AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That must have been horrible,” Sky said. Another tear was rolling down Mirabella’s cheek but she didn’t think the girl knew it.
“It was. I still have dreams about it…nightmares,” Mirabella whispered. “I could hear those long, metal claws of his scraping and scratching, trying to get in and I…I was so afraid he would.” She shook her head and swiped at her eyes. “No—I can’t let myself cry,” she said, sounding like she was talking to herself more than them. “I’m stronger than that.”
“You don’t have to be that strong, Mirabella,” Torin said softly. “I can imagine how fucking frightening that must have been—you have a right to be upset.”
Mirabella lifted her chin.
“I can’t let myself be upset or panic. Not while he’s still out there. I have to keep my head on straight, like my mother always told me.”
Sky thought the girl had great presence of mind—she admired her courage. But they still needed to know a few things.
“So he couldn’t get at you because you were hiding inside your automaton?” she said, making it a question.
“No, he couldn’t.” Mirabella shook her head. “Beelie is keyed only to my voice—my Aunt made sure of that when she gave him to me. So I just waited until he finally…finally went away. And then I stayed inside Beelie until he could bring me down here—to my Aunt’s panic room.” She lifted her chin. “I’ve been here ever since and I’m not leaving until somebody catches the killer and makes him pay for what he did.”
“That’s exactly what we’re planning on,” Torin told her. “My partner, Sky’lar and I, have been tracking him.”
“He killed someone on my planet—Portex Three,” Sky explained.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry to hear that!” Mirabella exclaimed. “But…he’s gone from here? From Yonnie Six?”
“As far as we know,” Torin told her.
“Is it wrong to feel relieved?” Mirabella put a hand to her heart. “Oh God, every night I’ve been thinking he might come back and this time I wouldn’t get into Beelie in time…”
“I don’t think you need to worry but I don’t want to tell you to completely relax,” Torin told her. “Although maybe I can help—how would you feel about having one or two Kindred warriors come to guard you? I’m sure I could arrange that with my commanding officer.”
“I don’t know…” Mirabella looked doubtful. “I appreciate the offer, but the other Mistresses on the Sacred Seven had bodyslaves and they were all killed just the same.”
“I’m not talking about a bodyslave—I’m offering you trained Kindred warriors,” Torin said firmly. “Males who will protect you with their life. As the Ruling Member of the Sacred Seven, you need to be protected.”
“Well…I guess that would be all right,” Mirabella said slowly. “But if you send them, they’d better bring their own food. Things are running a little bit low here at the moment. I haven’t got much left but protein bars and nutrient shakes. Which to be honest, aren’t very tasty.” She sighed.
“I’ll let them know,” Torin promised. “Is there anything else you can tell us about the killer? Anything at all that comes to mind?”
“Well…” Mirabella frowned, thinking hard. “The only other thing I can think of is when we finally got here and I felt safe enough to climb out of Beelie, I saw that the front of his main body segment was all scratched up and covered in that oily, black stuff—the same stuff he squirted on the viewer so I couldn’t see.”
Sky nodded—it sounded exactly like the stuff left at the murder of Ambassador WinterBright.
“Oily black stuff? Did you happen to keep any of it?” Torin asked.
Mirabella shook her head.
“Not in a test tube or anything. Though I do still have the rags I used to clean it off of Beelie.”
“We’ll take those rags,” Sky said briskly.
“I’ll get them.” Mirabella left and came back quickly with a sealed bag. “Don’t open it in here, please,” she said. “At least—not while I’m in the room. The smell reminds me of him…” She shivered. “There should be quite a lot of it—it was all over Beelie’s camera plate and the whole front of his body segment. I put on gloves before I cleaned it off.”
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to touch it,” Sky said gravely. “But I’m glad you saved the rags—this might be the same stuff he left at the crime scene on my planet.”
“I couldn’t stand to throw it in my washing unit,” Mirabella explained. “I had a feeling that it would contaminate everything and then how would I wash my clothes?”
She nodded down at the rather bedraggled Mistress gown she wore and Sky wondered if it was the same one she’d escaped in. She must not have many clothing choices down here and it sounded like she was running out of food, too. Yet, she didn’t blame the girl for staying—with a killer on the loose, this seemed like the safest place for her until they could catch the bastard.
