The Complete Razia Series, page 23
She continued to stare at the wall.
"He said he no longer needed me, actually," Vel continued. "Said he'd put this huge bounty on your head, and he was going to 'let the law figure it out.' I thought he was going to turn you in to Jukin, so I told him I could find out more if I..." He swallowed nervously. "If I got you to trust me."
Her mouth tightened, but she stayed silent.
"My goal though, was to get him enough so he would leave you alone, without you having to know," he said quickly. "When you said you could find anyone using their bank account, I thought...I thought I could find out everything, but..." He sighed. "I found nothing in Father's bank account."
She shifted again.
"When we returned to the Academy, I tried to give him the sensors. I thought it was what he really wanted. I mean, I told him to forget the damned Vortex, he could make billions with these things," Vel said. "But he didn't want that. I told him the calculations to the center of the universe were lost. But he didn't believe me."
"Imagine that," Lyssa responded dryly.
"I was going to leave it alone. By that point, I knew you could take care of yourself. But then Sage told me Harms had caught wind of some guy offering a 15 million credit bonus for anyone who captured you, and Relleck had taken the job," Vel said. "I knew he'd be gunning for you, so I told Pymus I could find you. And...well..."
She said nothing, and he stood up. She heard him walk toward the door before he paused.
"Actually, there is one more thing."
"Of course."
"I want you to know from the bottom of my heart, with every single fiber of my being, and from the depths of my soul, how very sorry I am," he whispered. "I never wanted to...I just wanted to know.... I..."
The ship began to tremble slightly.
"Guess it's time," she whispered, brushing by him without another word.
She walked onto the bridge with Vel in tow, ignoring Pymus, who was happily sitting in one of the jump seats. She kneeled down in front of her dashboard and tapped on the sides.
"What are you doing?" he drawled.
"Getting our way in," she snapped, as the hidden door swung open. Inside was a single, worn black journal, which she pulled out and began flipping through.
"Is that?" Pymus gasped.
"Not yours," Lyssa responded, pausing on the page covered in a long string of numbers and equation symbols. She opened her green-red application, switching the view from the green-red dot to a display of the back-end computer code. Slowly, she compared the code on the screen to the numbers on the page, changing a number here and there.
"Are you sure you got it right?" Pymus snorted.
"You'd better hope so," she snapped. "Otherwise it'll be a short trip."
That seemed to shut him up as she finished her comparison. Then, hearing her father in her ear complaining about how sloppy she could be, she checked the code again. Satisfied, she switched the code back to the red-green, currently showing green.
The tremors were increasing, as was the pressure. She sat down, glancing back at Vel to make sure he was strapped in before tightening her own belt.
"It is going to get a bit rough," she said, watching the debris fly by faster and faster. Her eyes were glued to the green, her hands on the joystick were starting to feel heavier—everything was starting to feel heavier. Bits and pieces of space debris clouded the window, but disintegrated from the sheer force of the Vortex. Lyssa double-checked her numbers again and swallowed nervously, trying not to second-guess herself. The green was still green—
Suddenly, it flashed and displayed an odd error.
"What does that mean?" She heard Pymus say.
She couldn't respond—but she started to feel the familiar push and pull of the gravity as they approached the center. Her body felt heavy, then light as air, then felt like it was going to be crushed into nothingness. Now there was nothing outside the window—the comets and meteors and other debris having been pulverized to a white dust surrounding them. Very slowly, she began to realize the push and pull of the gravity was gone, replaced by the sense of...nothingness.
Looking up at her dashboard, her instruments were showing completely different readings from each other. Out in front, it was hard to even tell they were moving—it was just white outside her window.
"Are we here?" Pymus called from the back.
"Yes…we’re here," she whispered.
***
She opened the hatch of her ship, but didn't step off, staring out into the white landscape in front of her. She searched the plain for a ship, or, more importantly, a person. But all she could see was the emptiness. She'd never expected to be back there again.
"Well?" Pymus said behind her. "We're waiting..."
She rolled her eyes, and stepped off the edge of the plank...
...and immediately found herself standing in the basement hallway at the Manor.
She stepped back on the ship, nervously, the world turning white again.
"Lyss?" Vel said, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"Then shall we get a move on? I don't have all day," Pymus said.
She turned to give him a dirty look, but then faced the whiteness, taking a deep breath and stepping off her ship.
Again, she found herself standing in the basement of the Manor.
"Son of a bitch," she whispered, stepping back onto her ship. She could see whiteness.
"Is this your way of trying to be cute, because it's not working," Pymus said impatiently.
"Can it," Lyssa snapped, nervously biting her thumb and thinking. She knew this was a vision—a hallucination brought on by the intense magnetic field. So why did the sight of being in the Manor cause her such panic?
Seriously, she told herself. Stop being ridiculous.
With a determined glare out into the Vortex, she firmly placed both feet into the hallway of the Manor. She closed her eyes. This wasn't real. She wasn't about to run into Mother again.
Opening her eyes, she wondered why that thought had jumped into her head.
Slowly, she began to walk, passing the kitchen, empty of servants and the smells of the upcoming meal. It was as empty as the night she'd been at the Manor.
