted away with a suddenness that left her gasping. The face above her was dear and familiar and not likely to turn into a bug. With a sound that was half laugh and half sob, she sat up and hugged Cesna.

  "Geez, that must've been a heck of a dream."

  "No dream—nightmare. It was bad."

  "I hate those." Ces grimaced in sympathy. "I had one the other night that you made us all wear plaid." She gave a dramatic shudder, and Anya couldn't help but laugh, relieved and amused at once.

  "Oh, the horror."

  "Tell me about it. You ready to get up?"

  "Yeah…" Anya slipped her legs off the edge of the bed, but paused for a second as a sudden thought struck. "I need to talk to Rie. Is she here, too?"

  "Yup. I guess she's moving in with her Thlassnian buddies, but still plans to hang out with us lowly humans."

  "Could you ask her to come in here?"

  "Sure. What's this about?"

  "Just go get her, you nosy critter!"

  Cesna grinned and stuck her tongue out at Anya in a fine show of maturity before flouncing out the door.

  A moment later Rie entered with her usual infinite grace, jewel eyes questioning. "You wished to speak with me?"

  Anya felt her stomach knot with a feeling that was very much like betrayal. This was her friend, or so she'd thought. Was she just a mission to Rie? A duty?

  "I've been talking to the captain." Rie nodded and came to sit on the bed, folding her legs up under her smoothly as Anya continued, "She's…got some things planned. And she tells me that your people are part of it." Anya eyed her for some kind of change, but Rie merely watched her, calmly waiting. "Rie, why are you with me?"

  "Because my path lies with you."

  "Yeah yeah, I'm your duty and destiny! They told you to be with me, so here you are. Why didn't you ever tell me? I thought I was your friend."

  "You are my friend, Anya. But I can escape my destiny no more than you can."

  "Why did they send you? Were you supposed to get me here, to this station?"

  "No, our destination was not known to me. I was sent to observe only. I am your witness."

  "Witness to what? Just what do they think I'm going to end up doing?"

  "I do not know."

  "You don't know, or you won't tell me?" Anya felt bruised by the suspicion in her own heart, but she didn't shy away from it. They had to get it all into the open or their friendship would suffer.

  "They have not told me what it is that they have dreamed for you. If they did, I might influence the outcome in some way and stray from the Path."

  "What path? What does that mean?"

  For the first time, Rie looked away from her, eyes sliding up through shades of blue to nearly crystal. "It would be a violation of our code to tell you. But you are closer to me than friend, Anya Vaedrin. I think of you as kin of my water, as sister of my blood." Anya's chest constricted with emotion as Rie turned to look at her again, eyes holding to that lightest of colors. "I have not felt it a duty to be witness, but an honor. My life with you and Jar and Ces has held a richness that I would not lightly turn from."

  She stood and began pacing in slow, hypnotic strides next to the bed. "My people believe that the universe seeks Harmony, that it is constantly reaching for the perfect union of all things to create a greater whole. This is the path, the way to becoming more than we are, to fulfilling the perfection of the universe. Think of us as pieces of a puzzle box, each a unique and amazing individual, but when fitted together we become something more than ourselves. Since we see this while others do not, we feel it our responsibility to assist, to help others onto the path. There are those of us who have been given the gift of dreaming, of seeing the path more clearly than the rest of us. There are many paths, but most do not lead to Harmony. Our dreamers see which is the true path and give the rest of us direction. I was told by a dreamer to be your witness. That is my path."

  "So…your dreamers can see many different futures and decide which they like best."

  "There is only one that leads to true Harmony, and it is not the dreamers' wish, but that of the universe."

  "Uh huh." Anya eyed her friend skeptically. The concept was nice, but hard for her to believe. Then again, she couldn't see the future either—with a talent like that, she might just turn religious, too. "Do the dreamers see the end result? Do they know what that something is that we'll become if Harmony is achieved?"

  "I don't believe so, but I am not certain, since I am not a d
reamer."

  It was arrogant to meddle with people's lives on the basis of a belief, but even more so when they didn't know what it was they were trying to achieve. But Anya was much too polite to say so.

  "Thank you for telling me, Rie. I really appreciate your honesty and trust." She stood up and gave her friend a quick hug, tears springing to her eyes as she felt the relief and real affection emanating from the Thlassnian. "I think of you as a sister, too."

  Letting her go, Anya watched Rie's eyes shift to a beautiful lavender. "Destiny or not, I am glad to be with you."

  "Me, too," Anya murmured, blinking fiercely to chase the tears away. With a determined smile, she changed the subject. "It's probably about time for us to try out for Whitey's, isn't it?"

  "Actually, I believe we are now late. But we didn't want to wake you."

  "Oh for—" Anya rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "Let's get going, then. Do we have our costumes? We can change there."

  She was gratified to see Jar and Ces standing near the front door with the costumes over their arms. They both smiled to see her, but Jar lifted her eyebrows in enquiry. "Everything all right?"

  Anya didn't know if she was referring to her health or the mysterious private talk with Rie, but answered for both. "Just peachy. What do you say we go get a job?"

  Jar's smile widened in response to her chipper tone. "Take no prisoners?"

  "Not today!"

  Feeding off of one another's enthusiasm, they marched out, determined to blow the Belkan away.

  Chapter 18

  "You did what?" Jason stared aghast at his captain, hoping he'd just heard her wrong.

  She flashed him an exasperated look as she took her usual turns around his office. "Oh, stop giving me that look! I didn't tell her everything, just enough to prepare her to see the Hive Queen."

  Jason was suddenly on his feet without any recollection of how he got there, horrified to his bones. "No!" he'd meant to shout, but it came out a hoarse rasp.

  Marta paused and glanced over at him with her eyebrows raised. "No what?"

  "She is not going in there! I refuse to allow it!"