No, she told herself. She'd dreamed that. It was as real as what she was seeing right now. Because this wasn't real. She was in Leveman's Vortex.
She could hear her footsteps echoing off the walls, and see her reflection in the shiny marble floor. Her heart was beating out of her chest, but she tried to keep her face emotionless.
She stopped, standing in front of her father's laboratory door.
In the back of her mind, she could hear voices, but all she could see was the door in front of her. Slowly, she reached up to type in the access code—again, finding comfort in the combination of tones.
The door didn't open, but a peculiarly familiar voice echoed through the hallway.
Deep Space Exploration Vehicle Z-633, please identify yourself.
Lyssa blinked, shocked.
"What?" she found herself saying.
You are requesting access to a Planetary and System Science location. Please enter your authorization code.
Dumbly, she typed in her Academy identification code—9448639—and was surprised when the door clicked open. Gently, she pushed her way inside...
And found herself standing in the middle of Harms' bar.
"What the..." she whispered, taking a moment to look around. The dusty streets of D-882 were empty outside the bar, and the room itself was silent except for the sound of whirring fans above. And voices—some in the distance, but some close by.
She was overcome by guilt for the way she'd treated Harms. He'd been trying to protect her—trying to keep her from herself. He deserved better than the way she'd spoken to him.
Smiling, she saw him in his normal spot, talking with someone. But when she got closer, she realized it wasn't Harms at all.
"D....Dorst? Sera?" she stammered, looking between the two of them. Indeed, just as normal as Harms would be with some pirate, there were Dorst and Sera, he wearing a lab coat, and she wearing her simple sky blue dress.
They were talking to her.
"You are so stubborn," Sera said, dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin. "You've never listened to anyone who ever tried to help you. Not to me, when I tried to keep you on the right path, not to Harms, when he tries to warn you about dangerous bounties! All you do is push people away!"
"W-what?" How did Sera know she was a bounty hunter?
"You're reckless, too. Always have been," Dorst said. "It's like you don't care for your own safety sometimes! Following Relleck like that, when you knew he was probably up to something. Dal Jamus, as well—he could've really hurt you. You've forgotten everything Tauron taught you!"
"How did you..." She stopped herself. This was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever seen. Sera and Dorst would never be on D-882, let alone in Harms' bar. They'd also never know she was really Razia, or know about Tauron, or any of this.
It was the magnetic fields—this was a hallucination. She'd had them when she was a little girl, although less odd than this one. She closed her eyes, using all her mental strength to focus and overcome this hallucination. When she reopened them, she'd be in the middle of a white field, Vel and Pymus would be behind her and—
She opened her eyes to the inside of the Planetary and System Science Academy.
She stomped down the hall with purpose, angry she was being so easily swayed by the magnetic fields. Or maybe she was just angry to be back there, in this place she'd sworn never to set foot in again. Hallucination or not, the anger in her chest was real.
She turned a corner and found herself in a queue of people, lined up near the cafeteria.
Except it wasn't scientists.
Pirates.
Santos Journot, Zolet Obalone, Dalton Burk. Even Dal Jamus, holding a tiny tray, ready to eat, as if this were completely normal. And standing at the front of the line were Sage and Relleck.
Somehow she felt like she'd been there before—at the back of the line, Sage and Relleck at the front. Everything had been handed to them, and she was there, fighting just to be in line. She marched to the front, intent on giving Relleck and Sage a piece of her mind.
"You can't cut to the top pirates," Relleck sneered, looking her up and down. "This spot is for the most wanted pirates only."
"What?" Lyssa said. "This line is for—"
"Top twenty pirates," Relleck continued, looking forward. "God in Leveman's Vortex, why are you always trying to prove you belong where you don't? Over-compensate much?"
"Leave her alone, Relleck," Sage said, stepping in to save her when she didn't need it. As usual.
"I can handle this," she snapped.
"I know you can," he said with a smile. "You've always been able to handle yourself. Must've been all those nights you were left on planets by your father. Taught you to be self-sufficient, to survive."
Lyssa's eyes widened. She'd never told Sage a thing about her father—deciding very early on that she was much better off keeping it to herself. Besides, she was going to be Razia—what good would it do to share Lyssa's problems?
"How did you know I—"
She found herself in the middle of a dark jungle. Panic bubbled in her chest—she'd been there before. He had left her again. He was off in Leveman's Vortex doing research and she was stuck doing his dirty work. She trudged through the darkness, jumping at every sound or movement glimpsed out of the corner of her eye. This place was teeming with life, and she, just a little girl, was ripe for the eating.
She hurried out of the jungle and onto the banks of a wide river. There was a bright moon overhead, illuminating the river with an eerie white glow. Or was she staring at the glow from Leveman's Vortex? That damn spiral was always following her around, it seemed.
She fell to her knees, emotionally and mentally spent, just waiting for the bottom to fall out, as it always did. It didn't matter how much she tried to run from it—deep down, she would never be able to escape the darkness and her own evil.
She opened her eyes and caught sight of her reflection in the water. It was Lyssa—hair tied in a bun, thick glasses, lab coat. And she looked so...defeated, so abandoned.
She couldn't help but feel sad for the girl looking back at her. She'd been kicked around and left behind by everyone she'd ever loved. Her father didn't want her. Her mother thought she was better off dead. Her siblings ignored her—or worse.
Even she didn't want herself.
After all, she was the one trying to be rid of Lyssa, the one who disparaged her and thought she was worthless. But looking at this other part of herself in the water, she began to realize how wrong she'd been.
Lyssa wasn't worthless—she was strong, she'd survived abandonment by her father and family. Razia never would've had the courage to stand in front of Dal Jamus and take him down if Lyssa hadn’t been fighting for herself since the day she was born. Razia never would've been able to stand up for herself if not for the years of torture at the hands of the Peate siblings.
Lyssa was brilliant—being kept quiet with pattern and number games had primed her brain to keep small details organized in her brain like a catalogue. Razia would never have been allowed to stay with Tauron and become a bounty hunter had it not been for Lyssa's curiosity, intelligence, and dogged obsession with solving complex puzzles.
Lyssa was a safe haven, a place to escape to when things got too rough. Without her, Razia would've had nowhere to hide after Relleck nearly captured her. Nowhere to reflect and realize where she could do better. Razia might've been captured by now if it weren't for Lyssa.
Without Lyssa, Razia would never have amounted to anything more than a low-ranked bounty hunter who captured petty purse thieves.
Without Lyssa, Razia was nothing.
The reflection faded, and she felt cool rock under her hand where sand had been. Her eyes shifted upward to take in the sight of an old, weathered arch.
She was kneeling at the dais of the Arch of Eron.
How she'd gotten there, she'd no idea.
Slowly, she pushed herself off her knees, a feeling of serenity coming over her she'd never felt before. For a few blessed moments, she relished the tranquility that had finally settled in the pit of her stomach, until she heard footfalls and the sound of her name.
"Lyss!" Vel called after her. "Lyssa, can you hear me?"
"Yeah." She nodded, turning to him.
He looked her up and down as if she'd completely lost her mind as his nails dug into her shoulder. "What happened to you? You just started walking around in circles mumbling about—"
"Nothing," she said, gently pushing his arms off. "It's the magnetic fields. They can cause severe hallucinations."
"What did you hallucinate about?"
"Not important," she said, watching Pymus slowly walk up to the two of them.
"It's real," Pymus breathed. "The arch...it's...it's real."
"Of course, it's real," Lyssa snapped, keeping her gaze glued to him.
"Okay, so does this mean we can leave now?" Vel said, nervously looking around. "I don't feel right being here."
"My boy, I have work to do," Pymus scoffed, lifting one of her sensors out of his satchel.
"Those aren't going to work here," Lyssa said pointedly. "The magnetic fields are too strong."
"Pardon me if I don't want to take the word of a girl who just hallucinated her way here," Pymus said, waving the machine in the air.
"Right, or maybe the Great Creator doesn't want us in his business," Vel said edgily, as if expecting the Great Creator Himself to walk out of the Arch and chide them for being sacrilegious. "So, how about we get out of here? Or, better yet, Lyss and I can get out of here. And you can stay."
"You're right," Pymus said, putting the sensor away and pulling out a gun. "I think it would be best if the two of you went away."
"Pymus, what are you doing?" Lyssa said, grabbing Vel protectively.
"Oh, don't worry, your souls won't have far to travel," Pymus said with a smile. "Vel, I'm quite sure the Great Creator has something lovely planned for you. Dr. Peate, I..." He shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to find out."
"You don't have to do this," Vel said, sliding closer to Lyssa, who tightened her grip on his arm.
"I do, unfortunately." Pymus pointed his gun at Vel and pulled the trigger.
Before she could even think, Lyssa shoved both herself and Vel out of the way. The two of them tumbled to the ground beside the Arch.
"Lyssa!" Vel said, looking at her.
"He didn't get me," Lyssa said, searching her body.
"Oh, well," Pymus said, leveling the gun at them again. "Let me try that again."
Before he could pull the trigger, a loud crack echoed across the white plains.
Lyssa's heart dropped into her stomach. The silvery wisps hung from the stone arch had turned an inky black—in fact the entire world darken with every second. Pieces of the arch crumbled, small pebbles falling down the dais.
"Vel...." she whispered, unhooking her utility belt from her hips and snapping it securely around Vel's. "You're gonna have to run."
There was another loud crack. A large boulder broke off the Arch, tumbled down the hill then fell straight through the ground. Red-tinted steam rose through the crack.
"What did you do?" Pymus yelled, just as a crack appeared beneath his feet.
Without another word, he disappeared into the ground.
"Lyss?" Vel said, knowing exactly what was happening, his eyes transfixed on the fiery river flowing far beneath their feet.
"Run, Vel!" Lyssa screamed, grabbing his hand and yanking him forward.
Cracks were appearing all around them, and big chunks of the ground disintegrated to the inferno below. Keeping Vel in the corner of her eye, Lyssa deftly dodged the cracks, first left then right then right again. In the distance, she saw her ship.
"There!"
Her foot landed on a piece of crumbling ground and her heart stopped.
